Monster Hunt: The Hammer Bet
Two days after landing on the mainland, I was lying in ambush alone in the forest near the Alitus-Taraen border. The main target of this monster subjugation, the Rhinodon, was a giant creature that looked like a rhinoceros and a dinosaur combined. They primarily lived in grasslands, where they wrecked crops and occasionally rampaged through villages, causing casualties. Given their massive size, large-scale extermination required mobilizing the army. Even if tanks could manage, high-bodied armored vehicles would flip if rammed from the side, and using troops to sweep them clean came with its own problems. Crops trampled under their feet were nearly impossible to revive, after all.
That was why they deployed Aindiums each year—machines with excellent off-road mobility that could deliver results even in small numbers—to gradually reduce the population of these dangerous monsters. The target was a plains-dwelling Rhinodon, yet here I was in the middle of a dark night, deep in the forest. Half the reason was Rendel. The other half was Enlow, the second-year who called himself Rendel's rival.
So, two days earlier, after we'd taken the train for several hours from the landing point and finally reached our destination.
“Monster subjugation must minimize damage to farmland as much as possible. There are quite a few volunteers this time, so the army will focus entirely on defense. You students will be the ones hunting the monsters.”
The local army here operated outdated equipment—tanks and armored vehicles—without any Aindiums. Aindium units were almost never stationed near the border with allied Taraen; they were mainly deployed near the borders with the Republic and Karmanu. Karmanu was an ally too, but with its current civil war, the placement was a precaution against any sudden developments. As a result, the academy cadets—who could move the largest number of Aindiums with the most freedom—were constantly being called out to handle all sorts of national tasks like this.
“Our main operator will be third-year Sabrina. Instructor Kael will provide support, and I will also serve as commander.”
The middle-aged instructor who had led us here scanned the pilots, checking each face one by one. When his gaze landed on Rendel, he spoke directly to him.
“Rendel. Where are the other CT Club students?”
“First-year Luna Adelt is here with me.”
At Rendel's introduction, the instructor flinched and glanced my way. The way he reacted to the name Luna made it clear he knew exactly who I was.
“A first-year, huh. There are unusually many first-year volunteers this year. Ahem. Still, if they’re from the CT Club, their skills should be reliable, yes?”
“Yes, sir. I train with my classmates and receive guidance from the upperclassmen every day.”
“Excellent. Having two CT Club members puts my mind at ease. Rendel, you’ll take command of Team One.”
“Yes, understood.”
The commander instructor made a point of avoiding eye contact with me the entire time as he walked past. I sent him off with a bright, cheerful smile.
After checking every student, the instructor divided us into three main teams. I was assigned to Team One with Rendel.
“Team One will serve as the hammer—the core of this hunt. Team Two is the anvil, and Team Three will act as the herders. Assignments were made based on each cadet’s machine, attributes, and skill level, so don’t complain about your roles. Every position is crucial. In urgent situations, use your own judgment, but never forget your team’s primary duty.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Rhinodons are migratory monsters. The army has been diligently driving them toward this sparsely populated border area since last week, so the hunt begins at first light tomorrow morning.”
“Oh!”
The students shouted with fighting spirit and thrust their hands into the air. A Rhinodon was certainly a large monster, but it was still less than half the size of even the smallest Nimust-class. It might be able to ram a tank off its tracks and bend its barrel, but against an Aind-class Aindium the size difference meant it could be beaten bare-handed. Seeing the relaxed expressions on both the cadets’ and instructors’ faces—none of them doubting the principal’s claim that this would be a “safe hunt”—I could already tell this subjugation was going to be harder than they thought.
I needed to give Rendel a hint ahead of time.
I started toward Rendel, who was already discussing strategy with his team members, but someone reached him first.
“Hmph. You as leader of Team One? Doesn’t sit right with me at all.”
Enlow, the self-proclaimed rival of Rendel. The moment I saw him, I remembered what I had overlooked: who caused the incident in the original story and exactly how it unfolded.
“Personally, I think Team Three is both more dangerous and more highly valued.”
Rendel didn’t see Enlow as a true rival, but rather as a slightly rough-mouthed yet friendly companion. That was just the kind of personality he had—gladly accepting every training challenge thrown his way under the banner of rivalry.
“No matter what, Team One is the one that actually finishes off the monsters. Damn it. I could have caught them faster.”
Enlow, obsessed with flashy roles, clearly found Rendel’s advice irritating. To be honest, my own thoughts aligned with his to some extent. Assigning the faster Aindiums to the herding team and letting the quickest mover—Rendel—coordinate the overall flow might have been better. Still, the plan was already set. If I wanted to carry out my own scheme properly, it was best for Rendel to stay on the offensive.
