The Diablos lowered its horns and shook the ground as it charged straight toward Candy, who nimbly vaulted off its head while snatching her Blade embedded in its hide. It turned around and charged again, faster than before. As it came closer, Alek jumped into its path and took the full force of it with his Lance's shield, holding it at bay. He reached for the flag on its horn, which was barely out of reach.
"C'mon—stupid—flag!" he grunted. The Diablos, seeing his attempt, flung its head skyward, sending Alek skidding into the dirt. "Agh!"
"Oh, come on!" Candy spun her Dual Blades in her hands. "Do I have to do everything?" Lowering her stance, she engaged the Diablos with several whirling slashes to its legs, sidestepping its head bashes and horn attacks. It roared in frustration, but she was too quick.
Scoot, who had simply watched this all happen, turned to see Takuya staring at the action, his eyes wide and glazed over… out of fear, maybe? It surprised Scoot to see someone feeling the same way he did, but it also made him feel something else. He didn't want anyone to be scared right now. All he wanted to do was pass the Exam.
"Takuya!" he shouted. "Snap out of it!" He gripped his Charge Blade's sword and shield firmly and, closing the distance between him and the Diablos, swung his blade at its leg with all of his might. Unfortunately, his aim was off, and he felt a jolt go up his arm as the sword bounced off of a claw and out of his grip, merely making the Diablos look away from Candy and deftly swing its horns at him. Quickly filling with adrenaline, Scoot raised his shield in time to block the attack, sending him stumbling backwards. The Diablos' about-face, however, caught Candy off guard as its tail whipped around, striking her square in the shoulder and slamming her into the dirt. She let out a stream of curses as the monster, with its attention on Scoot, reared up and propelled itself hip-first toward him. He blocked the attack with his shield again, but felt the wind get knocked out of him, making him stumble and fall on his butt, gasping. Scrambling to his feet, he rolled under the Diablos' skull bash and seized his fallen sword, staggering away from the monster. It turned and gave a guttural growl, preparing to charge at him.
"GRAAHH!" Alek's war cry reverberated through the Arena as he charged full-speed toward the Diablos, Lance parallel to the ground, with Candy sprinting right behind him. Jumping at the last second, he landed a solid strike on its side, causing it to stumble from his momentum. The Diablos whipped its tail at him in retaliation, which he deflected off his shield. Ducking under it, Candy unleashed a series of slices that Scoot couldn't even see, they were so fast. The Diablos roared in pain and spun in a circle, forcing Alek and Candy to dive to the ground to avoid its heavy tail. They pushed themselves to their feet and ran to Scoot's side to catch their breaths.
The monster and hunters stared at each other standoffishly, both breathing heavily. As the Diablos clawed at the ground and growled, Alek asked, "Where's Takuya?"
Scoot looked around quickly, and spotted the small hunter waving at them from the other side of the Arena. "What the hell…?" he muttered. "I think he wants us to bring the Diablos over there. But why…?"
Candy straightened up, keeping her eyes on the monster. "Don't know, don't care. Like that shrimp is going to do anything useful." She scraped her Dual Blades together impatiently. "Can I get back to it?"
Scoot looked back at Takuya's beckoning figure. There was something urgent about his frantic waving. He vaguely remembered that Takuya's lack of experience hunting monsters was made up in a different department. Turning back to Candy, Scoot said, "Yeah… you do that. I'll just—" He turned on his heel and sprinted away, toward Takuya, and heard Alek join him after a split second.
Candy's voice screeched behind them. "You sons of—!" She was quickly cut off by the even louder Diablos' shriek of rage. Scoot smiled slightly, remembering a lesson from training: the first one to break eye contact with a monster loses.
Too bad it had to be you, Candy, he thought as he heard her dive to the ground. Thundering footsteps shook the earth. Looking back, Scoot choked when he saw the Diablos chasing after him and Alek, mouth gaping and eyes burning. Apparently, a fleeing target was more interesting than a stationary one. Ahead, Takuya seemed to be shouting something.
"What?!" Scoot shouted back.
"JUMP!"
Without hesitation, Scoot leaped as far as his legs could throw him. As he soared through the air, a distinct electrical humming below him caught his ear. He landed in the dirt next to Takuya, who pulled him up as Alek slid in next to them.
"Um, okay, we're here." Scoot gripped his weapon, staring at the quickly approaching Diablos. "What was—"
Takuya snapped his fingers, and at that moment, the Diablos stopped in its tracks and began to convulse, screeching. Electric sparks ran up and down its body. Scoot gaped, amazed.
