A Year Later
"Listen up, everyone!" Derek's voice thundered across the auditorium through the voice transducer. The chatter of twenty first-year students died instantly. He stood tall at the front of the hall, gaze sharp as he swept it across the sea of young faces.
"Today, all of you will embark on your first expedition — the monster hunt! This will be your very first field test, and your performance will be evaluated by the seniors assigned to you."
The announcement drew immediate cheers.
"Yeah!"
"This is going to be fun!"
"I can't wait to fight some monsters!"
"I'm not finished!" Derek snapped, and the excitement collapsed into silence again. His eyes hardened. "Since the teachers won't waste their time babysitting you, the responsibility of guiding and scoring you will fall to your seniors. Work with them. Learn from them. Don't get yourselves killed."
