The room went silent. A chill ran down everyone's spine, no one ever dared to challenge Bow. His strength was known. Yet there Helios stood, firm and unshaken, staring back at him as if he were nothing. The tension snapped. Bow lunged with a nasty right hook, his fist glowing with mana. Helios's sharp eyes caught the flow of energy and he slipped out of the way with ease. Malvek's teachings echoed in his mind. "Clear your head. Focus. Channel everything into one strike." Helios drew mana into his fist and countered, slamming it into Bow's ribs. A clean hit. He grinned. But Bow barely flinched. He sneered, brushing off the blow. "That's it? Felt like a bug bite." Helios smirked, voice calm. "Well, that was my first punch ever. Be patient with me. Laughter erupted, fueling Bow's anger. He unleashed a storm of punches, each one cracking the air. Helios weaved through them, dodging swiftly. But then, Bow caught him. His massive hand clamped down on Helios's head and smashed him into the wall. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Each slam rattled the tavern. Helios quickly shifted mana to his head, dulling the impact, but the pain still throbbed. With a war cry, Bow hurled him through the wall and into the street. "POWER!" he roared, his fist slamming into the ground where Helios's skull had been a heartbeat ago. The earth shattered, dust rising like smoke. Helios rolled away, blood trickling from his cheek. His heart hammered, head pounding. "I didn't reinforce enough. He damn near crushed my skull." Bow stalked toward him, laughing. "Look at you. Running already? Where's that confidence?" Helios wiped the blood from his face, a smile curling his lips. "Don't worry, I'm not running. Just thinking." And then it happened. His blood burned like fire. His eyes shifted, emerald green bleeding into molten gold. Mana surged from his body in violent waves, stronger than ever before. Bow growled and lunged, arms wide for a bear hug. But Helios was too fast. He slid between Bow's legs, sprang upward, and planted a foot on his back to launch himself higher into the air. Bow looked up, startled, just in time to see Helios descending like a meteor. Helios focused all his mana into his legs, aiming to crush Bow's skull. The bandit leader barely rolled aside as Helios's heel smashed into the ground, splitting stone and shaking the street. "Close," Bow spat, rage twisting his scarred face. "But not enough to take me down!" He grabbed Helios's arm mid-motion, spun, and hurled him skyward. Bow leapt after him, clasped his fists together, and hammered Helios down like a falling comet. Mana flared violently on impact, cracking Helios's guard. He hit the ground hard, barely bracing before Bow descended with a relentless barrage of fists. But then, Helios felt it. Something inside him shifted. Every punch slowed. Every movement of Bow's fists became clear, predictable. He Adapted. He parried one strike, his other fist flashing upward in a mana-charged uppercut. BAM! Bow's jaw snapped back. Helios followed instantly, sinking another blow deep into Bow's stomach. The bandit leader stumbled, disbelief in his eyes. No one has ever matched me in raw power… Helios's strikes became merciless. Each hit faster, harder. Bow slammed into a wall, coughing blood and half-digested food. He barely had time to refocus his mana, reinforcing his stomach, when Helios was already there, his aura overwhelming, his fists relentless. The defensive barrier shattered. Helios whispered coldly, "Let me try that move you did on me." And then the storm came. Helios unleashed a savage barrage of punches, each one heavier than the last. Bow flailed helplessly, arms swinging wildly in desperation. "POWER!" Helios roared, mocking Bow's earlier cry. His final blow ripped through Bow's core, sending him crashing through the wall and into the dirt, broken and gasping. Helios stepped over the rubble of the shattered wall, dust still swirling in the air. He stood above Bow, who lay bruised and beaten in the dirt. "Hey…" Helios's voice was calm, almost cheerful. "That was pretty fun. Honestly, I thought I was gonna die for a second there. HA! HA! HA!" Bow glared up at him, his pride burning more than his wounds. "Don't bother trying to make me feel better. I lost. Simple as that." Helios crouched beside him, resting his elbows on his knees. "I'm not trying to make you feel better. I'm saying thank you. I learned a lot from this fight. Never been in one like that before." He smirked. "So… thanks." Bow narrowed his eyes, confused at the sincerity in his opponent's voice. Helios tilted his head, grinning. "I know we just met, but… do you wanna tag along with me and my teachers? I'd like to have a friend like you." Bow's eyes widened. "Me? Your friend? Don't make me laugh." Before Helios could answer, heavy footsteps came from behind. Malvek and Shidan stepped through the wreckage, both staring at Helios with stern, almost fatherly glares. "Seriously?" Malvek barked. "We leave you alone for less than three hours and you're already beat to hell? How do you get into a fight this fast?" Shidan's eyes flicked to Bow, his expression sharp. "So what's his deal, Helios?" Helios looked back at them, smiling like nothing was wrong. "That's Bow. He's the guy I fought with. I was just asking him to join us… figured he looked a little sad." Bow's face twisted, offended. "I ain't sad! Just leave me the hell alone." Helios leaned forward and flicked Bow on the forehead, grinning. "Suit yourself. But if you change your mind, come find us at the guild. I think we'd have a lot of fun together." As Helios and his two teachers made their way back toward the guild, the streets quieter now, Helios broke the silence. "So… did you two finish your quest?" he asked, still rubbing at his sore arms. Both Malvek and Shidan nodded. "We even got our payment too," Shidan said with a faint grin. "Now we just need to clean you up," Malvek muttered, giving Helios a sidelong glance. Helios winced, trying to stretch out the ache in his arms. The bruises from Bow's strikes burned deep beneath his skin. He couldn't stop rubbing at them, as if it would dull the pain. Malvek's gaze lingered on him for a moment, sharp, disappointed, before he looked straight ahead again, silent. The inn room was cramped, the wooden floor creaking with every step, but it was enough. Malvek dumped a bundle of fresh clothes on the bed and jerked his chin toward the washroom. "Clean yourself up, kid. You look gross." Helios peeled off his tattered shirt and winced at the bruises coating his arms and ribs. Every touch sent a sharp reminder of Bow's fists, but he didn't complain. Lowering himself into the steaming bath, he let the water sting and soothe at the same time, washing away dirt, sweat, and blood. For the first time in a long while, he actually felt… human. When he stepped out, a fresh tunic and trousers waited for him. Simple, sturdy cloth, not flashy, but the sleeves rolled up nicely over his bruised arms. Malvek looked him over and grunted. "Better. At least now you don't look like some stray dog." Shidan smirked, leaning against the wall. "Give it two days. He'll ruin 'em." Helios just grinned, stretching out his shoulders. The next morning, the three of them entered the guild. The place buzzed with life, mercenaries boasting about kills, hunters counting coins, scribes updating quest boards. Helios trailed behind, trying to take it all in. He caught whispers and stares as adventurers sized him up. To most, he looked like a rookie tagging along with veterans. At the counter, the guild clerk raised an eyebrow.
