“How’d she do that?” Cole asked, his mind blown by Azula’s easy victory.

“It looked like a form of string magic,” Lucy replied.

“Cool,” Cole said, his eyes fixed to the screen.

“What did you think of Felix’s match?”

Cole wasn’t sure how to put it. Impressive? Scary? Felix certainly had a much harder time than Azula, but was nonetheless triumphant.

“I guess he did alright.”

“Alright?”

“Well, he won. I guess that’s all that matters.”

“But it’s not,” Lucy replied. “He never gave up, even managing to turn the tables in an uphill battle. I’d say he did better than Azula.”

“But Azula beat her opponent way faster, without getting even a scratch on her.”

“It isn’t about how quickly you defeat your opponent,” Lucy said, “it’s about how you go about doing it. Take Kate, for example. She knew we would be too much for her to handle, so she tried to poison us instead. She put herself in danger to get close to us, just as Felix did in his final attack.”

“Yeah…”

There was a hint of sadness in Cole’s voice. He’d been trying to keep his mind off the trial they’d just left, but Lucy had a point. While Cole had so willingly let his guard down in front of Kate, she’d taken him seriously from the start. Even after his encounter with Felix, he’d failed to see her as a threat. Yet again, Cole had to rely on Lucy to look out for him.

“Then, should I really be on guard against everyone?” Cole asked. “Isn’t that kind of ridiculous?”

“Not at all,” Lucy replied, “especially in your case.”

“I guess I’ll be fighting people like Felix and Kate my whole life, then....”

“Unfortunately, I would assume so. Even for people who aren’t demons, fighting can be a constant struggle between life or death. This is especially true when humans and demons face each other. Each has an unshakable hatred for the other, perpetuated by the societies they live in. I was glad you spared Kate. Feeding into the cycle, whether you believe it to be good or bad, is what enables it to remain. That’s what my master would probably say, at least.”

“Your master sounds wise,” Cole said, surprised by Lucy’s forthcomingness.

“He has his moments,” Lucy replied. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is you can learn from Felix’s fight. Always assume your opponent has an ace up their sleeve, and never let your guard down. That was how Felix was put at a disadvantage, but it was also how he won.”

“I’m still surprised he even managed to win in the first place. Daphne was so strong.”

“Considering her magic seemed more suited for short fights, I’m surprised she didn’t try to end it faster. Anyways…’

Picking up the remote, Lucy turned off the screen.

“We’re not going to watch the last match?” Cole asked.

“You should be getting back to training.” Lucy insisted. “I think we’ve spent enough time lounging around.”

“But I made all the chess pieces,” Cole said, gesturing to the brand new set before him.

“That’s good, but I think it’ll have to wait for our next break. After watching that match, you should know why.”

It was true, Felix had made another impression. He’d seemingly learned from his mistakes against Lucy, easily adapting his fighting style to his new environment. If Cole wanted to catch up, he’d have to be more committed.

“Alright, Lucy,” Cole said. “What’s next? Projectiles like yours?”

“Not yet,” Lucy replied. “First, you’ll be learning the ‘ice shell’ technique I used to shield you against Felix and Kate.”

Whether she was trying to or not, Lucy provided more than ample motivation. Cole had always liked the phrase ‘the best defense is a good offense,’ and it was only fitting he’d learn such a technique after watching Felix’s fight.

“Alright,” Cole said. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Good.”

Without wasting any more time, Lucy explained the process Cole would have to go through to form a shell of ice. While learning to create ice from mana was a challenge for Cole, Lucy insisted this would be much easier.

“Concentrate on spreading your mana evenly around your body. The more you can amass, the stronger your shell will be.”

“So,” Cole thought for a moment, “I just need to do the same thing as before, only spread over my entire body.”

“Almost. You want to create an extremely thin layer of ice, one that can only be seen from up close. From a distance, it should appear as if there’s nothing protecting you. This isn’t just to give off an appearance of vulnerability, as it is key to allow you to move freely while using it. Having large chunks of ice extruding from your body wouldn’t do at all.”

“I can see how that’d be a problem,” Cole said. “but how do I create a thin layer of ice that will still protect me?”

“You’ll need to make the ice denser,” Lucy replied. “For now, that will have to do.”

“But even if the layer is thin, won’t it still be solid? How will I be able to move?”

