The chief’s tent was several more furnished than the rest. Where most had only a pile of hay or a lump of blankets to act as their beds, Tama’s had two military-style cots. This was not much of an improvement, but there were also several woven baskets, clay pots, a few wooden crates, all of which were filled with random knickknacks, herbs and even a few potion bottles as Yua promised. Tying it all together was a heavily trodden rug, which they had place directly in the dirt to greet their visitors.

                But the most striking and concerning ornamentation to the tent was a large, doorless cabinet filled with what I could only describe as mementos of fallen enemies. Battered helmets, chunks of split armor, broken blades, a strangely shaped bone or two or three, a couple of finely-furred pelts and more.

                Given what we were about to talk about, I easily imagined my skull ending up on the top shelf. I quietly resolved myself when Yua closed the tent flaps, shutting out all but a thin line of sunlight.

                I thought to question why we bothered separating ourselves when anyone that wanted to listen had but to turn their ears towards us, but thought better of it. Tama was still very much glaring at me.

                Without breaking eye contact, he sat down on the cot closest to the left-side wall. He then pulled Kimiko rather forcefully onto his lap. Her legs parted easily, as if she were used to this treatment, and straddled his right thigh without a word in complaint. Needless to say from how she sat, her vagina was now fully in view.

                “Sit down, boy.”

                I did as he asked, worried he may have caught me looking and sat on the cot opposite them. Unprompted, Yua then sat comfortably right next to me. Possibly because this cot used to belong to her. This made her father scoff.

                Did I say scoff? I meant sneer. Sneer ferociously. Like he not-so-secretly wished that he held a loaded shotgun on his lap instead of a beautiful woman.

                “Daughter,” he started and it took all I had not to jump. “Tell us how this boy stole you from me… I mean our tribe. I want to know everything.”

                “Yes, Daddy.”

                Without commenting on his slip up, or just being used to his doting as Kimiko suggested, Yua gave a slight bow. Tama stiffened, maintaining a grimace even after frolicking with her moments ago. He must really hate her being so formal with him. Quietly, her parents waited for her to drudge up her explained what happened after she left the village all those years ago. Being that this was not my story to tell, I kept my mouth welded shut for the duration of it.

                There were parts I didn’t know, mainly consisting about her short journey to The Great City of Amoranth, her life there, and everything that happened in the dungeons up until she failed to finish the third floor. Once she got to that part, she struggled through it and sought my hand out with hers as she explained. I let her squeeze it without a word and, to my surprise, Tama sympathized enough with the tears she barely held back to forgive this offense.

He growled with as much menace as humanly possible when she mentioned the Adventurer she’d run to for help and how he betrayed her. And again when she had been enslaved, only for the same Adventurer to try and buy her for obviously perverted reasons. Then, doing a complete one-eighty, he laughed uproariously when Yua detailed the many fights she started with the slave house thugs whenever someone came to buy her. Then, as if he couldn’t decide what to do with his emotions, he growled again when Yua got to the day I bought her.

                It was my second time hearing the story and it wasn’t any happier this go around, but her mother looked like she was teetering somewhere on the border of calm and outright sobbing right along with Yua, but she pressed her lips in an attempt to compose herself and listened.

                “That was when Alex bought me, Daddy,” Yua said, squeezing my hand. “And I swear on my ears and tail, that he’s been nothing but nice to me. And he even buys me tasty food and clothes!”

                I was surprised that her backstory changed from a dramatic retelling of the worst part of her life, only to then spin right into defending me the moment she mentioned me buying her. But I quickly realized that this was because Tama’s glare had darkened further, as if he hadn’t truly thought she was my slave until she said so directly. His muscles had been tensed, seconds away from shooting up, ready to fling Kimiko off of him to get at me.

                Kimiko gently put a hand on his thick forearm to calm him and used her other hand to wrap his around her waist. Holding her, his muscles visibly untensed themselves and I let out a breath I hoped he was too worked up to hear. The change was so abrupt that it was almost like she used some kind of calming spell on him.

                Say what you will about them, but they were close enough for Kimiko to know exactly how to soothe him without needing to speak a word. Even if they weren’t properly married, I had to admire their relationship.

                Yua continued.

                “After he bought me, he took me back into the dungeons to fight the monsters with him. And because of his help, we not only beat the third floor with ease, but I’m much stronger than I should be for my age.”

                “I don’t see how this boy could have made you so strong,” Tama said, openly sneering at me. “He doesn’t even look as strong as you.”

