The next morning, the students filed into the classroom with fresh bruises and heavier glares. Professor Zarlath was already waiting, seated cross-legged on his desk.
"Today's lesson is strategy," he said, rising to his feet.
He tapped the board. Beneath Strength, Strategy, Survival, he wrote Outsmart the Enemy.
"You've learned how to fight," Zarlath said. "Now, you'll learn how to think. Strength is nothing without strategy. A clever opponent can defeat a stronger one."
Dane leaned back in his chair. "We get it. Think before we act."
Zarlath's yellow eyes locked onto him. "Do you?"
Dane stiffened but didn't reply.
Zarlath clapped his hands. "Outside. All of you."
The students followed him to the academy's courtyard, a wide open space lined with stone walls.
"Your task is simple," Zarlath said, pointing to a rope hanging from a metal beam in the center. "Tie me up."
The class exchanged glances.
"That's it?" Tess asked.
"That's it," Zarlath said. "Use the rope. Work together. If you can restrain me, you pass."
"Let's go," Dane said, grabbing the rope.
"Wait," Arlo said, stepping forward.
"What now?" Dane asked.
"He's testing us," Arlo said. "We need a plan."
Dane snorted. "Fine. You're the genius. What's the plan?"
Arlo glanced at the rope, then at Zarlath, who stood calmly in the center of the courtyard. "We distract him. Keep him busy while someone sneaks up with the rope."
"Who sneaks?" Mira asked.
"I'll do it," Tess said, stepping forward.
Arlo nodded. "The rest of us will keep him occupied."
---
The students surrounded Zarlath, spreading out to block his movements. Tess hung back, holding the rope.
"Go!" Arlo shouted.
Dane charged first, swinging a punch. Zarlath sidestepped and grabbed his wrist, using the momentum to throw him into the dirt.
Arlo and Mira attacked next. Mira went low, aiming for Zarlath's legs, while Arlo struck high.
Zarlath dodged Mira's sweep and blocked Arlo's strike with his forearm. He twisted, knocking them both off balance.
Tess moved silently, creeping behind him with the rope in hand. She darted forward, looping the rope over his arms.
Zarlath smirked.
He spun, grabbing the rope, and yanked Tess forward. She stumbled, and he flipped her over his shoulder.
"Close," he said, dropping the rope. "But not good enough."
---
The students regrouped.
"What now?" Dane asked, wiping dirt off his face.
"He's too fast," Tess said.
"Then we slow him down," Arlo said.
"How?" Mira asked.
"Trap him," Arlo said.
They huddled, whispering. Zarlath stood nearby, watching with mild amusement.
"Time's running out," he said.
"Let's go," Arlo said, breaking the huddle.
---
The students attacked again, but this time their movements were more coordinated.
Dane and Arlo rushed in together, forcing Zarlath to split his attention. Mira and Tess darted around the edges, grabbing pieces of the rope.
Zarlath parried their strikes, weaving through their attacks with ease. But the students weren't trying to hit him—they were herding him, forcing him toward the corner of the courtyard.
He noticed too late.
Mira and Tess pulled the rope taut between them, tripping Zarlath as he stepped back.
Dane and Arlo lunged, tackling him to the ground. The class scrambled to pin him down, wrapping the rope around his arms and legs.
For a moment, they thought they had won.
Then Zarlath moved.
With a sharp twist, he broke free of the rope and threw them off.
"You're improving," he said, brushing himself off. "But still not enough."
The class groaned in frustration.
---
"Again," Zarlath said.
They spent the rest of the day trying to trap him. Each attempt came closer to success, but Zarlath countered every time.
By sunset, the students were exhausted.
"You failed," Zarlath said, standing over their defeated forms.
"No surprise there," Dane muttered.
"But," Zarlath continued, "you worked together. You planned. You adapted. That's progress."
He walked away, leaving them in the courtyard.
Arlo sat up, wincing. "We'll get him next time."
"Yeah," Tess said, lying flat on her back. "Next time."
The others nodded, too tired to speak.
The next day...
The class stood in a clearing just outside the academy grounds. The sun was barely up, and mist clung to the forest around them.
Zarlath paced in front of them.
"Today, we focus on survival," he said.
Dane groaned. "More running around?"
