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"It\'s too clean." Ania sighed as she glanced at Bjorn and Skalr talking. "Everything we need to give us cause for flushing the elven religion out."

"You think Skalr\'s playing us?" Fjora asked.

"I\'m not sure. At the least, I can believe his oath was real."

Ania chuckled when she saw the look of surprise on Fjora\'s face.  "Exile confirmed it was real."

"So what\'s going on?"

"Perhaps we\'re just pawns in a game of gods." Ania sighed. "One thing I do know, we could still end up in a war with the elves."

"How do you figure?"

"Skalr swore an oath to protect Skardia. But what counts as a threat? If we run into peaceful elves, we can\'t let him start something. Keep an eye on Bjorn. He\'s getting too caught up in learning from Skalr."

Meanwhile, Skalr studied the collection of runestones Bjorn had handed him. He wore an amused grin on his face when he handed them back.

"You\'re ready," Skalr said as he clapped Bjorn\'s shoulder. "It\'s time to put you to the test in combat."

"What?" Bjorn asked in confusion as he pocketed the stones. "We\'re going to have a mock battle. First to draw blood wins." Skalr replied. "Let\'s see how you use these runestones in a fight."

Bjorn raised his eyebrows as Skalr beckoned for him to follow. He led him to the edge of their camp, where Skalr drew his blade.

"Draw your weapon," Skalr said with a calm expression. "Once you raise it, our battle will start. Don\'t try to go easy on me. You\'ll only lose if you do that."

Bjorn chuckled as he pulled his great hammer from his back. \'This is more my speed.\' Bjorn eyed Skalr, who kept his blade down by his side in his hand. \'He isn\'t even on guard. This should be over quickly.\'

Bjorn raised his hammer and nodded to signal he was ready. However, Skalr did not react and lazily watched Bjorn with a carefree expression on his face. \'Why isn\'t he preparing at all?\'

Bjorn shrugged and charged forward with a roar. He kept his eyes on Skalr\'s sword for any sign of him attempting to block or counter-attack. However, all he saw was Skalr releasing a sigh before he raised his left hand.

\'What the fuck!\' Bjorn groaned as a bright flash of golden light blinded him for a moment. Bjorn yelped as he felt a sudden stinging sensation on his neck. As his eyes readjusted he realised Skalr was gone from in front of him.

"You fail," Skalr said with a sigh as Bjorn turned to look behind him. "What?" Bjorn asked, too shocked to understand what Skalr meant. Skalr lazily pointed to Bjorn\'s neck, where a thin line of blood had appeared. \'When did he?\' That was when Bjorn realised the flash had been a distraction to allow Skalr to draw blood! \'How did he cut me?\' Bjorn glanced at Skalr\'s blade. However, it looked like an ordinary iron blade that his skin had deflected before.

That was until Skalr turned it to reveal a runestone stuck in a slot on its handle. Bjorn\'s eyebrows arched up as he tried to understand what exactly had happened. "This is how a Runelord fights," Skalr said as he handed his sword to Bjorn. "Your hammer is too unwieldy. It takes up both of your hands. If you had a free hand, you could have activated one of your runestones. That was the whole point of this fight. Don\'t you remember?"

Bjorn frowned as he recalled Skalr mentioning it was a fight to see how he would use his runes. However, Bjorn had seen no point wasting time on runes when he felt certain his body alone would allow him to land a blow before Skalr could do anything.

"Your way of fighting is too narrow-minded for a Runelord," Skalr said while shaking his head. "You have to be adaptable to any situation. Either by using loose runestones in unexpected ways or by combining them with your weapon. I suggest you get yourself a weapon like mine soon."

Bjorn frowned as he studied the handle of the sword. Now that he held it, he could see three slots in a shape that could hold a runestone. "Why three slots?" Bjorn asked curiously as he rubbed the blood from his neck.

"Sometimes it\'s best to load your sword in advance with different runes. You can activate them depending on the situation." Skalr smiled as he took his sword back. "Would you like to try again?"

