Stepping through the door, Lucas found himself in an open arena. The door behind him vanished without a sound. Dry heat clung to his skin as his bare feet sank slightly into the coarse, reddish-brown sand. The air was still, thick, and carried the faint scent of metal and dust.

The arena spanned about a hundred meters across. Thick stone pillars surrounded the perimeter, spaced evenly like the ribs of a beast. Each one was etched with hundreds of Runes—sharp, deliberate carvings that pulsed with a steady hum. The glow from the Runes wasn't bright, but it pressed in on the senses, like static in the air.

As Lucas looked around he suddenly jumped back as a figure appeared a few meters in front of him. His tail tensed as he looked closer at the figure. It was a Beastkin woman, her flowing mane-like hair was a dusty orange which matched her pale amber eyes.

She stood taller than Lucas as she observed him in her black battle robes. Hands and feet clawed and her pupils cat like slits. Though she looked back at him with a polite smile, Lucas felt very uncomfortable under her intense gaze,

"Who are you?"

Placing her arms behind her back, she said,

"I will be your examiner for today."

Lucas' tensed muscles and mind instantly relaxed as he bowed at a 90° angle and exposed his neck.

"I apologize for my rudeness, I didn't know you were—"

The woman smiled as she said,

"How humble. That's good. You can raise your head."

When Lucas got back to his upright posture, the slight smirk he got from the woman made him feel oddly seen through.

'It doesn't matter, I am following Beastkin equitteque, so it's fine.'

Lucas ignored his fears and forged ahead,

"So, miss…"

"Frant."

Frant offered her name curtly.

"So miss Frant… what do I have to do."

Frant smiled slightly, exposing her canines as her thin tail swished behind her.

"It's quite simple, we spar. When I have seen enough, the examination is over."

"Ohh."

Lucas' vertical pupils diluted into wisps as he regarded Frant once more. He focused on the Spirit energy around her. He could clearly sense it moving and vibrating in chaotic orbits. The amount of Spirit energy threads weaving around her almost blinding him.

Lucas hastily shut off his [Spirit Sense] with clenched fists. Just watching Frant's Spirit energy gave him a migraine.

'Strong.'

Frant's voice snapped him back to focus.

"Oh, you can actually sense my Spirit energy? Impressive. You should refrain from such activities in the future. You might hurt yourself and it's considered quite rude."

Lucas took his loose stance, his clothes morphing into a red striped martial robes as he said,

"We are opponents, gleaming what I can from you is my best chance at victory."

Frant's just smiled at this, her tail whipping from side to side lazily.

"Well said. When you're ready, launch your attack—"

Before she could complete her sentence, Lucas vanished. He reappeared in front of her as he smashed out a quick jab to her face. Frant blocked it with her right hand, her expression and stance not shifting in the slightest.

Undeterred, Lucas lashed out with a low kick, a gut punch, and another jab. Frant blocked with a leg, a palm, and slipped past the final blow before—

Bang.

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Lucas flew back from a powerful fist to the gut. Frant didn't chase as she asked,

"Why are you so distracted? Let loose or you might fail my examination."

Lucas nodded firmly and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, they burned a deep crimson, his pupils crackling unstably.

Crack-crak!

Bones popped and cracked as he grew taller. His scale increased in density as his Runes roared to life.

Thum-thum. Thum-thum. Thum-thum.

As he grew to about 2.7 meters in height, a rhythmic thumping echoed through the arena. Visible energy waves pulsed outward from his body, making his robes flutter with each beat. Each wave stopped exactly one meter from him before overlapping with incoming pulses and folding back into his body. The repeated cycle caused the K.D Rune to glow brightly in mere moments.

"Good technique!"

Frant's eyes brightened at this. She finally took a proper stance. Feet spread wide, her palms open, and elbows loose as she beckoned Lucas.

Boom!

Lucas shot forward with a slap of his tail, unleashing a straight punch. His arm extended like a sharp whip. Frant shifted her palm and tried to parry the blow but it never reached her. Lucas paused for an instant before whipping out a cross with his free arm. The cross streak in a blurry black arc as he retracted his left.

Frant blocked with a palm, releasing a powerful blast wave. Taking a big step forward as she grabbed at his hand. Lucas in turn grabbed her arm and shot towards her even faster.

Bang.

