It was a few minutes after class had started when Bryn arrived, Lionheart gave him a look but over the years he had grown used to students showing up for one reason or another and for the particular student in front of him, he could guess as to the reason why he would be late, so instead of bringing it up, he just told him to sit with the rest of the group and await his turn.

Currently the class was sat around a large arena that had been carved into the ground, there was grass outside of it but inside the arena was red sand.

Atop the sand two of the students were fighting.

They weren't just sparring, they were fighting, weapons and all.

The two students, a boy and girl, were holding nothing back as they fought without the use of skills and abilities, the guy, who looked like a 'Brick Shithouse' was wielding a large bastard sword whilst the girl who was a good foot smaller than him was wielding a rapier.

The guy was obviously the stronger of the two with his natural physique, each of his slashes were fast and precise but the girl was no pushover, she was fast and even better, smart.

She knew that the guy couldn't hit her if she was too close to him so that was where she stayed, weaving in and out of his attacks to the put that in frustrated anger he started to make mistakes which she benefited from.

“What's going on here?” Bryn asked as he sat down next to Armarni with his eyes still on the fight.

“Lionheart wants to see what we are like fighting without skills, he said that there is always a point when you will eventually run out of mana and if you can't fight at that point, then you’re dead” Armarni replied as he watch the girl place her rapier to the guys neck, he surrendered in the next moment and Lionheart came over to give them some sage words of advice before calling for the next two students to come up.

The fights continued but Armarni was more interested in what happened with Ash. He could tell that whilst Bryn was watching the fight, he was thinking about something else and it was something he was not too happy about.

“So, What happened with Ash?” Armarni asked quietly so as to not draw Lionhearts attention.

Bryn frowned for a second before saying, “Before I came to the academy the worst thing I'd really ever done was break a few bones after getting in fights with people, but since coming here I've killed three people, I thought the academies were supposed to be training us to become Heroes, not killers” Bryn Complained and Armarni shot a desperate and shocked look at him.

“Please tell me you didn't kill Ashikaga, oh god, the Yakuza are never going to let this go” Armarni demanded in a desperate voice.

“Me kill Ash, Hah, Have you ever seen him fight, a hundred of me would still lose, no, we were attacked by the people that tried to break into my room the other day and he tore through them with ease but left me to deal with the aftermath...I killed one of them to scare off the rest” Bryn said.

Armarni let out a relieved breathe before asking for a few details on the ones that had attacked him, as soon as Bryn mentioned Ash calling them unaffiliated he had a small smile on his face.

“You did the right thing, if anything, you should have taken them all out to make sure that you won’t have any further problems in the future, they're unaffiliated so the people that would probably come after you in the academy are the people that were in the fight with them” Armarni explained but Bryn wasn't happy.

“But is that right, we're supposed to be Heroes but all we seem to be learning and being encouraged to do is kill” Bryn said and Armarni shook his head.

“Bryn, You're mistaking what a Hero in real life is from one in a story, The reality of this gig is that We're Hired guns, we're sent into the Shit and told to wipe out the scum that makes up intergalactic society, not that the people here are really any different” Armarni left these words for Bryn to think on before leaving as he was called to the stage by Lionheart.

Bryn thought on Armani’s words whilst watching him fight, Lionheart had spoken to him for a second before the fight begun as Armarni had intended to sue his pistols, after a brief explanation on how he had four pairs, two based on his mana and two on the tech they were created with, he explained that he could continuously switch between them as to allow the other pair to recharge before switching them out again.

Lionheart admitted that it was a good style but he wanted him to practice what would happen is someone came into his range so he started with the two opponents very close to each other.

As soon as the fight begun Bryn had expected Armarni to rush for distance as soon as he could because that is what he had been taught but unexpectedly, Bryn had switched his grip on his gun and started using them as pseudo hammers in what Bryn could only describe as gun-fu.

Armarni hammered his opponents ribs, wrist and toes before making distance and switching his grip so he could begin shooting the severely outclassed opponent.

The fight ended with Armarni unscathed whilst his opponent was covered in bruises.

Now, it was Bryn's turn.

Bryn took to the stage with his two gnomish long knives, they were thin and curved, similar to what he imagined an elves long knife would look like, probably the only difference between the two were that these were created gnomes instead of elves.

His opponent was a dual wielder as well, she was wielding two daggers of a similar nature only her were of different colour and designs whilst he were exact replicas.

The fight begun and the two immediately started clashing, blade on blade, sparks flew and the air ringed as the metal clashed.

The girl was fast and smooth, Her entire body would move with her blade as she pressed the attack, but Bryn was technical, his knife in one hand would go one way whilst his other went another way, he was quick as well, Half the time he wouldn't even block her attack but dodge it entirely before falling away and creating distance between the two.

