Six Slashers met their ends that day. Isabel and Todd both did brilliantly, impressing Noah even further. It had only been a few days since they’d started fighting the larger monsters, but both had adapted brilliantly, even without the threat of constant death that had pushed Noah.

He only had to step in twice, and one of the times turned out to be unnecessary, as Isabel had avoided the attack that he’d thought would hit her. Noah was almost completely confident that she and Todd would be able to handle a Slasher if they worked together, even without his supervision.

Even if they had to fight alone, he suspected that they’d still come out on top – but it wasn’t quite something he wanted to test yet. There was still time to practice before the exam, and he wasn’t about to lose a student because he got impatient.

In between every Slasher fight, all three of them spent time training their magic. By the time that the sixth Slasher went down, it was already well into the night. Luckily, the energy from killing the Slashers was more than enough to cure their weariness.

“All right,” Noah said. “Great job, both of you. Seriously. Todd, if you want to go out and hunt on your own, I think I’m comfortable with it. We’ve gotten some good training in today. Just don’t go too far, and don’t be afraid to call out if you need help. I’ll stay with Isabel for now.”

Todd pumped a hand in the air. “Yes! Sounds good, Teacherman. See you after I’ve stomped a dozen more of these hairy buggers!”

Isabel watched Todd leave with a nervous frown. Noah put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. He’s going to be fine. So are you.”

“I know.” Isabel let out a sigh. “Logically, I know. It doesn’t help, though. What if he slips or something goes wrong?”

“I won’t lie and say that’s not possible. But a bird can never fly if it doesn’t leave the nest. I want to do everything I can to teach both of you properly, but if I baby you, your growth will be stunted. I am completely confident that both you and Todd can handle the small monkeys – and Todd can actually see the Slashers coming. Even if one gets the jump on him, he’s grown a lot. He’ll hold his own until I get there to help.”

“That doesn’t make me worry less.”

“Then let’s distract you with some training. Getting some extra solo energy will help fill your Runes up anyway. There should be some monkeys to hunt in the immediate vicinity.”

Isabel nodded reluctantly, and they set off.

***

Half a dozen small monkeys fell to Isabel’s sword over the next few hours. After every fight, Noah pointed out any mistakes she’d made – though there were fewer with every fight, if any at all.

The few that she did make were almost certainly because her attention was still on Todd’s safety, but none were significant enough to do anything more than scare her back into paying attention.

“You’ll have to get used to it, you know,” Noah said as Isabel dispatched the monkey she’d been fighting, flicking her sword to free it of blood and sliding it back into her heart.

“Get used to what?”

“Fighting while you’re worried about someone.”

“I’m not that worried. I just don’t want my classmate to get killed. I forgot about it once he left. It’s hardly my problem.”

Noah raised an eyebrow. “Logical answer, if you meant a single word of it.”

Isabel glared at him. “What do you want me to say?”

“You don’t have to say anything, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re going to need to get used to fighting while other people are at risk. That’s how things are, isn’t it? If you get distracted, you’re going to put them at more risk because they’ll have to try to save you.”

“Todd’s just my classmate. I don’t care that much.”

“Right. More words without meaning. They’re wasted on me, because I really don’t care. I’m here to help you and Todd both grow as much as possible. Whatever personal issues you may have are totally between the two of you.”

“We don’t have issues!” Isabel snapped. “We get along just fine.”

“Oh? I thought you were just classmates.”

Isabel glowered at Noah. “Is there a point to this?”

“Yes. I’ve said the point about four times already. Is this how the old mentors always feel when they try to tell their students something completely logical, but everyone thinks they’re talking in riddles? I’m spelling the answer out for you, Isabel. Stop being defensive of something that doesn’t need defending. Not from me.”

Isabel’s shoulders fell. She looked down at her feet. “How am I supposed to just stop caring?”

“I don’t recall saying you needed to stop caring. I said you have to get used to it,” Noah corrected. “The best way for you to protect others is to make sure that you can protect yourself. And, right now, you can’t.”

Isabel let out a huff of air. A few seconds passed before she gave Noah a small nod. “Okay. I see what you’re saying. It doesn’t feel very easy, though.”

If I still had anybody I deeply cared about, I don’t suppose it would be easy for me either. Luckily, everyone I ever loved is long dead and probably distributed between a bunch of different planets with no memory that I ever existed.

