The mountain lion-headed beastkin spun around. Fire broke across his shield creating a torrent of hissing steam. He slammed his staff against the stone, and sent the boiling water to the sides taking out the rogue pair pincering him into the corner.

The fire caster lifted their wand, a swirling ball of flames at its tip. Before she could unleash the fireball, the beastkin stomped and launched upward. The jet of water carried him like a missile, blasting him over the caster's head. Fire exploded across its surface, undoing the skill but it was enough. He had her where he wanted. His clawed hand grabbed her throat. Yanked into his grip she shoved her wand into his chest.

A metal-covered fist smashed against her temple right as an explosion of flames engulfed the two.

I adjusted the enchantment, shifting the view on the screen to a different angle.

"Huh. How come you don't have a skill like that?" I said, gesturing to the beastkin-shaped popsicle sitting inside a ring of embers. "Now that I think about it, you've only ever shown me your ice armor. I haven't seen any other defensive skills from you."

Igas grunted, lip curling in distaste. "A skill like that is for cowards. It's an all or nothing defence that removes you from battle. Uncle Brel taught us never to rely on a skill such as that. If it fails, there is no recovery and you've wasted a valuable slot for a potential means of survival with little to add to your party."

I examined the living popsicle once again. His opponent laid collapsed at his feet her bracelet signifying the end of her run. He looked scorched, adjusting the enchantment to show the front of the beastkin now that the smoke was gone revealed blackened skin along his arms and nose. Luckily for him, the brunt of the damage had taken a chunk out of his skill, nearly reaching him but failing to inflict serious damage.

No doubt, his arms would be severely limited, not having come away untouched. Still, his opponent was the one defeated and not him.

"While I believe the skills are useful to certain individuals, I agree with Uncle Brelten. Notice how he hasn't removed himself from the ice. Skills that inflict stasis are easy to exploit, and nearly impossible to evolve out of. Modifying the total remover of the timer can be done, but never entirely. Look to the right and you'll see what I mean by being exploitable."

He adjusted the enchantment again, shifting the screen back, exposing more of the battlefield. To the right corner, a studded-leather figure slipped into view. Their gait wobbled with every second step and they clutched a hand to their side, their fingers slick with greenish blood.

"Is that Toogen? What the hell is he doing here?" Isaac said.

"Toogen? Oh your right, there's his crest. Surprising," Celenae followed.

I displayed a question mark on my mask. "Know him?"

"We do." Celenae smiled. "Joined him on a multi-party quest once. Took three weeks exploring the Golden Plains. He always brewed us tea."

Toogen hobbled his way toward the frozen beastkin and stopped just shy from reaching out and touching him with his hand. Instead of attempting to attack the skill, he crouched and slapped the slab. Zigzagging pink lines sprouted from his fingertips and veered outward to form a blocky circle that seared the stone with a thin layer of energy.

You can't see his face, and that hood is perfectly adjusting every time he shifts his head. Enchanted then. What the hell is pink mana? It's not powerful enough to be ether.

I forced my senses through the booth and tried to parse what I could gleam from the mana itself. The lines continued to spread and the energy Toogen poured into the skill increased, yet I couldn't lock onto his mana signature.

What the hell?

"Does he have a passive that blocks mana sense?" I mumbled.

"Yes actually. I know it's hard to see underneath the puffy robe and cowl, but he's a trapper style rogue. His skill was enough to fool most tier twos when we were at tier one."

I frowned and closed my eyes. If I could sense Isaac, then I should be able to sense this guy. Standing up, I approached the booth's wall. Isaac yelled something stupid about disrupting the view but I tuned him out. Next, I exhaled and held my breath.

Come on… Where are… Gotcha.

Like trying to find a spec of grey dust amongst a field of white flowers, I only barely managed to lock onto his mana. The other fighters inside the arena and the thousands of people filling the stadium stands created a static like no other. When I did brush along the blip, it pulled at me with a sense of familiarity.

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Tasting it, revealed…

Nothing?

I sensed the energy, and could feel how foreign it was to the world. It imparted a faint heat, a glow of soft light and warm energy. Neither fire, nor lightning. Not pure or even elemental. I tried to grasp for more, but it slipped through my metaphorical fingers and I opened my eyes in time to see Toogen stumble away from the ice block.

Cracks overtook the once clear surface and more pieces nearest to the beastkin's front sloughed off and melted into droplets before it reached the stone.

"And this is why, defensive skills like that are idiotic," Igas huffed.

Suddenly, the ice exploded and the beastkin flinched. He took a shuddering breath and caught the glowing pink lines at his feet. Water rushed across his legs and he started to dive but then Toogen snapped.

The beastkin folded inward, into a cracked mirror of three jagged pieces. Lines of void–miniscule and threadlike–throbbed between the mana. In a blink, his body separated as reality twisted. In the next, the pink lines in the stone disappeared, reappearing as a small orb at the center of the beastkin's body.

