GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

He began to fashion a buckler. Something much smaller, more compact, and more difficult to use. The large shield will allow for some errors in accuracy and precision while the buckler won't. This will make the already tricky parrying even more challenging. The advantage of the buckler is that it is lighter and can be used with only one arm so he can wield two at the same time.

"Let's go" He cheered himself for another run.

The sixteenth run ended in another failure. The tongue attack struck the buckler and shattered it along with his arm. Then it went on to pierce his chest. It is the first time he suffered such a defeat on the very fir titan frog attack. He had been able to resolve it the first time he encountered the attack without any prior knowledge of it. So this failure was worse because he had been prepared for the attack.

"I just have to get the hang of it." He said while his eyes burned with determination.

"I also have to make stronger bucklers."

He tried again, and again, and again. It was until the 22nd run that he got the hang of it. The buckler demanded a high perception, quick reaction, and high arm strength in order to parry the tongue attack. It also required making the point of contact between the buckler and the tongue at an angle such that the attack is deflected properly. Everything clicked as soon as he got the proper measurements and muscle coordination. His perception and reaction time is excellent but his arm couldn't move fast enough to intercept the tongue. So he used the coiling dragon technique to acquire the necessary reaction and arm strength. His arm would simply spring forward to intercept the attack, so he resolved all the attacks up to the fifth attack.

"Here comes the moment of truth." He said as he prepped himself for the consecutive attack of the 6th and the 7th titan frogs.

The first attack came and he was ready for it. His arms went from being still to suddenly blurring to meet the tongue. They met with a loud clang and he parried the attack. His other arm was ready for the second attack, but it didn't come.

"Huh." He was startled by the development but didn't lose his composure. He reorientated his positioning and was ready to land on another trunk, which he will use to leap. He had to maintain his zig-zag pattern of movement or the bugs will catch up to him.

His feet were about to land on the trunk of a tree when the second attack came. His attention was on trying to make a proper landing but he will also have to resolve this lightning-fast attack. The two actions are very complicated and demanding. He had to perform them both or he would fail them.

"Motherf**Ker." He cursed.

The attack was meant to distract him so that he will not be able to find proper footing or find a proper footing but fail to defend against the attack.

Unfortunately for them, his mind is much too powerful to be tripped off by something like this. He was more than capable of multitasking, even in a highly stressful and delicate situation. He parried the second attack and leaped. His body flashed from tree to tree.

"Haha, sucker." He laughed.

He was happy that he thwarted their plan but he didn't let that distract him. He was still ready to face another attack. He was aware that the weakest moment for a person is when they had just experienced success. Their body and mind will relax which will make them slower to react to another attack. But nothing came after this attack. So he continued the bugs and battle sage monkey chase.

"Their stamina must be getting low by now." He mused.

Another weakness of blood wasps is their poor stamina. They may be very fast but that's only for short distances. Their speed will start to reduce as their stamina falls. He didn't have to worry about his stamina because the output of his vitality core is well above his current body. He wondered how other kids will be able to cope with the intensive mental and physical requirements of the obstacle course.

The eighth attack came and he was ready for it. He released the potential energy he stored in the muscles of his right arm through the coiling dragon technique to make the arm accelerate. He wasn't surprised when the second attack in a row came. He expended the coiling dragon technique in the other arm to resolve that one too. And just like he suspected the third attack in a row happened. He wasn't surprised by it but he wasn't prepared for it too. He only had two arms and has already expended the stored strength in both of them. He lacked the required strength but he still tried to deflect the attack. It worked partially, he survived but he left his arm and a good chunk of his chest behind.

The impact of the tongue on his body hurt more than his ripped flesh. The tongue brushed past his chest and that part of his chest simply gave way. His vision threatened to darken but he held it back through the sheer power of his mind. That was before the pain hit his mind and he almost fell.

He gritted his teeth and ignored the pain in order to make the next jump. But he stumbled and fell short of the usual height he used to reach.

"I'll be back." He swore but continued to run. The blood wasps behind him picked up speed when they perceived his blood. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they catch up to him but he didn't give up. He also knew that without his two arms, the chances of him Surviving the next attacks from the titan frogs have been reduced to practically zero. He still had more of his chest to give but if they also attack him in quick succession, then his poor chances will become absolute zero. Still, he gritted his teeth and ran.

Suddenly all the tree trunks around him disappeared to reveal a clearing.

"You have got to be kidding me." He complained and gritted his teeth when the pain threatened to overwhelm him again. He couldn't afford to stumble this time.

Without trees, he won't be able to make quick changes to his direction. Then the wasps will have a straight path to reach him. Stumbling here will seal in his failure.

"What am I supposed to do now? Am I supposed to leap about like a frog?" He shouted. Then he laughed. He ignored the pain in his chest and laughed hard.

He continued to run but it was a doomed endeavor. He knew it but he didn't give up. He continued if only to collect more data about the next attacks.

The blood wasps had been hindered in the forest but now there was nothing between them and Soverick. They were rapidly gaining on him.

'Something has to be done about these blood wasps. It seems they will be the end of me." He thought about his current conundrum.

He is already prepared for failure and is planning for the next run. This situation wasn't so bad. Without the trees and his jumping actions, the tongue attack will not be able to catch him in a moment of weakness. The titan frogs won't be able to hide too. He will be able to spot them with his eyes. There is no tree cover to obstruct light.

Plus his feet are on solid ground, so he will be able to dodge the attacks better. But this situation will also allow the bugs to gain on him. The thought that other kids will have to go through the same thing didn't make him feel better. He isn't like the other kids and was never one. He felt pity for them instead. The obstacle course was too difficult.

He was in thought and about to be caught by the blood wasps when he crossed a line and they froze. He received a message through his wrist logger.

"You have reached the next safe zone. You will start from this point onwards."

"What?" His eyes widened in realization.

"I made it? I made it."

His amputated arm and punctured chest were restored immediately. He plopped down on the ground and began to laugh.

"Wow, that was intense." He thought back to what he just experienced.

He wasn't the only one who thought so.

In a small world within the battle academy. On a leaf of one of the many trees and plants that make up the forest inside this small silent world, is a tiny fairy and something that looked like a wisp of light.

Shaston and her will clone who were watching the recording also said "wow." At the same time.