“I… give up.” Raising his newly restored hands in resignation, Ethan threw in the towel.

If he had taken some cores for himself, things might have been different. However, the girl made sure to change their location so she’d have sole access to them during the duel.

“Thank you.” With a pleased smile, Ana sucked back the mana and used it to clean up the cave. “I’ll take this as my birthday gift.”

“Today’s your birthday?”

The girl nodded and ripped a petunia cleaning scroll. “I’d also like those tattoos now.” Having calmed down during the fight, it dawned on her how fragile power truly was.

No matter what spells or techniques she would use, Ana couldn’t overcome a monster like Ethan. Similarly, with a bunch of cores in her arsenal, he couldn’t hope to beat her despite his prowess.

‘Power is unstable.’ Ana concluded. One second she might seem unbeatable, and in the next, the tables could turn, and she could lose like an amateur. The only way to somewhat ensure victory was through preparation.

“Should I continue the vines?” asked Ethan after cleaning himself with a dandelion scroll. The tattoos on her arms and legs were beautiful green vines on a blue background. Leaves and flowers appeared here and there with several butterflies completing the picture.

“Yes, but I want tiny birds mixed in within the vines, another butterfly on my chest, and... two crossed kitchen knives on my back.”

Ethan was surprised by that last part, but he soon regained his composure. The girl was already blushing like a stove, so he had to stay professional.

He maintained more than 20 feet in distance, and with a serious face, used mana threads and the needles from Oliver to speedily complete his work. While Ana got dressed in a hurry, he pulled out a sword and started working on something else.

By taking control of the metal, he changed part of it into a thin chain and another into a small metallic butterfly. He painted the creature using his remaining ink and inscribed a certain spell within the chain.

“Here.” He handed it over to Ana. “A gift for your birthday.” The butterfly's body was a rocky brown with cracks which extended half way accross the wings.

"Beautiful..." seeing the exquisite creation, Ana started to slightly regret opting for vines instead of a more stone like pattern.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As soon as she put the necklace on, the girl felt a change take over her body. To clear her confusion, Ethan showed an identical chain around his left wrist.

“When you no longer want my gift, feel free to break it.”

Less than a month was left before the tournament would begin. This time was spent raising their power, inscribing all 1.000 scrolls, and getting used to their spells and tattoos.

Among the last ones practiced by Ana was the age old technique of summoning golems. However, there was something highly unusual about these summons. The more Ethan looked at them, the more he wanted to rub his eyes.

"Ana, how are you doing this?" he asked after making her repeat the technique several times. Even to a former rank 9 mage, this spell seemed to defy common sense.

"I've followed the instructions in one of the library's books." said the girl matter of factly. "I did shorten the circuit by half though. The way they explained it was horrendous."

'If this could be learned in a book, I'd have become a shutin ages ago.' thought Ethan. He tried to replicate the spell dozens of times but to no success. While the first part was somewhat doable with the help of dozens of mana cores, the second was downright impossible.

"This is some bulls**t!" The teen tore a hole in the roof out of frustration. He couldn't accept the fact that there was a spell he couldn't replicate, especially not one made by his newbie of a pupil.

"You can huff and puff all you want; just don't blow up the cave." chided Ana while covering the hole before they both drowned.

With bloodshot eyes from anger and lack of sleep, Ethan swore to develop something on the same level. They had run out of vitality pills a long time ago, but he couldn't care less. It took him another sleepless week, but he finally made good on his word.

"Wow..." Only after seeing Ana's pupils about to leave their sockets, did the ancient mage take a nap.

Of course, these techniques couldn't be assimilated in a day. Ethan's required 36 tattoos to pull it off, all of them taking the form of a beautifully crafted knife. Ana's couldn't even be turned into a tattoo, as the thing that made it special was lost in the process. By the time both of them mastered their spells, the day of departure had finally arrived.

“Should I collapse the cave?” asked Ana in a nostalgic tone.

Instead of responding, Ethan began carving into one of the walls. “This is the cave of Ethan Masalis and Ana Taylor.” He wrote in large letters.

“You think anyone will care?” asked Ana amused.

“Of course! If they know what’s good for them.”

After gathering their things, the duo left the cavern and were now taking one last look at the lake. After turning towards her friend, Ana pulled something out of her bracelet.

“Here.” She handed Ethan a long fighting knife. It wasn’t engraved and it didn’t look particularly expensive, but it was definitely well made and had a solid grip.

“You haven’t told me when your birthday is, but I figured I’d give you something anyway.”

In truth, Ethan couldn’t remember his birthday even if she asked. He knew the date of the boy whose body he was using, but it held little significance to him.

“Do you like it?” asked Ana. “I’m not sure how formations work, but I put a ton of mana inside and it seems to have stuck.”

Hearing those words, Ethan did a double take on the knife. After peeking beneath the surface, into the stream of energy flowing within, the ancient mage’s face suddenly turned pale.

“Yes…” he answered several breaths later, eyes still on the blade. “I love it.”