Xander was sitting on the floor, right between two pillars, watching over the shaded area. He mused about the recent events. Takeo certainly was a Newcomer, but he seemed... he couldn't quite place the word. He didn't seem to be a bad person, or at least not the backstabbing kind. He was just... cautious?

Can I really blame him? he wondered. He completely left out the fact that during half of their conversation, he had been looking like a berserker madman. And yet, we are the ones taking a risk in assisting him. He has no Offensive Abilities, nor any combat training. At best he is a support, at worst, he is a liability. He sighed, he didn't like thinking like this, but his Master had often enough hammered the point that he should always be aware of the risks. Mainly because Connor was a hothead, and he needed to be the voice of reason. And this time, I might be the hotheaded one

Somebody sat next to him, he didn't even need to look to know who it was. "You are thinking too much, Xander," whispered Connor.

He stayed silent for a moment, then he replied, "I know, but I can't help it. I don't want to be the one to get us killed, that's your job. What's your take on Takeo?"

Connor took the compliment in stride and shrugged, "I don't know. He doesn't seem any worse than the next guy. He is a bit too cautious and he is bad at hiding it. Some of it is truthful though, like his lack of combat training, his flight from the goblin wasn't feigned either."

Silence stretched between them. Xander was rehashing the events in his mind. He wasn't keen on abandoning the Newcomer, but it was their survival that was at stake. He was about to say something when Connor spoke again. "You know the teaching right? We are duty-bound to help the Newcomers. It's a sacred duty."

Xander nodded, "Of course, I know, but. Duty or not, I won't risk our lives for nothing. We will help him for a few days, getting his feet down. If by then he is still shifty then,... we will see, I guess" he finished lamely. He really didn't like this. He sighed.

Logistics for three weren't what they had computed. Water won't be an issue, but food might. They had packed for two ten days, not three. They would have to be careful. And hopefully, we will be able to restock in a Realm on the way.

Connor tapped his shoulder, "Don't worry, we will be fine." He usually wasn't the one to reassure him, but he was glad for it. "So, what did you get from your Seal?" he asked a bit excited.

That's right, I didn't tell him! He felt a bit ashamed to have forgotten but quickly went to straighten this up. He chuckled, evilly. "I got something very very good!" he said, with a big grin. "Pretty sure it's a rare one, and it's a good one too!" he added, with a bit of pride. And took off his Seal-glove. He had added several Orbs to it, mainly from the Reward. To the six Bright Orbs, a Black, a White, and a Golden had been added. While he wasn't one for fashion, he still tried to make it look good as the Orbs were faintly shining in the swirling flames surrounding the sword on his tattoo.

Connor looked at it, and his eyes widened as he saw the Black Jade. "An Ascender too?!" he exclaimed. "You lucky bastard!" he added, with a grin. "Sword Mastery?" he asked.

Xander nodded, "Yeah, probably not the same kind of sword I have, but it seems near enough. I will have to test it out." His finger traced the curves of the sword, and he felt a bit of pride. "The two Reds are good too. The fiery one taps into my Mana store, and the other into my Qi, so that's great!"

Connor seemed genuinely happy for him, and he was glad for it. "And the last one?" he asked.

Xander hesitated, "I'm not sure about this one. It's a Named Ability, it follows along with the Seal. The Seal is called Damian's Path, and the Ability 'Seven Step of Damian.' I could trigger one Stepping Ability, but it feels like there must be something more to it, so that's another thing to work out." Still, he wasn't that worried about it, he had a good feeling about it. "What about you? How do you feel?"

His friend seemed a bit contrite. He was certainly unhappy with what he had gotten, and it was going to be a chore to make it viable. "Yeah, like I said. It's called 'Scrap Artist.' It is fully scrap-oriented. Analysis, Extraction, Composition, and finally Animation." He sighed, "I'm not sure how to make it work. The puppet idea is good, I guess, but it will require some work. Scrap Animation will help with the puppetting part, but you remember what the Master said about Soul energy?"

