A return to the courtyard was had. Students started filling in. Headmaster Aldric Shayes awaited them. The sophomores gathered before him. He first welcomed them home and congratulated them for coming this far.

  “Now, for the final exam that you’ve all been wanting to know.” he announced. “It starts tomorrow.”

  He finally revealed the exam would be a grand Corpse elimination mission simulation. The entire batch will have to face and destroy an entire legion of Corpses together. There would be plenty of surprises to be sure, considering how Aldric ran things. They were given the day to discuss strategy.

  The leaders of each squad huddled up by one of the classrooms. They held the meeting. Discussions of strategies bounced back and forth. A legion of Corpses was numbered around at least a thousand. Can they truly hold against such a threat? Avryn started to stand out. He suggested keeping a tight formation and whittling down the Corpse’s numbers. Let the heavy hitters attack the big threats if any popped out.

  Leifren added there could be hidden threats they did not know about. Fyllbar replied that they would just simply deal with them when the the comes.

  A couple hours more passed by, and Leifren was elected to be the leader of this mission after a push by Avryn. The two jested, as the latter didn’t want the responsibility.

  “Oh, you know me so well,” Avryn laughed.

  “Alright, it’s agreed, Leifren shall lead this hunt,” Fyllbar raised his arm.

  His extensive knowledge of Corpses made him the prime choice. The meeting concluded and they went back to the courtyard that evening for the retreat. Open were the doors to the cafeteria for this special night. Avryn enjoyed his sorely-missed steak. He leaned back on his chair,

  “Man it feels like we’re going off to war tomorrow,” he couldn’t contain his excitement. “You think the simulation room can handle a thousand Corpses?”

  “If they do, let’s have a game. One with the least kills buys the winner a dinner,” Harver chimed in.

  Kiria interrupted the fun,

  “May I remind you this is a mission, not a game?”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “We’re probably gonna die in the real deal, but at least I’ll do it with a smile on my face,” Harver rebuked.

  Kiria sighed as she returned to her seat. Valoche and Tvira opted to leave early. They wanted to meditate and focus for tomorrow, so they excused themselves.

  “I just hope we’ll pass,” Jenilah wished.

  The night passed by, and the orange hues of the sun rose after. The day had come. The sophomores had gathered in the simulation rooms.

  “Alright, you already heard from the headmaster. Beat the Corpse legion as a unit, and you all pass. If you can’t, you all fail together,” Fergus laid down the law.

  Hushed murmurs started spreading upon hearing that. It was all or nothing. They were dropped into a huge clearing. The forests and grass were thicker in these parts of the Lost Lands. The dark grey of the skies loomed over like an unwanted guest.

  “Alright, get into formations and be ready for anything,” Leifren led.

  They formed a diamond shape. Melee specialists were on the perimeter, ranged specialists were deeper in the diamond. Harver was excited. This was the closest time he ever felt to the military. Avryn kept his eyes peeled for any movement.

  Many pairs of eyes met them all. The Corpses started to move towards them. Packs of Corpse mutts barked as they went. Shots were fired from the diamond, countering their charge. The wolves were next to charge in, and they did so from all sides. Several direwolves trailed them.

  “Keep the formation steady, and we’ll get through this!” Avryn exclaimed.

  The rest rallied with their war cry. The fight was on. So much of the Corpse’s purple blood painted the battlefield. They were all on pace so far. Aldric looked on as a grin formed across his face. It was about time to throw in the first curveball against the sophomores. He inputted something on the Grand Scribe, a computer, running the simulation.

  A low rolling thunder echoed above the battlefield. Leifren instinctively looked up. His hairs were standing from the static electricity in the air. He swallowed his throat and maintained his composure.

  “It’s a Thunderbird!” he warned the rest of them.

  Avryn took the reins, and commanded Leifren’s squad to deal with the beast. They broke away from the formation to handle it. Avryn kept the formation strong. Corpse swallows and eagles descended with the Thunderbird. Avryn directed the shooters to attack them, and support Leifren’s squad.

  Blood and feathers fell from the sky, as one by one the birds were slain. Fatigue had started to set in. Avryn kept them in check by tactically rotating shooters, and also making most of the bullets.

  Leifren’s squad managed to down the Thunderbird, but not before it sent thunder bolts from the skies and disrupted the formations.

  “Very good,” Aldric sent another curveball.

  The nearby mountains rumbled, rocks tumbled down as a Stone Bull Corpse raged down its path. Fyllbar eyed the beast and called towards his squad. His group rallied to meet there.

  Corpse bears were the sophomore’s next opponents. Fatigue had decreased to the point it’s affecting their combat abilities. Avryn continued assessing the situation and fight. More Corpse eagles came down to assist the bears.

  The formation was reformed as Fyllbar’s squad managed to take down the Corpse bull. Corpse boars were next, swarming the field and charging. Much of the ground has started to become mud with a mix of dirt and so much Corpse blood.

  One final curveball was thrown. A Corpse Chimera descended into the middle of the formation. The beast made quick work in forcing the squads to reroute. Avryn’s squad took this fight. He returned the reins to Leifren.

  The sophomores fought in numerous but small formations now. The Corpse’s numbers were dwindling as efforts were made in this final push but it will be all for nothing if the Chimera still stood. Avryn and Rinna took on the lion’s part. Tvira focused on the goat above it. Valoche swung his axe at the snake part of the Chimera and cleave its head off its body. Tvira shot a well placed arrow through the goat’s throat. The lion left thrashed his body around and took out most of the squad.

  Avryn sounded the rally. He and Rinna complemented each other with a nonstop flurry of attacks. One last blow: Avryn summoned magical, transparent orbs around him and fired the trigger. The explosion was enough to take down the Chimera for good.

  The area was secured after a half hour long effort by the entire sophomore class. Aldric and the other instructors applauded.

  “Very well done, students. Very well done,” he congratulated them.