Julio's efforts at putting out the forest would stall its complete destruction for a time, but it wouldn't last. It gave the students a change to advance as up ahead, he could see the end of the forest. His stopping to help had put him in a joint position with some of the other students, the tall man in the high hat and the girl in the elegant dress were running for the next stage of their little obstacle course. As he advanced, the grey haired boy from before pulled a stunt to try and hurt the sniper, taking a shot at one of his ice covered trees so it would shatter in part, sending jagged ice shards in his direction.

"I've got your back!" Asher heard a call from behind him, the fox Faunus was there to back him up with his crossbow, ducking and weaving nimbly between some Grimm. As he flew through the air, the Stalker reached up in an attempt to use a single claw to pluck him from the air. However its claw never made it that far as two crossbow bolts got buried in its face, making it revile in pain and stagger enough that it's claw swung at empty air. Now all the warrior had to do was deliver his blows.

The covering fire from the faunus gave him more than enough time. Then he can make doubly sure this strike will do some real damage. A Deathstalker, incredibly sturdy, just as sturdy as it was strong, but all it's armor was on it's upper and front sides, which is why he wanted to get behind it. The backside of the stinger was vulnerable. With a click of his blade, and the sound of a gunshot, he sliced right through the soft underside of the stinger, as the blade pierced as much flesh as it could, the icy white and blue slash flash froze the wound. The cold would staunch any movement in the stinger, which would allow a safer approach from above. As he spun his blade around to sheath, his body was already beginning to shift and flicker and sure enough he found himself hurtling down from above.

With a twist of the handle of his blade sheathed, and then a tug at the same time as concentrating his aura into his weapon, his weapon opened up into it's Inferno mode, a giant blade of pure aura was unleashed as he came down from a single decisive blow. The laser-like blade should cut through the armor of the Deathstalker like butter, and he aimed to slice right down the middle. If this landed, there would be no doubt of the Deathstalker's death.

That should hold huh? But he was losing his lead. Ah well. He'll just have to continue and try to take back his advantage at the next leg of the race. Two people were neck on neck with him. However, his ears picked up another sound of a shot. A familiar one. The one that started everything. It shattered one of his ice trees, causing the shards to fly to his direction. He braced for impact, shards flying past him but only damaged him a little. Thanks to his semblance, he was able to withstand the barrage with only minor injuries.

Julio did nothing but glare at the male and continue on. He'd rather not waste time trying to gun the male down. That should wait until later on. Hopefully, the next course would offer them some Grimm. That should give him some time to gauge his fellow students and act accordingly. Or perhaps not and keep his speed advantage? Hm, he'll just have to see.

The Deathstalker's tail was frozen up as his blade cut through one of its joints and kept the thing solid. As it began to scuttle to turn and locate its attacker, Asher was able to get off his second strike against the hulking scorpion. His blade, heated, sliced through its top armour and kept going, not stopping til it hit the craggy ground of the savannah beneath them, effectively bisecting the beast as whatever life it had left after such a blow, came across in spasms of its claws and legs. He'd done it, with such a successful blow, one of the three Death Stalkers was dead.

"That was so wicked!" The fox Faunus who had given him covering fire ran up to him through the crowd, a look of awe on his face. "I've never seen anyone take down a Death Stalker with such ease..." Asher's work seemed to have given other members of their group ideas as the girl with the flail was taking on a second of the Death Stalkers, smacking her heavy weapon into its side as a loud explosion emitted from it, knocking the creature.

The grey haired boy smirked up at Julio as he took the opportunity to rush on ahead of him, joining the duo already ahead of him as the last branches of the tall trees of the forest gave way to the second stage of the Gauntlet. Beyond the forest, the ground was cracked and earthy, barren and dry, small fissures running up the ground, dead trees bent over with skeletal branches brushing at the skies. Amidst it all, they could even see small bones half buried in the dirt. But the land was flat and open, allowing for superior movement. Their second stage was a wasteland, by the looks of it.

As the Death Stalker began to unravel as his blade went clean through, he turned his back to it with composure and reverted his blade back into it's regular form. As the fox Faunus who covered him came up to him with admiration he wasn't sure how to admit that he never actually fought a Death Stalker before. In all honesty he followed his instincts and they paid off, it seems his actions inspired others too as he glanced around. They were emboldened and the Death Stalkers were going on the defensive.

"And I've never taken one down until now", he responded. As he said that, his attention was grabbed by an explosive noise as a girl swung her flail into the side of another Death Stalker with explosive force.

