A few days passed; Julie began to gather the twenty-three adventurers to meet Eckhart, Carlo, and me at the training field we established. Hesitant about this working, Julie instructed the six parties to line up.
"Here are the parties you requested. They aren't the most experienced, so please don't be too hard on them." Julie looked at Eckhart and me desperately.
"If the Village and Guild depend on them when the Phantom Blades are unavailable, it would prevent future incidents like last year's Goblin raid. We must test their abilities and push them to see how they adapt." I spoke clearly to her and with a solid posture.
"They are still young!" She interjects.
"Please, Julie, let us do what we can for them. It will be up to them if they push that far." I say calmly.
"I better not have their blood on your hands; make sure you care for them."
"Of course."
Julie nods and softly turns away. She gives them one good look, and they all smile positively at her before she returns to the Guild. Eckhart turns to me, and I nod to approve the plans going forward.
"We have one month to prepare you adventurers for bronze-rank guild hunts and quests. This means you must be strong enough to handle goblins, wolves, and small-time bandits with little trouble. But we expect you to reach sliver rank, be able to take on orcs, dire beats, and survive unknown and unsafe lands." He speaks with might and confidence.
"Umm... Sir? Why do we have to aim for sliver? Wouldn't we be able to reach bronze, and that will be enough?" One of the guild members raised their hand, a younger lad with brown hair. His human eyes stare at Eckhart as he asks the question.
"If you only aim for bronze, most of you will die before spring." A cold silence sweeps across the parties. Eckhart was stone-cold in his demeanor and bravado. "If you aim for silver, your chances of surviving your encounters on bronze-rank quests or hunts will increase dramatically. It also ensures that if anything happens that wasn't intended for the quest you had taken, it will allow you to judge if the situation is worth continuing. You may never know a random encounter on a quest will cause you to fight with creatures much stronger, much larger, and much smarter than you. Find yourself lost or trapped and alone for days or even weeks. That is why we must train you hard and make your goals harder. Now for introductions. I am Commander Eckhart Flynn. I will be addressed as Sir Eckhart." He shifts his head toward Carlo for his introduction.
"Oh? Is it my turn to speak? Great! Ahem! Welcome to our humble training field. I am the loyal disciple of Commander Eckhart. I am looking forward to seeing what fun we can have!" Short and explosive, Carlo made his presence known. Carlo turns to me and gives a thumbs up, clearly not caring how stupid he looks.
"Some of you may know me and my visits to the Guild Hall. I am a close friend of Julie so that you can trust me with her judgment. I am capable at my age. I am the standing Lord overlooking Saiana, Caleb Aris. You can just call me Caleb or Sir. I want to see what you guys have."
With the introductions out of the way, a mixed reaction of confused and serious faces fills the void. They all look between Carlo and me; some don't recognize me from a few nights before. One party seems to whisper to themselves, no doubt talking about my public bout with the Phantom Blades. Soon, a few concerned voices were raised to our attention.
"Are you sure these two can do a good enough job as you, Sir Eckhart?" A young half-elf woman speaks. Her short, curly, dark blue hair sways with the wind. She must be no older than thirty.
"I have been training them for more than a year now. I have my own expectations of their efforts, but I am not worried about their value. Before anyone asks another redundant question about this, we must split your six parties into three groups." With a firm hand, Eckhart directs the parties into groups based on numbers.
Eckhart gained the two parties of four, giving him a group of eight. Carlo was given the only party of five and a group of three for another total of eight members. I was left over with the last party of three and four, which grouped for the seven. Nodding to my fellow teachers, we split from the field to our own area; the parties were clearly at odds due to not knowing each other, which was already creating a split in relations.
They clearly felt like they were given the short end of the stick for having an eleven-year-old be their mentor. I turned and spoke with a formal tone.
"I understand your reservations about me, but I intend to make you the best you can be under my guidance."
"We shouldn't have to listen to you; I am sure most of us can take on bronze rank right away! I've been telling my party: we can take on a whole group of goblins!" A young, sturdy boy, close to his twenties, filled with false confidence, was more than reason for my temper.
"It seems we have a young fighter who thinks a group of goblins can just be hacked away without much care. Answer this: if you are faced with a group of goblins, and they have an ogre or a spellcaster in their group, what is the best way to deal with either?"
"Well, ogres are dumb and slow; despite their size, you can flank them without much trouble! And a goblin spellcaster is barely a magic user; they will throw their little flashy sparks. They won't last long as long as I have my axe!" He stupidly pulls his weapon and swings it wildly, clearly having no concern for others. His party members and the other group quickly backed away, shouting their disapproval and distaste.
"True, it can be looked at that an ogre is big and slow. Not to mention that a goblin spellcaster is limited in their abilities. However, you fail to realize that these ogres and spellcasters aren't alone. They have their own disposable fodder. Unlike us, compassionate and intellectual creatures who care about our party members, goblins, especially ogres, give no care or kindness toward them. If a goblin slows you down, engages in combat, or holds onto you to stop your tracks, it will not make you immune to being smashed into pieces by the club or fist of an ogre; no, they will be more inclined to take you both out gleefully. A spellcaster goblin will find it an opportunity to cast a spell that will cause your body to burn viciously; your eyes can be blown out, your body sickly from a curse, just enough to weaken you for another spell or a goblin dagger in your chest to finish you off. They will outnumber you; they will use their disgraceful tactics to make sure you perish. And you clearly don't know that a single ogre is considered a silver-rank threat. A goblin spellcaster can become a goblin priest or warlock that can use necromancy to continuously summon the dead or conjure creatures from beyond much stronger than an ogre, ranking in steel or even gold rank. Now do you understand why being a cocky little brat will not only give you a horrible death but cost the lives of your friends or loved ones?"