“As far as I’m aware, Walker doesn’t have an apprentice! Although you’re probably thinking of him,” Aella pointed at me, a grin on her pretty face, “though I don’t think it’s as formal as that!”

Turning her gaze to me once more, her brows twitching in surprise, the apprentice once again gave me a once-over, before speaking again, her voice filled with doubt.

“Him? He stands like a potato.”

Blinking at the comparison, I considered the way I was standing, but was unable to see anything wrong with it. I wanted to punch her – my body’s race still seemed territorial and aggressive, even if I had a slightly better handle on it then when I had arrived. Shrugging the impulse away, I walked over and held out a hand for her to shake.

“I’m Hunter. I wouldn’t say I’m Walker’s apprentice, more like charity case slash friend. I take it you’re the Apex of the Mending Flesh’s apprentice? Nice to meet you.”

Ignoring my hand, the diminutive blonde glared up at me, lips tightened into a thin line.

“You speak like an idiot too.” She turned back to Aella, her voice demanding. “Is this a joke?”

“He is a bit of an idiot, but it’s no joke. He’s pretty new to fighting, but he’s picking it up... faster than you’d think, to look at him. Or hear him!” I rolled my eyes at my teacher and dropped my hand back to my side.

“One day, Teacher, you’re going to pay me a compliment and it’s just going to be a compliment – no insults.”

“You should set your sights lower, Hunter! It is good to dream, but you should not reach beyond your grasp.”

She was grinning at me again and I wanted to stick my tongue out, but I managed to hold myself back. Just.

“Have you no dignity? An apprentice to an Apex should behave with more decorum and pride.” I turned back to the acerbic little blonde and shrugged.

“Walker seems fine with it. I’m pretty sure nobody he cares about is judging him by my standards anyway.”

With a growl, she took a step back, before speaking, her voice gruff.

“I, Darina the Ever Flowing, Apprentice to Sonja Falling Sand, Apex of the Mending Flesh, hereby challenge you, Hunter, to a duel.” Slamming a fist into the opposite palm, Darina gave me a short, stiff bow, her eyes locked on the floor. Coming out of the bow, she fixed that glare back on me, her chin jutting forward.

“No, I think I’m good. Thanks for the offer, but I’m mostly just concentrating on filling my Core at the moment. I don’t really want to waste the energy.”

“What!? You’re only at the Core stage?!” The apprentice sputtered, shock clearly showing on her face. I really did not want to get into any unnecessary fights – training was one thing, but my centre still only showed the barest hint of Praxis, and even that I had learned was only there as a transient step as it spun through my system. I did not want to be draining it if I did not need to.

Aella snorted, and I looked around – Reff was smiling, and his sister looked shocked at my refusal, and I was about to sit down again when my teacher spoke up.

“Hunter, it’s considered rude to turn down a formal duel!”

“Teacher, you know my situation, it’s taking long enough to fill my centre, I don’t want to spend it if I don’t have to.”

“You cannot improve unless you practice, Hunter. Fighting different people, with different bodies, styles and abilities are invaluable Experiences that must be taken if you ever wish to advance!” Her voice lacked the usual mocking tone, and it seemed she was being completely serious.

“But... we’re on a balcony, hundreds - maybe thousands of feet up!” I had tried to judge exactly how high we were earlier, but since the ground was a flat, uniform black, it was difficult to gauge properly.

“In assurance, we have training halls which will serve, Hunter.” I turned to Reff, my hand against my chest in mock anguish.

“Et tu, Reff?”

“With confusion, I do not know what that means, Hunter.”

“Never mind! Sure, fine. Lead the way!” Turning to his sister, I realised I had not introduced myself, feeling rude for the first time since our meeting. “Pardon me, I’m Hunter. Your brother speaks... highly of you.” I held out my hand, and just like Reff had done at our first meeting, his sister held hers out at the same relative height.

“With hesitation, I am Riffa Stonebinder. You are the one who brought back the cure, yes?”

“I did. I’m really glad we could help.” I jumped, grabbing her hand and shook it awkwardly, given the differences in our heights. She looked confused, but went with it easily enough.

Introductions complete, Reff gestured for us to follow.

*

***

*

We arrived at the training hall quite quickly – Reff told us there were a number on most levels – and I ducked into a side-chamber in order to get changed into my fighting clothes. Not knowing what sort of abilities Darina was going to use, I didn’t want to risk damaging the only warm clothes I had, given the temperatures in the Blacksands.

The hall itself was a large open space with high ceilings – the floor was, predictably, covered with a layer of black sand, ringed with bright white lines running in and around each other. It reminded me of Celtic designs I had seen back on Earth, and I marvelled at all the different styles represented in this gigantic monolith, and at the artistic talent Reff’s brother must have to make something like this.