                Technically, in terms of pure numbers, he was right. After each leveled up, I put more points into her Strength stat than I did my own. Although, that was mainly because I over-leveled my Luck stat in hopes it would help us.

                “No, Daddy. Alex is definitely strong. If I could guess, his magic is strong enough to kill the first-floor boss of the dungeon in one or two hits.”

                “Pfft. So? I could do that with my bare hands… Leave it to a human to rely on magic.”

                “My Mate…” Kimiko chided. The ever so slight furrow to her brow at his boasting had the effect of instantly shutting him up.

                “Yes, yes. Go on, Daughter.”

                “Well, after he bought me…”

                Her story ended with her explaining how her old master Alphonse tricked me, tried to steal her back and how we defeated him. Much like us, her parents did not seem to bat an eye at the fact that their daughter essentially assisted in murdering a man. But that was likely because she had just finished explaining how cruel he was to her.

                “So, this boy bought you, saved you, and somehow magically leveled you up much faster than anyone else in the history of our tribe? Daughter, even if it’s you, I find that hard to believe.”

                “It is true, Daddy. Alex, um…”

                Yua turned to me, pressing her lips shut. Knowing she both wanted and needed my permission to continue after once ordering her to keep my abilities a secret. I gave her a nod. She’d explained this much to them. Not much point in hiding it now.

“Alex has a special ability to help level people up faster. When he bought me, I was only level 3, but I am now already level 10 and have properly learned the Iron Fist ability. And that’s only after fighting beside him for a week.”

                “Goodness, you already know Iron Fist?” Kimiko said, placing a hand to her lips to cover her surprise. “My Mate, by the time you learned it, weren’t you already twenty-f…”

                “No!”

                Tama shouted, looking more like he wanted to hide his own embarrassment than to disagree with Yua.

                “Daughter, I do not believe you have the Iron Fist yet. It is simply impossible at your age.”

                “Daddy, I swear it is true. Please, allow me to show it to you.”

                Sneering again, looking her up and down, as if searching for the lie that I knew to be entirely non-existent, Tama sneered and said, “… Fine. Do it.”

                Whether it be because he was confident that she really didn’t know it, or if he just believed that he could handle anything she dished out, all he did was raise up his open palm for her to use as a punching bag.

                Yua got to her feet, took her fighting stance and…

                “Iron Fist!”

                With a shout as she chanted her ability, Yua’s fist began to glow silver. Tama’s eyes widened when he saw this and I saw the muscles in his arms tighten just as Yua threw an unrelenting punch directly into his palm.

                Like before, he barely budged, but when Yua pulled back her hand, he grinned a toothy grin and shook his hand. He then stood up, letting Kimiko down onto the floor and threw his arms around Yua once more to press her into his chest. Patting her head with an honest-to-goddess smile, he spoke.

                “You’re even stronger than I could have imagined. I am sorry for doubting you.”

                “Hehe. Thanks Daddy.”

                Kimiko and I stood by and watched them hug it out, her smiling warmly and me fighting back the eye-rolling confusion on why her skill mattered more to him than her enslavement.

Their embrace over, Tama sat back down and pulled Kimiko back onto his lap the same way as before. Yua sat back down next to me and, this time, Tama didn’t grimace. He turned his gaze from his smiling daughter to me.

                “Boy, I have heard my daughter’s story. Now what is yours?”

                Shit. I did manage to make up a backstory for myself, but I wasn’t sure it was full-proof enough to whip it out yet. Though the look in his eye suggested his impatience began the moment he asked his question. I gulped, hoping that his anger with me would stop him from noticing my lie.

                “Oh, uh, I’m from a faraway place called…”

                “I don’t care about where you’re from!”

                Before I could even get out the name of the country I made up on the spot, I was shouted at.

                “Th-Then what did you mean?”

                “What I mean is, if you own my daughter’s soul and body, what have you done to her?”

                Oh, sweet, beautiful Goddess. Please spare me this conversation. I entered this tent ready to meet you again, but I know now that I am not ready!

                “Well? Daughter, what does this boy make you do?”

Yua’s ears perked up at the conversation being thrown back to her, but she opened her mouth to speak without hesitation.

And she did so with a smile.

Please don’t tell him. Please don’t tell him that I fucked you until you couldn’t stand anymore our first night as mates. Please don’t tell him that I made you suck my dick. Please don’t tell him that I let you walk around Amoranth without panties. Well… I guess he wouldn’t care about that, but still. Please just say you clean the house or something!

“Every morning, Alex has me kiss him awake.”

