[James's Pov]
Our excursion would finally begin, the day being Tuesday, the 23rd of February. Boarding the train, every group had a different lounge to hang out with during the hour-long trip, time that was meant to be spent talking through the plans and tactics the parties had made.
It had been an uneventful week, having spent all my time training and trying my luck in the Monastery one more time during the weekend, having only been able to reserve it for one day. My little trip had ended in another dud, with me getting yet another useless item.
My failures at getting the items I wanted opened my eyes to just how lucky I had been to get the Ring of Ascension from the Kobold Cave, almost making me feel as if I accidentally used up all my luck in that one go.
At this point, I was almost contemplating giving up and moving on to a more difficult dungeon to farm, now that I had progressed to [D-]-rank.
Also, there had been no more 'dates' with Sarah, with her being too occupied with planning for the excursion with the rest of our friends.
So all in all, it had been a relaxing week, with Mike not even able to look at me without feeling ashamed that he had lost to me, and Adriana continuing her covert operation of exposing me to the world.
Speaking of, she had continued to hang out with Sophie and the gang, but she always had a clear line that she didn't cross. Like partying with them.
"So? Am I seriously just going to stay in that cave you showed me on the map?"
The brat sitting in front of me in the lounge wasn't as angry as I expected, though she was far from happy.
In the end, her brother had made her shut up with the power of facts and logic, something someone even as powerfully ignorant as her couldn't dispute.
Scanning one of the only girls who were barely taller than me, I had to remind myself that no matter how attractive she was, she was still very much a bitch.
Her dirty blonde hair, contrasted by the slanted, sharp eyes and her elegant jawline was a treat for the eyes.
'Still not as attractive as Sarah, though...'
"Hey! I am talking to you!"
Bellatrix finally snapped after I had gotten lost in my thoughts, now standing up with her fists pointed straight to the ground.
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking over some important things."
"Like what? What you want to eat when we got to that damn cave or something?"
Clearly trying her best to make fun of me, she had made a huge mistake. After all, she was but a Padawan while I was the Grand Master.
Bringing out the brightest smile I could muster, doing my best to imitate the golden boy, I let go of the reins of my mouth.
"Why, yes! I'm incredibly excited to try the cooking of someone as honorable as the heir of the Rue family. How lovely it will be, coming back from a long day of hard work to the sight of a lovely girl in an apron, telling me..."
"STOP! Fine! Don't tell me then, I don't care! Humph!"
Sitting back down, she turned her head to look out the window and crossed her arms with a huge frown on her face.
'Tsk, tsk, tsk... Too inexperienced!'
So with me wearing a genuine, huge smile and her pouting, we sat in silence until we arrived at the Goblin Lands.
=======
Standing in the middle of a big grass field, we had gotten off of the train at an outpost that served as the base for hunters that went hunting here.
This place was called the Goblin Lands, for the obvious reason that it was infested with hordes of goblins.
The geographical location could pretty much be summed up to be a huge forest on the side of a big mountain wall.
This was the place where we would spend our three days of hunting, as the academy had somehow managed to rent the whole place for our stay.
"Listen up! From here on out, you are on your own! Just like during your dungeon dive, you may call for help if needed, however, it will be reflected on your hidden grades. Do make sure to try and avoid the other parties so you don't cannibalize and hinder each other from hunting."
Mr. Brown and Ms. Turner were once again wearing their teacher uniforms, with Mr. Brown as usual taking the lead in instructing us. Letting my eyes wander, I saw all of the freshmen looking both incredibly excited, but also very nervous.
Sebastian was looking like it was just another day at work, while Anna almost seemed to be on the verge of shaking.
The witch with the big mouth was truly a split person. When she was comfortable, she had no issues dealing out hard-hitting verbal blows, but when she was nervous or scared, she seemed so painfully small.
"Now, get going! Don't forget to bring one tooth or an ear from every monster you kill, otherwise, it will not count!"
So, the competition had officially begun, with all of the different parties splitting off from the rest and entering the woods.
=======
"Are you honestly expecting me to stay here?! Even the ground is wet!"
Bellatrix was frantically waving her arms in frustration of having to stay in the safe spot I had found when researching the geographical location.
Pinching my nose, I started to get fed up with the bratty woman. In the beginning, it had been quite amusing to listen to her ramblings, but now, I felt like I had gotten my fill.
"Listen. You are an archer and even more than that, you specialize in sniping. You are free to try your luck in fighting monsters by yourself, but we both know what will happen if they manage to get close to you. I have already gotten paid for the deal, so it doesn't matter to me if you are forced to call for help."
Stomping her feet, her anger only rose when I spoke, "What?! You can't do that! How shameless!"
"Haaa... Now, please listen closely. This is one of the few places which has records stating that no monsters will come here, and I have already led you here. Now, whatever you choose to do from here is of no concern to me."
Turning around, I let my feet start to carry me out of the cave, "I'll be back in a few hours. If you aren't here, I will assume that you will be fine on your own. See you later."
"You stupid commoner! Come back here!"
Not minding the shouting girl, I just kept on walking until the trees covered me from her eyes.
****
[Bellatrix's Pov]
"Arrgh! What a hateful commoner that man is!"
It was so incredibly infuriating, how James had no idea how to act like the commoner he was.
"He should be happy just to get the chance to be close to me, let alone receive the honor of helping me!"
I was so angry! Angry at James, angry at my brother for setting this up, angry at my loathsome 'family' who wanted nothing more than to see me fall.
However, most of all, I was angry at myself, for allowing myself to get demoted to the B-class, for not listening to the advice my brother had given me.
"I'm such an idiot..."
Even from the start, I had tried my best to make a name for myself. Mike had been the perfect man for me to latch on to, being the heir of the prominent Denver house. If I could make a connection with him, I would surely be able to use it to my advantage.
However, this had all fallen apart after he deemed me unworthy after my pathetic display during the ranking events. So now, I was alone. There was no one who would want to be around me after everything I had said and how I had acted.
The only one I had left was my brother, the one who had always been standing at my side, but now, even he was not here. Still, I couldn't just give up. There was too much at stake for me to fall here, too many people had put their trust in me to become the next family head.
"But what do I do..."
There was no way I could just storm out of the cave and start hunting by myself. James was, sadly, very correct in his analysis of the way I fought.
I was not a medium-range archer like Trisha, I specialized in sniping. Therefore it would be stupid to go out into a forest where I would be susceptible to ambushes from every direction.
"Shit!"
Opening my spatial inventory, I did the only thing I could to better my situation, making the cave liveable and starting a fire to prepare our food.
'Fuck honor and pride! If this increases my chances of getting promoted to the A-class, I don't give a fuck!'
****
[James's Pov]
*Boom!*
Another group of goblins had gotten baited by Bobby into the small valley where I engulfed them in my mist and blew them up.
It was efficient but incredibly mana-consuming to do this. I was already running low after killing three groups of the green [E]-rank monsters.
'I guess it's about time for lunch anyway.'
So with that, I concluded my first hunt of the excursion and started to walk back to the cave where I assumed the girl would still be waiting.