Damien and Sylph arrived at the arena three hours before sunrise. Delph was already there waiting for them despite their attempt to arrive early.

“You’re late,” Delph said, pushing away from the wall.

“We came an hour early,” Damien pointed out.

“And yet I still beat you to it,” Delph replied. “That makes you late in my book.”

Damien rolled his eyes. “Fine. What are we doing today then, professor?”

“You know, I liked it a lot better when you were scared of me,” Delph said, rubbing his chin. “Well then, since you’re feeling snappy today, why don’t you show me what you can do? I’d like to see just how badly this vacation rusted your skills.”

Damien rolled his neck and Henry took over his mage armor. Inky black darkness enveloped his clothing and tendrils emerged from the unfurling cloak behind him.

“How serious are we taking this?” Damien asked.

“As if you could afford to take things as anything but life and death when you’re up against me,” Delph scoffed. “Come at me with everything you have, but no cheating with your companion’s real power. I don’t need Whisp breathing down my neck.”

Damien locked a Gravity Sphere in place where he stood, then teleported behind Delph. The professor snapped his fingers and a ripple of compressed air shot out around him, forcing Damien to teleport again to avoid getting caught within it.

He cast Enlarge on the sand through his foot, launching a pillar in Delph’s direction. The older man raised a hand and the air warped before it. Damien’s pillar evaporated as Delph’s spell shredded it apart.

“Somewhat disappointing,” Delph said. “Is this really all you can do?”

Damien Warp Stepped directly before Delph and three tendrils shot out for him. A ripple of magic arced across the air before Delph, slicing the tendrils in half. Without missing a beat, new ones grew from the cloak and shot out once more, wrapping around behind Delph.

While Delph was preoccupied stopping Henry’s assault, Damien threw a Gravity Sphere at Delph’s chest. He formed two more of the spells, throwing them as well before teleporting back just in time to avoid a spacial red that split the air where he’d been standing.

A blade of twisted magic shot from beneath Delph’s cloak, carving all three of Damien’s spells in twain.

“Better, but still lacking variety,” Delph said. “More, Damien.”

Mental pain barrier, please.

“Make it quick,” Henry warned.

Damien Warp Stepped in rapid succession, forming a ring of Devour spells around Delph before stopping a short distance away from him. Gravity Spheres formed in his hands and at his feet.

“Ah. You used this one in the tournament,” Delph said idly. “But it’s got a glaring flaw. Why do you assume I’m going to stay inside the circle?”

“Freeze,” Damien commanded. Ether swirled around him, surging to obey his order. The air shimmered around Delph as the gravity surged, pressing down on the professor. Delph fell to one knee. The effects of the spell didn’t spare Damien either, and he was pulled down as well.

“Catching yourself in your own magic. That’s not a good look,” Delph said, his voice slightly strained.

Damien responded by launching the Gravity Spheres into the black circles of magic behind him. He threw several more into them, then used Expunge to send them flying back at Delph in all directions.

Delph’s cloak whipped around him and vanished in a puff of gray light. Damien swore, Warp Stepping backward. A flash of the fight with Derrod flickered through Damien’s memories and he teleported once more.

“Good reaction timing,” Delph said approvingly.

Damien let the ring of spells drop before the draw became to heavy and turned back to face Delph. The professor hadn’t been hit by a single attack.

“My dad did something just like that when we fought,” Damien replied. “You’re showing a lack of originality.”

“Don’t you turn my words against me, you little brat,” Delph growled. “Let’s turn the heat up a little. Wake up, Havel.”

Delph drove his foot into the ground. A loud explosion shook the arena, throwing sand into the air and blocking him from view. Henry’s tentacles whipped out, striking the ground and launching Damien to the side.

A blur severed the tentacles, and a blast of wind knocked the sand away, revealing Delph as he pulled a gray broadsword from the ground. His cloak was gone from its position on his back.

“Hey, that’s no fair,” Damien complained. “Is that your combat manifestation?”

“No,” Delph said with a snort. “This is just Havel pretending to be a sword. You wouldn’t last a second against my combat manifestation.”

He flicked the sword. A ripple of warped magic shot through the air, forcing Damien to teleport to avoid it. Delph followed after him, initiating a game of cat and mouse. He constantly remained just a half second slower than Damien, never giving him a chance to do anything but dodge.

“You’re using a lot of magic,” Henry warned. “I’m holding the strain off, but you’re running out of time.

“Freeze,” Damien commanded, teleporting to avoid Delph’s latest strike and his own spell. Delph slammed to the ground and Damien formed a Gravity Lance with all the Ether he could muster. A streak of black magic screamed out of his hand.

“Erase,” Delph said. The spell shattered, falling to the ground like pieces of broken glass. He rose to his feet, brushing the sand off his knees, and cocked an eyebrow. “Still no variation, but at least you’ve got raw power. If I didn’t have about ten ways to counter that, it might have posed a slight issue.”

Damien bent over, putting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily as he gathered his breath and tried to repress the growing headache forming at the back of his head. He didn’t take his eyes off Delph for a second.

“How many of those ways did I manage to keep you from using?” He asked between pants.

“About two,” Delph replied. “For a Year Two, that’s nothing to scoff at. For what you need to be able to do though… well, tell your all powerful companion that it needs to stop being lazy and teach you some new forms of magic. All of your attacks involve throwing something that goes boom and hoping it connects.”

Damien opened his mouth, then closed it with a snap. Delph wasn’t wrong.

“Is the fight over, then?”

“For now,” Delph replied. “Come on, Sylph. Let’s see what you can do with that new companion of yours.”

