Chapter 8: Hounds of Hell (1)
Children in the Baskervilles are tested twice a year, midterm and final assessments, until they are 15 years old.
In order to get rid of the stigma of being a family of berserkers, I tend to make the usual liberal arts classes hard... ... In the first place, the reason why they are called the berserker family is because of the practical test that is so difficult that it is murderous.
It was not something young children who had just turned 8 or 9 should go through.
The children of the Baskervilles receive a rigorous education.
From the point of being able to walk on two feet, in order to cultivate basic physical strength, it is made to run continuously on a wide gym and steep hills.
You cannot even lie down outside the designated time.
The Guardian Knights become instructors and polish them like crazy.
During breaks, they plays with a rubber knife, and when they sleep, it is often beside the corpses of large monsters or small monters.
To get them accustomed to the hideous appearance of their prey and their savage ferocity.
And from the age of 8, real training begins.
Meals changed.
In the broth made from boiling chicken bones, various types of fish, which are full of meat, are beaten and boiled until they turn into mush.
Then put it in a tough intestine and boiled again to remove the last bit of fat.
Haggis, which is a regular meal, is eaten right at this stage.
Here, it is salted for storage, and after a long time, it is dried hard and hardened jerky is completed, which is the preserved food that the children of the Baskerville family always carry with them.
Today, children aged 8 or 9 from the Baskervilles were sent to the mountains outside the manor with sacks of these beef jerky.
'Le Rouge' mountain.
This is an alpine area with a harsh environment where only a few vicious monsters can live.
The young hounds of the Baskervilles are thrown here and have to survive for about a month.
Of course, they live only within the restricted area, and at the boundary of the restricted area, guardian knights within the family, called 'hounds', are there to keep the dangers controlled.
The tasks of children abandoned in an unfamiliar environment are as follows.
'Survival', 'If possible, hunt big and strong monsters'.
The original task was simply to 'survive', but the current owner, Hugo Les Baskervilles, said that this task was too easy and added another task.
Sometimes, among the children of the Baskerville family, there were those who would lock themselves in safe caves or tunnels and survive by eating only beef jerky.
'A child who bravely fought against monsters and survived shouldn't get the same evaluation as a child who stayed in a hole like a coward and only ate food.'
This was Hugo's idea.
-If you managed to save your life, 10 points.
– If you managed to save your life without being crippled, 30 points.
-50 points if you drop other children and survive.
-70 points if you catch the monster and survive.
-90 points if you managed to save your life without being crippled despite dropping other children or surviving by catching monsters.
There is no 100 points.
A swordsman dies the moment he becomes conceited.
That were Hugo's instructions.
... Of course, if you die in any situation, you get 0 points.
Of all deaths, dying like a dog is a shame in itself.
Eight-year-old Vikir arrived here today in Le Rogue Mountain.
When you get off the wagon, you can see piles of reddish dirt.
Black ants swarmed on the parched mound.
A dry wind blows through the burnt old trees.
All I see is dark red hue.
The Guardian Knights spoke up.
"You have been handed out badges. As soon as you leave this place, you can steal each other's badges. If you steal the other person's badge, you get extra points."
"Even if you hunt monsters, bonus points are given. However, points are deducted if you are fatally injured. In case of death, all points are lost. Well, at the time of death, the score is already not a problem."
"We do not recommend going outside the restricted area. You must only move within the space we have patroled over the past few days. This is because there are still many unknown areas in Le Rogue Mountain."
The Guardian Knights explained other intricate rules.
But to Vikir, it's just annoying nagging.
'It's been a while since I've seen you.'
He, too, has often been to Le Rogue Mountain.
As a student in his childhood and as an instructor in his old age, it was a place he frequently visited were Le Rogue mountains.
It was a strange and scary place when he was a student, but when he came as an instructor... ... .
'It's became even more scary and unfamiliar place.'
Because he had to search outside of his comfort zone.
The area where the children of the Baskerville family survive is actually more like a cozy cradle.
The real danger is the area outside the boundary guarded by the Guardian Knight instructors.
[forbidden zone].
Outside the ridge called 'Cradle', and beyond a few mountain ranges, powerful monsters and barbarians swarm.
Since the Baskervilles declared this place as their territory, they have steadily pioneered the enemy and beyond the Mountains.
It was also because there was an order from the emperor.
The expansion of the territory of the Baskerville family was the expansion of the territory of the empire, and for this, various tax benefits and autonomy of military facilities were guaranteed.
Before his regression. Vikir also spent a very long time here in the Le Rogue mountains, passing through his days as an examinee, his days as an instructor, and his days as a hunting dog.
So the environment here was very familiar.
Not to mention it was not in the 'Undiscovered Zone' beyond the ridge, nor in the 'Cradle'.
... but. Most children seem to feel unfamiliarity and fear in the environment they are seeing for the first time.
The dry, crumbling dirt cliffs, the pungent wind blowing from the burned forest, the dry ashes, the unpleasant eyes and cries that can be felt from somewhere.
"... Ugh, this is the first time I've ever been in such a bad weather."
"It has become more barren than when I came last year."
"You want me to stay here for a month!?"
8-year-olds cried.
The 9-year-olds were pretending to be indifferent, but their expressions are not good, perhaps because of bad memories from last year.
In fact, this test is a battle between 8-year-olds who want to keep the badge and 9-year-olds who want to steal it.
For today's 8-year-olds, who will turn 9 next year, this experience will be very important.
And in this situation, 8-year-old Vikir stoods still, waiting for the bell to signal the start of his exam.
Nearby, 9-year-old children aiming for Vikir's badge were laughing sinisterly.
"Is that him? He took a seven-minute dive in the River Styx."
"Does that make sense? Well, rumor has it that he strangled two poisonous snakes while he was in the cradle."
"You say that the guy with the perfect writing score? Let's see if he can do well."
A buzzing sound all around.
But there is one strange thing.
"... ... ."
"... ... ."
"... ... ."
The three strongest and fiercest 9-year-olds in the class, Hivero, Mivero, and Lovero, are somehow silent.
The other 9-year-olds just tilted their heads as they were always eager to show Vikir a lesson.
Soon, some of the children who were noticing came forward and began to quarrel with Vikir.
"You cheeky bastard. As soon as the practical evaluation begins, I will beat you to death."
"A guy who isn't so great gets smug."
"You're going to feel like hell here for the next month."
Then Vikir finally responded.
"I don't think I'm great."
Unexpected humility makes 9-year-old children look puzzled.
However, Vikir's words soon made the guys' faces frown.
"... ... You guys are just too weak."
Immediately after that, fresh curse words flew in and stuck.
"You, you, I'm the real best here!"
"Come to the place where the old tree is later in the evening, you son of a bitch!"
"Get out of the way! I'll beat that bastard! Even if he dies, I won't stop!"
The children of the Baskervilles are easily drawn into even low-level provocations.
One-day puppies that hadn't even seen death were baring their fangs that weren't ripe yet.
As an old dog who has gone through all of the deadly battles, he didn't even smile.
Right then.
Ding-
Pavlov van Baskerville, a guardian knight and instructor in charge of the "Head Hound" rang the bell.
The practical test has begun.
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