In the smoothie haven shop, they found themselves seated together on the same table as before. They wanted to get the banana smoothie like last time, but Carl suggested that they give other flavor a chance. So they agreed.
“This place is a serious hot spot for students.” Nathan said, looking at the number of students in the smoothie shop.
The smoothie shop owner, who they nick named smoothie lady, came over and served them their smoothies.
They took their smoothies and tasted it.
“Woah, this flavor tastes great.” Nathan said.
“You would also like the banana flavor; but I can’t tell which one I like best.” Carl said.
“I don’t really know; this flavor tastes great, but I still prefer the banana.” Nao said, putting down her smoothie.
“My mom used to make this smoothie flavor for me back when I was a kid; such good times.” Ray said, happily relishing the taste of the smoothie.
“Hey, I just realized something. We have been friends for a while now, but we still don’t know each other’s background stories.” He added.
“Hmm, by background story, do you mean our family backgrounds?” Carl asked.
“Yeah, plus the reason you all want to be demon hunters.” Ray answered.
“I’ll go first.”
“My family background is really simple; my mom is a medic that works in the demon hunting head quarters. My dad is a normal civilian, who isn’t involved in this demons and demon hunter drama.”
“My mom used to read me tales of great demon hunters, so I grew to admire demon hunters and that is why I aspire to be one.” Ray concluded.
“Okay, my turn.” Nathan said.
“I don’t really know that much about my immediate family; I only know my grandpa and we lived in the mountains.
“My grandpa is a retired, old school demon hunter, who believes that demon hunters shouldn’t rely too much on divine powers, but instead on pure strength and precise training.”
Nathan sighed before he continued,
“So because of that, he started training me since I could walk. That’s the secret behind my strength.” Nathan concluded.
“Cool, what about you Carl?” Ray asked.
“There’s nothing much to say about myself; my father was a demon hunter who died on a mission. A year after his death, I got visited by a demon hunter and that’s how I learnt that demons exist.”
“I just want to follow in the footsteps of my father and be the best demon hunter that I can be.” Carl answered.
“I’m sorry about your father’s death Carl.” Nathan said.
“Yeah, I’m sorry too.” Ray added.
“It’s okay; don’t worry about it.” Carl said quickly, trying to lighten up the mood.
After that, they all looked at Nao, expecting her own background story.
“I’m not sharing.” Nao said, ignoring their stares.
“That’s not fair; you heard our own background stories, so share yours. You know we’ll keep pestering you until you talk.” Carl said.
“There’s nothing special about my family background story; and besides, I’m worried you’ll all treat me differently if you know who I am.” Nao replied.
“You can try us.” Ray said, convincingly.
“I promise we won’t treat you any different than we treat you now.”
Nao thought for a while before letting out a short sigh.
“My mother died when I was a kid; my father is a military general, and he is one of the few people who know about the existence of demons and demon hunters.”
“My father said that he was saved by a demon hunter during a mission and he was highly impressed by the demon hunter’s display of skills. So he began searching for many years on any information about demon hunters, until he eventually discovered this island.
Nao to a quick pause before she continued,
“To cut a long story short, he spoke with the principal and offered to be a huge sponsor to the academy and in exchange, I would be allowed to study and become a demon hunter.”
“That is precisely the reason why the school administration selected me as the assisting class rep.” Nao concluded.
“Wow that’s super cool; your dad is an actual general in the military.” Ray said, excitedly.
“Yeah, and I thought your background story would be a little darker, because of your no friend complex.” Carl added.
“I got betrayed by my best friend in middle school. I don’t want to talk about it; but ever since then, I find it hard to trust people. I don’t even trust you guys completely.” Nao said.
“Well, you said you don’t trust us completely, which means that you do trust us; even though it’s a little. That’s like a compliment coming from you.” Carl said.
“What about you Ken? There’s no way you’re getting out of this one. I had to say my own background story, so tell us yours.” Nao asked.
Kelvin had been silently listening to them. He had been thinking about what to say; he couldn’t possibly tell them that he killed his parents. Kelvin was still traumatized by that experience. On some occasions, images of his parent’s splattered guts would come to his mind, and each time, he would curse and blame himself for their early deaths.
“Um… D-did you m-mean my family b-background story?” Kelvin asked, struggling to find his words.
“Yeah, tell us bro.” Ray answered.
“W-well…M-my famil-’’
“Hey, Ken and I have been best buds for ages. I know everything about him. His uncle is a demon hunter, who trained the both of us for the entrance exams. His parents are just normal civilians that don’t know a thing about the existence of demons.” Carl said, coming to Kelvin’s rescue.
The others seemed satisfied with the answer. They chatted while enjoying their smoothies until the bells that signified the curfew time could be heard.
They walked back to the academy, and went to their separate dorms.
The rest of the week had the same schedule. They wake up, go for study classes, then lunch and finally combat training class.
All the first years tried as much as possible to pay attention to all their classes. They all remember the challenges they faced in the entrance exam and they all wanted to be prepared for the challenges they would face at the end trials.
The days flew by quickly until eventually it was Friday; the day of the end trials.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Sorry for the late upload. I was sick, and I didn’t really have the strength to type, but I’m better now. Thanks for your support, and keep on reading.