The rising sun shone through the leaves, lighting up the forest floor as a pack of Saberwolves raced through the forest, their dark blue fur flattened as they ran. Armed with large fangs and sharp claws, they were some of the best hunters in the forest. This time, however, they were the prey. A white and blue light sliced the ground and air in front of them, separating one of them from the pack. The Saberwolf continued running when a ball of fire rushed at it, hitting it hard and blocking its vision. After the smoke cleared, the wolf saw a brown haired teen drive his sword towards his skull. Gale pulled his sword out of the Saberwolf's head and sighed in relief.
"Nice job, everyone. Once again the plan went perfectly." Gale called out to his friends as they stepped out of the shadows.
"Yes, that is our fourth quest done! One more, and this exam will be in the bag." Annie excitedly spoke.
"I have to say, this was much easier than yesterday's." Tom remarked.
Alejandra and Leo grimaced. "Let's not talk about that one." Leo said.
Even Gale shuddered at the memory. They had gotten up early the day before to complete their third quest, which was to collect two liters of black adder venom. The problem was that they could only get a few milliliters per snake, and they traveled alone. The sun had already begun to set by the time they had completed the quest. They went to bed that night, tired and cranky.
"Disregarding that unpleasant experience, what is our last quest?" Alejandra changed the subject.
"Give me a moment." Gale responded, holding the glowing paper. The glow faded and he read the paper. "This time, we are hunting a Razorbird."
Leo started, "Those things? Wow, they are some of the largest, most dangerous monsters here. Their wingspan alone is 20 yards. Their feathers are sharper than a sword. They can either slice with their wings and tail, or fling their feathers at their prey."
Tom took the paper and read the quest. "Don't they nest in the mountains though? That's over 20 miles from here, how can we hunt one of them?"
Leo turned to him. "True. However, they come down from the mountains to feed around this time. The problem is bringing it down. They can spot their prey from up to 70 yards in the air. It will see us long before we are even close enough to attack."
Gale put his hand under his chin. "Well, then we'll have to make sure it doesn't see all of us. Ok, I got a plan. Annie and I will distract and lure it down. While its attention is on us, Leo will attack its tail. Alejandra, Tom, you'll take out its wings, and Annie, you'll take the final shot. How does that sound?"
His friends nodded. Gale smirked, "Alright then, let's get to work."
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Annie scanned the skies with her zoom ability before she finally saw one. "Alright, I found a Razorbird. About 50 yards up, to the right."
Gale looked up and saw it before he put his hand up to the communicator. "Ok, the plan is a go. Is everyone ready?" He heard multiple confirmations before he signaled Annie to start firing.
The Razorbird felt multiple bullets hit its underbelly and saw rocks fly in front of it. It looked down and spotted Gale and Annie. It swooped down towards them, dodging multiple projectiles, before it stopped and gave a massive flap of its wings in their directions. "Look out!" Gale shouted at Annie as he jumped from the branch he was standing on. Annie also rolled to another branch just in time as multiple feathers shot past where they were, slicing the branches before penetrating deep into the ground.
Gale was the first to recover and he quickly began shooting fireballs at the Razorbird to keep its attention away from Annie. The Razorbird began to chase him, getting lower and lower as it flew. Gale was forced to dodge another volley of feathers as he continued running. He aimed a spout of water above its head, forcing it to dip lower towards the ground. As it passed between two trees, Gale smiled in triumph. "Now!" he shouted and his three friends shot out from their hiding places. Leo twirled around and cut up its tail while Alejandra and Tom cut off its wings with powerful slashes. The Razorbird gave a cry of pain. As it fell, it looked up and saw Annie land on it and press her gun between its eyes. "Say goodnight you overgrown chicken." She pulled the trigger and a powerful shot pierced straight through its head.
Annie jumped away as the corpse hit the ground, kicking up dirt as it skidded to a stop. The party gathered together around it, dumbfoundedly staring. Finally they turned towards each other.
