It takes a few minutes to adjust to the sights and sounds and smells of the twentieth floor. Namely, that they all exist. The blue of the sky, the green of grass at my feet, the warm sun, the cool, slightly thin air. It’s all rich and vibrant, a stark contrast from the endless sea of pearlescent white that awaited us on the previous floor.

Based on our immediate surroundings, we appear to be in a sporting arena of some sort. Marble-white grandstands rise up on all sides as though we’re in some sort of giant bowl, and directly in front of us is a stone dais, three feet tall and about a hundred in diameter. A fighting arena, I think.

In the center of the arena is another young woman. Like Elissa, she has the same flaming red locks, but her poise and demeanor couldn’t be more different. Elissa was quiet and demure, powerful, but reserved in her appearance and attitude, like she took the path of the warrior reluctantly. This woman, on the other hand, stands proud and triumphant, a smug smirk on her face and her hands on her hips. She seems eager to butt heads with anyone and everyone who so much as looks at her funny, and from the way she radiates confidence, I know that she almost always comes out the victor.

“You there,” she says in a gruff voice, pointing to me. “Fight me!”

“Why her?” Alana asks.

“And why just her?” Jasmine asks.

“This is a dueling arena,” the redhead says. “The perfect spot for warriors to test their mettle in one-on-one combat. And she reminds me of my best friend and sworn rival.”

I look at the woman, and sense the fiery spirit burning within her. She seems even more eager to fight me than before, but I don’t sense any hostility behind her challenge. I can’t discount the fact that she’s playing me somehow. Or if she herself isn’t, the Tower is. It… It actually sounds like fun, in some twisted sense, proof that I really am becoming something of a combat junkie.

“I’m afraid I just got done with a fight for my life–”

“Here,” the woman says, pulling out a small flask of a bright red liquid. “It’s Red Dragonfruit Extract. I don’t know much about the herbalism side of things myself, but it’ll restore your health and stamina.”

“Wait!” Chloe says. “What if it’s poisoned?”

“Disgusting,” the redhead says. “I would never stoop so low as poison, especially for a duel like this.” She crosses her arms. “Though, considering that the rest of you don’t look much better than she claims, then you don’t have much of a choice but to accept my generosity. You’re not going to defeat me with those battered bodies of yours.”

“Is that a threat?” Alana asks.

“No, it’s fine,” I say. “I accept those terms.”

“Sera, are you sure?”

“She’s strong. And she’s not wrong. Considering the state we’re all in after fighting Zethira, we don’t have a chance against her.”

“Be careful,” Chloe says.

I step up onto the podium and take the liquid from the woman, downing it in a single shot. Immediately, I feel my [Ether] pool regenerating wildly. All the while, the numerous aches and pains and bruised muscles and bones heal themselves. My mind sharpens, and my connection to my Skills and magic, previously tenuous thanks to being so low on [Ether], is restored to normal.

[You have consumed [Red Dragonfruit Extract]. [Health] and [Ether] both restored by 90%.]

“That’s some good stuff right there,” I say. “I’m sure there’s a few alchemists who’d pay a pretty penny to know how to make something like this.”

“I’m sure they would and have,” the redhead says. “Before we begin, though, permit me a question.”

I nod, taking a fighting stance and bringing forth my wings once more. Even though they are now always a part of me, able to be summoned and dismissed at will, I still feel a certain degree of comfort and freedom whenever they are present. Being able to dismiss them and better blend among unpowered humans has its advantages, but I still don’t like not being without them any longer than I have to.

“Why are you here?” she asks.

“We entered a magical Tower seeking strength. Each floor has brought with it new challenges, and the twentieth floor brought us here.”

The redhead’s omnipresent scowl softens, turning into a softer, genuine smile. “And for what purpose do you seek strength?”

“Monsters are ravaging our land, as are other calamities. We want to find the strength to be able to protect the people we love and care about.” I pause for a moment, ashamed. “And, I want the power to help shape the changing world. Not to rule, but–”

Shame. I feel a lot of shame at admitting as much. That, despite the persona of selflessness I wear, there’s a part of me that’s selfish. A part of me is still back there, in the time before the System arrived. A part of me who couldn’t aspire to anything. A part of me who had to scrimp and plead and beg and sometimes do without, all while so many others had such extravagance.

