The helicopter tilted and dropped toward a mountain valley, which signalled half the students in the vehicle to get their gear ready to depart.
Karl noticed that they were loaded in the back half of the helicopter, so their departure wouldn’t cause a drastic shift of the balance, and the others spread out as they walked down the ramp, distributing the weight evenly again.
“You get used to it. Spreading out is not only more comfortable, but it makes for a smoother ride. If you’re with a new group, teach them to do it. But mostly the new groups take the train.
We were supposed to take it as well, but the storm the other day damaged the tracks, and they’re not fixed yet.” The berserker explained.
“I saw that firsthand. We were stuck out in that storm, and we weren’t sure that we were going to make it back to the Academy at all. As it was, we made it back only one day late.” Karl agreed.
The first team was out, and the crew closed the door as the helicopter lifted off.
“Five minutes until the second team departs. Get your gear ready.” The crew member riding in the back with them instructed.
That was faster than anyone expected, but they already had their bags ready. All they had to do was make sure that nothing was loose or out of place, and then strap them on.
The helicopter dropped only a few valleys over, where a small camp was set up. The team got out, and another team of twenty got in. These were older, and dressed for an extended time in the woods, whereas Karl was wearing the Academy’s training uniform of cargo pants, tank top and jacket.
It was almost a military look, but anyone in the nation would recognize it as a Divine Golden Academy uniform.
“Seriously? Not only do we get a random group from all over the country, we get a kid fresh out of the Academy? Are you even Awakened Rank yet, kid?” One of the women asked.
“Pushing for Ascended already. I’m there in attack power, but still lacking some durability.” Karl replied, resisting the urge to take the bait and get angry at her provocation.
The woman rolled her eyes, and snapped a punch at his face. Karl reacted instinctively, and raised the Lightning Barrier, which her hand hit with a crackle of energy.
“Oh, I like this kid. Didn’t even flinch.” The man beside the irritable woman laughed.
“Then are you going to take him on your team?” She asked.
“Yeah, I will take him. If he has Ascended Rank attack power and a lightning shield, he’s not going to be a liability. But there’s something about the look in his eyes. They’re not natural, obviously, but they’ve got that placid look that large monsters give you, like they know you can’t do a damned thing to them.”
The woman just rolled her eyes, and the group started to split up into teams. They ended up with seven groups of three, and Karl moved to join the ones he had been lumped in with.
“Karl, Awakened Rank Beast Master.” He introduced himself.
“Bob and Doug Mackenzie. I’m Robert, an Ascended Rank warrior, but you can call me Bob, and Doug is a green dragon cleric.” The man who had spoken up for him announced.
Despite sharing a family name, they didn’t look anything alike, but Karl wasn’t going to cause strife within with a good team by questioning their parentage. He had gotten a healer, but it would have been nice if they had a mage in the group.
The Green Dragon was the Dragon God of nature, and their clerics’ role was similar to that of the druids and the World Dragon, to keep nature running smoothly, so it made sense that they had been sent to help control the influx of monsters that was upsetting the balance. He should have solid healing skills, and he probably wouldn’t be biased against the beasts.
The good luck Dragon Scale charm was working quite reliably, Karl decided.
“So, what can you tell me about the Beast Master class? I have never heard of it before, so I don’t know what you can do in a fight.” The warrior, Bob, asked.
“I have three beasts, actual beasts, not summoned creatures that can be replaced. An evolved Windspeed Hawk, that has learned fire magic. A Lightning Cerro, and a Bloodbath Spider. The Lightning Barrier is a skill I learned from Thor, the Lightning Cerro. I can also use Rend, and we can hear each other’s thoughts to fight as a group.” Karl explained.
Doug smiled, and his face suddenly looked much younger than it had a moment ago under his mop of black curls.
“Now, we must be in luck. We got extra team members. It’s always better not to be outnumbered. Don’t worry, we will take good care of your partners. Are they all Awakened Rank or higher? Or is one of them still young.” He asked.
“They’re all still young, but they’re all at Awakened Rank in body or better. Hawk and Rae, the Bloodbath Spider, aren’t exactly tanks, but they are fast and agile. Are you familiar with the species?” Karl asked.
Bob nodded. “Yeah. It’s going to be a bit freaky having them around, but Doug is good with things like that.”
The flight was silent for a few minutes, and then the crew alerted them that they were going to be landing again. The other helicopter was visible in the distance, so they were all working the same area, which was a relief to Karl, who could see two different camps set up near the river that ran through the area.
Bob raised his voice so he could be heard over the helicopter. “We will head for the hills. Our team should be well suited to the scouting of the more rugged areas.”
The crew member gave him a positive gesture. “Zone one goes to the Mackenzie brothers and Karl. Call your preferences or I will pick them.”
The teams quickly picked zones to scout for the next few days, and Karl checked the fit of his pack, so it didn’t get uncomfortable as they hiked.
As they stepped off the helicopter, Karl saw that there were many more people waiting around the area, and a pair of girls with curly black hair that matched Doug’s came over to pull the cleric into a hug.
“Meet our other two team members. Meet Donni and Danni.” Doug introduced the two smiling women.
“Don’t tell me, Mackenzie.” Karl replied.
“Right in one. We all volunteered to come when they announced the mission. The whole area has been upgraded to possible Ascended Rank threat, as we have gotten a confirmation of at least one Ettin Mage in the area. Everyone will be getting two more members for their team out of the ones who got here first.” One of the identical twin women agreed.
Karl looked between them with curiosity. “What are the odds that four children from the same family would get picked by the Serum?”
Bob laughed. “Extremely low. I don’t know of more than a few other siblings that are Elites. Though, one of the test generation has a son who’s in the Academy now. But we should get going before the annoying ones want to hold an all-night strategy meeting where they think of reasons that they shouldn’t be the ones going out to do the actual work.”
