“I sure hope Seth’s practicing,” Dominic mumbled as he wandered through the crowd. His mind lost in worry over his absent roommate. It was odd enough for him to miss dinner, now he was out past his preferred bedtime. Dominic was concerned that the act had finally caught up with his friend. The stress of perfection couldn’t be easy for anyone.

  “We’ve got the latest from the capitol!” A vibrant voice boomed over the passing crowd of students, cadets, and Knights. “Update your HUD with Borders! Check your strength with State, find out where you stand! Give yourself the boost you need with Overdrive!”

  The words finally registered to Dominic as he waded through the crowded square. The shouts from each vendor having overlapped as they tried to catch the attention of the passersby. When he was young it was overwhelming, having come from a small shell of barely twenty-thousand. Now, after all these years at the Academy of over a hundred-thousand students, it was simply white noise.

  The flow of the masses parted as he paused in his stride, his gaze darting back and forth. “This is the market square, how did I…” He mumbled as he thought back over the last few minutes of wandering and realized he simply followed the flow of the crowd. His mind was absent with worry.

  After a moment to catch his bearings, he moved with determination to make ground towards the training hall. Fighting all the people who sought their own end in the commodities of the main square. Be it the food, equipment, skills, or more exotic stalls. Even the mercenary Knights sought employment at the freelance board.

  As he danced, lunged and shifted his body, he took in the chaos around him. The innocents of the first years as they grouped around the cheap skill stalls. The overconfident excitement of some eighth years near the freelance board. The weathered determination of the seniors as they shopped for their last-minute equipment.

  Finally, his gaze lingered on the bubble of people that had formed near the academy’s admission office. Inside of which were countless young kids, all fidgeting with nervous excitement. Dominic remembered his own trial of Knighthood, mainly the pressure it put on him. The pressure that still lingered in the back of his mind. The lofty ambition to set right the name Petra.

  “Good luck,” he muttered under his breath towards the kids. He knew more than half of them would fail, either outright or simply only reaching the rank of Aux. Those that did manage to pass, well that was only the start of the trials to come.

  He left the square behind and made sure to keep focused on the roads. Like a lone rock in a river, he fought against the flow of the people around him. Each one heading to their lodging or the main square. With finals around the corner, few wanted to spend their time goofing off. Though, his own squad had been all but ordered to rest up by their leader.

  “Dogwood street, finally!” He said to himself as he turned the corner to face a two to three story brick building. The tall windows and stone columns stood out against the mostly simple wood architecture that surrounded it. Tylor had mentioned that it was some historic building from before the Flood. He had explained it had something to do with the bold letters Frontier Middle that stood on the face of the building. Dominic mostly ignored the man at that time, partially due to the fact his right arm had just been lit on fire from his poorly made skill chip.

  “Hello Rory,” Dominic said with a nod as he walked up to the main door. The tall man returned the nod as he opened the door for Dominic.

  “First floor, room seven,” Rory said just as Dominic entered the building and the door began to close.

  “Thanks,” Dominic replied. Though he had guessed his friend and roommate would be here, Rory was kind enough to confirm it. It also saved him the time in which he would have searched through all the available training rooms as they are mithril lined to inhibit any sense spying. He passed through the long hallway towards the room at the far end. As he neared door six, a faint rumbling could be heard in the distance, culminating towards a sound that shook the very door he sought.

  “And who was the one who told us to take the week off?” Dominic asked sarcastically as he cautiously entered the training room. “Oh, that’s right, you.”

  The room, nearly identical to most of the other training rooms, was solid concrete and virtually featureless, aside from nigh imperceptible holes in the ceiling that filled the room with Eather -- not enough to bring it to orange levels, but enough to easily reach high red. It was only as Dominic's own Eather Sense grew, that he was able to sense the flow late last year.

  “Welcome,” Seth replied as he took in a deep breath. The floor and walls were covered in small black scorch marks, evidence of Seth’s skill usage. “I was just thinking I was in need of a good spar.”

  “Not sure, I faintly recall a ban on training,” Dominic spoke as he stared at his normally immaculate friend. A part of which he knew was an act, though as time has gone on it is becoming harder to find the line between act and reality. His gaze swept over his friend as he took in the crop cut brown hair, the dilated brown eyes, and sweat covered uniform.

  His friend returned his gaze and Dominic met it for a few seconds before a sigh escaped his mouth and he accepted his fate. He took in a deep breath and walked to the corner to drop his dress uniform. Underneath of which was an identical training uniform to Seth’s.

  A faint smile grew across Seth's face as he took in another breath. “Are you waiting for me to rescind my statement, or are we going to do something?” A smirk drew on Dominic’s face as he heard the quip. He knew his friend well enough to know when he was stressed, he also knew that sparring was one of his favorite methods to relieve said stress.

  “Fine, just a few bouts before we head back.” Dominic said as he stretched his body and set to circulating his Eather. It wasn’t a necessary action as he could still use his skills regardless. He just found it more comfortable to draw from a moving stream. He rubbed the attachment on his wrist as he turned to face his friend.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Agreed,” Seth answered as he stood and did his best to get his breathing under control. “Standard brawl rules, skills included?” He asked as he widened his stance a little, his body sinking into form.

  ‘Sounds good,” Dominic bolted towards Seth as he answered. It was common for them to start without any real announcement. Seth was a stickler for practicing as you would encounter.

