Ikari told us that Forged blades would be available for us the next time we met. The rest of the morning's class in Swordcraft was spent trying to teach us how to solidify a small fragment of our qi into a permanent form, sword qi. Ikari's instructions were slightly clearer here, although none of us were particularly successful in making progress.

We had to circulate a small amount of external qi, compacting the whirling bit of qi tighter and tighter until it condensed. Ikari made it sound trivial, and for him, it probably was, but condensing sword qi turned out to be too difficult for any of us to achieve in our first session.

I tried over and over again while seated on the dark gray floor, but the small spinning disk of qi I held in my palm stayed liquid and volatile, dissipating as soon as I released it. I couldn't compress it with enough force to actually condense any of it permanently, not even a speck of it. It made sense, then, that crafting an entire sword of condensed qi would be a milestone, as Ikari had mentioned. Such a feat would have been unbelievable, if I hadn't witnessed Ikari perform it multiple times already.

Frustration turned to focus, but still, I was met with only failure. The first half of the class had seemed more like an advertisement than anything else, but the latter half was the kind of tedious, difficult training that I was used to. The hours passed by, and soon it was time for our noonday break and meal.

"Return here at one o'clock for your afternoon class," Ikari said. "Outside of your core classes, there will be other training exercises. You'll be notified of these by a message. Otherwise, you have the time to yourselves. Starting today, the Academy's gates will close at sunset and open again at sunrise. Any nights away from the Academy must be approved in advance."

"But I have all my fun at night," Naisha said as she moved towards the doorway. Her brows were furrowed in annoyance.

"All the more reason to keep you here," Alanna replied from her side.

I didn't mind a curfew. As long as I had somewhere to practice my sword, that was enough for me.

None of us had any clue what that next class would be. When I invoked the Classes command again, the three empty slots remained.

Classes

Swordcraft I: 0%

I hadn't made any progress in Swordcraft, either, which was not surprising.

The rest of the students left the Homeroom quickly. Five, who had been silently nursing his broken shoulder for the remainder of the class, was the first out of the door.

I lingered behind to catch Ikari alone. Alanna had sent me a questioning look before she left, but I had shaken my head, and that was enough for her to leave without further words. Meanwhile, the gray-skinned instructor waited with arms crossed over his bare chest.

"What do you want?" Ikari asked.

He didn't strike me as the type to be indirect about such things, so I dove straight into my questions.

"The Academy's infirmary. Can it restore my ears?" I pointed to the scabbed sides of my head. I had noticed that Alanna and Naisha had restored their ears already, although I didn't know if that was through the Academy or through their own private means.

"Yes, and far worse, for a price," Ikari said.

"Is it possible for--"

I had been about to ask about Elder Gri's request, but Ikari held up a calloused hand to stop me.

"Only students of the Academy may use the infirmary," Ikari said.

I stopped, mid-sentence, then grimaced. "Was it that obvious?"

Ikari rolled his thick shoulders in a shrug. "You're the first of this lot to make that specific request, but people covet what the Academy can provide. That's expected. Anything else?"

Ikari's words brought to mind Empress Shih. I debated whether to bring up the matter of the Assignment. It was Academy business, after all.

"I have an Assignment..." I glanced about the room, even though it was just the two of us remaining. Speaking openly about killing a member of royalty could be disastrous. I changed tactics.

"How dangerous would an alchemist be?" I asked. "A dark alchemist, more specifically. And what does that even mean?"

Ikari's penetrating gray eyes seemed to gaze through to my very core.

"I can't give you the answers to your Assignment," Ikari said. "A sword artist must learn to cut through lies and secrets, not just flesh and steel. What I can tell you is that progressing through the Academy will aid you in accomplishing any Assignment."

I was on my own, then. I bowed to Ikari and left the Homeroom.

Although my stomach rumbled, I decided to use the free time to check on the infirmary first. It was supposed to be located in the same area as the dining hall, anyway. Even if Elder Gri was barred from entering the Academy, perhaps there was something I could take out, like an elixir or other medicine. It was unlikely, but worth a try. I could also finally attend to the matter of my missing ears.

Directions, Services.

A faint blue glow appeared in the air before me, hovering a foot off the floor, its light reflecting off the polished dark surface beneath. The hazy glow traced a path forward down the hallway, opposite the way that led back to Quarters.

