When we left the bank, my magic teacher led the way to the Magic Guild. After we stepped through the automatic doors and entered the building, I asked her a question. "What's the command word to teleport to the classroom?"

"It's 'locus,'" she answered.

"May I?" I asked.

"Sure," Rijana smiled and held my hand.

The rest of my party held hands and waited.

I thought of the classroom in my mind and said, "locus." My ears popped as I was teleported to a small pocket dimension. It was a floating island encapsulated by an air bubble.

Rijana tapped her staff on the ground to get my attention. "Would you care for a magic duel?" she asked with a grin.

"Sure," I reciprocated her grin. "What are the rules for a magic duel?" I asked. Since it would be the first time I participate in a magic duel, I had no idea what the objective was. For a melee duel, it was three hits regardless of damage inflicted. The match measured skill between the duelists. I suspected a magic duel would also be a test of skills but I wasn't sure how it would be measured. Thankfully, my magic teacher answered this question fully.

"We fight until either spellcaster runs out of Mana and falls unconscious. Or one of us yields or otherwise, can't continue to fight. To make this duel fair, I will limit my spells to the first three tiers," she said.

"That's fine," I nodded. I only had access to first, second, and third-tier spells. Thus, it was more than fair for Rijana, who had access to higher tier spells, to restrict her spell use in this manner.

"We'll watch from the sideline," Kalistra said.

"Huh? I thought we're going to practice ourselves?" Bjoukin asked.

The cat girl shook her head. "We need to help my Liege incorporate his melee and magic skills," she explained. "By observing the match, we can offer him tips and insights afterward."

"Agreed," Van said. "Brother Mulligan needs us. We can train after the magic duel is over."

"Fine," the ranger sighed. He was hoping to test the paladin's skills.

Rijana and I stood ten feet apart. I realized that I was at a disadvantage because I had fewer magic spells than she did. Even if we were limited to the first three tiers of magic. Additionally, my Mana pool was undoubtedly much smaller than hers. That meant I couldn't cast as many spells at her. However, she was vulnerable to melee attacks. The only way I could win this match was to reach her person and attack with my sword. Then she would be at my mercy.

"Shall we begin?" Rijana asked.

"Sure," I replied.

My opponent started chanting a spell.

I caught some of her words and realized that she was casting a Fireball! Talk about starting the duel with a bang! If she hit me with the spell, the duel will be over! I immediately ran toward her. I rejected the notion of trading Fireballs with her because my skill in the Fire Sphere was low and thus, I wouldn't do enough damage to my opponent whereas she will fry me to a crisp with her own Fireball. The only chance I had to survive was to disrupt her spellcasting. I wanted to cast Magic Missile but 10 feet was beyond its range. Thus, I needed to get closer.

Unfortunately, Rijana was able to finish casting the spell before I could interrupt her.

I tried my best to dive out of the path of the incoming Fireball! Dice started rolling in my head and then stopped. "Dexterity check SUCCESSFUL. +50 XP." "-10 Health." Somehow, I went under the fireball. However, I could feel the scorning heat on my back. I saw that I was now just 5 feet away from her.

Rijana grinned and started chanting another spell.

I recognized it as Web. I immediately interrupted with a Magic Missile. "Magic missile SUCCESSFUL. -2 Damage, +25 XP. Condition INFLICTED: Spell interruption. +100 XP."

She scowled and retaliated with her own Magic Missile.

"-2 Health." I ignored the sting on my arm. I kissed my left forefinger and shot an Acid Arrow at her chest. I immediately followed it with Darkness. "Acid arrow SUCCESSFUL. -8 Health, +25 XP." "Darkness SUCCESSFUL. Condition INFLICTED: Blindness. Duration: 60 seconds. +100 XP."

Rijana immediately cast Dispel Magic to disperse the dark sphere surrounding her.

However, by that time I was already within melee range. I had unfastened my scabbard while she was blinded. I jabbed the end of my scabbard at her chest. "-5 Health (HALVED). Condition INFLICTED: Spell interruption. +100 XP."

My opponent frowned as she used her staff to block my next attack. Because she was now engaged in melee combat, the spells that Rijana could cast was rather limited. She tried to throw an Acid Arrow at my face.

I saw her kiss her finger and I knew what she was going to cast next. I immediately activated the Slide Step skill to dodge the arrow and move into her blind spot. "Slide step SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP." I whacked the back of her head. "-10 Health (HALVED). Condition INFLICTED: Stunned. Duration: 5 seconds. +100 XP."

Rijana dropped to her knees.

I winced at her reaction. Apparently, I hit her harder than I wanted to. I dropped my sword and held her to prevent her body from falling to the ground and incurring further injury. "Are you okay?" I asked with alarm.

