Frostbitten Wayfarer

“Before we begin, I am Melania. I will be your primary trainer today. Lee and Adam are here for backup in case we need additional man power on our external excursion but I suspect they’ll just be decorative today.” Melania opened a large metal door on the back wall and jammed it open with a wooden doorstop.

“Through here are all of the school’s facilities.” She gestured down the hall. “This hallway continues all the way down the length of the building, so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding where you need to go.”

The group followed in down the corridor behind her, Lee and Adam taking up the rear and closing the door behind them.

Melania walked past a long window on the left overlooking a small field with a few targets and tables set up throughout it. She stopped at a door just past the window and gestured out to the field.

“This is our archery range. After your first archery lesson, you will be given a key that unlocks the door.” She summoned a blue crystal and pressed it into the door. The door swung open and then closed a few moments later.

She opened a door on the opposite wall, showing a small cafeteria behind it. “This is our cafeteria. You are given one free meal with each day you have a lesson. Any more you will need to pay for. The food is quite good, I would recommend taking advantage of it.”

She closed the door, continuing down the corridor for a ways before stopping at another two doors. She summoned another blue crystal and opened the door on the left, revealing a large room with benches along the sides and coloured markers on the floor.

“This is our training ground. As with the archery range, you will be given a key after your first lesson here. You will be taught the basics of dagger-fighting here.” She closed the door and opened the one opposite it.

Inside the other room was a normal looking classroom. A big board on one wall with a dozen desks throughout.

“This is your classroom. Most of your time with us will be spent outside of this room. We prefer a more hands on approach to learning here at the School of Hunting Interesting Targets, but some things are better taught with diagrams and books than blood and fur.” She closed the door, carrying on down the corridor until the group reached the end of the building.

There were three doors at the end, one each on the left and right walls, with a third at the very end of the corridor. She opened up the third door, showing an office with a large wooden desk.

Behind the desk sat a man with dark hair and red glasses, scribbling on the mound of papers in front of him. He looked up when Melania opened the door and smiled at the group. Zoe identified the man, her eyes widening at the bright red marks her skill showed her.

[Warrior - ??]

“Showing the new group around already, Melania?” He asked, his emotions twisting between frustration and exhaustion.

“Yup!” She said to the man before she turned back to the group. “This is Arthur, the school’s owner. You can find him here on most days, though you shouldn’t end up needing him all too often.”

She closed the door, opening the one on the left wall. A dozen tables were set up throughout the room, with just as many people sat at them chatting. Each wearing similar garb, their quivers hanging off the benches behind them.

“Instead, this is the faculty room. If you ever need help with something, feel free to come ask us for help and if it’s within our power to do so we will.” Melania said, smiling at the other trainers. A few of them waved at the group.

She closed the door and opened the final door, showing a small library. Shelves filled with books lined the walls, with a couple tables near the centre of the room.

“This is our library,” Melania said, walking into the room. “You are free to use this as much as you want.

Zoe looked around at the books. She couldn’t tell what they all were just from the spines but the ones she could see all seemed to be for different aspects of hunting, which made sense to her. A whole section on archery, another on cleaning your kill. It seemed to Zoe like a treasure trove of information that she was dying to read through when she could.

“And that’s it for the inside of the school!" Melania said with a twinge of excitement. ”Next up is our outside facility.“ She made her way back down the corridor.

“We call it the outside facility, but it’s more of a plot of land that we use for training students like you. There are a few resources available out there though and today we’ll go over how to identify them and use them.” Melania said as she lead the group outside the building and to the city gate right next to the school.

“First up is the gate. As I’m sure all of you are already aware, these guards are not here to keep you safe once you leave the walls.” Melania explained.

Zoe cringed a bit.

Melania nodded to the guards manning the gate. “These guards are here to keep the people inside the walls safe. If you choose to leave the walls, you’re on your own. That’s not to say that people won’t help you if they see you in trouble, but don’t expect it.”

She carried on outside the gate, following the wall south. “Just remember that to them, there’s always the chance that you’re a distraction. That your struggle is intended to keep them away from their duties as somebody else, or something else, infiltrates the city behind them.”

Melania stopped at a tree stump with a flag stuck in the centre of it. “People inside the walls expect to be safe. They rely on the guards to keep the city secure. When you’re out here, you’ve given up that expectation. You’ve chosen to take on the dangers, and you’re responsible for yourself. Always keep that in mind.”

She pointed at the flag. “This is one of the school’s flags. There are many of them set up around the forest nearby, and they all serve the same purpose. If you channel mana into the flag-pole,” she pressed her hand into the pole for a moment and a bright red burst of flame erupted into the sky. “Then it releases a flare, and one of the available trainers will arrive as soon as possible.”

“If you see one of these flares go off, do not approach. Do not think that you can help somebody who is in need. You are another person to protect.” Melania explained.

Another woman showed up moments later, looking at the group. Her familiar leather armour and quiver, as well as the dark blue marks Zoe saw with identify marked her as one of the trainers.

“All good?” The woman asked.

“Yes, thank you. There may be a few more here in the next few minutes, but we should be fine.” Melania said. The woman vanished, wind rushing around the forest as leaves and twigs were thrown about.

“As you can see, it can take a moment for a trainer to arrive after you call for help. We can’t stop you, but we ask that you do not leave the city on your own, without an escort. Now, would anybody like to try using the flare so you can see how it works?” Melania asked.

Three people raised their hand, including Zoe. One was a man with dark red hair tied up in a ponytail. Deep blue eyes with a sharp gaze. Identify showed him to be a light blue level 16, and he seemed curious, yet cautious. The other was a woman at the same level. Her short brown hair flopped around as she bounced with excitement.

