Franz’s days became very routine. It was a strange change of pace for him compared to his life amongst the stars. In the morning, he went out to hunt for Lutz. Then, after he fed him, he studied, worked around the settlement, and tried to get a handle on his new abilities. According to Holoss, he would gain more abilities than his teleportation. He just was not sure when they would come or how. He figured his best way to get to that stage was through practice of his teleportation.

  Elio joined Franz just outside of town. Franz figured the best way to get a handle on his teleportation was in a high-pressure environment. So, he decided that he would actually train with Elio. Franz was not looking forward to it, but Elio was more than excited to train.

  “About time you took me up on my offer,” Elio smiled as the two stopped at a good spot to train. They had gone closer to the desert, so they could have an open area to practice.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Franz sighed. “Just try not to severely injure me.”

  “I would never do that. I can’t believe you would accuse me of that,” Elio said as if he were offended.

  “We both know that you struggle controlling your strength,” Franz said dryly.

  “Okay, fine, you’re right,” Elio shrugged. “I’ll try my best. Are you ready then?”

  “Yes,” Franz said before he turned to Lutz, who was standing next to Franz’s leg. “Go over there for a little bit.”

  Lutz nodded in complete understanding. Franz was impressed by how well the dragon could understand situations. He was very different from a human child. Franz would not be shocked if Lutz started to talk in full sentences soon. The dragon had even started to grow over the time they had been on The Great Trial. He was just a little bit smaller than a big dog now. Franz was not too shocked by his growth; all the food had to go somewhere.

  Once Lutz walked away from Franz, Franz drew his sword from his belt. A blade of orange energy ignited from the handle. He made sure to put it on a weaker setting for their training session. The blade would only emit small electric shocks when it hit. It was common to have that sort of setting for beam weapons to train with them.

  Because the pair were training, Elio even switched out his typical halberd for a beam weapon. He preferred using a physical blade, but he did have a beam halberd specifically for training. The weapon looked like a long staff until it ignited. Elio grabbed the staff from his back and spun it around a few times before he ignited it. Once he ignited the weapon, a blue axe blade came from the end.

  With both of their weapons ready, Elio charged towards Franz. Elio did not wear his typical gear and did not have the boosters that usually propelled him forward. Even then, Franz forgot how fast the man could be. He closed the gap between the two in almost an instant and brought his halberd down in a powerful strike. The speed of Elio’s attack almost made Franz use one of his teleportations, but he was barely able to step to the side of the halberd. While Franz did want to increase his familiarity with teleportation, he also knew that he could not rely on it. He had to integrate the teleportation into his fighting style to be used at the right moment.

  Franz tried to seize his opportunity to attack. He stepped forward and stabbed his sword towards Elio’s chest. Before the attack could hit, Elio let go of his halberd and dodged to the side of the sword. Then he charged forward and outstretched his arm. His arm slammed into Franz’s face and threw him off his feet.

  As Franz’s body fell to the ground, Elio was already moving for his next attack. He grabbed Franz’s leg and lifted him into the air. Then he quickly moved his arm downward to slam Franz back on the ground. Before he could slam Franz down, the space around Franz began to warp. Franz’s body escaped Elio’s grasp and disappeared.

  Franz reappeared a small distance away from Elio. He sat on the ground for a moment to catch his breath. Once Elio realized what happened, he quickly turned in Franz’s direction. Franz was forced to spring up on his feet and prepare for Elio’s next wave of attacks. Elio ripped his halberd from the ground and sprang forward into a charge towards Franz.

  As Elio reached Franz, he swung his halberd in a wide arc. This time, Franz did not back away. Instead, he decided to use his second charge of teleportation. A purple glow was left as the halberd swung harmlessly through the air. In another burst of purple light, Franz was behind Elio. Orange jagged lines shot out as Franz’s sword slashed at Elio’s back. The shock of the attack trailed up Elio’s spine and forced his back to extend in pain.

  Before Franz could swing his sword again, Elio recovered from the shock. He spun around and swung his halberd at Franz. Franz was able to get his sword up just in time to block the blade of the halberd, but the tremendous force pushed him off balance.

  “You said you were going to go easy on me!” Franz yelled as his feet skidded across the ground.

  “I am,” Elio smiled as he pulled his halberd back. “You just have gotten rusty. Your swordsmanship used to challenge my skills. You need to scrape off that rust and show me the shining blade underneath!”

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  Before Franz could respond, Elio moved in to attack. He let go of his halberd with one hand and used it to lunge towards Franz. Elio’s fingers gripped around Franz’s head before he used it as leverage to slam Franz to the ground. Elio let go of Franz as he hit the ground. Then he grabbed his halberd with both hands and brought it down on Franz’s chest. Blue jagged lines shot out from the halberd and crawled across Franz’s body. Franz’s body started to convulse while Elio held the halberd in place.

