Hyemi admired the fresh morning air on the way to her medicinal herb class. There was a slight chill, but it wasn’t too unbearable. She made sure to restock some of her own herbs in case Miss Fresia wanted to test her again. No matter what, she was going to prove herself to the teacher who seemed to dislike warriors. 

The moment she stepped foot into the garden, she knew she would love it. The garden was wheel-shaped, a massive circle of greenery and herbs. And enclosing the area were a multitude of white, luminous rocks. The garden was wide and had rows upon rows of spices, herbs, plants, and numerous pots (with plants in them of course). A peculiar fragrant smell seemed to associate itself with the garden. Hyemi ventured into the garden and reached the central clearing, where many other students and of course Miss Fresia were. Soon, class started. The teacher cleared before speaking.

“Hello all, today we begin learning more about the value and effects of medicine found in nature. Various herbs, spices, plants, and fungi all have important roles in not only remedial usage but also for cooking and fragrance-making. Although healing magic does exist, we mustn’t forget the medicine found in our backyards and in our forests. In fact, certain herbs can aid our healing efficacy.” Numerous heads nodded in agreement.

Miss Fresia set everyone to work immediately. To get the students acclimated to their new workspace, she handed them parchment in which they would list each plant found in the garden. Hyemi looked over the paper and saw that she would have to write down details about each plant. She surveyed the garden and knew it would take some painstaking effort for her to finish this. 

“You have until the end of class to give me your work. You may be judged as healers, but in this class, you are training under the herbalist field. Herbalists should be detailed yet quick in their observations, and most of these plants should be familiar to you all. I will be going around if you have any difficulties. Those with the most answers filled out will be given a higher amount of gold.” Hyemi’s ears perked at the sound of money.

Everyone was told that the classes at Zenith would have some sort of monetary component because the students were living at the school and they needed to cover their living expenses.  It would also prepare them for the undertaking of quests in their future. But upon hearing that faring better in assignments would reward them with more gold, Hyemi needed to do well. 

The students set off rather quickly. Hyemi got to work immediately, the reward in mind. She was doing pretty well a third into the class period when she spotted a tiny patch of suspicious flowers that seemed like your average flower, but the naturally jagged and spear-like leaves threw her off. It was surrounded by a ring of light blue sticks. Hyemi noticed that these little enclosement was enchanted to make the soil unnaturally cold, to mimic harsh, inhospitable conditions.

“What in the hell is this?” She blurted out loud, unintentionally speaking her thoughts.

“That’s the kathkusa succulent,” A female’s voice answered. Immediately, Hyemi thought Miss Fresia had come around just to mock her but it was a young girl wearing a simple white headband and normal garbs. The girl regarded Hyemi with a bright smile.

She continued, “it’s usually found in very frigid mountaintops or arctic regions. It also doubles the user’s strength if the leaves are consumed. It’s not typically found in Taza.” Hyemi nodded at the girl’s words, as she wrote down the details.

“I felt like I’ve seen it before in a book, but I must’ve not really read into it,” Hyemi admitted. The other girl giggled and said it was okay, she didn’t even know some of the most common summer and spring herbs and flowers as well. Hyemi was curious and inquired why.

“My name is Sejeong. I came from the small mountain town of Vindo, where it gets much colder than here. Some plants that can grow well here in these warmer areas don’t stand a chance in Vindo, sadly. So I specialize more in the plants found back in Vindo,” the girl introduced herself. Hyemi also relayed her self-introduction.

“Since you helped me with this one, I can show you what I got and if there’s something you don’t know, I can tell you about it,” Hyemi offered.

“Sounds good! I hope we can finish most of it before class ends,” Sejeong laughs uncomfortably, obviously a bit worried about that part. 

 

When class ended, Hyemi and Sejeong had pretty much completed the entire sheet. It was difficult, but because the two had started at different areas, they covered a considerable amount of ground. The two also chatted a lot while documenting the plants. Hyemi told Sejeong about her mother being a cleric and authoring a medicine book about various herbs and plants. Sejeong talked about her hometown and how she came to Taza as an expert of plants grown in harsher conditions. 

“Do you have another class now?” Sejeong asked her as they walked out. Hyemi felt so accomplished that she almost forgot that she had Physical Combat training now. She had such a fun time refreshing her memory on something that she was good at, but now she had to do something that she was partial to. 

“Yeah, I do actually…” Hyemi responded. She didn’t even tell Sejeong that she wasn’t judged to be in the Healer path, and she didn’t want to freak out her new friend by telling her that the next class involved whacking people with wooden swords and all sorts of rowdiness. 

