Aaron West

A cow that is in a hurry to leave the farm will soon return as corned beef. No, this saying was not quite adept. Perhaps, the saying, If bad luck chooses you as its companion, even a ripe banana would break your teeth would be better suited for his case.

When he had told his father about his class choice, his father had quietly acquiesced. It was more than Zane could imagine, old families had always been more stringent about the Class choices of their children. Not only that, his father had given him a token that allowed him to summon a team of the Valois family guards. One could say that Zane had received a better haul than he expected.

However, when he finally announced his class on his eighteen birthday. His father had changed his mind. Perhaps he had thought that the strongest strength was still personal strength or something like that because he had hired an elite sniper to train him. According to him, not only would he not be out of the loop when he goes to school, but it would also increase his chance of survival. Zane had no reason to refuse, survival sounded good to him.

He was pretty calm, even excited initially. The man, Aaron West was a kind, gentle-looking man that was only there to give him Simple and Basic training.

It wouldn't change a thing. He was capable of keeping this hoax under control. 

However, it didn't take up to a week before Zane almost went to his father to reveal the truth. He was a poor innocent mage and he didn't possess the physical capacities of a warrior at all.

What Basic? What Simple exercises, this man was simply the Devil. Everyday, he had to drag his trembling, shivering body back home.

No wonder, when he had gone to Aaron at the end of the training with a grin and told him that their classes would have to end because he was going to school, Aaron had smiled gently and told him, "It's alright. Education is very important."

What a bastard!

Zane wanted to curse this man but he could only sit upright and paste an enthusiastic smile on his face.

Aaron West walked in front of the class. Red flaming hair and bright green eyes, he was the type to stand out in a crowd. He looked at the students in front of him, their eyes were filled with expectations, nervousness and ambitions. 

He liked such gazes. He gave Zane a nod. That student had been one of the most enthusiastic students he had ever seen. He was also talented and wry hardworking. When a student gives his all, he as a teacher has no choice but to reciprocate and make sure that the student leaves with something tangible. 

He looked at the twenty two students before him, fourteen boys and eight girls. He wondered the kind of students he would be seeing this year. He will do his best to make something out of them.

"Good morning. My name is Aaron West and I am your instructor for this course. This is Basic Combat Sniping. Students sometimes make mistakes when choosing a course so if you are new to marksmanship or sniping, please leave the class." He paused as if expecting students to start leaving, seeing that nobody moved, he signed.

"Don't try to bite more than you can chew. The penalty for changing your course is just one demerits. The murmurs of doubt seemed to increase, Aaron was not surprised, it was like this every year.

"This is a blue coded course. You can look it up. What this means is that I can issue demerits without going through a panel and I will if I think you are not measuring up to my standards. This is not an introductory class. I expect that assembling the sniper rifle at the very least is familiar to you. Your marksmanship should at least be in the intermediate level. If you fulfill the above and you don't possess the grit needed for this course, please leave."

After saying this, he waited and the students started getting up one after the other.

Zane looked at the eight students that left longingly. All he needed to do was to get up and walk right out of the door. Thinking of the sniper label on his head, he could only give up.

"Now that is out of the way. Welcome to Basic Combat Sniping. Sit upright, all eyes on me. You will be taught advanced marksmanship, camouflage, and reconnaissance techniques.  We will also visit counter sniping and night operations. You can scan the code in front of your table with your Atlas later in order to be view our course outline and be added to the course forum."

"First seat on the third row by the left, one discredit."

The tall lanky boy who had introduced himself as John quickly protested, "Sir!"

"Sit upright. Eyes on me. The code can be scanned later. Discipline and Focus are essential qualities of a sniper. The absence of either can be fatal. So I will repeat one last time, as long as I am addressing you in front of this class, I would like your eyes to be focused on me. Don't take it off, no matter what." 

His bright green eyes were fixed on them but his voice remained incredibly kind like an elder's admonition to a child. Zane could already feel tiny goosebumps on his arms.

"We would also touch other fundamentals in order to strengthen your foundation. Marksmanship is only a small part of being a sniper. I hope that at the end of this class, you will be well rounded."

"Go to the changing rooms and suit up. Your uniform, weapons and other pieces of equipment are in your locker. For today we will be conducting a little test to measure your expertise in marksmanship. This test doesn't count for much, however, at the end of the month, there will be another test. Failure to reach the passing mark would lead to three demerits and the person with the highest score would assume the position of class rep." He then chuckled, "However, you don't have to worry about it yet."

Speak for yourself. Zane wanted to roll his eyes as he walked to the changing room. Wait! Was Avery Millox deaf, what part of 'at the end of the month' didn't she understand? Why was she standing there, glaring at him, looking all ready and raring to go? And why was Jet scowling at him?

He just knew it. He should have followed the other eight students.