"I challenge you to a duel."

"You… what?" Alex looked up from his notebook with a dumbfounded look.

"I challenge you—"

"No, I heard you. Like a spar? What the hell do you want to fight me for? And why are you calling it a duel?" There were more questions that wanted to roll from his tongue, but he left Robert with the most immediate ones.

"A spar? No. A duel. Yes. A fight."

Alex rubbed his forehead. "No, I don't want to fight you. Where is this coming from?"

"It's the best way to know someone. I think we should."

"And you were just starting to seem like the reasonable one," Alex muttered to himself before speaking up. "No. How would that even work? I use magic that could seriously injure you. Also, we'd probably wake the others, right?"

"They won't wake up if we move away. Your magic should keep them safe here, and we'd only move one platform over. You do seem strong, but I don't think you'll seriously hurt me. Knowing Aisha and Luis, they will also likely ask your teammates when they are on shift later."

"Where does this come from?"

"Everyone's forced to fight in the arena. We train and fight all day for our tickets. And all disputes are settled with a duel. There's no better way to learn the measure of a man than to watch him fight."

With that logic, Alex paused.

Robert watched him patiently while he thought.

Closing his notebook, Alex stood and scanned Robert again. Taking in his information and stats, Alex agreed. "What are the rules?"

"We fight until someone can't fight anymore," Robert said simply.

Alex paused at the ward net. "That's it? Nothing about breaking bones, tapping out, or first blood?"

Robert tilted his head to the side. "No. Until someone can't fight, that's the only rule."

"There's a lot of room for interpretation there," Alex said pointedly.

"By design, I think."

Alex shook his head in disbelief while turning to drop the ward net. "Come on, then." Once he and Robert were walking across the next plateau's natural bridge, Alex asked, "So why not all the blood and dramatic language, like before?"

"That's a Koru'qai tradition. Kinley and his men weren't the ones to bring the arena into the Rift. It's a natural part of the cultures here. I issued the challenge like that because I knew it was one of the only ways that the surface-kin would honor us passing through their territory."

"Why the challenge at all? The six of us likely could have handled them pretty easily?"

Robert shook his head. "Maybe that hunting party. But there are many more, and the woods are their home. No armor, longer term supplies, poison protection, and a lot more ground to cover made a challenge for the right to pass the best choice."

"I see."

They stopped moving when they were in the open area of the adjacent plateau. "Are you ready?"

Alex had the urge to laugh. "No, if we're going to fight and I'm going to use magic, then you're going to use armor. What do you normally wear in a fight?"

"I wear a left shoulder guard, two gauntlets, knee, and shin guards for protection."

"No weapons?"

Robert only shook his head.

"Not going to give anything else away, are you? Here," Alex said, reaching out with his mind to his bracer at the same time. A large crate dropped on the ground under Alex's hand, startling Robert. "It's not a lot, but pick what you need from here."

There hadn't been much time to stock armor sets for Warrior before leaving the house, and with the plan to only be gone for a month and mostly progress his magic, Alex hadn't anticipated needing more than what he brought.

Robert clearly wanted to ask questions as he looked through the armor pieces in the crate, though he held them in.

Alex really did chuckle then. "Sucks to hold those questions in, huh?"

Robert laughed with him. "I am certain I will get answers in time. But I am getting more eager to fight you by the minute."

Rolling his shoulder, Alex prepared for the duel with Robert. He laid an anchor spell on the ground near his own feet, anticipating the man to step in for melee combat. After the trap spell circle was set, he crafted a swift spell circle over one hand and used one of the other consciousnesses to spin a barrier spell over the other.

He was ready in a matter of seconds, waiting with arms bent at the elbows and his palms facing up. While Robert continued to work on picking out the armor that best fit, he looked at his hands.

It made him happy to know that both spell circles were hanging in the air, and he couldn't see them with his mana-sight. The technique he'd picked up from Lin was strong and would be invaluable. But he noted how obvious it might look with how he unconsciously held his hand.

It might look to someone else like he was meant to be holding a ball in his hand. In his mind, it was as if a fireball were floating just over his palm, and that's where the spell circle naturally hung in the air, formed by the use of [Mana Threads].

Alex focused on his mana and the manipulation of the threads to leave the spells hanging there in the air, but slowly lowered his hands. It took considerable concentration to maintain the spell constructs, but once he was settled, it looked like he was merely standing in a relaxed position, waiting for the fight to start.

Another thing to work on.

