Basic Hunting
A week had passed, and another began. The end of a perfectly comfortable week had spawned countless cases of the Monday blues.
“Aigoo.”
Of course, I wasn’t exempt from the suffering. It was a truly pitiful reality. Yesterday had been a blissful weekend, so why did time have to fly by so mercilessly? And why did my body feel this heavy just because I’d had a few drinks?
In the end, I dragged my zombie-like self toward the lecture hall. Cheon Mari and Shannon, who had partied just as hard yesterday, came along with me.
“Gruuuurgh……”
“Kieeeek-ek…… ekh.”
“Kreeeeek……”
What the hell was that noise?
When we reached the lecture hall, something halfway between a rag and a human was sprawled everywhere.
“First day? First day? First day?”
“Lecture? Lecture? Lecture?”
“Kieeeek!”
It was a horrifying sight. So wretched that words failed me. The students had turned into living corpses, endlessly groaning in pain, and we slipped past them to find seats. After that, the zombie choir began, and the entire lecture hall grew noisy.
The professor entered around that time. Only after the painful chorus gradually died down could we finally receive our first real lecture.
“The hunter profession primarily involves bringing back magic stones from Shareltea, completing various tasks, conducting exploration and excavation, or fighting hostile forces.”
“Hunters are generally registered with their nation’s Hunter Association, and from there they either work as freelancers or join a guild.”
“For reference, a similar term to hunter is knight, which is mostly used by groups aligned with the World Tree.”
Not a single word sank in. I already knew most of it, so my brain violently refused to pay attention. Part of it was also because the professor was just reading the textbook aloud. Still, if I gave up here, the only thing waiting for me was a terrible grade. I forced myself to listen.
“That concludes today’s lecture! See you all next week~”
Huh? What?
I closed my eyes for a moment with pen in hand, and when I opened them, everything was over. The professor was packing up, and students were leaving while discussing lunch. The sheer normalcy of it all left me breathless.
“Why do we feel so much like regular college students?”
“Because we are students. We’re literally university students.”
“Good grief.”
Despite being called an academy, Palaestra was essentially a practical-focused university. As a result, the atmosphere was… very university-like. There was a reasonable amount of freedom and a reasonable amount of studying. Unlike high school, our minds felt lighter and worries about the future were significantly reduced.
There were also situations you wouldn’t see among teenagers—namely, students logically challenging their instructors over course material. I witnessed one such exchange while walking down the hallway. The debate between a professor who had just finished lecturing and a freshman was fascinating in many ways.
“That part of the spell doesn’t work on that principle! You have to use both the x-axis and z-axis of mana……”
“My dear, using only the x-axis is correct. The z-axis is merely optional.”
Such admirable courage. Soon after, the professor’s words—“You know, you might have a talent for graduate studies”—echoed in my ears.
“Graduate…… studies?”
“It’s a profession where you explore truth at the academy, learn more, and come to understand the principles of the world.”
“Ooh……! How do I get a job like that?”
“We always welcome new graduate students! I’ll recommend you. Why don’t you start as an undergraduate research assistant and work your way up?”
“Really? Yes! I’ll do it!”
Was he out of his mind? I offered a silent prayer for the poor soul and left the building.
Though the place seemed filled with nothing but comedy, that wasn’t entirely true. As age and background changed, so did people’s conditions—and that was the problem.
“Good grief, do I really have to attend a place like this at my age?”
“You’re telling me.”
“You two……?”
Twenty years old, old and decrepit. The academy was overflowing with such people; it might as well have been a shelter for the sick and the dying. Even compared to the elderly in a mage’s silver town found in any large city, I wouldn’t bet on our chances. Both sides were old and frail, but the silver town—with its higher dementia rate—would obviously win over this place, where most people were still relatively sane. It was nothing short of tragic.
I lamented that my teenage years, when I was still young, had been better. Even though I’d been betrayed, fought constantly, given up on the college entrance exam, been tormented by daily training, cleared gates as part of Nartica, and somehow ended up with a rather strange life—still, those days seemed slightly better.
“By the way, what’s our next class again?”
“Basic Hunting, isn’t it? Or was it something else?”
“I think it’s Basic Hunting.”
With one lecture over, it was time to prepare for the next. We still had to eat, but we couldn’t afford to spend too much time on food either. After all, we needed to get ready for the class that would teach hunting methods in the training grounds and hunting zones beyond the Shareltea campus.
However, since the academy had been split in half, practical training with artificial monsters and golems like last year would be difficult. The proportion of theory would likely increase while practical sessions decreased. That said, I didn’t expect practical training to disappear entirely. Theory was important, but the field was always more important. Games were no different—actually doing something was far better than studying it through text or video a hundred times. Still, we probably wouldn’t be doing practical training today.
I wondered what exactly we would be doing in the “Basic Hunting” class.
