Samuel moved at once, skirting to the side of the great white tiger, just as Tobi moved in the other direction. The tiger kept its eyes on Samuel, but he could tell it was aware of Tobi’s presence. It simply viewed Samuel as the bigger threat and tastier treat, which he was fine with. It left the beast exposed to attack from a different direction.

“You’re on the tiger, Sivarn!” He called to the wild mage leader. “Tobi and I will take out the wolves then turn to assist you!”

“Aye,” Sivarn said, letting out a growl to match the tiger’s. “Let’s see what this monster is made of!”

Sivarn had closed the distance in a flash, his fist striking the white tiger just as it had gathered itself to leap at Samuel. The sheer force of the blow slammed the beast’s head down into the ground, and its intended savage leap failed. The instant the beast was struck, Samuel and Tobi darted forward and away from it, moving in two shallow arcs towards the three wolves. It may have seemed, to an outsider, that Sivarn was taking the greatest risk of them all. But in reality, Sivarn was backed up by his son and the other mages, while Tobi and Samuel faced their opponents unassisted.

The lead wolf charged forward to meet Samuel, leaping into the air to tackle him down to the ground. It wasn’t as clever as an actual wolf, which would have stayed low to the ground, circling him until it found an opening. He hit the ground in a long slide, letting the multi-colored beast sail harmlessly over him. When he jumped back to his feet, sword raised, he struck at one of the two wolves in front of him, the ki-infused blade coming down in a deadly blur.

Samuel was at full strength now, and after spending the past few days planning and scheming, he had new tactics at his disposal. The beast had clearly learned not to fear his blade from their last fight, where it had done no damage. It had no idea that it was not mana fueling the blade, so it made no attempt to evade. It was the first and final mistake that piece of the chaotic beast would make, as the crystal sword sheared through it length-wise, and the form shattered into thousands of wisps of dead energy.

“Nice one Samuel!” Tobi shouted. He was at the third wolf in an instant, his long naginata already spinning in a whirl. The wolf ducked low under the spinning wheel of death, then jumped to the side to avoid an overhead strike that Tobi unleashed. It ran in a wide circle around him, clearly trying to maneuver into a position where it could strike him with ease. But Tobi had been practicing endlessly over the past week, learning and mastering a new skill.

The young warrior put his free hand into the air, two fingers extended, and gave an upward flick. The spikes he’d been gifted flew out of the pouch at his side. With another flick, this time in the direction of the wolf, four spikes flashed down faster than Samuel could blink. One of them missed completely, but the two connected with the wolf’s body, and another with its head. The chaotic animal didn’t even have a chance to yelp in pain before it dissolved into mist.

“Not so bad yourself,” Samuel threw back with a grin. “You’re getting rather good with those spikes.”

They moved quickly to stand back-to-back as the first wolf resumed the fight, padding in a wide circle. From the corner of his eye, Samuel saw Sivarn and the white tiger battling each other. Just as he glanced over, Sivarn kicked the massive beast clear of him, and his son moved in to pepper its side with blows, leaping back before it could come to close-quarters. This had given Sivarn a moment to catch his breath, and the mages behind him had covered him in mana, healing most of his wounds.

The wolf pounced, and both Samuel and Tobi struck for it. The animal darted to side at the last second, avoiding both weapons, and ran sideways in a circle, lunging again. Samuel twisted on the spot and threw his free hand up. The wolf, mid-air and unable to change direction, had no chance to avoid the blast of ki that Samuel emitted. It slammed the wolf down, stunning it.

“You didn’t tell me that Father taught you how to use his War Strike,” Tobi said, directing two spikes to finish the wolf off.

“He didn’t,” Samuel replied, switching the blade to his left hand. “But I’m a pretty smart guy. Managed to figure it out.”

He turned his attention to the white tiger, just as it knocked Sivarn to the ground. Before it could move in to deal a finishing blow on the stunned man, Samuel hit it with two War Strikes in rapid succession. The first blow staggered it, then, while it was off-balance, the second strike knocked it back and away from Sivarn. The Alpha Mage made a brief hand gesture of gratitude as he jumped back to his feet.

“Just figured it out,” Tobi muttered, rolling his eyes. “You pick things up too quickly. Pretty soon you’ll have nothing left to learn.”

A flashing image of Isip’s room appeared before Samuel, and he grinned. “I somehow doubt that. Let’s go!”

What had previously been a relatively even match now became a one-sided contest. Tobi and Samuel rushed in at different directions, with slightly different timing, slashing at the beast’s flanks with their own weapons. When it turned to snap at Samuel who had struck last, Sivarn hit it with a devastating uppercut. The tiger staggered back, keen to get out of Sivarn’s range.

It jumped for Samuel. He conjured a barrier of solid air between himself and the beast, stopping it in its tracks. Then he and Tobi, without meaning to, both fired a War Strike at the same time, piercing the beast in two places. The three mages in the back, seeing how effective that particular spell was, launched their own. Three bolts of green energy struck the beast in less than a second, causing even more damage.

The tiger was certainly hardier than the wolves had been, as it was still on its feet and moving even after taking that last barrage. But it seemed to realize that it was outmatched, because it turned and ran several yards away, leaving them behind with several long leaps. When it stopped, it paced in a wide circle, breathing heavily. White flames seemed to drip from its body, creating a trail of tall energy in the circle it formed. Then the beast was lost to view behind the burning light, as it hid within the circle.

Sivarn moved forward at once to chase after it, but Samuel threw out an arm to stop him. “Wait. This is something new.”

“It doesn’t matter what it does,” Sivarn growled. “We’ll surround it and kill it now.”

He seemed to be almost mad with battle rage, and not at all interested in listening to reason. Samuel moved quickly to stand in front of him, one hand on his chest to stop him moving, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the man. Sivarn hesitated, seeming to notice him for the first time.

“Fine then,” he grumbled. “What do you want to do?”

Samuel glanced away from him, making eye contact with his apprentice. “You try first, Tobi.”

Tobi nodded and jogged closer to the circle of energy. He and Samuel had discussed at length safe ways to deal with new attacks and abilities the mana would use. Samuel had arrived at the conclusion that, since it had already shown the ability to learn, it would most likely develop new skills to use against them. So, rather than burning precious energy trying to combat every new thing, Samuel had devised a way to get a sense of anything new that they came across.

Tobi came within striking distance of the white flames, and he did indeed strike, gripping the naginata at the very end and swiping the weapon through the flames. This had no effect, which didn’t seem to bother the youth. He withdrew the weapon and gingerly touched the metal tip. Samuel could see him shake his head slightly, then he came running back.

“It’s not really fire,” he reported. “It’s neither cold nor hot. It’s impervious to weapons, and it blocks any sight or sound from inside.”

“Could you sense the beast through it?” Samuel asked. Tobi shook his head. “Alright then. I’ll handle it.”

Tobi stuck to his side as he moved towards the circle himself, holding his crystal sword lazily in one hand. After a moment of confused staring, Sivarn followed suit, along with his son. They drew even with the strange magic the beast had put in place, and Samuel closed his eyes, concentrating. He’d done this spell many times with mana, of course, but Ki was thicker, and in some ways, slower. It took a considerable amount of willpower to move it.

He fanned his ki out as much as possible, blasting any energy in front of him away. It was the spell he’d used to fight the storm, of course, and the effect was the same here. The white flames were blasted away at once, revealing what was hiding behind them. Samuel felt a cold hand grip his heart and heard Tobi swear in shock. The tiger was gone. Samuel now stood face-to-face with himself.