Ascension of the Draconians

Trying not to pass out from the pressure and anxiety from this whole ordeal was very difficult but thanks to those words of encouragement from Jack I felt a little better about this whole thing.

I thought about my grandfather, what he taught me, what he did to give me a chance here and the promise I made him.

I held it I'm my mind and steeled my resolve as I thought of a plan.

Even if I wasn't the best I would at least try my best.

I can't fight there is no saying otherwise but I can dodge and avoid the monster's attacks. I also have good senses so if I can find a weakness I can exploit it against the monster.

When I entered the arena the announcer said my name "Ark MoonFang" but didn't say anything else.

When I looked over to the gate I could see a young yet large bear with bright red fur walking out.

I knew this monster, it was an inferno bear, but this one was an adolescent.

A fully grown one stands at about 5 feet tall when on all fours but this one was only 3.5 feet tall. But what makes these things known, even the younger ones, is their fire breath.

This one is weaker than adult inferno bears but still can kill me if I am not careful.

Thankfully my grandfather showed me their attack patterns and how to avoid them.

The bear sniffed the air and it caught my scent, the scent of a wolf.

The adolescent inferno bear let out a roar and a few sparks of flame left its mouth.

I clenched my fists but kept my head down.

'I can't let fear get to me now. I can't let their faith in me go to waste.' I thought as I pictured my grandfather's face, then jacks for some reason.

The bear didn't wait for me to make the first move though. It charged, flames flaring at its nose. 

When it got closer it swiped its claws at me. I dodged to the side avoiding its attack.

Sand kicked up as the bear missed, its claws hitting the ground where I was just standing.

I stay light on my feet as I dodge its attacks, moving behind it to hide, sliding between its legs, and jumping over its attacks.

I was doing pretty well until

I was so focused on the bear I wasn't watching my footing and I tripped over an uneven rock and stumbled.

The bear noticing an opening swung its claws at me again.

I felt a gust of wind blow and I followed it. I pushed off the ground and managed to get out of the way before its attack hit me but I did get a scratch on my face.

~~~~~~~~

Jacks POV

"Did you see that! he dodged its swing without touching the ground! Was it a kind of magic!?" Araki shouted shaking me and smacking his tail against the ground in excitement as we watched Arks fight.

"[Wind Run], It's a wind-type spell that lets you run on air, or in this case, use it to jump away even if you aren't on solid ground," I said impressed by Ark.

Astonished Araki said "Really? It's a good thing he uses it for that then... wait if he can use wind magic why not use it for attacking."

I thought about it as Araki did have a point.

"Considering he isn't using any other magic I don't think he realized he can use magic. He could be doing it on instinct." I said

"Really?! I didn't think that was possible," he said back staring at Ark in wonder.

I smirked and said "Of course it's possible. How do you think sorcerers use magic? Unlike us who have to study, they can use it with no training. Though it does lead to more bad than good if they aren't trained properly."

Araki scratched his head, his expression a mix of confusion and realization. "Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

I smiled. "Because you focus too much on the wrong things, Araki. One day you'll learn to keep up with me."

"Hey! I don't focus on the wrong things!" Araki shot back, glaring at me.

I chuckled. "Of course not. That's why you needed me to explain it."

~~~~~~

Arks POV

I heard a few sounds of surprise from the crowd but I didn't pay attention to them, only to the opponent in front of me.

I realized my mistake, I was so focused on the bear I didn't catch the ground that had become unstable because of its attacks.

I glanced around to check the ground around me. Claw marks were all around me on the ground and some rocks were spotted around the arena and several bits of rubble had started making the ground uneven.

'I have to be more careful and watch where I am stepping'. I thought

I continued to dodge the bear's attacks for some more time and it got more and more frustrated.

As I dodged it I moved back as I could sense a change in the bear's movements. I watched it closely as it leaned back and took a large breath.

I knew what this meant and prepared to dodge.

With a roar the bear opened its mouth and a large stream of fire gushed out towards me.

Normally an inferno bear's fire breath is condensed into a line for better range and heat, but this one's lack of control and knowledge created a large cone instead.

Instead, its breath was a large cone.

'it's too big to dodge! I have to run.' I thought and turned to run away from the bear and put some distance between us.

Normally running from a bear is a fatal mistake as most people can't outrun them, but when fighting an inferno bear and it uses its fire breath, they can't run properly.

So long as you turn around when its breath is done, you don't have to worry about it catching up to you with your back turned.

When the fire breath stopped I turned back and saw the bear look even more furious and it charged at me again.

I prepared to dodge again but heard a bell ring.

Suddenly a collar around the bear's neck that I hadn't seen before, glowed and slammed its head into the ground preventing the bear from moving.

The announcer came out and announced my score "Ark Moonfang passes the test with 70 points!"

I looked happy that I passed with such a high score but remembered that the headmaster said my score would increase by 20 points.

'50 isn't great, overall I am on the same level as the other fighters here.' I thought with disappointment.

The crowd was silent for a moment before murmurs spread, but the announcer quickly continued. 'Apologies. There was a mix-up... Ark Moonfang: 90 points!'"

A look of astonishment showed on my face along with the other applicants.

'wait I scored 70 points on my own! how did I get that high!' I thought to myself trying to understand what just happened.

I tried to understand why I got such a high score but nothing came to mind.

I walked back to the viewing area confused and noticed a lot of faces staring at me. A mix of envy, anger, admiration, suspicion and confusion, but 2 faces were of joy and pride.

Jack and his friend. They were smiling. Jack's expression held a hint of pride, while his friend looked confused.

They didn't approach me and let me relax from the stress of the fight and went back to talking so I listened to their conversation worried about what they thought.

"Why was his score raised by 20 exactly? It's a little suspicious. Do you think he bribed someone?" the lizardman asked.

Jack shook his head "No. Only the Headmaster has the authority to effect the ratings like that and she wouldn't have accepted a bribe. She is only interested in rare resources and doing experiments on said resources. Besides, no offence to him but Ark doesn't seem like he could go through with ribbing someone."

"Then why was it raised?" he asked confused and looking over at me.

I turned away not meeting their gaze.

"Not sure but it isn't something we should worry about right now, You're up next," Jack said

the lizardman turned and noticed his name was next on the board and hurriedly moved towards the arena.

After he was gone I glanced over towards Jack but he was looking back at me.

He clearly knew my grandfather did something to get me in there so I looked away and didn't meet his gaze for more than a second.

I'm not really sure why I fear him disliking me or anything like that but I know it isn't a thing I want to happen ever.

I sat there in silence worrying about how other people would look at me when I sensed a presence next to me.

I glanced up and froze. Jack had taken the seat next to me, his presence steady and calming like a cool breeze.

He didn't say anything at first, just looked ahead, but his nearness made my face burn. 'Why did he always have this effect on me?'