It was when he has put distance between the two for the fifth time when Lionheart stopped the fight.

“What the hell is going on here?” He called out in anger as he stepped into the arena, “Am I misunderstanding something here, do you think those knifes in your hand combine together like a transformer to create a bow or something?” He asked and Bryn realised he had stopped the fight because of him.

“No Sir” He called out and Lionheart drew in on him.

“Then why, when you are using close range weaponry, Do you keep making distance with your opponent” Lionheart demanded.

“It was the way I was taught sir, Dodge and move before finishing them off at a distance” Bryn responded with his words throwing lionheart through a loop.

“'Dodge and move before finishing them off at a distance', Bryn, Do you know how to use a long-Distance Weapon?” Lion heart asked to which Bryn nodded.

“Yes sir, I was taught how to use the Bow” Bryn responded and Lionheart sarcastically looked about, “Then where is it?”.

Bryn was embarrassed at this point, “erm...I don't have one”.

Lionheart sighed in frustration, “Fine, do you plan on getting one in the future” He asked.

Once again, Bryn was embarrassed, His aunt had taught him the bow and whilst he was good with it, he didn't actually like that style of fighting.

“Probably not sir” Bryn admitted and immediately realised that that was the wrong thing to say.

“GRRR....Then tell my why are you using a fighting style that no longer suits how you fight” Lionheart asked and Bryn was silent.

Lionheart had asked a question he had never really thought about.

As far as Bryn was concerned, he had been taught to fight so he could fight. He had never really question about whether his style was correct for him or not, this was part of the reason he had not chosen to go the route of martial arts during the entrance exam.

Lionheart shook his head and addressed the class.

“Listen up as I will only say this once, There is no perfect style only the most appropriate, as you have seen Bryn's current style of fighting is good and the ability to disengage situations to create distance is well above average, but it is a symbiotic style, it is to be used in combination with a long range weapon or skill, in this case, a bow, and now I am not saying that Bryn has been taught a bad, style, quite the opposite, as long as you obtain a [Skill] or [Ability] that you can use in replacement of a bow then your great, but In regards to the situation I am preparing you for in this lesson, one where you do not have access to mana to use skills, until you get a long range weapon then it will only be a weakness for your opponents to exploit, my advice, learn a new style that you do not have to depend on multiple weapons to use.” Lionheart said before dismissing Bryn and his opponent from the arena.

Bryn took a seat and thought over what Lionheart had said, His aunt had taught him the style as a means of allowing him to create distance to use his bow again and now that he no longer had a bow to use, he really didn't need to keep using that style any more, but did that really mean he needed to learn a new style.

He had spent several years learning this styles and whilst he wasn't fond of Bow aspect of it, he liked the rest of it, hell, the skill's innate ability to create distance had already saved his life during the entrance exam, and it wasn't like he was bad at it, but he had to admit there were styles and even weapons that were more appropriate for him.

It was something that he would have to think about in the future.

Class came to an end after Lionheart had them try their luck at the Gauntlet again, most people were getting better control over their mana and it showed in how they moved.

They were still jittery, Bryn included, but they were improving.

Most of the class had now passed the first stage but only a few were able to pass the second stage and Bryn was not one of them.

Some had managed to pass it due to the [Skills] they had bought from the System shop and whilst others were able to scrape by using their [Aura], Bryn wasn't able to use it for more than a few seconds so as soon as it fell, he fell.

Thanks to the seal, Bryn simply didn't have a large enough mana flow to sustain his [Aura] and it was something that Bryn knew he couldn't fix until he could control the negative emotions and thoughts that came along with his mana, something which could only be done by building up a tolerance to overtime.

The two met up with Alexa at lunch and were thankful for the end of Hell week as it passed in a lot more peace, He still got a few 'looks' but nobody was willing to start anything like they did in the first week.

Even Kim's group had kept their distance with the only look they gave was one of confusion as to why Kim blushed when Alexa blew a kiss at her much to the amusement of Bryn and Armarni.

Bryn told Alexa what had happened after first class and whilst he was still upset over what had happened, she was of the same opinion as Armarni.

“You did the right thing Bryn, you can’t leave people like that, people who truly believe in something can't be reasoned with, their minds cannot be changed as they serve a purpose and will that they believe is more valuable than they’re very life so they will not stop until that purpose has been achieved” Alexa said with a knowing look that lessened some of Bryn's worries.

The three split up after lunch and headed to their individual classes and that perked Bryn up.

“oh Leena, Have you missed me?” Bryn asked as he cuddled with the little blue puppy he hadn't seen since before the weekend.

Leena Barked and yipped as she jumped about on the table in front of Bryn before jumping into his lap and rubbing her head against him palm.

