The Riffy Cliffs was an independent town, one forced to rely sorely on itself to survive.
Its location near the border of the Danger Zones made it a place that only a few outsiders dared to approach. Trade caravans avoided the region like a plague, while merchants from the kingdoms refused the route, and why no kingdom was willing to risk resources establishing contact with a settlement so close to the monster territories.
Isolation was not a choice for the Riffy Cliffs, but was merely a condition of survival.
The town had no access to foreign goods, no allies nor reinforcements.
There were no guilds established in it too, making the threat of monsters ever present.
Once inside Riffy Cliffs, a person lived and died within its walls.
And the only reason the settlement continued to exist was because its people hunted.
Every resource of the town came from the wild.
Meat came from beasts.
While clothes came from beast's fur and hides. Tools and weapons came from bones and minerals mined from the ice ground.
The heat runes and enchantments used to provide warmth to the houses of the town was powered by monster cores.
Because of the need of resources from the wild, every resident in the Riffy Cliffs carried a responsibility.
At the age of fifteen, all boys of the Riffy Cliffs officially joined a hunting party. (Girls were only permitted, if they were talented in magic.)
From that age onward they were considered adults, capable of contributing to the town's survival.
Those with sufficient strength could also be selected for the Protective Army, joining the force that was tasked with defending the town when monsters inevitably attacked the walls.
But before a young resident joined their first expedition, they were required to attend the Hunting School.
The training lasted only seven days, and once evaluated to be capable, the young kids were then permitted to be able to join hunting parties.
In those seven days, the young soon to be hunters were taught all the basics of hunting.
Be it tracking, beast identification, group coordination and emergency combat, all basics were covered and broadened on in just seven days.
In merely seven days those frightened teenagers were transformed from clueless kids to capable hunters.
Snow stared at the large frost-covered building before him.
The structure was built from dark stone reinforced with iron beams, its roof buried beneath layers of hardened snow. Frost clung to the windows like pale veins.
This was the Hunting Hall.
After several lectures and more than a little persistence from his father, Snow had finally been forced to attend this stupid school.
Snow stood at the base of the entrance steps, hands buried deep in the pockets of his coat.
He was hesitating.
Part of him considered turning around, just walking back home before anyone noticed.
But he already knew that it was pointless.
Edward would drag him back personally if he had to.
Snow exhaled slowly, his breath forming a pale cloud in the freezing air.
"It's just a week," he muttered to himself.
"How bad could it be?"
Even as he said it, he knew the answer.
Very bad.
By now, the results of his aptitude test had almost certainly spread through the town.
News traveled quickly in a place as small as Riffy Cliffs.
If Lady Agatha had chosen not to conceal the truth, then everyone would already know.
They would know that Snow possessed no mana making him abnormally abnormal.
Snow climbed the steps and pushed the heavy wooden doors open.
Like every building in this town, there was warm air inside.
The hall buzzed with noise.
Nearly twenty youths had gathered, bundled in hunting coats and winter gear. Wooden practice weapons leaned against walls while a large map of the surrounding wilderness dominated the front of the room.
Conversations died almost instantly when Snow entered.
And all heads turned towards him.
And within seconds whispers followed.
Lucky for Snow he couldn't hear most of them.
Snow ignored the looks that were directed at him and proceeded foward.
He moved quietly toward an empty bench near the back of the room.
Just as he sat down, a voice boomed across the hall.
"Settle down!"
The assigned Instructor of this batch of students stepped forward.
The man was large and bulky. His face was scarred with menacing scars.
He was donning a light armour crudely crafted from beast's bones and metals.
Even though the Riffy Cliffs lacked professional forgemasters and sorcerers, it had people who managed to craft weapons and armours, even though the items came out as crude works with no special functions or enchantments.
The large hunter's scarred face carried a permanent scowl as his sharp eyes swept across the room.
When his gaze passed over Snow, it lingered for only a fraction of a second before moving on.
"Welcome to Hunting School," Bram announced.
"Over the next seven days, you'll learn the basics that will keep you alive outside the walls."
He pointed toward the large map.
"Everything beyond this town wants to kill you."
" So l am going to teach you how to kill them instead "
"Out there," he continued, tapping the map, "you will encounter frost wolves, shard boars, ice lizards, and creatures we haven't even classified yet."
He turned toward the students.
"If you panic, you die."
"If you run blindly, you die."
"If you ignore your teammates—"
He slammed his fist against the table.
"You die."
Everyone remained silent.
Bram crossed his arms.
"That's why you're here."
He gestured toward the racks along the wall.
"First lesson will begin with basic weapon handling and formation drills."
The students stood and moved toward the racks.
Snow also stood up to follow.
As he reached for a wooden training blade, he noticed something strange.
The boy beside him who was thin and sharp-eyed, had quickly withdrew his hand when Snow reached for the same rack.
Snow didn't need an explanation to know what was happening. It seemed some of the students had already started avoiding him.
He sighed quietly.
"Bunch of superstitious idiots" He coudn't help but mutter lowly.
This was the problem with a small town like the Riffy Cliffs. When they encountered something unkown, they were usually quick to throw superstitious meaning towards it.
It was also the reason why self proclaimed seers like Agatha held so much power in this place. Their ability to interpret and represent mystical forces made them the ideal council for superstitious idiots like them.
This kinda of behavior from them had always disappointed Snow greatly.
It made them look uncivilized.
Snow ignoring the boy's dramatic reaction then picked up the weapon and stepped back into formation.
The weapon he chose was a wooden short sword, that was light to wield. It had been one of the few weapons that Edward had taught him to master.
Across the hall, Instructor Bram watched them carefully. Once everyone had picked a weapon, he began speaking.