With the fight looming, adrenaline coursed through Kella’s hands. She would relish the chance to show why she was still on top.

‘I hope he puts up some struggle. Otherwise, where would be my chance to show off?’

Being a prodigy of a major family like the Griffins, there was constant pressure on her to perform. She had to prove she deserved her standing, with countless wolves eyeing her position.

A blood connection to powerful figures will only get you so far. If you didn’t possess your own strength, you would be eaten up in no time.

“Here I come.” Yeray shouted before lunging forward.

With Alda here, he had no need to hold back. His intention was to kill. Anything less than that would be disrespectful to his opponent.

His sword started to glow with a dull brown light, encompassing the weapon in its entirety.

“Yeray is already utilising the sword’s crystal.” A spectator commented.

The lunge arrived at Kella’s midsection. However, moving with practised grace, she easily sidestepped Yeray’s strike, her own sword at the ready. His blade cut through empty air, and Kella’s sword struck back from his left. Reversing his grip, Yeray parried.

He gave no moment of rest and struck again, this time with more focus. Their swords continuously clanged together, and the girl could feel the power behind every strike. His sword seemed to pulse, the glow subtly getting brighter, and each attack feeling more forceful. The Earth energy made it feel like a mountain was bearing down on her.

‘He’s gotten even more physically stronger.’

Her eyebrows curved down as she frowned.

Despite this, with Kella’s controlled movements, she would gently nudge away every attack. She was counting on him exhausting himself, getting frustrated with his inability to break through. Then she would ruthlessly beat him down. As the battle continued, a gleeful smile spread across her face.

‘But it makes no difference.’

“He’s doing what he always does. Using the Earth crystal to increase his sword’s power.”

“He needs something new, otherwise the result will be the same.”

The students that were gathered around talked amongst themselves. Their hairs ruffled with the wind generated from the clashes. While they seemed to trivialise Yeray’s style, in truth none but Kella could beat him.

Yeray blocked a strike, and then jumped back, his blade pointing down towards the ground.

“It seems I underestimated you.” He spoke through ragged breaths.

“You always do.” Kella replied.

She stepped forward, ready to end this fight.

Seeing this, Yeray grinned and thrust his sword into the floor. Despite its resilience, it was unable to stop the tip from breaking through. A small shockwave spread through the hall as Yeray poured most of the sword’s energy into the floor. The land trembled beneath Kella’s feet, the force rippling through the ground. Caught off guard, she stumbled back, her balance momentarily lost.

Yeray’s eyes gleamed with confidence, sensing his chance. He charged forward, the floor seemingly cracking under his feet with every step. His sword crashed down towards the falling Kella, much heavier than before.

Her heart pounding, she fought to regain her balance.

'Damn it, I'll have to use it.'

Finally, she began drawing on the energy from her sword’s crystal. A soft orange glow surrounded the weapon.

“She’s using her Gravity Crystal!”

Everyone held their breaths. It wasn’t a common sight to see an advanced element used during battle. Even if it was from a crystal, and not her innate mana, it was still a great opportunity. Not to mention, no one had forced Kella to this point before.

Slightly reducing her weight, she managed to stop her fall, anchoring herself above the ground, and simultaneously increased her sword’s weight, sweeping it above her. Striking Yeray’s sword, it diverted its path just enough to land beside her.

“Dammit.” The youngster cursed as he yanked his sword out.

Kella rolled backwards, gathering space between them. While internally spooked out by the close encounter, she outwardly mocked him.

“Is that all you got?” She said, pointing her sword forward provocatively.

Roaring, her opponent charged forward.

Spitting out the sweat that gathered in his mouth, Yeray was back on the offensive. But it was short lived. Kella’s sword moved like a whisper; its weight was reduced to nearly nothing by the gravity crystal. Then just as she would clash, she would increase the weight massively to contend with Yeray’s strength.

