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Chapter 183

“Zeera, you don’t need to break the wall with your claws,” said Aurin. “Use your elemental magic.”

The mighty beast focused intently on the thick wall Shamtile had erected from the ground. Zeera’s biggest weakness was controlling the earth element. He either did not use enough strength or used far too much. There was very little in between and Aurin was desperately trying to teach him how to use the exact amount of force that he needed.

It had been five days since Aurin had hatched Zeera in Sule Scrin but it felt much longer. He had been juggling trying to whip Zeera into shape while also training his other Minakai with Vai. Any attempts to have Zeera train with monsters other than Shamtile were in vain as the masked lizard was the only one of his teammates Zeera showed even a hint of respect for. Aurin surmised that it was because of Shamtile’s beatdown of him, but he didn’t think it was right to have each member of his team take it in turns to attack their newest comrade.

Zeera braced himself and swung his arm through the air, tearing the wall down without as much as a nail touching it. Shamtile screeched loudly and jumped for joy while Zeera stood there, not sure whether to be proud or not.

“Nicely done,” Aurin told the dinosaur who remained stoic in the face of praise.

“He’ll warm up to you eventually,” said Vai before muttering under his breath. “Possibly.”

“I hope so,” said Aurin, turning to the ten-foot-tall dinosaur. “I believe once he sees how we can dominate our competition that we’ll take a few strides in the right direction. The first step for that is to get ourselves into Harmony Tower.”

“It’s been nice having some company all the way out here,” said Vai. “Not that I live here all the time.”

“You don’t?”

“Heavens, no!” yelled the wise tamer. “What a lonely existence that would be. No, I live in a village a dozen miles to the north. This is where I come to train…or if I need to train someone, as is the case with you.”

“Well, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” said Aurin, holding out a hand. “I can’t express my gratitude enough.”

“Express it by blowing your foes out of the water,” said Vai, shaking Aurin’s hand.

“If you’re about Ludonia, it would be great to see you at the tournament.”

“That’s a nice offer, Aurin, but I prefer to stay away from official competitions. It takes away some of the mysticism of Minakai for me.”

“And you still didn’t mind training me for the national championships?” asked a surprised Aurin.

“The skills are transferable, my friend. You can use them in competitive battles, friendly skirmishes, in the towers…you name it, you can use it. Your Minakai are all a lot more adaptable than they were a week ago and the national championships will only be scratching the surface for you.”

“You’re right, of course. I was so focused on the tournament that it didn’t occur to me.”

“Focus is good when a grand event looms over you, but it’s also good to take a step back and see the bigger picture.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Aurin, summoning Quetzel as his steed for the journey home. “Ready to go?” he asked the golden serpent, who hissed contentedly at him.

“Sounds like a yes,” said Vai. “Safe travels, Aurin.”

“Until we meet again, Vai,” replied Aurin with a respectful nod as he climbed upon Quetzel.

Aurin’s Minakai flapped her wings and flew up and over the valley, leaving Vai, Shamtile and Zeera on the cliff edge. He decided to keep Zeera attuned to the Earth Shrine so that nobody in Hazelton knew about the ace up his sleeve. Shamtile would remain with him, also attuned to the shrine. Aurin would summon him as needed and return him to the underground shrine to watch over Zeera just in case the epic Minakai decided he would become unruly.

*

“Hello, stranger!” called Hunter as Aurin and descended upon the ranch.

Much to Aurin’s surprise, Kyle and Hunter had been battling with respective Wingbloom and Flambot. The match was so intense that Aurin spotted it immediately after passing over the mountain to the west of the ranch.

“Hunter was your secret training partner?” asked Aurin.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Who better than the only person in the national championships that’s better than me,” said Kyle, digging Aurin in the arm. “Welcome back, bud.”

“Thanks,” muttered Aurin, rubbing his sore arm. “It’s nice to see you back around town, Hunter. The Hazelton tournament wasn’t the same without you this year.”

“I wanted to mix things up this time,” said Hunter, adjusting his crimson tie. “I can’t have myself getting complacent, can I? Besides, I had no doubt that I would be seeing most of you lot in Ludonia anyway. I must say, however, that I’m very glad that Luna has decided to enter the ring again.”

“Likewise,” said Aurin. “How are Petunia and Saxon?”

“Saxon is probably at home right now playing with his Petalcub and Petunia is six months pregnant with our second.”

“That’s fantastic, mate,” said Aurin enthusiastically. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Aurin,” said Hunter, who then checked his watch. “On that note, I had better head home to them. I promised that I would make it back by dinner time tonight and I’m cutting it fine as is.”

“Take it easy, Hunter,” said Kyle. “Don’t slack on the training for the next three weeks.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” chuckled Hunter, banishing his Flambot back to Ludonia. He then walked down the path and disappeared into the trees.

“I take it Luna isn’t back yet?” asked Aurin.

“No,” said Kyle. “She hasn’t said a word about where she is?”

“I haven’t heard from her since she left town. Have you?”

