"Well, Arthur Ember, what course would you like to choose? You could opt for the Warlock course. I can already tell you've got a potent mana core just by standing in the same room with you.
If you do end up choosing the Warlock course, you will take an evaluation to determine the level of your aptitude for magic. If it is potent enough, it can get you into the Warlock course.
If it isn't then and you still don't want to end up a Civilian, then you can try out for the Hunter course. I must say, though… Not many that aspire to become Warlocks make the cut for the Hunter Course."
Arthur wanted to lash out at this old man for crashing his brain with so much information all at once. However, upon thinking about it, he realised there was no simple way around it.
The Sorting pretty much determined how the three years at Barthlorn would go and from what Arthur could already tell, the six courses the man had mentioned were severely different.
Whichever course he ended up in would essentially drive his role and capabilities in the school. The choice wasn't so hard for him, considering he'd already known what he wanted to be before coming to Barthlorn.
But he hadn't known that the options were this wide and varied either. His mind couldn't grasp what the Hunter course entailed… and yet there were five other courses he knew almost nothing about.
He did know, however, that Darius was planning on joining the Warlock course, so that was something.
Arthur analysed the information he was given even though he knew what he would pick in the end. As a phoenix, the one race that was believed to be extinct, he could only masquerade as a human.
This gave him only four options: Hunter, Specialist, Warlock and Civilian.
Since Arthur had no mesmerizing skills worth mentioning in the fields of interest for the Specialists, there was no way he could make that list of First Years.
Specialists were usually geniuses that could pretty much do things no one else could. Arthur had never met one in person before but only heard rumours…
Rumours of humans that could accomplish feats that were deemed inhuman… whether these feats were physical… or completely mental.
The prince didn't want to be a Civilian and while a magic-wielding phoenix sounded pretty awesome to him, the prince had already made a choice to become a hunter.
Being a hunter came with a lot of perks that he wanted to exploit. From the little he'd heard from Darius, Warlocks had a lot of books to read and plenty of information to cram into their heads if they were going to be half-decent on the battlefield.
Hunters, on the other hand… did everything the prince was already good at. Fighting the Dark Supernatural forces with weapons that were provided to them.
Arthur was practically drooling at the possibilities.
'I have to get through the Sorting first. Now that I think of it, he's been making it sound like becoming a Hunter is not as simple as choosing to be one.'
"What did you mean when you said not everyone could become a hunter?" Arthur asked.
"Ah, you caught on! Very well, I'll shed some light on the matter. Normally, everyone comes here knowing what they want to be and they don't ask so many questions before going in for their evaluation," the man narrowed his gaze at the prince.
"I'm not changing my mind if that's what you're trying to get me to do. I'm just curious," Arthur shrugged.
"Curious, huh? Not a bad start," the man sighed.
'Why does it feel like this old geezer is trying to get into my head?'
The white-bearded man continued, "Becoming a hunter is not something everyone can do. Sometimes, you're just not cut out for it.
Humans might have similar abilities and capabilities but there is something else that determines just how strong they really are.
And that's their will.
If someone's will is unstable and weak, then you'll expect that, even with the best skills within the Walls, they will still freak out at the sight of a Drakon… or even something as simple as a Wendigo."
Arthur chuckled at the man's words.
"What do you find amusing?"
"You just called a Wendigo simple. You must be really powerful," the prince replied, stifling his laughter.
The old man smiled, seemingly amused. While he did indeed view Wendigos as weak, he couldn't help but realise Arthur wasn't too frightened by the thought of them, 'Interesting…'
"Have you made your choice, Ember?"
"Yes, I have. I would like to be a Hunter."
"Very well, follow me," the old man stood up and turned, facing the white wall behind him with his hands behind his back. Arthur quickly took note of the silver ring his thumb rubbed unconsciously.
His azure robes fell to the ground covering his legs completely and making it look like he was floating above the ground.
Timing his steps was next to impossible. There was no bounce to his walk and no pause between his steps. 'Curious… Is that part of his training too or is he simply a walking ghost?'
The white wall creaked, a hissing sound coming from cracks in the wall that the prince hadn't noticed. Arthur watched as the wall parted revealing another white chamber.
The only difference was that this one was filled with much more than a mere white table and chairs.
All around them were long tables with weapons set on their surface.