Ducking under one of his powerful swings, her blade flashing in a quick counterstrike, the weapon arced towards Yeray’s chest. Failing to react, the best he could do was bend away from the strike. Kella’s sword glowed brighter, as if ready to taste its victim’s blood. Just before it amputated his left arm, a hand appeared, pinching the weapon dead in its tracks.

“The victory is Kella’s!” Alda announced, pushing the two apart.

His verdict final, Yeray put his grievances aside, bowing towards Kella. She subtly bowed back, before retreating from the hall.

‘I have been slacking. I can’t let simple spars get this close.’ She made a silent vow while walking away.

Some people approached the defeated boy, presumably his friends, to console him. The others started chattering amongst themselves.

“That was an amazing fight. The closest one yet!”

“Definitely, I actually thought for a moment brother Yeray would win.”

“Hah, I never lost my faith in my goddess.”

Another person looked at the last speaker accusingly.

“I literally saw you faint when she nearly tripped.”

“Bollocks, I never waver in my faith.” He waved the accusation away, not a shred of shame on his face.

Yeray looked at Kella’s departing back, wiping the sweat off his face.

‘I’ll win next time.’

If he faltered easily, he would have never been here in the first place.

***

Sunlight dappled the forest floor, casting intricate patterns on the moss-covered rocks scattered about. Thin vines hung like curtains, obscuring the vision of anyone who planned to traverse through. A dense canopy of leaves blocked most of the sky, creating eternal shade beneath the trees.

The forest was alive with sounds: the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds and the scampering of a squirrel as it clambered up a rough tree trunk. Its claws dug tightly into the bark. Leaping from tree to tree, the soft moss beneath its paws cushioned its landings. Winter was approaching, and it had to be proactive if it wanted to store enough food for itself.

A small stream babbled close by, its gentle murmur a soothing counterpoint to the cacophony of other sounds. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth, a sharp remainder of the rainfall just a few days ago.

The leaves high above glistened with the occupancy of morning dew, while those on the ground rotted away, decaying back into the earth.

The squirrel stuck up its nose, smelling the sweet fragrance of wildflowers, mixing with the musky smell of pine needles. Twisting its head, it could make out the quiet scuttling of insects. If conditions were hard, they would have to do.

As it prepared to leap away, it heard the distinct sound of a twig snapping. It could feel through the tree that whatever caused it was very large. Instantly it was away, not lingering a moment later, lest the creature find it.

Two figures appeared from the shadows, the light from an opening in the canopy shining down on them. Their faces illuminated, the smaller one spoke.

“I think I heard something moving.”

“Just a squirrel Alex. It’s good you are paying attention.” The larger figure replied.

“Of course, Mrs La- Auntie Helena.” The boy caught his mouth before he misspoke.

The older woman gave a long stare but decided it wasn’t worth pursuing.

Freshly awake from a good night’s sleep, thankfully without a nightmare this time, the boy was ready to learn.

“With that, we will start your first lesson.” Turning around to face him, she spoke directly. “Awareness. That’s the most important thing to keep in mind. Nothing else matters if you don’t have this pinned down. It doesn’t matter if you know how to find food and water in the forest. If you are drinking water from a stream, and you aren’t aware, that’s already a quick stop to the afterworld.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Alex listened intently, soaking in all the information. While it seemed to be obvious, it had to be drilled into your head until it was a subconscious behaviour.

“Skills on finding food and water only matter if you plan to stay in the forest for an extended period. More likely than not, you won’t stay here long enough to even need food. And if you do, you will likely have enough rations. The same goes for most other skills deemed to be ‘compulsory’. But it doesn’t matter how long or short you stay in the forest, you always need to be aware.”

After that, she continued to walk forward, motioning him to follow.

“As an un-awakened, you don’t have access to domains like we do. Your senses are limited to what’s in front of you. However, this is in fact a great opportunity. A lot of awakened and mages rely on their domains to sense when an enemy is close by. They don’t use it to look for oddities in the environment. A broken twig, a scratch mark or trampled grass.”

