Dean hawthorne headmaste.., p.31
Dean Hawthorne: Headmaster of a Magical Academy, page 31
Cutting it close to the deadline, I received permission from all council members, including the newly inducted twelfth member, Earl Evan Landgrab, to take my mentees to the dark forest in order to help them gain experience in actual combat. I planned this adventure for the first day of winter holiday, ensuring there would be plenty of opportunities to return to their homes or enjoy everything Alastor had to offer during the season of celebration.
The festival highlighted the end of the year and through the festivities, the Kingdom welcomed in the new one. Dancing, feasts, and decorations galore were just a taste of what the city had planned, and everyone was invited to participate in the celebration. I planned the excursion for only one day, keeping the time of year in mind, and I gave the students the choice whether or not they wanted to participate.
All my mentees accepted this invitation, postponing their own plans for the opportunity. While that day approached quickly, for now I sat across from Evelyn, enjoying a comfortable lunch at the Jewel Cafe after securing a few supplies in the city for the upcoming day of training.
“Are you sure they’re ready for this?” she asked as she stirred her tea with an ornate spoon.
“I don't have the answer to that question. It's one of those things that you find out at the moment. But whether they prove to be ready or not, I will be there with them, so they can afford to make some mistakes.”
“Well, I hope you haven't completely booked your break.” She smiled at me from behind the rim of her teacup before taking a sip of her sweetened tea.
“After we return from the dark forest, I haven't really thought about what I'll do to celebrate. Would you perhaps want to enjoy some of the festivities together?” I proposed, hoping I read the cues she gave off correctly.
“I'd love to.”
When our lunch concluded, I headed back to Hexerei, a new outing for the two of us scheduled for the winter break. First, however, I had to make sure the dark forest exploration went smoothly.
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The morning of the trip, I woke up earlier than usual to get everything in order for the day. The plan was to head out in the early morning and to spend the majority of the day fighting monsters, before returning in the early evening. This would allow the students to head off to their own destinations the same day if they were so inclined.
My mentees were advised to bring a weapon of choice, their wand, and the closest thing they had to adventurer’s gear, the group having yet to receive a personalized set of armor. We met at the front of the school just as the sun began to rise, although with the cloud coverage, the morning remained a little dark.
When they arrived, the students formed a line, a few familiars amongst the group. Jeremy’s celestial cat sat perched upon his shoulders, while Lizzie held her horned rabbit in her arms. Sylvester, like Luna, stood beside his sorcerer's side, waiting for instructions.
“Good morning, everyone. Today officially marks the start of winter break here at Hexerei. I’m happy to get the opportunity to spend this time with you all as we take the next step in your sorcerer’s journey. I know you're all excited about the prospect of battle, but remember, whatever we face in the dark forest is real. I have not prepared anything in advance, and nothing you encounter will be staged, meaning you must keep your wits about you. Stay vigilant in order to keep yourselves safe. Do you all understand the risks associated with this little field trip?”
Affirming head nods answered my question, and I remembered Evelyn's concerned tone as she asked if I thought they were ready. It was time to find out.
“This is a motion sickness potion designed by Professor Haile for your use today. If you see her during your break, be sure to thank her, as travel to the dark forest would be a lot less comfortable without it. You will be drinking one vial before we depart and another when we are set to return.
“For your familiar's benefit, canceling their summoning before we leave is advised. You’re welcome to invite them again when we arrive, but for now, there are not enough potions to go around.”
Jeremy, Lizzie, and Prince Ellis explained the plan to their summoned beasts before dispelling the magic, the circle reappearing momentarily before both the creature and the sigil disappeared. Since Luna was at the academy by her own methods, she stuck around. Knowing this, I already had a potion prepared for her. Passing out the vials, the students drank them in unison, wrinkled noses expressing their dislike of the taste.
“If everyone is ready then we’ll head out now.”
More head nods and the occasional word of acknowledgment had me pulling out my wand and waving the students closer. With the location in mind, I activated the teleportation spell, the entire group instantly disappearing from the academy’s courtyard.
When we arrived at the dark forest, we were already in the thick of it, the location being influenced by my most vivid-memory of the place, which happened to be from my days of personal exploration. Although we were already within the forest, we weren't so deep that the monsters would be too difficult for the students to defeat should any appear unexpectedly.
Luna and I scanned the area, searching for anything out of the ordinary, but found the site to be quiet, the clearing big enough to wage a battle. I figured there was no need to search for another location, deciding it would be a good place to stay as the students gained experience.
Luna expanded her search to the surrounding areas while I scanned the faces of my mentees. No one seemed to be affected by my spell’s side effects, proving the potion effective. Startled by the dark coloring of the woods, Todd pulled out his own wand and, in response, Riley grabbed his too, the two eyeing the nearby bushes with suspicion.
“Welcome, students, to the dark forest. As its name suggests, it's not your typical woods. The dark wood of the trees and the vinery creeping through their branches may appear ominous, but they won’t hurt you so long as you avoid the thorns.”
