***
Scott walked up beside me, and a message popped up on my watch, requesting to form a team.
“How about it, wanna give it a try?” he asked with those all-too-familiar, all-knowing eyes.
“Sure.” I let out a laugh and accepted the request, all too glad Scott was willing to form a team with me.
We didn’t get much of a chance to walk around and talk to others when another message drew my attention.
“Hell yeah!” someone shouted from the right, and I caught a glimpse of an overzealous Daniel forcing his way through the masses. Some cadets approached him, trying to lure him into their teams, but he silenced them quickly.
“I already have a team,” he snapped at one of the persistent cadets. The cadet, who appeared to be one of the older Blessed, didn’t look particularly pleased, but he retreated in silence when Daniel stopped to glare at him, electrical currents crackling across his lower arms.
It was nice to see Daniel again, even if it came as a surprise.
“What are you doing here, Daniel?”
“Me? I’ll join your team for the Group Combat class, of course.” He spun around, all smiles, and reached up beside me, patting my shoulder. “You don’t have to be afraid, my friend. I am not going to leave your side!”
Why does that feel like a threat? And who in the Rulers’ names says I need your protection?
“You…do know I’ve been in the wilderness already, right? I’m pretty sure I told you about this.” My scowl ought to be worth more than a thousand words, but Daniel seemed totally unperturbed. He slapped my shoulder harder this time and began to ramble all about the things he did since we last saw each other.
“Yes, yes, whatever you say. Have I told you about the Golden Bloodstear serum I’ve concocted for a Peak Awakened Nailoud a few days ago? I succeeded in my second attempt, which is crazy good, especially since I received the recipe no more than twenty-four hours earlier. Anyway, I profited greatly. Even the Master Beaster was surprised at how fast I finished his assignment, which netted me a bonus of 1,000 credits. That’s not too much, I get that, but my ranks increased greatly. Also, two days ago, me, Coco, and Filps—...”
It had been a while since we talked. Daniel was as busy as I, if not more. He had a new Soulkin to take care of and had to train as well. But his occupation was a lot more time-consuming. Being a Beaster was no joke. It was expensive, depending on his success rate in concocting serums, and he had to spend a lot of time both preparing them and studying to improve and become a Master Beaster. After all, that was what he needed to be if he planned on acquiring the World Aspect.
A sting of jealousy pierced deep into my heart, even though I knew my friend deserved it all.
Did he really just call a bonus of 1,000 credits ‘not too much’?!
I never asked how high Daniel’s stipend was, and I didn’t think I was going to do it—ever. Not without planning my self-esteem’s funeral.
Then again, it was not like I was oblivious to my shortcomings. I had a lot to make up for. Daniel’s knowledge was a lot more extensive than mine, forget about his years of practical experience under Beaster Bert’s tutelage.
I was still half-listening to Daniel, but my attention turned to the people around us. A handful approached us, but they left when Scott shook his head. Something about him seemed to scare the cadets, which was weird, to say the least. There was nothing frightening about Scott. If anyone, Daniel was the scary-looking one among us—especially when strangers interrupted his chat with me.
“Piss off,” he growled at someone who got too close to us. The Thunderhorn Bull’s temperament shone through Daniel, and it was amusing to witness as always.
“Relax,” I mouthed quietly. “We still need more teammates.”
Daniel stared at me before letting out a deep sigh. “What a nuisance.”
It was, but that didn’t change the situation. My attention drifted back to the cadets around us. Most cadets had already formed into teams, leaving only a few dozen lone hunters and friends who didn’t want to be separated. Many cadets seemed to know each other, which…well, it didn’t feel quite good, actually. In comparison to some of those social butterflies, I was a loner. Scott and Daniel were great friends, but they were among the only people I would actually call friends. And Daniel was my childhood friend. Even Scott was someone I met before the Grand Camp started, although it was because of the Camp we became friends.
However, there were a few more people I got to know since the Grand Camp started. I wouldn’t call them friends, but I had located a few cadets whom I helped in the last few days. Most nearly witnessed my death if their Soulkins hadn’t missed my vitals. For that, I was very grateful. Not for the ‘getting attacked’ part, but that was kind of obvious.
“Sophie!” I shouted when I found a familiar blonde ponytail swaying through the air.
Sophie spun around and her expression lit up. She glanced back, her hand holding onto the arm of another familiar figure. The Blessed with the frenzied Goblin Shaman who nearly cursed me the first time we met clearly didn’t want to be there, but Sophie dragged her behind as she approached us.
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“Adam! I am so, so happy to see you. Please tell me that you have some open slots for a Striker and a Supporter,” she exclaimed, pulling me into a quick hug.
Taken by surprise, I failed to reciprocate the hug in time. She released me after a moment, leaving me stranded with my muddled head.
Fool!
Aureus pulled me back to my senses, and I quickly introduced Sophie to the others.
“I am open for that, but I have to ask the others,” I said hurriedly, turning to my friends. “Hey, so those are my friends, Scott and Daniel.” He then gestured to Sophie and her friend. “Those are Sophie and—...Urgh…I don’t think you introduced yourself. I could call you Goblin Master, but I don’t think anyone would want to be called that.”
