“Are both combatants ready?” Rebecca asked, a serious expression on her delicate face. “This will be a duel to the death between–”

“Just get on with it already!” Isabela yelled from just outside the sparring rings.

Elias rolled his eyes at the two girl’s antics, sharing a long look of amusement with Marco before staring back at Rebecca. He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side slightly, raising both his fists up in front of his face as if to punctuate his sister’s request. The girl just shrugged and grinned, clearly having fun, before settling down and nodding at the two of them in turn to make sure they were really ready.

The sparring ring was actually just a large circle of elevated dirt, and it cost quite a bit to use as well, but it was worth it. The true benefit of paying for this service was that it was run by a duo of Journeyman rank mages, one of which was a healer. This allowed their clients to beat each other up to their heart’s contentment without worry, and with a quick heal, they’ll also be fit to go right back to dungeon delving afterwards.

The second mage was the one responsible for actually creating the platforms every day, as well as erecting a barrier around each of the rings, so the fights didn’t bleed out into the clearing. After all, it wasn't only newbies like them using the rings, and even the occasional Journeyman stopped by. Of course, they didn’t require this aspect of the service since they were, in fact, newbies, and didn’t even have Skills yet, much less ones powerful enough to cause collateral damage.

“Alright, jokes aside, this is a friendly spar,” Rebecca reminded them—again. “You hear that, Elias? Friendly.”

“I know, I know,” Elias replied with exasperation. Then he clenched his fists tightly and looked at Marco with a hint of bloodthirst, a small, thin smile forming on his lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.”

“See? That’s what I mean. You don’t look friendly at all!” Rebecca exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

“It’s fine, let's just get started. I’m sure Elias over there is just… excited. Isn’t that right?” Marco said from across the ring with an amused chuckle, and Elias nodded in agreement.

This was the perfect opportunity to prove to both Marco and Rebecca just how capable a fighter he truly was, and Elias was taking it very seriously. Their repeated dismissal of his claims about his fighting abilities had irritated him, of course, but not enough to make him lose control of himself. He wouldn’t take the spar too far. Still, he couldn’t deny the excitement bubbling within him at the thought of ruffling Marco up a bit and showing him just how wrong he was to underestimate him. They could get to the friendly part of the sparring after that.

“Fine, let’s get started then,” Rebecca relented with a sigh.

“Finally! Beat him up, Eli!” Isabela cheered, drawing amused looks from several of the onlookers.

“I’m going to count down from three, and you two can begin when I say fight,” Rebeca stated, and immediately launched into the countdown.

“Three.”

Elias took a deep breath, centering himself and focusing all his attention on his opponent. Marco stood like a tree swaying in the wind—deceptively relaxed—but his feet were firmly rooted to the ground. While Marco didn’t seem to view him as a real threat, he was at least taking him seriously.

“Two.”

Marco’s gaze flicked to the side, and Elias followed it to see Rebecca looking at his opponent meaningfully, both hands discreetly extended in front of her. He noticed Marco nod once in acknowledgment—promising to go easy on him. Elias gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. Marco would regret that.

“One.”

Elias pulled his focus back to Marco, letting everything else fade away. His vision narrowed until only his opponent existed. The world seemed to slow, and all he could hear was the steady rhythm of his own heartbeat. Then, like taking in a sharp breath, his senses returned all at once as a single word rang out.

“Fight!”

Rather than rushing in recklessly, the pair nodded to each other once and approached with a slow, controlled walk. They circled one another for several seconds until Elias launched a quick jab at his opponent. Marco easily dodged it with a simple step back, then countered with a straight punch, which Elias similarly evaded.

Both fighters continued testing each other for several more seconds, staying just out of reach. With every exchange, they took small steps closer, gradually closing the distance despite the back-and-forth. Once Elias deemed they were close enough, he decided to finally break the balance and punish Marco for underestimating him.

Elias threw another punch, just like he had been doing for the past several seconds, but this time, it was slower. It was a bait. He feigned putting too much strength into the blow, making it appear as though he was overextending.

Marco, once more showing his prowess, leaped into Elias’ guard without hesitation, attempting to take advantage of the perceived misstep. Instead of catching Elias off-guard, however, he found himself surprised by a backhand hook flying towards his face as Elias took a stance shift forward.

Marco tried to raise his guard to block or slow the blow, but it was already too close. It connected with his face with a sharp crack, snapping his head back. Dazed by the unexpected hit, he stumbled unsteadily out of his opponent’s reach, keeping his guard up in anticipation of further attacks.

