The beast was nervous when it noticed all the humans around so it didn't strike immediately. It tested the barrier by striking it with a heavy paw, only causing the barrier to shake slightly and inflicting no damage. After realizing it was trapped, the raccoon returned its attention to Kori.
Kori had only fought with one Magical Beast before, so he missed the opportunity to strike when the raccoon was distracted. He cursed his bad luck, then drew a pair of daggers that had rusted slightly from misuse. The boy was obviously not a star student.
The raccoon lunged forward at Kori, swiping again with its paws. Kori dodged to the side, but his shirt was caught by the raccoon's claw and tore open. Kori jumped back to avoid another attack, then adopted a different stance.
"Try this, Flash Steps!" Kori yelled out.
His figure turned into a shadow that merged with the raccoon's, essentially turning invisible. The raccoon lost track of its opponent, becoming startled.
The spectators were stunned. "He has the Darkness Element!"
William was also surprised. So the Darkness Element can be used this way too, huh?
Kori jumped out of the raccoon's shadow and sliced at its back legs, cutting through one of the tendons and forcing the raccoon kneel down. The wound festered upon contact with the Darkness Element and wouldn't heal in a short amount of time. Kori smiled in delight at the outcome, not expecting to gain the upper hand so easily.
At William's seat, Glen commented on the fight. "Kori's method isn't bad against normal Magical Beasts, but he's stupid if he thinks that's going to beat a Prairie Bear."
A Prairie Bear? Well they're not wrong, he does look a bit more like a bear than a raccoon. William laughed thinking about it, drawing the ire of some nearby disciples who misunderstood.
"Laughing at another's misery, hah! I'd like to see him get on stage and fight a Prairie Bear!" one girl commented with a sour look on her face.
"I've never seen that guy before, he must be pretty weak. Leave it to the idiots to make the most noise." a male disciple scoffed.
Kori also heard William's laugh and scowled. I will finish the fight in one move!
He dove into the Prairie Bear's shadow and started drawing Mana of the Darkness Element to fuel his next attack.
The Prairie Bear's eyes flashed with a hint of intelligence. It wasn't about to let Kori do as he pleased this time.
The Prairie Bear released a low growl and drew what little moonlight there was to the stage. The specks of moonlight gathered around the Prairie Bear like moths to a lamp and continued to condense until there was a solid layer of moonlight wrapped around the Prairie Bear like armor.
Kori covered his daggers with the Darkness Element and jumped out of the Prairie Bear's shadow once again. His blades sliced at the back of its head, but were stopped abruptly by the moonlight armor. He continued to press forward, but the blades wouldn't go an inch further.
"What?" Kori couldn't understand how the Prairie Bear could defend against his attack. The Darkness Element had a natural corrosive ability that should be able to melt through any defense.
Elder Wen shook his head in disappointment. "I told you that nocturnal beasts have a natural weakness to light. With that said, you should have guessed a nocturnal beast would consequently be resistant to darkness. Maybe next time you will learn to not sleep during my lectures, young man." his words caused a few others who weren't paying attention to lower their heads in shame.
The Prairie Bear swiped Kori away with its paw, pushing him back ten meters while a bloody gash formed across his chest. Kori hit the barrier and fell unconscious.
"Disciples, remember this well. This is the only time you may rest in my class." Elder Wen spoke in a stern voice, to which many students nodded their heads furiously.
William was surprised by Elder Wen's attitude. The man seemed quite nice when he met with William outside the Lecture Hall. Who knew he also had such a ruthless side? New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novelFirｅ.net
William shivered when he remembered how close the man was to him just a little bit ago.
"Who else wants to try? I'm sure most of you understand by now how to fight with a Prairie Beast." the Elder asked the group for volunteers to which no one raised their hand.
Even if they knew that Magical Beasts were weak to light, how many could actually take advantage of this? The Light Element was very rare after all, just as rare as Kori's Darkness Element.
Kori had regained consciousness with the help of a nearby healer and heard Elder Wen's request. "Elder, I heard that boy laugh earlier. He must be quite confident." he pointed in William's direction.
Elder Wen followed the direction of Kori's finger and realized it was the young man he met before his lecture. That Kori brat is just trying to cause trouble, but I have a feeling the kid he's pointing at is not a pushover.
"Is that so? Well, there don't seem to be any volunteers. Come on up lad." the Elder urged William with a kind smile.
William complained inwardly but still got up from his seat. How low can you be to drag someone else into your mess? At least it's free Potential Points. He approached Elder Wen on stage without a word.
"Lad, don't worry about defeating the beast since you are new. I'll step in if you're in trouble, just do your best to gain some experience."
William nodded, but didn't feel the Elder's help would be necessary. The Prairie Bear only seemed as strong as a beast in the mid stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm, a piece of cake for someone at William's level. The only thing Will didn't understand was the moonlight armor, which seemed to grant the beast protection at the Core Formation Realm.
What Element to use... William debated on his options. He could just use his fists, which he had a B Rank Talent for, but felt that might draw too much attention as his punches could easily kill a Core Formation Realm Beast without the help of an Array.
That's it! William had an epiphany. How could he forget his most versatile skill? Even Intermediate Arrays could deal with a Foundation Establishment Beast. He could kill three birds with one stone: earn Potential Points, draw little attention, and put an arrogant kid in his place.
He waited for the Prairie Bear to be healed by an assistant, then nodded his head to tell Elder Wen he was ready for the battle.
On the other end, the Prairie Bear looked warily at William. It's instincts told it that William was not like the kid it thrashed earlier, and the Prairie Bear could really lose its life if it wasn't careful. It adopted a defensive stance and prepared for a difficult fight.
The disciples were unaware, but Elder Wen noticed the change in the Prairie Bear's behavior. He looked at William, then raised his hand in the air.