The New Bond

Aster

Surprisingly, the course ended only a few minutes after I learned the skill. Meditation or learning how to do so took a lot more time than I thought. I looked around for Holly only for a moment as the class ended, but she was already gone, probably as excited as I was to get to her next class.

It was a dash to get my next and last course of the day. Adventuring and Dungeoneering. It was set on the opposite side of the campus, close to the academy's entrance inside a stadium. The first thing I noticed was the course had a lot of people going to it. I counted around thirty to fifty as I walked in, but there had to be a few hundred as the first three rows on one side were almost all taken up.

“Aster!.”

I paused at hearing my name, looking around until I spotted Kat, who was walking up behind me. I grinned at her as she got into a non-yelling distance. “Hey, Kat! Did you enjoy your classes? My last one was great!” I pumped a fist into the air in excitement.

“Yes, well, the fire instructor is a bit of a hothead, but it was informative,” She said as we walked up the stairs to the third row together.

The building was how I’d picture a massive fighting arena from books. It was open-aired and surrounded by wide seating. The field was a good hundred feet wide, and the seats could easily fit two thousand people, maybe three.

“This is smaller than I would have thought, but I guess it is just for the students,” Kat said thoughtfully, looking around.

I turned to her, stunned. “Smaller? Wait, is there a bigger one?”

“Well, the city has one for events about ten times the size of this right next to the academy. Have you not seen it?”

I shook my head, a little dumbfounded as to why you would need one that big, but there were a lot of people in the city.

“I’ve seen it on the outside. We have to go at some point when they're hosting fights. From what I've heard, it’s an amazing place to watch fights.”

As we sat, we both traded information about our classes. Kat was stumped to learn that one of my teachers had been a tree. Over a few hundred students were here for the course when people stopped coming in. We were all sitting on one side of the arena as one man walked out onto the stage. He wasn't in a uniform but a set of metal plate armor. He carried a large sword on his back, presenting an imposing figure. I would have been nervous if he wasn’t also supporting a smile that seemed to warm me just by looking at it.

“Good morning, students, or rather perspective students for the course. I am Adventurer Herney. I know not the best name, but it was one I was given at birth, and as the school has requested, I am not to go by my adventurer name. I am a Paladin of Aleria, the goddess of Light and healing, and I’m a grade four, which means I am a gold-ranked adventurer. As stated in the course description, all of you are going to be tested before you are accepted into the course. This test will have two phases that will only be discussed when we start them, but before that, I will only say this once. You will not be suited for this course if you do not have a combat class. I mean no disrespect, but do not waste my or anyone else's time.”

He stopped talking, scanning over the crowd waiting, and continued to wait until one student stood up and then another and another. They grumbled about it being unfair, but I didn’t understand. If they wanted a combat class, they had to have been offered at least one when they advanced in grade, right?

“I hope if you are still here, you have a combat-related class,” Herney said, crossing his arms. “I need every student to come down here to the first three rows, please, and I will begin to explain the first test.”

Kat and I were already in the third row, so we didn't move as everyone else had to shuffle down. A few minutes later, once everyone was in place, Herney spoke again. He hadn't moved off the arena stage yet but had moved closer, letting me get a good look at him.

He was what I expected from an Adventure, with a scar running down one side of his neck and blue eyes that seemed to scan the room every few seconds.

“Good. Now, I do wish to say if you fail the test, you can always attempt it next year. This test will also be a good example of what the Adventures test to get a badge requires.”

I perked up; I hadn’t thought about it much, but maybe I should try to get into the Adventures guild. It could be fun.

“Because of how short the class is, we will be only doing the first test today and the next tomorrow. One at a time, I will have a student come into the arena ready to fight. I will use a spell to replicate a beast that will attack as soon as you are in the arena. If you are injured, I can and will heal you, but that doesn't mean being reckless. The beast will be the same for each person and set in grade one. Killing the beast isn’t necessary to pass, as I know all combat classes aren't suited for actual face-to-face fighting. If you have a trap or similar class, let me know beforehand, and I will allow three minutes of setup. You aim to survive as long as you can if you can’t kill it. This will be your opponent.”

