"So, I know I signed on for this, but what do we do when we actually get into a fight? By the sound of it, everything here is five times our level." Jaden spoke up. The trio had been walking for over an hour without incident. Contrary to the awkward physical closeness he had enjoyed with Niko before, there was now a sense of distance, as she kept Lois between the two of them.

Lois glanced over her shoulder, and smiled at him. "Well, Niko has brute force, I've got my karate skill, and you've got…" she trailed off. A moment later she shrugged, and turned her head forward again.

"Haha very funny." Jaden grumbled at her.

“I suppose it is a legitimate question.” Lois conceded a moment later.

“We should spend a day training our mana.” Jaden suggested. “We allocate it all to free mana, and cast spells as often as we can.”

Lois nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.” She punctuated this statement with a growl.

“Um, did you just growl?” Jaden asked in confusion.

“No, I thought that was you being a creepy flirt again?” She told him, equally confused.

“Big cat.” Niko said. “Nice cat?” The growl sounded again. “Not nice cat.” She decided, putting her fists up in a poor imitation of a boxing stance.

Jaden and Lois turned to find something similar to a large black panther, but with two extra legs growing from its back. Hesitantly, backing up slowly, Jaden activated his game mat. Magically, his deck of cards appeared in the game mat, and he began drawing cards as the six-legged panther growled at them.

“I think it just wants us out of its territory. Maybe if we leave, it’ll leave us alone.” Lois suggested nervously.

“No, it’s just deciding whether we’re a threat.” Jaden said authoritatively. “My dad used to go to Africa, and hunt lions.”

Lois glanced at him with a look of disgust. “Really? That’s horrible.”

Jaden nodded. “You’re preaching to the choir. My dad was a testerone-popping asshole. Why do you think I became a stoner card game nerd? Anyway, focus. If you look away, it’s a sign of weakness.”

Indeed, the panther’s growls had increased in intensity, reaching the level of a low roar. Jaden glanced at his hand, and chose his first card. “I play Angry Hairball.” He muttered, placing the card into a monster slot.

“Doesn’t sound very strong.” Lois muttered back.

“It can immobilize an opponent’s monster for one turn. Use the time to get some damage in.” He responded.

She nodded grimly, and whispered the plan to Niko as he channeled half his mana pool to activate the card. From the air, a ball of fur emerged. Instead of the cute appearance he was used to seeing from the holographic projectors, it looked more like a wild, unkempt mess of tangled fur. It hissed angrily at the panther. The panther, deciding it was done evaluating the curious new creatures that had invaded its territory, charged Lois.

Before it could reach her, Jaden gave a mental command to the furball, causing it to shoot the panther with tendrils of hair. Wrapping the panther in the tendrils, Jaden watched as the panther viciously tore to get free, only to have the tendrils continuously reform around it. Jaden also noticed a small window above the furball which read

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2/3

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Since he had invested three mana to begin with, Jaden decided it was acting like a hitpoint value. While he was absorbed thinking about this, Lois and Niko charged the panther. Both women rained blows on the panther as hard and fast as they could. Jaden was brought back to full attention when a card flew from the deck into his hand. He was thrilled to find exactly what he needed.

“I play the land card, Plains!” He shouted dramatically, as he poured the last of his mana into the card in a desperate gamble.

“Good for you!” Lois called back sardonically, still pounding at the disabled panther.

Feeling sheepish, Jaden watched as a pile of dirt fell from the sky, and landed in front of him. It wasn’t a massive pile, but he was happy to learn it did the exact thing he had hoped.

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Plains level 3

1/3

Will regenerate internal mana pool, a full charge every thirty seconds. This mana may then be used by the summoner. Lasts until the end of battle.

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“There we go!” He exclaimed, as the deck placed another card into his hand. Right at that moment, the furball ran out of mana, and the card disappeared from the mat, reappearing in the section marked as “Monster Graveyard.” Lois and Niko both scrambled to retreat as the panther broke through the quickly dissolving strands of hair, charging them with lightning speed. Jaden siphoned the single point of mana from the plains card, and used it to fuel his next card.

“Broken Mirror!” He shouted. A jagged piece of reflective glass appeared in front of the panther. It bowled through the mirror as if it was tissue paper with only a slight hitch in its step; proving Jaden’s fears that if the difference between his mana usage, and the opponent’s power was too great, his cards would be ineffective.

By a combination of training, and the slight hesitation his card created, Lois managed to dodge out of the panther’s path. Even with her nimble roll though, the panther still scored a slight gash across her back.

“Gah!” Lois screamed in pain.

Niko roared, and charged the panther as it turned to end Lois’s life.

Thinking quickly, Jaden played an equipment card onto Niko as she charged; draining the points he had invested in intelligence to fuel the spell.

“Battle Raiments activate!” He shouted. Hard armor sprouted around Niko, covered in sharp spikes that served to improve both her offense, and defense.

The panther turned to intercept Niko’s charge, and attempted to bat her with its claws. While the claws did score the metal, it recoiled in pain when the paw hit a spike. Though the mana invested in the armor was insufficient to cause true damage, the pain inspired the panther to back away. Looking back and forth at Jaden and Niko, it made a chuffing sound. Before they could react, it disappeared into the darkness of the world shard.

“Is it over?” Lois asked, pulling herself to her feet. “Why did it run away?”

“Predators don’t fight duels to the death. They pick weak-looking targets they can kill for an easy meal. Once the fight lasted more than a few seconds, and we caused it pain, we weren’t worth the effort anymore.” Jaden recited as if reading from memory.

“I’m surprised you know so much, even if your dad did hunt lions.” Lois commented, dusting herself off.

Jaden sighed. “Ya, well, he thought it would make me a man to teach me the laws of the jungle or whatever. Basically, he dragged me halfway around the globe so he could tell me scary stories about all the ways wild animals could eat me if I wasn’t careful.”

“Sounds rough.” Lois said sympathetically.

“Ya, I cut ties with him the moment I turned eighteen. My parents had split custody so I had to spend time with him until then, but as soon as I could, I got him out of my life. Actually, I don’t think I ever talked to him again.” Jaden looked away from her gaze, feeling slightly vulnerable.

“Your papa, my papa, the same?” Niko asked, also avoiding eye contact.

“No, he never hit me except the occasional spanking. He was just an asshole. He was a pro wrestler when I was a baby, but I guess he got addicted to roids, and they turned him into a lunatic. Maybe he already was a lunatic, who knows?” Jaden shrugged.

Lois nodded thoughtfully. “Alright, enough daddy issues guys, lets get going.” She said with what sounded like forced flippancy.

“If that was one of the weaker enemies, I definitely want to stop and train for a while.” Jaden said firmly.

“Yes, train.” Niko nodded.

Lois sighed. “Fine. Lets get to it then.”