Zahn landed on his back hard, the breath driven out of his chest as he felt the course sands scraping against his bared skin. Dueling on equal terms with the Barbarians had already given him insight to how they think and fight, but merely learning why they do certain things wasn’t enough to replicate how they pulled it off. He blinked rapidly at the sky as he waited for his diaphragm to remember to do its job, and got a great view of Gardor looming over him as his shadow covered most of the downed Player’s body.

“Not supposed to land like that, little cheat. Come on, recover. A real fight won’t let you just wait to breathe again.” The club-wielding tribesman hefted his weapon high slowly, displaying the incoming attack long enough to clearly choreograph his next strike.

Zahn grimaced as he tried to curl his body, feeling the sticking pain in his chest keeping his lungs sealed shut as he moved. Bucking himself into a half-sit up, he rolled back and tossed his legs over his head to settle into a roll that landed him on his knees and able to stand as precious air finally returned. He stumbled up to his feet, the world spinning around him as he sucked in air and lamented he couldn’t spring back to action like his tutor could.

Gardor favored him with a nod, dropping his attack to settle back into a ready stance. “Breathe, find your air again. Keep moving. No fight lets you stand still, cheat.”

Zahn shuffled from side to side as he fought to steady his breath. “Yeah. Workin’. Shit sucks.” The training they’d been practicing all week had been paying massive dividends, even without having level-up points to spend and boost his physical stats. His Agility and Dexterity had grown to twenty-three and -one respectively, and reaching into the second rank had already helped his ability to move around. Just running around the wall during morning cardio was easier with each step finding purchase on the shifting sands, and he’d found it much easier to throw his body to the side to avoid incoming attacks.

The hulk bore down on him, his massive club arcing from left to right in wide swings he had to skip backwards to avoid. The first time he’d faced this pattern, he tried to repeat his jump-and-stab trick, only to be slapped down viciously by the Barbarian’s free hand. “Counter during the follow-through! Take the elbow, and the weapon arm is useless!” Gardor continued to bellow his training advice as they danced over the sands, passing far more heated duels to either side as they crossed the arena.

“Working on it! This is a dagger!” Zahn’s complaints fell on deaf ears as he darted in and was forced back again before he could get close enough to strike. Yesterday he’d tried using Shift to accelerate himself and found while he could create a stream moving the way he wanted to, he was blatantly demonstrating how he intended to move in a straight line and the laziest dodge was enough to make his efforts pointless. “Even if I could Charge in fast enough, I can’t even duck below your strikes, man. I’m better off trying to hit you from above or below.”

Gardor’s grim face let out another sigh as the big man raised his club up high. “I won’t let you pull the same trick as you did on stage, and nobody will simply let you under their guard. It’s called a ‘guard’ for good reason. You’ll need to find some other way to cheat.”

Throwing himself to the side to dodge the downstroke, Zahn found its shadow still coming as he desperately rolled back the other direction. “It’s not cheating, fu~uck, it’s leveraging resources! I know you guys - watch it! - are big on straightforward duels, but using whatever advantages I can find is far from cheating.”

The tank paused again, seemingly considering his angle of attack before the blunt instrument lashed out and stabbed Zahn in the gut, dropping him gasping to the sands. “When you chose to show your colors, you struck at my opponent in the match. You struck at the next pair in tandem, but never reached for me.” He set the end of his club on the ground and leaned on it, watching the Player writhe as he gasped for air. “You did not strike me, be it out of friendship or some plan of your own. You interfered with another fight on behalf of one party, during a sacred fight, before the screaming masses witnessing our bout. You cheated.”

Zahn clawed at the shifting ground as he tried to lever himself upright, finding precious air finally entering his lungs again. Struggling to his feet, he gave the lecture a nod as he held up a finger for a pause. “I, fuck, I couldn’t reach you. The, other guy, he blocked me good. I knew. That you’d, hit me. So I didn’t try for you. That’s just being smart.” Straightening up and grimacing at the new pains, he eyed his clock and waved his free hand around. “Isn’t it time for my sparring now?”