He had thought in a dry tone, though in reality, he loved that there was always something he could work to improve.

Robert was ready a minute later, adjusting the two gauntlets on his hands. "Are you ready? There's no holding back here."

"I'm ready," Alex responded.

Robert took in his posture and didn't move. "I'm going to hit you… hard. I know you're a decent level, but I can tell from your size that you don't invest heavily into the physical stats. Ready yourself."

"I'm ready," he repeated.

"I guess there are some lessons to learn," the older man said. For the first time since he'd met the man, Robert seemed genuinely annoyed, if not a little angry.

He probably thinks I'm taking the fight lightly…

"Go," Alex said, signaling the start of the fight.

Robert began the fight similarly to the last one. He rolled to the balls of his feet and began to hum loudly. The rhythm barely came through to Alex this time as his own heart rate picked up and created a steady thumping in his head.

Just before Robert crossed the threshold for the anchor spell, Alex activated his swift spell and moved forward.

To his credit, Alex was amazed at the warrior's reaction time. Not only did his eyes track Alex as he blurred forward, but he used a skill to break the anchoring effect so fast that Alex wondered if the spell had failed.

It barely looked like Robert had stuttered in his rhythm with how fast the effect was broken, and he was resuming to advance.

Unfortunately, that gap in timing was all that Alex needed. With his enhanced speed, he closed the distance and moved beside the fighter. He ignored the feint to his side and cocked back his arm, flooding it with his remaining mana, before hesitating.

Alex pulled back some of the mana before striking hard at the back of Robert's head. In a boxer-like fashion, the Steelguard was already bringing his shoulder and arm up to block the strike, but it was far too slow.

His opponent staggered once, but the humming continued even through the powerful blow.

Shocked, and realizing that Robert was somewhere between a bruiser and a tank, Alex felt the swift spell wear off and normal time resume.

He easily spotted the quick kick his opponent sent for his knee, using his waiting barrier spell to block it while his other mind wove another spell as a backup.

While Robert regained his balance, his kick having met an unexpected solid wall mid-motion, Alex activated [Spell Storage - Targeted Swift Spell Circle] on himself. With the system's assistance and fully boosted speed, it formed and activated.

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The activation of the skill pulled his mana down to a level that he knew he was nearing mana fatigue and activating the next two spells would drain him to near empty.

He pulled his new mana-battery from his spatial ring, holding it in his free hand while pulling on the stored mana. The invention worked well, though with the inefficient storage rate and limited time he had to store it, the amount of mana he got was a bit of a letdown, even if enough to complete his task.

Alex repeated the same steps as before, and despite the bruiser's obvious comfort level with combat, he was caught in the anchor spell without a way to break out of it the second time, and the two blows that followed to the back of his head were enough to send him unconscious to the ground.

Hand still stretched out into a chopping motion, Alex looked from Robert to his own hand. There was a pulsing in the side that told him he'd be bruised from the blows.

He shook it out with a grunt before kneeling next to the already stirring Steelguard. After a few moments of reorientation, Alex smiled down at him. "Not exactly sure what you're going to get from that, but good fight. I'm surprised you were able to track my movements at all."

Robert grunted after inhaling deeply and looking around with wide eyes. He accepted Alex's proffered hand and stood slowly. "I got plenty from that. More than you seem to know."

"Oh, really?"

Robert rubbed the back of his neck while nodding. "Yes."

Alex waited for a moment, hoping more would follow, but the man seemed naturally tight-lipped. "Care to elaborate on that a bit?"

The older man rolled his shoulder and looked at him seriously.

"That bit of magic will make you outclass me, eight times out of ten, as we are now. But, despite the overwhelming advantage, a twenty percent chance to lose is far greater than it should be. You're too soft, and your emotions are clear to read in a fight. You fought in melee, despite being a powerful mage. You did that because you think your magic is too lethal to fight with?"

Alex nodded.

"You likely also have weapons you could have used, but instead used your hand?"

Another nod.

Robert grunted. "On top of that, you pulled back on your first blow. I'm a durability fighter. If you'd been fighting Aisha, she may have cracked one of your ribs there. She has skills that will keep up with your increased speed.

"You have flexibility in your kit, which is a huge boon. The fact that you sped up was not what I'd expected from a mage. Despite that, you desire too much control. Your tendency to overthink had you reacting to me, rather than pushing the rhythm of the fight yourself. The last part of that is how you tried to restrain me twice, despite the use of a freedom skill. My guess is that you often try to restrain or manage an opponent?"

