Will stood rigid as the elevator ascended. The hum of the machinery filled the small space, and the cold metal walls seemed to press in around him. He clenched and unclenched his fists, forcing himself to breathe evenly.

  A sharp ding signaled his arrival. The doors slid open, revealing the forest. Will stepped out and surveyed his surroundings. The forest stretched out in every direction, with tall trees looming overhead.

  The silence of the place pressed in on him. No wind. No birds. Just the distant rustling of leaves and the faint creak of branches. It felt unnatural.

  Will exhaled slowly and moved forward, his steps cautious. The ground was firm beneath his shoes, a mix of packed dirt and fallen leaves. His eyes darted from tree to tree, scanning for movement. He knew somewhere out there that his opponent was waiting for him. He just didn’t know where.

  His mind wondered back to Owen. He had failed him in not becoming an intermediate essence user in time. That thought lingered, gnawing at the back of his mind. He had trained, pushed himself, stuffed himself full with aether pills, but he still hadn't broken through.

  And now, stepping out here into the arena, he wondered—would Owen think he was useless if he lost this match and then throw him away, just like his parents did?

  Will tightened his fist. He had to win, no matter what.

  A branch snapped to his right. Will’s breath hitched as he spun, his stance shifting instinctively. His fingers flexed, essence surging through him, ready to react. But there was nothing—just the trees, still and silent.

  He swallowed hard and kept moving, his muscles tense. Was he being watched already? He thought back on the advice he had recieved.

  'Your opponent will be a rank higher than you, so he’ll notice you before you see him. Be ready at anytime.'

  Another sound, this time behind him. A blur of movement in the corner of his vision.

  Will whipped around, heart pounding. He barely had time to register what it was before a force slammed into his side.

  The impact sent Will sprawling. His back hit the ground hard, knocking the air from his lungs. He gasped, rolling onto his side as pain flared in his ribs. His mind raced. What hit him? Where was it now?

  He forced himself up, eyes darting around. A long, thick grey tail disappeared behind a tree, vanishing into the shadows. Will's breath came fast and shallow. They were there.

  He clenched his teeth and pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the dull ache in his side. He ran after the tail as his legs pounded against the earth.

  Will's focus narrowed as he tracked the flicker of movement. He hightened his senses as he ran, and looked for any sign of his opponent.

  Another rustle came from the left. He spun, essence surging, ready to strike. But again, nothing. His heart hammered in his chest as he slowly backed up, cautious, his senses on high alert. Was he being toyed with?

  Then, the unmistakable sound of something heavy moving through the brush came from behind him. Will turned, just in time to see the tail whip toward him, a blur of grey and power.

  It hit him hard in the chest, causing him to gasp for air. It then wrapped itself around his neck and squeezed tight, lifting him off the ground. Will’s hands scrambled, grasping at the thick tail as his breath became more strained.

  The tail then pulled him across the forest floor with ease, dragging him through the dirt. Will kicked and thrashed, his legs flailing, but the tail held firm.

  It eventually dragged him through a wide open field, throwing him up loose, and he landed hard on his back. Pain shot through his spine as he struggled to catch his breath.

  Will rolled to his side, pushing himself to his knees. Out from the forest, a man emerged, tall and broad-shouldered, his dark hair tied back in a messy ponytail. His eyes were cold and calculating, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he slowly approached Will.

  The tail came out from behind the man, retracting smoothly as it slithered back into place like an extension of his own body.

  "Sup, little man," the man said, his voice low and mocking. "I’d advice you quit. Don’t wanna have to beat your ass."

  Will snarled. He began partially transforming into his honey badger form. A low growl escaped his lips as his nails turned into claws, teeth turned into fangs, and his senses became even sharper.

  The man looked unphased. In fact, he seemed to open his mouth into a wide smile, clearly amused. A forked tongue fell out of his mouth as he chuckled. "Ha, I warned you."

  Will dug his claws into the ground, and propelled himself forward. The man’s smirk didn’t fade as Will charged at him. The tail flicked again, and Will thought he was ready for it this time, but it moved faster than it did before.

  The tail snapped forward like a whip, slamming into the side of Will's head before he could react. The force sent him tumbling across the dirt, his shoulder slamming into the ground hard enough to jolt his vision. He gritted his teeth, pain radiating throughout his head.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  He barely had time to push himself up before the tail slammed down onto his back. Will's arms buckled, and his face hit the dirt. His vision swam and every breath he drew became a struggle.

  The tail retreated once again, and Will gasped for air, his body trembling with pain. He looked up warily at the man. His tail was curled up, ready to strike again.

  Will decided it was time to use his insignia ability. He hid his presence and disappeared from the man’s view.

  The man raised an eyebrow and glanced around. Will had stood up, moving back a little and focused on circulating essence through his body to recover his injuries.

  The man scanned the field more carefully. Then he stuck out his forked tongue and lapped it around the air.

  He then spoke out loud. "You’ve completely vanished, huh?"

  He looked at the place where Will was layed out flat on the ground moments ago. He struck that place with his tail with a swift, powerful lash, his tail slamming into the dirt with a loud thud.

  Seeing that he struck nothing, he put his hands against his hips. "So your insignia ability doesn’t turn you invisible, or I would have noticed you move away from that spot," he then looked up in the air. "I don’t think you can fly, or teleport away. Then that means you’re still here somewhere. Does your power allow you to bypass people’s perception?"