The club-wielder grunted and glanced up at the sun before hefting his weapon again. “We could go another round, at this pace. But yes, our agreement stands.”

The pair left their pitch and made their way to the central ring, where the stage stood before. Taking up positions on opposite sides let Zahn have a few more moments to breathe and get his racing pulse under control. Even with the severely limited sparring they’d been doing, Gardor still took most of his health by only making contact a few times. With their massive level difference, he had no idea how strong the Barbarian really was but his tribe mates seemed to think he was best suited to handle the Player.

Turning to face his opponent, Zahn took the opportunity to remind him of the terms. “Alright, we tried fighting your way, now help me practice mine. Just try to knock them away, dodging isn’t something we’ve worked up to yet.”

The big man grumbled from his edge of the circle, his voice still clearly carrying. “It makes the most sense to simply dodge. Your spells travel in straight lines more often than even you do, and you’re a rank amateur.”

Cracking his neck from one shoulder to the other, Zahn opted not to answer as he summoned fire to his hands. Dropping his split dagger in the sands, he let his vision unfocus for a moment as he tugged on the warmth radiating out of his Core and tried pulling the energy down both arms. Focusing on trying to cast Fire Bolt without summoning his Grimoire first had been almost impossible on their first day, but without a spellform he needed to draw or wave around he’d found he could generate the fires needed to shape just by focusing mana through the stains on his palm. “Ready?”

He cocked his arm back and shifted his weight like a pitcher, watching the Gladiator opposite begin his charge as soon as he moved. Whipping the orange and yellow mass forwards, Zahn hissed his simple incantation and enjoyed seeing the spell take form mid-flight. “Fire, bolt!”The little packet of fire mana raced through the air, shifting from a tumbling potato into a speeding red-yellow pencil in a blink and accelerating to close the distance in a breath. Gardor slapped the missile aside with his club, his face unchanging as he stomped towards the Player.

Zahn cast again and again, pressing his hands together to pass the mana from right to left when he threw with his off-hand. The third Bolt spell missed entirely, sailing off to the hulk’s right as the big man didn’t even flinch during his charge and dutifully plowed straight ahead. Snapping off spell after spell, Zahn found himself frustrated at needing to say anything and witnessed his aim suffer more and more as his opponent rapidly crossed ground to indent his face.

Gardor crossed to within five feet, his great club already winding back for another lateral strike when Zahn felt his pounding pulse seem to echo in his held spell and the flames almost leapt out of his hand. “Fire bolt!” The little dart shaped fatter than its previous incarnations, splashing against the Barbarian’s chest and visibly scorching his skin bright red on impact.

23 damage dealt! Zahn used Fire Bolt!

Fire Bolt has inflicted a Burn!

Getting scorched by the spell made Gardor growl out loud, his frustration as audible as his weapon was visible. “Ow. Cheat.” He swung his club with a vengeance, which Zahn briefly considered trying to duck under before resigning himself for a quick respawn.

“That does look fun,” came a voice from nowhere as a pair of daggers materialized in the club’s path and saved the Player from certain death. Two slowly faded into view, his arms manifesting first from the wrist until the man’s torso could be seen folding out behind Zahn’s back. “Though, you seem to forget yourself good man. Your duel isn’t official, would you murder a partner over a simple Burn?”

Gardor looked away, releasing his weapon and flicking his wrist in a quick pattern to dismiss his bound weapon. “Apologies, I became carried away. How might I assist?”

Two grinned, his cheek pressing against Zahn’s as he considered the reaction. “Just want to borrow the Player for a spell. Maybe several, depends on him. Well, Zahn? Up for a match?”

The hulk nodded at nothing and turned, striding away from them as if he’d found the conversation offensive. Zahn watched him a second before turning and pushing at the sneak, finding the slippery man already gone from behind him. “Get off. Thanks, but you really don’t need to drape yourself over me like that. What did you have in mind?”

