STONEBARK TRAINING FIELDS – LATER THAT EVENING
The grass was still damp from the last flood incident, and the Vita lines in the air shimmered faintly as the sky turned a deep shade of indigo. Campfires burned in the background. Most of the other Starters had gone back to sparring, training, or gossiping about Logan's raw power levels.
Logan, meanwhile, was off to the side, sitting on a log with one leg up, phone in hand, typing something into his Systematic Guide's messaging panel. Still shirtless from earlier, his red and black jersey was hanging over a branch nearby, drying out.
From across the training field came Elowen Starbrooks.
She strode confidently toward him, her sharp eyes narrowed. She wore a flowing black and white dress, its fabric laced with elegant runes. Her long blue hair swayed behind her in practiced grace, and her expression was as icy as the element she trained in.
Snippy. Sharp. Regal.
Elowen walked right up to him—arms folded, eyebrows raised—and just stood there, glaring down.
Logan?
Didn't look up. He was still typing.
She cleared her throat.
Nothing.
She cleared it louder.
Still nothing.
Elowen's eye twitched. "Seriously?"
She snapped her fingers—SNAP!
A small ball of conjured water appeared over her hand, and SPLASH!—she flung it right into Logan's face.
SPLAAAT.
But Logan, somehow, had saved his phone mid-motion, his Danger Alert app flashing a red "Incoming Fluid Detected" warning and auto-shifting his device's shield to repel it.
His cap now dripping, Logan slowly blinked, calmly wiping water from his cheek.
> "Yo, what the hell's your problem?" he said flatly, sliding his phone into his pocket.
Before Elowen could answer—
> "She wants to challenge you!"
shouted a voice across the clearing.
It was a brown-haired girl nearby, half-laughing but clearly excited to see what was about to unfold.
Suddenly, half the training ground turned their attention.
Gasps. Whispers.
> "Elowen Starbrooks? Challenging him?"
"She's a ranked elemental duelist!"
"Dude, she never loses."
Elowen flipped her wet hair back and stepped forward with a prideful, almost theatrical tone.
> "You've been stomping around with raw power and no discipline, Logan. I want to see if all that muscle of yours can actually handle precision."
Logan raised a brow, adjusting his soaked cap.
> "You picked a fight with me because I didn't hear your weak little throat clear? Girl, you trippin'."
Elowen smirked.
> "No. I'm teaching you respect."
The air suddenly turned thick with tension, Vita pressure from both sides beginning to stir.
Even the instructors began slowly turning toward the field.
An official duel was forming.
And Logan just cracked his neck and smirked.
> "Aight then. But don't cry when I drown your little snowflakes."
Challenge accepted.
And the Stonebark Expanse was about to witness its most chaotic starter duel yet.
--------
STONEBARK EXPANSE — THE STARTER DUEL BEGINS
The field cleared in moments.
Campfires dimmed, students gathered, whispers turned to silence as a Vita Barrier Dome flickered into place. This would keep the duel's elemental force contained and protect bystanders.
Logan stepped forward first, dripping confidence—and a bit of sweat. His muscular frame flexed as he stretched, smirking. With a smooth motion, he tossed his red and black #7 cap into the air.
A nearby fox-eared boy leapt and caught it midair with a grin, eyes wide like he was holding a celebrity's relic.
> "Keep it safe," Logan said, cracking his knuckles.
Across the field stood Elowen Starbrooks, her water-toned hair catching the ambient light like polished sapphire. Her family crest—the crest of House Starbrooks, noble descendants of Princess Neptis of Ocevera, the Water Dominion—gleamed faintly on her shoulder sash.
Elowen's expression was focused, deadly sharp, her hands already dancing with thin threads of aqua-colored Vita.
Off to the edge, Aelun Lighthollow and Mirella Glimmershade stepped back, standing in observation stances.
Even Rambo, usually unreadable, folded his arms and looked with faint curiosity.
ROUND 1 – ELEMENTAL FORCE
Logan didn't wait.
SWWWOOOOOSH!
He launched forward, summoning an explosive wave of water, massive and forceful like a broken dam, tearing toward Elowen with brute momentum.
The crowd gasped.
Elowen?
Calm.
