The vast metallic room hummed as Kyle and Takeshi stepped in, their footsteps echoing across the polished floors. The air was tense—charged, like a storm waiting to break.
Kyle cracked his knuckles; eyes locked on Takeshi across the chamber.
“Simulation—project: Arena.”
The room answered with a deep mechanical whirrrr.
Panels shifted. Light bent. The environment reshaped itself.
In seconds, the empty room transformed into a massive stone arena, open sky simulated above them, cracked tiles under their feet, and a faint circular boundary glowing around the stage.
On one end stood Takeshi, calm and razor-focused.
On the other stood Kyle, fire in his eyes despite his relaxed grin.
Both reached for their belt pockets at the same time.
Two Spirit Cards flashed into their hands.
They lifted them.
And in perfect unison, they shouted—
“SPIRIT DRIVE!”
Kyle and Takeshi, now fully clad in their armor, dropped into their fighting stances.
For a heartbeat, the arena held its breath.
Then Kyle moved first.
With a sharp whip of his arm, he hurled the weighted chains of his kusarigama forward.
The chains screamed through the air—fast, heavy, and precise.
Takeshi reacted instantly.
He dropped his center of gravity, body lowering into a glide-like motion, the chains whipping above him.
In the same fluid movement, his hand settled lightly on the hilt of his katana.
And then—
He surged forward.
Kyle’s eyes narrowed. “So, you are going straight for me.”
He slammed his palm into the ground.
“PACK HUNT!”
The floor cracked open with a burst of green light.
Five vine-woven wolves burst forth, snarling without sound, eyes glowing emerald as they targeted Takeshi in perfect synchronization.
Takeshi and the wolves closed the distance in the same heartbeat.
Then his voice cut through the static—
“Thunder Clap.”
Lightning detonated off him.
In a blur of teal light, Takeshi vanished—
and reappeared among the wolves.
FLASH—FLASH—FLASH—FLASH—FLASH.
Each vine wolf was sliced apart in a streak of electrified motion, shredded into curling leaves and dissipating energy.
The shockwaves left thin arcs of lightning cracking through the air.
Takeshi didn’t slow.
He tore through the last wolf and shot forward, momentum carrying him straight toward Kyle, katana blazing with thunder.
The gap between them collapsed in an instant.
Takeshi closed the distance in a blink.
But just as his electrified blade was about to strike, Kyle’s body burst into a swirl of leaves—a fluttering spiral of green that scattered through the air like a dispersing flock. Takeshi skidded to a halt, eyes widening.
This skill, he used this during the mentor and mentee duel.
He thrust out his hand.
“Electro Web!”
Lightning threads shot outward, crackling across the arena—
but the leaves slipped through the gaps untouched, moving like weightless ghosts.
High above, atop one of the arena pillars, the leaves spiraled inward again—
and reformed into Kyle, whole and grinning.
“Up here, Takeshi!”
Kyle thrust his arms forward.
“Ripping Vines!”
Thick, thorn-lined vines burst from his hands with a violent snap, lashing toward Takeshi like striking serpents.
But Takeshi was already moving—dodging left, sliding under one, vaulting over another with electrified grace.
He suddenly leapt onto one of the vines, boots skidding across its rough, thorny surface as he sprinted up its length directly toward Kyle.
Kyle’s eyes flashed.
“Thorn Rush!”
The vine beneath Takeshi trembled—
then fired a barrage of razor-like thorns in all directions, each one aimed at him with deadly precision.
Takeshi exhaled.
His stance dropped.
Lightning burst from his feet.
“Thunder Clap.”
In a chain of blinding slashes, he carved through every thorn, each strike leaving afterimages of teal light floating in the air.
The final flash carried him forward—
right to Kyle.
Takeshi appeared in front of him, katana humming with electricity, blade resting just a breath from Kyle’s neck.
Kyle froze.
Takeshi’s blade cut cleanly through Kyle’s neck—
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but instead of blood, the head crumbled into a coil of twisting vines.
A double.
Below the pillar stood the real Kyle, watching with sharp eyes.
The moment their gazes met, Kyle snapped his arm forward.
Chains hissed through the air—the kusarigama spinning straight toward Takeshi.
Takeshi flicked his katana upward.
CLANG.
The chains ricocheted away in a burst of sparks.