  The man then smiled widely. "Then I’ll just have to look harder."

  He surged essence into his eyes. They landed onto Will’s shocked face, and the man’s smile seemed to grow even wider.

  "I see you."

  The man crouched down and leaped through the air. Will barely had time to react. The heavy fist slammed down onto his head. Will reeled for a moment, but clenched his teeth and swiped at him with his claw.

  The man didn't flinch as Will’s claws raked across his chest. He instead used his other fist to launch Will several feet into the air. He then grabbed him with his tail and slammed him down on the ground.

  The man smiled as Will lay there, dazed and struggling to catch his breath.

  "Are you going to give up now?" He said. "You don’t stand a chance against me."

  But the slow rise of Will’s body showed that he wasn’t finished yet. His eyes burned with determination as he turned to stare down the man. Hairs began sprouting from his arms, his muscles bulging as he shifted further into his honey badger form.

  Will tilted his head back and let out a defiant roar, the sound rumbling from deep within his chest. With a growl, he charged forward again, moving faster this time.

  The man’s smirk didn’t fade as Will came at him. Will pulled back his arm, and then with a big overhead swing, clawed at the man’s chest. But sparks flared as his claws met something hard.

  Will looked up, only to see grey scales covering the man’s chest like armour. His claws left no mark. The man smirked as his tail whipped out, aiming for Will's side.

  With a growl, Will jumped up and kicked the side of the man’s neck. But he winced as his foot struck the same hardened scales. It felt like kicking solid stone. The impact barely moved the man, but Will pushed off against him and used the momentum to flip backwards, landing on all fours.

  The man tilted his head. Almost casually, he leaned forward and launched himself at Will with explosive speed. Will put up a guard, but the man's fist plowed through it, slamming into Will’s face like a sledgehammer.

  The man didn’t give him time to recover. His fists moved again and again, each punch landing with brutal force. Will’s head snapped back, blood spraying from his mouth. He barely stayed on his feet, his body staggering under the relentless assault.

  A final blow struck his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Will's vision blurred as he fell to his knees. The man crouched down in front of him.

  "Stubborn little guy, aren’t you?" The man reached out and grabbed Will’s hair, forcing him to look up. "I've been going easy on you, but I’ve gotta admit, you’re pretty tenacious."

  Will stared back at the man. He knew he had to use all of his essence now for one final attack. If he didn’t, then there would be no way he would be winning this fight.

  He forced his battered body to move, drawing on every last bit of essence he had left. He condensed it all into his right arm.

  The man noticed the shift and raised an eyebrow. “Still got some fight in you?” He chuckled. “There's no point in–"

  Will didn't let him finish. He swung his essence-infused fist straight into the man's gut. For the first time, the man's expression changed—his eyes widened slightly, and his smirk faltered. The impact sent a shockwave through his body, and his feet actually slid back in the dirt. A grunt escaped his lips as he instinctively released his grip on Will's hair.

  Will felt his strength leave him as the final bit of essence drained from his body, but it didn’t matter. The strike had landed. His vision blurred, and his limbs felt like lead, but there was satisfaction in seeing the man falter.

  The man staggered back a few steps, staring at the spot where Will had hit him. For a moment, there was silence. The man ran his fingers over his abdomen, feeling the heat from the impact. Then he scrunched up his face and let out a low chuckle.

  "Now you’re just being annoying."

  He walked up to Will and lifted up his foot. Then he stomped down hard onto his thigh, a sickening crack echoing through the clearing. Pain exploded through Will's leg, and a strangled cry tore from his throat.

  The man turned around and walked a few steps away from Will. He looked around on the ground for a few seconds and then crouched down and picked up a stick.

  The man twirled the stick between his fingers, testing its weight. Then he turned back to face Will and crouched down to place the stick into the ground beside him.

  "I’m going to teach you a lesson," he said. "This is what happens when you stand against the strong."

  The man held the stick in place. Then, to Will’s surprise, it grew larger and thicker. It kept growing, becoming larger than the man, then towering overhead like a massive tree trunk. The man was stood besides it, clutching the wood with one of his hands. Then with a smile, he pulled the massive wood down towards Will, the sheer force of it sending a gust of wind through the clearing.

  Will tried to move but his body refused to budge. And in the next moment, his body was crushed under the weight of the massive wooden trunk. The force of the blow sent shockwaves through the ground. For a little while after that, there was no sound.

  The man walked up close to the trunk, then with an essence enhanced leg, kicked the log to the side. He looked down at Will; the boy remained motionless. Blood stained the grass around him, and he was barely breathing.

  The man looked down at him and shook his head. He then turned to look away. Was the match over now? It had taken longer than he had liked to bring down Will, but now it was finally over. But when he turned back to look at him, he found him standing right in front of him.

  The man took a shocked step backwards. Will was bloodied and bruised. His eyes held a burning fury. But Will stumbled slightly, then his eyes rolled back into his head. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

  The man raised an eyebrow, a mix of surprise and annoyance on his face. "What the hell...?"

  He looked down at Will’s collapsed form. This time he knew the fight was over.

  "You should’ve known your limits. I don’t understand why you kept fighting while knowing you wouldn’t win," the man’s face hardened. "But in the future, you’ll probably become an incredible fighter."