Vis bursts into a sprint, each step covering over two meters, heading towards the man aiming a bow at him. He runs in an irregular pattern, ensuring he stays unpredictable. The bowman's tunic expands outward as he takes a deep breath, and the arrow is loosed. It is in flight for only a second before arriving, Vis never taking his eyes off it.

  Throwing his body to the side, the arrow misses his chest, and Vis grits his teeth as the flesh and bone of his left arm are torn off, covering the ground behind him. The limb is entirely severed, but his bracer is fortunately intact.

  He crashes into the ground and cries out as Hunter begins to hurriedly restring his bow. Vis clambers to his feet and they lock eyes, the warrior charging to arrive before another devastating projectile can be shot. Hunter drops his bow, accepting that he does not have time to repair it, and crouches down low. Vis’ fist narrowly flies over his head. He swipes out with his leg, causing the larger man to stumble, then takes the opportunity to drive his elbow into his back.

  Vis lets out a grunt, but is able to react quickly, turning around as he skids to a halt. Hunter tries to retract his arm, but it is grabbed, and he is slammed against the ground with a burst of superhuman strength. This stuns him for a moment and allows Vis to continue unrelentingly pounding him. Barely holding on to consciousness, Hunter remembers something he saw Novus do.

  He channels a surge of earth element into the rocky ground, causing a spike to erupt. Vis does not even notice until it enters his stomach and emerges out the other side. Blood trickles down the stone and Hunter is granted a moment, which he uses to slide out from under his attacker, all the while extending the spike with continued infusion.

  He places his hand onto the stalagmite, before striking it with all his might. He feels his finger bones snap as the rock shatters, causing the impaled man to fall to the ground, his head hitting the fragments. He does not move.

  The adrenaline begins to wear off and Hunter groans, stumbling. He looks up at Novus, barely able to make out a wide grin through his blurred vision. Then, he recalls something vital. Vis wasn't his only opponent. He is pulled backward only a moment after this realisation, feeling a light prick on his neck, followed by a stream of blood.

  “I win,” ?elare states as he becomes visible once more. Hunter sighs and raises his hands into the air, confirming his loss.

  Novus appears beside them.

  “That was a great battle, but the outcome was never in doubt. None of you combatants had a way to defeat ?elare. Astraea, I suggest you do something about the impaled man.”

  From the other side of the arena, she sighs and nods, walking over to Vis. She rests her foot on him before pulling the rock from his body, spraying blood over her. The resulting hole is quickly sealed as she places her hand on his stomach. Then, her face contorts with agony as blood-red tendons begin to sprout from Vis’ left shoulder.

  Her own hand on his body seems to begin deconstructing itself, the skin giving way to flesh, giving way to bone, then disappearing completely. This continues until only a fraction of her upper arm remains. Vis is entirely regenerated, and so she tries to stand up straight.

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  ?elare runs to her and catches her as she stumbles, preventing her from collapsing to the ground.

  “Thank you,” she mutters, her voice soft. “I had to overdraw from my life energy store and so sacrificed my body. I shall recover far quicker than anyone else.” Her eyes close as she focuses all her efforts on recovery.

  Immediately after, Vis jumps up from the ground and glances at everyone.

  “What, has it ended?” he asks, before his eyes shoot open and he pats himself down. Hunter chuckles, having just regrouped with them, and replies.

  “It was a good fight- I can't believe you nearly dodged my arrow.”

  Vis finishes assessing his condition.

  “Tried to, at least. Still got my arm. Speaking of, does my recovery have any relation to…”

  He gestures to Astraea, who is currently being kept up by ?elare. Hunter frowns and nods, causing Vis to turn to Novus.

  “Teacher, can you heal her?”

  Novus appears to think deeply for a few seconds, then responds.

  “No. I am going to interfere as little as possible from now on to build your teamwork and camaraderie naturally. Unless, of course, someone calls in a favour. Coincidentally, someone here has won one of those from me.”

  Immediately, ?elare speaks.

  “I would like you to heal Hunter and Astraea, if you are capable.”

  Novus’ eyes light up. He first places his hand on Hunter's shoulder, and a subtle glow appears at the point of contact. The gashes covering his face mend themselves, and he walks to ?elare. Placing his hand on the head of the woman in his arms, a light, brighter than the previous one, shines. Her arm reforms in a similar way to how Vis' did and her eyes open. She jolts free and stumbles away from Novus instinctually, her hand at the dagger on her hip. He calls out to her.

  “Astraea. Calm yourself, I simply healed you.”

  Her eyes narrow, and her wariness is evident in her reply.

  “Through what means are you capable of such varied magic?”

  “That is irrelevant,” he states, dismissing her outright. He turns to address the rest of them, each person put on their guard by her reaction, and continues, “I hope you were able to gain something from this. In the foreseeable future, each of you will be training a particular aspect of your skill.”

  He points to Astraea and Vis.

  “You two will be developing your melee combat styles for a potential close encounter.”

  Next, to Hunter and ?elare.

  “...and you pair can work together to create the perfect opening in a fight. When you have finished training, I shall send you on a mission to test your skills and gain personal experience. I'll leave a sign on each door, signifying whose room is whose."

  He snaps his fingers and everything becomes dark, before they find themselves in the room they were in before the battle. In the centre of the room, Hunter’s bow and Vis’ bracer lie. Novus, however, is nowhere to be seen.

  Hunter is the first to speak as he takes his bow and straps it to his back. He also takes the bracer and hands it to the huge man.

  “That man is an enigma. I have no trust in him, despite his words.”

  Vis responds, “Teacher has been helping me for a while now. I get why you're hesitant, but I think at least going along with this is best.”

  ?elare nods along with Vis, adding, “He is helping me save my village from a great evil. I believe he is training us to fight it, so I humbly request you all comply, for the sake of my people.”

  Vis’ expression softens. After a moment of silence, Astraea continues the conversation.

  “?elare, worry not. Whatever your plight, I shall do my utmost to assist you. We shall be together for the foreseeable future, and so it only makes sense to share our motivations and aspirations.”

  Hunter nods.

  “This will be a good way to relax after that… excitement. Let us share our stories before we continue training.”

  And so, they spend the next hour in deep conversation, before splitting off into their designated groups, where they begin preliminary training.