Zalan decided that he would be the first to spar his instructor, rolling up his sleeves. Nold rolled up his sleeves as well, revealing a strange, deep purple and black scar on his wrist where his stats would usually show up. Zalan stared at it for a moment, then thought it would be rude to ask the story behind the scar. Even more so, Nold would probably take the question as an opportunity when Zalan’s guard was down and strike at him. But he resolved to ask about it later if he got the opportunity.

“This practice fight’s rules are exactly the same as the rules of the tournament. If you are knocked out, you lose. If you are taken by an Elemental Overwhelm, you lose. If you are conscious, but remain on the floor for more than ten seconds, you lose. If you yield or forfeit, you lose the match and my respect. The only difference between now and the real tournament is that I will not throw any Elemental Power at you, but you can use as much as you like. Any questions?” Nold asked, flexing his fists.

“Yeah, what’s an Elemental Overwhelm?” Zalan asked.

“To be buried in one’s Elemental Power so much that you cannot do anything to attack the opponent,” Rep explained as he sat nervously on the sidelines. “For instance, if Nold were to trap you in a dome of sand and you were unable to break out, you would lose by Elemental Overwhelm. Even if you were still able-bodied and willing to fight.”

“Got it,” Zalan raised his hands toward Nold in preparation.

They eyed one another for a few seconds, Zalan not sure when the sparring match was supposed to officially begin. A bead of sweat began rolling down his forehead. It slid slowly down over his eyebrow. He blinked. 

“Begin!” Nold screamed as he raced forward toward Zalan.

Zalan grunted in frustration and blasted two full-powered bolts of lightning at Nold. Nold smiled and weaved between the two with expert dexterity. He was so fast, he wondered if he was familiar with dodging lightning attacks before. Or maybe he was just that experienced with all kinds of attacks.

“You will have to curve the lightning if you wish to touch me!” Nold laughed. 

Zalan tried another blast, twisting his arm in the air to try and change the direction of his lighting. It shifted slightly, but Nold had already closed in and gotten past the point of the curve. Zalan braced himself as Nold slammed a fist into Zalan’s chest. Zalan screamed and fell backward, landing hard on his back. He coughed as his chest burned painfully. He was surprised by how much pain he was in. Nold’s punch was surprisingly light, but the aftershock was unbearable. He looked down at his chest and saw a burnt hole in his tunic and a dark red mark on his chest. His eyes widened as he gasped for air.

“Do you yield after a single blow?” Nold asked, seeming disappointed.

“What did you do to me?”

“I struck you because you left yourself open.”

“This wasn’t just a punch! Did you burn me with fire?” Zalan demanded, wincing as his chest burned. 

“My fist was imbued with flame,” Nold nodded.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t use your Elemental power against me?” Zalan said. 

“I did not say that. I said I would not throw any Elemental power at you. And I did not. I am still operating by tournament rules. Consider this a window into a real fight,,” Nold said. 

“You threw an Elemental punch at me!” Zalan said, frustrated.

“As will all of your competitors,” Nold replied.

Zalan glared at Nold for his deliberate misdirection. He looked over to Rep who was biting his lip and shaking his head in disappointment at Nold. Nold waited with folded arms, signaling for Zalan to get back up with a flick of his head.

“How come I didn’t see any fire on your gloves even though they’re imbued?” Zalan asked, looking over Nold’s arms to look for signs of burns.

“That is the next step of imbuing yourself. You make the layer of imbuing so small that your opponents are totally unaware of your ability to deliver powered punches. It keeps them in bafflement by how deep the wounds are from glancing blows,” Nold explained, tapping the knuckles of his gloves.

“The whole point of stopping here was so that we could rest from all the hits we were taking!” Zalan said, standing up angrily. “You’re just making it worse.”

“I never agreed to a hospitable rest. There is too much work to be done to cultivate your power,” Nold said, throwing another punch as soon as Zalan stood. 

Zalan jumped backward, barely avoiding another burning blow and reacted immediately with lightning. Channeling his rage, he was able to grip the lightning and redirect it more than usual. The bolt curved a slight bend and singed Nold’s shoulder. 

“Good! Use your frustrations to get better if that is what it takes! Anger is a tool!” Nold said, moving to close the gap between him and Zalan. 

“Are you insane!? This is not how you teach people!” Zalan said as he threw more lightning and kept his distance.

“It is how I taught all of my pupils who won the tournament!” Nold sneered. “Do you not wish to win and see Madam Hikma?”

