Training Grounds?

"Commander... Ehm... there seems to be a problem," Joe said to the commander clad in Arctic blue armor, who sat at a desk looking at him suspiciously.

"A problem?! What do you mean by a problem..." He sat upright on his chair, his blue eyes staring intently at Joe who was fidgeting.

"There wasn't any problem this morning?! Or did you give me the wrong report in the morning?!" He added, his tone emotionless yet carrying an invisible pressure.

"No, I didn't give a wrong report this morning, all was fine this morning, I don't know what happened," he lied through his teeth, fearing for his life, as the commander was a three-ray arctic blue warrior, a being he could not fathom to go against.

"Really?! Let's say that is true..." The commander said, sending chills down Joe's spine.

"He doesn't believe me... Am I going to die?" He thought, cold sweat trickling down his face.

"Now what's the problem?" The commander inquired.

"Commander, I found a powerful undead in the giant wasp nest," a little calmed, he spoke.

"How powerful?!" The commander inquired a bit annoyed by how ambiguous the bronze soldier was being.

"It should be at least an arcane skeleton knight," Joe said, not sure of Ossa's rank.

"At least?!... Do you have a death wish?" Still monotone, the commander inquired, streams of cold sweat soaking Joe's undergarment.

"Commander, if I may," Mark, who had been silent the whole time, requested to speak.

"He said he witnessed the undead kill hundreds of mid-tier normal wasps armed with only a rusted billhook," Mark said, as he received the go-ahead from the commander.

"If what you say is true, then he might be right; it should be at least an arcane skeleton soldier." The commander said, looking at Joe, who looked like he could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

"At ease, soldier, you've done well... Wait for me outside; I will get to you after a couple of minutes." The commander gestured for them to head out.

They bowed respectfully and proceeded to head out.

"I thought I was dead; thanks, man, you saved my hide," Joe thanked Mark, breathing in a sigh of relief.

"No worries, man, next time do your job well," Mark said, tugging on Joe's shoulders.

They proceeded to chat with each other as they waited for the commander.

Meanwhile, the commander took out a clear crystal ball, a device used to communicate over long distances.

"Salve!" He chanted, establishing a connection between him and who he wished to talk to.

An image of an old man with a long grey beard appeared, adorned in the traditional white robes of a Lux Kingdom mage.

They exchanged formalities with each other, after which the commander went straight to business.

"Professor, there seems to be a problem with the training grounds we promised," he said, a bit embarrassed as it was unexpected and a late call at that, as they had settled everything and had wanted to use the grounds tonight.

The group that gathered near the Forbidden Forest were knights stationed there by the Lux Kingdom.

The forbidden forest was used as a training ground for young mages and warriors, which they visited in groups.

Today was one of such visits from one of the branches of the Lux Academy, a branch near the Forbidden Forest.

They had booked the visit to train their students by allowing them to go against horned rabbits, one of the many inhabitants of the forbidden forest.

The training was to be held at night, as that was when the dangerous animals of the outer regions of the forbidden forest were asleep—creatures like the giant wasps and terror ants, creatures who owned that part of the forbidden forest.

"Problem... How come you didn't say anything a few days ago or did you say it this morning..." The professor said, confused. He added, "My students are already there; they should be arriving a few minutes from now with their guardians."

"Now?" The commander asked.

"Yeah, now. Do we need to try somewhere else?" The professor said, insinuating the incompetence of the commander.

"No, it's not a big deal. What I meant by a problem is that the training will be delayed by a few minutes, half an hour at most," the commander said, trying to salvage the situation.

"Then we will have to reduce the payment."

"Yeah, no problem, I will get it done; you don't need to worry." The commander reassured, bid him farewell before hanging up.

"Sigh!" He looked at the sword on his waist.

"Let's go," the commander said, coming out of the tent.

"Yes, sir," Joe and Mark said in unison.

"Huh, is the commander going out?"

"How serious is the matter?"

"Wanna join him?"

"Are you mad? A situation that requires the commander's interference is not something we could handle."

The warriors of the campsite murmured among themselves as it was rare for the commander to take care of a problem himself.

He decided to take care of it himself as he had promised to get it done as soon as possible.

The three left the campsite, arriving at the edge of the forest where Joe was to patrol.

A gentle breeze blew past the humanoid trees, making them look like they were waving their hands to the tune of the wind.

"Lead the way," the commander said, gesturing for Joe to lead the way.

Respectfully, he took the lead, guiding the two toward the giant wasp nest.

HOO!! HOO!! CHIRP!! CHIRP!! CRICKET!! CRICKET!!

A symphony of nocturnal beasts filled the night atmosphere, proof that the forest was alive. As they got closer to their destination, the sounds became thinner until it finally became dead silent.

"Commander, we are here," Joe said as they arrived at the wasp's hive.

In front of them was what looked like a small black and yellow lake, a lake made of the corpses of giant wasps.

Their abdomen was either cleaved in two or dug into.

"What sort of monster could do this?" The commander said, surprised by the sight before him.

"Achoo!" Ossa, who was in the alpha cave, sneezed.

"Did I catch a cold?"