Hector broke off back to the orange room. Everyone else went after him, Milo lagging behind the furthest in his slow glide.

Back in the orange room, Hector crossed his arms and faced Milo and Thalia.

“Alright, then,” Hector said. “First thing I want to see is you guys run around the room 5 times.”

“Why?” Milo asked.

“Shut up!” Thalia muttered at his side..

“Because… because I said so!” Hector reprimanded. “Go on! Run around until you get tired.”

“How tired?” Thalia asked.

“If I’m tired, I can’t train,” Milo added.

Hector was turning purple in the face as he trembled. Seeing this, Jon gave an answer for him.

“10 laps,” Jon said.

“You said 5-”

“Shut up, lazy!” Thalia interrupted Milo with a playful shove, which he didn’t appreciate. “10 laps!”

She broke into a quick jog. She seemed to move slowly, but she covered a large amount of distance in a short amount of time.

“Wait!” Hector said. “Do it without your magical weapon!”

“Okay!” Thalia tossed her sheathed dagger into the air.

Hector caught it, but then yelped and handed it off to Jon, who took it.

“Don’t do that!” Hector cried. “That almost killed me! I don’t know why!”

“Sorry!” She bobbed a little slower, but kept moving regardless.

Milo mumbled out of his breath, then started to float down the ring after Thalia.

“No flying!” Hector called.

“I’m never gonna run in real life!” Milo called back, turning to Hector. Still, he lowered himself to the ground, then he began walking with no agency.

“Sunuva-” Hector snapped his fingers.

There was a small explosion behind Milo’s back side. In a rare act of vulnerability, Milo yelped and jumped forward and covered his behind.

“You jerk!” Milo yelled. He pointed with his staff and fired lighting at Hector.

Hector weaved slightly to the side, allowing the firebolt to pass by him, then he snapped his fingers again.

Another small explosion appeared at Milo’s side, forcing Milo to leap towards the center of the ring.

“Why you-” Milo raised his staff in retaliation. Tentacles rose from the ground around both men, grabbing at their wrists and pulling them towards the floor.

“Alright! Alright!” Mallory had looked quite exasperated. “Milo, if you’re that desperate for a goal, leave us until you have something concrete you actually want to work on!”

Milo groaned, but lifted up and floated out of the room.

“And Hector, be an adult!"

Hector was distracted by Milo’s leaving before he turned back to yell at Mallory.

“You don’t see how he’s acting out?” Hector said to Mallory. “He’s being… urgh!”

“Yeah, I know, he’s being you, right?” Mallory grimaced.

“I, uh. No way! I don’t act like that!” Hector pointed at the door as he moved closer to Mallory. “He’s just-”

“Unwavering?” Mallory shrugged. “Hard to reason with? Frustrating? Yeah, tell me about it.”

Hector crossed his arms and very nearly rolled his eyes.

Mallory made a soft smile and continued. “Look, I know he’s a… tough case. But I really do think he wants to learn from you. And I think you want to teach him.”

Hector made a low groan, but he turned away from Mallory with a shade of shame.

“I… I don’t know how to be a teacher,” Hector muttered. He looked at the floor.

“Sometimes the best way of being a teacher is not to teach,” Mallory said. “Sometimes, you just have to be an example. Or even just be yourself.”

“Be myself?” Hector raised his eyebrow. “How would that help?”

“Milo doesn’t want you to treat him like he’s learning,” Mallory said. “He wants you to treat him like he’s there. How about you just tell him what he wants to hear?”

Jon had no idea what Hector could tell Milo to make him satisfied. Milo didn’t seem to be satisfied with anything, but the change of expression on Hector’s face showed that he knew what Mallory asked of him.

“Yeah. I, uh… I think I’ll do that.” Hector slunk off over towards the exit.

“I’m done!” Thalia called out, stopping her runs.

“20 push ups!” Hector said immediately without hesitation.

Thalia dropped to the floor and began pushing.

Hector took a moment to watch, then left.

“I can take it from here,” Mallory said to Jon. “You should go and make sure they don’t explode again.”

Jon didn’t know why he was being sent, since Mallory seemed to have a better grasp of the situation, but he listened and went after the two.

Thankfully, Hector and Milo were just talking as Jon walked into the conversation.

