Hob woke up first this time to the sound of someone knocking on the door. He tried to get up to see who was knocking on their room but was unable to due to Friz sleeping soundly on his arm. Hob gently pulled his arm out from beneath her head and went to check who was outside the room.
When Hob opened the door, a woman in staff clothes stood outside, smiling professionally.
"Mr. Hob, Master Dell told me to remind you to be downstairs before 9. It's 8:30 now, so you should get ready and come down as soon as possible. Now that I've delivered the message, I'll be taking my leave." The woman said and, without waiting for a reply, turned around and left, her professional smile never leaving her face.
"Oh crap, I almost forgot that something important is going to happen outside the accommodation building. We almost missed it," Hob facepalmed and thought to himself.
"Let's wear some good clothes since it's something important," Friz said, rubbing her eyes as she got up from the bed.
"Oh, you're awake already. I thought I'd have to wake you up myself," Hob said, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, someone took my pillow away, so my sleep was disrupted," Friz said, pouting at Hob.
"I'm really sorry, but I had to open the door. Otherwise, that pillow would've stayed where it was," Hob said, defending himself.
"Alright, let's get ready then, but we won't wear anything too fancy—not that we have it anyway—so let's wear some more decent clothes," Friz said, thinking about what to wear.
"Yep, let's wear some clean and presentable clothes," Hob agreed.
Hob began to change his clothes in the room while Friz went to the bathroom to change hers.
After around 10 minutes, Hob was done changing. He wore a clean, sturdy white shirt made from durable fabric. Though it was a little worn, it was well-maintained. For the bottom, he wore durable trousers that allowed for easy movement, paired with a functional belt to carry small tools or weapons. For footwear, he wore clean but rugged shoes, and he folded a scarf into a makeshift cap.
"Friz, are you done? We have to go in around 15 minutes, or are you having trouble with your clothes and need my help?" Hob teased.
"No need, just give me a few minutes. I'll be out in a bit," Friz said, not reacting to Hob's teasing.
"Alright, if you don't need my hands, I won't force it. Let me know when you're done," Hob said and sat down on the bed, waiting for her to come out.
After around 5 minutes, Friz walked out of the bathroom, and Hob looked at her in admiration.
"Wow," they both said simultaneously, then coughed at the same time.
"Y-You look really good, especially with that scarf as a cap. It's really cool," Friz said, looking away.
"You too, today you look really beautiful," Hob said, averting his gaze from lingering on her top for too long.
"Is she kidding, wearing a half-sleeve T-shirt and that skirt with those nice-looking leggings? Is she trying to slay people with her looks? She didn't even bother to tie up her hair—they look so good right now," Hob thought to himself, trying to control himself.
"He looks so cute even though he's trying to look tough," Friz thought, feeling excited.
After a few moments, Friz and Hob managed to calm down and looked at each other again. They nodded and were about to leave the room when Hob stopped Friz.
"Wait a minute, I almost forgot this," Hob said, taking out a necklace from his pocket and handing it to Friz.
"This is... don't tell me you're proposing to me right now," Friz said, eyes wide.
"Of course I'm not. What kind of thought process do you even have?" Hob said, almost losing his balance.
"This is just a memento I wanted to give you for accompanying me through our first hunt. It's made from the tip of the antler of the mutated deer we hunted. I took it when I was carrying its head and made this necklace for you," Hob explained.
"Oh, so you weren't proposing to me. Alright, I'll keep this memento with me always. Thank you, Mr. Hob," Friz said, smiling as she wore the necklace.
"Did her voice sound a little disappointed? No, it must be my imagination," Hob thought and shook his head.
After that, Hob and Friz walked out of the room and reached the place where a tent was erected and a stage was prepared.
They saw Amy and Geld, who were dressed slightly better than Hob but not as striking as Friz.As they walked towards Amy and Geld, Friz, who had been walking beside Hob, suddenly got closer and put her hand in his.
"I can't understand what's going on through her head anymore, but it feels good," Hob thought, feeling Friz's soft touch.
