Class Rumble - Monster Hunter part 3: Chapter 68

Her name is Iris, she is sixteen years old and she lives with her father who owns a bakery near the central district of the kingdom.

Her life for the recent years has been nothing but a simple life.

She wakes up.

She eats.

She works.

She studies.

She plays.

She sleeps.

And through this simple life, she had freedom as any children had in the kingdom.

As a young child, she never really felt any purpose in life aside from living as what society told her to. But as she grows, a certain question came to her mind, a question that shed her mind into a path towards the concealed truth.

"...What am I doing?"

This question could be applied to almost anyone who was at crossroads with their youth. It applied to people who felt like what they were doing in life was a bit lacking…

But she was just at her youth. This was still a time where children could pick a simple path of education…ergo school.

Seeing no other choice but for this path to be crossed, she moved forward and went to school. Seeing as she wanted to be a Archer like her mother once did, she started training to become a person just like her mother.

She trained and trained and trained. All to a point where she was confident she could never miss a shot at close to far distances.

She had the freedom to be what she wanted to be…or so what she thinks.

But as her mind matured towards the middle school years, she then meets another question to her life…

"...I have freedom…I have my path that I chose…but why does it feel so empty…why do I feel like I'm not proud of this…"

She said this to her father once and her father only could say to her was…

"You feel empty, but have faith. There will come a time when all of our people will finally feel a sense of purpose…a time when our path will once again be lead."

Hearing these words, she could look down and doubt.

"But we have a path." said Iris as she doubts her father.

"...no, we do not." said her father.

"What do you mean?" asked Iris.

"Let me tell you a story…a story that made our people fall to where we are now."

She leans in to listen to a story from beginning to end…and after it, she could only stay in silence.

And she realizes that after everything she had done, from her birth to her youth…she had never truly felt freedom…what she was experiencing was the result of her ancestor's choice to abandon a proud kingdom…she survived but in karma to this action, she lost the one thing everyone needed to have in order to live life to its fullest.

Purpose.

A prideful path.

She wanted it…but she couldn't.

She could only wait and hope that one day, someone will once again rise to lead her to her true path.

And right now…

After years of waiting in patience…her heart…the one thing that couldn't beat for anything…it made a beat that made her eyes shine.

Through her heart, she was certain.

Before her, a man was standing to protect her…that in of itself made her feel alive and fear at the same time.

The conflict of these emotions didn't gain full confusion to her senses but it did gave her a reason, something to walk on…as these emotions only pointed out to one certainty…

'I want to help this person…I want to offer myself to him…I want to dedicate myself…my purpose'

Her purpose.

So as she grabbed her bow, she pointed it at the direction pass the boy who was holding a shield…and she lets go of the arrow.

Slowly, the arrow flew past the boy and unto the orc.

"!!" having her senses fully heightened by the adrenaline of her purpose, she, with her reputation to never miss from a distance, struck the eye and made the orc step back from it's attack.

"!?" Hamil was surprised to see that this girl that was laying scarcely a minute ago has now stood by his back…her eyes could not look to him directly, but he knows he could rely on her on this situation.

Iris still couldn't look him in the eye directly as of yet since he exerts a certain aura around him that made her nervous, but still she could attack the orc in knowing that she was safe since Hamil was there to protect her. She was sure of this.

"Finally…we can fight back." said Hamil in such a dark tone…

"!!" having hear him say those words, Iris felt giddy as the realization that this boy relied on her.

With that, Hamil instantly charges forth towards the orc with his shield on front and with Iris to assist him at his back.

Meanwhile on the opposite end of the area, Martha stood with a complex expression.

She was still thinking of what to do before doing the process of performing the ritual needed to gain another form of level and power. Through this ritual, she needed to have a contract with her god, Agereos. That contract was in need of a personal conversation with the God itself.

She still hesitated a bit in doing this because it leads to a lot of controversy to most of the nobles as it shows an act of cheating. Gaining power by God's will does in fact feel like cheating, as only limited families could ever gain to do such a contract to their gods.

She had to do something to hide her process of ritual, as such she had to take care of the one thing that kept her from proceeding with the ritual.

'...I have to take care of the drones.' thought Martha as she quickly jumps high off in the air and quickly tries to locate all of the drones near the area.