Elias crossed his arms and sighed deeply, a self-satisfied smirk on his lips as he watched his friend recollect himself instead of pressing the advantage. Marco turned to him with a shocked expression, gingerly rubbing his face with the back of his hand. Confusion flickered in his eyes as he processed what had just happened, but it quickly gave way to a wide grin.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Marco exclaimed, letting out a full-belly laugh.

“So… are you finally ready to take this seriously now?” Elias asked, doing his best to sound confident, and awaited the man’s response with bated breath. “I was really looking forward to a real spar.”

“You know what? Fine! I won’t hold back anymore–we’ll just have the healer patch you up when we’re done,” Marco said, giving him a wink.

“Finally!” Elias exclaimed, letting the tension bleed out of his shoulders.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Rebecca said hesitantly from nearby.

Elias turned on her, a snarl forming on his lips, but he froze when he saw the worried expression on her face. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down before offering her a reassuring smile instead. He realized that she was genuinely trying to support him, and he resolved himself to return that sincerity.

“Don’t worry, Rebecca,” Elias said, locking eyes with the girl and speaking in a measured tone. “Look, I understand that you won’t believe me when I say I’m a strong fighter, no matter how I say it. But just keep an open mind and let this ride, okay? I’ve spent longer than you can imagine training my fighting skills. Am I trying to prove a point? Yes, absolutely. But like Marco said—if I’m wrong, well, we did pay for a healer, didn’t we? Just relax and enjoy the show.”

“Fine,” Rebecca said tersely, looking to Isabela one last time worriedly before firming up her resolve.

Elias shook his head at the girl’s reaction and turned back to Marco, firming up his own resolve to show his new friends what he was really capable of. After all, they would never truly see him as an equal and a potential party member unless they saw his strength for themselves.

Carefully at first, but with increasing momentum, Elias approached Marco once more. As soon as he was close, he promptly closed the remaining distance with a frontal kick. They had probed each other’s guard enough times—it was time to fight for real.

Marco dodged to the left of the kick and attempted to slip a punch past Elias’ guard, but it was blocked and shoved aside. Elias’ momentum carried him forward until he was back-to-back with Marco.

Without even looking, Elias shaped his hand into a claw and swung it toward where Marco’s throat should be, letting the motion carry the rest of his body into a quick turn. At the same time, Marco leaped forward, twisting in midair to face Elias once more, just in time to carry himself out of the strike’s range.

Before Elias could pull his arm back into his guard, Marco twisted his hips and launched a quick turning kick. Unable to block or retreat, Elias used his momentum to duck under the strike, letting himself fall into a roll. Mid-roll, he twisted his body, attempting to sweep Marco’s feet out from under him.

The sweep connected, but Marco had already shifted his weight off that leg, forcing Elias to quickly perform a back roll to get back on his feet before Marco could capitalize on his position. Even so, as he was pulling himself up, Marco was already closing the distance, his body twisting into what would surely be a cross punch aimed at Elias’ midsection.

Back and forth, the pair traded blows–striking, blocking, and dodging in an intricate dance. As the fight went on, Elias began to let go of himself, and he could feel Marco doing the same. Their movements grew sharper and more refined, both them slipping into a combat trance. For the first time in his life, he was able to go all out against someone on his level. He felt like a bird catching the wind against its feathers for the first time, the freedom nearly overwhelming him as his heart raced faster and faster.

Before he knew it, a smile had formed on Elias’ lips, even as blood trickled down his face from a few spots where Marco had landed solid hits. His body ached in numerous places, his muscles had grown tired, but he fought on eagerly. None of his injuries impeded his movements, so there was no reason to stop yet.

Marco was in a similar state, panting heavily and moving with increasingly sluggish steps, but his eyes gleamed with determination, undaunted by his injuries. Although he wasn’t bleeding, far more bruises covered his body than Elias’, sapping at his strength. Still, he refused to back down, continuing to fight with everything he had. After all, he was winning.

Overall, Elias had come out on top in most of their exchanges, proving himself the superior fighter in terms of skill. However, his significantly lower attributes meant his strikes carried far less force than his opponent’s. While Marco could withstand his blows relatively well, Elias couldn’t do the same, and his injuries were beginning to add up. More importantly, fatigue was setting in. He was tiring far faster than Marco, and if nothing changed soon, he would have to concede the match.

