“Yeah,” Damien agreed, sighing as he lowered his hands. “Not much more I can do right now. I need to learn some more magic and figure out some better way to defend myself. The destructive energy spell would probably work, but I don’t think I could use that safely in a sparring match. You’re just way faster than I am.”

“I’m enhancing my body,” Mark said, giving Damien a half-smile. “Earth magic makes it tougher, and I’ve cultivated for long enough that my muscles are reinforced with Ether.”

“I see,” Damien said. “I guess I need to get back on cultivating. Sylph, I’d ask if you want to spar, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do against you right now. It would probably just be a waste of your time.”

“Good guess,” Sylph said. “If all you can do is that gravity spell, then you’re right. You’d lose almost immediately.”

“So, what now?” Mark asked pulling his sword free from the ground and running his hand down the flat of the blade.

“You two can spar again if you want,” Damien offered. “I don’t think either of you are going to get much from sparring me right now, although you’ve helped me get an idea of how I need to improve.”

Mark glanced at Sylph, who shrugged.

“Do you have any spells other than the ones you used against me?” Mark asked Sylph.

Her brow furrowed a little, but she nodded.

“One,” Sylph said. “But it’s not much different that then ones you saw. It’s just another blade made from dark magic.”

“Hm,” Mark said. “I’d like to spar you again, but not today. I want to see if I can beat you when I’m using my sword.”

“That’s fine with me,” Sylph replied. “It’s been hard to continue training on my own. It’ll help to have someone to spar against.”

“So, what do you all think you could improve?” Delph asked from right behind Damien.

Damien flinched and let out a curse. The professor had come out of nowhere. Judging by the shocked expressions on Sylph and Mark’s faces, they hadn’t seen him arrive either.

“I’m not used to fighting people faster than me,” Mark said, recovering from his surprise. “I need a way to either keep up with them or take away their advantage.”

“You’ve got several talents, Mark,” Delph said, cocking an eyebrow in a way that made it painfully obvious he was hinting at something. “You need to focus on what you’re best at, not avoid it.”

“I don’t think that would be safe,” Mark said. “I’m here to learn how to use my other abilities.”

“No, you’re here to learn,” Delph corrected. “And luckily, I’m not asking you to think. I’m telling you to do. It doesn’t have to be today, but I expect to see your talents on display during the ranking battles.”

Mark pressed his lips thin, but nodded reluctantly. Delph turned his gaze on Damien, who fought not to quail under the man’s intense eyes.

“I need to learn more magic,” Damien said, not having to think much. “I don’t have any versatility and I’m a sitting target on top of that.”

“And you also need to learn the magic you currently use better,” Delph said. “Your technique is fine, but you’ll need to work on your magical control. Your Ether usage is incredibly inefficient. If you improved it, your gravity spheres would actually do some damage.”

Delph turned to Sylph. He cocked his head, then shrugged.

“You already know what you need to improve. Mark, you can find me when you decide you’re ready to train seriously,” Delph said. He glanced from Sylph to Damien. “As for the two of you, there’s not much else we can do today. You’re both burnt out, one way or another. Go home, get a little rest, and then get back to training. The next class is day after tomorrow. I’ll send a note with the location.”

Delph didn’t wait for them to respond. His cloak enveloped him and he vanished, reappearing on the other side of the arena beside Reena and Nolan, who both leapt a foot into the air.

Mark pursed his lips and let out a disgruntled sigh.

“He’s a dick,” Mark said.

“You said it, not me,” Damien said, just in case Delph was somehow listening to them. “But he’s right. We’ve got a lot of practice to do if we want to do well on those ranking battles. I’d like to get my hands on any magical stuff they’re willing to give me.”

“As would I,” Sylph said, her gaze hardening.

The two of them bid farewell to Mark, who watched them with a pensive frown as they left. Their walk back to the room was silent, and Damien’s legs made themselves known with every step he took.

When they got back, Damien sent a longing glance at his bed before staggering past it and down the hallway into the training room, using the walls to keep himself standing before finally flopping to the hard ground with a relieved sigh. Sylph followed him in.

“You also going to train?” Damien asked, grabbing some Ether and bringing it within himself from his seated position.

“If you don’t mind me using the room,” Sylph said. “You did make it, after all.”

“Go for it,” Damien said. “I’m going to be using my gravity spheres, though. It might bother you.”

“I’m used to training in hectic environments,” Sylph replied, closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath.

Damien shrugged. He channeled the Ether, observing the motes of energy closely as they traveled up his arm. As the twirling energy emerged from his palm, turning into a gravity sphere, Damien saw a dull golden glow emitting from the orb. The longer he held the spell there, the brighter the escaping light grew and the more the sphere faded.

Is that the Ether leaking out of my spell?

“Yes,” Henry said, speaking up for the first time in several hours. Damien’s concentration broke and the spell melted away as the Ether escaped it with a crackle.

You’re talking to me again? Have you made a decision?

“…Not yet. I am considering it. For now, focus on your training. We can speak later tonight,” Henry said.