Zalan breathed hard, throwing out as much lightning as he could with his good hand, the other in too much pain for him to want to use. The monsters that Nold raced to catch up with ended up being Boznoks. Rep seemed hesitant and Zalan remembered that Boznoks were supposed to be treated like intelligent life to some degree. It was a fiasco the last time he killed one that surrendered in combat. Nold was quick to assure them that these Boznoks were different and didn’t deserve their hesitations. The Boznoks turned toward them when a gust of wind picked up and cast the travelers’ scent in their direction, alerting them of newcomers.
The Boznoks were a hunting party and well-versed in combat, including defending against Elemental-powered individuals. Nold didn’t need to supply them any additional protections, as their shields were good at absorbing the blows of both fire and lightning strikes.
“We need our swords!” Zalan said, panting as he ran away from a pursuing Boznok with a spiked club.
“That is what you said about the Slimescorps, but you did just fine! Curve lightning to turn around and strike those that are not even in your vision,” Nold called.
“I don’t know how!” Zalan screamed.
“I know! Learn!” Nold said, casting a wall of sand before him to protect himself from oncoming Boznoks.
Rep was locked in a brutal struggle on the floor, trying to pry a mace away from a Boznok. Another was chasing Zalan with its horns down. Nold was watching Zalan intently, seeming to enjoy the show from his protected space behind the sands.
Zalan tried desperately to throw lightning behind him, but the Boznok was able to protect itself by catching the lightning with its weapon. Zalan instead attempted to throw lightning straight upward and curve it back down, but could do no more than make it wiggle like a sonic wave through the sky.
The Boznok swung its club and Zalan just ducked out of the way as he ran. Zalan wheeled around on his heel and tried imbuing his hand with lighting. He attempted to throw lightning at the same time he threw a punch. It worked to throw the boar-like beast off-balance, but Zalan was certain it didn’t carry the same effect as Nold’s ability to imbue his entire arm. What he did felt more like two distinct attacks landing at around the same time.
“Good try, but imbuing is different from firing! Think about how you imbue your sword,” Nold reminded.
“Maybe if I had my sword I—”
Zalan didn’t have time to finish the sentence as the Boznok drove into him with its wooden shield. Zalan braced himself against it, amazed by how strong he was in his ability to hold his own against the creature that seemed much more powerful than him not too long ago. Zalan tried to imbue his hand and punch through the shield being pushed into him, but only did well to bruise his unbandaged hand. He then placed both hands on the edges of the shield and put energy into it as if to imbue it with lightning. The shield couldn’t maintain the power and burst into flame to the Boznok’s terror and surprise.
“Good thinking! Imbue everything! It will make it easier to learn how to imbue yourself,” Nold encouraged.
“Stop talking!” Zalan demanded, frustrated.
The Boznok was trying to untangle itself from its burning shield and Zalan finally had a clear shot to attack it. He fired a bolt of lightning toward it, but it ducked down, shifting itself just out of the way of the lightning’s trajectory. Zalan pulled at the feeling in his mind while twisting his arm down, and watched as the lightning inched in the direction he wanted, redirecting itself a few inches.
A direct hit.
The Boznok cried out in pain and fell backward. It was waving its club frantically as it still tried to remove its burning shield looped onto the other arm. It struggled, twitching while dealing with the paralytic consequences of the lightning to its head. Zalan quickly closed in and fired a series of lightning strikes in his face. After a dozen blasts, he watched over it closely, ensuring it was dead before finally turning his attention away.
Rep had pulled the weapon away from the Boznok he fought. The monster that was trying to injure Nold quit trying to stab into the sand wall and turned to run after Zalan. Zalan picked up the dead Boznok’s spiked club and accepted its challenge, running forward as it raised its spear. Rep made quick work of the first Boznok now that it was unarmed, and turned to assist Zalan.
Together, Zalan and Rep converged on the remaining creature and imbued their weapons just as they were about to make contact with the beast. The Boznok hesitated at the last moment, suddenly realizing how outmatched it was. Zalan and Rep’s weapons burst apart against the Boznok’s head in an explosion of fire and lightning that killed it instantly. Zalan and Rep panted over the Boznok, looking around to make sure there weren’t any reinforcements.
“At least we get a weapon,” Zalan said as he kneeled down to pick up the last Boznok’s wooden spear.
