The Next Day.
It was the next day, and just like before, Jericho woke to the sound of the blaring horn. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, then slowly sat up, stretching his arms wide. As soon as he sat up, his eyes met the system screen hovering in front of him.
The screen displayed his basic information just like it did yesterday, but this time Jericho didn't pay it any attention. He mentally dismissed it and headed straight into the shower to freshen up.
Inside the hot spring, he found Cody; he was finishing up and getting ready to leave. As Cody stepped out of the hot spring, Jericho stepped in and allowed himself to relax.
"Hey, man," Jericho said, giving Cody a small wave.
"You ready for the field exercise today?" Cody asked with a grin.
"Yeah, I am," Jericho replied.
"Want me to wait for you?" Cody asked.
"Nah, I'll finish up and join you guys," Jericho said.
As Cody stepped out of the bathroom, Jericho leaned back into the water, letting the warmth soak into his muscles. "I wonder what the field exercise is going to be like," he thought to himself.
After his shower, Jericho stepped out of the bathroom and got dressed in the academy's standard uniform. He looked around the room and realized he was the only one there. Cody had already left, and as for the elf boy, Jericho wasn't even sure he had come back the previous night.
Just as Jericho was fastening his Support division cloak, a voice echoed through the room, emanating from the owl statue near the door.
"All first years, please report to the training ground for the joint field exercise."
After hearing the announcement, Jericho made his way out of the room. Outside, he saw other first-year students heading toward the training ground for the field exercise and quickly joined them.
The training ground was just outside the academy building, surrounded by tall walls. When Jericho arrived, he saw that all the first-years who had been admitted the previous day with him were already gathered.
Students from all three divisions were present. From the Support, Fighter, and Healer divisions. The Support division wore blue cloaks, while the Fighter division wore red, and the Healer division wore green cloaks.
Unlike the eagle-head crest of the Support division or the dragon-skull emblem of the Fighter division, the Healer division cloaks bore a symbol of vines wrapping around a sword, embroidered over the chest.
As Jericho scanned the crowd, he noticed that the students present were more than those that were admitted into the academy yesterday. The extra students were the royals and high-ranking nobles that were admitted into the academy without the exam.
As he walked around the crowd, Jericho heard a familiar voice call out to him. It was Cody, standing amongst the Fighter division students, waving at Jericho with a wide grin on his face.
"Hey, Jericho!" Cody waved from the red-cloaked section, grinning like a kid who had just won a prize. "Over here!"
Jericho spotted him easily and walked over, raising a hand in return. "Hey, buddy," he said as he reached him.
"Dude, I'm so hyped for this field exercise," Cody said, practically bouncing in place. "I can't wait for it to start," he added.
"Calm down, man," Jericho chuckled. "You look like you're about to explode from excitement."
Cody clenched his fist. "Hey, I worked my butt off to get here. Now that I'm finally in, I'm gonna give it everything I've got." Cody beamed.
Their conversation was cut short as Miss Nia's voice rang out clearly across the training ground, capturing the attention of the students. As their division's instructor, she was dressed in the signature blue cloak of the Support division, stepping forward to address the crowd.
"May I have your attention, please?" Miss Nia called out to the crowd of students.
The students straightened, some startled by the commanding tone, while others were simply captivated by her striking beauty.
"Is that really a teacher at this academy?" a dwarf boy in a red cloak muttered, clearly stunned by her beauty.
"As you all know," Miss Nia continued, "today's test will test your strength, but it will also determine whether you're truly suited for the division you've been assigned to. Those who show exceptional talent, regardless of your current division, may be eligible for reassignment to the Fighter division."
Jericho's eyes lit up with renewed determination as he heard the information. This was his shot to get to the Fighter division, an actual opportunity to prove himself and switch from the Support division to Fighter.
"Dude, did you hear that?" Cody said, nudging Jericho. "You kill it in this test, and you can switch divisions."
"Yeah," Jericho said with a grin. "This is it. I have to give it everything I've got."
Miss Nia continued, "Your joint field exercise will be supervised by someone else."
Just then, a figure emerged from the academy building, a skinny man in an all-black outfit. He had short, messy black hair that hung over his face and had a ragged black scarf coiled around his neck. His hands were covered with gloves and were tucked into his coat pockets as he lazily strolled toward Miss Nia.
When he reached her, Miss Nia handed him a leather-bound ledger and turned to address the students.
