Monster Trainer Academy, page 16
“Here’s Hana.” Claudette pointed over Abi’s arm to a diamond-shaped area roughly in the center of the continent. Pretty much the whole region was covered in what looked like dense forests. The top two borders of the region were formed by long mountain ranges.
Abigail slid her finger to the left into a region larger than Hana. “And here is Sono. It is represented by the element, water.”
Some of the forests spilled over the arbitrary border, but the standout features of Sono were the three massive lakes covering a good portion of the area. Not only that, but it looked like a large river with smaller tributaries carrying water down from the mountains into the lakes and eventually into the oceans that were on almost every side of Sono.
Most of the other regions had long shorelines, although not as long as Sono’s, except for Hana. It had only a very short shoreline all the way down at the very southernmost point of the area.
“It looks like a cool place,” I commented as my eyes followed the river from one lake to the next on the paper.
“If you like water, it’s a good place to be. Most of the cities are situated around the lakes, even on them, so water is just a huge part of life there,” Sarah explained.
“What about you, Dom?” Claudette asked the quiet man, who looked a little surprised she had addressed him.
“I’m from Tomah,” Dom said quickly and kind of quietly.
Claudette, Abigail, and I immediately put our heads over the map of Haloft that Abi still had in her hands, ready for us to study.
“Here’s Tomah.” Abigail pointed to the region just northeast of Hana. The two areas shared a mountain range border.
Actually, the whole region looked like it was covered in mountainous terrain with some higher peaks dotted throughout. They looked different from the ranges surrounding us, and I realized it was because Tomah was a land of volcanoes.
“That’s region four, so you guys won’t be setting foot there until you’re at least a level 30,” Claudette pointed out. “It’s a cool place, though. It’s the ‘Land of Fire.’”
“Aw, that explains all the volcanoes,” I said.
Dom made a sound of agreement. “Yeah, that and the Burning Mountains. They’ve literally been burning for forever.”
“Whoa, how is that even possible?” I wondered, trying to imagine what that would even look like.
“Well, some people think it’s just because there’s all this molten magma close to the surface because of all the volcanoes, and others say it’s because there’s a lot of natural gas beneath the surface that just continues to burn,” Dom shrugged.
“I’m sure others say it’s just Chalkydri,” Claudette added.
“That’s the phoenix Behemoth who lives in that region.” Abi immediately leaned in and told me because she knew I’d be confused.
“Is it hard not to be able to go home for so long?” Grayson asked.
He brought up a good point. If all the beginner trainers had to start in the Hana region and weren’t allowed to travel to other regions until they got the proper clearance, that meant a lot of trainers would have to spend a lot of time away from home. I guess Abigail had left home, but she could easily travel back to Rattay Lake whenever she felt like it, since it was in the Hana region.
“Oh yeah, that must suck.” As I said the words, I realized that I could never go home. The thought hit me hard, actually.
“It’s just one of the parts of being a trainer,” Dom said thoughtfully. “I knew it might be awhile before I got to go back, but that’s okay. I’m glad I get to see more places, and when I’m ready, I’ll be able to go back and see home again.”
“If you really want to, you could suspend your license to go home,” Sarah remarked, “but then you couldn’t battle or anything.”
“Do a lot of people do that?” I asked, trying to stuff the tumultuous emotions back down deep.
“Most people have waited their whole lives to become trainers, so they just deal with it, but sometimes people do get out here and realize they aren’t ready or that it’s way harder than they thought it would be,” Grayson added to the conversation.
“I guess it’s nice that the option is there,” I replied, a little somberly. I definitely didn’t have that option anymore. Hell, I didn’t even know where home was.
Abigail sensed my sadness, probably by the tone of my voice. She gently drew her hand down my arm in a comforting way. Claudette noticed this, too, and looked at me a little sadly, realizing how I must be feeling. I smiled at them both, grateful that I had such good friends.
“What about you guys?” Grayson asked the inevitable question.
I wasn’t really sure if I should tell Grayson, Dom, and Sarah or if I did, how much I should tell them. I guess this was a question that I would be getting a lot as I met new trainers and people along the way. I had told Abigail and Claudette the truth because I really believed I could trust them, but I couldn’t go around fully trusting everybody.
Then again, maybe if I told the right people, I could get some answers.
“I’m from a little town in the south of Hana called Prilla,” Claudette spoke up as she eyed me, probably also wondering what I was going to say.
Abigail also noticed the struggle within me about what I should do, so she answered next. “I’m from Rattay Lake.”
“Oh, hey, we were just down near there a week or so ago,” Grayson said.
“Then you guys were probably traveling back this way about the same time I was,” Abigail replied with a laugh.
“You’re going to love Sono then,” Sarah said to Abi, and the two women shared a laugh.
“What about you, Tyler?” Grayson asked, putting me right on the spot.
“I’m from… uh…” I hesitated, looking from Claudette to Abigail and probably seeming like a complete idiot to Grayson, Dom, and Sarah.
Claudette and Abigail immediately knew that I wasn’t ready to tell them the truth, and they were on it.
