CHAPTER 45: THE SELECTION

Eric found himself standing in the middle of the group of forty students assigned to Eleanor, the Master Archer. The two hundred students were distributed among five teachers, and they’d been grouped based on their blocks of residence, so Eric and the others had ended up together. Eleanor, also clad in beast gear and weapons, was busy talking about the basic rules of the hunting trip.

But Eric was busy checking out his scaly armor and the beast sword.

The armor was forged from the core of a basic-tier beast called Sand Gliders. It felt light and comfortable on his skin. Even though it was oversized when he first put it on, the armor shrank against him until it was a perfect fit. The system also explained that the sword was an intermediate-tier beast weapon forged from the cores of a mountain lion—a weapon with increased striking power and high defensive points.

A whoosh sounded as he swung the sword, cutting through the air. It was way bigger than the katana he was used to, but just as light. He needed to thank whoever had sent these gears to him secretly, even though it was slightly obvious who the person was.

"You must form a sub-group of five, and each sub-group must contain eight students," Eleanor instructed. "You have just five minutes to select your group members. You can start now!"

Eric looked around and saw that he already had three members immediately. There was no reason for Opal, Gary, and Silver to separate themselves, and Eric didn’t know anyone else he could group with.

"We only need to find four strong rangers to add to our group," Silver declared, clearly searching with his eyes.

"You mean three," said Gary, "because Bastion is here with us."

Gary stepped out of his spot to reveal Bastion crouching behind him, doing his best to cover his eyes with his long, messy hair. He wore a black woolen shirt that looked too big for him, and in his hand was a sheathed black-and-white katana. On his belt was a little pocket that contained star-shaped weapons called shuriken.

Eric doubted if his weapons were beast gears like his own, but there was no way to know with his low-level knowledge.

"Bastion, stand up right now," Opal commanded. It seemed she’d had enough of Bastion’s timid nature. "If you really want to be a part of this group, you should stand up straight... and raise your hand. Doesn’t your neck hurt like that?!"

The timid Bastion weighed how comfortable it would be if he was neglected by his roommates and had to search for another group, and decided he’d rather face them. He gulped after standing up. His hair still covered his face. Eric still hadn’t gotten a proper view of his features because it was always hidden, but he found Bastion quite interesting.

Opal gave up on trying to get Bastion to raise his hand and started calling out to look for other members to join the group.

"We need a long-range specialist. Everyone here fights close-up, which might be a disadvantage should we face ranger beasts," she explained to the group, encouraging the search for a suitable ranged user.

But as soon as she finished talking, a very slim figure approached them with a big black bow across her shoulder and loads of arrows sticking out of her quiver.

"Are you perhaps looking for me?" She smiled as she addressed the group. "Hi guys, my name is Mantra, and I’m the long-range specialist you seek."

Silver immediately stretched out his hand to offer a handshake. "Of course you’re welcome. Hi Mantra, do you mind if I...chant you?"

Gary rolled his eyes.

Mantra laughed and said, "I get that line a lot."

"Welcome to the group, Mantra," Opal approved. "We need one more. Let’s search before they take the good ones."

They all started calling for members, each facing a different direction. A few people accepted to join them because they could see Opal in the group, but every time they saw that Eric was also part of it, they quickly left again, searching for another group.

It was almost the five-minute mark Eleanor had given them, and if they didn’t get a new member soon, they might have no option but to select from the last few who had been rejected by the other groups. And that was bad news, because there was a reason other groups didn’t want them.

The discrimination against weaklings was clear and obvious among the students.

Suddenly, Eric felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a huge, muscular student standing a few inches taller than all of them. A greatsword was slung behind his back, and he did not bother wearing armor to protect or cover his muscular body.

"Mind if I join this group... uh... Eric?" the stranger asked politely, with a hint of familiarity in his voice.

Eric only nodded, his head cocked slightly, his mouth slightly open. Why was he asking him specifically? And why did he address him with so much familiarity?

"Bart Riddle," Opal sounded bored. It was like they had a history between the two of them. "Welcome."

Silver’s eyes glittered. He fawned all over Bart and almost touched the greatsword on his back.

Bart Riddle?

Eric remembered the name from the list of top-ranked fighters the system had shown him.

Bart was number one in the first year. Eric now understood why Silver was ecstatic about his presence. He had to admit it was a strong addition to the squad.

"Well, I guess the team’s set, and we’ll move to pick the last person offered by the system since the members of the other groups are now complete," Opal remarked.

They all followed Opal.

"There," Mantra pointed toward a lonely boy in the middle of the gathering. His head was downcast, and he even appeared as if he was about to cry.

Eric recognized him right away. No one had that awkward mix of natural hair color like him. There was only one other student with the scout’s camouflage ribbon on as well.

Kieran.