“Useless,” Orrin muttered for the hundredth time. Daniel had spent all of ten minutes trying to plan before taking Garret and Emily to the Catazano training grounds to see what they could do.

“We do need to know what kind of fighting skills they have,” Madi said, trying to play mediator again. “It’s not like either of us would stand much of a chance against outright fighters like them. Daniel can at least stand his own.”

That at least was true. Emily’s fire magic was enough to keep Daniel back, with every additional minute adding heat to the mage’s body. She let off bursts of fire so strong that the sand at her feet had been turned into a thin layer of glass. She brought out a small staff, nothing more than a walking stick really, and proceeded to beat Daniel about the head with it when he got close enough.

Garret was an even worse a match-up for Daniel. While the [Hero] liked to close in for a fight, Garret skipped back and loosed arrows that just appeared in his hands. He’d explained in between rounds that he could use magic to create an arrow out of any surface his body touched. Even his densely compacted sand arrows packed enough punch to knock Daniel back a step. The few times Daniel had gotten close enough to strike, the archer had deftly dodged every swing.

“You telegraph your attacks with your feet and the ground tells me where to move,” he’d said with a shrug and a wink at Daniel’s frustration. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, though. You’re like five levels below me.”

Like Orrin, Daniel had gained an extra level and was sitting at level thirteen; however, all his physical stats were double-boosted by his [Summoned Hero] skill. So, although his strength was at twenty-four, he hit like it was at forty-eight.

Daniel

Hero Level 13

HP: 280/300

MP: 70/80

Strength: 24

Constitution: 15

Dexterity: 13

Will: 8

Intelligence: 10

Orrin sighed and leafed through his bestiary, reading one entry after the other. Madi had promised to look into traps and had a few books from her father’s library on the small table; however, she had stopped reading a few pages in and watched the spectacle of the Daniel getting trounced.

“Steel-clawed Toad,” Orrin read aloud to grab her attention. “They hide underwater and jump on a person as they walk by. They use their claws to shred you from behind and then leap off, back into the water.”

“You’ve got [Monster View],” Madi muttered, distracted as Garret stretched between rounds. He had taken off his shirt, a totally unnecessary move as it was actually quite cold out. “We’ll know where they are before they jump.”

Orrin groaned. “You do realize that I can’t be expected to keep watch the entire time. We should have plans ready.”

Madi turned at the frustration in his voice. “Orrin, I swear I get it. I want to be prepared, too.” She waved her hand at the training ground as Emily and Garret faced off against each other, letting Daniel have a small break. “But you have to know what they can do. Garret is great at dodging close, but Daniel already figured out a quick jump throws him off. These Steel Toads would be able to get the drop on him. His skills only let him read the ground. Emily’s fire would probably be weak against them, too. Which means you would be our best defense.”

She put her hand on his and gently closed the bestiary. “We don’t have to leave right away. We have time to plan. It’ll be all right.”

Orrin stared into her dark eyes and saw her concern. He let out a breath he’d been holding and felt a little of his stress fall away.

Madi smiled.

“That’s match,” Daniel yelled and threw a bucket of water on Garret. His pants had caught fire and had some very interesting holes.

“Damn it, Emily,” Garret’s normally smooth voice was hoarse from the smoke. “I liked this outfit.”

Emily smirked and shrugged. “You’re not even wearing half of it.”

Orrin let out a laugh. Garret’s eyes narrowed and he pointed his bow. “I think it’s time for some new opponents.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Madi isn’t much lower in level than you. She’s actually decent with her spear, too. Are you su-“

“No, Orrin.” Garrett winked and crooked a finger. “Want to go a round?”

The past few weeks had been spent with a lot of downtime. Daniel’s incessant need to prove himself meant Orrin had been used as a training dummy. He had started to develop his own style in battles: he ran away. His fighting was subpar and without wasting some points on a weapon skill, he wouldn’t have a chance actually holding his own against his friend. So, he’d cheated. Of course, Daniel still won the fights but Orrin counted getting away for a minute or two as a win. He didn’t need to take down the things they fought, only survive until someone else did.

“Orrin is more support,” Daniel chided. “He’s there to keep us going and help us hit faster but I don’t think a-“

“Let’s do it,” Orrin spoke over Daniel, feeling a wave of heat go down his back. “It’s probably best for them to see me in action, right?” He turned to Madi. She smiled and nodded at him.

Daniel threw his hands in the air. “Why does no one listen to me? I’m the [Hero], right? That should count for something.”

Despite his muttering, Daniel moved out of the training yard and sat at the table next to Madi. Emily stood close by and watched as Orrin moved out into the sand.

“Weapon?” Garret quirked his head.

Orrin summoned an [Ice Sword] and held it awkwardly to his side. Garret nodded and touched his bow to his forehead, the sign he was ready to go.

“Uhm, what kind of training do you want to do?” Orrin asked sheepishly. “I mean, how do you want to score things?”

Garret smiled evilly. “First one to beg?”

Orrin could almost hear Emily roll her eyes. “First to incapacitate or draw blood,” the fire mage yelled from the sidelines.

Orrin nodded and put his sword to his head. Fuck that’s cold.

Garret tapped his head with his bow and darted back, pulling a sand arrow out of the air and firing it at Orrin. Except Orrin had cast [Camouflage] and with a hop to the side, the arrow missed.

Garret growled and shot two more arrows, one glancing off Orrin’s arm. The [Ward] he’d put up swallowed the damage.

