Fractured God

With Tibaut incredibly sore from the previous day, he decided to finish reading "Mastering Your Element" while he lay in bed.

After he finished reading it, he was extremely motivated to test out some new ideas he had. He then ran outside to get started.

"Alright so compressing fireballs is off the table for now" he thought to himself. Instead of manipulating a fireball, he decided to try and form his magic in a new form. At first, he tried to coat his body.

While he could ensure the flames wouldn't burn him, the heat they gave off was more than he could handle. "No matter," he thought. He had a bunch of ideas and surely some of them would be useful.

After a painstaking amount of time testing moves, he finally came up with something. "Alright, here goes." He said calmly. He was slowly forming a long rod of fire. He ensured to point the tips of the rod. Expecting big things out of his new creation, he let it loose on a nearby tree.

The shape of the rod made it quicker than any fireball he had ever thrown. "Alright, it's looking good so far" he thought to himself. When it hit the tree it made a nice bang. His hopes were now as high as they could and he quickly rushed to the tree to examine the damage.

When he saw the damage to the tree he became quickly disappointed. He had expected the spell to have completely pierced the tree, but from what he was seeing from the charred hole in the tree, it couldn't have gone more than two inches.

"Well, at least it's quick," he remarked. While not the fight-winning super move he hoped for, he realised the utility it provided for faster opponents.

Deciding that was enough for today, he back to the mansion and was greeted by Mr. Bentley.

"Hey, Mr. Guild man, what brings you here?" He asked.

"Oh ho ho, nothing much. Just discussing a few matters with little Elizabeth." He responded before leaving.

He then entered the mansion before being pulled aside by Elizabeth. "How are you right now?" She asked.

"Fine, I guess?" He responded.

"Good enough to fight?" She asked.

The question caused Tibaut to raise his eyebrow but he was curious how his new move would perform in actual battle.

"What are you asking me to do exactly?" he asked back.

"Mr. Bentley holds a yearly little event, in hopes that it inspires people to join or form their own guilds." She stated.

"So what is it exactly?" He asked again.

"He wants members of the two top guilds of this parish to have a spar to 'showcase the strength and wonder of adventurers' as he put it" She explained.

"How does that involve us exactly?" He replied.

"Well, in this parish, we are technically number 2. Granted there are only ten guilds in this parish but the point still stands." She told him.

("Seriously!?") He thought to himself ("It looks like these guys are actually pretty respected. Honestly, though, I think Elizabeth might be carrying them.")

Seeing the shock on his face, Elizabeth quickly responds.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. This parish doesn't have a single roaming guild, so we're pretty low on the list when it comes to guilds nationwide."

"Uh, what's a roaming guild?" He asked.

"Ah," She replied as if she forgot something. She quickly left the room and came back with a book. She then handed it to Tibaut. Its title was "The Adventurer's Guide".

"Make sure you read through it before we get a commission." She told him. "And since you asked I might as well explain. There are two categories that a guild can be placed in. Either Roaming or grounded. Roaming guilds get to explore wherever, take commissions wherever they want and challenge dungeons or ruins they find in the wild."

"So what about us?" He asked.

"We're only allowed to operate within our parish and take commissions in the parish" She responded.

"You know, calling us adventurers kinda seems like a stretch at this point." He told her.

"Anyway just get ready for tomorrow," she said before walking off.

"Tomorrow? Give a guy a little more heads up. Well, I better start refining my new move. I don't even want to imagine what she'd do to me if I went down without a fight." He thought to himself.

A little later he decides to visit Vanessa and discuss the event that is taking place tomorrow.

"Hey, you're back. Hehe looking for a reward?" She said teasingly while grabbing him. However, Tibaut was unaffected by this act. He made no faces, his cheeks didn't change colour and he was looking her directly in the face.

"Eh, don't tell me you're scared stiff, don't worry I don't bite. Unless you want me to?"

"I'm here to ask you about some event happening tomorrow, and besides I've gotten used to you now. (I actually jerked off a few minutes ago but she doesn't need to know that.)" He responded.

After a few more attempts to fluster him, she realised she'd have to rethink her strategies, and decided to fly the white flag and give up for the day.

"So what do you want to know about tomorrow?" She said, with her mood slightly soured.

"Well Elizabeth told me I was gonna fight tomorrow, but she didn't tell me who I was facing." He said.

"Eh? You're going tomorrow?" She responded surprised.

"Is it that shocking?" he asked

"Kinda, since Elizabeth went the last two times. Ezekiel might have a chance this year."

"Anyway, could you tell more about him, say, for instance, fighting style?" He told her.

She thinks for a minute with her finger on her lips.

"Sorry, but the only thing I remember about him is that uses a sword."

While that information was about as basic as could possibly be, he thanked her nonetheless and returned to his room to rest and prepare.