Monster Hunters ch.6

by Quinn Ireland

The training room was full of all sorts of new, elite equipment. There were weights and bench presses along with countless treadmills leaning up against one side of the room. “C’mon over class!” shouted a teacher from the opposite side of the room from Ben. “Now… welcome everyone!” he said. A few people mumbled some sort of greeting but it remained relatively quiet. This teacher looked very fit. This was not surprising to Ben, being that he was a workout teacher. He had short, black hair with short sideburns. He was wearing a workout tank-top and shorts with running shoes. “Please get into your groups from last Friday,” he said. Someone then raised their hand. It was Kepler.  “Umm… Mr. Lea?” she asked, “You forgot about Ben.” “Ohh… I’m sorry Ben, Please partner up with another group of two.”  Mr. Lea instructed. Ben chose Johnny and Kepler. Ben followed them to the corner with the weights. Johnny picked up a weight, he held it out in front of him with a straight arm. “What’s this class for?” asked Ben. “Moster Hunters need strength,” explained Kepler, “Without it, we couldn’t really fight monsters when we’re older.” Johnny still kept the weight in front of him. Ben found himself looking at Johnny’s arm. He had huge biceps and muscles. Kepler had the same. “How often do you work out in here?” asked Ben. “Every day… we have these same classes every day,” answered Kepler. “Defense, protection against evil, then dangerous forests, then workout hour, then…” she stopped. “You haven’t gone to magic plants or S.P.P yet.” “What’s S.P.P?” asked Ben. “Special Power Practice,” answered Johnny. Ben didn’t wanted to ask if he had a special power but Kepler cut him off: “With these five classes, you will be able to become a fully certified Monster Hunter!” Maybe Ben did belong here. All he needed was support, a lot of it. Just then, Johnny put his arm down. “Yesssss! Two minutes.” he said happily. Kepler now tried to lift one on her own. “Try to beat me!” said Johnny. “You’re record’s going to get destroyed!” replied Kepler. She held it out in front of her for exactly the same time as Johnny. “A tie!” said Johnny. They slapped their hands together in a high-five. “Give it a go Ben,” said Kepler handing him a twenty pound weight. Ben took it reluctantly. He knew that he had to take part in the class. Ben was surprised that he ended up holding it out for a full minute. “Woah, Nobody does a minute on their first try,” exclaimed Johnny. “Try this one.” Johnny handed him a small tiny weight. “Are you kidding?” said Ben, “I could hold this one for an hour!” As soon as Ben took the weight from Johnny’s hand, he dropped it. Johnny laughed, “That, is a heavy-small weight, a seventy- pounder too.” “But how can it be that heavy if it’s so small?” asked Ben. “Magic!” was all Johnny answered. Ben thought about this for a moment, then it came to him. Ever since he had entered this world, it had all been shock. He never really thought that this whole world was magic. He could be here. He had friends. He had support. He had education. But there was one thing that he didn’t have. “Will I get to see my parents at all during the school year?” “Of course, there’s a long one month break halfway into the school year,” replied Kepler. The loud bell chimed across the school grounds. Johnny grabbed Ben’s arm and pulled him out of the classroom. “Magic plants starts now,” he said. The three of them walked down a stone path. Ben now got a good look at the school. It looked like an ancient castle. There were stone holes in the walls and flags at the top of the building bearing the letters M.H on it. “Here’s where you’re going to stay,” said Kepler. Ben found himself looking at a gigantic network of treehouses, The huge trees were overlooking a swamp. Ben usually hated swamps, but this one looked magical. Twisted vines and some sort of strange plant lined trees, the water looked clean and pure. There was also what looked like the edge of a huge dark forest. “Do we live in these houses alone?” asked Ben. “No, we asked Headmaster Bwicket, and you are staying with us!” said Kepler happily. Ben felt relieved. He was never a fan of being alone. By the way,” Kepler spoke, “We call them tree homes. They are all designed the same, cozy and homey.” Ben took one last look at the tree-homes, his home on the school grounds as they disappeared behind the giant trees of the forest. Soon, they came to the entrance to the forest. Ben realized that he was looking at two trees that were perfectly the same height, and width. They were rough and sappy, with lots of holes for the homes of Owls. Roots curved in and out of the thick, dark soil. Some long, and some short. They all looked like the veins on a Giant’s arm. “The Twin Trees,” said Johnny smiling, “Follow me.” Johnny stepped through the