“Oh, did everyone prepare the required materials for class?”
“Materials?”
“The class materials?”
Shannon suddenly brought it up. Materials? What did she mean……
“Did you not watch the orientation video?”
“I just left it playing and didn’t really watch it.”
“Me neither.”
Who in their right mind would honestly watch an orientation video, especially one about class materials? Those were things you only looked at right before the fire reached your feet.
“Um…… It said we need to bring materials today. It specifically told us to bring them.”
“Ah, damn it.”
And now the fire was at our feet.
Just as I was about to pull out my phone to check the video, Shannon stopped me.
“Ah, you don’t need to watch the whole video. Just bring a few things.”
She thought for a moment, then took out her phone. The sound of typing followed, and right after, my phone vibrated.
“What is this……”
“It looks like a lot, but once you remove the optional items, it’s not that bad, right? We can just eat, grab a taxi, and be done with it.”
“No, that’s not the issue……”
The list of materials was far too suspicious. We were only in the second week, yet it already felt like they were planning actual field training.
“This looks like they’re going for real combat-level practice. We haven’t even learned anything yet.”
Normally, they’d at least cover basic guidance, combat methods, and tips first, right? That way we could prepare for emergencies and expect better efficiency. I couldn’t hide my confusion.
“Ah. According to the orientation, the training room we were supposed to use for class got destroyed, so they’re moving straight to practical field training.”
“Without even minimal theory lessons?”
“They said theory lessons are being skipped because there aren’t enough classrooms left.”
For those with poor written grades but good practical scores, this was paradise. I wasn’t particularly skilled in either, but since I preferred practical work anyway, it wasn’t a bad deal. Might as well give the practical a shot.
“Because of that, they emphasized that it’ll be very close to real combat, so we should prepare thoroughly. There are other details, but they said they’ll explain everything today.”
“So…… you don’t know exactly how the practical training will work either?”
“No. They just told us to bring the materials and gather at the assembly point.”
The assembly point. Come to think of it, there hadn’t been any mention of where exactly the class would be held.
“Where is the assembly point?”
Shannon pointed behind her—more precisely, toward the center of the invisible city beyond.
“In front of the Arecibo Gate.”
The only remaining path connecting to the destroyed Shareltea campus. A road wider than several apartment buildings put together. Because of that, it was currently under massive lockdown. Security personnel armed with powered exoskeletons and magical tools stood guard everywhere.
Until yesterday, the area in front of the Arecibo Gate had been deserted under tight security. Today, however, there were a few students present. Cheon Mari, Shannon, and I arrived wearing light armor rather than full combat gear.
“Hmm, there are more heavily armed people than I expected.”
Cheon Mari spoke while wrapping bandages around her hands. Just as she said, quite a few students were wearing thick, layered armor.
“On the other hand, there are also plenty of ultra-lightly armed people.”
Students who had come wearing only cloth clothes and carrying a single weapon. In extreme cases, some hadn’t brought anything at all—not even a Hunter Watch. In this situation where no one knew what kind of future awaited us, a metal golem waddled over and stopped in front of the gate.
“Students enrolled in course 1-08, ‘Basic Hunting,’ form a circle in front of me.”
Along with the stiff voice, its hand rose. Hundreds of scattered students began forming a circle around the metal golem. Just as glances were being exchanged—wondering where the professor had gone and why this thing had shown up instead—the golem lowered its raised hand and quickly scanned the students.
“242 out of 300 enrolled students present.”
A dismal number. On the other hand, it also meant there were more students who could be carried.
I considered it fortunate. Meanwhile, the golem paid no attention to the insufficient numbers.
“I’ll assume you’ve all watched the orientation video.”
It spoke while its optical sensors glowed red. The golem stood with its hands behind its back as if it had become a professor.
“As you may have heard, due to shortages in academy personnel and facilities, there will be no professor for this class.”
Many students murmured in surprise. Soon, various expressions of disbelief, shock, and absurdity spread among them. But the metal golem simply ignored human emotions and coldly brushed aside the protesting gazes.
“Instead, I, an artificial intelligence golem, will be supervising everything. Under my supervision, your goal will be to kill knights and monsters.”
“What the hell?”
“Does that even make sense?”
“What is this……”
The words had been spoken so matter-of-factly. The shocked students grew noisy, but as time passed, they gradually fell silent. Eventually, only the creaking mechanical sounds of the city could be heard. Then someone in the crowd asked how they should address the supervising golem. After all, since it held a high position, it was only proper to show respect even to an artificial being.
The golem struck its chest coldly, drawing everyone’s attention.
“If necessary, you may call me Supervisor Ishmael.”
A emotionless golem supervisor. It was the signal flare announcing that Palaestra Academy’s policy had shifted toward practical combat training.
And then the golem turned its cold gaze toward me—perhaps toward me specifically.