"We did it! We completed our exam!" Annie screamed excitedly.
They cheered and began high fiving each other. As they calmed down, Gale turned to grab a feather from its head. He placed the feather on the paper and it started to glow. When it stopped, the paper was left blank. Gale smiled proudly.
"It's over. Let's hurry up and get back. Maybe we can get a high grade."
They all nodded and began making their way through the forest. A couple hours later, they were still running, mindless chatter passing between them when Gale suddenly stopped with a frown on his face.
"Gale? Is something wrong?" Alejandra questioned.
"Do you guys hear something?" Gale asked.
They all tilted their heads and listened for a few moments before Annie spoke up.
"I don't hear anything."
"Exactly. It's way too quiet. No birds, no bugs, no animals, nothing. It's as if the forest just went dead."
They all went quiet again as they realized he was right. The background noise of the woods that they had gotten used to was gone. Suddenly, there came a sound they had never heard before. It was a high pitched shriek that turned into a wail. It echoed off of the trees and chilled them to their bones. They instinctively moved to protect each other's backs.
"What. In the hell. Was that?" Annie questioned, hands on her pistols.
"I don't know. And to be honest, I'm not sure I want to find out." Tom responded.
Gale stood holding his sword, eyes flicking across the treeline. That was when they heard another, more recognizable sound.
"Hey, that sounded like a person. Do you think it was from one of the other parties?" Leo asked.
Tom responded, "I'm pretty sure it came from the same direction of whatever that other sound was."
They all looked at each other uneasily.
"Do you think we should go and see if they need any help?" Gale asked.
"But the headmaster said that we can't do anything to the other parties." Leo objected.
"Actually, he said we can't attack or inhibit the other parties. Aiding them if they need it, technically is allowed." Alejandra corrected him.
They looked at each other for a few seconds before nodding. They took off running towards the scream and shriek. After a few minutes they began to hear the sounds of battle. They slowed down and stopped on the edge of a clearing. What they saw caused them to pale in horror.
In front of them laid an adult adventurer, a hole in his chest and eyes staring blankly at the sky. Across the clearing was another adventurer, knocked unconscious and head bleeding. To the right of him was a party of students. Two of them, both boys, lay in the shade, bleeding and bruised. A third boy held his arm as blood ran down his body, fear written on his face. Standing protectively in front of them, was a girl holding a staff and a boy holding a sword, their weapons trembling. However, that was not what had Gale and his friends frozen.
Stomping menacingly towards the other party was a black creature that towered over the students, its eyes glowed a fierce red. It had large, curved horns, like a ram. The large jaw was lined with jagged teeth; its thin, lanky arms ended in six fingered hands, armed with long claws. Its feet were a disgusting mix of hoof and human, and the toes had claws as well. The tail was almost as long as it was tall, dragging across the ground as it weaved. This was no monster, it was a creature far worse. A being not born of this world. One of many that brought humanity to the brink of extinction. A Demon.
Gale stared, frozen in fear, when he was suddenly jerked to the ground. Knocked to his senses, he saw Tom above him, the rest of their friends ducked behind some bushes.
"You ok, Gale?" Tom asked.
Gale got to his knees, "Yeah, sorry about that."
Alejandra nodded, "You should not worry. I believe that we all just did something similar."
Annie turned to her. "No kidding. Why is a Demon here? We are no more than four miles from the academy. The city of Amal is right there too. How could it have gotten this close?"
Leo put his hand under his chin, "I might have an idea. That Demon is a Goatman. They are incredibly strong and they are resistant to water, fire, and earth magic. They also have a high resilience. Some parties have reported stabbing them multiple times in the head, chest, and stomach before they went down. Because of this, they are classified as intermediate-level threat demons." He explained.
Tom nodded, "So it fought its way here."
