“Ah.. this is too much. Why are explorers exams this hard? Especially since nobody wants to team up with me. Their loss, I’ll show them what I am capable of!” He flung back some of his white hair as he stood up from the ground. Three small figures are waiting for Garth to make his next move. They were small and had green and brown skin. One wears a club and the other two are wearing daggers.

Garth charged forward with his sword over his head. He took one big swing and hit all three of his targets. Overcome by the joy that he got his total kill count up to a 10 which means he passes the exam, he did not notice that his sword was beginning to crack. It was becoming dull and it looked old already. The fight took him over an hour while a normal trainee would have got it over within five minutes.

“Yes! I did it!” He shouted while waving his sword in the air.

Now let’s collect their trinkets and walk back. I have a long way ahead of me. It really sucks having to walk all this distance just because the other trainees slaughtered the closer enemies. I would love to see their faces when they see me showing up back there!

Garth arrived back at the entrance of the forest without any problems. His face looked shocked when he saw nobody except the examinator and the analyzer.

“Garth! You made it! Haha, you keep surprising us day after day. Have you gotten your trinkets?” The examinator looked as joyful as ever. He had a big black beard and some fancy armor.

“Is it that surprising I made it? I mean you should not expect anything less from someone like me! I might even feel hurt by your words, sir. What do I do with my collected trinkets?” Garth reached to his side where a small pouch with various items was strung on to his belt.

“You can lay it on the table over there. And then the analyzer will check if each one of them is from a different monster.” The examinator pointed to an old looking table where the analyzer was standing. If one would sit on it it might just break down from the looks of it.

To pass the explorers trainee trial of hunting the trainees needed to hunt monsters. And for each kill, they collect a trinket to be brought back to the entrance of the forest. The forest has been used for trials for a long time and usually doesn’t house any monsters. Advanced explorers catch these monsters and let them loose for the trainees to kill. This would ensure that no trainee was exposed to any danger beyond their expected capabilities.

Garth put his trinkets on the table and the analyzer didn't as much as look at him before she started chanting a spell.

[Analyzing activated]

“I see all of these trinkets are indeed from monsters. All were slain by mister Garth himself as well. I must congratulate you, it looks like you passed the exam. Please head over to John to collect your very first copper badge.” John was the examinator standing a few feet away.

Garth was really happy he finally passed the exam after trying it for a total of 2 times. His first exam didn’t go to plan as he got ganged up on by 5 goblins. Other trainees happened to see it and came to the rescue. Garth didn’t kill any of them so he could not take their trinkets. He was 3 short in the end and had to wait 2 months until he could retake it. This gave him enough time to train and now he made sure he was going to succeed.

“Here’s your badge. Take good care of it until you can buy your next one.” John handed over the copper badge which looks very much like dog tags. Badges come in different materials each representing the rank the holder has.

Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mythril, Orichalcum, Adamantine, Glass steel. This is the order the explorer has to buy their badges in. Getting from copper to iron isn't too much of a task. Going to Glass Steel, on the other hand, is one of the hardest tasks besides exploring an explorer has to go through if he so wishes. Because each of the badges has to be made by a smith, and the materials for the badges become rarer as you rank up they cost quite a hefty sum of gold.

“Thank you, John, sir! I will be sure to take good care of it. But may I ask, where is everybody else?” Garth asked while looking around the area. He hadn’t noticed anybody on his way back either.

“You are the last one! We thought the monsters might have gotten the better of you. That would be a shame seeing that the last exam death has been over 7 years now.”

“That’s a rather weird thing to say. It looks like you care more about the reputation of your training than about your student!”

“Former student that is! You made it so heave ho you go! Where are you headed now? I suppose a good rest would help. But you mentioned Cairn?”

“Yes, Cairn indeed. It’s the center of the country after all, and it’s only a three-day trip. I should be there in no time at all. I’ll be taking my leave now. Thanks for all your hard work!”

“Don’t mention it. It is fun after all! Safe travels Garth.” John smiled as Garth walked down the forest path on to his next destination. A destination where he would meet a very special young man.