Chapter 38: Ain’s First Match

A painful scream sounded soon after the attack, and blood began to trickle out of the student’s back, dyeing his clothes red.

Teacher Turner loudly announced the outcome of the match with the Grayback Monkey’s victory. The victorious student breathed a sigh of relief and left the arena with a smile.

There were various reactions among the students, with some discussing the strategies used in the battle, while others frowned at the sight of blood.

Ain, on the other hand, felt speechless at the level of the battle.

It couldn’t be helped; it had been less than two weeks since most of them contracted their spirit pets. They lacked experience and combat awareness. Moreover, their spirit pets were still at Rank-0.

Ain didn’t want to be rude and kept his mouth shut when Hugo began to discuss with him. But he could tell that Hugo was deliberately avoiding the core topic as well. The conversation was completely perfunctory.

In less than thirty seconds, the wounded student was removed from the arena by the medical staff and promptly treated. The wound wasn’t deep, so it was easily healed. Seeing this, the surrounding students felt more confident.

The second pair was already in the arena, and the battles continued.

Most battles ended in less than two minutes, with the longest one so far taking three minutes.

As the battles went on, Ain noticed that not all students performed poorly. There were a few students who easily dealt with their opponents. They obviously had varying levels of experience.

He also got to witness different kinds of spirit pets. The ones that caught Ain’s attention the most were two mechanical spirit pets.

Mechanical spirit pets were the most significant invention in recent human history. They were artificially created and given life through means unknown to Ain. They took on various forms such as weapons, gadgets, and could even mimic real spirit beasts.

The two mechanical spirit pets Ain saw today were a fire-attribute gun and a lightning-attribute mechanical bird.

The two students who contracted the mechanical spirit pets shared one thing in common. They were both wealthy; rather, they were descendants of wealthy families. Only this could allow them to contract mechanical spirit pets at Rank-1.

Not only were mechanical spirit pets expensive, but they also required constant maintenance and upgrades. And rather than a spirit master, they had to be nurtured by specialized mechanics. A regular spirit tamer would never be able to keep up with the costs, even if they had the relevant knowledge.

Soon, it was the eighteenth battle, and Ain walked up to the arena. His opponent, Bart Stockman, also followed suit. But unlike Ain, who was calm and collected, Bart was obviously disheartened.

When they were both in place, Teacher Turner signaled the start of the battle.

With two flashes of light, their spirit pets also appeared next to them.

The one beside Ain was obviously Nox, and next to Bart was a little red and white fox.

Ain immediately recognized the creature, and the relevant data appeared in his mind: ‘Firefox, a fire-attribute spirit pet with a max quality of Transcendent. It seems to be at Rank-0.’

Although he wasn’t worried about the battle, this information still put his heart at ease.

In the surroundings, the students were whispering amongst themselves.

“Is that a ghost-attribute spirit pet?”

“Looks like it; it’s the first time I’ve seen one.”

“Do you think it's stronger than those mechanical spirit pets?”

Of course, these were only whispers and didn't make it into Ain’s ears. There were similar conversations when the two mechanical spirit pets first appeared.

In the arena, Ain stood still after summoning Nox, waiting for his opponent to make the first move. He was confident in defeating the Firefox, even without Nox’s help.

Nox, who sensed Ain’s intentions, stayed beside him.

Seeing his stationary opponent, Bart took a deep breath and commanded his spirit pet, “Use Fireball!”

The Firefox complied and moved towards Ain, getting into range for its attack. At a sufficient distance, it opened its small mouth, and a ball of fire quickly condensed before it was shot towards Ain.

Seeing this, Ain finally moved and dodged to the side while also bringing his hand forward, pointing at the Firefox with his index finger. As soon as the Firefox began running up to him, Ain had already started preparing for his spell. A sphere of light swiftly shot out of Ain’s finger.

As the fireball flew past him, he could feel the heatwave on his skin.

The Firefox stood still as it watched the fireball miss its target. Only then did it finally notice the ball of spirit energy that was fast approaching.

Even without instructions from its spirit tamer, the Firefox tried to dodge the attack, but it was too late.

Two small explosions sounded simultaneously.

Boom!

Ain felt the wind brush against his back from the exploding fireball but paid no mind. He keenly stared at the result of the Spirit Blast, prepared to follow up if needed.

At this moment, Bart finally reacted as well, “Little Fox!” He rushed up to his spirit pet, which was lying on its side, injured and obviously unable to continue.

“Winner, Ain!” At this moment, Teacher Turner announced the victor.

Hearing this, Ain also relaxed his body and recalled Nox. He wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words, so he simply nodded at Bart and left the arena.

Teacher Turner, who had been appraising the students’ combat abilities, looked at Ain with appreciation in his eyes.

The students followed Ain’s figure as he returned to his previous spot.

Most of them were amazed and speechless because Ain hadn’t used his spirit pet throughout the short match. They memorized Ain’s example and decided to participate in the battle themselves too.

Hugo gave Ain a thumbs up upon his return.

The following battles slowly started to get more interesting as the students built upon what they had witnessed in the fights before them.

Hugo also won his match with ease. Flight was a huge advantage against spirit pets that couldn’t fly. Every spirit pet capable of flight had won its match until now.

Just like that, the first round ended with half the students being eliminated, and the class took a short break. Ain realized that it had already been four hours since they began. He estimated it would take another four hours based on the average length of the battles so far.

After the short break, the holographic screen displayed the names of the students who advanced to round 2 and randomly paired them.

Ain looked at the screen and quickly found his opponent. He found that he was a little familiar with the opponent, or rather, the opponent’s spirit pet. It was the little black and blue snake that had once used Camouflage to sneak onto Ain’s desk.

The snake was a Blue Bubble Snake, a water-attribute spirit pet good at stealth.

Just like before, Ain searched the crowd for his opponent and spotted the girl he had seen at that time. Their gazes met, and her expression was no different from Bart’s.

Ain chuckled to himself internally and waited for the battles to begin.

This time, his match was near the end of round two. It took nearly two hours before it was his turn.

There was no suspense in the battle, at least for Ain, and he won with ease. While the students expected him to get ambushed, Nox simply swatted the snake away before it could even reach Ain. Camouflage from a Rank-0 Spirit Pet was ineffective against Nox, who was already at Intermediate Rank-1.

Hugo’s match had also ended with his victory. It was indeed difficult to deal with his Grand Eagle for most students.

When they were six hours in, round three began. The top twenty would be decided with these matches.

Ain’s turn soon arrived, and he made his way to the arena. His opponent, a thin student with a shrewd look on his face, also headed toward the arena.

On the side, Hugo looked at Ain with some worry. He remembered this student’s previous matches. Although he trusted that Ain would win, it would be difficult to deal with the opponent’s spirit pet.

When they were ready, Teacher Turner signaled the beginning of the match once again.

Nox instantly appeared next to Ain, eager for the fight. Ain was also aware of his opponent, but he wasn’t as worried as Hugo was. He was even looking forward to it, although not as much as Nox was.

His opponent’s spirit pet also appeared. Instead of appearing on the ground, it appeared directly above him. It was a Rank-1 Black Wing Jay, a metal-attribute spirit pet capable of flight.

Not many spirit pets capable of flight had lost so far. Hugo, who often sparred with Ain, was aware of Nox’s performance against flying spirit pets. He only hoped Ain’s accuracy with Spirit Blast was sufficient.

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