Both of them jumped back and raised their weapons defensively, breathing heavily as they slowly circled each other. Their fight only barely started but both of them were already injured. Lorena got hit on the shoulder which made her swings a bit slower while Ethan favored his left leg after she managed to thrust her sword into his thigh.

It was clear that she was the more skilled fighter but Ethan was taller and had more reach with his weapon. Before he could think about his next approach she yelled and jumped, both swords raised towards him. Ethan's hands wrapped around the halberd in a white knuckled grip as he raised it into the air. Just then she pulled one arm back and transformed the swing into a thrust. The attack was weaker but totally caught him off guard.

The moment he saw her angle of attack change he tried to move back but his right leg trembled from the pain as he put his full weight on it. The tip of the sword slammed into his ribs. He managed to suppress a scream but he lost his vision for a second as everything turned dark. He took three steps back, one hand holding his ribs as he looked at Lorena.

She smiled, already thinking she won this fight. Ethan used a bit of magic to numb the area, he stood back up from his hunched position and grabbed his weapon tightly. Stepping forward with his left leg he swung his weapon in wide arches to make her move back, the moment he stopped attacking she tried to close the distance again with a calculated jump. Ethan smiled as he pulled the halberd back to him and retaliated with the same attack she pulled off, a fast thrust hit her square in the sternum as she couldn't move while being in the air.

She doubled over, gasping for air as she landed on her knees. The hit was definitely painful, but Ethan was no gentleman when it came to fights, while this wasn't a life or death situation he would fight like it was one. He raised the blade to finish her off, but on the downwards swing Lorena rolled out of the way and used her sword to strike at his legs, coming straight out of the roll there was no power behind it, still it served as a distraction making Ethan second guess his move.

That split second made Ethan miss his attack and it hit the red sand he was standing on instead, quickly he moved back and held his weapon up. Lorena stood back up and got ready for another clash.

What followed was another round of attacks and tactics that tried to outmanoeuvre the other. Both of them sustained more injuries but they kept fighting for far longer than both of them expected. Soon they were both exhausted and new blood was staining the sand. Before they could go for another round a voice cut through the air.

"Both of you need to stop right now. We have bigger things to worry about than a sparring duel. Especially since we need both of you in fighting condition!" The matriarch walked through the ring of onlookers, they moved apart to let her through without comment and she stopped at the edge of the fighting ring. The matriarch looked pissed off and her face seemed to be stuck in a constant scowl, so nothing new as far as Ethan was concerned.

He and Lorena looked to the matriarch and back at each other, they nodded and relaxed their postures, Ethan cracked his neck and sighed. He was spent and would love nothing more than a bath and some proper food in his empty stomach. Still the matriarch was in charge and he didn't want to be on her bad side…again.

Putting their weapons back before following the matriarch through the village, in her small house she sat down and gestured for both of them to do the same. Ethan took a deep breath when he had to sit down with his injured leg. Lorena flinched and rubbed her sternum which still hurt like hell.

"I have some good news and some bad news. I will start with the good news first, we found the necromancer you call James. Right now a team of scouts are watching over him but he is very evasive so we might lose him again if we aren't careful. The bad news is that he seems to be ready to do whatever he planned. He gathered a lot of creatures as undead followers and is finishing another ritual circle." She looked at Ethan.

"We need to stop him and fast too, the thing is we don't know what we're up against so I want you Ethan to initiate the fight while we support you, can you do that for us? While I hate to admit it, my powers are not primarily for fighting but for caring for this forest. The mages we have are also not combat focused as they're healers or scouts. Will you help us out?"

She didn't command him to fight but was polite enough to ask. Ethan didn't hesitate and nodded, he wanted James gone. This rivalry he wanted no part in has to stop. He didn't care about James since the day they left him in that mud pit and now he would gladly fight him. Right now he had a chance to actually catch him, if both of them got back to earth there were enough places for someone like James to stay hidden indefinitely and strengthen his powers in secret.