Taking a step back, he balled his hand into a fist, and a glowing light illuminated the inside of it. Pushing his hand forward and towards the ground, a ball of light shot out and started to bend, deforming and taking shape. First, two legs, then four, and a head started to slowly form into a shape I knew all too well, a wolf. My smile was big and toothy, and I earned a glance, then a blink from Kat. She nudged me with her elbow, whispering, “Close your mouth. You look like you're going to bite someone's finger off.”

I closed my slightly open mouth, a blush coming over my cheeks. “Sorry,” I whispered back to Kat, eyes still watching as Herney gestured a rack of weapons that a student who didn't have any could use, as well as explained the order that we would be going in, starting on the right side of the first row to end at the left side of the third row. In a weird sort of unluckiness, that meant I would be last and Kat second from last still. I couldn't help smiling. Seeing a wolf was nice, even if it wasn’t more than a spell or skill used by Herney.

“This is a wolf summon. It will act exactly how a wolf in this area would, with the exception of having to protect me. I have limited commands I can give it because of my skill level, but I know that I can desummon it if the fight goes too poorly. With that said, you there, boy, you will be first, so get up here.”

As the student went up to look through the weapons, I was glad I’d brought out my bow. I looked to the wolf who waited and felt a pang of guilt at the idea of hurting a wolf, but I reminded myself it was just a summon.

The student picked up a sword and stepped into the area with a bit of apparent nervousness. As if striking a stone for attention, the wolf's head snapped to him, letting out a low growl. The boy stepped back and raised his sword as he looked at Herney.

“Don’t look at me, focus!” The adventure was standing off to the side, watching the wolf as it slunk closer, his arms crossed. As relaxed as he may have looked, his voice was like a whip, and the student flinched at his words as he turned to face the wolf with what resembled a loose stance I’d seen from students who had been dueling.

The wolf leapt as soon as the student turned, having closed enough of the distance while the student had been distracted. The student let out a yelp as he fumbled to move his sword and body to get out of the way, but he was too slow. With a painful sound landing, the boy was forced onto the ground. The wolf was on top of him, and his sword flew off, clattering feet away. The wolf snarled and opened his mouth to take a bit of the student before, with a flash, it disappeared.

The student’s face was pale, and his eyes were wide. The adventurer sighed as he went over and picked up the boy. “You should come back next year, boy, when you have more knowledge on how to fight.”

The student nodded, still a bit shaken, as he stepped off the arena and made his way to the door. Some people snickered, and some outright laughed. I didn't say anything. I had been terrified on my first fight, even with a hunting group behind me, so I understood how scary it could be. It occurred to me those who were laughing had probably never been in a real fight.

It turned out that around half of the students here, even if they had skills and classes, struggled to fight the wolf. Those who could stay in for a minute had determination, some semblance of ability, or a trick up their sleeve. Mages also tended to shine in the fight with their ranged abilities and preparation time.

The fights, for the most part, were dull, with it being more of a game of avoiding the wolf for a minute than trying to attack it. The only sign a sword or arrow was doing any damage was the few strands of wispy light that detached themselves from the wolf when it was hit. The first exciting fight was around the thirtieth student, a boy wearing a robe over his uniform.

He didn’t seem bothered by the wolf as he approached the stage, and it proved that was for a good reason. When he stopped in the arena, he made a slight upward gesture with his hand, and a half-foot thick black spike seemed to suck all the shadow out from around the area. It shot from the ground underneath the wolf, impaling it instantly, not giving it time to do anything, and seemed to disperse the light in an instant.

I blinked, startled by the sudden and unannounced attack. Herney seemed unsurprised. “A cleric of Talzo?” He asked, and the student gave a slight nod.

There was a low whistle from Kat, and I turned a questioning eye to her.

She spoke in a low tone, seeming to understand I didn’t know who that was. “Talzo isn’t a common god that prayed to. He’s the god of shadows, trickery, and, strangely, the truth. It’s said to be one of his priests or to get a class from them, you have to beat another god's priest in a game while telling your opponent what moves you plan to make. To be a cleric already, he has to be special.”

I watched as the boy left the stage and the next student made their way up while Herney resummoned the wolf. I found my attention drifting towards the idea of the gods. I knew Kulni had a blessing, but how did it work for people who followed the gods typically? I was tempted to visit the temple district, a place I’d heard Roslin mention, but that would have to wait.

