Denshichiro stared at the floor. His face had crumbled into a defeated grimace.

“I trained so hard for this….” he murmured to himself. “But it still wasn’t enough.”

Master Ardan dusted off his headmaster’s uniform and grumpily stared at the duel’s messy aftermath. He sighed deeply. The Sekuheim School had just put in a new floor and now it already had to be redone. The prize money from his duels were generally high but the overhead costs of the constant repairs were getting expensive too.

“You gave me quite the challenge. Thank you for the match,” he told Denshichiro, adding a respectful nod.

The words didn’t seem to register in the challenger’s mind.

“I thought my blizzard technique was my key to victory. It was going so well. Until it wasn’t…”

“It was a powerful move,” Ardan admitted. “But every advantage comes with a disadvantage. Your blizzard locked you in place, forcing you to use most of your Essence on a single move.

So while you were trying to break through my earthen walls, you were constantly expending energy. And when I finally hit you, you didn’t have much left to withstand my blow. Conservation of Essence and adaptability are often stronger tools than raw power.”

Denshichiro finally looked up at the victor. It appeared he was finally coming to terms with his loss.

“Thank you. I apologize for my sulking,” he said solemnly. The large man was clearly suppressing his emotions.

“I’ve been challenging schools all over the continent. Pressure has been high for me, it’s my greatest wish to open a school in my village. And a win here would have given me a lot of much needed notoriety.”

Master Ardan laid his hand on Denshichiro’s shoulder, speaking to him as if he was addressing one of his disciples.

“And that goal is not out of reach for you. Keep practicing and you can achieve that dream.”

Now everything was said and done, Elem felt silly for feeling nervous about his father’s duel. Master Ardan had won the bout easily. Of course he had.

As head of the Sekuheim school, Elem’s father was widely considered a great Master of the summoning arts. Not only had he connected to three Summons, which was a significant achievement in itself, he also knew how to use each of his Summons in battle effectively.

Ardan had been granted the title of Master when Elem’s grandfather retired and had since successfully held on to the position for decades. Over the years, Ardan had defeated many prominent duelists. He even single-handedly stopped the notorious Ferran in a deathmatch twenty years ago. According to the older townsfolk, the battle had been legendary and some of them still spoke about it regularly.

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Elem chuckled as he thought about it. If his father beat a murderous menace like Ferran, then of course someone like Denshichiro was light work.

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The rest of the day went by slowly. First, the disciples helped clean the debris after which they meditated for a few hours. In the afternoon, the entire school practiced their energy cycling to cultivate their Essence.

Elem could barely focus on his exercises. How could he? Tomorrow would arguably be the biggest day of his life. He would scale Thunderbird Mountain and attempt connecting with his very first Summon. It was the day he’d been preparing for ever since he started training.

In the afternoon, while the older disciples sparred in Sekuheim’s battle yard, Ardan pulled his son and the two other disciples slated to climb the Thunderbird to the side.

One of them was of course Aja, Elem’s best friend. She was a bright eyed girl with long black hair and a sarcastic personality that Elem loved to hate. Although he would never admit it, Elem thanked the universe that she would be alongside him tomorrow. They often bickered, but he trusted her with his life.

The other disciple joining them was called Bertrand, one of Sekuheim’s most promising disciples. Although he was younger than Elem and Aja, Bertrand was able to flow his Essence as long as a veteran disciple. Bertrand’s fast progression was more than impressive but also had created a rift between him and the other disciples his age.

Master Ardan watched the older disciples call their Summons as he spoke, “I expect that the three of you will do very well tomorrow. But don’t think you’re there already. The path up the Thunderbird is a difficult and dangerous trail.”

“You trained us well enough, Master,” Aja immediately said.

The master responded with a patient smile before continuing in a more serious tone.

“Once you enter the temple on top of the mountain, your mind must remain focused at all times. Remember that you’ll be entering a sacred place. Follow the priestesses when they perform the ritual and remember your teachings; a connecting ritual isn’t something you can do over. You meditate, you garner as much Essence as you can. And, if it’s meant to be, the Summon will come to you. Don’t worry and don’t rush.”

The three disciples bowed to their Master. Elem knew his father had to say these things as their Master, but he had already heard the advice countless times.

That night Elem fantasized about the life that he hoped was ahead of him. With a powerful summon he could travel the continent, challenging schools and other duelists. He would have a profession and the enduring respect of his peers. Maybe he could even grow to be the Sekuheim School’s Master one day.

There also was a potential future he didn’t want to think about. What if he couldn’t connect with a Summon? There was the possibility that he wouldn’t connect with anything at all. Everyone had Essence but not everyone had Summoner Essence. Sekuheim’s instructors had tried their best selecting those who they believed possessed Summoner Essence but their system was far from perfect. At the end of the day it were the Summons themselves who selected their connections and not the other way around.

He tried to calm his thoughts so he could sleep. No matter what happened, his questions would be answered tomorrow.