A fire ignited behind Elias’ eyes at the thought of losing the fight, even though he was pretty sure he had already proven the point he set out to make. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to admit defeat; he just knew he could do better. After all, his training over the past several years had been entirely focused on improving his ability to emulate mana types in combat, and he had yet to show even a hint of that ability. It felt like he was fighting without the most powerful tool in his arsenal.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Still within that state of combat trance, Elias opened his spirit as he did when attuning himself to mana types during training, straining to feel... anything. Yet the world felt empty to his senses. There was nothing for him to attune to. Unlike the deeper levels of the dungeon, the mana in the newbie zone was completely unaspected—flavorless.

Suddenly, at the edge of his senses, he felt a pulse of fire mana before it vanished again. One of the adventurers dueling in the ring next to theirs had just used a fire bolt Skill, the projectile flying at their opponent and dissipating against their shield.

It all happened in an instant, but in that brief moment, Elias managed to attune to the fire mana. Memories of flame filled him, vivid and familiar, like recalling the lyrics of a long-forgotten song. However, as soon as the source of the fire mana dissipated, the feeling began to slip from his grasp.

Elias knew he had to move quickly. With a burst of power, he exploded toward Marco, flickering past the man’s defensive strike like a dancing candle flame. He crashed into him with an elbow to the chest, the force of the strike too explosive to be ignored like the others. Marco gasped and tried to push Elias away weakly, but Elias pressed on, his muscles burning as he struck his opponent relentlessly, a fire blazing in his eyes.

After the explosive move to close in on Marco, the feeling of the fire mana had all but vanished from Elias’ spirit, leaving only a lingering burn to fuel his tired muscles. However, with Marco just as exhausted, it was enough for Elias to gain the upper hand once more. He straddled Marco on the floor and began raining blows down on him as if it were a street brawl.

“Stop! That’s enough!” Marco shouted from beneath Elias, conceding the match. Another punch connected with his face, and he yelled again, louder this time. “I said stop!”

Elias finally halted, looking sheepish after that last strike, before flopping to the side in exhaustion. In his defense, he had been too tired to stop the blow, even though his friend told him to. For a while, neither of them said anything. They simply lay on the ground, panting heavily from the fight.

Elias peeked to the side and saw Marco glaring at him, his eyes narrowed. The man looked like he wanted nothing more than to smack Elias again—and not in a friendly way. Then, Marco started to chuckle, which grew into laughter, and Elias couldn’t help but join in. Soon, both men were laughing and wheezing on the floor like maniacs, utterly covered in injuries.

“I told you Eli would win!” Isabela’s smug voice rang out from afar, followed by the sound of her shoes smacking against the dirt ground.

Elias turned towards his little sister’s voice and saw her running towards him, Rebecca following behind her at a slow walk. Isabela had a proud smile on her face while Rebecca’s expression was one of disbelief, which brought a smug smile to his own lips. It was obvious who each of them thought were going to win the spar, and he was glad to have proven Rebecca wrong.

“Good fight, man,” Marco said just before Isabela arrived, his eyes still sparkling with adrenaline and joy. “I really didn’t expect you to fight like that. I mean, seriously… you have no idea how rare it is for someone our age to fight like this. It’s the first time someone my age actually beats me in sparring, and trust me, I have fought a lot of people. I didn’t even think anyone in a small town like this could fight the way you do—and that last strike… what the hell was that?”

“Thanks, man! I really enjoyed the fight as well. I had never been able to fight with someone at my level before. It felt amazing,” Elias said. “As for that last strike… Well, it’s something my dad has been teaching me.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s damn powerful. It was like you transformed into a different person. I don’t even know how to describe it, exactly,” Marco said with a laugh. “Man, I still can’t believe you can fight so well. Though, why didn’t you fight like you did at the end from the start? I probably wouldn’t have stood a chance if you had.”

“To be honest, I was only able to use that technique for a moment, since I needed–”

“I think it would be best if you didn’t go around revealing the secrets of our fighting style, son,” Elias heard Peter say from beside them.

Marco and Elias startled, only then noticing the man was there at all, Vivian standing right beside him. She waved her hand in the air lazily and they flashed a bright gold, healing Elias’ wounds in an instant. Turning, he saw Marco briefly glow that same golden color as his injuries were similarly healed.

“Mom! Dad! Were you watching the whole time?” Isabela asked, only just arriving beside Elias. Rebecca stopped a few steps away, startled by his parents’ sudden appearance.

