One week after Book 2 Chapter 13:

“Wildside’s frontline warrior will probably try to delay your attacks until his teammates can one-shot you with spells. Arm.”

Nastin kept an eye on his conversation partner’s sword as they circled each other while talking. His words were met with the edge of the blade shrieking towards his left side and he stepped back to avoid the sudden attack.

Initially, he’d been fine to talk on and on but now he could hardly afford to waste time hesitating as the attacks came in deadly and swift. His arm numbed a bit as it suddenly hit home how close the attack had come to touching him. More attacks soon followed and Nastin found himself pedaling back to safety.

Nastin grunted as he deftly dodged each attack, each one almost grazing him as he moved out of its path, “If you can’t keep up with me while I’m giving you these openings then you won’t be able to catch up with them. Chest.”

“I know, I know.” His opponent didn’t give up his relentless pursuit of Nastin’s shadow as the paladin continued to move like a snake out of his combo.

[Chaser: Level 47 Sword Dancer.]

Chaser’s movements were as elegant as they were deadly, his sword creating after-images as it struck the air in front of Nastin. His skills had grown even greater since Nastin had last played this game against him. However he still wasn’t precise enough to catch up to Nastin’s subtle dodging movements. Even if he could aim for the paladin’s whole body, it was difficult for him to catch up to a single moving part. Unfortunately for the sword dancer, that was the entire point of this exercise.

Chaser stabbed his sword forward as he registered Nastin’s command, but the paladin laughed as the sword dancer jolted from the sudden change and his attack was delayed. Suddenly Nastin was free to move out of Chaser’s attack range, but the warrior had other plans.

Chaser’s body blurred as it glowed white and he seemed to glide over the ground. He took three steps forward as his body’s white glow blinded Nastin and appeared in front of the paladin.

“Gotcha.” Chaser didn’t bother to hide his glee.

“If you’d been this focused during the early parts of the game you could have gotten a rarer class.” Someone called out to the duo from the side.

[Grenda: Level 46 Archer of Darkness.]

Good timing. Nastin thanked Grenda in his heart as he heard her call out.

Chaser was easily distracted. Nastin moved to the side the moment he heard the archer call out. If Chaser got caught up by her words then he wanted to be able to take advantage of the split moment to run away.

“Says the archer!” Chaser didn’t hesitate as he responded to Grenda’s words.

And then he stabbed Nastin through the chest.

“HA!” Chaser grinned as the duo came to a complete halt.

“You win this round.” Nastin smiled as he saw the celebrating warrior. “Good job.”

“Tch.” Grenda walked up to them with a pleased expression threatening to break through her facade. “I guess everybody gets lucky once or twice in their life.”

Chaser shot her a grin and pointed to Nastin’s chest, “Tell me that when you hit him. I’m pretty sure now that everyone else has done it, this makes you worst in the team.”

“Ha.” Grenda laughed dryly. “I guess it does.”

Without another word, she brought out her bow, turned around and walked towards some of the nearby mobs. She immediately began firing her at the helpless creatures with gusto as she ran around the field bullying them. They simply weren’t a match for the archer.

“Oh?” Chaser hadn’t been expecting that response. “What did I do wrong?”

“That is something you should ask her.” Nastin shot him a knowing glance before moving off to join the rest of the team.

‘What the heck does that mean?’ Chaser didn’t have a single clue about what had just happened, so he decided to ask the person who’d started it, “Hey Grenda!”

He turned to the archer and the ever-growing number of monster corpses left in her wake. One second she’d been happily watching him fight Nastin and him fight and the next she was transforming mobs into porcupines.

‘Heh. I’m not the only one that’s improved.’ Chaser could see Grenda’s aim had improved by leaps and bounds.

Almost all of the monsters had arrows sticking out of their vitals.

A lone creature that was shaped like a bipedal aardvark was next on Grenda’s hit list as she killed the rest of its brethren. She had handled its companions so skillfully that it hadn’t even noticed them dying. She was skirting around its detection range as she dealt with its allies.

[Field Boss: Gharmon Level 47.]

“Okay-okay-okay.” Chaser took his chance to jump in front of the creature as Grenda circled it. “Let’s do this.”

Gharmon eyed him suspiciously as he came in close. It wasn’t a particularly violent boss and only struck after it had been attacked first or if he detected his fellow mobs dying. But that meant nothing to Chaser as he bounded towards it with gusto.