In the time that Toogen middle finger slipped from his thumb, the orb pulsed and warped out of existence, restoring reality. The beastkin slammed into the ground in an explosion of blood. The stone slab underneath shattered as three jagged rips drew the material into clouds that scattered across the sand.

Almost immediately a healing skin emerged from the ground and wrapped the beastkin's body in mud. It flowed over the bleeding wounds and hardened while yellow-green mana seeped into his skin.

My eyes narrowed. A whisper of a memory clawed at me, but the announcer's booming voice tore my concentration.

"And we have our winners! Before you stand the five fighters moving on to the final bracket of the tier two division!! A round of applause for the grand display!" the announcer roared. He paused, letting the audience express their cheer before clearing his throat. "With that, we come to a close of today's matches. Twenty fighters remain for tier one and five for the tier two division. We saw some incredible things from both tiers, some of the best surprises we've had in decades! Tomorrow promises to bring even more excitement to chill your blood and ignite your thirst for violence!"

The arena thundered with stomps and cheers. A grand smile spread across the floating announcer's face and he extended his arms.

"Four tier one the competitors will have to survive a special event well known in this arena. It'll be a four man face off. Only one can remain. They'll be fighting in a…" He inhaled with deliberate slowness, drawing the crowd's boiling attention. On the exhale, his smile dropped into something devious. "They'll be fighting for the crown, only one monarch to survive the round! A king's pillar!"

I turned the enchantments down to ask the obvious question, but Khrem beat me to it.

"What's a king's pillar?"

"There'll be a central pillar in the middle of the arena. You score by remaining in control of the throne, the pillar. When it's in your control, it'll display your color and you'll score points. The one who reaches one seventy five first, wins. That or whoever has the most points before the time limit runs out," Teddy explained.

"We have something similar on the isles. It's a game kids play called island lord's branch. You win by managing to stay on while the other kids attempt to dislodge you from your seat. Usually they throw pheko husks so nobody get's hurt."

"Pheko?" I interjected.

"A type of mushroom. When they reach the end of the cycle, the meat withers leaves behind a firm but soft sphere. The husk is worthless alchemy wise but fresh meat is used to create a remedy for runny noses."

"Huh."

Isaac stood up and stretched as he yawned. "Looks like Toogen managed to improve his skill."

"I'm eager to see if he'll finally reveal its name," Celanae chuckled.

"Want to ask him and see? I doubt he will but that bastard owes me a cup of tea! We can try to leverage that."

"Or more likely is that you get some of his personal tea blend?"

"Of course."

She sighed lightheartedly. "Then yes. Let's greet him. Anyone else want to come?"

A quick glance around the room showed that the rest of Broken Tower minus Eodyne were looking forward to saying hello. The storm archer continued to watch the battlefield, her eyes glued to the booth's window as she tracked the movements of the enchanters roaming the arena floor. They moved slab to slab, over six of them working to repair what was broken, but her eyes stayed glued to one in particular.

Teddy turned. "Do you want us to stay?"

Eodyne looked pained but she tore her eyes from the screen and shook her head. "No, let's go. Some tea sounds fitting."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"Alright then," he said. "Cyrus? Khrem? Sereza? You're welcome to join us."

Sereza shook her head and patted Arturous on the snout. "I have a few errands to do. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Teddy nodded. "I promise, there'll be less shenanigans in the morning."

"Good. Could use a little normalcy before Cyrus turns everything upside down."

"Hey."

She bumped my shoulder with her tail and headed for the door. Khrem stood up as well but when Teddy glanced his way he shook his head.

"I've a few things to finish before tonight as well. However, Cyrus, may I speak with you?"

"Uhm? Sure? What's up?" I asked.

Teddy and the others suspiciously cleared the room with them forcing Arturous through the door before he could dig in his paws and amble out.

Oh boy. It's going to be one of those talks. Let's get this over with…

I crossed my arms. "Listen, if you're having second thoughts about joining me, I understand. No hard feelings Khrem. I get it. So don't worry I-"

"What? Why would I have second thoughts about joining your party?" Khrem interrupted, sounding confused.

"Is that a serious question?"

He crossed his own arms. "If anything, all the things I've heard have only solidified my feelings. You are chaos, Cyrus. And while it will be dangerous, no doubt. The opportunities that you'll provide, the adventure, the excitement, it's exactly what I'm hoping for. Adventurers are drawn to exploration. And you, have a harvesting skill. I have zero intentions of leaving, not now."

The weird bubbling in my chest blipped as my muscles tightened. There it was again, the strange feeling that came and disappeared before I could even process it.

I shook my tail to dispel the awkwardness and cracked my neck.

"Okay. So if you're happy being crazy, what do you want to talk about?"

Khrem produced a small black vial the size of my thumb. "I was told to convince you to drink this."

He thumbed the cap off the top and the room flooded with an intense burning pain.

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