***The Infernal Plane of Lust***

***Amon***

Kirnok was a dutiful and very effective demon who would suffer absolutely no waste of time. The moment we left Ebandon's office he had us line up and follow him with quick marching steps as if we had joined some mortal plane's military. A few minutes later, all of us had signed standard contracts for new recruits, a normal procedure for those who were on trial for Ebandon's Warband.

Then we went on a run through a seemingly endless warehouse and he loaded each of us with a huge pile of basic equipment which we placed in our spacial storage items. Nonperishable food, weapons, armour, and other equipment was handed to us as if it was trash. Admittedly, nothing we were issued was enchanted, but neither was it of bad quality.

And when I said that the warehouse was endless, I meant that I couldn't see the end of it. There were piles and piles of stuff and imps with despairing expressions trying their best to sort them out. Assuredly, all of it was loot that the warband had taken from their defeated enemies. If there hadn't been a section that was dedicated to equipping newcomers, I was certain that we could have spent days in there.

Once that was over, he taught us the layout of the warband's barracks and had us register to the Anima Stone which was located at the end of the central corridor. From there, a wide side corridor led to the living quarters where we were assigned our personal living rooms which were small, but functional and clean.

It went on with a short tour through the teaching facilities where we would also have mission briefings – should the warband call on our services. But Kirnok insisted that we shouldn't expect to be called until we had proven ourselves to our tutors.

Uphir was the first to ask an important question. “What should we do if we get a summons from one of our mortal contracts?”

Kirnok shrugged while he led us down yet another corridor. “There is no haste with your education. You are free to take any contract to gather souls as long as you are here in HQ. Your training will take some time, so there is no hurry or great loss if you disappear for a few days. After all, the best way to become stronger is experience. But please avoid contracts that take you off-plane for months or years as long as you are still on trial. And no taking contracts while you are on a mission. That would get you into serious trouble with Ebandon himself.”

He halted in front of a door and turned to face us. “As for ending your trial-period, you will need the recognition of a tutor and earn a mastery which will be added to your profile.” Kirnok gestured at other doors which had little signs, marking their purposes. “Warrior training, Assassin training, Alchemy...” he trailed off and gestured down a very, very long corridor with many doors. “And other stuff... you can see that the warband seeks to hone a wide area of skills that would be important on a mission.

“We take care that each of the training rooms is staffed by a master of the field at all times. You need the recognition of at least one combat-oriented tutor before you can go on a real mission, but having more masteries naturally makes you more important to the warband and increases your status. The more masteries you have in your profile, the likelier it is that Ebandon chooses you for a profitable mission. So, don't slack off just because you manage to get through one class. With only one mastery you might be a recognized member of the warband, but you will also never be seen as more than a grunt.”

Kirnok opened the first door which had the label 'Magical Combat'. “Those of you who rely heavily on magic, you can train here for the rest of the day. Don't forget that there are other magic-oriented classes to learn from once you got your butts kicked. The rest is with me!”

He ran on and the rest of the group followed, leaving Kitia, Jebril, and me behind.

I scratched my belly, wondering whether I should really stay in this so-called 'class'. It wasn't as if I am completely useless in physical combat since I had quite a few souls with knowledge of it. But I had already proven that I leaned more strongly towards the magical arts. When Kirnok got going, I was afraid that this would develop into an adult version of my life in the hatchery, but I was fine with learning when I could do it at my own pace.

Jebril was the first to risk her neck by looking through the door that had been opened for us. She stepped inside and once I saw that she didn't spontaneously combust, I followed with Kitia behind me.

Once all of us were inside, I had barely a second to gape at the tremendously huge training hall that stretched out in front of us before the door slammed shut behind Kitia.

And it was a training hall, with a sturdy metallic floor and lights on a distant ceiling.

Our path of retreat was closed, but I still couldn't take my eyes away from the wonder of spacial magic that this training hall represented. It was a huge cubic space, big enough to fit the entire town of Irkos inside it. I had already suspected in the warehouse that Ebandon's headquarters utilized spacial magic, but this well-lit hall was the proof.

