The choices came down to having Bandit with him for extended amounts of time or being able to conjure something stronger than just a badger.

  Conjure Potent Ally

  Spell, 10 Mana, 5 Mana Maintenance, 15 Minute duration.

  Summon a friendly monster to assist you. If the animal dies, another will be conjured when this is next cast.

  Extended Conjure Ally

  Spell, 8 Mana, 7 Mana Maintenance, 3 Hour duration.

  Summon a friendly animal to assist you. If the animal dies, another will be conjured when this is next cast.

  This interface really likes to say potent for some reason, Mike thought as he examined the options. But the use of the word “monster” is more concerning…

  Ultimately, Mike didn’t want to lose Bandit and get something else, even if it might be more dangerous. Bandit had levels too, and he was sure that, over time, the badger would grow to rival any monster Slide could throw at him.

  Besides, the little guy was cute.

  Mike selected Extended Conjure Ally and cast it. He watched his mana drop away, with almost a third of his mana being blocked out by the spell’s reserved amount. As he did, Bandit tumbled out of nothing, landing with his digging talons skittering against the table. All the gladiators leaned in, scratching and petting the badger.

  Bandit didn’t seem surprised or scared about popping back into reality amid all that attention. In fact, he looked at Mike almost with indignation as he flopped over on his back to encourage tummy rubs.

  “Sorry it took so long to bring you back, buddy,” Mike said as he leaned in with a piece of ham. Bandit snatched it out of his hand and ate it as everyone settled back down. “He can hang out a lot longer now, my spell got upgraded.”

  “What do you mean?” Aaron asked him. As the only other one who knew any spells, he must be curious.

  “I have a few options for some of my spells that make them a little more powerful. I guess it is part of my… whatever you call it.” Haliard caught Mike’s eye as he spoke and shook his head once. Mike knew he was right; he shouldn’t spread information about his capabilities to the men who were still caught up in the Bind Person enchantment in their tattoos. If the Bluringtons knew what he could do, they would turn him into a weapon for their own use.

  Mike wanted to be a weapon that was free.

  As he sat back from scratching Bandit’s belly, Mike gripped his pants and cast Identify repeatedly. The last time drained his bar fully and the shaking through his mind made him shudder.

  He felt the difference in Identify’s time as he cast. There had been a pause before, where he had to go and cast it again. This time, it had been almost instantaneous, casting faster than he could blink.

  Of course, the amount of information revealed from a pair of linen pants didn’t match the spellbook of a potent archwizard. Mike knew there would be pain if he did that again, but it would be much faster.

  After lunch, Haliard had the gladiators split up into teams and battle each other while he worked with Mike on his spear training. Julian and Karl were battling Bradiac and Aaron using wooden weapons and shields. Bandit lazed about in the sun, content to just watch.

  Mike was fascinating to watch Bradiac fight. He had no clue what being a Prophet of Doors entailed but wanted to see him do it. Bradiac strapped on knuckledusters similar to the metal ones he had before, with long portions down his forearms to protect them. As Mike watched, he punched the air twice, loosening up.

  Mike was astounded to see the air twist around one punch. The movement of the punch changed as the air split around it, twisting and spinning. At full extension, Bradiac’s arm ended at mid-forearm before he pulled it backwards. Mike was so confused that it took several repeats of the action before he realized what was happening.

  Each punch had a portal open around it that Bradiac was throwing the blow through. They were appearing again at different angles and distances. An opponent would square up to the Prophet of Doors, only to find themselves attacked in ways they couldn’t expect.

  Do portals count as doors? What is the difference between that and a spell? Mike asked himself as he went through a series of warm-up exercises with his spear. He looked at the others while they were preparing.

  Karl spun halberd between his fingers, while Julian held a mace in the hand that was missing the last two fingers. His other held a square shield that covered him from shin to shoulder. Mike wasn’t sure he could lift it, even though it was wood. Aaron didn’t conjure arrows this time but took some wooden padded ones out of the chest with his bow.

  Haliard set them all to fight each other on rotating teams while he took a small shield out of the chest. It was a circle a foot across, made of leather covered wood. He had no weapon as he squared up to Mike.