“What exactly do you mean, “get stronger?” Hector inquired at a reasonable volume.

“I want to make all of my enemies bow down to me,” Milo continued. “Admit my dominance over theirs.”

“Um, aren’t you already in charge here?” Hector replied.

“No! It doesn’t count!” Milo gestured to the library. “That’s only because I was born into this. And my Dad doesn’t care enough.”

“Doesn’t care?” Hector raised his eyebrow.

“I didn’t mean… doesn’t matter.” Milo shook his head. “I want people to fear me. You know? Like…” Milo huffed. “Haggar The Conqueror.”

“Um… no one knows how strong Haggar actually was,” Hector told him. “It was his army that did most of the fighting. Even through his memoirs-”

“People still bowed down to him,” Milo pointed out.

“Yeah, but…” Hector lightly kicked up the ground. He looked like he was going to say something uncomfortable.

“Some people will never admit defeat,” Hector suggested. “Sometimes, they just keep coming back up, over and over, before you have to put ‘em down.”

“Then they’ll understand,” Milo suggested.

“No. They won’t.” Hector took a breath. “Milo, are you okay with having to kill somebody?”

Part of Jon’s breath disappeared within his body.

“If I’m strong enough, I won’t have to kill somebody,” Milo added. “That’s why I’m doing this. I mean, you go out and have all of those battles. A fool like you would have never given up, and yet, you’re still alive.”

“I’m still alive because I had help.” Hector looked over at Jon, and Milo followed suit. Jon felt self-conscious.

“If I hadn’t been around other strong people… I would have never beaten anyone stronger than me.” Hector sighed. “I still haven’t beaten anyone stronger than me. By myself, anyway.”

“Why do you sound so pathetic?” Milo asked. “You’re still stronger than me. And I have to deal with that shit! Do you see me moping?”

Hector had the quick flick of a smile on his face. “Well-”

“Well, how do I defeat you?” Milo asked. “Come on. Tell me.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Why would I…” Hector scoffed. “Really?”

“Really!” Milo said. “Come on. If I win, then I’m stronger than you, right?”

“That’s not how it works!” Hector explained. “If I tell you how to beat me, then… well, have you really gotten stronger?”

“I don’t know.” Milo replied. “Maybe. Is knowing more than your opponent the key? Then I would win every battle.”

“It’s not like that-”

“What does it all mean, then?” Milo begged.Even if his questions were a little provocative, he still seemed to beg for a true answer. Hector took a breath as if he was trying his best.

“If I told you how to beat me… then you wouldn’t be able to beat me anyway!”

“What?” Milo cocked his head. “Why?”

“I dunno.” Hector scratched his head. “Sometimes weakness doesn’t matter. Sometimes people are just stronger. I just have more experience than you. You’re annoying… but I’ve also dealt with so many different threats that I can evade anything you send at me.”

“Anything?” Milo asked.

“I… I guess.” Hector shrugged. “I have my sword, and that instantly dispels any mana.”

“Then without the sword!” Milo said. “Come on, then!”

“I already swatted your stupid dragon without the sword!” Hector took off his sword and tossed it behind him, not caring as it slid on the floor behind him.

“And the armor?” Milo asked.

Hector clicked the nape of his armor and it deflated. He threw it after the sword. Jon’s heart rate was starting to rise.

“And the pants.”

“I’m not taking off the pants.” Hector said. “Still.”

Hector tapped the ankle of his left leg with his right twice. The leg armor deflated to yellow pants.

“Now, what do I have to do to beat you?” Milo asked.

Hector shrugged. “You just have to figure that out. Getting stronger is learning how to fight at different opportunities.”

He pointed at Jon. “Perhaps you could start at-”

“I’m not fighting your minion- uh, Jon!” Milo cried. Hector turned to Jon, only to see Jon rapidly shaking his head left to right. Milo’s high level spell casting and his propensity to want to hurt others was definitely something Jon didn’t want to have to face right now. There was something about spellcasters that also just scared Jon more than swords and fists.

“I wanna fight you.” Milo tapped Hector on his shoulder with his stick. “Right now. Show me what being stronger means.”

