Emotion Hunter: System Awakening.

[Riven's Pov]

The other trainees were already engaging, working alongside their mentors with varying degrees of success.

Riven could see Marcus struggling to coordinate with Valdez...his usual enhancement connection felt weak and unstable under the dampeners.

A goblin rushed toward Riven, and he instinctively reached for my emotion looting system.

The fear in the courtyard was thick enough to cut, but when he tried to absorb it, the power felt sluggish and incomplete.

"Any problem, Mr. Duke?" Cross asked conversationally, even as he efficiently dispatched two goblins with precise knife work.

Riven ducked under a goblin's claws and managed to land a solid hit on its abdomen, but without my usual strength boost, it barely staggered the creature. "The dampeners are interfering with my system."

"Exactly how it should be. Now show me how you adapt when your crutches are removed." Cross said with a toothy grin.

Another goblin lunged at Riven with its jaw wide open, and then he realized this wasn't just about surviving monsters.

This was about breaking down everything we thought we knew about our abilities and rebuilding them according to Guild specifications.

He rolled away from the attack and came up with the knife ready, trying to think tactically instead of relying on raw power.

The goblin was faster and stronger, but it was also predictable in its aggression.

When it charged again, he sidestepped and used its momentum against it, driving the blade into its side rather than trying to overpower it directly.

"That's better," Cross noted. "But you're still thinking like an independent operator. The Guild doctrine emphasizes team coordination over individual heroics."

He then gestured toward where two other trainees were working together to take down a larger goblin variant.

Their movements were synchronized,

One of the trainees hits the goblin chin with an uppercut while the other one finished it off when he saw an opening, by using his knife to slice its neck open.

each one of them seems to be covering the other's weaknesses.

"But I work better with Marcus," Riven said, parrying another attack.

"Mr. Chen isn't always going to be available you know...The Guild needs Hunters who can function effectively with any partner, in any situation."

The veil trembled again...

A new wave of goblins emerged from the Veil, and Riven found himself being pushed back by the goblins advances... before he knew it, he was already by the facility's outer wall.

The knife felt inadequate in his hands...am I really that used to the Resonance Blade's adaptability and my emotion-boosted strength?

"Struggling, kid?" Cross stepped up beside Riven, his movements casual despite the chaos around them. "This is what happens when you rely too heavily on system abilities. Real Hunters develop multiple skill sets."

He demonstrated by engaging three goblins simultaneously, using pure technique and experience to control the fight.

Easily stopping their advance.

"The Guild's philosophy is simple," he continued, never breaking rhythm in his combat. "If the systems fail. Equipment breaks. Or even partners get separated. That's where training, discipline, and adaptability keep you alive."

Riven managed to take down another goblin...barely...you could even call it by luck; he also was already breathing hard from the effort.

Without his usual emotional fuel, every move required conscious thought and physical exertion.

"How long are we going to continue this?" He asked, wiping sweat from his eyes.

Cross checked his watch. "Well, there's Forty-three minutes remaining. Plus, the debrief takes place afterward."

Debrief. Of course there would be a debrief. Riven snickered.

The Veil pulsed again, and a new type of creature emerged.... something he hasn't seen in a while.

It looked like a goblin, but larger and more intelligent, wearing a crude armor and carrying actual weapons instead of just claws and teeth....

wait...isn't that like the one that chased me in my first Veil??...what are they doing with a goblin Berserker??

"It's a Goblins Champion variant," Cross explained. "It has Enhanced cognition and tactical awareness....Your individual approach won't work here."

He was right....kinda.

The Champion was already analyzing the battlefield...

It was even directing the smaller goblins with hand signals to coordinated attacks.

H-how do we even beat that...it's not possible.

Riven looked around the courtyard, trying to assess the situation.

Marcus was still struggling with his dampened abilities.

Joseph's team was holding their ground near the main building.

Several other trainees had formed a defensive line by the equipment shed.

"Are these Guild protocol for Champion-class enemies?" Riven asked Cross.

He smiled...not like his normal toothy grin "Now you're asking the right questions. Well, Standard doctrine calls for concentrated firepower and tactical coordination and Individual heroics get people killed buddy."

Riven just stared at the man....but he could see the reasoning in that.

So riven started moving toward Marcus and Valdez, gesturing for them to fall back toward Joseph's position.

Cross also followed along, efficiently clearing goblins from their path.

"Hey!" Riven called out to Joseph. "The Champion's coordinating their attacks. We need to group up."

Joseph nodded and started directing his team toward Riven's position.

