Shadows' encyclopedia - The Prodigies of Arahsmurd book 1

First tests 🎀

Ralph arrived at the camp looking terrible; he seemed out of touch with reality. His jovial, pleasant face was replaced by terror. A gathering was taking place between him and the new recruits. The sky that day was covered in heavy clouds. On the whole, the weather was unstable. Sometimes it rained, sometimes it was sunny. But it was always cool. The last few days were difficult for everyone. Training intensified and so did their knowledge of E-rank functions. Ralph had fought Christine Moon's trial without any convincing results, but the most important thing for him was at the training camp. 

The future Elite Hunters had to take a test to analyse their abilities. In front of them stood a huge, frightening training puppet, just like the one in Gordon's shop. In the Hunter World, puppets were used to push enemies out of their zone. Their mechanisms were essential for improving the Hunter's combat stats. Depending on the type and rank of the Hunter, the puppets were adapted to their level. Ralph glared at his apprentices as he gave them their instructions.

"Beyond your abilities, we expect you to be just as strong in combat."

Naar despised his team-mates, especially Rebecca. You could see the hatred in him.

"This puppet will analyse you one by one and imagine a combat situation. You have to anticipate the blows and defend yourself without your standard weapon. I'll assess your skills so I can correct you. Sauron will start."

The reckless elf stepped forward with his bow behind his back. He was one of the Hunters capable of wielding a weapon other than their type. The puppet appeared five metres from him. It activated and positioned itself in combat mode. Sauron was ready to fight. Ralph took out a pocket watch from his coat.

"You each have five minutes to defeat the puppet. If at the end of that time you have not succeeded, you will be defeated. If you succeed, you will be entitled to a purse of gold," explained Ralph, expressionless.

 Sauron concentrated. The puppet didn't move a muscle. When he fired one of his arrows, the articulated puppet stretched out its arms to grab it. The Hybrid Hunter was very skilful, anticipating his attacks and destabilising the combat dummy. The puppet made a strange clicking sound. The thing spat a ring of blazing fire around its opponent. The young elf's body trembled at the sight of the fire, which was his greatest fear. The flames grew rapidly. Ralph watched and assessed it carefully. The seconds ticked by, but the elf was petrified with fear. The puppet attacked Sauron, who was thrown. Sauron regained his senses as he fell. He straightened his torso slightly and stopped breathing for a few seconds. With one blow, he shot an arrow into the puppet's arm. Unbalanced, the articulated machine launched a parry: a rain of arrows came out of its other arm. He dodged almost all of them.

Rebecca found his gestures majestic, and his charisma even more so. Picking up speed, Sauron approached the puppet. Close enough to him, he threw dust in his face. Blinded, the elf took the opportunity to lean on his shoulder: he was trying to gain momentum. He cocked his bow and fired an arrow at full speed, piercing the puppet's body. Immediately, the puppet froze in place. He was imprisoned in a block of ice. His opponent's arrows were magical, and he had perfected them over time. Poof! The puppet disappeared and a new one reappeared in its place. Ralph was not convinced by his disciple's performance. 

"Rufus, please fight."

"Immediately!" replied his disciple, determined.

Rufus and his wolf, Sweety, took their turn to position themselves on the battlefield. The puppet changed shape to adapt to the Hunter in front of him. It took the form of a large troll with powerful teeth and claws. Rufus exchanged a furtive glance with his animal, which immediately doubled in size. The wolf attacked first, clinging to the troll's arm. Rufus threw explosives at it, but to no avail. He changed strategy and climbed onto his wolf's back. Together, they threw themselves at the troll, who immediately pushed them back. The shapeshifter had landed badly and his arm was slightly broken. He grimaced as he stood up. Sweety was worried. To avenge his master, he decided to attack the puppet alone. Rufus in turn changed shape. The hairs on his body stood up with exceptional speed. There was a dizzying sensation in the air. He grew and transformed into a beast. Huge teeth and claws appeared. Rufus transformed into a gigantic black bear.