"...and so PlantPlant endured for a thousand eons, until the stars themselves died out." Flaze closed the book that she'd been reading to me, for I am a horse and paper is not meant for my hooves to peruse.

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[Hellborne] (Level 2 / Integration 100%)

Born in the extreme environments of hell, you become more resilient against the elements. Your Resilience is increased by 40%.

Level 2: Take slightly less damage the faster you are moving.

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Whoa. I began writing. It was such a gripping story, that I leveled up a Skill.

Flaze lightly chopped me on the head. "Idiot. You got that yesterday."

I laughed. Yeah, I did. We've not only been having fun for the past day, but we also snuck in some proper training, no longer so desperate to keep on moving.

Though it's not that we've no plans to go look for Orlean or anyone else. It's just, more of a casual thing now.

Incidentally, the story Flaze just told was not about the horse smut that she had the gall to bring. I burnt that accursed object, and pissed on its grave. Instead, what she read to me was an epic about a sentient tree, which I fund to be very entertaining.

"So," Flaze spoke, and jerked her thumb towards the door. "Wanna do some more sparring outside."

I neighed and gave a curt nod, following her out the door and immediately blasting apart the nearby area, to rid ourselves of loitering monsters.

My fireballs flew true, while Flaze transformed into a samurai to cut down any of the higher leveled targets that managed to survive my barrage.

Soon the smell of burning meat filled our nostrils, the already ruined landscape reduced further into smoldering craters.

I looked to Flaze then, and we both came to an understanding. It was time for a bout.

The wind blew past, carrying with it embers and ash. My enemy was one, but she was also two. A Samurai and an ethereal Knight circling around my form.

A pull, I felt my attention shift. Directly onto the latter, the knight in charred armor.

I charged towards her, and then activated my heal. The rage subsided, and I knew that I had been taunted, the debuff canceled by own ability.

But the clone had managed to achieve its goal, for my focus had been ripped away from the samurai, with the far stronger attack. I felt the blade of her sword sink into my torso, leaving a large gash of a wound.

[Blessed Heal]

I neighed in pain, and kicked towards the side. My attack connected, and Flaze was flung away with a blinding light, her perceptions temporarily stunned.

[Hellish Fireball].

I summoned a fireball then, but its trajectory went wild when something suddenly impacted the side of my head. The projectile missed, and I saw a large slab of metal right by my eye. Flaze Clone had just bashed my head in with a shield. And a subsequent slash was forthcoming.

[Curse of The Horse]

The doppelganger paused, in the middle of its motion. I took the chance to rear up and kick her repeatedly from the front.

The clone fell to the ground, reeling from the stunning light, and the flames that danced around her form.

[Hellish Fireball]!

It was an attack aimed not at the knight, but instead the approaching enemy from behind. She managed to step back in time, but it did the job of keeping her away for a second longer. I got back to kicking the fallen Knight, but this time the curse had subsided enough, for her to hold her shield aloft. My hoof dented the steel, and the flames softened it further but it still held. I raised my legs for another attack, eager to finish the Clone so I may focus on the original. I stomped, but my hoof slid away, pushed aside by Flaze Clone's shield. My balance was broken for a moment, and before I could go back on the offensive, the clone immediately lunged for my feet, holding on and restricting my range of motion.

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I neighed and kicked her, feeling more of the ethereal woman's life slip away. She didn't try to get me off, but instead she doubled down, using what remained of her life to root me in place, shallow slashes of her sword making cuts across my thigh.

It wasn't all that effective, albeit damaging and debilitating. But the most damning of all was when I reeled from the damage, flowing healing through myself as I endeavored to finish off the dying knight.

The world shifted in the next moment, I felt a thin slab of metal crash into my neck. The bone cracked, I coughed spit and blood out of my mouth. I could hardly breath as I lurched forward, standing on wobbly legs.

Flaze's clone breathed her last, and the original spoke towards myself, the tip of her sharp katana pointed at my face. "If I had used the sharp side, then you would have died."

Probably. I bobbed my head weakly, still trying to get my bearings straight. Give me a moment.

Clones are just unfair.

