There was a path that led from the city to the tournament, but Nold deliberately led them far away from the path, looking for more monsters for his pupils to face before the tournament. To their surprise, he didn’t impose any restrictions when they came across their first set of Boznoks. He simply nodded toward the monsters and Rep and Zalan charged in with fists raised.
Zalan marveled at the way the lighting came so easily and powerfully to his fingertips, He was able to turn a monster into a ragdoll with a single barehanded blow, sparks flying as his punch connected. Zalan was also elated to see Rep charge into battle without fear, his newfound strength far outweighing his hesitations. He threw fireball after fireball at the Boznoks, which they tried to block out with shields. None of them were able to defend against the projectiles that wiggled in the air before striking, curving around the shields with deadly accuracy. Zalan and Rep looked over the dead Boznoks, hardly having broken a sweat in battle.
“I remember that Gorb and Fran had a harder time than us when we took on Boznoks. And they were a higher Level,” Zalan remarked.
“Indeed. Instructor Nold has given us a tangible advantage over those who have not had his training,” Rep nodded, flexing his fingers.
“Then maybe we’ll be able to go up against people at a much higher Level than us and stand a chance,” Zalan hoped.
“We do not need to concern ourselves with that because we will be entering the lower bracket of the tournament. Level 5 and Under. No one will be a higher Level than me, and you will be close enough to be a strong contender.”
Zalan checked his Experience. He was at 90. He might be able to reach Level 5 before arriving at the tournament.
“Think we’ll fight one another?” Zalan asked, curious to see Rep’s reaction.
Rep raised an eyebrow.
“Are you eager to spar? We can always make time after the tournament,” Rep said.
“I just thought it would be pretty funny if the guy who lived here all his life lost a fight against a guy who got here a few weeks ago,” Zalan shrugged.
Rep blinked, then smiled.
“Your banters leave no wounds within me. I am only happy to see you succeed,” Rep said graciously.
“Your sincerity can suck the life out of everything,” Zalan sighed.
Nold led the way once more, guiding them on an invisible path that only he knew of. After a few hours, they witnessed new monsters at a distance. Three of them. They stood on two legs but looked like a turtle from the neck up and had shells covering their backs. Their eyes glowed red and they had dark blue spiked armor covering the rest of their humanoid body. They all held spears and took quick notice of the travelers, even with the space between them.
“Those are Shellbacks,” Nold said.
“Shellbacks,” Rep repeated, making a mental note.
“We can take them,” Zalan let a bit of lightning zip through his fingers in anticipation.
“You surely can. But you are not allowed to attack them until you deflect one of their spear thrusts. With your feet.”
Zalan and Rep groaned, hoping they could go the rest of the journey without additional restrictions from their teacher. Rep began stretching his legs.
“What does that even accomplish?” Zalan asked Nold.
“You will learn to evade while being in the mindset of attacking. You should always be prepared to both attack and defend and this will help you achieve that,” Nold explained.
Zalan and Rep nodded. The explanation was sufficient to get them determined to succeed.
“And do not let them stab you. If we have to return to the inn to heal, we may be late to the tournament. Any wounds you take now will join you for the tournament,” Nold informed them.
Rep and Zalan swallowed hard, concerned about taking any damage. They both approached cautiously, assessing their enemies. The monsters also took slow steps toward them, not rushing into battle. Each waited for the other to make the first move. The Shellbacks were patient in order to sum up the strength of their enemies, and Rep and Zalan waited for a spearpoint to redirect.
The trio of monsters were in striking distance with their weapons, their red eyes watching closely. As though practiced, two of the Shellbacks reared their spears in preparation to attack while the third held its weapon at the ready. The thrusts came fast, and Zalan and Rep had no choice but to evade to the side. The third Shellback tried to take advantage of their movement and strike where Zalan had moved to. The spearpoint came straight for his face and Zalan panicked and bashed it aside with his hands.
“Hey!” Nold snapped. “Feet only! Or do you wish for me to assist the Shellbacks?”
“It was going to kill me!” Zalan said as he and Rep scampered away quickly.
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“Then dodge better!” Nold ordered.
The Shellbacks grew confident over Rep and Zalan not retaliating to their attack. They stomped toward their prey with increased speed. With targeted precision, two of the tortoise-like creatures thrust spears at Rep and Zalan’s vital points. Again, it was too fast for Rep and Zalan to retaliate and they moved out of the way.
“They strike so fast,” Rep said.
“How are we supposed to deflect a spear when there’s too many of them?” Zalan asked their instructor.
“You will not be able to ask me when you are fighting in the tournament!” Nold forewarned. “Assess your opponent. Analyze them for weaknesses.”
The Shellbacks increased their intensity, two stabbing like a machine and letting the third one try and get a good hit in. It was clear the monsters were confident that they had found easy targets and only needed to wear down the humans. They weren’t making any mistakes, patiently beating down on their enemies.
“Split up,” Zalan told Rep. “That way only one of us has to deal with two at a time.”
Rep didn’t reply, but turned sharply, running away from the Shellbacks. The three creatures watched Rep change course, then collectively and silently decided not to pursue him. Evidently, they decided that it would be easier for all three of them to simply focus on Zalan. They grinned menacingly.
