No Need for a Core?

Shizoku strode forward from the other two and put her fists on her hips as she glared up at Mordecai. "What are you up to here? We already cleared the floor!"

"That's why it's called an optional bonus round," he replied, "You get to participate or not, though I do insist you choose as a group. And while it won't be easy, giving you guys this option is us playing favorites."

While the little kitsune continued to scowl, Derek stepped to her side. "Um, what's the challenge you are offering?"

"Combat testing and training. My friends here will be doing the work, I am here to supervise and keep everyone healed."

"But this is the no fighting path!" Fuyuko protested.

Mordecai nodded, "Yes, that is why it is optional. And you don't have a specific win condition, it's a performance-based adjustment to your rewards."

Shizoku shook her head, "You are so annoying. This better be worth it!" She turned to face the others, "He and Kazue are clearly cooking up something, and I have to admit I got a very nice upgrade for Bip last time I cleared the dungeon with a group. I vote we do this."

Derek and Fuyuko were a little more hesitant, but they agreed shortly thereafter. Mordecai beamed at them. "Excellent. Derek, I haven't seen how your training has translated into combat, so you are going to start with this bunkin here. Let me know if you need a weapon. Fuyuko, you are going be alternating between sparring with this bunkin and kobold while the other trains you. Shizoku, you'll be training with Crizdirk here. He's a shaman who lead the group of kobolds who chose to join our dungeon. I'll adjust things as I see fit."

Once the three were spread out and set up with their partners, Mordecai continued his explanation of the rules. "Your performance test has three aspects; your initial assessment, your ability to push yourselves, and a growth assessment. When you have hit your limits, we'll help you recover and when you are ready, do the final assessment. Oh, and while there will be some training involved, this is primarily a test. And it's going to be unpleasant. Ready? Good. Begin."

As it turned out, Derek did not need a weapon, his affinity for wood allowed him to conjure armor, shield, and weapon. Mordecai wasn't quite sure what to call the weapon that the boy conjured, though a short spear seemed closest. But the wicked thorns growing along the shaft could make it almost as dangerous as a sword if slashed at a foe, and it had a suppleness that hinted at future utility if Derek mastered manipulating it while also fighting.

His assessment showed that he'd had some training with guardsmen who were used to spear and shield formations, which would be great if he was in such a formation. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case here and he was too inclined to firmly set his shield. A warrior needed to maintain more mobility in order to react to threats because he wouldn't always have a shield mate at his side to protect his flanks.

The best training would have been to pause and correct his form and run him through drills to master the more flexible stance, but that wasn't what this session was for. One of the kobolds was assigned as his trainer, but instead of proper drills, his job was to constantly instruct and correct Derek while he was in the middle of fighting. This was an additional stress and potential distraction for the boy, but that was part of assessing where he was at. Mordecai would have Bellona give him some training on another day to teach him how to adapt between formation fighting and smaller battles as she'd shown excellent ability to use both styles.

Another mixed assessment and training aspect was that Mordecai rotated out Derek's opponents. For now, Mordecai kept to unarmed warriors, but not out of kindness. Several bunkin had been practicing various schools of martial arts and had learned how to channel chi into different elements. Fire was clearly Derek's weakest element right now, so that was what he had to cope with the most.

It also gave Mordecai a chance to evaluate how his power worked with direct comparisons available. Spell work like what Shizoku and Crizdirk were using manifested power in relatively predictable structures, and ate chunks out of their mana reserves. The monks' use of chi was more efficient but tended to manifest as modifiers to their actions and bodies rather than creating manifestations of power that acted on their own. This was also similar to how inherited elemental abilities tended to act, such as those that Bellona had been infused with.

In contrast to those, Derek didn't have a separate pool of power to draw from. Each manifestation of his ability was a physical exertion, taxing his body and stamina like he was lifting or throwing hefty objects. And Mordecai was having Derek's limits pushed, not only having him engaged in physical battle but mentally directing the boy's opponents to occasionally break his shield or disarm his weapon, forcing him to manifest the object again.

Shizoku was being treated just as unkindly by the shaman. The kobold was no longer limited by an elderly body and was able to put all his worldly experience to use with more vigor and mobility than he'd had in decades. Additionally, he had a deeper command of his magic than the little kitsune did, and it showed. Shizoku was the first of the trio that required Mordecai to intervene and heal her before allowing the assessment to continue.

