Chapter 93: Chapter 52: Defeating the Phantom Rat
The girl who had chosen the Golden Scorpion as her \'partner\' stepped forward, looking down at the scene below. She was wearing a golden dress—not in the metaphorical sense, but literally sewn with gold threads and silk, flowing like liquid gold, in a style that was both garishly grand and refined.
"The assessment begins!"
With that command, the blocking door panels were lifted, and a Golden Scorpion entered the arena. It faced the same two Illusion Mice that the prior opponents had. Compared to the young wolves, the Golden Scorpion was significantly smaller, and in terms of strength, it might even be inferior to the Illusion Mice.
However, these \'partners\' all had their own unique skills and abilities.
"Such boring illusion techniques. Clark, use \'Golden Armor\'!" With a wave of her hand, the girl commanded, and the Golden Scorpion below charged forward, its body shimmering with metallic luster as it hardened.
Facing the diminutive Golden Scorpion, the viciousness of the two Illusion Mice was provoked; they recklessly threw themselves at it, flipping it over and attempting to bite, but the golden shell resisted their teeth, preventing any real damage.
"Now, use \'Poison Sting\'!"
Upon hearing the command from above, the Golden Scorpion below thrusted its gleaming, poisonous tail into the nose of the Illusion Mouse biting it, and soon, that mouse twitched all over and bled from its mouth and nose to death.
The second Illusion Mouse was dealt with in the same manner. After being poisoned, it quickly collapsed, making the entire combat exceedingly effortless.
"That\'s impressive," commented one of the students retaking the test below.
"How did she execute those commands? The instruction manual provided only had some basic commands."
"Perhaps this is the underlying test. Think about it—if the manual says \'basic commands,\' the implication is that there are \'standard commands\' and even \'complex commands\' that weren\'t given," analyzed a student as he pushed up his glasses.
"That makes sense. I thought that since they are Transcendent beings, the skills they know surely wouldn\'t be limited to just simple \'attack\' and \'defense\'."
"But how am I supposed to know what skills my \'partner\' possesses if it doesn\'t talk?"
"Well, I\'m afraid you\'ll just have to figure it out for yourself. It\'s pretty normal for a scorpion to use its poisonous stingtail, right?"
The students discussed amongst themselves, finding their stride after watching the demonstrations of the first two. Subsequent students began slowly to try out various commands and direct their \'partners\' to overcome the Illusion Mice.
Some students quickly caught on, commanding their \'partners\' to break through each challenge. However, some \'partners\' couldn\'t understand their commands, perhaps because they couldn\'t perform the skills mentioned, and others, even though they figured out what their \'partners\' could do, still struggled to coordinate with them.
"Don\'t run away; it\'s okay, Xiao Bai, that\'s just a little mouse, and you can beat it," a girl in a pink dress said anxiously to the white cat below her. However, the cat continued to panic and dodge, showing no intention of obeying.
The sight sparked a mix of amusement and pity from the audience, but there was nothing they could do to help.
In the end, as the eight-minute timer ran out, the girl had to face the outcome of failing the assessment.
"Although she\'s a sweet and gentle girl, she\'s still too weak," commented a senior from Yuanting Academy.
"Being gentle isn\'t bad, but being only gentle without any firmness lets the white cat think that it won\'t be reprimanded or punished for not following commands, to the point that it simply ignored her at the crucial moment."
"Sigh, she\'s a good kid, but it\'s really not a good habit."
"Let\'s see the next one."
In front of the battlefield, Hexia placed the small snake from her hand into the entrance paper box, comforted it with a few words, and then ascended the platform of the arena.
"Northern Seventh District, Hexia." After simply reporting her name, the evaluation began.
The opposite passage opened, letting out two starving illusion mice. The paper box with the snake was also transported into the arena and released the indigo small snake inside.
"This girl\'s \'partner\' is a snake, that\'s quite rare."
"It must be using poison, right? For a poisonous snake to eat mice, it\'s pretty simple."
"Not quite, didn\'t we just see a white cat being chased around by mice? Bloodline suppression isn\'t that strong for transcendent creatures."
"Let\'s wait and see."
Inside the arena, the two illusion mice shook their grey-white fur, their bodies suddenly enlarging, then they locked their gaze on the blue and white small snake swimming about and charged over.
Faced with these two \'enormous\' and fierce illusion mice, the small snake below was momentarily panicked, turning around to flee in search of a place to hide.
Watching its panicked darting, Hexia did not give any orders but silently observed, a behavior that slightly surprised the surrounding audience.
"Is she not giving any commands at all?"
"Maybe snakes are hard to tame and listen, so she simply lets it do what it wants?"
There\'s no use in hiding, but to expect the startled indigo snake to muster resistance at this moment was too much for it, the girl thought silently to herself. Then she glanced at the ticking timer; there was still plenty of time, and everything had just begun.
The battlefield was not large, and after a few chases, the two illusion mice bit the indigo snake\'s body, the pain causing the little guy to tumble.
"Now is the time, \'Flash Scales\'!" Hexia finally issued her first command.
In a helpless situation with no escape, the indigo snake almost reflexively accepted the command. A dazzling brilliance blossomed from the scales on its body, and such a close-range burst of light scorched the pupils of the two illusion mice, causing them searing pain.
Taking advantage of the moment when the illusion mice were too pained to pay attention, the indigo snake broke free. The up-close scuffle and the flash also caused the illusion mice\'s illusions to fail. Facing illusory mice that were not much larger than itself, the indigo snake suddenly found courage.
"Wrap around it, \'Strangulation\'!" The second command followed immediately.
With the positive reinforcement of the first command\'s escape, the indigo snake responded to the command even quicker. It swiftly coiled around the mouse and tightened its grip, gradually asphyxiating it.
However, as the other illusion mouse\'s eye pain dissipated gradually, it bit the snake\'s body again using its blurry vision. But the burning sensation in its mouth forced it to immediately abandon this action and instead scamper away.
Time slowly slipped by, and after finishing off one illusion mouse with strangulation, the indigo snake released it. Under Hexia\'s direction, it rushed towards the other illusion mouse and completed the task before the timer expired.
"Hexia, pass!"
Upon hearing the staff\'s voice, Hexia also let go of the tension in her heart while standing on the platform, she sighed in relief.
Although she believed she could command the little one below her well, the indigo snake\'s attack method was still too slow. If the time had been tighter, they might not have been able to kill the second illusion mouse before the evaluation ended.
She would have to do something, or she might fail in the later evaluations, she silently estimated in her heart. Then she walked down the platform to the exit, picked up the little snake that swam over, and fed it several pieces of food.