Until an arrow struck the ground in front of him.

“What the heck? Hey, Grenda, you’re going for the wrong guy here!” Chaser jumped back even though he knew the arrows wouldn’t hit him.

“No.” Grenda appeared behind him and when he turned his head he saw she was frowning. “I want to take this guy on alone.”

“Alone?” Chaser wondered if he’d misheard her.

She definitely seemed serious, but they’d encountered this field boss a few times and they always needed at least two people to fight against it. The aardvark was no joke, they all genuinely felt terrified when it charged at them with its two giant and clawed hands.

“Yes.” Grenda’s short reply was followed by an arrow flying over Chaser’s shoulder.

It smacked into the field boss’s eye and it immediately targeted the player nearest to it; Chaser.

“Ah damn it. Fine.” Chaser stepped back and leaped out of its way as it charged towards him with a roar.

The sight of the monstrously huge creature created an intimidating image as it bounded towards him headfirst. With swift movements, he easily managed to back out of its range and he watched as Grenda drew its aggro by shooting it in the tail several times.

‘Phew. That’s going to be a tough one.’

Gharmon was an archer’s natural enemy. His back was covered in matted fur and skin thick enough to stop arrows in their path. His huge claws and swift reactions also meant that unless it was unexpected, an arrow would simply be knocked out of the air when it tried to penetrate through his range.

But Grenda wasn’t an ordinary archer.

-66

-66

-Blocked

Three arrows were shot out of her bow and Chaser saw them shimmer and disappear as they whistled through the air towards the field boss. Two of them struck the side of its arm as it turned to face her. Gharmon’s slanted eyes widened in surprise as the two arrows seemed to appear from thin air and smack into its arm but then it lifted its paw with a lightning-quick movement. Its claws smashed the last arrow out of thin air and the aardvark narrowed its eyes at Grenda.

“Damn it.” Chaser saw the archer muttering under her breath as Gharmon realised the trick behind her attacks and knocked the invisible arrows out of the air.

Unfortunately, field boss NPCs were a little more intuitive than players when it came to predicting the path of the invisible arrows. They could easily see the arrow’s path if they knew where to look. It had only taken a split second for Gharmon to work out what Grenda was doing.

‘Okay, almost time to jump in.’ Chaser hopped on his toes as he prepared to dash in and distract Gharmon.

The moment that thing got near Grenda she would be in major trouble.

“Don’t you dare,” Grenda called out to him as Gharmon began his charge.

She leaped to the side as the field boss’s massive frame destroyed the grass and dirt in the space she’d just been standing in. It was so quick that if she’d blinked it would have seemed like the monster had teleported to her. Luckily she was already used to its tactics. If she kept her distance she was sure she could avoid it. The only thing she had to watch out for was its constant charges that it used to close the distance between itself and its enemies. When charging it became almost impossible to hit it with an arrow because it covered its head with its claws and lowered its body to dash towards her. It also got faster with each charge it used.

-66

-Blocked

-Blocked

“Tch.” Grenda fired off her invisible arrows at the area she’d just been in, and the moment Gharmon appeared they slammed into its side, two bouncing off of its back. “You’re one tough bugger aren’t you.”

“Veil of darkness.” Grenda pointed her bow at the aardvark and watched with a smile as it was covered in shadows that seemed to cling to the air around its eyes.

She couldn’t see through the veil unless she was directly inside the darkness herself, but she still knew where Gharmon would be if he was still positioned in the same place as before.

‘Got you.’ She fired arrow after arrow into the darkness.

-66

-66

-Blocked

‘Blocked?’ Grenda’s eyes widened as a shape came barreling out of the darkness and smashed into her.

-77

Grenda was blown back by the sudden charging attack and her eyes widened as she realised she would be helpless against a second charge once she hit the ground. It had adapted way too quickly for her to predict it. There was no way she could recover in time to dodge Gharmon if he sent another charge her way.

She looked up as she finally hit the ground and saw Gharmon turning towards her with fury in his eyes. He lowered his body towards the ground and brought his claws up to protect his head as she readied to charge towards her again.

‘Crap.’

But before the aardvark could begin his dash another player moved next to him and stabbed a sword into his side.

-90

-90

“Okay.” Chaser could feel a burst of trepidation as he saw the field boss up close. “This guy is freaking huge.”