When the stun effect ended, Rijana took a deep breath. "And this is why it's dangerous to fight a swordsman at melee range," she sighed loudly. "Now I know how your opponents at the Melee Tournament felt," she added with a laugh. She rubbed on the bump on her head.

I covered her hand with mine and cast Minor Heal.

"How long are you going to hold her?" Kalistra grumbled. She poked her claw into my right shoulder.

Ow! I immediately released Rijana. I rose to my feet and then helped Rijana stand up, too. I cleared up my stack of pop-up notifications: "Duel WON. +200 XP." "Minor heal SUCCESSFUL. +10 Health, +25 XP." "-2 Health."

Van clapped his hands. "I was very impressed, Brother Mulligan. You recognized that you were no match for her in a spell duel and decided to bring the fight to her instead. That is the best strategy for a swordsman against a spellcaster," he nodded with approval and smiled.

"You were awesome!" Bjoukia agreed and smiled broadly at me.

I shook my head and rejected their praise out of hand. "If my opponent hadn't limited her spells to the first three tiers, she would have won easily," I pointed out.

The paladin placed a hand on my shoulder. He was not deterred by my modesty. "Brother, this was a friendly duel. Not a life-or-death fight. The point of a friendly duel is to practice your skills without the risk of serious injury either to yourself or to your partner. And you have achieved this objective in this duel." Van turned toward my opponent. "Isn't that right, teacher?" he asked pointedly.

Rijana rose to her feet. "Exactly. During our duel, you were able to recognize my spells from their verbal components. You used your sharp wits to figure out the best counter-strategy on the fly. This isn't something that can be taught, my pupil. Your experience in fighting sword duels has sharpened your mind. And that is your greatest weapon. As you slowly add more spells to your repertoire, you will become more powerful as a magic duelist," she lectured.

I turned my head toward Kalistra to get her opinion.

My instructor in swordsmanship nodded. "It wasn't a bad duel," she conceded grudgingly. Personally, she preferred the purity of the blade. But she had been practicing with a sword ever since she was old enough to hold one in her paws. I, on the other hand, had barely spent over a week with a sword. My progress in swordsmanship was phenomenal considering how little time I had spent in her dojo. But she wasn't going to admit that openly and inflate my oversized ego. She pointed her paw at me. "I want you to sit and meditate. You need to recover your Mana and Stamina. In the meantime, I need to spar with these three." She grinned and her tail dangled happily.

I took a spot further away from Kalistra and sat down. I closed my eyes and began to meditate. However, my Spirit Sense was still activated. And I sensed the aura of Rijana approach me.

"May I?" she asked quietly.

"Sure,"I replied.

My magic teacher sat down next to me and began her own meditation.

With my eyes closed, I tried to follow the sparring match between Kalistra and the others with my Spirit Sense. Since we were in our own pocket dimension by ourselves, it was much easier to follow them purely through their auras.

Van had decided to use his shield and mace for the practice session. And he was overly aggressive in taking Kalistra head on. His aggressive tendencies had gotten in the way of the elven siblings frequently. As a result, the two were unable to do much in this session.

The ever-wily cat girl was dancing to her own tune. She clearly recognized the lack of teamwork on the other side and she was exploiting this by leading Van in the manner that a matador led an angry bull. Kalistra forced the paladin back with vicious strikes. She controlled the angles like the master that she was, and made Van block Bjoukin whenever she tried to swing her blade. Furthermore, Van was a big man and the cat girl easily crouched and used his body to hide from Bjoukin's line of sight. Consecutively, the trio was unable to land a single hit on her.

Finally, Kalistra wore down Van's stamina to zero and he dropped to the ground, temporarily paralyzed. Shortly thereafter, she defeated Bjoukia and then Bjoukin, in that order.

When the match was finished, I released my skill and I was bombarded with a massive headache. I opened my eyes and saw the pop-up message: "Spirit sense SUCCESSFUL. Level 8, +500 XP, -10 Health." I felt something dripping down my nose. I wiped my right palm under it; it was blood. I was having a noseblood because I had activated my Spirit Sense for too long. I quickly cleared my mind and ignored my headache. I recalled Gaea's symbol of a seed and cast Minor Healing on myself. "Minor healing SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP, +10 Health." My noseblood immediately ceased.

"Here," Rijana said as she offered me her pink handkerchief to wipe my bloody nose. "Was it from using your aura sense?" she asked quietly.

I nodded. I wiped my nose the best that I could. "I'll clean the cloth and return it to you," I promised.

"That's fine," she smiled.

Seeing Kalistra approach, I stood up and then helped Rijana stand, too.

"Were you following my sparring session with your bodyguard and the elves?" the cat girl asked.

