A clash of steel erupted as Ray parred the incoming strike. He was forced onto the back foot as his opponent amped up the aggression as a whirlwind of flaming sword strikes slammed into his guard. Seizing the only opportunity that had seen open in his opponent's guard, he quickly pivoted and thrust out with his dagger. The next second, Ray found himself flipping through the air before he finally came to rest on his back. Wincing in pain, he looked up to see the tip of the flaming sword aimed directly at his neck.

“So do you yield?” Erith asked.

“Fine,” Ray said with a grown “But you better watch your back because I’m getting you next time.”

“Sure you will.” She said, while trying to hold back a laugh. “Seventh times the charm, after all.”

Ray got back to his feet with a stupid grin on his face.

“If you're so confident, then why don’t we try playing some mental games again?”

The color drained from Erith's face as she thought back to the last time they had done that. Ray had hands down beaten her at every game that they played until she finally gave up and declared that E rank intelligence was a cheat. Ray had to agree with her on some level, while he did not feel like he was 10 times smarter than when he did not possess a spark. His mind could now process situations quicker, and his memory and knack for tactics had also improved.

“That's enough chitchat,” Arabella said, with her strangely melodic voice.

She had flowing sapphire blue hair that flowed alongside her very human-like face, which Ray had to admit was quite beautiful. She wore an enhanced set of shining plate armor that covered her from neck to foot. While Ray had not yet seen any of the scale kin in their monster forms except for Zenith and Orlin, who was still too young to take on a humanoid appearance. He had heard from Erith about Arabela’s after she was forced to take it on during one of their monster hunts. Her shape in that form was nothing like Zenith’s. She instead turned into a long-scaled creature with a slender tube-like body, four legs, and a head like that of a frilled lizard. Ray could not help but also admire the armor that she wore, as from what he heard, it would transform with her.

“Ray quit daydreaming and lesson to me.” She said sternly.

Ray snapped his head around to look at the scale kin with her hands on her hips and an unimpressed look on her face.

“Sorry Mam, what were you saying?”

She let out a deep sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I said that you need to focus on your opponent more. You are defending strikes just fine, but you keep falling for blatantly obvious baits leading you into unfavorable situations that would end up getting you killed if this was an actual fight.”

Ray’s cheeks turned red as he got the same feedback that he had received the last several days after losing a match to Erith.

“I am trying to, but it feels like I am so far on the back foot that if I don't try to seize any opportunity that is presented, I will be overwhelmed eventually, anyway.”

“A fair outlook, but not the issue. If you were able to seize the correct opportunities, then we would not be having this conversion but you aren't looking deep enough. You are only observing her actions on the surface level and that is only ever going to show you traps your opponent wants you to fall into unless you are fighting someone with far less skill than you. Here, let me demonstrate what you missed in Erith's fighting style.” She said, waving the younger woman over.

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“Yes?” Erith asked.

“We are going to have a sparing match as I think it would be beneficial for both you and Ray to see the openings that you missed.” She responded, drawing her sword and placing it on a rune-engraved pillar, causing a layer of dulling and force-reducing magic to cover it.

“Ready?”

Erith did not have time to respond as the scale kin exploded into motion. Ray’s mouth hung open as he saw her move in a very similar way to him when he fought. While she was only wielding one weapon so it was not perfect, she was emulating his fighting style with a large degree of skill. Erith was shocked for a moment before she blurred into action as well, using the same attack pattern that she had used against him, but this time a small cry of pain escaped her lips as Arabela struck the back of her leg with her sword. Ray was able to see what the scale kin had been talking about now. Erith slightly raised her guard to high when she was in the middle of her combo, creating an opening for less than a second that Ray had failed to notice.

“Do you see what I am talking about now? You are so obsessed with what is happening with your opponents’ weapons that you are not seeing what they fail to protect with every slight twitch and variation in their swing.”

Ray nodded, understanding where his mistake was coming from. He made a mental note that he needed to observe his opponent's full body in the future, not just the weapon they held.

“As for you Erith, you need to fix that bad habit of yours. You tend to twitch slightly whenever you are gearing up for a strike, not only making the movement predictable but also causing you to return your guard to the wrong position if a fight goes on long enough. While it is only slight and will not hinder you against any swordsmen of a similar level to your own. As I just demonstrated, it will leave you open to anyone who can see it and has the skill to take advantage.”

Erith nodded as well, internalizing the lesson.

“With that, you are both dismissed for the day. Oh, and remember, I expect you both to be out here two hours early tomorrow morning so that we can get some practical experience.”

“Yes Mam,” the pair said in unison before walking back toward the entrance to the castle.

“That reminds me there was something I wanted to ask you,” Ray said.

“What is it?” Erith asked.

“Are you ok with the current speed that we are leveling?”

She turned and looked at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

“You know, it's normally expected that you gain 10 levels a month in the clan, right?”

“Yes, but that is for people that aren't going on hunts or training every day. It took us barely a week to reach level 10 and now it's taken over two just for me to get five.”

“Even if we aren't leveling at the same speed, the experience and knowledge that we are gaining here is invaluable. After training with Arabela, do you think just levels alone will be enough to defeat the true elite of this world?” She asked.

Ray sighed before responding.

“You're right. I am just worried about Chio and some others that we left behind, and I know that must be even worse for you, seeing as you left your actual family behind as well.”

“Well, from now on, just focus that feeling on learning all you can here. We will not get another chance like this, and while I miss my family, there would be no point in returning without the power to enact the changes that we hope to make.” She said, taking his left hand in hers.

They stood like that for a few moments before Ray finally nodded and pulled her into a hug.