[https://i.imgur.com/4yzZvCn.jpg]

That delivery to the Garden Dungeon had left a sour taste in our mouths. It particularly rubbed Lio the wrong way, since he grabbed me by the hand and held me tight. “After our deliveries, I’m starting your magic training. We have to start getting serious about it.”

I nodded profusely, fearing that somber look on his face. I understood why, Dalat just threatened us and we didn't know what would happen next. I had to be prepared for anything and not just be deadweight for Lio.

We quickly made the other deliveries without incident, and even got tipped for our service. Money wasn’t an issue though, getting myself strong enough to protect myself and others was the side quest we had undertaken.

And here we were! In that open field again, close to the Garden Dungeon where we previously were at. Lio was going to teach me more magic, and help me utilize the spells I already know to their fullest.

“Okay,” he said, lifting a finger to the sky. That meant he was in lecture mode. “Another spell that’s imperative you know is called Aqua Whip. It's self explanatory, a lethal whip forged out of water. Good for close ranged and mid ranged fights.”

I took notes down in my tome, it was always good to know the strengths and weaknesses of each of my spells. Wish I had done that sooner.

Master Lio brought his staff up in front of him and aimed it in front of him. He jerked it up slightly, and I saw water forming a snake-like pattern stemming from the orb of the staff. Lio hoisted the staff over his shoulder, yanking the whip back like he was about to cast a fishing line into the water. Then he thrusted it forward and it crackled like a real whip being swung. I was stunned, I never thought a whip made of water could hold this much power.

“This is just hitting the apprentice level, unlike Waterwark, so it really packs a punch. You try now.”

I sighed. He was a Fire Mage, yet it seemed he was more proficient in Water Magic than I was. It was alright, I’ll just work hard to surpass him in that regard. Wouldn’t be hard, since he’s only an Experienced level in Fire Magic.

I flipped the page of my tome and inscribed “Aqua Whip” on it with Accelerate. It glowed a bright blue light but gradually receded. “Okay, here it goes.”

I jerked the tome upwards, and the magic energy locked into the tome seeped out and took the form of a watery snake. I swung it with as much might as I could garner and it cracked like it was splitting air. I did it! In one go this time!

I saw a big smile on Master’s face the moment a splash of water kicked up in the air, and it make me smile too. Smiles were always contagious for me, I couldn’t help but shoot one back. “I did it, Master!” I put my tome away and pumped my fists. I was finally able to do spells on my own without Lio needing to help me inscribe them in my tome. This was a new step forward.

He still had that bright smile and began applauding my performance. I bowed, a great performance indeed. It wasn’t much, but I knew I was getting slightly stronger, that way I don’t have to rely on Lio to get me out of sticky situations. “What now?” I said as I approached him. He plopped down to the ground.

“Let’s take a short break, my legs are getting tired.” He leaned backwards and supported himself with his arms.

I couldn’t help but chuckle and slap the fool on the arm, plopping down right next to him. “C’mon, you sound like an old man. What happened to that fearsome reputation of yours? Don’t tell me it wasn’t true?”

“Hey, sometimes a man needs to take it easy. And don’t call me old, I’m only two years older than you. If I’m old, then you’re getting very close to being a grouchy old lady too.”

“Whatever,” I said. The two of us locked eyes, and Lio yawned. He eyes were more droopy then normal, which made me think he didn’t get much sleep last night. But he was a grown man, its not like that was uncommon for men his age. I smirked. “I guess we’ll be old together then.” Our fingers inched close together and were about to interlock when a voice broke the moment.

“It’s you! Finally.” What stood before us was that Terrace Mage I’d beaten in a magic duel the other day. His face was red and sweaty, and his earth brown mage robe was wrinkled. His furrowed brows shot right at me.

“What? What are you doing here?” I was so confused, drawing my hand away from Lio’s in sheer confusion. Was he looking for me this entire time?

“I’m ready for our rematch. I did say I’d look forward to one, so here I am to finally claim a win from you.”

“Don’t tell me you’re heading into a dangerous dungeon again…”

The boy raised one of his brows at my remark. “Huh? No, I’m done with going into the crazier dungeons. The easier ones are tough for us as is.”

“Then what are you here for?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“For a magic duel, of course! Did I not make that clear?”

Oh, he made it clear as day. I didn’t understand why he would want a duel so soon. He should atleast get time to train or strategize. A few days certainly wasn’t enough. Unless he had an ace up his sleeve.