"This is Mr. Ren Arashi," she said. "He will be overseeing your exercise from this point on. Please do well to listen to him. And good luck on your exercise."
Without another word, she turned and strode back toward the academy building, leaving the crowd under the watch of the strange Mr. Ren Arashi.
Ren's appearance was concerning. He looked like a homeless man that hadn't eaten in days. His pale skin looked nearly gray, and his posture was hunched and sluggish. He gave off the vibe of someone who hadn't slept or showered in days.
As he took the ledger from Miss Nia, a wave of murmurs swept through the students.
"Is this guy serious? He's supposed to supervise a test?" one student whispered.
"He looks like he crawled out of a cave," another added, pinching his nose. "Where did the academy find this bozo?"
Mr. Ren Arashi swept a hand over his head, pushing his messy hair back to clear his line of sight. He opened the leather-bound ledger and began speaking to the students.
"I'm Mr. Ren Arashi, and I'll be your instructor for this exercise," he said in a lazy, almost uninterested voice. "As you all know, there's been a crack in the Eternal Coffin Seal, and weaker demons have started leaking through. They've already begun rampaging across the land." He paused, allowing his words to rest in the ears of the students before continuing.
"The Demon Slayers have managed to wipe out the ones that made it past the Eternal Coffin so far, but according to prophecy, the seal won't hold for much longer. So you all need to be in top quality and be prepared for the demons at any time."
Just from his tone and slouched posture, it was clear that Ren was a lazy and laid-back kind of guy.
"This exercise will take place outside the academy compound. It will test your strength and push you all to your limits," he continued. "You all will be hunting and taking down several magic beasts. Think of it like hunting."
With a yawn, Ren walked past the gathered students and pushed open the gigantic academy gates, revealing the forest beyond. The forest was filled with towering trees stretching in every direction, their dense canopies casting shadows over the rugged terrain.
The air buzzed faintly as multiple magic beasts growled and howled in the distance.
"In this forest, you'll find three types of magic beasts," Ren explained as he led the group out. "Goblins, magic boars, and a bonus monster. You're to hunt and kill as many of these beasts as you can. Each beast awards a different number of points. Goblins are the weakest, they will earn you two points per kill. Magic boars are tougher and award five points per kill. Then there's the bonus monster. It awards fifty points to whoever can kill it."
Ren turned around to face the crowd, his expression unreadable beneath the messy hair.
"You'll be split into teams. The team with the highest total points at the end of the exercise wins," Ren continued. "Those who perform well enough will have the chance to switch divisions if they want to. You all have ten minutes to form your teams. Each team must have four members."
As soon as the announcement was made, the students burst into motion, scanning the crowd and gravitating toward familiar or powerful-looking peers. Everyone was eager to team up with the strongest classmates they could find, as it would guarantee them winning.
"How about we form a team?" Cody suggested, turning to Jericho. "We can recruit two more to complete the squad."
"Sounds good to me," Jericho nodded.
With that, Cody and Jericho became the foundation of a new team. As they began looking for additional members, Cody suddenly spotted a familiar figure standing off to the side. It was Ace, their third roommate. He was alone as usual, with his expression unreadable beneath his white hair.
Without hesitation, Cody jogged over. "Hey man," he called, waving. "Looks like you don't have a team yet. Wanna join us?"
Ace stared at him, his pale eyes glancing over Cody from head to toe. He didn't say anything at first, but then agreed to join them.
"Yeah. I'll join your team. But don't get in my way. If you do, I'll destroy you."
Cody blinked, unsure whether to laugh or take it seriously. "Alright then, welcome aboard."
He brought Ace back to Jericho, and the trio began scanning the crowd for their final member.
Just as they were looking around, Jericho felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw a familiar face. It was the giant girl from the entrance exam, but she was shrunken to her human size for the exercise. She wore a red cloak, identifying her as a Fighter division student.
"Hey," she said with a rather proud expression. "I can see that your team is incomplete."
"Yeah, we actually need one more member," Cody replied without missing a beat. "Wanna join us?" he asked.
"I guess I can grace your team with my presence," she said, pushing her hair behind her ears before folding her arms. "Alright, I will join your team. I'm Emma, by the way."
"I'm Jericho, and this is Cody," Jericho said with a smile. "Welcome to the team."
With that, their team of four was complete: Jericho, Cody, Ace, and Emma.
They stood together and waited while the rest of the first-years finished assembling their teams, the tension slowly rose as the moment for the exercise drew closer.