The beasts the students were facing… were unlike anything most of them had ever imagined.
Towering frog-like and toad-like monsters loomed over them, some thick and bulky with bloated bellies, others leaner and more agile, but all of them massive by Alterian standards. Compared to any regular creature they had studied or seen before, these things were nightmares made flesh.
For many of the mages, it was their first time encountering beasts of this scale, and understandably, fear struck deep. The fear wasn't just of their grotesque appearance, it was the realization that these creatures were actively trying to kill them.
"What are you idiots doing?!" Chiba shouted, panic and frustration in her voice. With a swift motion, she hurled a fireball toward one of the larger frogs. It landed with a crackling boom, igniting the creature's slimy body. The beast let out a terrible croak, flailing as flames danced across its skin, until, maddeningly, it lunged toward them despite the fire.
