When his heel slipped over the edge of the tatami, the weight of his scales-covered chest prevented him from staying on his feet. As if holding a boulder, Yoichi fell backwards, slamming with his back on the soft lawn surrounding that rocky square.

Meanwhile, Kenji reached out to the turtle demon. Learning from its mistakes, the armoured reptile showed itself well-prepared: quickly pulling out its head and a claw, it tried to hit the little Nekage. ​​

The lizard-demon dodged the claw swing with a backward jump and continued to step back, fearing that he would not be able to cope with that primal being. The bone beak of that sauropod opened and closed compulsively, sounding like a metal shear.

With his body only half-enhanced, Rinji made use of his human physical strength hold the heavy stone arms. As Enatsu watched him in disbelief, the Nightblades giant, whose body had returned to its standard size, lifted his big arms with ease.

He again charged in Yoichi’s direction. The young tamer, to get up, was forced to disable Kenji’s powers: when the black scales on his chest disappeared, Rinji was already on the edge of the tatami. His massive stone fists were ready to hit the target at close range.

At the exact moment he saw the fear of dying in the eyes of his new pupil, Takamori stopped the fight. “Rinji!” the guild master yelled.

The big guy turned to his Sensei. Due to physical effort to support the heavy rocky cylinders, rivers of sweat poured from his forehead. “Enough, that will do. Help your comrade get up from the ground,” Takamori commanded.

After giving orders, the moustached little man walked to the centre of the tatami. Yoichi’s hands, which until a moment earlier were covering his face, moved trembling. The young tamer began to breathe again, realizing that he was safe and sound.

Kumiwa’s power was deactivated, and Rinji’s arms returned to his muscular ones, stretched out in the direction of his companion. Yoichi grabbed his ally’s hand, returning to his feet.

Rinji’s look seemed happy and kind. The eyes of that mighty titan, who until a moment earlier had risked killing the young tamer, expressed the same joy as when he welcomed him and Enatsu into the guild tower.

Yoichi nodded his head, implicitly thanking Rinji for the friendly gesture. Next to each other, the two tamers reached Takamori in the middle of the tatami.

Thick blood continued to flow from the wounds still open on Yoichi’s face. Due to the rush of raw adrenaline still in circulation in his body, he felt only a slight burning under his right eye.

“I haven’t witnessed such a good fight in a while, I must say,” the guild leader stated, complimenting his followers. “I chose to get you to fight Rinji because I wanted to see how you would behave without using the dagger,” Takamori explained. His hands crossed behind his back.

“No cutting weapon would have affected Rinji’s rocky body or that of his demon pet. When I noticed that he too would fight without weapons, I imagined that the Kumiwa’s skill was a body upgrading… just like Kenji’s,” Yoichi acknowledged. As his heartbeats returned to the normal rhythm, the young tamer tried to respond adequately.

“Although it may seem like a platitude, no one has ever fought Rinji by bothering his pet. I knew you wouldn’t let me down, but still, your strategy exceeded my expectations,” Takamori repeated. “Rinji, recall Mamoru. Yoichi won the fight.”

After the indisputable words of his master, an astonished expression appeared on Rinji’s face. Mamoru, his Kumiwa, had no other wounds than those on its tail. “But… Sensei! Mamoru hasn’t been defeated! It can still keep fighting,” Rinji complained.

Takamori, continuing to smile, crossed his eyes with the Nightblades giant. “Do you intend to challenge my order, Rinji?” the guild master inquired, twisting one of his moustaches around his finger.

Rinji clenched his fists and turned his gaze towards the ground, saddened. Yoichi and Enatsu remained silent. “No, Sensei. Bull… Bullmoth!” the giant called, moving his square jaw.

Uttering the real name of his demon pet, Rinji recalled it inside his body. With that gesture, Yoichi was officially the winner of that fight.

A large blood-red sphere gushed out the centre of Rinji’s chest. That weird fluid, containing the XP point just gained, floated towards Kenji. The Nekage bent its head, letting the sphere touch its forehead.

*plop* – With the typical sound of a drop of water falling into a pond, Kenji received the reward for fighting Mamoru to the fullest.

Yoichi’s attentive eyes promptly identified the blood writing that appeared on the tatami. Right in front of Takamori Sada’s feet, it read:

[Kenji: (1/6 pts – level 5)]

‘Current mission: 4.3/80 miles travelled in Tentochu’

As soon as the young tamer’s gaze read the last letter, the writing was absorbed by the fractures of the rough stone floor.

“Thank you, Sada-Sensei. This victory means a lot to me,” Yoichi affirmed, bowing his head to his master.

“To be the first session of your training, you did pretty well. Anyway, I think you’re perfectly aware that your fighting style has a lot of weaknesses,” Takamori spoke. “If you fought at the front right now, you wouldn’t last a second,” he added, pointing out his student’s technical gaps.

“I joined the Nightblades to learn, Sensei. Every time you test me, I won’t let you down,” the young tamer replied, showing self-confidence.

“Very well. Enatsu?” the guild chief called, attracting the merchant’s attention.

“Me?” Enatsu replied. Until a moment earlier, he was immersed in his thoughts, reflecting on how Yoichi had managed to get away with a few scratches against an opponent that, on paper, was stronger than Kato.

“I don’t know any other Enatsu” Takamori chuckled. “Your companion insisted that I accepted you into my guild. Yoichi showed me what he’s capable of. Now it’s your turn.”

“Um… my turn. Sure. I… I… what should I do?” the young merchant stammered, trying not to panic.