"Well, I'm going to keep moving, safest way to not be last is to be first", and with that and a wave he was off. In all honesty the Fox Faunus might be faster than him in running speed, but that wasn't the point, point was he was on his way forward. Plus everyone seemed to have it under control there too. There was no need to team up just yet, and deep down he hoped there was no need, team play to him was an occasional necessity rather than a priority, through most of his life he was fine getting by with his own skills, so why should that change?

No need to take revenge now. The guy looks like he was capable. Ah well, if the guy tried to get help later, Julio was sure as hell he wouldn't do it. Maybe. Highly likely? Great, Julio wasn't sure now. Landing safely on the barren ground, he looked around but kept on moving. This was the complete opposite of the first stage of the gauntlet. While Julio wasn't really in his advantage, he still could do something at least.

Although he continued without firing off any rounds, allowing the students to freely fight among themselves while he kept his distance from most of them. He learned that retaliating might bite him back in the ass, just like what happened earlier. Note to self, don't use fire crystals in the forest. It was a stupid decision. He felt really stupid. Up to now, he still does. He wondered if he would still get in. Ah, better stay optimistic.

He hoped that he would at least reach the leaders. He kept his senses sharp to see/hear/smell anything out of the ordinary.

"Good idea." The fox Faunus seemed to agree with him and, as he had feared, was more than capable of keeping up with him, possibly even being faster than him as they left the savannah behind and moved onto the second stage of their Gauntlet.

Beyond them stood grassy banks and running between them were trickles and streams of water, all running from a singular source over to the left of them, but creating many rivers inbetween the grassy islands. There were no bridges in sight and some of the rivers varied from a simple step across to a decently sized width that nothing short of fording or swimming could pass them. Worse still, Grimm were present, lurking at the river sides.

As the three leaders, now with Julio behind them, raced across the wasteland, they seemed to slow down in fear. Ahead of them, a large crowd of Grimm were barelling toward them, Beowulfs leading the charge with four hulking Ursas picking up the rear. And only four stood before them, to take on the large crowd.

Julio noticed the three in front of him slow down for some reason and it wasn't soon until Julio knew why as well. The monkey faunus frowned as he slowed down as well. He was a long range fighter, so he needed someone up front. He was, at first, thinking if he could maneuver his way around this mass of Grimm. Other students were lagging behind leaving them to take on the frontal attack first. "No need to get cold feet now." He joked, sure that the other leaders would've heard him.

His movement was swift as he aimed the sniper rifle at the Beowulfs. It was better to take on the small fry first after all. And since they were at a distance, he would be able to get a few shots in before they would make contact. Shooting three rounds of lightning dust-embedded shots, he would switch his sights to the Ursa. With ice dust replacing the lightning dust, he shot at the Ursa's feet, aiming to stick it to the ground and deal with it later. He attempted this with two Ursa.

As they exit the dry savannah, they came upon what seemed to be wetlands. Shallow trenches of river and water with small, grassy islands. He didn't mind the fox Faunus catching up to him, as long as he wasn't last it was fine by him. He just had a sense of pride and would prefer to be one of the first if not the very first. Still it might be helpful to have someone with some range around, he didn't have much range himself. Most hunters opt to go for a weapon that allowed them to fight from both a range and in and up close, but Asher chose to specialize in what he did best instead.

There were some Grimm here, the movement along the riversides were testament to this, even if he couldn't see them. He can easily bypass most of this area by having his semblance run on ahead before he would switch with it well ahead... If he did that though, he ran risk of putting himself in a terrible position further up, so it might be best to have his clone run ahead of him like before to bait out threats and bypass or deal with them as needed. Would be more efficient too since his semblance does cost a fair bit to teleport him.

So he stood there for a few moments as his Semblance took form and ran on ahead, any threat he would meet, the clone should meet first. While ethereal, it had a solidity like that of another person, unlike other clone Semblances, he created only a single high quality clone, rather than multiple utility or weaker clones. After it was ahead enough for him to see it but also enough for him to react to incoming threats, he ran on after it.

The leaders did indeed turn. The grey haired boy just curled his lip in irritation and prepared to do battle with his fan axe weapon. The girl in the elegant dress simply giggled and fluttered her large fan blades before heading into the crowd, twirling with elegance and grace as she began cutting the dark creatures into ribbons. The man in the high hat simply turned and smiled, looking at Julio. He placed a finger to his lips as, in an instant, he seemed to vanish from sight, without a trace.

His three lightning shots hit three of the Beowulf, a small lightning field taking out a larger number of them as the remaining large forces continued to surge forward. The Ursa were the bigger targets but their feet were hidden behind the packs of Beowulf, so he only managed to land one shot on one of their legs and that only served to slow it somewhat. The Grimm were closing in as more students emerged from the woods.