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"I will fight at your side, he will only bring more pain if we don't stop him so I'm counting on your support in this upcoming battle." he nodded to the matriarch who smiled for the first time since meeting her.

"Good…very good, for now you can prepare yourself and go to the healers. Lorena, show him the way and provide any equipment that's necessary. Also your scouts will accompany him." the matriarch commanded and stood up, walking out through a side door.

Lorena looked at Ethan, their bodies were covered in wounds, their clothes damaged in multiple spots and stained with blood. She stood up and offered him her hand, he smiled and took it. Gracefully accepting her help while he tried to keep any weight from his wounded leg. He took a deep breath when the pain flared up as he stood on both feet again.

"Well it seems we will destroy the danger that is using your home as a playground." he said to her while they walked out of the hut, Ethan following her as she guided him through the village.

"Yes…I hope everything will be normal again." she said gravely, her face dark as she helped Ethan walk along the path. He raised an eyebrow while holding onto her slim shoulders.

"You sound disappointed about that, I thought you all wanted to have a quiet life here in harmony with the jungle. Seeing it be attacked and desecrated by someone must be hard to witness, right?"

She nodded and sighed. "That's true enough but I must admit, these last days were the most exciting in my life. How you wielded magic, the power behind it and how good you're at controlling it." She shivered in excitement. "It just showed me there is more than just going on patrols."

Ethan laughed, not to mock her but because he understood what she meant. They reached the healers and quickly got rushed to one of the healing pools. It was water mixed with a lot of different herbs that are anti-bacterial and have healing properties. Some spells got applied to the water itself too. They both got literally shoved into it once the healers got them out of their clothes and inspected their wounds if some of them needed urgent treatment. That old hag must have told them to hurry up.

Only covered by a woven towel did Ethan step into the bath, he could feel his wounds itch after a while as they healed and his body relaxed visibly, so much that he allowed himself to let go of the stress that had built up in him, a sigh escaping his lips while he sat there. It felt almost like a whirlpool just without the jets.

"No! No, no, no! I can't go in there, it's not appropriate!" Ethan heard from behind the curtain. "Just take me to a different one!" He opened one eye only to see Lorena getting pushed towards the healing pool, her body covered in a longer towel. Still it did a bad job at hiding her petite, yet feminine body. Ethan's cheeks flushed red, so did the tips of his long ears. With his pale skin he practically glowed like a traffic light at night.

Lorena too felt embarrassed but she quickly submerged herself into the green tinted water so her body vanished in the healing liquid. Both of them sat there in silence only for Ethan to finally break it.

"You're right, you know. There is a lot to see out there in the world. These last months I saw a lot of new things and also learned a lot in this time. Maybe…maybe you will also explore the world." He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "I'm sure there is a place for you out there, you just need to find it, Lorena."

A small smile appeared on her reddened face and she looked at him. "Thank you…Ethan, I hope you're right but for that we need to survive first. I don't think we can take the guardian in a fight. It's too powerful, that's why we need to kill the necromancer." Her hand slid slowly through the water while she talked.

Ethan grabbed her hand and nodded, he was still embarrassed but he knew there were more important things in life than constant worry, he learned that in this very tutorial. "We just need to make sure we survive, not just us but all of the people here. For that we have to kill the necromancer." He confirmed her thoughts and they looked at each other, both of them determined to achieve victory.

She nodded and the embarrassment slowly vanished from her face. Ethan smiled back at her. "Say how long do we need to stay here anyway?" Lorena shrugged and pushed herself over to his side. "Who knows? As long as our wounds need to heal."

Ethan raised his arm, there was nothing left from the skinny man he once was, he didn't look like a bodybuilder but his muscles were firm and strong. "Well I guess we have to kill some time huh?"

Both of them blushed and Lorena smiled, she pressed herself against him and whispered. "I guess we have to…"

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