Knuckles Shi sat at a rustic outdoor café in the bustling marketplace of the Country of Seven, alive with the rich cultural tapestry and mythic undertones of its region. The sun was a little past its zenith; the cobbled streets shimmered in its golden light, and a dull buzz of animated conversations, as well as the occasional cry of a street vendor and the clatter of hooves, filled the air.

In his casuals, as opposed to the intimidating battle gear he donned while at the arena, Knuckles had a very laid-back and commanding presence. His Clown Clout Helm and armor were stored away securely. Today, he adorned a simple tunic and breeches with a cloak with the Sleeping Calamity insignia. He had taken lunch under a large olive tree on one of the wooden tables, enjoying a course of roasted lamb, fresh bread, and cheese varieties found in this area. A mug of spiced ale topped that off, exuding an aromatic scent in the process.

Sharp, observant eyes of Knuckles scanned the lively scene around. The Country of Seven was quite the melting pot—adventurers, mercenaries, and mages all came here for the legendary arenas and sought to build glory for themselves. He wasn't here just for the food but to try and scout potential new people for the Sleeping Calamity, his not-so-humble guild. And the Sleeping Calamity had an incredibly high turnover rate of members newly discovered talents, untapped warriors, obscurely talented mages, and sharp-minded strategists.

A group of sparring fighters in one clearing had distracted his attention from the succulent lamb. Their techniques were raw but promising. He made a mental note of their moves, especially impressed by one who was wielding dual blades with uncanny ease. Another caught his eye—a mage whose control over elemental spells was uncannily refined for someone of her age.

Ever since Lily's magic had somehow evolved, it felt unstable within her. She didn't even have the chance to practice and create spells with the gift of the dragon slayer that was given to her, and yet here she was with something even more powerful waiting to get out. Taking a deep breath as she drew in mana from the world around her, Lily attempted to visualize a wall of earth, strong, stable, and unmoving. The earth beneath her feet began to vibrate slightly as she drew in more and more of its essence, molding it within her and directing it to the purposes she intended for it. She felt a shiver run through her spine as she drew in more and more mana, feeling it in the very pit of her stomach before moving it towards her left hand as she commanded it.

Making a swirling motion with her left hand as she gathered the mana, she let go of all the energy she built up, pushing it outwards about a foot in front of her. She felt the magic expel from her as a magic circle began to form on her hand and at the location on the ground where she wanted the wall to come up from. Confidence built up inside her as she continued with the motions, pumping more mana out to build the wall of hard, rocky earth. What should have been an almost immediate mass of the wall coming up from the ground was instead a pitiful mound that wouldn't even reach up to her knees. A rare frown formed over her features as frustration built up in her for only a moment. Lily let the spell crumble as she stopped the mana flow, letting her arms drop.

What was she doing wrong? Did she put too much into the spell? No, that couldn't have been it. If she had she done that it would have probably exploded from being pumped with mana too quickly like that. It was probably because she wasn't pumping enough mana into the spell for it to hold at the rank she wanted it to, so instead, it did the best it could with what it had, which wasn't enough. With that thought in mind, Lily reset her position. With a clear mind, she took in a deep breath, drawing in mana just like before, but this time she slipped off her shoes, perhaps in an attempt to get closer to the earth and its energy. She didn't know if that would work, but she was willing to try anything at this point. As she brought mana into her, she let it flow through her. Every inch of her body would take in more and more mana until she was swelling with it.

Once she was satisfied with how much mana she had, she began to push it towards her left hand. Using a swirling motion with that very hand, a magic circle formed, much clearer than the last one, which was a good sign in Lily's eyes. With the mana formed in her hand, she pushed it outwards about a foot from her once more, but this time she pushed out about seventy percent of the mana she gathered. With the intent to build a hard, rocky, stable wall that could block any attack forming in her mind and being created in front of her, she could see her mana working its magic. Instead of a pitiful mound of rocks, there was a wall eight meters in height and ten meters in length. Lily smiled proudly at a job well done and cut the mana off of the spell to inspect her work closer. Unfortunately, that mana was keeping the spell up and running, something she hadn't realized at all until it came crumbling down in front of her, a large dust cloud forming due to the collapse.

650/800 A Rank Spell-Intelligence wc reduction:

Combat training, with its relentless pursuit of excellence, constantly pushes individuals to surpass their limits. Yet, the ultimate test and the best preparation come from facing real threats. It is in these crucibles of reality that true strength and skill are forged. Knuckles' attention was caught by a younger woman struggling to create a wall from the earth. Despite her evident struggle, there was something about her that drew his gaze. He sensed a latent power within her, a potential that only needed the right push to be unleashed a push he could provide.

His hand instinctively went to the hammer at his hip, feeling its familiar weight and balance. This was his tool of instruction and motivation. Rising from his seated position, he approached her with a casual gait, the hammer twirling in his right hand.

As he neared the flimsy wall she was attempting to erect, Knuckles waved with his left hand, a friendly smile playing on his lips. "Hello, I’m Knuckles. I see you’re having some trouble with this spell. Would you like some assistance?" he asked, his tone inviting yet firm. Without waiting for a response, he slid his left foot forward and spun, bringing his hammer towards her in a controlled arc. He held back enough to ensure he wouldn't harm her if she failed to react in time. This was his method of teaching, combining challenge with safety, pushing his students to tap into their potential and react instinctively under pressure.

