25 First Challenge End (2/2)

This made Woof bark excitedly, as it was also quite irked by this cowardly Tera, too.

Bending down further, Aaron dig in the soft ground. A few seconds later, there were three rocks in front of him.

Hefting each in his hands to assess their weights, Aaron told Woof to get ready.

There was pin-drop silence all around. Everyone wanted to see why this kid had shown that much confidence when he had stepped into the ring.

Even Jenny was frowning, as she felt a slight hint of danger. Yet, as she glanced at J who kept moving in erratic patterns to make sure that even if some kind of attack did reach it, it would be able to escape, she told herself that this would definitely be a draw.

The ring had a radius of 10 meters, so there was quite a lot of airspace to exploit.

Meanwhile, it looked like the preparations of the duo were done.

Ernst kept glancing between them and the butterfly. Could they really pull off a victory, here?

While he observed, Aaron carried the three rocks and moved to a spot near the border of the ring, while Woof went to the spot directly opposite to him.

The ring was also equipped with special sensors that made sure that if a Tera exited the airspace above the ring, it would be detected so that a loss could be given. Otherwise, there would be no meaning to such battles.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In a flash, Aaron shot all three rocks with slightly different paths of travel.

Ernst hadn't seen Aaron's skill with throwing rocks before, so when he saw the insane speed and accuracy with which the rocks flew, he couldn't help but feel wonder.

Yet, the butterfly had been prepared for this.

It had been trained to escape projectiles, as that was one of the most basic training regimen that a flying type Tera was put through.

With its full focus on the rocks, it dodged one, then the other.

The third turned out to be a problem:it just so happened to come in the direction in which it had dodged.

Still, with a quick flap of its wings, the butterfly dodged again and was about to let out a breath filled with relief.

However, at that moment, the smell of bread washed over it, making it turn around in shock.

A desperate scream from Jenny was also heard, while Ernst also shouted something.

As it turned around, it got a close-up look of two rows of sharp teeth, with two canines standing out, ready to pierce its body and end its life.

This was it, thought the butterfly, wondering why it had followed it's master's plan.

Only, just when it gave up, the scary dog snapped its mouth shut with an audible sound.

The sound came from right beside the butterfly, which made it faint with fear.

As Woof landed on the ground gracefully, the large butterfly started free-falling but was caught by Jenny who had run forward.

Meanwhile, Ernst was rubbing his eyes. Was this much coordination even possible?!

Aaron had shot out those three stones before running forward and giving a leg-up to Woof, who managed to reach J at the perfect time.

How the hell had they estimated its reactionary path, and calculated the time of the leap so accurately?!

As the crowd burst into cheers, Ernst finally reprised his role of the judge.

In a booming voice, he announced, ”The Ascender wins!”

Even as Jenny blushed with slight anger and shame, Aaron walked up to the former Chief and said something that made her feel even more infuriated.

”Thank you for the favor. You were right, it was much easier.”