Chapter 31: Friendly Spar

Morning mist still clung to the platforms when the sparring ground was cleared. A selected group had gathered, Veyra and Elandor at the front, several squad leaders, members of my rapid-response team, and a larger ring of fighters who had found excuses to be nearby. Word moved quickly in the outpost. A newly awakened mage against the Orc Slayer was not something people ignored.

Elandor stood with arms folded, expression composed but confident. In his mind the result was already decided. A powerful mage against a non-mage, even a skilled one, should not be a prolonged contest. Veyra watched with cooler eyes, pragmatic and measuring. She wanted data, not spectacle. Lira remained near the edge of the circle, spear planted, ears slightly back. Her tension was visible. The rank-and-file murmured among themselves, some eager to see magical power demonstrated, others quietly hoping the man who had trained them would not be casually overwhelmed.

Harlan stepped into the cleared space opposite me. The residual glow in his eyes had faded further, but the difference in his presence was unmistakable. He looked more settled than the day before, though still not fully recovered. I rolled my shoulders once and drew my sword.

The system surfaced the moment I focused on him.

[Warning: Target Level exceeds Host Level]

[Target: Harlan – Level 9 Artificially Seeded Mage]

[New Task Assigned: Defeat the Opponent in Controlled Engagement]

[Reward: +200 XP]

[Failure: No penalty beyond assessment consequences]

Veyra raised her voice. "Rules are clear. No lethal intent. No permanent injury. You stop on my command or when one combatant is clearly unable to continue. Elandor and I will intervene if necessary. Begin when ready."

Harlan met my eyes and gave a short nod. There was no hostility in his face, only readiness and the quiet hunger to prove the power he had paid for.

I moved first.

Speed had always been one of my advantages. I closed the distance in a low rush, sword angled for a controlled strike at his shoulder. Harlan reacted faster than the old version of him would have. A shimmer of force bloomed from his left hand and deflected the blade with a sharp crack of displaced air. The impact traveled up my arm. He was stronger than before, noticeably so.

I broke contact and circled. Harlan launched a compact kinetic bolt. I twisted aside, feeling the wind of it pass, then used the opening to close again. Brutal Strike flared along the edge of my sword as I cut toward his ribs. He blocked with a reinforced barrier that shimmered into existence just in time. The collision sent a visible ripple through the air.

Early exchanges settled into a rhythm. I pressed with footwork and angles, forcing him to respond rather than dictate. Harlan answered with controlled bursts of force, short-range shocks, deflection fields, and the occasional probing bolt. Each use of magic was deliberate, almost cautious. He was still learning his powers, that much was obvious.

The advantage of raw power became clearer as the fight stretched. When I overcommitted on a feint, Harlan answered with a wider pulse that caught me square in the chest and threw me backward several paces. I hit the platform hard enough to drive the breath from my lungs. Pain flared across my ribs.

[Warning: Host has taken damage]

[HP: 88%]

I rolled to my feet before he could follow up. The watching fighters shifted. Elandor’s expression remained calm. Lira’s grip on her spear tightened.

Harlan advanced, confidence growing. Another kinetic lance formed in his hand. I activated Phantom Edge at the last moment, the blade and part of my body phasing as the attack passed through empty air. I reappeared inside his guard and drove a shoulder into his midsection, following with a pommel strike that forced him to stumble.

The personal fracture surfaced in the small spaces between clashes.

"You’re holding back," I said under my breath as we locked for a moment.

"So are you," he answered. There was no smile. "This isn’t a real fight."

"It will tell them everything they need to know anyway."

We separated again. Harlan’s breathing had grown heavier. The recent awakening still taxed him. When he gathered a larger sphere of force, the edges flickered for a fraction of a second before stabilizing.

Instead of matching power, I lengthened the exchanges, forcing him to expend energy on constant defense and small corrections. I used the platform’s uneven planks, the slight mist cover, and changes in rhythm to disrupt his timing. Every time he prepared a stronger working, I disrupted it with pressure or forced him to move.

