The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

10. First Class (2)

The party was given 30 minutes to prepare after it was formed.

Although the exact content of the class was not disclosed, following the professor’s advice that “you’ll be stuck in the mountains for a while,” the candidates packed the necessary equipment for outdoor activities in their respective party units.

Well, the necessary equipment was just comfortable clothes, shoes, and a water bottle.

The candidates, who quickly finished their preparations, headed to the outdoor training ground right next to the school grounds.

Although it was called a training ground, it was a place where a huge mountain was entirely remodeled, so from the outside, it looked like nothing more than the back mountain of the school.

“The content of today’s class is ‘Beast Tracking.'”

Professor Lucas pointed to the mountain and continued.

“We have released a total of three beasts in the training ground. Your task is to track the traces left by these beasts and capture the beasts that are somewhere in the mountains.”

“B-beasts?”

Albert asked in a frightened voice.

Beasts.

A term referring to animals and plants mutated by the power of demons, currently considered the most threatening ‘enemy’ to humanity along with demons.

Their strength and abilities vary greatly depending on the individual, but they are basically powerful enough to easily tear apart several people.

“Why, are you scared?”

“N-no! I’m not scared!”

Albert’s expression, saying so, was stiff with tension.

The expressions of the other candidates were not much different.

Although they had the opportunity to observe beasts from a distance during the 1st and 2nd-year classes, it was the first time they had to directly track and hunt beasts released in the wild.

“Not scared, huh? I can clearly see your legs trembling.”

Professor Lucas clicked his tongue and lightly tapped Albert’s stiff head.

Aagh!

Albert screamed and clutched his head.

“Once again, the content of today’s class is ‘tracking’ beasts. Not hunting, but tracking.”

Professor Lucas continued with his arms crossed.

“The beasts to be captured are restricted from actions other than movement by magical tools. In other words, they can only run away.”

“Oh.”

“Phew. I thought…”

Only then did the shadows lift from the candidates’ faces with a low sigh.

“Well, this is just the first class, so it’s like that, but from the mid-term evaluation, there will be no mercy, so be prepared from now on.”

“Ugh.”

The candidates’ expressions darkened again at the professor’s continued words.

“Yes!”

The candidates responded energetically to the professor’s words.

Knowing that their treatment after graduation would vary greatly depending on their comprehensive evaluation ranking during their candidate days, they couldn’t help but cling to every extra point.

“Then let’s start right a….”

“Professor! I have a question!”

“Go ahead.”

“Until what time is the deadline?”

“Ah, right. I forgot to mention that. The deadline is….”

Professor Lucas’s lips curled into a sly smile.

“There is none.”

“……?”

At the professor’s continued words, a ‘?’ appeared in the candidates’ eyes.

“Whether it takes hours or days to capture the released beasts. The class will continue until all three are captured.”

“D-Days?”

“Um… Professor. What about other classes….”

“Regarding practical combat training, it will be considered a legitimate absence, so don’t worry and focus on the class.”

“…….”

Seeing Professor Lucas’s wicked smile, as if daring them to think of escaping, the candidates looked distressed.

“Alright, then we’ll start with a five-minute interval between each party!”

Hahaha!

With Professor Lucas’s hearty laughter, the first outdoor class of the third year began.

* * *

‘A beast tracking class.’

When I first heard about forming a party, my memory was hazy.

Only now did memories of my past life come back.

‘Surely, we barely managed to capture all three beasts on the third day.’

Of course, the party I was in didn’t even find a shadow of a beast, let alone capture one.

I remembered the hardship of wandering the mountains for three days, almost starving, until all the beasts were captured.

“It’s almost our turn.”

“Ah, yes.”

At Iris’s call, I stood up.

“Ugh… Saintess, do I really have to go with that guy?”

“It’s a party class. Of course, you have to go together.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Camilla glared at me with a look of utter displeasure.

“Why did you even suggest a party to such a brute?”

I was curious about that too.

‘Why did she ask me to join the same party?’

Wasn’t she the one who slapped me and cursed at me not too long ago?

Since then, we hadn’t run into each other or had any conversations, so the accumulated resentment couldn’t have disappeared.

“Hmm… Who knows?”

Iris glanced at me with a mysterious smile.

“It’s a secret.”

“Ugh.”

“By the way, if we don’t leave soon, the professor will scold us.”

“Sigh. Yes, I understand.”

Camilla sighed as if she had no choice and turned to look at me.

“I heard you’ve been hiding your strength until now?”

“Well… I had my reasons.”

In fact, I wasn’t hiding my strength, but since the rumor had spread, there was no reason to deny it.

It’s not like anyone would believe me if I said I had returned from the future.

“I don’t know what your reasons are, but don’t think you’ll get away easily like last time.”

Camilla glared at me fiercely, gripping the hilt of her sword at her waist.

I swallowed a chuckle and nodded.

I had no intention of losing control and acting impulsively like last time, but a question naturally arose.

‘Can I beat Camilla if I go all out now?’

Honestly, the reason I could overpower Camilla with one hand before was because she was off guard.

At that time, she hadn’t even used her holy mark.

If I were to face her again with all my might.

‘I don’t know.’

Even though I found a way to accumulate magical power unlike in my previous life, it’s only been a week.

I couldn’t compare to her, who had been steadily growing through breathing techniques since childhood.

Of course, if we only talk about pure skill, I could confidently say that I had reached a level she couldn’t dare to challenge, but that was only when it came to skills.

‘Honestly, I don’t even know what level I’m at right now.’

There were three periods in my previous life when I grew significantly.

The first was during my mercenary life at the bottom.

