That evening, after another round of thanks from a passing neighbor, Gaius sat on the steps of the guild hall with his bottle, watching the last light slide off the rooftops. He could see Ludger across the street, palms flat on the cobblestones, smoothing a gap between stones with patient, deliberate motions. Viola stood nearby, swinging her blade in slow arcs, the earth-brown shimmer still clinging faintly to its edge.

Gaius took a long pull from the bottle and let the burn settle in his chest. Not everything in life has to be a trade, he thought. Do something, get something out of it… that’s how this city runs. That’s how most people run.

Meira was full of earth mages—miners, builders, wardens—each one using their craft the way a merchant used coin. He was at the top of that hierarchy, the Stonefist everyone had once paid to reinforce their walls, to collapse tunnels, to dig foundations. And every last one of them, himself included, had always put a price on it. Skill for coin. Strength for favor. That was how money worked.

He looked back at the two kids. But these brats… They weren’t smoothing cobbles for tips. They weren’t patching walls for contracts. They weren’t even talking about it. They just did it, without thinking about how to turn it into a ledger entry.

He huffed a small, rough laugh to himself. They don’t think like mages yet. They’re still brats. The thought should have been dismissive, but instead it landed warm. Watching them, he felt a flicker of something he hadn’t in years—a reminder of what magic looked like before it was a business.

He took another sip, the burn in his throat mixing with a quiet, reluctant pride as Ludger rose and brushed off his hands, leaving another part of Meira better than it had been.

The next morning dawned clear and cool, the courtyard already swept clean from Ludger’s pre-dawn work. Gaius stood opposite Viola, arms folded, watching her move. She swung her short sword in a measured arc, the brown glow of earth-attuned mana running steadily along the blade. Her footing was firmer now, her shoulders relaxed, each strike landing with a heavier, steadier thud against the practice dummy.

Gaius gave a single, slow nod. “Good,” he said, voice low but approving. “You’ve already improved your sword work with the earth affinity. Your stance doesn’t slip anymore, and you’re keeping the weight in the blade without losing speed.”

Viola lowered the sword, cheeks flushed but smiling faintly. “Thanks.”

He scratched at his chin. “Truth is, I didn’t do that much. I’m a mage first, not a swordsman. You will figure out more than I ever used earth magic for in a fight. Beyond this, there isn’t much more I can show you with a blade.”

She blinked at him, surprised. “Really?”

“Really.” He jerked his chin at Ludger, who was across the yard shaping a thin column of stone without even touching the ground now. “And him? I’ve got nothing left for that one either. Everything’s going to come naturally to him as he keeps training. He’s already breaking the craft down faster than I can teach it.”

Ludger glanced over at them, brow raised but saying nothing. Gaius’s tone wasn’t bitter; it was matter-of-fact, edged with a hint of pride.

The old mage shifted his weight and snorted. “Doesn’t mean you’re done,” he added. “It just means the rest of it’s on you now. Grind it, test it, find your own tricks. That’s how you make it yours.”

When Gaius finally called an end to training that afternoon, the courtyard looked almost new again. Viola sheathed her sword and stepped forward, cheeks still flushed from exertion but eyes bright.

“Master Gaius,” she said, bowing slightly the way she’d seen nobles do. “Thank you for all your guidance. We’ll spread the name of Stonefist Gaius as we conquer the labyrinth. People will know who taught us.”

The old mage snorted, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Hnh. Brats. Always getting carried away.”

Ludger only shrugged, dusting grit off his weighted bracers. “Not sure about conquering anything,” he said dryly. “But I’m ready for a revenge run against those larger iron elementals. This time, they won’t have it so easy. Thanks for your teachings, old man. I will repay the favor sooner than later.”

Viola grinned at him. “Then we’ll call it conquering one piece at a time.”

Gaius waved them off, gruff as ever but unable to hide the faint pride in his eyes. “Do what you want. Just don’t get yourselves killed. And if you’re going to drag my name around, at least make sure it sounds impressive.”

Ludger gave a small, wry smile. “We’ll handle it.”

For a moment all of them stood in the cooling courtyard, the tension of weeks of training easing into something quieter. The boy who built towers, the girl who anchored her blade, and the old mage who’d taught them enough to walk out into the labyrinth stronger than they’d come in.

The next dawn found the three of them at the edge of the labyrinth’s stone maw, the city of Meira still quiet behind them. They had spent the previous day packing and planning—fresh rations, sharpened weapons, some spare mana potions hidden in Ludger’s satchel. Viola had strapped her sword across her back, the aura of earth-attuned mana flickering faintly along its edge like an afterimage of their training, or maybe she was occasionally using it while her mana was full.. Luna stood silent at her side, eyes scanning the shadows as always.