The name triggered something in Zalan and he roared. He gripped lightning in his hand and threw a punch at the approaching Nold. Nold reacted with his own incoming fist. Zalan’s shocking blow collided with Nold’s fiery punch and they both cracked their knuckles and stepped back, waving their hands in the air in reaction to the sudden pain. 

“You imbued your hand!” Nold said, stunned and excited. 

“Shut up!” Zalan commanded in rage.

He gripped his wounded hand, reeling from the pain of striking against Nold as well as hurting himself when imbuing his hand. It stung madly. His fingers twitched and Nold watched him carefully as he seethed. Zalan spread his palm slowly, analyzing the damage. Nold looked over his own hand, Zalan's attack having darkened the gloves he wore. A tiny hole formed just below his knuckles with a speck of blood, and Nold made a quick effort to cover the hole with some sand.

“See how you can do damage to even someone at my Level? I have not had someone draw blood from me in ages,” Nold said, trying to encourage him.

“And what Level are you?” Zalan asked, still fuming.

“Significantly higher than you, I assure you,” Nold said confidently.

Zalan frowned deeply at the response, glaring further at Nold.

“You know what? I quit,” Zalan growled.

“Yielding after only receiving tiny attacks? I question whether you will last a single round in the tournament,” Nold replied smarmily. 

“Yeah, well, I don’t care,” Zalan spat. “But I’m pretty sure you do. Your reputation will be in shambles if your newest student has only the worst things to say about you. I’m not even learning anything when you’re just hitting me.”

“I would never claim you as a student the way you are behaving,” Nold said. 

“Like people would believe that you showed up to the tournament for no reason,” Zalan said. 

“I would not show up.”

“Then Rep will tell everyone you trained us,” Zalan said. 

Nold hesitated. Rep’s involvement was the first time that something struck him. Rep was known as an honest man, he would have no reason to lie about this. Zalan and Nold stared one another down, the energy tight between them. Rep cleared his throat to pull their attention away from each other, hoping to dissipate the situation.

“Excuse me,” Rep said, his voice calm. “Would you mind if I get a turn in sparring?”

Zalan and Nold both looked at him in surprise. Almost as though they forgot he was there the entire time. 

“You would like to spar?” Nold asked, surprised. 

“Don’t waste your time. He just wants to hurt you,” Zalan said. 

“I am not so sure. He has been right about curving my fire. Look.”

Rep threw out a fireball that he was able to sharply curve to hit a rock to his right. He smiled to himself, satisfied at the visual. Zalan watched, trying not to look impressed when he was still sour with emotions.

“I need more training. I think I have a handle on redirection, but I wish to learn to imbue my hands with the fire too small to see,” Rep said.

“Sparring will help with that!” Nold said, eager to take on the more willing student. In addition, he was trying to make Zalan feel left out and capitulate to his training process.

“Rep, I’m telling you, he’s wasting your time,” Zalan said, annoyed. 

“I am familiar with his reputation. His students often win or at least enter the last few rounds of the tournament,” Rep said. “I wish to be among those in the finals.”

“Why? Since when did you care?” Zalan asked. 

“I think it would be good to become a better fighter. Especially if there are more adventures we intend to go on after the tournament,” Rep said, somewhat embarrassed. He wasn’t proud to admit to his lack of fighting ability.

“What, is this tournament supposed to be a good way to do that? There are plenty of other ways, why do you think this is worthwhile?” Zalan asked, sounding judgemental as he tried to turn Rep against Nold.

“Since you told me that I should take part in this tournament,” Rep said. 

“When did I say that? Back at Hikma’s? I didn’t mean that,” Zalan said quickly.

“Back in Poppyville. And, say what you will now, I know you meant it then,” Rep said certainly. 

Zalan blinked, faintly remembering his time in Poppyville. They entered that town during a festival in which Elemental games were played. He was suddenly hit with a wave of fondness for the friends he no longer had surrounding him. Not just Fran who had passed away, but even Gorb and Yelsa were far and away better companions to him than Nold. He was much happier at the time. Now, he just felt like he was constantly boiling under his skin. He remembered the conversation where he told Rep he would be a good fighter in the tournament. It was in the inn just before they fell asleep. He did mean it at the time. Rep had potential that he didn’t see in himself, and he only wanted to improve. And Rep, of all people in this world, deserved that kind of improvement.

