Life Giver

It didn't take very long for the Giant Snow Blossom Snakes corpse to be removed by the attending senior students.

Afterwards a pair of senior students entered the arena to clean up the blood and guts of the snake.

They were equipped with special cleaning devices that consisted of a large tank on their backs and a handheld nozzle that sprayed or collected water. One of the students washed the ground with water, while the other used their nozzle to collect the bloody water from the ground like a vacuum cleaner.

The strange thing was that the bloody water wasn't s.u.c.k.e.d into the nozzle using traditional turbine driven mechanisms, it was drawn into it like metal was to a magnet.

These devices were an example of Qi technologies, similar to Qi ch.i.p.s and their associated equipment. They contained a special water affinity Qi resource that could manipulate water, when fuelled by a cultivators Qi energy it could be used to eject water or collect it.

Most of the spectating students were not surprised by this sight, many of them had seen devices like these before. Larger vehical mounted devices were used to clean major streets and similarly large areas when needed.

As the students watched their seniors work, Instructor Redfire retook his place on the arena wall. The wild chatter of the students gradually died down as they noticed him, afraid of disturbing him as he was clearly about to speak and announce the beginning of the test.

Instructor Redfire finally spoke as the students became silent.

"The next ferocious beast test will begin now, of course you wont be facing the same breed of ferocious beast as before. Each pair of students will face their own breed of ferocious beast but they will all be given a Qi chip, this chip will contain detailed information about their target."

"This level of information is what all of my students should be able to surmise from a single glance at any ferocious beast in the Heldan Republic. Once they have graduate from my class of course."

"So, which pair wants to be first?" Instructor Redfire said with a slight grin, he wanted to see which students were brave enough to step forward.

And to Instructor Redfire joy, 4 pairs of students stood up from their front row seats and stepped up onto the arena walls.

Naturally Casmir and Zaya were one of these pairs, they had already agreed to take part as soon as possible so they showed no hesitation when Instructor Redfire called on them.

Instructor Redfire gazed at the 4 pairs of students with an almost pleasant smile as he spoke.

"Good! You two did well in the last test, you will go first, then you two, then you and finally your pair." Instructor Redfire said as he pointed at the pairs of students in turn.

Casmir and Zaya were the first to be pointed at and were therefore be the first to be tested.

"Quickly, come here and see your opponent." Instructor Redfire said to them.

They walked around the arena wall to where Instructor Redfire was, just behind him was a small wooden wall filled with various weapons and equipment.

These were not simple training weapons, they were sharpened and ready to be used in combat. Casmir and Zaya glanced at the wall before Instructor Redfire handed a Qi chip to Zaya and informed them they had 5 minutes to prepare.

Zaya didn't wait a moment, she quickly activated the chip with her Qi energy, shining its light onto the floor so that both she and Casmir could see the projected information and quickly read it.

"A Forest Boar..." Casmir mumbled curiously as he read the information.

The Qi chip displayed a long article with a few images of the Forest Boar, it included its habitats, weaknesses, behaviours and various characteristics which were useful for the pairs preparations. It also included a short section on practised tactics and techniques that have been used to take down similar beasts.

All of this knowledge was something a seasoned hunter and cultivator would be able to produce, naturally this was also the standard that Instructor Redfire set for his graduates.

While Casmir was still reading and thinking about what they should do, Zaya had already formed a plan and was smiling as she waited for Casmir to finish reading.

"We've been matched with a good opponent Casmir, what we've been practicing for the last week will be very effective on this Forest Boar." Zaya said with a decisive look in her eyes, to her, the Forest Boar was already a piece of meat on the chopping board.

They discussed amongst themselves for a short time, finalising their strategies and preparing their back up plans.

Sure enough, their time was soon up and Instructor Redfire called out to them.

"Pick up your weapons from the wall behind you, jumped into the arena and we will begin."

Casmir picked up a large metal shield and a long spear.

The shield was heavy and tough but Casmir had been training with a similar shield so he was used to the added weight, he was similarly used to the feel of the long spear. A tough but flexible wooden shaft tipped with a metal spear point, only this time is was sharpened into a lethal weapon.