“I missed you too” Bryn said before calming her down as Solomon and the rest of the class arrived.

“Alright now Settle down, I know that you are all still riled up from the weekend but you can swap stories later, I want to know who followed my advice on what to get from the system shop because what happens in this class today, depends on what you got” Solomon said and now a few of the Students were starting to look a bit hesitant over their past choices.

“First off, did everybody get a [Summoning Grimoire] or a [Skill] or [Ability] that offers a similar ability” Solomon asked and he was met with a chorus of 'yes'.

“Good, Now here is the real question, Who got a [Skill] that can be used to capture or restrain?” Solomon asked and now only several people out of the entire class said yes.

Solomon had expected this but even then he was disappointed with the number who had followed his advice as it was only these few that could move on to the next stage of their training.

“Well, I can't so that I'm not disappointed but it is your decision over what path you follow as a Hero, you chose personal safety over class progression, but for now, this is where our paths diverge” Solomon said much to the class's confusion.

“Those of you that have a restraining ability will come with me to learn what next on the course whilst the rest of you will head to the field we were on last week to practice with your partner” Solomon said and the class immediately went into moving to where they were supposed to go.

Bryn and the several Students that had bought a restraining ability waited to the side whilst the rest of the class left, when Solomon was ready they followed him through the farm to an underground colosseum, the arena was empty whilst above it was several wild and obviously untamed creatures locked within cages.

“The academy has been very generous with you so far, We have given you your first tamed beast and now we are offering you another, but do not misunderstand, we are not doing this out of the kindness of our hearts, no, we are doing this because it is not only necessary, but because you are going to pay us back” Solomon said from where he stood at the edge of the arena.

“For every creature you obtain from the academy, you will provide two of the same tier in return so the next generation can benefit”

“However, we can't very well send you out there without teaching you how to capture a wild beast so here we are, opportunity is knocking at the door, which of you will be the first to open it” Solomon finished before stepping aside to let the students make their choices.

The students eyes shined at the thought that the beasts in front of them could be their but at the same time, there was fear.

These beasts weren't like the little guys they had by their sides; these were fully grown adults of their species.

They were strong and they were undoubtedly pissed off.

The only student that Bryn knew that had experience facing off against an adult beast was the guy from the entrance exam, but Bryn was pretty sure he had failed the exam due to the injuries he sustained facing the wyvern as he hadn't see him since entering the academy.

The thought that he would be facing a creature on the same level was scary, but it was a something that he knew that he would have to face.

Bryn and the other students stepped forward to tackle the challenge and Solomon smiled in response before putting out his arm for them to stop.

“I'm happy to see that you've got the guts to keep pushing your limits but before you go any further, there is something that we have to do first” Solomon said before summoning a clouded leopard to his side.

“you've bought the skill now it is time to make sure you know how to use it, Before you begin down there I want to make sure you know how to use the [Summon] Ability, and as part of it, know how to make your partners [Return] from the space you store them in “Solomon said before demonstrating the later as well.

With Leena by his side Bryn touched felt at the [Grimoire] that was held within its own holster on his hip, but he didn't feel at it with his fingers, but with his mana.

He had bonded with the [Grimoire] when he first bought it so now it felt like it was a part of him, its skills were his to command.

“[Return]” Bryn said as he held his hand over Leena and the coat of arms upon both him and Leena began to glow.

Suddenly Lena's body broke down in glowing balls of light whilst his mask like coat of arms was projected from his palm, it's closed mouth opened and the glowing balls of light flew in.

On the last ball of the light the mouth closed and the mask disappeared.

With a hint of worry, Bryn quickly pulled his [Grimoire] from its holster and searched through its pages until he found it, or more exactly, her.

On a page of her own was an image of Leena in the top right corner whilst written to the side of it was the information the [Guardian system] had on her and her species.

Unlike when he was on the station, the information wasn't projected to him through a blue screen, but it was much the same as how is status was written on the first page, it showed exactly the same information as it did when he checked his status on the station except for a few new abilities, the only difference was that it was for her and not him.

General Information

Tier teo

Name:

Leena

Sex:

Female

Species:

(Carolina island Hopper) Aquatic Hound

Growth:

Juvenile

Mana Attunement:

Water

Bond:

Bryn Lockhart

An Aquatic type hound that hunts along the so named Carolina archipelago, it possesses the natural ability to run on water from the moment it is born whilst its tail allows it to free range of the oceans depths.

As it grows older it will Naturally learn how to manipulate water to a lesser degree via its Water affinity.

