Damon just wanted a hole to open up and swallow him whole.
'Aiwass, for the love of all that's holy! Favorite couple? Seriously?'
Panic crawled up his throat.
Iris, sitting in the middle of the judges, didn't take her eyes off Aiwass for even a second.
"Welcome to the Guild, Elementalist Aiwass," Iris said, her voice sharp.
"Today you will undergo the standard evaluation trial for S-rank. The rules are simple: you must contain and neutralize Specimen 714 for a minimum of five minutes without causing major structural damage to the sector. Any damage to the specimen is allowed, as long as you don't disintegrate it."
Damon got a chill.
The part about "no major structural damage" sounded like a trap. Aiwass was a Fire Elementalist!
Aiwass pulled the gum out of her mouth and stuck it under the judges' table, right in front of Iris.
"Easy. That's like asking a cat to hunt a blind mouse," Aiwass replied, turning her cap backward.
The older judges looked at each other, some letting out muffled chuckles.
But Iris didn't.
Her blue eyes shined even brighter.
"I hope your confidence is justified," Iris said, a hint of threat in her voice. "Lieutenant Miller, please prepare the testing field."
Miller hurried.
A panel on the wall lit up, showing a holographic layout of "Gamma Test Field."
It was a reinforced containment room, but Damon could see the weak points.
Any hit from a Specimen 714 could turn it into rubble!
BOOM!
A heavy steel door opened at the base of the field. A blast of freezing air burst out of the opening.
Damon watched the system project Specimen 714's stats.
[Specimen: 714 (Class: Ice Chimera)]
[Rank: S]
[Skills: Frozen Hide, Freezing Breath, Ice Wall]
[Status: Aggressive, Extreme Hunger]
'An Ice Chimera against a Fire Elementalist?!'
Damon's brain went into max alert mode.
'This is a brutal nerf! This is like a raid boss-level elemental disadvantage! They did it on purpose!'
A shape stepped out of the darkness.
It was huge, bipedal, with blue scales and claws sharp like obsidian blades.
A freezing aura rolled off its body, making the room's temperature drop hard.
"Good," Iris said, raising her hand. "Begin the trial."
The test field gate slammed shut with another
CLANG!
Leaving Aiwass alone with the beast.
Specimen 714 roared and lunged at her with its claws out.
Aiwass kept chewing gum, like none of this mattered.
"Aww, cute," Aiwass said, blowing a huge bubble.
Specimen 714 swung a claw that could've split her in half.
Damon felt cold sweat on his forehead.
This wasn't gonna be fun for anyone.
Iris was gonna watch the world burn just to win a contest about who was stronger!
Specimen 714 charged.
Its icy claws ripped through the air, straight for Aiwass's neck.
Damon screamed.
But Aiwass just raised an eyebrow.
WHOSH!
A blast of pure fire popped out of nowhere, wrapping around Aiwass's hand like a burning glove.
The Chimera's claws hit an incandescent barrier.
CRACK!
The monster screeched.
The ice on its claws splintered, red cracks flashed for a moment before steam covered them up.
'What the hell was that?!'
'It's like using a flamethrower on a snowflake!'
Aiwass pulled her hand back, fire still dancing around it.
She licked a finger, like she'd gotten something on it.
"Pff, tastes like antifreeze. Gross," she said, twisting her mouth.
Specimen 714 backed up, its right claw smoking, a trail of water dripping onto the floor.
Its frozen hide, for the first time, showed a black burn mark.
Iris, in her seat, opened her eyes slightly. A micro-expression, almost impossible to notice, crossed her face.
"Minute one," a floating timer announced in the air.
The Chimera bellowed and raised a jagged wall of ice.
WHOOM!
Aiwass just rolled her eyes.
"Seriously? An ice tank? So cliché."
With a lazy flick of her wrist, Aiwass extended her hand.
But there was no explosion.
FSHHHHHHH!
A column of steam shot up to the ceiling, and in a second, the wall stopped existing.
Where there had been ice, there was only nothing, a perfect hole revealing the Chimera trembling.
Specimen 714 unleashed freezing breath, a blue blizzard that coated the floor in frost.
Aiwass snorted.
"So unoriginal!"
She crossed her arms and stared at Specimen 714, getting ready to attack again.
"Look, this is boring. Five minutes, you said, Captain? It's already been two and a half of pure yawning."
With a snap of her fingers, a tiny spark appeared right in front of the Chimera.
The spark just... expanded.
SHIIIING!
A thin layer of sticky mana, like a giant invisible wad of gum, spread across the floor, trapping the Chimera's feet right as it tried to leap.
Specimen 714 stumbled, its massive claws stuck to the reinforced floor.
It struggled, yanked, but it was useless.
MMPHH!
Its roar choked into frustration as it tried to break free, leaving small shallow craters.
Aiwass turned to the judges with a smug smile.
"Well, there. Contained, and I didn't burn anything, see? Also, this way it doesn't make a mess. So, can we go now? My Zero needs to think about dinner, right, babe?"
Iris's eyes were locked on Damon.
'NO, NO, NO! Shit, Aiwass! You just got me killed!'