The fallout rate was just slightly above half, and around sixty students had passed, mostly mages or people who proved they could wield a weapon; even some who had technically failed were allowed to pass. When Kat went up, I was excited to see what she could do as well as concerned. If I had to fight beasts and other creatures, I wanted someone I knew in this class. She, however, didn’t appear worried at all. Pulling a dagger out from her shirt, Kat didn't bother to pick up a longer weapon.

She lowered herself, keeping her body loose, as she flipped the dagger in her hands and caught it by the blade. As the wolf let out a warning growl, and stepped forward. Kat, not appearing fazed, took a step forward as well.

The wolf snarled, taking another step forward and appearing outraged at the idea of being challenged. Kat raised the blade, and her hand seemed to catch fire as she threw it. The fire was pulled from her and followed the knife in a spiral. The blade did nothing as it passed through like most of the weapons that lacked any mana did. The wolf, for a moment, appeared smug. That lasted until the fire that followed the blade hit it.

It made a hissing noise as it connected, the wolf letting out a howl of pain as the front part of its body melted. The wolf stumbled and, for a second, looked like it would fall over before it seemed to gain its balance.

It looked enraged and started forward in unsteady movements as it tried to catch her.

I wasn’t sure if Kat aimed to kill the wolf with that attack, but with the wolf's right shoulder and chest melting. It couldn't catch up to her as she stuck to the outer edges of the arena. The time ran out before it could manage to corner her. She had passed. I gave her a wave as she walked out, then realized it was my turn, and I got up with a jolt of nervous anticipation.

Making my way down to the arena, I thought about what I wanted to do. Using the bow would be the best option, but I had second thoughts as I checked my skills and then my classes. If the creature was considered a wolf, couldn’t I try something else? I knew from the fight at the castle I could push mana into my skill Stalker’s Movement to use it like a slingshot.

I identified the wolf as I walked, an idea forming.

[Blessed Wolf - Summon - Level 45]

Well, as much as I wanted to fight, why do it if I could have fun? If this worked, it would certainly be fun. Instead of pulling my bow out of the storage, I pulled out a strip of dried deer meat as I stepped into the arena.

The wolf snarled like it had at all the others, but it hadn’t shown any abilities and was only the size of a pup. Thinking about it, I wondered why it was so small compared to the wolves in the forest, but I dismissed the thought as it stepped closer. Its growl grew louder.

“Hey, easy.” I held up the meat. “ How about I just stand here? I won’t even come any closer, and you get some food.”

My ear caught a snicker from one of the students who had already passed, and some of the words.

“What’s she doing? Is her class a tamer?”

“Doesn’t she know that it’s a summon? You can’t tame those that’re not wild?”

“Look at her tail, what is she?’

I wanted to roll my eyes at their words. A wolf was a wolf. It didn’t matter if it was summoned. It still had instincts and was just doing what it was told.

I had the ability from my first class to talk to any wolf, even if it wasn’t a skill, but I didn’t think that mattered with a summon who could probably understand what I was saying anyway, but any wolf would want food. At least, that’s what my hope was. On second thought, could a summon made of light even eat?

I held out the piece of meat, the peace offer obvious.

The wolf paused in its approach, the growl dying off as its eyes moved from it to me before it turned its head to Herney. The adventurer looked confused before he started to laugh.

“Lass, In my six years of teaching here, I've seen people run in circles, use the wind to push them out of the arena, and even once try to dispel my summon, but never once did anyone ever offer it food. To think that it actually worked as well. You know I’m going to have to make a new rule about this, right?” Under his breath, I heard him mutter, “Just wait until I tell Jose about this.”

The wolf let out an uncertain whine, and Herney gestured. “Go on, feed the beggar.”

I tossed the meat at the wolf with a grin, watching as it snapped it out of the air. It was weird watching it dissolve inside the body into moats of light. I made my way off of the arena and over to Kat, smiling at her.

“I have a feeling nothing is going to be normal with you,” She said as I sat down.

Herney unsummoned the wolf after giving it a pet around the ears. Looking up, he scanned the remaining students. There were a little over sixty of us left.

“Good! More than last year, I saw some interesting abilities used, as well as good swordsmanship. As you leave, a book will be on the podium near the door. I want you to write down your name and the weapon or the type of magic you use the most. This is for what will happen tomorrow and is not up for debate. For now, I suspect that the bell will ring shortly. Congratulations on passing the first test. I hope to see most of you pass the next test, too.”

