The four walked towards a certain spot in the training ground which had runes inscribed on the floor.
The runes had the ability to amplify the strength of those who coated their bodies in mana or aura.
Orion was currently standing at the center, surrounded by the trio, who were determined to win the fight.
Adrian wielded a wooden sword, while Aslan and Arthur wielded a wooden ax and spear, respectively.
The swords orbiting around Orion were also wooden swords.
There was no way the academy would leave real weapons for the students to use during practice unless a professor or instructor is monitoring the students nearby. Adrian and Aslan, tightened their grip on the weapons in their hands while Arthur cast a spell, causing the air around him to turn into water.
The water merged with him and seeped into his body easily, allowing Arthur's body to slowly expand and grow bigger. A huge fin popped out of his back, and huge gills appeared on either side of his neck like huge bear claw marks.
His teeth grew bigger and sharper as well, causing Arthur to look like a walking shark with a muscular build.
He tightened his grip on his spear before alternating his gaze between Aslan and Adrian.
The three nodded their heads in unison, signaling to themselves to attack now.
Orion noticed that the three of them were ready to launch their attack and he watched as the trio suddenly disappeared from where they were standing a few seconds ago before reappearing before Orion and surrounding him from three different spots.
Aslan had appeared in front of him while Arthur and Adrian had appeared on either side of Orion.
The three attacked simultaneously, trying to make it difficult for Orion to decide which person's attack he wanted to defend against or who he wanted to attack first.
However, Orion could handle this amount of threat.
He defended against their attacks simultaneously and immediately began attacking, catching all three opponents by surprise.
Arthur unleashed a flurry of precise spear strikes, but Orion's third sword effortlessly blocked each thrust.
With a swift counter, the hilt of Orion's sword slammed straight into Arthur's solar plexus, and the shark-man crumpled to his knees, and his face contorted with shock and fear when he suddenly realized where Orion had hit him.
"Ah, no...not the family jewels!!"
"You hit me in the balls!"
"My sha la la."
"My ding ding dong!!!"
"It's gone!!!!!" Arthur continued to groan, scream, and roll on the floor.
He had transformed back to his original blue-skinned humanoid form, but he kept crying out in pain while clutching onto his balls, even though Orion hadn't aimed towards that spot.
Meanwhile, Orion simply rolled his eyes with a smile on his face and Aslan kept smiling at himself.
He began to laugh out loud while groaning in pain and staring at the sky.
He had experienced what it would feel to fight against a rank ten mage and he learnt quite a valuable lesson.
The difference between a mortal and a transcendent being was so glaring and he couldn't wait to spar against Orion in the future.
Now, Aslan could see why his father kept calling the Elf queen his rival. The elf royal family was truly strong and he could envision Orion becoming as strong as his mother or maybe even stronger than her in the future.
Anyway, this wasn't going to stop Aslan from working hard to become the strongest King in the Beastmen kingdom.
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A/N:- Thank you so much for the kind words, everyone. I've seen everyone's comments, advice, gifts, and golden tickets, and I am really grateful to everyone for the contributions they made to lift my mood.