I found a place to sat down, while Flaze too rested, preparing her next clone.

A thought crossed my mind.

Is that really the case?

Is Flaze really just that much stronger than me?

Or am I merely making excuses?

The thought came to my mind. I should not be inferior to Flaze in combat ability, I'd managed to more than keep up during our plentiful battles, my contributions are never to be understated.

So then why did I lose?

Is it simply a matter of Flaze being more suited to 1 on 1 battles? That's certainly a good part of it. But I do not believe that it's the only reason for my loss.

I didn't make the best use of my abilities.

I felt that it was true, and so I began rummaging through my memories, bringing out my Status Sheet.

I found something curious, a Skill that had leveled up.

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[Foal Blessing] (Level 2 / Integration 100%)

The hope of horsekind. Passively increases all stats by 10%.

Level 2: Enhances kicking power by 20%

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My kicks are now just naturally even more powerful, a welcome enhancement, but not one that would really make the difference between the war of Flaze and I.

Also, Integration is not climbing past 100%. Which makes sense, but how do I get a Skill to Level 3 then?

Doesn't matter. Not right now.

I spent a few good m8nutes pondering my own build, and what I could have done differently, while I waited for my powers to replenish. I watched the clouds float by in the sky, the sunlight escaping from between illuminating the ruins of civilization. The air that I breathe, flowing with dust, is somehow still more fresh than anything else I'd ever tasted.

Again. I eventually wrote, having come up with a new plan.

Flaze shrugged and got ready, using the same formation as before. A Knight clone to distract, and samurai as her main for damage.

I scraped my hooves against the ground as we circled each other. And then I ran.

Away from her.

Flaze looked briefly surprised, but then she immediately reacted, both of her bodies giving chase. The samurai one blurred a moment after, shooting in pursuit, like a railgun that had found its target.

I smiled.

There was a good distance for her to cover, and I saw her attack coming before the fight even began, for this has all been a part of my plan.

I leapt to the side, and managed to dodge Flaze's slash. She quickly shifted her weight to chase after me, but I kicked in her direction with my hind legs, quickly knocking the air out of her lungs.

[Horsekick Gambit]!

Bright roiling light erupted from the impact as Flaze was pushed down, but her attack had not entirely missed. It managed to dig into my thigh and hamper my movements, and yet that development only widened my grin further.

[Curse of The Horse].

Flaze Samurai immediately froze over as I quickly got on top of her and began my assault by breaking her sword arm with a stomp, the weapon kicked away. She yelped in pain, and I felt my fury forcibly redirected away, the enemy is not this one but another. I instantly knew what was going on, and I flowed my healing through myself to combat it, knowing that Flaze's clone had just attempted to use her taunt.

I managed to keep my wits about me this time, and I kept on pounding against Flaze's main form. She returned to her knight form and held out her shield, but while it made damaging her harder, she'd lost even more of her ability to fight back.

So does she only await a slower defeat?

No. The answer is that Flaze's clone had nearly caught up already to support her, and I quickly exploded a fireball on the copy's face to keep her back.

I kept up the onslaught against the main body, meanwhile my clever use of spells kept the clone away. I whittled down Flaze's defenses until I'd pried her shield open, bits of it melting off. I moved on to destroying her torso, and the arms protecting it, until Flaze finally said the magical words. "I yield."

I neighed and celebrated, vindicated in the knowledge that I am not weaker than her, she was only smarter. Wait a second, that's not a good thing.

I gave a horse cough.

Correction, she was lucky enough to have come up with a superior strategy at first. There, better.

You lose, dumbass. I laughed and pointed at her face, while I offered her a hoof.

She shook her head, but took it regardless, pulling herself up. "I won the first match. What the fuck are you on about?"

You got lucky.

"You would've died if that were a real fight."

I pondered for a second a good comeback, and it's not as if there were none. But I found that I actually agreed with her, so I only followed Flaze as we walked back to Philip's workshop.

I beat her two on one. So it's my victory, really.

She also would've died, if this one battle were real.

SORE LOSER.

So many comebacks. It is only my maturity that prevented me from rubbing it in, on her stupid face.