I followed the traced path down the wide hallway, turning right once. I passed an unmarked doorway but the blue glow continued past it. More side passages went off into the darkness, but I continued following the guiding light. Half a minute later, I arrived at the end of the blue glow, which promptly disappeared. Before me stood another set of metal double doors with a circular qi seal. I touched the seal and sent a small amount of qi into it to unlock it, pushed the doors apart and entered.

Inside was an unadorned circular room made from the same material as the Homeroom, but this room had three additional doors spaced evenly, along with the entrance, around the perimeters. These other doors had no seals, and one of them had been left open. From the clinking sounds of silverware and the tantalizing scent of cooked food wafting into the circular anteroom, I assumed that the open doorway straight ahead of me led to the dining hall.

The doors on my left and right were identical in that each was a single metal door with a large window cut into the upper half. The window was open, so that I could have leaped through it. The difference between the two was that an elderly woman was standing behind the door to my left and an elderly man was standing behind the door to my right.

I walked to the right first. The man's hair was thin and gray, his cheeks sagged, and his soft brown eyes had a droopy look that made me think he was asleep. From the slouch and slant of his shoulders, I doubted he had ever held a sword. I certainly didn't sense any power from him.

"How can I help you?" the man asked as I approached. His voice was surprisingly awake and cheerful.

"Do you...work here?" I asked.

"Yep," the man said. "I've run this shop ever since I was a kid like you."

I blinked, unsure what he meant. Had he lived in the Academy for his whole life? Probing for personal details didn't seem polite at the moment, though.

"Is this the supply center?" I asked.

He nodded. "There something you need?"

"What exactly do you carry?" I bowed slightly. "By the way, I'm Talen, of the Koroi clan."

He nodded back to me. "Josef of the...Academy. You know, you're the first one of this bunch that bothered to introduce himself. Let me guess. You're the lone black sheep? The poor kid from the outer lands?"

"Something like that," I replied.

"Figures. Always have one of those in the group."

He made it sound as if this had happened before. If the Academy had trained others, why hadn't I heard of them? The last Grandmaster had been a century ago. Even Elder Gri had never heard of the Academy until the other day.

"Wait, are there more of us? Do other sword artists train here besides the thirty-two?"

Josef coughed into a gnarled fist, looking away sheepishly. He spoke louder. "Getting back to your question, young master, you can find most general supplies here--weapons, food, clothing, that kind of thing--for a price. A few minor alchemical supplies, nothing extraordinary."

He wouldn't, or couldn't answer that. So be it.

"What kind of swords do you carry?" It was the first thing that popped into my head.

Josef leaned out the window and glanced down at my sword sheath. "Nothing as fancy as what you've probably got there. Some of your city's alchemical steel is the best you'll find."

"Oh," I replied, a bit disappointed.

"Check back after you've been here a while. Things could change." Josef winked at me.

I nodded. "I'll do that." I realized that I had no gold on me to buy anything. I wanted to get an idea for their pricing, though. "How much would such a longsword cost?"

"Thirty credits," Josef replied immediately. "Buy one, and get a second for only twenty-five."

Credits? I had seen that word before. Status.

Status

Name: Talen Koroi

Exam points: 1018

Bonus points: 2

Rank: Grandmaster

Swords: None

Implants: None

Techniques: None

Credits: None

That's what I had thought. "How do I obtain credits?" I asked. "How many gold per credit?"

"Oh, you can't buy credits with gold. You can convert ten exam points to one credit. It's a one-way transaction, no take backs. You can cash out your credits for gold, though."

"I have to pay exam points?"

Josef nodded amiably. "Exactly."

"And how much gold per credit, if I cash out as you say?"

"It varies." Josef's eyes took on a distant look as if reading something. Perhaps his own messages. "Currently, eighty-eight pieces of gold per credit. Again, it's one way only from exam points to credits to gold. No going backwards."

I ran the numbers in my head quickly. If I converted all of my exam points into gold, I would have nearly nine thousand pieces. A lifetime's fortune. I wondered if any of the others knew about this yet. Even for a noble, this much gold wasn't an inconsiderable amount. It would have been tempting to cash out and quit. I grew uneasy at what clan elders would think if I told them about this.

I tried to peek past Josef, imagining vaults of gold and weapons, but all I could see was a dull stone wall behind him.