“He’s not from around here,” Abigail blurted out.
At the same time, Claudette said, “He’s from far away.”
There was a bit of an awkward silence, and then Dom asked, “So you’re from another continent?”
I craned my neck and stared intently at Abigail and Claudette, wondering if that was even a thing.
Both women nodded vigorously.
“Yep, he’s from super far away,” Claudette nervously laughed.
“He’s from Britta,” Abigail replied.
“Whoa! That’s super rad,” Grayson exclaimed. “It’s not every day you see people from other continents here.”
“Yeah, especially from Britta. They like to keep to themselves, right, Tyler?” Claudette widened her eyes at me, and Abigail gave me an encouraging nudge.
“Oh, yeah. No. We don’t leave our continent much.” I glanced down at the map that Abigail still held in her hands to see if Britta was even on there.
Abigail noticed and gave a little chuckle, and shoved her book back into her pack. “Yeah, Britta isn’t even on most of our maps. It’s usually just Haloft.”
“You should tell us more about it,” Grayson suggested, sounding eager.
“I will. Sometime.” I smiled at Grayson, whose own smile faltered a bit.
He could definitely sense something was up, but I’m sure he had no real idea what really was bothering me.
“No worries, man.” Grayson’s smile returned to his face. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“Thanks.” I nodded to him, truly glad that the situation wasn’t going to get even more awkward.
Our group’s light, cheerful banter continued as the sun trekked across the sky overhead. We stopped for a little bit to eat. Claudette managed to catch some more rabbits for us, and Dom was more than happy to cook them.
“When will we reach the city?” I asked as we continued on.
“We should arrive just before dark,” Claudette answered. “Right, Grayson?”
“That seems about right,” Grayson nodded.
I was glad those two were also getting along. They really did seem like they had put their differences aside, at least for now. The journey so far had been nothing but pleasant. Even though I couldn’t wait to get to the city, not only to see what it was like, but to join the Academy, I also wanted to prolong this moment for as long as I could.
There was just something about being in nature with a good group of people and our silly monsters that made me feel… home. Even though I hadn’t known any of them all that long, the simple acts of camaraderie and friendship went a long way to making me feel like I actually belonged.
We had been laughing about some stupid joke Grayson told us when Claudette’s trained senses kicked in. She immediately skidded to a stop and held her hands out. “I hear something.”
We all got as quiet as possible. I held my breath even though I knew I should have been using steadying breaths, especially because I had no idea what Claudette heard. Therefore, I had no idea what type of situation this was going to be.
“What is it?” I hissed, exhaling all that stale air.
“It sounds like…” Claudette paused, listening.
I heard something too. It sounded like a little squeaking noise.
“It sounds like something’s hurt.” Abigail immediately set off toward the noise, pushing her way into the trees with reckless abandon.
Claudette held a finger up to Bawfa, telling him to stay put and let go of his reins. She ran off after Abigail with me right on her heels. Dom, Grayson, and Sarah followed after me along with all of our monsters, except for Bawfa.
When we caught up to Abigail, Claudette reached out and grabbed her arm firmly. “We should be careful.”
Abigail had a wild look in her deep eyes as she whipped around. She blinked a couple of times at Claudette and me and then shook the look away. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It could be a trap or something. I just hate to think something is suffering.”
“We can’t help it if we get hurt, too,” Claudette told Abi in a steady voice.
Abigail looked down at the ground. “You’re right.”
“If we’re lucky, it’s not anything like that, though, but we have to be cautious.” Claudette gently let go of Abigail’s arm and took the lead.
The huntress led us quietly through the trees, although the rest of us weren’t nearly as good as moving silently through a dense forest as she was. I cursed myself, but also had to remember that Claudette had years of practice on me. I mean, her entire life depended on her ability to track animals through the forest without them knowing she was there.
The squeaking noise grew louder and more unbearable the closer we got. It really did sound like something was pretty hurt. My heart wrenched inside of me with every terrified squeal, and I knew how much it was tormenting Abi.
Claudette stopped suddenly again and held a hand up. She motioned for us to stay put and cautiously stepped forward as she scanned her surroundings. After she had gone about ten feet away, she kneeled down.
“There’s a monster here!” Claudette called. “It’s stuck in some kind of trap. We’re going to need something to pry it open with.”
Abigail and I immediately sprinted to Claudette with Dom, Sarah, and Grayson right behind us and our monsters, too.
Sure enough, there was a small monster with a fluffy squirrel tail, a furry body, a squirrel-like face, and black leathery wings with its leg caught in a metal trap. Blood gushed from the poor thing’s leg. As soon as it saw Claudette and now the rest of us, it reached out toward us, whimpering and squealing.
“Can we just pry this thing open?” I asked Claudette. I immediately wrapped my hands around the trap but didn’t want to do anything without asking in case I made the situation worse.
“You can, but it’s going to take a lot of muscle. Here.” Claudette pulled out her blade and wiggled the tip against the trap until it slid in between the two metal clamps.
