Chapter 321
STUDENT COUNCIL TRIALS (7)
The deadline creature sprang toward Henry with even more vigor. Henry remained vigilant, choosing to evade rather than block or parry its strikes. Not only was he injured, but the creature was far too strong to clash with directly.
He kept his jian lowered by his side. Anyone perceptive enough would notice the faint golden, fire-like liquid at its tip growing brighter as Henry fed more and more mana into it over time. He was preparing his trump method—waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal strike.
His sand-colored eyes glowed golden as he dodged and spun away from a swipe of the creature's claws. Suddenly, the upper half of its body twisted again from the waist up, launching another sweeping strike.
But this time, he was ready.
With a perfectly timed duck, he drove his shoulder into the creature in a short barge, pushing it back a few steps. It was heavier than he had imagined, far more solid than its jittery frame suggested.
He immediately rolled away just in time as two of its sickle claws dug deep into the earth where he had been standing moments earlier.
He took a steady breath, feeling that he had strained his injury slightly—but he could still go on. He kept his eyes locked onto the creature, making sure he didn't miss a single movement.
It let out another screech, clearly growing frustrated at being unable to feast on the being in front of it. Then it dropped onto all six limbs.
Much to Henry's shock, it began to run like a horse—using its powerful arms alongside its legs to propel itself forward at a startling pace. Dirt and mud were kicked into the air as it closed the distance in mere seconds.
Suddenly, from its mouth, the dark purple tentacles shot outward like rigid metal poles, having stiffened completely. Many pierced into the earth and sliced through the air. A few grazed Henry as he performed a front flip over them, landing heavily on the ground.
But the creature was relentless.
One of its legs lashed backward, its claws digging into Henry's hamstrings. He grunted in pain as he jumped away and rolled several times, beginning to feel his injuries threaten to catch up with him.
He glanced at his jian and knew it was enough.
He was going to use a full thirty percent of the mana from his core.
Now all that remained was timing the strike—to produce the most damage possible.
Almost as if it sensed danger, the creature began to twitch violently as it stared at Henry. Its tentacles thrashed wildly before stiffening again, spinning at incredible speed. Then, suddenly, it stopped.
From the waist up, it began to rotate.
This time, all four of its arms were extended straight outward, each pointing in a different direction—west, south, east, and north.
Slowly, it spun ten degrees… then twenty… then forty… then one hundred and eighty… then three hundred and sixty…
And shockingly, it kept going!
Under Henry's focused gaze, its speed increased.
After every full rotation, it accelerated further, faster and faster, until its upper body became a blur.
It resembled a blender. Anyone who neared it would be turned into mincemeat with ease. The low-hanging fog began to swirl around it, dragged into its rotation, creating an almost hypnotic sight.
And then—it began chasing him.
Holy shit!
Henry spun on his heel and sprinted.
If he attempted to attack it in its current state, he would die—without question—and be eliminated. He had also naturally noticed the absence of any clear objective to pass the trials.
He couldn't allow himself to fall here...
Somehow, it seemed able to track whichever direction he chose to evade. Henry quickly guessed it was his blood keeping the creature locked onto him. The scent... It had already tasted it once and now it wanted more.
He ducked left, then right, weaving sharply through the trees as branches whipped against his shoulders and mud splashed beneath his shoes.
From above, it would have looked absurd.
The strange sight of a moving blender chasing a running man unfolded as he hoped it would either tire out or lose track of him.
The air screamed continuously as it was shredded apart. Leaves, branches, and fog were dragged into the creature's violent rotation as it cut through.
And worst of all—
It was gaining.
…
"That kid might be fucked," the woman said bluntly, her eyes fixed on the floating surface. "That injury is holding him back. He's healing, sure—but he's been aggravating it with every movement. It's only been a few minutes since the fight started, and he's already pushing himself too hard."
She leaned back slightly.
"I don't see a way out. Cause spoiler alert—this type of creature has been encountered before and logged. That spinning could be called a trump card. It can last up to twenty minutes AND it's already catching up to him... Yeah... There's no chance!"
The woman struck her judgement down.
Ari glanced at the screen and gave a small nod to agree.
Snow said nothing.
Her expression became more and more unreadable as the fight progressed, as if she too had accepted that this was going to be the conclusion.
She, too, seemed to accept what was coming.
That there was no solution!
…
Minutes passed.
To Henry's dismay, the spinning monstrosity showed no signs of slowing. If anything, its momentum remained terrifyingly consistent.
His breathing was getting heavier.
His injured stomach throbbed.
His hamstrings burned.
This goose chase wasn't working.
He had to come up with another solution as the creature seemed determined to kill him.
Suddenly, he picked up speed, pushing through the pain and sprinting toward a particularly thick tree. At the last second, he slowed, planting his feet firmly before turning to face the oncoming charge of the spinning creature.
He didn't move.
He waited.
…
"Oh? Has he given up?" the woman asked, slight confusion entering her voice.
Snow's eyes shone as she seemed to understand.
"No… No, he hasn't…"