'...three drones?…I thought each groups had three drones following them…but I was certain that a while ago, when my other members ran off, a drone followed them…'

Suddenly she realize that another party did came to join them and that party was the solo hunter Hamil. He must have been followed by one drone and the moment he joined, it added to four drones, but the moment her members left, it came back to three drones.

Knowing this, she immediately took action.

Drones are a complicated device used in many spectacles. It could be used for surveillance, scouting, delivery, it could be a medical carrier where it carries injured people through any nearby medical centers, it could be a high definition camera that records important scenes like news reports, tournaments and many more.

For this particular version of a drone, it has both the use of being a medical carrier and a high definition camera.

Using the watch each student carried, they could ask for assistance in health care but in return, they are disqualified from the event.

This fact gave Martha a chance to get rid of one drone and that is to simply use Richard's watch and ask for assistance. This will take him out of the event to get treated.

So she ran to Richard's direction. But as she did, she saw that with Hamil's side, Iris was with him fighting the Orc Guard. She was amaze to see Iris get back up again after the breakdown she showed out of nowhere.

Still, knowing this, she continued to pass right through the fighting area and made her way to Richard.

The moment she arrived, she saw Richard was slowly getting up from the tree he just crashed in. She could tell by his expression alone that he was trying to get back in the fight, but looking at his state, she could only be more sure of herself that he needs treatment.

She approached Richard and reached out to his wrist. As she went in to reach for the watch, Richard suddenly reacts to this and slaps her hand away from his.

"...!!" Martha was shocked to see Richard still try to hold on but as she saw the whole state of his body, she knew she couldn't let this boy go. So she forced herself to grab the watch and soon she called for assistance.

"...why?" asked Richard in his slow and rough voice.

"You can't fight anymore Richard."

"N-no! I…I can still-" but before he could move forward with his weak body, Martha struck Richard down and puts him to sleep.

Not before long, one drone came in and scanned the condition of Richard's body.

[Scanning….Damage fatal….32 bones are found broken….internal bleeding has passed of about 6 percent of his total structure….proceeding with Rescue Mode.]

As such the Drone transformed into a different form fit for being a medical carrier, and it slowly grabs Richard and takes him away to the Medical Center to get treated.

After this, Martha had to take care of two more drones. Seeing the design for its exterior wasn't so tough to begin with, she could easily take one down with just one Flame Spear but the problem lied with the fact that these drones were fast and they carried a camera that was capable of capturing 1000 frame shots per second.

High definition was fit for its name.

Its sensors were hunter fit level…meaning that it was capable of following a B-rank hunter through a dangerous hunt inside a gate and come back alive with footage that was comparable to that of a one million ence budget movie.

One drone was focused on the fight scene where Hamil and Iris where at, while another was watching Martha.

"..." she needed to find a way to take it out without making it obvious that she took out the drone herself…this would lead to a bit of a conspiracy between her and the organizers, despite the fact that her family was the one leading this events, she still had to follow the rules.

Luckily for her, she knew one way.

If she could make a scene that would divert all the drones attention away…a scene that will ultimately seems like it was an emergency , the drone will prioritize the incident. After all, the drone was modeled to be one that also focuses on the medical attention.

But another problem ensued, how will she create such an emergency?

In the original story, when Iris and Martha was all that was left in the fight, Iris came to a situation that did brought her to a critical state. She needed to be tended by the drones. And as the incident did happen, the drones came to her attention and this opportunity gave Martha both the rage and determination to bring down the orc all on her own.

She achieved the ritual's purpose an she gained power without having the drones see the process.

But now, no accidental chance came. Hamil was the cause of that.

He became a shield that protected his people…it diverted the story…it gave Martha no chance to proceed with the ritual.

She looks to the two who were desperately fighting against a beast and thought that it was amazing that they were able to contend with such a monster. Their synergy made it seem like a dance was being performed right before her eyes.

"...maybe I don't need the ritual…If we keep fighting this thing…maybe in due time, we can kill it." through these words, she felt like she didn't need to advance. She saw how capable Hamil was with a shield, so maybe if he could keep it up as well as Iris could, then maybe the orc will die in due time.

But as this thought climb up on her, suddenly she felt a gaze before her.

