"You ready?" Quentrell asked Lane, who wiped a few drops of sweat from his forehead.

Nodding his head Lane relaxed the grip on his halberd. He'd made sure to arrive early for today's session and Quentrell had left him some time to warm up as he instructed and oversaw the Summoned that he was responsible for teaching. Quentrell himself didn't seem to need any preparation, showing no signs of having warmed up before arriving. But Lane wasn't going to complain. It was doubtful that it mattered much to the man.

"Good. Then let's go." Quentrell said, walking over to one of the dueling circles that were spread about in the training hall. He turned to the Summoned nearby who were looking at them. "I'll be testing this one personally. If any of you want to, you can observe our little sparring session. You might learn some things. Otherwise, I'd recommend turning your attention back to the targets."

A few of them went back to their training, but the majority of them seemed to have taken an interest in their duel and started gathering around the dueling circle. Lane followed Quentrell into the circle, which was outlined by a dark wooden threshold about fifteen feet in diameter on the ground. Quentrell turned to him. "Normally we'd be using wooden weapons for this, but I think it's more fair to you if you get to use the weapon you've been training with. I won't snub you; I'll also be using my own weapon." With a flourish of his arm, a long spear appeared in his right hand. The shaft was made up of a spiraling bronze-colored metal which culminated in a magnificent cross spear with a golden hilt and a circular design beneath the hilt with a sandy, dune-colored crystal affixed in its middle. The blade itself was made of polished white metal and looked sharp enough to cut steel in two.

"No need to worry," Quentrell said with a grin. "You don't have to worry about holding back, and I won't hurt you too much."

The feeling that emanated from him changed in an instant and a low-bearing pressure enveloped Lane. It was unlike anything he'd experienced before, but it wasn't on a level he couldn't handle. It seemed as if the onlookers also felt it, as some of them looked uncomfortable, but most of them only watched with fascination.

Brandishing his own weapon, Lane placed his halberd between him and Quentrell.

"One of the main advantages of all pole-arms, in general, is the longer reach. It makes them easier to use for beginners and is the main reason that the pole-arm users always fare better during the first few days of the Colosseum — that is until all the other participants realize that challenging a spear-user with nothing but a sword is a quick way to get yourself killed." Quentrell said, spinning his spear around a few times as he closed in on Lane. "I mentioned this during the first session — which you missed — but I imagine you already knew this much. However, the main difference between a spear and a halberd is their versatility. The spear is quicker and more straightforward, while the halberd opens up more options but isn't as easy to use. These differences become more apparent in a real battle, but in a duel between the spear and the halberd, it's much more likely to just come down to the skill of the users."

Lane tightened his grip on the halberd as Quentrell moved towards him. He'd decided to let the instructor move first to get an idea of what he could do.

And Quentrell moved.

Lane knew his opponent was powerful — he was called 'The Divine Wind' after all — and had readied himself for anything. But Quentrell's speed still surprised him. Quentrell was a few feet away from him as he took one short, almost imperceptible, step and shot out with his spear. It was a simple attack, but the blade was in front of Lane's eyes before he could blink.

As soon as he realized what had happened, he reacted. Using his halberd, he pushed the shaft of the spear away and took a couple of swift steps back in retreat, readying himself for a follow-up assault. But Quentrell didn't pursue him immediately.

"Right, I guess that might have been too quick for you. Admirable disengage, though — not that it would have helped much at that point." Quentrell had already straightened up and stood with his spear resting over both his shoulders and his arms leaning on it. "Think of that as a taste of what awaits when you get stronger. For now, I'll take it a bit slower."

Lane let out a breath. "Would you be offended if I asked you what your speed stat is at?"

"I wouldn't. But I won't tell you either. Just know that you've got a long way to go in that department. There are also skills to keep in mind later on."

"Of course you wouldn't...Things would never be that easy."

"You're catching on." Quentrell let out a laugh. "I doubt there's any high-ranked Summoned willing to announce their stats openly like that, although you can probably get a general idea if you ask around some. But you should get used to things not going your way — this place is far from the peaceful world that you might be used to."

Lane grinned. "Oh, I know."

"Good. Then let's continue. I'll let you be the one to attack." Quentrell grabbed the lower end of his spear with his left hand and spun it from his shoulders, pointing it towards Lane.

Tracing circles in the air with the tip of his weapon, Lane started circling his sparring partner. Quentrell didn't move from where he stood, only turning to always face him. After observing for a while, Lane attacked.

Opening his assault with a clean thrust towards the chest, which was knocked away easily knocked away by Quentrell's spear, Lane turned the attack into a strike from the side with the butt of his weapon. The head of Quentrell's spear had been used to block his thrust and was too far away to stop the attack, but a quick step to the side and the lowering of his body let Quentrell duck under the blow. That was soon followed up with another strike from his spear as Lane repositioned himself from his own attack.

