Huffing and panting, Milas lept from branch to branch. Asher was running beneath him but couldn't seem to catch up to Milas. A palm sized rock appeared in Asher's hand for a split second before it was thrown at Milas. The rock struck Milas' left foot causing him to miss the branch he was aiming for. He tried to stop himself from falling by grabbing the branch but Asher had already thrown another rock that hit the back of Milas' head.
The sharp pain forced Milas to let go and fall right in front of Asher. Milas rolled to the side and dodged a stomp from Asher. He got on his feet and prepared for a tough fight. Milas suddenly felt two heavy things strike his body simultaneously. One had hit the back of his head and the other hit his upper back. He was pushed forward and right into a heavy uppercut from Asher.
Milas fell on the ground as dark spots danced across his vision. He turned over and stared at the thick canopy above him. There were two people staring down at him as he lay there. Milas opened his mouth once he had recovered enough, " That was one hell of a dropkick, Step. How did you keep up with me in the treetops without me sensing you?"
" You were focused on Asher so I just matched my movements with yours to mask the sound I made." Step said as she offered Milas a hand. The trio slowly left the forest and returned to their rooms. Milas sat on his bed with his eyes closed. Beads of sweat formed across his forehead and his shirt became soaked in sweat in just half an hour.
He was currently circulating blood energy across his body and infusing it into his muscles. This made his muscles strain and heat up as they absorbed the blood energy that he kept channelling into them in waves. This was only one of two reasons why Milas was so sweaty despite being a vampire. The other reason was Van's training.
It had been five days since the principal's announcement and Milas was currently undergoing Van's hellish training. Milas had been pulled into Van's consciousness space everytime he meditated for the past five days and he couldn't leave till two hours passed. Inside the consciousness space, Milas would fight multiple constructs of blood at once. The constructs were often humanoid but would shape shift into monstrous beings at a moments notice.
Milas was suffering from a lot of soul damage since injuries in the consciousness space affect the soul directly and the constructs never held back. Blood leaked out of Milas' nose but his eyes remained closed and circulation of blood energy continued. It was only after two hours that Milas' eyes fluttered open before instantly rolling to the back of the head.
Milas woke up to the loud banging of his door. He groggily opened his eyes and peeked out the window to see that it was almost noon. Opening the door, Milas saw Asher and Step waiting for him. Milas could see that Asher was in a hurry but he reeked of sweat and needed a shower. "Just give me some time to take a bath before we go out again."
" I never understood how you could sleep every morning and sweat buckets during that time. It's already unnatural that you can fall asleep once a day, everyday. But the sweating is just unreasonable. You can't even sweat that much in a fight." Asher complained as he walked into Milas' room.
" Since when were you so observative?" Milas asked as he placed a towel on his shoulder and walked into the bathroom.
" There is a man shaped sweat stain on your bed. Anyone with a brain could figure it out. Plus, your room smells like a monster cave. The only thing missing is the smell of dung." Asher said loud enough for Milas to hear. Step stood at the door of the room with her head down. This wasn't the first time she heard the two talking but she would blush in embarrassment each time. She knew that the two were vulgar beyond measure and would only act normal around her.
Step and Asher gave Milas some privacy to get dressed before the trio left the dorms. The other students were busy running around the academy preparing for the wolf hunt. The trio was among the few that seemed unworried. They walked into the classroom block chatting casually through the halls as they headed to the roof. Once there the trio split up creating some distance between each other but their conversation persisted.
Step and Milas were standing in the sun and Asher stood in the shade. This was their daytime training. Step and Milas would stay in the sun till their skin starts to form blisters then they would immediately fight Asher in the sun. This helped Step and Milas learn how to fight in unfavorable conditions and Asher's challenge was to take down the two without severe injuries. The two could use their weapons but Asher had to fight barehanded against two opponents.
Once the skin of the two vampires became red and partially swollen, the fight began. Step retrieved two daggers from her bracelet and handed one to Milas who still lacked a weapon. Asher dashed forward and threw a jab at Milas who blocked it easily. Milas kept his guard up expecting a follow up that never came. Asher had already switched targets and threw a kick at Step.
Step placed the dagger between herself and the kick, planning on using the force of Asher's kick to inflict tremendous damage. In a feat of unreal flexibility and coordination, Asher twisted his leg at an uncomfortable angle just to avoid the blade. He had sacrificed his balance and Milas was there to make him pay for it. A perfect axe kick connected Asher to the floor before he could process what happened.
Asher instinctively tried to roll away from Milas but Step had other plans. She performed a double heel stomp on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Asher was defeated once Step pressed her dagger against his neck.
"Trying to separate us was a good tactic but it won't work against us since we know you too well. Plus, Step is the only one of us who has an actual fighting technique so she is hard to deal with when she has a dagger. Try to disarm your opponent if you don't have a weapon just to level the playing field." Milas said to Asher who nodded in agreement. The advice came from Van who decided to become the group's secret coach.
Milas could remember Van cursing when they found out exactly what the wolf hunt was. The settlement originaly belonged to an incredibly large wolf pack. The vampires showed up, eliminated the pack and took over the land. The vampires later learned that the mines located under the settlement would release a pulse of energy every five years. The pulse would be unnoticeable or even ignored by other beasts but wolf type creatures were the opposite. All wolf type beasts at and below the intermediate tier would be attracted to the settlement.
Normally, the pulse would barely leave the outskirts of the settlement but the vampires enhanced it. They enhanced the pulse till it could cover an area multiple times the size of the settlement. This ensured that the number of wolves attracted to the area will reach the thousands. Basically a delivery of thousands of basic and intermediate tier beast crystals right at the settlement's doorstep every five years.
Van knew immediately that Milas wouldn't survive alone so he forced Milas to convince the others to train with him. It wasn't easy but the imminent threat of irresistible demise was great motivation. It was during this time that Milas learned more about the other two.
Step was the adopted daughter of a noble who bore only sons. She was doted on by her adopted father but the rest of the family hated her and didn't bother to hide it. It's why she was studying here instead of the other academy that mostly had noble kids and talented elites. Worst of all was the fact that her father's actual children were extremely talented and had the striker class.
Asher was different. He hailed from a common family. His father worked as a guard while he lost his mother on the day he was born. Interestingly enough, Asher had an identical twin brother. This wasn't surprising for Milas who had met a few back in the human territory but it shocked Step. It's also how Milas learned that twins were beyond rare for vampires. With Asher being part ghoul meant that it was even more so.
"It's almost night, let's get some food before class. " Milas said as he led the way to the dining hall. Asher was the only one who technically ate as the other two only drank some blood.