"Let's leave now," Delkon said. He walked to the exit and held the door open. "Trye, please come with us," he added.

After the four of us walked out of the apartment, the host closed the door behind us. He cast a customized spell on the door to protect his home from intrusion. Once he was satisfied that the ward was in place, Delkon turned around and saw that we were waiting.

The mage held up his left hand and made a fist. There was a ring on his forefinger. It was set with a small cluster of gemstones which were milky and opaque in texture while green and white in colors.

I could see runes etched on the band and I realized it was magical.

Delkon whispered the secret power word and a gate opened before us in the hallway. "Please enter," he said.

Trye entered and we followed him through the portal.

I was mildly surprised to discover that we were standing on a floating island. The air was fresh and the clouds around us reminded me of the training hall that Rijana took me to; the hall was located on the Plane of Air. She rented the small pocket dimension from the Magic Guild in Bristol in order to teach me some spells and help me practice using them.

The wind blew gently with regular intervals and I felt the breeze on my face as my hair flickered on my head. When Delkon appeared through the portal and closed it behind him, I asked, "I'm surprised you have your own training hall. Is it a perk for being part of the Leadership Council?" Honestly, I was envious of him because having a personal training hall would be enormously beneficial in magical training. For example, I would love to spam Fireball non-stop to increase my skill level even further but I had no place to cast it safely.

The host laughed. He understood why I was jealous and it was a very common reaction when mages learned what he possessed. "Not at all, my friend! I was fortunate to be able to acquire this ring from a friend. But the ring still cost me a small fortune and some questing for the special components."

"Can you ask your friend to make me this ring?" I asked. I realized that my request was unlikely to be granted but I was desperate to try, anyway.

Delkon stopped laughing. "Unfortunately, he passed away due to old age," he answered with some sadness. He shook his head and changed the topic. "Well, let's get started! I would like to engage in a duel with you. You can use all your skills in this match. I will be limited in my spellcasting to Fifth-Tier or lower air magic. How does that sound?"

I was very skeptical of his proposal. "I understand that you want to give me a handicap. But isn't this going overboard?"

"Is that what you think?" he laughed again. "Then why not just go ahead with the match?" he grinned.

"Fine," I agreed. I didn't want to be rude to my host. Furthermore, I was certain that I will learn some valuable tactics from him.

"The rules are simple. We fight until one person cannot continue or agrees to yield. Sounds good?" Delkon proposed.

"That's fine," I replied.

My opponent slowly backed away from me.

I noticed that his mouth was moving slightly but I simply dismissed it as a buff being cast on him. I cast Armor on myself. "Armor SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP."

"Begin!" he shouted. The mage immediately disappeared from view!

I cast Invisibility on myself and started moving back. "Invisibility SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP." However, I found myself backing into a wall! I turned around and saw that it was invisible! I tried moving to my left but again, I slammed into an invisible wall! "-1 Health." I tried my right and the result was the same. "-1 Health." With no choice left, I lunged forward and again I was stopped by an invisible wall. "-1 Health." Somehow, my opponent had managed to trap me and pin me in place. DAMN!

Delkon cast Fly and hovered in the air above me. The spellcasting caused my opponent to drop his invisibility.

I decided to cast Lightning Bolt on my opponent. At skill level 3, I knew that my spell would not be effective against my opponent. The match was essentially over for me. But for the sake of my pride, I had to go down fighting. "Lightning bolt SUCCESSFUL. -10 Damage (HALVED), +50 XP." I stared at the in-game notification with annoyance. I didn't realize Delkon received a reduction in damage from air magic. That meant he was a specialist in that sphere.

"Ouch," the air mage winced in pain. "I'll return the favor." Delkon cast Lightning Bolt on me. The difference in our skills was quickly apparent to the audience. A humongous bolt of lightning appeared and slammed into me. *CRACKLE*

"-60 Health (RESISTED). Condition: Stunned. Duration: 5 seconds." I dropped to the ground, unable to move.

Delkon started falling from the sky and cast Feather to slow his descent back to the ground. He also dropped the three Walls of Air that trapped me like a rat.

Kalistra ran over to me and fed me a Potion of Healing.

"+50 Health." When the stun effect ended, I slowly sat up. Going into the duel, I already knew that I will lose. I just didn't expect the power differential between us to be so great. Additionally, I had a number of questions for him.

