"It's time," the head instructor said emotionlessly as he looked over his small group of about forty battle-hardened adventurers. And one pre-system boy who seemed to have the unfortunate attention of said system.
And yet, that boy managed to surpass all the others, becoming a tier 1 mage this morning.
We started this damn trip with over 80 of these poor bastards.
The man thought to himself as he looked over his freshly trained recruits.
I won't believe it's a coincidence that we bring a boy without the system's guidance, the one time we are assaulted by a full battalion of the Zinthar this close to our borders. Toren had better lose his damned role as the guildmaster after this shitshow. Coming back from a training expedition with less than half of the original recruits is a damned shame.
But he knew these forty-odd adventurers would be worth more than the full eighty they originally planned to have make it through this bootcamp. Nothing could replace the experience of a true battle.
It was just a shame they had to lose so many in what was supposed to be training.
But, he mused to himself once more, I suppose that is the life we all signed up for.
He approached the group of disciplined adventurers, who all snapped to proper attention. Even the young boy among them seemed to have found at least an ounce of discipline during this training session, even if he did act obstinately from time to time.
The head instructor looked over his shoulder where he knew a peak B-rank shadow walker was lurking.
Damned rogues. Impossible to see when they are more powerful than you and wish to remain hidden. I suppose we would have all died here if not for her, though. Makes me wonder if Toren knew this would happen when he sent the boy.
When he had finished thinking to himself, he addressed his newly trained recruits.
"I know the past few months have been hard for you. It was hard for all of us. The training and the loss. But this is the reality of the wilds. Even this place, considered a sanctuary by the kingdom, is prone to attack when unprotected by the borders of the kingdom."
He gazed at the young men and women who all had their eyes trained on him. He could see several different emotions mixed in their eyes. Pride and grief seemed to stand out the most.
All except for the kid. He was an oddity.
Looking at the stalwart look of the systemless child, who had brought them nothing but trouble, he could tell this kid was ready for great things. Just the fact that he had managed to use enhanced tier 1 magic during the battle was more than he ever expected to see a child accomplish.
Nodding his head, he continued his dismissal address.
"Some of you came here chasing the promise of steady coin, and working for the adventurers' guild will provide that. Some of you joined to climb the ranks, which is commendable. Power and authority are something many seek, and yet only a few find them."
His gaze swept the crowd.
"Some of you had your own reasons for coming here this summer."
His gaze briefly landed on Jacob before he looked back at the rest of the adventurers.
"However, that ended with this training. The adventurers' guild isn't here to keep your pockets full of coin, or for you to show your ass trying to hold power over others."
He looked at Jacob once more as he continued.
"And it's damn sure not here to be used as a plaything for personal entertainment."
There were a few grunts of agreement from the crowd.
He looked back at the adventurers as he continued after the approving grunts.
"But each and every one of you has seen for yourself the reality that we live in. The wilds have no care for your ambitions. And the Zinthar have no mercy for the weak."
His jaw clenched as he thought about the promising recruits and the experienced instructors he lost this summer.
"This was not the training you all signed up for, but this is the life we lead. You will be expected to handle the deepest delves into the dunegeons that threaten the kingdom and to manage the dungeon breaks with your fellow adventurers. Most missions will not be as brutal as this one was, but you will see more comrades fall."
He then took a moment to look each and every recruit in the eyes as he scanned them from left to right in their formation.
"Remember this as you go home to rest and see your families. Eat some good food, something that is not just sun-fruit."
A few chuckles came from the formation. While the fruit was amazing in how it tasted, the pain and fear associated with it had long made it taste wrong. They were all excited to finally get some meat, even some vegetables.
It was not like the guild banned them from eating anything else; it's just that the fruits were packed with so much nutrition and life energy that it was hard to eat anything else, and they knew they would not be able to keep up with the training if they didn't eat the fruits every chance they had.