Takeshi retaliated instantly.
“Thunder Bolt Strings.”
From the edge of his blade, threads of lightning uncoiled like living wires, streaking straight at Kyle.
Kyle slammed his palms into the ground.
“Ripping Vines!”
Thorned tendrils erupted upward, colliding with the lightning threads in a shrieking clash of energy and wood.
The ground shook.
Then Kyle’s voice rose above the turmoil.
“Flora Grandroot!”
Behind him, the floor split open.
A massive tree—towering, ancient, pulsing with green spirit energy—erupted from the ground, roots curling like serpents.
Kyle smirked.
“I learned this yesterday… when we fought that Flora Abberant.”
The tree’s roots surged outward—
shaping themselves into four massive creatures made entirely of vines:
- an elephant with trunk and tusks of braided thorns
? a gorilla with fists like spiked boulders
? a tiger with glowing emerald stripes
? and a giant eagle whose wings unfolded in a whipping cyclone of leaves
Kyle pointed his kusarigama straight at Takeshi.
“Go.”
The four beasts charged, shaking the arena with every step.
Takeshi lowered his stance.
Closed his eyes.
In the silence of his mind…
he pictured a spider, unmoving, patient—
waiting in its web as prey rushed foolishly toward it.
The moment the first vine-beast entered striking distance—
Takeshi’s eyes snapped open.
They glowed a piercing teal.
Lightning rippled across his right arm as it transformed into the segmented, obsidian armor of Jorōgumo.
Under his breath, he whispered:
“Partial Thunder Transformation:
Jorōgumo… Lightning Flash.”
The world blurred.
A single streak of teal light carved across the arena—
and in less than the span of a heartbeat…
- the elephant split apart
? the gorilla collapsed in shredded vines
? the tiger scattered into severed coils
? the eagle fell in two halves
—and behind them, the gargantuan Flora Grandroot cracked, split, and exploded into drifting leaves.
Takeshi landed silently behind Kyle.
Kyle’s breath caught.
He looked behind him—
and saw everything he summoned reduced to twitching pieces on the ground.
Then he looked at Takeshi—
calm, steady, lightning fading from his arm.
Kyle’s spirit energy flickered weakly.
His knees trembled.
His last attack had drained him dry.
Slowly, he raised both hands.
“I… give up.”
The arena fell quiet, save for the final leaves drifting down like defeated embers.
The duel was over.
Takeshi sheathed his katana in a single clean motion. The last arcs of lightning faded from his armor as it dissolved into light, and Kyle’s armor dissipated moments after. The arena, once filled with roaring energy, now felt strangely quiet—just the two of them catching their breath amid drifting motes of simulated debris.
Kyle let out a shaky laugh, brushing dust and fragments of vine from his clothes.
“Your attacks are insane,” he said, half-amazed, half-exhausted.
“I don’t even know how Kael’s duplicates survived those hits yesterday. But they held their ground. Strong duplicates… scary strong, actually.”
Takeshi exhaled calmly, rolling his shoulders as the last hint of teal faded from his eyes.
“Even though they’re duplicates,” he replied,
“They’re still Kael—just slightly different versions of him. His fighting instincts stay the same.” He gave Kyle a reassuring nod.
“You did great too, Kyle. Your Flora Grandroot was incredible. Four giant nature animals, each with their own form… it was a lot to deal with.”
Kyle smiled, pride flickering in his tired eyes.
“Yeah,” he admitted.
“The whole thing was inspired by that flora aberrant’s tree from yesterday—and the aberrant itself. That thing kept spawning creatures after it died, so I figured… why not try it myself?”
Takeshi chuckled softly.
“For a first use, it was impressive. But the constructs were still pretty easy to destroy.”
Kyle didn’t argue; he just nodded, brushing off more leaf fragments.
“I know. I need to stabilize them… make them tougher. But at least now I have a foundation to build on.”
The two stood there, the last remnants of the simulated battlefield fading around them—quiet partners in growth, rivalry, and the unspoken drive to be ready for what lay ahead.
The simulation room dimmed into its neutral state, the false battlefield dissolving into shimmering particles. Just then, the doors slid open—and Natalia and Serafina, already in her armor, stepped inside, each carrying trays filled with drinks and snacks in case Kyle and Takeshi burned through their energy.