"In that case, I'll be going. Does she run the infirmary?" I gestured towards the other side of the room.

"That's right. Mattie there's been working the infirmary almost as long as I've been here." Josef sighed with a slight smile. "We two used to have something going on, once upon a time. Mattie and me. She used to be a looker. I mean, she still is, but back then, oh boy, let me tell you about the shape of her..."

I politely extricated myself from that conversation and made my way over to the other side. The elderly woman was frowning when I reached her. Her hair was straight, severe, and a mottled mix of black and gray. Her nose was pudgy, her chin was doubled, and she had a round piece of glass set in a metal frame in front of each eye that made them look extra large, like an owl. She was reading a book with a faded brown cover.

"Is that decrepit fool spouting nonsense about me again?" the woman snapped before I could say anything. She closed her book and set it down. "He has that idiotic grin plastered all over his face."

I resisted the urge to turn around and judge the nature of his expression myself. "No, nothing of the sort," I said. "He simply told me that you run the infirmary. Is your name Mattie?"

"Matrina. Only my friends call Mattie, of which I don't see any here." She glared over my shoulder.

"Sorry." I wondered how with an attitude like that, none of the nobles had taken enough offense to harm her. Servants would been beaten for less, aged or not.

Matrina pointed to the sides of my head. "You want to grow a new pair of those?"

"Yes, please."

"That'll be ten credits for a minor healing elixir."

"Ten credits?"

It made sense that they would charge for such a valuable service, but the idea hadn't crossed my mind until now. But ten credits? That would cost a hundred exam points. I was starting to appreciate exactly how valuable exam points were in a more tangible sense.

Matrina frowned at me. "If you don't like my prices, you're welcome to go elsewhere."

"Ten credits is a wonderful bargain," I said in a hurry. I paused. "What exactly do I get for ten credits?" I knew little of how alchemical healing worked, and even less of how it worked here in the Academy. I figured it was better to look before leaping.

"A minor healing elixir," Matrina said.

"What does a minor healing elixir do?" I asked. "I mean, how does it work? Are there any side effects?"

Matrina raised an eyebrow. "It's a minor healing elixir. You drink it. It heals you. That's it. Good for minor injuries and simple body reconstructions."

"Will it restore a missing finger?" I asked.

Matrina shrugged. "It should. Why?" She peered at me. "You seem to have all ten of yours."

"For now. What about two missing ears and two missing fingers? Could it heal all of that?"

"Of course."

"A missing arm?"

"No, you'd need a lesser healing elixir for that." She frowned. "Are you going to tell me you used to have a third arm? Because I don't see why--"

Stolen novel; please report.

"What's the price for a lesser elixir?" I asked.

Matrina stared at me now, her lips a flat line. "A hundred credits."

I had barely enough exam points. I was loath to give up what I had earned, but for another member of the clan, there never was a choice. I knew what Elder Gri wanted, why he had questioned me about the infirmary. Ikari had mentioned that the infirmary wasn't for outsiders, though. A final thought occurred to me.

"Can I give the elixir to another?" I asked. "Will it work for someone else?"

"Yes and no." Matrina gave me a sideways glance. "Maybe. Probably not. The elixirs you'll find here work best for those touched by the Swordgeists. I wouldn't recommend giving it to others."

That was...unclear. I opened my mouth to press further, but Matrina clucked her tongue.

"You asked about side effects," she said. "Paralysis, atrophy, disfiguration to name a few. Even death." She shook her head fiercely. "No, not a good idea."

I had tried my best. I would have to report to Elder Gri that this path was closed.

"Will you be wanting a minor elixir?" Matrina shifted, as if ready to move.

I was reluctant to part with my exam points unnecessarily. I didn't particularly care how I looked, and the lack of ears didn't affect my skill with a sword.

"Will a minor elixir heal a stab wound?" I asked.

"Depends where you're stabbed. Throat, heart, or brain? No. Stomach. Maybe. Liver. Yes." Matrina made an annoyed face. "Look, I'm not here to be your instructor. You've got Yoxu for that."

"You mean Ikari?" I asked, puzzled.

"No, not that brute," Matrina said. "Yoxu, the one teaching Geistech."

Geistech. Perhaps that was our next class this afternoon. I wished I could question Matrina further, but she was clearly tired of my pestering.