“Come on then. Just press your hand into the pole and channel your mana into it. First up is, let’s say you there.” She said, pointing at the man. “What’s your name?”

“Mark,” he walked up to the pole and pressed his hand into it. He jumped back as the burst of flame flew into the sky above him. “Holy crap.” He stepped back, rubbing his face.

“Yes, it can be a bit intense, but rest assured that you will be seen.” Melania said. “Next up will be you,” she said and pointed at Zoe, asking for her name.

“I’m Zoe,” Zoe said as she walked up to the pole and channelled mana into it.

The process was second nature at this point for her, and the flames burst into the sky. An intense heat rushed past her, even through her resistances. She raised an eyebrow, wondering if she could get her own flag pole.

Mana: 384/500

A little over one hundred, she wondered how somebody who never invested into their mana pool would be able to use it. Maybe it would just fire off a weaker flare?

“And finally you there, Emma I think it was, right?” Melania asked.

“Yup! I’ve seen these things before but never been able to use one. They’re so cool!” She squealed and ran up to the pole, gripping it with both of her hands. Moments later a familiar burst of flame rushed into the sky, and Emma jumped, her excitement almost palpable.

“We will supply you with a map of where all of these flag poles can be found soon. They all work the same, and if all goes well we hope you should never have to use them.” Melania said.

The rest of the group felt anxious and nervous, a weariness seeming to blanket Zoe’s empathy.

Melania clapped again, the sharp snap echoing seemed to echo through the forest. “That’s it for our outdoor excursion today. We’ll head back in to the building for a lunch break and then be back in the classroom for our first lesson.”

She lead the group back along the wall and to the gate, a noticeable calm seeming to settle in on the group as they set foot back inside the safe city walls. Melania stopped outside the cafeteria.

“As I’ve explained before, you get one free meal here. Lunch break will be thirty minutes and then meet me back in the classroom. Do not be late,” she scowled.

The group nodded and walked in to the cafeteria.

There were numerous tables inside and along the back wall were several workers preparing various foods. Grilled meats, vibrant salads, sandwiches, soups. Anything Zoe could want, she could find it seemed.

She walked up to the counter, eager to try out one of the soups. Stews were something she’d had a lot of since coming to this world. But a nice fresh soup? That wasn’t nearly as common, and she loved soup.

Emma walked up next to her, “Cool place huh?”

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah, I guess so.” Zoe said.

“You ever used one of those flag poles before?” Emma asked.

“No, but I have a firestarter gem that’s kind of similar I guess. Not nearly as powerful, though.” Zoe answered.

Emma laughed, “My dad let me use his a couple times. They’re nowhere near as cool as those flagpoles though.”

Zoe smiled, taking a break from the conversation to order some yellow vegetable soup that was bubbling away in one of the large pots. The worker filled a bowl with it and placed a toasted piece of brul on the side, then handed it to Zoe.

She took the bowl and smelled the bowl. It was fresh with a slight acidic twinge, filled with chunks of vegetables and plenty of corn. The bread smelled a little nutty and she thought she could smell a hint of butter on it.

“Yeah they were pretty powerful. I once burnt my face with the firestarter on accident and it didn’t even burn my eyebrows off. Those flags I thought might have done it even from how far away the flame was.” Zoe said, moving down the counter as Emma ordered the same thing, laughing at Zoe’s misfortune.

The pair found an empty table and sat down.

“It didn’t even hurt at all? My dad always said if I did it wrong I’d go bald.” Emma laughed.

“Maybe I just had a fancy firestarter I guess, I don’t think I did though. Can’t remember how much it cost now though, but it wasn’t very expensive anyway.” Zoe said.

Emma took a spoonful of the soup, bouncing in her seat as she radiated a pleasant feeling. “This soup is so good, you need to try it.”

Zoe took a spoon of hers and stuffed it in her mouth. The taste was incredible. It was what she wanted from a magical world’s food from the day she showed up. Taste folding in on itself, textures that she never thought possible. An indescribable experience that she never wanted to forget.

With one bite of soup, she felt as though she just experienced the ecstasy of finishing a three week hike up a mountain, smashed through every barrier she’d ever found in life. Delicious was an insult to the food, she thought.

One free meal, five days a week. She was going to take advantage of that, she thought.

*Ding* You have consumed the School of Hunting Interesting Targets’ Soup. All regeneration increased for four hours.

All regeneration, she wondered? She grabbed her mana orb and dumped a few hundred mana into it as she watched her mana recharge, counting the seconds. It didn’t seem to have much of an impact, but every little bit would help.

She’d grab a meal at the end of every day, then spend the next four hours in meditation charging her mana orb. The two bonuses compounding with each other should make a difference in her finances, she hoped.

“What’s that? A mana orb?" Emma asked her, looking at Zoe’s bag.

“Mhm, I charge them for a living, I guess.” Zoe answered, putting the orb back in her bag.

“At level eight? That’s gotta be rough.” Emma said.

“Well, it’s enough to get by at least.” Zoe smiled.

The two finished their soups, relishing every last drop of it in their bowls and then stood up and made their way out of the cafeteria.

“Time for class huh? Wonder what they’ll teach us today. Maybe we’ll get that map that Melania was talking about.” Emma said.

“I’m hoping they teach us some dagger-fighting honestly, but it’ll probably be boring introductory stuff.” Zoe replied and opened the door to the classroom.

Melania was already standing at the big board, a couple of the other students sitting at desks as well. Mark was one of them.

Zoe and Emma grabbed seats next to each other near the front of class and waited for the rest of the students to show up.