A high pitched scream made them turn back to the scene to see the girl firing spell after spell at the demon with no effect. The sword wielding boy had already tried to attack and ultimately lost his sword. Gale looked on in horror.
"We have to do something."
"Are you crazy Gale?" Annie protested. "We can't fight that thing."
"But they'll die if we just wait." Alejandra argued.
"I don't want that to happen either, but Annie is right." Leo spoke up. "That thing took out two adult adventurers on its own. We are just students. How can we hope to fight that thing if they couldn't even slow it down?"
They sat in silence, looking downcast at the ground. Gale clenched his fists and raised his head, his eyes glittering with determination. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we don't stand a chance against that thing, but isn't that something our kind have been dealing with already?"
The party looked at Gale as he continued. "Mankind has been fighting a battle against creatures that are far bigger, faster, and stronger than they could ever hope to be. But they still found a way. They overcame the odds and won. They fought to protect this world and all of its people. Isn't that what we want to become? Isn't that what we are training for? We will always be fighting an uphill battle. And if we abandon our fellow humans when they need us the most, how can we ever call ourselves mankind's saviors? How can we ever hope to be adventurers?"
His speech ended in silence, shadows overcasting the faces of his friends. Gale looked at them, breathing heavily when he heard a quiet giggle escape from Annie.
"Can't argue with that. Alright, I'm onboard. Let's take this thing down."
Leo smiled, "You're right. If we run now, we can never truly be adventurers."
Alejandra nodded, her brows furrowed and a determined smile on her face. Gale's body moved as he was roughly patted on the back. He looked over at a proud Tom. "Well valiant leader, any ideas?"
Gale looked around at his friends before a cocky smile formed on his face.
"Just one. But it's quite stupid and reckless. Might even be a little bit crazy."
His smirk was quickly shared by his friends.
"You had me at stupid." Annie said.
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The two standing students had finally been pushed back to the rest of their party. As the demon raised its arm to deal the final blow, Tom jumped in between and slammed the edge of his shield down. A large, blue barrier burst from his body, surrounding him and the other students. The barrier repelled the demon's hand and it shrieked in surprise. It didn't have time to recover as a hail of bullets began to slam into it. Annie charged out of the brush unloading into the demon in front of her. The demon screamed as it held its hands out protectively. Unable to withstand the assault, it began to retreat. Suddenly, Leo struck from behind, cuts and slashes seemed to appear all over its body as Leo struck again and again.
Annie had to reload, giving the Goatman a reprieve. It tried to slash at Leo as Alejandra jumped in front of him, her arms glowing white and crossed in front of her. Its claws collided with her and it jumped back, shrieking with pain as smoke sizzled from its claws. Alejandra raised her hand and four spikes of light appeared above her before she sent them flying at the demon. The spikes pierced its arms and legs as it howled and fell to its knees.
The conscious fallen students watched this as a warm glow appeared around them. They turned to see Gale beside them, his hands glowing yellow. The blood and wounds began to disappear, as if they were never there. "I've got it from here, go help the others!" Gale shouted at Tom. Tom nodded and charged forward, yelling as his shield began to glow blue again. He slammed into the fallen demon, sending it flying. It shrieked as it hit the ground hard. However, it started to get back on its feet again.
"Does this thing ever go down?!" Annie exclaimed.
"This thing wouldn't be an intermediate-level threat if it was easy to take down Annie." Leo reminded her.
She rolled her eyes, "Thank you, captain obvious." She replied as she ejected the bullet shells and continued her onslaught. This time, the Goatman had gotten used to the gunfire and began to slowly approach her. However Tom was ready. His sword glowed blue as he slashed twice in the form of a cross. Two blue lines appeared on its body, meeting in the center of its chest. The attack was powerful enough to bring it back to its knees.
It looked up and saw Alejandra leap above it, light exploding from her sword as she swung it down. Alejandra managed to get its horn, but the demon dodged the rest. It swung his other horn at her, catching Alejandra in the ribs and knocking her away. The demon tried to go back on the attack as Leo hit its legs, causing it to stumble. It turned to kick at him but he quickly dodged.
