“First pair,” Lin read from the scroll, “Jin and…”
The tiger boy straightened, his eyes fixed on Ren, waiting for his opportunity like a predator spotting wounded prey.
“…Taro.”
Ren could see the disappointment flash across Jin’s face. The tiger boy had been hoping for a different prey.
However, as he watched both students descend to the arena, the mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed softly, revealing the patterns of both beasts with startling clarity. Knowledge flowed through his mind like a crystal-clear stream.
The spirit tiger versus the digger beetle, it would be an interesting combination for Ren to study. Each beast’s strengths and weaknesses became apparent to him, like reading an intricate map of their capabilities.
‘The digger beetle has a natural ability,’ Ren thought, the information unfolding in his mind. ‘Earth Shield, a mana layer that reinforces the exoskeleton using earth energy. And the tiger… its spirit claws follow a pattern of five strikes before needing to recharge energy.’
The knowledge felt both foreign and familiar, like remembering something he’d always known but never realized.
“Enter the circle,” Yang ordered, his voice echoing in the amphitheater. “Show us what you can do.”
Taro descended nervously into the arena, his digger beetle fusing with him and manifesting as a brown exoskeleton that covered his skin like living armor.
Jin followed with a predatory smile, tiger markings becoming more pronounced on his face, his movements fluid and confident.
“Begin.”
Jin attacked immediately, his movements flowing like water. Taro instinctively activated his Earth Shield, his exoskeleton glowing with a deep brown hue.
Jin’s fists, enhanced by the spirit tiger’s 30% strength bonus, hammered against Taro’s exoskeleton. The impacts resonated through the amphitheater like war drums, but barely left marks on the beetle’s defense.
“Not bad,” Jin smiled, backing away with predatory grace. “But how about this?”
His eyes blazed with golden light as the spirit tiger manifested its fangs, covering Jin’s fists with ethereal energy that seemed to bend the very air around them.
“Spiritual Fang,” Ren murmured, recognizing the tiger’s basic technique, seeing the intricate patterns of mana that made it possible.
The next blow partially penetrated Taro’s defenses, drawing a cry of pain that echoed in the arena. The spiritual energy had found a weakness in the physical armor, exploiting it with cruel efficiency.
“What’s wrong, cockroach? Only know how to hide?”
The exoskeleton had held, but the spirit energy had penetrated like water through stone. Each new blow seemed to find another crack in the seemingly impervious defense.
“Counter-attack!” Yang shouted from the sidelines, his voice carrying an annoyed tone. “The best defense is worthless if you never strike back!”
But Taro only retreated, protecting himself with his arms in an increasingly desperate defense. Each new ‘Spiritual Fang’ found a different weak point in his armor, like a predator testing its prey’s defenses.
‘The problem isn’t the defense,’ Ren observed, seeing the pattern with perfect clarity. ‘It’s that Taro isn’t using the shield’s rebound to counter-attack. Each time he absorbs a blow, he could…’
After the fifth spirit strike, Jin had to pull back momentarily to recharge. It was just an instant, but Ren saw the opportunity Taro was missing, a perfect moment for a counterattack that never came.
The fight continued with the same pattern until the Earth Shield finally gave way before a last Spiritual Fang, cracking like ancient pottery under too much pressure.
“Pathetic,” Jin taunted between blows, his confidence growing with each successful strike. “Is this the level of the rotting boy’s friends? I guess trash attracts trash.”
The fight ended shortly after, with Taro on the ground and Jin barely winded, his tiger markings still glowing with unused power.
“Enough,” Yang declared, his voice cutting through the tension like a knife.
“Jin, good attack rhythm, though you need to manage your spirit energy better. Taro, your Earth Shield is solid, but you wasted every counter-attack opportunity. Perfect defense is useless if you don’t learn to turn it into offense. In a real fight, passivity will kill you.”
“A win is a win,” Jin smiled as he climbed the stands, satisfaction radiating from every movement.
As he passed by Ren, he added in a low voice, “Tell your friend to find better company next time. Though I guess cockroaches understand each other, but… practicing with a rotting boy will only make him weaker.”
Ren clenched his fists, the mushrooms in his hair pulsing softly. He could see clearly now the spirit tiger’s attack patterns, its limitations, its weak points… But that knowledge would have to wait for a different time to be used.
The matches continued, each pair showcasing different styles and abilities. Min used his water snake with surprising creativity, though he lost to a boy with an earth bear.
“Ren,” Lin finally called, though she winced at the pairing she read.
Ren stood up, acutely aware of every eye in the amphitheater turning to him.
“Against Kai.”
The boy with green scales smiled predatorily, his scales gleaming under the lights as he stood. It was the same one who had tripped him earlier, his confidence evident in every movement.
“The Rotting Boy against Kai?” Jin laughed from his seat, voice dripping with mockery. “What a waste. I could have crushed him faster.”
“On the contrary,” interrupted Cass, the eagle girl, her eyes sharp with interest. “Kai’s stone scales are perfect for this. I want to see how the rotting one handles an opponent practically immune to his level of strength.”
Ren swallowed hard. The stone scales granted natural protection, his blows, even with the 10% increase, would barely be mosquito bites against such defense.
As he descended toward the arena, the mushrooms in his hair pulsed with knowledge: the scales had a specific pattern, zones where the protection was weaker, but even so…
“Scared, Rotting Boy?” Kai flexed his arms covered in green scales, each one catching the light like polished jade. “You should be.”
This wouldn’t be a normal fight, it would be a demonstration of just how useless the weakest beast really was against a proper defense.
Or at least, that’s what everyone expected to see. Whispers about the unfairness and how easy it would be for Kai began to circulate through the stands.
“It’s not fair!” someone complained through laughter. “It won’t even be fun to watch!”
“What did you expect?” someone murmured. “With that pathetic 10% increase…”
“His mushrooms could glow brighter,” suggested another, prompting more laughter.
“The pairings were random,” Lin announced firmly. “So I don’t want to hear anyone complaining about favoritism.”
Professor Yang nodded, the stone lines in his skin gleaming. “Though with some,” his gaze lingered on Ren, “it doesn’t really matter who they fight.”
The laughter was immediate and cruel.
“Finish him quickly, Kai!” Jin shouted from the stands. “So we can move on to the real fights!”
Yang watched with bored indifference. It was obvious he considered this a waste of time, what could the weakest beast do against stone scales? And he knew a lot about stone defense.
Lin, on the other hand… seemed a bit more interested.
The mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed as he analyzed Kai’s scales, seeking any pattern, any weakness he could exploit.
“Begin!” Yang ordered.