As she spoke, she pointed out those features in the area around them. They were so subtle that Alex would have easily missed them out.

“If you get into the habitat of looking for such things now, even when presented with a powerful tool like a domain, you won’t over rely on it. Rather, it will complement your own natural skills of observation, allowing you to detect your enemy’s presence at a far greater distance than otherwise possible.”

“With such an advantage, wouldn’t everyone utilise it?” He questioned. It made no sense not to.

“You overestimate people.” She spoke with great distaste. “Mostly everyone, and especially youngsters, barely venture outside of the city nowadays. They have no experience dealing with actual adversaries. Their training is all under a safe environment, they hardly know how to think for themselves. Their moves are designed to be flashy, and they execute them rigidly. None of it possesses the flexibility required in a real situation.”

He nodded, having seen it first hand for himself. He was no different, but today was to change that.

“Let’s see if you can apply it. From now on, I’m going to test how good your eyes really are.” Auntie Helene smiled mischievously. “Every time you spot something that stands out, point at it. And if you miss one, you will get a thwack on your head.”

Alex rubbed his head, already anticipating the coming blows.

‘I didn’t sign up to get abused.’ He complained inwardly.

“Oh and maintain your current speed. We can’t have you walking at a snail’s pace.”

He followed closely behind Helena, his eyes darting to every rustling leaf and shadow. The more they walked, the more the forest seemed to come alive. He could hear the wind’s whistle through the trees, and every step brought him closer to the environment.

A few hours later, Alex sat down, resting against a tree branch. His head was numb from pain. Remembering the torture he just experienced, he wanted to burst into tears. But he couldn’t argue its effectiveness. He could already feel himself improving, noticing things he wouldn’t have before.

Opposite him, Helena bent down to pick up a glowing mushroom. It was nestled snuggly among the roots of a giant tree, before being abruptly taken out.

“A Glowing Button Mushroom. A rare find.” She gently put it away in a pouch beside her hips. “General word of advice. Never eat a mushroom, if you aren’t 100% sure it’s safe. A lot of them look similar too, so always take the side of precaution.”

It was the same advice as what he learnt on the internet yesterday.

While waiting to recover, Alex saw the older woman look towards a specific direction, away from them. Her eyes were locked in concentration.

“Is something the matter?” He asked worriedly.

Without replying, she was away, vanishing from his sight. Alex thought nothing of it, leaning calmly against the bark. As seconds turned into minutes, he started to frown. It wasn’t until he looked around that he realised how quiet the forest had become.

The bird’s chirping seemed distant now, all sound muting away until only silence remained. That’s when he realised, he was well and truly alone.

Frightened, Alex immediately got up and headed towards where he thought Helena had gone. At least, he tried to. Within moments, he was already lost.

In his panic, the surrounding trees started to look mostly the same to him, their uniformity blending into an unrecognisable blur.

Taking an uneasy step forward, the trees suddenly started to feel much taller and more imposing.

He inhaled deeply.

“She’ll be back soon.” He muttered under his breath, trying to calm himself.

But the trees felt different now as if they were closing in around him. His breaths quickening, he looked around in panic. Despite his desperation, Helena was nowhere in sight.

The shadows under the forest seemed to grow, their tendrils snaking towards him. Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, his heart started to beat faster.

“Auntie Helena!” He called out, his voice shivering. “I’m here.”

He could feel it, two pairs of eyes stalking him, ready to pounce and devour him alive. Every movement made him jump, his own included. Every sound made him flinch.

‘Don’t leave me. Not again.’

They were about to upon him, tearing into his legs. He tried to run but was frozen still.

As seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, Alex was about to give up hope.

“It’s okay Alex. I’m right here.” The voice came out of nowhere, spooking him.

