Boots thudded on wooden boards, beating a strange rhythm that spoke of battle rather than dancing. The sound of metal clashing and sliding against itself occasionally filled the warehouse, a sharp noise that would be unpleasant at the best of times. And beneath either of those, only audible in the briefest moments, were the sharp sounds of exertion.

Wallace and I danced across the open space of our warehouse base, sparring with one another. It was a habit we had fallen into on our trip to Aranth and one I had not been able to partake in after my careless injury. And, up until recently, it was one where I had felt comfortable in my superiority.

All of that had changed in the last few weeks.

The metal mage had been busy since my injury. I could not say if it was the dearth of spare time, the desire to catch up, a hunger for learning and power, or something else driving him, but Wallace had drastically closed the gap. Before arriving in the city, he stood no chance of winning a sparring match if I went all out. I had more stamina, my magic was more refined, my martial skills more polished, my body stronger, and my defenses impenetrable where he was concerned. I had no weaknesses, really, or rather none he could exploit.

But Wallace had learned much. He had integrated Forging principles into his magic, allowing him to reinforce his blade and make it next to unbreakable. He had honed his non-magical swordplay and learned to combine it with his looping technique in a near-perfect blend. He had mastered shrouding enough to make his magic just shy of indetectable, even for me, and most alarming of all, he had begun reverse-engineering my strengthening spell.

It was a terrifying and frustrating show of raw talent. I tried not to grow too envious and instead focused on what things I possessed that he lacked, but it was hard to ignore. He had done in weeks what most took months, and worse, Wallace was not content. I had often seen him continuing to practice whenever he found the chance, even after I had recovered enough to begin training with him again.

I doubted he stood any real chance against me now, but he was closer than I cared to consider. He was becoming a threat, and I had been taught my entire life to nip those sorts in the bud. But I had already decided to wait until he betrayed my trust before taking such a step.

Besides, what better way to improve than to take inspiration from other, even more talented mages? Iron sharpens iron, as that oh-so-cliche idiom went.

Wallace slipped from position to position, his footwork smooth and flowing as water as he shifted, never sitting still for longer than an instant. I tried to cut him off, using my training spear to limit his movements, but Wallace slid around the strikes, backing up and darting in with incredible speed. His variant on my strengthening spell favored short, brief bursts to conserve mana, which made it almost more effective. Certainly more irritating.

When Wallace finally struck, it was with blinding speed. He lunged in, his blade slicing through the air with a sharp whistle. I raised my spear and caught the strike, deflecting it away rather than blocking it head-on. It still felt like I had tried to shift a roaring river, and I knew my hands would sting if not for my armor. Even still, it took most of my strength to push his attack aside.

Wallace's follow-up strikes came with impossible speed and a complete and utter disregard for the laws of physics. His blade shifted and moved through the strength of mana rather than muscle, ignoring concepts such as momentum. All Wallace had to do was follow, making for a strange, flowing sword style that was next to impossible to predict.

I fell back, calling upon the shielding vambrace on my right arm. The green shell appeared in a heartbeat, and I raised it aloft, blocking his furious offense without much issue. I preferred not to rely upon it too often, but this seemed as good a time as any.

Wallace should have fallen back when his attack failed, and I could see the moment when he decided against the wiser course of action. Then, he followed me with his sword upraised. He was eager, too eager in fact, and chased after me with more haste than was wise.

I planted myself, drawing upon my Aether and driving it through my legs. It snapped into my Force Step, and I launched toward the metal mage in a blinding green blur.

While I had not improved the spell enough to warrant a new name, steadily honing it had yielded results. I caught Wallace off-balance and threw him to the warehouse floor. He hit the boards, the air knocked from his lungs, and his sword flew free to clank somewhere off to the side. I was on him within a second, spear hovering just inches from his face.

I held the position for a few seconds, just long enough for Wallace to look up at me, sigh, shake his head, and begin smiling.

"Another win for you, I suppose," Wallace remarked, shaking his head, and I pulled the spear back and dismissed my magic before holding out my other hand to help him up.

"You were too aggressive," I replied, pulling him to his feet.

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Wallace grunted, looking over towards his practice blade and extending one hand. The metal weapon flew across the fifteen-foot gap to smack hilt-first into his palm, and he spun it by his side in a flourish before sheathing it. I caught a brief surge of metal mana from the whole thing, but it was a distressingly precise exertion for the man.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just...I was so close," Wallace shook his head and sighed again.

He had been further away from winning than he thought, but admitting as much would shatter his confidence. So, I smiled, "Next time, so long as you keep training the way you have these past few months."

"Only because you've been stuck in some healer's shop these past few months. What're you even doing there, anyways?"

Wasting my time, it seemed.

Almost three weeks had passed since I had broken my hand. Master Lysandra had sped my healing with magic, and those sessions had provided valuable insights into true healing, but my education remained decidedly mundane. She still refused to train me in anything noteworthy, and my days remained dry and dull, filled with studying and reading rather than anything practical.

