Chapter 81: Monster Hunter — Deserted Island
[June 26]
[Four days remain until Gil Fest.]
[On the fourth morning of the seaside training camp, the homeroom teacher of Greek Class, Chiron, proposed a new training topic.]
[At eight in the morning, you board Captain Drake's Golden Hind and head toward a nearby deserted island, which will become today's training ground.]
[It is also the stage for you to display yourselves.]
What greeted the eye was a deserted island standing tall amid the sea.
The cries of seagulls mingled with the sound of waves by the ears, the sea breeze brushed past the palm leaves, and the sun grew ever more intense, as if intent on bleaching the sandy shore pure white.
Students of the two Classes, Greek and Britain, gathered together, waiting for the judgment of the half-man, half-horse teacher, Chiron.
"Today's training is a simulated battle,"
Chiron-sensei said gently to the students.
"After two days of arduous training, I trust that everyone's strength and coordination have improved, yes? Practice is what reveals the truth. It is time for you to have a proper simulated battle to test your overall strength."
"A simulated battle?"
Eikou curiously looked at the Servants of the two major Classes, then at this deserted island, and couldn't help asking:
"Chiron-sensei, are you planning to have us play some kind of battle royale on this island, fighting until the strongest is chosen?"
"Hehe, it won't be that brutal..."
Chiron-sensei explained calmly and patiently.
"If Servants were to confront each other directly right now, it would be very easy to expose your abilities and Noble Phantasm, which would be disadvantageous for the later matches at Gil Fest. Therefore, the target of this simulated battle is not Servants, but the monsters on this deserted island."
"Oh?"
"The duration is until four in the afternoon. The team that hunts more monsters will score higher. Any team whose score exceeds the average will be considered to have passed the test."
After saying that, Chiron-sensei also handed each team a small booklet, which listed the types of monsters that would appear on the island, along with the points awarded for defeating them.
The lowest-tier Dragon Tooth Warrior was worth only one point, a Sea Demon was worth three points, an Automaton was worth ten points, a Demon was worth twenty points, and a Giant Demon Boar was worth as many as thirty points.
Got it—this was Monster Hunter: Deserted Island.
Chiron had thought this through quite carefully. Confrontations between Servants were better saved for Gil Fest, while hunting monsters was more appropriate for now.
"There's just one problem,"
Jason said impatiently from the side. "Can I not participate? I'm a commander. I'm not good at hunting at all. Wouldn't it be enough to just leave things like this to Atalanta?"
Chiron-sensei said nothing and merely smiled.
Jason shuddered, then hurriedly changed the subject. "Alright, alright, I'm just joking... What I want to ask is, are we allowed to steal other people's prey? Or directly attack other teams?"
Just hearing that question made it obvious what this scumbag was planning! Eikou thought to himself.
"Of course you may, but I do not encourage directly attacking other teams. Harming others without benefiting yourself—fighting Servants is far more exhausting than fighting monsters, and it would also expose your true strength prematurely."
Chiron-sensei said so.
"But stealing prey is permitted. Whoever defeats it gets the credit."
"Understood, understood."
Jason nodded thoughtfully, as if he had already begun calculating how to win.
"Of course,"
Chiron-sensei continued in a calm tone, "I understand the differences among each student—for example, Servants who lean toward writing and are not good at combat, or Servants who excel in combat and hunting in the wild. Therefore, I have prepared Craft Essences and challenges all across the deserted island. There will be many random events, and I have even marked the habitats of large monsters, in order to narrow the gap between you."
"I see."
Eikou nodded, thinking to himself that this design was indeed quite considerate.
After all, if it came down to pure fighting, the Greek myth heroes would have far too great an advantage. Most of them were demi-god heroes with divinity, and there was no shortage of gods adept at hunting. Almost all of their legends involved hunting monsters.
Clearly, Chiron-sensei had taken into account the weaknesses of the Britain Class, and had arranged many random events on the deserted island to ensure fairness.
Although it was called a simulated battle, Chiron-sensei was not aiming to let only a few strong teams win. The focus was still on experience and learning.
"Oh?"
Seemingly noticing his gaze, Chiron-sensei turned to look at him. "Student Eikou, do you have a question?"
"Chiron-sensei, you said that exceeding the average score counts as passing... then if we pass, is there a reward? And what happens if we don't?"
"That is indeed a good question,"
Chiron-sensei smiled and nodded, then turned to address all of the students.
"To encourage everyone's morale, I will give a mysterious gift to the one and only team that takes first place in this hunting competition. As for the students whose scores are below the average—that is, those who fail..."
He paused briefly, then continued.
"Students who fail will have to attend my after-hours remedial class, training according to the standards of Greek heroes. Don't even think about going out to have fun tonight!"
"A!"
Before the sentence had even finished, Jason and Achilles shuddered at the same time, and even Heracles standing nearby fell completely silent.
No way, is it really that terrifying?! Just what kind of thing are the standards of Greek heroes anyway?! Eikou lamented inwardly as he stood there.
Just as he was thinking this, Chiron-sensei suddenly handed him a thermos.
"This is...?"
"Student Eikou, you don't look very well,"
Chiron blinked and smiled at him. "The competition is about to begin, yet you look like you're about to fall asleep. Here, this is an alertness-boosting drink I made myself. Drinking it should help perk you up a bit."
"Is that so... thank you, sensei."
Eikou felt a bit grateful.
[You drank Chiron-sensei's alertness-boosting drink.]
[Although it cannot remove your Debuff, your mental state has recovered noticeably.]
[After that, the hunting competition officially begins.]
[This competition will last until four in the afternoon. The team with the highest total monster-hunting score will be the champion of this round of training.]
[The champion will receive a mysterious gift from Chiron-sensei, while students who fail will have to attend an extremely harsh after-hours remedial class.]
[By the way, there is a social activity tonight—if you fail the simulated battle, you won't be going anywhere.]
[Your team composition remains the same: you, Lancer Caenis, and Caster Medea.]
"..."
Eikou stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Alright then, that's one more reason we can't afford to fail."
Competing for a position above the average score against the teams of both Classes was absolutely not going to be easy, especially since the competition lasted until the afternoon—it was clearly a brutal war of attrition.
Slow and steady, but you must be fast!
[Monster Hunter, link star!]
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