“What the hell?” Zora’s mouth fell agape. Two portals opened on either side of her, and new weapons emerged. They shot the first at her target.

Nil continued his sprint toward Zora. The incoming and prepared projectiles didn’t deter him. Energy Instinct warned him of the arcane effects. He sensed two lightning enchantments, one first and another that felt familiar, but he struggled to place them at first.

It’s sound.

Nil leaped over the first sword. A frost pulse spread across the ground, freezing sections and spreading a deep chill. It covered too large an area for him to have avoided on foot without retreating or completely changing direction. He felt it for a moment on his toes before passing over it. Zora had timed her releases to adjust aim as Nil moved. Being in the air made him an easy target. She fired two more weapons. Nil didn’t need Energy Instinct to identify the enchantment they contained. Lightning danced between the two spears as they flew, chittering and singing like a thousand sparrows.

Sequential blasts from the Source Gauntlets knocked Nil out of their path. He used a third miniature explosive Expend to ensure the trailing lightning didn’t touch him either. Nil couldn’t tell whether Zora had incredible reaction time, was great at predicting and reading movements, or had a spell assisting her. A hammer surrounded by rippling air flew to meet Nil before his feet could touch the ground.

There was no other option. Nil needed to burn himself. He brought his feet together and used Expend. Energy burst from the arches of Nil’s feet. He did his best to contain them but failed. Instead of propelling him in the direction he hoped, it launched him in a diagonal. Another blast through his right hand brought his flight under control. When Nil landed, he had no choice but to stop. It still took a brief moment of focus to switch to Absorb. Zora had fired another sonic hammer at him.

Even though Nil suffered no injury, his teeth still rattled. It was another instance of Brutal Battery not obeying the laws of physics. He successfully Absorbed the force behind the attack but still suffered because of the sound waves. There was a new barrage of weapons coming toward Nil. He dropped down low and shot forward, letting the first couple fly over his head. Every stride brought him closer to Zora. The focus in her eyes and sweat running down her face told Nil that the woman wasn’t sure whether she could stop him.

Zora’s concerns proved valid. She sprouted a wall of weapons to block Nil, and a three-finger blade cleaved open a path. He was less than a couple of meters from the mage when a spear burst from a portal at her feet and shot at Nil’s chest. He skidded to a stop and supercharged toughness but failed to activate Absorb in time. Fortunately, the weapon had a blunted tip, and Zora held it back. The blow blocked the air out of his lungs and knocked him off his feet. He landed on his bottom, coughing violently.

“Seriously. What kind of animal are you?” Zora shook her head. She also plopped onto her butt, panting. “You’re still Iron Realm, and we haven’t even had a week’s worth of training sessions, but you almost had me there.”

“What the hell happened when you were away?”

“Nothing,” Nil said after a deep inhale and slow exhale. His heart still pounded violently. “I’m just being more liberal with how I spend my energy and getting used to changing trajectory with blasts.”

“Your control is certainly getting better,” Isabella commented. “A bit more practise and I think it could turn into more than an escape tool.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.” Nil squeezed burn ointment onto the angry and red soles of his feet. He had found a company trying to fill the hole left behind by Symbiotech in the Summoned medical supplies industry. They had started production on a similar product and Nil no longer felt the need to ration the product.

“It's just insane.” Zora sighed. “Good job, though. I hope I’ve moved on to the Silver Gauntlet by the time you catch up to me in realm and gauntlet score. Facing you on equal footing doesn’t appeal to me one bit.”

“Are you ready to go again?” The ability trainer turned her attention to Shawn. “Or would you rather call it a day?”

“The latter,” Shawn answered. Only Isabella didn’t look surprised. “I’ve got eight hours until my match. Maybe it's best if I practice my new spell until lunch and then rest for a while.”

Isabella nodded. “You’re unlikely to improve here or get more ranks today. Focus on your magic.”

“Thank you.”

Cara Sue joined the class for the latter half of the morning. As a mage, Zora didn’t have the necessary abilities, attributes, or potential to excel as a melee fighter. However, given her power seed and spell, she felt compelled to learn how to improve her martial skills.

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“It’s good to have a backup option the next time Nil gets close,” she said, nudging him playfully with an elbow. “Seriously, though. You’re insane. That growth and general rate of improvement are also pretty incredible. I wouldn’t be surprised if you, Shawn, and Selia dethrone Wildshape Wilson someday. Assuming you don’t stupidly throw your lives away in Death Gauntlet first.”

While sessions with Zora pushed Nil to his limits and forced him to practice his abilities and skills under pressure, things with Cara Sue were a lot more relaxed. He never felt in as much danger of incredible physical injury. Her attacks were nowhere near as destructive, and Nil never felt like his life was in danger. He and Cara Sue almost treated their training session like hide and seek. It was an odd combination of hide and seek, tag, and dodgeball but came with risks of second and third-degree burns instead of bruises.