“I have recovery class now. Do you take that class as well?” Sejeong queried, to which Hyemi just shook her head and excused herself before things got complicated.

“I have to go now! See you later!” Hyemi tipped her head before dashing away. 

“Okay! Thanks for the help today!” Sejeong called after her. 

Hyemi kept a reasonable speed until she was sure Sejeong was out of sight and out of mind. She slowed down to a brisk walk because she didn’t want to be late. 

She reached the fields and thankfully spotted the tall instructor with the broad shoulders from the other day. There were around 20-30 other students, all massaging their muscles for the physical training. However, as she approached, she saw the other students, dozens of males, pause and eye her out. Hyemi instantly turned sour and apprehensive as she mirrored the reactions of her “classmates”; it was like an instinct to show her immediate facial expressions to stimuli. 

Hyemi heard low whispers and snickering as she passed a few men. Youjin caught sight of Hyemi and his face displayed shock at first, but then it disappeared to a stern face. He gathered all the students closer to form a tighter clump when it seemed the appropriate time to start class approached, then made an announcement.

“Now that everyone’s here, we’ll start combat training immediately. First we’ll do five laps around this field. Then we’ll stretch a little bit more to prepare for more physical strain. We’ll be beginning with the basic swordplay, then practicing techniques you may have learned in the past with other people. We’ll continue those bouts until I can get a good reading of the general skill level here. You can all put your weapons on the side here, if you have any.” He gestured to a large rock wall a few feet away. Hyemi placed her daggers on the side, while the men snickered at her, placing their various swords down.

“You only have daggers, little girl?” A chunkier man taunted. 

I will kick your tubby, just wait, her mind simmered, ignoring it.

After the weapons were set side, Youjin led them to the edge of the field and after holding the signal, let them all begin. 

Hyemi disliked running, but it was something that she was rather good at. She excelled at it when she was young, having received special training and supervision from her father. And it seemed like she still had it in her. Her stamina was a bit lower than expected, but her pace allowed her to comfortably do the laps. After some time, she spotted Youjin.

He started clapping his hands loudly and bellowed, “everyone gather here now! We’re finished.” It took a few more minutes for everyone else to rejoin. Hyemi then found out she wasn’t the only one worn out by this; other guys were red in the face, extremely damp with sweat (well she was too), or even both. She spotted the chunky man among them. He was wheezing up a storm. 

Serves you right, she ranted in her mind.

Youjin directly went up to the ones who didn’t finish and took notes of them on his book, scribbling furiously after demanding their names. Some of the students were apologizing but he just ignored them and bluntly asked for their names. At last, their teacher went to the front and relayed his honest thoughts to them.

“A lot of you are out of shape and lack tenacity. Some of you finished well, and some were quite unbelievable.” Youjin paused to stare right at Hyemi, to which she shrank a little. “Those who couldn’t finish, I marked you down. If you continue to do poorly, by the end of this class you will be cut. You’ll have ten minutes to rest until we stretch and move on.” And with that, break time began.

Hyemi distanced herself from the other students at this time to catch her breath properly, but they didn’t even try to harass her. Everyone seemed too tired or fearful of how she managed such a feat. Youjin reappeared with some guards, all lugging a giant chest. They all exhaled a breath and dropped it with a loud slam. The chest opened, revealing dozens of wooden swords. As per schedule, they practiced and rehearsed some of the previous basic combat stances and techniques.

Next was the sparring.

Each student received a wooden sword. Probably to keep everything safe, she thought. However, she knew the substitute swords were not exactly the definition of safe. They were a bit heavy and of course hollow yet solid. A direct hit would be painful to say the least.

“To make sure no one has an unfair advantage with the weapons that you have all used before, I have provided you with these practice swords. We will go over some basic stances and then spar.” As per schedule, they practiced and rehearsed some of the previous basic combat stances and techniques. After some guidance from Youjin, everyone seemed to be prepared. Their instructor spoke again after that was finished.

“I advise the ones who fared poorly in the laps to volunteer to go first. Use your best judgment and choose a partner. You will perform a few bouts or until I say stop. Infusing your magical energy with these plain wooden swords will not give you as much of a huge effect as it would with standard weapons, so keep that in mind. Now, who would like to go first?” Youjin asked. 

As expected, the more out of shape students madly volunteered in order to not be eliminated on the first day. As Hyemi watched the students spar, hearing the sharp cracks of wood clashing against wood, she realized how serious this training was. They were trained for combat throughout their younger years in school, but this was where they displayed the fruits of their labor. Hyemi felt a great sense of urgency rise up within her. She scanned and gauged the other students all around her, all of whom which were male. 

