Noah tilted his head slightly, just in time to dodge the fist
that came flying toward his face.
He stepped back smoothly, blinking as a broad-shouldered
student with short, spiky brown hair and a smug grin cracked his knuckles.
"Wow," the guy said, looking amused. "You actually dodged
that? Most Iron Ranks don't."
Noah dusted off his sleeve, unimpressed. "Yeah, well. Most
Iron Ranks aren't me."
The student's grin widened. "I like you. But orders are
orders. Iron Rank students are supposed to give us a good warm-up."
Noah arched a brow. "What, before breakfast?"
The student laughed. "Oh, this one has got jokes! I'm going
to enjoy this."
Noah sighed. "Of course you are."
Suddenly, a familiar bored voice spoke up from the side. "Try
not to kill him, Seth. We already lost two Iron Ranks last week."
"Hey, not my fault they couldn't handle it," Seth said,
rolling his shoulders. "Now, let's see what you've got, Green."
Noah glanced around. Students were already gathering, eager
to watch the new Iron Rank student get beaten senseless. Some whispered
excitedly, others pointed and placed bets.
"I say three minutes."
"No way, he won't last even two!"
"He dodged the first hit. That's more than the last guy."
"Doesn't matter. Seth's Twin-Headed Lava Hound will eat him
alive."
This was great, his first day back, and he was already a
public spectacle.
Seth cracked his neck, then lifted his arm.
BOOM!
A pulse of spiritual energy surged through the air as a
massive red beast materialized behind him. A wave of heat blasted outward,
forcing the students closest to the arena to step back.
Noah's breath hitched, his eyes widened in shock, "What… a Twin-Headed Lava Hound." The two
snarling heads bared their fangs, thick lava-like drool dripping from their
jaws. Its molten-red fur sizzled against the air, and the ground beneath its
feet smoked slightly from the heat. Each breath it took sounded like a furnace
burning deep within its chest.
Noah tilted his head. "You have got to be joking."
Seth grinned. "Still feeling cocky?"
Noah exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. He had fought
worse, Probably.
The Lava Hound let out a deep, guttural growl. Both heads
locked onto Noah, steam rising from their nostrils. The scent of burning rock
filled the air.
Noah took a step forward.
Then Seth snapped his fingers, and the beast lunged.
The ground cracked beneath the Lava Hound's paws as it shot
forward, a wave of heat blasted outward from its molten body.
Noah reacted instantly, his body moved before his mind could even
process the attack.
Shadow Step had activated and in one second he was there and
the next, he wasn't. Only a blur of black mist could be seen and suddenly he
was ten feet to the right, completely unharmed.
The crowd gasped, for others this was an opportunity to
murmur.
"Did he just vanish?"
"No, he moved! But how?"
"Some kind of movement skill?"
Seth's eyes widened for half a second before his grin
returned. "Oh, now that's interesting."
Noah straightened, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve.
"Thanks, I tried."
The Lava Hound's heads snapped toward him in unison. It let
out a low snarl that left steam rise from its nostrils, it scraped its claws against the ground. Then both
sets of glowing eyes locked on their new target.
Noah's muscles tensed. One mistake, and he was dead. This
wasn't just some low-level academy beast. This was a Tier 3 Twin-Headed Lava
Hound, and unlike normal creatures, it didn't have just one mind, it had two
and that meant it had twice the reaction
speed, twice the attack coordination and twice the problems for Noah.
And unlike Seth, Noah had only one beast fused into him. The
odds were terrible and this meant he had to fight smart.
Seth snapped his fingers again. "Alright, Hound. Let's see if
he can dodge forever."
The Lava Hound reared back, its left head gathering heat, its
right head inhaling sharply.
Noah's eyes widened. 'Oh, that's not good.'
A second later, the right head exhaled, releasing a massive
wave of flames that roared across the battlefield. The left head fired a stream
of molten lava, scorching a deep trench into the ground.
Noah didn't even hesitate. He used shadow Step again and vanished, this time appearing right behind the
beast.
Before Seth could react, Noah struck. His foot slammed into
the back of the Lava Hound's knee joint, forcing the beast to stumble forward
slightly. The collision was not enough
to cause real damage but enough to throw it off balance.
The crowd gasped again.
"He's fast!"
"Did he just trip the Lava Hound?"
"That shouldn't be possible!"
Seth raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You've got a brain? That's rare
for an Iron Rank."
Noah smirked. "I like how you think of me as unique."
Seth grinned. "Good. Then don't disappoint me."
The Lava Hound recovered instantly, it twisted it's massive
body with shocking speed and its tail whipped toward Noah like a flaming club.
WHOOSH!
Noah ducked just in time, the heat from the tail singed his
hair , it narrowly missed his head, it was too close. He needed a new plan, fast.
Noah glanced around. The Academy's sparring grounds were
large, but shadows stretched across the arena's edges where the early morning
sun hadn't yet reached. And a plan
formed.
He took a deliberate step back, lowering his stance, making
it look like he was on the defensive.
Seth smirked. "What's wrong? Getting tired?"
Noah didn't answer, he was waiting.
The Lava Hound charged again and Noah let it get closer and closer
then he took a shadow Step and instead
of teleporting a short distance, he vanished into the darker edges of the
arena, merging into the deep shadows, disappeared completely from sight.
The Lava Hound skidded to a halt, both heads snapping around
in confusion. Seth's smirk finally disappeared.
The crowd muttered in shock.
"Where did he go?"
"Did he run away?"
"No… LOOK!"
Before Seth could react, Noah emerged from the shadows right
beneath the Lava Hound, his hands charged with dark energy. Then he struck the
beast's left head directly in the jaw.
A sickening crack echoed through the arena, the left head
howled in agony, its entire lower jaw dislocated as it sputtered its flames out.
The crowd roared in disbelief. Seth's eyes widened. "What…?!"
Noah landed smoothly, exhaling as he straightened. His chest
burned from the exertion, but he held firm.
The Twin-Headed Lava Hound swayed, its balance unstable, its
left head hanging limp, unable to attack.
Noah smirked. "Guess you'll have to change your name.
'One-Headed Lava Hound' doesn't sound as scary, though."
Seth clenched his fists. "You little…"
Before he could finish, the official overseeing the match
raised a hand. "Enough!"
Seth's face darkened, but he didn't argue.
The official nodded at Noah. "Winner, Noah Green."
The crowd erupted. Noah simply rolled his shoulders, he was
exhausted, but he didn't let it show. He had won.
As he turned to leave, he felt eyes watching him.
From the upper balconies, elite students watched, those from
the diamond and platinum Ranks. Some looked curious while others looked
annoyed.
A few whispered among themselves.
"He's useful."
"Yeah, we can recruit
him before someone else does."
Those who were
irritated were planning otherwise. One whispered "Let's crush him before he
gets stronger."
Noah exhaled, rolling his shoulders. He had won, but now he
had something else to worry about, people had noticed him. And using his active
hearing senses it was clear that some would want to recruit him, while would
want to crush him.