“Oh, fantastic,” Zalan muttered sarcastically as the creatures turned their attention to him.
Three spearheads came his way and Zalan jumped and twisted his body to evade, taking two tiny scratches. The Shellbacks were consistent in delivering a stream of attacks. For every spear that went back to prepare for a thrust, another came darting for Zalan’s face or chest. It was frustrating at first, but Zalan was able to turn that frustration to his advantage.
His anger fueled him in ways he hadn’t noticed before. Either Nold’s training was starting to take an unconscious hold on his movements, or Zalan was gaining heightened abilities when he was upset or annoyed. Nold was right, anger was a tool, and he was seeing it in action. The spear points never made anything near deadly contact with his skin. So long as he focused on evasion, he was totally safe. He was confident he could dodge them all day. Now, he only needed to watch for an opening.
“Over here!” Rep was calling to the monsters fruitlessly, trying to regain their attention. He would have thrown a fireball to try and attract one to him, but Nold was watching him closely and ensuring he was following the training and all the limitations. Even moreso, Nold was ecstatic to see Zalan moving nimbly between the Shellbacks’ attacks. The progress on his physical abilities was a good sign for more ability in his powers. His speed looked as though it was coming naturally, which was a good sign for what to expect of him in the tournament.
Zalan was growing impatient with the Shellbacks. He never had enough time to gain sufficient footing to throw out a kick, always bobbing and weaving between weapons. Multiple times, he was tempted to just throw out his hands and blast the Shellbacks with lighting to their faces, stunning them long enough to take them down. But he kept himself at bay, making sure that Nold wouldn’t give them additional assistance. Despite all his self-discipline, he was reaching the end of his patience. He would blow up on these Shellbacks if they kept attacking relentlessly.
As though something in the air shared his impatience, a burst of wind hit Zalan and the three Shellbacks with such sudden intensity that one of the spears hesitated as it came forward. Zalan kicked at it from below and was finally able to redirect a spear strike. He kicked it with enough force that he disarmed the monster. The Shellback was stunned, not expecting Zalan to have the gall to fight back after they hunted him for so long with no response. They thought him incapable of fighting at all, much less powerful enough to kick the spear away.
“I did it!” Zalan called out, excited.
The other two Shellbacks, equally stunned, tried to stab at him only for Zalan to jump to the side, grab one spear, and throw it away from the Shellback. It reacted immediately, grabbing Zalan in a powerful bear hug and turning him to the last armed creature to gore him. Zalan, still buzzing with excitement, imbued his entire body in lighting. The Shellback holding him twitched in paralytic shock and released Zalan from its grip. He ducked down as the other Shellback stabbed forward and caused the creature to kill its own kind.
Zalan was amazed by his newfound abilities, marveling at how his mix of training and anger gave him an incredible advantage. He was never worried about dying here, even when their spearheads were flying so close to him. The remaining two Shellbacks were still trying to understand what changed in Zalan in the last few seconds that turned him so aggressive. Their hesitations gave Zalan a burst of confidence.
Zalan imbued his fists, their eyes growing wide as they saw the lighting sparking from his arms. He leaped forward and punched into their faces, cracking skulls and killing them both in quick succession. He stood proudly, watching the fine, glowing blue on his imbued hands fade.
“Excellent, Zaboot!” Nold called out, applauding him.
“Incredible! I cannot believe you did that all on your own!” Rep said, amazed.
“I think you could, too,” Zalan said. “You got the same training as me. It was just lucky that the wind came when it did to throw off the creatures.”
“I did not feel any wind,” Nold said immediately.
“Really? I felt it as well,” Rep said, curiously. “It was quite strong.”
“Those three Shellbacks looked to be scouts. That means we may not be far from more powerful Shellbacks,” Nold said, ignoring Rep’s comment.
“Does that mean we have to fight more?” Zalan asked, ready for the challenge. He wanted to deflect a spear with his feet even faster this time.
“No, we should avoid them in case they take too long to defeat. The tournament draws near and I wish for you to be at your full strength. Let us instead…” Nold trailed, looking out at something.
Zalan and Rep followed his gaze and spotted a larger, taller-looking Shellback. It stood upright, where the others seemed slightly hunched under the weight of their shells. Its armor was thicker and its body was a hue of red with a blood-red shell. It carried a halberd about 7 feet long — as tall as the creature stood. It was walking, gradually getting closer to the travelers with an air of menace. Nold rummaged around for something while Zalan and Rep watched it approach them.
“Is that another Shellback? Why is it so much larger?” Rep asked.
“That is a Shell King,” Nold informed, pulling something out from behind him.
He pushed something into both Rep and Zalan’s arms. They looked down, a slight confusion on their faces.
Their swords.
“Uhhh… Nold?” Zalan asked, gripping his sword and looking back at the Shell King nervously. “How dangerous is this thing?”
“You have no restrictions in your battle against it.”
Rep and Zalan looked at one another as Nold cocooned himself in a wall of sand. The Shell King roared in anger as he saw the three dead Shellbacks, then charged at Rep and Zalan.