The only reason it wasn't flat-out bullying of the girl was that there was a purpose to it other than the pleasure that Crizdirk was getting from being able to test his healthy body out. The shaman was also providing a running critique of Shizoku's magical and fighting abilities, and he had more than a few opportunities to use quips along the lines of "This is how you do that properly."

He also proved to be a skilled quarterstaff master, and repeatedly let her gain distance only to close the gap while she was casting in order to thwack her with his staff. He was even being relatively nice in not directly interfering with any casting gestures; instead, he was teaching her to not interrupt herself just because she'd gotten hit and it hurt.

The old master wore her down, barely using any magic in comparison to the witch's liberal use of both spells and alchemical infusions. When the witch was almost out of mana to fuel her tiered spells, she used her last resort. She cast a spell to assume a battle form and tossed a small, sealed leather pouch into her mouth just as she transformed into an enhanced version of her fox form, leaving her with the size and physical power of a large wolf, along with the imbued instincts to use this body properly. Immediately after the transformation, she bit down on and swallowed the sealed leather container, ingesting the physical enhancement infusion to further strengthen her new form.

And this was when the shaman began using his magic more earnestly. He didn't really need to, but it was a perfect chance to show how to maintain one's composure and defenses while coping with a physical assault.

He did take a few hits but carefully chose to allow himself to be slammed by her body or paws rather than risk letting her jaws get a solid grip on him, and he always managed to punish her successful attacks with a contact ranged spell that knocked her away or physically hampered her.

When the spell eventually wore off, Shizoku staggered as she transformed back into her true form. This proved to be the more fox-like body that most kitsune had, rather than the hybrid form she'd been choosing to use. Despite being too tired to assume her preferred form again, the girl managed to keep her feet under her as she readied her staff. She also still had her fox fire and her untiered spells that didn't require as much mana investment, and she wasn't ready to quit yet despite having received several healing spells from Mordecai by now.

Fuyuko's assessment was no nicer. She was constantly facing two opponents and was forced to cope with different fighting styles simultaneously. Her greatest challenge here was keeping her focus split enough to defend herself with each dagger while still looking for openings to exploit. Throwing her blades was always an option given their enchantments, but throwing even one was a risk as there was a moment when she couldn't use it to parry an attack.

Her opponents were also able to be a little less careful about injuring her. This might seem cruel, but not only was she physically tougher than her friends, she could also heal slowly on her own, and both of those combined to give Mordecai a buffer to get her healed any time she took a more serious injury.

As the tall teen's stress grew, so did her muscles, and Mordecai was quite satisfied with how she slid into her battle fugue state. Part of the reason for changing out her foes was that they started needing healing too, and in this state she managed to land a lethal strike on one of the bunkin, her dagger slicing the laganthro's throat wide open. The luponi didn't even seem to notice the deadliness of her attack as she turned toward her other foe, and Mordecai was careful to make sure there was no sign of their inhabitant's body for her to spot later. Her control and memory were improving, but it was clear she had a ways to go before she could be allowed to be pushed by opponents who didn't have a safety. He also had a kobold take the bunkin's place in fighting Fuyuko.

But she was taking fewer injuries than he'd given her during her first evaluation, and her ability to maintain her combat form wore off before she reached the point of no longer being able to move. Much like with Shizoku, she managed to keep her feet even as she staggered from the loss of strength and power, and Mordecai waved off her foes.

This wasn't a kindness. He used another healing spell on the girl and then changed up her battle conditions. "Get out your bow." She stared at him blankly for a moment, and he had to repeat himself before she complied. "Good. Now, defend yourself."

She only had one opponent this time, but that opponent was a kobold with his own bow. Firing a bow required a lot of strength, but there were different muscles involved. Fighting a running battle while exchanging shots with a distant foe was a very different sort of fight. She and her opponent both had arrows with blunted tips for this fight, but Mordecai had conjured ones of all wood that grew into a sphere at the tip, rather than surrounding the tip with something soft. It would hurt more without being a large difference in the danger involved.

