Meanwhile, a pack of Drulla snarled in fury, baring their jagged fangs and dripping green saliva the moment they saw a small child step into their enclosure. Arkhytirhema smiled brightly.
"These dogs are smiling at me! They must want to play."
For safety reasons, the Drulla were locked in reinforced containment cells so they wouldn't escape the facility. But Arkhytirhema felt a strange urge to touch them. With a simple tug of his hand, the iron bars bent and snapped apart. The hole he created was more than enough for the boy to slip inside. The starving beasts lunged instantly, their massive bodies crashing toward the child.
Fangs sank in, venom dripped, and claws slashed—every Drulla took its turn tearing and biting. Yet none of their attacks worked. Arkhytirhema's skin was impossibly tough, impervious to every tooth and every strike. One of them tried to bite down with all its might, but the teeth broke.
The boy only laughed harder, watching the "dogs" lick his arms and shoulders. "They really like me! Their tongues tickle so much!"
Realizing their attacks were useless, the Drulla retreated, instinctively sensing danger.
"Huh? Why are you stopping? Come on, let's play more!" Arkhytirhema called out, stepping closer.
But the beasts panicked. The moment he reached for their fur, the Drulla scattered in terror, howling and scrambling around the enclosure in chaos.
"Wow! We're playing tag now! That's my favorite game!"
He chased after them one by one, laughing joyfully as the terrified creatures yelped and barked. The commotion shook the entire Laghim facility, echoing through every hall. The boy's laughter mingled with the desperate cries of the beasts.
Hearing the uproar, Brinirha, Amnarutta, and Dharmina rushed into the breeding sector. The gate was shattered, and the desperate howls of the Drulla filled the air.
Dharmina immediately sent a telepathic signal to Arkhytirhema's mind.
"Zhena Amnarutta! Stop chasing the Drulla. The game is over. Return them to their pens."
"Oh, it's over already?" the boy replied. He obediently stopped and began herding the trembling beasts back into their cells.
Each Drulla that met his eyes crouched low, ears flattened, shivering in terror. The mess he caused took hours for the other Profilers to clean up. When it was finally done, Arkhytirhema ran to his parents and hugged them tightly.
"Well, thanks to your son, the extra job is finally done." Dharmina said through mind to the parents.
"Sorry, we are responsible for all of our son's actions." Answer Brinirha and Amnarutta.
"Don't worry about it. I had already anticipated that something like this would happen. And I believe in the future, Arkhytirhema will do many more astonishing things."
Due to the recent incident at Drulla's cage, the boy's education has been temporarily suspended.
Dharmina reported the entire incident to the High Council led by Rhamidaar through a probe.
"I understand, Dharmina," the leader's voice echoed. "You've done your duty well. The Council and I have just discussed this matter. We've decided to terminate the first Prodimaar phase and proceed directly to the second."
"I understand," Dharmina replied briefly.
Badar Planet, Dunrabla Star Cluster
Arkhytirhema and the others arrived on a planet nearly the same size as Ardh Grumma. Its gravity was almost identical. Here, young Lemurians were trained to subdue the fearsome Badar Monsters, serpent-like creatures with ten-meter-wide bodies and lengths reaching nearly two hundred meters.
To pass the test, a student had to defeat these monsters and force them into submission with a single strike, until they straightened their bodies in surrender. Normally, Lemurian children would spend three to four months training on Badar.
By coincidence, or perhaps by fate, when Arkhytirhema arrived, the Badar monsters were in their mating season. Their numbers were far greater than usual. These creatures mated in groups of a hundred at a time.
"So many monsters," Arkhytirhema thought.
Dharmina spoke telepathically.
"Zhena Amnarutta, do you see that group of giant serpents in the valley? Try to subdue a Badar monster with just one slap of your hand. When they straighten their bodies, that means they've surrendered."
Arkhytirhema watched the valley from atop a hill.
"That's easy," he replied.
Dharmina immediately sensed trouble. When he says "easy," it means it won't be easy for anyone else except himself. Apparently the boy misunderstood her instruction, he thought he had to defeat all the monsters at once.
He jumped off the cliff, flew toward one of the monsters, and crashed into it. The monster bounced off and hit another monster, causing a domino effect. One after another, the Badar monsters fell, dazed and tangled. Arkhytirhema lifted them effortlessly, piling their gigantic bodies into a single heap.
The beasts didn't even have time to fight back. They were struck, tossed, and crushed before realizing what had happened.
"This is fun! I could hit and throw these giant worms all day!" Arkhytirhema thought gleefully.
The pile of monsters grew taller and taller until there was nothing left in the valley. After making sure everything was piled up in one place, Arkhytirhema raised his hand. A dense, bright blue energy emanated from his palm. With his blue hand, he unleashed a massive telekinetic slap that struck every monster at once.
The air shook. Hundreds of colossal serpents were hurled skyward like falling bowling pins. Then, all at once, every Badar straightened its body in perfect unison, a sign of total surrender.
Within five minutes, all hundred monsters were defeated.
"Father! Mother! Look, I did it! I beat all the monsters by myself!" Arkhytirhema shouted from afar, waving proudly from the valley.
Brinirha, Amnarutta, and Dharmina could only shake their heads in disbelief. The Profiler stood speechless, then called a probe to contact Rhamidaar and report yet another miracle.
Rhamidaar too could only sigh and shake his head.
"I understand," he told Dharmina. "It seems there's nothing more to be done there. Given what has happened so far, the Council will need to hold another meeting regarding Arkhytirhema's education. For now, all training activities are to be halted. You will be informed once a decision is made."
"Understood."