"With my Spirit Sense, yes," I confirmed her suspicion.

Kalistra's whiskers twitched. She saw and smelled some blood on my face; she realized that I was over-extending myself with this skill. But she also read my notifications and knew that my use of this skill was helping me to gain experience points at a faster rate than training my other skills. Additionally, any damage I incurred could be healed easily. Thus, she said nothing about it. Instead, she decided to change the topic. "Tell me, Lawrence, why I was able to beat them."

I turned my body and faced Van directly. "It's because Van has the fighting style of a berserker and he's unable to engage in a coordinated attack with Bjoukia and Bjoukin," I answered honestly.

"Correct," Kalistra grinned.

The paladin's face reddened with shame. But he kept silent because my assessment was 100% accurate.

"Why do you think Archbishop Wilshire assigned Van to accompany you on your mission?" she continued.

I paused for a moment to consider his reason. "The archbishop expects us to face a horde of undead and he wants to turn Van into a one-man army against the fodder while I focus on taking out the necromancers or lich involved in creating the undead," I speculated. "I will cut off the head while Van handles the body of the snake."

"Correct again," she said.

Bjoukin whistled. He didn't expect the head of a church branch to be so callous in sacrificing a human life this way.

"Humans have different values than elves," Bjoukia said quietly.

"Let's have another match," Kalistra proposed. "This time it will be Lawrence and me against the rest of you. Nothing held back."

Rijana's eyes widened. "You sure about that?" she asked.

"Very," the cat girl's eyes glowed.

"Starting position from 10 feet out?" the mage asked.

"That's fine," Kalistra replied. She grabbed my arm and pulled me back until we were standing 10 feet away from our opponents.

"What's our strategy?" I asked.

"Rush in and close the gap. I'll take out the mage while you cover me. Then we take out the rest together," she instructed.

"Yes, Master!"

"Are you ready?" Kalistra yelled.

"Sure!" Rijana replied.

Kalistra immediately executed the Sprint skill. In an instant, she stood before the mage. Before she could knock out Rijana, however, Van executed a Shield Bash. The cat girl was forced to jump back to avoid the shield.

I ran as fast as I could. When I was within range, I cast Darkness at their location. "Darkness SUCCESSFUL. Condition INFLICTED: Blindness x2. Duration: 60 seconds. Level 2, +200XP." I read the pop-up message and realized that the two humans were blinded by the spell.

I cast Dark Vision and Armor on myself and then entered the dark sphere. "Dark Vision SUCCESSFUL. Duration: 1 hour. +25 XP." "Armor SUCCESSFUL. Duration: 15 minutes. +25 XP."

Now able to see in the dark, I saw that Kalistra had knocked out both Rijana and Van. I saw Bjoukin taking aim at my partner with his bow from a few steps back. I kissed my finger and aimed the Acid Arrow at his face. "Acid arrow SUCCESSFUL. -8 Health, Level 2, +50 XP."

The arrow smacked the ranger in the face and startled him. He released his arrow prematurely and misfired.

Bjoukia became distracted by the arrow, which had almost hit HER.

Kalistra used Slide Step to get behind the fighter and slammed her scabbard against the elf's skull. Her opponent dropped to the ground.

Bjoukin fired 3 arrows at the cat girl at almost point-blank range.

But Kalistra's incredibility dexterity allowed her to snatch all three arrows with her paws. Activating Slide Step again, the cat girl positioned herself behind the Ranger. She grabbed his head and pulled it back. Claws extended, her other paw was placed at his throat. "Yield?" she asked.

"Yield," Bjoukin replied and dropped his bow.

She released him and stepped back.

*Clap-clap-clap*

The three of us turned in unison. We saw a middle-aged looking man dressed in a yellow and red robe.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your match but your allotted hour for this classroom is over. You'll have to leave now." The unknown mage pointed his wand at us and we were instantly teleported back to the entrance of the Magic Guild.

I knelt and carried Rijana in my arms. "Let's take them outside," I ordered. I was unhappy at being tossed from the training hall unceremoniously in this manner. But I also realized that the mage had the authority to do so. Thus, if I tried to protest this poor treatment, then I may be dismissed from the Magic Guild altogether. I took a deep breath and tampered down my anger. The guild had its own rules and I had no choice but to follow them.

Bjoukin carried his sister while Kalistra grabbed Van.

The three of us stepped through the automatic doors and exited the building.

"Let's take them over here," I said and walked further away from the entrance of the Magic Guild. I gently set my teacher down and had her lean back against the wall.

My companions did the same with Bjoukia and Van.

I shook Rijana by her shoulder until she stirred awake.

Bjoukin tried to do the same but Kalistra poked a claw in the shoulder of his sister and Van simultaneously.

The pain jolted both awake.

