“Nold, they are too dangerous, we need our weapons,” Rep said as the Slimescorps closed in on them.

“Then take them,” Nold suggested. 

“This is not a game, give me my sword back!” Rep demanded. “We can not touch the approaching monsters!”

“You can if you fully imbue your body,” Nold suggested. 

“What are they? What do they do?” Zalan asked, holding himself ready to throw lightning as soon as they were close enough. He didn’t want to risk missing and letting them know about his Elemental Power before they were hit by it.

“You will not be able to ask the same question of your opponents,” Nold said, hopping away as Rep tried to retrieve his weapon. “Assess them for yourself!”

“Do not touch them!” Rep added helpfully. He tried to swipe at Nold’s hand to get a grasp of his hilt, but Nold spun his arm around, slickly avoiding Rep.

Zalan couldn’t tell if Nold was a good or bad teacher. His methods reminded him of when Fran was making things up on the spot, but Nold seemed a lot more confident. It felt like there was a purpose to the limitations he’d placed on them. While Rep grew frustrated in his inability to reclaim his sword, Zalan threw a bolt of lightning at the closest Slimescorp, causing it to double over in pain and stop while the others continued their pursuit. It died moments later.

“They aren’t that bad!” Zalan said, surprised with himself. 

“Fine!” Rep said, turning away from Nold and throwing a large, raging fireball at a Slimescorp. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at the size of his fire. Only then did Rep realize that his Wisdom had increased since the last time he used his Elemental Power. 

The Slimescorp erupted in flames. It began sliding around in a rapid circle, unable to escape the pain before dying altogether. There were only three left approaching them, but their speed slowed when they saw Rep and Zalan’s abilities. Rep and Zalan made quick steps backward, keeping their distance and relying completely on their range of Elemental ability. 

Zalan threw another bolt of lightning, but suddenly, it was blocked by a wall of sand that sprouted quickly from the earth. Zalan blinked in shock. 

“They can move sand?” Zalan asked. 

“Not them,” Rep corrected, sounding frustrated. He tossed his eyebrows upward, pointing to Nold. 

Nold was smiling, a short wall of sandy earth surrounded him. He had encased himself in sand high enough to block him from the Slimescorp’s view. It took Zalan a second longer to understand that Nold had used his Elemental Sand Power to protect the Slimescorp he targeted from his lightning. 

“What’s with the wall you put in front of them?” Zalan asked. “You’re protecting monsters?”

“They were going to die without having a chance to put up a fight! You need a challenge! Curve your attack in midair and get around my Element. Learn to redirect,” Nold suggested. 

“First you strip us of our blades, now you are aiding them?” Rep asked, exasperated. 

“I am training you!” Nold said strictly without missing a beat. 

The Slimescorps seemed confused by the protective sand that appeared before them and attacked it as though it was a new enemy. Zalan tried to throw another blast of lightning, but again it was blocked by a new mound of sand. Rep threw a fireball from a different angle, but sand protected them as well. The Slimescorps grew enraged at the sand and fired blue acid from their gelatinous tails, reducing the sand to flat mush in a moment. The earth hissed and sizzled. They directed their attention back to Zalan and Rep. 

“Do not let their acid touch you,” Rep suggested. 

“Yeah, I got that,” Zalan replied immediately. 

The three Slimescorps all threw a wad of acid toward Rep and Zalan. Rep threw forward a thin wall of fire in panic and Zalan pulled him away. The acid passed easily through the flame and landed next to Zalan and Rep, leaving a stinking hole in the ground, an acrid stench billowing from it.

“You are not going to protect us?” Rep asked Nold, increasingly baffled as he looked at the acid pooling, sinking away in a hole that it burned into the earth.

“You need to protect yourselves,” Nold replied. 

“But you will provide support to our enemies?”

“You must be prepared for anything in the coming battles,” Nold said sagely.

“We will not be at the battles if we do not survive this!” Rep said. 