Grayson, Sarah, and I immediately grabbed our own blades and did the same thing while Abigail and Dom pulled as many medical supplies as they could out of their bags.
We pressed down on our blades as hard as we could until the metal trap slowly wedged open. As soon as the monster sensed it could escape, it tried to dart out as fast as it could, but the poor thing collapsed and screeched as it tried to use its leg.
“It’s definitely broken,” Abigail breathed as she knelt down next to the monster.
“It’s okay, little guy,” Dom said to the creature in a soothing voice.
I knelt down next to them and took some more bandages out of my pack and a couple of berries. “Will these help?”
“Definitely.” Dom nodded as he sprayed a vial of red liquid on the creature’s broken leg.
“It’s a charder,” Claudette commented as she knelt down by Abigail and handed her a couple of twigs she had gathered. The two women got to work, making a little splint.
“A charder?” I asked, not completely knowing what she was saying.
The little creature still whimpered slightly, but the effects of the spray, along with the comfort of having so many people around to help, calmed the monster down considerably.
“That’s the type of monster it is,” Sarah said as she broke off a small piece of meat to see if the bat squirrel creature wanted some.
“Oh, I see,” I replied, handing the charder a berry.
Something strange happened when the charder’s tiny paw brushed against my fingertip. A huge lightning bolt of pain stung my leg, only for a millisecond, but it was intense enough for me to know I hadn’t just imagined it.
The pain had been real. It was the same pain the charder felt. I knew because the little brown creature with fuzzy brown wings looked me directly in the eye and held my gaze for longer than I would have thought was usual.
As Claudette and Abigail set the charder’s leg, who had gone back to chewing on the berry I had given him, my GameGrip vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, wondering what kind of notification I could be getting right now.
Congratulations! You have tamed your second monster!
Would you like to view your new monster? Yes or no?
I selected Yes.
Level 1 Earth Charder
Forest and Flying Type Monster
7 Hit Points
6 Attack Points
Skills: Claw, Bite, Rock Throw
Would you like to give your monster a name? Yes or no?
“Um... guys?” I mumbled and stood up, but everyone was a little too preoccupied with the charder to notice.
Had I really just bonded with another monster? I thought it was supposed to be kind of difficult, but it seemed like that one little touch of its paw I had not only felt its pain, but we had bonded in an instant.
I stared back down at the screen of my GameGrip, at the flashing letters.
Would you like to give your monster a name? Yes or no?
I hit Yes as I looked down at the little creature that seemed to feel a lot better now. I glanced down at the blank screen, wondering what I should call him.
“He seems to be feeling a lot better,” Claudette announced happily.
“He is a very chipper one,” Abigail giggled as she carefully and lovingly scooped up the charder.
“Ah, chipper!” I said out loud, even though no one knew what I was even talking about.
“I’ll name him Chipper,” I said to myself as I typed the letters into the GameGrip.
15
You have named your new monster Chipper!
The words flashed once on the screen of my GameGrip, cementing the fact into my brain that I had “tamed” yet another monster, even though I hadn’t done anything at all. From what I had heard so far, catching and taming monsters was somewhat of a struggle, but so far, I had bonded with two monsters without so much as batting an eye.
Okay, well, I had fought off a gang of low-lifes to bond with Titan, but I hadn’t had to struggle or fight to make the bond a thing. It had just been instantaneous with both creatures. Part of me wondered if anyone else had similar experiences, but from the sounds of it, my situation was somewhat of an anomaly.
I realized that having two monsters meant that I now had both Titan and Chipper to look after, but Titan was pretty self-sufficient, and I knew Abigail and Claudette wouldn’t ever let anything happen to either of my monsters or their own.
Also, between the Trainer Centers, Monster Minders, other trainers, and all the kind townspeople I had met so far on my journey, I knew there were all kinds of resources for me to access if I really needed help.
I was also fully aware that having both Titan and Chipper meant that I now had two monsters to battle with, although Chipper would have to wait until his leg was fully healed.
I wasn’t even sure if I could battle with two monsters at once. I hadn’t seen anybody do it yet, but then again, I had really only been around low-level trainers who only had one monster. I was the first that I knew to have two monsters besides Claudette, but she wasn’t technically a trainer.
“Wait, did you just bond with him?” Grayson asked, looking from me to the little fuzzy monster happily curled up in Abigail’s arms.
“I think so.” I looked down at my GameGrip and navigated to the main page. Instead of just an image of Titan next to his stats, there was now an image of the little charder with his information as well.
Claudette peered her head over my arm, glancing down at my GameGrip screen, and I caught a scent of cinnamon hanging in her red hair.
“Yeah, you definitely bonded,” she nodded. “Your device clearly says it, but that seems really impossible.”
“How in the world did that happen so fast?” Sarah asked as she fed Chipper another berry.
“Usually, it takes trainers a lot of time to catch their second monster after they’ve reached level 2. I still don’t even have a second monster, and I’ve been level 2 a little while now,” Grayson commented as he leaned sideways, resting his shoulder on a large tree.