Usually, he had a couple of other teammates helping him keep it distracted.

The aardvark let out a guttural snarl as it swiveled towards him and smacked at him with a swinging paw. He lifted his sword to try and block the claws, but he instantly regretted his decision as the attack blew past his guard and threw him back several feet.

‘Ugh.’ He didn’t know why Grenda insisted on fighting this thing by herself. “Why the hell are you trying to fight this thing by yourself.”

-66

The archer replied by firing an arrow into the aardvark’s chest as it prepared to strike again at Chaser. The slight hesitation the attack caused let the warrior jump out of its range and move up next to Grenda.

Chaser dashed beside her as they both avoided Gharmon’s charge. “Hey. What’s going on?”

She was acting way too suspicious compared to her normal carefree attitude. But she didn’t reply to him as they moved together from side to side and tried to swipe at Gharmon when they got the chance. His charges were becoming faster and faster.

“Are you okay?”

Chaser pushed the archer out of the way of another charge. She was becoming slower as time went by.

Grenda lifted herself up and fired into the hide of the field boss. “No.”

“What?” Chaser’s concern was immediately visible on his face as he heard her reply. “Why? What’s happening.”

“You said it yourself didn’t you?” Grenda’s frown deepened. “I’m the worst on the team.”

‘Ah crap.’ Chaser shuddered as he realised his big mouth had hurt his friend’s feelings. He knew he had to learn to filter his thoughts and words.

“No, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s not just that.” Grenda cut in as she shot more arrows at the aardvark and dodged another one of its charges. “I mean, have you seen Gyro and Archy?”

“What? Those two?” Chaser tilted his head in confusion as he sliced his sword into Gharmon’s hide. “What about them?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“They’re so god damned skilled! That’s what!” Grenda bristled in anger and her voice rose as she spoke. “Do you even realise how hard it is being around those guys all the time?”

‘It’s not all the time.’ Chaser thought glumly, but even he could see that this wasn’t the time to correct her.

“Archy could probably hit a donkey’s tail from a mile away and I don’t even know what the hell Gyro is. I haven’t hit him a single time because he knocks my invisible arrows out of the air with his own.” Her words seemed to drip venom and Chaser felt a chill run down his spine. She was feeling something a lot deeper than anger right now. “That’s not something humans should be able to do!”

Chaser struck another blow into Gharmon’s side and watched as the heavily injured creature swung from side to side groggily. They had almost finished it off.

“We’re a team Grenda.” Chaser smiled at her as he saw how injured the monster was. “We destroy Archy when he’s in a team battle. And Gyro is just a freak.”

“I know.” Grenda sighed as she fired shot after shot into the aardvark, only for it to turn away from Chaser and block her arrows. “I just feel so useless. If I was better...”

“Do you really want to get better?” Chaser stabbed his sword into Gharmon’s side and watched the field boss cry out and fall to the ground, dead.

“Of course.” Grenda’s head perked up as she walked towards the boss.

“Four months.” Chaser stepped onto the field boss’s dead body and watched it disappear, revealing a green light. “We have four months until the competition.”

“You don’t honestly think I can catch up to those two in four months do you?” Grenda bent down and searched through the loot. “I’d have to be crazy to be so delusional.”

“Ha.” Chaser let out a dry laugh, a habit he’d caught from Nastin. “I know you can. You’re the best archer in our country. And you’re a girl that always overcomes whatever obstacle you’re facing. I’ve seen you do it dozens of times. What’s one more?”

“Heh.” Grenda chuckled. “You call that a motivating speech?”

“What?” Chaser shrugged. “It’s true.”

“Heh.” Grenda smiled and turned towards the rest of their team.

“Four months? I guess I can give it a try. Come on.”

She motioned to Chaser to follow along.

"We've got to go and say goodbye to Archy and the gang."

****

Glacier, Nastin, and Blastar were sitting in a circle watching as Chaser and Grenda fought against Gharmon.

“So we’re looking at three cities we can win against with ease.” Blastar sent them a version of his world map where he’d marked out the cities in question. “Marsh Lakes, Quelia, and Truen. All of them have successfully defended against several groups of challengers and the videos we received from the spies ”

“Heh, spies.” Glacier giggled as she repeated the word. “Sounds so official. You can just say Emir.”

