Chapter 48 - Field Trip

And one week later, I had done neither of the three.

I took a deep breath and clenched my hands together, holding them at my chest level. The chatter died away. I focused on my xera flow, directing it to the point within my interlocking fingers.

“Ignite.”

A fire beginner tier spell, used to create small flames and sparks which was the basis for many other fire spells.

The familiar but never satisfying rush of ecstasy filled me, only to be consumed by an intense pain originating from my left index finger.

Ignoring both of these sensations, I instead concentrated on the heat that was slowly growing within my palm. When my hand felt like it was about to burn off, I unlocked my fingers and held my palms mere centimeters away from each other.

A flame burst into life, hovering between my palms. I moved my hands behind the flame and turned, angling myself to face a wooden target about the size of a person’s head, give or take ten metres away. I let the flame grow for a few more seconds until it was almost bigger than my hand.

“Discharge.”

With a final burst of xera, the flame shot through the air, diminishing the further it travelled. My aim was spot on, but by the time it hit the target, the flame was nothing more than a few sparks with a crimson glow.

However, it was enough to set the dried wood furiously ablaze.

For the fifth time this week, I joined the group of students on the side who’d managed to successfully perform the designated spell on their first attempt. That number shrank with every lesson. Today, there were only five of us.

“You’re almost there, Tath!” I shouted encouragingly, watching her struggle to increase the size of her flame.

We’d been taught five different spells, including this one, which was the hardest. Our first had been ‘collapse’, the earth destruction type. Second, ‘air blast’. Third, ‘water blast’. Fourth, ‘earth wall’. And finally, ‘ignite’.

These were all of primordial elements and were the basics of casting and magic. We needed to master these in order to use higher tier spells.

Exactly one week had passed since my first day of school. And out of the four tasks I’d set myself to complete, I’d made good progress on three. The only task which I hadn’t even started on was finding Cherry. Although I’d earnt another twenty faith from Tath, I still didn’t have enough to open the communications channel again.

A loud commotion outside the training area caused the entire class to stop what they were doing. As I turned, a group of older students ambled by, the multicoloured bands on their wrists identifying them as third years. First years had silver bands, like the one I currently wore, and second years had gold bands. Only third years had bands of different colours.

Glancing over the rows of faces, I recognized a tall boy with a mop of yellow hair.

Mar… tin?

If that was him, Cle’de should be near.

Sure enough, a shorter figure with two black ponytails popped out from between a group of people. She looked pretty with her hair done.

I wanted to call out to her, but then remembered we weren’t exactly on good terms.

The teacher leading their class stopped at the entrance of the training area. Miss Kleo walked out to meet her, and the two teachers had a short conversation that I was too far away to overhear. They nodded and smiled at the end, so whatever they were talking about, it must’ve been something good.

Miss Kleo walked back to us and used air magic to project her voice. “Everyone, we’ve had a change of plans!” She called.

With a flick of her hand, the wooden targets sunk back into the ground.

“For the rest of today, we will be accompanying class 3-A on a field trip.”

The class erupted into cheers.

“What kind of ‘field trip’ is this?” I asked Tath.

She shrugged. “How should I know?”

We walked at the back of the line, staring at the wild rabbits and colourful mushrooms. After leaving the school, we’d entered the forest on the way to our destination. Whatever that was supposed to be. The teachers kept us in double file as we travelled through, with the third years in the front.

The students in 3-A were not older than me. However, in the school hierarchy, they were our seniors. I wasn’t intimidated, per se, more cautious of them. So far, I’d made a little mental list of comparison of the students in school to the normal Erobeus adventurer rankings.

The majority of the first years- excluding class 1-F and 1-A, each had a total strength warranting around a B rank adventurer’s.

It seemed as if the anthropoids were naturally stronger and gifted in magic. Also, they had their own unique racial perk that assisted them with many situations.

Elves had acute hearing, fairies had wings which allowed them to fly, demons had horns that allowed them to communicate with each other telepathically, upper demons could shapeshift, upper earthen were incredibly strong, gods could regenerate much faster than any normal human could, and skeletons were completely made of magic, allowing them to use most magic.

Tath had pretty much ingrained this in my head a few days ago.

The third years, anthropoidal features aside, I had no comparison for. They seemed to like keeping to themselves. I’d never seen them in action before and couldn’t judge their strength.

We walked for another quarter of an hour, heading deeper and deeper into the woods. Surprisingly, we didn’t bump into any monsters. After crossing a stream, we finally came to a stop.

In front of us was a large hill, not quite a mountain, with a small cave entrance blocked off by draping vines. It opened out to a smaller clearing, barely big enough for both classes to fit into.

“Everyone from class 1-F, please stand to the side!” The other teacher called loudly. He didn’t need to use air magic like Miss Kleo had.

We did as instructed, stepping back into the forest shade and making a semicircle around the cave’s entrance.