Xander nodded and recited his Master's teaching. "Qi is the physical energy, empowering the body. Mana is the building block of the world. Soul is the framework that directs everything." He paused, "Which would translate into... Soul by itself isn't enough to make a puppet move... It will require something to enact the movement." And he concluded with a sigh, "Mostly you'll need to find either a Master Enchanter or a Formation Master."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. I'll have to find a Teacher," he sighed a bit dejected. Formation, arrays, and runes were a pain. It would require him years of training. Xander winced, he knew how much Connor hated to stay behind a desk. He was a hands-on kind of guy. He was a bit worried about his friend, but he knew he would find a way. He always did.

Yet Connor didn't seem too much down. "Also, I didn't get a Lucky Orb in my Reward Chest," he said, with a grin. "But I've got a weird round globe. I don't know what it's called, but it's probably very useful for me. I'll have to ask Takeo what it's about." He took it out from his new Spatial Ring. It was a globe barely larger than a fist. Most of it was made of some sort of glass, the inside showed a swirling mass of fog. It was encased with a frame. Multiple metals have been fused in a very fine and intricate pattern. It was a very beautiful piece of art.

Xander was surprised. Their Master had told them about the Golden Orbs. They were extremely rare, and very precious, as they raised the mysterious Luck stat. He'd probably see only one in his life, and that would be the one he had gotten as a Seal Reward. Not having found one in his Chest, Connor was certain to be compensated with something extraordinary. "That's great!" he said, with a grin. His eyes peered into the mysterious globe. "If I'd hazard a guess, I'd say it's a Mana Battery, or something similar."

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Connor nodded, "Yeah, I guess it's something alike. Scrap Analysis of course gives me a ratshit about it. But my Guide seems pretty excited about it, I just can't understand its guidance..." He stored it again. "Thanks for the spatial ring, by the way. It's going to be a great help."

Xander waved it off. He still had a few questions, but he felt that his friend was still sore about his Seal. It was too soon to discuss build and strategy, so he let it go. They sat there in companionable silence for some time. Xander was still a bit worried about Takeo, but he was confident that they would be able to work something out. Connor, just like him, needed time to think, meditate, and get in touch with their respective Spirit Guide. These were things that couldn't be rushed.

Connor spoke again, "You know, I'm a bit jealous of you."

Xander didn't know what to say to that, so he opted to stay silent. He could understand why his friend would be jealous. Connor continued, "You are a good guy, Xander. You are always thinking about others, and you are always trying to help. I'm proud to be your friend."

It was strange to witness Connor be that much emotional. I guess the beginning of the Path has been really hard on him. He was glad that his friend was able to open up to him. He was a bit embarrassed by the praise, but he was glad to hear it. "Thanks, Connor. I'm glad to be your friend too. You are a good guy too, you know. You are always there when I need you. You are a good friend and a brother even. Even if you are a bit of a grumpy jackass sometimes."

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The poor guy barely even knows how to run... lamented Xander. He has almost no dodge reflexes, he is completely blind to his environment. After one hour of preliminary exercises, faked dagger, and staff fights with wooden sticks Connor had made for the occasion, races, and such, his judgment landed. He is a complete newbie. He has no idea how to fight. He is a sitting duck. Shit.

Connor had a few laughs at both their expense. He had been quite busy during their experiments. He had looted and dissolved all goblins and hobgoblins using his Looting ability, Scrap Extraction. He now had heaps of leather, bones, sinews, metal, and also some rusted knives, swords, and cudgels. Even with the help of the Spatial Ring, he wouldn't be able to take everything, but he was intent on making the best of it. He had been working on a reinforced jacket for Takeo for some time. It was somewhat fitting by now, and very ugly. But they didn't know if it was worth anything truly as an armor piece. And now was working on building some sort of traps, but making springs wasn't that easy to improvise if one could judge from his loud curses.

Xander sighed, as another stone hit his charge, "Let's stop there."