I have to prove myself, there is too much at stake if I fail now.

Suddenly, she heard a quick, sharp inhale, snapping her out of her thoughts. She saw a student caught by the other, wooden blade pressed tautly against their neck, signaling defeat. Youjin called it off, and cheers sounded from the students, drunk off of the energy bursting in the competitors.

“Next?” Youjin questioned, scanning the students. His eyes landed on Hyemi, and they met eyes. Her face felt hotter and she looked away. 

Why is he so handsome, she demanded in her head. 

“I’ll go next!” Hyemi turned her head and saw the chubby man shouldering his way through the crowd. He caught sight of her and smirked. He raised a hand, pointing towards her, when suddenly, the man next to him cut him off, holding out an arm to block him. This man, who had a somewhat intense gaze, was also staring right at Hyemi, having followed the pudgier man’s line of vision.

“I’m next. And I choose her.” Everyone turned to her as this man, with hair the color of garnet and a body that was muscular yet lean, spoke out. However, the chubby man was not pleased.

“What? I said I’m ne--” He didn’t get to finish his words because the muscular man hit him with a backward clenched fist, causing the fatter man to stumble backward, the breath knocked right out of him. The fist landed precisely on the man’s solar plexus, which was more than enough to have him incapacitated. What surprised Hyemi was that the muscular man hit him in a vital area without even looking backward. She instantly felt a bit fearful, but made her way to the middle, clenching her wooden sword.

“State your names,” Youjin said. Hyemi looked towards her instructor, trying to communicate her wish for him to save her. Don’t let me fight this dude, he took out pudgy with one hit. I don’t know what kind of sadistic freak this guy is for wanting to spar with a girl. She then glanced at her challenger, who had an amused grin on his face. 

 

“Bang Minsoo,” he spoke clearly, his eyes now locked on Hyemi. She spoke her name out loud, feeling a bit tense. This was a spar, a practice match. So it shouldn’t be an all-out brawl. Youjin raised a hand, in the center of the two. The other students were now deathly silent, breaths hitched in anticipation. 

“Begin!” Their instructor announced. However, the action did not immediately start. Hyemi’s body was tensed, anticipating her opponent to attack. But Minsoo did not move. He stood there, sword hefted on his back, eyeing her out. 

If he won’t approach me, I will! Hyemi decided, dashing forward. She lunged, swinging her sword. Minsoo snorted, slamming his sword with a quick . Hyemi gasped and parried his blow, but his strength was explosive. She leapt backward, the crack of Minsoo’s weapon made her hands ache. He chuckled again when he saw Hyemi panting. 

“That’s not going to work,” Minsoo informed with a gravelly tone. 

Hyemi rushed forward again, but decided to quicken her blows. She swung her wooden blade in succession, but Minsoo kept blocking her attacks. Then, when their swords collided again, Minsoo shoved Hyemi roughly with his free hand. She lost control of her weapon and slid onto the field painfully. The other students began jeering and egging her on. What she didn’t see, though, was Youjin’s fierce look that he gave them, silencing their outbursts. 

“Is that all?” Minsoo said with casual disinterest. 

“Why did you choose me? To play with me?” She accused. Minsoo began chuckling again.

“I want to show you that being a warrior is more than just a class given to you by the Stone,” he began. “Only the strong become respected warriors. I am not letting those unworthy of becoming powerful to train as warriors. I’ll wipe them out,” Minsoo’s words rung in Hyemi’s head. He’s… got a point. She understood the vindication in his statement. But, there was a flaw in his thinking. 

“Those that work hard will also become stronger… You can’t just eliminate who you believe isn’t worthy. Everyone has their own path, and I’m not talking about the one the Stone gave us.” When Hyemi spoke, everyone listened intently. Youjin also waited to see what she would say next.

“We are all here for our own reasons. You are not the judge of our fates.” Hyemi took a deep breath, summoning her strength. He sees me as a girl who got mistakenly named as a warrior. Well, I’m going to show him I’m the daughter of a respected soldier of the Royal Army. No, I’m going to show him who Jeon Hyemi is. I’m not giving up. She focused solely on her target, eliminating the distractions around her. 

With a burst of speed, she shot forward again. She infused more magical energy in the wooden weapon. She had to use a bit more than usual just to not be overwhelmed by Minsoo’s power, but she had to push herself. Hyemi attacked, and this time, Minsoo fought back, instead of just countering her blows. But Hyemi was more on the offensive. Their magically-imbued weapons clashed with loud cracks. She noticed that Minsoo’s hits were actually a bit slower than hers. So, she increased her speed. 

