The ground trembled beneath Dan's feet as the stampede of beasts drew nearer. With every passing second, Dan could feel his heart stop. He searched frantically for an escape route from the battleground.
10…9…8…
The machine started its countdown to end the duel. When Dan saw the countdown, he had a little hope that at least maybe then the machine would transport him out of the battleground.
Dan didn't want to get bitten by the beasts, because he feared that the machine would record it as him losing the duel as well.
Dan bolted as he saw the persistent movement of the beasts towards him. He ran as fast as he could into the battleground, staggering along the way because of the disturbance the beasts caused to the ground beneath him.
Instructor Paris walked into the battleground and was surprised to see Dan in a temple run from the beasts ``What's going on there?`` He asked. "Why is he still on the battleground if he already defeated his opponent?'' Instructor Paris's mood began to change rapidly.
A bald man, who seemed to be in charge of the battleground at that time, quickly responded. "We are sorry sir, it must have been a malfunction from the machine," He said as struggled to catch his breath. The air around him seemed to have been absorbed by Instructor Paris who was skilled at controlling the air element. The bald man felt an overwhelming heat around him and begged Instructor Paris to end the torture.
Ding!
The battleground began transforming back to its original form and the beasts disappeared gradually. As Dan saw the transforming battleground, he halted and breathed a sigh of relief. Three seconds later, he was transported out of the battleground.
"The next time you try to pull this stunt on any of my students again, I'll make sure Senior Brother Ketas hears of it" Instructor Paris warned the bald man and left the arena.
"Alright then, we will take a break from the duels and do some maintenance on the battleground" The bald man shouted, loud enough for everyone in the arena to hear him. Instructor Paris, already on his way out, snorted as the machine transported him from the arena.
Immediately after the Duel, every elite student started talking about how the Useless Alchemy Freshman defeated Prince Mike. Words spread around campus like wildfire and eventually got to the Royal Families.
"I heard you couldn't get that brat disqualified from the duels after he disgraced my son in the battleground." King Lawrence scolded the servant he had sent to ensure that Dan loses the Duel as well if peradventure he defeats his son Mike.
"We tried our best to get him disqualified in the battleground, but his Instructor showed up and threatened Musa to end the trials" The servant quickly knelt down as he said those last words and began apologizing to the King.
"Musa…. That bald man dared to defy me? Because of some lowlife instructor," The king gripped his chair in anger, stood up, and walked towards the trembling servant. "Now I'm going to use you to send him a message, the next time he defies me, this would be his fate."
Arrrrrggghhh!!!!!
The king grunted and grabbed the servant's head; a drop of tear rolled from his eyes as his head was cut off with a razor-sharp blade. "Send this to Musa, so he'll know who he is dealing with," He said, then threw the head to the nearest servant.
"Brooo, you already have a special ability and you didn't even tell us?" Malakai said Jokingly as he patted Dan's shoulder.
"I was going to tell you guys before the duel, but things happened so fast," Dan smiled. "Aiden you were pretty awesome in the battleground, kudos"
"I just played smart," Aiden chuckled.
The trio had returned to Dan's dorm to celebrate their Victories. After three hours of maintenance, Musa had called the students back to complete the duels; within those three hours, he received the present that the king had ordered his servants to bring to him.
At the end of the duels, 50 students proceeded to the second stage, Including Dan, Malakai, Aiden, Jezebel, Xu, and Jamilah. The five of them were currently at the top of the scoreboard.
Jezebel - 30pt
Malakai - 23pt
Xu - 20pt
Jamilah - 19pt
Dan - 18pt
Aiden - 15pt
…
The rating was based on the skills showcased and how fast they ended their opponents. For the first time in the history of Monster Slayer University, two healers made it to the top five of the rankings after the first stage, drawing the attention of the university body to these two - Jamilah and Aiden.
During the battle, Jamilah revealed her white lotus flower domain, which was as large as that of a peak beginner warrior, causing chaos in the arena. Immediately after her match ended, words had already reached the Healers' Fortress, and the seniors in the department began anticipating her return.
Aiden on the other hand, hid himself in a building where his opponent was and unleashed drain and replenish, slowly drawing life away from his opponent until he was transported out of the battleground because of lack of energy.
"This year's duel is truly exceptional," Instructor Eldora said as she drank coffee with a friend. "First, we had two Ultra Elite students, and now we have two Healers in the top five of the first stage."
[Friend] "Hmm, I heard that Alchemist with a disparity made it to the top 5"
"Yes, surprisingly, he already possessed a special ability. I guess there was a huge leap in his energy core as well," Instructor Eldora sighed and took another sip of coffee.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
Instructor Eldora's smartwatch started beeping, and she quickly excused herself to check the message.
"A baby beast has been discovered in a high school building, you've been selected to join the group of warriors to tame this beast and bring it to MSU"
Instructor Eldora smiled as she saw the message, "What an interesting mission" she said.
"See details of the beast below"
She clicked the button, and details of the beast pooped up, floating in the air like a holograph.
Type - Flying Beast
Rank - Peak Intermediate warrior level
Bloodline - Winged Creature
Family - Thunderbirds
Description - Thunderbirds possess blade-like wings, their tears are acidic and when they scream, it causes serious thunderstorms.
Instructor Eldora nodded her head as she read the details "Indeed a Thunderbird… "