The door of the elevator closed, and the elevator went up.
Chloe, Alden, Neo, and Owen were left in the elevator, alone.
"Quickly, let him out." Chloe urged Alden with a little bit of excitement in her cold voice.
Alden sighed. "Little Rainbow, come out." He opened the rainbow-colored portal, and Little Rainbow jumped out of it.
"Meow!" Little Rainbow did not look at anyone around. The moment he came out of the portal, he jumped right into Chloe's arms.
When Little Rainbow jumped into Chloe's arms, everyone felt the sudden change in her behavior. It felt like the ice around her had melted, she felt more approachable.
A slight smile spread on her face, making Alden and the others blush.
Luckily, the elevator arrived on the thirteenth floor and stopped, breaking the awkward atmosphere in the elevator.
"Little Rainbow, quick, go back." Alden opened the portal.
"Meow!" Little Rainbow jumped out of Chloe's arms right into the portal.
The second Little Rainbow disappeared into the portal, the door of the elevator opened.
"Why did you summon him back?" The cold air around Chloe returned.
"Chloe, you need to understand. Little Rainbow is my pet, and I do not want to show him to others. It will reveal my strength.
I do not mind you playing with him, but not now. Later, when the classes end, you can come to my room and play with Little Rainbow to your heart's content."
White cold light shone in Chloe's eyes.
Neo jumped in front of Alden and took guard.
But Chloe closed her eyes and managed to calm herself down. "I will keep you for your word. When classes end, I will come to your room." She took the lead and walked out of the elevator.
They all walked out of the elevator.
"This is creepy," Alden commented as he walked forward.
They were in a dark corridor, with the only light source being the blue torches on the walls.
As they walked down the corridor, Owen trembled in fear while Neo and Chloe had their guard up.
On their left and right, there were rooms closed with metal doors. Metal doors made of bars like the ancient dungeon doors.
ROAR!
Just as they passed by one metal door, a large tiger jumped on the metal door. The whole door shook, giving Alden and the others a scare.
The rooms behind the metal doors were cages holding back beasts.
"Fu.cking beast!" Neo exclaimed, holding his chest.
"I hope the metal door can hold the beast back," Alden commented.
"Pfft..." Neo waved his hand as he rolled his eyes. "The bars the metal door is made of are most likely black iron bars. Do not worry. They can hold the beasts back. Watch, me."
Neo walked back to the metal door which held back the tiger.
"Bleeh..." He stuck out his tongue at the tiger.
Roar!
The tiger hit the metal door with its head.
"N-Neo, I don't think provoking him is a good idea..." Owen tried to advise Neo.
Slap!
With his quick speed through the space between the bars, Neo delivered a slap to the tiger's face.
"See?" Neo turned to Alden and the others while pointing his thumb finger behind himself at the tiger.
ROAR!
The tiger roared angrily. Its eyes turned bloodshot as it banged on the metal door with its huge paws. The whole door was shaking. It looked like it would come off the wall.
"I see, I see." Alden ran to him and grabbed him by the arm. "Now, let's go."
Dragging Neo behind him, Alden led the way forward. They passed several more cages holding back beasts and came to a large circular clearing.
Linda stood in the center of the clearing, waiting for her students.
The whole floor was like a small colosseum.
The circular clearing Alden and the others stood on was the arena. From the arena, seats went up, surrounding it.
There were several more corridors connected to the arena like the one Alden and the others walked through.
"Teacher, can I speak to you for a second?" Alden walked up to Linda.
Linda nodded.
She and Alden walked to the side.
"Alden, what's the matter?"
"Teacher, I have a favor to ask..."
...
In a few minutes, all the students gathered in the arena.
Clap! Clap!
Linda clapped her hands to take the attention of the students.
"Since everyone is here, let's start." She spoke. "Today, only those who have embarked on the path of cultivation will fight against beasts. The purpose of this class is for you to see the real terror of the wild, untamed beasts."
The students shook, and they all looked at the three students between them who had embarked on the path of cultivation. Chloe, Neo, and Owen.
"The first one to fight today is Neo." Linda announced. "The rest of you go on the audience seats." Out of nowhere, in Linda's hand appeared Neo's weapon. The Bo staff.
She threw the Bo staff at him, and he caught it.
"You are allowed to use any tactics or skills you have, but you are not allowed to summon your beast," Linda said.
When all the students had gone up to the audience seats and only Neo remained in the arena, Linda went to get the beast Neo was to face.
While Linda was away, Neo prepared himself mentally and physically.
...
Soon, a metal sound rang from one of the corridors connected to the arena.
"Oh...sh.it."
Holding a large chain, Linda dragged a fierce-looking tiger. The moment the tiger stepped onto the arena, the atmosphere changed instantly. Tension filled the air, and more importantly, the tiger sent chills down the spines of the students in the audience.
An immense bloodlust emitted from the tiger, so much that even the ordinary students felt it. Not to mention the pressure it carried as it was in the 1-star warrior realm.
To Linda, the pressure the tiger emitted was nothing. But to the ordinary students, it felt crushing. It made their hearts race in fear.
They could not help but look at Neo in pity, as he was about to face this scary beast.
"I fuc.ked up!" Neo uttered. "I hope it does not remember me."
It was the tiger Neo provoked.
ROAR!
The moment the tiger saw Neo, it became agitated. It started trying to break off Linda's grip, but she did not even budge.
"Are you ready?" Linda asked.
Neo gulped hard and nodded.
With a weave of her hand, the metal collar around the tiger's neck fell, setting the tiger free.
Roar!
With another angry roar, the tiger rushed at Neo with incredible speed.
In just a second, the tiger was in front of Neo.
It leapt at him, threatening to hit him in the chest with its huge front paws.