CHAPTER 39: THE MASTER SCOUT’S GIFT

So, the man had seen him and was only pretending he hadn’t. He must have drawn the daggers the moment he sensed a presence, and Eric had been foolish not to realize it.

’But who the hell throws a dagger at a student while asking, ’Who sent you?’’ Eric thought, annoyed.

He’d only been watching, and now he’d found himself in this position. The man eventually raised his blindfold, and his fierce face calmed a little after he saw the blue uniform on Eric.

Eric felt the man must have forgotten he was in an academy, and anyone could come visiting. His reaction to intruders each time must be instinct from a lifetime of fighting—or of solitude.

"Oh, a student? I haven’t had one visiting in a while. I apologize for my violent welcome. You can call me Silk," the man said in a quiet voice as he helped Eric up to his feet. Eric noted his name before moving.

"Smooth as Silk," he said, part question, part statement.

"Smooth as Silk," Silk replied as he led him into the next room.

"Wait a minute," said Silk as he slid out the opposite door. Eric heard the voice of someone young and a minute later, saw him return with a student. He also had the camouflage ribbon on his arm.

’That must be the first student assigned Scout,’ Eric realized. ’My partner.’

Apparently,Eric and the boy had been watching Silk at the same time but from different positions. And Silk had managed to detect both of them. The dagger aimed for Eric had only flown past him, but the one aimed at the other student caught the hem of his uniform. The throw was so powerful it carried the boy with it, slamming him against the wall and pinning him there with the dagger, where he now struggled to get free.

Merely looking at the boy, Eric could tell he was a weakling. Judging based on appearance really wasn’t Eric’s thing, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the boy could barely stand on his own, seeing how jittery he was when dragged in.

He was scrawny, really thin, and his uniform looked a bit oversized for him. His hair was matted, a dark brown with traces of dull yellow. Eric couldn’t decide if his eyes were always that round and large or he was just too frightened at present.

Silk made them both sit in the middle of the room, where he placed a little table before them and sat opposite the two.

"I can see you’re the only two given the Scout ranks. But the time for special training hasn’t commenced, so why are you two here? Do you also wish to apply for a change of assignment like the past students who’ve been assigned here?"

Eric swallowed. That was part of why he had actually come. But after witnessing those fine movements from Silk, he was beginning to have a change of mind. He should at least learn something that fancy.

Silk, seeing how both students were a little distant and refusing to reply, thought they were simply here for redeployment.

"I thought I was finally going to have a student," he said slowly and quietly.

Silk spoke too quietly, as if scared of being heard. Eric guessed it must be the influence of the still atmosphere he lived in, or perhaps it was just a scout’s habit.

The boy, whose name was Kieran, raised his hand and, due to old habit, said, "I...I...didn’t come to be redeployed. I came here...just to take a look."

Kieran stuttered.

Silk brightened a little and even forced a smile. "So you’re staying?"

"Yes," Kieran replied.

Turning toward Eric, Silk questioned him with just his actions, a raised eyebrow and a cocked head. Eric didn’t want to give an answer right away because he still felt a cringing skepticism about the whole Scout assignment, and a few smooth moves from Silk weren’t going to win him over completely.

So he said, "I don’t have an answer yet. I might decide in a few days, before the special training sessions start. But... can you tell me how to apply for redeployment?"

Kieran gasped, his eyes going even bigger as he stared in disbelief at Eric. Silk, however, smiled gently and stood up nimbly.

He walked over to a large chest sitting at the corner of the room. The chest was so large and so full of different pieces of equipment that it took Silk quite a while to eventually find what he sought.

He stood up, holding a pair of brown furry boots and a pair of wooden daggers. He pushed both items toward Eric and started explaining:

"Good boots are a Scout’s greatest companions, so Scouts must wear special boots always. This pair is made from the hide of a Porcupine, with soles from the footpads of an Ice Bear.

The daggers are wooden, but they’ve been carved to take a closer resemblance to proper daggers. I want you to train yourself with these two items pending the time the special training starts. Then give your reply after that."

Eric was a little too confused to speak. He just took the pairs and stood up to leave.

As he walked past Silk and Kieran, he felt a familiar strain, a subtle, involuntary effort to control something that wasn’t his. It was similar to that time he controlled Winter’s Soul weapon psychically.

At that moment, the twin daggers that belonged to Silk rose about an inch into the air and dropped back lightly onto the small table. Silk instantly noticed this weird occurrence and shot a glance at Eric, but didn’t say a word as he nodded Eric goodbye. Kieran had missed this completely.

Eric decided to head over to the freshman’s training ground to have a moment to himself. He knew Gary and Silver would probably be in high spirits, jumping around the room because there were no other training sessions scheduled for the rest of the day. He also wasn’t willing to start peeling Opal’s eyes off his body, so the training ground was his safe spot for now, because he knew the place was most times empty after the basic training in the morning.

He sat down on one of the empty seats closest to the center stage and stared intently at the wooden daggers Silk had given him. He studied the masterfully carved designs and traced the blunt edges with his fingers.

Then he felt someone else enter the training ground. He was so familiar with Opal’s aura he didn’t need to look up to know it was her.

"I thought you’d be here," she smiled while pointing. In her hand was the new training sword that Master Lance had promised her, well-polished and more beautiful than others. She pointed its sharp end at Eric and said, "We’re all alone now. Let’s fight."

Eric wasn’t going to run away this time. Opal’s sly smile made him want to have the talk with her. He stood up at once, still gazing at the wooden daggers.

’Silk told me to train with these until I give my answer, he thought. Might as well start now. A pity my first test isn’t against a practice dummy.’

He rose swiftly, a sign he had accepted her challenge. He yanked off his own boots and replaced them with the furry pair from Silk. He dropped his wooden sword on the bench and opted for the twin daggers, something very strange to him.

"Is this an official ranked faceoff?" He asked.

"No," called Opal. "I only want to punish you."

He ran with a burst of speed towards Opal while gripping the daggers tightly.