Nil returned to cultivation and Qi-technique training in the afternoon. Watcher only pulled him into the meditative dream state during morning meditation, and they had only done so twice since his return. It was Wednesday, and the strange man believed that daily instruction was too much. Nil wasn’t sure whether he really believed in the value of rest or had better things to do. He didn’t mind. Nil valued his alone time, and it also gave him the time to spend with Selia.

The pair spent most of their free time together. Nil started preparing dinners in his suite instead of eating at the cafeteria. She prepared salads while he took care of the protein and all the warm elements. The pair talked, flirted, and enjoyed themselves in the privacy. Nil was sure his father now knew that something was brewing between them. But Udit said nothing when they ate together on Tuesday evening. Usually, they left the family meal for Saturday, but it was the week of everyone’s Death Gauntlet matches.

After his afternoon training, Nil showered, dressed in fresh clothes, and met Selia near the arena teleportation area. “You just missed him,” she told Nil. “Grab some food. I’ll find us a table?”

“You got it.”

They weren’t particularly filling, but the cafeteria sold excellent wraps, salads, soups, and a variety of healthy options. Nil considered it delightful that the Nexus included meaty sandwiches, steaks, and grilled meats in the list of healthy options. Summoned, and especially arena fighters often indulged in high-calorie and protein diets.

Even though the stodgier options appealed to Nil, there was no telling what the evening held for them. So, he settled for chicken soup and a slow-cooked beef wrap for himself. Over the past several weeks, he had learned Selia’s likes and dislikes. He ordered a chicken and mayo sandwich and a caprese salad for her. The woman behind the counter directed Nil to the free drinks counter and had him point out the now-seated Selia for their table number.

Nil grabbed a pot of green tea and a tall glass of horchata before sitting down. He poured himself a cup of the warm beverage while Selia took the cold. Then they sat in silence, eyes focused on the screen, waiting for the match to begin.

“Welcome, one and all!” Nil recognized the announcer from his Death Gauntlet match. “We bring you today to a Dark World on the verge of collapse. The Cursed Ones have almost consumed all life and are now consuming each other. It won’t be long before the Control World reclaims the land and reseed it with life. This is what happens when the Nexus and Apocalypse Arena succeed in their mission. We reclaim what is rightfully ours from the Void.”

Half of the screen showed Shawn. He wore the same Michael-Jackson-styled outfit as he wore during his last match. Even though he appeared nowhere close to becoming a cultivator, let alone using related techniques, a saber hung from his left hip. Nil had sacrificed his Tuesday session with Noah. Shawn had spent the last two days drilling with the man.

Nil couldn’t help but wonder which of his friends had drawn the attention of cosmic entities. He knew nothing about the Keeper of Knowledge or Cosmic Spider but had read up on Yggdrasil. The information he had found included Norse literature and information Summoners had uncovered during their quests around the multiverse. It didn’t just connect the nine realms as the Vikings claimed.

Yggdrasil was also the source of life and all magic. Nil didn’t know the validity of the information, but it seemed that the entity had ties to spatial magic and warding them against the Void. It could mean that the World Tree was interested in Shawn.

At the same time, Susan hadn’t named her dogs. The system named them Skoll and Hati. In Norse mythology, wolves of the same name chased the sun and moon, respectively, and Susan’s summons controlled light and shadow. The Nexus had also rewarded Nil for saving the woman. She was an individual of importance and potential. It could mean she was the object of Yggdrasil’s interest.

“Returning for his eighth Death Gauntlet fight, we have Furball Maher,” the announcer continued. He has slaughtered every Cursed and Scourge we’ve thrown at him and might potentially help bring a second world into the Nexus’s control. The Death Gauntlet might seem barbaric to most, but it’s a vital existence. Individuals like Furball help purge worlds that the Control World’s forces cannot touch. Even the losers are viable. The energy released by their deaths helps purge the corruption, bringing us closer to securing valuable ground from the Scourge’s rampage through the multiverse.”

Alex ‘Furball’ Maher wasn’t a giant hairy man as his name would suggest. He was slender, tall, and wore nothing but a pair of cargo shorts. Moderate light brown hair covered his chest, arms, shoulders, and back, but it didn’t look like enough for the name Furball. However, Nil had seen enough of the man’s clips to know better. There was no sign of his corrupted soul weapon and the videos weren’t clear of what it possibly could be.

“His Challenger is none other than Shieldmaster Shawn! Shieldmaster put on a beautiful show for us in his last match, Natasha ‘Airlock’ Patel. Strangely, both fighters hail from the same dimension. Is this going to be a pattern for the realm? More upcoming matches this week suggest so. Are factions beefing? Unfortunately, I’m not privy to the drama. Shawn is undefeated in his Iron Arena career thus far. He has seven Gauntlet of Ten wins. Will he live to complete the run? I’m as excited as you to find out. Let the show begin!”

The pillars of light keeping the challengers in place dropped, and both raced into the dimly lit surroundings.