Duos, they consist of two people that are extremely compatible.

This mostly applies to combat, their abilities might be matching, for example, same martial arts and same affinity. This allows them to have fusion moves, merging powers with the same moves.

Two might be earth elementalist, that can produce tremors in the ground, but combined, able to create earthquakes.

Another type were complementary abilities. They weren’t exactly opposite each other but if used right could be used to boost each other's attack strength.

Like fire and wind. Fire being the destructive part, amplified and spread by the wind. In addition, fire needed a slightly longer preparation time in contrast to other elements.

It was hard to imbue mana in something that constantly changed shape after all. The opposite applied to gusts of wind that could be quickly formed and imbued with mana.

Or they might have contrasting powers, like opposite styles and opposite weapons.

Maybe one can be long distance who deals with enemies from far away and the short range could protect the latter from incoming attacks.

They could consist of a swift and agile yet weak assassin while another would be a strong and energetic berserker, both making up for each other’s weaknesses.

This was the case for me and Asher.

Asher laughed, “It’s been a long time isn’t it?”

I nodded and pulled out brass knuckles from my pocket.

I rubbed its grooves nostalgically.

I haven’t touched these since joining Xira.

In an attempt to hide the fact I was an inexperienced healer who only learnt of it recently, I abandoned all previous ambitions for hand to hand combat and replaced them with vigorous training to become a competent healer. One that would bring glory to Xiras name.

Hah. Look how that worked out.

After a while I was scared if I suddenly revealed that I was a close combatant, and realised that I no longer possessed the same talent as before, then what then?

Would I be ridiculed even more than I already was?

But after the explosion…

I realised that my passion for fighting never died out.

The mere punch in the midst of pure chaos was already a sign for me that living on the frontlines of the battlefield was what I’ve always wanted deep down.

The place on the sidelines, where every warrior turned weak, begging the healer to save his colleague was not for me.

I hated being the one everyone turned to with an injured body in their arms.

And Kaida helped me stop that.

She was the one who told me to go back to my strength.

My hobby.

My lifeline.

The one thing I had already devoted myself to, yet abandoned, blinded by the promise of a Xira admission.

Of course, this didn’t mean I wouldn’t take full advantage of my (currently and most likely forever weak) healing abilities.

I would take and use whatever I had.

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But still…

I grinned and looked into Asher’s eyes.

That was all we needed to understand each other.

We weren’t going back.

To the days I suffered giving up the pursuit of my dreams.

Not even way back to the old days.

To the days where Asher shied away from his talent until it was too late.

Not now, not ever.

It was a fresh new start-

starting from now.

SLAM-

I jumped up and aimed a 360 degree kick to a guard’s face.

Using the boxing weave to dodge an incoming attack from another, I threw a hook at him- knocking him out.

“Sh*t! This is different from the information we received, the blonde-haired and grey-eyed one was supposed to be weak!”

I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a smile that sent shivers down the opponents' spines.

Great. They brought slightly less and weaker guards because of me.

Asher unsheathed his sword and skillfully disarmed a switchblade from a guard.

A second one attacked him from behind but he dropped in a crouch and sweeped the guard who promptly fell on top of another who was rushing up.

Heh. It feels good knowing I was the one who taught him that move.

Feigning an uppercut I used a boxing jab instead, my fists meeting the face of the previously armed guard.

Three people close in.

Well, I guess not all of them are dumb.

Even if I was thought to be weak, the company had enough money to throw a lot of competent people at us.

In unison all three threw some kind of attack my way, ruthlessly aiming at the

I couldn’t dodge because they left no openings.

Instead I took one of the blows to dodge the rest.

BAM.

I fell to my back, clutching my stomach, exaggerating the pain.

Slice- Asher slashed a guard in the back before turning away to face another, leaving me with two opponents.

I performed a kip up *(1) at the same time hitting a guard.

I then proceeded to side step an incoming attack from behind from the other guard and used a jiu jitsu throw to subdue him.

The other guard recovering from the kip up lunged at me but met his temporary end by my fists.

I felt alive, adrenaline pumping through me.

It’s been so long since I fought.

As expected, I was rusty but I…

Smirking I counted the bodies.

“Two more than you Asher, better luck next time.”

I patted his back.

“Hey that’s not fair! I let you have the first two and also faced a Xira student!”

“It’s okay to lose sometimes man, I get you.”

“...You-”

Then he paused for some mysterious reason and just smiled.

???

I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.

But we’ll leave that for later.

Well whatever the reason, in the meantime, we need to check up on Lacey.

We raced down the staircase to the bottom floors, eliminating any enemies on the way and praying for Lacey’s safety.

***

JULIAN’S POV

I silently walked using a sound barrier of air, pondering when to ‘kidnap’ the volunteer.

The elaborate escape plan we made went down the drain.

Screw you…

Professor Kyle just revealed our plan to the other group.

Is that even allowed…?

Amber should really get her ass here.

She’d better be with Lacey or we’ll be screwed.

Hmm.

Should I try to find Lacey too?

Ah. No. Everyone else is probably looking for her anyway.

I continued walking, making up my mind.

According to Lucas, I should actually be the furthest from her.

“Hey!”

Asher’s voice ran through the ear bud,

“What?” I said irritably.

“Elijah said he located our target, meet us at the place he sent you.”

A couple of pings and vibrations from my phone from my pocket informed me he already did.

I raised my brows, Elijah Horton found the target before me?

I guess he’s not too bad after all.

A/N:

*Notes: (1) - A kip-up is an acrobatic move in which a person transitions from a supine, and less commonly, a prone position, to a standing position. It is used in activities such as breakdancing, gymnastics, martial arts, professional wrestling, and freerunning, and in action film fight sequences. (From wiki)

For those confused, a kip-up is just a manveer that helps you stand up after being knocked down