A few minutes later, a broadly grinning Kilian walked through a large, plain hall, in which dozens of circles had been marked out for the workers to fight in, looking for the group of miners.

  "The rules for the fights are as follows!" Weapons master Cayden was just beginning to explain in a powerful voice when the young warrior joined the crowd, "Everyone must fight once, and you can fight up to three times, as long as you win. Every victory is rewarded by the clan, and after three wins, you receive a clan point. Each ring has a referee who will intervene if someone's life is in danger or if they give up. If you ever want to become more than simple laborers, you must fight for it with your own hands, walk through seas of blood, and step over the lifeless bodies of your future opponents! This is a preparation for the few of you who possess enough talent and willpower to be accepted into the Inner Academy! There, you will be confronted with tasks where every wrong decision could mean your last second or the life of a loved one! Seize the opportunity and give it your all!"

  “YES!” The crowd roared with raised fists, eager for battle, and just a few moments later, the arena fights began.

  "So the rumors are actually true? A small child works in the mine, or are you a bastard of the grumpy blacksmith?" Laughed a broadly built, pimple-faced boy of about sixteen years, shouldering a long lumberjack axe, eyeing Kilian with a broad grin, "For half a century, the clan has been searching for a successor for that grumpy fool, and what does the senile master do in his old age? He accepts a tiny little one who's barely out of his diapers! Ridiculous!"

  “Envy and resentment often cloud the minds of the weak!” Kilian replied calmly, trying to mimic Professor Irwin’s arrogant rhetoric, which he partially succeeded in doing, but seemed out of place when used by a ten-year-old boy.

  Ignoring the laughter of the surrounding workers, he gripped his staff firmly with both hands and assumed the basic staff fighting stance, "Let's get this over with! Who would have thought that the first stumbling block on my path at the Kong Clan would be just a pebble!"

  After a short pause for thought, which the pimply boy needed to understand the sharp words of the little warrior, he stormed towards the boy, who was about two heads shorter than him, with a furious battle cry and swung the sharp axe blade at the level of Kilian's neck.

  With a twist of the staff, the miner easily knocked the lumberjack's axe aside, his smaller body slipped under his opponent's long, lanky arms, and he delivered a powerful punch to his chest.

  A stifled groan was followed by a violent gagging sound, while the stomach of the now whimpering teenager emptied its contents on the ground.

  Before he could stand up again, Kilian was already at his side, struck him again, this time to the temple with his staff, and sent him into the dreamland.

  "His words cut like a sharp knife, and he follows up with actions!" Cayden nodded, satisfied with his student's performance, and called out loudly, "Winner: Kilian! Do you want to continue fighting right now, or do you need a break?"

  With a not very gentle kick, the young warrior threw the unconscious man out of the ring and resumed his basic stance.

  “Good…” Whispered the weapons master, eyeing the now silent gathering of workers, and finally looked into the eyes of a nearly two-meter-tall halforc, smiling maliciously.

  Without exchanging a word with the Qi-Master, the giant leaped into the arena, unsheathed his broad, purple shimmering sword, and began to speak in a deep voice, “My name is Gorax, and I have the honor of serving the clan as a caravan guard!”

  “Kilian, apprentice of Master Arto!” His opponent answered briefly with his focus on every single movement of his next enemy.

  “When fighting a beast, you can't underestimate it even if it's just a puppy!” Gorax said seriously, and before the sentence was finished, the muscular arm swung forward and delivered a powerful blow, which Kilian skillfully dodged backward, followed by a swift stab that grazed the boy's cheek.

  Blood spurted and, ignoring the small but burning wound, the end of the staff, made of double-folded shadowsteel, struck the halforc's massive shoulder.

  Bones cracked, but the experienced caravan guard didn't bat an eyelid. Instead, he began to smile, briefly stuck his sword in the ground, and with a jerk, snapped his dislocated joint back into place.

  "Something seems to be broken, but you'd better hurry if you still want to win!" He said with an evil grin and tried in vain to clench the fingers of his injured arm into a fist, "The further the paralyzing poison from my blade spreads through your body, the slower you become, and soon you'll be fast asleep!"

  Once again, he jumped at the little boy and lashed out like a berserker, trying to drag out the fight for as long as he could.

  Kilian's movements became increasingly sluggish with time; there were more and more gaps between his parries, and he slowly noticed his vision becoming blurry.

  “I can’t lose!” He screamed inwardly, trying with all his might to stay conscious.

  His eyes had long since closed, and only instinct kept him moving when a quick blow from his opponent left a long cut on his left thigh.

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  The leg gave way and buckled as he tried to take another step backward.

  Kneeling, with a dull look on his face, Kilian turned his half closed eyes forward, perceiving everything around him only vaguely, but feeling something in front of him, he cried out from the depths of his soul “AED!!” and, beginning with a narrow, barely legible, but boldly written inscription, the swirling Qi flowed through the staff in his arms and transformed into a flaming inferno.

  The already glowing weapon buried itself deep in the halforc's abdomen, burned effortlessly through the typical light leather armor of the Kong Clan's caravan guards, and swept the warrior, who was now only whimpering quietly, out of the arena.

  The figure, now completely engulfed in flames, crashed into a small group of onlookers, and immediately their clothes began to smolder.

  “Winner: Kilian!” Cried the weapons master with satisfaction, and quickly added, “Where are the alchemists?”