trees. Kepler followed with Ben taking up the rear. They were plunged into darkness. The only light that Ben could see was coming from lanterns on the wall. Ben found himself walking down a steep stone staircase with old ancient carvings of demons and monster hunters in battle. After three minutes of  descending, the trio entered a lush green cave with soft light glowing around the cavernous walls. The cave was lined with mushrooms and vines with all of the rocks completely covered in moss. To one side of the cave, there was a large natural hole in the wall, a waterfall fell through it leading to a lake that bathed the cave with a misty green light. The water looked like the cleanest, purest water that Ben had ever seen. It had a greenish-blue tint to it that made it look like a liquid jewel. Kepler walked over to a corner of the cave. A wood shelf stood by the wall. Each of the twelve shelfs had bright red suits all neatly folded. “Cold-proof suits,” said Johnny noticing Ben’s confusion, “They can keep you warm in any form of coldness. “Put it on,” said Kepler. “But… where do I change?” Ben wondered out loud. “Just put it on over your clothes.” replied Johnny. Ben slipped on the suit, He then followed Johnny and Kepler to the edge of the lake. They waded out into the deep. Ben expected there to be some sort of cold to his skin, but felt no different then just moments before. Ben was an average swimmer, so it wasn’t long before he had rolled into a smooth backstroke. The ceiling was covered with the same ancient stone carvings as the staircase along with the greenery and moss. They swam for a long eight minutes before Ben noticed something floating in the water. It was too late. Ben swam right into a something hard and wood. “Ow!” said Ben, “What is that?” Johnny and Kepler looked at each other with a worried expression. Ben watched as a wood box floated back into the darkness. “It’s my fault,” said Johnny to Kepler, “I forgot the water proof headlamps, good thing he only touched the wood.” To Ben, this all didn’t make sense. “What are you talking about?” asked Ben. Kepler paused before saying, “We’ll tell you once we get to the Demons exit.” Ben noticed more lanterns up ahead that were casting a eerie glow around a steep stair- case that was leading up to above ground. Moments later, they were clambering up onto a stone ledge. Water dripped from Ben’s baggy suit. As the droplets hit the water, bubbles plunged into the murky lake. they then came to the surface, stayed there for a moment, before popping and creating small circular ripples. “Wow, all this work just to get to one class!” said Ben breathing heavily. “The classroom is located in the forest, this is the only way to get to the whispering forest.” replied Johnny. Ben started to take off his cold-proof suit. “Don’t!” exclaimed Johnny, “Those are our uniforms for magic plants!” He pointed at Ben’s chest. There was a gold name tag that read: VINKENHUT in bold letters. “We have to wear these crazy outfits all class?” “Relax,” chuckled Kepler, “It’s only one of six classes where you don’t wear your normal uniforms.” “Will you tell me about that creepy wood box now?” asked Ben as they started up the stairs. “First you have to learn the names of everything in this cave.” said Kepler. Ben nodded. Kepler continued, “Those two trees are the Twin Trees, the first stairway underground is called the Ancient Pass, the lake is known as the Lake Of Souls, the waterfall that leads to the lake is called Devils Mouth, and finally the stairway that we’re on right now is the Demons Exit” “Why do I need to know all this?” Ben wondered aloud. “This cave is a huge part of our history,” was all that she replied with. So-far to Ben, the Monster Hunter world was exactly like some sort of fantasy story that he would read. It felt like a dream, although it wasn’t. His best friend was here. “Now,” said Johnny, “Eighteen years ago after Tyborwink claimed the horror forest, he cursed the headmaster at the time, Headmaster Mogel.” Johnnys voice echoed through the thick stone walls. Ben pondered this before answering; “Why didn’t the teachers stop him?” “They did everything they could, but they couldn’t fight with their eyes closed. Tyborwink ended up getting away and came down to this very cave and floated Headmaster Mogel’s body in the Lake Of Souls.” So… that wood box was a cursed dead person’s body?” asked Ben in shock. Johnny and Kepler slowly nodded their heads. “His body floats up and down the lake very slowly, ALWAYS,” said Johnny adding emphases on the last word. “That was lucky, only your head touched it,” added Kepler, “Or you would have been cursed.” “That’s why I was mad that I forgot the headlamps,” said Johnny, “We couldn’t see without them.” This was all starting to lead to one thing in Ben’s mind, this Tyborwink guy didn’t sound very nice.