Surviving in the Wild (1)

The afternoon sun hung high as we left the academy's lecture halls behind. The training grounds weren't far, but the moment I returned to Class 13, every eye in the room locked onto me.

"Oh, you're here? Then let's head straight to the sparring arena!"

Despite the heavy stares from the other students, I followed Anju's lead and moved out with the rest of Class 13.

"Hey."

The only one who spoke to me during the walk was Bleber.

"Did Vermilion somehow get a hold on your weakness?"

"It's not like that."

"Then did she really just choose you purely on her own?"

"Purely... might be stretching it a bit, but yeah, she did pick me."

"......"

Even though we kept some distance while walking, the rest of the class seemed curious too. Their ears twitched as they eavesdropped from afar.

"You're sure she doesn't have anything on you, right?"

"Why? If she did, would you help me out or something?"

"Well... maybe."

"...Really?"

"I don't know why the daughter of the Vermilion Bird would put an invisible leash on a lamb, but having a Class 13 student dragged around by someone from Class 1 doesn't paint a very good picture."

Bleber fiddled with her tail, speaking in a slightly grumpy tone.

"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not that I'm worried about you... okay, maybe a little. But what I'm really worried about is that others might misunderstand and start picking fights with you because of it."

"Misunderstandings are probably already piling up even without me, and as for fights, it feels like they'd start the moment anyone gets close."

"How did you know?"

"Huh?"

"That someone picked a fight."

"...I was just guessing."

It seemed that while I was having lunch with Vermilion, the Class 13 students had already gotten into some trouble with another class.

"What happened?"

"Are you worried about us?"

"Kind of."

"Kind of... alright, fine. We clashed with two students from Class 1. The ones targeting your partner, Vermilion."

"...Was one of them a bat beastman?"

"Eh?"

Bleber's eyes widened in genuine surprise.

"How did you know? Were you using some kind of magic to eavesdrop on me...?"

"Do I look like that kind of pervert to you? That guy came at me too. We ran into each other right after the afternoon bell rang."

"...Ah. So it was after he met us. He looked really worked up."

"By now he's probably cursing me out in his head at least three times over."

"Pardon?"

"Never mind."

I signaled Bleber to move ahead and explained the situation as we continued toward the sparring arena.

"You turned an unfertilized egg into a fertilized one...?! Are you insane?!"

"Not even close."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"H-how could you say something so vulgar...!"

"When some spineless bastard glares at you with those arrogant eyes, if you don't hit back at least that hard, you might as well cut off your own balls."

"W-what kind of language is that...!"

"I can get behind that one."

Corvalt quietly approached and gave me a thumbs-up.

"A true male. It seems my eyes were not mistaken."

"Male, huh. Could you call me a 'man' instead?"

"A man? That is... hm, very well. You are indeed a man."

'Male' sounded too beastly. 'Man' felt a bit too human, but this wasn't exactly a contest to pick the Beast King.

"The one called Icaris has paired ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the dragon Kromhart. Kromhart is a master of the spear and an expert at thrusting attacks. You would do well to be cautious."

"Are you worried about me?"

"While you were away, the students of Class 13 made a certain promise among themselves."

"A promise?"

"H-hey!"

Annelis stepped in front of me, walking backward while pointing a finger.

"Y-yeah, promise us!"

"Promise what?"

"That you'll definitely win!"

"...Ah. So the plan is for no one to lose and everyone to win?"

I scanned the other Class 13 students, and they all gave short nods.

"If that's the case, it's actually something I'd like to ask of you all. Even though it feels like I got temporarily pulled away because I got snatched up by the Vermilion Young Lady from Class 1, I'm still part of Class 13."

"Uh..."

"From the beginning, even if I had to form a team by myself, I was planning to win no matter what. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Even if the opponent had two people."

Vermilion had thrown a slight wrench into things, but my core plan hadn't changed. Stand out. Rack up as many points as possible. So that when the Twelve Kings handed over the King's Symbols, if they tried to say I wasn't one of their kind, I could claim my rights based on my academy performance. And if they really tried to screw me over... well, then I'd cut them open for real.

The first step was this sparring session that would continue throughout our three years at the academy.

"Ta-da!"

As we walked, Anju suddenly stopped and spread both hands dramatically.