Another barrage of bullets slammed into the Goatman. It turned and stomped its foot hard enough to crack the ground in a line towards Annie, who barely got out of the way. Tom quickly charged in with his shield to disorient the Demon, but it swung its arm out, knocking him away. The demon turned to make its way toward Tom when two powerful blasts of lightning brought it down. It turned around to see Gale, smirking. Having finished healing the fallen students and surviving adventurer, he was ready to join his friends on the attack. The Demon got back up and charged at Gale, who jumped up into the air as it slammed its fists where he had been standing. Gale swiped his left arm outward, sending multiple wind slashes at the demon, cutting off its claws.
Gale landed and shot forward, slashing his glowing sword twice under its ribs. He stepped away and snapped his fingers. Two explosions went off where he had sliced and the demon screamed in pain. Gale turned to Leo and cast an enhancement spell on him. Leo's swords landed harder than before, nearly slashing off the Goatman's jaw. However, Leo got too close, and the Goatman headbutted him. Annie immediately began firing upon it to support Leo, she was joined by Gale who was sending multiple ice blasts at the demon.
The Goatman was hit again from behind by Alejandra, who quickly whirled to its front and slammed her sword again and again into its stomach. The demon responded by kicking her away. Leo was joined by Tom as they both went on the attack. A white slash of light followed them, slicing off the demon's other horn as Leo and Tom landed their attacks.
The Demon tried to recover, but Gale hit it with a whirling tornado that sliced open the ground as it slammed into the demon. The Goatman tried to resist, but it was unable to as it was sent airborne by the wind. Gale pointed his hand up and called down a massive lightning strike upon it, sending it careening into the ground. The demon lay in a crater. Twitching, but still alive.
"Unbelievable. We hit it over and over again, and it still won't die." Tom panted.
Gale looked around at his friends. Annie dropped a bullet as she tried to reload. Tom leaned on his knees, sword by his side. Leo's swords were drooping as he tried to hold them. Alejandra was leaning on her sword like a cane. 'We can't keep going like this. We'll lose. We need to end this soon, or everyone will die.' He continued thinking, searching for an answer before he turned to his friends again.
The Goatman was finally back on its feet and a glowing shield slammed into its face, knocking it up and out of the crater. It struggled back up when the earth began to rumble and move around it. Boulders and dirt raised up and wrapped around both of its arms. Gale holding his hands out, struggling to keep it still. "Let's finish this!" Tom and Alejandra sprinted towards it, their swords glowing blue and white as they sank deep into the Goatman's stomach. As it roared in pain, Leo jumped up behind it and stabbed his swords into its shoulders, the three of them helping Gale hold it down. "Now Annie!"
Annie was standing next to Gale. She had holstered one of her pistols and held the other one with both of her hands. The barrel glowed red as she poured all of her remaining mana into this shot. A high pitched whine grew from her gun as she prepared to fire. But the demon was not done. It bent its head back and let out the loudest, most ear piercing screech the students had ever heard.
The three students close to it were sent flying and Gale and Annie dropped their weapons and covered their ears in pain. As they tried to recover, the Goatman began its attack. It grabbed Alejandra and flung her at Annie, knocking them both to the ground. It turned and swung its arm at Leo. Tom jumped in front of it and tried to block, but he was too late. Its arm slammed into the both of them at full force. Tom spat out blood as the two of them rocketed into a tree and slumped over. The Goatman walked towards them, intending to finish them off.
Gale looked around in horror. 'It didn't work.' He thought as he fell to his hands and knees. 'I failed. I got them killed. This is all my fault. I really am worthless.' Tears poured from his eyes. His heartbeat began to pound in his ears as faint shadows began to squirm from his body. 'No, I can't let it end here.' The shadows grew thicker. His heartbeat grew louder and faster, the sound pounding his head. 'I can't let them die! I can't let them DIE!'
