Dani transformed into her humanoid form and hopped off the stage so the clean-up crew could take over. They swept up any traces of combat, then ushered Dani and Gallan to the medical tent for the healers to look at their wounds.

In Dani's case, she returned to the class bench almost immediately. Gallan, however, didn't emerge for quite some time.

"That was amazing!" Kira said as soon as Dani returned, clenching her fists to show her excitement. She spoke before anyone had a chance, much to everyone else's surprise.

Dani grinned and reached up to pat the girl's head. "Thanks. I got lucky with the opponents though, so don't think it was easy."

"Okay." Kira nodded, then the other classmates moved to congratulate Dani too.

Chen patted Dani's shoulder and gave her a big smile. "Well done."

"Now live up to it," Dani grinned back, gesturing back to the arena with a tilt of her head.

"Chen Tuskhorn and Daviin Blueleaf, you're up next! Hop up on stage and show us what you've got!"

"Showtime," Chen said, bumping his fists together in front of his chest. He jumped up on the stage before anyone from class could say anything else - he didn't show it on his face, but he was really nervous.

His opponent Daviin was some sort of elf hybrid, a surprisingly plain-looking man with blue leaves growing in his silvery hair. He also wore a rapier, and had fairer skin than elves usually did.

"Fight well," Chen greeted, holding out his hand for a shake.

Daviin eyed the demi-orc's meaty hand for a moment. Then he took out an embroidered handkerchief and placed it over Chen's hand before giving it a weak shake. "Indeed."

Chen gave a small snort and dropped his hand once the other man took back his handkerchief.

The illusion of the Spruce Treant they'd be fighting slowly formed in the arena. It had six long twisted limbs with roots forming gnarled fingers, like several small saplings wound together into a strange facsimile of humanoid arms, but positioned more like the legs of an insect. The stout body was mostly covered in spruce needles too densely clustered to see the trunk underneath.

Part of the body ripped open, forming a gaping maw with broken branches for teeth, that made the treant seem as though it were smiling wickedly at its opponents.

Chen dropped into a ready stance, tightening his gauntlets before holding up his clenched fists. Daviin drew his blade, slashing the air in front of his chest before settling his empty hand behind his back.

"Combat, start!" The ref yelled, stepping back and activating the Barrier-type enchantment.

Both Daviin and Chen raced forward, both approaching the treant from a different angle.

The Spruce Treant let out a terrible screech, slamming three of its hands down in an attempt to catch its opponents. Each limb was more than six feet across and ten feet long, effectively cutting off Chen's sight of Davin.

Chen stomped the ground, launching into the air like a cannonball. One bare foot touched the treant's limb for just a moment, causing whip-like vines to emerge from the treant's dense body and lash through the air to grab at Chen's leg. At the same time, he caught a flash of silver in his peripheral vision.

"【 Jump 】!" Chen shouted, launching into the air as a thin blade pierced the space he was previously standing.

Daviin clicked his tongue, landing as soft as a feather on the treant's limb. He dodged whipping vines with a twirl, then stabbed down with his blade to puncture the wooden arm. When the treant illusion screeched in pain, briefly withdrawing its vines in a visible flinch, the man winced and jumped away.

"【 Hammer Hands 】!" Chen roared, slamming down on top of the treant's body, bringing his fists down like a pair of hammers on the dense cluster of needles. The treant's wooden body creaked. A faint rustling made him roll off the treant just in time to avoid a flurry of pine cones being launched at high velocity toward where his face had been.

He landed heavily on the ground, rolling again to avoid the treant swiping toward him with one of its massive gnarled hands.

Another flash of silver.

Chen grunted and sprang up, twisting his body to avoid the thrust of Daviin's silvery blade. "Fight the tree, not me!"

Daviin shrugged, aiming a flurry of piercing blows at Chen's bulky body. Chen, annoyed, dodged every blow with an agility that visibly flustered his opponent.

The treant slammed a hand down again, forcing the two apart. Chen circled around to avoid it and caught sight of Daviin getting ready to leap away.

Launching himself like a humanoid javelin, Chen dived at Daviin's body and grabbed for the man's waist, bringing him down to the ground in a forceful pinning maneuver. The demi-orc grabbed the other man's wrist to prevent him from using the rapier, then used his free hand to rain blows on Daviin's face.

Daviin didn't take it quietly. He landed a few punches of his own on Chen's face, turning the fight into a brief slugfest with the two men just exchanging blows.

