I hurried to the salamander’s torso, pried off a number of scales, and cut into the meat. I could hear Hamon doing the same on the other side of the corpse, so it was a dissection race that would have rivaled any 7th grade biology class. Guts poured out in a scalding wet heap of lava and innards.
“Where the fuck is it?” Hamon’s voice came from behind the corpse.
I caught a glimpse of white bone and dug further, careful not to let the steaming entrails touch me. I cut the bone-cage free and inserted the two orbs I’d gained earlier. They fit together in the single cage, a trio of glowing spheres that would grant me Untamed Torch.
Hamon climbed over the steaming corpse, jumped off its back, and stood facing me.
“You have it, don’t you?” He pointed with his sword.
“Of course,” I replied.
“Give it to me.”
“My kill, my core.”
“You dirty, thieving shit.”
“I’m certainly dirty,” I looked down at robes steaming with fire-infused lizard blood. “But this is still mine.”
He lunged forward, trying to wrap his arms around me. Fast on my feet and slippery with blood, I half-dodged, half-slid clear, then turned and ran up the tunnel.
Hamon was after me again, so close behind I could almost feel him. We sprinted up the tunnel as my damp sandals slid on smooth stone, and Hamon snatched at my robes. My body ached, my skin tingled from the lizard blood, and the breath burned in my lungs. None of that was going to stop me from proving who was best.
I had hardly any Vigor remaining; the fight with Hamon and the salamanders had robbed my body of almost every fraction. Still, I had a sliver left, so I turned around and faced Hamon. He grinned at me, but his smile faded when I lifted my hand.
“Have a Plank Pillar,” I said as a wall of wood shot up from the ground and closed off the tunnel. Hamon must not have been able to stop in time, because a heavy thud reverberated from the other side of the newly created wooden wall.
The sound of metal against wood came as Hamon attempted to cut his way through my obstacle. I used the opportunity to retrace my route before I again heard Hamon quickly gaining on me. He’d used a healing potion after his first few rounds, so his Vigor was likely undepleted. His steps were getting louder, but I found the entrance tunnel and burst into the fresh air.
I pulled back my arm and threw the bone-cage with three cores like a professional football player. It tumbled through the air toward Kegohr, who caught it in a single clawed hand.
“That’s three!” I yelled and raised my arms.
My fellow initiates cheered, clapped, and stamped their feet. Everyone was jubilant, down to the last student.
Hamon snarled as he shot out from the cave, and I spun around to face him. He glared at the cheering initiates and then at me. His rage seemed to overflow before he charged. Suddenly, Rutmonlir leaped from a boulder and was between us. He’d moved so fast, it was little more than a blur. I stared at him in wonder as he planted a palm in Hamon’s chest.
“You seem angry,” the tutor said to the furious initiate.
“He stole my cores!” Hamon spat at me.
“He took them from your person?”
“No.”
“Then he didn’t steal them. He bested you. But you’ve come so close, it’d be wrong to waste the effort.”
The fury in Hamon’s eyes faded, and he stepped back, the intent to harm me gone. “There aren’t any more salamanders in the cave,” he explained. “The heart will have to replenish them.”
“Of course. The heart of the Ember Cave will be working hard to give birth to new beasts. Not as hard as it should be, mind you. You initiates could have done a whole lot better. But I’m not talking about going back in there later, stupid.” Rutmonlir cracked Hamon upside the head playfully as he broke into laughter.
The initiates hid their chuckles as Hamon rubbed his head. “Why don’t you explain yourself before calling me stupid?” He glowered at the other initiates, clearly annoyed that Rutmonlir had used him as a joke.
“Here you go.” The tutor reached inside his jerkin, pulled out a glowing core, and tossed it to Hamon.
“What’s this?” Hamon eyed it with suspicion.
“Spare scorched salamander core,” Rutmonlir said.
“I was meant to earn it myself.”
“If you don’t want to learn Untamed Torch, you can always give it back.”
Hamon clutched the core tight. “Thank you, master,” he said through gritted teeth.
As I watched the exchange, I wondered whether Rutmonlir actually intended to do Hamon a favor. It seemed like accepting a spare salamander core was the last thing Hamon could have wanted, but he couldn’t refuse it, either. It was dishonorable not to accept such a gift from one of a higher guild status. I’d learned that much in my time in the Seven Realms. But it was also a massive hit to Hamon’s pride to not only lose against a ‘peasant’ like me, but also being gifted what he should have won.
Rutmonlir had purposefully given Hamon the salamander core in the hopes that it would humble him; I could see that now. The only problem was that Hamon would never lose his pride. I’d met people like him before, and it was always the same. Stories would often show the arrogant bully turning from their ways and becoming a good person, but this wasn’t fiction. This was real, and people like Hamon didn’t change.
“All right,” Rutmonlir said, “everyone pack up your lures, your cores, and your weapons. It’s time to head home.”
As the others fell to talking among themselves, Hamon turned to glare at me.
“You robbed me of my honor today,” he said. “I will have my revenge.”
I chuckled under my breath. “Seriously? Are you establishing yourself as my rival or something?”
“You cannot stand against the might of Clan