The mid-fight settled into a grinding test. Harlan landed another solid hit, a concussive wave that spun me sideways and opened a shallow cut across my upper arm when I failed to fully clear the follow-up. Blood warmed the sleeve of my shirt.

[Warning: Host has taken damage]

[HP: 64%]

I kept moving. Experience and timing were still mine. When he overextended on a sweeping blast meant to create space, I stepped through the outer edge of it, took the partial impact, and answered with a precise cut across the outside of his thigh, deep enough to matter in a real fight, shallow enough to stay within the rules. Harlan hissed and staggered.

The watching crowd had gone quiet.

Harlan’s expression hardened. Pride and frustration mixed with the strain of channeling a core that was still settling. He gathered power more aggressively, ignoring Elandor’s earlier cautions about overreach. A dense lance of force formed between his hands, brighter and less stable than his previous workings.

I saw the fluctuation at the edges right before he released it.

I tried using Phantom Edge once again, but immediately got a system notification.

[Host can’t use this ability! Cooldown time remaining 23hrs 49 minutes.]

I had completely forgotten about the cooldown, and it had cost me precious time. I still managed to react fast, but the outer turbulence still caught me and slammed me into one of the wooden posts at the edge of the circle. Pain exploded across my back and shoulder.

[Warning: Host has taken damage]

[HP: 49%]

Harlan pressed forward, breathing hard, the glow around his hands flickering. He was pushing past safe limits. I could see it. So could Elandor, whose stance had grown sharper.

I pushed off the post and met him in the center.

The final exchange was short and decisive. Harlan committed to a broad concussive wave meant to end the match. The power was significant, but the casting was a fraction slower than it needed to be, exhaustion and imperfect control stealing the edge. I stepped inside the formation of the wave, took a glancing portion of the force across my left side, and drove my fist upward with everything I had left.

Brutal Strike landed cleanly against the center of his chest, reinforced by timing and every bit of leverage I could generate. The impact interrupted his casting completely. Harlan’s eyes widened. The gathered energy collapsed in a messy discharge that scorched the platform between us but did no further harm. He staggered backward, dropped to one knee, and caught himself with one hand, struggling for breath.

I remained standing, sword leveled, blood running from the cut on my arm and the deeper ache in my ribs and back. The circle was silent.

Veyra’s voice cut through the quiet. "Enough. Match is concluded."

Harlan stayed on one knee for several seconds longer before pushing himself upright. Pride and frustration warred on his face, but he gave a short, reluctant nod of acknowledgment.

The system updated at once.

[Task Complete: Defeat the Opponent in Controlled Engagement]

[Reward: +200 XP]

[Total XP: 33/700]

[Level Up! You have reached Level 8]

[HP and Stamina increased. +5 Attribute Points Rewarded]

[New Skill Acquired: Arcane Guard (Passive/Active) – Significantly improves resistance to direct magical projectiles and force effects. Partial mitigation of area magical pressure.]

Elandor moved to Harlan’s side at once, already checking the state of the core, while Veyra stepped into the center of the circle and addressed both of us, then the wider group.

"The demonstration is sufficient. Harlan’s output is real and significant, but control under sustained pressure remains incomplete. He will continue conditioned training under Elandor with accelerated practical drills. Antoine will retain command of rapid-response operations and will coordinate with Harlan on joint exercises once medical clearance is given. We do not have the luxury of slow integration. Grimgor is not waiting."

The crowd began to disperse in low conversation. Lira waited at the edge, expression complicated. Harlan met my eyes once across the space. There was no open hostility, but the old ease was gone. In its place stood recognition of a gap that experience had temporarily bridged, and the knowledge that the next time we faced each other, the conditions might not be controlled.

I sheathed my sword and glanced over at my slowly healing shoulder. I had only won because Harlan was not accustomed to his new powers. Even with experience, I had taken a beating, and that was exactly how wide the gap in our powers were. I wondered what would happen if this had not been just a friendly spar.