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Flash back...
When I was young, my mother used to take me to the park often, I didn't have anyone to play with at home, so the park became my world and that's where I met Natsuki. We became fast friends, we laughed a lot, ran around together, and shared all the silly little things that make childhood feel like magic. But as time passed, something changed, I started liking her, not just as a friend, I liked her a lot and I was just about ready to tell her then Renji showed up.
He was the new kid at the park, he wasn't friendly, not at first but Natsuki liked him. She liked playing with him more than she liked playing with me and I remember one day clearly-painfully so. I was watching them from a distance, Renji and Natsuki were playing near the swings and he shoved her hard then she fell and scraped her ankle and it started to bleed.
Without hesitation I ran up to them and I stood between Natsuki and Renji and started scolding him. I don't even remember everything I said, but I know I said a lot, I told him off for hurting her, told him how she liked him, and that he didn't deserve her attention if this was how he'd treat her.
And then... Natsuki looked at me like I was a stranger, in her face she wasn't the Natsuki I knew, her eyes were filled with something I didn't expect. She pushed me away and started crying. She then said something that's stuck with me ever since. That what I had done had just hurt her more than her ankle.
I was stunned as she kept going. That I always jumped in like I was some hero, yet she never asked for my help. And why did I act like I was someone so important to her? She paused a question. She said she didn't need me to fight for her because she never asked me to fight in her place and added that I shouldn't help people if they didn't ask and that I would only make things worse.
I didn't say anything after that. I just stood there-watching her cry, holding her ankle, while Renji quietly walked away. From that day on, I never returned to the park and I swore to myself that I wouldn't interfere or step in, I wouldn't help unless someone asked because maybe helping someone who never asked for it hurts more than doing nothing at all.
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Present...
The next day, Dad insisted on driving us to the academy himself before heading to the Guild. On the way, Nasuke started whispering questions in my ear. "Brother, you didn't come back last night." I wondered why he was whispering. "And where do you think I slept last night?" I asked
He said he needed my help with his lessons but I was nowhere in my room although he hadn't told Mom and Dad. Our old man wouldn't have really minded as long as I was safe, but Mom would have definitely freaked out so he was thoughtful. He startled me with a question that caught me off guard as he asked if I had walked off a woman, he was spot-on. He knows me too well to waste my time walking off some random guy. If anything, I'd drag him home and throw him on the couch. I told him the person I walked off had been following me nearly the entire day, refusing to leave, so yeah, I walked her home.
Nasuke said he had figured as much since I never came after them yesterday and so he had my lessons for me. I was surprised and raised my voice. "What, you attended my lessons for me?" He hissed saying Dad would hear me. Our online studies are all about reading and taking notes, if you need more help, there's a visual A.I. teacher that you can interact with and you can always review later. Proving one's self comes during paper tests that are always held at the academy.
I told him I owed him one since I wasn't getting a penalty anymore and he said he would do anything for me, I turned at the window and told him to exclude his life from the anything, he just grinned.
From the front seat Dad spoke up saying we had arrived and Nasuke jumped out first, saying bye to Dad as I got out right after. He asked if I had done something forbidden of a hunter in the dungeons, the question startled me but I had no answer as he studied my face but he couldn't read it, although his was clearly written. He let out a sigh, "how about we skip going to the dungeons now and you just focus in you studied. I nodded in agreement and he left off.
As I arrived in class, Ms. Yuna was already waiting, a few students hadn't arrived yet as it was still early. She silently watched as the murmur got louder and finally everyone was in. She told us to check our stats as we were starting our Level up exercise today. Most of the students' CoreLink bands hadn't dissolved completely like mine but for some reason I was still at Level: 0. Dim blue holograms filled the space as Ms. Yuna's eyes scanned, she noticed my level reading and made a cover up saying the system might take some time to read our actual levels but we shouldn't freak out, but I was sure that wasn't the case for me.
IDENTITY FILE
User Name: Nageya Raman
Rank: Unregistered
Role: Student
Affiliation: Zaikoku High
Generation: 9th
Stamina & Health %: Unknown
Level: 0
STATS REPORT
XP Progress: None yet
Essencia Core Balance %: Unknown
Recent Activity Log: Noneyet
Target Scan / Beast Log: No target in the surrounding
Essencia Affinity %: Unknown
I still had more pages but I was tired of looking at the Unknowns, I glanced at Ayumi's hologram.
IDENTITY FILE
User Name: Ayumi Matsuda
Rank: E
Role: Student
Affiliation: Zaikoku High
Generation: 1st
Stamina & Health: 100
Level: 17
STATS REPORT
XP Progress: None yet
Essencia Core Balance %: 76
Recent Activity Log: None yet
Target Scan / Beast Log: No target in the surrounding
Essencia Affinity %: None yet
Most of the students' hologram were like Ayumi's although with different ranks and levels.
