CHAPTER 235: INTERMEDIATE CLASSES

The first thing he did when he saw those creatures was scan their status.

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Vur Kor Hound

Rare

Level 5

Type: Fire affinity mammal type

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Its status was one thing, and looking at it was another.

The beast was literally made to look like the hound of hell or something.

It had pitch-black fur, while cracks of literal ember everywhere on its body pulsated with heat.

(Image of the beast in this comment)

Even its eyes were glowing as if they themselves were made of lava.

A creature like this was something Theo had not seen before. He had seen a wyvern, which seemed a lot better than this hound, but its features were what captivated him.

He moved his face instinctively when the next beast appeared. It felt like, while the hound was fully made of ember, this beast was of pure nature affinity.

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Verdryl Hatchling

Rare

Level 5

Type: Nature affinity reptile type

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The beast in front of everyone emitted a sense of royalty that Theo had only faced once in a beast, and that was with the wyvern.

The beast looked like a mix of a komodo dragon and a literal dragon.

Its body was entirely green, and it had hard scales that moved in a systematic wave every few seconds.

There were leaves growing in some parts of the body, and the face was the one thing that stood out the most — the dragon-featured one.

(Image of the beast in this comment)

Everyone was flabbergasted by the beasts in front of them, some even thinking they were mythical creatures from the picture books.

"And that is a competition I look forward to," Ron spoke in just a whisper, making Theo look at him, only to see him change his demeanor to the giggling child again.

Theo squinted his eyes in skepticism. There was something more to this kid, and the more Theo delved in, the more he wanted to know. He, too, was a unique affinity holder, so that was the least he could do.

"You can start now," the instructor spoke with slight curiosity. This time, everyone knew why that was.

The blue-haired girl’s eyes twitched, and an order went out.

The hound, before giving that serpent any chance, howled as hard as it could, making a shockwave erupt.

When the shockwave reached Theo, an uneasy feeling started to creep into his bones.

Was that... being scared for his life?

He did not know, but the feeling was very strong.

To control the urge to run away, he closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths, trying to get that feeling to calm down.

His focus on his surroundings went away as he started concentrating, but soon enough, the feeling of unease began to fade.

Theo decided to open his eyes slowly, only to feel very empty where he stood.

He looked at the beasts that had engaged in a fight this time. Each claw that sliced at the dragon-like lizard made its scales sizzle.

It was at that moment that Theo realized, at the same time as the others, that the other kids had fled, even Ron.

’Did that feeling get them? What was it anyway?’ he asked himself, but was fine after looking at the mantis perched on his shoulder like nothing was happening.

Theo scooped into his armor and got a piece of dried meat out.

He passed it to Mantis, who sent emotions of happiness through their bond right away.

The fight in front of them seemed ridiculous at the start, as two opposing affinities were fighting each other.

But with time, Theo realized something.

’There is no killing blow... what are they even doing?’ Theo thought.

Yes, they were fighting well, but in a world where abilities were present, why would they just fight up close like two dogs?

It didn’t make sense.

Yet when Theo thought that, the green-colored lizard smacked its thick tail at the hound’s face and made distance.

The hound felt the hit and stumbled for a moment before getting back up.

Meanwhile, the tail of the green-colored beast sizzled as if it had been grilled on fire.

The brown-haired boy looked at the hound with hatred. The fight just wasn’t stopping.

Another five minutes later, Theo saw the lizard use another one of its skills, though he didn’t know why it did it so late.

It smacked its front paws to the ground, making materialistic vines form beneath the hound’s paws and latch onto them.

A slight sound of wincing came from the hound, but at the same time, the vines that latched onto him made a lot of sizzling noise until they broke after ten seconds.

Yet that was enough for the lizard to run toward the hound, and while the hound saw it coming, it couldn’t do anything but howl again. Yet this time, Theo saw it touch the lizard without causing any problem, and then, when it reached him, he braced for impact—

Only to feel like nothing happened. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the woman with a big sword in her hand in front of him.

Up close, Theo saw so many back muscles on the woman that he couldn’t help but want to touch them just to feel how they were, only to stop himself. She was the instructor and also a lady.

"Are you okay, boy?" the woman asked with a smile as she looked at him.

The height difference was quite a lot, and Theo had to look up; she was as tall as Cedric. About 5’11".

"Yes, my lady. I am fine, thanks to you," Theo spoke while giving a courteous bow in gratitude.

"Your willpower is strong, boy. All the others have already fled away," she said while looking around one time.

"Honestly, if they had only started concentrating on themselves, it would have been so easy to move past it," she continued, only to start speaking again — this time, with a calm smile.

"But that is entirely the reason why we want children to join the academy — to teach them these things that are needed to survive in this world," she said and moved to Theo’s side, looking at the fight that had almost ended.

"That Verdryl hatchling has a strong bloodline, almost two stars down a lesser dragon. But a single bad matchup can make anything weak," she said and pointed at the lizard, making a hand sign.

When Theo looked forward and nodded in agreement, the woman’s eyes flashed in excitement.

"You..." She was going to say something with excited eyes, only to stop herself midway, making Theo confused.

"I can tell you use that sword every day. Your hands show great hard work," she said while gazing at his palms, which were filled with calluses.

"I try my best, my lady. The path that I chose for me and my beast’s journey is very tough, so I need to do my best," Theo spoke while keeping his hand at the hilt of his sword.

"I need to master fighting alongside my beast." He gave that single line, making the woman almost jump in happiness.

Theo took a small step back, seeing her flailing her hand one time to be safe, but she soon grabbed his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes after getting close.

"I need you!"

She shouted, only to get the instructors, the two kids, and even the beasts to look their way before the lizard finally plopped down and the bubble protecting him burst away, making the hound step back.

The cloaked man looked at the hound and then at the blue-haired girl, who was frowning while looking at Theo.

"Victor, Lyra Caldrienne," he spoke before starting to move toward Theo and the sword-wielding woman.

"Don’t be saying those misunderstood statements, Miss Diana," he said before moving his gaze to Theo, who was still looking at the woman with shocked eyes.

"She meant that she would like to take you as one of her disciples, Theo Merrick."

"Wasn’t that obvious?" Diana spoke with a confused expression, making both the cloaked man and Theo keep looking at her with plain faces as if realizing she was denser than they had expected, at least Theo, who had seen her for the first time.

"Alright, now that all the other students are not here and are being stopped outside for a while, I would like to make an announcement," the cloaked man said with a clap of his hands, making both the other kids and Theo look toward him.

"You three are already good enough to enroll in the Intermediate Class. We have seen and assessed all your skills. You may go now; your uniforms and new academy rooms will be allotted by tonight," he said before returning to his spot before all the kids.

’It was that easy?’ he thought and looked at Elias in the corner, who smiled happily. Theo did too.

"Can I have a duel with Theo Merrick, Sir Instructor?"

One of the kids said, and Theo looked at them with a plain expression.

Before long, a grin crept in, yeah, it was not over.