The shadows burst around him as pain exploded in his head. He grabbed his skull as he writhed on the ground. The darkness swirled around him, ripping apart the ground and whipping up the wind. It ended up grabbing the attention of the demon and Alejandra. She struggled to get up and looked at the swirling storm of shadows. 'Gale…' She thought worriedly as she stumbled towards him.
Gale was still twisting and turning on the ground, his head throbbing with pain. Anger, fear, and sorrow twisted and squirmed inside him like the storm around. Incoherent whispers taunted him, only a few of the words coming through.
Worthless…
Evil…
Alone…
Abandoned…
Die…
The whispers continued on and on as the pain grew worse, it was about to explode when a light burst through the shadows. A pair of arms draped around him, warm and kind. He opened his eyes and saw Alejandra in front of him, smiling warmly. His eyes widened as he gasped softly, before they hardened in will.
'That's right.' He thought as the pain softened and the storm of shadows slowly dissipated. 'I'm no longer alone.' The whispers began to die as he held out his hand towards the Goatman. 'I have friends.' The shadows pooled into his hand twisting and taking a new shape. 'People who I can depend on. People who can depend on me.' The shadows stretched out and took the form of a dark bow. 'They have protected me.' He drew the dark string back and a glowing, black arrow appeared on the bow, aimed right at the demon's chest. He closed his eyes as the black glow grew brighter. 'Now…' It continued to grow until it was almost blinding. His eyes snapped open.
'I MUST PROTECT THEM!'
He let out a yell as he released the arrow. It transformed into a black beam as it split the earth with a mighty roar. The Goatman had no chance to react as the arrow pierced through its heart and ripped through the trees behind it. The forest went quiet as they all stood there, the demon twitched for a few seconds before the red light in its eyes finally died. Its body began to disintegrate into black particles that drifted away into the wind before disappearing completely.
Gale panted as he leaned against Alejandra, his head still pounding. Leo and Tom finally came to and struggled back to their feet. Annie also limped forward, coughing as she tried to walk.
"Did… Did we… win?" Gale finally managed to get out.
Alejandra smiled softly, "Yes, we won."
Gale smiled before it turned to a frown. "And the…"
"They're all ok. You did it. You protected everyone." She praised him.
Gale sighed in relief. "Thank the… Goddess." He said before he finally drifted into unconsciousness.
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A bright light pierced the darkness in Gale's gaze, slowly getting brighter. Soon, shapes and color followed. As everything became clearer, he realized he was laying down in a bed. His entire body ached as he tried to sit up and he groaned with the effort. Gale looked around and realized he was in the doctor's office at the Amul Adventurer Academy.
"Oh, you're awake now. Good."
He turned at the voice and saw a man in a white coat, wearing a stethoscope and a comforting smile.
"What happened?" Gale asked.
"Headmaster Frode found you and your friends in the forest and helped you all get back to the academy." The doctor responded.
"How long have I been out?"
"Just a day."
"And my friends?"
"They're safe. You were the one most heavily injured. In fact, they are waiting outside right now." The doctor told him.
"Can I see them?"
"Sure, just let me give you a final checkup."
Once the doctor gave him the all clear, he directed Gale towards his belongings. He got dressed, and made his way out of the office to see his friends sitting on a bench just outside. As soon as they saw him, they jumped and ran over.
"Gale! You're awake! Did the doctor give you the all clear?" Tom asked as soon as he arrived.
Gale nodded with a smile. "Yep, not dead yet."
Alejandra sighed with relief. "That is good. I was quite worried when you passed out."
Gale rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Anyway, what happened after I passed out?"
This time, Annie answered. "About a minute later, Headmaster Frode showed up. He was backed by Eric and some other adventurers, all ready to fight. He realized what had happened pretty quickly though. Hehe, you should have seen the other adventurers' faces when they realized a couple of kids had killed an intermediate-level threat demon." She smiled, smugly.
