The First Field Examination, Part 1
1578 Words
It's now the last week of Watermonth, and we cadets have received enough physical and mental training to call ourselves combat-ready.
But of course, to truly prove that, we all have to undergo our first field examination, which is basically exploring a dungeon.
Cpl. Ben-Kulera gathers us all in the open-air field.
“Cadets, the time has come to prove your worth as future soldiers of the kingdom! For this week, we will conduct our first field examination for this semester. It's all about exploring dungeons just like what adventurers do. However, as future soldiers, you should also know how to restrain yourselves. This test is not about who racks up the most number of knocked-out enemies or who gets the most items from treasure chests; this instead evaluates how efficient you are in carrying out missions. Do I make myself clear, everyone?”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
“Very well. Now then, we will be holding a lottery to determine which team shall go first in exploring our designated dungeon, which is Ka-hyou Cavern. To give you an idea on what the dungeon is, it is an artificially-created cavern imbued with the powers of fire and ice, which are normally opposing elements. Now, the number you will pick will determine the schedule of your visit to the cavern. You will all then be carried off to the dungeon by the appointed time by a carriage in front of the campus, and further instructions will await you at the entrance. Do you all understand?”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
“Good. Let us commence the lottery. Please form yourselves into teams.”
There are no fast and hard rules on forming teams; but most of the time, teams are formed according to the room their members all reside in, for convenience's sake.
Obviously, Laika, Yulissa, and I form one.
“You'll be the de facto leader, brother.”
“Yup, just as expected.”
After five minutes of forming teams, the commanding officer evaluates the composition.
“Alright, so there are 28 teams, with an average team composition of five cadets. There are no teams that consist of a single member. Good. Now then, designated team leaders, please form a line in front of this table and pick a random number from this box.”
As the other team leaders pick up the numbers, roughly half of them (who picked the higher ones) are excited because they most likely will go last and thus have more time to just chill; while the ones who picked the lower ones are half-nervous and half-confident, because they have to prepare everything in short order.
Alright, now's my turn.
“Number 9. Not too bad, actually.”
Moments after the lottery, we are instructed to stay in our own rooms and wait for the designated schedule for the visit to the dungeon.
Five minutes later, Cpl. Ben-Kulera opens our door, and we three promptly salute him.
Following his instructions, I approach him and let him give me a piece of paper that tells the designated schedule.
“Your scheduled visit to Ka-hyou Cavern will be on the 28th of Watermonth, 1016 CE at 10 ante meridiem sharp.”
That means we have the entire day today to prepare our stuff.
“Best of luck, team.”
He declares that as he leaves the room.
Since there are no regular classes to speak of (but lunch break and evening dinner will proceed as normal), we three have the luxury to sort out necessary items and then have a long break until the appointed time.
First off, we need to have at least ten of one of an adventurer's essentials: the Healing Potion.
Good thing Yulissa has ten bottles of Healing Potions with her when we first moved into this apartment room.
Next up, magic scrolls.
Since not everyone is a spell-caster, magic scrolls are there to fill that void.
And since those scrolls don't have much weight, we can theoretically pack at most 50 of them in one bag.
Let's see... I stuffed those scrolls in between the novels I've brought, using them as bookmarks.
Now that I've read all those novels, those scrolls should now be used for their intended purpose.
Specifically, they number ten – five Apairo scrolls and five Geloice scrolls.
And finally, some snacks.
Our vitality may be full, but there's still the matter of hunger.
As luck would have it, Laika has some spare Energy Biscuits with her. And they're not expired, thank goodness.
For the meantime, we store tomorrow's stash in an empty box located opposite our beds.
The next day. The 28th of Watermonth, 1016 CE.
9:30 ante meridiem.
We three have polished our sabers beforehand, and we're now getting everything else ready for the field examination.
I ask Laika, “Hey, can we please use your magical satchel as our designated item storage space?”
“Absolutely not! I'm not your personal pack horse!”
“Alright, you win. We'll just carry those items ourselves instead.”
“Good.”
As the magical satchel plan didn't work, I have to resort instead to plan B: Strapping the ten Healing Potions to my belt.
Sure, carrying them all may be cumbersome, but we have to prioritize safety.
9:45 ante meridiem.
We're now at the front gate of the campus, and a carriage is already parked in front of it.
Two soldiers who act as our guides welcome us, and we promptly salute them.
One of them states...
“Good morning, cadets. I'm sure you are all prepared, so here's one final friendly reminder: Please don't treat the dungeon as your personal bathroom. We don't want a repeat of that one incident where a cadet attempted to pee near a lava flow just because his bladder was full. He almost got burned, but fortunately, he had a Healing Potion to negate that. As much as possible, go use the bathroom in your own room before entering the dungeon premises.”
Good thing we all answered the call of nature beforehand.
“I see you're all set. Well then... hop in.”
As we three ride the carriage towards the dungeon, we engage in a little small talk just to break the monotony.
I start with the following.
“Sorry if I attempted to borrow your magical satchel earlier, Laika.”
“And sorry if I raised my voice towards you at that time, Keenan. That satchel... has so much sentimental value.”
Yulissa follows up, “Tell me more, please.”
“Alright. That adventurer who gave it to me for free... he was my next-door neighbor. Before we were all admitted to this school, he was evicted for not paying his monthly rent. Yes, even adventurers have moments where they almost run out of money, persuading themselves to become nomads sustaining on monster loot until their finances are stable again. This satchel... was his parting gift.”
She's done with her story, and we spend the rest of the ride in silent sympathy.
“Cadets, we're now at the cavern.”
We promptly get out of the carriage, and we all observe that this dungeon is northeast of the capital, according to the compass we've brought.
The two soldiers then accompany us to the entrance.
The entrance has a sign. It reads:
Ka-hyou Cavern
Owned and Operated by the Lebenswasserheim Royal Academy Military School
Unauthorized Personnel Not Allowed
“Alright, here are the final instructions for this field examination. First, you must select the time you must allot to finish the dungeon. If you finish the dungeon within the chosen time limit, you pass the exam. Otherwise, you will be subject to supplementary lessons before attempting the dungeon again in two weeks. Furthermore, there will be a special bonus if you can finish the dungeon with one super-secret condition.”
A hidden condition? This will be exciting and terrifying at the same time.
“Now then... please state your chosen time allotment. Maximum is 30 minutes.”
Most likely, this cavern is what veteran adventurers call “noob caves”, or simple introductory dungeons that can be completed in under 30 minutes.
I give my answer.
“25 minutes.”
“Very well. Break a leg, cadets.”
The two soldiers unlock the door to the dungeon, and the timer automatically starts once our feet are planted inside the cavern's floor.
So this is Ka-hyou Cavern, huh?
It's a literal mashup of the typical fire cave, complete with lava; and the typical ice cave, complete with icicles.
I dunno what came to the minds of the ones behind this dungeon, but this sure is different from the boring abandoned mineshafts found in select places in Amitabhilia.
As we walk along the cavern's path, we feel that the temperature is stable, most likely due to the contrasting extremes canceling each other out in an odd harmony.
Oh! A pair of flan monsters draw near! Command?
Yulissa talks.
“Hey! I know those flan fiends! They're named Flan de Fuego and Flan de Hielo, and they are made from expired and uneaten leche flans and brought to life by animatronic alchemy.”
I ask her, “How'd you know that?”
“A little research goes a long, long way, brother~”
Laika interrupts.
“Alright, no more chit-chat! Time to subdue them!”
We quickly draw our blades and anticipate the flans' attacks.
- Writer