“Being stronger means you know when the battle’s lost.” Hector swatted the stick out of his face. “And not just relying on magic to-”

Milo quickly brought the stick back around and bopped Hector on the head.

“Ow!” Hector rubbed his forehead.

“Stop that!” Milo told him. “All these roundabout answers. Knowing when the battle’s lost doesn’t doesn’t make sense as an indication of strength.”

“It means you can size up your opponent before you even fight him,” Hector said, still rubbing the back of his head. “You probably can’t do that because you don’t fight many people.”

“Then fight me!” Milo swung the stick again. Hector batted it away this time.

“You’re already a strong spellcaster,” Hector said, “I can’t teach you any more of that, but you should at least expand your options.” Hector eyed Milo’s stick as it bobbed in place. “You seem to at least be getting a good grasp of that. However, your body’s weak. Just one hit-”

Milo tried to swing at Hector again, but Hector ducked, sweeping underneath Milo’s legs with his feet and sending him instantly to his back. “And you’re down.”

“No!” Milo pushed himself up to his feet. “Not again!”

He made another swing at Hector, who deflected it with his arm then took a step backwards.

“Ow!” Hector patted his arm. “That actually hurt.”

“There’s more where this came from!” Milo yelled. He ran at Hector with his stick raised over his head.”

He swung, but Hector caught the stick with both hands.

“I’m still stronger than-”

The stick glowed with purple lightning, striking Hector. Hector’s top half in purple energy.

Hector buzzed in place until he finally pulled away from the stick, he was smoking from his hair.

“Hey! Who said mana?” Hector asked. “Though I suppose contracting all of your lighting mana into a single point is-”

“I have to use all of my advantages to beat you!” Milo yelled. He jumped up, stick raised high above his head, his body aided by his levitation.

He flipped over Hector and struck him in the back of the head, knocking him forward.

“Hey!” Hector rubbed the back of his head as he recovered. “Alright, I-”

Milo jumped again at Hector’s head. Hector made a defensive position, awaiting to counter-attack.

Instead, Milo turned upside down immediately, staying in the air and dodging out of Hector’s grasp. He struck down at Hector again, catching him on the top of the head.

Milo then resumed flying, this time shooting a stream of fire from his hand at Hector.

Hector made a quick step aside from the flame. “Alright. I get it. Your magic’s strong, but-”

He dived out of the way when Milo came back down for another hit, continuing his probe. “What are you gonna do when your teammates are down?”

“What are you talking about?” Milo yelled from above. He stopped moving in the air, waiting for a good answer.

Jon had sat down, cross legged, watching them. He felt a little guilty at how much he was enjoying this.

“What happens when you need to stand your ground?” Hector asked.

Milo alighted in front of Hector. “Why do I care about teammates?”

“I told you,” Hector insisted, “the only way I was able to beat my opponents was with the help of my teammates,” Hector said.

“I don’t need teammates!”

“You do!” Hector said. “Look at our last battle! You kept flying around so much, I was able to toss you out of the ring super easily! Can you even stand your ground?”

Milo scowled, then held his stick with both hands in a block. “You think I'm just gonna let you attack me?”

“You know why Mercy respected you?” Hector continued. “It’s not because you flew around. It's because you held your ground and got in the ring with me. It’s because you worked hard at getting strong. That’s what you want. Respect, right?”

Milo growled even louder. “Just come at me already!”

“I’ll come at you when I want,” Hector said curtly.

Milo growled. “Fine! I’m coming for you!”

Milo swept at the ground. A ring of fire started to flare into existence around the ring.

It never got too high, as Hector moved forward while with a sweep of his leg.

The ring of fire extinguished.

Milo slammed the ground with his stick. Lighting jumped up from the point of impact and went for Hector.

A glow of fire appeared at the end of Hector’s two fingers, and he swiped at the field of energy.

It dispersed, allowing Hector to get right in front of Milo.

Jon leaned in, expecting a large attack.

Milo swiped at Hector with his staff. Hector batted away the tick with his left arm, leaving Milo open. Jon expected a quick hit to the gut. Instead, Hector landed calmly in front of Milo, placing the fingertips of his extended right hand in front of Milo’s chest.

Then it came. Quicker than Jon's eye could catch, Hector moved into his hand, folding it into a fist.