A lone, insectoid demon sat a few metres away, waiting for us while he smoked on a pipe, expelling rings of blue smoke every now and then. He was sitting on a stool and had a small table with a tea set next to him. I shuddered as an unbidden memory of a spider without a tongue came to mind. Insects... such creatures were just unnatural! He even had six arms! Eight limbs in total if I counted the legs too.

The demon tapped his pipe onto the ground, extinguishing it in the process. Then it vanished with the distinct light of a stored away item. Then he introduced himself with many clicks and a lot of scraping with his mandibles. “Greetings, my name Ex'zibril, and you three seem to be new blood.”

“Kitia.”

“Jebril.”

“Amon,” I followed suit and introduced myself.

“Very well!” Ex clapped two of his six hands together. “Let's start with what you guys believe yourselves to be talented with. I am listening.”

I looked at Kitia, and Kitia looked from me to Jebril, passing on the ball.

Our newest member, and incidentally my newest minion, huffed upon realizing that she was the lowest in the pecking order. She stepped forward and bowed without taking her eyes off Ex, seemingly unsure. “I am a djinn, and I specialize in wish-magic and a little bit of runefire. Although, I am more of a support and not really a fighter. With my old troop, I always supported from as far in the rear as possible.”

Ex nodded and gestured for her to go on. “That sounds interesting. Try your luck and attack me.”

The djinn seemed unsure, but when our tutor made no move to strike first she summoned a jingle and shook it. Blue flames bloomed from the round instrument that looked a little bit like a buckler. It also had a handle in the middle which made the resemblance even stronger.

Jebril raised the jingle while shaking it in a musical rhythm and directed blue magic towards Ex who just sat there and took it.

Ex looked down at himself as the flames settled around him and seemed to seep into his body until they were all gone. “That is one interesting jinx. I assume it will activate as soon as I desire something? I just don't get why you would use that as an attack spell.”

Jebril scratched the back of her head. “Weeell, because it backfires most of the time. And all I am really good for is support.”

“So if I point at you, and really wish you to burn...” Ex pointed one of his many hands at Jebril and a little red spark shot forth on a jittery course.

“Eep!” Jebril threw herself to the ground together with the rest of us. The magic went haywire above our heads, dancing here and there before it returned on an arc towards Ex. The spider demon didn't get up from his seated position and just slapped the spell aside with an incantation of his own – upon which it exploded impressively about fifty metres away.

Kitia shot Jebril a glare. “Never – ever – buff me with that magic of yours.”

Jebril fingered her jingle. “No, of course not! My buffs are good! It's just my wish-magic that always goes horribly wrong.” Then an evil smile came to her face. “But it's always fun to watch mortals kill themselves with their wishes.”

“I see, so no defences to speak of,” Ex concluded when it was clear that we were done. “A pure support? We will have to remedy that, but it's not a totally lost cause. Step to the side and let the others try before I think of ways for you guys to improve yourselves.”

Jebril distanced herself and Kitia tried her luck. She incanted a speed-buff and twirled her hands, summoning a spike of icy, cold magic that was pure white. The spell shot at Ex with a trail of snowflakes while she already dodged sideways and ran forward, summoning two more spikes and a white blade of magic with a white tower shield. Both looked like fractured ice and bled a cold mist as the water in the air froze by mere vicinity.

To top it off, she summoned the same type of plate armour directly onto her skin which made her look like some winter queen.

Ex raised three hands and caught the spikes of magical ice with little barriers that appeared right in front of his palms. The magical attacks shattered as Kitia reached him and brought her blade down, only for it to be caught between the barriers of a fourth and fifth palm.

Then I realized how long Ex's arms truly were when he leaned forward and grabbed Kitia's ankle.

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Her body glowed in the same gold of Ex's barriers as she was brought up and down behind him as if her body weighed nothing. Though, somewhere on the downwards arc gravity must have re-established itself with force, because Kitia slammed face-first into the ground, losing both her sword and shield.

The weapons immediately dissolved into motes of white energy once she no longer supported them with her will.

Ex brought her back up and threw Kitia in a high arc. She twirled like a doll while she flew and pieces of white armour flaked away, showing that the entire breastplate and the front of the helmet had shattered upon impact.

The demoness landed with a grunt and rolled until she lay next to Jebril with her eyes looking up at the ceiling. She snorted and a spray of blood covered her chin and neck before she tried to stem the flow with her hands, upon which the rest of her armour shattered into motes of white energy.

