Trials in the Forest Ch.1: The Call of the Great Sea of Trees ~A Trainee Adventurer's First Field Training~

"Hah! Sei! ...Damn it, still not enough!" The morning air was cold and clear, filling his lungs in one sharp breath. The stone buildings of the Frontier Trail Training Grounds caught the rising sun, casting long shadows across the dirt. Every time his boots pressed into the training yard, pebbles scattered from under his soles. Kuremin regripped his spear. His well-worn leather-and-metal armor creaked with the motion. Hard calluses lined both palms. His dark brown eyes, sharp and intense, fixed on the wooden posts across the still-empty yard. "One more round... alright, here I go!" He charged, spear at the ready. Thrust, sweep, spin, thrust again. The spearhead caught the morning light and flashed. Sweat flew. His breath came out white. At fourteen, his body was stocky and solid—built by daily training toward his dream of becoming a warrior. From the training grounds atop the hill, the great forest of Alvain spread out in the distance. A vast woodland at the heart of the continent. That green sea, wrapped in morning mist, stirred something in his chest every time he looked at it. "...It's huge." Kuremin rested the spear on his shoulder and gazed toward the forest. The wind blew, ruffling his short black hair. The ends tickled his skin. "Whoa." He glanced down. The training grounds sat on a hill—which meant the closer you got to the edge, the farther the ground below. Peering over, the tops of the trees looked tiny. A light dizziness washed over him, and he took a step back. "...Heights. Seriously, no thanks." Even as he said it, he was grinning. "Whatever. Once I'm an adventurer, heights won't matter. I'm gonna be the strongest spearman on the continent." He thought of his parents. Both had been adventurers. The proud look on their faces when they came back from the great forest. The spoils slung across their backs. And all the adventure stories they'd told him as a small boy. "I'm gonna be like them." He gripped the spear tight. He liked the calluses on his palms—they felt like proof of his effort. "...I'm starving. Time to grab breakfast." Kuremin left the training yard. He walked along the stone paving toward the mess hall. Passing the dormitory, he thought he could hear the sleeping breaths of trainees still in bed. Inside the mess hall, several trainees were already eating. Kuremin dropped into his usual seat and picked up bread and soup. "...Mm, today's bread isn't stale. Good." He dipped the bread in the soup and took a hearty bite. "Come to think of it, my cooking got complaints again yesterday..." He slurped his soup, looking a little deflated. He could cook. He could—but somehow the taste just... "Your stew—why the hell is it so salty?" The words his dormmate had said yesterday echoed in his head. "Damn it, next time I'll taste it properly before I serve it!" He downed the rest of his soup in one go and stood up. "—Trainees. Finished with breakfast?" A low, carrying voice resonated through the mess hall. In the doorway stood a man with short, graying hair, stubble on his chin, and sharp gray eyes. Gram Orpheus, director of the Frontier Trail Training Grounds. Tall—over six feet—his bearing radiated the authority of a former gold-rank adventurer. "Director!" Kuremin straightened his back. "Today we conduct field training at the outer edge of the great forest. After breakfast, everyone assemble at the front gate." That was all Gram said before quietly leaving the hall. "Field training...!" Kuremin's heart pounded. Finally—he was going into the real forest. "Alright! Leave it to me!" He cleared his empty soup bowl and headed briskly for the front gate. Several trainees had already gathered at the gate. Spotting a familiar back among them, Kuremin called out. "Luthel!" The girl turned, her blunt-cut black hair swaying. Large dark eyes locked onto him. Luthel—his childhood friend, also fourteen. About his height, with a gift for black magic. "...You were out swinging that spear again since morning, weren't you." Her voice was half-exasperated, but tinged with worry. "Yeah! Daily effort is what counts!" "That part of you really hasn't changed since we were kids." Luthel gave a small laugh. "Hey, I can't match your talent for magic. All I can do is train my body." At his words, Luthel's expression clouded slightly. "...My magic." She stared at her own palm. Pale, slender fingers. A special hand with an affinity for lightning magic. "Hey, what's wrong?" "...It's nothing." Luthel shook her head and looked up. "Anyway, don't do anything reckless in today's field training. You always charge in headfirst." "I know, I know. But when it counts, I'll protect you, so relax!" Kuremin puffed out his chest. Luthel stared at him for a moment, then gave another small sigh. "Yeah, yeah. I'm counting on you." Just then, Director Gram reappeared. The trainees fell silent all at once. "We head for the outer edge of the great forest. On the way, follow my instructions. No acting on your own." Gram's sharp gray eyes swept across each face in turn. "Eighty years since this training ground was founded. The Great Forest Expansion claimed many lives, and this facility was built so those deaths would not be in vain. Seventy percent of our graduates register as adventurers and continue the fight against the great forest." Kuremin swallowed hard. "You will join their ranks. That is what this training is for. ...Stay sharp." "Yes, sir!" The trainees' voices rang out in unison. Kuremin's was the loudest of all. The group departed the training grounds and set off toward the entrance of the great forest. Down the hill, through the low brush. After a while, the air changed—damp, thick with the smell of trees. "This is... the great forest..." Kuremin looked up at the woodland spreading before him. Giant trees over sixty feet tall stood in ranks, their depths swallowed by darkness. Places where light couldn't reach. A sense that something lurked within. "Outer edge