I bowed. "I'm sorry to have bothered you. I was caught up by how much there is to learn."

Matrina sighed. "Ah, you've barely been here a day. So, what will it be? Do you want the elixir?"

I wavered on paying for the elixir. If I could wait until I needed it for something else, I could kill the proverbial two birds with one stone. No, I wouldn't need it now.

I shook my head. "Another time."

"Suit yourself," Matrina said. She picked up her book.

As I turned to leave, a wave of intense aura washed over me. The aura was too weak to affect me physically, but the vicious anger was palpable enough to send a shock through my core. It was also familiar.

Five.

Matrina looked up from her reading. She could sense that, too? I knew better than to pry. I turned and rushed towards the last doorway, which must have led to the dining hall. The spiritual scream had come from that direction.

Past the doorway was a short hallway that turned left and opened up into the dining room proper. The walls and floor were made of the same dark gray stone as everywhere else. On the wall to my left was a door with an open window like the one Matrina and Josef stood behind, except this door was twice as wide and currently had a metal grill sealing its window shut. I spotted movement within what I assumed was the kitchen and serving area. I didn't think I would be able to eat until the fighting stopped.

The rest of the dining hall was filled with black tables, and there were enough of them to seat ten times more students than were present. Or there would have been, except most of the tables near the center had been crammed to one side to clear an area. Overturned bowls and plates littered the ground, the rich smell of spilled broth and roasted meats filling the air.

I turned my attention back to the center of the dining hall where Five stood, his sword drawn, his pale face tinged with a touch of angry color. Opposite Five stood a tall, lean girl with blonde hair coiled into a bun on top of her head. She had the typical look of a noble, the high cheek bones, statuesque jawline, the crisp blue eyes. I would have thought that she, not Naisha, would have been related to Alanna, if that kind of appearance hadn't been so commonplace among the nobility. She had also drawn her sword, a thin rapier that coursed with blue arcs of current. At its hilt glittered a small blue gem. A shock gem.

About half of the students were here. Alanna and Naisha weren't. The rest must have finished eating already, or perhaps gone into the city for their noonday meal.

I focused on Five more carefully and saw that his right sleeve was singed with a burn mark. His sword hand was a raw red color, and though he tried to mask it, the fine lines at the corner of his mouth betrayed his pain. She had burned him, which was rather unusual, as most shock gems couldn't generate that strong of a current.

"Get him, Kendra!" someone shouted.

A few had been looking in my direction when I arrived, but they turned their attention back to the two dueling sword artists. As for myself, I made my way to the edge of the makeshift arena where they fought. I waited to see what was happening.

I had no idea for the reason behind the duel. For all I knew, Five could have instigated the fight himself. It was bad form, too, interfering with a matter between two sword artists. That was a good way to end up with sword artists mad at you.

I watched, along with the others, as Five and the one called Kendra approached each other warily. I recognized the name, Kendra Sullivan. She had been in the class standings yesterday with over a thousand exam points, which meant she had likely transitioned to the rank of Grandmaster as well. This would be an instructive match.

Kendra shot forward, her rapier sizzling with blue light as she aimed at Five's core. Her body, sheathed in golden light, was a blur, faster than I had seen anyone other than Ikari move. Five rolled to his left to dodge the attack, slashing once at Kendra's legs as she passed by him. But Kendra swept her rapier sideways in a wide arc, and Five jerked his sword back in a frantic move, twisting his whole body away to overcome the momentum of his own sword's swing.

It was a strange, awkward reaction that only made sense if he was trying to avoid all contact with Kendra's rapier. He didn't even dare to block or parry, from what I could tell. It had to be her shock gem.

An ordinary shock gem would very briefly stun an opponent, the current traveling through crossed blades, but if you expected the shock, you could fight through it with enough strength and force of will. As a Grandmaster, Five should have been able to all but ignore the effects of a standard shock gem. But based on how Five was acting, Kendra's weapon was far more dangerous than the norm.

Five slashed at Kendra, once, twice, and again, but each time, he had to pull the blow halfway through the strike, as Kendra would easily maneuver her nimble rapier in the direction of Five's attack. Five struck again, but this time, he moved close enough to send a kick to her side after dangling his sword as bait. Five's leg whipped about, almost too fast to follow with my eyes, but Kendra was even faster. She repositioned her rapier to strike at his leg. Five compensated by pulling his leg back in, but the sole of his boot glanced off Kendra's rapier.