As the name suggested, the canopies of the trees filled with purple leaves kept the forest shaded, and the lack of sun that day didn't help the matter. With a chantless incantation, I summoned a handful of light orbs, spreading them out within the clearing, brightening up the area where the students would most likely engage in their fights.
“Now what?” Jeremy asked, kicking at a clump of moss on the forest floor.
“Well, you can start by familiarizing yourself with the environment. Explore a little and, if you wish to fight alongside your familiar, now would be the time to summon them. As for me,” I glanced around the clearing, finding a large rock situated beside one of the trees, “I’ll be here if you need me.”
I sat down on the boulder, the position giving me a good vantage point of the clearing, allowing me to remain more of a spectator in the students’ experience, but also close enough if they needed my intervention. Every one of them took my suggestion, summoning their familiars, our numbers doubling in the span of a few minutes.
Luna reappeared by my side and, satisfied nothing too dangerous was in the area, she sat down on the ground beside me. Her job, like mine, was to observe, intervening only when absolutely necessary. The whole point of this trip was for the students to rely on themselves as well as each other as it would be in a real-life situation.
Nothing prepares you better for a fight than a fight itself. As Luna and I got comfortable, my mentees began exploring, limiting their search field to the area around us. The dark forest was quite immense, so while important for them to be familiar with the environment, I didn’t want its exploration to turn into the main event for our little excursion.
“Wow! I've never seen this flower before!” Lucia crouched beside a massive tree trunk, examining a tiny bud that grew from its root.
Belle, her forest fairy stood beside her, her own petals shining with recognition as she analyzed the plants. Once their bond strengthened, her familiar would be able to identify the plant life for her through telepathic communication, improving Lucia's knowledge in the field of herbology.
I let the students explore unimpeded for a good while before I decided it was time for the main event. Standing up from my seat on the boulder, I directed the group's attention to me, needing to make sure everyone was on the same page.
“Is everyone prepared for your first real battle?”
The students looked a little tense, but nodded, wordlessly telling me they were prepared to fight, their wands in hand and their chosen weapons easily accessible.
“Remember, this is a team battle. Work with each other, not against one another. Find a way to use each other’s strengths to your advantage. There is no reason to show off in a real battle, not when your lives are on the line. Do you understand?”
I knew that no matter what their real intentions were, that would all agree to my terms in theory, but the battle would show me whether or not my warning had really sunk in.
“Alright, I’ll trust your word for it. Let's get this started, shall we?” I smiled, pulling out my own wand.
With a quick locator spell, I mapped out the position of any nearby beasts, finding several in the vicinity of our makeshift campsite. A light agro spell attracted the closest of the creatures, one who’s level I knew would be just enough of a challenge for the first battle. When I sat back down on the boulder, I was met with the students’ waiting stares, their expressions overcome with obvious confusion.
“What about our fight?” Harvey demanded, taking a step toward me.
Knowing the situation was one of high pressure and stress, I ignored his disrespectful tone and responded, “Don't worry, your first opponent is on its way.”
Before the boy could say anything more, a rustling in the nearby bushes had them all taking a fighting stance. Their eyes honed in on the location of the sound, preparing themselves for whatever creature would burst from the foliage. A few seconds later, the beast made its appearance, a scaled boar rushing into the clearing.
Seeing red, the beast fixated on one student and continued its charge, Riley Olander becoming its target. Luna stood up beside me, recognizing the fear on Riley's face, but I held up my hand, letting her know to let the fight play out. For now, things were in the students’ hands. Her body relaxed with my assurance, and we watched as the battle continued on.
Although Riley was afraid, his arms raised to shield his face as he prepared for impact, choosing to protect his body rather than try to counter. Luckily, he was a part of a team, one that had a better grasp of the situation, seeing as they weren’t the ones being run down by a boar. The chant of a quick barrier spell could be heard amongst the commotion before the prince thrust his wand in Riley's direction, an oval shield of condensed blue magic answering his call.
The flat of the boar's head crashed into the barrier, disorienting the beast. Lizzie seized the opportunity to unleash one of her water spells, delivering a few swift punches to the beast’s soft underbelly. Harvey sent his walipna on the attack, its sharp claws sinking into the exposed parts on the beast’s side. The boar squealed, bucking the familiar from its back before it set its sights on a new target.
This time, it ran toward Lucia at full speed, while Prince Ellis, Jeremy, and Todd hit it with magical attacks of their own, the blasts reflecting off its shiny scaled back. I could hear the prince preparing another barrier spell, but I also knew it would be too late; the creature would reach Lucia long before he could activate the magic. I readied my own wand, prepared in the event that no one else stepped in to defend Lucia, or she failed to protect or avoid the incoming attack herself.
Seconds before the point of impact, vines sprouted from the petals of her forest fairy, the greenery snaking up through the branches of the trees, lifting the two from the ground and out of the beast's path. The boar, left with no more targets, slammed full-force into the tree, knocking itself unconscious and effectively ending the battle.