I desperately wanted to do some testing and try my luck at magical healing, if only to know whether or not it would work with Aether. It was idiotic, of course, but the temptation remained. Instead, I had to try and glean whatever I could and apply it to my other spells. My Arcane Body had benefitted, and I had a few ideas to further improve my physical conditioning, but those were a far cry from my true ambitions.

A part of me wanted to save myself the time and frustration and leave the city. Another, darker side to my mind whispered a much more sinister idea. There were plenty of towns and villages where desperate commoners might be willing to accept "healing" if the alternative was death. In those places, I could test my fledgling skills to my heart's content.

That brief temptation filled me with revulsion, and I resolved never to consider such a step again. I would never be so desperate as to harm innocent people like that. It was the domain of a true monster, and regardless of what had happened to my channel, I was no monster. Not yet, and hopefully not ever.

Wallace cleared his throat, and I started, realizing I had been lost in my thoughts.

"I am staying busy. Speaking of which, excellent work here."

I gestured around us to the warehouse. It had taken weeks, but it was now a fully repaired, dry, and open space. Smaller than I would prefer, but still an ideal place to sleep, train, and experiment magically.

Wallace shrugged, "Kinda fun, honestly. Felt like I was a real noble again."

"I did not think you liked most nobles."

"I don't. Doesn't mean I don't miss being one."

I let the point hang as I walked over to the small spot in the far corner, our "bedroom." Two cots sat beside one another, with a simple table and a few shelves to hold odds and ends. I scooped up my notebook, where I had written out schematics for the warehouse and glanced over the latest of my designs as I sat down.

"You figure out your plan yet?" Wallace asked as he followed me, leaning closer to look at the design.

I had agonized over at least ten separate designs before eventually coming to a simple realization. If I wanted to figure this out, I would have to start small, identify flaws, and work up. There was no chance of getting it perfect on the first try and going too complex too fast would only make the refinement process harder.

"In a manner of speaking," I replied evasively.

Wallace sat at the table, throwing both legs onto its surface and leaning back in his seat, "You want to elaborate?"

"Just as soon as you take your legs off the table," I replied, glancing up from my reading.

Wallace rolled his eyes but returned both feet to the floor after a second. The moment he did so, I began speaking.

"The main layout will be a large runic circle set into the floor. I plan to use a series of symbols designed for ideas of containment and concentration. In theory, it will gather mana over time and gradually increase in internal density."

"...is that it?"

"Start small," I said with a shrug, "I have no doubts this will come with a hundred flaws to solve and improvements to make, but I want to get something concrete done first. Besides, this will also serve as an excellent training exercise. For both of us."

Wallace's eyebrows rose, "You want my help?"

"You have been learning enchanting for weeks now. Would you rather keep reading?"

"Founders above, no."

"Perfect. Then, I want you to take some of our remaining gold. Purchase a few carving tools along with some spare wooden planks. That will allow us to test my idea first before wasting valuable materials or damaging the warehouse."

Wallace nodded but did not immediately rise, "...far be it for me to second-guess you. I know we have our deal and all, and I'm supposed to follow your lead, but shouldn't we...I don't know, make this place more secure first?"

I had already considered that, and the truth was I had little idea where to start with defensive magic. I had spent a brief period reading up on it back at the Academy and a little longer back in Colkirk, as these types of magic tended to overlap with bounded fields, but it had always seemed next to useless. I had never intended to stay in one place long enough to warrant such magic.

Ironies abounded.

"I have no idea how," I said honestly. Wallace's eyes widened, and I shrugged, continuing, "I can think of a few possibilities, but until I figure them out, one of us will have to stay here at all times. Either that, or we need to find a way to hide valuables."

Wallace sighed, "Great. Sounds good. Not at all inconvenient."

I shrugged again, but before I could say anything else, Cat jumped onto the table between us. The feline turned to face me, meowing loudly with what sounded like vague irritation.

"I think he's hungry," Wallace remarked with a chuckle.

"I noticed," I replied as I retrieved a vial of Aether water and poured it into a small bowl.

"You know, you never told me how you got a magical beast as a pet," Wallace said as I knelt beside the feline.

"No, I did not."

"Are you going to?"

"I had not planned to, no."

I could feel Wallace's stare, and I sighed before turning to face him, "Very well. I caught him around about a year ago. He was near death when I found him, and I nursed him back to health."

"And he just so happened to find the one mage in the area with the same element as him?"

"I suppose, yes," I replied.

"Lucky for both of you, I suppose."

I knew it was a strange coincidence at best, but I did not much care to have that conversation again with Wallace. So, I remained silent.

The man stared at me for a few seconds, then shrugged, "Fine, not my problem. One last thing, though. You ever going to give him a real name?"

I glanced at the feline, then back to Wallace, and replied, "Sure."

"When?"

"Eventually," I replied, opening up my notebook again and jotting ideas for defensive magic for our new base, "The shops close in a few hours, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Wallace muttered, standing and walking to the door while waving over his shoulder, "Be back soon."

I watched him go, then returned my focus to my work. After a few seconds, I closed my notebook and turned back to Cat. He had finished his meal and was now sitting and staring at me.

"I do not suppose you have any preferences regarding names, do you?"

The cat meowed at me, which was about as much of a response as I had expected.