Seemingly unaware—or uncaring—of the students’ newfound anxiety, the professor jumped gracefully from her position atop the head of the now unconscious boar, landing expertly.
As soon as she did, another violet magic circle appeared on the ground below the beast before it vanished into thin air. At a glance, one might think it was summoning magic, but Michael had seen enough spatial magic to recognize it by now.
"Alright, I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson by watching the first fight," Quinn said, her tone still sounding chipper despite the gruesome sight of Braydon’s injuries earlier. It was as if such a thing was inconsequential to her.
Michael stiffened, feeling a wave of anxiety. Melody and Rudy beside him also tensed, but the latter quickly stood up and punched his fist into his open palm in the next moment.
"Let’s do this!" he hollered, his voice slightly shaky.
If this was another time, Michael might have laughed at his friend who was trying to act tough. But right now, he was far too busy trying to keep his own heart from beating out of his chest.
"Let’s go Melody..." he said grimly, looking over to her.
Yet he almost recoiled an instant later upon seeing her sunken cheeks and wide eyes. She looked like one of those creepy cursed dolls one would find at antique stores.
She turned her head stiffly towards him, causing him to take a few steps backwards into Rudy in fear.
"Melody, Michael, Rudy, hurry up. We haven’t got all day." Professor Quinn called out impatiently.
This shout seemed to knock the trio out of their lapse, getting their attention. When Michael turned back to the blue-haired girl, her face had somehow turned back to normal, but there were still some vestiges of fear and anxiety present.
While it was true that the two had improved leaps and bounds since taking the soul pill, the earlier display had shown that the ferocious boar was not an opponent to take lightly. Original content can be found at NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Michael could feel the gazes of his classmates on their backs as they walked down the stairs to the arena. He ignored them, his mind furiously trying to think of a way to win survive against the tier-two beast.
They could try the same tactic as Braydon, but if they were not able to finish the boar before it went into a frenzy, the match would basically be over.
He swallowed his anxiety and looked to his friends beside him who looked as if they were lining up at the gallows. Rudy seemed to be the better of the two, which wasn’t saying much considering Melody looked much paler than usual.
"Guys, look alive. As long as we work together, we can win." Michael said, sounding much more confident than he had expected.
His words seemed to have an effect.
"You’re right..." Rudy said, letting out a deep breath, his tense body relaxing slightly. "I guess I’m a little nervous because this is my first proper fight against a beast."
"Me too..." Melody added, looking slightly better than before—yet her nerves were still present.
However, the professor didn’t seem to care about their pep-talk. She walked off the platform casually before another large violet magic circle took shape in front of them all.
Like before, a ten feet tall boar appeared in the center of the arena platform, it’s eyes filled with confusion. It searched its surroundings before its gaze fell upon Michael and the others.
A squeal escaped its lips in the next moment, reverberating inside of the arena.
"Flank it!" Michael called out, feeling a dump of adrenaline enter his system. Despite this, his voice was firm and unwavering, somehow audible over the fierce beating of his heart inside his chest.
"R-right!" Rudy called, taking the left side of the beast.
Melody was a little late to react, but she still did as she was told, taking the opposite side. This was exactly what Braydon and his team had done earlier.
However, something went awry.
Instead of focusing on Michael, the boar turned to Melody who had been slow to move. It pawed the ground with its hooves, lowering its head slightly as it followed her movements—as if preparing to charge.
Not good! He shouted in his heart.
"Rudy attack!" Michael yelled out in an instant, a sense of foreboding grasping his heart.
"Ah shit." The guy cursed out loud, but he did not tarry.
Before Rudy could close the distance, the ferocious boar snorted hot air out of its nose before beginning its charge towards Melody.
Michael’s gaze shot to the girl, only to realize that she was frozen in place, her face painted with shock and disbelief. Apparently she had been gripped by fear from the presence of the beast.
"MELODY RUN!" he screamed, trying to knock her out of her stupor.
Time seemed to slow down as the boar ran forward, its hooves causing the ground to quake beneath its weight. Its huge head was lowered, tusks ready to gouge the small girl in its path.
Michael felt his entire body heat up as a wave of helplessness assaulted him. Countless spells entered his mind, but none would be quick enough to save her.
So he did the only thing he could in that moment—flood mana into his muscles.
A wave of pain instantly gripped his body as the crimson mana dug deep into his muscles, causing them to strengthen immensely. He kicked off the ground hard, hearing the cracking of bones as his coiled muscles propelled him forward with tremendous speed and power.
He could see the side of the boar, its entire twenty feet in length spanned in front of him. But Michael’s eyes focused on a single spot right above the elbow of its foreleg, the place where all the vital organs were stored beneath the ribcage.
They had researched the beast endlessly for the past week, but such knowledge seemed to disappear in this moment. All he could think of now was trying to save Melody, of which the only option he had left available was to get its attention by any means possible.
Michael grit his teeth from the pain of his pumping legs, cocking back his arm as he approached the beast with tremendous speed. He saw Melody’s shocked expression from his peripherals, but he focused on the enemy in front of him.
He swung forward, pouring his mana into his arm as it flew forward, impacting the gigantic body of the beast.
A sickening crunch rang out in the arena, followed by a shrill scream that caused a sense of dread to rise up within one’s stomach.
Michael saw blood enter his vision, spraying upwards from his arm.
In that moment, his heart sunk.
I can’t feel my arm anymore...