Lily hesitated.

She didn't want to expose all of her strength as Leo had suggested before. Nor did she want to waste excess mana forming storm clouds that would drain her reserves too quickly. After carefully sensing her remaining mana and judging it to be sufficient, she chose to wait. For now, she continued attacking with wind blades and vines, hoping to exhaust the bear until its frost ability weakened or deactivated on its own.

But Brant and Lu were focused on something else entirely. This time, Brant leaned forward, clearly more engaged.

"See?" he said with a smug tilt of his head. "I told you the brat wouldn't allow his girl to be weak. I've already judged his character—cautious and smart."

Lu responded with a low grunt, irritation obvious on his face. He had lost more than a few promising candidates he could have presented to his academy's principal.

"The beast is giving off energy close to a pseudo–3-star, and it's nearly ten meters tall," Brant added thoughtfully. "Could it already be a royal?"

"No," Lu replied calmly. "Wood-type beasts tend to grow larger than others. But I can say this much—it's a noble. She found herself a good one."

"The beast also seems full," Brant continued, eyes narrowing. "Which means the only thing holding it back now is element crystals."

Lu nodded in agreement, his gaze never leaving the battlefield.

But now, they couldn't afford to laze around anymore.

Hoooooonnnn… gggggg!

A low, distant howl rolled in from a far-off direction, deep and heavy, vibrating faintly through the air. All five professors turned their heads at the same time.

"It has come…" one of them said quietly.

"The Colossus."

Far in the distance, the landscape itself seemed to be shifting. Even from nearly five to six kilometers away, it was unmistakable—something massive was moving. The sheer scale of it was apparent even at that distance.

"That thing…" Lu muttered. "Will we even be able to stop it?"

"It's a low 3-star," Brant replied with a taunting smirk. "Don't tell me you're scared."

"What do you mean, low 3-star?" Lu snapped back. "With that size, it's comparable to a peak 5-star regular beast. And it's not that I'm scared for my life. That thing could raze the city before we even manage to stop it. Not to mention, they're nearly non-tamable."

"But we still need to try," Brant said, cracking his knuckles. "I've always wondered what the Emperor felt fighting that one Colossus. Looks like now's my chance to experience it."

Another professor spoke up.

"Have to admit, the Demons really snatched a good variant. That size at a low 3-star? Damn. They must have gone deep in the wilderlands"

"Must be mortal rank… or even ordinary," another added. "If it reached that size without advancing to the next rank."

That earned a few nods of agreement.

"So?" Brant asked casually. "Who's going first?"

He already knew the answer.

"Not me," Lu replied immediately.

"If my flames get revealed too early, the Demons might not even show themselves," he added, his expression openly proud.

"Tsk. Tsk. Always so haughty," Brant clicked his tongue. "Fine then. You three—you go first."

As he spoke, a sharp gust of wind surged through the air.

In the next instant, the wind intensified violently, lifting the other three professors off their feet and hurling them forward like scraps of paper toward the rapidly approaching Colossus.

"They won't do shit," Lu said flatly, crossing his arms.

"Maybe not," Brant replied calmly. "But even a twenty per cent energy loss matters when dealing with something that big. If it gets tired, it'll hibernate in the same spot. By the time it wakes up, the drug's effects will have worn off, and it'll turn away from the city, since innately they're pacifists."

"I mean," Lu chuckled, "if I could get food just by sitting in one place, even I'd become a pacifist."

Vegetation naturally grew on a Colossus's back. If it remained stationary, its energy was replenished by the plants—food offered as tribute in exchange for protection. Because of this, Crgveil's were rarely seen attacking actively.

They only moved when attacked, when their Geo Resonance sensed an energy-producing treasure nearby, or—as in this case—when they were drugged.

Most of the time, a Colossus minded its own business. Dragons could be tearing through the sky above its head, and it wouldn't give a damn unless it felt threatened. Likewise, other creatures avoided provoking them. The only reason humans, elves, or other beasts ever fought a Colossus was when it moved, and a settlement or a den lay in its path.

Once a Colossus chose a path, it rarely changed course.

And since its spiritual weight distribution only functioned above forests, any settlement beneath its feet would be crushed flat. To make its journey more comfortable, it would manipulate the earth itself, nearly flattening the entire area in its way.

"Have you ever tried taming a Colossus, Lu?" Brant asked suddenly.

"No," Lu replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," Brant said. "I've heard their skill is literally 'Earth Manipulation.' Wouldn't that be better than other earth-related skills? I mean, it's like having everything rolled into one."

"Nah," Lu shook his head. "It indeed encompasses all earth skills, but that doesn't mean the holder can actually use all of them."

He continued, his tone turning explanatory.

"The predetermined formulas and sequences we inherit from our beasts make it easy to activate skills—we just channel mana. But if you try to replicate a specific Earth skill through raw Earth Manipulation, the mana cost skyrockets. It might not be as effective, and you might not even get the desired result."

"On top of that, manipulative skills require intense concentration. Even a tiny lapse collapses the skill entirely, and you're forced to start from zero—wasting precious mana in the process. That's deadly in battle. All in all, unless you're a master in that field, inherited skills are always better. Less versatile, but far more reliable. Simply, manipulative skills are High risk, high reward. But still, even if manipulative skills are difficult to get around, they help tremendously when altering an inherited skill to the desired shape."

Brant nodded along. It wasn't that he didn't know this—but Lu's higher registered rank granted him access to far more detailed information.

"And beasts with manipulation-type skills are rare as fuck," Lu added with a sigh. "I've been looking for a fire manipulation beast for years, and I still haven't found one."

Hoooooooonnngggg!

"Oh... They angered it more. It looks like my turn will arrive soon." Brant said, ignoring Lu, which earned him a sharp 'tsk'

---

A/N: We have crossed 200 GTs! Thank you very much!!

No! I am not crying because I need to rub my ass off to write extra chapters, I am very happy... really.(ಠ ͜ʖಠ)

Anyway, please understand that I am stockpiling 10 chapters to be published on the 22nd, so the bonus chapters will be uploaded by the end of next week!

I am really sorry for the delay.(人´∀｀)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.