'Seed of Chaos' System

A/N: The contents of this chapter may not be suitable for all audiences. Please read at your own discretion. (mild gore)

Several of the Heroes groaned in dismay when Captain Swallow led them to the courtyard after lunch ended. Just like the day before, wagons stacked with cages were lined up on one side; today, however, these cages were draped with cloth. Another difference was that this time, a long rack of different weapons was mounted on top of the wooden platform, all of which were melee weapons at least as large as a shortsword. There were various kinds of swords, spears, halberds, and battleaxes, as well as a few unconventional weapons Alesha had neither heard of nor seen before.

Captain Swallow mounted the platform and started to speak. "Alright, Heroes, today will be a little different from yesterday. Each one of you will use a weapon of your choice to kill a variety of notoriously evil humanoid monsters. Don't worry, these are all just as securely restrained as yesterday, so you are in no danger.

"The purpose of this is one, to drive home how hopelessly unfamiliar you all are with weaponry, and two, to acclimate you to killing humanoid foes. No matter how "human" a monster appears, you must not let that sway you! In war, it's kill or be killed. There is no room for mercy. You must always think in terms of 'us' and 'them,' never allowing yourself to feel compassion for the evil that seeks your life. Are there any questions?"

Jake, the too-handsome blond Dragon Knight, raised his hand. 

"Yes, Jake?"

"Isn't it too early for something like this? Most of us had trouble with the training yesterday, and those were clearly monsters. Having us kill humanoids is just too much."

"Normally, perhaps yes, it would be too soon. You all are fresh recruits, after all. However, you lot have the most exceptional Classes of any of the Heroes, so the standards for your performance are higher than the rest. You must be leaders among the Heroes. Such are my orders, and so it will be done. Anyone else?"

The dark elf Hero, the Necromancer, raised his hand next. After being given permission, he spoke. "So what kinda humanoids are we talking, here? Demons, vampires, sirens? Or maybe werewolves?"

Alesha felt a chill at the mention of vampires. Was this person someone she needed to be wary of?

"Certainly, the candidates you mentioned are foes you might face later on," the Captain answered. "For today, we'll be sticking to weaker monstrous humanoids. The training will be more impactful if you are unaware of what you'll be required to kill in advance, however, so I will refrain from answering your question fully. Unless anyone else has questions, we shall begin."

No one else raised their hands.

"Very well then," the Captain announced authoritatively. "Do we have any volunteers to go first?"

No one spoke up for a while, then Max raised his hand lazily. "If you guys are too scared, then I guess I've got no choice," he said with a smirk.

He swaggered up the steps to the platform, effortlessly picked up the largest battleaxe, then stood at the ready. At a gesture from the Captain, soldiers retrieved the first victim-to-be from the covered cages.

A peculiar, olive green-skinned creature with a single long, ridged crimson horn coming from its forehead was dragged onto the platform. It had a snakelike head and neck, red eyes with pupils shaped like the holes of spherical bells, and vicious, needle-like fangs that could be seen even though the mouth was securely buckled shut. As promised, it was humanoid in form, though its digitigrade legs resembled those of a carnivorous dinosaur and its human-like hands had red claws half as long as each of its fingers. Despite its long neck, its head hung below shoulder-height. Even slouched like that, it still stood at almost two and a half meters tall. Chains on its hands, neck and feet clinked together as it was pulled along, barely resisting. 

"This monster is known as a Crimson-Horned Lizardman, and it is naturally much stronger than your average human. They are known for their solitary behavior, but are sometimes found in groups of three. This one has been heavily drugged, so even if you attack it, it should not resist. If it does, I will be right here to stop it. You may begin."

Grinning broadly, Max hefted the battleaxe and swung it with all his might at the creature. His aim was a little off, so it sunk deeply into the Lizardman's shoulder, breaking the collarbone and getting lodged in its flesh. The monster staggered to its knees but did not fall. Yanking hard, Max attempted to extricate his weapon. Instead, the Lizardman's lack of resistance caused it to come along with the axe, falling forward like a domino and wrenching the weapon from Max's grip as he tried to maintain his balance. Max cursed under his breath. Then, putting a foot on the monster's back and grabbing the weapon with both hands, he yanked hard, staggering backwards as it came free. He then cut the monster's neck off with a single downward slice. A golden swirl of light enveloped him and he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Well done," the Captain approved. "I trust you now understand, at least to some extent, the difficulty of wielding a weapon you are unfamiliar with?"

"Yeah, I guess," Max said unhappily. 

The Captain nodded. "Good, then we shall continue. Who's next?"