I could [Inverse] some dexterity debuffs and try to put him down, Orrin thought as he jumped back and forth, dodging arrows. Garret’s skills didn’t make the arrows fly any faster and Orrin had had the foresight to boost his own stats before agreeing to the fight. His body moved quickly and he was gaining a little more familiarity to his body’s increased reactions after all the practice Daniel had put him through.

“I can still see you when you land, Orrin,” Garret pulled his bowstring back and waited. “Damn, that spell hurts my eyes.”

“I know, right?” Daniel said from the table. He was actually reading the bestiary. Orrin was stunned and took another arrow to the chest.

“Hit you,” Garret said triumphantly, letting his bow dip down. “That should have drawn blood. The round is mine.”

Orrin canceled [Camouflage] and held his arms open, brushing some sand from his shirt. “Sorry. I’m still in it.”

[Ward] was almost gone. That hit was actually really strong and with his low constitution, it was actually a bit worrying. But the shock on Garret’s face was worth it.

Orrin cast a [Lightstrike] and watched the archer take the hit without flinching. He frowned and pulled back for another shot.

Orrin didn’t give him the chance. He ended the fight in what Daniel called cheating and inversed Garret’s dexterity until the man slumped to the ground. His arrow disappeared as it fell from his fingers.

“Incapacitated, right?” Orrin looked over at Emily, who had a stricken look on her face.

“He’s alive,” Madi said quickly, standing up. “Orrin, can you let him up, please?”

Orrin buffed Garret until the man got to his feet. “You’ll be back to normal in a few minutes. It’s temporary.”

Emily let out a half-gasp, half-cry. “I thought… he went down like his strings were cut and… what was that?”

“Cheating,” Daniel said from over the book. “He cheated. He’s disqualified and Garret wins.”

“Shut up,” Madi laughed. “Orrin won.”

Garret’s face, normally filled with cheer and confidence, was pale. “I couldn’t move an inch. It felt like every bit of my dexterity had been drained away.”

“It was.” Madi’s smile grew wider. “Orrin’s our secret weapon. I know he told you he can increase stats, but he can also debuff them. That’s what he calls it when he takes them away. I’ve watched him make monsters fall to the ground. As long as we are smart and don’t rush into anything stupid, he can make anything we fight weaker and slower.”

Emily and Garret looked at Orrin with renewed respect.

“The match is yours, then,” Garret said, his smile returning. “Emily, your turn.”

“I’m not stupid,” she replied. “If he zeroes out my Will, I’ll have a mana headache. No thank you.”

Garret and Emily didn’t stop asking questions though and Orrin ended up explaining [Camouflage] to them. Garret scoffed at his [Lightstrike] but Emily shushed him.

“It’s not the strongest spell, but one that a lot of low-level mages take. Sometimes, just hitting something can disrupt their concentration or a skill.”

Madi was eventually dragged into a sparring match with Emily. Emily kept the upper hand. After Madi missed a [Shimmersight], Emily stopped the fight.

“We need to work on your aim,” she said, shaking her red robe to let some of the cool air in. “You could have won. Where did you train?”

Madi squatted on her heels, breathing hard. Fighting with Emily meant a lot of running away from fire. “I’ve had a few tutors, but nothing formal for magic fighting. My father didn’t want me to be an adventurer.”

Emily put out a hand and helped her stand. “Let’s leave the boys to the books. Come with me.”

Madi glanced quizzically at the three males, finally worn out and reading. Orrin waved as they left.

Daniel blinked hard and rubbed his eyes a few minutes later. “Where did Madi and Emily go?”

Garret shuffled a few pages of notes on the growing stack in the middle of the table. Orrin took a peek and saw the flirtatious man’s research skills were actually quite good.

“Emily is probably bragging about her formal training and giving vague and unhelpful hints on how she can improve her magic,” Garret said as he stretched his arms over his head, cracking his back. He smiled when he caught Orrin watching.

Orrin ducked his head back into his book, reading about Venostamen, a walking two-foot-tall flower with teeth. It could blend into its surrounding and would strike once a target was close enough. The venom it injected could take down a level twenty adventurer in a day.

“Why couldn’t she tell us, too?” Daniel asked, completely missing Orrin’s blush to his relief. “Not that I use too much magic, but it could be helpful to know.”

Garret grabbed a pitcher of lemonade from the middle of the table and refilled his empty glass. “Emily is weird about what information she gives out. She trained at the Sanerris School for two years. The rumor is Odrana will send somebody after you if you try teaching their secrets.”

“Do they really?” Orrin looked up from his book.

Garret took a few loud swallows before answering. “No idea, but Emily still won’t give me any help. I think she helped Tin, though.”

He stood up after finishing his drink. “Listen, this has been fun but I’m expected elsewhere this evening and I need to change.” He gestured to his burnt outfit with a smirk in Orrin’s direction.

“That’s fine,” Daniel said and leaned back on his chair. “Orrin’s probably going to make me read all night. You should swing back by in the morning. I think that’s when we are going to hit the Guild’s storeroom. I know Madi explained it, but try and think of some stuff you might want to pick up.”

Garret tapped the table and let a wooden arrow appear in his hand. “I’m usually pretty sufficient on my own. See you two in the morning.”

Orrin frowned in thought as Garret left. Daniel caught the look.

“What?”

“I think… I think I have an idea to make Garret more powerful.”