Episode 10. First Lesson (2)

After the party was formed, the preparation time given was 30 minutes.

Although the exact content of the lesson was not disclosed, following the professor’s advice that “we’ll be stuck in the mountains for a while,” the candidates each gathered the necessary equipment for outdoor activities in their party units.

Well, the necessary equipment was just comfortable clothes, shoes, and a water bottle.

After quickly preparing, the candidates headed to the outdoor training ground located right next to the school grounds.

Though it’s called a training ground, it was actually a massive mountain that had been entirely remodeled, so from the outside, it just looked like the school’s backyard mountain.

“Today’s lesson is ‘Monster Tracking.'”

Professor Lucas pointed to the mountain and continued.

“I’ve released three monsters inside the training ground. Your mission is to track the traces left by these monsters and capture them somewhere in the mountains.”

“M-monsters?”

Albert asked in a frightened voice.

Monsters.

They are creatures mutated by the power of the Devil God, and along with demons, they are considered humanity’s most threatening “enemies.”

Their strength and abilities vary greatly depending on the individual, but they are generally powerful enough to easily tear apart several people.

“Why, are you scared?”

“N-no! I’m not scared!”

Albert’s expression was stiff with tension as he said this.

The expressions of the other candidates weren’t much different.

Although they had opportunities to observe monsters from a distance during their first and second-year lessons, tracking and hunting monsters released into the wild like this was a first for them.

“Not scared, huh? I can clearly see your legs trembling.”

Professor Lucas clicked his tongue and lightly smacked Albert’s stiff head.

“Ah!”

Albert screamed and clutched his head.

“Let me say it again, today’s lesson is monster ‘tracking.’ Not hunting, tracking.”

Professor Lucas crossed his arms and continued.

“The monsters to be captured are restricted by magical tools from doing anything other than moving. In other words, they can only run away.”

“Ah.”

“Phew. I thought…”

Only then did the shadows on the candidates’ faces lift with a low sigh.

“Well, this is just the first lesson, so it’s like this. But from the mid-term evaluation onwards, there will be no mercy, so prepare yourselves from now on.”

“Ugh.”

The candidates’ faces darkened again at the professor’s words.

“Anyway, the party that captures the monsters released in the mountains will receive bonus points, so give it your best shot.”

“Yes!”

The candidates responded energetically to the professor’s words.

Knowing that their treatment after graduation would vary greatly depending on their overall evaluation ranking during their candidate days, they had no choice but to strive for every bonus point.

“Then, let’s depart…”

“Professor! I have a question!”

“Go ahead.”

“What’s the time limit?”

“Ah, right. I forgot to mention that. The time limit is…”

Professor Lucas’s lips curled into a sly smile.

“There isn’t one.”

“…?”

The candidates’ eyes filled with question marks at the professor’s words.

“No matter how many hours or days it takes to capture the released monsters. The lesson will continue until all three monsters are captured.”

“D-days?”

“Um… Professor. What about other classes…”

“Combat training will be considered a valid absence, so don’t worry and focus on this lesson.”

“…”

The candidates looked at Professor Lucas, who was smiling wickedly as if daring them to even think about skipping, and made pained expressions.

“Alright, then each party will depart with a 5-minute interval!”

With Professor Lucas’s hearty laughter, the first outdoor lesson of the third year began.

* * *

‘Monster tracking lesson, huh.’

When I first heard about forming a party, my memories were still hazy.

But now, memories from my past life are starting to come back.

‘I remember it took three days to capture all three monsters.’

Of course, the party I was in didn’t even catch a glimpse of the monsters, let alone capture them.

But I remember suffering quite a bit, wandering around the mountains for three days, almost starving.

“It’s almost our turn.”

“Ah, yeah.”

I got up at Iris’s call.

“Ugh… Saintess. Do we really have to go with him?”

“It’s a party lesson. Of course, we have to go together.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Camila glared at me with a displeased expression.

“Why did you even suggest forming a party with such a ruffian in the first place?”

I was curious about that too.

‘Why did she ask me to be in the same party?’

Not long ago, she was slapping and cursing at me.

We hadn’t met or talked since then, so the bad blood between us hadn’t disappeared.

“Hmm… I wonder?”

Iris smiled mysteriously and glanced at me.

“It’s a secret.”

“Ugh.”

“Anyway, if we don’t hurry, the professor will scold us.”

“Sigh. Yes, understood.”

Camila sighed as if she had no choice and turned to me.

“I heard you’ve been hiding your strength?”

“Well… there were some circumstances.”

I wasn’t exactly hiding my strength, but since the rumor had spread, there was no reason to deny it.

Even if I said I had regressed, no one would believe me.

“Whatever your circumstances are, I won’t be as easy to deal with as last time, so don’t get any funny ideas.”

Camila gripped the hilt of her sword and glared fiercely at me.

I swallowed a chuckle and nodded.

I had no intention of losing control of my emotions and acting out like last time, but a question naturally arose.

‘Can I beat Camila at full strength now?’

Honestly, the reason I could overpower her with one hand last time was largely because she was careless.

She wasn’t even using her Holy Mark back then.

If I were to face her at full strength now…

‘I’m not sure.’

Even though I now have a way to accumulate magic power, it’s only been a week.

I couldn’t compare to her, who had been steadily growing since childhood through breathing techniques.

Of course, purely in terms of skill, I could confidently say I had reached a level she couldn’t even dream of, but that was only in terms of skill.