“Then you had better survive this,” Nold quipped. 

Rep threw another fireball at the Slimescorps, only to groan in frustration when Nold protected them again. Zalan threw a bolt of lightning, twisting his arm in the air to try and redirect the lightning to no success. 

“There you go!” Nold said. “Try and curve it! It is much more in the mind-muscle than it is in the release. Imagine your power is attached to you by a string, even when it is curving through the air!”

In the course of Nold’s explanation, Rep successfully killed another Slimescorp. They had gotten too close to Rep and Zalan now and Nold needed even more focus to constantly protect them from the Elemental blasts. Zalan tried again to curve his lightning, shifting his arm in a circle as he tried to grasp for the feeling. He saw the lighting inch slightly to the right in the air. The slight alteration amazed him. He really was learning something.

“I can do this!” Zalan said. “Let’s get more distance between—”

Rep pushed Zalan’s head down, ducking beneath another projectile of deadly acid. Some of it singed Zalan’s tunic, immediately opening a finger-sized hole in the clothing. 

“Thanks,” Zalan breathed. 

“Let us retreat,” Rep replied, practically dragging Zalan to a distance from the two slithering creatures. 

The Slimescorps briefly turned their attention to Nold behind the sand wall, giving Zalan and Rep more time to get out of acid range. Nold shook his head at the creatures and twisted his finger in the air. The ground beneath the Slimescorps turned in a circle like a plate and they were redirected to Rep and Zalan. 

“Stop helping them!” Rep pleaded. 

“Stop killing them so slowly!” Nold replied. 

Rep and Zalan threw multiple blasts at the Slimescorps, each trying to shift their power in the air as Nold continued to play defense from their direct attacks. Zalan could feel the pull in his mind, a new sensation. The mind-muscle felt like it had a new piece that allowed him to redirect it. His lightning was wiggling, but still not quite turning like he wanted it. Rep was making much more impressive headway, already experienced with redirecting fire in battles he had in the past. At last, as the Slimescorps threw another spray of acid toward them, Rep was able to turn a fireball enough to veer sharply around the wall of sand and strike the Slimescorp directly.

“Yes! Finally!” Rep threw a fist in the air.

“Rep! Move!” Zalan called. 

The final Slimescorp had enough of throwing acid and decided to jump at Rep with impressive speed, its viscous mouth widened to shred him apart in a single acid-imbued bite. Nold did nothing to stop it, despite its direct course for Rep’s face. Zalan dove to his friend, desperate to protect what little remained in this realm that he didn’t hate.

The Slimescorp made contact with Rep’s face. 

Only slightly.

At the last moment, Zalan had punched the creature out of the way with his bare knuckles, then blasted it with lightning with the same hand. The Slimescorp whined weakly, then became inert on the ground. Rep had reeled back in pain, covering his face and screaming into his hands. Before Zalan could ask to get a look at the wound, his hand exploded in pain. Zalan then realized how badly his hand was burning and bleeding. It was like when he punched the Flamestriker, the first monster he encountered when he entered this world. Mutilated and raw. He tried to ignore the pain and focus on Rep who may be missing a face.

“Are you okay?” Zalan kneeled down, scared to get a good look at Rep’s face. 

“Yes, yes, I am fine,” Rep said through grit teeth. 

Zalan doubted him. He had known Rep for understating the wounds he’d taken in battle. On top of that, Rep wouldn’t uncover his face. 

“Show me,” Zalan pleaded.

Rep let out a shaky breath and lowered his hands. A garish streak of black and red ran across his face, looking like a flaming sword cut into him. Rep tried to smile, but the pain limited him to a half frown. 

“I am fine,” Rep assured him. “It looks worse than it feels.”

“You can’t see it, Rep,” Zalan said, concerned. 

“Yes, well, I am probably right,” Rep attempted.

