Aurin was taken aback and gawked at the three tamers. The trio stared at him with looks of determination. “All three of you want to battle me? At once?” Aurin asked.

  “That’s right,” said the young man with the curly hair and glasses. “But first, allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Nolan.” He did a karate chop through the air and then flexed his spindly arms.

  “My name is Rick,” said the one with the black hair. He did a rather impressive backflip and then flashed a dazzling smile at the crowd.

  “And I’m Holly,” said the girl. She performed a spinning kick in the air, whipping her long, blonde ponytail around as she landed.

  “You’re fighting me with monsters, right?” asked Aurin, raising an eyebrow.

  “Right!” called the three in unison.

  Rick stepped forward. “Three of our monsters against three of your monsters. We all battle at once and see how the chaos unfolds.”

  Aurin looked over at Luna who gave him a smile and a nod. He turned back to the tamers. “That’s a little crowded for my liking.”

  “Are you not rising to the challenge?” asked Nolan, looking startled. He adjusted his thick-framed glasses. “I thought better of you, Aurin.”

  “I told you this wasn’t going to work,” muttered Holly, frowning at him.

  “Hang on,” said Aurin, holding up his hands. “I said it’s too crowded for me, not that I’m backing out. How about I take on all three of you at once with a single Minakai?”

  The crowded let out a collective, “Ooooh!”

  Gardner, Jimmy, and Emily exchanged nervous glances, but Luna continued smiling at Aurin, confident that he could pull off a victory even outnumbered.

  “You’re on!” said Nolan, pumping a fist. “You’re going to regret that decision, Aurin. You’ll see just what we’re made of.”

  “Bring it on,” said Aurin, holding up his tamer glove. His trio of challengers raised their own gloves, ready to summon their Minakai into battle. “Who wants to count us in?”

  “I’ll do it!” called Luna, throwing a hand in the sky. “Three. Two. One. Fight!”

  From Aurin’s glove, appeared a flash of steely-grey light. The form of the cybernetic dolphin, Dolissile, materialised and hovered two feet above the ground. His deep blue plates shone in the sunlight and his glowing blue eyes were fixed on three more flashes of light that appeared before him.

  Rick summoned a wailing Desparee, who looked upset to have been called to battle. Nolan summoned a rubbery-looking fish, Electrout, which smiled happily as a streak of electricity flashed between two antennae. It flopped up and down on the ground, undeterred by the land fight. Holly’s Minakai was a small blue moth, Cryoth, which buzzed and flew from side to side as it focused on Dolissile.

  “Charge!” called Rick and his Desparee clasped its hands together by its side.

  Aurin knew what was coming, but Dolissile had already acted upon his tamer’s thoughts. The cyborg exploded forward and rammed his head into the Desparee’s chest before even the faintest trace of its nature beam materialised in its hands. The Desparee bore a look of utter shock as it took off into the sky, soaring above the fountain and passing over the roofs of the nearest row of buildings. It disappeared, landing with a loud crash in an unseen alley. Everyone in the square knew immediately it would not rejoin the battle.

  Rick stood in horror and looked towards his companions, both of him were unnerved by his sudden exit from the brawl. But they knew this was not the time to be distracted from Aurin’s early lead.

  “Freeze him!” called Holly and her Cryoth whipped up a chilling wind to slow Dolissile down.

  “He doesn’t need to move to win,” said Aurin. “Knock it out of the sky.”

  “An iron spike is coming,” said Holly. “Dodge!”

  “Not quite,” said Aurin with a grin.

  Dolissile unleashed a burst of shrapnel. While spikes would have been more painful and targeted, the shrapnel was more encompassing. As Cryoth tried to zoom out of the way, it was struck by a chunk of metal and knocked to the ground. Dolissile burst out of the way of a lightning strike from the Electrout and rammed into the downed Cryoth as it tried to fly back up. It tumbled through the air and the crowd hurriedly parted to avoid being struck by the soaring moth. It smacked the ground and rolled around, unable to fight, as Dolissile continued to dodge lightning strikes.

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  “I’m not going down as easily, yeah?” grunted Nolan, cracking his knuckles. “Into the fountain!”

  Electrout bounced from the ground and plopped into the water. It focused its lightning powers and sent a crackling stream of electricity around the fountain. It unleashed waves of sparks through the air, creating an electrified forcefield to shield itself from Dolissile.

  “We don’t need to move and we don’t need any shrapnel. Right, Dolissile?” asked Aurin.

  Dolissile did not answer with sound. Instead, he sent a pulse of energy from his body. It passed straight through the electricity and whipped Electrout from the water. It smacked against the stone podium in the middle. As it was about to hit the water, another pulse hit the fish. It rebounded on the stone, more forcefully this time, and landed on the cobblestones.

  “Oh no!” cried Nolan, grabbing the sides of his head.

  Dolissile charged forwards, his fins glowing. His powerful fusion fin attack cut across the once-excited-now-horrified Electrout. It let out a sloppy screech of pain as it succumbed to its injury and lost consciousness.