Zaya picked up a short sword, light, flexible and most importantly sharp. Her handling of it was very casual hinting towards her practiced use of a truly deadly weapon.

She also picked up a couple of daggers that could be used as extra weapons, sheathing them in her leather armour behind her back.

The pair soon stood where their seniors once did, the smell of snake blood had not dissipated and the marking of the previous battle were plain to see.

"Are you ready?!" Instructor Redfire then called out loudly.

Casmir and Zaya simultaneously called out "Yes!"

Instructor Redfire signalled to open the gates, soon enough loud metalling banging noises were heard "CLINK, CLANK,CLINK ,CLANK" as the gate opened.

The gate had barely opened halfway when a deep grunting sound was heard from behind them.

"GRHMPH!"

The Forest Boar was not willing to wait any longer, it had been aggravated by its transport and treatment. In fact just before the gates were opened, it was checked over by a short senior student who was heavy handed in his treatment, leaving a small cut on the Boar's lower right jaw.

As soon as the Boar saw the crack of light shining through the opening gate, it charged at the gate bashing the doors open and charging into the large arena without thought.

The Boar arrogantly walked around the arena as it observed it surroundings, although the Boar was indeed less intelligent than the Giant Snake, it was not so foolish as to brashly ignore its surroundings.

The Forest Boar was as tall as Casmir and over 2 meters long, compared to regular boars it was massive and comparable to the size of an a.d.u.l.t horse. Its hide was a typical dark brown colour and the only notable part of the beast was its thick black mane that dr.a.p.ed down the back of its head and down its neck like a short silk robe.

It also had a pair of longer tusks jutting out of the sides of its mouth but these longer tusks were quite typical of Boars inside the Heldan Republic.

If one looked at if from far away it almost looked like any typical wild Boar, combining this with its typical forest habitat was the reason for its simply name, the Forest Boar.

After observing its surroundings, the Forest Boar found Casmir and Zaya to be its opponent in the same way the Giant Snake did before it. The Boar coldly gazed at them as it tapped its front hove against the ground aggressively.

Casmir and Zaya too coldly gazed at the Boar, Zaya's expression grew cold and focused while Casmir looked more aggressive and excited.

Zaya quietly reminded Casmir as she saw his excitement "Remember we don't need to kill it, we just need to beat it until it doesn't fight anymore. Don't forget yourself in your excitement, focus on the plan and do everything one step at a time, one step at a time."

Casmir heard Zaya and for a second he wanted to dismiss her words and blindly charge at the Boar, Casmir didn't know where this feeling came from but he didn't place any weight on it. His reasoning prevailed and he realised what the correct choice was as he nodded back at Zaya.

Casmir thought to himself 'She's right, one step at a time, don't let my feelings effect my judgement.'

He took in a long deep breath, then exhaled slowly to clear his mind.

Zaya watched him and smiled before saying, "Go on then, you're starting the fight."

Casmir nodded back at her before he began walking towards the Boar, completely drawing its attention.

Zaya took this chance to slowly stepped backwards and hide herself behind one of the arenas boulders.

As Casmir walked closer to the Boar, it became alert and angry. It felt as if Casmir was contesting with it for this territory.

Naturally it wouldn't stand for this offence, it quickly stamped its hoof and turned towards Casmir as if warning him not to step forward further.

Casmir did not stop, in fact he picked up his pace.

The Boar's eyes constricted on Casmir immediately, it stamped its hooves one last time before it harshly pushed against the ground accelerating its body forward.

The Boar fully intended on crushing Casmir with brute force.

Yet Casmir didn't stop, he maintained his pace while drifting to his right placing a large boulder in between the two of them. As the Boar saw this boulder it had no choice but to slow down or risk charging straight into the boulder.

Its charge was the Boar's strength but also its weakness, its charge was powerful but it was not effective unless given a straight path towards its target.

This was the first tactic Zaya and Casmir would use on the Boar but it was far from the last...