The battle stretched on longer than expected.
Ron continued launching fire, but the flames, which initially appeared impressive, were now visibly smaller. His salamander's iron rank wasn't sufficient to maintain that level of attack for so long.
What had begun as a confident display of power now revealed its limitations with each passing minute.
Nia also showed signs of fatigue. Her wind control, crucial for enhancing Ron's fire, became erratic. Her previously precise gestures grew sloppy. Sweat streaked her face, plastering strands of her reddish hair to her forehead.
Gulhan's mole, perhaps the most affected, emerged with decreasing frequency. His attacks from the tunnels, initially precise, now seemed disorganized.
To gain more time and recover, instead of frontal attacks, they began moving in a circular pattern, constantly surrounding the platform and attacking the beast in small bursts.
Gulhan no longer attempted direct attacks from below. Instead, he created strategic tunnels around the monster, weakening the ground beneath its feet and only attacking when the Big Lurker stepped on one of them.
It was a strategy that the auxiliaries controlling the roots to avoid hindering the mole found annoying.
Nia concentrated her wind gusts only at the moment of impact, timing them with Ron's attacks to maximize their effect while conserving energy.
Ron, abandoning the constant fireballs, now generated more concentrated and sporadic flames. Each blast was carefully timed, aimed at areas already weakened by previous attacks.
"Better," Ren nodded, his mushrooms pulsing as approval. "Though I'm not sure if their stamina will be enough in the end..."
The new strategy began showing results. The Stone Lurker, though still formidable, could no longer advance with the same speed. One of its front legs moved with difficulty, affected by the concentrated heat on that side.
But time worked against them. After almost twenty minutes of combat, exhaustion was evident in all three students. Gulhan could barely keep his beast manifested. Nia breathed with difficulty, her wind gusts increasingly weak.
Even Ron, whose initial confidence had seemed unshakable, showed signs of extreme fatigue. His salamander scales, partially deactivated, barely maintained a faint glow on his arms.
"They won't make it," Taro murmured, leaning forward with tension, his hands gripping his knees tightly.
The Big Stone Lurker, sensing its opponents' weakness, began moving with renewed aggression. Twice it nearly caught Nia and Ron, saved at the last instant by their teammates' intervention.
"One last charge!" Ron shouted, his voice hoarse from effort and heat. "Everything you've got!"
It was a desperate move, but they had no alternative. Their endurance was depleting faster than the monster's defenses.
The team lured the beast toward a large trap that Gulhan had gradually created. The ground was honeycombed with tunnels, a fragile lattice designed to collapse under the creature's weight. They moved with surprising synchronization despite their exhaustion, herding the monster toward the center of the weakened zone.
When they finally managed to make the Big Stone Lurker fall into it and teeter on the verge of toppling over...
Gulhan's mole emerged directly beneath the Stone Lurker, not to attack, but to create a fulcrum. Using his last reserves of strength, he pushed upward, partially lifting the beast and exposing its belly.
Nia, drawing on reserves she didn't know she possessed, generated the largest air current of the combat, directing it like a cyclone toward the exposed point.
Ron, his salamander glowing one last time with intensity, channeled all his remaining fire toward the same target.
The combined impact resonated throughout the arena. An explosion of fire, wind, and rock fragments temporarily blinded the spectators.
When visibility returned, the Stone Lurker lay on its side, motionless. A smoking hole in its belly revealed the internal crystalline core, the flesh around it charred and crumbling. Cracks spread across its entire body, some deep enough to expose the inner structure.
The three students had collapsed as well, gasping for breath, completely exhausted.
For an instant, silence dominated the arena. Then, gradually, applause began spreading among the audience, growing until it became an ovation.
"Victory for A group's Team One," announced Yang, his voice betraying a slight tone of surprise. "Time: twenty-three minutes, forty-two seconds."
Ron, despite his exhaustion, managed to raise a fist in triumph. His companions could barely sketch smiles of relief. Their chests heaved with desperate breaths, but pride shone in their eyes.
Auxiliaries and medics quickly entered the arena, attending to the exhausted students while others began removing the remains of the Stone Lurker. Green healing energy glowed around the medics' hands as they assessed the team's condition.
"Impressive, considering how long they maintained that mana expenditure," Liu commented, nodding appreciatively.
"But too confident," Ren observed, his eyes still analyzing the aftermath. "They underestimated the resistance of a real Bronze rank... I don't understand why they hate weapons so much."
While observing how the medical team helped the victorious but depleted students leave the arena, Ren couldn't help smiling.
"But that was just the first one," he murmured to himself. "The show's barely beginning."
In the stands, murmurs and analysis spread like wildfire. Opinions, criticisms, and praise mingled as the first students from higher years who had already overcome their challenges evaluated the performance.
"Team One of group B, prepare to enter in three minutes," the announcement resonated.
The auxiliaries worked with efficiency, repairing the arena floor while others brought in a new Big Stone Lurker for the next combat.
"Prepare to enter," announced Yang, his voice echoing throughout the stadium.
"Here they come," Min murmured, leaning forward with interest, his amphibian briefly materializing on his shoulder from excitement. "Do you think our classmates will do better than Group A?"
Ren nodded while observing Roran, Mira, and Trent walk toward the arena. Unlike the previous team, their body language showed nervousness. Their movements lacked Ron's swagger, but there was determination in their squared shoulders.
"I think this will be interesting," Ren commented.
Roran led the group, his stocky figure imposing with the complete manifestation of his Troll Dog. Thick, greenish fur covered his arms and neck, and his teeth had elongated into small tusks. Beside him, the slender Mira adjusted the moss gloves that Ren had taught her to create to channel her Giant Rat's power more quickly and easily. Trent, with his Fire Ant, studied the beast they would soon face.
"Weapons?" offered the auxiliary, presenting the same arsenal that the previous team had rejected.
Unlike Ron, Roran showed no disdain for the tools. After a moment of consideration, he selected a reinforced combat hammer, testing its weight. Mira chose a shovel, while Trent opted for a pickaxe, its point designed to find cracks in stone.
"Good choice," Taro murmured. "The shovel and pickaxe can serve both for digging and striking."
"Beginning in three, two, one..." Yang counted.
The roots receded, releasing the monster from its containment. The enormous creature stood motionless for a moment, its small eyes surveying the new challengers that faced it.
The second battle had begun.