“Can you do healing too?” Ex asked the stunned Jebril who looked down at Kitia in a stupor.

The djinn kneeled down and touched Kitia, channelling healing magic into her. “Ew, that is bad! Hold still, your face is broken! Please, try to breathe through the mouth...”

I pulled my attention away from the females and towards the spider demon who was waiting for me. “Maybe I should try another class?”

Ex shrugged. “You must know what suits you. Taking classes is completely voluntary, but I promise that it is very rewarding in the end. Kitia already learned that getting close to a mage isn't always the smartest move.”

“So I will just stay at range,” I replied and summoned a mana barrier that encapsulated me before I went through my options. This was just a training lesson, so I definitely didn't want to reveal my armour or my dagger. Instead, I reached for my dimensional bag and pulled out the staff that Kirnok had issued me in the warehouse among other weapons.

If Ex decided to move and get close and personal, I could whack him with it from a safe distance.

Then I added ten throwing stars to the mix and levitated them with telekinesis. But instead of shooting them straight at the tutor, I decided to attack him from all angles at once. My projectiles surrounded him like little drones and then I went for the kill.

At least, that was what was supposed to happen.

Instead, Ex just vanished and the throwing stars sliced through empty air, two of them colliding with each other with a loud 'clang'.

I was still staring dumbfounded when something broke my barrier from behind and kicked me in the butt. It would have been a very undignified situation if my Infernal Shield hadn't activated and deflected Ex's foot at the last moment.

Nonetheless, I felt a substantial drain on my power just to prevent the tutor from breaking that second layer of defence. And I didn't even get a pause before he shoved his palms at me, slamming his own barriers into my automatic Infernal Shield.

Any move I tried was immediately countered or rebuffed as I retreated, hoping to get a pause with some distance. I swung my staff in a vain attempt to force him back, but Ex was a relentless pain in the ass that stayed within arm's reach and raining down strikes no matter what I did.

The drain on my mana reserves was substantial, caused by the repeated activations of my Infernal Shield. There was no way for me to withstand the repeated assaults for much longer, so I summoned my wings and took off, but even flying proved fruitless, because the tutor simply followed me into the air with a levitation spell.

In a last-ditch effort, I threw all my mana at him and solidified it with my mana manipulation, trying to box him in and crush his body.

Ex vanished again from within my impromptu cage and a moment later I felt him whack the back of my head with enough force to make me fear that my horns had come loose. Everything spun as I shot to the ground like a fly that was struck by a swatter.

So pathethic...

An undetermined time later, someone petted my cheek and I slowly regained my wits. “Wh- Wha?” I lulled and realized that someone was healing me. Had Isabella snuck up on me again while I was sleeping?

“Master Ex'zibril hit you good,” Kitia explained while looking down at me. “I have never seen someone pass out with open eyes. Normally, those who lie down with their eyes open are goners.”

I sat up, holding my head. It felt like I had partaken in a game of whack-a-mole. Only that I was the mole. “I hope the migraine will go away, or else I might be tempted to go for a respawn.”

“It should in a minute or two. Just give me a little more time and don't move,” Jebril explained while holding onto my shoulder. “I fixed up Kitia just fine after she got her face broken.”

“My face wasn't broken!” the now again pretty demoness complained, though there were still blood-splatters on the front of her shirt.

Jebril gave her a sour look but allowed the matter to rest since Kitia obviously had a hangup about the fact that her pretty face had been broken.

Then I spotted Ex sitting right next to us and recoiled. Not only because he was a spider without a tongue, but also because he had proven to be a dangerous opponent who could end me if he chose to.

“Now that we are all awake, we can continue the lesson.” The tutor lost no time as soon as he judged me to be back in possession of my wits.

He turned to face Jebril. “First of all the djinn. I didn't give you a beating because you admitted freely that you aren't an offensive combatant. That doesn't excuse not being able to defend yourself.” Ex pointed at his head. “Search your souls for defensive strategies that suit you. Or try to copy Amon and Kitia. I won't let you through this lesson until you can withstand my attacks for at least half an hour.”

