Ellen digs her feet into the ground, her eyes locked onto her target. She lunges toward Quinn, and as she takes off, the ground beneath her cracks.

  This time, the attack is slower and more straightforward than the previous ones, but despite being more telegraphed, Quinn’s instincts scream at him to move as far away as possible.

  Trusting his gut, Quinn leaps high into the air just before Ellen’s attack hits.

  The ground shatters on impact, and chunks of the floor fly toward the stands.

  From high above, Quinn watches the debris collide with a barrier of wind. Phiona set up this safety measure as soon as Ellen’s white hue appeared.

  The barrier isn’t small, either. It spans the entire training grounds, which is wider than a whole city block. She also made it tall enough that Quinn could jump higher than the mansion, which is about three stories, and still be nowhere near the top.

  Quinn gawks at Phiona in disbelief as she nonchalantly watches the battle, as if expending this much mana is nothing to her. She notices Quinn staring at her and cheerfully waves both her hands.

  I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these people. Huh? What is she doing now? Phiona’s cheerful wave turns to more of a frantic swing as she repeatedly points downward. By the time he figures out her intentions, a giant stone almost hits him from below.

  “Where are you looking?” Ellen grunts as she throws more fragments of the arena. She chucks them faster and faster, with less than a second between each throw.

  The barrage of stones coming his way keeps Quinn in the air longer than he would like, each blow slowing his descent. Thankfully, they are not sturdy enough to do any serious damage. As soon as they hit Quinn’s body, the stones instantly break apart and crumble.

  Quinn tucks himself in, trying to minimize the surface area Ellen can hit. He can’t see them, but he can feel the stones coming at him more slowly.

  Taking advantage of the moment, Quinn peeks his head out. “Fucking quit! It stings. Oh crap.” He immediately tucks back in. The attack didn’t slow down because she was running out of stones to throw, but because she found a massive one.

  The stone she threw was more of a boulder, twice the size of Quinn. It hits, sending Quinn toward the barrier. It spins slowly, and as it rotates, Ellen sees Quinn latching onto it. Quinn kicks his feet off the boulder, sending himself back toward Ellen.

  Quinn flips mid-air and brings his right leg down. Ellen blocks it with both arms. A small shockwave erupts from the attack. Ellen tries to grab Quinn’s leg, but he kicks her off with his free leg.

  I can’t let her grab me. Once she does, it’s over. I need to get in close, but if I do, she will try to catch me again. Ellen walks towards Quinn. She knows she has him cornered. It’s only a matter of time until he slips up and she catches him. Damn it. Come on, Quinn. It’s now or never.

  Ellen comes to a halt. She senses something different in Quinn. “You crazy bastard. I’m going to make you pay. Phiona!” Ellen’s face burns red with fury. Phiona, on the other hand, lets out a small chuckle.

  ***

  A few days ago, when Quinn was meditating, trying to get a feel for the surrounding mana, he’d been at it for hours.

  Mentally exhausted, he threw himself back and lay on the ground by a nearby creek just outside the city. Phiona walked up from above and stared down at him.

  “Phiona, what are we doing out here? It’s been two days. When are we going back to training?”

  “What do you mean? This is training. Now keep going, we’re almost finished.”

  “How is this training? All you’ve had me do is sit here while you pump me full of your mana. I’m not saying it’s not working. I think I’m starting to get the gist of it, but how is this supposed to help me? All this is doing is putting me on the starting line as a mage. I don’t have that kind of time. The expedition is in five days; it will take at least a year for me to fight Ellen at this pace.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Quinn was feeling anxious. Their attempts to find Quinn’s trigger had gone poorly. Not once did he show any signs of manifesting the strange power.

  “Alright, fine, quit your whining.” Phiona scratched her head. “Look, I’m painfully aware of your lack of potential as a mage. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way around that.”

  “What are you talking about? How could I get enough power to beat Ellen by training my mana?”

  “Oh, come on. Do I need to spell it out for you?” Phiona pointed at herself. Then it clicked.

  “You want to make me sign a spirit contract?”

  Phiona grinned from ear to ear. “Ding, ding, ding. Correct.”

  “Wow! So you’re going to become my familiar?”

  “Huh? Of course not. Are you insane?” Phiona asked, genuine concern in her voice. It only hurt Quinn even more.

