Edgar paced before the mages, nodding in satisfaction as a forest of mana spears formed out of nothingness, before vanishing as they were absorbed back into the mages’ cores. It was a tedious exercise, but it worked wonders for training Mana Manipulation.

  Edgar turned his eyes to the most promising of the recruits, a young elven man from the outer layer of Mire. He had lived in the wastelands for most of his life, training and fighting against the monsters there. As a result, he had the coveted Energy Manipulation Advanced Pathway Skill, putting him head and shoulders above the others.

  Edgar was training him to be a leader of the mages’ division, directly under him. That wasn’t some form of nepotism, though, and the man, whose name was Elthari Dawnstone, was working harder than any of the others to progress. When one mana spear came from the palms of the rest of the mages, three spears, one of mana, one of elemental energy, and one of Stamina emerged. Then they twisted around one another, collapsing into a greater whole. The air thrummed around Elthari as he worked.

  A few minutes lated, Edgar stopped pacing. “Good enough for today,” he said, his voice carrying across the entire training field. “We should be ready for what is to come, once Lord Harlowe returns. As soon as you all reach Expert, that is.”

  The mages nodded at Edgar, snapped off a quick salute, and filed off, heading back to their barracks. With their absence, Edgar could hear the bellowed threats coming from Arkanon’s training field, and the sound of fists smacking against flesh. He flew up into the sky on wings of rippling air, and soared across the Oozing Bastion to see what was going on for himself.

  The interior of the city, where Slothari had made her home, had been repurposed into a training zone. The entire mountain that the circle lord’s palace had been built on was perhaps the most durable object in all of Mire, steeped for eons in the concentrated power of the most powerful being in the realm. That meant that it could withstand most of what any Tier 3s could offer, and perhaps some Tier 4s as well.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Edgar crested the wall of an arena, built by a group of Earth mages over the last week, and looked down upon a scene that was almost like the aftermath of a battlefield. Dozens of recruits lay on the sandy ground, bleeding, with broken bones, or unconscious. Dozens more fought Arkanon, who, even without weapons or armor, and suppressing his power to that of a Peak Tier 3, was absolutely dominating the fight.

  Over all of that, a few thousand more watched from the sidelines, some wincing in sympathy for their fellows. Arkanon’s hands were like meteors, always in the right place to strike, block or parry. Nobody had managed to touch him yet. Every second, more of the Tier 3s fell, knocked off their feet by a powerful punch. It seemed incredibly brutal and cruel to Edgar, but the recruits here were melee specialists. None of them were injured beyond a few minutes of regeneration’s ability to fix.

  Arkanon spotted Edgar, continuing to fend off his disciples without even looking at them. He started to lower his power, bit by bit. His speed diminished the most, and Edgar watched as the powerful Uthraki started to rely purely on technique, with his stats, or at least the level that he was using, at the same realm as his opponents. The battle was no longer as one sided, but the recruits were defeated nonetheless, until Arkanon was the only one still standing.

  “Pathetic!” he bellowed. “Looking at you all, I would have thought that you were mages! Mages without any talent in their craft.” He turned to Edgar. “This is a real mage. See if you can defeat him.”

  Edgar frowned. “What? I’m not here to train your soldiers.”

  Arkanon ignored him, and pointed at Edgar. “All of you, get to it!”

  Sighing, Edgar let the wind carry him down to the ground, and nodded once at Arkanon. There was no point in resisting. It would only result in the battle-hungry Uthraki deciding to make an example of him personally for the benefit of his troops.