hunting

The rest of the students and teachers were all behind bushes, peeking through. They spotted three huge bull-like beasts near what looked like a pond.

"Good. This is a two-for-one. We found food and water. Now, here's the plan: we'll lure one of the beasts away and kill them off one by one—silently," Sable whispered to his group.

"Why don't we just kill them? I mean, sure, this is a good strategy, but can we try to be quicker?" Harkel thought, and several other students started thinking the same thing.

"It's because—" Wren began, since she could hear Harkel's question through the telepathic link skill. "He's actually trying to teach us. I mean, think about it—did you really learn anything from the academy except how to fight with a sword?" Wren finished, answering the boy's question.

"Plus, we might need this later in life," Riven said, backing Wren up.

"Fine, fine," Harkel said. He didn't like it, but he started to listen to Sable's orders.

"Jordan, think you can do something with your ink?" Mr. Sable asked, and Jordan nodded.

The boy then created a beast out of ink—it looked like an almost perfect replica of one of the bulls. The only difference was that it was inky and darker than the original. The inky bull walked out of the bushes, catching the attention of one of the real beasts. The inky creature started moving strangely.

"Wait… is it flirting?" Wren questioned.

Harkel started laughing in his head.

"Dude, calm down. It isn't that funny," Leo said, glancing at Harkel.

"Yeah, it is—when you think about the fact that the beast is Jordan," Harkel replied, still laughing in his head. Everyone turned to look at Jordan—

—who was lying flat on the ground.

That told everyone what they needed to know: Jordan was the one controlling the beast.

During the three weeks before the outing, Jordan had gotten used to controlling his ink creatures at will. But he still wasn't used to speaking through the creature's mouth—it was like having a brand-new jawbone.

All of the bonded party members started laughing internally, doing their best not to burst out laughing out loud.

"Jeez, Jordan, didn't know you had it in you," Wren commented, still laughing in her mind.

"Oh, shut up," Jordan replied.

The beast began moving in a new, oddly alluring way.

"Ohhh, work it, Jordan! That beast wants you!" Tessa joked.

"F you guys… I need better friends," Jordan groaned in his head.

One of the bull-like beasts began following the inky bull. The inky creature led it deeper into the woods. When it reached a certain point, Jordan saw a signal—and the ink creature collapsed to the ground. A man stepped out in front of the real beast and silently slashed its throat, killing it.

"Oooooh, talk about a catfish," Riven said.

Jordan woke up from the ground and flipped off everyone who was laughing.

"Okay, so it seems like the other beast is most likely a female, so Jordan's inky bull won't work," Sable noted.

"Wow, Jordan—you were about to make that guy cheat," Wren said with a smirk. Jordan responded by stepping on her shoe.

"OW! Ow ow ow!" Wren cried in her thoughts, grabbing her foot.

"Now, what should we do to kill the next beast?" Sable asked, like a teacher in front of a class.

"Just kill it," Harkel said bluntly.

"Yes, but is that the smartest move? I mean, madness—we don't know how strong this beast is, or how durable. Or smart. We could be walking into a trap and wouldn't even know it," Sable explained, trying to teach them. But Harkel raised his hand.

"Yes, Harkel?" Sable said, already a bit annoyed.

"But we do know how strong they are. We know how durable they are—and how smart. I mean, we could kill all three and be done with it," Harkel argued.

"Yes, bu—" Sable tried to respond, but Harkel had already taken off toward the beasts in his awakened form, slashing them down with his sword.

"Harkel!!!" Sable yelled as everyone jumped from the bushes. "That wasn't the point! It was supposed to be a lesson—a skill for later in life!" he continued to yell.

"Are you serious?" Harkel said slowly. "Most of us are dead. Most of us are starving. Do you really think we have time for some dumb lesson?" Harkel stared Sable in the eye. "And you're not the one who should be yelling here. You guys are the reason we're here in the first place. We've been stuck out here for two days. I don't want to be here anymore. I'm done laying on trees and branches—I want to lie on my fucking bed."