Status

Skill Set

Techniques

Name:

Level:

Mastery:

Name:

Level:

Mastery:

Passive

Name:

Mastery:

Progression:

Name:

Mastery:

Progression:

Water Affinity

Novice

N/A

Active

Name:

Mastery:

Progression:

Name:

Mastery:

Progression:

Aqua Step

Basic

threeteo.00%

All in all, there wasn't anything in the information that he didn't really know, Leena was still only a pup with a lot left to learn.

In fact, he could get started on teaching her some of the things that she needed to know right now.

“[Impart knowledge - Galadhrim Rangers companion] Bryn spoke the skill above her page in the book and it worked!” a new piece of information was written within her status station that she was in the middle of learning a new technique, it was slow and not instantaneous like how he learnt the skill, but the fact that he was there meant that it was progress.

Bryn moved his hand away from the book and to his dissatisfaction the skill stopped, Bryn was a little disappointed in that as he was hoping that it would just work passively in the background but it looked like Active skills really were active and they needed his attention to work.

Although, now that the idea was present, Bryn couldn't help but wonder whether it was possible to make an active skill passive and whether or not there was a skill in the system to enable it.

Being able to keep an active skill running in the background would be a massive help in taming and training not only Leena, but any future creatures he desired to tame, in fact, the more that he through about it the better the ability seemed.

With every moment passed he could think up another way to use the skill until eventually he thought about the opposite, could he turn a passive skill into an active one.

What would that do, would it simply be the same as toggling a skill on and off or was there something else to it.

Bryn wasn't sure but he really wanted to know the answer now.

Solomon drew his attention again as he noticed that all the others had manages to store their tamed partners and were not ready to being their training.

“Alright very good, Now that you have all got you're partners tucked away safety I want you all to remember that whilst I have asked you to put them away, this is a class that teaches cooperation between a tamer and his creatures, and that if you want to use your partner to aide you in trying to restrain the creatures below then you can, I only ask you to remember to ensure their safety, we have a very good healing department at this school but there is only so much magic can do” Solomon said before making sure each and every one of the students understood he was being serious.

“Now, There are a range of wild beasts below and whilst I said before that if you managed to capture one, you could keep it, I have no doubt that none of you have yet the ability to achieve this so it does not matter which beast you choose to practice on first, I assure you that you will each have the opportunity to practice on every creature down there at one point” Solomon said before motioning for them to begin.

Bryn considered it for a moment, to bring out Leena like a few of the others were doing, but decided against it.

Leena was only a pup and had yet to truly learn how to work in a group, maybe once he had finished teaching her how to be a rangers companion, but until then he would do this on his own.

Bryn was the last to move so six cages dropping a variety of beasts into the arena was already underway, Solomon might have explained the unlikelihood of them actually being able to tame one of these creatures but that didn't stop them from picking the beasts that most caught their eye.

Beasts that flew and Beasts that swam now littered the arena, but a barrier kept them separate from the rest of the students areas so you luckily did not need to worry about being struck from behind.

Bryn walked over to the control panel and looked through the choices available, he immediately eliminated any creature above Tier three as his skill only worked up to that level, and then he got rid of all aquatic types as he already had Leena, Why would he choose another water attribute beast when he had that covered.

No, Bryn decided to go In the opposite direction, he wanted to test his metal against a beast of tire, but not just any type, he wanted to see what the limit of his [Skill], the [Zealots Heart] truly was.

So, he made his choice and a cage the glowed red dropped into the arena below.

Bryn walked down the curved sides of the coliseum and into the arena but the creature within the cage had yet to emerge.

It seemed that it was happy to stay within its walled metal box even though it now had a way out.

Bryn frowned; this was not how he expected this to go.

Drawing his pistol wondered whether or not to shoot it, he didn't want to hurt it too badly but as he remembered the first Duel he initiated, his stun shots had little effect on Roman who was but a human with lower ranked barbarian bloodline.

It would have little effect against a tier three beast.

No, he would have to use a mode that he hadn't used yet, the only other mode it had.

He would have to set it to kill!

His decision made Bryn lined up his shot.

A single burst should be enough.

*Bang*

His pistol discharged and instead of the usual blue it was an alluring red, it shot into the dark of the cage and exploded within.

The rumbling growl that emerged soon after the shot told him that the kill mode severely overestimated itself

A Red light started to glow within the cage whilst Bryn was distracted and it took him a second to realise what it was.

“Oh Crap” Bryn called out and rolled to the side, dodging past the stream of fire that was blown out from within the cage.

Bryn flicked his head up as soon as his roll was finished but the Beast that was within the cage was on him with a speed he could scarcely match.

Bryn dropped his back down to the floor to dodge the beast horizontal claw slash before flicking himself up off the floor and against the beast head where he secured his footing before using it to kick himself back and out of the barrier for his part of the arena.

Panting, Bryn wiped sweat off his forehead and pulled a drink out from his storage ring.

That claw strike had been hot!