Darina was already standing on her side of the hall, her back straight and her face intense, already glaring at me as I emerged from the dressing room. I gave her a big smile and waved, which seemed to annoy her, so I counted it as a victory.

As I walked out onto the sand, I considered her, trying to work out my odds. She was much smaller than me, though that did not count for a great deal compared to raw cultivation, but I would take every advantage I could get. I recalled her surprise that I was at the Core stage, and found it unlikely she was below me, which unfortunately only really left one direction, though I hoped she was no higher than Path. From what I understood the Path stage provided no additional physical prowess, adding additional aspects to your abilities instead. Which meant, given my cultivation level, she was at most only twice as strong and fast as I was. Perfectly doable, right? Right?

On the way over, I had asked Aella about the rules for a formal duel, and had been told that anything went, provided we did not actually try to kill each other. Glad at least that I would not have to worry about being killed on purpose, had relaxed, thinking of it as more of an intense sparring session than an actual fight.

Reaching my position in the sand, Reff, as our host called the start of the duel and the two of us bowed to each other, my eyes locked on her, her eyes locked on the floor. As we came out of the bow, I came to know exactly how wrong I was about this being an intense spar, as with a burst of sand flung behind her, Darina came at me like a cannonball.

The warning from Instinctive Precognition just about allowed me to Focus before she hit me, her head smashing into my stomach as she threw her weight – and the accumulated momentum – into the blow. There was snap and sizzle as she came into contact with me, the freshly summoned lightning surging into and through her even as I was flung backwards to land on my back, sliding across the sand in an all too familiar manner.

Shifting my weight, I used some of the momentum to roll to my feet, my arm flicking up to deflect a blow too fast for me to see, sending another jolt of electricity into my opponent and leaving my wrist stinging. Before I could turn to confront her fully, I felt myself intercepting blows by instinct, some being blocked – and leaving pain behind – and some being pushed aside. With each contact, there was an accompanying snap, but it did not seem to be fazing her at all.

After a long moment filled with that swift assault, I finally managed to face her, thought it did me little good. Just as I turned, I felt her head coming towards my own and jerked back, only to be headbutted in the throat. Falling back again, I choked slightly and reflexively pushed more power through my Focus, hoping to get gain some space. My hope proved to be in vain as I snapped an arm down into the sand, flinging myself to the side just as a foot passed through the space my head had occupied.

I gritted my teeth as Darina’s blur closed in on me once again, and I decided to accept the damage so that I could get a grip on her.

A punch drove into my chin and the world went white for a split second, my head rocking back. Another two just like the first smacked into me as I reached out to grab her thick shirt. Finally, after several blows and with a ringing in my ears, I managed to get a grip of her and surged power through my Focus – not too much, I was still conscious that I needed to complete my Core – but easily as much as I had used in my last fight against the swordswoman. Unwilling to simply let the power passively pass through me, and knowing I would need to distract her, I started to punch, my fists aimed for the centre of her face, and with satisfaction I felt them landing with a crunch and the pop of lightning. Six times I hit her as I continued to push power out, and I could feel her body stiffen as the power shot through her. With a savage smile, I released her and stood back, shaking my head to clear the ringing and taking several deep breaths.

Her nose was a bloody ruin, and there were burn marks on her face. I could see tendrils of red emerging from under her shirt where the electricity had run through her nerves liked a fire. Smoke was rising from her hair, and I wondered for a moment if I had perhaps taken things too far – but then, before my eyes, her flesh rippled and the wounds vanished, her nose reforming even as the red lines and burns faded from existence. Shocked, I did not react to Instinctive Precognition’s warning and I flew into the air as she hit me with a blindingly fast uppercut to the stomach.

I landed outside of the sand, on the hard stone, the breath already blasted from my lungs by the force of the blow. I could something torn in my stomach and thought I could feel something moving, as I lay there, staring up at the ceiling while trying to breathe.

I dimly heard Darina being declared the winner of the duel, but I just lay there, waiting for the chance to swallow a healing pill, as Aella’s head came into view above my own.

“Hunter, you did much better than I thought you would!”

I gave my teacher a weak thumbs up, and went back to waiting.

*

***

*

“You heal fast for somebody with a lightning Focus.” I looked over at Darina, slightly shocked that she had paid me a compliment, given her general attitude towards me.

“Yeah, it’s a gift. Still, I’m not quite on your level.”

We were sat once more around a table, though this one was situated in some kind of indoor garden, the bright lines overhead giving off what could almost be daylight. It was much warmer than it had been outside, so I was still dressed in my fighting gear, one hand still surreptitiously rubbing at my stomach where she had hit me with that final blow.

Sniffing, the red-eyed woman rolled her eyes at me, and when she spoke her tone suggested I was being a fool.