After his little joke landed, the head instructor continued: "Think about whether you truly want to join a team at your assigned guilds. Don't do it just for the fallen; really, think about what keeps the roads safe for merchants and the villages safe for children to roam. Consider if you truly want to be a part of this, or if you would rather join an external adventurer party and explore the dungeons as safely as possible. The choice is yours."
He said this, as he always did, but he could see the fire in their eyes. This batch of recruits was angry, and they wanted to take that anger out on monsters. Namely, the Zinthar.
But it's the army that usually deals with the Zinthar, he thought to himself as he observed the burning rage just behind the eyes of his newly trained adventurers, and it would be a while before E-ranks could get to the requisite C-rank to even apply to join. Each and every one of them knows the fastest way to that application is through the guild. And I am right there with them. As soon as this contract is up ill go get my pound of flesh.
He didn't realize that he was gritting his teeth again. But he soon relaxed after sharing the moment of burning rage with his fellow adventurers. Looking at the formation, he realized that the ragtag group from four months ago was truly ready for anything.
Fighting in a battle several ranks above oneself was impressive to begin with. But these adventurers quickly figured out how to work together as a unit. And some long-lasting teams were formed here today. He thought to himself as he noticed some groups of four and five standing near each other in the formation.
As the need arose during the battle, those capable took charge of small groups and led the counter-assault. The adventurers' guild recognized groups formed like this, as history told them that groups formed and tried in fire stuck around for good and worked the most efficiently together.
Then his eyes landed on the boy, a true-blue tier 1 mage before the age of 12.
It seems impossible, he thought to himself, just a couple of months ago, this kid seemed helpless. And his magic was more like a trick rather than a weapon. But he grew faster than all the rest of them combined. What's worse is that I found him training by himself after the day's training wasover, like some sort of masochist.
The monster in a child's body looked back at the head instructor and smiled innocently.
That caused the head instructor to shudder involuntarily.
The way he used magic during that assault. I can only thank him that we only lost half the recruits. Being able to turn an unstable core and fight at the same time would be impressive alone, but this little monster also managed to externally compress his spells further to create enhanced tier 1 spells.
His thoughts brought up quick images of the child wielding enhanced tier 1 combination fire and earth magic. Everywhere he went erupted into a battle of magma that only killed enemies.
And what was worse, for the Zinthar at least, was that their ranged attacks were nullified by his armor somehow. The head instructor distinctly remembered arrows bouncing off the armor as the child mowed down foot soldiers by the dozen.
I'm just glad he is one of us and not one ofthem. He thought as he subtly shook his head and considered the formation of adventurers waiting to go home.
"As you leave here today, make sure to pass by the table for your assignments in rank-file order. That is all. Adventurers, I am pleased with your training, and I officially approve of your completion. Dismissed."
Jacob was last in line in the formation, which meant he was first in line to the table. The young lady passing out orders just giggled at him as he approached.
"You aren't joining the guild, Jacob; these orders are just for the adventurers. You're free to go home and do whatever you want."
Jacob nearly facepalmed. "Oh, thank you, Instructor Tabatha, I nearly forgot I was just here on my master's orders."
Tabatha grinned at him before replying, "Well, tell Toren the next time you see him that he still owes me a drink, now get out of here." That last part was said with a wink.
Jacob nodded to his previous instructor and quickly got out of the way of the adventurers who were actually awaiting assignments.
I suppose that the road back is patrolled for now, Jacob thought to himself, no need to wait for a group to travel with. Besides, I bet my watcher will have no trouble keeping up.
He took a subtle peek over his shoulder, where he could feel a disturbance in the ambient mana. It had come with turning his core that morning, apparently it was what he had been missing to actually be able to sense the energy of the world.
No time like the present, he thought to himself as he cast his flight spell and took off to his home.
And, sure enough, he could tell his watcher had begun to follow him at impressive speeds.
Finally, he thought to himself, I get to see my family after so long. I hope they didn't have to deal with too much hardship while I was gone.