  “You’re going to try and hit me with the spear. Keep your hand free for casting, if you can, but don’t actually cast. We will let Master Aric train you on that.”

  Mike got into his fighting stance and lunged, knowing that even if he managed to hit the far more experienced fighter, it wouldn’t do much damage. As he expected, Haliard moved his shield, pushing the lunge out of the way. Mike reset back to his starting position.

  “More power, come in off your back foot.”

  Again and again, Mike would attack and Haliard would tell him what he was doing wrong. They would pause occasionally so Haliard could demonstrate what he meant and give Mike some repetitions against the air.

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  Every fifteen minutes, he would call out swaps for the team fights. Aaron and Julian made an excellent pair, with the shield-bearing brother able to protect the bow-wielding brother. Karl’s halberd and Bradiac’s fists were able to give them more range than expected, but not enough. Mike was not surprised to see that his lack of eyes did not stop Karl from fighting well.

  The next matchup saw Karl and Julian fighting together, and Mike saw them shift to different strategies as they did. Both became more mobile, flowing more between stances, with Julian probing from behind his shield as he advanced.

  “When can I go against some of them?” Mike asked Haliard as they went through a further exchange of blows.

  “When you get enough control that I’m not worried about you hurting them.”

  As Mike watched, Karl lunged forward then back, pulling Bradiac off-balance while Julian brought his shield down on his back, stopping a scant inch from his flesh. Had the blow connected, it would have broken the Half-Elf’s back. Mike nodded and went back to his repetition.

  Haliard had him doing lunges, both overhand and underhand, dozens of times before they shifted. This time it was a horizontal slash, twisting from the waist. By the fiftieth, repetition, Mike was able to connect solidly enough that Haliard grunted as he blocked the blow. It was enough that he checked his Quest window.

  Learn The Spear

  Slide is a dangerous place. A dependable weapon in your hand is your best friend.

  Reward: Unlock Inventory

  19/100

  Small improvement was still improvement, so Mike threw himself back into training. After the side slashes, Haliard had him go into vertical slashes. Dozens with the blow coming down from the top and up from the bottom.

  Mike was sore by the time Haliard called a break but was surprised to find it was a pleasant sensation. His few attempts at developing a gym habit had never resulted in him feeling like this, so he basked in the heat from the sun, sprawling on the warm stone stairs as he drank cool water.

  “Bradiac, how do you do the portal trick?” Mike asked after several minutes of calm silence. Bandit had come over to get some scratches and was now sprawling across Mike’s chest.

  “It is no trick.” Bradiac sounded offended, causing Mike to hurriedly apologize. “It is a gift from my god. I have faith that the door will open, and they open it for me.”

  “You just need a door to open and it does? Even if it is locked?”

  “If they think I need it, yes. It only happens when they will it to happen, and I am grateful each time.”

  “Could I try and cast my spell on one of them? See what I can learn?”

  “I don’t think it correct to experiment with a gift from my god,” Bradiac answered hesitatingly. “But… I’ll pray on it and ask them.”

  “I can’t ask for more than that,” Mike said and dropped the topic. He had underestimated how much Bradiac cared about his religion and mentally chided himself for his faux pas. I guess you only get to be a Prophet of Doors when you truly believe, instead of just being a Lay Member of Doors.

  After a few moments of awkward silence, Karl started giving a few tips to Mike, idly chatting while they rested. The halberd wasn’t the same as a spear, but there was enough cross over that Haliard nodded along to some of it. Most of it was over Mike’s head, but he listened and learned what he could.

  After the rest, Haliard had the men strip off their shirts and start unarmed training while he continued focusing on Mike’s spear work. As Mike saw the scars crisscrossing their bodies, he recalled the total absence on Haliard.

  “We’re going to add a twist to what we’ve been doing,” Haliard said as they two paired off. “Try and hit me again. Don’t reset, though, just keep going.”

  Mike gave a lunch, which Haliard blocked and pushed out of the way, as he had in the earlier training. Mike pulled the spear back and twisted, slashing it from the side where Haliard had pushed it. Haliard grinned and this time slapped it down, where Mike quickly brought it up again.

