Saying that Sir Rolandus accepted his defeat gracefully would have been an understatement. The very moment his Donkeycorn disappeared back into its realm, the armored Summoner swung his arms to the side of his body and dramatically dropped to one knee.

“Thee hath bested me!” he shouted as he pushed a pouch of coins in Elem’s hands. “I beg of thee, please accept this token of mine gratitude. For partaking in this epic battle!”

Elem accepted the money without uttering a word. He wasn’t expecting any prize money– after all, they hadn’t agreed on a wager- but his head was still a little too hazy from handling so much Essence to refuse.

“Now I better continue on mine merry way!”

“You’re not staying at the hostel?” Elem asked.

“Nay mine friend. I enjoy too much the solitude of the night. It maketh for a relaxing walk. Twas an upmost pleasure!” Sir Rolandus replied. He ran his fingers through his twirling mustache before walking off into the night, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.

Elem thanked the man and then waited until he could no longer hear his clanking footsteps before opening the pouch. To his surprise, its contents weren’t modern Continent Guilders but some ancient artifacts that looked like they belonged in a museum.

“What a strange man,” he murmured to himself.

That night, Elem could barely close an eye. The match had been hours ago but the adrenaline still pumped through his veins like an electrical current. Beating Sir Rolandus had been his first real Summoning victory. Ferran had swiped him away with a single move, the Ultra Gym instructor in Alabaster had crushed him with his Werewolf, and his fight with the thugs in the Wayward Woods had required the assistance of Balthazar’s Karasu Tengu. However, tonight’s duel, Elem had managed fully by himself. Not only had he successfully applied his newly learned Essence cultivation techniques, he had also improved as a tactician and found a method to defeat a powerful opponent by applying a proper strategy.

He smiled. Tonight was a good night.

_____________________________

“Time to wake up, sucker!” Aja shouted as she pulled Elem’s sheets from his bed. “For such a ‘motivated Summoner’ you sure sleep a lot.”

“I thought this hot spring situation was supposed to be a relaxing thing,” Elem grumbled, rubbing his temples. He would have been more than fine with sleeping for a few more hours.

Aja jerked him from his bunk bed with a single bed.

“We can relax once we’re there. Unless your Kappa has some secret teleporting powers I don’t know about, we better start cycling now. We still got a loooong ride ahead of us.”

Aja wasn’t wrong; it took them almost an entire day of cycling before they reached their destination. The Spring of Rebirth resort was nestled atop the highest volcanic peak of the Western Pergamu range, where the sulfuric scented air was dry and only the toughest pine trees survived as the columns of thermal steam merged with the passing clouds.

Shifting their gears, Elem and Aja climbed the windy dirt road up the volcano until they reached a gatehouse that was shaped like a Fire Salamander and adorned with a string of bright red lanterns. It was a mystical, almost fantastical scene. So disconnected from the rest of the world that it exerted an ethereal sense of calm and peace that Elem could barely describe.

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“Finally!” he proclaimed, leaning over his bicycle’s handlebar as he caught a breath. With the long bicycle ride behind them, the idea of a hot spring was sounding better than ever. His entire body was aching, especially after yesterday’s battle, and he could use some healing warm water.

They parked their bikes and walked up to the booth where a woman wearing a white uniform and a tight bun was occupied with veiling her long colorful nails. She stared at them for a few judging seconds before asking if they had a reservation.

“Are there any open spots?” Aja tried.

The woman met the question with a deep frown, her eyes nearly rolling out of their sockets.

“This is a premiere resort, you cannot just walk in without a reservation,” she said. “Customers reserve baths months in advance. Besides, are you sure that you can even afford this place?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Aja barked back, flushing with rage. She was ready to jump over the counter but the woman had already moved on from the conversation and began opening the gate for a passing truck.

“What about them? Huh?! You just let all those people through without a single question? They don’t look like fancy customers either!”

“Those aren’t patrons. They’re miners, working at the nearby sulfur mine,” the woman explained.” So unless you want to spend the rest of your day digging through the earth, I suggest you make an appointment for the future or go to the public bath down the road.”

Elem pulled away from the booth before she’d attack the worker and nudged her back towards the bike.

“The public bath doesn’t sound too bad? Let’s check it out.”

The public bath was only a short ten minute ride down the mountain. It didn’t have an exorbitant sign like the resort but was marked by a rusty fence and a simple black and white sign: [West-Pergamu public hot spring: entrance free of charge.]

Although the hot spring had seen better days, Elem tried hard not to rile up his disappointed friend.

“Look how many people there are. This must be a booming local spot!” he tried. “Okay, it’s not that pretty but at least we can soak up some of the local culture.”

Aja didn’t reply, her eyes trailing the rundown hot pools that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months. She sighed, noticing that even the surrounding area was littered with trash and discarded towels.

To his own surprise, Elem was able to convince his friend to give the baths a chance. So they changed into their swimwear and tried one of the pools.

Safe for one toothless man with a potbelly winking at Aja, none of the other elderly bath guests acknowledged them as they dipped in the water.

“Chimera balls,” Aja cursed under her breath.

The water was murky and strongly reeked of sulfur. There was no cold pool to cool off in, and even the surrounding mountains were barely visible through the thick fog hanging in the air.

“Ok fine,” Elem admitted. “This isn’t ideal. I didn’t expect these baths to be like this.”

“Like what?” scoffed the toothless man. Apparently he hadn’t just been staring at Aja, he’d also been listening to them. “Ha! We get disappointed travelers like you every now and then. But you can’t blame our humble little hot spring too much.”

He slowly drifted towards them, his body submerged like a toad.

“It’s that fancy resort up the mountain, they hoard all the good water and we’re left with the polluted sludge from the nearby mine.” He raised his shoulders. “After a while the water gets itchy and some of us have gotten a few rashes but we keep coming back. I guess the heat is rather addicting. Strange isn’t it?”

Elem and Aja shared a quick look of disgust before both jumping out of the water.

“I’m sorry!” Elem shouted as they ran toward the showers.

“It’s okay,” replied Aja. “Let’s get out of here. I got an idea!”