Chapter 38: Angelica’s Reward
After the tents were erected, the students were asked to assemble at the front end of the camp. Sankul stood at the forefront, ready to instruct and guide the students through the next phase.
"Before we proceed to anything else," Sankul began, his voice echoing through the forest, "there are a few important rules and expectations I must make clear."
"First of all," he continued, "students from Batch 1 and Batch 2 are allowed to go up to 7 kilometres deep into the forest. You all are an experienced bunch as this is your third camp and I do not need to give a lot of guidance to you all."
"In that range, you will mostly encounter F Rank beasts, and perhaps a few E Rank ones. However, since most of you are already at the E Rank and possess some experience, you should be able to handle it."
He continued, "Students from Batch 3 and Batch 4 are permitted to venture up to 4 kilometres. This zone contains only F Rank beasts."
"And finally," his gaze shifted, "students of Batch 5 and Batch 6, those of you with no prior experience are only allowed to go as far as 2 kilometres. This zone also contains only F Rank beasts but the beasts are not your problem. Most will have already been dealt with by students of other batches and if something is left, it will be dealt by the teachers. You all should be focused on picking up herbs or any other material you feel."
A few murmurs of protest stirred among the students of the fifth and sixth batches, but Sankul ignored them.
"We will try to create an opportunity for you to engage with a beast or two," he added, "so be mentally prepared for it."
"Right now," he continued his voice slightly tense. "There are 24 teachers at the camp and tomorrow few more teachers will be joining us. We will try our very best to not get any harm even close to us."
"But I cannot rule out any untoward accident," he sighed. "You must all remain cautious and must always think before you act."
He then raised a small red, rectangular token in his hand. "This is a signal token."