The beast within clashed against the barrier but as soon as it realised it was impossible to breach, it simple stalked its side of the barrier, its eyes constantly trained on Bryn in anger.

Looking at it, the beast was exactly as described within the control panel.

Golden Manned Fire Lizard [Tier three]

The golden manned fire lizard is a fire attributed creature that lives in vast underground colonies on the planet 'Vanesh'. Usually found within volcanic mountains, these lizards are highly territorial and will rarely retreat when challenged.

Living in such an environment has led to a high fire affinity resulting in powerful skills and dangerous natural abilities.

The lizard was a fire like orange with black stripes like a tiger, but golden hair like a lion ran around its neck and down it spin, some of which appeared on its long scaly limbs and tail.

Even from the other side of the barrier Bryn could see the fiery energy glow as its mane fluttered and he could almost feel the heat from where he stood.

There was no doubt in his mind that this was the most dangerous beast he had ever faced and he could not help but feel like he was an idiot for doing so.

A sentiment shared by a couple of the other students that had stopped their battles to laugh at Bryn's overconfidence.

“tch.... Time to get serious” Bryn said in response to their laughter and his reapers mask appeared, quickly quieting his onlookers.

Bryn stood on the outside of the barrier and faced the Lizard that had walked over so it stood directly opposite of him.

It growled as Bryn smiled.

“[Ethereal Chain]” Bryn said and a chain appeared above his palm, its blade was fierce but he didn't need it at the moment so willed it to be gone, replaced with simple chain links.

He thought about whether he could use his skills from this side of the barrier but his chains bounced off when he tried, no doubt Solomon thought it was an unfair advantage that may get them killed out in the field.

If Bryn Wanted to use his chains then he would have to be on the other side of the Barrier, but how was he going to get to the other side when the Lizard was right next to it.

It was so close to him that if the barrier wasn't there then he could have simply reached out to touch it!

Actually, that gave him an Idea, he was going to take a page from the old west, he was going to ride it till it broke, just like a stallion.

Holding his chain between his two palms, Bryn feigned turning away before bursting through the barrier and jumping above the lizards head, it was surprised for a moment but with its quick reactions it sent a dynamic bite towards him.

Bryn had little he could do as he was still in mid-air but he had thought this through, with his chain between his hands he used it to bounce himself higher as the lizards head turned and rose to bite him as he was already above it, but that was not all.

His chain was magical and moved to his will, whilst he was holding onto a part of it, the end of the chain had taken to wrap around the overgrown lizards neck and reattached itself to the rest of the chain to keep himself from being flung away.

With a simple twirl mid-flight, Bryn was able to readjust his position so he was mounted correctly atop the lizard.

Bryn prepared himself to be bucked and rolled as the lizard attempted to get him off its back but he figured he could last until the lizard was drained of its power once he begun using [Reapers Touch].

Only he never accounted for the fact that this was no Stallion he was trying to tame.

This was a Golden manned fire lizard.

Note the word....'Fire'.

“HOT!” Bryn screamed as he jumped from the back of the lizard, his crotch a flame after making contact with the lizards fiery scales.

Bryn fell to the floor darting out of the barrier again only to roll on the floor to put out the fire.

Bryn sighed in relief after slapping his cock for the fifteenth time, only to finally hear the hysterical laughter coming from the rest of the people in the room.

Even Solomon was wiping a tear from his eye because he had been laughing so hard.

In this moment Bryn was thankful for the first time to have this mask upon his face as otherwise, they would have realised that how embarrassed Bryn truly was.

This was hands down the most embarrassing thing he had ever done in his life and he had done some stupid stuff.

“Oh god, I think I'm going to die from laughing so hard” Solomon said from where he stood at the edge of the coliseum before regaining a semblance of control.

“Alright you lot, no matter how much I don't want to go as being here is too funny, I've got to go check on the rest of the class to see how they are doing, towards to the side of the arena you will find medics and assistants that work at the farm to keep you safe, if you have any problem then you can go to them” Solomon said before leaving with a chuckle.

Bryn lay on the floor and ignored the world around him until the laughter stopped and the rest of his class went back to their own beasts, It was only than when he got up, patted himself down, ensured there was no holes in his trousers, and began to figure out how to face the lizard again.

Mounting it was not the way to go, the scales were hot whilst the mane was like fire.

Bryn knew that now but he also knew that from the brief contact his chain had with its scales they wouldn't immediately be destroyed.

If he was going to succeed then it would be with his chains, but how was he going to use them.

He could wrap it around the lizards neck like he did in tactics and then active [Reapers Touch] to drain the lizard of energy, but Bryn knew that wouldn't work, the lizard would simply charge at him and either take him out there and then or force him to retreat beyond the barrier again and have his skill cancelled.