"How did you—" He pointed at Takuya's fingers, incredulous.
Takuya shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that. Just a simple Shock Trap." He smiled nervously and beckoned them to approach the Diablos. "Hurry, now's our chance!"
The three boys ran toward the paralyzed monster. As they drew near, Candy reached the Diablos as well, a look of utter disgust on her face.
"Where in the flying fuck did you get a Shock Trap, shrimp?" she jeered. "That's cheating!"
"Well, actually…" Takuya motioned to the perimeter surrounding the Arena. "If you look hard enough, there's supplies like, everywhere. In the ground. Must be part of our lesson in gathering or something, I guess?"
Scoot looked at him, and suddenly remembered. Takuya was a student that rarely trained out on the field, but rather expanding his knowledge with books. While others studied the blade, he learned the inside-outs of the monster hunter's world. Scoot admired his dedication.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Alek made a fist. "Let's get that stupid flag!"
The hunters drew their weapons and began to hack at the Diablos' legs. Its paralysis gave it no chance to retaliate, and within seconds, it stumbled and fell to the ground. It began to struggle, breaking the Shock Trap in the process.
"We've only got a few seconds before it gets back up!" warned Takuya. "Someone break off the horn!"
Without hesitation, Candy unleashed two swift slices onto the Diablos' horn. With a loud snap, the appendage fell to the ground as the monster grunted in surprise. Alek quickly ducked down to retrieve the horn and unwrap the flag. Scoot stared in awe as it unfurled, revealing the magnificent symbol of the Guild.
"That's what I'm talking about! To the flagpole!" exclaimed Alek.
"The hell you spouting on about?" Candy made a face, as if that were the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. "Now that we've got the flag, we're going to kill this fucker!" She kicked the Diablos, who was still struggling to stand up.
Takuya crossed his arms. "Huh? An easy way to pass is handed to you and you insist on taking the harder path?"
"The harder path? I'm the top student in this damn class! I kill Diablos for breakfast!"
Scoot raised his finger. "Um, that's not actually the ph—"
"Shut the hell up, Scoot. I'm passing this Exam the right way, with or without you losers." Candy turned around to deal with the Diablos, when in one fluid motion, its horns tore through the air and slammed into her chest. Scoot watched, frozen, as Candy sailed several yards away, hit the dirt, and keeled over, gasping. The Diablos staggered to its feet and glared at the boys, its breathing angry and ragged. Scoot felt something soft hit his chest, and looked down to see Alek pressing the flag against his cuirass.
"Take it," Alek breathed. "Run it to the flagpole. Takuya and I'll hold it off."
Scoot looked up and saw Alek's face. He couldn't discern whether he looked frightened or calm.
"Why me?" Scoot whispered.
Alek smirked slightly. "We've trained together," he chuckled feebly. "Everyone knows you were the fastest runner. At least, when it's in the opposite direction of monsters." He shoved the flag into Scoot's hands and drew his Lance. "Go."
Scoot turned on his heel and ran. Behind him, the Diablos shrieked angrily. He ignored it and kept sprinting toward the metal pole that would make him a full-on, licensed Guild hunter. The sounds of Alek and Takuya yelling to distract the Diablos soon faded, and Scoot could only hear his pounding heart and his concentrated breathing. For the entire Exam, he had watched his teammates do everything right. Everything that a real hunter was supposed to do. All he had done was get one of them hurt and abandoned the others to fight the monster themselves.
I'm fucking useless, he thought as he reached the flagpole. Dead weight, echoed his mind as he attached the flag to the rope and began to pull. They would be done already if I wasn't here.
A loud Diablos roar pierced into his thoughts, forcing him to look at where he had left Alek and Takuya. His heart began to hammer against his chest, and his breathing became rapid. The two hunters lay in the dirt, groaning and clutching their injuries. Without Candy's ferocity, they had stood little chance by themselves. As the Diablos stood triumphantly over them, it turned to look at Scoot from across the Arena. He widened his eyes and began to pull the rope faster, trying to bring the flag to the top as quickly as possible.
If you hold me back even a tiny bit from passing, I'll make sure that you see me every time you close your eyes. The Diablos braced itself and launched forward, eyes focused on its target.
You fail if all four of you are incapacitated. The ground shook as the monster began to pick up speed, rapidly approaching Scoot. His shaky hands began to slip against the rope, and the flag dropped a few feet.