A shower of sparks scattered from Five's boot, and when he retreated, a small plume of gray smoke rose from his left boot's heel. Kendra lowered her rapier.

"How you managed to top the standings is beyond me," Kendra said with her chin pointing upward. "Kneel and beg like the dog you are. Then, I might forgive you for your rudeness."

Five responded by spitting at Kendra's feet. "That good enough for you?"

Kendra's face contorted with fury. She lunged for Five, who had been slowly backing away. Five grabbed the closest table, which had to be about six feet across, with his free hand and hurled it at the oncoming sword artist as casually as if he were throwing a small rock.

The tumbling table blocked my view of Kendra's assault briefly before bursting into several large fragments with a crackling explosion. Kendra kicked away a section of broken wood by her foot, but her eyes widened immediately afterward.

"A penalty?" Kendra shrieked. She pointed her rapier at Five. "You! You did this!"

When Kendra tensed in preparation for another strike, Five reached back for another table and smiled. From their behavior, I assumed that any point penalty had gone to Kendra, the last to touch the broken table, and not Five.

Kendra scowled and stood up straight. She pointed to another sword artist to the side, a boy with long black hair and hawkish green eyes, an uncommon combination.

"Jun!" Kendra shouted. "Pin him down." She crouched again.

Jun's face was more refined than rugged, pretty even, the kind that girls fawned over. I didn't hold that against him, but when he reached for his sword and stepped towards Five, I broke away from the sides and stepped forward as well. It was difficult to stand idly by, even if the pale soldier had likely brought this upon himself. Meddling in a duel was one matter. Letting them gang up on someone was another.

"Two against one?" I asked. "Hardly a fair fight."

Kendra gave me a strange look. "Sit down, peasant. Know your place."

I looked to Five, but he shook his sword at me. "Like she said. Sit down, clansman. Be a good boy."

I stared at him. Sword artists had demanded duels to the death for less of an insult, but I always thought such theatrics were a waste of time and blood. The whole notion of defending one's honor made no sense. Honor that could be insulted wasn't true honor in the first place.

If Five insisted on being stubborn, it wasn't my place to save him from himself. In another circumstance, I would have shrugged and left him to his fate with Kendra. But he was still supposed to be a teammate. I didn't want to find out what would happen if he died, and we were stuck with three members.

This is why I hated group-based training.

"Don't be a fool, Five." I said, turning my back to Kendra.

Five mouth began moving, but I didn't wait to hear if he had a warning or a retort for me. I had already seen the attack coming in the reflection of his irises. I spun about to defend myself.

Kendra was lunging at me with her rapier, one leg forward and bent, the other trailing behind, in a classic fencer's pose. In one motion, I unsheathed Terminus and swiped at the middle of her rapier, hoping that I wasn't about to end up with a burned hand or a skewered heart.

I had been building up a charge within Terminus. This time, rather than releasing it upon contact, I timed the release of the built-up power a hair before actual contact.

An explosion of golden light mixed with a thunderous shower of blue sparks, but, in the end, I suffered no burning shock other than from a stray spark that glanced off my sword arm. Kendra had been unprepared for my counterblow, and her rapier was in no position to defend against the follow-up elbow I slammed into her shoulder, knocking her sideways.

I had put a considerable amount of force in that strike, enough to send Kendra crashing into a table that split into two halves with a sharp crack. I held my breath for a moment, waiting for a penalty message, but nothing happened. Instead, Kendra slammed her fist down onto the already broken table with an angry shout, splintering it further

I glanced back towards Five. "Looks like I can negate her shock. You take the other." I wouldn't be able to cycle Terminus with charges and releases fast enough against a sustained attack from Kendra, but they didn't have to know that.

Jun walked over to Kendra and held out a hand, but she slapped it away and rose on her own. They stood side by side facing us. Jun had drawn his sword, a thin long rapier like Kendra's, but without the blue arcs sizzling around it.

Five still didn't reply, but his pale face twisted in conflict. I could practically see his scorn fighting his anger, as his black eyes flickered back between me and the two nobles.

"Fine," he said, as if he was the one doing me a favor.