  “Good, damn good. You’re picking it up. If you can keep integrating these moves together, we can get to the next stage of training quicker than I expected.

  Mike smiled back, delighting in the compliment. They had to halt a few times as his enthusiasm saw Mike invent a few moves that didn’t work very well, but Haliard kept him focused on the basics. They continued, Mike exchanging blows and Haliard blocking them for twenty more minutes. Once Mike felt confident enough, he tried a feint, lunging forward in a way that snapped up in a slash once Haliard committed to blocking the lunge.

  Or at least Mike had thought he was committed. Twisting, Haliard moved with a practiced ease and speed that he hadn’t had to exhibit before. The edge of the shield came up, pushing the spear high and out of line. He looked at Mike with a huge grin.

  “Whew, that took a tiny bit of effort. I think we’re ready to move on. Hit me again.”

  Mike slashed at him, a basic attack to figure out what the next level of training would be. As Haliard blocked it, he stepped forward and to the left, coming up on Mike’s empty hand side. As he tried to move to match him, Mike tripped over his own feet. Haliard laughed but offered him a hand up.

  “Footwork time,” Haliard said with a smile.

  The training slowed down once again as Haliard would interrupt Mike to work with him. There were more slow, controlled movements before things started to click for Mike. Within an hour, he was able to move with Haliard, controlling his strikes as he stepped through combat.

  “It doesn’t feel like it should be this easy,” Mike said during one of his breaks.

  “It should be,” Haliard told him. “Unless you were some genius savant, toiling away at whatever you were doing in your world with your potential unrealized.”

  Mike smiled at the thought, remembering daydreams he had had before about suddenly discovering he was amazingly talented at something. The imagined fame and riches this newly discovered talent brought him had helped him pass many hours in his call center while on the phone trying to sell cheap electronics.

  “It is definitely my thing, isn’t it?” Mike checked his quest, seeing he was at twenty-three percent.

  “Either way, it is you.” Haliard tightened his grip on his shield. “Come on, we have an hour before we are done here.”

  They added more movements and more complex strikes, with Mike switching from one-handed to two-handed grips throughout the movement. He saw opportunities where he could incorporate his magic, casting it when Haliard left himself open. He mentioned this and Haliard nodded.

  “Good idea. Keep an eye out for those and say something. Pretend you cast, and we’ll see how it works out.”

  The last of the time marked for weapons training passed and everyone gathered together to catch their breath and drink.

  “Hey Mike, you did great today,” Julian told him as they grouped together. “I think you could handle Haliard at a more serious level, don’t you guys?”

  “Yes, you should try it for real!” Aaron added. The rest of the men agreed, and even Sum floated over to add his voice to the growing agreement. Mike glanced at Haliard, who just shrugged.

  “Sure, why not? At least if I lose, I can see how far I have to go.” Mike picked up the spear and stretched a little before settling into his fighting stance. Haliard didn’t pick up the shield, though, and just went to stand across from Matt, arms loose at his sides.”

  “All right! I’ll count you down!” Julian stepped in between the two of them.

  “No shield?” Mike asked Haliard as Julian started counting.

  “No, I think I’m fine this way.” He reached up to scratch deep in his beard, very nonchalant. Mike knew he was being toyed with, but he didn’t care. He smiled as Julian reached zero and stepped out of line.

  He started with a basic lunge to try to buy some distance, but Haliard moved faster than he had expected. Before his spear had crossed half the distance between them, Haliard’s foot was behind Mike’s heel. The older man gripped Mike’s extended wrist and twisted.

  Within three seconds of the countdown ending, Mike was disarmed, flat on the ground, and held in an extend arm lock that made his shoulder burn. He laughed through the pain as he slapped the ground like he had seen the other gladiators do before.

  “Rematch tomorrow?” Mike said as Haliard helped him up, earning a laugh from all the men around him. Joyful slaps on the back followed him as they went in for dinner and Mike felt like he really belonged somewhere for the first time in his life.

  Though the dread of the training with Aric Blurington was growing inside him.