But recognising it’s familiarity, he calmed down. As the figure appeared from his side, he ran at her, crying. Tears ran down his eyes, his nose creating a waterfall of snot.

“Don’t do that!” He sobbed.

“Oh, you poor child. I’m sorry.” Helena said, dropping a sack to the ground before hugging him.

‘I’d only left for a few minutes, and he’s already in such a state.’

“I should have told you. I’m just not used to hunting with another person.”

All that received was even deeper sobbing.

Releasing the hug, Helena crouched down her gaze level with Alex’s. Her expression calm, she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Fear’s natural. It’s what keeps you alive in the wild. But don’t let it control you. It’s a tool to keep you alert and should be nothing more.”

Half listening, Alex still reluctantly nodded, wiping the snot and tears off his face.

“That’s my brave boy.”

The two rested for a while, lying on the ground, staring at the sky. Clouds fluttered past, and the sun was approaching its peak. Occasionally, you could hear the cry of a bird that had found its lunch.

“A Redtail Falcon. Weak, as far as 1st tier monsters go.” She commented on the latest noise.

Her eyes turned serious.

“In the forest, survival is about choices. It’s about understanding the cost of life – yours and everything around you.”

Standing up, she walked over to a sack she had dropped earlier.

“Look at what I found, our next meal.”

Also getting up, Alex observed as Helena retrieved a rabbit from the bag. Looking at the creature more carefully, it was strangely adorable. But he remembered what Helena just said. While he ate meat all the time, seeing it writhe in front of you while still alive was a completely different story.

With beasts, who had mastered the ability to use magic, walking around, most of the nonmagical animals were hunted to extinction. Only livestock kept by humans survived in significant numbers.

However, with most monsters cleared around Inops, there was a small resurgence of 0th tier beasts. Like 0th tier humans, it referred to those without mana, the un-awakened. The rabbit in front of him was such a creature.

“It’s only our first lesson, but we need to test your conviction.” She got out a knife, before handing it to Alex. “You want to be a mage. Your job is to kill. So, show you are capable of it.”

Her intentions were clear.

“Slit its throat.”

It felt cruel to do this after his crying session not long ago.

Alex’s emotions were in turmoil. He felt like he was constantly being played with.

‘I’ll be damned if I go out with Mrs Lane again.’

Gripping the knife tightly, he turned to stare at the rabbit. Its beady black eyes stared back. His arm raised weakly; he brought the tool towards the prey’s neck. Hearing its whimpers, he stopped again.

Helena just observed silently. This was an essential step on his way to becoming a mage.

‘It’s trapped, in circumstances outside of its control.’ The boy thought. In some ways, he saw himself in the rabbit.

‘Doesn’t it just want to survive like the rest of us?’ His knife started to drop.

Sensing his thoughts, Helena spoke up.

“All creatures want to live. The trees, the mushrooms, the beasts. Magical or not. It’s arrogant to think you are above them. Above the hierarchy of the food chain.”

Watching him stop, she continued.

“None of the monsters you will face in the future will delusionally think so.”

“It’s different. Those monsters want to attack us! This is just cruel.” He tried to argue, although it was futile.

Helena’s voice was steady.

“It’s not about cruelty. It’s about understanding the world we live in. Mages fight. And they kill. You have to be willing to make the hard choices.”

He didn't care about the logic, it felt wrong.

‘I don’t want to be like this.’

But as his sibling’s images passed through his mind, he knew what he had to do. Hardening his heart, he bought the knife next to the rabbit’s throat. His hands trembled and sweat gathered on his fingertips.

"Do it."

Quickly slashing it across, he turned his head away, eyes closed. But he couldn’t stop himself from hearing the sound of blood, gurgling out of his victim. The blood stained the rabbit’s white fur red.

“Well done, I’m proud of you.” Helena said, but her words felt like they were spoken from far away.

As the noise subsided, a strange numbness spread through his body. He didn’t feel proud – just cold.