"Who are you?" Bryan was asked by a dainty girl with soft golden eyes. Her blonde hair and perfectly shaped facial features made a single thought appear in his mind.
"Aphrodite?" everyone looked at him in confusion and he coughed and shook his head. "Lucy, please get that thing off her. Meng, get ready for an attack." He could sense it. That monster was locked on to them. And no surprise there. Even among the talented and brilliant participants, the three of them were among the best.
'Make that four.' The girl that they had come to rescue was not weak; he could tell that much. She was just not a combat type and her beast's ether just happened to run out. If they had met earlier, she would have been a valuable addition to the team.
'Wait, this isn't the time for that.' Bryan closed his eyes as he linked with Carl's senses and focused on the dragon before them, trying to get a read on its strength.
"A half-step Super. Just like I thought." Bryan muttered.
When a beast evolves, there is always a chance of failure. Worst case scenario, it could die in painful, nasty ways. But if it managed to survive that, its strength would far surpass the previous stage but still not completely enter the new stage. That was often known as the half-step stage.
'Of course. There is no way they'd put a real Super class here.' Bryan sighed until he remembered what kind of beast they were dealing with. 'Still, who puts a freaking dragon?'
Bloodlines often determined the pace of advancement, strengths and unique talents of a beast. Those who possessed even a trace of a dragon's bloodline were far above other beasts.
"Beast Skill – Lucky Time. Beast Skill – Dragon Scales." It may have seemed like a long time but from the time of their arrival to when he activated his skills, less than a minute had passed. Which was just enough time for the dragon to prepare its attack.
Heat. Heat so strong it seemed to melt even the air formed at the mouth of the dragon and it pointed it at them. The other examinees had already evacuated so they were the only ones left within its range of attack.
"Lucy! Meng!" Bryan called out but there was no need to. The two of them had already sensed the threat, faster than him and were on full defense.
The girl they had just rescued nodded gratefully at them and placed her palms on the chihuahua. Sweat from stress appeared on her forehead and it seemed like her beast was placed under a similar stress as it whimpered but still preserved.
'Thanks.' He nodded at her and walked to the forefront and placed his palms on Lucy's and Meng's shoulders.
'Carl.' He called out and the lizard expanded to its maximum size – ten meters and placed its scaly body before them. Ragna joined his own body and Dola created a gigantic ice wall as a third layer of defense.
The next second, the attack finally arrived.
….
"Do you think they'll be able to withstand it?" O asked D and the latter shrugged.
"Under normal circumstances… no. But those three are anything but normal. Especially the boy."
"Bryan?"
"Yes. Putting his background aside, he is a natural leader." D was actually interested in someone! O was sure the entire academy would freak over this fact.
"Lucy and Meng were almost strangers when they first met. The only link they had was Bryan and he managed to gain their trust and make them trust each other in just a short amount of time. His commanding abilities and combat skills are good too. He'd make a fine addition." D was confident that even if the others were trash, this group would be more than enough to make up for it.
"Can you say that again? I don't think the others would believe me without proof." O held her terminal up to his mouth and urged. A vein in D's head popped out and he slapped her hand away.
"Get ready. We might have to rescue some poor souls." D said and the two of them went alert immediately as dark, shimmering portals opened in the room.
….
'I'm alive.' That was the first thought that Bryan had as he came to. Next to him, Lucy, Meng and the unnamed girl were still lying with their eyes closed. Above them, the dragon was still moving without paying attention to the lives it had almost snuffed out.
"A super is indeed amazing. Just a casual attack almost killed us.' Bryan thought he knew the gave that existed between levels. But he underestimated it. The gap between super and elite was vast to the point even the distance between heaven and earth couldn't describe it.
'And this is just one who failed.' Bryan stood up and looked at the beasts who were at the forefront and bore the most damage.
Carl was relatively okay compared to the others. The dragon was a fire type which just happened to be his element. And the fact that they were from the same bloodline also helped.
Ragna was of the earth attribute. Earth was extremely defensive and it also helped in defending against fire so he was better off.
Among the three beasts that defended against the attack, Dola got off the worst. Ice was fires' natural enemy and vice versa. Once the heat exceeded what she could bear, it damaged her severely, leaving her in a 'melted' state.
'But everyone is still alive.' Which means they won. Bryan sighed in relief and picked up Carl as he opened the link between them.
Carl's ether passed into him and healed his wounds before carrying spiritual energy out that healed Carl. Like this, they established a virtuous cycle and recovered most of the surface wounds.
"Thanks." He patted the back of the lizard and laid it back on the ground. Perhaps it was in order to minimize their wounds but most of them had shrunk down to a more normal size.
Bryan lifted them up and placed them in their owner's hands. He had learnt that after spending a long time together, most beast tamers could subconsciously activate their link with their beasts.
"I guess it's true." He muttered as he saw the ether circulating between beast and human.
"Now, what to do."