2 Chapter 1

A few days had passed since Rainer arrived on this planet to fight in the second round of the tournament. His departure from the Earth seemed so long ago that the new world around him was now becoming the norm. He had grown quite a bit in that time, starting with his control of mana. It was starting to feel like second nature to him.

Even standing on this planet he felt as if he wasn’t part of a tournament, more like it was a survival trip. He had not run into any enemies since the behemoth, and felt as if he were alone in this world with nothing but his thoughts. Until of course, his familiar Bahamut spoke and interrupted him.

“Rainer, how much longer are we going to be walking in circles? I’m starting to feel dizzy just watching.” Bahamut’s voice was much like a menacing growl you would hear from a lion.

Rainer had been walking around the same tree for the past hour, trying to make a decision based off of the map on his wrist. “Until I decide which way to head. I can either make a break for that mountain, or follow along this grassy path into the fields further ahead. Both places I’ll be exposed, so a sniper could easily shoot me down.”

“There is a battle in the fields ahead. The mountain is quiet. I’ve told you this already!”

“No offense, but how would you know? You can’t see anything past what my own eyes can see.”

“Unlike you, I have the ability to sense the use of Mana and Prana. No offense but you’re the one who can’t see things clearly.” Bahamut replied .

Rainer felt water drip on his head, at first he thought it was just a slight bit of rain. However, in just a minute it began to pour heavily. “mountain it is.” He said meekly.

Feeling the weight of the wet clothes, he quickened his pace to find a tree or any shelter large enough to house him. Unfortunately he had passed the last of the large trees yesterday and was in a normal forest.

Though they provided little shelter, these trees were fortunate enough to have strange fruit growing from branches. This fruit was in the shape of a blue apple and tasted somewhat like ice cream. They revitalized him and granted him an energy boost. Rainer had grabbed a couple and stored them in his pockets.

“Wait, the battle from the fields is moving towards the mountain.” Bahamut warned.

“Damn it!” He clicked his tongue. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to fight anyone until later on when I had learned to actually use these powers.”

“You can’t fight animals forever. You need real experience and this could be your chance.”

Rainer understood what he meant. Fighting the animals in the forest did help increase his understanding of both the planet and how his own abilities worked. Yet no matter how much he thought about it, the concept of being able to forge something from nothing was still difficult.

“I don’t have too much of a choice then do I? I just hope I can handle it without being injured.”

Rainer sprinted through the forest until he noticed the amount of trees was beginning to diminish. In the distance he could see small sparks fly from the clash of metal. Rainer was concerned, “You sure about this? I’m not walking into a trap am I?”

“You’ll be fine. If it goes south, then you can always run.”

Meanwhile in the distance, the battle was occurring between Arisa and a four armed beast with teeth as sharp as razors. His body alone looked like it had been through it’s fair share of battles.

Arisa was smiling while she fought this beast, almost like she was enjoying herself. “I’ve heard the Shade people are quite adept in hand to hand combat. It’s a shame you don’t live up to the stories.” She callously remarked.

The Shade snarled at her and in a raspy voice, like it had a terrible cold, he spoke “I wouldn’t underestimate a Shade if I were you.”

Before Arisa was able to reply, the Shade used his shadow to disappear into the ground. The shadows wriggled its way towards her like a very fast snake. Arisa attempted to stab the shadow with her silver spear, only for it to avoid the attack and reappear behind her. She dodged the incoming attack from the Shade when he exited his shadow to claw at her back.

Unfazed by the attempt on her life, she still confidently grinned. “I should have guessed with a name like Shade, your species could use your own shadows for something. Though you’re a bit behind the times. That old skill was created in my world, you’re merely copying it without knowing what it can really do.”

Rainer arrived at the site of the battlefield and upon seeing the Shade and Arisa, he hid behind a nearby tree.

“Why are you hiding!?” Bahamut yelled

“I don’t know,” he replied meekly. “Seeing that woman for some reason makes me want to hide. I think she’s bad news!”

“You’re hopeless if you can’t even enter the fray without panicking.”

Rainer peeked at the battle from behind the tree. Arisa had already begun a relentless assault on her enemy. She ferociously attacked him with her spear while he was on the defensive and unable to disappear into his shadow.

Arisa leaped into the air, opened what looked like a portal, and retrieved a red spear from it. She became a blur as she struck downwards like a bullet, towards the Shade. The attack pierced him down the middle, without a single scratch on Arisa.

The remains of the Shade were teleported in a flash of blue light. Clearing the battlefield of any signs that he was there.

Rainer was amazed by how easily she was able to maneuver, and ducked behind the tree. “How did she do that?”

“She is far superior in terms of strength, and ability than you are. This is the result of hard work and training over years of instruction.”

“What was that thing she did? She opened some kind of portal and drew the spear from it. I’ve seen Merlin do that too.”

“Storage magic. You find a location where you want to store your equipment, place your marker there, and any item you wish to store is stored there no matter how far it is.”

“Is that something I can do?”

“Anyone can do it with ease. You just need a location on this planet where you can hide everything.” Before Rainer could reply to Bahamut, he heard a voice on the other side of the tree.

“Who are you talking to?” asked Arisa’s lively voice.

Rainer jumped in place and a slight shiver went up his spine. Unable to move from the surprise of being caught, he replied to her instead. “No one, just myself!” he quickly snapped.

One look at her and Rainer could tell why she was considered a beauty. Her long violet hair matched her violet outfit. It was a versatile top with a slit down the middle and no sleeves. Her silver and black greaves looked like a perfect fit and comfortable enough to actually run in.

“Is that so?” Arisa responded, unconvinced. “Well Mr.Arden, you don’t have to look so scared. I’m not going to kill you.” She smiled.