"You look really cute today, Hob. If not for you being already occupied, I would've made a move myself," Amy said teasingly, glancing at their held hands.
"I may not have been able to control myself either, seeing such a beautiful lady in front of me," Geld said, laughing.
"You mean I'm not beautiful?" Amy said, raising her eyebrows at Geld.
"No, no, I never said that. I was just saying that Friz looks really beautiful tonight, but of course, she's still no match to you," Geld said, wiping sweat off his brows.
"So you mean I'm less beautiful than Amy?" Friz said, teasing Geld further.
Geld froze, not knowing what to say. "Relax, we both are just joking, but do remember not to compare two girls' beauty in the future, especially not to their face," Amy said menacingly.
"Yes, yes, I'll keep that in mind," Geld said, heaving a sigh of relief.
"Anyway, let's go sit at one of the tables. I think whatever the event is, it's about to start," Hob said, drawing everyone's attention to the tent.
Everyone nodded and walked to an unoccupied table, waiting for the event to start.
Soon, the middle-aged man from before came out of the training facility, accompanied by many others, and walked straight up the stage while the rest took seats at the tables.
The middle-aged man looked different today. Previously, he was dressed in battle-ready clothes and always had a weapon. But today, he wore more presentable clothes that were surprisingly clean. His white shirt with a suit on top and black pants made him stand out, along with Elder Arihant, who wore the same type of clothes.
"Greetings, newcomers. My name is Saksham. Today's event is for all of you. You have survived the hunt, and some of you were even injured, but you endured it all and hunted for your survival. From today, all of you have become the 'HUNTED' officially," Saksham said loudly, pausing to let everyone absorb the implications.
There was loud applause as everyone celebrated their and their comrades' survival. Saksham waved his hand, and the applause died down.
"This year's results have far surpassed previous years'. Out of the 53 of you, 50 have survived the hunt, while only one lamb came back to report their master's death. Since the hunt wasn't accomplished, this lamb will remain a Lamb. The remaining two are missing along with their lambs. Since we cannot contact them, we assume them dead unless they return," Saksham sighed and saluted in the direction of the desert where the three may have died. Everyone followed suit and then sat back down.
"They were brave to fight until death claimed them, and although they're dead, their will to hunt will continue with us. The purpose of this event is to reward the most efficient hunt of this exam," Saksham said, and everyone murmured, wondering who would have the best hunt.
"Hob, Friz, Amy, and Geld, come on stage now. You should be rewarded for your outstanding hunt. For everyone's information, they formed a group and had to hunt only two monsters, but they went beyond and hunted three. None were easy foes. They fought a mutated bear that attacked their camp and managed to slay it, which is commendable as they did not have the initiative but came out victorious. They then hunted two more mutated deer, one of which was hunted by Mr. Hob alone," Saksham said excitedly, pointing at Hob's table.
Hob, who was drinking water, almost spilled it out upon hearing his name. The others had similar reactions but quickly gathered their bearings and walked towards the stage with confidence.
"I now call Elder Arihant, my father, and one of the few survivors from the time of tragedy, to reward these brave newcomers for their bravery," Saksham said, waiting for Elder Arihant to come on stage. He then went forward and touched his feet as a gesture of respect, followed by Hob and his group.
"I knew you'd survive, but to do this splendidly, you have surpassed my estimates of your ability," Elder Arihant said, patting their heads and laughing.
"It's all because of your teachings, teacher. Without it, we would've died many times over," Friz said.
"Good, it seems you haven't grown arrogant from your success. Keep it up, and you may stand at greater heights," Elder Arihant praised.
Elder Arihant then handed them all a medal made of metal and pinned it to the left side of their chests. The group felt a sense of pride or something else, but it felt good to have their efforts rewarded.
After receiving the medals, the group walked back to their table, greeted by many people congratulating them on their success.
"Now, without taking any more of your time, I shall announce that you are all free to eat the food that has been prepared from the corpses you brought back from the hunt. So today, you all shall taste what prey hunted by yourselves tastes like. Enjoy." And with that, the middle-aged man left the stage, and everyone got busy eating all sorts of food.