Book Two – Chapter Nine – Part Two – Final Exam

That’s right. Fisher faced his students. After the incident where he fought against his old self in his mind, the one where all of his students, produced by the genuine Fisher, came to his rescue, he became a changed man. No longer would Fisher stand by and allow Demi-Human slaves, or even regular Human slaves, to be hurt by his own men for their own sadistic fun. He made a declaration the very next day, but it was such a drastic thing.

Fisher knew some of his men had some doubts, and he knew they wouldn’t listen to him. Some even thought he was making some kind of joke.  That was why he had to catch them in the act.

But he was currently unable to actually do that because he had to tend to his class. But soon, he’d be able to make due on his promise to himself.

Until then, he had to hope and pray that some guards took the message to heart.

Unfortunately, he didn’t think there were that many. It’d probably take Fisher himself punishing any guard who went against his order to prove to the rest that he meant what he said.  A large amount probably thought it was some kind of joke.

He was trying. Really, really, trying to make up for his dark past. He couldn’t erase it completely. The sins of his yore would be forever etched into his soul.

“Now then. I see some of you brought along sleeping bags, and some of you didn’t. Servi, Feral, do you need one?” he spoked towards Servi and watched for anything he could analyze. There was more to Servi than she let on.  He knew that for sure, and even the tiniest hint of something could go a long way into finding out what secrets she held. There was no way a simple Rank 10 would ever climb a tower shield and use a skill meant to disorient an opponent.

A Rank 10 or a Rank 9 wouldn’t have the courage. So many things could’ve gone wrong if she had just applied her weight in a slightly different way or if Feral would’ve lost his grip on his shield. She could’ve been splattered, turned into nothing more than red paste.

Servi shook her head. “I don’t need one.”

“I am too big for a sleep covering. I will be fine," Feral stated.

“Very well. Remember, this is at least a three-day trip. It’ll take one day to get their nesting area, then you’ll have one day to finish the exam by taking a sword-stinger from a juncea, and then it’s one day back. If you all finish the exam early, we may be back sooner, but I did account for three days. During which, I’ll teach you how to survive by showing you edible berries and leaves. If we come across any animals, I’ll also teach you how to skin and prepare them for dinner.”

Fisher stopped speaking and watched his students’ faces. He then continued. “If anyone has any prior business, speak up now.” He stopped for a second time and waited.

Nothing. No one raised a hand.

Fisher smiled and put his helmet on. It was as black as his armor, covering nearly everything but his two brown eyes that stared at his six students.  “Good. Then let’s get to it. We’re burning daylight. Since you’re not members of the guard, there’s no need to be all stiff and walk in formation. Just try not to get too far away. Understood? If something is wrong or you need something, speak up. I have accounted for unexpected problems or emergencies.”

The six mentees nodded.

“Good. Then follow me.”

Fisher turned around and began to walk. He didn’t bother marching or turning around to make sure his mentees were in perfect sync. There was no need to. If he lost to his old self when he was in his mind, he probably would’ve made them.  That's if he was able to survive it.  There was a good chance he would be dead if he lost.

But mentally, he was a brand new man.  It was like a cloud of doubt that fogged his mind for years had lifted, and the air he breathed and the sky he saw was cleaner and brighter.

Servi adjusted her shield and began to follow Fisher. The two Koena and the two Dwarves made sure their bags were secured, then followed Servi. Feral was the last one. For as strong as he was, he still needed a few seconds to properly store such a heavy thing, even if he could run with it.

Fisher slowed but kept walking so Feral could catch up.

“Aye, so you never told us you had a wife or children," Riki finally brought up the subject a few of his fellow mentees wanted to talk about.

“I did not. It wasn’t like I was keeping it a secret. The opportunity never came up. They wanted to meet all of you before we left.”

“I never realized just how small Human children are," Feral remarked.

“They’re pretty small when they’re first born." Servi added to the conversation.  She had a headache, but she didn't want to be the only one not talking.

“A Kobold is born just as small, but grow more and more until they are recognized as adults,” Feral's mind went back to his own childhood.

“A Human child isn’t considered an adult until they turn 15," Fisher said.

But I thought it was 18? Or was it 21? I’ve never heard of it being 15. Servi thought to herself.

“A Kobold becomes an adult when they turn 5, right?”

The group took a left and kept walking.

“That is right. But we do not stop growing. Our muscles continue to harden and grow ever stronger with each new day," Feral answered Riki's question.

“How old are you?” Rakkire asked something Servi wanted to know.

Feral growled for a moment, then answered. “I am 10 years and 8 months and 14 days old.”

If he’s only been alive for 10 years, then he's still a young adult, right? From the way he talked earlier, he had to be the strongest in his village because he had to pick up his shield to leave. But then how did his aunt find her way to Canary? Servi thought to herself. If that’s the case, then… Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar head of red hair.

It was Claire. She wore a lovely tan dress that came below her knees, and she held an empty basket in her right hand. Her left hand’s index finger was on her chin as she turned her head. Servi's Elven friend searched for something in the colorful display of fruit in front of her, but Servi didn’t know what Claire was searching for.