“Fine, fine.” Blastar smiled sheepishly. “Emir filmed them all and their teams didn’t seem too much to handle. Honestly, we should be able to take at least one of them out before the other groups stop concentrating on the bottom five. If we manage to secure a spot it’ll be easier to focus on training for the competition.”

“Are we sure we want to secure a city so soon?” Glacier frowned as she considered the options being presented. “What if we hold back until the final month of the competition to issue challenges? We shouldn’t reveal all of our skills defending against constant waves of opponents.”

“If we can’t hold a single city for that period of time perhaps we shouldn’t be in the competition at all.” Nastin gently prodded himself into the conversation. “We have never been shy of revealing our skills before.”

“And every time it’s come back to bite us in the butt.” Glacier rebutted immediately. “It would be a lot easier for us if we were to eliminate a team during the later months. We can see our opponent’s abilities and give others less time to adapt to our own."

Blastar looked at the two sheepishly before raising his hand. “I agree with Glacier. ”

The paladin of healing lowered his head as he looked away from Nastin but Glacier just rolled her eyes at his passive attitude. Nastin was clearly not going to get mad at Blastar no matter what the big man thought. She doubted Nastin was even capable of being angry.

At least, she had never seen it.

“Very well.” Nastin couldn’t fault her logic, but he was also dissatisfied.

He believed that there was a lot to be gained by fighting against waves of challengers over and over. However, he trusted his team to make the best decisions, and he knew that he definitely wasn’t the best tactician they had. He trusted Glacier and Blastar’s decisions with all his heart.

“So, other than the constant practice and levelling, how do you propose we spend our time?” Nastin wanted to know the best course of action to win this competition.

“The libraries.” Glacier stated simply and she saw their eyes light up. “How you two forgot about those I have no idea. But Third’s information seems to indicate that we’d grow far more powerful by putting ourselves inside those places long enough to learn key spells.”

“Aura step?” Blastar asked hopefully.

He had been amazed by the use of the ability in the fight he’d seen between Seven, Jein and Claire. But after a week of trying to master it, he hadn’t even been able to gain the slightest glimmer of insight into the skill. He wasn’t alone, Glacier had been increasingly frustrated as she tried to lift herself into the air, only to fall flat on her face.

Chaser laughing at her in the background most times hadn’t helped.

They knew they weren’t alone in it. Jein and Claire’s popularity had led to the skill becoming widely known among the player base and not a day went by without a dozen attempts being posted online. People stepping into the air and failing to do anything had quickly grown into people jumping off of pedestals, and then players dying as they fell off of roofs and tried to force platforms to form underneath them.

There were a lot of extremely confused NPCs watching the players and wondering what the hell they were thinking.

In the end, the majority of players had given up. They already knew that Jein and Claire were geniuses beyond compare, and that led to them easily putting aside their dignity to praise the girls for their accomplishment. Many videos ended in the player being recorded dedicating it to the professionals.

Glacier doubted the girls even watched them.

“Maybe in the fighter’s guild library.” Glacier shook her head. “But definitely not on the first floor of the magi guild.”

“Ha. Good.” Nastin’s eyes shone. “That thing is going to be a pain to deal with. I’m going to compare notes with Seven and see if I can find any weaknesses.”

“You’re going to fight with her again?” Glacier’s eyes seemed to light up in mischief. “How many times is that this week?”

“I’m going to fight with her tonight,” Nastin admitted.

He immediately regretted it as he saw the look in Glacier and Blastar’s eyes.

“That isn’t what I asked and you know it.” Glacier didn’t push him too far, but Nastin could tell she would have more words for him later on.

“Ha.” Nastin’s eyes shifted from side to side. “I like your plan. But I still think we should set up a few scrims. Against actual professional players. I know they will see their skills, but we can’t allow ourselves to get rusty or fall behind.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Seven and her team weren’t professionals. They were fine as individuals in duels but as a team, they still lacked the coherence necessary to combat Dark Horse and provide them with a challenge.

“Maybe things would change once Third rejoins them,” Blastar suggested hopefully, but even he knew that they would still have to move on from that team.

“That monster.” Nastin’s expression turned glum.

The wizard had spent the last two weeks inside the Library. He didn’t know what skills Third had found but he sincerely doubted that they were weak. The man had a sharp mind and a sense for battle. Even when taking into account the monsters that were Archy, TidalWave, and Seven, he was probably the most dangerous of the team.

One of Dark Horse’s biggest obstacles.