“Nobody said it was. Heroes wouldn’t be well regarded if they were just the average joe. But I’m serious. Just focus on yourself right now. Trust that Todd is capable enough to do the same. Then you can worry about keeping each other safe once you’ve gotten stronger.”

Isabel started to nod, but she paused halfway through and narrowed her eyes. “We’re just classmates. After this year, we probably won’t see each other again. I’m not trying to get stronger to protect him – I just don’t want people I know to die.”

“Right,” Noah replied. “That’s why you two were hanging out when you were skipping my class.”

“It was convenient.”

Noah rolled his eyes and waved for Isabel to follow him. “Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night. I am far less concerned about the love interests of children than I am making sure that said children don’t get themselves pancaked by an angry monkey.”

“It’s still kind of weird that you call us kids when you’re no more than a year or two older than we are,” Isabel said, keeping pace with Noah as they headed through the forest in search of another target. “Does it just help establish your spot as a teacher or something? Oh! Did you read a self-help book? That would explain why you suddenly changed so much.”

“Now there’s a thought. Let’s leave it a mystery. I’ve always been a fan of characters with motives that were difficult to discern. They’re so intimidating, yet strangely alluring.”

“More like annoying,” Isabel muttered.

Noah stopped walking, holding a hand up to keep Isabel from passing him. She froze, following his gaze to a furry form hunched over between the trees. A Chucker. Noah’s eyes narrowed and he held a hand to his lips, grabbing Isabel firmly by the shoulder and pushing her behind a tree.

They were still downwind of the monster, but it was odd that it hadn’t noticed them while they spoke. From what Noah had seen, the Chuckers were some of the most perceptive monkeys in the forest.

He summoned the ash from the trees around the crouching Chucker. Trees creaked in protest as clouds of swirling soot ripped off their branches and solidified into a spike, slamming straight through the Chucker’s back and into the forest ground beneath it. The monster flopped, its limbs bouncing around without direction. It didn’t react in the slightest to the blow. Noah frowned.

“Stay there,” Noah said, advancing on the monkey. He drew up alongside it and nudged the monster in the side with his foot. It didn’t flinch. Noah hooked his foot under the monster’s taut ribcage and flipped it over.

A curse slipped out of Noah’s mouth and he stepped back despite himself. The Chucker’s face had been completely ripped off. There was just ragged meat and bone, still wet with blood but not soaking.

Noah had died more times than he could count, but the sight still made bile churn in his throat. He grimaced and glanced around the trees to see if anything else was watching them, but all he found was burnt wood and wind.

“What is it?” Isabel poked her head out from behind her hiding spot.

“Something got here before we did,” Noah replied, squatting beside the monster and studying it closer. “I wouldn’t try to get a look unless you want nightmares.”

Whatever had killed the Chucker had managed to avoid hitting any vital organs – or anything other than its face, really. Noah’s brow furrowed. There weren’t any wounds other than its missing face.

What kind of predator rips something’s face off and then leaves it lying around?

“One that kills for sport,” Noah answered his own question. He rose to his feet. “We need to go get Todd. I don’t like unknown variables.”

“Do you think he’s alright?” Isabel asked nervously. She followed Noah’s advice and averted her eyes from the monster, not getting a good look at what had happened to it. “What if he got ambushed?”

“Relax. He wouldn’t have gone down quietly,” Noah replied. “We know the direction he went, and I’ve been keeping track of the sounds of his fights while you were practicing. Let’s go.”

Noah set off at a brisk pace and Isabel matched it, her face creased with concern. They moved quickly through the forest as Noah retraced his steps. Noah hadn’t lied to Isabel – he was confident that Todd would have at least made noise if something had surprised him, and he’d been keeping close tabs on the boy.

Sure enough, after another minute of walking, Noah heard Todd’s victory cheer followed by a thump as something crashed to the ground. Isabel heard it as well and let out a relieved sigh.

“Told you,” Noah said with a chuckle.

They stepped through the trees into a clearing, where Todd stood before a dead monkey, a confident smile on his face. The smile slipped away, turning into a baffled stare as he locked eyes with Noah.

It only took Noah an instant to understand why.

Standing beside Todd, a rapidly fading grin on his face, was a man wearing a professor’s jacket with a little metal tag that read Magus Vermil at their chest – and he looked identical to Noah.