Zarlath stopped. "No. Today, you're the prey."
The students froze.
"You have one hour to escape," Zarlath said. "I'll give you a head start. After that, I'll hunt you down."
"What happens if you catch us?" Mira asked.
"You'll wish I hadn't," Zarlath replied, his yellow eyes gleaming.
"Go," Zarlath said.
The students didn't hesitate. They bolted into the forest, splitting off in different directions.
Arlo sprinted through the undergrowth, branches slapping against his face. He ducked under a low-hanging branch and paused behind a tree, listening.
He could hear Tess and Mira nearby, their footsteps crashing through the underbrush.
"Stop," Arlo hissed, stepping out to block their path.
"What are you doing?" Tess whispered.
"He'll hear you," Arlo said.
"He'll find us no matter what," Tess said. "We need to keep moving."
"No," Arlo said. "We need a plan."
Tess rolled her eyes. "Fine. What's your brilliant idea?"
"We set traps," Arlo said.
"Traps? With what?" Mira asked.
Arlo knelt and grabbed a long stick from the ground. "Whatever we can find."
Elsewhere, Dane ran alone.
"This is stupid," he muttered, brushing leaves out of his hair.
He stopped to catch his breath and looked around. The forest was eerily quiet.
Then he heard a twig snap.
Dane spun around.
"Who's there?" he shouted.
No answer.
He turned and ran.
Tess, Mira, and Arlo worked quickly. They tied vines between trees, buried sharpened sticks in shallow pits, and stacked loose stones on precarious ledges.
"This better work," Tess said, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"It will," Arlo said.
The three of them crouched behind a bush, waiting.
Minutes passed.
Then they heard footsteps.
"Stay down," Arlo whispered.
Zarlath appeared, moving silently through the forest. He stepped into their first trap—a tripwire. The vine snapped, releasing a branch that swung toward him like a pendulum.
Zarlath caught the branch mid-swing and tossed it aside.
The second trap triggered—a pile of rocks tumbling down a slope. Zarlath sidestepped, avoiding them easily.
"Not bad," he said, his voice carrying through the trees.
Tess cursed under her breath.
Zarlath turned toward their hiding spot.
"Run," Arlo said.
They took off, sprinting deeper into the forest.
Dane wasn't as lucky.
He stumbled into a clearing, panting, and came face-to-face with Zarlath.
"Found you," Zarlath said.
Dane swung a fist. Zarlath caught it, twisting his arm behind his back.
"You're slow," Zarlath said.
Dane struggled, but Zarlath pinned him effortlessly.
"Too predictable," Zarlath said, letting him go.
Dane fell to his knees, gasping. "What now?"
"Try harder," Zarlath said, walking away.
Tess, Mira, and Arlo reached a rocky outcrop and stopped to catch their breath.
"What now?" Tess asked.
"He's toying with us," Mira said.
"Then we use that," Arlo said. "If he thinks he's already won, we can ambush him."
"And if it doesn't work?" Tess asked.
Arlo didn't answer.
Zarlath found them quickly.
He walked into their ambush without hesitation. Tess swung a branch at his head. Zarlath ducked, grabbing her arm and flipping her onto her back.
Mira charged, aiming a kick at his knee. Zarlath sidestepped, swept her legs out from under her, and pinned her with a foot on her chest.
Arlo was last. He lunged with a sharpened stick, aiming for Zarlath's ribs.
Zarlath caught the stick, snapped it in half, and knocked Arlo to the ground.
"Better," Zarlath said, standing over them. "But not good enough."
By the time Zarlath called off the hunt, the students were battered and exhausted.
"You survived," Zarlath said as they gathered in the clearing. "Barely."
Dane scowled. "You didn't even try to kill us."
"Do you think your enemies will play fair?" Zarlath asked. "Do you think they'll give you a chance to escape? To fight back?"
No one answered.
"Today, you learned what it feels like to be hunted," Zarlath said. "Remember that feeling. Use it."
He turned and walked away.
The students limped back to the academy in silence.
"We'll get him next time," Arlo said.
Tess laughed bitterly. "If there is a next time."
"There will be," Arlo said. "Because we're not giving up."
Mira nodded. "We can do this."
The others stayed quiet, but no one argued.
They knew Arlo was right.