With a muffled bang, their knees collided. Lucas' knee had developed a sharp bony point while Frant's was coated in a soft orange light.

They regained their footings as they pulled each other into a head butt. Using the counter force, they stepped back before rushing towards each other once more. Trading blows, feints, parries and dodges.

The arena around them got covered in numerous craters for each strike evaded and every powerful shift in motion. After a few seconds of fighting, Frant thought to herself,

'His reactions and adaptability are quite good. His fundamentals are not bad as well... Let's spice things up a bit then.'

With that thought in mind, her form became coated in an orange light as she suddenly shot back. Lucas missed his tail whip and hastily corrected his stance. Ten meters away, Frant mouthed.

"[Heatwave]."

A surge of orange light rapidly expanded from her figure throughout the arena. After the first wave, more soon followed after. The intervals between each wave were getting shorter and shorter. Lucas frowned as he felt his scales burn. The kinetic aura around him doing almost nothing to cushion the overbearing heat.

'At this rate, I wouldn't last a minute.'

His scales glimmered as his eyes dilated into wisps for an instant as he took in as much information as he could. He then shot towards Frant as he thought,

'Heat is just a form of Kinetic energy. If I can adapt my field's frequency to her move, I should be able to create a nullifying cocoon for myself or maybe even break her move.'

His heart beat started changing as he got this idea. From the thundering pulsing, it shifted to a softer, more prolonged rhythm. Frant's amber eyes sparkled as she shot towards Lucas, her form radiant like the midday sun.

"It's not going to be that easy."

She said as she clawed at Lucas face, the rhythm of her [Heatwave] shifting in tandem with Lucas' evolving efforts. The Rune on Lucas' fists flared a brighter crimson. He weaved her claw strike and struck straight at her face only to see her do nothing but smile.

The moment his fist got within five centimeters of her face, his arm bursted into flames and he hastily jumped back in pain and shock. Frant didn't though, she stuck close to him with some playfulness in her eyes. Lucas healed his arm rapidly and began racking his brain.

'That energy field is more concentrated the closer I get to her. I have to find a way to disrupt it, quick!'

As Lucas thought anxiously, he evaded Frant frantically. Like this an orange streak chased after a red and white one throughout the sandy arena. After a few moments of cat and mouse, Lucas suddenly stood his ground and uncorked a punch, his one meter aura now shrunk to a skin tight level.

A red streak followed his fist and smashed into Frant causing her aura to dim, to her slight surprise. Lucas frowned but pressed on, his heart thundering as his Runes glowed brighter. The energy coating his fists shifted from crimson to almost pink.

Pushing himself to the extreme, Lucas unloaded a hail of fists, Frant simply rushed forward, her [Heatwave] shrinking to a five meter radius as it glowed even brightened. She easily withstood all his ranged attacks and soon stood just a few meters away from our mimic.

As she closed in with her palm reaching out, Lucas shifted his stance. Feet apart and with a clenched fist at his waist. Multiple crimson Runes appeared on his arm, drawing all the Life energy in the air towards him in chaotic swirls. His aura faded as his fist took on a radiant glow.

'Flash Fist!'

Crack—Boooom!

Putting everything in this punch, he let loose. His fist exploded forward with the terrifying roar of thunder. A blinding white light followed, smashing into Frant like a comet.

She slowed down for an instant but continued her charge through the beam like an orange juggernaut. Her [Heatwave] shrunk at every weighty step.

The beam of power split into a flurry of refracted streaks as it collided with Frant, scattering across the arena like splinters of light. Each streak left behind a glowing slice, seared orange with heat.

When Lucas' punch finally ran out of energy, silence fell as Frant's glowing hand hovered over Lucas' face. She calmly retracted it, her [Heatwave] flickering weakly.

"You pass. Well done."

'I should have held back more.'

Lucas thought as he exhaled with a self-depreciating smile. Steam rising from his form as he vanished with zero disturbances.

"What a monster."

Frant said as she looked around the arena, it was all but destroyed. Multiple deep trenches ran across its surface and a good portion of the pillars had been destroyed. But more than that, the surviving pillars show signs of destabilizing.

After she was done, a hologram appeared in front of her. Its contents was a file on Lucas, three fields were not filled which were; grade, skill level, and potential.

With some mental effort from her part she filled them in.

{Grade: 3

Skill level: Expert

Potential: Unknown.}

"I wonder what you will become…"

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