Derek was the first to go down and be unable to recover. He'd done well, and even as his stamina began to fail him he had pushed himself to keep going, his conjured weapon and shield showing cracks even as they formed. At the start of the battle he'd been able to supplement his attacks with occasional bursts of fire or wind, but fire had been the first of his attacks to fail him, and he no longer was able to shift earth or air anymore either. These were the last of his abilities that he could channel, and eventually, he wasn't able to do that anymore, his body simply collapsing. He was still conscious, and Mordecai could see his fingers twitching as he tried to command his body to move again, but Derek had passed his purely physical limits a while ago and had been supplementing them with the power of his will.

But while his experiences in the dungeon had helped temper his will and taught him to draw on that subtle and fickle resource, he hadn't been tempered in combat and he was still only twelve. Mordecai called an end to Derek's assessment and had him tended to before being brought to the edge of the arena to watch his friends continue.

Shizoku was the next to reach her limits. Though she had a greater amount of training and experience, she was focused on developing her mind and magic more than her body. Once her transformation spell ran out the battle had become extremely difficult for her. She ended the fight with her staff planted on the ground and on her knees practically hugging it as she did her best to fling minor magics at her foe. But her untiered spells simply weren't up to the task of fending the kobold shaman off, and he dodged her attacks as he walked up to her side and put his hand gently on her shoulder before pushing her over.

By the time she'd been carried to a seat on the bench next to Derek, the stamina potion he'd been given had taken effect. He took advantage of that to reverse what she'd done back in the river zone, and he had her lay down with her head in his lap as he scritched her behind the ears. She was still in her fuzzier form, and she tried to make a growl of protest but was too weak to stop him. And her growl had been half purr anyway once the scritches started. It didn't take long for the fox girl to pass out with a smile on her muzzle.

Fuyuko lasted the longest. She was the oldest, had been tempered in a true life-or-death battle against a terrifying foe, and had the additional advantages of her heritage. But eventually, she was no longer able to fully draw her bow, and then she reached the point where her fingers could only fumble the arrows instead of properly nocking them. Mordecai had her drop the bow then, and there was no way she could hold her daggers properly either. So it was that she faced her last foe unarmed, relying only on what was left of her physical prowess.

It was ugly enough to make even Mordecai uncomfortable. The girl had incredible depths of determination and reserves of stamina that lasted well past her ability to control her arms effectively. But so long as she remained on her feet and determined to fight, he'd keep healing her injuries. This was part of her assessment too, and he'd not deny her the chance to earn every scrap of prize he could give her.

She had to be knocked down several more times before she'd been unable to find a way to get back to her feet. Even with her arms barely functioning, she'd been managing to roll and get her feet underneath her, and had been trying to fight using kicks, but that had not been a significant part of her training.

Mordecai made a mental note to have her join Betty in training for her new fighting style. His floor boss might have to be careful given her condition, but it wasn't like she was going to miss a bit of training or practice if she could help it, and given Fuyuko's long limbs it would be useful to have her cross-train in fighting styles that made good use of that sort of reach.

With the first two stages of the assessment completed, it was time for food and rest. Shizoku had to be roused from sleep and was initially so groggy she didn't even realize she was in her true form until she tried to take a drink and hit her muzzle. She hesitated and then sighed before just adjusting to drink out of the mug as she was. It was a little more difficult in this form, but she clearly didn't have the energy to switch back. At least, not now that she knew Derek didn't mind her true form.

Fuyuko's arms were still trembling as she wolfed down her food, and she was barely able to maintain table manners as her hunger drove her to devour as much food as possible, mostly meat but she also had her share of everything that was placed on the table that had been brought out to their bench, including making an entire plate of fried tofu disappear by herself.

Kazue made sure they had as much of the dungeon's special honey mead as they wanted available, and plenty of sweets as well. The healing properties of the mead combined with all the rich food to get a good head start on helping them recover, and bedrolls were laid out to let the three collapse into sleep as soon as they had eaten their fill.

When the trio had recovered several hours and one more meal later, it was time for their final evaluation. During their prior assessment, they had also been given some training, even if the situation made it difficult to absorb the information on the fly. But there was an opportunity for improvement, and that was what they were tested on.

Derek had improved the most, in large part because he had the most room for improvement. His training had begun only months prior to this. Shizoku showed the least amount of immediate improvement, but she had the most training of the three and was going to have to work to incorporate what she'd learned and experienced.

With that done Mordecai led them into the main hall, officially completing their delve and allowing him to award them their prizes.