Ren walked onto the field smiling…
It wasn't an arrogant or condescending smile but a genuine expression of anticipation. Because finally, after all the battles he'd fought during this exam, he would face a challenge requiring his complete effort, very probably all three of his combat beasts.
Taro observed him approaching with an expression mixing determination and something that might have been contained excitement. These two had trained together for years, had fought side by side, had developed mutual understanding that came from years sharing living space and pushing each other to improve constantly.
And now they could measure their strength against each other once more.
Ren considered his options quickly in those final seconds before committing. The mantis would be a bad choice against the beetle… that was obvious to anyone with basic understanding of how defense and offense functioned.
