The sun was beginning its slow descent, painting the afternoon sky in hues of orange and gold. A cool breeze rustled through the trees, carrying with it the scent of woodsmoke from the village kitchens where the chieftain and his family were preparing a feast with the day's hunt. Livi and Catty sat quietly under a tree, a sense of aimless silence surrounding them now that the hunt was over.
"We still have time before sunset," Rian said, approaching them. "How about we use this time to continue our training?"
"Yes, sir! I've been waiting for this," Livi said, his eyes lighting up with eagerness.
"Okay, what's the next lesson, Rian?" Catty asked, ready.
"We're going to practice combat without magic," Rian announced, pulling three wooden swords from his Storage. "Take these." He tossed one to each of them. "The rules are simple. The two of you will fight me. The condition is, you must attack me while holding your breath. The hits will be real. If you get hurt, I'll heal you. If you run out of breath, you are allowed to retreat, take a breath, and then re-engage. I, on the other hand, will hold my breath for the entire duration of the fight."
"So, we have to hold our breath while fighting you?" Catty asked, trying to understand the strange rule.
"That's right," Rian confirmed. "If you run out of breath, retreat, breathe, and attack again. You must work together to take me down. Take turns breathing. Take as little time as possible, and you are forbidden from taking a breath at the same time."
"Understood, sir," Livi and Catty said in unison, nodding.
"One more thing," Rian added, his tone turning serious. "If you attack me while you are actively breathing, I will not hesitate to strike you with all my strength. This applies to both of you equally. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand," Livi replied. "Hmm, okay," Catty nodded.
"Take me down, and you win. Work together," Rian said, taking his stance. "BEGIN!"
He reminded them one last time as he effortlessly dodged their initial, uncoordinated attacks. "No magic! Focus on your attacks, your teamwork, and concentrating on the mana within you!"
Catty and Livi attacked relentlessly. Their movements were agile, infused with the natural grace of their feline kin. They tried to coordinate, one attacking while the other fell back to quickly gasp for air. But Rian detected a flaw. He felt Livi steal a shallow breath in the middle of an attack. In an instant, Rian sidestepped the blow and jabbed the pommel of his wooden sword into Livi's stomach.
"I told you, take turns breathing," Rian said sternly, easily parrying Catty's follow-up strike. "One of you must retreat to breathe. Don't try to cheat and steal a breath while attacking. I can sense the temperature and mana fluctuations in your body with my detection skill."
"Yes, sir. My apologies," Livi wheezed, crumpling to the ground from the hard blow. "I won't do it again."
The training became a silent dance, the only sounds being the clash of wood, the scrape of feet on dirt, and the sharp hiss of air from their swings. Catty's face began to flush, her lungs burning. She signaled for Livi to press the attack as she retreated, took a deep breath, and then launched herself back into the fray.
Watching them, Rian was reminded of his first sparring session with Bebegig—a flurry of desperate attacks, none of which ever came close to landing. It was the same now. Catty and Livi attacked in a desperate, breathless cycle, but not a single one of their strikes could touch him.
"Sir, why do we have to hold our breath while fighting you?" Livi asked, falling back while Catty covered for him.
"To train your mana stability during combat," Rian answered simply, deflecting Catty's attack.
"Why not just train it while standing still? Why during a fight, Rian?" Catty asked, taking her own turn to breathe.
"If you only practice while calm, you'll lose control of your mana the moment a real battle starts," Rian explained, effortlessly blocking both of their coordinated strikes. "This is a simulation. When you can maintain a stable core of mana while fighting, it becomes much easier to consciously direct that mana where you need it. When you strike, you focus it in your arms. When you dodge or leap, you focus it in your legs. If your mana is chaotic during a fight, how can you possibly control it?"
"Alright, I get it," Catty called out, falling back again, panting, before charging back in.
The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows across the yard. Finally, Rian decided it was enough for one day. With a fluid motion, he parried their attacks and sent them both flying with a powerful counter-strike.
"Training is over. We'll do this again tomorrow, and every day after, until you can take me down," he said, walking over to them. They were covered in bruises and scrapes. He gently took Catty's arm, channeling a small, discreet pulse of healing magic into her.
"Thank you, sir," Livi said gratefully.
Catty quickly looked away, a faint blush on her cheeks as Rian held her hand. "Thanks," she mumbled.
"Have I become cooler now that I'm their teacher?" Rian thought with a proud, internal smile.
The following days fell into a grueling routine. The same sparring match, from morning until dusk. Two weeks passed. A noticeable change had occurred. Their mana was more stable, they could hold their breath for far longer, and their attacks were no longer random. They now attacked in coordinated pairs, their breathing breaks becoming shorter and their combined assault lasting longer.
A week after that, their attacks became controlled. Every leap was more powerful, every sword strike heavier. Their movements were harder to predict, a flurry of surprise attacks from different directions. Their progress was remarkable.
The next day, Rian took them back to the forest for the "catch the tail" exercise. This time, their teamwork was on another level. Livi would feign an attack from one side, forcing Rian to dodge, while Catty would use the opening to lunge for the cord. They nearly got it several times with their sudden, coordinated assaults.
Livi caught Catty's eye and gave a subtle nod. She understood the plan instantly.
Rian glanced back and saw no one. He didn't assume they had fallen behind. He continued leaping through the branches, senses on high alert. A flicker of movement to his upper right—Catty, launching herself at him with explosive speed. Rian dodged. Catty immediately kicked off a tree trunk, reversing her direction and attacking again, forcing Rian to focus all his attention on her relentless aerial assault.
He didn't notice Livi.
Livi had anticipated Rian's path, waiting in ambush. As Rian dodged another of Catty's attacks, Livi shot out from his hiding place. His hand was inches from the cord. With a final, desperate burst of speed, Rian managed to evade him, but the maneuver left him wide open. From the other side, Catty was already there. Her hand shot out and snatched the cord.
"Yay! We did it, Livi!" Catty cheered, holding the captured cord triumphantly.
Livi removed his mask, a proud, exhausted smile on his face. Rian landed before them, an equally proud grin on his. "That was a good idea. Congratulations, you both passed," he said. "And just in time for the hundredth lap. How about we go hunting?"
At that same moment, in another part of the forest, RQ and her father were gathering medicinal herbs for the village. Without warning, shadows descended upon them. Bandits. They attacked without a word. RQ fought back, but she was overwhelmed. One of them grabbed her, while another spoke to the Chieftain.
"Ransom this girl with your treasure at our hideout if you want her to live."
The bandits vanished, leaving the Chieftain wounded on the forest floor, a deep slash across his stomach. He could only watch them disappear with his daughter.
"MY DAUGHTER!" he roared, his voice a cry of pure agony echoing through the trees.