"Party registration?" "Yeah," Malvek said. He nodded toward Helios. "This one's under our wing. We'll vouch for him." The clerk scratched something into a ledger, stamped a seal, and slid the parchment across the counter. "Done. Party of three." Helios grinned as Malvek pocketed the paper. "So… this means I can finally tag along on the big quests, right?" Malvek shot him a look. "Only if you don't get yourself killed." Their first job was hunting a Stonehide Loper that had been terrorizing trade routes. The beast was as large as a wagon, its skin reinforced with thick mana plates like armor. The fight came quick. The beast thundered through the clearing, tusks glowing with mana. Malvek stepped forward, his hand glowing a purplish color. "Stay sharp. Helios, cover our flanks." The Loper charged, and Malvek met it head-on, his hand cleaving down with such force the ground cracked beneath his feet. Sparks erupted where steel met mana-hardened hide. "Shidan!" he barked. Shidan moved like water. His sword in his hands, each thrust precise, striking at the gaps between the beast's plates. The air itself seemed to bend as he moved, mana sharpening his strikes until they cut like blades. The beast roared, staggering under the dual assault. "Now, Helios!" Malvek's voice cut through the chaos. Helios darted low, mana skin flaring as he closed the distance. His blade sliced upward, severing the beast's rear tendon. The Loper buckled with a thunderous crash, giving Malvek the opening to bury his hand deep into its skull. The monster twitched, then went still. The caravan master, who had been hiding behind a boulder, rushed out. "By the gods… You killed it! Here, take your payment." 140 silver pieces clinked into Malvek's hand. The second quest dragged them deep into the forest, where lumber camps had been crippled by attacks from Manawolves. These weren't ordinary beasts, their fur glowed faintly, mana coursing under their skin like living armor. Night settled fast. The forest grew still. Then came the howls, low, hungry, circling from every direction. Glowing eyes burned between the trees. "Helios," Shidan whispered, drawing his sword, "they'll go for the weakest link first. Stay sharp. Stay alive." The wolves exploded from the shadows. One snapped at Malvek's throat, he caught it with a bare hand, his palm glowing with raw mana. With a twist, the energy pulsed like a shockwave, blasting the wolf's skull into the dirt. Another lunged at him, and Malvek's expression darkened. Malvek backhanded the beast's head, crushing its skull. Meanwhile, Shidan was fluid as water. He slipped between strikes, sometimes using his sword in clean, precise arcs that sliced straight through mana skin, other times dropping the blade and letting his fists do the work. One wolf lunged, and Shidan caught it mid-air, breaking its jaw with a brutal uppercut before spinning and cleaving another's leg clean off with his sword. Two wolves circled wide, their glowing eyes locked on Helios. His chest tightened. His heartbeat roared. "Don't freeze." The first wolf pounced. Helios wrapped mana around his forearm, bracing. Its jaws snapped down, teeth scraping uselessly against the hardened skin. With his free hand, he shoved his blade upward, driving it through the wolf's throat. The second attacked immediately. Thinking fast, Helios pivoted behind the dying wolf, using its limp body as a shield. The beast slammed into the carcass, and Helios countered with a sharp slash across its exposed belly. The wolf yelped, staggered, and fell. The last howls died. The forest grew quiet again. Malvek studied Helios with his usual cold stare, then gave a single nod. "You didn't freeze. Good." Back at the guild, the three turned in proof of the hunt. The reward was hefty: 280 silver pieces, a fair price for wiping out an entire pack of Manawolves. By the time the three returned to the guild, their coin pouch was heavy. 420 silver pieces in total from two quests. Helios slumped into a chair, exhausted but grinning. "I think… I'm starting to get the hang of this." Malvek's gaze softened, just slightly. "Don't get cocky. You're still green." Shidan smirked, tossing him a flask. "But green or not, you've earned your place in the party." Helios leaned back, his voice a whisper only he could hear. "And I'll only get stronger from here."