The sun had barely risen over the jagged cliffs of Port Scab when Kaelen stepped down toward the rocky shoreline. The rogue mage from the previous night had fled, but his tampering with the water Aura had left the tides unpredictable. Faint ripples pulsed unnaturally, and a low hum ran through the rocks—a subtle resonance Kaelen could feel in his bones.
"Stay sharp," Vorlag's voice echoed in his memory. Strength alone doesn't win fights, Kaelen. Observation does.
The first signs of danger arrived almost immediately. A cluster of Scragbeasts—small, crab-like creatures with glinting chitin shells—scuttled from the shallows, their pincers snapping hungrily. One of them had been infused by residual rogue magic, its darkened exoskeleton pulsing faintly with energy.
Kaelen drew his sword, letting a thin layer of Aura shimmer along the edge. He struck carefully, cutting one Scragbeast in half, but the others circled, quick and cunning. Their shells were tough, but small pulses of his Aura allowed him to sever joints and disable them without overexerting himself.
He ducked under a snapping pincer, rolled, and sent a burst of Aura through his sword, slicing a second creature in mid-air. Every swing required precision; one misstep could leave him wounded. Early Tier-2 strength wasn't enough for brute force—he had to fight with strategy, skill, and intuition.
As he dispatched the last Scragbeast, Kaelen felt a faint, almost imperceptible shimmer near the pier. A glimmer of aura that wasn't his. He paused. For a moment, he thought he had imagined it. The girl? Possibly—but she didn't interfere. She had only observed, leaving no trace but curiosity.
"Focus," he muttered to himself, shaking the thought away. There were bigger challenges than mysteries today.
A deeper rumble shook the ground beneath his boots. From the water rose something larger: a Tide Serpent, nearly two meters long, its scales reflecting the first rays of sunlight. Its eyes glowed faintly copper, and each movement caused the waves to thrash against the cliffside.
Kaelen felt his Aura pulse in response. The sword in his hand vibrated faintly, almost in tune with the serpent's movements. Early Tier-2, he reminded himself. This was dangerous—but manageable.
He circled carefully, reading its movements, dodging a snap of its powerful jaws. A precise swing of his sword, augmented by a subtle burst of Aura, grazed its scale, creating a ripple in the water Aura around it. The serpent recoiled, surprised.
Kaelen didn't try to kill it outright. Instead, he guided it toward a shallow channel, using small bursts of magic to keep it contained. The creature thrashed and hissed, but finally, exhausted and cornered, it slipped back into the deeper waters, leaving only the faint shimmer of its magical residue.
Breathing heavily, Kaelen wiped sweat from his brow. Early Tier-2, yes—but he had survived, improvised, and applied what he'd learned. Each swing, each pulse of Aura, had been a test of his limits.
He glanced briefly toward the pier. The girl's faint aura shimmered again, watching from a hidden vantage. Kaelen gave a small nod. Safe for now. She didn't respond, only observed—silent and enigmatic, a reminder that the world held mysteries far beyond his current understanding.
Kaelen stood, surveying the calm tide. The monsters were gone, but their presence had left an imprint on the shoreline: broken driftwood, disturbed rocks, and the lingering hum of altered Aura.
"One step at a time," he whispered, sheathing his sword. "Tier-2… and learning."