  “Huh?” Quinn’s ray of hope was utterly crushed just as fast as it had appeared.

  “No offence, but you wouldn’t be able to handle me. If you tried, the influx of mana might make you explode.”

  “Then why the hell did you bring it up?”

  “Because we can just get you a different contract using me as a proxy. That way, we can find you a perfect fit. Now, let’s hurry and get back to work, shall we?”

  ***

  Back to the current fight. Quinn is surrounded by sky-blue mana. He concentrates the mana and uses it to create a wind vortex aimed directly at Ellen. He fires it, and as it nears Ellen, it widens and grows more intense.

  “Did you already forget my other gift? You’re going to have to do a lot better if you want to beat me.” Ellen punches the vortex, distorting the mana within; it dissipates. The residue blocks Ellen's vision just long enough for Quinn to appear directly below her.

  “How’s this?” His arm is engulfed in spiraling wind. The wind gives him extra speed, and since Quinn is essentially wearing it, Ellen can’t disrupt it without getting hit.

  He punches Ellen in the gut. The blow sends her flying back a few meters. She rolls back to her feet, catching her breath. A small smile appears at the corner of her lip.

  “So what’s your plan? You may be fast, but all it takes is one slip-up, and then you’re mine.” Ellen pokes at Quinn’s weakness. He knows it, too. This won’t work forever.

  “No. No more of these games of cat and mouse. Let’s finish this here and now.”

  “Fine by me.”

  Ellen and Quinn rush at each other, their fists cocked.

  Just as they are about to exchange blows, Quinn feints the attack and dives down, taking control of Ellen’s fist. Using her own momentum and wrapping her in wind, Quinn flips Ellen over himself and, with every ounce of his power, slams her into the ground, shattering the floor beneath them. Ellen coughs up a bit of blood on impact.

  “It’s my win,” Quinn declares, while he stands on top of her with another fist covered in wind.

  “I believe it is. Congratulations.” Thanks to her enchanted outfit, Ellen manages to lose with only minor scratches.

  Quinn extends his hand to Ellen, helping her up. She wipes the dust off her outfit. “Now let’s go.”

  “Huh? Go where?”

  “Where else? You want to join the expedition, don’t you? Lady Louise is waiting.”

  “Waiting? Huh? How, why would she be waiting? Did you intend to lose to me before we even began?”

  “Hmm. Not quite. We agreed to give you one more chance to show how serious you were about joining. And to be honest, it’s not like we can really stop you from going.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, the king made it so anyone has the right to join unless they are a danger to the team or a criminal.”

  “Am I not a danger to you guys?”

  “Meh. If we really wanted to, we could stop you. And then there’s Phiona, so.”

  “Then what was the point of all this?” Quinn is left dumbfounded. He had spent days tirelessly trying to get stronger. He was desperate to gain control of his power, but Ellen just basically told him it was for naught.

  Looking back, Louise only told him to ‘quit the expedition.’ Not that he couldn’t go.

  “Don’t be too sad. You’ve made some real progress in such a short time. Although I can’t believe you made a contract in just a few days.”

  “Oh, me, it was me. I got him a contract!” Phiona joyfully yells as she joins them.

  “You knucklehead.” Ellen smacks Phiona across the head.

  “Ouch.”

  “That was dangerous. What if his mana wasn’t developed enough? You could have killed him,” Ellen lectures Phiona.

  “He was ready. I made sure of it beforehand. Plus, it’s just a baby spirit. It doesn’t even have a completed essence yet.”

  “She’s right, Ellen. Phiona helped train my mana and even warned me about what could happen if I wasn’t ready. It’s thanks to her that I won today.” Phiona scurries off and hides behind Quinn.

  Ellen looks on in disbelief as Phiona uses a kid a foot shorter than herself as a shield.

  “See, I told you. Bleeh!” Phiona sticks out her tongue at Ellen.

  Ellen replies with her usual nonchalant, happy face and a curled fist, ready to strike Phiona again.

  “Wait, wait.” Quinn frantically waves his hands, halting Ellen. “Didn’t you say Louise is waiting?” Sweat trickles down his brow as he tries to reason with her.

  Ellen sighs, “You’re right. Let’s go see Lady Louise.”