Oh, thank you, sweet beautiful goddess.

“Goodness. That’s sweet.”

Kimiko took the order I gave her as a type of loving affection, which it was, but since I ordered her to do it, it was something she was technically forced to do. Not that she minded. If anything, she enjoys it as much as I do. Her father, though, didn’t look too amused.

… But then, with her fists clenched as if pumped, she continued.

“And then he has sex with my pussy. A lot. Oh, and he had me drink his semens!”

So, this truly is the day I die again, isn’t it? I look forward to meeting you again, beautiful Goddess. It was fun while it lasted. At least I got to lose my virginity this time.

I closed my eyes and awaited the powerful death blow Tama would no doubt use to send me rocketing into the upper atmosphere, but it didn’t come. Chancing the possibility that he demanded I acknowledge his anger before killing me, I cracked my eyes open, only to find both of her parents staring at me. Not with anger or revulsion, but in puzzlement.

“Daughter, what are pussy and semens?”

“…”

“…”

What…?

… I think I actually felt my brain cells short circuit. Is everyone in this tribe really that naive? Come on, you two! The child you gave birth to is right in front of you! I know you know how this works!

“My Mate,” Kimiko started, her index finger raised high. “I think semens is that sticky white stuff that comes from your manhood when we mate. I heard one of the merchant caravans passing through the village say something like that.”

“Eh? You can drink that?”

“I don’t know. But if our daughter says she can…”

“Mmmph. Then what about this pussy?”

I nearly had an aneurism when Yua spread her legs and flashed her parents her bare, recently shaven pussy and pointed straight to it. I mean, sure, they are used to the nudity and his face was practically within licking distance when he examined her earlier, but this is just…

“It’s this part, Daddy. Alex told me humans call it a pussy.”

                “Oh, goodness. So, then, is mine called pussy too?”

                Her ears flicking with curiosity, Kimiko spread her legs wider and flashed Yua right back. Instead of being angry or jealous, Tama leaned over to look at his mate’s privates, looking like he was thinking about its new name while the last of my braincells banded together, said a fond farewell to the Goddess and threw themselves off of a cliff.

                Tama suddenly shook his head and glared at Yua. Shrinking under his gaze Yua quietly put her knees together.

                “Daughter… You mated with this boy?”

                So, you do know what that is then…?

                “Yes, Daddy. Many times, every day.”

                Tama’s glare intensified, but for some reason, it did not turn to me. Instead, it rested solely on Yua. At least, it did as far as I could tell. I was rapidly trying to blink this situation out of existence. I could be wrong. I was already so confused by this entire conversation that I couldn’t question any of it anymore.

                “Daughter, are you not aware of this tribe’s rule regarding mates?”

                “Y-Yes, Daddy, I am. Members of the cat-kin tribe mate for life.”

                He nodded briefly at this statement, one that Yua shared with me before we slept together for the first time, but he shot back with…

                “Then why are you not sitting on his leg?!”

                “Eh?”

                “Oh goodness. That’s right, Daughter,” Kimiko said. “You shouldn’t forget our tribe’s traditions just because you chose a human as a mate.”

                Yua bowed her head as her father scolded her and her mother wagged a finger at her for what might actually be the dumbest reason imaginable.

                “Excuse me, uh, chief… Does she really need to do that?”

                “What?! Are you saying my daughter isn’t good enough after you bled her?”

                “Bled…? No! Yua’s perfect! It’s just… Humans don’t do that, so I don’t understand why it’s necessary. That’s all.”

                “Oh goodness. Yua, your mate said you are perfect.”

                “Yes, Mother. He’s really nice, isn’t he?”

                Yua blushed now for the strangest of reasons in this conversation that consisted of nothing but topics that gave me headaches.

                Tama cleared his throat.

                “Boy, we males of the cat-kin sit our mates on our laps. It is in our arms that they spread their legs for those around us, because it is our protection that allows them to feel safe in knowing that only we, their mates, can touch them. They belong to us. And us to them.”

Saying this, Tama put his hands beneath both of Kimiko’s knees and lifted them. She was forced to flash me her bare, slightly hairy pussy and even the smaller hole beneath it. Blushing, she smiled at this, like she thought of this forced exposure as the sweetest romantic gesture. Then he plopped her back down on his legs. He shoved his right hand between her thighs and his fingers disappeared somewhere scandalous. She blushed more and he continued.