  “I win,” said Aurin, clenching his fists in victory.

  The crowd erupted into cheers. Gardner and Jimmy ran up to Aurin, grabbed him by the legs, and hoisted him onto their shoulders. As embarrassed as he was, he knew his reputation was intact. If anything, it would gain a boost from a public victory in which he was outnumbered.

  Gardner and Jimmy lowered him back to the ground as the applause subsided. Rick, Nolan, and Holly hung their heads in shame and took a few slow steps towards Aurin.

  “You got the battle you wanted,” said Aurin. “Is that good enough for you three? No more calling me out?”

  To his shock, they dropped to the ground and kowtowed before him. “We’re sorry,” they said.

  “Please, accept our apologies,” said Rick, daring to look up. “We only called you out because we didn’t know how else to get your attention.”

  “You have to understand,” said Nolan. “We were desperate to show you what we’re made of, yeah?”

  “You couldn’t have just walked out of town and visited me?” asked Aurin, more embarrassed than ever now that he had the three grovelling at his feet.

  “We were worried you would tell us to get lost,” said Holly, her eyes almost teary. “As much as we love the dojo and everything we’ve learned there… you’re a master! Nobody can compare to you, and we want to be taught by you, Aurin.”

  Aurin was dumbfounded. He looked over at his friends, open-mouthed, none of whom knew what to do. Luna offered him a shrug, the only one to attempt giving him some advice about what to do in this situation.

  “Master?” said Aurin. “I’ve met a master. His name is Master Lucius and he’s much more skilled than I am, especially when it comes to teaching. If you seek him out, maybe you can join his Castle Dojo and learn from him or the other masters there. I don’t know what I can offer you.”

  “Please!” said Rick, sinking so low that his nose touched the ground. “Aurin, we’ll dedicate ourselves to you. We don’t stand a chance in the next Hazelton Tournament without your guidance.”

  “We’ll do anything!” said Nolan, beating the ground with his fist. “You want your groceries bought? We’ll pay them and carry them to your house for you.”

  “That… that won’t be necessary,” said Aurin, awkwardly rubbing his neck. “I mean, I suppose I could give you a few pointers.”

  “Yes!” cried Holly, throwing her hands in the air. “We’ll take every piece of your guidance to heart. We’ll not let you down, Master Aurin.”

  “For a start, I want you to just call me Aurin.”

  Holly saluted him. “Done.”

  “Alright, you three. Be at my place tomorrow at seven o’clock. Early morning is always the best time to train, I find. It sets you up right for the day ahead.”

  “We’ll be there,” said Nolan, gratitude filling his voice. “We will hang on your every word, yeah?”

  Rick, Nolan, and Holly sprung to their feet. They gave their thanks to Aurin and immediately rushed off. The crowd dispersed and Aurin’s friends approached him, none of them quite sure what to say.

  “That was strange,” said Luna, unable to think of anything better to say.

  “Yeah,” sighed Aurin. “I’m not sure how I feel.”

  “Let’s hope it isn’t another Conrad situation and they think you’re a nefarious villain,” joked Gardner.

  Rick suddenly rushed back into the square. “Aurin, how do we get to your house?”

  “Well, it’s not so much a house and more of a battle arena for now. Head eastwards out of town, but don’t go towards Harmony Tower. Walk into the eastern woods at the base of the mountain and you’ll find me eventually. If you end up level with the tower roof, you’ve gone way too far. My place isn’t very well signposted yet.”

  “Too right,” muttered Jimmy.

  “Thank you, Aurin,” said Rick with a bow of his head. He ran off to catch up with Nolan and Holly.

  “I didn’t know you too well when the Conrad thing happened,” said Emily. “Was he this eager when he begged you to train him?”

  “Kind of,” said Aurin, thinking back. “But he feigned his lack of talent much better. These three didn’t act hopeless and I’m sure their Minakai aren’t weak. Dolissile is just stronger and much more experienced.”

  “Then I’m sure everything will be fine,” said Emily, cheerily, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Of course,” said Luna, linking arms with Aurin. “And you’ve also got someone to do your groceries now. Isn’t that the icing on the cake?”

  “I’m not making them do my groceries for me!”

  “Alright, haul your food all the way out to yours. There’s a reason Kyle has his delivered most of the time. You’ve never had to do your own groceries.”

  “I’m not turning them into my servants, Luna.”

  “I’m joking, I’m joking,” replied Luna, but Aurin wasn’t sure if he believed her.

  Aurin and Luna headed back to his land while Gardner, Jimmy, and Emily remained in Hazelton. All the way back, Aurin couldn’t help but wonder how he got into these peculiar situations. He presumed Tobias had it ten times worse, being the actual Bretonian Champion. Aurin considered taking on a fake identity like Tobias did with Sir Mask. At least then he may have some level of anonymity back. Maybe he and Shamtile could form a superhero duo with Shamtile crafting him rock armour of his own. He chuckled to himself at the thought, prompting a raised eyebrow from Luna.

  here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: