BXBX NOVEL Chapter 18: Leaders
"Ahem." Jarron cleared his throat, gathering everyone\'s attention.
"For the purpose of this lesson, I will not be giving you any details or unnecessary assistance. This is survival training. Your goal is to reach a camp a certain distance into the woods where I and a couple of other instructors will be waiting. You have two weeks. Good luck."
The students were…not as surprised as they would have been a couple of weeks ago. But they were still disappointed.
For an academy that was supposed to teach them and instructors that were supposed to instruct them, it seemed like a lot of it was left for the students to solve on their own. The Academy and the instructors were only there to provide an environment where they could learn. It didn\'t feel like they were doing much more than that.
Still, no one could say it wasn\'t effective. Almost all the students had managed to learn more about their skills to the point where only a few had yet to activate them. With Zach\'s performance on the first day of practical lessons as well, the students also learned to remain vigilant a lot of the time.
Something else the students had picked up during their lessons was the fact that they could work together to overcome their weaknesses. Or rather, they could rely on the strong people in the class to have an easier time.
Some of the students glanced at Zach while most turned to Violina and Anerias. Dukiel was also an A-rank, but he wasn\'t sociable enough for the other students to know how to interact with him.
Violina and Anerias glanced at each other before nodding and stepping up in front of the rest of the classmates.
"Although Instructor Jarron didn\'t give us any details. As usual. He did tell us everything we needed to know. Our assignment is to find the camp. For that, we need to enter the forest. If we look at it like that, it\'s simple.
The problems are the dangers we will face." Anerias spoke with a calm voice that showed he had already analyzed what Jarron had told them.
Violina nodded in agreement.
"One such danger that we can anticipate from the start is the forest\'s residents. The wild beasts probably won\'t be too welcoming. We\'ll also stand face to face against the forces of nature, whether it be harsh weather or cold nights that we\'ll have to spend sleeping under the stars."
"However," Anerias picked up where Violina left off. "As long as we work together, we\'ll make it. With a group this large, we\'ll scare off most beasts. We can work together to build shelter and gather firewood. And if someone like an instructor ambushes us, we can work together to defend and counterattack."
Although Jarron had said they would be waiting at the camp, Anerias and the others didn\'t trust him for shit. It didn\'t take a genius to figure out that the instructors would be causing all kinds of trouble for the students as they made their way toward the camp.
Violina\'s gaze sharpened at Anerias\' final sentence. And she wasn\'t the only one who was holding a grudge against the instructors for all the pain they had caused during their so-called lessons.
"We also shouldn\'t forget that Jarron gave us a two weeks deadline. There are three things we can get from that. We shouldn\'t rush and tire ourselves too soon. It will take at least two weeks to get to the camp. And our grades are most likely related to when we arrive." Anerias had a serious expression on his face as he spoke.
At this point, most of the students had somewhat given up on getting exemplary grades. It was fine as long as they passed, which, most of the time, meant that they simply survived. However, Anerias, Violina, and other descendants of powerful households or students who dreamed of greatness wanted or needed good grades.
There was also the fact that Zach was miles ahead of everyone else in terms of grades. Several students, Anerias and Violina included, had a hard time accepting him as the class\'s number one.
At the thought of Zach, Anerias looked around. At first, he glanced at his classmates, but after sweeping across them a couple of times, he didn\'t find what he was looking for so he looked a little more closely.
"...Shit."
"Anerias?" One of the students asked cautiously when Anerias suddenly cursed.
Anerias didn\'t answer. Instead, he turned to Julius only to discover that he was also missing. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Anerias turned to his side.
Dukiel was also gone.
Zach, Dukiel, and Julius had already set off into the forest while Anerias and Violina were busy talking and rounding up the students to get them to cooperate and work with the same intentions.
"...That motherfucking bastard."
Anerias glared at the forest. It was obvious that it was Zach\'s idea. Dukiel wouldn\'t make a move alone, and Julius was too smart to enter the forest with his D-rank Mannequin without sufficient protection.
Anerias turned back to the class and fought to put on a calm expression.
With Violina\'s help, he divided the class into different groups so that they could keep watch on their surroundings in shifts as they moved through the forest. They didn\'t mention Zach\'s absence, but they didn\'t need to. He was the kind of person whose absence didn\'t go unnoticed. The atmosphere was much calmer when he wasn\'t around.
However, since it meant his familiar wasn\'t around, it was also less colorful.
But no one let Zach\'s decision to leave the class affect them, and Anerias, Violina, and the rest of the class entered the forest.