The Chief gestured vaguely at Scorch, whose obsidian scales retracted in fear under his gaze. "You're a fellow lizard tamer, so I feel a certain pull to take it easy on you. But I know that you're Jethro Merrick, the lowest ranked tamer in the Academy, who's bonded to a Red Lizard."

He smirked. "But Red Lizards don't look like that. You've gone outside to do something very suspicious. So, I have to either report you, and that Portal Box you must have stolen. Or… you can take your beating like a good little stress toy."

Jethro's blood ran cold. He had no choice here. None.

"Choose quickly, Jethro Merrick. Get these hands or kiss your future goodbye."

There wasn't much of a decision to be made. But a battle could tell Jethro just how much his new stats fared compared to stronger tamers like the Security Chief. Maybe this was a chance to test the skills he'd unlocked, against another opponent.

Before Jethro could decide on anything, the Chief pulled out a small, metallic black sphere from his belt and tossed it onto the ground in their center. Jethro's eyes widened, recognizing the gadget from Professor Luria's lesson.

It unfolded with mechanical noises, exposing a glowing bright shard within its volume. The shad exploded, creating a spectacle of interconnecting lines that reprinted their location, creating a direct replica of it that became their battleground for the chief's beatdown.

Jethro was shocked. This man had a Battle-Zone Sphere— a device that was used to create a direct replica of a particular radius as a battle zone, where damage can be done to the surrounding without affecting the actual one.

For the Chief to have such a gadget at his disposal, it meant he was used to doing this. He fought and trained a lot.

A mechanical voice echoed through the artificial space.

[GEOGRAPHIC REPLICA COMPLETE. BATTLE ZONE IS ACTIVE]

Jethro frowned, looking around at the battleground that was no different from where he was a second ago. He turned to the Security Chief. "You didn't even let me choose."

The Chief smirked. "Let's not be pretentious, Jethro Merrick. We both know what your choice was going to be. This was not a buffet." He cracked his knuckles, the chrome flashing. "Tamer Battle of course. Let's leave the mechbeasts out of this." His eyes closed warmly. "At least for the sake of yours."

Jethro paused. 'Would have said he's actually a nice guy if he wasn't trying to kill me.'

The Chief appeared right in front of him at that moment. Jtehro's eyes widened. What? He moved so fast for his size. It was like a blur of brown and green had appeared, and now a speeding fist the size of his head was coming at him.

"You appear to lose focus a lot," the Chief said. "Let this be a warning— mhm?"

Jethro threw himself sideways, dodging the punch narrowly and surprising the Chief. Even though he had been occupied with his thoughts, it was because of [Deep Sense] that he managed to spot the moving blur, giving him enough time to avert compared to the average tamer.

His new increase in Agility helped as well.

The Chief's fist plowed through the space Jethro had occupied, hitting the replicated cafe wall with an astounding crunch that left a spiderweb of cracks in the illusory plascrete.

"Oho!" The Chief laughed, genuinely delighted. "Speed! From a Red Lizard tamer?! How curious! Maybe I don't have to hold back as much. I can savor this for longer."

Jethro's eyes widened, ironically regretting not taking the punch in the face.

The Chief suddenly pivoted, lifting a sturdy leg and spinning it to sweeping kick aimed at Jethro's thighs rather than legs. Jethro tried to jump, not expecting that the Chief had aimed higher, and also not expecting the increased speed in the attack.

The kick connected hard on his thigh, causing reverberations of pain through Jethro's entire legs, and sending him spinning in the air. Jethro hit the ground rolling, but when he saw the man leap high to attack again, he immediately activated [Camouflage] and rolled out of the way.

The Chief's fists struck the metal ground, compressing the iron inward. Then, he stood silently, scanning. "Isn't this interesting? How is this young mutt the lowest ranked tamer in the student. You have a stealth skill, and another that gives you heightened senses."

He turned around, looking at every corner, knowing that Jethro was looking back. "Yes, I know. You're not very fast. It's a skill that increases your perception, not your speed. I gathered that after you couldn't escape my swift spinning kick, even though you noticed it on time."

He pivoted again, tension building, his eyes searching for sound and movement. "There's no running. You're inside a Battle Field. So isn't it best if you just come out…" He suddenly exhaled. Out of his nose and arms spread forth greenish smoke filled with spores.

They spores spread rapidly, filling the field. And before long, they clung onto the skin of the only translucent object— Jethro.

The Chief grinned. "...and play."

He was on Jethro before he could blink. A backhand sent Jethro crashing into the cafe window, shattering it into bits as he burst inside, the light stinging his eyes. [Solar Charge] activated, giving him energy from the light, but not any he could use against the human spear that struck him.

The Chief hit him with his shoulder, driving Jethro through the wall hard. He didn't give him time to recuperate. He pulled him, grabbed him by the head and drove him to ground, his skull hitting hard with the metal.

"How fun is it to inflict pain on others!" the Chief laughed. He pulled Jethro from the ground, metal clinking to his cheek as he laid him on his shoulder and— "Spinning Wheelbarrow Slam!"

With a greenish energy, he tumbled upside down and struck Jerthro so hard on the ground, the entire cafe exploded outwards from the damage. Chairs, tables and meals scattered, as the building threatened to collapse.

The Chief chuckled, his laughter sounding more and more like a maniac. He grabbed Jethro by his white hair and pulled him up. "I have to apologize. I wanted to savor this and not end this so quickly. But I got carried away."

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