Damien flopped onto the sand and leaned against the cool stone wall of the arena. He gave Sylph a weak grin as she stood and paced over to Delph, thin lines of wind whipping up around her.

Twin black daggers formed in her hands and Sylph flickered, fading out of view. Delph clicked his tongue and Havel unfurled from his sword shape, returning to a cape on the professor’s back.

He stomped on the ground, sending out a spray of sand and revealing Sylph’s position to his side. She dropped the camouflage with a wry grin.

“I guess that isn’t going to work on you.”

“It isn’t going to work on anyone that’s seen it countered before,” Delph admonished. “Come on, now. I expect more from you.”

Sylph leapt at Delph. He flicked a hand into the air, sending a ripple of energy hurtling at her. She twirled out of the way and flicked one of her daggers at Delph. He knocked it away with his armored forearm.

The wind around Sylph surged and she accelerated, arriving before Delph with startling speed and thrusting her remaining blade for a gap in his armor. Energy flared around Delph, picking Sylph off the ground and throwing her across the arena.

She spun midair and a thin disk of air appeared beneath her feet. She launched off it, shooting back at Delph as two more blades formed in her hands.

“Don’t you have any magic other than whatever this weird stuff is?” Sylph called.

Delph thrust a hand in her direction, throwing Sylph back again before she could even get close to him. “Yup. Are you really asking for me to make this harder?”

Sylph smirked and flicked two more daggers at Delph as she closed the distance between them once more. Delph snapped his fingers and a bolt of black energy leapt from them, streaking toward Sylph.

She raised a hand and the spell vanished with a pop as it neared her palm. Delph’s eyes twitched in surprise, but he didn’t have time to speak before she was upon him. He twisted, taking a strike that would have hit his exposed underarm on his shoulder plate.

Havel lashed out, forming a hammer and striking Sylph in the side. Wind condensed in front of Sylph right before the attack struck her, cushioning the blow. It still sent Sylph tumbling back across the sand, but she hopped back to her feet, no worse for the wear.

“Now that’s more interesting,” Delph mused. “You ate my Ether. That explains why you wanted me to use different types of magic. But how many can you absorb?”

Delph snapped his fingers. A scarlet flower bloomed in his hand. Streaks of fire launched out of it, curving and darting toward Sylph. She threw herself out of the way, but the spells twisted to follow her.

Sylph threw several blades of wind into Delph’s fireballs, blowing them apart before they could reach her. She skipped back, putting more distance between herself and Delph.

“Not bad,” Delph said. “But it doesn’t look like you can deal with fire. Is it just dark magic, then?”

“Light as well,” Sylph replied.

“Impressive,” Delph said. “Limited use, of course. But it could be instrumental in the right situation. Unfortunately, you’re going to need more tools that have general purpose applications. It looks like you’re already nearly out of Ether.”

Sylph pursed her lips and drew the daggers from her waist. “I’ve still got these.”

She dashed at him, but a wall of force shot out from Delph, knocking her back before she could even get close.

“Not a bad idea,” Delph said approvingly. “But I already know you’re more than capable with physical combat. I’ve got no need to test you there. Why aren’t you using that black gauntlet you pulled out in the tournament?”

“It wouldn’t help me here,” Sylph replied. “You’re too fast, and it takes a lot of Ether. If I used it, I’d just open myself up to a counterattack or just end up wasting energy.”

“Then I believe you see your current deficiencies,” Delph said. “Damien needs more magic that can be used optimally in specific situations, while you need to expand your repertoire of magic that can be used in most fights. Essentially, he needs a way to finish fights while you need a way to extend them.”

“There isn’t much I can do other than end fights,” Sylph said, lowering her daggers. “My core evolution gave me extra Ether to work with, but my core is still significantly smaller than everyone else’s. I can’t match anyone on Ether output or regeneration. The only way I can win is to end the fight before it can really begin.”

“That’s not a bad strategy, but it isn’t always going to be possible,” Delph replied. “Stronger enemies can’t be killed that easily. Especially the Corruption. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to catch them off guard, since we’re almost always fighting on their terms. You just need to use spells that are much more Ether efficient than normal. The book I gave you should have a few, and I’ll look into seeing if I can locate more if those aren’t to your taste.”

What do you think, Henry? Do you have a spell that might help me diversify my fighting style a bit more, or should I go to the library?

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Henry asked irritably. “Of course I have spells that would work. We’ve just been focusing on giving you the basics so far. I still think Delph is trying to move a bit too fast. You still haven’t gotten a perfect grasp over the magic you’re using, but I suppose you don’t have an eternity to master it.”

“It looks like you’re both thinking,” Delph said. “That’s good. As much as I’d like to smack you both around for a little longer, it’ll be more beneficial if you get to work figuring out some new magic.”

He turned and started toward the exit.

“Hold on,” Damien called. “What about our reward from Whisp?”

“You can get that once you land a hit on me,” Delph replied, raising a hand in farewell. “It won’t do you any good until then anyway.”

His cloak swirled around him, twisting into a point and taking him with it until nothing was left. Damien and Sylph watched the spot where he’d vanished in disbelief.

“Did he just steal our reward?” Damien asked.

“I think he’d probably refer to it as an extended borrow, but yes,” Sylph said, scrunching her nose. “And what does he mean by it wouldn’t do us any good? I’m pretty sure gold is gold.”

“He’s probably just betting with it,” Damien muttered. “Whatever. We better land that hit on him sooner than later, because I get the feeling he’ll end up using all our money if we take too long.”