Serafina’s eyes widened the moment she saw Kyle hunched over, still catching his breath.
Without hesitation she hurried toward him, pressing a cold glass of orange juice into his hands.
“Kyle—here, drink this,” she said, voice soft but urgent.
Natalia approached Takeshi with her usual confident stride, offering him his own glass.
A teasing smirk curved her lips.
“Looks like you’re handling your training well, Mr. Discipline.”
Takeshi accepted the juice, taking a deep sip before answering.
“You know why I’m doing this,” he said calmly. “To give my family a good life… and to secure our future.”
Natalia laughed lightly and nudged his arm.
“Come on, Mister Overthinker. The future’s still far ahead.”
But her tone softened. “Still… I can’t argue with you wanting a better life for your family.”
She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
Takeshi froze, unsure whether to blush or stand at attention—while Natalia stepped back with a playful smile.
“We’ll be watching from the side,” she added before walking away.
Meanwhile, Serafina placed her hands over Kyle’s, her palms glowing with a soft, soothing light. Spirit energy flowed from her into him, replenishing what the duel had taken.
Kyle finished his juice, breathing easier now.
“Thanks, Serafina. Really… that was kind of you.”
Serafina’s face flushed immediately. She looked down, still channeling energy, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I–It’s nothing. We’re… we’re friends after all.”
Her hands trembled slightly—whether from effort or from being so close to him, Kyle couldn’t tell. But the warmth in her expression spoke louder than anything she said.
Hours passed inside the simulation chamber.
Kyle and Takeshi trained relentlessly—spar after spar, clash after clash. Whenever Kyle’s spirit energy dropped too low, he swapped out with Natalia to recover. She fought in his place for a while, her sharp technique buying him time to breathe and regain strength.
Takeshi, however, never stopped.
Even when his armor faded and the last traces of spirit energy flickered out from around him, he didn’t slow down. He simply switched styles—transitioning into pure martial discipline, using the sword techniques he had learned from Aoi. Every movement was sharp. Every strike clean. Every step controlled.
By the time evening settled, the trio’s bodies ached from exertion.
Kyle collapsed onto the floor, sweat dripping down his brow. Natalia slumped next to him, completely drained. Serafina, hands trembling from hours of healing, leaned heavily against the wall just to stay standing.
But Takeshi remained upright—silent, steady, his blade hanging loosely at his side.
He slowly sheathed his sword.
“Still not enough,” he muttered.
Kyle stared at him in disbelief.
“Not enough? Takeshi, that was relentless. You kept going even when you were out of spirit energy. How the hell did you even do that?”
Takeshi looked back at him with calm eyes, not boasting—simply stating a fact.
“I wasn’t really out,” he said.
“When I felt my spirit energy getting low… I conserved it. I fought using Aoi’s sword techniques instead of relying on abilities.”
The doors of the simulation room slid open.
Kael stepped inside, stretching his shoulders after his own training. His eyes immediately landed on the exhausted group sprawled on the floor.
“Looks like everybody’s a mess,” he said with a half-smile.
Right behind him, Anya entered—carrying several large bags of packed meals.
“Hey, guys. Since none of you showed up for dinner, I asked the cooks to pack food and deliver it for all of you.”
She began handing out the meals, walking between the tired trainees with practiced ease.
As soon as the smell of food filled the room, spirit cards on everyone’s belts shimmered. Their spirit creatures appeared one by one—hungry and curious.
Anya laughed softly.
“Don’t worry, I packed theirs too.”
She handed each spirit creature its meal with the same care she gave the humans.
For Serafina’s Panthera Atrox: a serving of fresh, bloody beef. For Kyle’s Dire Wolf and Natalia’s Jormungandr: roasted chicken legs, still warm. For Takeshi’s Jorōgumo: a small tray of fruits and sweet berries—its favorite energy-replenishing treat.
The creatures gathered happily, eating beside their partners. The atmosphere that had once been filled with tension and exhaustion softened immediately.
Kael chuckled.
“Anya saves the day again.”
Natalia raised her juice weakly.
“To our hero…”
Kyle added, still panting,
“…and to food.”
Even Takeshi, still standing and composed, gave a small nod.
“Thank you, Anya.”
She smiled proudly.
“Eat up. You all need it.”