Minsoo was taken aback and had to go more on the defensive this time. Just because she was a girl, it doesn’t mean that her sword strikes wouldn’t hurt. He started backstepping. The crowd started heating up again, because of the slow reversal taking place. Suddenly, Hyemi leapt back momentarily after a clash with Minsoo’s weapon.

She sprinted, sword ready. Minsoo swung to parry her blow, but instead, Hyemi evaded and punched him in the chest. Both were sent backward. Minsoo coughed, not expecting a slug. Hyemi winced, her fist on fire. It felt like she had just punched a boulder. 

“That was unexpected,” Minsoo commented, the smile reappearing on his face. 

“I’m not done yet,” Hyemi responded, dashing towards him. The two traded and blocked each other’s blows. She attempted to perform a technique she learned in academy; during a swordfight, quickly sidestepping and spinning your body fast enough could allow the blade to reverse direction and land a hit. Hyemi maneuvered, but Minsoo smartly countered with a small retreat. When Hyemi attempted to regain her balance, her attacker charged, sword ready. 

Hyemi was shocked at his reflexes. She barely blocked his heavy blow, slamming down onto her knees. Minsoo kicked her, causing her to fly back. She coughed and gasped for air, pain screaming in her abdomen. 

“I don’t want to hurt you that badly, although you did surprise me.” Minsoo was calm this whole time. Hyemi gritted her teeth. There was simply no way for her to match his strength. He was bigger and bulkier than her. But she had to keep trying. She wasn’t going down like this. Getting up, Hyemi ran directly at her opponent. 

She swung her sword sidewards, but this time, Minsoo brought his own weapon down powerfully from over his head in response. The collision forced her wooden sword to bear the weight of the blow and made direct contact with her left thigh. With a cry, Hyemi fell again onto her knees, slumping down onto the floor. Overhead, Minsoo held his wooden sword down towards her. He had won.

Hyemi was rushed to the infirmary to rest. She was given some ointment and her injured thigh was bandaged. The sheer impact of the shouldered blow was sure to leave a nasty bruise there. She sighed, fatigued. 

He was too much… Damn it. Did I ruin my chances of being in the class? Hyemi was wrapped in her inner thoughts while she rested. She couldn’t be kicked out of that class. She really wanted to get stronger, it was the only way to prove those other students that they were wrong for judging her just because she was a female. 

“Excuse me,” Hyemi heard a voice. She turned over on the bed and saw none other than her instructor, Youjin, enter the room. Shocked, Hyemi sat up. Why did he visit her? Was he going to officially tell her that she was kicked out of his class?

“Ah, Sir Youjin…” She saw her daggers in his hand as he came to stand by her bedside. He put down her weapons. He asked about her current condition, and she told him that she was recovering and needed rest.

“That’s a relief, then.” His words made her blush. 

“You didn’t need to personally come to give me my--”

“Since you were escorted before class ended, I came to tell you that you have passed the first day.” Hyemi couldn’t hide the shock and disbelief on her face. 

“I did?” 

“Yes, you show great promise. However, I have to remind you… Things will continue to get tougher from here on out. As long as you improve and do not get too hurt every time, you should be able to keep up. Just don’t be reckless during combat practice, do you understand?” Hyemi felt Youjin’s tone soften and take on a warmer feel at the end of his sentence, or was she imagining it? 

“But the ones who can’t keep up will be eliminated, right? And then they can’t be warriors.” Hyemi spoke, her tone flattening. She did not want to think of failure and defeat. And imagining being kicked out of class, it would mean the end. 

“People who fail to prove they can handle the class will be cut, that is true,” Youjin explained, “But they are transferred to a rigorous practice class where they continue their training. They develop their skills and strengthen their physical capabilities until they can complete a test, and then they can rejoin the class.” Hyemi was surprised yet again. So it wasn’t the end, after all.

“Remember, everyone who has gotten into Zenith has been chosen for a reason. We are not throwing away individuals with their own untapped potential. But, their determination is what allows them to excel.” Hyemi heeded her instructor’s words. After some time, Youjin had to leave.

“You should be okay if you rest for an hour or two. I’ll see you next class.” He bids her goodbye and she thanks him for visiting her, sharing one last look. She still can’t shake off the thought that Youjin really is handsome, and thoughtful too. 

That thought is gonna cause me a lot of problems in this class, she fretted in her mind.