All except ten third year students retreated too.

“You may begin.” The teacher said.

Three of the students immediately clasped their hands together and began to mutter an incantation. A green light encased their bodies, wafting up into the air. It flowed forward, connecting to one person each by their heads, surrounding them.

“That’s life magic.” Tath whispered, craning her head to watch.

“Life?” I turned towards her. “What does it do?”

“Boosts their regenerative and physical abilities.”

“Ah.”

Now that I knew it was life magic, I realised the people who were affected by it were all tall boys- if not men, with broad shoulders and bulging muscles. Flames curled around their fists, but their skin was not burned.

The final four stood beside the warriors, pointing their wands of different shapes and sizes at the gaping entrance. I had no doubt in my mind that they were ready to unleash a blast of powerful magic at any moment's notice.

“Ready…” The third year’s teacher said quietly.

The students tensed in anticipation.

“Your test starts now.”

He snapped his fingers above his head, and the rumbling began. At first, I thought it was earth magic. But when clouds of dust began to spew out from the cave entrance, I was not so sure.

“Xera vision.”

The world dimmed, and the hill became transparent. I looked over the shoulder of a third year and spotted a few glimmering figures deep in the cave charging out. They ran on all fours, and looked to be something like a dog. I counted at least five of them.

As the creatures burst out, a terrifying roar joined them.

Some of the first years squealed, but the third years didn’t flinch.

Once three of the creatures had exited the cave and were just over a metre away from the students at the front, Martin raised a hand in the air and a white light beamed up from it into the sky. It was at this moment when the information window appeared.

___________________________________________

Species: Shadow Mongrel

Combat Power: 210%

Other Information:

This monster has dog-like features. Unlike most monsters, it attacks when it feels threatened. However, it is still classified as a monster due to the overwhelming aggression that the creatures will display once threatened. They will never retreat and will only stop attacking once killed. They are more powerful in the darkness and have the ability to teleport and use limited dark magic. They are also able to phase through walls and items. Physical attacks are not recommended.

Recommended Forms Of Attack:

Light Magic Long Range Magic

Weaknesses:

Light

___________________________________________

The creatures snarled and paced forward on all fours. Writhing masses of darkness coiled around their bodies, blocking out everything except their gleaming blue eyes. The one at the front, most likely their leader, flashed wickedly sharp teeth. Their claws were visible even behind the darkness.

“Holy beam of destruction.” Martin commanded, and brought his hand down, facing it towards the mongrels.

The shining light that connected to it followed, shearing through one of the creatures. It evaporated instantly.

Seeing this, the other monsters jumped away to avoid the beam.

Sweat dripped down Martin’s back as he struggled to change the trajectory of the beam.

“Dealers! Tanks! Now!” He called and allowed his arm to fall, cutting off the light.

The students who were buffed by the life magic dashed forwards, throwing flame punch after flame punch. However, they didn’t seem to be of much use as the beasts would teleport away as soon as they got near. The hits that did connect only seemed to agitate the monsters further.

The three other mages stood to the side, for some reason waiting. Cle’de was among them.

And then, all of a sudden, they flicked their wrists and faced their palms towards the entrance of the cave.

“Light’s blessing!” They shouted at the same time.

The trampled grass and dirt began to glow. It formed a circle of light, only a few metres in diameter.

“What are they doing?” I wondered out loud. “The monsters can just teleport away.”

“You’re right.” Miss Kleo said from beside me.

I almost jumped. Had I been so concentrated on the fight that I didn’t notice she was there?

“”In normal circumstances, yes.” She continued. “But watch the tanks.”

I turned back. Nothing much had changed, except the three monsters were now being wrestled to the ground by the students. It wasn’t like they weren’t putting up a fight, though.

The creatures clawed and scratched at the students, but whatever minor injuries they inflicted were quickly healed. So this was the power of life magic.

“Martin! Now!” Cle’de shouted.

Martin nodded and interlocked his fingers. “Open gate.”

A black ring formed around the area where the scuffle was taking place. It swirled round and round. Darkness seeped out from the ground, coiling around the grass and dirt and swallowing it all. I had seen this spell performed once. But it had taken seven people’s assistance. But for it to be performed at this caliber… this size. By just one measly third grade student?

How?

The ground disappeared completely, replaced by a void of darkness. The creatures and students fell through, appearing in the very circle of light the mages had just created. The monsters howled in anguish but a few seconds later, evaporated completely.

The students burst out into wild applause.

“You must be wondering why the mongrels didn’t just teleport away, right?” Miss Kleo asked.

I nodded.

“They can’t teleport if someone is touching them.”

‘But… if that’s the case, how come the information window didn’t tell me that?’ I thought to myself.

I looked back at the ten students, who were busy clapping each other on the back.

Now having seen their strength in action, I could determine their rank. Together, they each seemed to have around the strength of an A rank adventurer.

Except Martin.

That boy…

He was different.