She raised both hands, her fingers flowing in a precise spiral as her Vita Control shimmered like a ribbon of glass. She didn't resist the water—she redirected it.
> "Flow with the element…" she whispered.
Logan's wave twisted midair, coiled like a snake, then split into harmless streams—dispersed off to the side, absorbed into the barrier dome.
Logan blinked once. "Tch. Alright, princess, I see you."
Elowen smirked, flicking some moisture from her fingers.
> "This isn't a beach splash fight, Logan. This is refinement."
But Logan wasn't done.
ROUND 2 – UNEXPECTED STRATEGY
He called Vita again—but instead of water, his aura shifted.
It turned... lighter, sharper.
The crowd murmured.
> "Wait… is that—?"
"He's not water-type?"
"He's… switching?!"
Then—
FOOOOSH!
A blast of compressed wind burst from Logan's palms, cutting across the battlefield like a sharpened typhoon! Leaves and grass flew everywhere, and Elowen had to lean in, spinning her arms and conjuring water shields that shimmered like curved mirrors to brace the gust.
Even Aelun's eyes widened.
> "He read the Wind Encylopedia?"
Mirella whispered in surprise.
Logan grinned mid-motion.
> "Yeah I did. Got bored last night. Y'all had it in the Investigation App."
Elowen was forced back a step.
Not from raw power. From speed and technique.
Logan lowered his stance. His body still strong, still physical, but now mixed with tactical application.
> "Didn't think the 'brute' could read, huh?" he said smugly.
Elowen clenched her jaw, summoning a vortex of rotating water lances.
This duel?
Just heated up.
-------
STONEBARK EXPANSE – MID-DUEL BREAK
The duel had reached a point of breathless intensity. Logan's unexpected use of wind Vita had turned heads. Even Aelun whispered to Mirella:
> "He's evolving mid-combat... raw instinct, then strategy? He's unpredictable."
But Elowen wasn't backing down either.
---
As the wind settled after Logan's full burst attack, the arena swirled with dust and leaves. Logan moved with swagger—cool stance, body low, arms loose like a fighter ready to box. He even threw in some fake jabs, playful and cocky.
Then—
BOOM!
He launched a compressed wind shockwave again, enough to make nearby trees bend against the force.
Elowen stood her ground, swirling a dome of spiraling water in front of her. The wind smashed into it, sending sprays of mist across the barrier like glass cracking—but it held.
Her eyes narrowed.
And then—
> "Torrent."
She clapped her hands. Her Vita shimmered silver-blue, and a sudden, concentrated stream of water launched forward—
WHOOOOSH–CRACK–SLASH!
A sharp strike—almost sound-barrier fast.
Before Logan could fully dodge, the water blade ripped across his ribs, slicing through the side of his jersey and drawing blood.
> "Tch—damn, I'm bleeding,"
Logan muttered, waving his fingers casually, red staining his fingertips.
But his expression wasn't panic.
It was irritation.
Almost like someone who got cut while shaving.
---
Mirella Glimmershade quickly signaled for a break, her staff glowing as she stepped over.
> "Alright, that's enough for now! Break period!"
Elowen scoffed softly, brushing her hair back. Her friends—mostly noble-born girls and demi-human elites—gathered around her as she turned with a prideful huff.
> "Hmph. Still standing? You're tougher than you look, Logan."
Logan just grinned, walking off toward the benches, holding his ribs with one hand while pulling out his Systematic Guide with the other.
Hip hop instrumentals started playing through his local SoundCloud app—cool beats drifting out from floating speakers.
He sat down lazily, leaning back, breathing through the pain.
Mirella knelt beside him, Vita energy flowing from her fingertips, the gash closing slowly with soft blue light.
> "You're reckless," she said quietly.
"Yeah. But I'm still vibin'," Logan replied, eyes half-lidded behind his lashes.
---
Nearby, a group of boys gathered, whispering in awe.
> "Yo, did you see that wind style? He's not even ranked yet!"
"Elowen slashed him and he didn't even flinch."
"He's bleeding and still vibing to beats like it's Sunday morning."
"He's like… the Prodigy, man. The real one."
Logan, meanwhile, adjusted his cap—retrieved by the fox boy—and muttered:
> "Next round, I'm bringing the storm."