Subsequently, nervous Sky stepped backward, far from the gate, as if she had already put her strategy in place, firstly to obtain a clear vision of the field. Stomping one foot behind while bending forward at the front knee in what her brother calls 'first stand,' which is just fancy words referring to the willingness to hunt.
With the countdown almost at the end, she heard a very familiar roar; she immediately recognized it—an animal she had failed to hunt with her dad once, or rather, a beast. She trembled in shock and then cursed loudly, thinking it must be that person's doing, the one who called her a rat.
When the gate slowly opened, silence pierced for a second before a horrific roar filled the whole chamber. Finding herself standing before a giant brown bear that looked ten times her size, with projected iron spikes shielding its back, her eyes widened.
"No jokes!! Spiked mountain bear!!"
Discovering her worst thoughts had come true, she bit her lips; nevertheless, she took a grip of herself, repressing her fears. She thought to stand up tall no matter what the situation was.
Although she managed to gather some courage, the bear gave her no time to think further. Instantaneously, its four legs stamped forcefully on the ground, directing a forward attack dashing toward her.
"Sh**! I can't win in a face-to-face fight! I've got to think of something."
Besides the marvelous efforts she made to avoid its attacks, moving randomly around the room, she brainstormed to at least figure a way to get through this trial; thus, she didn't notice the slight change in the bear's eyes.
Unexpectedly, the bear paused in the middle; its eyes were fixed upon Sky with an ominous calmness that lasted for seconds. She observed it with caution, while the examiners just waited and watched, until it suddenly moved its forelimb up and then slammed the ground so hard that it quaked from the impact.
"What?!" shouted the confused Sky, nearly losing her balance.
Momentarily, she sighted its palm punching the floor, the shattered splinters sending debris flying toward her at incredible speed. She kneeled, crossing her arms as a shield, knowing it was already too late. Without doubt, even if she did succeed in dodging this attack, serious injury was certain. Consequently, Sky took the direct hit. As she screamed in pain from her cracked left forearm, the intensity of the strike sent her flying to smash against the wall. Her vision blurred as she heard the bear roar in satisfaction as if it had achieved victory. Unluckily, it was not done yet; it aimed for her again.
Sky's body slid down off the wall, and she knelt on the ground while coughing blood. Helton's laughter echoed through the glass room.
"See! I told you, Hurricane..."
Frankly, Helton succeeded in grating on Hurricane's nerves. She looked grim, grinding her teeth when she turned back and shouted at the woman in the lab coat, in her black dress and stockinged legs.
"Nil Green! That bear! It isn't normal!"
"Because it's a mutant spiked bear," Nil replied, only chuckling in a calm tone.
In contrast to some of the examiners' assistants who just nodded, the others watched in conflict, wondering why in the world the Greens brought this monster onto the academy's grounds. Thus, Hurricane thought the same.
"They are just kids, not on the level to fight something like that!"
Unfortunately, none seemed to agree with her or think it mattered. Hurricane sensed something was off with this trial. Her thoughts surfaced as she looked back at Sky. 'Are they intentionally targeting this student? If so, why her specifically?'
"Don't think too much into it, Hurricane. Overthinking things will only make you older," Nil stated, fixing her gaze on the bear and the black-haired girl who was a bloody mess, showing some interest.
Back on the battlefield, with trembling legs, Sky picked herself up, leaning against the wall, holding her injured and limped forearm.
'This bear...nothing normal about it, nothing like I faced before in the forest. What should I do?' she thought.
In the next few seconds, she shut her eyes, her whole body shivering and screaming in pain; it took great tolerance to sustain it. Sharpening her senses, she remembered her father's words about spiked bears—that they have poor eyesight and mostly rely on their hearing. But then again, this bear's intelligence was higher than normal, so that may not be the case for it. 'That's not fair!' Sky sarcastically scoffed, thinking about it.
Despite that fact, she inhaled deeply and then exhaled. Her gaze centered on the iron gate behind the bear's massive figure.
"Screw it! This is the only way!"
With no flight choice in her hand, she gripped the fallen pieces of the demolished wall behind her, then lunged toward the gate.
The bear's eyes twitched and then roared agitatedly, bumping its claws on the floor twice, ready to charge when a sudden intense echo vibrated through its body, and it clamored in pain. Slipping on the ground, Sky gripped another rock and threw it again at the spikes as she kept moving; the loud echo disturbed the bear, almost blowing its tapered ears. Sky grinned at its reaction.
"It worked! Looks like I was right!"
"Oh, smart kid," Nil smirked while observing the bear lose its mind from the heavy ringing sound, not giving it a break.
As she reached the gate, her footsteps came to a halt. Picking up the base, she kicked the gate multiple times to draw its attention, then quickly pulled out the dagger from her belt, standing firmly before the gate. She reviewed the plan in her mind one more time: step one—make the bear lose its temper; step two—grab its attention; step three—drop it unconscious by using its charge against it, dodging it fast to slam its head on the iron gate; so simple.
Step four: pray it works!
"Please work!" she said, simpering as she felt the tension rise. Then she kicked the gate again.
The bear finally went berserk with the last noisy echo, growling in rage, stamping its forelimb in her direction. But surprisingly, the bear put its weight on its hind limbs and jumped forward.
"Huh!!"
Not surging in but charging from above! Sky's plan fell apart; flabbergasted, she cursed its intelligence while she squeezed the dagger's grip handle. At that moment, unaware of it, tiny sparks began to surround her; so hazy she didn't notice it.
Meanwhile, Hurricane stood up, ready to interfere; her eyes widened at the white sparks gathered around Sky's body like a magnetic field.
"Wha...t? What is this?! Huh! So slow!"
Sky stated, standing stunned, gazing up at the bear marching down toward her in slow rhythm; it was as if seconds turned into minutes. She felt an unnatural heat sensation rising from her core that shortly transferred into her right arm. As if they were magnetized, the white sparks attracted to her arm, gathering around it. Bit by bit, they covered the dagger's tip, turning it completely white. With the glowing aura filling her iris, for the first time, Sky felt a new sensation of being so light, with an incredibly strange increase of strength flowing through her body; she felt more powerful.