The Creeping Hand Of Fate (3)

We get up and make our way to the classroom. The rest of the students are arriving, and we file in with them. Our usual table, which is closer to the door, is open, so we all grab a seat. Kyle and Tyrion are both glaring at me as they pass by.

[I was hoping we could let bygones be bygones, but I suppose that was a little too optimistic. Now that we're taking classes together, I should apologize to Kyle for what I said the other day.]

Travis walks in and stands at the front of the classroom with a big smile on his face.

"Good morning, class. It's good to see all of you. I messed up when I took all of you to the Argon Forest with me, but I'm glad everyone's okay. We need to do a lot more studying about the forest before we do that again, so let's talk about some of the creatures you'll find there."

"How about Punctastars?" Tyrion interjects while looking right at me.

[I guess it's an open secret now.]

"Great! We've had an influx of those at the guild recently, so that's a perfect start. While Punctastars aren't as dangerous as other monsters in the woods, they can still be a tough opponent. Have any of you ever fought one? No? Does anyone know how?"

I can feel the eyes of everyone in class turn to my table. Josh and Sakura take turns drawing on a sheet of paper so they don't notice the attention. I cross my arms and try to ignore them as well.

"Due to the toughness of their scales, it's best to use blunt weapons or magic." Shinobu comes in with the save and answers from the other side of the class. I can see her smiling smugly at me.

"Good answer." Travis breaks the building tension with his overbearing voice. "But, as an adventurer, you need to keep in mind how your attacks affect the product. Blunt weapons can damage the scales, and magic can completely ruin the hide. How can we go about killing one without damaging the most valuable parts of its body?"

The room opens up into quiet muttering as everyone discusses the topic.

[It's good that everyone seems interested in the course. I've been in many classes ruined by people who don't want to be there. I was the cause on more than one occasion myself.]

"Let's get another answer. How about you?" Travis points at me with a smile.

"The scale pattern is worth a lot, so the best strategy is not to damage that. You can get under the scales using bladed weapons at a low angle while only piercing the hide." I sigh.

"But, damaging the hide isn't any better!" Shinobu shoots her hand up in the air as she tries to argue with me.

"From my understanding, the hide can be more easily repaired than the scale structure."

"Those are both good answers, but the best way is to flip them over and hit their soft underbelly. Monsters have Health Points that work much the same as ours. As long as their HP is high enough, you won't be able to deal fatal damage. The fastest way to kill a monster is to attack a vital spot repeatedly."

"Why doesn't everyone do that?" someone asks from the back of the class.

"Most adventurers tend to fight monsters that are about as strong as they are. We all tend to enjoy that kind of challenge. When you're in a life-or-death situation, you're not going to be hitting only one spot; you're going to try to get any hit you can. The only way that you can pin a monster down and hit the same spot over and over again is if you're much stronger than it."

Travis gives everyone a chance to digest his words. Some people whisper to each other.

"Let's talk about another creature you'll find in the forest, the Mankas." He walks up to the board and makes a poorly drawn picture of a Manka, or at least that's what I think he's doing. "Mankas are one of the most dangerous monsters in the forest, so make sure to avoid them. They aren't particularly aggressive but can be incredibly territorial and always travel in large groups called troops."

"What if they attack you?" Shinobu asks.

"Well, you're probably dead. They're kind of hard to deal with individually, mostly because they latch onto you like a vice grip. Once you've injured one, the entire troop will come to hunt you down. You're not gonna be able to escape or fight them, so dying's really the only option." Travis rubs the back of his head during this explanation. He almost seems embarrassed for telling us this. "Anyway, on the off chance you ever fight one of these things on their own, here's what you want to keep in mind. They are very fast and will try to grab you with their prehensile tail covered with suction cups. Each suction cup is covered with teeth, so they're a nightmare to pull off once they're attached. On top of that, they have large beaks which can crush bone and a tough shell on their back that can deflect most attacks. Make sure to aim for the tail or neck, as those are the two weakest points. These creatures are omnivorous, relying on grazing for the most part but are known to hunt for prey when desperate."

We spend the rest of the class talking about the anatomy of several different types of monsters and how to fight them. I just listen for the most part while glancing at Josh's well-organized notes. Sakura seems to be paying attention as she's drawing pictures of each monster as Travis describes them.

Class wraps up, and we walk out the door. Waiting for us is Shinobu, looking upset.

"I can't believe you argued with me. Are you trying to make me look stupid?"

"The last thing you should be worrying about is what people think of you when you're in class. We're here to learn, not to try and look cool. Get your priorities in line." I walk past her dismissively.

"Shut up, meanie. You're just a big bully!" Shinobu yells after me, but I just ignore her.

"Nick, I think you should apologize. You were kind of mean to her."

"I was trying to help her. Besides, she was coming at me."

"Still, you don't have to be a jerk." Sakura's shoulders drop at my response.

[Dammit. Why do I have to worry about all these kids? They're not my responsibility.]

I sigh and give myself a second to calm down before speaking.

"You're right. I'll apologize next time I see her. I shouldn't go around making enemies. I was giving her advice, though. Being an adventurer is a life-or-death battle; we need to be willing to learn, and we have to be open-minded enough to admit when we don't know something to learn."

"I guess." Sakura doesn't buy my explanation.

"What do you think, Josh?"

"Shinobu is sad."

"What?" His response catches me off guard.

"I think she's sad." He keeps walking, but I slow down a bit and follow behind them.

[If Josh noticed it, then I must have been really out of line. I'll need to rethink how I deal with these people. Maybe I should pull Shinobu aside and have a one-on-one.]

I turn to look for her again, but everyone has cleared out by this point.

[Too late now. I'll make sure to do that next class. I also forgot to apologize to Kyle. Maybe I'm just an asshole?]

I rerun some of the conversations I've had recently in my head and imagine what I could have said differently. I'm not paying attention to where we're headed as I blindly follow behind the kids.

"Nick." I return to reality and see that we're standing outside a shop.

"Where are we?"

"This is my dad's shop." Sakura runs up the shop and spreads her arms out with a big smile on her face.

"So, are we buying potions?"

"Yeah, Josh and I talked about it, and we think we need some to make sure we're safe in the forest." Josh nods as she's talking.

"That makes sense. We only have a couple of healing potions at the den. What did you have in mind?"

"I'll show you; come on!" Sakura excitedly leads the way into the shop. At first glance, it looks like a pageantry of different colored bottles, a wide variety of shapes and sizes laid out without any planning.