The hit was so devastating, reeled back from just seeing it. It wasn’t something Jon expected from Hector, especially at such a short distance.

Milo flew backwards, crashing into the library wall behind him.

When the dust of the debris had cleared, Milo was sitting slacked at the foot of the wall. Jon got up and ran to Milo’s side. He didn't think Hector would actually hurt Milo, but this was the hardest Jon had ever seen Hector hit anyone outside of battle.

Milo was breathing slowly, but his eyes were widened in shock, and he wasn’t saying anything at all. Jon could only imagine the pain he was feeling, especially if he was a non-fighter like Hector suggested.

Hector walked up to Milo, showing no pity. He stood over the magician with a smug grimace.

“If you can’t stand a single hit from an attack, how do you expect to protect anybody, even yourself?” Hector said. “Maybe next time, you’ll take everything I say seriously. And you won’t go down after one hit. That’s part of getting stronger, isn’t it?”

He turned and casually walked away.

“Leave him, Jon,” Hector called, just as Jon was about to approach Milo. “He needs to know how it feels.”

Jon grimaced and looked at Milo. Jon definitely knew how Milo felt, and seeing how Milo was clutching at his chest and coughing, Jon could only sympathize.

It only took a good hit like this to put Jon out of commission for a week. That was the reason Jon had decided to try to train behind Hector, instead of continuing to guess his ebay behind Hector. Maybe, Hector was right. Putting Milo through that situation might expedite the feeling of needing to train properly.

And yet, it reminded Jon of the anxiety of separation between the strength of him and his friends. While Jon knew that he wasn’t as strong as the others, they also never made him feel that he was not as strong as them. They always respected him for his contribution, and never questioned his commitment in the fight. Here, Hector was forcing Milo to understand that difference. Sure, it was for learning, but it also made Jon’s stomach churn. It scared Jon to think that there were people stronger than his friends, but it was a fact he learned to live with. This… felt like a lesson Luther would have facilitated. To leave Hector slumped on the floor to stew with his hatred and self-pity.

Suddenly, Milo lurched forward onto his knees, giving himself more breath. “Wait!”

Hector didn’t wait.

“I’ll do your stupid training!” Milo yelled. “Properly! I’ll do it all! Then when we’re finished, I’ll punch you in the face! No magic! No mana! I”ll just punch you in the face! You better watch out!”

Jon forgot that immediately after, Hector tried to challenge Luther, with no acknowledgement to his strength.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Even if Hector hadn’t stopped walking, his words had sounded genuine. He disappeared further into the library.

When Jon was sure Hector was far enough gone, he knelt down to help Milo.

“I’m fine!” Milo waved Jon’s helping hand away. He fell back into a sitting position. “I just… need to think…”

Jon nodded. He started to walk away.

“Jon!”

Jon looked back.

“Thank you, for acknowledging my strength.” Milo was looking at the floor when he spoke to Jon, so Jon didn’t get a good look at his face.

Jon didn’t know what to say, but he figured Milo was being genuine here as well.

“Sure.”

Jon made his way back to the orange room.

Inside, he saw Thalia and Mallory sitting across from each other, playing a clapping game. They took turns slapping each other’s hands in sync until Thalia noticed Jon entering.

“Jon!” She stopped and stood up. “Hey! See what I can do!”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Small green ring appeared under her feet.

Jon felt a small breeze brush against him. He raised his eyebrow.

Thalia let go of her breath and opened her eyes. “Did it work?”

Jon nodded.

“Yeah!” She threw her hands in the air. “I can do magic! I have to show Milo!”

Jon was gonna tell Thalia to wait, but Thalia was too quick. She dodged past Jon and left the room.

Mallory stood up and walked over to Jon. Jon nodded impressively to Mallory.

“Well, look at that!” Mallory said. “I think I’m making a breakthrough of some sort.” His tone lowered. “Where’s Hector?”

“He left,” Jon said.

The two of them left the orange room. Milo had disappeared from the room as well.

“Talk about a mess.” Mallory noted. “Was everything alright?”

“Yeah.” Jon nodded. “Kind of.”

“Is it the good kind of?”

Jon nodded assuredly.

“Whelp.” Mallory nodded. “Okay, then.”