  With a wave of his hand, all the flames were immediately extinguished, and a few young members of the Inner Academy, clad in green robes, appeared on the scene and began treating the injured.

  “Not bad, little one!” Said one of the alchemists as he handed Kilian a potion, “This will neutralize the poison, and your injuries should heal in about half an hour. To cast an enchantment, even one as simple as Aed, without using one’s own Qi, shows very strong willpower!”

  Without seeing anything, the injured boy reached where he felt a collection of gentle Qi, uncorked the small vial, emptied it in one gulp, and immediately felt his whole body begin to tingle.

  A few minutes later, his vision became clear again, and the incisions on his thigh came to life.

  They began to grow together as if by magic.

  “I did it!” He finally groaned after a long pause for recovery, slowly stood up, slightly unsteadily, leaned on his staff, and called out to the group, “Who is my next opponent?”

  An oppressive silence fell over the various arenas, and even the warriors in the middle of battle interrupted their exchanges.

  “Hahaha!” Rang out a loud laugh that ran through the bones, and Cayden appeared before the boy, “I’ve thought of something special for your last fight, follow me!”

  The two left the hall silently, followed a winding path, and after about twenty minutes stood before a huge hole reinforced with thick walls.

  “Connor, set the beast free!” Said the weapons master to the already waiting aspiring beast tamer, and he opened a small pouch that hung on his hip.

  “Good luck!” He said tonelessly, as a stone golem, about three meters tall, appeared in the pit and screamed his frustration at the sky, accompanied by waves of spit.

  "A recently born golem!" Cayden began to explain, while Kilian studied the monster with interest and some shock, "Many different creatures have settled in the old dwarven mines that crisscross the mountain range surrounding the Kong Clan since the orcs destroyed their former owners, and this is one of them. Golems have their own culture dominated by strength, and therefore, they rarely follow the commands of humans. Your final opponent is ready! Use your speed and powerful strikes!"

  With a gentle push, Kilian fell headfirst into the deep pit, accompanied by a roar of laughter from his trainer.

  He somehow managed to spin in the air and landed firmly on both feet.

  The golem turned its head towards the sudden sound and immediately charged at its new prey.

  The earth shook with each step, and the young warrior crouched low to dodge the attack with a quick jump.

  The magical beast shot past him, the massive staff whirling through the air and slamming with full force into the colossus's back.

  The momentum of the collision sent the two opponents flying in two different directions, and as the dust settled, two or three small pieces of stone crashed from the monster's body to the ground.

  Growling, it watched the small warrior's weapon still spinning in circles, his gaze never leaving his opponent.

  “Now it’s my turn!” Shouted Kilian, holding the staff stretched back in his right hand, while his left arm stretched forward, fixed on his target.

  With a few steps, he appeared, only vaguely recognizable due to his speed, first in front of and then behind the Golem, and powerful blows, delivered in a matter of seconds, forced the colossus to defend, and every desperate attempt by the beast to hit the small body of the human landed in empty air.

  After several dozen blows, the now heavily breathing attacker stopped a few meters in front of the stone creature and looked at the magical beast, now covered in cracks, which suddenly began to glow brightly.

  A few moments later, a powerful explosion shattered the silence, and sharp shards of rock flew toward Kilian.

  At the last moment, he raised his weapon and began to parry the attack, but several small stone blades dug deep into his flesh.

  With a stifled cry, more and more blood dripped from the small wounds and stained the stone floor red.

  "It would have been too easy otherwise!" Muttered the injured boy, forcing himself to stay on his feet, "I was able to protect my vital organs. So the fight isn't over yet!"

  The bright light in front of him slowly faded, and a thin stone man about two meters tall appeared before him.

  “You're fast! Too fast! I'm fast too now!” Boomed a deep voice in Kilian's head, and the golem attacked again.

  In a flash, the figure appeared before the injured boy, and a cold, rocky fist struck hard against his cheek, causing the boy to crash against the hard wall of the arena, his jaw now hanging crooked.

  A few seconds later, a trembling hand reached out from the newly created hole in the rock face, and a small body, with several broken bones, fell to the ground.

  Slowly, Kilian got to his feet, swallowed a gush of blood, fixed his loose jaw with a jerk, and assumed an attack pose again.

  "Never! I'd rather die than give up!" He screamed in pain with all his might and began to channel the Qi around him into his staff, which immediately began to glow red.

  The now smaller colossus looked at the boy with anticipation, and instead of dodging, he simply raised both arms in front of his body and built up his defenses.

  It was as if he wanted to challenge his equal opponent, because only true power counted in the golem culture.

  “AED!” Kilian yelled despite his injured jaw, and the fiery weapon crashed with full force against the waiting stone man.

  A ball of fire enveloped the monster, but nothing happened for two or three seconds, until the attacker once again gathered all his strength, tensed all his muscles to the point of cramping, and finally broke through his opponent's defenses.

  Now the golem flew in the opposite direction, and a second, larger hole appeared in the massive rock face opposite the first small one.

  With heavy breathing and swaying legs, Kilian watched as the stone figure dug itself out again and dragged its half-melted body toward him.

  Just as the young warrior was about to raise his staff again, he heard the deep voice rumbling in his head again, “You strong! You friend!” and the mighty stone colossus fell before him.

  “I did it!” Thought the tired young warrior, and just before he closed his eyes in exhaustion and slipped into a painless, liberating unconsciousness, he heard Cayden's satisfied voice: “Winner: Kilian!”