At the very least, she was getting the hang of it. She felt that if she tried one more time, she would succeed and call it a day on the training. The stress and strain were a lot on her, and it was evident. Lily hadn't used her mana in this way before. She had gotten by just fine for years without using her magic, which, now that she thought about it, was probably not smart.

Once again, she began to gather mana. This time it was much easier to do for this particular spell. But before she could finish, a man with red hair approached her. Lily did not stop gathering her mana as the man spoke to her. He seemed nice enough as he offered help, and she would, of course, take it. As she opened her mouth to speak, the redhead got into a stance, and her eyes locked onto a hammer that was coming her way, which she had not seen while he was speaking.

Her heart nearly leapt into her throat, and all the mana she was building up went right to her hand, which she shot out. A mana sigil almost immediately formed on her hands and another directly between her and the man whose hammer was coming fast. Within seconds, a fully erect wall of earth, hard, strong, and solid stood between her and the man. Now it was time to see if that wall could stand against the attack. She stumbled back a few feet, still pushing mana out to maintain the spell.

911/800 A Rank Spell-Intelligence wc reduction:

Success! It had worked, at least he thought it did. It could have been here all along with no issues. Knuckles whistled after his hammer collided with the wall. He was sure that if he was going all out it would have shattered, but just this swing to get her blood pumping only put a small crack. "Well now Miss, you are a master at building a wall. Hell of a job if I do say so." his voice broke away with a chuckle. " I apologize for the brutal tactics, but at last, I had to test a theory. Seeing how she had the combat instincts to jump back Knuckles only smiled as he placed his hammer on his hip once more. Looking at the wall between them Knuckles peaked around it.

"My name is Knuckles "The Clout Chaser" Shi, I'm the Guild Master of a new Guild here in the Seven. We are a guild that is well-fixated on getting stronger and also fighting. "

He walked around the wall in a mock surrendering gesture. He held his hands up to show he was not unarmed and paused only at the side of the wall so he could lean against it. "If fighting isn't your thing m'lady, don't fret. The main goal is pursuing strength and power and we have the perfect people to do that. I am even looking into getting this one guy who is studying the foundation of magic, to see if he can make it more powerful during the application process. So, what do you think? Wish to become a Sleeping Calamity?"

Lily could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the sound nearly deafened her hearing. She took in a few deep breaths in an attempt to control it, especially now that the redhead no longer seemed hostile. Quickly getting up from the floor, she took another step back, the mana pouring from her to maintain the wall still flowing perhaps out of fear, or at this point, she was simply too focused to stop. The redhead introduced himself with a pretty lengthy name, her brain filtering the rest out and sticking to Knuckles. From what he was saying as he continued to speak, he was a guild leader looking to fill his ranks. The more he spoke, the more she calmed down, nodding a few times until he eventually stopped talking.

Taking one last very audible deep breath, she watched Knuckles leaning against the wall she made, and she killed the mana flow from her to it, causing the structure to pretty much destabilize and crumble. It was tiring to have to keep that up and think about the option to join a guild that sounded mildly dark in name or walk away from an opportunity to get stronger, make new friends, and go on new adventures with others. Thinking about it, she had been riding solo for a bit now, but she had to make sure she wasn't going straight into the lion's den. Her mother would be wildly disappointed if she were going to run around with a dark guild.

"Well, Knuckles, that's one heck of a way to introduce yourself, and I guess I have to thank you for helping me get that wall technique up finally. I think it would be pretty cool to join your guild... BUT I can't join if you are leading a dark guild. That's just not my scene, and from the sound of the name that I'm going to assume you picked for the guild, it sounds like a dark guild. Is it?"

At this point, she was standing with arms folded over her ample chest....Well, less folded over and more like resting on top of, waiting for an answer that she sure hoped was something she could get behind.

Knuckles felt the wall start to buckle and removed himself from it before it would crumble. He didn't know what was going to happen when it started to break apart. Perhaps retaliation for his hand in her training. He watched it break away before returning his gaze to her. Listening as she spoke he understood her standing.

"Well.. He looked up for a moment thinking it over in his head. "No, it's not even registered with the Magic Council back in Fiore. See we built it here because of the arena. I would have to say it is more neutral or independent." He thought about leaving out the history but thought it best to be honest.

"At one time it was, but that's neither here nor there. It is no longer Dark. You may see some wanted people in it though, but they aren't bad people. "

It was at this time he noticed he hadn't gathered her name. "By the way I didn't catch your name?" He asked with a smile placed upon his lips. The guild was filling up fast and he was happy about it. If she picked to join them that would really help bolster they type of people they had in it. He was sure Jikan would be grateful for another woman around.

Well, at this point, she didn't see a reason not to join. It sounded like she would be able to have unrestricted fun in the guild. Lily nodded her head as Knuckles spoke to show she was listening and that she understood.

"Lily Knight is the name. I might have been born in Fiore, but my home is wherever I go. Glad to be a Sleeping Calamity. Let's see where this takes me." Putting her hands on her hips, she smiled with pride, her teal-blue gaze shining in the sun.

"How about you show me the guild hall, Boss? It's okay if I call you Boss, right? I mean, you are now pretty much my Boss."

She was a fast talker and began to step forward, getting into Knuckles' personal space, giving him a proper look over. He was pretty handsome, but her eyes moved to that hammer, she wondered if one day he'd tell her more about it. She would wait for an answer and then for movement, following him to wherever they would go now that he was stuck with her, and certainly not the other way around.

-exit-