The Hunt Approaches

                    Chapter 26

After Cindy left, Jake finally snapped out of his daze and got back to his exercise. After some time, Jake was finally done with his daily quest and decided to pull up his status screen to track his progress.

        <Status >

      <User: Jake Lucas>

      <Level: 5>

     <Combat level: Novice>

     <Skill level: Untrained>

      <XP 80 200 level:>

      <HP: 30>

     <Strength: 24>

     <Agility:20 >

     <Endurance: 27>

Jake sighed and decided to leave the gym for his dorm to freshen up for the day, that was when he heard a ding in his head.

<Congratulations user! Your hard work has paid off>

<The system wants to reward you with +2 stat point all your stats.>

"Huh!?! What was that about?" Jake asked while pulling up his status screen.

        <Status >

      <User: Jake Lucas>

      <Level: 5>

     <Combat level: Novice>

     <Skill level: Untrained>

      <XP 80 200 level:>

      <HP: 30>

     <Strength: 26>

     <Agility:22 >

     <Endurance: 29>

And truthfully, the system gave him the +2 stat points.

"Woah! This is truly awesome." Jake excitedly said. "But what is going on? Why is the system suddenly giving me stats points out of nowhere?" 

"I think the system is feeling generous all of a sudden." Zee commented.

"whatever it is, I still like it." Jake said while exiting the gym for his dorm room.

Jake got to his dorm after a few minutes and proceeded to take his bath, he was ready for the day. After a few hours, the whole room was now ready for the day. They all head towards the dining hall for their breakfast. On the way there, they decided to strike a bit of conversation.

"So dude, what weapon class are you gonna attend?" Jack asked Peter.

"I'm not sure yet, I think I will head to the axe club. What about you?" Peter asked Jack.

"I'm thinking of the sword club." Jack replied.

"Well I'm thinking of joining the spear club." Vynn said. "What about you Jake?"

"I will join the sword club." Jake said.

"I think I will join the archery club." Kate said. "What about you Sophia?"

"I think I will also go for the sword club." Sophia replied.

"Great. So there are three of us that are going to attend the sword club. Good thing I won't be alone." Jack said all smiley.

After a few minutes of more talking and walking, they finally got to the dining hall for their breakfast. They all went to take their normal table for breakfast but they noticed it was already taken.

"Hey, dudes! This table is ours." Peter said.

"Huh? Where is it written that only one room gets to use a table?" The guy that looked like the leader of the group who turned out to be Sebastian replied.

"What the heck is your problem Sebastian?" Vynn said.

"Oh look, the weakest of the group has the guts to talk to me like that." Sebastian said. "If you know what's best for you, I will advise you to keep your mouth shut." Sebastian said while furrowing his brows.

"Sebastian why must you be a d***k? Can't you just move away and act mature for once?" Jake asked.

"You! How dare you call me a d***k? I'm really gonna show you what I am made of now." Sebastian said standing up about to strike Jake but he was intercepted by a military staff.

"No fighting in the canteen. If you got beef, settle it outside, not in here." Jim said and then he looked at Jake and his group. "I would suggest you look for somewhere else to sit."

"Sure. Thank you sir." Kate said quickly, pushing her group to another table.

After getting their food, they dug in quietly and there were no more run-ins with Sebastian's group. After a few minutes, they were finally ready for their homeroom class. The lecture was still a little boring for Jake and he didn't really pay attention because he was thinking about how he would handle Sebastian and his supposed brother who was in the upper class.

Jake was still thinking when something instructor Thompson said caught his attention.

"So class, as first years, you need to gain experience by battling beasts and so you could also craft your weapon from the beast crystals." Thompson said. "So next week, you will all make use of Portals to go to the beasts world in order to hunt for a week."

"Hunt? Isn't it dangerous for us that don't even have any experience in fighting?" A student asked.

"The academy knows, that's why we are taking precautions." Thompson said. "You will only hunt basic tier beasts and also two sergeants will be with you so as to protect you guys In Case you encounter a beast of a higher tier."

Beasts were classified into 5 categories or tiers. 

Basic tiers (lowest and weakest beasts possible)

Intermediate tier(they can deal damage)

Advanced tier

King tier

Legendary (the highest tier of beast possible and stronger too)

Hearing that there will be two sergeants protecting them, the students' hearts fell at ease. 

"Alright, you will all be needed to form a group of 7 members. I want the list of all the members of the groups before next week." Thompson said.

With the information all said and done, Thompson ended the homeroom class meanwhile the students decided to attend their combat class.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally got to the training grounds and started preparing for their daily physical exercise. After a few hours of physical training, they rested before sparring with each other. After sparring for an hour, Lee stood in front of them to say something.

"I'm glad to know that you guys have perfected 'The Triple Threat' technique properly." Lee said. "So we are moving onto the next technique but this one is actually a practice of different types of kicks. For three days straight, we will practise one kick then we move to another." Lee paused to gauge the students' expression.

Some of them had smiling faces about the prospect of learning a new skill. Even Jake was grinning so hard that it felt quite creepy to look at.

"So today, we will practise the axe kick." Lee said getting in position to demonstrate the kick to them. "Pay attention carefully, for I will only demonstrate this kick  twice."

Before Lee demonstrated the skill, he called out Jack so he could demonstrate how the kick looks when fighting against an enemy. After making sure Jack was ready, Lee proceeded to demonstrate.

 Lee got into a stance and  lifted his leg high, adopting a stance with his knee bent at a 90-degree angle. He balanced his foot, keeping it flexible, before unleashing a powerful axe kick. His heel sliced through the air, aiming for Jack's head with precision and force. The kick's trajectory resembled an axe's downward swing. 

Jack felt the wind force closing in on his head. He could feel how powerful and strong the kick was gonna be if it connected with his head. But before it could connect, Lee reduced the speed of his leg and told Jack to go back to the class. 

"So you see, how powerful the kick is. If it had connected with Jack's head, it would have been terribly bad except if he was using Qi to protect himself that is." Lee said.

"Qi?" Jake thought confused but before he could ask, Vynn quickly asked the question.

"Sir, what is Qi?" Vynn asked, "Because I don't think I have heard of it before." 

"Qi, is our superpower but you will be taught all that when you are in your second year. For now, focus on your first year." Lee said and then he gave the class thirty minutes to practise the Axe kick before he could dismiss the class.

The students all eagerly practised the kick meanwhile Jake was stumped about the mention of this mysterious thing called 'Qi'.

"Zee, do you know anything about this thing called 'Qi'?" Jake asked.

"No. I have no record of anything called Qi." Zee answered. "But it's a good thing, if what he said Is true about the Qi being this world's ability then it will really aid you in getting stronger."

"Yeah. I can't wait for me to get into the second year then." Jake said while practising the kick until the time was up for the class to be dismissed. And then, it was time for weapons class.