After a tiring day, the three of them set up a small camp in a clearing along the path. Towan and Elliot, exhausted from constantly using Essentia, barely had the energy to pitch their tents.

"Master, aren’t you going to help us with this?" Towan asked, throwing himself onto the ground beside his half-assembled tent.

"This is your training, not mine," the master replied, lighting a small fire to cook.

After a simple dinner, fatigue quickly overcame them. As soon as they placed their beds inside the tents, Towan and Elliot fell into a deep sleep.

In the early hours of the morning, Elliot woke up to a chill. Outside, the wind was howling, making the branches of the trees creak. It was then that he heard a sound: a low, threatening growl.

He quickly sat up, shaking Towan awake.

"Towan, wake up."

"What’s going on? What time is it?" Towan mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"There’s something outside," Elliot whispered, standing up cautiously.

They both exited the tent, and the first thing they noticed was the absence of the master.

"Where is he?" Towan asked, looking around.

Before Elliot could answer, they saw them: three pairs of glowing eyes in the darkness surrounding them. The wolves had returned, but this time there were three, and their growls echoed loudly in the cold night air.

"This is bad!" Towan exclaimed, getting into a combat stance and activating his Essentia, though awkwardly due to exhaustion.

"Conserve your energy, we don’t have much left," Elliot warned, also getting into guard.

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The wolves didn’t wait. One of them leaped toward Towan, who barely dodged it, but the maneuver cost him more energy than he expected. Elliot, on the other hand, used his Essentia to reinforce his arms and managed to block the claws of another wolf with difficulty.

"We can’t keep this up much longer!" Towan shouted, retreating as the third wolf joined the attack.

"We need to think," Elliot replied, dodging another strike. His mind was working quickly, searching for a solution.

Elliot observed how the wolves moved in perfect coordination. "Towan, distract them! I need them focused on you."

"What? Why me?"

"Because you’re better at direct combat. Trust me!"

Growling, Towan charged toward the wolves, throwing punches and kicks while using the smallest amount of Essentia to keep moving. Though he was tired, his aggressiveness managed to catch the attention of all three wolves.

Meanwhile, Elliot began channeling his Essentia into his feet and hands, concentrating on a single move. When the wolves were close enough to Towan, Elliot jumped to a low branch, using it as a platform to propel himself.

With a twist in the air, he landed precisely on one of the wolves, hitting it directly in the side with all his strength. The animal let out a growl and recoiled, injured.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Towan launched a powerful strike with Essentia at the ground, kicking up dust and leaves that temporarily blinded the wolves. This gave them enough time to regroup and launch coordinated attacks.

With one last effort, they managed to drive the wolves away, who fled into the forest, injured and defeated.

Both collapsed to the ground, exhausted and panting.

"That... was awful," Towan said, with a tired smile.

"Yeah, but we made it," Elliot replied, lying on the ground.

When the first rays of the sun illuminated the camp, the master returned, with a calm expression and a basket of fruit in hand.

"How did you sleep?" he asked casually, observing the tired faces of the boys and the mess in the camp.

Towan slowly got up, pointing toward the forest. "Three wolves! They attacked us while you were sleeping!"

The master listened calmly as Elliot added details about the fight. "We thought you were far away," he concluded.

"Hmm," murmured the master, with a look that hid satisfaction. "It seems like you had a good lesson last night. So? What did you learn?"

"That we need to improve our teamwork," Elliot replied, recalling how they managed to coordinate in the end.

"And that we need more Essentia reserves," Towan added, rubbing his sore arm.

The master smiled slightly. "Good. Let’s move on, boys. This is just the beginning of your journey."

As they walked, the master glanced back for a moment, toward the forest. He had been watching from the shadows all night, carefully assessing the performance of his students.