  “This is exactly what I mean,” Elio sighed as he pulled the halberd off Franz. “This was not even my best. Back in the day, you could have trounced me if I fought like this.”

  “What’s your point?” Franz groaned as he stood up. “Fighting isn’t my calling like it is yours.”

  “It used to be,” Elio said with an uncharacteristic dryness. “And if you are going to be looking after Lutz, you need to reawaken that feeling.”

  “Are you really going to lecture me on responsibility?” Franz said as he started to grow angry.

  “Someone has to,” Elio shrugged. “You have one of the last dragons under your care. You need to stop lazing around.”

  “What do you think I’m doing, asking you to help me with my teleportation?” Franz spat back.

  “You need to be even more than that,” Elio said. “You need to be a powerful warrior without your teleportation.”

  “Why do you suddenly care so much?” Franz growled.

  “That’s not important right now,” Elio said as he spun his halberd. “You need to be more worried about beating me.”

  “Fine,” Franz replied as he slashed his sword to the side. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll beat it out of you.”

  A grin came across Elio’s face as he swung his halberd at Franz. The halberd swung past Franz’s face as he took a step backward. The moment the swing ended, Franz took another larger step forward and slashed with his sword. Despite Franz’s quick counterattack, Elio was just as quick. He quickly brought his halberd up to block the sword with the staff part of his weapon. Elio’s skill was obvious. He was not merely a brute swinging a weapon. He understood how to use his weapon perfectly and had the athleticism and reflexes to do so.

  The clash between the two did not last long. Elio shoved his halberd forward, sending Franz backward. Franz’s feet stumbled and almost buckled as he was pushed backward. Before he fell, Franz’s feet seemed to glide across the ground. His feet guided his body to stop him from falling and positioned themselves into a balanced stance.

  While Franz regained his footing, Elio was on the attack once more. His halberd came down towards Franz, but Franz did not back away. Instead, he stepped closer to Elio. At the same time, his sword came upward towards the shaft of the halberd. The sword hit its mark and threw Elio’s trajectory off. Not only did it throw the trajectory of the halberd off, but Elio was thrown off balance for a moment. Franz quickly took advantage of Elio’s weakness and slashed downward with his sword. Jagged lines emitted as the sword slashed across Elio’s torso.

  “That’s more like it!” Elio laughed as he reeled backward. “You’re almost there!”

  Franz ignored the comment and tried to press his advantage. Before he could swing his sword once more, Elio launched his foot forward. The foot slammed directly into Franz’s chest and threw him to the ground. That was one of the major differences between Franz and Elio. Franz was a swordsman and gunslinger, but Elio was a master of combat. He could fight barehanded just as well, if not better, than fighting with his halberd. It created a deadly combination in a one-on-one fight.

  As Franz tried to stand, Elio’s knee slammed into his face. Franz was thrown to the ground once more by the attack. Before he could even try to stand, Elio’s halberd came downward on Franz. The halberd slammed into the ground as Franz used his next teleportation charge. This time, Franz wanted to try something new. Franz reappeared in the air above Elio. His sword crashed down on Elio’s shoulder, and electric sparks shot outward.

  The attack managed to send Elio to his knees, but that was all Franz had left in him. He fell to his knees as his feet hit the ground. While he was able to press a temporary advantage, he did not have enough energy left in him to continue the fight.

  Elio forced himself back to his feet and prepared to continue the attack. Before he could, Franz threw his hands up in the air. “I get your point, but that’s all I can do right now.”

  “Ugh, just when it was getting really fun,” Elio groaned. “But that’s okay, at least you get my point.”

  “Why do you suddenly care about how strong I am?” Franz asked as he shut off his sword and returned it to his belt. “You never cared before.”

  “Holoss talked to me the other day,” Elio started to explain as he turned off his halberd and returned it to his back. “Holoss heard rumors that the Imperium is in talks with the Nublean government to make an advance on The Great Trial.”

  “How could that happen?” Franz asked in confusion. “I thought they were too scared to come here.”

  “That is typically the case. The Great Trial has housed refugees before, but I guess the Imperium determined that a dragon is that much of a threat to their order,” Elio answered with a sigh. “Holoss was even shocked that they were willing to come here.”

  “Damn, I thought we had a safe spot,” Franz said. “We should probably prepare to leave.”

  “We can’t do that,” Elio insisted. “If we do, everyone here will be considered an accomplice and executed.”

  “Well then, what are we supposed to do?” Franz said with frustration.

  “We prepare for battle. There are still people in the Nublean government who consider The Great Trial a sacred place separate from the Imperium. They might be able to delay anything for a few months. That gives us time to prepare,” Elio explained before a wide grin grew on his face. “That also gives us time to reawaken the Red Lightning.”

  “Ugh, you know I hate that nickname,” Franz groaned. “It reminds me of my royal guard days.”