Takeo didn't seem winded by the exercise at least. Not that it should have tired him, which was another strange thing about the young man. He looked back at him expectantly. Xander winced, he had to cut his hopes short, "You've about zero background in anything battle-worthy," he declared, maybe a bit too harshly.

Somehow it didn't seem to phase him, he shrugged, "Yeah? No surprise there?"

Connor laughed again in the distance, "You are a funny guy, Takeo. I like you."

The swordsman sighed, shook his head, and added, "There are a few things that seem to be worth noting though. Your body is fit and working properly, it's just you that don't know how to use it." And ain't that the most disturbing? After a short pause, without any explanation from his charge, "Also, you are quite durable. A few of the stones I've thrown at you should have bruised you, at the very least."

That seemed to mifle the young man, but he caught himself quickly. "Yeah, I've noticed that too. I don't know why. I've been good with pain, sure, but bruises are something recent." He shrugged, "Maybe that's the Brown Jade at work?"

Of course, unlike their own training under their Master, Takeo was already Sealed. They had no idea what his Jades actually were, but it was true he had one Yellow and one Brown. Xander had noticed that Takeo had seen the projectile come, but he hadn't been able to dodge it correctly. He had been able to move, but not in the appropriate direction. That could be a sign of enhanced perception... I will have to ask Connor to assess him, he is better at hiding his movement than I am.

He still agreed with Takeo's observation, "Yes, it might be. The other thing is that your Movement ability is one of the higher tiers. It's a full teleportation, not a movement." Enabling the young man to trigger it hadn't been that complicated, but he still had work to do to make it an instinctive and yet controlled reaction. Besides it was a true boon in his opinion, as there was a lot of potential with that kind of movement. "We will have to work out how to use it properly and see its limits, and how many times you can use it in a row before you completely deplete your Mana."

"Mana?" asked Takeo frowning, "Is it truly magic?". He wasn't sure the young man had the same understanding of certain words as they did.

Xander nodded, "Yes. I'm not a specialist, mind you, but teleportation is a form of Spatial Magic, and this should be well within the domain of Mana." He paused, "There are many kinds of Movement Abilities, most fall under Qi, like mine. But some are Mana-based, like yours or the Bump you identified earlier." He shrugged. Well, it's probably some Kinetic-based Magic. Their Master had just brushed the subject mostly to point out that diversifying the means was a good thing, as relying only on Qi just meant they would tire more quickly.

His charge didn't seem to have completely understood, but he nodded. "I see. So, what now?" he asked.

Yeah, what now? Who am I going to ask that question to? Ah! He sighed. "I am not sure. At least we can get you running around and perform basic, non assisted, movement techniques. And maybe try to get you to be more aware of your environment. You're going to be probably better served to learn how to defend yourself with your staff than with a dagger, though." He paused, he knew he wouldn't be able to make a warrior of him in such a small amount of time. He wasn't even taught the art of using a staff in battle himself. "But it's going to be a very long road, I'm afraid. It took us three years of grueling training to get where we are now. And we are still far from being good. So don't expect to be able to fight anytime soon."

Takeo nodded, "I understand." He seemed a bit down, but he didn't seem to be too much affected by it. "I will do my best."

Another round of roars interrupted them. All of them were ready in a few seconds, facing the shadowed part of the arena. It's been quite some time since the last. But just like last time, nothing happened. Xander was a bit disappointed, he had hoped to see what kind of monsters were lurking in the shadows. Maybe I should force the issue? he wondered. Takeo clearly isn't ready for it but, it won't be any time soon before he is ready to fight anyway.

He was about to say something when Connor spoke, "I'm going to check it out." His behavior was set and determined. Xander was thinking about protesting, but he understood that his friend needed this. He nodded. "Right, Takeo, gather our packs by the Door, the left one, and wait there. If I say jump, take your bag and jump through, okay?"

The young man silently complied. Xander was a bit happy at his easy acceptance of such orders, but he didn't have time to think about it. Connor was already moving toward the shadowed area. He was a bit worried, but he knew that Connor was a good fighter, he was an even better scout, so he should be fine. He slowly approached the area and waited.