Whilst Asher's clone scouted out, the fox Faunus wasted no time in going on ahead, using his agility to leap over the wider rivers. A few hiding Beowulf attacked the clone as it rushed past them as the students from the savannah behind were beginning to catch them up. A particularly large river cut the middle of the terrain that would be hard to cross.

The clone would keep going and the Beowulf would chase it for a short while, leaving them completely open to being slain from behind as Asher himself followed closely behind, drawing his blade and flourishing before sheathing it again, not stopping his sprint as he left slain Grimm in his wake. This would continue to repeat as they leaped over the larger stretches of river, he was surprised he wasn't seeing any aquatic Grimm just yet, but he can ill afford to doubt fortune. Still, his plan of action was working, pretty much all the Grimm his clone encountered were unceremoniously cut down from behind, all that was left was to reach the end of this area and continue towards the goal, unless something big decided to stop him.

Flipping a switch, the sniper rifle changed into an automatic assault rifle. Instead of slowing down again, though, he began running faster, gun pointed at the mass of Grimm. A lot were gone now, thanks to his shots, but a lot more remained. That and the four Ursas were still at the back. One was slowed down but ultimately was still there. He clicked his tongue in displeasure but he had to work with what was happening here.

The cartridge turned to wind dust and he started blasting off the Beowulf as soon as they were in range of his weapon. He was closer to them and he had to pull off some moves to not get hit, but it should be easy enough. His main problem would be the Ursas, but he'll worry about that later. First thing's first after all.

Asher's movement landed him squarely in the lead of the little test, when suddenly his run was stopped as from a nearby river, a large black and white fish leapt up and snatched his leg in its jaws, biting down hard. It was about a quarter his size but its teeth were sharp and sunk in. Worse still, as he was down, Beowulf were taking the chance to surround him and prepared to pounce upon him, claws bared and fangs ready.

The Beowulf were sent careening away from Julio's position thanks to the wind cartridges, clearing a path for him... right into an oncoming Ursa who was not happy about the little huntsman clearing out his bretheren. He was charging fast before he reared up and swiped at him, the flowery woman and the grey haired fellow too far back to assist him. He'd be taking on this deadly bearhug alone.

Julio couldn't help but let a soft laugh when he saw the Ursa. A clear path to it. A one on one battle? Not too bad, he supposed. Should he be able to defeat this one, then he'll be home free. Without any distractions, he could run straight towards the goal. However, it would not be easy. When the hulking beast was heading straight as him, he fired multiple ice shots. However, he was still swept up. Struggling under the Ursa's grasp, his free hand went to his pocket of crystallized dust.

He didn't care what he picked up. Pressing it onto the Grimm's belly, the lightning dust would activate. It would hurt, but it wouldn't put Julio down, not with his amount of Aura to spare. He doubted the Grimm would let up easily too. But as long as the Ursa would let go of him, it was fine.

Grimm fish? Not unexpected, though it was pretty large, it was no problem for him to simply turn and kick it away. Fish while fast in water, were very predictable out of it. While it didn't do much at all, it did staunch his rhythm, some of Grimm that took notice of the clone had turned back to go after him instead of it. While he quick stepped further away from major bodies of water should more Grimm fish decide to surprise attack him, he recalled his clone to come and help clean this mess up quickly before resuming.

The first Beowulf that charged him was cut down by a quick draw slash, and a natural flow occurred from there as he swept forward and through another two.

Beowulf were no problem to slay, unarmored, large, and only decently fast, a well placed slash is easily the end of them. He was more worried about those piranha Grimm though, it was best he avoid the much larger bodies from now on. He could sense his clone fighting more up ahead, but as soon as it was over he continued his run.

Just a small speed bump. He wasn't seeing anything big enough to make him change his strategy just yet though, but he hoped this was near the end. If he had to go through a gauntlet of large Grimm, he won't have enough aura.

The crystal shots peppered the large Ursa but it was indeed, not enough to stop it's charge as it's large claw swept him up in its grasp and held onto him tightly, the sharp blades pressing into his arms and back as it's ugly face seemed to leer at him in its grasp. The lightning dust worked well to damage the bear further, zapping him with lightning... however, with Julio in the bear's grasp, he soon found that said lightning conducted all the way around the bear and into its claw, electrocuting him as well before it passed. Once it was over, the Ursa still had a hold on him and smashed him into the ground in retalliation of his move. But it's grip was lightened, if he could get its paw off, he might get free.

