Unlike during the initial assessment, when Numba had been struggling to transform, his horns were now growing at a fast speed, swirling backwards just past his entire head before they curved up. The pointed bits stuck out around fifteen centimetres in front of him. The ball was heading his way, yet when he kicked the floor, a loud bang resounded throughout the room.
The teenager only moved a short distance, less than two metres, but his speed was incredibly fast, powerful, not to mention timed perfectly. The Goat Altered’s horns connected with the ball, which flew back as fast as a bullet, right past the closest two teenagers from the group of four, until it finally collided with its target.
It was surprising that the ball itself didn’t break, indicating that the material wasn’t normal rubber. It was far more durable, yet it also kept a solid state when being hit, allowing it to retain an optimal speed and weight behind it.
Numba, aware that his chances of fighting off four Altered weren’t good, had wisely decided to make a fight amongst themselves pointless by forcing the group of five to act. What’s more, his target had been caught off guard against this sudden ambush. With the ball hitting him right in his stomach, the teenager was currently down on his knees. It felt like no matter how hard he tried to breathe, he just couldn’t, to the point that tears were coming out of his eyes.
“Grab the ball, we have to make sure that Tick isn’t the one to get eliminated this round! With him gone, we won’t have the numbers advantage any more!” A sixteen-year-old girl by the name of Izzy was shouting that. Just like Tick, she was one of the three Altered unable to transform.
Immediately, the short brown haired student who had displayed his skills in the fight against the Crab Altered ran towards Numba. His goal was to knock out the Goat Altered. After all, the only rule was that the last one to come into contact with the ball would be eliminated, and an unconscious person would be unable to do anything after being tagged.
Five minutes had been more than enough time to form teams, so the two groups had used the remaining time to coordinate how they could best compliment each other given their respective Altered forms and skills.
‘If it’s just him, I might be able to defend myself until the timer reaches zero.’ Numba thought, ready to fight since the group of four had already escaped from the vicinity.
“You can do it, Ian!” Izzy shouted from behind. All three of them had attended the same school, and Ian was undoubtedly the strongest amongst them. Fortunately for the trio, the Crab Altered had challenged Ian, rather than Izzy or Tick, which had led to the misconception that all three of the Altered unable to transform had to be some sort of powerhouse. Alas, with Numba hitting Tick, their friend was on the verge of losing his chance to attend the AFA, especially with only ten seconds left this round.
Just as Numba was about to prepare his legs to push off again, he saw that another figure was running towards Ian. It looked like a blur, but the figure met the brown haired Altered who had been mid-kick in the air.
“What the hell?! This fight should have nothing to do with you! Fine, if this is how you want to play it, then let’s go!” Ian cried out as Gary caught his foot.
“Numba might have rejected my offer, but I’m not going to just stand there and watch when all of you are ganging up on him.” Gary explained with a confident smile. He clenched his right hand, holding onto the leg harder. Then, seeing how Ian was about to kick him with his free leg, the Werewolf prepared to meet the incoming kick with one of his own.
Alas, that kick never came. Instead, a cracking sound could be heard, and the next moment, a terrifying scream filled the floor. The scene looked gruesome. Not only was Ian’s leg twisted into an unnatural position, but a small part of his bone was sticking out of the body.
“SHIT! I'm so sorry.” Gary apologised the moment he saw the damage he had caused. He had intended to merely use a simple kick, but having seen how Ian had fared against the Crab Altered, Gary had opted to use a bit more strength and speed to overwhelm the other teenager’s defence. He had succeeded… a little too well.
-----
“Hmm, I didn’t think that they would go at it with such enthusiasm from the get-go. Should I call in the medics, so that they can collect him?” Professor Hai asked his colleagues.
“There’s no need. He’s an Altered, and according to his blood test a very powerful one at that. This type of injury is not enough to kill him, so we should let him decide whether he wishes to forfeit or continue.” Professor Humfree replied.
-----
None of the teenagers knew what to do at that moment. Their reverie was broken by the buzzer that had gone off. The image of the last student who had been hit was now flashing under the timer.
“Tick Mybal has been the last person to come in contact with the ball and is thereby eliminated from this assessment. Please leave the area.” The voice of Professor Humfree stated over the speaker.
In the room, another panel opened up, revealing a door. The teenager walked towards it, his head held down. He hadn’t fully recovered yet, but enough to be able to walk on his own. The boy could do nothing but blame himself for not having been more cautious. Still, as someone whose Altered form had been deemed interesting enough to allow him to pass the AFA’s first assessment, the silver lining for Tick was that other academies would be happy to take him in.
As soon as the teenage boy had left the room, another beep was heard. Everyone had expected new balls to come flying, yet nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the sixty-second timer had started counting down, showing a picture of Numba underneath.
Immediately, a feeling of relief overcame the others. All they had to do now was make sure not to get hit, and after having seen what Numba was capable of, they were very wary of him. Meanwhile, the Goat Altered ran towards the ball and lifted it off the floor, he then threw it slightly up in the air, as if he was going to do a tennis serve.
While the ball was dropping down, Numba readied his legs and, once again, explosively charged forward, hitting the ball with his head. It flew across again, this time hitting one of the group of four Altered on the shoulder.
“Crap, let's just go for others, our numbers are the same now, so we should be able to get one of them!” One among the group suggested.
For Gary, and his teammate, the second round became calm and peaceful. The two teams of four were fighting against each other, the image under the timer changing every other second. The timer continued to go down, and in the end, there were only ten seconds left until the next person would be eliminated.
Currently, Izzy was the one holding the ball. The teenage girl was bruised and tired, yet her face showed conviction as she changed her approach, running towards Gary.
‘Why me? Do you want to take revenge for your boyfriend or something?’ Gary wondered, as he just watched her. The green haired teenager was ready to dodge. He had contemplated hitting the ball to return it, yet he had decided against it, fearing that she too might turn out even more fragile than Ian.
The countdown continued and now a few metres away, Izzy hurled the ball. It was fast, faster than what a human could do, but nowhere near fast enough to hit Gary and in fact he could tell that the trajectory of the ball was off, to the point that he didn’t even have to move.
‘I can see that this is a desperate attempt, but you still have to at least aim properly.’ Gary thought, a small grin on his face. Just in case, it turned out to be a curveball, he stepped to the side, making the ball miss him completely.
Keeping his eye on the screen, Gary saw something strange. The image had changed, now displaying Vik.
‘Crap, I completely forgot about him!’
Turning his head behind him, Gary was going to try to help his teammate in some way.
'I don't really care about this guy, but he came to me and trusted me, and If I was to fail here, I might fail elsewhere as well!' Images on the Howlers members appeared in Gary's head.
But when turning around, all he could see was the ball bounce off his chest and fall to the floor.
Off in the distance, he could see Vik, his moon shaped eyes smiling at the Werewolf’s visible confusion.
*****
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