"It seems safer that way. Even if I am using weapons, if they aren't moving, it's easier to hit them," Alex said. The notes were interesting, and it fascinated him that Robert knew almost nothing about him but could tell so much from such a quick exchange.

"That's true, but there are too many factors in a fight with another person. There are too many skills or ways to disrupt skills that lock down an opponent. Too many ways to resist them."

Alex rubbed his hand absently as he listened, nodding. "That's pretty impressive. Knowing myself, I could see how all of that applies."

"Don't be impressed. Think about your willingness to change. Not being willing to be lethal and a tendency to overthink will both lead to an early death."

"You would want me to use weapons or magic on you?" Alex was shocked.

"Of course. If you're unwilling to do it here, where I'm inviting you and prepared, I'm sure that there are a hundred other scenarios where you'll make up reasons not to draw your weapon. It's a nice sentiment, but I'm telling you it will get you killed. If not out there, then surely in here." Robert gestured to the Rift environment, the chilly night air coasting across the platform.

They were quiet for a minute. Alex mulled over his words and found that they likely only stung because he knew they were true.

"Want to go again? I won't use the Swift Spell."

Robert looked around them, then up at the sky. "We have time. Let's begin." He started forward, hunched his shoulders, and raised his gauntleted fists.

Alex smiled at the response while letting his wand drop into his palm.

The rest of the evening passed quickly for Alex and the clones, and soon they were packing up camp to resume travel. Each of them was tested by Robert's party in a similar manner.

Alex chuckled to himself the following morning as he reviewed the memories of the other two shifts and how they were different from his own. The only instruction he'd given to the clones was for them to use different styles of fighting in their spars.

It might have been interesting to see how each of the fighters responded to a similar fight, but it was more important for them to think that each of the clones was an individual, not a carbon copy of Alex.

Aisha had started the fight the very moment that Warrior had agreed to the fight, giving no time for preparation. It may have caught him more off guard if he hadn't already been thinking about the fight.

Luis had stayed quiet the entire evening, only responding to Mage's questions with the occasional head movement or one-word answer. It wasn't until the flying creatures had approached the wards that he had moved.

Standing, he gestured at the invisible wall and creatures beyond with a tilt of his head.

Understanding, Mage had joined him in fighting the herd as it tried to descend on their camp. Since the creatures were only E Rank, the fight passed quickly, though more than once, he caught Luis watching him fight.

Traveling once more, Alex tried to approach the memories in a similar analytical manner to Robert. It was a fun exercise, but he couldn't tell if he was simply stereotyping or reading into the interactions too much.

"You sure you're okay?"

Warrior's voice pulled his attention to the left, where his clone was speaking to Aisha.

"Fuck off," she said through gritted teeth, wincing as she landed on the other side of a rock.

Stop trying to get a rise out of her.

"Oh come on," Warrior said innocently. "She deserves at least a bit of prodding. Plus, I think she likes it anyway. The sour attitude is a front."

Even more reason to knock it off.

Alex's eyes flicked to a nearby shadow.

They continued traveling through what he assumed was the day. No sun ever rose in the sky, and now that they were clear of the forest, Robert never led them back to the nearby vegetation. Instead, they skirted the edge of the deserted platforms. They never ventured further than one or two plateaus in, but didn't cross too far toward the Rift exit before they were back in the forest.

That evening, as they set up camp once again, Alex felt comfortable asking some of the questions that had been bothering him the most. "What are the Koru'qai? There's clearly some history there for you to know their language. Do they work with Kinley?"

Robert shook his head as Luis stopped eating the ration bar Alex had given him. "No, they don't work together. The Koru'qai are the dominant race of the Rift. The ones you saw in the forest are still free from Kinley's grasp, mainly because of the poison they use and how difficult it is to find their settlements."

"There are others?"

"Yes. The under-kin are the contrasting tribe to the ones in the forest. They're very different, but Kinley found them easy to conquer with enough power."

"That's why you keep mentioning tunnels? They're underground?" When he saw Robert nod, part of him wanted to groan at the prospect of spending another week or two underground after his time in the Shadow Rift.

He glanced up as he realized he wasn't likely to get to experience the warmth of the sun on the surface, anyway.

"Yes. You'll see. Kinley has them almost all under lock and key."

"That's part of what's been bugging me. How is he keeping awakened subdued? Are there more people like Angela? More people with skills that can affect the mind."

