The moment I tried to bring my sword down on a giant lizard, a fast blur shot out of nowhere, followed by a sharp bark. It smashed into the lizard, sending both of them crashing into a nearby tree. I blinked in surprise as the lizard crumpled to the ground, stunned.
"What was that?" Lyra shouted, eyes wide as she dodged another creature.
Before I could answer, the blur zipped past us again, skidding to a halt. It was a small capybara, its fur crackling with tiny sparks of lightning. For a moment, it just sat there, looking completely unfazed by the chaos around it. Then, with a casual yawn, it started scratching its ear with its hind leg, as if it hadn't just taken out a giant lizard and smashed into a tree.
Lyra stared, slack-jawed. "You've got to be kidding me."
Julian glanced up from the control panel, his expression tightening as his phone buzzed. "Hold on," he muttered, stepping away to answer the call. His eyes narrowed as he listened, and I could just make out Aiden's voice on the other end, something about a creature breaking out of the school shelter.
As another metallic beast lunged toward us, Lyra fried it with a bolt of lightning. "What now?" she called over her shoulder, noticing Julian's distracted state.
Julian lowered the phone and looked back at us with a mix of disbelief and frustration. "It's the capybara," he said, stepping forward. "A baby one broke out of the shelter. That capybara? That's it."
Lyra blinked. "Wait, that capybara?" She pointed at the capybara as it let out another yawn.
"Yep," Julian said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "A baby capybara, and by the looks of it, it's also somehow sparked with lightning energy."
Lyra burst out laughing. "I knew that thing was too small to be dangerous! But... lightning?" Her laugh faded into a more serious tone. "Uh, that might be a problem."
As if on cue, the blur zipped past us again, crashing into one of the malfunctioning automatons. A spark of lightning arced off it, sending the metallic creature clattering to the ground in a heap of glitching parts.
Lumi raised an eyebrow. "Did that capybara just take down one of our training dummies?"
Julian gave a long sigh. "Yes, yes it did. And we need to catch it before it does more damage. Or shocks any of us in the process."
Lyra smirked. "Well, this just got more interesting. What's the plan, vice president?" she asked, tossing me a playful glance.
I shrugged, shadow-stepping closer to the blur's path. "We catch it. Or, more likely, you catch it. It's lightning-infused after all."
"Fair enough." Lyra's hands crackled with electricity as she took position, her eyes tracking the blur.
Julian worked furiously at the controls, trying to stabilize the arena as we prepared to face the most unpredictable threat yet—a lightning-charged baby capybara.
The blur zipped by again, circling around us at an almost mocking pace, its tiny legs propelling it with absurd speed. Lyra's eyes followed its movement as if tracking a real threat. "You know, it shouldn't be this fast. It's basically a cute potato with legs."
Lumi tilted her head, her usual composed expression cracking just a little. "That cute potato just took out three automatons. It's more dangerous than it looks."
The capybara zoomed past again, this time knocking over a tree branch that had fallen from the last impact. It stopped for a moment, looking at us as if daring us to do something.
Julian, who was still tapping at the control panel, groaned. "This wasn't in the training program. Why are we fighting an electric rodent?"
I smirked. "Maybe it's the school's way of telling us we're not ready for the Valorian Champions."
Julian gave me a sidelong glance. "If the Champions involve catching capybaras, then we're in serious trouble."
Lyra raised her hands, charging up a bolt of lightning. "Alright, enough talk. Time to—"
Before she could finish, the capybara zipped toward her, its small body crackling with electricity. Lyra yelped, narrowly dodging it as it shot past. "Did that thing just try to zap me?!"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like it's not impressed with your lightning powers."
"Oh, it's on," Lyra growled, her hands glowing brighter.
Lumi calmly stepped forward. "Maybe we should try not to escalate this. It's just a baby, after all."
"Tell that to the baby trying to turn me into a lightning rod!" Lyra snapped, dodging another quick attack from the blur.
Suddenly, Julian called out, "Everyone, get down!"
We hit the ground just as the capybara zoomed by overhead, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake. It darted toward the control panel, and Julian lunged forward, trying to block its path. But the capybara slipped right between his legs, causing him to stumble as he tried to catch it.
Julian faceplanted with a groan, and Lyra burst out laughing. "Vice president! Your student council secretary just got schooled by a capybara!"
I shadow-stepped next to Julian, offering him a hand up. "Are we really getting outclassed by this thing?"
Julian rubbed his forehead. "At this point, I think it's personal."
The capybara slowed for a moment, almost as if taunting us. Then, with a final, exaggerated yawn, it sat down in the middle of the arena, nibbling on a stray leaf as if it hadn't just caused chaos.
Lumi blinked. "I think it's bored."