As predicted by Herney, almost as soon as he finished talking, there was a long clang as the city bell rang. I made my way out with Kat, and after a short discussion, we went to the cafeteria for some food. Throughout the day, I hadn’t paid attention, but the idea of food made my stomach rumble.

“Do you have any plans for this afternoon?” Kat asked after we each got a plate of food and sat down at a table. The room was filling as students made their way in from various courses.

“Well, we’re not allowed to leave the campus, so I hadn’t really thought about it. Maybe go over some notes,” I answered.

“Then do you want to take a look at the clubs?” Kat asked

I tilted my head, echoing her words, “Clubs?”

"It's like a class run not officially set up by the school, more of an enjoyable activity."

I shrugged. "Sure! I can at least try it out, but I'm not sure if I'll have time after the first week." it was true. I still would have practice with Umbra to see to in the afternoon, which I didn't want to miss.

"Hmm, then we can find a club for...Oh! How about a strategy club? There have to be other students that enjoy them, and missing days there shouldn’t be too bad."

"Strategy?"

"Well, it has games like the card game we played, but more in-depth, involving leading armies and managing supplies and cities. I think you would like it by how you liked the game last night. Willing to give it a try?"

I had nothing better to do this week, and this sounded interesting and exciting. People who led armies in books always seemed to have some clever idea to win when outnumbered, so I agreed. After we finished eating, I followed Kat to the main hall where the clubs took place. They were required to get approval and had to happen in the main building, so staff and instructors could oversee them if necessary.

The club Kat was talking about had been on the second floor, and walking into the room, I was surprised to inhale the smell of old paper.

There were only two other students there and one older-looking elven staff member or instructor. I couldn’t tell which. My eyes fell on one of the people, and I grinned as I recognized Yarran. He was staring at me, a bit dumbfounded.

"Ah, it looks like we have two more, a bit late, but the more, the merrier." everyone was seated around a round table. It was the older man who spoke, and he gestured to two empty seats. His hair was grey, and he was obviously old by the wrinkles on his face, but his eyes seemed as bright as anyone else's ever seen.

“You?” Yarran asked. “Indulge in strategy games?” he scowled.

I shook my head. “I’ve never played any. I wanted to see what they were like.”

Yarran seemed to want to say more, but the older man spoke first, “Yarran, It’s not wrong for a person to show interest in this. If anything, you should rejoice at the idea of having someone else besides this old man or Marcus over here.” Yarran closed his mouth and, after a long moment, sighed

“Yes, Lord Dakel, I see your point. I have met Lady Aster before, and she has shown no aptitude for this.”

“Everyone has to start somewhere, seeing as you know her. Would you mind introducing us then? I would like to hear how you met, but first, may I ask your name, lady...” Lord DAkel trailed off, looking to Kat.

Kat was looking from me to Yarran, an eyebrow raised but gave a short nod of her head .“I’m Kathleen, but please call me Kat.”

Lord Dakel smiled. “A pleasure to meet you, Lady Kat.” He turned his hand to Yarran

Yarran heaved a long breath, then finally, after a moment, nodded. “This is Lady Aster. She hails from the Claw Woods. We met while having dinner with friends and family. Lady Aster, this is Lord Dakel, a Retired general from the Arilon army and fellow Student Marcus.

While the talk was going on, Kat and I took seats. I was busy looking over the massive board in front of us on the table, but at my name, I looked up, smiling at Yarran and then a small wave, then one two Dakel and Marcus. “Hi, it's nice to meet you.”

Marcus, for the first time, looked up from the board. “It’s always nice to see someone else showing interest away from hitting people with spells or swords.” He grinned and pushed the glasses, I’d just noticed, up his nose when they started to slip. He was tall, and his purple robe didn’t do much to hide his almost lanky-looking appearance or pale skin. His nod that he gave me and Kat moved his brown hair in front of his eyes, and he moved it back before looking down at the board. He seemed interested in a particular area on it, but before I could follow his gaze, Dakel spoke.

“A pleasure to meet you. Please just call me Dakel and, if you must, Instructor Dakel. Yarran fancies using official titles, but I don’t mind. It’s not often I see someone from a town or village all the way out there make it to this capital, much less into the Academy.”

