Sergeant Rita led them all out of the gymnasium and into a classroom, where the computers had already been brought to the screen for an official mission report.
“I want everything, the General insists on no less than a thousand words, and then you can leave.” She announced, and closed the door behind her, leaving Karl and Dana with the bemused special forces team inside.
“So, that’s the infamous cousin that you’re so afraid of, is it? You know that you’re stronger than she is now, and higher ranked, she can’t bully you.” The team leader joked.
“What does strength have to do with anything? That woman holds a grudge like no other.” The man muttered, making his team members smirk.
They had obviously been over this before, though they hadn’t met her in person, and the air of friendly camaraderie set Karl and Dana at ease as they sat down to begin their reports.
The tapping of keys filled the air as everyone got to work, ignoring the previous conversation in favour of getting the unpleasant part of their day out of the way as fast as possible. The warriors had a clear advantage here, Karl included, in that their bodies were enhanced, so even if they were not the greatest typists, their hands were so fast that they could still easily type out the entire report as fast as they could frame it in their minds.
The reports from the Special Forces team were more detailed and structured, as they had done them a hundred times before, but Karl and Dana did their best to not forget anything that they had done or seen after they had arrived in that town.
“You two got quite the first mission, didn’t you? I can’t think of the last time I talked to someone who got to do something as amazing as a pair mission against an entire Goblin Tribe for their first time out.” The team leader announced once he was finished his writing.
“Unless you count Jenny, but I think that we all know her story isn’t quite as verifiable as this one.” One of the others added with a short burst of laughter.
Karl looked up in interest as they joked, and the team leader filled him in.
“She was a student a few years younger than us at the Academy. She was with a four-person team, looking for herbs in the forest for her first mission. According to her, she ended up meeting with a mystery man that she said was one of the local elites, who was in the woods for the same reason.
Long story short, she was pregnant when she returned to the Academy. She only found out two months later, when she started getting morning sickness.” He explained.
Karl avoided the mental math that told him there was something wrong with that age gap, but since he didn’t know exactly how old Jenny or the Elite in question were, he decided to keep silent. For all he knew, it could have been a cover story for a relationship with someone else entirely.
Dana looked up from her work. “Jenny Starpepper? She’s from my hometown.”
The team leader nodded. “That’s the one. Have you met her kid? I heard he’s adorable.”
Dana shook her head. “Calling him cute is being extremely kind to him. He’s just going into elementary school now, and they have to put mittens on him to keep him from clawing at people. The word around town is that his father was a Berserker, and the rage skill got passed along to their kid, who can’t turn it off.
But that’s mostly just gossip. She’s married to one of the bankers now, and their younger two really are adorable.”
They all quickly finished their reports and chatted while they waited for Sergeant Rita to return. They could have gone looking for her, or simply left, in the case of the Special Forces team, but when they got back to base they would have to work again, to do the report for their own Commander, who would expect something other than a copied and pasted version of this report, and they were in no hurry to do that now that they were comfortable here.
“Can we meet your Hawk? You’ve been talking about him, but I haven’t seen him since we arrived. Is he flying outside somewhere?” The team leader asked.
“Actually, my class created a separate space for him. Hawk, come out and say hello.” Karl replied.
The bird appeared in the air in front of him, then settled onto the top of one of the monitors and warily stared at the new people.
Dana gave him a slice of jerky from her pocket, and Hawk’s mood immediately improved. He would gladly meet more people if there was food involved.
One of the team members nodded his head and whistled in appreciation. “Awakened Rank Windspeed Hawk, Male, and my ability says he’s under a month old, but that’s far too young for him to be fully grown.”
Karl nodded. “My skills helped him grow much faster than usual. I hatched him on the train on the way here, so that’s as old as he is. We’re just hoping that I can keep him growing at this rate so that he can become a true Elite among magical beasts.”
The soldier nodded. “Well, it’s not impossible with a bit of energy and some resources. All beasts grow based on what they eat. It’s not a precise science, but what I do know, as a Hunter, is that they will instinctively search out stronger creatures or plants to eat, and if they don’t get them, their growth will either stagnate or they will get weak from starvation.
The more powerful the beast, the more powerful the food source must be. That’s why there are a limited number of truly powerful beasts, there simply isn’t enough food for more of them in most regions.”
“Oh? That’s a useful class skill.” Karl noted.
“Yeah, my talent is to know where and how to hunt things that I have seen before. I can see the Hawk, so I know where one would usually find them, as well as some of their habits, and I built up the rest of the knowledge through observation and practice.” He shrugged.
“Well, it’s still useful to me. I was going to request some higher ranked foods for him, to try to force progression. I started absorbing nutrients much more efficiently a few days ago, so it should be good for both of us.” Karl suggested.
“Just don’t overdo it. If the difference is too great, you won’t be able to absorb anything. It would be like going back to your first few days, before your body adapted, when you couldn’t absorb proper nutrition from the foods.”