“Of course, honey! Why would we miss it? We were close by already, after all,” Vivian said with a smile. Then she turned to Marco and Rebecca, introducing herself. “I’m Vivian, and this is my husband, Peter. We’re Elias’ and Isabela’s parents. It’s very nice to meet you both.”

“Nice to meet you,” Marco replied, quickly pulling himself up to greet Elias’ parents. Rebecca, snapping out of her daze, followed suit with a polite, “Nice to meet you.”

“I have to say, whoever trained you did a fine job, Marco,” Peter said with an assessing grin. “Like you mentioned earlier, it is exceptionally rare for someone your age to possess fighting skills at this level. Being able to enter a combat trance alone is something many people several times your age fail to achieve.”

“Thank you. I was actually trained by my father as well. I’ll be sure to pass your compliments along to him,” Marco replied politely.

“Please do, and feel free to come by the dojo to train anytime. I know Elias could really use a good sparring partner,” Peter said.

“Thank you for the invitation, but I’ll have to check with my dad. To be honest, he can be a bit possessive when it comes to my training,” Marco said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“Well, our doors are always open,” Peter said with finality, earning a polite nod from Marco.

“That goes for you as well, Rebecca,” Vivian said with a warm smile. “Feel free to stop by anytime. Any friend of Elias is always welcome.”

“Thank you,” Rebecca said with a shy smile, something Elias definitely hadn’t expected to see on the girl’s seemingly unflappable face. Unable to figure out the reason for her sudden embarrassment, he shelved the observation for later.

“Anyways, we better get going already. Good luck with dungeon delving, you three,” Vivian said with a wink. “Come on, Isabela. You’re coming with us.”

“Aw, already? Let’s stay for–”

“No, we’re going. You already knew that you would be coming back with us when you came, so don’t even start,” Vivian said, cutting off his little sister’s complaint.

Isabela began to pout, but her mother’s steady gaze left no room for disobedience. Realizing she wouldn’t be getting her way this time, she tsked in disappointment, giving up on trying to convince her parents to stay longer.

“Bye, Becca, Marco,” Isabela said at last, waving to Elias’ two friends and receiving goodbyes in return. Elias snorted at the new nickname for Rebecca but had to admit he thought it was kind of cute.

“Oh, and Elias,” Peter said just as they were about to leave, “before I forget, you should avoid showing off our fighting style in front of others. Everything up to that… explosive move you did is fine, but I want you to avoid revealing anything beyond that, alright? I hadn’t mentioned it before because I didn’t think you’d be able to pull off what you did without our usual… preparations. But, now you know.”

“Sure…” Elias replied, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. There was clearly more to Peter’s request, but he could figure out the reason later. If his father had wanted to explain it in front of his friends, he would have done so already.

With that, Peter and Vivian said their goodbyes and walked away, followed closely by Kitty a dejected Isabela. A few seconds after the trio left, Rebecca began to giggle and looked at Elias with a smile on her face.

“Your sister is cute,” she said. “I always wanted to have a little sister.”

“She is cute when she wants to be,” he answered with a snort. Rebecca only answered with a thoughtful hum and they all stayed in silence for moments longer, until Marco broke it.

“Anyways, let's get back to it,” Marco said eagerly. “We did pay for the full hour and thanks to your mom, we didn’t even use our free healing yet.”

“Haven’t had enough yet?” Elias asked with a smug grin.

“Oh, please. Your dad just forbade you from using that special move of yours, and I don’t see myself losing otherwise,” Marco said with a smirk. “Plus, I’m a swordsman. I wouldn’t have lost if we were sparring with swords.”

“Ha! I didn’t take you for a sore loser, Marco,” Rebecca mocked the man, bursting into laughter.

“Oh, those are fighting words, Becca. Do you want to join us in training then? Maybe Elias will even go easy on you,” Marco taunted back.

“Oh, you will? Why is that?” Rebecca asked in a clipped tone, narrowing her eyes and looking at Elias dangerously.

Rebecca’s sudden change in demeanor caused Elias to devolve into a fit of coughing as he choked on his own saliva. He glared at Marco for a moment before turning back to Rebecca, seeing her still looking at him with narrowed eyes.

“I didn’t say anything!” he said, convinced that his very logical argument would make her glare soften. It didn’t. Instead, her eyes narrowed further and he could see a hint of anger in them.

“Well, I’m sorry if I’m not an amazing fighter like you two,” she said curtly, glaring at the two of them.