The tan man hummed at the sky, spinning his twin daggers over his palms before dismissing them. “If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten the leverage needed to stab his smashing stick before it found your nose. Just being able to reach over your shoulder is enough to help me, something like how a spring doesn’t need to be firmly fixed in order to do its job. Anyway, I want to play. What are the rules to your little spar?”

Eyeing the sneak as if the second position Gladiator could be seen through, Zahn eventually sighed and shrugged the possibility of betrayal away. He could have just let me eat club, really. He gestured at the direction Gardor had retreated to, “He’s been helping me with my magic. I’m great at Spit and Breath, but I upgraded to Bolt just before the last match and can’t seem to get it right. I’m trying to punch past the first layer of whatever armor, I want to burn someone under their defenses.”

Two held himself rigid, listening intently at the explanation. “I see. Can’t say your goal is unique, one might even say that’s the general plan of all fire magic. Very well, so you need a moving target then?”

Zahn wobbled his hand, “Sort of. I need something I can shoot at, he suggested during a straight charge, but mostly I just need a target I can try to punch through the armor of.”

Two nodded, considering the empty seats in the stands before letting his gaze drop onto the Player. “Sorry to say, I’m not a great practice dummy. At very least, I have elemental resistances your large friend doesn’t, not to mention my slew of passive defenses. I don’t know how much you know about the Rogue Class, but I even have Class-based resistances to area effects and crowd control. If you get the chance to level up a Rogue, take it. Being a Custom, you’d stand a decent chance to learn their skillsets as they do. As it stands,” the thin man bent in half to bow before straightening back up with a flourish. “I’d be delighted. If you help with the Fodder tonight. Deal?”

Zahn cocked an eyebrow at the strange sneak, “What, you just came looking for me because you wanted help with your chores?”

A pearly white grin manifested on the otherwise nondescript face, “I saw a chance to help you and receive help in return. Deal?”

Sighing at the disappeared Barbarian, Zahn faced Two directly. “Deal. Start on the far side, I don’t want to have half a second to try these.”

The Rogue nodded, striding over to the other side of the central ring in far too few steps. From Zahn’s angle, it looked like he continued to slide at running speed while his legs strolled an easy gait over the sand. Spinning in place like a dancer when he arrived, Two dropped into another elaborate bow before he jumped into a fighting stance that looked much like Ethan’s. “Whenever you’re ready, level five.”

Rolling his shoulder at the task ahead, Zahn let out a thin stream of Fire Breath in front of him. “Alright. Just don’t slap them back at me or something.” Charging mana into both hands, he brought them together to share the heat and ignite his left to match the right. Eyeing his mana bar, he continued pushing energy down his arms until the blue bar started to dip before turning his attention back to the fight. Two remained in place, patiently watching the show before the magic flew. Cocking his arm back, Zahn tried to mimic his favorite Ewell Blackwell game before whipping the red mass forward and activating the cast. “Fire bolt!”

The spell crackled as it consumed the air, racing forward towards the sneak as it shifted from blob into bolt and seemed to flare out the back end. The missile crossed the distance and nearly hit Two’s chest before the lithe man twisted his hips and let the spell pass him completely. He continued his dance, twisting left and right before settling back in the center as each spell neared him. No matter how many Zahn threw, the high-level Rogue dodged them all with ease and a smile on his lips.

Minutes later, Zahn rubbed at his aching shoulder as he hefted yet another spell. His mana pool continued to refill itself faster than his spells could drain it, but his depleting Stamina bar refused to fill up fast enough. “A moment!” He called out, raising his free hand in the air.

Two straightened up from his fighting stance, visibly relaxing. “What’s the issue? Your spells can’t even hit me.”

Zahn grumbled inaudibly as he watched his green bar slowly refill itself. I’d be fine if the fuckin’ things only took mana. Looking back at the sneak, he had a moment’s thought that made him pause. “Just wanted to try something.” Hefting the fiery mass to eye level, he tried to parse the process in his head against the actual casting. Does it even need to be moving? Holding his hand out flat, he extended his arm and pointed the whole thing downrange. “Fire bolt.”

