Seventeen. Spring considered the number as the sun set. Eight open locations and nine secret ones. They probably wanted people to think it was an eight-eight distribution, and give up after finding sixteen. I wonder whether they had prepared some I missed?
Spring mused, but questioning her success was useless. Towards the end, those camouflage applants became a telltale sign of the hidden overseers. However, these eyes can’t distinguish fine leaf patterns from over five paces, meaning there might be someone spying on me even now.
The paranoid thought was absurd, yet Spring entertaining it meant she felt enough fear not to perform anything morbid or character-breaking. She did not dare butcher rats or rabbits. Instead, she began setting traps two hundred meters away from the border with the hostile class. Her creations were crude, simple things; something no seasoned hunter would fall for, but Spring believed they could eliminate some students of the opposing team.
Even if only half Spring’s snares triggered, they should provide her team with a considerable advantage. She toiled in the dark for hours, touching and feeling her way once the visibility dropped to zero.
Finally, she finished her work and went over to the red rope.
It should be around here, Spring walked with a hesitant step, her hands stretched before her until her midsection met the tough hemp. She followed it for three poles until she reached a wide tree. She sat, her back pressed against the thick trunk.
Did I miss anything? She considered her actions and realized there were some tiny details amiss.
Spring fished out her rations and consumed the entire day’s worth, and, using the cover of darkness, she fed the composter a pinky-sized piece of hartshorn. Then she waited for her flame orchid to open and gave it a hazelnut’s worth of coal.
Finally she hefted the waterskin but could not make herself ingest it with nobody to see her do the deed. Instead, she took off her shoes, moistened the ground with water, and buried her feet in it.
No blood today. I need to change my line of thinking. I can’t gather it like this, potentially under tight surveillance. Four cups of blood a month. That’s not much, assuming I take a bit every day. I could take a dozen dogs and draw blood from them. Nobody would notice. I guess that’s the way to go for now, especially if I feed them some quality meat.
Spring drained the earthy water with the soles of her feet, driving away her worries, and enjoying the simple sensation of water entering her pitcher. Everything will be fine. I can do this.
Spring sat motionless, entertaining reassuring thoughts and strengthening her resolve in the dark. She lost track of time, but eventually, rustle and a lighter’s glow drew her from her meditative state.
She saw the instructors well before they spotted her. When the applant’s light fell on her, Madam Wartorn jumped.
“What are you doing there?” she asked, and Spring shrugged.
“Waiting to surprise the enemy,” she said, and the other instructor smirked.
“You can’t cross for another half an hour until we give the signal at daybreak,” Madam Wartorn said, her voice tinged with exasperation.
“I won’t.”
Spring’s indifference seemed to irk the woman. “Miss Searing, you will end up surrounded if you separate yourself from the rest of your group.”
“Tina,” the other class’s instructor hissed, but Tina waved him to be silent. “She’s intelligent enough to understand this even without me saying anything.”
Then she turned back to Spring. “So, Miss Searing, what are you doing?”
“I believe I can inflict greater damage alone. Besides, if I keep ten people from the opposite team busy, my teammates can use the numbers advantage I created for them. Even if the enemy eventually defeats me, we are still likely to win.”
Tina Wartorn tilted her head from side to side, mulling Spring words, and eventually nodded. “It seems my team will win this time, Gabe.”
“She’s failing at the basic notion of the trial,” Gabe muttered, but Wartorn shook her head.
“She’s considering the whole team, choosing to sacrifice herself to buy an opportunity for the rest. From my point of view, she’s doing great.”
The pair nodded Spring goodbye and continued bickering while removing the rope border, leaving her behind.
They weren’t monitoring me, otherwise they wouldn’t have jumped when they saw me. Even if the dog plan fails, I will have another chance in the wilderness in four weeks.
Half an hour passed quickly enough, and a whistle’s shrill scream echoed in the dimly lit forest. Spring did not waste a moment and rushed into the enemy territory. She did not expect to catch them unprepared. She harbored no illusion that the youths had slept on their first outing in the weald.
They probably didn’t catch a wink, which is even better, their minds will be slower, and their bodies cramped, since they aren’t used to spending the night out in the open. Instructors are seasoned hunters, and for such people, sleeping in the wilds, trusting their comrades to guard them is common. But for inexperienced students, tents and bedrolls are dead weight.
Spring swiftly found a group of thirteen students from class C.
“Look it’s Jasmine Searing,” a hairy-armed youth with black hair pointed at her, but Spring kept running towards them.
She clenched her teeth and puffed her hollow body with as much air as she could muster. While those youths strengthened themselves after every day of exercise, Spring’s body stagnated, unable to grow.
She made up for the lack of raw power with finesse. The hairy boy threw a lumbering cross punch, under which Spring ducked, slamming her palm above his navel. The youth grunted and toppled over, gasping for air while Spring kicked a girl who stood beside him in the back of the knee, sending her to the ground.
She used the chance to slam her foot into the downed girl’s thigh. Spring ignored the pained scream, escaping the amateurish attempt at encirclement. She fled, drawing the eleven still standing enemies into her team’s territory.
