Divine Beast Ascension

Words between the combatants were no longer shared. They let their weapons and defenses do all the talking from that point on.

Lunging with a lead hammer, Oli crashed into Jonon’s defenses, catching the swordsman off guard with the weight and strength behind the blow. As Jonon’s feet ground against the floor, Oli’s second hammer smashed toward Jonon’s side, which he parried and ducked under to avoid any and all strain felt upon blocking Oli’s powerful attacks.

Feeling Oli’s true strength first-hand, Jonon understood his position better and readjusted his strategy. But he didn’t show concern or worry in any part of his demeanor. Only seriousness with a tinge of excitement was obvious to those watching the battle unfold.

“Iron-body Gorillas... They’re larger than I’d expected,” mumbled Hurman, watching Oli closely.

Vloz chuckled, “Oli takes after his father. Most of them are likely how you’d imagine, broader and more stout with bulky muscular frames. Again, Oli’s is an exception among his kind in that regard.”

Keldon chimed with a tone of uncertainty, asking, “So they’re not usually his size?”

.....

“No, there are a few as tall as Oli but I’ve only seen one other as lean and agile as Oli, and that was his father. I’m quite curious to see what Oli’s capable of now that he’s an adept and not simply a novice.”

With eager eyes and bated breath, the spectators kept close watch over the evolving battle between the rampaging gorilla and the versatile swordsman.

As Jonon didn’t want to be pushed toward a corner, he was forced to go back on the offensive. Backing off would only result in his disadvantage and that was never his style in the first place. Jonon rocketed into Oli with his sharp gaze. He tested both an icy sword and an earthen sword, curious to see the results of each strike. However, he wasn’t expecting either result.

The icy blade struck first but it seemed that Oli was unaware of the attack. He had let the attack land without objection as he closed the gap between him and Jonon. The earthen attack landed harshly on Oli’s body as well, smashing into the gorilla’s earth essence defenses. While the swirling frost sawed through Oli’s essence and the sword enhanced by the Rendering Fist technique fell onto Oli’s body, Oli dispersed one hammer to increase the power of the remaining essence weapon. It fell onto Jonon’s side, trading one blow for two. But Jonon was the one to be thrown aside upon impact.

As Jonon was hurled through the air, crashing into the studio walls and shaking the wooden building, Oli was taking deep breaths as he examined the damage he had taken in exchange.

“Oliver won?” Keldon questioned, still unsure of the end result.

“No... The victory belongs to Jonon.”

“Of course it does. How could a low-adept beat a peak-adept so easily?” joked Vloz, sighing along with Hurman. “That should be enough.”

Hearing Vloz’s comment, Oli powered down and dropped to the floor. His heaving breathing was paired with the blood of his two wounds, one on his forearm and the other on his shoulder. Oli immediately began to steady his breathing in an attempt to calm his tense body and his active essence.

Jonon groaned as he climbed out of the rubble from the broken wall. A hint of blood was on the corner of his mouth but he only appeared to be sore as he rubbed his bruised side. “So that’s the strength of a gorilla...”

“Both of you should rest for the remainder of the day, and Oliver should continue to rest tomorrow. Otherwise, how will you be ready for the tournament?” stated Hurman, getting a nod from both Oli and his son. “I don’t mean to rush you, Oliver, but I’m sure we’ll have people outside curious about the shaking building. It would be best if you weren’t in that form, correct?”

Nodding, Oli began to take in deep breaths. With each sharp inhale, more yellow essence overtook Oli’s body until his black fur and metal back weren’t visible through the thick essence. It took a couple of minutes for his large physique to gradually shrink down to his human size, but Oli soon found himself back in human form.

“So it takes longer to revert to human form than it does to become a beast?” Jonon asked with a teasing smile.

“More like it’s easier to revert to my true self than to shift into human form,” remarked Oli, finishing his transformation as his weakened and beaten body began to ache all the more.

“Then I’ll be stowing away for now...” Vloz dashed into Oli’s shadow without another word. ‘No training tomorrow. It’s your fault for getting so serious in your sparring match.’

‘Okay...’ Oli sighed. As Oli got back on his feet, he was thrown a set of cloth bandages and a ceramic bottle. “Thank you, Hurman.”

Bowing his head in return, Hurman smiled at the youth. “That should help you heal by tomorrow, letting you be at full strength for the tournament the next day. Just don’t get serious again until then and you should be a shoo-in for the top spot.”

“Let Shadur wrap you up,” added Keldon, “that should boost the salve’s effect, just in case. I’m sure he’s outside waiting for us.”

Holding the bandages and bottle, Oli was the first to approach the door with Jonon behind him and the remaining two in the rear. Swiping his hand to end the silencing formation, Oli slid the door open with a playful smile.

“Oliver!”

“What happened in there?!”

A series of questions erupted from Pauller, Leon, Johan, and Shadur. They were all anxious to learn the cause of the shaking school building, even pausing their training or class to make sure everything was alright.