  As he took his next step, Dominic reached for that intangible feeling of one of his skill chips. Scale. He thought as he connected his eather with the chip and threw out his first punch. He could feel the Eather inside of him tingle as it touched the chip in his left arm an instant before it rushed out towards his skin. On his body, a small bluish film started to form as Seth sidestepped the attack. Years of experience caused Dominic’s body to react even as his mind was processing the counter that would come.

  Seth’s fist crackled with orange light as it closed in on Dominic’s torso. Dominic’s body twisted, taking the punch against his abs instead of the kidney which was Seth’s aim. A fire crackled against the blue film that had now solidified into the ice like scales which armored most of Dominic’s body. The fire exploded around his torso and a few of the scales cracked. The impact forced Dominic to take a step back. As he did, his offhand grabbed for Seth’s extended arm. He looked to control his friend’s reach, to control his friend.

  Seth tugged as soon as Dominic bound the arm and swept out with his leg. The two of them were sent into a roll before they broke apart. It wasn’t even a second before both were on their feet facing off once again.

  Mist. Dominic thought as he reached for his second skill. The Eather in his body shifted its course as it began to flow off his skin and a light fog slowly grew around Dominic. Seth cracked a smile, his body rushed into a charge. Faint trails of electricity sparked around Seth’s ankles as his speed noticeably increased.

  Dominic let out a slow breath as he stepped back and coiled his legs preparing for the exact moment his friend would hit his mist. Seth and the steam collided, and Dominic felt it as if the man was brushing up against his hair. As the mists encircled Seth, his movements gained an air of sluggishness. As if the man was running through water or syrup. Unfortunately for Dominic, Seth’s moments were still faster than his previous unenhanced state.

  On instinct, Dominic’s legs released their energy and he charged into a spin, his mind using the mist to feel Seth’s movements. Seth pivoted with his right arm coming up to block. The leg and arm collided. The air swirled as electricity arced across Seth’s body into the blue scales that covered Dominic’s leg, down Dominic’s body and into the ground.

  Dominic pivoted as he tried to reset his stance, his kick lacking the effect he sought. By the time Dominic had reacted, however, his body was sent flying in an explosion of fire and electricity. He landed on the ground and slid for a few paces before he came to a stop. The icy scales on his body had started to evaporate from the damage.

  “Even when,” Dominic coughed as he got up to his knees. “You’re worn out, I still can’t win.” He looked up to see his friend had sat on the ground, his body resting back on his arms.

  “You say that,” Seth answered through his deep exhale of air. “Yet, every time you get that much better. Good match.” Seth flopped onto his back. “You know, you would have a lot more punch if you picked up a useful third chip.”

  Dominic sighed as he lifted his left arm. A part of him wanted to get mad. Most of him simply agreed with his friend. His gaze drifted over to the light bracer that grew out of his arm. On the display face stood a few icons. One was a partially filled donut-like gauge with a number inside. It currently stood at 67 and was slowly climbing. The next icon was a humanish figure that was mostly white and yellow. The final icon was shaped like a gear and would open the menu.

  None of those were Dominic’s concern at the moment. With a simple mental command, a drive opened and popped out a small chip. He grabbed the small nearly indestructible piece of hardware and let the drive slowly close.

  “I doubt I would have enough time to make another chip,” Dominic said as he flipped the chip over in his hand. “Nor would I have the funds.”

  “There are always those the academy lends,” Seth replied as he stared at the ceiling.

  “Right, I might as well employ tickling. No, that is a bit harsh. I suppose it could distract someone with a light show.” Dominic’s gaze drifted over the intricacies of the chip in his hand. It was detailed beyond any diagram shown in any of his classes.

  “Better than a chip that does nothing.” Seth said as he turned his head towards his friend. “Speaking of, you could try to get Flash. As a Shield you would want to cause those distractions.”

  “It is just as likely to cause a blind rampage, that serves no one,” Dominic responded almost as an afterthought.

  This chip had to do something. It showed green whenever I do a diagnostic on it. Grandpa had to have a reason to bequeath it to me, especially as an inheritance. His mind thought.

  “Hey,” Seth startled Dominic while standing before him. He continued to speak once his friend turned to acknowledge him. “You focus on ice and water, a simple ranged attack in one of those elements would add to your effectiveness in battle.”

  Dominic sighed as he effortlessly slipped the chip back in his drive. “Have you seen my scores in ranged combat?”

  “I’m not saying you need to be proficient,” Seth laughed as he turned and began to pace. “I am simply giving you ideas. That MCM chip of yours is useless on the battlefield. I know,” He turned and held up his hand, cutting off any reply of Dominic’s. “It is your grandfather’s chip. It must do something. you need to figure out what it does. I’ve listened to you give excuse after excuse every time it’s brought up.”

  Seth let out a long sigh before he continued. “Look, I’m just thinking of everyone in our squad. While yes you are skilled. You would be a far greater threat with a third chip, any chip other than your MCM.”

  “I guess,” Dominic said, his head turned slightly down. “After this mission, I’ll find something. A new skill takes practice though and would do me little good tomorrow. Most likely I would forget about it, and if I was thinking about it, I would become distracted.”

  Besides, Dominic thought, it is my lucky chip. It’s seen me through all the trials so far.

  “Alright, this is the last mission.” Seth replied. “After this you better have another chip. Otherwise, I will not go out into the mist with you.”

  “That, sounds fair,” Dominic muttered as he stood. His mind weighed down with a bit of guilt. While the chip was his inheritance, he was also part of a squad. Their lives were his concern as the Shield.

  “Hey,” Seth said softly. “Another round?”

  A smirk appeared on Dominic’s face as he turned towards his friend. “Definitely.”