Leo picked up after her. "Headmaster Frode had the others grab the unconscious students and adventurer, they were healed up pretty quickly and they escorted all of us out of the woods."
Gale nodded before he winced. "And… the other one?"
Leo's face fell. "He didn't make it."
The group fell into an uneasy silence, the body of the fallen adventurer burned into their memory. A reminder of the harsh life they were choosing to live.
Gale took a deep breath and looked up. "We won't let that happen to each other. As long as we fight together, we won't lose. Alright?"
His friends looked at him before smiling and nodding.
"On that note, have the exam results been released?"
Tom shook his head. "Nope, we are having an assembly today for that. You woke up just in time."
Gale sighed in relief. "When is it?"
"In a few minutes."
They stood there for a few seconds before taking off running towards the assembly hall. When they got there, the room was packed with students as they all tried to find places to sit. Gale and his friends found seats toward the back of the hall and waited for the assembly to start. They didn't have to wait long as Headmaster Frode tapped his microphone, signaling the students to quiet down and pay attention.
"Welcome students, we have gathered you here today to reveal the results for the faux adventurer exam. However, I have something to say before we begin."
To the students' surprise, the headmaster bowed his head toward them.
"You all might have heard by now, but during the exam a demon managed to break into the exam grounds. This exam was meant to test you on your knowledge and skills in a controlled environment. But due to our failure, you were exposed to very real danger, and some of you were nearly killed. For that, you have my sincere apologies."
The students were completely silent as they stared at him. Headmaster Frode raised his head and continued.
"Adventurers will always face danger. That is the type of life we live. That is why academies like this one exist. To prepare you for this life, slowly, not throw you in front of the enemy like what happened. You are only students, after all."
There was still silence. The headmaster smiled as he spoke once more.
"Thank you, now let us begin. Before we show you your results, we will announce the top three parties."
The students murmured in excitement, eager to find out the top three teams.
"In third place, is party No. 56"
Applause echoed throughout the hall as a team of three girls and two boys walked up. They stood on the stage as a teacher handed each of them a card, congratulating them.
"These students practiced exemplary teamwork and understanding of how adventurers work. They were efficient and quick. As such, they will be given the rank of E."
The students clapped again as the party walked back to their seats.
"In second place, is party no. 29"
More applause. There were also some confused whispers as the girl and boys walked up the stage.
Gale turned to Tom, who had furrowed his brows.
"What's going on?"
"Well, they were one of the best parties during the exam. In fact, I heard they were the first party to arrive."
Now Gale was confused as well. 'Wait, if they had finished all their quests and made it back before anyone else, why did they not get first? Who beat them?'
The party was given their provisional licenses and the rank of D before they made their way back down.
"Now, our first place party is, party No. 43."
Gale felt his jaw drop as he heard his party called. He looked at his friends to see that they were as shocked as he was. The applause was mixed with surprised exclamations as they stood up and made their way to the stage. As the applause quieted down, headmaster Frode turned to address the students.
"These adventurers completed their quests efficiently and with flawless teamwork. However, they were late to make it to the end which did cost them points. But the reason they were late, is because they chose to protect one of their fellow parties. While you were forbidden from harming the other students, you were allowed to aid them when they needed it. When these adventurers found another party on the verge of death, they risked their lives, and their score to aid them. They fought brilliantly in the face of impossible odds and managed to triumph. They understand what it truly means to be an adventurer. Which is why they have been given their provisional licenses, and immediately promoted to C rank."
Gale and his friends started. But the thunderous applause prevented them from saying anything as they were handed their licenses. As Gale stared at the small card that had his picture on it, he couldn't help but swell with pride. In that moment, as his thoughts were filled with the sounds of cheering and clapping, he felt like he could take on the world.