Ludger adjusted the new, lighter set of weights on his armguards and shin guards. After weeks of training with heavier stone, the metal felt almost like cloth. He flexed his fingers, feeling his spiritual core thrumming with mana slow rhythm. “Feels different,” he muttered. “Like my body’s been waiting for this.”

Viola grinned, bouncing on her heels. “This time we’re going to crush those big iron freaks. Stonefist style.”

Luna only gave a small nod, hand resting near her dagger. “Stay sharp. They’ll be tougher now.”

The labyrinth’s entrance yawned before them, the first zone’s familiar twisting passages giving way to the deeper paths. Ludger’s eyes narrowed, the old, quiet anger stirring as he remembered the fight with the larger iron elemental — its crushing weight, the way it had almost broken Viola’s improvised technique. He wasn’t thinking about “conquering” anything. He just wanted a clean payback run. To test everything Gaius had hammered into them. To make the bigger beasts pay.

He stepped forward first, the earth beneath his boots responding to his mana even without a touch as he did a test. “Let’s go,” he said, voice low. “Time to see if the training actually worked.”

Viola’s grin widened, her blade shimmering faintly. “Right behind you.”

Together they crossed the threshold, the cool air of the labyrinth washing over them like a challenge.

The labyrinth’s air was damp and metallic, the walls veined with dark iron. Their footsteps echoed as they moved deeper into the first zone’s heart. Ludger’s senses prickled just a moment before it happened—the faint shimmer of movement where the tunnel walls bent.

Iron elementals peeled out of their camouflage, their bodies splitting from the walls with a grinding scrape. Shards of ore clicked and shifted into humanoid shapes, cores pulsing a dull red inside their chests.

Viola’s eyes lit up. “Mine,” she hissed, and before Ludger could say anything she was already moving.

She exploded forward, boots striking sparks off the stone floor, the earth-attuned mana flickering faintly along her blade. The elemental swung a jagged arm at her, but she slid under it and came up in a blur, sword driving straight for its core. The strike landed with a hard crack—dead center.

The creature froze, a spasm running through its iron body as the glow of its core dimmed. For a heartbeat it looked like she’d pierced it with her new burst technique.

But Ludger, watching from behind, could see the truth. There hadn’t been a new trick—just raw speed, precision and strength. Weeks of training with the heavy stone sword had built her muscles and balance until her normal blade felt like a feather. The result looked like magic, but it was her own body doing the work.

Viola twisted the blade free, landing lightly on her feet as the elemental toppled with a grinding crash. She flashed a grin over her shoulder at Ludger, eyes bright. “Looks like the training paid off.”

Ludger smirked faintly, hands still raised as he called up his own mana. Stone sword drills, he thought. Not bad. Then more iron shapes shifted in the shadows ahead, cores flaring like dull embers. This was just the start.

The first section of the labyrinth felt almost tame after weeks of Gaius’s training. The air still smelled of rust and damp stone, but the iron elementals that rose from the walls were smaller, slower, their cores practically telegraphing their weak spots. Between Ludger’s steady walls and spikes of hardened earth and Viola’s sharpened strikes, they carved a clean path through the tunnels without breaking stride.

By the time they reached the midway they were moving at a casual pace, boots crunching over scattered shards of iron. Even Luna had loosened her grip on her dagger, her eyes sweeping the shadows but no longer taut with tension.

Ludger glanced at Viola, who was idly swinging her blade to shake off the last flecks of iron dust. “That lunge you used back there,” he said, tone almost conversational. “The one where you hold the sword one-handed and just charge it straight through the core. You’ve named it yet?”

Viola blinked, then grinned, eyes gleaming with mischief. “Not really. I was thinking… ‘Iron Piercer.’ Or maybe ‘Stone Bullet.’ No, wait—‘Earth Shatterer!’” She jabbed the sword at an invisible foe, the names tumbling out like a child picking sweets. “Or ‘Burrowing Fang?’”

Ludger snorted, a small smirk tugging at his mouth. “You’re just mashing cool words together.”

Viola stuck out her tongue at him. “So? That’s how great techniques get named.”

He shook his head, amused despite himself. “Whatever you call it, make sure it works before you start shouting it in a fight.”

Viola twirled the blade once, still grinning. “Fine. But one of these days you’re going to hear me yell ‘Beast Fang’ and you’ll be jealous.”

Ludger chuckled under his breath, eyes already scanning the next bend in the tunnel. Even relaxed, they moved like a small, disciplined unit now — stronger than when they’d first walked into Meira.

