The dragon was still walking although its pace was so slow most of them were able to escape it. If the only goal was to run, then they'd be able to do it easily.
'But in that case, there wouldn't have been a need for them to bring it in if they just wanted to test that. Perhaps… we are supposed to defeat it?' Bryan looked at the giant and shook his head. There was no way they were even putting a scratch on that thing.
It was then he saw it. Right where the rumored dragon's inverse scale was supposed to be, there was a three-meter large wound. It wasn't deep but it didn't heal or grow any smaller, despite the beast's recovery ability.
'What a sick joke.' Bryan thought as he stood up. Below him, the other beast tamers had started waking up one by one.
"Change of plans guys. We're killing that thing." Bryan said, shocking all of them except Meng who grinned.
"Good. I need to get revenge." He slammed his right fist into the palm of his other hand. Bryan could see he was shaking a bit.
"…okay." Lucy said after a while and it was only one person who was left. The newcomer.
"I… can't. I'm all out of energy and so is Blessing." She shook her head and Bryan placed his head in his chin. In order to increase their rate of success, they would need her.
"Can I touch her?" He asked and she nodded. After receiving her confirmation, he placed his hand on Blessing's head and activated his ability
[Blessing
Species: Evolved Silkworm Wolf
Bloodline: Variant Moonlit Moth
…]
At that point, Bryan interrupted the flow of information and focused on something specific. How to recover energy in the least costly manner.
[Recovery method: infuse energy to stimulate the blood vessels and ether network at the throat, groin and head. Energy used must be of the earth attribute.]
'Just my luck.' Bryan turned to Lucy and gestured for her to come closer. He then remembered something and looked at the newcomer. "What's your name by the way?" he asked.
"Katherine. My friends call me Kate." She replied and he nodded and asked, "Do you want to fight? Against that." He pointed at the dragon and she looked at it again.
Honestly, she wanted to say no. But they had saved her life even under the risk of getting injured or failing the examination. She couldn't just let them go if she was able to help them.
"Blessing?" she looked at the chihuahua and he hesitated and nodded. Seeing that, she no longer had any reason to refuse. "If you will have me."
"Great." Bryan nodded and whispered the recovery method in Lucy's ears and activated Lucky Time again.
….
"They surprisingly didn't die. What a shame." O clicked her tongue and D glared at her. They had teleported to a location just a bit off from where Bryan and the others were in order to swoop in and save them.
After they saw that they had survived, they were preparing to leave until they heard what they were planning.
"… they know that their only task is to run away from the beast, right?" D muttered and O shook her head.
"Bryan looks like you – an overthinker. Which means he most likely wants to take it down. After all, that headmaster left a chance of success, no matter how small it is." O said and shot a glance at the wound on the dragon's neck. Even reaching it would take an extraordinary amount of effort that was beyond the examinees.
'I wonder what he has in mind. After all…' she looked at Bryan and confirmed. Despite the fear he and the others were feeling, he was still confident in his chances of success.
"What do we do? Stop them?" she asked D and after the latter thought for a while, he said, "No. I want to see where this goes."
….
"Blessing is a boy." After striking the locations, Lucy mentioned to Bryan and he blinked. "Eh?"
"He is a boy. Earlier, you said 'she' but you were wrong." Lucy said and only one thought was in his head. 'Was that really important?'
"How are you feeling?" He asked Kate and she closed her eyes and nodded.
"Blessing can fight. Though not for long. I don't know what you did to him but he seems… weak." Katherine hesitated at the last part and peeked at Bryan.
'Of course, he does. After all, it's a forced recovery. Well, it won't harm him in any way but he wouldn't be peppy for a couple of days.' He didn't mention this to her in fear of her backing out. Plus, he did technically save her.
"It's just a minor side effect. He'll be fine." He said and looked at the dragon.
"Meng, you'll be the linchpin of this operation." He said, drawing Meng's attention.
"After all, Dola is the only one who can fly. And your element is a natural enemy of the dragon's." Bryan explained and Meng nodded. He then turned to Katherine.
"Katherine, I assume you specialize in support. Buff, healing or control?"
"Buff and healing." She replied.
"Good. In that case, please focus on supporting Lucy and Meng. Only divert attention to me if I get injured or worse."
"Lucy, you'll be in charge of defense. This time, I'll be supporting you. From my estimates, we have to end this fight within ten minutes or else we'll lose. Meng, as soon as I give the signal, blast that wound on the dragon with everything you've got." He finished and they all nodded.
"Let's do this!"
….
Merlin looked at a crystal ball that showed the current scene of the exam.
"It seems this year's freshmen are quite gutsy." He stroked his beard and muttered.
Bryan's team wasn't the only one. About two other teams were planning on challenging the half-step Super level beast.
"It looks like they're all gunning for the same thing. I wonder what they are going to do. Work together or fight each other?" Well, there was no way in hell that they were taking out a dragon without teaming up.
Humans are weak. Especially in this new world. Which is why they need to work together. Be it with themselves or their beasts. Coordination was key, no matter where one was.