“Half an hour!?” Jebril pointed at Kitia and me. “But you steamrolled them in like ten seconds flat!”

“True, but they will also have to improve. They aren't that much ahead of you,” Ex replied without mercy. “I don't expect any of you to win, but I expect you to not be mere victims if you encounter someone like me.”

“Someone like you?” I asked.

“Yes, someone who can challenge a Demon Lord and walk away to tell the tale.” Ex pushed out his chest, seeming proud of himself. “There are a few of us in Ebandon's Warband since not all of those with power desire to rule over the weak masses. That's why we are so good at what we do.”

I vividly remembered parts of the one-sided beating that Ostreios gave me, and decided that if Ex's teachings would get me to a level that allowed me to fight back, then a few dents in my skull were a small price to pay.

Ex continued, “As you are now, all of you would be squished like insects once a stronger combatant appeared on the battlefield. I think Amon and Kitia could hold their own against the average rubbish of warrior demon out there, but anything above that is beyond them.

“Jebril, even if you decide to become pure support, you have to be able to stay alive without ten men protecting you. Go over there and search your souls for an hour. Decide which style of defence you prefer before we talk again. If you don't come up with something by then, I will trade you a soul that has decent knowledge about barrier magic.”

It seemed like this tutor had no intention of teaching us in an old-fashioned way. Like, actually teaching us a skill. Instead, he expected us to utilize the knowledge of our souls to its full potential.

Jebril slinked off and Ex turned his attention to Kitia. “You already realized that magical combat isn't just long-range engagement. Your summoned weapons and armour were decent, but you lacked the skill to wield them properly and your physical properties are abysmal for this style of combat, which was the only reason why I was able to land such a devastating blow on you. A blademaster would have never given me such an opening. Search your souls for some weapon master and utilize his knowledge. As for your weak body, see to it if one of your souls knows inner mana manipulation. It's a fairly common skill and extremely useful even if you don't master it. I can trade it if you don't have it.”

Ex's insectoid eyes turned to me. “As for you, take off all those magical items for training. In war, everything is fair game, but relying on artefacts won't do you any good in the long run. At worst, they will stunt your growth.

“Your choice of telekinesis and mana manipulation is decent, and once you master them you will have a wide range of options with your offensive capabilities. Unfortunately, without your items, you are a glass cannon. Even more so than Kitia, who was at least still conscious once I taught her a lesson. That automatic shield can save you, but it drains your power too quickly since it doesn't seem capable of deflecting attacks. Each time, you have to absorb the full force of the attack and that won't go well unless you work on having a tremendously huge mana pool.

“Look up whether one of your souls knows inner mana manipulation, which I recommend for any magic user to at least know. Additionally, you can look into using telekinesis not just on objects, but on your own body. I don't use it myself like that, but I have seen mages mimic the strength and defensive capabilities of skilled warriors. At last, using the throwing stars to attack from all angles was smart, but you were far too slow. There are mental training techniques that allow you to multi-task much faster or even speed up your mind and perception. The style of combat which you are trying to emulate will require at least one such technique, if not multiple ones that can be combined.”

And with that, Ex got up and walked back to his stool where he sat down and summoned his pipe.

I looked to Kitia, who was mumbling to herself and pulling on her hair, apparently bemoaning her own stupidity. “There are techniques like that? How did I not know!?”

“Did you ever have the time to sift through all your souls' memories and think of possible combinations for all their skills?” I asked, knowing for certain that I hadn't had the time. Searching my memories for a certain skill was one thing once I knew that it existed, but looking through memories without knowing what to look for was tedious and time-consuming.

It was essentially the same problem that Betsy had with her internet. Theoretically, she had the knowledge of her entire world at her fingertips, but just having that knowledge without the ability to apply or to know what to look for was worthless. Just like a demon, she was suffering from information overload.

“You might not, but I did!” Kitia whisper-hissed. “I had a few hundred years to think of that! I don't know what is worse, that I have been that ignorant, or that I will likely have to go through another beating before Ex'zibril gives me more suggestions.” Grumbling, she walked a few metres away from me and sat down in a lotus position.

I summoned the throwing stars and the staff back to my side and had them hover through various patterns while I mimicked Kitia and went deep into myself to look for Ex's suggestions.