Lio had risen to his feet with a petty little grin on his face. He cut into our conversation and stood in front of me. Sometimes this man just acts strange. “Let me duel you.” He flaunted the staff in front of him, I want some of that confidence too.

“What? Who are you? I just want to duel that girl over there.”

“You’ll definitely lose to her again, and you know that. But you don’t know with me. Perhaps you’ll have a chance?” He was still smirking.

“What are you doing?” I pulled on Lio’s arm to force him back, but he was stronger than I gave him credit for.

“I want to experience a magic duel.” This guy had to gaul to not even make eye contact with me. The win blew his ponytail back and forth, brushing against the top of my head.

“Still, its overkill. You’re an Experienced Level Mage, this boy is just a Novice.”

“It’s still dueling experience, better than none.” If he wanted to duel this bad, then he should’ve just asked me. I would get pummeled, but it would be experience nonetheless.

“Okay, fine,” the boy said, “I’ll beat you first then move on to the girl. Deal?”

Lio agreed, and I threw a thumbs up. I knew he wasn’t going to win. It was like an ant versus a matur.

By their request, I would be the proctor of this duel, deciding when each opponent had won. This still was stupid to me. What happened to Lio’s excuse of having tired legs? Whatever, guys will be guys.

I stood between them, then threw my hand down, yelling “Begin!!”

I boy jumped back and brought his hands together. “Petra—”

In a flash, Lio fired off Charbolt from his staff, and it slammed into the boy’s shoulder. He fell over onto his back and hissed. He didn’t even have time to cast a spell.

This duel was over. I walked over to the boy to check up on him, and the Charbolt had burned the robe where it struck. There was a small charred black circle right on top of his right shoulder. I nodded. This fight definitely was over.

“Lio Meyne wins this duel,” I yelled and pointed to him. He stared at the boy blankly. I did warn him that it was overkill, but he didn’t listen to me.

“How’d you cast a spell so quickly? And I didn’t even hear you casting it? Cheater!” The boy finally got the strength to sit up.

Lio planted the butt of his staff onto the ground and leaned against it. “I don’t know, guess I’m just a quick spellcaster. And I find it useful to whisper my spells sometimes.”

Most Mages, myself included, have a bad habit of needing to scream the spell we’re casting, but sometimes I forget that screaming it isn’t a requirement. You can very much whisper it as quietly as you want, just as long as the words actually leave your mouth. This kid learned that the hard way.

“I want a rematch,” The boy said, jumping up to his feet.

Thus proceeded a cycle that seemed to never end. The boy would start by casting a spell, but was knocked to the ground before he could finish. This happened dozens of times until Lio had to forcefully knock him down harder than ever before. The boy hit the ground so hard I heard a thumping noise reverberate into the air around us.

“That’s enough, I don’t want to have to drain all my magic reserves on you.” Lio stared down at the boy, who was now covered with char stains on his robe. He had grit, though. I’d credit him with that at least.

“I can keep going, though. I haven’t surrendered yet!” The boy tried to get to his feet but winced and fell backwards.

“Okay, this duel is over. For good this time.” I waved my hand into the hair and brought it back down. This duel took way longer than we expected. I stooped down to take the boy’s hand and pull him up to his feet. I was sure he could stand. “Go home now, we don’t want to do anymore duels.” He gave me the stink eye. What did I say wrong? “Fine, don’t go home. Just leave us alone.”

The boy nodded and grasped the fabric hugging my waist as he tried to regain his balance. Lio did a number on him, but he’ll be fine. Maybe he should go to a healer instead…

The boy clung onto my waist even tighter all of a sudden, which got me stare back at him, but his eyes were staring off in the distance. They burst into life when he saw whatever he was focusing in on. “Kitty!” he yelled, then wobbled towards something. I couldn’t see where, until I looked up at one of the few maple trees in this field. A cat was sitting on one of the branched.

Its black fur hid it in the shadows.

And an ominous red glow came from its forehead.

That couldn’t be the same cat that I was thinking about. But what other cat has a red gem like that on its forehead?

Its my cat. That same cat we found in the dungeon… outside of my house. Why was it here?

“Do you know this cat?” I asked the boy, and he repetitively nodded. His head shook up and down like crazy. My eyes were so wide they nearly popped out of their sockets.

“Yes! I just got him recently.” He jumped up to the branch and retrieved the cat.

“Where did you find it?” My hands were shaking for some reason. I feel like I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear from his own mouth.

“A man said he was selling it, from his house on the strip. I bought it off him."

My house was on the strip. I was the only one with a cat that unique.

Dalat, that bastard.