Viola was still swinging her blade and muttering to herself — “Iron Piercer… Stone Bullet… Terra Fang…” — when Ludger tilted his head at her.

“If you’re going to yell something dramatic,” he said, “why not tie it to your family’s emblem instead of just random cool words?”

She blinked. “Our emblem?”

“The red bull,” he said dryly. “It’s literally on every banner at home. Charging horns, unstoppable momentum, blood and earth. Fits that lunge of yours better than ‘Stone Bullet.’”

Viola’s eyes lit up, a grin breaking across her face. “Red Bull… Horn Charge?” She jabbed the blade forward. “Or… Crimson Horn? Stampede Fang? Bull’s Rush?” She laughed, actually liking the sound of it.

Ludger shrugged, a faint smirk tugging at his mouth. “All of those already sound less like you’re stabbing a rock and more like you’re living up to the Torvares name. Might even scare something before you hit it.”

Viola twirled the sword and gave a mock bow. “Then when you hear me yell ‘Crimson Horn’ you’d better get out of the way.”

He chuckled under his breath, eyes sliding back to the tunnel ahead. “If it works, I’ll let you trademark it.”

Luna, walking a few steps behind, allowed herself the smallest smile at their exchange before her gaze returned to the shadows. The three of them moved deeper, relaxed but alert — stronger, tighter, and now with a name for at least one new trick.

The air changed the moment they crossed the threshold into the second zone. The light from the entrance dimmed, swallowed by narrow veins of black ore glinting in the walls. The iron smell was stronger here, almost metallic on the tongue, and every sound seemed to echo twice — once in the tunnel and once somewhere deeper, unseen.

Ludger felt it immediately, a subtle weight pressing on his skin. The ground here pulsed slower, heavier, like the heartbeat of something buried. He glanced at Viola and Luna; both of them had straightened unconsciously, shoulders squaring. Weeks of training had built their confidence, but not enough to let them stroll in like it was the first zone. This was enemy territory.

Viola rolled her shoulders, fingers tightening around the hilt of her sword. The brown shimmer of earth-attuned mana licked up the blade, steadier than ever. “This is it,” she murmured, eyes scanning the dark. Then she straightened and looked at Ludger, a spark of challenge in her expression. “I want to fight one of them one-on-one. Just one. I need to see how much I’ve really progressed.”

Ludger raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

She nodded once, the grin that followed more grim than playful. “I’m not going to do anything stupid. I just want to prove it to myself.”

Ludger exhaled through his nose, feeling the pulse of the heavy ground under his boots. “Fine,” he said quietly. “But we stay close. This isn’t the first zone anymore.”

Luna slipped her dagger loose, eyes already sweeping the shadows ahead. “Then we watch her back. One on one doesn’t mean alone.”

Viola grinned faintly, her grip tightening on the blade. “Deal. Just let me take the first swing.”

The three of them moved forward together, the deeper labyrinth pressing in around them, every step a reminder that this wasn’t a drill anymore.

The tunnel widened into a cavern shot through with jagged iron spines. A low grinding hum echoed off the walls. Ludger felt the pulse under his boots shift—heavier, slower, like something big moving just out of sight.

Then it stepped out. The larger iron elemental emerged from a wall like a boulder, landing on clawed feet with a shower of sparks. Three times the size of the ones they’d been cutting down, its body was plated with overlapping slabs of ore, its core glowing deep red like a furnace. Each step made the ground shudder.

Viola’s breath hissed through her teeth. “That’s the one.” She stepped forward before Ludger could say a word, planting her boots wide, blade angled up. The brown shimmer of her earth-attuned mana flared along the sword, richer than ever.

The elemental roared—a sound like iron bars grinding—and swung a massive, jagged arm down at her. Viola brought her blade up to meet it, every ounce of training snapping into place. The impact rang through the cavern like a blacksmith’s hammer on an anvil, a sharp, echoing clang!

Again the beast struck, and again she blocked, boots sliding back but stance holding. Each collision sent sparks spraying, but there were no cracks, no chips along the blade. Her earth attunement was doing its job, hardening the steel and anchoring her grip. The weight she’d learned to channel now braced every movement.

Ludger watched from just behind, eyes narrowing. The sound of metal on metal echoed through the chamber, but the girl’s sword gleamed unmarked under the dim light. She’s actually holding it, he thought, a flicker of pride cutting through his focus. Training’s sticking.

Viola gritted her teeth, muscles straining, but her smile was fierce. For the first time, the larger iron elemental wasn’t pushing her back like a child.

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