Servi wondered for a moment if she should call out but decided against it. Regardless, it didn’t matter because Claire soon turned around and locked eyes with Servi.

She smiled and waved, and Servi returned it. Then, the Elf went on her way to finish her shopping.

It seems Servi is with her mentor. I’d better not interrupt. Good luck on the exam and the upcoming tournament! I’ll be rooting for you and Momo!

“Who was that?” Silverado asked, prompting all who were present to open an ear.

“That was Claire. She works at Warden, and she’s the one who signed Momo and me up," Servi answered.

“Is she the one who you purchased the chocolate for?” Feral inquired. The large back tower shield was attached to his back by thick ropes. With the weight of a Kobold combined with his unique equipment, the ground lightly shook with every step. Eyes of children and men and women of all different races stared at this motley crew who made their way throughout the city. They took another left, passed an intersection, and Servi saw the city gate up ahead.

“She is. Momo was the one who came up with the idea,” she finally replied.

Did she? Hell, I can’t remember. Why is my memory suddenly so bad? And I was thinking about Feral and his strength, right? Or maybe it was his aunt? Why can't I remember any of it?! I know it was only a few seconds ago! How could I have forgotten already?!?!

“Momo?” Fisher inquisitively asked.

Servi drowned her growing anger towards her lack of short-term memory and answered him. “She’s my party member. She has pink hair, a pink tail, and pink ears. She’s training under an Elf named Dineria.”

I don't have time to worry about my memory problems. If there's something wrong, I can have Itarr heal me with True Immortality, but that can come way later. I need to focus on killing him.

“A Singi?” Instantly, Fisher’s mind flashed back to when two Singi siblings were attacked by his late partner, Arnold. Fisher had done nothing to stop it and even forced himself to laugh to keep up his appearance as the Justice Captain.

But that was then, and this was now. Fisher wasn’t the same man.

Is that the same Dineria...? He was interrupted in his thoughts by a crisp and sharp response from Servi that went unnoticed by everyone but him.

“Yeah.”

He’s so fucking dead. I can’t let him live…

After Servi answered Fisher, the conversation all but stopped as the group went through the city gate. Fisher nodded at the two guards standing by the city entrance, who saluted, and the group made their way down a dirt road. Sparse trees littered the plains to their left and right.  The smell of pure nature and clean air filtered throughout their nostrils, cleaning them of the polluted city air.

“Obviously, it goes without saying, but when traveling from town to town, you’re probably not going to get there in a single day. In that case, you need to be prepared to camp out. So carry food like dried or smoked meat, dried fruit and nuts, and dried fish. If it’s a short journey, like two or three days, then you can bring bread. If it’s longer than that, then head to a baker and buy some hardtack. It has no flavor whatsoever, but it’s food, and it’ll give you energy.  A fishing rod isn't a bad idea, either.  Especially if you know you're going to be traveling along a river or if you know you're going to a lake.”

Five of the mentees listened with open ears while one kept looking straight ahead. Servi had no need to hear what he was saying because none of the advice he offered applied to her.  Food and drink? Servi could live without filling her belly.

“If you’re even a little bit unsure of whether or not the water you’re drinking is safe, then boil it first. A metal pot and a potholder are always good choices. It might even be worthwhile to invest a little bit more money into buying a quality pot. The same with a whetstone. Keeping your weapon….”

Servi cut her ears off to the world and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.

She did make sure to pretend to pay attention whenever Fisher stopped by a tree or a bush on the side of the world. He explained the difference between two berries that looked almost alike. Except one was for making poison, and the other was for winemaking. One wasn’t edible, but the other one was.

“The poison wouldn’t kill you if you ingest a few, but it’ll hurt a lot, and you'd wish you were dead. It works by tightening up your blood flow, thereby reducing your heart rate. You’ll feel like you can’t breathe, but it’ll go away eventually. There’s no known antidote, so there’s no choice but to wait it out or use an anti-poison skill. That brings me to my next point.  You should learn healing skills as soon as you can.”

Maybe you can use it to kill Fisher? Itarr brought up a good point. She proceeded to stealthy absorb some berries, but Servi took them back out. They dropped silently on the dirt road under her feet.

Why did you do that? Itarr asked, even knowing Servi couldn't answer. Could it be you wanted to kill him with your own hands? If so, then I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to absorb something you didn’t want me to.

Servi sighed as the party began to walk again.  Eventually, they stopped for lunch. She was pretty sure they were at the exact spot she woke up at, just a few meters deep into the forest. Thinking back to just a couple of minutes ago, she was sure she saw that same blue lake and the same open plain.

Her mind was battered by a series of phantom paradoxical pain of burning, drowning, freezing, and suffocating. The only evidence showed on her face that she was suffering from pain was a slight twitch.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m so angry, but the pain doesn’t hurt like it did that day.

“We’ve been walking for a few hours now, so let’s take a small break. This is a good spot to find some of the berries I was talking about. If you need help to tell the difference between the edible ones and the poison ones, ask me. There’s no need to worry about failing just because you need a little bit more help," Fisher said as he sat down on the green grass.

