Approval

Reads like a bad thriller," I muttered, turning my face to her. You wanted an honest opinion? She could have it. "That sounds like a toddler wrote it who had a few sentences dictated by a scientist and in between chats a little with an old friend."

"Does that mean I can't hand it over like that?" She asked me, horrified, when the work of ten minutes threatened to slip between her hands.

"That means it wouldn't hurt if you revised it again. I wouldn't describe it as an essay either, it's too short for that. And since it is not useful for objectivity if you keep inserting your personal opinion or inappropriate comments in between, I would also leave them out. So, yes, you should urgently revise that if you don't want Mr. Keiper to cancel the internship for you. ”I handed her the pad back and didn't mind the fact that she moaned pityingly. “At least the spelling is good. In any case, I did not find any errors. "

She grumbled something incomprehensible.

“And adding a paragraph every now and then wouldn't hurt either. On the contrary, it would make reading a lot easier. "

For that I got the death look.

I raised my hands in resignation. "It was just a suggestion." My God, she had asked my opinion, so she shouldn't take her frustration out on me now.

"That's enough!" Thundered Mr. Keiper down in the kennel. A second later it flashed. The crane screamed inhumanly when our mentor's taser hit him and sent him twitching to the ground.

This scene didn't affect me in the least. All proles were monsters and deserved nothing but death. Only the strongest could survive and in the years since I was born life had become one struggle for survival. Anyone who showed compassion for these beings would sooner or later end up on their menu.

"Everyone come here now!"

Mr. Keiper hadn't even shouted to the end, when half of the apprentices on his course were already on their way down to the kennel. Evangeline and I also grabbed our bags and tackled the old stone stairs. She almost stumbled while trying to improve her essay while walking - not a good idea.

We were not allowed to enter the kennel as most of us did not wear protective clothing. So we lined up nicely on the outer bars and impatiently awaited what our mentor had to tell us. No, the impatience wasn't meant sarcastically, but literally. This was the last hour and we all wanted to go home.

The crane whined, but showed Bay its teeth anyway as he struggled to his feet. The apprentice probably took that personally. Annoyed, he kicked a load of sand in the direction of the beast. This withdrew a little. He was still struggling with the spasms from the electric shock and wouldn't attack again anytime soon. But he was still hungry and would take his chance if he got it.

"Eve, put the things away and listen!"

My best friend almost dropped her pad when our mentor spoke to her directly - or rather, yelled in her direction. The pad and pen quickly disappeared into his pocket. All that was left was a small ink stain on her thumb.

Mr. Keiper looked at everyone in turn, paused for a moment at Evangeline, only to then take a look at the rest of his twenty-three apprentices. “Do I have your attention now? Well. Then tell me what mistake Bay made. ”His gaze stayed on my best friend - oh my dear. "Eve, how about you tell us."

"Um ..." she made and gave me a quick look for help, only to shift her weight from one leg to the other. It almost looked like she was nervously prancing on the spot because she really needed to go to the bathroom. "He should have jumped aside when the crane attacked him?"

I wanted to smack my face when I answered. And then also formulated as a question. Oh dear, it would be best if she fell on her knees straight away to crawl across.

Our mentor's face darkened. “I am always happy to see how well you follow the lessons and pay attention. After all, it's all about your survival, so it's no big deal. "

A few meters further Pia giggled again. God, this girl was so silly sometimes.

Mr. Keiper slipped the taser from his hand into the holder on his belt. "Maybe someone else would like to answer the question?"

"He let himself be distracted," came the tall Seth. "He should have felt the conditions on the floor with his foot, but instead he averted his eyes to see where he was stepping, and the crane immediately took advantage of that."

Our mentor nodded. “That was one of the mistakes. And the other?"

Ignorant silence followed. I didn't know the answer either, I just noticed this one mistake.

Mr. Keiper sighed. "Where are we?"

"In the kennel?" Advised Evangeline.

"And what is in this kennel?"

"Sand," Seth said, not very intelligently.

But to everyone's surprise, Mr. Keiper nodded. "Exactly. The whole bottom is made up of soft sand. Does anyone remember what I called? "

Most of them shook their heads, but this time I could contribute something meaningful. "You said he should take care of the stone."

"Hallelujah, there are still apprentices who listen." He let his gaze wander over us again. “I called for him to take care of the stone, even though there is only sand here. Why did I do that? "

Yes, we were probably all wondering that now, because that made no sense. At least not from my point of view.

When the kennel on the opposite side was opened and another person stepped into the aviary, I looked over briefly. That was Domenico, the proles nurse here at the academy. And my best friend right after Evangeline. I waved to him quietly before turning my attention back to our mentor, who was still waiting for an answer.

"None?" He looked from one to the other. "Well. Then listen up. You will do your internship from tomorrow. That means five days a week on the road with a Venator and there you will not face any tamed proles. The beasts out there still have their claws, their teeth, and their poison too. And if they get the chance, they will not only kill you, they will eat you too. The slightest distraction can be fatal. ”He folded his arms behind his back and looked at us one by one again. “Sometimes there will be people, ordinary civilians, who might distract you with shouts, just like I did with Bay. You must never, never lose sight of your goal. "

So it was kind of a demonstration for us that Bay suffered from. Well, the mentors at the Beluosus Academy just had to teach their very own style. And if they had to ridicule an apprentice for that, then that was it. This was about survival, nothing else mattered.

I glanced briefly at Domenico as he carefully approached the rumbling crane to put the chain on so he could bring him back to his cage. Other keepers use the fishing rod - a long stick with a loop at the end - so that they don't have to get too close to the proles. But not so Domenico. He was very particular when it came to caring for these critters anyway. Well, Venators and those who wanted to become such were a little different from the rest of the population - yes, that also included carers like my best friend.

"You have chosen a career path in which you play with your life," continued Mr. Keiper. "And I'm not willing to lose even one of you to these beasts out there, but unfortunately I can't do it alone, you have to help me a little." Sure so far? "

A murmur of approval filled the arena.

"Well. From tomorrow you will either go to the state venators or to the guild and I will not be there to intervene in an emergency and save your ass. Of course you have your teaching coaches, but even they can't always be there to wipe your butts because they would risk their own lives and ... "

Behind Bay, Domenico cursed when the crane hit him with his paw. He stumbled back and held his arm. Did the cattle get him?

The crane growled menacingly.

“Do you need help?” He asked Mr. Keiper.

But Domenico shook his head and grabbed the chain that had fallen into the sand. It struck me that he wasn't using his right arm as he usually did. "No, no, I'm okay, I'll be fine." He grinned at us. "The little one is just in a bad mood."

Which was pretty much the permanent condition with these beasts.

Domenico could be happy that he was wearing a protective suit like the others in the kennel. Sometimes he was so reckless that I wanted to smack him head first against the nearest wall just to instill some sense in him. When he pulled the proles out of the kennel with a "Come on, my darling" behind him, I wasn't the only one who shook my head in disbelief. How could he always be so reckless? It definitely had a bang. Okay, we probably all had that, because who volunteered to train as a monster hunter? But Domenico's bang was just one size bigger.