Darius's words put everything into perspective. They didn't reject it… partly because deep down, they felt something wasn't right with this place.
The beasts they fought burst into runes and ash instead of simply dying. There was the matter of them not going hungry.
Arthur could remember Sullivan's gang of bullies trying to get him knocked out in the very beginning. Had it been because they knew this was all a simulation… and that none of it was real.
At first, Arthur had thought it was a simulation as well but when it didn't seem to come to an end, he got the sinking feeling that perhaps they needed to go somewhere.
Darius, however, had a completely different theory.
"Not real, huh! So it's just some sort of test. I wonder how long it will take for it all to end. Do we have to die for it to end?
Or do we have to keep moving till we find something they expect us to be looking for?" Arthur's thoughts started spilling out loudly.
"Oh my! I never pegged you for the critical thinker," Darius narrowed his eyes at the prince.
"Normally, I wouldn't bother. But ever since I was told about the different roles played by the Hunters, I've been forced to think more about everything," Arthur replied.
"Oh? What role did you pick then?" Leo perked up, "I chose Vanguard because they are strong and dependable. The last line of defence.
They protect the scouts when they return from their missions and make sure the healers and non-combatants remain safe."
"Healers? Non-combatants? So… Specialists?" Leo nodded enthusiastically, "I knew there was something missing from that man's explanation.
So hunters can only play four roles because that's the skill set they are best able to provide," Arthur continued rambling.
"He sounds like fun… Does he always dodge questions?" Leo turned to Darius.
"No, not usually. He can be a bit weird sometimes but this is a new one," Darius shrugged.
"Right… a role. I didn't pick one. I didn't have much time to think about it and I've never really trained myself to handle one position in a unit," Arthur replied.
After a short silence, Momo spoke up, "Trained? If not for a role, then what kind of training have you been doing all this time?"
"I've become quite good with the lance. But that's all I guess," Arthur leaned back against the thick tree at his back.
The prince's headache had eased up a little bit but still lingered at the back of his mind.
"You're really good with that. Does it have a double enchantment?" Leo asked, pulling the lance to himself to observe the runes.
"No, it has a single one and I'm glad that's all it can do," Darius angrily intervened.
"Why is that?"
"Handling a RuneTech weapon is draining. The magic of the runes is supplied by your own mana. And hunters don't have as much of a mana capacity as Warlocks. The less mana you have, the weaker you get.
Fighting with it gives you an advantage since you overcome some human limitation but the trade-off is that you'll get drained of your energy much faster and you have to eliminate your foes quickly before you run out of gas," Darius explained.
"Oh… that makes sense," Arthur nodded slowly, his mind stirring up a frenzy of more theories… a particular memory popping into his mind.
Before he'd passed out, he'd been ready for the demon bear. So ready. He felt as though what little energy he had left would be enough to make one final attack, but then that too had vanished…
His energy had vanished completely when he gripped his spear tightly and readied himself, activating the enchantment.
'So that's why I passed out.'
"Get some rest, everyone. I'll take the first watch. Leo, you'll take the second. We need to let these two rest and recover in whatever way they can," Darius got up and picked a burning twig from the fire.
The tall boy then walked up to Arthur and started drawing runes into the ground with the charred end of the stick, "I don't really know any major healing spells but I do know something that my grandfather taught me once.
Once the magic circle is complete, it will activate and speed up your healing process.
The only downside is that it will get its magic from the person it's working on.
It's not as effective as the spells professional healers use, so you have to get your sleep so your body can recover the mana you lose while still keeping this cycle running.
It's not much but it's something," Darius explained as he continued to draw an intricate pattern of runes on the ground around his friend.
When he was done, he threw the stick back into the fire and picked another one with which he used to scribble the same spell on the ground around Momo.
"Thank you, Darius," Momo beamed, "Now, I might just be able to help out more."
"It's no problem," Darius replied.
.........…
When Arthur arose in the morning, his chest didn't hurt as much anymore. The camp was quiet and the ashes of the campfire were still red with heat.
Leo was standing at the edge of their camp swaying lightly with sleep in his eyes and his chin rested on the pommel of his sword.
'I wonder where my bag is,' Arthur shuddered, suddenly feeling insecure that he might have lost a very, very precious ancient tome.
'I realised I didn't have it about the time I entered that white room. Could it have been taken to a different place when I was transported by that Teleportation circle at the landing pad?' he thought to himself.
"Hey, Darius. Did you happen to lose the stuff you were carrying when you got teleported?" Arthur's slightly panicked voice tore through the calm silence of the early morning.
"Good morning to you, too. And yes, my stuff vanished. But that's a part of their magic too I guess. I wouldn't worry about it too much," Darius groaned, turning away from the prince.
Arthur wondered how long it was since they had saved him. He'd come to the Sorting in the morning… and yet it seemed a day had gone by.
'Conrad is going to kill me…' the prince inwardly groaned. His thoughts, however, were stopped abruptly by a sound.
A very loud screeching roar, unlike anything he'd ever heard before, shook the very ground on which he sat and sent torrents of fear through his entire being.
Arthur wasn't one to scare easily which was saying something. If there was anything he could be afraid of, it would be the Red Dragons.
The stories he'd heard growing up were enough to scare a little phoenix for several nights before they got any sleep. This same kind of fear made him impervious to several others…
That along with the fact that he'd faced dark beasts before.
The trees swayed under the might of the roar and the birds took to the sky to escape the wrath of the source of this bloodcurdling screech.
"What the hell was…"
"It's the behemoth from earlier. I think it woke up," Momo snapped awake, updating the prince immediately.
'So that's what they were talking about before I woke up yesterday,' she stretched out her hand and her bow came magically sailing into her palm.
Slowly, she stood up and tested her foot. Her pained grimace told the prince all he needed to know. Leo was on his feet as well, Darius following groggily behind.
"Running again. How long are we going to run from this thing?"
"When did you guys meet this monster?" Arthur asked.
"We met... that thing when we were rescuing you from that demon bear. A Fire Behemoth about half the size of a fully grown red dragon and is among the really dangerous beasts.
Not to mention that this one is a Fire Elemental Beast as well.
Even a whole squad of Third years would have trouble taking one down. I suggest we get away from here," Darius summarised.
"How did you escape this beast yesterday?" Arthur asked.
"We ran, duh!" Leo scoffed.
"I was unconscious…"
"And surprisingly light. Any more questions?" Darius asked, "Before we get gruesomely eaten."
As soon as Darius had said that, the ground trembled in waves… then again… and again…
'Footsteps!'
Arthur stood up and approached Momo, "Just one more. Can you run, Momo?"
The girl nodded in confirmation.
However, Arthur was not easily fooled.
"Would you mind if I carried you?"
"I said I can run," the girl argued.
"We don't have time to be brave right now. We just need to survive," Arthur raised his voice, "And there is nothing wrong with accepting help."
Bottling her pride, the girl allowed Arthur to carry her on his back.
"Darius, can you carry my lance for me?" Arthur asked.
The tall boy picked up the flame lance in his free hand. The other hand held a lance as well.
Unlike Arthur's lance, Darius had chosen one with a Speed Enchantment instead of Flames.
Turning his attention to the direction they'd heard the roar coming from, Arthur turned in the opposite direction and started a light jog, quickly followed by the other two males.
"Sure you can handle her. You're not in the best shape, you know," Leo asked, jogging up to Arthur's side.
Arthur chuckled, "Just try to keep up… and don't get killed."
Leo ground his teeth in frustration but didn't say another word. His eyes told a different story. Arthur could almost hear them say, 'We'll just see who can't catch up.'