We stopped just as the sun began to creep toward the horizon. I would have kept going if it was my choice, but that was my impatience and selfishness overruling common sense. My companions and our mounts seemed exhausted and eager to stop for the night.

Leon led us several hundred feet off the road, picking a spot not far from a thin collection of trees that might barely qualify as a forest. It took us about ten minutes to tie our horses to the trees, set up our tents, and unload our packages for the evening.

Magic helped, and I tried not to let envy weigh me down as Leon cast a simple fire spell to light a bundle of sticks. Simon offered to start on dinner, and Amelia moved to help him prepare some packed meat and vegetables stored in an enchanted container to ward off heat and pests.

I stood, about to help as well, but Sophia caught my eye before I could. The noblewoman jerked her head to one side, then spun and walked away from camp without a word.

Amelia seemed to notice the exchange, but when I turned and tried to meet her eyes, she returned her attention to preparing dinner with a strange look on her face. I paused, then pushed it out of my thoughts and walked after Sophia.

She had managed to get several hundred feet from camp, stopping beside a small cluster of trees. The shortest was barely taller than me, and the largest was only a few dozen feet with a trunk the width of my torso. As I approached, Sophia glanced over her shoulder with a flat stare.

I had a moment where I suspected she had drawn me out here for our duel, but instead, Sophia nodded and said, "Good, you're here. Stand over there and don't move."

Sophia turned back to the trees and held out her right hand. Her mana tensed, and purple lightning crackled along her arm. I could have sworn a few hints of white sparked here and there, but before I could look any closer, she released the spell.

A purple flash lit up the clearing, accompanied by a deafening crack. I winced as lightning shot from her hand in a thin, crackling line that tore into the tree, slicing a deep groove as it curved upward. It carried on further, traveling several hundred feet before losing structure and falling apart above our heads.

Smoke rose from the savaged tree trunk, and I revised my estimates of Sophia's abilities. She had taken a second or two to prepare the spell but had done so without an incantation and with minimal physical gesturing needed. I could throw a bolt faster, but not much.

I waited for her to turn towards me, but Sophia remained facing forward. Her other hand rose, and she pointed it towards the trees. I heard her begin to speak and recognized the Old Ferren tongue, though I could not make out any specific words or phrases.

As Sophia spoke, mana rose from her core again. Lightning ran down both arms, dancing across her shoulders and back as she gathered power. I could again make out white flecks, like tiny stars dancing along her body as she continued to chant.

Long seconds passed as she forced more and more energy into her spell. I could sense her compressing the mana multiple times, and the air grew tense with an almost palpable pressure as she struggled to hold it in place. Her body looked tight, even under the aura of lightning covering most of her torso and arms.

Then, she relaxed her control.

Lightning tore free from her hands in a near-blind flash. A dozen forking bolts blasted out from her body in a way, crashing into the cluster of trees with the force of a raging storm. I winced and turned away, covering my face as shards of wood bounced off my body.

When I turned back, my eyes widened.

An entire section of land as large as a house had been blown to pieces. Tree trunks had been cracked in half, deep grooves lined the dirt, and I could see chunks of stone, and a sharp smell filled the air, the same that followed a natural storm.

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It was the most devastating piece of magic I had seen since my Awakening, and my estimation of Sophia rose higher than ever. It was the sort of spell most would not learn until Mist, even Fog, and for good reason. I could sense by the thinnness of her aura that Sophia had drained her core with the casting.

Still...did that matter? None of our classmates could weather such an attack. I could not, even if I had my shielding vambrace ready to bolster my defenses.

I resolved to improve my Traveler's Shield as soon as possible, just as I heard footsteps draw closer. I turned and saw the others running up to us, Leon with his bow and Amelia carrying her staff. They all drew up short as they saw the aftermath of Sophia's magic, their mouths falling open.

Leon glanced between the devastated section of land and his sister, then shook his head and murmured something to the others before walking closer.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Leon demanded, the heat in his voice catching me off guard.

Sophia turned towards him, sweat beading her forehead, and shrugged before replying, "Training. What else?"

"Do you have any idea how much noise you made?"

"A lot," Sophia replied, "Sorry. I should have warned you."

"Yes, I would certainly say so," Leon countered, then shook his head, "Just...maybe hold off on more practice until tomorrow, okay? And tell us when you're planning to cast something like this. We thought you two were in trouble."