"This is the Cadelis sparring arena! Also known as... the Savanna!"

"This is... the sparring arena?"

"Isn't this just a small city?"

The Savanna. Stretching out from Cadelis Academy was an area so vast it could easily be called a small city. There were zones designed for urban combat, thickets perfect for ambushes, and forested areas that favored beastmen who could climb trees. The academy wasn't just university grounds. If Cadelis Academy was like Seoul National University, then this Savanna training ground was the entire Gwanak Mountain range. Not that they'd carved up an actual mountain—they'd torn down the city walls and expanded outward.

How could an academy built inside a city create something like this? The answer was simple.

"This entire place was reconstructed using magic for the academy's sake...!"

Over the course of a year, the city had been completely remodeled solely for the academy. The walls of what was once the capital of the human empire were torn down, and the academy's boundaries stretched far into the wilderness. Using every kind of magic available, they built structures and battlefields across the vast plains. Some of the city's original functions had been lost in the process, but to the beastmen, the history of humans from a hundred years ago didn't matter one bit.

Thanks to that, the sparring arena called Savanna truly lived up to its name. It wasn't just a survival field—it felt like the entire massive stretch of land had become one giant battlefield.

Beep.

It was blatantly unfriendly. If the context was missing, you'd have to figure it out yourself...

"Instructor Anju."

"Yep!"

"What exactly are we supposed to do now?"

"Just find the opponent written on the blackboard earlier and take them down!"

...It seemed the concept of considerate, detailed instructions for students didn't exist with this Class 13 homeroom teacher.

"So we have to find them ourselves? In a place this huge?"

"Figuring out your prey's location is part of your skill too!"

At least she answered questions properly.

"Don't worry. Every zone is being closely monitored by the assigned instructors. If any safety incidents occur, not only the instructors but also the safety staff will descend immediately to check on you."

She was quite thorough when it came to taking care of new students, at least regarding safety.

"Descend?"

"Yeah. See them up in the sky?"

Anju pointed upward. Winged beastmen were gliding overhead, watching the ground below.

"What they're holding... are those magic stone recording devices?"

"That's right! They're recording the entire sparring session in real time. If anything happens, they're skilled enough to drop in immediately. Some of them have careers on par with the instructors, so don't treat them lightly or look down on them. They're strong!"

I roughly understood. They were watching us from everywhere, so don't do anything dangerous.

"If something dangerous happens, the instructors will step in! Yep!"

Like, say, the physical elimination of a competitor.

Is she softer than she looks?

She didn't say anything outright. About the killing that could easily happen between students, Anju simply smiled brightly and avoided mentioning it as much as possible. If I assumed she was evil, it might be that she was deliberately hiding it with a 'figure it out yourself' attitude. If she was good, maybe she didn't want to scare the students by bringing it up at all.

It's no different from getting gun violence training in an American school and then worrying about getting shot for no reason.

The moment you start worrying, it becomes endless. Whether scaring students in the sparring arena by saying 'you could die' was more effective, or whether not mentioning it at all so they wouldn't even think about killing was better, only the results would tell.

Usually it'd be the former.

Sorry to Anju, but there was already at least one person who'd decided to sink their fangs into my throat.

The sparring had begun. Every student handbook started glowing.

"Alright everyone, good luck! I'll be watching from afar and checking your evaluations!"

"Um, Instructor Anju?"

"Yes? What is it, Annelis?"

"What about Mr. Sapiens...?"

"Ah, that."

Anju smiled awkwardly, but I shrugged at Annelis and walked to the side.

"Since I paired with a student from another class, there has to be at least some penalty like having to join up on my own."

"Ah, so that penalty is...?"

"This is the wild. For now, anyway. I don't know what'll happen next time, but let's all meet up safe and sound when it's over."

I waved at the Class 13 students.

"If you all win, I'll treat everyone to dinner as a celebration."

"What...?"

"Why are you all so surprised?"

"Well, it's just..."

"No matter how much of a loner I am, I'm not the type to go completely off on my own like that."

I had no intention of playing around with these kids, but since we were in the same class and there were team points involved, the story changed.

"Instead, anyone who comes back after losing better be ready to chew on vegetables while the rest of us eat beef."