Chapter 60: Prairie Bear

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 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.

"Begin!"