“Of course not. My focus is entirely centred on healing.” That made sense – in our fight, I had not noticed a great deal of defence, though it was hard to tell if she was using Experience to resist my lightning. She had been mostly a blur of aggression, and I supposed just taking damage was a pretty good option if you could just ignore it. It seemed to let her concentrate on offence, and as I had found out, it was effective. Of course, I did not know how much of that could be attributed to the fact that she had probably completed her Core.

“You did much better than I expected you to, Hunter! You managed to land several successful blows, even if they were ultimately pointless.”

Aella wore a huge smile, and she seemed almost proud, though I thought that unlikely, given how definitive my loss had been.

“Maybe we can go again once I complete my Core?” I held out hope that if we were at the same Stage, I could be able to grind my way past her regeneration, given the advantage I would hold in terms of my extended circulation system.

“You are what, in your twenties? If it has taken you this long to reach the Core stage, I will be an Apex by the time you complete it.” The apprentice’s voice was scathing and it made me want to punch her again, despite the fact that I knew it would only result in another beating.

“I’ve only been cultivating for about a month now, actually. It’s not really a thing where I’m from.” She looked sceptical, one eyebrow raised and head titled.

“Not a thing? Impossible, cultivation is a thing everywhere, whether you do it actively or not.” He voice was very assured and I was about to retort, explaining about my origin when I caught a look from my teacher, whose face was suddenly very serious. Changing my mind about revealing that detail, I shrugged to cover the slight hesitation.

“You don’t need to believe me, it’s the truth. I will catch up, and we can try this again.” My voice grew lower as I spoke, and at least on the inside, I made it a promise. I had done enough waiting around in my previous life; this time around, I was done with waiting.

A flick of her hand dismissed my words and I found myself having to take a deep breath to calm down. I flicked my gaze to the side to where Reff was chatting with his sisters about their time apart, and not wanting to cause a scene, I waited several seconds, keeping my breathing deep and even.

Once calmed down, I sat in silence, going over my short fight once more, and living in those moments as I worked to replenish my Experience and Praxis.

A short while later – I could not say how long exactly, as my attention had been elsewhere, I spotted the tall form of my dark mentor, as well as that of the Apex of the Mending Flesh enter through a distant arch and make their ways towards us.

“Hunter, Aella. Raaf has provided lodgings for our stay. The three of us, in light of the information you have provided, have decided to call the Apexes together to discuss this issue. As such, I am afraid I will not be able to go with you to locate the phoenix Elder when you leave, as I will need to assist in contacting them.”

I blinked at Walker as he finished speaking, the familiar anxiety of being away from him closing about me like a heavy blanket, but I shook it off, unwilling to be held back by that weight anymore. The world was certainly a less safe place when away from my mentor, but it was something I would need to grow used to. It was inevitable that at some point my jobs from Xiournal would separate me from the Apex, even if the division was only temporary.

“I’m also going to stay, take in some more of this place! You already have the basics; you just need to practice now.” I turned to my teacher, fighting hard not to feel abandoned, but the same logic applied to her as it did Walker, and I once more dismissed it. I would see them again, I was not going to be gone forever, after all.

“Maybe you two could show the basics of the sword and chain, before I leave? And... tell me where the phoenix could be? I have no idea where to start.” I directed the comment about basics to Aella, the memory of my first try with the chain still lingering.

“Of course, Hunter. It has been some time since I wielded a blade with my hands, but I believe I recall the basics.” A rare grin spread over his dark face and I snorted, picturing the Apex of the Infinite Blades fumbling about with a sword.

“I’ll try to show you the basics of the chain, but you should know that it will not be useful until you grow quite skilled with it. It may be hard for you.” Aella’s comment held the feeling of a concession, and I nodded my thanks, ignoring the last part of what she said.

“And the phoenix?”

“Where I come in, that is.” I turned to Sonja, my eyebrows raised; was she going to be coming with me?

“The only phoenix Elder known to us, resides within the Sha Forest, which is from where my Apprentice hails. Darina, will be accompanying you, as will Raaf’s brother, Reff.”

“What?!” Both Darina and I spoke at the same time, with Reff following up with “In glad surprise, I am?”

I turned to look at the red-eyed apprentice, who was completely ignoring me in favour of her master. I was glad Reff was coming, he was my friend, but spending any length of time with the infuriating brat did not sound fun.

“We deemed returning the egg too important for a lone Core stage. You stand a better chance together. And you two, it seems have something in common.” Sonja pointed between Darina and myself, and she finally looked at me, vague horror on her face, before turning back.

“What could I have in common with him, Master?”

“Appears, it would, that he has stumbled upon the same sort of extended energy system I assisted you in creating, Darina. It will be beneficial to spar against somebody with the same advantages as you, once he reaches the Path stage.”

We looked at each other, and I could read the same shock on her face that I knew to be painted on mine. It made sense, that an Apex focused on healing could assist in creating extended channels, but I will admit that it was a little annoying that the advantage I had been thinking would allow me to eventually beat her was in fact shared by her.