Chapter 230: A Native of Space

Dean Marcus nervously glanced at his terminal, wondering whether he should go to the Principal immediately or remain at the arena. However, it didn’t take him long to make a decision. He immediately turned around and instructed another professor to preside over the match in his place, explaining that he had to attend to another matter.

As Dean Marcus hurried away, the old man who had voiced his dissatisfaction earlier followed him with his gaze before turning back with a thoughtful expression.

He wasn’t the only one wondering what could have driven Dean Marcus away from the very match he had forced everyone to stay and watch. However, before long, Marcus had disappeared from sight, and the others turned their attention back to the arena.

By then, however, the initial excitement and whatever little interest they had in staying had already begun to fade.

A bunch of students couldn’t possibly keep them there. Even if they were talented youths whose strengths were surprising, their performances still couldn’t compare to the true strength of experienced Sentinels and Guides.

Thus, several other professors and deans had already risen from their seats, preparing to leave.

"I still have a class tomorrow. I’ll head out now."

"Me too. I have to prepare for my lessons tomorrow."

"Haa... I haven’t even finished the documents in my office."

They all had legitimate reasons to leave. Even before Dean Marcus had dragged them there, they had already been planning to attend to these matters. Their reasons weren’t merely excuses to leave and avoid wasting any more of their time.

Naturally, no one stopped them. They were all grown adults, and the person who had dragged them there to watch the match was no longer around.

Thus, aside from the young members of the Imperial Family, only a few professors and deans remained.

Surprisingly, the old man who had expressed his impatience earlier decided to stay. He looked at the arena and rubbed the stubble on his chin.

The Guide on the arena had piqued his interest. He wondered how she would defeat her opponent this time.

Would she beat him up as well, or had she prepared another trick up her sleeve?

Below the arena, Aisha and Corwin stood facing each other. Their expressions were completely different as they stared at one another. Corwin’s gaze was so fierce that anyone else would have felt as though they were being burned alive under his glare. However, Aisha remained calm and undisturbed.

Even so, neither of them made the first move.

After Aisha defeated Jayden, the match had taken a different turn. Rather than simply competing to see who could keep the beast subdued for the longest time, the participants now had to consider the danger of being attacked by their opponent!

And so, no one dared to move first.

But standing still wouldn’t accomplish anything, either. Besides, they still had to take turns testing their abilities against the beast’s defenses and strength.

The announcer nervously glanced at the two. He didn’t know which one he should call forward to face the beast first. On his left stood Corwin, a troublesome student who bullied others and used his noble family’s influence to trample over the families of other students. On the other side was a Guide who had defeated a C-rank Sentinel with her bare fists, despite being renowned as one of the weakest Guides on the planet!

Still, he had to call someone.

Swallowing nervously, he closed his eyes and pointed in Aisha’s direction, hoping to get the decision over with. "Please step forward and face the beast, Miss Novalis!"

Although Aisha had frightened him considerably, he didn’t think she would do anything to harm him. Besides, there was another reason he wanted her to go first.

He wanted to see if she could repeat what she had done in the previous match!

As soon as he heard the announcement, Corwin smiled smugly at Aisha. With her going first, he would have the perfect opportunity to attack her while her back was turned!

He wanted her to fear him and spend every second worrying about when he would strike!

Aisha didn’t know why Corwin was smiling at her like that, but even if she had known, she wouldn’t have cared. Instead, she turned toward the beast and began observing it carefully.

It was completely different from the Verpent and looked somewhat adorable. Its body was shaped like a tadpole, and its skin was so dark that it resembled the night sky. However, according to the announcer, although it might not be as aggressive as the Verpent, it was still dangerous in its own way!

Aisha recalled a fragment of information about the creature from something her current body had read in the past.

This tadpole hadn’t come from a contaminated zone. Instead, it was a native of space, originating from beyond the planet!

And that wasn’t all... As far as she knew, this tadpole was still a baby, yet it was already as large as a whale.

Since entering this world, Aisha had never encountered a creature that came from space firsthand, even though she knew that people could travel between planets. Even this body’s original owner had spent several years in space. However, those experiences and memories weren’t truly hers.

And so, seeing this tadpole aroused her curiosity.

Its huge eyes had no visible whites. Instead, they were filled with dull, star-like specks that shimmered faintly in the darkness. It looked as though it had exhausted much of its strength and had little will left to resist the humans who had captured it and trapped it inside the cage.

’Ting!’

The countdown started.

A frown appeared on Aisha’s face. She knew she only needed to use her guiding ability to subdue it. The problem was that she was unsure how much guiding energy she had left or how much she would need to use to bring the creature under control.

’Ting!’

Aisha glanced at the tadpole beast in front of her. Their sizes were worlds apart. Compared to the enormous creature before her, she was like a tiny mouse standing in front of a grown cat.

’Let’s try it first. If I can’t subdue it with my guiding ability, I can always knock it out with my fist.’

Aisha no longer worried about what might go wrong.

But the moment those thoughts crossed her mind, the tadpole in front of her suddenly trembled before making a sound.

"Booo~p!"