or not, do not let your guard down. This is monster territory." Gram issued the warning. "Element Flow. The technique of drawing ambient mana particles into the body, converting them to an attribute, and releasing them. You've learned the basics at the training grounds, but in real combat, controlling it is the difference between life and death." He continued, scanning the trainees. "Attribute affinity varies from person to person. Force it, and flow fatigue will leave you unable to move. Learning your own limits is part of today's training." Kuremin looked at his own hands. He had no talent for magic. He couldn't even sense Element Flow properly yet. "I... I've got no choice but to fight with my spear." He reached for the spear on his back. "That's fine." Luthel, standing beside him, spoke quietly. "You have your own way of fighting. I'll... do things my way." Her voice held determination—and somewhere in it, hesitation. The field training took place within two kilometers of the forest's edge. The trainees split into small groups, completing assigned tasks—gathering medicinal herbs, checking for monster tracks. Kuremin and Luthel ended up in the same group, advancing through the forest with the other trainees. "Watch your footing. The roots are thick here." Luthel cautioned. "Yeah. ...Still, it's quiet. Are there really monsters around?" Kuremin scanned their surroundings. "There are. ...Over there—forest wolf tracks." Luthel pointed at the ground. In the damp soil, a line of paw prints—clearly a wolf's—stretched into the distance. "Huh. You're good at spotting them." "Because I studied. You should take the bookwork a little more seriously too." "Ugh... that's, well..." Before Kuremin could finish fumbling for an answer, the ground shook. A heavy thud. "...What was that?" The trainees began to murmur. "That shaking...!" Luthel went pale. Another thud. Closer this time. The trees trembled, leaves raining down. "Hey, look...!" Someone shouted. There, emerging from between the dense trees where the trainees' gazes were fixed, it appeared. Four meters tall. A centuries-old tree that had simply stood up and started walking. Iron-hard bark bulged in knotted ridges. Thick branch-arms rose slowly. "Wood Horror...!" Someone screamed. "A monster tree from the great forest...! Why, this close to the edge?!" Gram shouted. "Everyone, scatter! If you cluster together, you'll be swept away!" But before his voice finished, the Wood Horror swung a branch-arm in a wide arc. Crack-crack-crack! Saplings were torn up by the roots, trainees sent flying. Screams and shouts mingled. The ground shook, dirt and dust billowing up. "Waaaaaah!" "Run! Just run!" The party panicked. Discipline vanished in an instant, everyone scattering in whatever direction they could. "Luthel!" Kuremin grabbed Luthel's hand. "Kuremin!" "Run!" The two bolted deeper into the forest, toward the sound of a river. Behind them, the Wood Horror lumbered in pursuit. The ground-shaking footsteps drew closer. "Damn it, it's fast!" The tree monster moved quickly, despite its appearance. It stretched out long root-legs, closing the distance with alarming speed. "This way, Kuremin! The river's close!" Luthel shouted. The sound of flowing water was now clearly audible. Weaving between the trees, the two burst out onto the riverbank. A tributary of the Mistflow River. Shallow, clear water ran over the stones. "Cross it!" Kuremin pulled Luthel's hand and plunged into the river. Cold water soaked his legs, sapping the heat from his body. "Whoa, that's cold!" "Behind you!" Luthel cried out. He spun around—the Wood Horror had reached the bank. But the monster didn't enter the water. It stopped at the shore, thick branches reaching out. "It won't come in...?" "Maybe it can't stand water." Luthel said, panting. The Wood Horror thrashed its branches at the bank for a while, but eventually retreated slowly into the depths of the forest. The rumbling faded into the distance. "...We're safe? Really?" Kuremin stood frozen in the middle of the river. His breath was ragged. His heart hammered. "...I don't know. But for now—" Luthel too was bent over, hands on her knees, shoulders heaving. Then, from far away, a faint voice reached them. "—To get out of the forest—you have to defeat the monster! Survive—!" Director Gram's voice. Carried on the wind, only fragments arriving. "Director...!" Kuremin looked toward the voice. But there was only the deep forest. "...Are the others okay?" Luthel murmured anxiously. "I don't know. ...But we've got no choice but to survive." Kuremin waded out of the river and sat down on the bank. His soaked body shivered. "...I'm pathetic." He slammed his fist into the ground. "I couldn't fight at all. I said I'd protect you, and all I could do was run." "Kuremin..." "My spear—against that thing—it was completely useless." Kuremin's voice trembled. He fought back the tears of frustration. Luthel sat down silently beside him. "...I'm the same." She murmured softly. "I should've been able to use magic. ...But back there, I couldn't do anything." Luthel stared at her hands. "I've hurt someone before. ...With magic." Kuremin looked up. "When I was little, I couldn't control it. ...Ever since then, using my magic at full power scares me." Luthel's voice was barely audible. "...You never told me that." It was the first time Kuremin had heard about her past. "That's why I hesitated, just for a moment, back there. ...If I'd used my magic, maybe I could have protected everyone." "Luthel..." "I'm sorry. It's my fault..." Tears spilled from Luthel's large dark eyes. "That's not true!" Kuremin said firmly. "It's not your fault. Nobody could have predicted a monster like that. ...I couldn't do anything either." He stood up and planted himself in front of her. "But next time, I will protect you. You and everyone else. ...For that, I'll

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Trials in the Forest Episode 1: The Call of the Great Sea of Trees ~A Trainee Adventurer's First Field Training~