“Not letting my daughter onto your lap is as good as telling me you bled her for sport. Did you shed your clothes on a whim, or did you want to join us as her mate? While you’re here, you live by our rules. All of them. Are you or are you not her mate? If you say no, then as thanks for bringing her back to me, I’ll let you live. But I will personally throw you out of this forest if you reject her.”

“But Daddy!”

“Quiet!”

I didn’t know how to respond to his assumption on why I lacked clothes, but I could understand a bit of where he was coming from.

If I couldn’t at least perform this small tradition of theirs, I couldn’t exactly hope to win them over. We came back to prove to them she was alive and well. I didn’t know exactly when this trip became about winning them over, but I’m here now. I’m naked, they’re naked, Yua’s naked, most of my brain cells already offed themselves, so there’s no point in getting embarrassed now.

“Yua, sit on my leg.”

As her mate, I gave her an order and her face flushed. Somehow, that simple five-word sentence embarrassed her more than talking about our sex life did. But that was likely just because this would show to her tribe that she was well and truly mine.

Her ears stiff as a spear, Yua stood. Tama held my gaze, testing my will instead of hers as she stepped in front of me. If this was something big for Yua, it must also be something significant for the men.

She widened her stance, bent her knees and set her crotch directly and unreservedly onto my thigh. She then slid backwards, bringing out a small moan that seemed out of place here and leaned into my chest the same way she had in the bath. Just the act of sitting on my thigh right here made her short of breath.

“Goodness, aren’t they cute together?”

Her mom fawned over us like we were nothing more than a pair of teens taking a prom photo together. Her father, however, was apparently not satisfied.

“Keep going, boy. Show me you intend to take her.”

“Ahh… My Mate!”

Tama buried his fingers deeper inside of Kimiko, making sure I saw exactly what he was doing and she let out a pleasant moan. Spurred on by this, I slipped my own hand in between Yua’s thighs and when I felt my fingertips touch her clit, I paused.

“What’s the matter, boy? Still not good enough?”

He continued shoving his fingers deeper into Kimiko, but not with the intent on drawing out pleasure for her. Once they were in, he stopped moving. With how relaxed Kimiko was, no part of me could assume this was a sick joke.

With my rapid blinking unable to blot out my consciousness or more animalistic thoughts at the forefront of my mind, I pushed my fingers inside of Yua’s already love-drenched opening and held her.

“A-Ahh… Mas… Alex!”

She cried just like her mother did, but she also arched her back. Her father, though, still did not look satisfied. He looked towards Yua’s groin and lifted his chin at me. In response, I lifted up her left knee with my free hand, just like he did, and showed him the proof that my fingers were inside of her.

None of the three cat-kin so much as blinked at the sight. I, however, was struggling to maintain my sanity.

“Good,” he said. “We do this to show the world they are ours. Don’t forget that.”

“R-Right…”

His fingers slipped out of Kimiko and she fell forwards to catch herself on his knee. I eagerly released Yua too, her wetness still connecting my fingers through a strand of hot love. How was she enjoying this?

“With this, I can accept you as her male. But this is not enough for you to win my approval.”

Then why did you make me finger your daughter?!

“Come with me.”

He stood, once more setting Kimiko down lightly onto the floor, and walked out of the tent.

“Alex…”

Yua looked at me with upturned eyes and a blushing redness still in her cheeks, but her mother took her hand.

“No, Daughter. You know the rules. We must stay put… Alex,” when she called my name, she looked at me with a serious look on her face. “You must go meet him inside the temple. And you must be ready to fight.”

“Fight? Him? What?!”

What the hell? Yua is a much better fighter than me and she got destroyed! How am I supposed to fight that?

“You must, if you want our daughter as your prize. I promise you that he will not let you leave this place with her if you do not meet him in battle.”

Yua looked to me, tears suddenly in her eyes, but her gaze was strong enough to keep her from looking sad. She nodded. She knew I didn’t stand a chance in a physical fight with her father, but she was still confident in my abilities. More than I was myself. After seeing what he did to her just an hour or two ago, I was scared, but I couldn't bare to let her or our relationship down here.

What the actual hell is going on here? This was supposed to be a loving family reunion! How has our arrival already caused so many fights?!

Reluctant to face my fate, but equally reluctant to spurn Yua’s love for her parents by feeling with her, I stepped, or rather stumbled, out of the tent.

If any of the other villagers overheard this conversation, they did not show it. They all just continued on with their days as normal. I saw a few women sitting on their mate’s lap, so at least that part was true. Everything was so surreal here that I was still doubting the reality before me.

I turned to face the large temple just behind their tent and, very much in a daze, started walking.