It burst into flames just before Zalan grabbed it. He lept back and looked at Rep who was equally confused by the spontaneous combustion.
“It just burned? Was it laced with a trap? An Artifact, maybe?” Zalan asked.
“I think we know something more probable,” Rep turned his eyes to Nold in annoyance.
Nold was holding out his hand, clearly having just used his Elemental power to burn the weapon. Zalan forgot he had the ability to control fire as well as sand.
“Not bad. But I think you could have handled them better if you were unarmed. Otherwise you will never learn,” Nold said.
“We’re going to die before we get any real learning out here,” Zalan sighed, sitting on the ground to catch his breath.
“Do not lie to yourself! You shifted your lightning mid-attack! You are learning to curve it,” Nold said to Zalan.
“I guess. But we’re trying to learn too much at once,” Zalan complained.
“We have no opportunity to take our time! The tournament is only days away,” Nold said.
“We are going to be too exhausted to participate at this rate!” Rep said.
“Exhaustion is a good sign that you are working hard enough,” Nold rebutted.
“Also a good sign that we won’t stand a chance in a tournament,” Zalan noted.
Nold’s lips went thin, his eyes closing sharply as he let out a long sigh.
“Very well,” he said, his voice strained. “We can stop here to make camp. Would that quench both of your wells of whining?”
Zalan shrugged, accepting the offer. Rep’s eyes narrowed at Nold’s change in demeanor. He didn’t know him very well and was uncertain whether he was an impatient man. It seemed to be something more than impatience. He didn’t like being talked back to. The sun was still high and neither Zalan or Rep suggested that they didn’t want to keep moving, just that they wanted their training to commence at a more reasonable rate.
“Just because we are staying here does not mean that we are done for the day. Your power has so much room to grow and we need to do it faster,” Nold suddenly said.
This somewhat alleviated Rep’s hesitations, making it clear that Nold cared about training more than he did their well-being. Gaining power as fast as possible was everything to Nold. Rep could at least understand the man, as much as he disagreed with him.
Zalan was still breathing heavily, looking over the dead Boznoks with an odd energy. He still wasn’t sure how to feel about the creatures. When he was with his previous companions whom he considered his friends, they seemed appalled that he killed one that surrendered. When fighting with Nold, his instructor made it seem like they were nothing more than just another monster. Was there really a difference between monsters in this realm?
“I will give you… Ten minutes to rest and decide who will be the first to spar with me,” Nold said.
Rep and Zalan exchanged an uncertain glance.
“We have to spar with you?” Zalan asked.
“Right now? Among all of…” Rep looked at the dead Boznoks surrounding them uncomfortably.
In reply, Nold raised his arm and gripped it into a fist. Three holes opened up under the Boznoks and swallowed them in sand, giving them an instant burial. Zalan and Rep stared, partly horrified. Nold continued as if nothing had happened.
“It will be the closest training to the real bouts you will take part in while at the tournament. Unarmed combat with someone who is likely more powerful than you,” Nold offered.
“More powerful? We will be entering in the lowest rung of the tournament. The Level 5 and Under division. No one should be more powerful than we are. Trading blows with you is likely too far out of our abilities,” Rep said.
“Do not overestimate the amount of power that these Levels grant you,” Nold warned.
“But that’s like… the whole thing with this realm!” Zalan protested. “Higher Levels is higher Strength and Wisdom, right? How else am I supposed to see that except as a gap in power levels?”
“You are in the right sphere of mind, but what is a higher Strength to someone who cannot touch you? What good is Wisdom when you are defeated before you cast your first attack?” Nold asked.
“So… you mean we can be faster? Fight smarter and it won’t matter how much higher of a Level our opponent has?” Zalan asked.
“Precisely,” Nold said. “When you are fighting monsters, it is imperative that you have a high enough Strength to deal damage. But even a lowly Level 1 human can take down a Level 20 human if they are experienced and the Level 20 is overconfident in his abilities.”
Zalan blinked in surprise, then looked at Rep who was equally stunned by the information.
“A Level 1 could defeat a Level 20? Are you certain?” Rep asked.
“Your increase in Strength is not an increase in speed or defense. I am absolutely certain,” Nold nodded. “Given that the stronger of the two does not touch them once. That would not end well.”
“So then… either one of us should be able to take you down, right?” Zalan asked.
Nold grinned widely.
“That is precisely what I am asking you to try.”