The orc that fought against both Hamil and Iris was now looking at her for some reason. The orc felt that this particular girl was the easiest target out of the three…she stood with such a busy mind, that she completely forgotten about the situation of the Orc's strength.

The orc was fighting for quite some time now and through it all, he could never go through the defense of this duo. The shield was so perfectly used, that the orc could never get in an edgewise. And the arrows, they never fail to irritate him. The arrows themselves weren't powerful, but it was effective enough that it bothered with his fighting style.

So knowing that it felt like this duo was only ever going to defend, he felt a sense of urgency to finish it all, as like any other impatient orc would do. So he looks to the other target and impatiently used a skill that would ultimately break the flow of this battle.

If the orc could break the flow, then he will ultimately finish this fight.

The orc used it's skill.

[CANNIBAL'S GLUTTONY]

It became twice as fast as it could ever be and the orc instantly moved at the girl, intending to break the flow.

Before she knew, a blade was coming her way and she couldn't react on time to even stop the blade or move out of the way…

'!!' seeing this happen, Hamil instinctively moved his body and chased after the Orc.

But the distance was too far and the orc was faster because of the skill.

Knowing he can't reach her on time, he called upon his skill.

'Shield's Copy!'

Bringing out a transparent shield out in front of Martha, it blocked the sword from stabbing her…but after that…

Hamil found himself stuck in a dangerous position.

"...What?"

'How predictable for a shield…' thought the orc as his smirk went from ear to ear.

While one sword went for Martha, the orc was also aiming to break the flow that Hamil had brought into the field.

Hamil couldn't protect himself…he was too focused on protecting Martha. His carelessness and over-protectiveness brought him to a state of such danger.

"!?"

With the Orc's size and length of its arms, it was capable of reaching Hamil just enough to give him a major cut. As the sword made it way down to him, the speed of the swing was too fast for him to bring out his shield in front. Through this predicament, he had to risk something to survive the attack.

"!!" so with a speed that surpasses the sound, he was able to bring out his empty hand in front in an attempt to catch the blade. He quickly enveloped this hand with the skill Shadow Skin. The concentration of using the skill was too mediocre…so the skill itself was ultimately weaker than it would have originally been, yet still its ability to envelope his entire arm in a quick process was impressive.

As the blade swung down, Hamil was able to catch it.

"!!"

Yet to his surprise, the orc surpassed the shadow skin armor and he was caught in the swing.

The swing itself caused an explosion around the surrounding area.

"..." Iris stood in shock as the person who she thought was a master on defense was caught in the attack. She was even more surprised to see that after that attack, it was revealed to her that the boy was found kneeling with his shield on one hand and his other hand cut from the blade…

Hamil fell to his knees as the blood drips down at his left side.

"Damn…you took my entire arm off…you bastard." said Hamil in a shaking voice.

'I was too careless…fuck!' thought Hamil as he kneeled staring at the Orc.

"Hamil!" Martha screamed to him as she was worried for his state.

"..." Hamil turns his head to her Direction and finds her standing without a graze…he smiles seeing as how she was fine.

'My condition…it seems like this is bad enough that it'll cause the drones to come to my attention.' thought Hamil as he looks to the drones with a pale face.

Not long after, the Orc then raises his sword again to slice down at the careless fool.

Seeing this happen, Hamil desperately brought out his shield to the front and tried to protect himself.

"My Lord!" screamed Iris as she ran desperate to his direction. She was too focus on Hamil that Her worries clouded her judgement to attack the orc instead.

But before she knew it, the orc slashes down at the shield. The orc was consumed by his own skill, Cannibal's Gluttony. He had lose his ability to perceive his surroundings…so it resulted with Hamil being his only target.

*Thud!*

With Hamil on his knees, he took on the attacks.

Heavy and bombarded, he struggled to stay in his position…as right now, he was taking all the attention from the Orc.

It was the perfect time to attack…

but the two people he relied on were to caught by the desperate scene.

Martha looks to this scene and with both fear and shock…

And Iris was desperately running to his direction. But before she could reach him, Hamil looks to her again straight in the eyes…and he was telling her to not come close.

"!!" she instantly stops on her feet.

Hamil then looks to Martha with a expression telling her that she needs too finish the job.

"!!" Martha received that look and soon came back to her senses.