The temple behind the chief’s tent looked like something that might have been found in a deep jungle, lost to time centuries ago with how sun-bleached its stones were, but it looked well maintained.

By the time I reached the steps, Tama was already entering the large cutout in the temple’s face. There were no doors. Nothing to stop anyone else from interfering or watching, but nobody did or said anything when they saw their chief walking up its steps or when I followed behind him.

Much like the outside, the innards of the temple were all made of bright white stones that stretched around a downward sloping staircase. It didn’t look too far removed from one of the dungeon floors. However, the main attraction was the wrestling-ring-like square of stones raise above the ground.

Tama jumped up on to the three-foot high ring with ease and walked to the center before turning around.

“This is our people’s most sacred place. Here we settle all disputes between our peoples through strength. You did well for just coming this far, boy.”

I still maintain that I wish for my death to have an audience.

“… Why couldn’t the women come? Are they not allowed in here?”

“No, it’s not that. The women in our village just know that it is unwise and distracting to get in the way of a match between men.”

While I certainly agreed that it would be distracting to have even one of the naked beauties of this forest to stand on the sidelines, I could only guess what he meant by unwise. Even in terms of beast-kin and their already impressive strength, the men were likely stronger due to their size. So, if things got a little too heated and one tried to intervene, they could end up seriously hurt.

“How about it, boy? Are you man enough to face my challenge or will you surrender my daughter back to me?”

But there was nobody here but us. There were no distractions and Yua didn’t need to get hurt again. And I wanted to keep it that way.

I climbed up onto the perfectly flat stones of the ring and stood to face him. He only nodded.

I didn’t know what I could do to hurt him, but thanks to my Memorize ability, I could clearly imagine his movements from his fight with Yua, even though he was moving too fast at the time. Thinking back, his fighting style was very similar to Yua’s. He definitely trained her. So, knowing how she fights was going to be the only help I was going to get.

I tried to intervene then, too. Guess I’ll be finding out how that would have gone.

Let’s just not think about how this man willingly beat the piss out of his own daughter, or the fact that he already hates me.

“Boy, like my daughter, I am a Monk. So, all I need are my fists. You can use whatever equipment you want. Armor, swords, axes, magic, I don’t care.”

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t that put you at a disadvantage?”

As I said this, I pulled my Parundum Long Sword out of my item box, completely ready to give up the ruse behind this me-only ability if it meant I had even a slightly better chance of winning. To him, I was pulling it out of thin air, but he didn’t look anywhere near as surprised as Yua did the first time I showed her that ability. If anything, to him it probably looked like a cheap magic trick.

“Pfft. Tell you what, boy. If you manage to even pierce my flesh with that sword, I won’t just give you my daughter. I’ll give you My Mate.”

While the offer was tempting, Kimiko certainly was a beautiful woman, I didn’t like the idea of him bargaining her away like that. Either of them.

“I don’t think you should be betting your mate like that.”

“Hmph. Like I tried to tell you, we can do as we wish with our mates. And if you beat me, that means you too.”

Can do what we want with our mates? Is her upbringing here the reason why Yua gives into my pervy requests so easily, not the training she was forced into as a slave? Hell, even the rough treatment Tama used with Kimiko wasn’t too dissimilar to how a slave would expect to be treated, but she only ever smiled at him, even when reprimanding him.

“You ready or what?”

Tama brought up his fists to take a similar stance to that of Yua’s, although his looked even sturdier, more practiced and significantly deadlier than hers ever could. He must have taught it to her, but didn’t find it necessary to bring it out against her during their earlier fight. But he was now.

“Yea… I’m ready.”

I raised my sword, not at him, but into a defensive stance. If he fought like Yua, he moved like Yua. If he moved like her, then I might be able to dodge his attacks when I see them coming. Blocking may not be a wise idea, but it’s better than being defenses.

“Hmph. Not going to put on one of those tin suits you humans like to wear? Fine by me. Males should fight naked. It’s better to face a battle head-on with proof you have nothing to hide.”

His words sounding close to what Yua warned me about before entering the village, I was unfortunately reminded of the fact that I could still feel a slight breeze against my genitals. With all the commotion and mind-numbing show of how this tribe worked, I had almost forgotten the simple fact that the only thing I was wearing was my birthday suit.

I shook the nudity out of my mind and readied myself.

“Good. Then I’ll go first!”

Without waiting to debate any further, Tama lunged at me, the image of a ravenous lion at his back.