“The shell you make is a product of your mana. As long as your mana is actively feeding its existence, the ice will bend to your will, just as your mana does. You’ll understand once you give it some practice, so I’ll leave you to it.”

Lucy pushed herself up from the couch, leaving Cole to his own devices. He understood the general concept, but actually pulling it off was another thing.

For starters, Cole thought back to his initial training for any clues he’d picked up. When making each of the chess pieces, he’d first collected mana in his chest before shifting it over to his hand. Notably, Cole remembered how much adding a physical action to his initial training had helped him in making it all possible.

Closing his eyes, Cole collected a stream of mana in his chest. It felt oddly different than before, but Cole found it to be just as malleable. Maybe it’s my imagination.

Clearing his mind of all distractions, Cole focused on applying the stream of mana to his entire body rather than a single spot. Unsurprisingly, trying to imagine his mana splitting off to cover his entire body didn’t work at all. He had success in splitting the stream into smaller chunks, but not in a way that could span his entire body.

While Cole was putting more thought into it, he wondered why he’d bothered to make a stream of mana in the first place. It wasn’t like his stream of mana was being created from nothing. There had to be a supply already inside his body, but was too obscured or scattered to detect. If he could get mana to flow directly to the surface of his skin, rather than originating from his chest, then Cole figured he’d have a much easier time.

Allowing the mana he’d collected to dissipate, Cole took Lucy’s advice to heart. Rather than try to collect mana around each body part, Cole imagined his mana collecting in a way that spiraled all around his body, continually coating it with a layer of ice.

A few minutes passed as Cole contemplated how he’d like to proceed. Just imagining things wouldn’t be good enough, as that was what he’d wasted most of his time on when first learning.

Looking over to Lucy, he saw her lying on the bed with her hands behind her head. She’d helped him understand what he’d needed to do back then, but Cole wanted to change. He didn’t want to be the kind of partner that would always be a drag, regardless of whether or not Lucy saw it that way or not.

Turning back in front of him, Cole swore he’d figure it out himself. Realizing he hadn’t even really started yet, Cole’s momentary sense of pride diminished slightly. Even so, he pressed onward.

Cole once again closed his eyes, imagining a layer of ice forming around his entire body. Moving his right hand to his left elbow, and his left hand to his right elbow, Cole tried to add some physicality to how he perceived the mana would move. He did this by very slowly moving his hands up and down his arms, envisioning his arms being coated in ice.

It was a slow process, taking Cole almost an hour, but he finally got a result. He’d been moving his hands up and down his arms for so long, making himself feel pretty stupid in the process, that he almost missed a small coldspot on his arm.

When his brain fully processed what he’d felt, Cole snapped his hand back to his upper left arm. Upon further examination, there was definitely a small bit of ice there.

“Finally.” Cole grinned.

Having made a breakthrough, Cole waited a few more minutes before trying anything else. He was primarily testing to see if it would fade away after losing so much concentration. Strangely enough, Cole was able to maintain its ‘existence,’ as Lucy had put it, quite easily. Picking at with his fingertip, Cole could tell it wouldn’t be easily plucked off, if he was to really try.

Alright, I think I’ve got the feel for it now. Putting his hand flat over the small patch of ice, Cole concentrated on making it spread. Now that he had a base to operate with, it was much easier for him to get the feel of how to apply this new technique more broadly.

Within just ten minutes, Cole managed to coat his entire upper arm, refining the process along the way. The initial spread of ice was an odd sensation for Cole, but easily got used to it. He continued at a moderate pace, calmly enveloping his entire arm in a layer of ice.

By the time he’d covered his entire body, he’d stopped using his hand as a physical guide. It’d taken hours of work, but Cole managed to replicate Lucy’s technique, making him grin from ear to ear.

Giving himself a celebratory pat on the back, Cole was still amazed by how easy it was to move in his ice shell. He hadn’t put much thought into it before, but he hadn’t felt restricted at all each time Lucy had used it on him, either.

Standing upright, Cole walked around the room. No matter how he moved, Cole could barely even tell he was covered in ice. He distinctly remembered feeling chills when Lucy used her shell on him, but he felt no such coldness now. Is it because I’m using my own mana?

Either way, Cole was satisfied with the results he’d gotten. While he was tempted to start making it denser, and therefore more protective, Cole decided to take a different approach.