With that she instantly conjured two flame spears on hand and took down the two drones on their tracks.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

Having being able to simultaneously take down the two drones, she then proceeded to move forward with the Ritual. But this time, she had a different motivation. Instead of killing the Orc, she instead wanted to save the boy as he struggles to take on every attack the Orc was pushing towards him.

With that, she drafted a summoning circle on the ground using her flames and soon chanted the ritual calling.

She bows down to the circle and clasp her to hands together in a form of prayer.

"I pray to you, all seeing god…I pray to you, watcher of flames…I pray to you, in service of loyalty…I pray to you, all mighty Agereos…hear my call and grant me your blessing."

….

….

….

In that silence, she prayed for strength.

….

….

Silence was heard in her ear…but in her mind, a magnanimous voice echoed throughout her soul and it called to her for reason.

….

….

….

As each second tiks by…the orc would continue to ravage on Hamil.

But not a minute later, she felt a burning mark suddenly embedded into her skin. Into her chest.

Her eyes opened wide as she endured the fiery mark that was burning through her skin.

"!!"

And after that, she went in silence.

And flames erupted before her feet.

As each step she would make, trails of flames followed her.

Her hair which was once crimson burned into a fiery orange.

And her white skin turned brown over the heat she was giving off.

Her form completely changes in over the prayer she called to her God.

And her power…it surpassed that of the Orc entirely.

"Flame Spear."

With a single call of her attack, a giant spear appeared before her that was five times as big as it normally would.

The moment she shot it at the Orc who was pummeling down at Hamil, the spear changed into a more sharper end and pierced right at the orc.

"!!?" the orc with it's deranged and berserk form, felt the blazing sensation that spear had in its attack. The force was heavier and the flames were more intense, almost as if the attack itself was comparable to that of a rocket.

The orc could not defend against a power that was more powerful than himself…so he looks to the pummeled Hamil and abandons the idea of crushing the boy to his end.

But before he could flee, he was meet again with a more stronger attack.

An arrow came flying out of nowhere and struck him down at his chest. It pushed him away from Hamil's body and straight at a tree.

"!!" the power this attack had within itself was twice as powerful as that of that flame spear. He wondered to himself how such attack came to be, but as he look to the direction this arrow came upon, he saw iris with a furious expression…and pale face.

"Haa….haa…" she was gasping for air after that attack because she had to sacrifice 80 percent of her mana on that one arrow.

And the result showed itself to be quite effective. If she had taken the time to aim higher at his head, she could have killed the beast but the drawback of using that amount of her mana made her lose the ability to shoot accurately.

The moment the orc moved, it was again bombarded by the flame spears that rained from above.

"RRAAAAHHHH!!!" it screamed in pain as the flames burned it's entirety…and a minute later, everything ended…

The orc was burned to a crisp.

Iris was found tired and with a pale face while kneeling on one spot.

And Martha returned to her original form and soon rushed to Hamil's side…to see his condition.

But the moment she came to the place he was presumed to be at, she finds nothing but the stains of his blood.

He was gone.

"...What?"

Iris also came to approach the same place Martha stood on and was also shocked to see no body found in the crater filled with stains of blood.

It was as if Hamil was never there in the first place.

Iris soon falls to her knees in disbelief…

And Martha was left with a complex expression.

"...Why…why did he…" Martha could not finish her sentence, as she could not find the words to it.

Iris soon starts to shed tears in confusion…but Martha stands and decided to move on from this scenario. She thought to herself that maybe she'll get her answer by simply talking to the person…and for now, she had to prioritize the event…she still had to energy to gather more points on the event.

But Iris wasn't in the condition to do the same.

She had already exceeded her use in mana, so Martha had to take her back to a medical center to get treated.

So she used Iris's watch and called out for a Medical Carrier Drone. Although no drones were left in the area watching them, the could still call for assistance. It would only take a few minutes for the drone to arrive, so the only thing they could do while waiting was talk about the event...or more specifically the boy.

"...Did you think…he was real?" Asked Iris.

"..!?" Martha looks to Iris with a confused face.

To Iris, it felt like that person was like a dream…she could never feel such emotion in her life until today. but the moment that person disappeared, her life turned back to the way it was…it had no purpose.

"...His real." said Martha in certainty.

"...What's his name?" asked Iris.

"...Hamil…Hamil Crux from the C-class." said Martha with a smile on her face.