He moved to my left so that he was opposite Jun, while I took my place in front of Kendra. I shoved a piece of gravy-laden meat on the floor out of my way with the edge of my boot, ignoring the swell of saliva in my mouth. The sooner I could get this resolved, the sooner the kitchen would open and I could eat. That was the real reason I had interfered, I tried to tell myself.

"How badly does it hurt," I murmured to Five. Jun and Kendra were whispering to each other as well.

"I'm fine," Five hissed back. "I'm not a mewling child."

"No, but you're doing a good impersonation of a babbling idiot. The shock, Five. Can you move through it?"

Five's face contorted with rage for a moment, then reason took hold. Or simply the desire to win. "Yes. Response time is more than tripled, and strength is halved. But I can move."

Finally, we were making progress. Kendra was faster than us anyway, and if Jun's choice of weapon was any indication, I would expect the same from him. The loss of speed wouldn't matter if I took a different approach, though.

The two nobles appeared to be done coordinating. They both shifted into sideways fighting stances, their legs bent, their bodies low to the ground. They were mirror images, their backs to one another, Jun pointing his rapier at us with his left hand, Kendra with her right. I had the distinct impression that they had fought together before, unlike Five and me.

"Just keep Jun off me," I whispered as I prepared to meet Kendra. "Don't let up on him."

Five didn't reply, but I could sense him shifting to orient himself for Jun's attack.

The two nobles lunged at the same time, each a shadow of the other, with the exception that Kendra's rapier was sparking with blue arcs, while Jun's wasn't. It took less than half a second for them to reach us, but that short interval was also enough to reveal that Jun was faster than Kendra, and he outpaced her by the length of a sword.

I had an instant to reconsider my plan, but then, the decision was moot. Kendra's rapier stabbed forward, too quick to dodge fully. I angled Terminus to block her attack, but she had anticipated that I would repeat my trick, and so she spun her rapier about in a loop to avoid my blade and strike my lower leg instead.

I followed her movement, shifting Terminus to block the attack. Her raw speed was faster, but the lever of her extended rapier made the movements slower, while I only had to swivel Terminus a small amount, using the lower half of the blade to parry. I chased her blade, and she retreated and attacked a different target on my body, snatching her rapier back once again when I moved to block her.

I grinned at the irony of the situation. Kendra, the one with the shock gem, was dancing about to avoid Terminus' touch. Her brows furrowed in annoyance as she drew a figure-eight in the air to escape Terminus once more. Our duel was absurd, a ghost fight, as a full five seconds of intense swordplay had passed without a single clang of metal against metal. On my left, the clatter of rapid strikes continued, indicating that Five was holding his own against Jun.

"Now!" Kendra shouted. She pounced to my left, gliding along the floor like a striking serpent, while Jun leaped over her aiming for me, changing targets simultaneously.

It was the obvious switch, since Five would be defenseless, in their minds, against Kendra's shock gem. Now was the moment of truth, whether Five would hold true to his swordsmanship or fall prey to pettiness. I knew he wouldn't fear the touch of Kendra's blade, but I didn't trust his pride not to rebel against my instructions.

Keep Jun off me, I had asked him. As in, don't defend against Kendra when she inevitably strikes.

He listened. The hotheaded fool actually listened.

The tip of Five's sword, the two chains streaming behind it, shot forward towards Jun's rapier, knocking it aside. By then, I had already committed to my attack, aiming for Kendra's exposed side. She saw the danger and cut her attack short, twisting to block my blow, but the gamble of switching had placed her out of position to meet me on her own terms. I swung Terminus with all my might, not worried about timing the cut precisely.

My blade hit Kendra's rapier at a glancing angle, but I didn't release the charge within Terminus. Bright arcs of current leaped from Kendra's rapier down through my own sword and into me, searing my sword hand. I bit down hard as the muscles of my arm threatened to lock up, sending more strength into the right half of my body to overpower the involuntary response to the current.

I forced myself to squeeze Terminus' hilt tightly as the momentum of my swing sent it screeching down the length of Kendra's blade towards her own sword hand. For while Kendra's shock would burn, it wasn't enough to take off my hand on its own without a direct strike.

Terminus, on the other hand, imbued with a full charge would do more than that, even as my strength faltered momentarily from the shock of her rapier's touch. The timing wasn't crucial. As Terminus traveled the length of the rapier and neared her hand, I released the pent-up pool of qi in an explosion of yellow light.