The second was while receiving teachings from my comrades, including Yuren, Berald, and Sophia.

And the last was.

‘While wandering the continent alone in search of the primordial fire.’

At that time, there was no one to compare to, so it was difficult to confirm what level I had reached.

But one thing I could be sure of.

‘I won’t go down easily.’

No matter how promising an individual Camilla Bedice was, being considered a candidate for the ‘Sword of the Holy Kingdom’.

Right now, she was just an inexperienced candidate who hadn’t even fought a proper battle.

“What are you dawdling for?”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Hmph. Just because it’s a class, don’t think you can slack off. As long as you’re in the same party as me, think of it as a real battle and move accordingly.”

Camilla snorted and walked away with confident steps.

“By the way, where should we start tracking?”

Iris looked around with a perplexed expression.

They called it monster tracking, but how were they supposed to find a monster hiding somewhere in this vast mountain?

“Haha. You don’t need to worry about that, Saintess!”

Camilla puffed out her chest with a confident expression.

“I got pretty good grades in the tracking class we took last year. Just trust me and follow.”

“Oh, right. You came to brag to me back then. Said you got first place.”

“Th-that was… ahem. Please forget about that.”

“Why~ It was cute.”

“L-let’s get going. At this rate, another party will beat us to it.”

Camilla hastily quickened her steps, her face blushing softly as if fleeing.

* * *

The pursuit of the beast began under Camilla’s command.

Indeed, it seemed that her top marks in tracking class were no lie; her tracking skills were quite impressive.

“The direction of the broken branches… and the footprints indicate it moved this way.”

Camilla carefully observed her surroundings, following the beast’s traces.

After about an hour of moving,

“Huh…? What?”

Camilla’s expression turned to one of confusion as the traces suddenly disappeared.

“Ugh…”

Camilla stomped her feet, looking back at Iris who was following her.

“There’s no need to make that face. It’s your first time tracking a beast directly, right?”

“B-but!”

“It’s okay.”

Iris comforted Camilla with a gentle smile.

She then turned to me and continued speaking.

“We’ll have to start over from the beginning.”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

I shook my head and stepped forward.

“…No need? What do you mean?”

“The traces haven’t disappeared; we just haven’t found them yet.”

“What?”

I pointed to a thin black hair caught in the bark of a nearby tree.

It was stuck at a height of 10 meters, so it couldn’t be seen without craning one’s neck upward.

“Ah…!”

“There are no scratch marks on the tree, but the hair was found high up. It’s a creature that climbs trees well.”

Why did it suddenly climb up the tree after moving on the ground?

I brushed aside the fallen leaves under the tree.

As expected.

There lay the droppings, presumably left by the beast.

‘Whether it’s a human or a beast, they’re most vulnerable when they defecate.’

It must have climbed up the tree for safety.

“Looks like it hasn’t been long since it did its business.”

I picked up a bit of the feces rolling on the ground and put it in my mouth.

“Eek!”

I heard the voices of two women gasping in shock from behind.

“Ptooey.”

I spat out the feces I had put in my mouth and continued speaking.

“It’s not very moist, and it has a strong stench and bitter taste. It’s likely that a feline carnivore has mutated into a beast.”

Considering its ability to climb trees, it’s almost certain.

“Judging by the slight taste of blood, its health isn’t very good.”

This is probably due to the magical tool Professor Lucas mentioned.

“Considering its movement patterns and health so far, it probably hasn’t traveled far by climbing trees.”

“……”

As I stood up, Camilla took a few hesitant steps back.

“Why?”

“You, you just… ate the beast’s feces….”

“There’s nothing more reliable for checking the state of a beast than its excrement. This is even mentioned in the tracking manual, isn’t it?”

Even a beast is ultimately a creature that eats, sleeps, and defecates.

“I know that, but….”

Usually, people just look at it with their eyes; even seasoned heroes rarely put it in their mouths.

Only low-ranking mercenaries, who live day-to-day, might do such a thing.

“This is much more accurate than just looking at it.”

“Still, isn’t it unnecessary to eat it?”

“Right now, it’s just training, so it doesn’t matter, but what if it were a real situation? What if the beast was hiding and waiting to ambush you?”

In such a case, knowing the state of the beast in advance could be a matter of life and death.

“That’s….”

“Wasn’t it you who said we should treat this like a real situation, not just training?”

“……”

Camilla swallowed her words and lowered her head, unable to argue.

I could see her clenched fist trembling,

on the verge of bursting into tears.

‘Well, of course.’

In front of the saint, who could be called her lord,

she had boasted loudly, insisting everyone follow her,

only to lose her way along the journey.

Just a week ago, she had been utterly humiliated

by a candidate who had bested her in both logic and skill.

With her strong pride,

the blow to her spirit must have been significant.

“Ugh…”

Camilla, gnawing at her lips, approached with teary eyes.

Thud!

She stomped her foot and yanked at my collar.

“I-I can do it too!”

“Huh?”

What exactly can you do?

“I can eat poop too!”

“……”

No.

I mean, I get what you’re trying to say,

but hearing it like this feels a bit off, doesn’t it?

“What’s the big deal about eating some poop that you’re acting all high and mighty?”

“What kind of life allows someone to boast about eating poop?”

“I can do it too! If I set my mind to it!”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”

I understand, so just calm down a bit.

“Hmph! What do you know? So, what you’re saying is,

you want me to put that… that filthy thing in my mouth right in front of you?!”

“Excuse me?”

What kind of nonsense is she spouting now?

“You… you bad person…!”

“No.”

Please, just stop.

It feels like the genre has suddenly shifted.