He threw a fist straight for my face. It was the same strike he hit Yua with. The same forward strike I watched her use on all of the bosses we faced together. I dodged it, but only just barely and I didn’t have time to pat myself on the back.

                He continued into a combo of another fist before I could correct my footing. I swung my sword on reflex.

                “Iron Fist!”

                Without pulling his punch, his fist glowed silver and my sword bounced off of it with a metallic clang, as if his skin had truly become hardened iron.

So, he has the same healing ability and fighting ability as Yua. I suppose I already knew that, but fighting him might give me a chance to learn what else she might be capable of in the future. Letting thoughts of her settle my pounding heart, I jumped back, corrected my feet and raised my sword. The unrelenting force that he was, Tama charged straight for me before I was ready.

                Another punch flew towards my face and at first, I intended to block it to force him to use Iron Fist to save himself so I could strike where he was defenseless, but my Swordsman class whispered a better idea.

                I dodged his punch much easier now that I memorized his movements. His momentum carried him just a little past me, leaving his back wide open. Seeing my chance, I swung my blade down on his defenseless back.

                But then his ears twitched.

                “Iron Fist!”

                Just as my blade connected with his back, the skin that should have been cut glowed silver. My sword clattered against it and bounced off. Tama ducked and drew in his right elbow for a follow up punch to make use of my bewilderment. So, I quickly jumped back as far as my legs would take me, landing on the other side of the arena. I nearly pleaded my thanks to the Goddess right then and there. If I hadn’t watched Yua’s movements so closely when she fought and learned through her efforts, I would have just lost the fight.

                “I didn’t know Iron Fist can be used on your back.”

                “Hmph. A true master can use it on any part of their body. That is why we Monks don’t need armor.”

                If Yua didn’t already know that, I had to make sure to tell her. Assuming I don’t die here.

                “Raah!”

                Yelling as he charged again, I realized that I wasn’t going to win with my sword alone. So, this time, I didn’t dodge just yet.

                Using Material Creation, I instantly dropped a tower of the dungeon tall enough to block his fist just before his arm could fully extend. His knuckles collided with the stone, almost effortlessly exploding it. Chunks and fragments flew backwards. I only barely managed to dodge the shotgun-like spray of debris because Tama’s relentless charge carried him around the pillar for another strike. It was like he didn’t even notice the stones appearing from out of nowhere.

                My ears still ringing from the concussive force of his fist impacting against my stone shield, I blinked my vision back into place and readied my sword again, this time with one hand. I needed to use everything I had if I even wanted to imagine winning. And that means magic.

After using it so much in the dungeon and seeing just how powerful it could be, I wanted to spare this armor-less man my magic, but now I didn’t even have the time to hate myself for daring to hold back.

                Tama threw himself at me like a wild animal, not caring in the slightest for what I was planning. And, as if it was his only attack, he went for my head again. I suppose that, given Yua’s eager declaration to them that I took her virginity, I had to be grateful his fist wasn’t flying south.

                Once more, I threw down another pillar of stone to take the hit and coupled it with a Dimensional Step portal right behind myself. His fist smashed against the pillar just as I slipped through it, appearing directly behind him. His ears twitched, but by then I was already swinging my sword.

                “Iron Fist!”

                Once more, his back shone silver and deflected my blade. Cursing, I took several steps back.

                “Oh, ho. Boy, you’re pretty fast. I didn’t even see you move.”

                He thinks that was just speed? Of course. Even with his ears, he can’t hear me cast spells if I don’t chant them.

… Maybe I can use that.

                He lunged at me again, this time trying for a lower strike to my gut. My mind racing to find a counter, I tried the same trick. Another tower of stone appeared between us, but this time the portal I created was smaller, small enough for him not to see it. It was directly behind the stone. And its exit was right behind him.

                Tama’s fist slammed into the stone, exploding debris violently right through the portal. The shards of stone appeared out of the portal’s exit and erupted against his backside like a round of buckshot. He arched his back, pain striking his face, but he immediately put distance between us before I could perform a follow up.

                It worked. As long as he can’t hear or see the attack coming, I might be able to make this work.

That little trick did less than a tenth of his likely massive health pool. Confusion briefly stole away his pained look but he shook it off. And for some reason, his fierce glare looked slightly happy. Without checking the damage he’d just taken, he bolted for me again.

                Trying to think on my feet for how I might make use of what I just learned, I threw down another pillar of stone and a portal connecting the imminent spray of debris to his back again. However, he apparently had had enough of my tricks and withdrew his punch a half-second before it landed. He darted around the pillar.

                Shit.