The magic obediently leaped into life, jumping off his hand like an inverted raindrop before taking shape mid-air to fly forwards as a hot magical pencil. Two jumped to the side, giving the Player a cross look as he settled back into a ready stance after it passed.

“That’s cheating, just like your friend said.”

Zahn flushed, raising both hands back into a ready position. “Not intentional, just sorting out my thoughts. Looks like I don’t need to actually throw the spell for it to cast properly.”

Two let out a laugh, raising his fists as if to box the spells out of the air. “Of course not. You don’t think mages use their staves as force multipliers? They’re magical foci, which you apparently don’t even use.”

Re-forming two sets of fire over his palms, Zahn tried to look past the magic and hone in on his target. “Fire, bolt,” he intoned softly as both spells lit up from his hands and jumped forward on their own. He pushed more mana, trying to shape the flames back into place before the cast spells hit. Both missiles passed Two easily, with the sneak hopping up on a foot and spinning to let them by.

Feeling the pair of spells cast out of each hand manifested a new idea, and Zahn was eager to try. He pushed mana down both arms harder, feeling the rush as magic packed under his skin as he formed another mass of flames in his hand. Before casting, he touched the wad to his left arm near the elbow and tried to leave it there. He giggled out loud when it obeyed, the flame mass continuing to burn as it took in the mana flowing beneath his skin. Repeating the trick from his left, he quickly held four charges of the simple spell on his arms as he faced down the sneak.

“Now then. Fire bolt, fire bolt, fire bolt, fire bolt!” Casting them sequentially, he focused his intent on sending them one at a time instead of pairs and found the magic obeying him beautifully. The quartet of missiles streaked across the air, forcing Two to jive to either side and spin as he ducked and weaved around the spells.

“Well done!” Came the Rogue’s cheerful praise. “Brava! Most mages like to rest spells along their staves, but using your arms? Well done!” Two bent once more in a flourished bow before bouncing back into his ready stance. “That said, I’m not going to just stand here anymore. Stop me!”

Zahn paused in his shaping, freezing as he tried to place another set of spells near his elbows. “Eh?” Looking up at his opponent, he saw Two charging him and skipping from right to left so fast he couldn’t even see the sneak in midair. With the shimmering of landing on either foot, it looked like Two had doubled himself and the pair was flickering into visibility in turns. Abandoning the modified casting, Zahn turned both palms towards the incoming threat. “Fire bolt, fire bolt, fire bolt!”

The sneak laughed out loud, easily dodging the spells as they raced by and missed him completely. He’d already crossed half the distance, the sands underfoot doing nothing to slow his advance as his mirror images continued their charge. “Right idea, sending left and right in a pattern. But where are you aiming? Brava!”

Zahn half-swallowed his tongue when a third image appeared, sprinting ahead of the other two even closer. That’s a fucking spell! He knows spells?! Choking back his surprise, the Player tried to think of how he could even slow down the high-speed ranker. Swinging his left hand wildly, he thrust his right forward and tried to cast two differing kinds at once. “Fire bolt, Sever!”

Two skipped and leapt, his images mirroring him as he arced through the air and jumped over exploding sand. Sever carved a curving line in the ground, disrupting the area between them and lifting a cloud that clearly showed which were illusions and which body was real.

Pointing both hands at his target, Zahn tried to force more mana into the cast. “Fire bolt!” Letting out the dual spell, he knew with mere feet between them Two would be hard-pressed to dodge the point-blank range.

“Brava,” came a whispered reply as the sneak manifested behind him, laying his arm across the Player’s shoulders. The doubled spell passed harmlessly through a fading image, the trio of illusions melting away against the sand still hanging in the air. “Something I picked up, a modification on Delayed Casting. Like it?”

Zahn sagged, failing to displace the Rogue with no concept of personal space. “Were any of them you?”

Two chuckled as he lightly slapped the back of the Player’s head, “Of course. I simply have the ability to land behind you, from within a good five meters or so. The cloud was a nice trick. Let’s go, we don’t want to breathe it in.”