First off, he stopped the flow of mana to his shell. It didn’t disappear immediately, but slowly faded away over time. Unlike the mana he’d used to craft objects of ice, Cole realized the technique he’d used for this must be fundamentally different. Even after being left out for hours on end, none of the chess pieces he’d made melted away. Yet, in this case, his shell of ice faded into nothing in a manner of minutes.

Nevertheless, Cole didn’t have time to learn about such intricacies. If he wanted to survive, he’d have to first nail the fundamentals. Because of this, he spent the next several hours continually making slightly denser shells of ice. Once he’d slightly surpassed where he was previously, he allowed the shell to fade away, repeating the same process over and over.

Oddly enough, this technique felt a lot less draining to Cole than forming the chess pieces. Even after all his practice, he didn’t feel fatigued. This immensely motivated Cole, allowing him to continue training for hours on end. By the time Lucy told him to take a rest before the next trial, the clock turned to an even 10:00, leaving him more than enough time to sleep before IQ told them of their next trial.

After remaking the ice shell so many times, Cole was able to manifest it around him in a matter of seconds, followed by a minute making it ‘denser,’ though he wasn’t exactly sure how much it’d be able to hold up against.

“You seem to be in a better mood, now,” Lucy remarked, looking at his still grinning face. “Was training that enjoyable?”

“It was, Lucy. It was.”

Even if his next trial had a worse ending than the last trial, he was at least prepared for it. With this in mind, Cole closed his eyes, allowing himself to gently fall asleep.

 

***

Cole rubbed his eyes after waking, having rested quite well. It took him a moment to remember where the hell he was, but so was the life of someone so unused to their new surroundings. Pushing himself upright, Cole looked around to see Lucy standing at the console, seemingly ordering herself another pile of strawberries.

“What’s for breakfast?” Cole asked.

“I was going to get an omelet,” Lucy said, unsurprised that Cole was now awake, “but I also want to get chicken…”

“I’m surprised you don’t get both.” Cole joked.

“Good idea! We’ll split.”

For whatever reason, Cole’s suggestion had given her an excuse to do just that. Two dishes popped out from the console, eagerly brought to the table by Lucy. Knowing her appetite, Cole shot out of bed to join her.

Letting Lucy handle the omelet, Cole dug into his half of the chicken. He typically liked variety, but something about it was too good for him to pass up.

“Cole, you have to try this,” Lucy said, her mouth full of omelet. “This flavor is amazing!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Grabbing a pair of utensils himself, Cole cut himself a small portion of the omelet. This revealed a colorful inside, topped off with a red liquid that slowly seeped out. Taking a bite, Cole understood why Lucy liked it so much. It had a nice taste, but one that Cole quickly realized was too much for him to handle. His mouth felt like it was on fire. For whatever reason, the omelet was extraordinarily spicy.

“What the hell’s in this thing,” Cole asked, taking in a deep breath.

“Egg, cheese, bacon, sausage-”

“I mean what’s making it so spicy!”

“Oh,” Lucy replied, “I was looking through the ‘options’ of how to have the omelet prepared, and one of them was ‘spiciness.’ I wasn’t sure what it meant, so I figured I’d set it to the maximum.”

“And you actually like it?”

“I think it’s great.”

As Cole reached for his glass of water, coughing slightly from the burning sensation on his tongue, Lucy continued to eat away at the omelet. Does she even have taste buds?

As Cole thought about whether or not he should be concerned, IQ’s voice abruptly interrupted their meal.

“Less than one hour remains before your next trial.” IQ said. “This trial will be quite simple in nature. You must defeat a total of ten golems. Good luck, adventurers.”

Cole waited patiently for more instructions, but none came. IQ’s voice disappeared as abruptly as it’d started speaking.

“That’s it?” Cole asked, turning to Lucy. “Just how strong are these golems?”

Lucy gave him a shrug. If any of the previous trials were to be referenced, there had to be more to it than IQ was letting on. While they still had an hour left before having to leave, Cole was eager to set out. Scarfing down the rest of his food, Cole’s mouth slowly became less on fire. By the time he’d returned the dishes to the console, he felt in tip-top shape, ready to take on some of these ‘golems.’

“Ready?” Lucy asked, stepping towards the portal.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”