“Fine, whatever, but I’m not fighting,” Zalan said, stepping aside and letting Rep prepare to face off against Nold. Nold gave Zalan a knowing smirk, not concerned about the words he spoke.

Rep stood slightly hesitant, his eagerness clouded by his fear of being seriously hurt. He lit a flame at the end of his palm and tried to hold on to it to imbue his hands. 

“Not bad,” Nold said. “But the imbue is supposed to be emitting from just around your hand. You do not produce your Element, then wrap it around yourself. It is an immediate effect, not a two-step process. It should start already around yourself.” 

Nold waved his arm, which immediately erupted in flame to prove his point. Rep watched closely, trying to catch the trick to emulate. It needed to spark more spontaneously, like a small encompassing explosion that originated from himself. 

“Right,” Rep tried to imbue his hand again, then waved it in pain, having burned himself instead of placing it above his hand. He massaged his hand as he tried to think through the process. Nold didn’t give him the chance.

“You have the right idea. Now do it faster! And in combat!” Nold raced forward toward Rep. 

Rep stiffened at Nold’s approach and raised his hands defensively. He tried to imbue a hand, only for it to injure his hand again. He clenched his fist tightly as the pain jumped through it. Using his other hand, he threw a ball of flame that Nold slapped aside easily, continuing his movement toward Rep. Rep jumped back, but Nold just took an extra step then threw his punch. He hit Rep in the stomach, then stepped back to assess the damage he did to him. Rep didn’t fall or cry out. 

Rep breathed in and threw two fireballs at Nold, keeping distance as Nold reacted to the attack. This time, when Nold threw one of the fireballs aside, Rep continued to hold onto it, curving it in the air and slowly bringing it back around to Nold. It took too long, and Nold caught on to the attack and ducked down just as it was about to strike him, sailing overhead harmlessly. Then, the teacher looked curiously at his student. 

“Your tunic is intact. Is it flame proof?” Nold asked, indicating to the spot he had punched Rep.

“I redirected the tiny flames on your imbued hand so you only hit me with your fist,” Rep said weakly, already exhausted after the short bout. 

Nold raised his eyebrows. Zalan also watched in amazement. Rep had never acted so fast in combat before. He was holding up much better than Zalan expected.

“That was… brilliant,” Nold said, surprised. “I did not even feel the change in my flames.”

“I suspected you would be too eager to attack me to notice the change in your imbue in such a small spot of your body. As I tried to imbue, I noticed there is too much to pay attention to in the act. And you are completely covered in flame,” Rep said. 

“Perhaps,” Nold said, considering this with interest.

“Wait, what do you mean, exactly?” Zalan asked. 

“Now that I know to look for it, I felt for his imbue when he was fighting you. He has a thin layer of flame along his entire body. All of him is protected, but I assume it is also costly to his energies,” Rep explained. 

“You would be surprised by how much you can imbue yourself with very little energy,” Nold said, clearly impressed by how much Rep picked up. “Now that you have that information, how will you act during my next attack?”

“I have no idea,” Rep said sheepishly. 

“That was supposed to be a rhetorical question,” Nold said as he rushed in for another blow.

Rep threw a small slice of flame toward Nold, who sidestepped it and was met with another slice to his face. Nold shook it off easily, but when his eyes were covered by the flame, Rep was able to duck out of his eyeline and throw a punch with his full body weight behind it. He managed a direct hit right on Nold’s thigh. Nold twitched and reacted reflexively to the unexpected pain. With a sharp raise of his knee, he summoned a firehose of water beneath Rep’s feet, sending him flying back a few feet and rolling to recover. 

Zalan stared in horror as Rep watched the water dripping off of him, more out of surprise than any wound he took.

Rep stood up uneasily, looking at his soaked clothing and the spout in the earth in front of Nold. He stared at it for a few silent seconds, trying to register where the water came from. When he had a theory, he looked up at Nold who was mortified by what he’d revealed. 

“You have an Elemental Water power as well?” Rep asked. 

Nold didn’t reply, staring at the small puddle at his feet. Zalan and Rep both took this as clear confirmation.

“And did you throw an Elemental Power when you said you wouldn’t? Was I too strong for you?” Rep asked, a wry smile growing on his face. 

Nold remained silent, pursing his lips. 

“I got you?” Rep said, his smile broad. “I actually struck you when you assumed you would be able to easily outmaneuver me.”

“I think we have done enough training for now. We should rest to heal your wounds,” Nold muttered. 

“Wow. I think you actually got him,” Zalan laughed. He got a perverse amount of joy from seeing Nold looking defeated after having gone through his intense training. 