A faint breeze passed them and Rep covered the wound, crouching in pain. Zalan had to cover his hand to avoid having the same pain cut through him. The fresh wound was too tender for even a little wind. Zalan pursed his lips and stood. Instructor Nold lowered the small, sandy defenses he’d built around himself and nodded to Zalan. 

“Good punch. Decent weight behind it. Try and imbue your fist with your lightning to protect it from the effects of the slime creature. Your wound was avoidable,” Nold instructed.

“He’s hurt,” Zalan indicated to Rep. 

“I am fine,” Rep said automatically, still crouched low.

“Where’s the nearest town?” Zalan asked Nold.

“Oriton,” Nold pointed back to the way they came. 

“Can we go back and heal?” Zalan asked, raising his hand to show it was for more than just Rep’s face. 

“Absolutely not. There is no time. We would arrive at the tournament too late and miss the opportunity to participate. Cover your wounds and we can get moving,” Nold said. 

Zalan pulled out bandages for both himself and Rep. He tried to wrap it around Rep, but Rep shook his head.

“You are bleeding more than me,” Rep said. “Cover yourself.”

“But you—”

“We can both cover our wounds at the same time, you know,” Rep said, wincing. “Cover yourself and I will cover myself.”

“Right,” Zalan nodded, not knowing why he didn’t first consider that as he passed Rep some dressing. 

They both tightly wrapped their open wounds and stood up hesitantly, watching themselves for any other signs of being poisoned by the Slimescorps. There seemed to be no other lasting consequences from the monsters and they both turned to Nold. 

“Is there a town we can stop in on the way?” Rep asked. 

“Certainly, there is one more town between us and the tournament,” Nold nodded.

“Oh, you should have mentioned that earlier. Then, we can still heal,” Zalan said. 

“Heal? There is no healing in the tournament,” Nold said. “You must take on every battle with the wounds you carry from the previous battle.”

“Sure, but I’m talking about before the tournament,” Zalan said, confused.

“So you will take every crumb of assistance you can find instead of trying to overcome the challenge?” Nold asked with an accusatory tone.

“Absolutely,” Rep answered without shame. 

“But you could rely even more heavily on your powers and become a master over your abilities! Do you not want to become stronger? To pull lightning from the sky?” Nold asked.

“Don’t get it twisted, I want to get stronger. But that’s so I can win the tournament! I’m not going into the matches at a disadvantage,” Zalan said, annoyed. 

Angry, almost. It seemed he was always right on the brink of rage or wanting to start a fight after first using the Homeseeker. He hated this realm and being stuck in it, and that feeling bled into every one of his thoughts, like his anger was searching for a target.

Nold regarded the two of them and their injuries. His lip twitched. 

“Very well,” he acquiesced. “We will partake in some healing rest. But between now and then, we will not shrink away from any monsters we find on the way to the town. You will learn to fight when limited.”

“That acid could have killed us,” Rep said. “You could have offered us some protection.”

“Every single attack you see in the tournament may be deadly,” Nold said. “Do not underestimate that just because the contestants agree to rules. These days will be spent being prepared for anything before you have the chance to heal.”

Zalan and Rep sighed, not certain how long it would be before they could get their respite. 

“How far are you from gaining a Level and healing yourself that way?” Zalan asked his friend. 

“I am at 15 Experience. Yourself?”

“I got 4.”

Rep bit the inside of his lip and turned to Nold.

“Can I have my sword back now?” Rep asked, holding out his hand. 

“Did you not hear what I said? You will learn to fight when limited,” Nold said, smiling and shaking his head. “You will fight all the monsters between here and the tournament with your bare hands. Either that, or you will take the weapons from me yourself.”

“That’s not fair, we gave you our swords willingly!” Zalan said. 

“Perhaps next time you will think twice before disarming yourselves,” Nold said. 

Zalan and Rep grumbled to themselves in frustration. 

“Come on, then,” Nold said confidently. “I believe I see some monsters on the horizon and wish to have you fight them before they leave our path.”