Nobody laughed, and it surely didn’t help that Daniel patted me on the shoulder, saying, “It’s okay. Not everyone is blessed with good humor.”
Too embarrassed to say anything, I looked at Sophie’s friend. She was hooded and pulled her hood deeper, hiding her face. “I-I did introduce myself, b-but…but I think you didn’t hear me. I-I am Fabienne, and I can support your team.”
She pulled back as far as Sophie’s iron-tight grip on her wrist would allow, only to resign herself to hiding behind her friend.
“Fabienne is a little shy with strangers. It won’t interfere in combat, trust me. Her combat awareness is excellent, and she has several years of experience surviving in the wild. You could say that she’s a survivalist,” Sophie introduced her friend. “She has a trait that lets her cast Accelerated Regeneration and Boon. Accelerated Regeneration is exactly what the name suggests. It accelerates your natural regeneration, both ether and physical. Boon, on the other hand, enhances one of your physical aspects greatly. However, once it wears off, you’ll feel lethargic for five to ten minutes.”
Fabienne was a good bit shorter than Sophie, which she used to peek out from the side. “M-my spells last for ten minutes, a-and…and I can make it so Accelerated Regeneration reduces the aftereffect of Boon to…to a minute or two. D-depending on Boon’s benefits.”
“That’s great!” I didn’t know all too much about spells, other than that some traits imparted the knowledge of them into the Blessed. Having Accelerated Regeneration alone was already great. It was actually something I would love to have to use on myself all day long. “That has nothing to do with the team or the Group Combat class really, but does Accelerated Regeneration affect soul energy as well?”
I located a pair of dark eyes hidden deep within the hood right before Fabienne disappeared behind Sophie.
“I-it d-does. A-a little.”
It took every bit of my willpower not to rush at Fabienne to ask if she could cast Accelerated Regeneration on me all day long.
Fidgeting with my fingers, I turned to my friends.
“I am more than fine with them,” Scott said casually.
“She hasn’t explained her traits yet,” Daniel said, pointing at Sophie, eyes narrowed. “And I don’t particularly like that she revealed her friend’s trait to strangers, but I guess she had good intentions.” He shrugged as if it didn’t concern him. “If you think they can carry their weight, I don’t see why we should reject them.”
“Sophie’s the one with the Aceraspis,” I mouthed quietly.
“A Striker with insect Soulkins? That’s going to be interesting.” Daniel nodded, only for Scott to add, chuckling,
“The Blessed of an Aceraspis and a Ferronox Mantis in one team? That is definitely going to be interesting.”
“Ferronox Mantis?” Daniel’s eyes widened, and he turned to me. “It hatched? And you didn’t tell me about it!”
I nodded, the excitement of the morning’s event replaying in my mind. “Not even an hour ago.”
“That’s great. Congratulations, dude. It was about time that little bugger hatched.”
Several messages popped up on my watch, one being a request from Sophie and Fabienne. I accepted them, expanding our group to a neat five members.
“I think I wasted more than enough time waiting for my cadets to form their teams.” Instructor Kalifer’s voice hollered through the masses, and the chats all around us ceased. “If you do not have a suitable team in the next thirty seconds, I will assign you myself.”
Her word was law. Thirty seconds later, twenty-eight cadets were split into five teams. Some complained, but they fell on deaf ears. The instructor turned back to the rest of the class.
“I was told to teach you all about the theory, but I couldn’t care less about that. Everyone was given a copy of my guidebook; use it to study the theoretical part of Group Combat or not, I don’t really give a shit. My focus is the practical part. The important part.” A smile that looked more devious than the most nefarious creature I’d fought in the last six months bloomed on her lips. “The average prowess of your group is currently being assessed. Your group will be rated, and missions will be given out according to that assessment. If you succeed and complete the mission, recorded and archived by bodycams or your watches, you will receive your first mark and access to the extended Mission Board, so you can pick your follow-up missions yourself.”
She turned to look at a particular group of three female Blessed and four guys, her eyes bearing not even the faintest inkling of goodwill. “If you exceed my expectations, you will be rewarded, but if you fail me…Let’s just say that I hope you will not fail me.”
One of the Blessed she looked at paled. She looked like she’d seen a ghost, and I was half-certain she regretted joining the Group Combat class. Albeit mandatory, she could have joined other special classes to make up for the missing points instead.
Well, she can still do that if the instructor bullies her too much.
“Anyway, you need ten marks to complete my course. Missions have different ratings, and depending on your group’s assessment, as well as my own opinion of your group’s rating, completing them will reward you with different benefits, of which the marks for this class are the least important.”
If we could get ourselves on a few heavier missions with great rewards, we’d complete the Group Combat class in no time and receive rewards, be it coin or other resources.
Even better, my Ranks were very low, both as a Blessed and in the Grand Camp.
I never thought I’d be happy to be bad or below average at something, but there I was, overjoyed that my Ranks as a Blessed and in the Grand Camp were low.
Maybe we could get our hands on a nice mission.
Then again, we had Daniel in our team, and I wasn’t quite sure how high the others ranked either. Scott had to be high up in the Ranks, and I highly doubted Sophie was in the dregs with me.
Nonetheless, I was excited. My first group hunt awaited me!