Who Needs Magic in a Fantasy World Anyway?

Chapter 57: Move Out

"Are you ready to go? Did you pack your toothbrush?" Koko asked excitedly towards Austin, whom she stood next to in the line of instructors and adventurers when she finally reached the field.

"Koko, this will be the first time that many of these students fight monsters, and almost all of them well be terrified at first." Austin explained. "So shut up, sit still and at least try to look somewhat dependable for them."

"You didn't pack your toothbrush, did you?" Koko smirked at her instructor, earning a sneer in return before she followed his advice and waited patiently in line with the instructors. Though she didn't have to wait long before Christina and Richard joined her. And several minutes after that, the first of the academy's student began appearing as everyone gathered in front of the instructors, splitting into their separate classes with the second years being  on the far side from Koko and her friends.

"Listen up!" Conner eventually yelled. "There should have been letters in all of the travel bags that each of you were assigned when you left your dorms! On those letters is a number, and now, all of the instructors and adventurers will be handed numbers as well, so you are to find whichever one has your number and that will be your group leader for this field exercise!"

"As you can see, there are four of your fellow students standing up here with us." Conner continued as he started walking down the line of instructors and adventurers and giving them large cards with different numbers printed on them. "You might also recognize them as the top four ranks within the academy. Each of them has both strength as well as experience in battle, so anyone assigned underneath them is to treat them with just as much respect as you would an instructor."

Waiting until she was handed her card, Koko looked at the paper she was eventually given curiously as only one side of it had the number fourteen. The other side had a map of the forest, and on that map was a marked route that she guessed that she was supposed to take with the students under her supervision. And while Koko attempted to remain enthusiastic about going out and slaying monsters, she couldn't help but worry that she would be doing nothing but babysitting people who were more interested in love and academics than defending themselves.

"Each party will follow their selected paths through the forest and exterminate any monsters that you come across on the way until we all regroup at the other side. It will take three days for you to make it through the forest, so all of you need to be prepared to camp out in the wilderness. Rotate watch, be sure to keep your campfires going in order to ward off monsters at night and be sure to remember that this is a group exercise! Work as a team, grow as an adventurer, and above all, make it though this alive! That is all!"

"Everyone gather beside your group leaders now! You will leave as soon as everyone in your party is accounted for!" Austin suddenly shouted beside Koko, who only now found the list of three names on the bottom right-hand side of her map. And before long, the once somewhat organized mass of students turned into something that looked like someone had kicked an anthill as they all split apart from each other and headed towards their leaders for the field exercise.

Looking around her in excitement as she wondered just who she would be leading, Koko noticeably grimaced as she recognized Wallace Garn heading towards her with an agitated look about him. With a sinking feeling, she sighed as she saw the number on the small card he was holding, indicating that he was in the fourteenth party along with her. And as he'd been the one that had lost to her earlier in the year when she was still the lowest rank in the academy, Wallace seemed to have something of a grudge as he walked beside Koko and crossed his arms, making sure to look away from her in a childish attempt to scorn her.

"M-my name is Emily, it's a pleasure to meet you!" A girl in black robes and a witch's hat suddenly walked up to Koko and bowed deeply, her voice betraying how nervous she was.

"Nice to meet you too." Koko made sure to smile warmly at the girl, who was in danger of dragging her long blonde hair on the dirt for how low she was bowing. And with a quick check to make sure that Emily was in her group, Koko mentally checked the mage's name off of the list before she jumped slightly as she felt something tug at the cloth around her knees.

"My name's Mary, nice to meet ya'!" The tiniest brown-haired teenager that Koko had ever seen before called out in a volume that didn't suit her looks at all. "Before you ask, I'm a gnome!"

"Oh, cool!" Koko kneeled down and so that she could look at her new priestess somewhat in the eyes, though Mary was still quite a bit shorter than her. "I've never met a gnome before!"

"You're a weird one, ain't cha'?" Mary laughed. "Most people try to act like I'm not shorter than them or ignore me entirely. It's nice to see someone different!"

"If someone does that in our party then I'll tie them to a tree and we'll leave them for the kobolds." Koko laughed as well.

"Eh?!" Emily cried shortly.

"Thanks! I'm sure we'll get along great then!" Mary happily stated before she reached forwards and shook Koko's hand.

"Alright, now that we're all here, who has experience reading maps?" Koko asked, knowing full well that she would most likely be incapable of following the path set for her by the academy.

"N-no one?" Emily seemed to be on the verge of tears as no one answered Koko.

"Alright, if we can't be the first to get past the forest, then let's be the first to get lost!" Koko continued enthusiastically. "You guys ready? Let's go! Tank takes point. Heals and ranged dps in the middle and I'll take the flank!"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Wallace asked as all of them looked at her curiously, making Koko sigh as she knew she'd messed up her speech.

"Tank is the front lines that keeps the monster's attention, heals is obviously the priestess and ranged dps is a ranged attacker." Koko explained while pointing to each of them so that they knew their roles.

"And just why do I have to take point?" Wallace asked with wide eyes.

"You're a knight, aren't you? With your defensive skills, you practically signed up for taking point." Koko explained.

"There's no way I'm doing that, you do it!" Wallace replied angrily.

"As a melee attacker that doesn't have any defense skills, it's my role to guard the back of the group until we get into a fight so that monsters don't attack our healer and ranged attackers seeing as they will have difficulty defending themselves." Koko did her best to explain. "Besides, it would be pointless for me to be at the front of the group anyway."

"And just why is that?" Wallace asked uncertainly.

"Because then everything would be dead before you guys get any experience." Koko explained with a smile. "Now show me that knightly courage and get your butt moving! Let's move out!"