"I am your teacher, okay? You have to listen to me," Sable demanded.

"He has a point, Mr. Sable," Riven stepped in. "This isn't the time for lessons. Some of us are hungry. Most of us are starving. We need to eat." Riven nodded at Leo, who lifted his greatsword and started skinning the beasts, prepping them to be cooked.

"That doesn't change the fact that I am in charge. I am the teacher, which means you listen and do not question me," Sable snapped, clearly annoyed.

"Make me," Riven said, stepping into Sable's face.

"What?" Sable blinked.

"You heard me. Make me. Force me to listen. This place isn't about who's oldest or who's in charge—it's about surviving. And if what I heard about the other teams is true, then most of us are dead. Students and teachers alike. Do you really think we care anymore?"

"I… I apologize. You're right. I don't know what happened. I lost myself for a second. You are right—it's not the time for a lesson. But what I was trying to do was make you all real students, not just kids worrying about surviving another day. And you're right. None of you should've come here in the first place," Sable said, finishing the last sentence with regret in his eyes.

Harkel stepped over to the pond and began drinking the water. All of the students followed, scooping water into their hands and drinking it again and again. Some even stuck their heads directly in the water—two days of thirst poured out of them, and no one was holding back.

Joey then walked up to the pond and drank. When he did, he stepped back and stared at the water.

"Hm," was all Joey said. He put his hand into the water—and a flash of yellow light glowed from his palm. Everyone drinking saw it and backed up.

"Umm… Joey, what are you—" But before Riven could finish, the light shot out from Joey's hand, and a beast was lifted from the water. It appeared to be a type of kraken.

Joey killed it with a single blow.

The golden-haired boy pulled the kraken from the water and handed it to Leo to cook—then went back to drinking like nothing happened. Slowly, the others returned to the water to drink as well.

None of them would admit it, but they were scared of Joey now—and his new power.

"What is that?" Sable thought. "The boy's a dual evolver, yes… but I've never seen an evolution like that. Not even among natural evolvers. And that power—healing and attack strength? Actually, calling it 'strong' is an understatement. So what is it? And how do I explain that someone dual-evolved into something entirely new when they did it?"

After a while, the food was done. Everyone hesitated—scared to take the first bite, unsure if it had been cooked properly. One bite of raw beast meat could kill them.

Tessa had faith in her brother and his cooking, so she was the first to take a bite. Even though the meat was plain, it was food. She kept eating, and everyone else followed.

"This shit is flavorless, but it's been so long… I don't even care anymore."

That was the thought running through everyone's head as they ate the bull meat and kraken.

After eating, they began heading toward the rendezvous point. Riven saved the rest of the food in his system inventory. He didn't know if it would stay fresh, but it would be something for those who had nothing later.

"Okay," Sable called out. "Since we're all filled up and properly refreshed, we'll be running to the rendezvous point this time. If you're tired, ask a teacher or myself to carry you—we will. But know this: after a certain point, we won't carry anyone anymore. And trust me… we'll know if you're faking. So don't try anything. Next stop—rendezvous point."

⸻

At the Academy

"Sir, there are still no signs of the students or teachers coming out of the portal," a person in a white uniform said.

"OK, keep me updated," Damien said. He then got a notification on his watch, and disappeared into the air.

"Yes, sir. Darius," Damien said slowly as he teleported into a room with the other deans, the vice principal, and the principal.

"Yes, Damien. We need to go into the portal that the first years went through. Now, I'm not going to lie—I do feel like some, maybe most, of them died. But not all of them were wiped out. You're the man for this job. I want you to go there, teleport to the closest people, and get them out of there. In and out," Darius said, locking eyes with Damien.

"Yes, sir," Damien said as he teleported once again—this time into the first-year assembly hall. He walked through the portal.