Quantrell's strike came from the side this time, instead of a thrust from the front. When Lane raised his halberd to block the blow — the spear paused mid-air, being pulled back and used in a thrust instead.

"Shi—" Lane couldn't help calling out as he jumped back, only barely avoiding being skewered. Quentrell might be holding back, but he was still fast. Stopping mid-swing like that and changing your attack that quickly wasn't something Lane could do without leaving himself wide open.

Rightening himself, he took another couple of steps back to dodge another attack before taking his chance to knock the spear to the side and swing at his opponent with his halberd from above. It meant leaving himself open to another attack, but it would be hard to follow up on that without being struck by the axehead on his halberd. Luckily, Quentrell wasn't suicidal and focused on Lane's strike. Instead of trying to retreat by taking a step back, which Lane had feared he would do, Quentrell brought up the end of his spear and deflected the attack down to the ground.

Lane had hoped that Quentrell would take this opportunity to try another attack, but the experienced warrior seemed to have seen through his plan. As soon as the halberd neared the stone tiling of the dueling circle, Lane twisted the halberd so that the hook pointed inwards, and then he pulled it towards him. Just when it was about to tear through the back of his shin, Lane spotted a smirk on Quentrell's face.

His foot shot up and then instantly shot down again, landing on the halberd's axehead and locking it in place. Lane lost grip of his weapon as he tried to pull it back and it struck the ground a moment after.

Gods, who would try that!? And that strength!

The second after, Quentrell's spear was hanging in the air next to Lane's head, it's sharp blade drawing some blood from his cheek.

"Your control is decent and you're quick-thinking," Quentrell said as he pulled his spear back. "But you're a bit too conventional. It'll work against others at your level — I'm not saying that you shouldn't fight like that — but you're thinking within the limits of the current you. I'll say that your skill is higher in some areas than some experienced Summoned, but they don't have to be more skilled if they're faster and stronger. Same goes for monsters. If you're aiming to eventually join the ranks of the strongest amongst the Summoned, then you'll have to start thinking more outside the box."

He put his shoe under the head of the halberd and kicked it up at Lane. Catching it with his left hand, Lane wiped away some dirt from it with his right hand.

"What I'm saying is this: don't underestimate your opponent. Always assume that they can counter your attack and plan from that. This goes even here in the Colosseum, where most people's stats aren't that high yet. While it's unlikely that they could do what I did, there are always a few exceptional individuals that stand out every year. You never know what to expect. That goes double for the mages. They're the most unpredictable to fight and you never know what they might have up their sleeve. You also have to consider skills. While it's unusual, there's always the chance that some people gain Abilities before they get their class and one miscalculation on your part can mean death."

Quentrell rested the tip of his spear on the floor — it actually cut into the stone a few inches — and leaned against it. "Well, that's about it." He said casually. "Honestly, your skill is at the level where I can't give you more than a few tips at the moment when it comes to the halberd, though I can see that you're still getting to used to it and improving quickly. All you need is to get stronger to make up for the rest, and keep training and get more experience. I wouldn't be too surprised if you make it into the top ten this year."

"You can tell all that already?"

Quentrell shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I've been observing you for the past couple of days too so I wouldn't say it's all from our short exchange now, but I've seen enough to get a picture."

Lane shook his head. "I guess that's what you should have expected from someone who's got titles like 'The Spear of the Empire' and 'The Divine Wind'"

"Sheesh, you're making me blush. Am I that famous even in your world?"

Lane smiled. "Let's just say I've recently met fans of yours. 'The strongest man in all of Coldoan', that's what they called you."

Quentrell laughed. "Now that's a good one. I'm strong — I'll admit that — but that might be taking it a bit too far. They better don't go around spreading that, or soon enough I'll have The Sanguine Blade knocking on my door. I don't feel like having her fight me over who's the strongest, thank you very much."

Right. If what Lane had heard were true, then not even Barret Quentrell would stand a chance if 'The Steel Duchess' herself decided to challenge him. If even half of the rumors about her were true, then Lane couldn't blame Quentrell for not wanting to fight her. She was another Native who'd gained access to 'The Interface', and might very well be the strongest Native alive.

"Anyway," Quentrell looked at Lane with a glint in his eyes. "I've already learned what I wanted, but that doesn't mean that we have to end here. How about it, should we continue?"

Lane swung his halberd around a few times and pointed it at Quentrell. "Of course. We've barely gotten started after all." Their exchange had been short, but it had been one of the most exciting things he'd done for a while. Thinking back on it, he might have felt a similar feeling when he beat the hobgoblin, but he hadn't really been himself at the time so he wasn't sure.

Quentrell smiled as he stopped leaning on his spear and grabbed it with both his hands. "Good, then show me what else you've got."