Man up, will you? The Diablos was too close to get it up in time. Scoot stood up and took a deep breath, drawing his Charge Blade's sword and shield. There was something that he had always respected about hunters who used shields. It was their ability to not give a fuck.
Time slowed down. The Diablos was inches away. Scoot concentrated with all his might, and as it was about to gore him, he heaved his shield across his body, pushing straight into the inside of the Diablos' long horn and directing the monster's momentum down into the dirt. The earth cracked as the Diablos' horns impaled the ground, sending a fine cloud of dust into the air. Scoot gasped for breath, stunned by what he had done. The Diablos was stuck, unable to break its horns free of their earthy prison. It roared in frustration and struggled to get loose.
Without hesitation, Scoot threw down his weapon and scrambled back to the flagpole. He tugged the rope as fast as he could, and seconds later, the flag reached the top of the pole with a resounding clang. Somewhere above, a gong rang out, echoing throughout the Arena. Scoot breathed heavily.
It's over. He slowly tottered over to the struggling Diablos and patted its head numbly. It's over.
The Exam was over.
"Congratulations on passing your Exam! You are now an officially licensed Guild Hunter!"
Scoot looked up blearily at the cheery woman smiling at him. The room outside the Arena that he had been brought to after passing the Exam was brightly lit, and a few dozen ecstatic hunters buzzed around, celebrating another group's success. Guild officials stood around to congratulate new hunters. Scoot just wanted to take a nap.
"Where, uh… are the other hunters that were in my group?" he asked. "They passed too, right?" He squinted at the woman's name tag. "Ms... Secretary?"
The red-haired Guild Lady flashed a bright smile. "Of course! However, they were sent to the infirmary after your Exam was over. You all did wonderfully." She presented a small card to him across the counter between them. "This is your Guild Card. It marks your status as a hunter. Congratulations! You look forward to working for us!"
Scoot scratched his ear. "Sorry, what was that?"
"We look forward to working with you!" Ms. Secretary adjusted her glasses and beamed. Scoot nodded hesitantly and accepted the card.
Guild Ladies are weird, he thought as he walked away, holding his head. The noise around him wasn't loud, but a little peace and quiet was all he desired. Bumping into what seemed to be a wall, Scoot looked up and was met with the sight of Alek towering over him, accompanied by Candy and Takuya. Wearing everyday clothes, they looked strange without armor and weapons.
"Guys?" Scoot asked incredulously. "How'd you get out of the infirmary so fast?"
Alek flexed, grinning. "Diablos ain't no match for some Max Potions, I'll tell you what."
Takuya smiled at Scoot weakly. "Or you, Scoot. We wouldn't've passed without you."
Scoot's face felt warm. Being praised was the last thing he'd expected to come out of his horrible attempts in the Exam. Or out of becoming a hunter in general.
"Come on now," Scoot broke into a smile. "It was all of us that made it work." He looked at Candy, who was refusing to make eye contact with him. "Candy?"
She muttered something that Scoot couldn't hear. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," said Scoot, leaning forward inquisitively.
Candy looked up furiously, her face glowing red. "I said, you damn scrub, that if we ever run into each other out there again, I will end you! You hear me?" She stalked past him, fuming, to claim her Guild Card from the counter.
Alek clapped Scoot on the shoulder as he followed her. "Good luck, buddy," he grinned. There was a hint of humor in his voice. Scoot stood alone with Takuya, who looked ready to collapse from exhaustion.
"So, Scoot." Takuya pocketed his hands and let out a tired sigh. "What do you think you'll do now?"
Scoot contemplated. Becoming a hunter didn't use to mean much to him. He had originally planned to return home and pretend like he had never taken the Exam, but the hunt had awoken something in him. It was exciting, it was new… it was fun.
"I don't know, really." Scoot shuffled in place. "What's a newbie hunter supposed to do? Start the climb to G-rank?"
"You know what I've heard?" Takuya tapped his foot. "The Wycademy is looking for hunters. Dudes like us to go out on field research with scientists and stuff. Protect them from monsters. But I've heard that it's the easiest job in the world."
Scoot scoffed good-naturedly. "I'll bet."
"Think about it if you're not sure what to do." Takuya raised a hand in goodbye. "I'll see you out there, yeah?" He walked past him to follow Alek and Candy. Scoot looked after him and frowned.
A Wycademy hunter, huh… He kicked the ground. Hmm…
(FLASHBACK END)
End of Chapter 10
A/N: Tell me what you thought, if you'd like. Writing this is super fun.