“We’ve been running an awful lot lately,” Thomas said.
“Yeah,” Ludwig said as the loud sound of two massive car sized jaws clamped shut just inches behind him. “In case you didn’t notice,” Ludwig said slightly strained but not exhausted, “There’s a fucking T-rex chasing us!” Ludwig cursed.
“It’s a Dreadjaw…”
“Call it whatever the fuck you want if it’s chasing you!” Ludwig shot back, his legs pumping as he sprinted through the dense forest. He grabbed a hanging vine and hurled himself forward, his body swinging through the air as the Dreadjaw thundered like a freight train beneath him, though he snapped his mouth a couple of times while Ludwig was above him in the air, it missed and stumbled a bit but desperately managed to regain its position.
Ludwig’s forceful acrobatic stunt made him feel like he was stuck in mid-air for a few seconds before he started his descent, right on top of the Dreadjaw’s open mouth.
With desperate measure, Ludwig’s feet fell on the upper lip of the Dreadjaw’s open mouth. The creature’s eyes stared at Ludwig and snarled, making hot vapor burst out of its large nostrils.
“Disgusting,” Ludwig said.
The Dreadjaw shook its head to make Ludwig stumble, but The latter already reacted first, jumping on the Dreadjaw’s back instantly and holding on to some protruding scales on its back.
The creature howled again, a powerful tree-shaking, ground-trembling, and leaf-bursting roar.
[As an Undead, you resisted the Fear effect of {Beast Roar}.]
“That’s not gonna work buddy!” Ludwig said as he flexed his wrist, summoning a scimitar he still had in his inventory.
“Go for the eyes!” Thomas said.
“I know!” Ludwig said.
The Dreadjaw felt the foreign weight added to his back and tried to turn and get Ludwig off of him, he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the pesky undead, and its tail wasn’t flexible enough to swat Ludwig off.
It screeched some more and began sprinting again trying to shake Ludwig off.
Ludwig grabbed the scimitar with his teeth and tightened his grip on the creature’s back.
“Tree!” Thomas said.
Ludwig’s eyes widened as he noticed the approaching tree, the Dreadjaw wanted to squash him against it.
Thanks to his improved dexterity, Ludwig flung himself to the side while the Dreadjaw smashed its shoulders at the nearest tree. The impact was fully absorbed by the Dreadjaw but it still rattled Ludwig as he was attached to it.
He then heaved and flung his body up above the dreadjaw’s back, slowly making way toward the head.
The Dreadjaw screeched some more, and began sprinting again to get Ludwig off, and maybe find another tree to smash him against.
While it was springing the Dreadjaw end up running into a bunch of hanging tree vines that slowed it down significantly.
A crazy idea popped up in Ludwig’s mind.
Ludwig took the opportunity to slice off one of the vines before the Dreadjaw could release itself from them. After a lot of struggle, the Dreadjaw realized it couldn’t tear through them so it had to back away.
Ludwig’s pocket seemed to vibrate, he was being called probably.
He didn’t have much chance or opportunity to reply so he ignored it for now, whatever it was it shouldn’t be that important.
The creature was getting more and more impatient as it roared out and unlatched itself from the vines.
It opened its mouth and began screeching again.
“Gotcha!” Ludwig shouted as he grabbed both ends of the vine and flung them right inside the mouth of the Dreadjaw, he then forcefully pulled back, with enough strength that would make a normal man’s muscle tear.
The vine lodged itself on the back of the dreadjaw’s mouth where there was nothing but mouth gum, while most of his fangs were positioned up ahead.
“What are you doing?” Thomas asked.
“What does it look like,” Ludwig said, “I’m taming a T-rex!”
***
Back in the Colosseum arena, where everyone was watching intently at the screen showing Ludwig, many of the people who booed him earlier seemed to have been shut up from what they were currently watching.
Only a handful of students seemed to be cheering for Ludwig, and that was saying something, since the whole arena was quiet, Hoyo and Kassandra’s cheers seemed far too loud compared to the silence of the audience.
“That’s my boy! I knew I had to bet on him!” Hoyo shouted.
Kassandra couldn’t help but cheer, “GO LUDWIG GO!”
Despite her usual aloof and quiet nature seeing Ludwig’s actions was enough to shake away her introverted nature albite for a little while.
“What the hell is he doing?” Vastion asked as he saw the madness that Ludwig was attempting.
“Did you teach him that?” Cymoria asked.
Van Dijk could only laugh, “How do you even teach someone that? Ludwig is just that insane,” he said sounding more proud than worried.
“Wow, I didn’t even think that a freshman would have such ideas,” Olim said. “But, Master Van Dijk,” Olim said addressing the Tower Master. “Wouldn’t this just make the Dreadjaw even more frantic?”
“It should. Though one should know, that riding a tiger’s back is easy, dismounting is even harder. I could see Ludwig doing something other than dismounting the Dreadjaw, and I have a feeling that he’ll deliver on this… insanity of his,” Van Dijk said.
“What is he doing now?” Cymoria said as they just saw Ludwig using the vine to try and control the dreadjaw’s movements.
“Is he… trying to control it?” Vastion asked.
Van Dijk could only watch, he was slightly annoyed with Ludwig at this part. After all, Ludwig should have had a better position to wear down the Dreadjaw before others joined the fight, but trying to control it? Tame it probably? That’s more than madness, that’s idiocy in itself.
Since Van Dijk had his own mental pointing system for Ludwig, he was about to strike some points off for foolishness. But decided otherwise, his disciple wasn’t someone that foolish, so he probably had another goal in mind.
However, what proceeded to happen afterward made even Van Dijk’s eyes widen.
“This lad… is actually insane…”