“Not a peep. Normally, she’s a bit of a blabbermouth.”

“She’s keeping this one close to her chest, isn’t she?”

“Indeed,” said the rancher, furrowing his brow. “And how was training with Vai?”

“The man is a wizard,” said Aurin earnestly. “The way he teaches techniques and adaptations of techniques that my team already know is nothing short of astounding. His help was exactly what I needed.”

“Glad to hear it. And how about any peculiarities about where he asked you to meet him for the training?”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” said Aurin dismissively.

“I noticed Shamtile isn’t here.”

Aurin held up his tamer glove and summoned Shamtile to his side. “He is now.”

The masked lizard looked around in confusion and started waving his arms. He screeched at Aurin as though he was in the middle of something important.

“Alright, back to the pens you go,” said Aurin, banishing Shamtile.

Kyle craned his neck to see if Shamtile had indeed been sent to the pens. “I must have missed the flash of orange light.”

“Alright, it’s obvious that you know what happened. Can you promise to keep Zeera a secret? I don’t want word getting out that I’ve got an epic Minakai, especially when I don’t know if I’m going to use him in the tournament or not.”

“He’s proving difficult then?” asked Kyle.

“He listens to me, but he’s struggling to control his own strength. When he battles with tooth, nail and tail, he’s fine, but his elemental magic is something that he either under or overdoes it with.”

“That fact that he listens to you at all is a miracle in itself. How badly did you beat him?”

“You’re making it sound like I tortured him!”

“Don’t be so sensitive. He’s a wild monster, whether he has a tamer or not, so a good slap about is exactly what he needed.”

“Yeah, it didn’t seem like there was any other option.”

“Can I see him? I want to see how he measures up now that he’s been reincarnated from his former life as a tower guardian.”

“Alright, but I’m bringing Shamtile with him. He’s the only Minakai that can help keep him under control.”

Aurin held up his tamer glove and sent Quetzel back into the pens while bringing Shamtile and Zeera to the ranch in two flashes of orange-brown light. The size difference between the two was emphasized greatly when the two stood side by side while neither looked especially happy to be here.

“My goodness,” said Kyle, who was also dwarfed by the grey dinosaur. “He’s lost a few feet, no doubt about it, but…that’s amazing.”

“Why do you two look so grumpy?” Aurin asked Shamtile, but he realised why upon glancing at Zeera’s tail where there were several deep cuts. “Were you two fighting again?”

Shamtile screeched and squealed while Zeera sneered. It was clear that Shamtile had gotten the better of his teammate again, but Aurin also noticed that Shamtile looked as though he had been roughed up. As Zeera’s control grew greater, that made him a much more formidable opponent. The worrying part about that was that he was a more formidable opponent to his Shamtile who Aurin was using to keep him under control.

“You two need to be able to get along,” said Aurin, knowing that his words were useless. “Zeera, we’re going into the tower soon and you’ll be able to use that pent up energy of yours to its fullest. Anything goes in there against the wild Minakai, alright?”

Zeera stared coldly at his tamer while Shamtile slumped over in exasperation.

“I mean it, you—”

“Hide them,” interjected Kyle quickly.

Aurin immediately banished Shamtile and Zeera back to Sule Scrin and turned to look at the ranch path. Walking towards the ranch with a curious look on her face was Eclare.

“What was that?” she asked Aurin and Kyle with a raised eyebrow.

“Shamtile and…Bigglesby,” said Aurin, making Kyle wince.

“Bigglesby?” asked Eclare, trying not to laugh. “What in the world is a Bigglesby?”

“Minakai from Sinotai.”

“Bigglesby doesn’t sound very Sinotian.”

“I don’t know how they made up the name, but that’s the name,” shrugged Aurin, now desperate to change the subject. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Charming, Aurin,” laughed Eclare, reaching into her bag and throwing Kyle a small jingling bag. “There’s my rent for the next three months, Kyle. Do you want to count it?”

“Nah, you’re all good,” Eclare, said Kyle, pocketing the bag. “How are your lungs?”

“Much better, but I need to use an inhaler every night to keep them strong. I wish I could stay and chat, but I’ve got a date tonight.”

“A date?” asked Aurin.

“Not jealous, are you?” said Eclare with a wink. “It could have been you if you hadn’t chosen your red-headed princess over me.”

“See you later, Eclare,” said Aurin as Eclare smirked and walked back down the path.

Kyle turned to Aurin and stared at him in disbelief. “Bigglesby? That’s the best you could come up with in a pinch?”

“I panicked!” snapped Aurin. “I notice you didn’t say anything.”

“Whatever I would have said would have been better than Bigglesby. That’s a brand of cheese crackers, right? She’ll rumble you next time she’s buying groceries.”

Aurin looked back towards the path. “Now that the coast is clear, do you want to help me train Zeera?”

“You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?”

“He’ll be alright for one battle. Nobody else is going to show up for a while.”

“No, I mean the fact that you think you have a chance at beating me even with an epic Minakai.”