“Aren’t you busy, senior?”
“I’m broke these days, you know? Did some research and found out Rhinodons actually pay pretty well. I’m hunting seriously this time.”
I could hear second- and third-years talking nearby. Even though monster subjugation offered measly volunteer credits and bonus points, the real reason so many cadets showed up was something else entirely: the partial ownership rights granted over the monsters they killed. Roughly half went to the kingdom, which processed and sold the materials to cover compensation for nearby villages. The rest belonged to the students, military units, or occasional mercenaries who made the kill. There could have been friction with the regular army, but the kingdom provided support to the academy so cadets could gain experience while reducing civilian harm, creating these safe hunting grounds. Thanks to that, students could train in a controlled environment and earn some pocket money on the side.
The reason upperclassmen warned first-years away from these operations wasn’t only because studying was more important. More participants meant less money for everyone. Most of the second- and third-years who joined came from less wealthy families, so they were probably looking out for their own.
Rendel, on the other hand, had joined purely to help the residents and seize a rare chance to fight monsters. In the original story, he donated every penny earned from selling the loot except for the Ellydium. I didn’t need money either, so I planned to handle the Rhinodons moderately and focus on securing the main prize. After all, only one monster dropped Ellydium. I just had to make sure I got that one. And I would need to take it down together with Rendel. My firepower alone would be insufficient, and Rendel was practically the only person here I could persuade.
“Senior. Got a moment?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
I led Rendel over to the armory where weapons were stacked high. True to wealthy Alitus, the variety and sheer quantity of arms were impressive.
“What weapons are you planning to use, senior?”
“Me? Sword and rifle, same as always.”
Sword and rifle were Rendel's go-to weapons. I had rarely seen him use anything else. That didn’t mean he couldn’t handle other options, though.
“I’m worried guns won’t be very effective against a monster instead of an Aindium. What if you took something like this blunt weapon instead?”
I pointed at a massive hammer that looked at least five meters long. Anything hit by that would be smashed to pieces in an instant, building or not.
“Haha. A Rhinodon might look big and scary to a human, but it’s not that tough an opponent when you’re inside an Aindium. I bet White Fang could take one down with its bare hands.”
Rendel laughed and politely turned down my suggestion.
No, Rendel. Your real opponent isn’t some Rhinodon.
I wasn’t a prophet; I couldn’t say that outright. Instead I pointed toward the missiles stored a short distance away.
“There will be quite a lot of them. How will you finish them all with just a sword? Let’s take them out quickly with those rockets and missiles. You said there aren’t any civilians around, right?”
“Ah, if that’s what you’re worried about, it’s fine. There’s a senior in our Team One who pilots a Vivald-class. He’ll handle most of that firepower.”
“Excuse me?”
I hadn’t expected a Vivald-class to be here. Not every Vivald-class specialized in bombardment, but unless it was a very unusual case, the difference in ammunition and missile capacity compared to anything Aind-class or smaller was enormous. Most carried bombardment modules by default.
This was troublesome. Even if we killed the monster with Ellydium, if the Vivald-class’s contribution was too high, the amount I could claim would shrink. I needed to secure as much as possible since I had no idea what might happen later. No helping it. I would have to be more proactive.
“Senior. How about a bet?”
“A bet?”
“Yes. Take that hammer over there as your secondary weapon. If you don’t use it once until the subjugation ends, you win. If you use it even once, I win.”
“Hmm. A rifle really would be a waste of bullets against Rhinodons. A hammer, though… It’s a little heavy, but…”
Perfect. The ever-competitive Rendel had taken the bait. If he carried the hammer, the situation would turn out far better than in the original story. There would be less risk of most of the loot being claimed by someone else, too.
“But.”
I had just let out a relieved breath, thinking the plan had worked, when Rendel stared straight at me.
“If we’re making a bet, there should be stakes, right? Like granting each other’s wishes.”
“Wishes?”
“Yeah. That’s how these bets usually go, isn’t it?”
I had never bet with anyone over a wish before, so I wasn’t sure. Still, I was confident I would win, and accepting this much was probably necessary to get Rendel moving.
“F-fine. The winner gets their wish granted. Let’s do it!”
Eh, no way. No matter how dense Rendel could be, if his sword didn’t work on the opponent he would surely pick up the hammer. In the original story the sword had been useless, so he bought time with his body and earned a small amount of Ellydium in recognition of that contribution. I believe in Rendel. He’ll put defeating the monster threatening the citizens ahead of some bet with his junior.