The Adventurer’s Academy

"... What?" Rin asked, blinking.

"Like I said," Maria told her. "I want you to gain some confidence before your next mission. So," she took a deep, shaky breath, as though she was feeling just as nervous as Rin at the moment. "We're going to head out and fight monsters together."

"..." Rin gawked at her before she internalized what was happening. "Uh, crap, okay, yeah, can... Can I take a shower and get ready first, or...?"

"Go ahead, I'll wait out here," Maria replied, and, hearing that, Rin started her morning routine.

She tried to get through it as quickly as she could. In the bathroom, as the warm water hit her skin, she took deep breaths trying to calm herself down.

[This is really happening, this is really happening, what the hell?] She thought. It was easy for her to forget this fact due to the amount of time she'd spent around Maria, but her teacher was one of the strongest adventurers in the world. The fact that Rin could very well end up seeing that power in action was exciting.

A few minutes later, she was standing in front of Maria, wearing that worn-out armor she'd taken with her to the first mission, which was now in pretty awful condition.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said, trying not to sound too nervous.

"Good. Come."

And so, the two of them left the academy. On the way, Rin asked Maria about this random plan of hers.

"What are we going to do?"

"Well," Maria said, looking ahead and never turning to face Rin. "Because it was skeletons that you told me you had trouble with when you got lost, I figured you'd take them on again, now that you've learned a little more. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Oh, um, maybe," Rin responded, as they drew the eyes of the nearby citizens toward them. Admittedly, she didn't know. Despite what everyone continued to say about skeletons, she just couldn't believe they were that weak. She'd fought both kobolds, and skeletons, both of which were Rank D creatures, and yet, skeletons were much, much stronger than the former. 

"I will be there to guide you, every step of the way. Don't worry too much."

"Alright... Uh, where are we going?"

"There is a large, abandoned, cemetery to the northwest that holds a few undead. They should serve as a good place to train in."

Hearing that, Rin raised a brow. The way the spirit at Derain had presented it, although undead could rise at any moment thanks to Essence, in the case of that old city, it was a specific situation that led to the accumulation of hatred in the area, which then led to the curse that made those skeletons rise. She wondered if things were similar here.

"Wait, so, is there like, something keeping the skeletons alive?" Rin asked. "At the place I found, it was like that."

"Yes," Maria explained as the two of them reached Libera's northern gates. "Normally, when it comes to skeletons and zombies, in particular, there will be some sort of a focal point where the Essence in the area converges, and here, if you destroy the host of that Essence, the curse dissipates. However," Maria continued, "depending on the potential dangers of the site, and how close it is to civilization, we tend to leave some of these places working on purpose."

"What?" Rin asked, shocked. "Why?"

"So that rookies like you can go there and train," Maria quickly responded. "As I said before, skeletons are quite weak. Having a place like this where you can come, kill some enemies, leave, and repeat this process the next day, it's highly valuable to anyone seeking to try to improve."

[Huh...] Rin looked away. It did make some sense to her, though it made her feel strange that the Adventurer's Guild would just leave certain places like this up and running.

One question, however, came to her as she heard that. 

"Uh... But, can I ask you something?" 

"Of course." 

"Can some skeletons be stronger than others?" 

"Yes," Maria replied quickly, and firmly. 

"Really?" 

"... Rin, you and I are both humans, correct?" 

"Yeah," Rin nodded. 

"And, yet, we are not of the same level of strength." 

"Well, yeah, but we aren't monsters." 

"This is a principle that applies to all creatures, Rin. One specific member of a certain species or type of monster can always stand out. The reason, however, that skeletons are Rank D, is because the average one is of that strength level. But, you could always run into a skeleton or two that are anomalies, for one reason or another." 

"That..." 

"It's one of the flaws of the ranking system we use," Maria admitted. "But, the system is still useful, despite that, as most of the time the rankings are correct." 

The two of them then exited the city, and, far sooner than Rin had expected, she was outside again, in the Old World. She quickly saw the same cars and broken-down trucks that she'd seen when she first exited Libera this way, and where last time it had been surprising, this time it was eerier than anything, now that she understood what all of these things meant.

They walked for around an hour, mostly in silence, before Maria stood still, and Rin stopped just beside her. The road they were on took them to a vast, empty space, and as Rin looked to her right, she saw a giant machine covered in grass. It looked like a metal bird and was bigger than some buildings.

"Where are we going?" Rin asked, turning toward Maria.

The Rank S adventurer was looking to her left, a wide-eyed expression on her face, though Rin couldn't tell why.

"Maria?" Rin asked, and the adventurer blinked, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry?" She looked back at Rin as though she'd forgotten her student was there.

"I just asked where we were heading," Rin shrugged.

"Oh. Oh, right, sorry," Maria cleared her throat. "This way."

And the two of them went into the woods to the left. If Rin remembered correctly, the kobold fortress she'd gone to before was likely around her too, and just thinking about that place made her mood darken.

The smell of the forest, the sun kissing her skin, created conflicting feelings inside of her. On one hand, it was under these very conditions that the last month of danger and trouble had been created for her, but on the other, it was because of those circumstances that she'd met Xhez, who she already considered a good friend.

Her contemplation was cut off soon, though, when the two adventurers heard a strange shrieking sound in the air.

It was similar to that of a regular bird but far deeper. When Maria heard that, she froze, and Rin bumped into her.

"Agh- Maria, are you-"

However, as Rin's body touched the other woman's, she noticed that her teacher was trembling. Maria turned to look at her, and Rin shut up.

"Nothing to be worried about," Maria muttered. "Come on, it's right up ahead."

"... Okay," Rin nodded slowly.

Then, Maria continued walking, but at a slightly faster pace.

[What is going on with her? She's acting so strange,] Rin noted, but she didn't want to ask about it.

It was one of those moments where you could just tell the last thing the other person wanted was for you to bring up the very thing you were thinking about.

Like she said, however, soon, they arrived at a very peculiar place. It was like a giant, sprawling cemetery, with a thick fog covering it. She could barely see them, but it looked like most of the tombstones were broken, and even from a distance, Rin could see that the graves were dug up.

[I guess spooky fogs are just part of these places' whole aesthetic, huh?] Rin sighed.

Even as far as she was right now, she couldn't tell where the cemetery ended. She guessed this place was as big as the Academy, at least.

"You'll find them in there," Maria told her. "You don't have to go too deep inside. Just look around, fight a few enemies, come out, catch your breath, and keep it going. I..." Maria gulped. "I will be just a few steps behind you, watching, ready to assist if anything happens."

"Okay, okay," Rin started stretching. "Any tips?"

"Yes," Maria nodded. "As surprising as their agility can be, skeletons never respond well to pressure. In other words, if they keep dodging your attacks, look to overwhelm them. You'll find that you land hits more often than not that way."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense," Rin replied. "Anything else?"

"Not really. Other than that, fighting them is fairly straightforward," Maria shrugged.

"... Alright. I guess I'm going in then."

With that, Rin walked forward, toward the iron gates that held the entrance to the cemetery.

"Good luck," she heard Maria say behind her, and she gave her teacher what she hoped looked like a confident smile.