Harvey demanded he be allowed the killing blow, and nobody else objected, feeling as though the battle had already been won. Harvey drew his sword and aimed for the vitals, making the ending quick. I used the opportunity of their first kill to show the students how to locate a beast’s magical core, a quick spell illuminating its location, taking the guesswork out of the search.
After showing them the basics, I let the students know that for any additional kills, it would be their responsibility to collect the cores, and in the end, they would determine how to split the spoils of their battles. Monster cores were relatively valuable, since they could be used in a variety of ways. Grounded into powder, they became ingredients for potions, the effects varying depending on the creature.
There were even some recipes that required the use of magic cores and of course the meat collected could be sold for profit or consumed. Whole cores functioned in the same way as mana stones. The devices used to power a variety of everyday utilities, useful even for those without the ability to manifest magic. I placed a preservation spell on the meat, saving it for later that afternoon and prepared my spell once again, alerting another nearby creature of our location.
This time the beast that appeared was much smaller than the scaled boar. A sciurat burst through the nearby woods with great agility, bouncing around the area in an attempt to scare its supposed enemy. The small creature had a puffy tail the same length as its body, its ears were covered in tufts of brown fur, and a single tiny horn protruded from the center of its forehead. What the creature lacked in size, it made up for with its speed, keeping the students on their toes.
Harvey clicked his tongue at its underwhelming presence, but he quickly realized his mistake when he tried to point out the beast for his familiar to attack, the sciurat avoiding each position he pointed to as it scurried around the clearing. Every so often it would launch an attack of its own, its small claws drawn as it aimed for some of the smaller familiars in the group.
For a good five minutes, the team was left following the creature's erratic movements, each student and their accompanying familiar just able to dodge its calculated full-body strikes. While I enjoyed watching the students and their attempts to subdue the creature, what I was really waiting for was the moment when they began to think of themselves as a team versus a group of individuals.
“We need to surround it!” Prince Ellis called out to the others, taking control of the situation.
With a plan in mind, he set up each person at varying intervals around the clearing, leaving the beast with little choice but to run within the open space while it prepared its next strike. Everyone focused on the center of the clearing, making it easier for them to track the sciurat’s movements.
“Now!” Prince Ellis cried, thrusting his wand toward the center of the circle, the beginnings of a spell taking shape.
The others followed his lead, recognizing the chant and initiated a spell of their own, their wands directed to the middle of the space. Although initially empty, the creature soon appeared in the center of the clearing, just as the prince wanted. The prince finished his spell just in time, the sciurat trapped by the set of levitation spells, its small body hovering above the forest floor, its movement completely subdued.
“Well done, team!” I congratulated them for their combined efforts. “Were you able to recognize the pattern of attack?”
“Yes! After a while, I realized its movements didn't really change. That's when I knew how we could restrain it.” Prince Ellis revealed his strategy, his astute observation fitting for an adventurer.
“An interesting fact about sciurats is that while their movements appear chaotic at first, they will follow a precise pattern when attacking. Once you figure out that pattern, defeating them is as easy as disrupting their movements.”
Sciurats were generally a peaceful sort, but I'm sure our presence in the forest and the loud sounds coming from our group set the little guy on edge. If anything, he was likely lost or had been isolated from his group, considering sciurats generally traveled in packs. My spell acted as the final push he needed to attack.
“Imagine this guy here with all of his speed multiplied by one hundred,” I told the group as they considered the creature in front of them. “When you face another in the future, it may be in a pack, so remember what you learned here today. Don’t ever underestimate a beast based on its size. That’s how adventurers die. That being said, I'll consider this battle over. I’ll leave this creature’s fate up to you.”
“I don't think we should kill it. The core is probably way too small to be worth anything anyway and like the dean said, there is probably a whole group of them out there. Should we really risk upsetting its friends?” Lizzie was the first to offer her opinion, her words giving the group something to think about.
After a brief pause, Prince Ellis spoke next, addressing the members of his team. "All those in favor of releasing this sciurat, raise your free hand.”
Lizzie and Lucia's hands rose into the air immediately, Riley following shortly after, while Todd looked to Jeremy for his own response. Prince Ellis raised his hand next, showing his own opinion on the matter and Jeremy followed his lead. Todd took his cue from Jeremy and joined the others with their hands raised. Seeing that he was completely outnumbered, Harvey rolled his eyes.
“Fine, whatever. But what’s to stop it from coming back for revenge?” Harvey smirked, thinking his words would get the others to change their minds, and I stepped forward.
“If that were to happen, you could just think of it as extra practice.” I looked at Mr. Crane as I spoke, silently telling him the decision had been made.
I placed my hand under the sciurat and with a quick teleportation spell, I sent the beast to the other side of the dark forest. The distance between the beast and our location meant that if it were to show up again, it was really set on attacking the group and there would be no more second chances.