With the Beowulf dealt with, Asher's path was mostly clear, except for a few large bodies of water standing between him and the end... worse still, these ones were clearly more active as small schools of Grimm Pirhana, or Nippers as they were affectionately called, were infesting them. Even with quick jumping it would be hard to clear them. Just then, a familiar face turned up beside him, the fox Faunus and his crossbow.
"Need some help?" He offered with a smile, aiming his crossbow into one of the rivers and shooting a bolt, laced with ice dust. It struck the water and froze a solid block into it, making it able to be crossed with relative ease.

Julio grit his teeth as he felt the lightning run through his entire being. He was sure that he was down to the half of his first life, if not more, but he was still overall fine. He knew the effects of the risky move. It was a do or die moment. But he didn't succeed in making the Ursa release him from its grip. It then smacked him onto the ground. Ouch. That hurt. A lot. He was nearing the start of his second life at this point, but he could still take a few more hits before his first life aura depletes. He felt its grip lighten. He could use his gun as well.

He pressed the end of his gun onto the Ursa's body and pulled the trigger, releasing several bullets into the Ursa's body. In this close range, not only was it a sure shot, but it should also bring a great deal of pain. That added with the earlier attacks and the lightning dust should be able to put it down at least. The Ursa was powerful, sure, but it wasn't immortal. And it also felt pain. Even if it didn't kill it, it would weaken considerably and release him.

He was so focused on the Ursa that it was only then that one thought passed through his mind. Where were the other students? This was a competition, sure, but they should at least help each other out. He guessed that was part of the pointing system too. Huntsmen helped people after all. Ah. There he goes again, relying on others. Being a sniper really puts that mentality in you.

"Huh, neat", he commented, as the ice finished spreading across the water. He could see some Grimm attempting to jump out, but got caught mid-freeze. He had ice dust in his weapon as well, but it was a concentrated type, and was better suited for strikes. It probably would not freeze all the water in front of him. That said, if he didn't get help, he'd have just run his clone over to the other side, and when it was clear, he'd switch. Still, this makes things easier,

"I guess I won't say no to hospitality, let's both keep moving", he responded as he darted off ahead. Being another student, of course the Faunus would keep going. Based on what he was running into, they were quite clear of any other students, as most of the terrain was completely untouched, still, he's not going to let up. The sooner this is done, the sooner he can go and get something to eat or drink.

The shots hit the Ursa and made it recoil enough to have it stagger and release the boy from its grip. But it still clung to life, enough that it was ready to make another swipe at him. But just as it seemed inevitable, something seemed to be holding the Ursa back abit as its claws started to scrape at its neck. In an instant, a familiar face appeared clinging onto the Ursa's back, holding his weapon around it's neck. It was the masked fellow in the tall hat, holding the bear back. In an incredible feat, the man tugged sharply to one side and snapped the Ursa's neck, finally killing the lumbering beast. As it tumbled toward, the man seemed to tip his hat slightly and leap off of its back, continuing onward to the final area of the test.
Julio was able to catch a brief glimpse behind him too. Those other two Ursa were causing a major holdup with the other students and only now he could see the flowery girl slice one of them apart with her fan blades. In any case, the path was clear for him.

"It comes in handy." The Faunus smiled, patting his crossbow. He seemed to agree with Asher's proposal as the way was now clear for both of them, majority of the other students starting to catch them up behind in the river area. With the way clear, they were both able to proceed to the final area of the Gauntlet, the exit star shining just ahead of them.

Over an expanse of pure swampland. The river area had only been a prelude to this nightmarish marsh, thick pools of fetid water, easily reaching waist deep, stretched out ahead of them. Land was incredibly sparse, no simple jumping would give them path this time. The only way to cross, seemingly, was through the muck itself.

Julio was dropped by the Ursa and he landed on his fours. However, the Ursa seemed to have been clinging to dear life and would attack him again. Crap, there wasn't enough time to react. Not when he was in his position. However, the attack never came. The fellow with the top hat had appeared behind the Ursa with his weapon around its neck. In one swift move, the fellow had snapped its neck. "Thanks." He breathed out and the fellow had jumped back to continue through the gauntlet. Julio readjusted his cap as he looked around. The two other Ursa were still alive (no idea what happened to the other one) but one was swiftly cut apart by the flowery girl.

Right. He had no time for that. He picked himself up again and then started to dash to the next area. He was more or less damaged but not really in a horrible shape. The others must've taken the hits harder. He was more resilient thanks to his semblance. He couldn't say the same for the others. Although the other leaders seemed to be quite skilled, especially in close range. He kept his eyes and ears open as he ran so he would notice if something would come to attack him.