Chapter 26: preparation
"N-no instructor, I'm fine. I can handle the exam," the Blue Mornan girl stammered, as she faced away and straightened her posture. She did not want to fail before the exam had even begun.
Instructor Ty studied her for a moment before simply nodding. "Good. Now gear up, all of you."
At his signal, several administrative staff members swarmed into the hangar pushing various carts loaded with all kinds of equipment. Weapons of various types were arranged in orderly rows at the top of the carts. The other rows were filled with other items like packaged food, water, short-range communication devices, new uniforms, and ammunition for the different guns.
Arbus's eyes narrowed as he examined the sleek white suits prepared for them. They were similar to the ones official knights wore. It seemed like they were getting the full knighthood experience in this final exam.
Ty gazed around before he continued, his voice echoing through the hangar.
"Naturally, you'll be given weapons to defend yourselves from the numerous dangers you'll be facing. The only thing you can trust during this mission is the skills you've cultivated over the last three months of training."
"This trek usually takes about three days for every batch. That's because moving during the dark is not advised. That's when the puppies are most likely to go hunting"
Ty's expression hardened.
"Whatever happens in this exam, is solely your own responsibility. You have each signed a contract. You have all asked to become knights. You have also refused to give up when given the opportunity."
"For years, many of you have been stuck as mere sentries, hoping to advance further. Hoping to rise through the ranks. Well, this is it. This is your chance."
"And If you die... then you'll be dying as a hero who gave their lives for the sake of this universe. We'll do our absolute best to recover your bodies as well, for the sake of your families."
Jet chuckled at the instructor's words, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"How inspiring"
He moved through his assigned cart, loading up his bag with provisions, weapons and spare ammunition. When he was done with that, he strapped his signature dual swords from the training simulation room to his back.
Across the hangar, Rin was doing something similar. Though what she chose to strap to her back were the larger guns that wouldn't fit into the standard equipment bags. Her eyes flicked toward Arbus momentarily before shifting to Jet. A sudden grimace crossed her face as she felt a stinging sensation in her head. It was similar to the ones she'd been getting for the last few months. The medics had already checked her and determined that nothing was wrong. After a moment it vanished as quickly as it had appeared, just like always. She shook her head slightly before returning to her preparations.
Arbus simply selected a sword similar to the one he usually used during their simulated fights with the bots. In his opinion guns weren't the right pick for a mission like this. While the weapons were extremely powerful, they were also extremely loud. He didn't know much about the creatures that roamed this planet, but he understood that most predators were sensitive to sound. If these "puppies" shared that trait, then it would be best to take them out as silently as possible. That was of course, if he even ran into one. He was still hoping he wouldn't have to encounter these things.
Ty watched the trainees go through the items, his expression unreadable.
"There's no clear strategy for how this mission should be carried out. Working in teams does have its advantages, like strength in numbers for example. But it also has its disadvantages. It makes it impossible to move through the mountains quietly. There's almost a hundred percent chance that you'll be forced to fight. The same goes for moving alone. It makes battles significantly harder. Especially if you come across a horde."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"It's entirely up to you all to decide how you'll attempt this mission, based on your own intuition."
After a while, Instructors went around the group handing each student a bracelet.
Ty gestured toward the devices. "Those are devices used to monitor your status and life signs. It'll help us observe your current state. They also function as trackers. As a final grace from us, if at any point you feel the mission is too hard for you, you're allowed to give up and hide. We'll send out a recovery team to find you."
He paused for a moment.
"Although, that may take some time. Time that you may not have. So i advise those that are not ready, to give up now while you still can."
The message was clear. giving up during the mission didn't truly guarantee their survival.
Ty's face relaxed slightly. "Take your time to get dressed and get ready. I wish you all the best. And I hope you all succeed"
With that, Ty and the other head instructors departed for the monitoring station in the base's central hub, where they would track the trainees' progress over the coming days..
Meanwhile, the trainees returned to their dorms to change into their new suits and prepare for the exam.
Alexander glanced at Arbus with a thoughtful expression as they finished changing into the knight gear.
"So, final exam, quite life threatening too. What do you say we do this one together? I hate to say it but I don't think either of us are going to be welcomed with open arms by the rest of the group. And if we are, I wouldn't trust their motives."
"Which means we have to do this one on our own. So what do you say? Partners?"
Arbus remained silent for a moment.
Unlike the other trainees, this mission wasn't actually that difficult for him, for various reasons. The most obvious one was because he could not die.
Though he had no desire to test the limits of that particular ability. The thought of being slowly digested by a monster and then excreted held no appeal whatsoever. Another reason this mission was different for him, was because of his nearly limitless stamina. Since the day he got his powers, he had never experienced fatigue. While he wasn't certain if there was an absolute limit to his endurance, nothing had yet pushed him far enough to test it yet. During training exercises that depended on it, he'd deliberately held himself back to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
he was confident he could complete the 100-mile trek in a single day rather than the expected three.
Which meant that working with someone would inevitably slow him down. He'd never faced this particular dilemma before, since no one had ever wanted to partner with him until now. The situation felt foreign to him.
Arbus looked at Alexander and offered a genuine smile.
"Of course. What other option was there?" He nodded toward Alexander's equipment selection. "Make sure to grab a sword too, to avoid drawing more monsters with gunfire, if we run into one. Keep your firearms as backup in case we stumble into a horde or something."
Alexander remained silent for a moment before smiling faintly, his gaze unreadable.
"Yeah," he said softly. "What other option was there?"