Until a vine whip slashed across Chen's back, tearing open his shirt and flesh with equal ease. Chen paused his attack, grunting in pain. Daviin took the opportunity to aim an elbow strike at the demi-orc's throat. Chen was forced to roll off the man's body to lessen the force of the blow.

Daviin sprang to his feet, rapier at the ready. " 【 Silver Thrust 】!"

Silver light shot forward as he made a piercing thrust toward Chen's chest. Chen twisted his body, spinning on his heel to narrowly avoid being skewered. The blade tore his shirt in the front, and Chen couldn't help lamenting the fact he'd need to buy new clothes again.

The treant screeched and hundreds of thorny vines erupted from the floor of the arena, sending rubble and debris into the air. Both men had to move quickly to avoid the attack, dodging left and right to avoid chunks of stone falling to the ground.

The thorny vines wiggled and squirmed. Chen swore, glaring at the distant figure of Daviin. If not for the elf hybrid continuously attacking him instead of the treant, perhaps the battle would be over. Instead, the treant was able to take root!

Four of the treant's limbs sunk into the stone floor, anchoring the creature in place. Its other two limbs thrashed about, doing its best to grab at Daviin and Chen as they ran around avoiding the thorny vines.

"This is your fault!" Chen accused, while Daviin just shrugged again.

The two charged at each other, Chen dodging the rapier's thrust to strike at Daviin's torso. The elf hybrid slipped to the side, unable to dodge completely but turning the attack into a glancing blow by angling away.

Chen swept his leg, hooking it around Daviin's knee, and brought his elbow up to smash into the other man's delicate nose. In return, Daviin managed to tear open Chen's leg with the tip of his sword as he thrust downward, the awkward angle making the wound shallow but serving the purpose of forcing the demi-orc to retreat.

Some of the thorny vines retracted back into the ground, only to erupt out again near their feet a moment later. It was getting more difficult to dodge, the speed increasing with each failed attack.

Treants were not the kind of enemy anyone wanted to face in a drawn-out battle, as they had an ability called 【 Growth 】 that increased their attack ability the longer they stood in place. Chen especially was at a disadvantage - he was a bare-handed Fighter aiming to be a martial artist, and the wooden bodies of treants were abnormally tough.

"【 Jump 】! 【 Hammer Hands 】!" Chen called his skills out one after the other, landing heavily on one of the treant's rooted arms and slamming his fists into the exposed wood. The wood cracked and groaned, large cracks appearing in the limb that oozed greenish-yellow sap.

With another 【 Hammer Hands 】, the arm snapped, and the Spruce Treant let out a horrific scream of pain.

Chen was about to leap away when he felt a prickle on the back of his neck. He twisted to avoid whatever set off his sense of danger, but was just a moment too slow - Daviin's rapier pierced his stomach, tearing through his delicate organs.

Chen froze.

He'd never been stabbed in the stomach before, and the pain wasn't something he was ready to deal with. In his moment of hesitation and shock, Daviin landed a solid kick on his side, sending the demi-orc flying.

He landed with a heavy thud near a thorny vine, which immediately slammed down on his body.

Daviin turned, ignoring the injured demi-orc, and wound up a killing move. " 【 Eagle Barrage 】!"

He thrust his rapier countless times in a matter of seconds, a flurry of blows striking precisely at the treant's most vulnerable points. He sprang into the air for one final attack, piercing downward with his rapier enveloped in a shroud of silver light. "【 Osprey Dive 】!"

Chen returned from the medical tent with a gloomy look on his face, sitting down on a bench with enough force that the twins were launched a couple inches into the air.

"You looked so cool fighting up there," Kira said, her eyes sparkling despite his defeat.

The demi-orc couldn't help giving a half-smile. "Thanks. I let my guard down, now I know what to train in the future. I didn't expect pain would cause me to freeze up like that..."

"You made a good showing though," Dani said, trying to comfort the upset demi-orc. "People were excited. You didn't see it, but that Daviin guy used some sort of stealth skill to sneak up on you in the end for the finishing blow."

"That explains it," Chen sighed, feeling just a bit better. "That attack came out of nowhere."

"Oh d-dear..." Ribbon muttered, her eyes going wide. Her paws were shaking, and her ears drooped until they were flat against her skull. "This m-m-means, I'm... I'm n-n-next?"