“Do you think you can get anyone to scrim with us?” Glacier put aside her thoughts of Third in favor of addressing the most pressing matter. “I doubt a single player will accept our request.

Dark Horse had a terrible reputation in the professional scene.

There were quite a few things that determine whether or not professional teams would accept your request to practice with them. One, of course, was how well the team knew you. If you had a good reputation or solid skills then the teams would fall over themselves trying to scrim against you. However, if you lack either of these things they would have to begin the difficult process of convincing the teams that you weren’t just wasting their time.

Dark Horse had neither the reputation nor the skill to entice others.

They were all magnificently skilled players when it came to the average joe. Maybe even the most hardcore of non-professional players wouldn’t be able to defeat them.

But the professional teams were different.

They were the veterans and skilled players that had risen above millions of others to earn their place. Even among the worst of these teams, Dark Horse had always lagged behind. Nastin was sure that not a single player in the professional teams had a rare class linked to the original five classes. His team had two. Just this disparity showed the difference between their team and the others.

“I’ll find a way.” Nastin clenched his fist but was certain in his words. “I’ll convince teams to scrim with us.”

Then his body shuddered as he felt a hand unexpectedly clamp onto his shoulder.

“Don’t go shouldering all this by yourself.” Blastar smiled at Nastin. “We will find teams to scrim with. And spells to use. Third has already given us quite the advantage in that area.”

He nudged his head towards Glacier. She’d been in contact with her fellow wizard for almost the entire two week period he’d spent inside the library. She knew he’d been cataloging every spell and he’d been nice enough to give her his list.

It was extremely extensive.

“Yeah.” Glacier grinned. “Well, we should go and say our goodbyes now. You just concentrate on having fun with Seven.”

“Bah.”

Nastin waved his hand dismissively at her provocation.

“You and your imagination.”

****

“So what? You’re just going to head out like that?”

Nastin could hear Archy’s angry voice rising in volume as he confronted someone nearby.

[Gyro: Level 48]

“Yes.” Gyro nodded in reply. “This is my job.”

“Argh.” Archy grabbed his cheeks as he grew angrier. “Do you know how hard it’s going to be to find someone to practice with? Why do you even need to go now? Your team isn’t going to be touched by anyone.”

He wasn’t lying. Jein and Ji-Woo’s city remained one of the least challenged throughout the entire world of Zodiac Online. The two were simply too skilled for any teams to face head-on. The rest of the professional teams preferred to fight against opponents that wouldn’t force them to reveal all of their skills to win. After the Koreans had been joined by their two other team members they hadn’t received a single challenge.

Gyro was the last of the Koreans to join up with the main team.

“Ha. I knew you two would grow closer.” Nastin smiled as he drew in close to the two. “You already can’t bear to be away from each other.

“Bah.” “Please stop.”

Archy and Gyro took a step back from each other in disgust at Nastin’s words.

“Seven’s over there by the way.” Archy shot back loudly at Nastin with a laugh as he pointed conspicuously at a spot in the plains where Seven and IEatTortillas were fighting each other.

“Ha. All of you guys are in on it.” Nastin shook his head as he thought of Glacier and Blaster. “Gyro has only been staying because he wishes to learn all of your skills before he leaves.”

“Low blow!” Gyro protested but Nastin had already walked off towards Seven.

“Hahaha.” Archy laughed at Gyro’s expression. “Damn right. You know how good I am.”

“Indeed.” Gyro didn’t deny it. “It’s just a pity that four months won’t be nearly enough time for you to catch up to my level of skill.”

“Oh yeah? Well-”

Nastin chuckled as he heard Archy going off on another rant. Those two had grown a lot by fighting each other. But it was nothing compared to how much the girl he was approaching had grown.

She was a terrifying person.

“Nastin.” Seven waved at him with a warm smile on her face, and her friend revived to the side while rolling her eyes at her defeat. “You came at just the right time.”

“Oh?” Nastin tilted his head curiously. “What do you mean?”

Seven lifted her wand with a twinkle in her eye. “I’ve finally figured it out.”

“?” Nastin didn’t reply with words and instead shot her a confused look.

“I mean.” Seven hesitated but then steeled herself. “I’m finally going to beat you.”

“Ho.” Nastin let out a long breath.

“Okay then.”

He grinned and brought out his sword.

“Show me.”

****

It was a battle they'd replayed dozens of times over the past weeks.