It simply wouldn't work.

Bryn's current skill set would let him drain it to the point of capture if he had enough time, but he didn't and that was the problem.

If he wanted to succeed then he would somehow have to restrain the lizard before he activate [Reapers Touch] or at the very least, do something to keep it away from it until it starts to show some type of effect.

Thinking it through he had an idea, but he didn't really trust it as it was from the same train of through he had gotten his first idea and the entire class had seen how that had turned out.

Bryn's Idea was to tie up the lizards legs, only he didn't know how it was going to turn out as the lizard's legs were very dissimilar to a calves.

With few other ideas and little choice, Bryn prepared to go back through the barrier, his only saving grace was the fact that the lizard had learnt it was dangerous to be so close to the barrier so it had retreated closer to its cage.

Bryn was able to pass through the barrier unmolested by the lizard, but he could tell that the Lizard was even angrier that before and knew that if it got the chance, it was maul him without restraint.

With chain in hand, Bryn moved closer to the lizard but not too close, he wanted to be as close to the barrier as he could be so he could leave if it became too dangerous.

Bryn had finally reached as far as he was willing to go and decided to make the lizard come to him, Bryn drew his pistol and shot but the lizards was expecting it this time and quickly scuttled out of the way before charging at Bryn with a speed he could not match, but it was a speed he had accounted for in his plan.

Bryn back peddled towards the barriers, creating a little bit of space which was quickly being eroded away by the lizard, but it was distance that he needed.

The lizard cross the small space in seconds and just as it was about to bite into Bryn's chest, Bryn stopped back peddling and charged forward, jumping into a slide underneath the great lizard and attaching his chain onto its front leg before rolling away and putting as much distance between him and the lizard as he could before it was able to stop its charge, all the while not resisting as the chain grew longer and longer.

Finally, Bryn had time to breath and he quickly activate [Reapers touch] and within seconds he was able to feel the energy draining from the lizard and refilling his dwindling stores, the only difference being that his mana felt foreign to him, but at the same time, easier to control.

It was a feeling that he knew would fade in time as the foreign mana within him was either converted into his own or used.

It was the same with Trey and it would be the same for this lizard.

Only as Bryn thought he had been successful, he realised that the lizard was staring at the chain attached to its front leg with an unhappy expression.

It could feel its mana being drained through it and it did not like it, but most importantly, it did not like Bryn who was putting him through this.

The lizard pulled its leg back and the chain went tight under Bryn's surprised gaze and before he could do anything, he was flung further into the arena without the chance to sever his ethereal chain at it connection.

Bryn skidded to a stop and quickly raised his head to get his bearing only to notice that the lizard was far too close to him for his liking and even worse, its hungry eyes were locked on to him.

“oh shit” Bryn called out before rolling to the side as the lizards flaming tail came striking down from above, piercing the arena floor like melted butter. The tail struck at Bryn one time after another, its main body circling Bryn to keep him trapped but no matter how it attacked Bryn was able to avoid its strikes using his training.

However, he had yet to fully master his training.

The strikes were getting closer and the heat from the tail was scorching, even if he was able to dodge the main strike, the area of effect damage it dealt to him was enough to burn his skin!

Bryn knew that if he didn't make a move then he was at fate's mercy, either the protectors surrounding the arena were going to save him at the last moment, or the lizard was going to have a late lunch, not liking any of those choices, Bryn had no choice but to make his own.

Bryn dived towards the lizard and rolled underneath its body so its tail could not get at him, the lizard bit at him but it was too slow.

Bryn was safe for now but not for long, the Lizards tail could no longer get him but what he had essentially taken cover under was a raging fire, the air was superheated underneath the lizards belly and with every breath Bryn felt his lungs burning.

Bryn's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to escape from the lizards clutches but before he could think of something the lizard made its move, its jumped into the air and flipped itself with a grace not suitable for its size.

In single sweep it was staring down at Bryn, its claws already in the motion of striking.

Bryn desperately dived to the side, barely dodging the lizards claws before scrambling to the arenas barriers as he tried to put as much distance between him and the lizard before it landed.

With a final 'screw you', the lizards shot fire out of his mouth as soon as it landed as it was the only thing it could do to cover the distance before Bryn was out of its reach.

Bryn crawled the final distance to pass through the barrier with his ass alight and a chorus of laughter ringing in his ears.

Bryn looked up from where he was resting to see the rest of his class had gathered to watch his pathetic display.

They were laughing at his plight.

Bryn ground the red sand of the arena within his palms whilst a desire to settle the score with those that watched and mocked.

“God damn it!” Bryn said as he recognised the desire growing within him for what it was and punched the floor as he squashed that desire for revenge before it could take route.