At her words, Elias did a double take and even exchanged a look with Marco to confirm he wasn’t the only one confused by her suddenly defensive posture. Marco looked just as perplexed, which was both reassuring, because it meant that they hadn’t been intentionally offensive, and problematic, because neither of them seemed to know how to respond.

Caught off guard, Elias put all his effort into figuring out what he was missing. He was sure he looked comical, his expression hovering somewhere between confused and constipated from thinking so hard, but he didn’t care. When the realization finally hit him, he almost groaned aloud but just barely managed to school his expression in time.

Rebecca had already mentioned that she lacked the money to purchase the potions she needed to improve her foundation. That made sense, given how incredibly expensive those supplements were, but Elias had overlooked what else it implied. Since she saved all her money for that purpose, she likely couldn’t afford to hire trainers to help her improve her fighting skills.

“Rebecca, I’m sorry if we offended you. I’m sure Marco was only joking and didn’t mean to belittle your fighting skills. Right, Marco?” Elias asked, earning a nod of confirmation from the other man, though he still looked confused as to why exactly Rebecca was mad at them.

Rebecca’s glare softened somewhat at that, and Elias took it as a sign he was on the right track. Encouraged, he continued, “Although I’m not nearly as good a trainer as my parents, I could still help you improve your skills if we start sparring together. How about it? Will you join us?”

“I’d like that,” Rebecca said softly after a long moment, her defensive posture easing. “And I’m sorry for reacting that way. It’s a sore topic for me, and I guess I felt a bit intimidated seeing how well the two of you can fight. My dad is a Journeyman adventurer, and he did teach me how to fight. I’ve even had quite a bit of practice in the dungeon, and it’s something I’ve always been proud of—until now. But seeing the way the two of you fight… I’m not nearly at that level.”

“Hey, it’s not a problem. Marco’s not at my level either,” Elias said with a wink, earning a small smile from Rebecca.

“Hey!” Marco protested. “Why don’t we see how well you’d do in a match with training swords, huh?”

“Thanks, you two,” Rebecca said, cutting in before the men could start bickering.

“Well, does this mean we’re going to be partying up?” Marco asked with a grin. “If so, the two of you need to pick up the pace with leveling up and building your foundations.”

At his friend's words, Elias’ face shifted through a series of expressions as a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions battled for dominance. He wanted to leap with joy at the prospect of finally forming a party with friends, but he also wanted to groan at the reminder of how far behind he really was. Eventually, he forced himself to calm down and think things through, determined to find a way to make it work.

“I hate to be the one to say this, but I think we should stick to being sparring partners for now,” Elias said. “At least until we’re all at a similar level. You and Rebecca could party up already, but I’m still pretty far from level 10 in all my attributes. I wouldn’t be able to keep up.”

“I agree with Elias on this one. I know we all just met, but you two seem pretty fun, so I’d be open to forming a party—if only to see where this goes,” Rebecca said with a wink, causing Elias’ heart to skip a beat. “But I still need to gather the remaining funds to perfect my foundation, so I can’t quit my job as a power leveler just yet. Maybe we could keep getting to know each other and party up when we’re all at the Beginner rank or something?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s for the best,” Marco said, and Elias couldn’t help but grin at the disappointment in his friend’s voice. It was nice to know that Marco wanted this as much as he did.

“It’s settled, then. We’ll stick to being sparring partners until we all reach the Beginner rank and gain our Skills. We can revisit the idea of forming a party then, alright?” Elias asked, receiving nods of agreement from both Marco and Rebecca.

“Now, let’s keep sparring. We did pay for the full hour, after all.”

Before they could begin training properly, Marco demanded a rematch, which he won as Elias tired much faster. Afterward, the two men took turns sparring with Rebecca, who turned out to be a far better fighter than they had expected. In fact, Elias remarked that her skills were comparable to Isabela’s.

Rebecca didn’t appreciate being compared to a twelve-year-old in terms of fighting skills, but Elias pointed out that Isabela was a very talented fighter in her own right. Still, he reassured Rebecca that with her prior experience and a little guidance, she would improve quickly.

In the end, the trio parted ways with smiles on their faces, promising to meet up every other day to continue sparring and training. Rebecca left to meet with a group she would be power leveling, while Marco and Elias headed into the jungle to hunt monsters and gain experience, chatting excitedly along the way.

Elias, in particular, was bouncing on his feet as he stepped into the jungle, determined to level up quickly and catch up with his friends.