"Magic blast."

Nastin dodged dozens of magic blasts as they rained down second after second. There was a slight delay between casting that he had long grown accustomed to, but now it was slightly different. These magic blasts fired down at him from all angles. And above him floating in the air calmly was Seven. He couldn't even touch her.

[Aura step]

The skill that hundreds of players had tried to learn since seeing it used in the placement match that she'd fought in. Every single one of them had tried and failed. Even Glacier, a player he knew was skilled enough to reach the professional level, was struggling to learn it.

'Do you even realise how much of a genius you are?' Nastin smirked as the thought crossed his mind.

He knew she had absolutely no idea.

"Now this is a problem." He called out to her with a grin.

He couldn't get near her. But she could still fire on him. It was a conundrum he knew he would have to overcome sooner rather than later if he was going to fight against the monsters that would appear in the competition.

He watched the magic blasts spiraling down from the sky towards him and moved out of the way with a grin.

-106

-106

-106

'Ah?' His eyes widened in confusion. 'What hit me?'

He hadn't seen a single magic blast pass by his defenses.

'A new skill?' His mind raced with possibilities.

"You didn't think I'd spent all week sitting on my butt did you?" Seven came down from the air with a grin and stuck her hand out at him as he revived. "Gimme my item."

"Ha." Nastin chuckled, and then it turned into infectious laughter as he realised what had happened.

He had lost. and he hadn't even been able to register how it had happened.

"A goodbye present." Nastin's grin widened as he handed one of his precious green-ranked items to her.

A pair of gloves that raised control.

He'd been saving them in his inventory for quite a while.

"You're leaving?" Seven looked dissatisfied. "This isn't another one of your jokes is it?"

She didn't accept the item and instead took a step back as she scrutinised Nastin from top to bottom. She was trying to see if he was playing some sort of trick on her. But every part of him looked deadly serious.

"Ha." Nastin could read her like a book, she was not happy. "Only for four months."

Despite his words he couldn't help feel a tinge of sadness. Who knew how much she'd change in four months. She was already so monstrous compared to when he'd first met her. It was a shame to have to leave such a genius behind and not be able to witness her progression any longer.

"WHAT?" Seven looked at him incredulously. "Four months? That's insane!"

"That's when the competition is." Nastin's fingers curled into a fist at the thought. "It's our job. We need to practice."

"So practice against us." Seven smiled and waved her wand. "I just kicked your butt didn't I?"

Nastin looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "I can't do that."

"Why not?" Seven's confusion was clear on her face.

She didn't want him to just suddenly cut off all contact.

"Seven," Nastin smiled at her. "You do realise we are a professional team, yes?"

"Yep." Seven nodded.

"And you are participating in the competition we are, yes?"

"Yep." Seven continued nodding, understanding spreading over her features. "Wait, are you saying..."

"Yes." Nastin grinned as she finally caught on. "You are our enemy. So we can't possibly continue practicing against your team."

Seven's expression froze and she slowly began to shake her head.

"That's not fair. We're not even a professional team," She refused to accept his words. "That just means we're free all the time! We're not your enemy. We probably won't even make it past the first round. And that's if another team doesn't take our pla-"

"I am the one that made the decision to stop dueling your team." Nastin interrupted her with a smile. "And nothing you say will convince me to change my mind."

"What?" Seven couldn't keep the shock off her face. "Why?"

"Because," Nastin walked forward, gently pushing the gloves into her hands and took a step back. "I sincerely believe that your team will make it to the competition. And once you are there you will be one of our greatest enemies. Not just the first few rounds. I believe you have the ability to make it to the top. So as the captain of our team I have made the decision to stop dueling against you so that you will not learn our weaknesses. You are simply far too big of a threat for me to allow that to happen."

Seven could see that he was deadly serious.

"I-" Seven hesitated as she saw his expression.

She knew him well enough to see that he'd made his final decision.

"Thanks. Not just- Not just for the duels." She took a deep breath. "Thanks for always taking me seriously," She said after a momentary silence. "We'll definitely meet up again. Right?"

"Of course." Nastin nodded with a smile, "Just because I'm not going to be around that doesn't change the fact that you kicked my butt."

Nastin grinned as he saw his team waiting for him in the distance to end the conversation.

"Four months."

Nastin's expression turned serious as moved to join with his team.

"And then I'll return the favour."