Within a few minutes, they had most of the surviving trainees in a rough defensive arrow formation.

"This isn't how I usually fight," Marcus muttered as he took position beside me.

"That's funny coming from someone who was a normal civilian few weeks ago..." Riven couldn't help but tease his best pal.

"Ugh, you get what I mean...don't be a dimwit" Marcus resorted.

"Yeah, well, the Guild apparently has different ideas about how we should do things," Riven replied.

Cross and the other mentors had pulled back slightly, observing them like it doesn't concern them.

This was their test now.

The Goblin Champion raised its weapon and let out a commanding shriek.

The remaining goblins immediately reorganized, forming attack formations instead of just rushing forward randomly.

"It's a Smart move," Joseph commented. "But predictable. We have been taught Standard military tactics after all."

"You have military experience?" Riven couldn't help but ask.

"My older brother's a Hunter. He taught me some basics before I got my system." Joseph said with a chuckle while observing the goblins.

"Ooh, I see" Riven said somewhat absent minded.

Joseph has tactical training, Marcus had enhanced situational awareness despite the dampeners, and I have..... well, I have experience.....kinda. he thought to himself

"Champion's the key to victory...kinda," Riven said. "Once we take it down, the others lose coordination."

"It's easier said than done," Joseph replied. "Its armor looks strong."

Riven studied the Champion's movements, trying to think.

He then remembers what Cross said "Individual strength wouldn't work here" but coordinated effort might.

"Now I get it! we don't need to overpower it," Riven realized. "We need to isolate it."

Over the next few minutes, they were fully defensive.... the trainees were at a disadvantage as time progressed, cause of the injuries they were sustaining.

But....

They managed to execute something resembling a tactical plan.

Joseph's team created a distraction that drew the smaller goblins to one side of the courtyard.

Marcus used his dampened enhancement to spot weak points in the Champion's armor.

And I... well, I did what I'd always done best. I adapted.

When the Champion found itself separated from its minions, it was still dangerous but no longer controlling the battlefield.

Three trainees with basic weapons managed to bring it down through coordinated effort rather than individual power with Riven acting as the support.

The remaining goblins scattered in confusion, and the mentors quickly finished them off.

And then....

The Veil collapsed with a sound like breaking glass, and sudden silence fell over the courtyard.

"Exercise complete," Torres announced, though I hadn't noticed her arrival. "Time: fifty-seven minutes, twelve seconds. Casualty count: zero fatalities, three minor injuries, and acceptable equipment loss."

She began walking among the trainees, making notes on her tablet.

When she reached our group, she paused.

"Interesting way of thinking, Mr. Duke. You started by trying to rely on your usual individual approach, then shifted to tactical coordination when that proved insufficient."

"Cross taught me that systems fail but training doesn't," Riven said carefully.

"Good lesson. Mr. Chen, your performance was less impressive though... Dependency on enhancement systems made you ineffective when those systems were limited."

Marcus's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue. She was right, and we all knew it.

Torres moved on to evaluate the other trainees, but Cross remained beside me.

"Not bad for a first exercise," he said. "But this was just the introduction. Real training starts tomorrow."

"Real training? and What's tomorrow?" I asked, though he suspected he didn't want to know.

Cross's calculating smile returned. "Tomorrow, we see how well you function when your partner isn't available at all...at least the ones you know."

The implications hit Riven like a physical blow.

They weren't just going to separate us during exercises...they were going to train them to function independently of each other completely.

"The Guild's philosophy is simple, Mr. Duke," Cross continued as he says one his many Guilds lines. "Personal bonds make you predictable. Predictable Hunters are dead Hunters. We're going to teach you to be unpredictable."

As we walked back toward the facility, Riven caught Marcus's eye. He looked as unsettled as Riven felt.

This wasn't just training...it felt more like systematic psychological restructuring.

And we'd signed up for six months of it.

"Cross," Riven said as they reached the building entrance.

"Yes?"

"What happens to Hunters who can't adapt to Guild protocols?"

He stopped walking and looked at me with those calculating eyes. "You really want to know?"

I nodded.

"They find other ways to serve the Guild's mission...Permanently."

It felt like a threat...

And it was delivered in the same conversational tone he'd used to discuss combat techniques, but the message was crystal clear.

Adapt or disappear.

Welcome to the Hunter Guild.

Tomorrow's going to be a long day, I thought as Cross led me toward my assigned quarters. And something tells me it's only going to get longer from here....i just hope Maya and Jake are ok.