                Seeing my chance thrown away, I dove through the portal myself and appeared behind him. Throwing up my hand, I immediately cast Fire Ball before he could turn. I honestly wasn’t expecting the spell to hit, just delay him, but the ball of flame collided with his back and set it alight.

                He howled with pain, just like the dungeons bosses had when I used it against them. Their bark and fur apparently had little to do with the flames sticking to them, as he was engulfed. The initial blast took still took less than a tenth of his health, but it was the constant fire damage of his continued burning that worried me.

                “Arghh!!”

                The flames burned heavily against his skin. The arena was brightened by the unnatural light source as he stumbled and writhed in flame. I shrank back. Did I take it too far? He told me I could use magic, but was I supposed to suppress the spell’s power? Yua’s father was on fire. Large health pool or not, the body could only take so much pain. Panicked, I readied a water spell to quench the flame before it could reach his ears or tail, but before I could, he yelled.

                “Iron Fist!”

                In an instant, his entire body glowed a shade of silver so bright that it overpowered the flame. With his entire body now as hard as metal, the flames fell from his body before fading into nothing now that they no longer had any fuel to cling to.

                Face still clenched in pain and his right eye twitching, his glare returned. Whatever shred of happiness he felt in the fight was gone. But when he readied his fighting stance again, I did not feel as though he thought of that attack as a cheap shot. He planned to continue.

                Okay, what next? If lighting this guy on fire wasn’t enough to make him throw in the towel, what would?

                Tama charged at me, his only fighting capabilities that I know of being his fists, I continued to make use of his reckless charges since he had no other options to close the gap.

                Another fist to the face, a feint, intended to draw out my stone pillar and my portal. He circled around it and lunged at me again. I jumped through the portal and spun in the air, slightly disoriented from the sudden displacement and readied myself.

                As I thought, now that he figured out how my trick worked, he jumped through the portal after me. So, I used Material Destruction to disappear the stone flooring right before his foot touched it. His foot failing to touch stone when he thought it would, he lost his balance and fell forward. I used the opportunity and his bewilderment to kick him as hard as I could in the stomach.

                He took the blow. His mind unable to piece together the string of events that just occurred, he had no choice and he failed to cast Iron Fist in time. I was extremely lucky he didn’t seem able to keep that ability active at all times. Although, the blow did significantly less damage to him than Yua’s best punch had.

                Using the chance my kick gave me, I leapt backward and shot a Water Ball at him this time. The attack did little damage as facing the spell head on this time, he activated Iron Fist just before it collided with his torso. But it struck him, drenching him and the stone around his. I capitalized. Knowing now that he could handle a spell or two, I cast Lightning Bolt.

                Flying with three times the speed of the other two spells, the bolt shot through the air like bullet. He cast Iron Fist again, but he still reeled back in pain once it struck the water. Apparently, even if Iron Fist really made your skin as hard as metal, it didn’t stop you from conducting electricity. Realizing this and finally feeling some hope that I could win, I shot another bolt at him. He took it head on with Iron Fist, gritting his teeth through the pain, but jumped away before I could land a third.

                Landing nimbly on his feet, he slammed his fist against his chest and grinned almost manically, as if to show that none of what he’d been hit with hurt him. I shot a four more Water Balls. He used Iron Fist again, expecting the spells to bounce off of him. But each of the spells missed him completely and splashed against the stone flooring, flooding the area at his feet. Right where I wanted them.

                If he allowed himself to take that second Lightning Bolt, then he probably didn’t understand how electricity worked. I was going to show him.

                Once the area was good and drenched, I shot another Lightning Bolt just to the side of him. As expected, he assumed I missed and didn’t bother to dodge. But a split second after the lighting struck the floor, the water carried its power straight to his feet and up to his defenseless body.

                He writhed in pain, but gritted his teeth to endure his health bar getting knocked down another sliver of a percent, even as the lightning continued to crackle.

Thank the Goddess I spent the last month practicing instead of lazing around in bed with.

                “Arggh!... Not bad, boy,” he said, clenching and unclenching his hands to see if they still worked.  “But I think I see your little trick now. Overheat!”

                He shouted another ability name, this time one I didn’t know, so I braced myself.

                The air around him warped, swaying as if bending under the pressure of an intense heat. The water still on his skin evaporated in an instant, like his skin suddenly turned red hot and became imbued with invisible flames that coated his entire body.

Smirking at my continued bewilderment, he grinned and took a single step forward, deliberately onto the puddle of water coating the arena. That, too, boiled and evaporated instantaneously to fill the space between us with steam.

