We didn't know what time it was. The strange glow in the sky made it impossible to tell regardless.
"Yo bro! No, Kaito."
"Yeah?"
"Don't hold back."
"What? I'm not planning to."
"Hmm. Good."
He was serious. Grey using my name directly. "Are we gonna use enchanted gear?"
"That's the plan. Isn't it? Otherwise, what's the point?"
"Fair. Let's go all out then." The flatness in his voice told me everything.
"Hmm." Unless we proved to ourselves we could survive outside this holy barrier, it'd be better not to go at all.
I nodded firmly. We should.
We equipped ourselves with enchanted gear, and weapons too. Grey took his spear and shield, the ones he'd chosen when we came here. The ones a previous hero might've used as his main along with his holy sword. And I equipped the one I'd chosen for training. The real deal, not the practice one.
We stood in the center of the training ground. "Ready." I took a deep breath.
Grey did the same. Closing his eyes once to let the surroundings synch in. "Ready."
Grey came with a spear thrust.
I sidestepped and flicked my sword against his spear shaft. Just enough. His momentum carried him forward, off-balance for a fraction of a second. I pressed in hard, my enchanted gauntlets humming as I brought my blade down. He caught it on his shield with a metallic *clang* that rang across the training grounds.
He reset fast, spear darting toward my ribs. I twisted, felt the point scrape across my enchanted chest plate—too close. My speed enchantments flared as I circled right, sword low.
"Is that all you got?" he called out. "Show me what you're made of."
"Careful what you wish for," I said, hiding the anxiety building deep in my stomach like a cold knot.
The air changed. His armor blazed with light as every enchantment ignited at once. He came at me like a storm—spear and shield moving in perfect sync, each strike faster and harder than before. I barely got my sword up in time. The impact drove me back three steps, my boots carving furrows in the dirt.
Oops. I'm the one who said let's go all out. I think I'm in trouble.
I poured everything into my own enchantments. Strength surged through my arms. Speed lightened my steps. I met his next thrust with a parry that sent sparks flying, ducked under his shield bash, and drove my pommel toward his helm. He twisted away, spear spinning to counter.
We collided again and again, metal screaming, magic crackling between us. My arms burned. My lungs screamed for air. But I didn't stop. Couldn't stop. This was what waited beyond the Holy Land. This was what I needed to survive.
His spear came low. I jumped, but not fast enough—the shaft clipped my shin guard with a sharp *crack*. Pain shot up my leg. I landed hard and swung wild. My blade caught his shoulder plate, scraping across enchanted steel. A shallow cut opened on his arm through a gap in the armor. He didn't flinch.
Grey surged forward. His shield slammed into my chest. I flew back, boots skidding, but my armor absorbed most of it. The shockwave rippled outward, rattling the training ground fence. I rolled left as his spear punched into the dirt where my head had been. Got to my feet. Charged. My pommel caught his ribs. He grunted, spun, and his spear shaft cracked against my helm. Stars exploded in my vision.
We kept going. Kick. Block. Slash. Parry. Each impact sent tremors through the arena. Dust rose around us. My enchantments kept me moving, kept the bones from breaking, but every hit rattled something loose inside. A cut opened on my cheek. Another on his thigh. Minor. Shallow. The gear was doing its job. But my arms felt like lead. My lungs burned. Grey's movements were slowing too.
Within a few minutes, we both collapsed. Gasping for air. My sword clattered beside me. Grey's spear hit the ground a second later. We lay there, chests heaving, staring at the strange glowing sky. Minor scrapes. Shallow cuts. Nothing serious. But completely spent.
"No clear winner," he wheezed. "Isn't it, bro?"
"You nearly knocked my head off," I said between breaths. "You say no clear winner? That's not fair, Grey!"
"That's just my luck." Grey added.
Yeah. Just. Now what should we do? Did we prove ourselves? Still the uneasiness didn't leave my system. But one thing for sure.
"We will survive." Grey finished my thought. "This isn't do or die, it's you must do."
"Mmhm. Let's survive then."
We lay there. Didn't move, either of us.
"Ay's gonna yell at us. Isn't she?"
"Boraz might flick our heads." I added.
"Do you wanna find out?"
"Nah. Let's just say we stumbled while training."
"Yeah? I'm an idiot and you two are geniuses."
Both our heads turned to the training ground entrance. Boraz!
He stood there, arms crossed, that look on his face. The one that said he'd been watching the whole time. The cuts on our arms. The dents in our armor. The furrows our boots had carved into the dirt. No way he bought the stumbling story.
"Training," he said flatly. "Right."
Grey and I exchanged a glance. Neither of us moved to get up. Too tired. Too sore.
"So?" Boraz stepped forward. "Did you prove it to yourselves?"
I thought about it. The exhaustion. The pain. The way we'd pushed through anyway. "Yeah," I said quietly. "We did."
"Good." Boraz nodded once. "Now get up before that butterfly girl sees you like this."
"Hey old man, you sure you won't join us?" Grey said. Sadness or anxiety—which was it? But something. Vulnerability.
"What would you expect from a bandit... No, *former* bandit? Bad reputation follows you the same. That's why I can't join you."
Today was the day we said goodbye to the guy who'd helped fight a demon and helped us train. Maybe only known for two days... Bandit, maybe, but a good, prideful warrior.
"But don't you worry," he added. "That girl won't let you die that easily. I can tell."
Putting us in the same spot with Aria felt like we were incompetent. But that was the hard truth. She was stronger than any of us here.
"Thank you for helping us." The words left my mouth. Unknowingly.
He smiled. "Then don't think this is goodbye. I can help out outside the Holy Empire. Especially in the Beast Empire."
"Yeah." We nodded, smiling.
Grey finally pushed himself up, wincing. I followed, my legs shaking. The enchanted armor felt twice as heavy now. Boraz watched us struggle to our feet, that smile still on his face. Not mocking. Something else. Pride, maybe.
"You'll do fine out there," he said. "Just remember—survive first. Everything else comes after."
"We will," I said.
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