“Ah, a misunderstanding. I meant that she is from the Claw Woods, not from around it,” Yarran said almost before his attention was moved to the board.

“Oh, I see. While I want to ask, that can be done later. We are here, after all, to learn the arts of war and strategy. I see that Yarran and Marcus are about to start making moves. Let’s watch for a moment.”

Looking at the board again, I marveled at it. It was round and as big as the table. On it, a landscape was shown, the continent. It was shaped like a ripped-apart mix between a heart and an oval. Rivers and mountains seemed to rise and sink into the map. Arilon was positioned in the top right, with a forest on its right marked as the Gleen Woods, and to the right bottom of Arilon was the Claw Woods. A place called Karvum was to the left of Arilon, taking over the top right of the entire continent, including a massive panhandle. Below both of them and the Claw Woods was a large swath of desert with only specks of green speared throughout it labeled the Levitan Desert. The map ended after that, but I could see a large swath of green below the desert. Throughout the board, there were cities, towns, villages, and outposts marked with black and red or blue and white.

I watched as Yarran raised a book, wrote something in it, and then raised a long crystal stick colored blue and white. With it, he taped a town. A blue image appeared above it, listing out multiple statistics, but they were blurred out to the mount, and I couldn't make anything of them.

“Only the person holding the stick or seeing stone can inspect the cities. It’s to prevent cheating,” Dakel said, watching what Yarran did with interest.

A second later, the crystal turned grey, and Marcus raised a stick colored red. Instead of touching a city, he placed it in a seemingly random spot near a blue-marked city surrounded by walls, but as he tapped it, a red figure no bigger than a coin appeared, shaped like a lion or panther but with wings. It proceeded to flap over to the city, diving towards it and breaking into multiple birds. There was a moment as little specs hardly visible swarmed over the city. Yarran let out a groan, cursing as the city caught on fire and then switched colors from blue to red.

“You always hide your troop movements so well,” he complained.

Kat let out a low whistle. “It looks so real. Were those griffins?"

"Indeed, Karvum's aerial force consists mostly of griffins. While not as strong as our own with us having dragons, they make up for that fault with their higher number and the sky ships they have." Dakel said, watching as Yarran attempted to move an army to block off any reinforcement while trying to recapture the city.

"Sky ships? So those are real?" Kat asked

"They are made by the dwarfs. I believe we are working to replicate the technology and have made some progress. They are quite easy for a dragon to take out as they are made of wood and only some metal and need mana to float, but when escorted by griffins, they pose a big threat. They can carry devastating siege weapons and move massive armies over almost any terrain faster than our own."

I listened, picturing a flying piece of wood with lots of people on it and big sails, but found it hard to. I wanted to see what they looked like.

The game continued, and as I watched, I started to understand how it was played. While it wasn't turn-based, you could only make so many moves in a given time that represented a day. Cities would gain various resources depending on where they were and trade routes from other areas. Losing a city could change the entire game. I pulled out a notebook and started taking notes once getting permission to use the seeing stone from Dakel. I noted down things in a city.

It was only once Dakel called a stop to the game for the day that I noticed how much time had passed and that Kat was starting to nod off.

"Tomorrow, I will have another board setup, and the basics can be taught." I smiled at that idea. The idea of the game had started to fascinate me, and I couldn't help but be eager at the prospect.

Making her way back to the dorm, Kat took a shower first while I sorted all the notes for today and mentally started conservation with Umbra after checking that she wasn't asleep.

"This place is amazing. I have so much to go over with you, and it's only the first day!"

"I can't say I'm not excited to see what you learn in a week or even a month." Umbra replied, "Speaking of amazing, I gained three levels today. There was a beast that was causing trouble with the caravans going in the city, so I got to join Silt and was able to help take care of it."

"That's amazing! At this rate, you're going to pass me in levels. What are you even at now?"

"Twenty." Her smug voice was laced with excitement, and I could feel her wings quiver through the bond.

"You've been holding out on me!" I accused her. My amusement must have shown through the bond because I could hear her hissing laugh. It was a pleasant surprise to hear she was gaining levels so fast and not at too much of a risk with Silt.

"Well, I do have a few things I want to share with you, and we both are tired, so let's go through this so we can sleep." I saw her agreement and started to look through the notes for a starting point. "Apparently, you can gain skills…"