IV

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Arc IV Chapter 18

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13^th Ignis Solar 753 AAC

“Muahhhhh”, Aurora yawned with her hand blocking her mouth. Her still glassy and sleepy eyes beheld the fogginess of reality. Even her doll was still tired. They both hadn’t got much sleep last night, as they were forced to wake up early at an ungodly hour in the morning to report for training. No precious morning nap for her and her doll. No comfy bed to snuggle and cuddle in. No tasty breakfast. What a hellish experience. The life of an adventurer was indeed hard and arduous for a little princess such as her. It reminded her of barrack life. Just with more children and fewer shouting officers, which seemed about right.

Surrounded by young boys and a few girls, by the guild’s yard for what seemed like the mandatory and obligatory morning roll call. The fresh recruits received their summons and arrived early. All of them were aspiring adventurers just like her, boys and girls filled with ambitions and dreams. Only with less prestigious pedigrees, less positive outlooks when it came to their future prospects, and no doll of their own.

In general, Aurora noted a conspicuous absence of dolls, altogether, among their fellow adventurers. For some reason, nobody besides her brought their doll along to the training ground. What an unreasonable approach, completely inexplicable to her. A doll must be cherished. Matters of dolls and men aside, she was now one of them, a simple and humble adventurer. She was breathing the same air as them. Dreaming the same as theirs. Living the same life as them.  Not that such changed anything about her being tired. Her heart still yearned for the softness of her fluffy bed, the warmth of her comfy blanket, and a steaming hot chocolate.

“Muahhhh”, Aurora continued yawning before rubbing her eyes. So tired and sleepy. Hopefully, their lessons would soon end. She didn’t come all this way to end up in the equivalent of a school, although she wouldn't deny and couldn't discount the merits of a proper formal education.

Minutes passed before all their waiting at the crack of dawn finally paid off. They were waiting and waiting until two figures appeared from inside the guild, a man and a woman, a familiar face and an unknown face. One of the faces was Erika, the guild secretary extraordinaire in her shiny guild uniform. Aurora and her doll waved at her from afar. Erika wore a smile typical of her cheerful nature. Marching alongside her was a scary man. His stature was tall and his figure imposing. Broad shoulders and a muscular chest. His expression was stern and his stare unyielding. The man was a veteran, a senior adventurer turned instructor to terrorise little children in his free time. A paedagocially sound decision, for sure.

The man straightened his back, folding his arms behind his back, with cheerful Erika flanking him. The man and Erika made for a truly peculiar duo. Happiness and radiant sunshine on one side, strict and unyielding military discipline on the other. It was a difference like day and night. They were polar opposites. Perhaps that was the reason why the guild master put them together. He surely must have had an idea behind this arrangement.

“ATTENTION, LADS!!!” The man shouted, yelling across the guild yard with ferocity. His words reached every corner. His voice commanded respect and authority appropriate to his position. “Listen, lads, I am Sir Hartman! From now on, I am your senior guild instructor! From now on, I am your official drill instructor! From now on, you will only speak when spoken to, you will only think when ordered so. If you speak to me, you will address me with ‘Sir’. Do you understand, lads?”

“...” Profound silence followed. His inspirational speech fell on an audience of deaf ears, an audience equally dispirited and worried. Judging by their distressed expressions, it was easy to determine that overall morale had already hit an all time low. His harsh and unfriendly tone was the source of little enthusiasm. His tyrannical attitudes and overreliance on iron discipline were the cause of much concern. After all, nobody liked strict arsehole teachers. That was pretty much a universal sentiment.

“I said, do you understand, lads?”

“...” Silence. Uncertainty. Doubt. 

Hartman raised his voice, barking,“I SAID, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?”

Third time was the charm. A collective nod wandered across their faces. Every last boy and girl showed their determination. Drill instructor Hartman got his point across, more or less.

“Excellent, I will take that as a yes. As it turns out, we do have not a group of fucking morons this year. Listen, lads, I am hard, and I doubt that all of you will like me. Some of you will even hate me, but I don’t care. I don't give a shit about what you think or say. I am your drill instructor. I am not here to be liked. The only thing that I care about is to get your useless arses through my class. I am hard, but I promise you that I am also fair. I won’t allow petty emotions to cloud my judgement. I will treat you all like the adventurers you are. My orders are to weed out the useless idiots who don’t have what it takes to become an adventurer! But until then, I will be your instructor! I will teach you! I will train you! I will guide you! I will form you! I will do my utmost to get the most out of every single one of you. I will turn your sorry arses into actual adventurers worthy of your badges! I will instruct you in the arts of combat and fighting. I will strengthen your determination and spirit so that you won’t hesitate at the moment of truth. So don’t disappoint me. Don’t disappoint the guild. We place much trust in you!”

“...” Her fellow adventurers remained silent, but morale somewhat improved. Faces began to light up again. 

Hartman appeared to be satisfied with the results of his little speech. “Erika, I think it is now time for you to introduce yourself.”

“Right~.” Erika clapped her hands together and beamed. “Greetings everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day~. Some of you might already know me, but I am Erika. I work as receptionist here at the guild and help new and old adventurers with things such as forms, registrations, and other paperwork, but that is not why I am here today. While Sir Hartman will be responsible for your martial training, I will accompany when it comes to your academic education. I will instruct you in reading and writing. I will teach you also the basics of mathematics. If you all give your best, then I am sure that we all can achieve much together. So be sure to give your best~.”

Aurora looked around. Judging by everyone's faces, she wasn't the only one who liked Erika much more.

Hartman cleared his throat. “Good, with introductions now out of the way. Erika, the wax tablet, please.”

“Here, Sir Hartman.” Erika handed him a wooden tablet.

“Thank you, Erika.” Hartman accepted the tablet and opened it. “Time for the roll call. I hope you all know the drill.”

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Wax tablet