If I had a positive relationship with anyone from my class, I could’ve arranged an ambush, but leading them into the traps I’ve set beforehand will suffice. Spring timed her steps to jump over a length of rope stretched at shin height and kept running as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Two seconds later, a youth sprinting after her caught the rope. Suddenly freed, a branch thicker than Spring’s arm swished through the air. The bough slammed into the boy’s torso, catapulting him into the two runners behind him, who tripped those dashing behind them.
Spring stopped and turned around, rushing into her confused enemies’ midst. Weapons were forbidden, otherwise Spring would have clobbered the prone youths black and blue. Instead, she landed kicks and heel slams onto their thighs and calves, dealing aggressive non-lethal injuries. Hopefully ones which would disable them for a day or two without causing permanent harm.
The simple trap bought Spring enough time to take out six enemies. The rest took two seconds to recover from the shock, then dashed to surround Spring while avoiding their classmates.
Five on one? Spring considered her odds for a split instant, deciding five ill-trained youths did not pose a threat to her. Don’t overdo it. No fancy grapples, just strikes at the abdomen, the kidneys, and the liver.
Spring rushed the girl on the side with the two attackers. Instead of attacking, the young woman assumed a defensive posture, intending to stall Spring while others handled her.
Clever!
Spring kicked the woman’s guard with her full weight, sending her flying back into the person behind her. They toppled, and Spring trampled them, stepping on the girl’s thigh and the boy’s hand, rather than on the neck and heart, which she would have done in true combat.
She spun once again, using the newly fallen as another obstacle and kicking the youth in the biceps, just to make sure he could not threaten her with a sudden pounce. However, she had underestimated his tenacity.
Despite his injuries, the boy made a grab for her legs, forcing Spring to jump away. She tripped on the uneven forest floor as she stumbled another half step back into a bush. At the last possible moment, she realized where she was and twisted her body around, dodging a snare she had placed half a meter away.
While she regained her footing, the tangle of people stirred. She expected they would get up, but they sat, dazed, catching their breaths. Only the over-motivated youth, who had tripped her, hobbled towards Spring. She did not place him in her eyes, but if he threw himself at her, the three healthy students could use the opportunity and attack her.
She bit her lip and frowned before turning around to scamper away, her gesture drawing the two girls and one boy to sprint after her. A blonde young woman stepped into the snare and with a swish ended up hanging upside-down.
Spring dispatched the other two in several strikes and said, “I will keep beating you until you surrender.”
“Stop,” a familiar male voice shouted, and Spring frowned.
Seventeen. Spring considered the number as the sun set. Eight open locations and nine secret ones. They probably wanted people to think it was an eight-eight distribution, and give up after finding sixteen. I wonder whether they had prepared some I missed?
Spring mused, but questioning her success was useless. Towards the end, those camouflage applants became a telltale sign of the hidden overseers. However, these eyes can’t distinguish fine leaf patterns from over five paces, meaning there might be someone spying on me even now.
The paranoid thought was absurd, yet Spring entertaining it meant she felt enough fear not to perform anything morbid or character-breaking. She did not dare butcher rats or rabbits. Instead, she began setting traps two hundred meters away from the border with the hostile class. Her creations were crude, simple things; something no seasoned hunter would fall for, but Spring believed they could eliminate some students of the opposing team.
Even if only half Spring’s snares triggered, they should provide her team with a considerable advantage. She toiled in the dark for hours, touching and feeling her way once the visibility dropped to zero.
Finally, she finished her work and went over to the red rope.
It should be around here, Spring walked with a hesitant step, her hands stretched before her until her midsection met the tough hemp. She followed it for three poles until she reached a wide tree. She sat, her back pressed against the thick trunk.
Did I miss anything? She considered her actions and realized there were some tiny details amiss.
Spring fished out her rations and consumed the entire day’s worth, and, using the cover of darkness, she fed the composter a pinky-sized piece of hartshorn. Then she waited for her flame orchid to open and gave it a hazelnut’s worth of coal.
Finally she hefted the waterskin but could not make herself ingest it with nobody to see her do the deed. Instead, she took off her shoes, moistened the ground with water, and buried her feet in it.
No blood today. I need to change my line of thinking. I can’t gather it like this, potentially under tight surveillance. Four cups of blood a month. That’s not much, assuming I take a bit every day. I could take a dozen dogs and draw blood from them. Nobody would notice. I guess that’s the way to go for now, especially if I feed them some quality meat.
Spring drained the earthy water with the soles of her feet, driving away her worries, and enjoying the simple sensation of water entering her pitcher. Everything will be fine. I can do this.
Spring sat motionless, entertaining reassuring thoughts and strengthening her resolve in the dark. She lost track of time, but eventually, rustle and a lighter’s glow drew her from her meditative state.
She saw the instructors well before they spotted her. When the applant’s light fell on her, Madam Wartorn jumped.
“What are you doing there?” she asked, and Spring shrugged.
“Waiting to surprise the enemy,” she said, and the other instructor smirked.
