Combat Exam With the Major

The next two weeks were a blur, as we spent our mornings and evenings drilling tactics and guessing what nightmares the Major could possibly throw at us. I was so exhausted that I struggled to stay awake in class, and ended up forgoing them altogether. You can only imagine my relief when Lyra announced that there would be no training sessions on the last three days.

“Rest is part of training too,” she said. “We need to be in tip-top shape for the exam, so rest up!”

Soon, it was the day of our exam.

We assembled on a small hill outside the main gate, clad in mountaineering gear fitted over dark metal armor (which I learned were apparently ancient relics).

At the apex of the hill sat a rectangular slab of polished stone, a light drizzle turning its surface into a mirror reflecting the dark sky above. On it were countless rows of carved names.

“Who are you looking for?” I asked Viola and Lyra.

“No one in particular,” Lyra murmured. “Just wondering if they’ve added any new names to this yet…”

At that moment, Major Blackwood stepped from behind, sword and umbrella in hand. His sword was a glossy obsidian like our armor, and was adorned with countless tiny magic runes.

“I take it you are all prepared?”

We nodded.

“Then let us proceed.”

We hiked up to a flat meadow, about an hour and a half away, where we unpacked our equipment and bided our time.

“Umm… Major, what are we doing here?” I asked. “And why did you have to pick today of all days?” The green fields that looked so lush from a distance were actually a muddy quagmire, and I could feel the rain soak into my socks as my boots slowly sank into the ground.

“You will see. Have patience.”

The minutes that passed might as well have been an eternity. The wind soon picked up, and even in my wool coat I began to shiver as ice-cold raindrops battered against my face. I constantly shifted my weight to avoid tripping over in the mud, and by the looks of it, everyone else was having just a hard a time (except maybe Lyra, who had her staff for support). Even Klara was struggling to maintain an upright posture.

Only Blackwood remained as motionless as a statue. Under his umbrella, he carefully observed some distant position we could not see.

Suddenly, a massive dark shadow swept over us, briefly blotting out the rain. Seconds later, the massive creature settled some distance away in a massive thud, sending ripples through the mud.

“An infected dragon,” Blackwood said without a hint of concern. Only later would I learn exactly what it was infected with. “It appeared to have made a nest here, and I reasoned it would return during the rain.”

I cursed under my breath. Tsk. Should have known something was off when he asked us to don all this heavy armor. We had only planned for a duel with some guards or low-level monsters at most, not whatever this was, so I didn’t bring my heavy-hitters either. Whatever happened next would have to be improvised on-the-spot.

“No.” Klara said. “My lady, we are leaving.”

“But then we’ll fail—”

“It is not nearly as tough as it appears,” Blackwood reassured. “The infection has rendered its reflexes sluggish and vision cloudy. Remember your training, and you will find this exercise quite manageable.”

“C’mon Klara…” I tugged at her sleeve. “I didn’t suffer through two weeks of training to give up now.”

Klara sighed. “Fine.”

“Then let’s begin.” I stepped forward before immediately turning around. “Actually, let’s come up with a strategy first.”

“Good idea. Let’s see exactly what we’re up against.” Lyra pulled out a spyglass and pointed it towards the dragon, before shaking her head. “No good. I can’t make out any details in the fog.”

“Leave it to me.” I fired a small Firebolt straight down Lyra’s line of sight. While it couldn’t do much real damage, it did offer a brief window of visibility as the rain and mist evaporated in its path.

For a few seconds, we all managed to get a good look at the dragon. It was much smaller than I had expected, only around the size of a peasant’s house. Like the one that attacked our Academy, half of its head was consumed by a strange black slime of some sort, one milky eye staring aimlessly into the distance as it slumped lazily on the ground.

The dragon didn’t get a chance to see us as the superheated vapor rapidly cooled, turning into a wall of steam that concealed us from view.

“Seems Blackwood was right,” Lyra said. “The slime’s rotted through its scales. A good shot to its throat should be enough.”

We circled into the treeline, Viola leading the way as she silently armed her heavy crossbow with practiced precision. Soon, we were in position, and Viola took aim.

Just as she was about to fire, the dragon turned. The movement sent a shockwave through the mud that knocked Viola off-balance and the bolt off course, bouncing harmlessly off the armored scales on its belly.

“Scatter!” Klara yelled, helping Viola up. Don’t have to tell me twice.

“Can you hit it with your Blinding Light?” Lyra yelled over the rain.

“I didn’t bring it!” I ducked under a branch as I ran. “Klara said it was more likely to hit one of us than the enemy.”

We sprinted deeper into a dense cluster of trees until the dragon finally gave up trying to push its way through.

“I have a torch spell, do you think that could work?” Lyra said.

“Try it.”

Lyra muttered a few words before a diffuse cone of light shone from her staff. “No good. It’ll spread out too much, even if I turn up the brightness.”

“Use the spyglass,” I gestured.

Lyra carefully aligned her staff with the eyepiece, and as expected, a thin, crisp beam of white light came out the other end, piercing straight through the fog.

“Brilliant!” Lyra grinned. “I’ll have to give ya a headpat after.” For once, I didn’t feel like objecting.

“Klara, can you lure it over here?”

“As you wish, my lady.” Klara ran ahead, striking her armor with the flat of her sword like a metal drum. The dragon immediately gave pursuit.

As it drew near, Lyra swept the beam upwards straight into its one good eye. Caught by the sudden glare, the dragon arched its head upwards—giving Viola the perfect shot.

THWACK.

The iron bolt cut through the beam of light straight into the rotten scales on the dragon’s throat. A burst of dark blood and an awful wheezing sound was all that escaped as the beast collapsed, crashing sideways into a nearby pine tree.

All was silent, save for the steady patter of rain and our heavy breathing.

“We did it!” I cheered, confirming that the dragon was dead.

“Lady Bellrose, I must say, that shot was terrifyingly precise,” Klara said to Viola. “I thought I was going to have to slay the beast with my sword myself.”

Viola carefully folded up her crossbow. “Thank you… I practiced a lot so I wouldn’t hold you back…”

“Ah, so that’s where you were the past two weeks!” Lyra crossed her arms. “I suppose it paid off, but I wish you woulda at least told me. Though, of course, we couldn’t have done it without Victoria here, our resident genius!”

Before I could escape, she leaned over and banged on my helmet with her gauntleted hand in a poor imitation of a headpat.

“Hey…! Headpat me after we get back. Although I don’t mind if you praise me more…”

I barely had the time to wipe the mud off my head before Major Blackwood approached. Beneath his umbrella, he looked at his pocketwatch with a nod of approval.

“Pack your belongings, we’re heading back. The retrieval team will deal with the remains.”

“Wait, did we…?”

“Yes,” Blackwood replied. “You passed.”