"I apologize, sir," I interjected, bowing my head, "It will not happen again."

Leon glanced at me, then sighed again before returning to the others. Again, Amelia looked at me with a strange expression, but she once more ignored my attempts to meet her gaze. It seemed purposeful, and I tried to ignore the twinge in my chest at that realization.

Sophia made it easier than I expected, clearing her throat before asking, "Well?"

I tilted my head, "Well, my lady?"

"What do you think? You have an opinion, yes?"

"Ah..." I coughed, "I see. Well..."

"What is your goal?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

"Goal?" Sophia echoed.

I nodded, "Yes. How do you plan to fight? One-on-one, in a group, close range, long range?"

"Why does that matter?" Sophia asked, "I just need to know how to improve the second spell. It's from one of the Titan-Bane's books. It should be the strongest option, yes?"

Torros had famously entrusted his magical secrets to the crown and the Academy, believing his abilities belonged to his country. Of course, regular apprentices would not have access to anything beyond the most rudimentary knowledge, but having a duke as a father opened certain doors.

"No, not always," I responded, "Depending on what plan to do, the second spell might form the bedrock of your style. Or it could get you killed."

"How so?"

I considered if I could do this without a demonstration, then sighed and walked a few steps away. Most nobles might find what I had planned insulting, but I suspected Sophia was not "most."

When I reached fifteen feet, I turned back to her and said, "Please, start the incantation as if you were casting that second spell."

Sophia raised an eyebrow but began speaking a heartbeat later. I counted to five in my head, crouched low, gathered up my mana, and cast a Force Step.

I slid to a halt in front of her, raised a hand, and said, "I win."

The lightning mage's eyes widened a hair, and I straightened up before continuing, "If you used your first spell, you could have thrown two or three regular lightning bolts in that time. Or you could have prepared a defense to ward off incoming attacks. While it might hit like a crashing storm, it takes too long."

"...I see," Sophia nodded a few times, folding her arms over her chest, "What would you do, then?"

"As I said, it depends on what kind of mage you want to become," I replied, "If I planned to fight in a group, I would master the second spell and try to create variants for different circumstances, such as distance and the number of opponents. If I intended to find more one-on-one duels, I would perfect the first spell instead."

It was relatively simple advice, echoing the words of Master Barlow and several books on the topic. But Sophia seemed to consider my words for a long while, then nodded.

We stayed out a little longer as Sophia bounced a few more questions off me. I did my best to answer, but truthfully, we had hit the limits of my knowledge. When she seemed content, we returned to the camp and found the others just finishing up dinner.

It was a soup, hearty and filled with various meats and vegetables. I sat on a rounded stone, and Cat walked over to plop down beside me, sniffing at the food and meowing at me while prodding with one paw.

"Ah, right," I muttered, setting my bowl down and retrieving a small hunk of raw, Aether-rich meat from inside my pack before returning to the fire. The feline perked up, and I placed the food down for him before picking up my own meal.

Dinner passed quickly, and the conversation was friendly, if a bit sparse. Leon still looked more irritated than I would have expected at his sister, which Sophia ignored as she scarfed down her meal before retiring for the evening. Amelia was less quiet than before, though she and Simon seemed to sense the tension between the Esttons.

After eating, I offered to clean our bowls to apologize for running off without helping with the meal. The others happily agreed, giving me an excellent chance to sneak off for training afterward. A part of me wanted to go to bed early, but every time I considered it, the image of that devastated chunk of forest flashed in my mind's eye.

Even with all of my training and even with my channels and core rebuilt, Sophia was still ahead of me. And every early night, every late rise, and every lazy afternoon would only widen that gap.

When I crawled into bed hours later, my mind buzzed with a hundred tasks to finish and improvements to make. I rose twice more, once to practice some forging techniques and a second time to read before exhaustion finally claimed me.

The second day of traveling was uneventful, and I once more dove into training and studying to pass the time. Simon and I spoke for several hours about enchanting, quietly discussing the project he had assisted me on for the last few months.

I caught the suspicious look Amelia threw at us and had to disguise my smile. While I knew she would find the surprise wholly underwhelming, that seemed half the fun.

Finally, as night began to fall again, we saw the lights of a city peek over the horizon.