"I'll now begin to explain the structure of your upcoming field exercise. Ms. Yuna spoke up.
This exercise will span 9 days, with 1 additional bonus day, making it a total of 10 days. For the first 9 days, you'll be stationed in the eastern side of the forest, while there are no dungeons in that area, there are magical creatures, some unlike anything you've ever imagined even in your worst nightmares. Others may be gentle and harmless.
Days 1–3: You will operate solo.
Day 4: You'll receive a notification with the names and locations of your new team of three.
Days 4–6: Work as a group of three.
Day 7: Another group of three will be merged with yours, forming a six-person team.
From Days 7–9: Operate as a six-member group and every member in the group will receive a notification of their group name as any alphabet letter.
At the end of the 9 days, your total XP will be calculated and then divided by 6. That final number will be recorded as your official score at the academy but your individual XP will also be tracked and recorded separately. This means you will have to earn as much XP as you can.
Bring your personal necessities, you must have at least two tents, pack extra clothes and essentials. Food will be provided every three days at a designated area and you will be sent the location, while you may gather wild fruits, before consuming anything, always check with your CoreLink to confirm it's safe for human consumption.
Your movements will be tracked, and your location monitored at all times. Groups may consist of both boys and girls, depending on the system's assignment. If you encounter a powerful creature, do not engage unless necessary. Most won't attack unless provoked. If you're unable to escape or in danger, use your alarm button, it alerts nearby students, hunters, and the academy itself. Do not engage in battles you can't handle.
This exercise involves all classes not just Class B. Students from Year 2 and Year 3 will participate, however, you will only be grouped with students from your year, though they may be from a different class (e.g., Class A or C).
That one extra day is your choice, you may go solo or remain with your team. It's a chance to earn bonus XP before returning."
Ms. Yuna handed out XP Progress Forms that detailed the experience points required to advance from one level to the next.
Level 1–10 _ 100 XP each: Fast early progress for students
Level 11–20 _ 200 XP each: Starts requiring consistent effort
Level 21–30 _ 350 XP each: Marks the transition to serious battles
Level 31–40 _ 500 XP each: Slower growth begins here
Level 41–50 _ 750 XP each: For elite students or dungeon-goers
Level 51–60 _ 1000 XP each: Upper-tier fighters (e.g., B-Rank)
Level 61–70 _ 1500 XP each: A-Rank territory
Level 71–90 _ 2000 XP each: Most will never reach this without years of work
Level 91–99 _ 3000 XP each: S-Rank level extremely rare
Level 100+ _ Special Trial (Unlimited XP) SS-Rank may also unlock via awakening
A question rose from the back of the class, someone asking when the forest exercise would begin. Without hesitation, Ms. Yuna announced that it would start tomorrow. A wave of gasps swept through the room, the students hadn't expected it to be so soon. The shock wasn't just from the date, it was from the lack of time. Most of them weren't even alarmed until that moment. How were they supposed to prepare everything in less than a day?
But Ms. Yuna remained composed, almost amused by their reactions. She simply said that she'd already seen what was necessary and moved on, as if their concerns were irrelevant now. She instructed everyone to come with their supplies to the academy the next day. However, for those who preferred, they could bring their equipment in the evening and leave it in their lockers or assigned locales. Tomorrow morning, there would be a short two-hour session, and immediately after, the students would head out for the field exercise. Each participant would be dropped off at a different location, no shared starting points and no group will share the same starting poin. The seriousness of the situation finally began to sink in, the countdown had already begun.
Emergency rations will only be delivered if your vitals drop too low, your alarm is triggered, or in cases of illness or injury. Outside of those, you must manage on your own. If a student is to drop out due to illness, injury, or complete stamina loss, the team's total score will still be divided by six, no matter how many members remain. The only exception is if the dropout occurs before your group expands to six members.
Expressions tightened as her gaze swept across the class. However, students who accumulate a high amount of XP may unlock access to a specialized field store. Through this system, you will be allowed to exchange energy of your Essencia Core to purchase supplies. The items available depend on your Core's percentage. A stronger core gives you access to more. But if a defeated beast's Essencia Core is weak, your access will be limited or even completely locked.
There were a few murmurs in the room, but Ms. Yuna offered no comfort only clarity. "This is a survival-based training, not a guided tour, learn to manage your resources wisely."
It was clearly a mental test meant to push us beyond just physical endurance, the idea of exchanging Essencia Core energy for utilities wasn't just about survival... it was a trap. A clever one.
It forced us to choose between comfort now or performance later. Every item you bought meant draining your earned Core, which meant lowering your XP. And by the end of the test, that could drag down your entire team's score. It wasn't just a test of strength, it was a test of judgment of how far you'd bend under pressure when things got tough.
It was already break time and with that she was done the remaining time of the day we were left by ourselves.