"A few, but it's mostly done with fear and force. He threatens people or leverages them with their families, saying that if they refuse to participate or fight for their freedom, he'll go and pay them visits. He keeps plenty of unawakened women, though we believe that they have it the worst of all the slaves. Most people will do anything they can to keep him and his men away from their families."

Alex saw Aisha grow still on the other side of the camp. She didn't look over, but stopped setting up the small tent she'd been given. Listening, she remained crouched and still while Robert talked.

"They tried different things on a few groups over the years. Early on, someone had a kind of branding magic. It allowed them to control people with the brand. Kinley is volatile and temperamental, though. York thought he was too important to the operation to lose and started taking liberties, so Kinley made an example of him and killed him in the arena in front of everyone."

"Kinley's a good fighter, then?"

"Powerful," Luis said.

"He's not as good as some of us, but he's much stronger. His ability is something to do with management, I think. It's just a guess, but he's tied to the arena somehow and grows stronger for the more blood that's spilled there."

"What about strong fighters and awakened though. Surely there can't be enough of him, or his men, to keep groups of trained awakened suppressed?" He tried to show his genuine interest and sympathy as he asked the questions, as he knew it couldn't be easy to answer such things. "The five of you were able to escape. Were you the strongest?"

"He doesn't let people get stronger than he is. Or at least not so strong that he doesn't think he can fight them. We were some of the stronger fighters, but we only escaped because of the Koru'qai, and one of Kinley's men was willing to help."

"A lot of good people died so we could get out," Aisha said quietly, still frozen in place.

And yet, you're back?

An insensitive part of Alex wanted to ask, but Robert seemed to read from him.

"We three never wanted to leave. At least not without our own goals."

Silence fell over them. One thick enough with implications and sorrow that Alex couldn't bring himself to prod them more.

"I'll take first watch again," he said instead.

Luis stood and tapped his chest while Aisha kicked the last stake into the ground and crawled into the tent without saying anything.

"We'll get there tomorrow after another hour of walking."

Alex nodded and adjusted his position. "Can't believe the Rift is so big," he said to no one in particular.

Robert nodded to him and moved to his and Aisha's tent, so Mage answered his question.

"We know the higher rarity means bigger internal size and capacity. What did they say in that Guild event? Epics are something around the size of a large continent?"

"Sure," Alex said. "But that's with pretty limited knowledge. What did the guild know other than what Rylan told them?"

The mention of the Tyrant sent a rush of indecipherable feelings through him.

"True, but most of that information was at least accurate," Warrior said as he stood and moved toward the tent. "I'm beat, wake me up next. Ma— uh, Matthew can get the longer sleeping shift."

Alex looked up, confused. Only after a long moment did he realize Warrior had been trying to cover up for the clones' naming convention.

"Right… thanks, Walter?" Alex said. It came out as a question, and he shrugged his shoulders while looking to Luis, who didn't seem to be paying attention.

Warrior's eyebrows came together, and he mouthed the word "Walter," at him with an annoyed look.

How the hell did we not think of actual names for you guys?

He switched to mental communication as Warrior shook his head and entered the small tent.

"Fucking Walter?! Come on, man."

What's wrong with Walter?

"Better than Matthew, asshole!" Mage's mind entered the conversation with a sense of indignation that spread through their shared consciousness.

Alex tuned them out and removed his notebook. He'd had an interesting idea the night before, when thinking about Talismans and the fact that his spell circles could be engraved like an enchantment. However, as much as a fun new concept teasing at his mind might tempt him to divert his focus, he doggedly pursued his recent theory with the pipe junctions.

The inky pages of his notebook opened to his drawings and sketches. While he was largely operating blind, he had a feeling from deep within that he was on the right track. The modification of the control nodes on his spell circles could be his first real advancement in his magical theory.

It took immense self-control not to leave the Rift immediately and lock himself away until it was finished. But… the more he got to know the group, the more he felt his attention shifting.

Finding Kinley and his knowledge to manipulate the Rift was still a priority, even if it was an item. If it could help him better understand how the elven ritual worked, then he might be one step closer to helping the entire world.

As large a goal as that was, finding a way to free these people who were so oppressed was quickly growing in importance for him. He could see it in the small things they did, but the trio reminded him of older, more capable versions of Sam when he first found the teenager in the Celestial Rift.

What were they forced to endure? What was so bad that they were willing to immediately turn around and potentially sacrifice their own freedom to release others from the same hell?

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