The next day...
The next round of combat would begin in thirty minutes. The three friends exchanged glances as they prepared themselves ntally for the challenge ahead.
"Are you sure we don't need to review the plan for Hector's team?" Taro asked, his voice taking on that serious tone that only erged when they discussed strategies.
Ren began walking toward the arena, his friends flanking him on both sides.
"Hector's minotaur has considerable brute strength, but it lacks precision and weapons," he explained, his eyes forward. "Vern's centaur is fast but predictable in its attack patterns. And Rosalind's three-horned horse..."
"That's a problem," Min interjected. "All three creatures are Tier 2, all quite large. They outmatch us in raw power if we only account for Taro's Living Tunnel."
"But not in adaptability," Ren smiled. "Hector and his friends may have large beasts. But we..."
"Have more beasts," Taro completed, a smile forming on his face as understanding dawned.
"Exactly," Ren nodded. "And that will be our advantage... Just distract the beasts for a mont and give a platform at the front as I explained last night."
As they approached the arena, the murmur of the crowd grew louder. Hundreds of students had gathered to witness the second round of combat, and the level of anticipation had increased considerably after the surprising results of the previous day.
Lin observed with pride and concern. Her pupil had progressed faster than expected, attracting attention that could prove as dangerous as it was beneficial.
"Seems like your personal project is causing quite a stir," Yang comnted beside her, his stone-covered arms crossed over his chest.
Lin sketched an enigmatic smile. "This is just the beginning."
The combat professor grunted, tightening his folded arms. "The boy has more talent than I thought, I'll admit..."
Ren finished preparing. His mushrooms pulsed with a steady, reassuring rhythm. As he adjusted his uniform, his mind traveled montarily to a small house in the city's outskirts, where two elderly people would probably be following the ritual he had taught them.
With that renewed certainty in his heart, he headed toward the door that would lead him to his next challenge.
♢♢♢♢
The air in the arena was charged with expectation. The stands overflowed with students eager to witness the next confrontation of the team that had broken the Lurker's record.
Hector, Vern, and Rosalind positioned themselves now without the characteristic confidence of those who had never doubted their place in the academy's hierarchy.
"Rember our strengths," Hector murmured to his companions. "Our beasts are superior in individual power. Let's not make Jin's mistake; we'll fight to tire them from a distance first."
Vern nodded, his fingers drumming nervously against his thigh. "The rotten boy is fast, but our four-legged creatures more so... if we corner him..."
"He's not the only problem," Rosalind interrupted, her eyes fixed on their opponents. "The other two are also dangerous... Especially Taro."
At the other end, Ren stretched his muscles. Beside him, Min and Taro displayed a calmness that would have been unthinkable months ago.
"It's almost poetic," Min comnted, extending his arms above his head. "They're the ones who fear us now..."
"They're right... We do have the advantage with Ren," Taro added, his gaze determined as he focused on their opponents.
Lin approached the center of the arena, her fluid movents reflecting her own mastery in combat. "The rules remain the sa: victory by incapacitation or surrender, and try not to overdo it like Klein; the individual matches are still to co."
Her gaze briefly rested on Ren, a flash of professional curiosity in her eyes. "Begin."
The reaction was instantaneous. Hector invoked his minotaur, the creature manifesting with an impressive size, almost two ters tall, muscles tense beneath jet-black fur. Vern's centaur appeared at his side, agile and light in comparison, but no less threatening with its reinforced hooves ready for combat. Rosalind completed the trio with her three-horned horse, the creature neighing aggressively while pawing the ground, its horns glowing with energy.
"This ti they have much more advantage than with the Big Stone Lurker, almost unfair," soone murmured from the stands. "Three of the best Tier 2 Iron beasts fully manifested against so kids..."
But Ren's team had long since learned to ignore such expectations.
Taro was the first to act, invoking his Living Tunnel with a relaxed gesture. The beetle seed to have erged from the ground itself. Its size surprised many; the growth since evolution was notable; it now asured almost three ters in height, larger than the beasts of the rival team.
"Can you really distract it?" Vern exclaid, montarily thrown off balance.
Hector regained his composure and nodded to Vern. "Go for the beetle!" he ordered, directing his minotaur straight toward the imposing figure of the insect. It was the logical decision: first distract the only Bronze beast on the opposing team and use the faster four-legged beasts to directly attack the tars.
The impact of the minotaur against the beetle resonated throughout the arena, a clash of titans. But to no one's surprise, the Living Tunnel didn't stagger an inch. Its legs anchored firmly, its carapace absorbing the blow while its remaining limbs closed around the minotaur's arms.
The minotaur roared, applying more force, but the beetle, though clearly under so pressure, maintained its position. It was a pure strength confrontation that it couldn't lose.
Seeing their leader in trouble, Vern and Rosalind exchanged a quick glance before executing their planned maneuver. The centaur advanced toward the right flank, while the three-horned horse circled to the left.
"Now!" Vern shouted. "For their tars!"
It was a clever strategy. If they couldn't defeat the beetle directly, they could attack Taro to force him to withdraw the invocation.
But the centaur halted when Min's water snake materialized before it. Simultaneously, Ren's hydra appeared to support the snake in a 2-against-1 that balanced the field.
"Where's Min?" Rosalind murmured, confused to see the snake but not its tar. She needed to take advantage of her horse being the only free beast now.
"Charge at Ren first!" Hector warned, but too late.
The mushroom boy had also disappeared, made invisible by the ability of Min's amphibian.
While Hector's minotaur continued its struggle with the beetle, Taro was the only one in sight.
But not unprotected.
His body was covered by armor from his bug and atop that, living mineral, the byproduct of his beast's evolution and its synergies. With only this additional protection, it seed they had left him to his fate.
Rosalind smiled, confident. "Bad decision," she murmured, directing her horse toward Taro. The creature lowered its horns, preparing for a charge that could pierce even tal armor.
The impact made many in the audience narrow their eyes, but the result left them breathless. Taro, with his legs firmly planted and his mineral armor reinforcing his body, had stopped the horse after sliding only a few ters. His arms, also wrapped in living mineral, held the beast's head while his muscles trembled with the effort.
"Impossible," Rosalind gasped. "No one of lower rank stops a frontal charge from…"
A shadow fell over them. Ren, who had been waiting for this mont, jumped from a mineral platform that the beetle had strategically created behind him. He lost his invisibility upon separating from the effect of Min's amphibian, but gained the elent of surprise as he descended directly onto Vern.
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