It was easier to tell when his power was taking effect when he wore his Oni mask, but he was starting to notice when the reaper mask was acting up.

Bryn remembered how it felt when he went after Trey and Gilbert, he had felt it when he killed Jodie.

It appeared that the more situations that provoked it, the better he would become at controlling it, but if he wanted to get rid of the desire completely, then Bryn was going to have to actively deal with what was causing this desire for revenge to grow before it grew beyond his control.

Bryn got up and left the area, heading in the direction of the group that had formed to laugh at him much to their dismay.

Some of them felt the desire to leave the group as they felt awkward at the inevitable conflict that they foresaw Bryn starting but a hushed word from those with the true power and authority in the group had them stay.

Bryn arrived after leaving the sandy pits to arrive on the stone stands, only much to the surprise of the group he had no intention of causing conflict, he was trying to resolve it before any 'real' damage was done.

“Damn, I screwed up there, the only time I usually accept my ass being on fire is after a nice curry” Bryn joked as he arrived but his low brow joke fell on death ears. One looked like they were stifling a laugh but they were quick to hide it with a cough.

“Oh, come on, I know that I've got a bit of a reputation but that shit was funny” Bryn asked whilst one of the group, a large boy noticeably bigger than Bryn in both size and muscle took offence.

“Funny? You actually think your vulgar joke was funny, See that's your problem, never mind the fact who you father is, you're crass and overconfident, you chose to pick a tier three beast but all you have been doing in flailing around like an incompetent fool, you do not take this class seriously and nor do you give these creatures the respect they deserve, look at all of us, we had the same option as you to pick a creature of similar power to yours but we didn't, because we are not stupid and know that we are here to learn and not play around” the Boy said as he went in on Bryn under the approving nods of the group.

Bryn frowned and shook his head, he had met enough pompous douche's is in his life to recognise when someone thought they were above him and even if Bryn hadn't been listening to what the boy had said so far already, he could already tell what type of person he was by the way he held himself, “Oh please, you didn't pick your opponents because they were the best to 'learn' from, you picked them because your weak cowards who are afraid of getting hurt” Bryn said and the not only did the boy look affronted, but so did the rest of the group as Bryn was insulting them as well.

“We have been given the option to test our abilities against a strong opponent in a safe environment, sure, I'll admit it, I know that I don't stand a chance against the lizard down there, I never had one from the start, but what I did have was an opportunity to learn what my current place in the food chain was, that my abilities are worth nothing in front of it and that whilst I cannot beat it, I can escape from it, when I'm out in the field and come upon a tier three threat, I'll know where I stand against it whilst you lot will be facing the threat blind” Bryn said as he too looked down on them, a look that the boy who had retorted him did not like.

He stared at Bryn like he wanted to fight him there and then, but in the background, behind where Bryn stood, was the lizard.

The boy barged past Bryn, their shoulders colliding.

“You think yourself better than me, let me show you the difference between us” he said as he walked towards the arena.

Bryn turned back to the rest of the group and gave them a look that was 'asking if he was serious', but there ignored him and followed in the other boys footsteps so they could cheer for him as he fought.

“Woo Go Johnny” “Kick its ass”” show him who he's messing with” the small group called out to their friend whilst finding a place to sit closer to the arena.

Johnny, the boy that was arguing with Bryn, stood at the edge of the barrier to the arena before turning back to give them an arrogant smirk and two finger salute before moving past it and into the arena, the golden manned fire lizard having long since noticed this new aggressor and it had not improved its mood.

The lizard broke into a sprint as soon as Johnny reached a certain distance into the arena, but the boy was calm and cool upon its attack.

It sprang at him like it had at Bryn, with its jaw wide open and teeth glistening under the arena lighting.

Johnny slipped to the side, with enough distance that both its jaw and claw had no chance of reaching where he now stood and sailed past him with a warm breeze following in its wake, but Johnny done with it, the fight had only just started but he was keen to finish it quickly.

“[Ice Wall]” Johnny called out and a wall of ice shot out of the floor and encompassed the lizards tail as it past, stopping it dead in it tracks and slamming the confused lizard into the ground.

The lizard shook its head as it was disorientated from the sudden change but before it could adjust, Johnny was moving in to finish it.

One after the other, Johnny spammed [Ice Wall] as he moved around the lizard, he actions fluent with skill as it they were too parts of the same language. With a flick of his hand an [Ice wall] Sprang from the ground, with a stab of his foot another shot up.

His skill was half martial, half magical.

Within seconds there was an [Ice Wall] for each of the lizards limbs and a final one for the reptiles head.

Bound with ice, The Lizard that had given Bryn so much trouble, was at Johnny's mercy.