Lyra rolled her eyes, sparking up her hands again. "Great. It's mocking us now. Can I zap it?"
"No zapping," Julian said, dusting himself off. "We're going to catch it without turning it into capybara barbecue."
Lyra sighed dramatically, her hands dimming. "Fine. But next time it zips past me, all bets are off."
We all watched the capybara, its small form deceptively peaceful as it munched on the leaf. Just when we thought we might have a moment of peace, it suddenly jumped to its feet and zoomed off again, zipping through the arena like a mini thunderbolt.
Julian threw his hands up. "This is impossible!"
I laughed, shadow-stepping once more. "Welcome to training, Julian. It's not all hero speeches and council meetings. Sometimes, it's just trying to catch a tiny, lightning-powered capybara."
The capybara zipped past us again, leaving a crackling trail in its wake. Lyra groaned in frustration, tossing another bolt of lightning toward it—only for the small creature to effortlessly dodge it, bouncing off a nearby rock.
"How is it so fast?" she shouted, clutching her head as if on the verge of losing her mind.
"I'm pretty sure we learned about it in class today." I said as I attempted to intercept the capybara's pathwith a quick shadow-step, appearing right in its way. But the capybara seemed to predict my move, skidding to a halt with a little chirp before darting off in another direction, leaving me clutching at empty air.
Lumi crossed her arms, clearly amused by our struggle. "It's an Electrozoological Phenomenon—one of those creatures that adapted to elemental magic. It has innate speed and electric resistance. In other words, it's built to be nearly impossible to catch."
Lyra scowled, her hands sparking once more. "And we're supposed to just let it run circles around us?"
Julian, now visibly tired, tried to block the capybara's path again, only to trip over his own feet as it darted past. "It has to run out of energy eventually, right?" he panted, hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.
Lumi shook her head, remaining unusually calm. "At this rate, we might run out of energy before it does."
I shadow-stepped ahead, trying to anticipate its next move, but it swerved mid-run, zooming right past me. I blinked in disbelief. "This thing's reading my moves now. What is it, a tactical genius?"
The capybara did another circle around the arena, sending sparks flying as it narrowly avoided crashing into a tree. Lyra flung her arms in exasperation. "This isn't training; this is capybara torture!"
Just as I was about to suggest regrouping, the arena door opened with a hiss, and Amara stepped inside, her presence commanding the room. She paused, taking in the scene—automatons sparking on the ground, Julian on the verge of collapse, Lyra's hair frizzed from static, and me blinking in confusion as the capybara zipped past again.
"Am I interrupting something?" Amara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Only the most ridiculous training session of my life," Lyra muttered, throwing her hands up in surrender. "We've been chasing this lightning-infused capybara for the past twenty minutes, and it's made us all look like amateurs!"
Amara's eyes locked onto the blur as it shot around the arena. Without a word, she crouched down and held out her hand. The capybara, which had been terrorizing us with its speed and sparks, slowed down, gradually coming to a stop. It eyed Amara with mild curiosity before trotting over, the crackling energy around it fizzling out like it had decided playtime was over.
We all stood frozen as the capybara walked right up to her and nudged her hand with its nose. Amara gently picked it up, cradling it in her arms as if it were the tamest creature in the world. "What's this little troublemaker doing out here?" she said softly, scratching behind its ear.
Lyra's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me. We've been chasing that thing for ages, and it just walks up to you?"
Julian ran a hand through his hair, looking utterly defeated. "I don't get it. How did it…? What…?"
Amara glanced at us, amused. "You were chasing it?"
"Yes!" Lyra exclaimed, throwing her arms up again. "And it was impossible to catch. I mean, it's like it knew every move we were about to make. And you just… picked it up."
Amara chuckled. "You know, sometimes it's about the approach. Maybe all it needed was a little calm energy."
Julian shook his head. "I refuse to believe the solution was as simple as being calm. I've been calm—I've been practically zen!"
I smirked, shadow-stepping next to him. "You were yelling at the control panel five minutes ago."
Julian glared at me. "That was stress management."
Amara stood, still cradling the capybara, who seemed perfectly content now. "Alright, let's get this little guy back to the shelter. He clearly caused enough trouble for one day."
As she turned to leave, the capybara snuggled closer to her, giving one last smug glance at Lyra, who threw her hands up in disbelief. "This thing is mocking me. I swear it's mocking me."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't take it personally, Lyra. It just knows a princess when it sees one."
She gave me a sharp look but then broke into a begrudging smile. "Fine, I'll let it go. But if we ever see that capybara again, it's on."
As Amara walked out with the capybara, Julian shook his head again, muttering, "I'm never going to live this down, am I?"
I clapped him on the back, grinning. "Not a chance."