The rules of engagement were the same as before. The only that had been changed was that a team member will not get disqualified even if they were pushed out of bounds. Ashton wholeheartedly agreed to this change of rule.
After all, in dungeons, they will have to fight against night creatures and they will not stop just because they pushed them back. They will keep coming at them until and unless they were dead. Also, most of them will have skills of their own, which they would not hesitate before using.
As a result, Amaira's decision to let the students use their skills as well was within reason and would help them to get acquainted with how to parry or dodge such abilities. But there was one thing Ashton simply couldn't come up with a reason for.
It was obvious since the seniors have more experience in dungeons and stuff, they were the ideal people to teach them about self-defence and offence. However, was it really necessary for them to thrash their juniors so brutally?
In the four fights that had happened till then, not only did the juniors lose all of them, every single one of the first-years also had to be sent to the infirmary. Some had their bones broken, while some had grievous wounds on their body.
Even though Amaira said none of those wounds will cause permanent damage to the students, the mental trauma the students might end up suffering was completely disregarded. Their training session was turning out to be a freaking 'how to be treated like a punching bag session'.
But the more Ashton thought about it, the lesser he minded it all. After all, these were students who wanted to make his life hell if anything else. Why should he feel sorry for their state? The only thing he was concerned about was his teammates, that's all.
As long as, he could stop the same thing happening to them, he would have done more than enough. Well, he was more concerned about the tiny princess on his team. After all, he was more than sure Anna would be able to handle one of the seniors by herself.
'She is the conqueror of flames, having blue blessing. With her mana and fire abilities, she should more or less be able to hold at least one of them off.' A rough plan slowly began taking shape within his head, 'The rest of them would be my headache to handle.'
A moment later, the next teams were called on the stage and although the first-years tried their level best, the end result of the fight remained the same. However, this time there was a different reason for their defeat.
Weapons...
This time, the first-years had managed to overwhelm the seniors, which wasn't all that surprising considering their team was made up of three S rankers. However, the minute it seemed the second-years were going to lose, they brought out their weapon and swift took their opponents down.
The first years were baffled by Amaira's lack of response. However, when she said what she had to, they could not counter her claims.
"I never said you were not allowed to use weapons, did I?" She sighed in disappointment, "You should listen to the instructions more carefully. Also, the night creatures will not ask for permission before doing a similar manoeuvre. If all you can do is complain, then I think you should sit out during this subjugation attempt."
After that, none of the first-years asked her anything. The subjugation trip was something all of them were looking forward to, and since Amaira had control over who could and could not join the trip, no one wanted to piss her off.
After all, out of 80 of them, only 30 students were to be sent on the trip. The rest will need to prepare more and maybe they'll be able to qualify for the next trip, whenever it would end up being.
'Although I don't know much about dungeons and subjugation and whatnot, it must be a big deal for everyone considering Amaira silenced them all using a warning of not letting them join in.'
After living in the enclosure for 16 years, there were a lot of things Ashton had little to no knowledge about. The dungeons were one such matter. Well, he could always ask Rose for an explanation or just make a trip to the library.
"Anna, Nikki and Ashton. You're up next!" Amaira roared at the top of her lungs.
Ashton could help but notice the wicked smile on her face as she announced who their opponents were going to be. The moment Ashton saw his opponents, he realised why she smiled as she did. After all, the three of them were going to face a team made up of three S rankers from the second year.
Ashton quickly checked their stats, and well, things were not looking good for them. His opponents were all either level 12 or 13, while on his team, he was the only one on level 12. Anna was at level 10 and the freckled chick was at level 9.
Anna might not be able to hold off one of them by herself. Maybe with the help of Nikki, the two of them would keep one of the level 12s busy. However, that would leave Ashton to handle a level 13 and a level 12 on his own.
"What are you waiting for? Get on the stage asap! We don't have time to leisure around." Amaira barked at them as they made their way to the stage.
As soon as they did, the seniors jumped on the chance to mock them. Especially the bald guy who happened to be at level 13.
"I heard you were the kid who dropped our classmate in one punch. Pretty bold of you to lay your hands on a senior like that." The bald guy smirked but as he did Ashton smirked as well, "The hell are you laughing at?"
"Oh, nothing much. I was just wondering if you transformed into a werewolf, would you still be bald or not. It would be hilarious if you were." Ashton replied and to his surprise, the first-years actually ended up sniggering as well.
"You... I'll make you eat those words!!!"
"Like you ate your hair? Sure, come at me!"