Chapter 9: Orientation (Part 1)

"May I see your enrollment confirmation, please?""Sure, let me just bring it up...alright, here you go," I remarked, as I brought up the email confirming my enrollment, before turning my I-Watch display visible and showing it to the receptionist.

By default, I-Watch displays are only visible to the wearer, but it has an option to turn it visible for others as well.

"Thank you, let me see here. Kaivel Intrix, you’ve been assigned to Group B. You’re going to want to head down the hall to the left, and then it’s the third door on the right."


"Got it, thanks," I nodded with a smile, before following her directions and heading down the hall.

Today’s the 1st of January, 2168, and finally, my first day at the Hunters Academy is here.

I’ve been looking forward to this, not just because it’s the first real step in my path to becoming a Hunter, but also because I never got the full high school experience.

I was only fifteen when my so-called father abandoned me and saddled me with his debt, and naturally, I couldn’t afford the tuition fees, so I had to drop out.

I mean, to be fair, I never really liked school while I was a student. While I wasn’t particularly exceptional, I was generally above-average in most subjects, but studying was just so boring.

The biggest pain was having to wake up so damn early every single day besides weekends, I’m the farthest thing from a morning person.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the hell I went through trying to pay off the debt my shithead father saddled me with.

Anyway, as I strolled down the hall and came across the door the receptionist had directed me to, I opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it behind me and looking around.

It was a large auditorium, there were about fifteen other people in the space, all teenagers. There was a row of chairs set up along the back wall, I headed over towards one and took a seat, making myself comfortable.

Today’s supposed to be an orientation or something like that, and it’s set to start at 12 PM, which is about fifteen minutes away. Guess I arrived a bit early.

I do appreciate that it’s in the afternoon instead of the morning though, I like sleeping in. I get this sense of dissatisfaction if I wake up before 10 AM, even if I’m feeling well-rested.

<Yes, you are quite slothful>

Well, yeah, being lazy is the best.

And I practically never got a chance to laze about during the last ten years of my previous life, so plan to make up for that.

And besides, it’s not like I’m lazy all the time.

<I suppose that is true, you put in a decent amount of effort in your job as a receptionist, and you train quite hard as well>

That’s my secret, Cap, I’m always hard.

<Inaccurate, and also inappropriate, I could construe that as sexual harassment>

Whatever, I just wanted to say that, no deeper meaning behind it. Also, considering that you don’t physically exist, is it even possible to sexually harass you?

<Rude>

Yeah, yeah.

Anyway, as I continued to wait, a few more people entered the room, more teens, before an older man walked in, along with a middle-aged woman.

The man looked like he was in his fifties, with long, graying black hair, a thick mustache, black eyes, a light brown complexion, and he was pretty tall, maybe around 6’2", with a strong build.

He was missing his right arm, a stump left around the middle of his bicep.

The woman looked a bit younger, maybe in her early-forties or so, with light blonde hair tied up neatly in a bun, brown eyes, a pale complexion with slight wrinkles, and she was of about average height, standing at around 5’6", with a slender figure.

The two of them stepped out onto the middle of the space, before turning around and glancing at the rest of us, the man clearing his throat to get everyone’s attention.

"Alright, looks like everyone’s here. Welcome to the Hunters Academy, aspiring young Hunters. My name is Glenn Inglis, I’ll be your instructor for your Practical Training classes," He introduced himself with a friendly grin.

"And I’m Ellyse Marsh, I’m in charge of the General Eduction classes, it’s a pleasure to meet you all," Chimed in the woman, a polite smile on her face.

Right, the one-year course at the Hunters Academy is split into two classes, General Education and Practical Training.

The former teaches aspiring Hunters everything they need to know, I’m guessing it’ll involve stuff like information about the Dungeons and Monsters, maybe stuff like tactics and standard practices and whatnot too.

And the latter is just combat training, it’s basically to teach us how to fight. I wonder if my own personal training will give me a leg up in comparison to the other aspiring Hunters here?

Guess I’ll find out soon enough.

"You all will be in Group B, we have sixty applicants total this year, split into three groups of twenty, the two of us are in charge of this group. A bit about myself, I’m a retired Hunter, I was a K-Ranked Combatant, of the Saber Class.

I had to unfortunately retire pretty early after I lost my right arm to a Scythe Mantis, that was seven years ago, and I’ve been an instructor at the Academy ever since."

K is the second-highest rank, so he must have been pretty strong. Definitely a lot stronger than I currently am. And the Saber Combatant Class would make him a swordsman.

Don’t know what a Scythe Mantis is, though.

<It is a Critical Level Monster species, known for their high speed and agility, durable exoskeleton and blade-like arms>

Huh, cool. Critical Level is the second highest Threat Level, right?

<Yes, the highest is Calamity Level>

<But those are extremely rare, only four have ever appeared in history, so Critical Level Monsters are usually the most dangerous level of Monsters that Hunters typically face>

"Classes will begin proper tomorrow, today’s more of an introductory session, an orientation to welcome you all into the Academy. Usually, that involves an explanation of what to expect from your classes, a tour of the building, stuff like that.

But I thought it’d be more fun to shake things up a bit this year and have a more engaging session. To be specific, each of you will take turns sparring against me," Remarked Glenn with a smile.

Oh? He’s right, that does sound more fun.

Some of the others look kinda skeptical though, they seem nervous. But I see this as a good opportunity to test out the results of my training.

I’ve sparred endlessly over the last two years against the training robots at the gym, but I’ve never fought another person before.

And while he may be retired, he’s still K-Ranked, and given his age, he was probably an active Hunter for a while.

"There’s no need to be so on edge, this is simply to get an idea of your current levels, how you perform will have no bearing on your enrollment. Now, see that box over there? We’ve provided a wide variety of wooden training weapons, those of you who possess Combatant Classes can take your pick.

That said, those of you with Mage Classes may also choose to take up a weapon. While most Mages are usually mid to long-range fighters, it certainly won’t hurt to expand your skillset and develop your close-combat skills too. So...who wants to go first? Any volunteers?" Inquired Glenn, as he glanced around the room expectantly.