He took his helmet off to reveal a sweat-filled face. Brown hair stuck wetly to his forehead, which was quickly swept away by a white cloth he pulled from a pouch.

He spoke to the mentees as they put their bags and shields down. “Also, if you’re thirsty, let me know. I can use Create Water. Speaking of which, if you can, get a durable and reliable canteen to keep water in, even if you can use Create Water. That, along with Fire Wall, are two skills I highly recommend you learn as soon as you can. Until you can use it, I would invest in a good fire starter kit and rely on that. Even still, I would keep one or two on me because you never know when you’re going to be out of Skill Energy, and there’s a sudden need for fire.”

Fisher took a deep breath in and racked his brain. He was thinking if there was anything else he needed to say. “That’s all I have for right now. If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know. You all have fifteen minutes to find food. If you need help, be sure to let me know.”

The six mentees all nodded and began searching the clearing. There were a surprising number of berry bushes to be found. Servi made sure to scavenge in an area by herself and tossed random berries into her mouth.

Are you going to kill him?

Servi felt a tinge of discomfort in her stomach and lungs whenever she ate a poisonous berry but ignored it. Whatever damage was healed a moment later.

“Not now," Servi snapped.

Itarr replied back, unaware of the snappy tone. I’ll be ready whenever you are.

“Until then, don’t kill him. I want to be the one to do it.”

Of course.

Do I want to do it? It feels like I’m having doubts, but I shouldn’t. I know what I saw when I first went to Canary, right? And what I saw was the truth! It has to be! Servi argued internally for a moment before her head started to hurt. A moment later, she felt relief. It was an enormous amount of pressure pressing against her mind vanished, and she smiled.

Well, I can worry about that later. With Servi's belly full of both safe and poisonous berries, she walked back to the clearing. Riki and Rakkire were relaxing while popping berries in their mouths. Feral was in the midst of chewing on a handful of berries as blue juice dribbled down his alligator-like mouth while Silverado was walking back to his bag. Water dripped from his mouth.

Servi turned to look at Fisher, and he pointed to the space of air right beside him. Water flowed from nothingness, and Desperado was standing underneath it with his mouth wide open.

After drinking, he turned to her. “The water’s free if you’re thirsty,” Servi shook her head and reached inside her pouch.

She took out a 1 coin dupla and began to flip it, but controlled her strength. She didn’t want to launch it into the sky.

She flipped for around seven more minutes, in which Fisher began to talk about deer, the best cuts of meats, and how to properly dry and salt it.

He was really going above and beyond for his students. Unfortunately, Servi didn’t even pretend to pay attention.

Fisher was the only one who noticed her lack of attention, but he wasn’t upset. He remembered what he told the dream Servi that helped rescue him.

I know she’s stronger than me. Hell, she can use skills without speaking. She tried to hide it by pre-casting, but she failed at that, and it seems that I was the only one who noticed. I best not to antagonize her until I know what her goal is.

He incorrectly assumed Servi was some kind of agent sent by Blasé and Eina to watch over him. That was the only reason he could think up. Because why else would someone so strong and powerful be attending a mentor program if not to keep him in check?

The only thing I can think of that would warrant such a thing would be my past. But Marissa's the only one who knows, and that’s because I told her a few days ago.  Arnold was the other one who knew, but he’s dead. There is a chance she is working for a survivor, someone we failed to kill when Arnold and I went on our rampage... Is Servi here to punish me for that? What if I’m wrong and she’s here for something else?

Fisher tossed a couple of berries into his mouth.

Is she really Rank 10? She has to be because she couldn’t have been referred to me if she wasn’t. Fisher, lay down the facts and think this through. One: she’s stronger than you are. Two: She’s Rank 10. Three: She isn’t blessed. Four: She can use skills without speaking. If not that, then she uses a different method of activation, which should be impossible.

Fisher's mind racked at the thought of solving the million dupla questions. Who was Servi? Why did she try to blend in as someone weak? How could she use skills without chanting? Popping the rest of his berries in his mouth, he watched the two Dwarves and Silverado chat about something while he continued to think.

She has to be lying about being blessed. Warden wouldn’t bend the rules for anyone, so that’s out. And my body shakes at the thought of fighting her. It's never been wrong before. Using skills without speaking should be impossible, but there are rumors of Virin Keywater being able to it. If she was related to the emperor, then Blasé and Eina, no, Claus and Qina Keywater would’ve said something. But they didn’t. Could it be possible that this goes deeper than them? Maybe. But it’s also possible this is just a bunch of coincidences.

Fisher took in a deep breath, exhaled, and stood up. He prematurely ended his Create Water skill after noticing nobody was using it. “Alright, breaks over. Get your bags back on and follow me.”

Fisher waited a moment or two while bags and shields were reattached, then walked out of the forest.

I don't think she'll do anything right now.  If anything, it'll be when we're alone.  Well, that is if she is indeed after me.  All I can do is pretend not to notice.  If I have a chance to be alone with her, then I'll take it and confront her.

I’m sure of it. This is the place where I woke up. Servi thought while she followed Fisher down the road heading in a direction she chose not to go at first.