Chương 25: Unfriendly Fire

The windblade plunged into the skull of the hyena, cleaving through its tough exterior in a spray of blood and gore. It crumbled down, lifeless, but Ember had no time to indulge in the horrific sight, as another one of its compatriots was aiming for his leg. He lurched to his left, Sprint Burst carrying him over five metres in a blink of an eye, evading the beast's pounce by a healthy distance.

Ember might not outrun this copper beast in a race, but with his presence of mind and Sprint Burst, he could avoid any of them with ease. The equation might get difficult if there were more than a couple of beasts on his trail, but so far, he had been meticulous in keeping the monsters off his personal space. Unfortunately, that seemed to be limited to the beasts. Ember had barely landed when his instinct cried out.

He immediately went for his protective shield, but before it could cover him in its ward, something hard and sharp plunged into his back. He was flung away a few paces as a painful hiss escaped his lips, his back burning with a sharp twinge. Ember had experienced something similar the day before, enough to know what exactly it was. It was no attack from a wild beast, but a mana bolt from one of his companions. And he had a very good idea who was behind it.

"Sunny?!" he shouted, sitting upright, his hand rubbing his back. Thankfully, the spell wasn't too potent, as although it did a number on his leather jerkin, it couldn't penetrate its enchanted defence. With Kinetic Push, he tossed the beasts that bolted to take advantage of his misery, when a notification window came into his view. [Enemies slain: Hyena Level 11, Hyena Level 7.] [Would you like to learn Danger Sense (Copper)?] [Requires skill slots: 3] Ember waved off the notification in anger and glared at the boy some distance away.

"It isn't me," Sunny cried, finally noticing his state.

"I swear."

"If not you, then who?" he asked, as the few remaining hyenas were already scattering for their lives.

"It's her," his little uncle pointed at the only girl in the party.

"It's not my fault," Autumn said, her tone haughty, bearing no trace of apology.

"It is you who appeared before my spell."

"Shouldn't you be a little more perceptive about where your spell falls?" Ember barked, flexing his spine to check for any injury. There was still a scalding twinge, but that was calming down, with no sign of any lasting injury.

"You should be more careful about where you're running to." The girl retorted. Ember clenched his teeth and decided there was no point in bickering with her. Although Sunny was more prone to mistakes, he at least apologised for them, heartfelt or not. Besides, Zephyr had given him a good talking-to the other day, and since then, the boy had been less impulsive. Autumn, on the other hand, was too imperious to even see her error.

Yes, some fault might be attributed to his rushed movement as well, but her spell was directed towards his upper body, which meant either she mistook him for a beast, or her aim was simply terrible. Either way, the communication and coordination among the five of them were utterly horrendous. Ember had been fine when he stayed at the back, but once he realised he truly had a shot at gaining the Hunter title before the end of the week, he hadn't hesitated to join the other magelings.

It was only the fourth day of the assignment, and Ember had already slain his twelfth copper beast. Regrettably, the system seemed to have counted some of them as him taking help from others, as there was still no sign of the Hunter title. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. There were still three days left. With his growing proficiency, Ember was optimistic about earning the title. Well, Talon wasn't far off.

He probably got his tenth kill in this fight as well, while everyone else was hardly even halfway there. He was gutting the cores out of the hyenas when their guardian's figure appeared beside him, a look of disappointment evident on her face.

"Well, I'll be damned if this is the best the clan had to offer," she said.

"I guess I have left you all to your devices for long enough, thinking some of you at least would figure it out in time. Alas! Blame me for my lack of vision. You are all too inexperienced, too uncoordinated, too high on your arses to think and grow through the battles. Did they not even teach you basic formations and coordination back in the clan? Why are we even paying those instructors if this is all you're good for?" At least some of the children had the decency to appear ashamed.

Talon and Ember weren't among them. Ember was too mature for such rebuke, while Talon probably didn't see any fault in his conduct during the battles.

"No matter," Zephyr said, collecting a twig to draw a simple five-man arrowhead formation on the ground.

"I won't let such a horrible display continue any further." She addressed the only boy without a mana foundation, pointing at the far end of the formation.

"Lark, you will work as a defensive warrior. Your main task will be to make sure no beast comes any closer to Autumn, who will remain to your left." Then her gaze turned to the girl.

"Autumn, you will be in the middle of Lark and Ember, and will only use your spell to help Lark take care of the beasts. Since you have little skill beyond your casting, you will move along with the formation and never chase after a beast. Are my words getting through to you?" The girl nodded.

"You have a tongue, girl. Use it."

"Yes, I will remain to Lark's left and won't run around." Zephyr eyed Talon.

"You will be at the other end of the formation. Your task will be to make sure no beast can attack anyone from a blind side. You may break the formation if you deem the situation requires it.

"And Sunny, your task is the same as Autumn's. But you will remain close to Ember, and you will stop wasting your mana."

"What about me?" Ember asked, as a suspicion crept into his mind.

"You will be the spearhead," Zephyr said, confirming it.

"Since you have both mastery in mana and swordsmanship, you will be the main attacker and controller of the formation. You will lead the party." Ember eyed the spearhead formation and didn't think it was too bad. As long as it solved the problem of a stray spell striking him, he was fine with anything. Not everyone seemed elated to hear that, though.

"You may choose to be more offensive later, but for now, your primary focus should be correcting mistakes and learning about everyone's pace." She paused, peering down at him.

"And don't forget to bark commands. You may think talking is a waste of breath, but in a battle, it's a necessity. Only through clear instructions can you make sure there's no confusion." Ember nodded, though he feared the haughty children wouldn't even listen to half of his commands. Zephyr addressed the group of five collectively.

"I know you are all here for the Hunter title, but that's only a minor matter. You have to look beyond a simple title and work towards your future.

"So far, you have scared more beasts away than you slay, not to mention the discordance with which you act. For now, forget about the title and the number of beasts to kill, and learn to work together. You are all the leading talents of the clan; it's about time you act like it." If Ember had thought the instructions ended there, then he'd be mistaken. They had just moved into formation, with him at the centre, when Zephyr asked him to switch to his sword.

She reasoned that he had been too reliant on his wands for the last couple of days.

"You can only learn truly powerful spells after you gain a class," she said, "or with high-ranking skills and a high Mana foundation. Wands can help you in the short term, but you will run out of mana eventually. Did you think your father and grandfather forced you into swordsmanship because they didn't understand anything?" Ember didn't know what to say to that.

"No, they taught you because they understand it much better. Yes, mages have great power compared to melee warriors, but their mortality rates are high as well. Statistically speaking, half of them die before they reach their full potential." Her numbers might be skewed, but Ember still nodded along. He complied with her order, too, though with a little reluctance. As if the enchantment in his sword did not cost mana.

Yes, it was less in comparison to a tier 3 spell, but Ember would have to put himself in more danger if he were to rely on swordsmanship alone.

"Now, if we could only find another pack to test your formation." She sent away the scout to find them some small targets again. Being in formation cut away from Ember's idle wandering. In the last couple of days, he had managed to find a few herbs and mana-rich flowers. They weren't any more valuable than the copper cores, but Ember liked collecting them. It was good practice for his mana sense.

Well, he had almost been bitten by a snake once, which was probably the most threatened he had felt outside the level 17 grizzly bear he had slain. The sun moved through the striking blue sky. There was still about an hour for it to touch the horizon line, almost time for them to return to the inn. Yet there was still no news of the scout. Another guard had just suggested sending him when a shrill screech echoed through the wilderness.

All five of them in formation faltered, their eyes turning towards Zephyr, knowing that the screech had not come from a low-level beast.