The mage stood in front of me and bowed deeply. "I apologize. I didn't think my Lightning Bolt would cause that much damage to you." He offered his hand.

I accepted his assistance and rose to my feet. "Believe it or not, I have a small bit of Resistance to Electricity. Or else, I would have lost even more health to your bolt," I admitted. "How did you trap me inside your Walls of Air so easily?" I asked.

The wily mage grinned. "I used another magic ring to create those walls while I was slowly backing away from you. Obviously, I couldn't predict with 100% certainty that I would trap you. But I decided it was a gambit worth taking. And I was lucky that you happened to back into the wall. I simply put up the last wall to trap you inside," he revealed.

I shook my head at this revelation. It was certainly a valuable learning experience for me. Delkon basically changed the battlefield to his advantage. He knew that I would try to approach him right away and interrupt his spellcasting. By turning invisible, he prevented me from attacking him.

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I made two mistakes during our duel. First, I did not consider the possibility that he would modify the battlefield. Second, I made a mistake in panicking and copying his move to turn myself invisible. Instead, I should have used my Spirit Sense and Magic Sense to locate him and then close in on his position for a melee attack. Essentially, I lost this duel because of my inexperience.

"Did you learn anything from our match?" my host asked after a moment of silence.

"Besides the fact that you're a tough opponent?" I joked and laughed ruefully. I cleared my throat and answered his question. "Yes, I understood how you were able to change the battlefield, furtively, to your advantage. Can I learn the Wall spell from you?" I requested.

Delkon shook his head. "It's a Fourth-Tier spell. And your skill needs to be at Level 6 in air magic to cast it consistently," he explained.

"Okay," I nodded. While I was disappointed by this answer, this will give me further motivation to improve my magic skills. In all elements.

My host opened a portal and we returned to the hallway in front of his apartment. "I will let you go now. I'm sure you have other business to attend to. Please see me again before you leave."

I nodded. "I will, Councilor Delkon," I promised.

The mage turned to his apprentice. "Trye, please escort my guests to the exit."

"Yes, master," the young lad bowed deeply. We linked hands and he triggered the power word, "Exitium!"

Our world turned into a kaleidoscope and we returned to the lobby. I waved goodbye to Trye and exited the building. Once my bodyguards joined me, I said, "I need to drop by the general goods store to replenish my mana potions."

"Okay," Kalistra nodded.

As we pushed our way through the crowded streets, I asked, "How could I defeat someone like Delkon?"

"It's nearly impossible," my master replied. "Delkon could use Fly to stay in the air and avoid your melee attacks. As a specialist in air magic, even his lower tier air spells could do greater damage. Lightning Bolt is only a Third-Tier spell, right? That spell alone almost killed you. If he uses a higher tier air spell, he could kill you outright with just one spell. That being said, I would try to lure him into the forest and use the trees to block his line of sight. If he can't see you clearly, then he can't aim his spells at you. And if you're lucky, you will move close enough while jumping from tree to tree to launch your counterattack. That's probably the best approach to deal with an air mage."

Bila shook her head in disagreement. "I think there's a simpler approach. While Delkon is in the air, his mobility is limited. I would toss stones at him to interrupt his concentration and prevent him from casting spells."

"But that would only give Lord Mulligan a stalemate," Kalistra argued, "until he runs out of rocks to throw."

"Sometimes, a stalemate is the best outcome you can hope for," Bila argued back.

Sudden, I saw the general goods store. "Let's go inside!" I interrupted them. I turned left on the street and entered the shop. I picked up three mana potions and pay 1 gold 50 silver pieces for them. Ouch. When I stepped out into the street again, I activated my Navigation Sense and returned to The Trade Wind a half-hour later. "Navigation sense SUCCESSFUL. +25 XP."

Before we entered the tavern, however, Kalistra pulled on my arm. "It's only late afternoon. We still have at least an hour before our companions return to the city. Why don't we do some training outside the city?" she suggested.

I looked up at the sky to check the position of the sun. Actually, the cat girl was correct; it was at least two hours 'til dusk. "What do you have in mind?"

"By my count, you carry six fighter skills currently. Since you're at Level 7, you can add one more skill. I suggest you learn 'Sprint,'" she answered.

I looked at her blankly. "Um . . . you want to teach me to run?" I started laughing at her. I couldn't help myself. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder. "-2 Health." Yup! It was the evil minx's patented claw-poke!