I winced as the two rubbed their injured shoulders. The evil minx had struck again!

"So, what did the four of you learn from our practice match?" The cat girl's eyes glowed.

"Besides the fact that you two fight dirty?" Van complained while rubbing the bump on the back of his head. The paladin was astonished to learn that his helmet did not prevent him from being knocked out.

"Your teamwork is amazing," Bjoukin admitted grudgingly.

Rijana turned toward me. "It's Lord Mulligan who's amazing. He allowed Kalistra to take the lead and simply supplemented her actions." She held up her hand to forestall my protest. "For example, when Kalistra reached our position, he immediately cast Darkness to blind the humans. She responded by taking out the two of us before I could dispel the dark sphere and thereby, reduced our members by half immediately. This was the key to the match. If Lord Mulligan tried to engage us in swordplay instead, then we could have surrounded them and increased our chances of winning."

As I listened to her, I checked my pop-up message: "Match WON. +500 XP." I smiled. I saw Rijana's questioning look and explained, "I received 500 XP for our 2-on-4 match."

Van pulled himself up and faced me. "Brother Mulligan, would you accept my challenge to a duel?" he asked solemnly.

"Sure," I nodded. I had promised Van a duel and now was as good a time as any to keep my promise to him.

"Let's do it at the Watch Headquarters," he suggested.

"Please lead the way," I requested.

The paladin helped pull Rijana to her feet and then started walking. Ten minutes later, we arrived at the Watch Headquarters. Instead of the main entrance, Van led us through a side door on the left side of the building.

The guard on duty saluted Van, who reciprocated in turn.

Van led us down a hallway and then we reached the training hall of the Watch. There were many Watchmen training either solo or with sparring partners. A few instructors barked out instructions. Van took us to a quiet corner. He removed the tower shield from the hook on his back and placed it on his left arm. He then pulled out the mace from his hip.

I unfastened the scabbard from my belt and held it in two hands.

Kalistra appointed herself as the match judge and stood between us. "Gentlemen, this is a melee duel. Three hits for the win. No lethal skills allowed. I will call out the hits and my judgment is final. Are you ready?"

We both nodded.

The cat girl jumped back and yelled, "Begin!"

As I expected, Van charged me right away. I saw that he was trying to bash me with his shield and stun me. I timed my Slide Step perfectly and he rushed past me. "Slide step SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP." I immediately jabbed him in the back. "-3 Damage (HALVED)."

"Hit!" Kalistra called out.

The paladin reacted with a backhand swing with his mace.

I immediately hopped back. The steel mace passed right in front of my nose!

Sensing my distraction, Van suddenly kicked out his right leg.

I tried to jump over his leg. Dice started rolling in my head and then stopped. "Dexterity check SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP." As my feet returned to the ground, I felt air movement above me! Trusting my instincts, I held up my scabbard on both ends and raised it above my head.

*BAM* The mace came down on my head but couldn't reach me due to my block.

My head still tilted up, I barely registered a dark shadow moving toward me. I dropped backward and fell to the ground.

Van's tower shield passed right over me!

I immediately rolled my body to the left and just avoided the steel ball of the mace slamming on the ground. I continued rolling until I was out of reach. I quickly returned to my feet. I saw that Van was winding his right arm back, preparing to swing his mace at me again. I immediately activated First Strike and jabbed him in the arm. "-4 Damage (HALVED)."

However, my attack proved costly because Van's mace whacked my sword arm. "-20 Health. Condition INFLICTED: Broken arm. -50% Attack."

Kalistra immediately jumped in. She glared at the paladin. "You're not supposed to make a full swing! This is a friendly duel, remember?"

"It's fine. I can continue," I said and gently pushed her out of the way. I was up 2-1 in this duel and I didn't want the match to stop. I felt a sharp pain in my arm and tried to ignore the pain. I could barely hold onto my sword with my right hand. I immediately returned to a two-hand grip.

Van's eyes were still on fire and the cat girl's admonition didn't register with him at all. He was in the throes of his bloodlust! He roared and charged me again!

I stood still. And simply waited for his mace to come down on my head. At the last moment, I activated Disarm. Dice started rolling in my head. "Dexterity check SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP. Disarm SUCCESSFUL. +100 XP."

When the mace flew out of his hand, Van lost his momentum.

I immediately used Slide Step to get behind him and then slammed my scabbard against the back of his helmet. My gambit was rewarded when the deranged paladin finally dropped to the ground. "Slide step SUCCESSFUL. -10 Damage (HALVED). Condition INFLICTED: Unconsciousness. +100 XP." "Duel WON. +200 XP."

My Stamina totally exhausted, I, too, dropped to the ground. I heard applause and then lost unconsciousness.