As Rep approached, Zalan jumped up to give Rep a pat on the back. Both of Zalan’s hands were in far too much pain to actually deliver on the congratulations and he decided to just give him a thumbs up. Rep beamed. 

“I did not think I could do something like that,” Rep said, entirely exhilarated. 

“Now you see yourself like I see you,” Zalan said. 

Rep’s wild smile somehow grew even more sincere. Zalan didn’t actually have that high of an image of Rep as a fighter, but he wanted Rep to believe in himself. Plus, he began to consider that maybe he should see Rep in a better light after getting a rise out of someone like Nold. Maybe he was a much better fighter than he gave him credit for. He had never seen him fight so confidently, and the results spoke for themselves.

Nold went off to gather firewood for their camp and Zalan and Rep treated their wounds. Once satisfied with their dressings, they tried to test the limits of their injuries to see what kind of attacks they would be able to manage until they healed. Zalan could throw lightning from one hand without hurting himself, but couldn’t get his hand imbued unless he wanted to deal damage to himself. A lightning punch was possible, but only at the sacrifice of the skin on his hands. Rep was able to use all faculties of his Elemental without issue except that the Slimescorp wound on his face began stinging wildly if he put too much stress on himself while emitting flame. 

Nold returned and placed the pile of wood between them. Rep and Zalan looked at the sun certainly. It was too early to start the fire and keep it going into the darker hours. Nold looked up to both of them, any evidence of sulking long gone from his face. He raised an eyebrow to Zalan.

“I hope you are ready to train like this for the coming days,” Nold said, giving a look to Zalan. 

Zalan wanted to say something disparaging, but after having had the time apart from Nold he was able to consider the progress made. He couldn’t even imagine what imbuing himself would have felt like if it wasn’t for Nold. He also didn’t want to antagonize their instructor when they relied on his protection off the path of safety. 

“Yeah, I won’t complain anymore,” Zalan said. 

He had quickly come around on his feelings toward Nold. His mood dampened from a burning rage to a mild annoyance after seeing the growth Rep had experienced. At the end of the day, he still wanted to become stronger in order to escape this world. No matter the means Nold put them through. 

“You both rely too much on your hands in combat. Learn to use your feet,” Nold instructed. 

“Right,” Rep nodded immediately. 

“Sure,” Zalan shrugged. 

Nold continued to watch them closely until they grew uncomfortable under his gaze.

“Well?” Nold asked. 

“Well what?”

“Start practicing!” Nold said, clapping his hands to hurry them. “We have less than a fortnight for you to figure out how to use your feet, how to imbue yourselves, and how to curve your abilities in combat. You do not have time to sit around while it is light out! Kick!”

Zalan and Rep helped one another to their feet and began to kick lightly into the air, not certain what they were supposed to be doing. Nold shook his head, disappointed. 

“Higher! More power!” Nold said.

They followed the instruction, but still remained clumsy and off-balance, unfamiliar with how a good kick felt. Zalan would often kick, then hop on one foot for a moment until he regained his balance.

“Try something like this,” Nold said. 

With a snap of his fingers, a tall, thin pile of sand grew up to his chest height. He kicked a foot out powerfully and destroyed the mound, showing a perfectly balanced form with one foot in the air. He brought it down smoothly and nodded for his students to give it their own attempt.

Zalan and Rep tried, but failed to emulate their instructor. 

“Use these,” Nold snapped again and created two training mounds in front of Rep and Zalan. When they tried to kick it over, the sand hardly budged, only a few flakes of sand dripping back into the ground. 

“They won’t break unless your kick is strong and high,” Nold said, sticking his finger into both mounds to leave a tiny target for them to strike. “Now keep practicing.”

Zalan and Rep weren’t nearly flexible enough to throw their legs to the height needed to strike the marks in the sand. They spent most of their time trying to kick higher rather than trying to aim. Nold was satisfied with their progress, despite them not seeing any real changes in balance or abilities. The sun was dipping low, but still shining brightly across the land.

As the training went on, Zalan looked at Rep with an interesting grin as he tried to keep himself balanced.  

“I couldn’t help but notice he doesn’t want to spar anymore even though there’s plenty of time left in the day. You got him a lot better than I thought,” Zalan said. 

“I hope I did not anger him,” Rep said facetiously. 

“No talking! Just kicks!” Nold demanded, causing his students to flinch and continue training in mild amusement.