                Shit. Now fire and water were useless. Lightning might still work, but it’ll be less effective without the water adding to its effective range. I ran through a mental list of my available spells.

                Can’t risk wasting time on Ice Arrow. It might melt before it hit him. Rock Throw would only be countered by Iron Fist. Strangle Thorn couldn’t be used without a plant nearby. And Fairy’s Light is useless. I might be able to use Force Sleep, but that one really felt like it would be a cheap shot. And I didn’t want to use the same spell that tormented Yua on her father. Not to mention that I don’t want to get that close to  him.

                My only option was to hit him where he couldn’t see it coming to make sure he doesn’t have time to strengthen his defenses. There was the Shadow Cloak spells and Dimensional Step as my remaining magical options. And I barely had any experience using Shadow Cloak.

                But it’s better than nothing, I suppose. Like their sparring matches, all I needed to do was draw a bit of blood to end it. If none of my spells so far managed that, then my sword was the best option. Figures.

                Tama lunged at me, his body still bursting with the steam of the evaporated water. I could feel the sweat beading on my forehead start to burn the more he closed the gap.

                This time I met him head on with another portal instead of a pillar. He fell through, landing on the other side of the arena with his back to me. He ears flicked, instantly locking onto me and, not even slightly disoriented, charged yet again. I threw up a stone pillar to block me from his line of sight and a second one behind me. The light of the sun flooding in through the temple entrance cast a shadow on the second, creating an opening for me. To the sound of him stampeding towards me, I silently cast of Shadow Cloak on myself.

                Instantly, the world began to expand as I started to sink into the flooring. The pillar’s long shadow cloaked me and I took it over, becoming the slim darkness itself until my line of sight lined up with the ground and my physical body was no more. It felt as though an impossibly powerful force had sucked underground through the stone, only to then hold me there. With nothing beneath my feet and nothing to hold onto, it felt as if I were floating underground.

But I wasn’t moving. Moving while using this spell was impossible. It was simply a tool to hide oneself. Nothing more. Not until the spell was cancelled.

                Only a second later, Tama came bounding around the pillar, ready to punch the first thing he saw, but stopped when I wasn’t there. Confusion spread across his face. He looked around, likely examining the other half-destroyed pillars to try and find me. Then he turned his ears to the sky the same way Yua did when listening for enemies. However, he quickly gave that up. I knew he heard nothing.

                Thanks to Yua, I knew the effects of Shadow Cloak spell made no sound. I had to wonder how a spell like this was even available at the Mage’s Guild since it seemed the perfect tool for assassinations, but I wasn’t about to complain.

                Tama gave up on his ears, his tail flicking in a disgruntled annoyance. He turned his back to my shadow to make use of his eyes and seeing my chance, I cancelled my spell. The same force that sucked me into the stone now shot me out of it. Adding to this by kicking off with my feet the moment I felt floor beneath me again, I thrust my sword.

His ears twitched, the second I left the shadow and I could only blame the sound of my heartbeat becoming noticeable again when he suddenly and quickly turned. I had aimed for a glancing blow on his arm, but he’d misjudged whatever he heard and ducked.

His eyes shot open and his head whipped to the side. But not before my blade cut a small gash into his cheek. We stood there, frozen in mutual bewilderment for what would have been a fatal blow to a less skilled fighter. A droplet of blood ran from his cheek down to his chin. He snarled at me and clenched his fist.

                Shit! His ears are just too good. I’m not fast enough to capitalize on my own sneak attack!

                “Raah!”

                He came at me, growling like a mad beast, and threw his fist at my face before I could protest and claim victory.

                Defensively, I threw up another, smaller teleportation door. His fist shot through it and out the other one I put beside his face, forcing him to punch himself. He took the hit, glaring and threw another one. I countered with the same portal and he struck himself again, drawing a bit of blood from his nose. And then he struck again as if he didn’t notice. I cast my spell again, but he was relentless. Another punch came flying at me as soon as the previous hit his cheek. Feeling my vision dull, as if I were the one receiving his fierce barrage, I tried my spell again.  

                But it didn’t work. My portal did not appear.

Panicked, but sure I’d cast it properly, in the split second it took for his fist to fly at me, I looked to my mana bar to see what happened. It was empty. And I wasn’t going to have a chance to chug a mana potion.

                His fist struck me square in the stomach. I felt my insides turn to mush and felt my body fly backwards. My vision quickly faded as the image of Tama grew further and further away until I was swallowed by blackness.