Kendra screamed. There was the ring of metal clattering on the stone floor, but no hand or blood accompanied the dropped weapon. She had sensed the danger and chosen to let go of her sword. It was as good as admitting defeat.

I bit back the stinging pain coursing through my right hand as I clenched it tightly. I had already switched Terminus to my left hand, its point aimed at Kendra's throat. Five and Jun stopped fighting as they both looked in our direction.

I glanced down at Kendra's rapier. Disarming another sword artist without injury was the penultimate victory, or from the other side, the penultimate shame. I could have claimed her sword as my victory prize by the old ways. I picked up Kendra's a rapier with my right hand, burned as it was.

The hilt was wrapped in a soft, dark leather, and the cracked skin of my burned hand left behind a different shade of dark residue where I gripped it. I turned the blade one way, then the other, to examine it. The blade was in perfect condition, its sharp edges gleaming on both edges of its gentle taper. Between the blade and hilt was a brilliant blue gem. I sent an experimental pulse of my qi into the rapier, and the blue gem glowed as a crackle of current ran up the length of the blade. I sent another pulse of qi, stronger than the first, and larger arcs shot up the rapier.

This was no ordinary shock gem. The rapier was the work of some genius alchemist. The strength of the sword artist translated into the strength of the shocking attack. I hadn't heard of such a sword before. The rapier must have cost an enormous sum, even for a noble.

"A lucky strike, clansman," Five said, his tone once again mocking, from where he stood.

No, I wouldn't keep this blade. I already had enough to deal with from my own teammates. I had no need of even worse grudges.

Kendra hissed, her glare dripping with venom, as I sent another pulse of qi through the rapier. She had gotten off without so much as a scratch, even though she was the one who had lost.

"Are we done," I asked, lowering the rapier.

"You'll pay for your insult," Kendra snarled in a most unlady-like voice.

I shook my head. "No, you have it backwards. You pay me, and I give you back your sword."

"You insolent--"

I wagged Terminus, which was still pointed at her throat. Kendra quieted down.

"Nothing exorbitant," I said. "Merely the cost of this." I glanced down at my burned hand.

"You'll return my sword?" Kendra asked.

"Of course."

Kendra's scowl turned into a smile, and not a pretty one, despite her looks. "I agree." She held out her hand, expectantly.

"No, you bring me the elixir first," I said.

Kendra frowned. "I don't have time to run home before the next class starts. I'll get it to you--"

"The infirmary," I said, pointing towards the doorway with Terminus. "Matrina will sell you a minor healing elixir."

Kendra looked at the door, then back at me. "Fine." She lowered her hand and stood up slowly. She took a step towards the dining hall's exit.

"Wait," I said. "Your word. A minor healing elixir from the infirmary, and I return the rapier. And no further duels for the day."

A scowl danced across Kendra's face, but she nodded. "I give my word. I'm not a scoundrel."

I nodded as well in agreement, and Kendra left the dining hall. I didn't hold the word of a noble in particularly high regard, but with so many witnesses, I hoped she would be too embarrassed to break her promise in front of them.

The others started chatting among themselves. Jun stepped back towards the other nobles. Five gave me an amused look, which I took to be slightly better than the usual hostility.

The minutes passed, and Kendra soon returned. She held a small glass vial in her hand, and from the sour expression on her face, I knew that she had paid the price.

Five half-chuckled and half-scoffed. "You and your bartering, clansman." He would have known how the infirmary worked, since his broken shoulder from earlier was gone.

"It's only fair," I said. "Fitting, too."

For I had lost my ears to a trade. It only seemed right that I would get them back through the same. The minor healing elixir should be able to handle that, at least. Two ears and a burned hand.

As Kendra walked across the dining hall towards us, I whispered to Five. "So, why exactly were you fighting in the first place?"

This time, Five smiled in full. "The last leg of lamb..."

I would have laughed, except we reckless fools had been granted the power of the Swordgeists and tasked with the defense of the Empire. We were a volatile mixture of youth and strength, packed together in the Academy, isolated from the world. The outcome was predictable.

But the troubling part was that the Swordgeists, who watched and measured everything, must have known what would happen. They had mentioned the threat from the Void, but there were countless ways to prepare for an enemy. Even as I plotted my course in a fight, the Swordgeists must have planned all of this.

And I still didn't understand why.