Bjorn nodded silently as he created some distance between himself and Skalr yet again. By this point, several warriors that included Fjora had gathered to watch their match. Many of them were interested in Skalr\'s skill as a warrior since they had never seen him fight. Fjora chuckled when she saw the stern expression on Bjorn\'s face as he dug around in his pocket. \'He\'s getting serious. It seems Skalr is more dangerous than I thought.\' Fjora smirked as she overheard some warriors betting among themselves.

"I\'ll join this bet. Five gold on Skalr." Fjora grinned as the warriors shrugged.

Skalr remained motionless as he waited for Bjorn to make the first move again. However, this time, Bjorn carefully checked his stash of runestones before raising his weapon. \'This should work.\' Bjorn nodded to himself as he kept three stones in his left hand.

As soon as he nodded, Bjorn tossed his hammer at Skalr! The latter\'s eyes went wide as he ducked under it only for a runestone to land at his feet! A bright flash of light went off as Bjorn dashed forward and swung his fist!

However, several golden threads burst out of the snow to restrain him! Skalr chuckled as his eyesight came back after the flash to see Bjorn caught in his trap.

"Not bad," Skalr grinned while taking several steps forward. "But don\'t think you can use my tricks against me. Although, throwing your hammer was a good distraction."

Skalr used his sword to give Bjorn another nick before deactivating his hidden runestones. Bjorn grumbled as he rubbed his neck again as his body trembled.

"You need to pay attention to your surroundings. Runestones can also be used to set up traps and turn a disadvantage into a chance to turn things around." Skalr explained loud enough for the gathered warriors to hear. "Eventually, you\'re going to face magic clashing with the elves. You have to even the field. Always be thinking a few moves ahead."

"A battle involving magic isn\'t about overpowering your opponent. It\'s about out-thinking them." Skalr continued as he glanced at the small crowd. "Even if you don\'t have magic on your side, you should be wondering what your opponent may try to do. Don\'t fall for provocations or follow their rhythm. You\'ll end up exactly where they want you."

"When did you set up the trap?" Bjorn asked as he reviewed their last exchange. However, he did not recall Skalr making any moves to toss runestones around.

"When you were blind during the first exchange," Skalr replied with a grin. "As I said, always be thinking ahead. Shall we go again?"

Bjorn nodded silently as the pair prepared themselves. \'There has to be a way to beat him. Maybe I should use the next two exchanges to set up a win on the third.\' Bjorn sighed when he had that thought. \'That\'s no use. Skalr is planning to win every battle. Not how to throw one just to win the next. What would he do in my position?\'

Meanwhile, Paul shrugged as Colt wheezed. The latter was kneeling on the training mats with a weighted wooden blade next to him. "It\'s an interesting new style you have," Paul chuckled as he helped Colt to his feet. "But it doesn\'t suit you. So, spears are out. Same with swords and axes."

Paul scratched his jaw as he glanced at the training equipment dotted around the room. "You need a free hand to get the most use out of your new powers. So that makes two-handed weapons useless. But most one-handed weapons don\'t have the same range you\'re used to now."

"Please tell me you have an idea," Colt groaned as he returned the sword to its rack. "It needs to be something I can add runestones to. It\'s the next step in maximising my Rune Authority\'s potential."

"Hybrid fighter, using might and magic. You want to focus on interchangeable enchantments and disposable tools instead of spells." Paul glanced at the ceiling as he thought through what that style would look like. "It\'s a smart move since other players will reach Tier 2 soon. A battle with them would see your DP draining quickly. You want to hold the advantage against many opponents at once. So, maybe... Yeah, that could work!"

Paul chuckled as he walked towards a rack at the rear of the training hall. Colt rubbed his ribs as he watched Paul eyeing several different weapons before picking one up. Colt\'s eyes went wide as Paul walked back to him holding the weapon he had chosen for Colt.

"You can\'t be serious. Are you?" Colt asked as he took the weighted weapon from Paul.

"Oh, I\'m dead serious. I\'m sure you\'ll understand once I explain it to you. But before I do that, just trust me. You\'ll have to learn the basics and I\'ll help you develop a style that suits everything you want to use." Paul chuckled as a wide grin appeared on his face.