‘Honestly, I’m not even sure what level I’m at now.’

In my past life, there were three periods where I grew significantly.

The first was during my time as a bottom-tier mercenary.

The second was when I received teachings from comrades like Yuren, Berald, and Sophia.

And the last was…

‘When I wandered the continent alone, searching for the Primordial Flame.’

At that time, there was no one to compare myself to, so it was hard to gauge how far I had come.

But one thing I was sure of…

‘I won’t lose easily.’

No matter how much Camila Bediche is considered a promising talent, even being considered for the “Sword of the Holy Kingdom.”

Right now, she’s just a rookie candidate who hasn’t even experienced proper combat.

“What are you dawdling for?”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Hmph. Don’t think you can slack off just because it’s a lesson. Since you’re in the same party as me, think of it as real combat and move accordingly.”

Camila snorted and walked ahead with confident steps.

“By the way, where should we start tracking?”

Iris looked around with a lost expression.

It’s called monster tracking, but how are we supposed to find a monster hiding somewhere in this vast mountain?

“Hehe. No need to worry about that, Saintess!”

Camila puffed out her chest with a confident expression.

“I got pretty good grades in the tracking class last year. Just trust me and follow.”

“Ah, right. You bragged to me about getting first place back then.”

“W-well, that was… ahem. Please forget about that.”

“Why~ It was cute.”

“L-let’s hurry. If we dawdle, the other parties will get ahead of us.”

Camila’s face turned slightly red as she quickened her steps.

* * *

The monster tracking began under Camila’s command.

Indeed, her tracking skills were quite impressive, as expected from someone who claimed to have gotten first place in the tracking class.

“The direction the branch is broken and the footprints suggest it went this way.”

Camila carefully examined the surroundings and followed the monster’s trail.

After about an hour of moving…

“Huh? What the…”

Camila made a panicked expression as the trail suddenly disappeared.

“Ugh…”

Camila turned to Iris, who was following behind, and fidgeted.

“Don’t make that face. This is your first time tracking a monster directly, right?”

“B-but!”

“It’s okay.”

Iris smiled gently and comforted Camila.

She then turned to me and continued.

“We’ll have to start over from the beginning.”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

I shook my head and stepped forward.

“…No need? What do you mean?”

“The trail didn’t disappear; we just couldn’t find it.”

“What?”

I pointed to a thin black hair stuck in the bark of a tree near where the trail had ended.

It was at a height of about 10 meters, so you wouldn’t notice it unless you tilted your head back for a while.

“Ah…!”

“There are no claw marks on the tree, but hair was found high up. It’s a creature that’s good at climbing trees.”

Why would it suddenly climb up a tree after moving on the ground?

I brushed aside the fallen leaves at the base of the tree.

Sure enough.

There was what appeared to be monster feces lying there.

‘Both humans and monsters are most vulnerable when defecating.’

It probably climbed the tree for safety.

“It hasn’t been long since it defecated.”

I picked up a small piece of the feces and put it in my mouth.

“Eek!”

I heard the shocked voices of the two women behind me.

“Ptooey.”

I spat out the feces and continued.

“There’s not much moisture, and the stench and bitterness are strong. It’s likely a feline carnivore that mutated into a monster.”

Considering its climbing ability, it’s almost certain.

“There’s also a slight taste of blood, so its health isn’t great.”

This is probably due to the magical tools Professor Lucas mentioned.

“Considering its movement patterns and health, it probably didn’t climb the tree and move far.”

“…”

As I stood up, Camila took a few steps back.

“What?”

“You… you just ate the monster’s feces…”

“Nothing checks a monster’s condition as accurately as its feces. It’s even in the tracking manual, right?”

Even monsters are living creatures that eat, sleep, and defecate.

“I know that, but…”

Usually, people just look at it and leave it at that. Even active heroes don’t go as far as putting it in their mouths.

Only low-tier mercenaries, who live hand-to-mouth, might do something like that.

“Looking at it is much less accurate than this.”

“B-but you didn’t have to eat it, right?”

“Right now, it’s just training, so it doesn’t matter. But what if it were real combat? What if the monster could be hiding and targeting you at any moment?”

In that case, knowing the monster’s condition in advance could be a matter of life and death.

“That’s…”

“Wasn’t it you who said we should treat this like real combat, not just training?”

“…”

Camila swallowed her words and lowered her head, unable to retort.

Her clenched fists were trembling.

She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

‘Well.’

She had confidently told the Saintess to trust her and follow her lead, only to lose the trail midway.

And then she was completely defeated, both logically and skillfully, by a candidate who had humiliated her just a week ago.

Given her strong pride, it must have been a huge blow to her ego.

“Tsk…”

Camila, who had been grinding her teeth, approached me with tearful eyes.

“Thud!”

She stomped her foot and grabbed my collar.

“I-I can do it too!”

“Huh?”

Do what?

“I can eat poop too!”

“…”

Wait.

I get what you mean, but…

The way you said it sounds a bit off?

“What’s the big deal about eating poop and acting all high and mighty?”

“What kind of life is it where you can brag about eating poop?”

“I can eat it too if I want to!”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”

I get it, so calm down.

“Hmph! What do you get? So, you’re saying that in front of you, I should… put that dirty thing in my mouth?!”

“Huh?”

What kind of crazy talk is this?

“You… you bad guy…!”

“No.”

Please stop.

The genre suddenly feels like it’s changed.