Kalistra had a serene facial expression while her tail flickered from side to side.

I had to give her credit for maintaining her poker face. I decided it would be best to yield to the mercurial cat girl before she did something else to me. "Fine," I sighed aloud.

The short cat girl went behind my back and pushed me in the direction of the gatehouse. Thankfully, the line to lead the city was short at this time of the day and the wait took only five minutes.

Kalistra took me to a spot in front of the wall protecting Southampton but further away from the gatehouse.

I noticed that some of the guards on top of the gate noticed us but none demanded to know what we were doing.

My master turned toward Bila. "Lord Mulligan and I will be meditating. You are to stand guard. Do not fall asleep!" she warned.

"I won't," the tall cat girl replied with gritted teeth. She did NOT appreciate the insinuation that Bila was untrustworthy in performing her guard duties.

Kalistra then turned to face me. "It's been quite a while since we meditated. The session will help you regain your mental focus. So don't fall asleep!" she warned.

"I won't," I repeated Bila's answer.

My master sat down, cross-legged, on the ground, closed her eyes, and then assumed the lotus position.

I tried to imitate her but my back protested in pain. "Ow."

"If you can't do the lotus, then go lean against the wall and sit cross-legged. Take deep breaths, close your eyes, and relax," she advised.

I did as instructed and I was able to assume the simpler position without pain.

"Start meditation in that position," she continued.

We meditated for at least a half-hour.

While we meditated, Bila spent the time oiling her sword. She also wanted to use her whetstone to sharpen her blade but declined to do so because it would make too much noise for us.

Kalistra opened her eyes and looked around. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that the other cat girl was still awake. If Bila had fallen asleep, Kalistra was prepared to dismiss her from my service; pledged or not. Thankfully, Bila proved she was able to perform her guard duty with diligence. "Get up, Lawrence," Kalistra ordered.

I immediately opened my eyes and rose to my feet. I knew that if the cat girl thought that I had fallen asleep, I would be punished. Severely.

"Feeling refreshed?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Let's begin our lesson. Sprint is a very useful skill to learn for combatants on the battlefield. It can be used offensively to take you to the location of your enemies to launch a surprise attack. It can also be used defensively to pull yourself away from a dangerous situation, such as being surrounded by enemies," she lectured.

"Sprint requires a strong, focused connection between mind and body. Your mind must determine WHERE you wish to end up. Your body's job is to TAKE you to the location that your mind has envisioned. We spent the time meditating in order to clear your mind and help you focus."

Kalistra turned and pointed to the right end of the wall. "We're now going to practice the Sprint skill moving to that point and back to here. The distance is about ten feet. When Sprint is activated, you will reach the edge of the wall instantaneously."

I raised my hand. "How is that possible?"

My teacher's whiskers twitched. "When Sprint is active, your entire body will focus on the physical act of running to that point. You won't breathe. You won't think. You won't do anything except run to that predetermined location. All your physical and mental energies will be devoted to reaching that point. Like this." In the blink of an eye, Kalistra reached the end of the gate! A moment later, she returned and stood in front of me again.

The wind finally caught up with her movement and blew across my body. "Wow! Can I do that, too?"

The cat girl grinned. "Only when your skill level is high enough," she answered. "After you use Sprint, there is a cooldown period of one minute. Every skill level beyond the first will reduce the cooldown by 10%. At level 10, the cooldown period is completely eliminated," she lectured. "Okay, now here's what we're going to do. Grab my arm. We're going to activate the skill at the same time. If you're successful in learning Sprint, then you will be able to keep up with me. But if not, you'll fall behind. Are you ready?"

I nodded.

"Begin!"

I tried to focus on the act of moving toward the edge of the gate. But I faltered just a half-step into the sprint and fell to the ground. "-1 Health."

Kalistra immediately returned to my location. When I pulled myself back to my feet, she said, "Again."

This time, I managed two full steps before falling to the ground. It took a good 20 tries (plus a few stamina potions) but finally, I received a notification: "Swordsmanship skill LEARNED: Sprint. +100 XP." Yes!

"About time," my teacher grumbled. Kalistra looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was starting to dip down to the horizon. "It's getting late. Let's return to The Trade Wind and keep your promise to me." Her eyes glowed with anticipation of all the delicious seafood she will be having soon.