Soul of a Human

Gorn looked up at the stone giant before him, but when the thing did some seeming limbering up, he wondered what was up.

°Let'sa go!° The human shouted, and the mass of stone lunged forward.

Gorn instinctively pulled up his shield to defend himself, but the force of the impact of the stone fist pushed him back anyway. However, he also noticed that the stone giant had exposed a weak point and struck with all the force he could muster, breaking off one arm of the giant. Only one more left to go, he thought to himself.

°Too bad buddy.° The human stated, as the stone arm regrew instantly.

"That's not fair," Gorn growled, doing his very best to defend against the next flurry of attacks.

The stone giant attacked without caring for any defense, and no matter how often Gorn crushed a limb or did damage, it instantly regenerated. However, if the guardian knew one thing, which was how to defend and outlast his opponents, he hunkered down and let his shield take the brunt of the attacks.

°Giga Mac Rush!° The human shouted, hammering down his stone fists on the big shield.

°We're reaching half-time.° Mor informed his partner, who let out an acknowledging grunt.

°Then time for level two! Falcon punch spam!° The human added.

Gorn felt the flow of the fight shift. He wasn't as hard-pressed anymore, as his attacker had switched from the relentless barrage of stone fists to slower but more powerful strikes. This again gave him a ton of openings, but having learned from the fight, he refrained from acting upon them and instead continued to defend. At least, that was the plan. However, the big thing raised both of his fists high into the air and let them crush down.

°Meteor strike!° The human called out.

°Could you stop with those embarrassing cries? They are messing with my concentration!° Mor complained.

°Killjoy. Let me have some fun.° The human grumbled.

The combined stone fists collided with the wooden barrier of Gorn and shattered it. The Ice-kin hunter was saved by his reflexes, rolling out from under his shield just in time. Gorn instantly tried to take cover and find his bearings, but even this seemed futile. He only got a single deep breath before the stone giant ripped out the pillar Gorn was hiding behind and swung it like a club.

°Slow down! Please don't kill him! If you keep going like that, I will stop the spell instantly!° Mor scolded the overeager human.

Looking disappointed, the stone giant hesitated momentarily, then dropped the newly acquired club. The stone golem then kicked away a rock in some kind of annoyance, confusing the Ice-kin completely. Still, Gorn was attentive to a possible feint and kept his distance. If he couldn't hurt his opponent, the best strategy was to wait it out.

It took a few seconds of strange calmness, then the stone giant drooped his shoulders and made the movements of a sigh, which, of course, wasn't audible because of the lack of lungs. However, after that, it regained its posture and attacked again, hounding the Ice-kin through the arena and smashing the cover pillars in the process.

°Ora… Ora… Ora…° The human grumbled, the excitement pretty much gone. °Can I stop now? I don't want to do this anymore.°

°Really? Just because you're not allowed to kill Gorn?° Mor demanded to know.

°I just want to go all out. I get a body seldom enough.° The human grumbled, not caring that Gorn had again removed an arm with a defensive swing.

As all the times before, the limb was quickly replaced, only interrupting his barrage of punches for a second. Though a second was enough for Gorn to disengage again and get some distance. He was forcing the human to lumber after him. Then, just as Gorn got ready to face another barrage of attacks, the stone giant crumbled to dirt and was gone.

Gorn looked around, wondering if it was over, then guessed it must be and left the arena. Only to instantly be barraged by questions from his teammates, minus Silence, who stood off to the side, contemplating what he had just seen.

°Are you really pouting?° Mor asked.

°Let me! I had fun, and you ruined it.° The human complained.

°You almost killed Gorn.° Mor repeated his accusation.

°I would have stopped. He would only have gotten a few love taps.°

°It didn't look like that!°

°Yeah, yeah. Then don't trust me, fucking boring nerd.° The human grumbled.

°Idiotic, brainless battle maniac.° Mor gave back the compliment.

While Gorn was being fussed over by his team and wife, the Chief came over to Mor and said.

"Very impressive. Could you do this training for all hunter teams?"

"In theory, yes, but it would take away from my personal training time, and I haven't given up on returning home early. Doing it for Gorn and his team was a personal favor from Lize, who had helped me out immensely. So I won't." Mor replied.

"I see, and the only way to change your mind is probably to help you get home, which I won't do. I can't even say you owe us anything because almost everyone used your free wood-cutting service. Meaning you aren't indebted to us at all because you're doing your part." The Chief sighed.

"Then Cutter and the rest will have to do for now and talk about their experiences. Still, if you find time, I would appreciate this magic training whenever possible. Even if only one hunter can do it every week."

"Depending on how my training goes, I can live with that arrangement," Mor said, holding out his hand, which the Chief shook in agreement.

After his discussion with the Chief, Mor sat down and started to regain his energy when Elly and Jorgen flopped down to each side of him. "Are you also dragging us through this training?" the boy asked, and Mor nodded.

"You Soul-kin are scary," Elly said, forcing a low chuckle from Mor.

"I'm nothing against the grand casters." He said.

"Really?" Jorgan asked.

"My uncle could probably dismantle the whole village without breaking a sweat. Well, if you let him, and to get to him, you need to get through my father and mother, which is a challenge on its own." A sad smile appeared on Mor's face in memory of his loved ones, and, on impulse, he tried to make contact with his father.

Of course, he again got no answer, but he tried to keep the spell up anyway, telling his experiences in the Ice-village into the void. Jorgan and Elly felt the somber atmosphere that suddenly permeated the Soul-kin and gave the boy some space. Which he didn't have for too long, as Gorn was the next to come talk to Mor.

"Nice challenge, but you lack control over the spell, right?" He stated.

"I know, but it can't be helped. This spell is normally impossible for a single Soul-kin and is something of a last resort. Using walls or something like that is more effective in protecting us. Those puppet spells are mainly used for building or other hard labor, where you can't use magic directly." Mor explained.

"I see, that only makes you more scary. Pulling off something like that is crazy, and you really pushed me into a corner." Gorn said without any accusation.

"It opened my eyes to how much potential the world still has and that I can't let up with training. Take good care of Elly and Lize while I'm out and about."

"I will, and Jorgen probably will, too," Mor said with a smirk, making the big warrior laugh.

"At least Elly now has her eyes on somebody I can approve of. He might not be as talented as Thor, but he has more ambition and the drive to work his ass off to fulfill it."

"I keep an eye on them so they don't do anything stupid," Mor promised.

"Don't worry. They are old enough, and Lize is here. So if I come back as a grandfather, I won't be too mad," Gorn said, then laughed again at the boy's shocked look.

"Honestly, if they have time for that. I need to ramp up their training until those thoughts are gone." Mor stated. "You said they have the potential to become great hunters, and you are right."

"You talk like an old man," Gorn said.

"Really?" Mor asked, and the big man nodded.

Their talk was again interrupted when the rest joined in, and they talked about all their training rounds, sharing in the experience, and deciding to postpone leaving until everyone had recovered and prepared some more. Drop also wanted to get something special made, thinking that some throwing weapons might be helpful against those magic attacks, like knives or darts, which should prove effective if thrown by the ridiculous strength of the Ice-kin warriors.