“You can’t cross for another half an hour until we give the signal at daybreak,” Madam Wartorn said, her voice tinged with exasperation.
“I won’t.”
Spring’s indifference seemed to irk the woman. “Miss Searing, you will end up surrounded if you separate yourself from the rest of your group.”
“Tina,” the other class’s instructor hissed, but Tina waved him to be silent. “She’s intelligent enough to understand this even without me saying anything.”
Then she turned back to Spring. “So, Miss Searing, what are you doing?”
“I believe I can inflict greater damage alone. Besides, if I keep ten people from the opposite team busy, my teammates can use the numbers advantage I created for them. Even if the enemy eventually defeats me, we are still likely to win.”
Tina Wartorn tilted her head from side to side, mulling Spring words, and eventually nodded. “It seems my team will win this time, Gabe.”
“She’s failing at the basic notion of the trial,” Gabe muttered, but Wartorn shook her head.
“She’s considering the whole team, choosing to sacrifice herself to buy an opportunity for the rest. From my point of view, she’s doing great.”
The pair nodded Spring goodbye and continued bickering while removing the rope border, leaving her behind.
They weren’t monitoring me, otherwise they wouldn’t have jumped when they saw me. Even if the dog plan fails, I will have another chance in the wilderness in four weeks.
Half an hour passed quickly enough, and a whistle’s shrill scream echoed in the dimly lit forest. Spring did not waste a moment and rushed into the enemy territory. She did not expect to catch them unprepared. She harbored no illusion that the youths had slept on their first outing in the weald.
They probably didn’t catch a wink, which is even better, their minds will be slower, and their bodies cramped, since they aren’t used to spending the night out in the open. Instructors are seasoned hunters, and for such people, sleeping in the wilds, trusting their comrades to guard them is common. But for inexperienced students, tents and bedrolls are dead weight.
Spring swiftly found a group of thirteen students from class C.
“Look it’s Jasmine Searing,” a hairy-armed youth with black hair pointed at her, but Spring kept running towards them.
She clenched her teeth and puffed her hollow body with as much air as she could muster. While those youths strengthened themselves after every day of exercise, Spring’s body stagnated, unable to grow.
She made up for the lack of raw power with finesse. The hairy boy threw a lumbering cross punch, under which Spring ducked, slamming her palm above his navel. The youth grunted and toppled over, gasping for air while Spring kicked a girl who stood beside him in the back of the knee, sending her to the ground.
She used the chance to slam her foot into the downed girl’s thigh. Spring ignored the pained scream, escaping the amateurish attempt at encirclement. She fled, drawing the eleven still standing enemies into her team’s territory.
If I had a positive relationship with anyone from my class, I could’ve arranged an ambush, but leading them into the traps I’ve set beforehand will suffice. Spring timed her steps to jump over a length of rope stretched at shin height and kept running as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Two seconds later, a youth sprinting after her caught the rope. Suddenly freed, a branch thicker than Spring’s arm swished through the air. The bough slammed into the boy’s torso, catapulting him into the two runners behind him, who tripped those dashing behind them.
Spring stopped and turned around, rushing into her confused enemies’ midst. Weapons were forbidden, otherwise Spring would have clobbered the prone youths black and blue. Instead, she landed kicks and heel slams onto their thighs and calves, dealing aggressive non-lethal injuries. Hopefully ones which would disable them for a day or two without causing permanent harm.
The simple trap bought Spring enough time to take out six enemies. The rest took two seconds to recover from the shock, then dashed to surround Spring while avoiding their classmates.
Five on one? Spring considered her odds for a split instant, deciding five ill-trained youths did not pose a threat to her. Don’t overdo it. No fancy grapples, just strikes at the abdomen, the kidneys, and the liver.
Spring rushed the girl on the side with the two attackers. Instead of attacking, the young woman assumed a defensive posture, intending to stall Spring while others handled her.
Clever!
Spring kicked the woman’s guard with her full weight, sending her flying back into the person behind her. They toppled, and Spring trampled them, stepping on the girl’s thigh and the boy’s hand, rather than on the neck and heart, which she would have done in true combat.
She spun once again, using the newly fallen as another obstacle and kicking the youth in the biceps, just to make sure he could not threaten her with a sudden pounce. However, she had underestimated his tenacity.
Despite his injuries, the boy made a grab for her legs, forcing Spring to jump away. She tripped on the uneven forest floor as she stumbled another half step back into a bush. At the last possible moment, she realized where she was and twisted her body around, dodging a snare she had placed half a meter away.
While she regained her footing, the tangle of people stirred. She expected they would get up, but they sat, dazed, catching their breaths. Only the over-motivated youth, who had tripped her, hobbled towards Spring. She did not place him in her eyes, but if he threw himself at her, the three healthy students could use the opportunity and attack her.
She bit her lip and frowned before turning around to scamper away, her gesture drawing the two girls and one boy to sprint after her. A blonde young woman stepped into the snare and with a swish ended up hanging upside-down.
Spring dispatched the other two in several strikes and said, “I will keep beating you until you surrender.”
“Stop,” a familiar male voice shouted, and Spring frowned.