Blades of different kinds and lengths. There were maces, nunchucks, shields, hunting knives, swords, bows and different kinds of arrows and so much more that the prince couldn't wrap his head around.
From mundane weapons to magical ones embedded with several enchantments upon enchantments. Runes ran down the shafts of the magical weapons, the magic pulsing a tantalizing rhythm that could draw anyone in.
This room was filled with any weapon his imagination could cook up, "As you can see, there is a large selection of weapons for you to choose from. But before we get to that, I would like to add a little detail to something about the Hunters you want to join."
"What's that?"
"Hunters fight as a unit. It's rare to find them fighting on their own regardless of how powerful they are. There is strength in numbers and this is why everyone gets to be placed in a squad. To know how to work as a single unit.
Beyond the Wall, your allies can be the difference between life and death.
In that regard, Hunters like to know the abilities of the people they are working with to better distribute their roles."
Arthur nodded, making a bit of sense out of the words the man was saying. Of course, there was a system the hunters used. How could there not be?
Even the phoenixes had some semblance of teamwork when out hunting Dark Creatures. Arthur already knew what it was like to be a part of a hunting unit.
Still, there was a lot behind what the man was saying. What sort of roles was he supposed to be thinking of?
"I don't think I quite follow," the prince replied, half occupied with scanning through the vast room of weapons.
Something was not right about them after taking a closer look. Something nagged at the back of Arthur's mind, telling him to take a closer look at the weapons. There was a depth to them that he hadn't managed to quite grasp yet.
Something that made him want to choose his weapon much more meticulously than he normally did back at the Phoenix castle.
"Then listen good and listen well… In battle, you can't do everything. We choose to teach students to perfect their strengths and further increase their chances of survival and efficiency in battle.
Outside the Wall, there is no telling what could happen or what you might encounter while you're out there.
It's extremely crucial that you know what your abilities are. That said, the hunters are divided into two categories: Warriors and Guardians.
Guardians defend. They defend life within the Wall as well as conquered territories outside the Walls.
Warriors, on the other hand, venture beyond the Wall and out of the Light Pact Alliance's field of influence.
As you can tell, there is not much to the division of Guardian's roles. Warriors, on the other hand, divide these abilities and sort everyone into four main classes with a few variations:
Scouts, Archers or Long-range Warriors, Vanguard and Leaders."
Arthur rubbed his head, feeling a light thumping headache forming within his mind. Most of what he was hearing didn't make sense to him at all.
Perhaps he could learn what all that meant here at Barthlorn. Arthur clearly had a long way to learn before calling himself a hunter. The prince's mind, surprisingly, was catching up to some of the concepts.
From what he could tell, Archers were long-range attackers, Scouts were information gatherers, Vanguard were frontline close combat warriors while Leaders coordinated the whole unit.
Seeing everything this way allowed him to make some form of sense out of it all. It also excited him a lot.
"Oh… I think I get it now. I… I didn't think the course would be this detailed. Although now that you've said it, I guess it makes sense to think of battle that way.
But then, shouldn't there be people who carry the weapons and supplies, do the cooking and others that help with healing the wounded?" Arthur's mind was reeling with numerous possibilities of how a well-balanced squad was meant to be.
There were so many things he could think of right off the bat and yet the more he delved into these concepts, the more he realised there was a lot more to them than meets the eye.
He was simply too green to grasp the full concept of a well-balanced unit of hunters… and yet, he wanted to devour all that knowledge and grow stronger.
'I was right to come to Barthlorn,' his thoughts thundered.
The prince continued, his tongue unleashing his own analysis of the new information, "A scout goes off on their own to gather information about the surroundings and the enemy.
They would have to be really nimble on their feet, a master of stealth and a really skilled fighter just in case they got themselves in a difficult situation. After all, they don't really have someone to look out for them.
On the other hand, someone in the Vanguard would have to be really strong and reliable so that the other members that can't really fight well in close combat are well protected. While at the same time, the archer must do their best to keep the…"
"I love your enthusiasm and you'll have all the time to get into it and digest the possibilities. However, now is not that time. I can tell you have a natural feel for this.
Have you decided which role you wish to take? A 'Leader' perhaps?" the old man asked. The man's words struck a chord in Arthur's brain.
'…A leader?'