The lizard tried to struggle free using its impressive might but the ice was frozen solid and could not be broke with the strength it possessed, seeing it fail, Johnny knew that he had succeeded, and as he turned to look at his friends cheering for him, and Bryn looking on in dismay, he let Bryn see the difference between the two of them.

He let him know how large the gap was between the two of them was.

“Do you understand the difference between us and you now, You may be famous as the spawn of a demon but we are true born and bred heroes, we have been brought up and trained by our forefathers to face a threat such as this on a daily basis” Johnny said and he put his back to the lizard and started to walk out of the arena and towards Bryn and the rest of the group.

“And those of us that do not come from those in the light, come from that which dwells in the dark, we are something that you who were sheltered by the Hero Association will ever be able to compare to, you do not belong in this class, you do not belong at this school and most importantly, you do not deserve to be a Hero!” Johnny said in righteous rage before stopping as he had saw not only Bryn go still, but his friends as well.

“What?” Johnny asked before he was slapped and his body sent stumbling across the arena floor like a lifeless rag doll.

““Johnny!”” His Friends called out to him in fear whilst the arena attendants burst into action, But they were too far away and the lizards Limbs already in the process of breaking free, the Ice that had bound them having already melted much the same as it had for the lizards tail.

Johnny, barely on the verge of consciousness, could feel more pain than not, his eyelids fought to stay closed but he knew that if he gave up on staying awake now, then he would never wake up again.

Several meters from him he could see the lizard as it desperately broke free of the ice, only to stop and lock on to him in hate when it had succeeded, Johnny already knew what was to come next so just as the lizard launched itself at him, he used the last of his energy.

“[Ice Wall]” He cried out desperately and the white wall appeared in front of him to block to the lizards charge.

No sooner had it appeared did the lizards claws collide with it, Johnny had made the wall appear at an incline angle over him as he had no hope at running away, so when the lizards claws collided with the wall, it started to scratch and scrape at the ice as if it was burrowing into the ground.

With his magic draining and the Ice breaking, Johnny knew that his fate was not looking good and that it was all his fault for letting his guard down, he knew that the only hope he had now was to hold on for as long as it took for the arena attendants to arrive, but it was hard and he was struggling.

The urge to give up and close his eyes was just too tempting.

The Golden manned fire lizard stopped its ferocious attack and reared back its head; licks of fire were flicking out of its open mouth as it gathered within to strike.

*BOOM*

Bryn crashed into the Lizards exposed ribs and sent it falling from atop Jonny's crumbling wall.

Bryn rolled as the two separated as they hit the ground, Bryn was quick to put himself between the lizard and Johnny whilst the lizard rolled on the floor to make sure the one the attacked it was gone before noticing Bryn in between it and its meal.

*RAAAA*

The lizard screeched in anger whilst its head reared back and fire was brought forth once again, Jonny knew that it was the end as he had watched Bryn fight, he knew that Bryn had no way to block the fire, his Chains would be of no help here.

He waited for Bryn to move and the fire to envelop him but to his surprise, Bryn did not move, he did not run.

The fire came and the enveloped the two, The crowd that had gathered looked on in fright whilst the Attendants pushed themselves to get there quicker.

*BOOM*

The Lizard was blasted from the side by some type of fire and sent flinging across the area ground, its body broken and its consciousness taken, the attendants had arrived and they were not wasting any time in ending the threat, they rushed to where the flame was dispersing, ready to cast their strongest Healing skills and give the two injured students if they were still alive the strongest med's they had, but they stopped.

A Bright Shield made of pure energy Stood between them and the two students they feared to have already been killed, one injured and the other right as rain, on the other side.

The Cracked shield that hung in the air had blocked the lizards fire and saved the two students lives, but it had taken its toll and if it had gone on for a few seconds longer, it would have no doubt broken under the Lizards fire power.

Bryn looked to the small charm in the palm of his hand, it took a miniature form of the shield that hung in the air, only much the same as the shield, it had cracked and crumbled as the power within it faded into nothing.

To save both himself, and Johnny, Bryn had used one of the Free Live saving charms he had bought from the system.

It was a loss that may have serious consequences in the future.

Bryn walked off to the side as he looked at the dust in his palm, the attendants rushed to help Johnny, but the boy in question was focused on Bryn.

He did not respond to the attendants as they asked about his injuries, he did not respond when they asked when he was okay nor where his friends rushed to his side.

His eyes were locked onto Bryn.

As For whether he wanted to thank him, or Curse him out for showing him up, Well, No one but Johnny knew what thoughts were going through his mind and no words were said as he was taken away by the medics.

Class ended early that day but each and everyone in the arena had learnt something that day.

They learnt to never let your guard down in the face of victory, and to never judge a book by its cover, because your predetermined prejudices may just come to be flipped around completely.