I remember Dr. Martinek’s words, about how she had to work twice as hard for half as much recognition, all while every little mistake she made was subject to twice as much scrutiny. All because she dared to be a woman in engineering— a woman in a field dominated by men. I don’t want to follow down that path. I don’t want to go back to being a poor, powerless girl in a world governed by people and forces outside of my control. It’s… selfish. And I feel shame for that. Shame that Chloe won’t like that part of me if she knew… Which, I guess, now she does.

The redhead smiles. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting things. Nor with wanting to change an unfair world. I think every sentient being wants the same. We’re all a little selfish. Doesn’t make us good or evil. Just makes us people. What matters in the end is what you choose to do with the strength you’re given. Or the strength you take for yourself.”

The woman grins as she cloaks her hands in golden spheres of flame. “Might I have your name?”

“Seraphina. Seraphina Mortensen,” I say, taking a fighting stance of my own.

“Serrena Raesh,” she says. “Seraphina, I would be honored to have this duel. On your ready.”

I take a deep breath. True to her, Serrena hasn’t taken any action. She’s watching me, waiting for me to make a move. And she’s powerful. I don’t think she’s as strong as Zethira in her dragon form, but definitely stronger than her humanoid form.

I sense no obvious weaknesses, and her technique and stance are impeccable. I suppose all I can do is attack her and reassess from there.

I raise my hand and fire a trio of [Ether Bullets]. Serrena sidesteps the first so quickly I hardly see her move, then incinerates the second and third with nothing but the flames in my hands.

She shakes her head. “I expected more from you, Seraphina. If that’s all you can muster, then fighting you is a waste of both our times.”

I nod, readying [Impulse] in my mind to imbue into my body and accelerate my movements. “Not at all, Serrena. I just wanted to get a feel for your strength and ability before we begin in earnest.”

“Don’t disappoint me.”

I charge forward into point-blank range with the power of [Impulse] on my side, quickening my steps as I get into Serrena’s face. She throws a plume of flame directly at me as I approach, which I dispel with an inverted [Fire] glyph, then conjure [Ice] in my hand as I throw a simple punch toward her chest.

She dodges backward, bending her waist with incredible flexibility. The instant her hands make contact with the stone floor, she kicks into a handstand, her attack aimed squarely between my legs. I levitate upward, jumping over her and evading the subsequent jet of flame out expelled from her feet.

She might only be showing a capacity for Fire abilities, but she’s damn impressive with them. From her handstand, she spins like a top, coating her entire body in flame. She then forces her legs outward, launching that gathered fire outward in a ring-shaped plume that flies across the entire battlefield in every direction in the span of a second. The others huddle up against the side of the arena to avoid getting singed themselves, while I leap up to avoid it from above.

Serrena gives me no quarter, launching herself upward with a jet of flames from her feet, powering toward me like a rocket. Despite the appearance as such, however, her flight is even more magical than physics-based in nature. I realize this the moment she loops around with another sweeping downward kick, all the while remaining perfectly aloft despite the intense downward thrust in the midst of the maneuver.

I block the attack, using an inverted [Heat] glyph to protect my hands from the intense flames now radiating off even the parts of Serrena’s body not coated in flames. An [Ice] glyph follows, trying to dispel the raging inferno around my opponent, but it’s overwhelmed and broken by the sheer force of Serrena’s attacks.

Unable to gain any sort of advantage in the air, I return to the ground, using more [Ether Bullets] to cover my approach. Serrena burns them away with nothing but the heat of her aura. I fire again, this time with [Freezing Bullets]. And they actually work to an extent, dispelling small portions of the flame. All the while, Serrena is focusing on something.

Right as I get within striking radius, the danger sense of [Archangel’s Gaze] goes ballistic. Even before I can consciously respond and react, my body is already recoiling backward at top speed. Just in time to not get ravaged by a volcanic eruption of magmatic flame summoned forth from Serrena’s own body. Fireballs begin raining down from the sky, homing in on me through the pyretic warrior’s will alone.

I dodge to the left, then to the right. I take to the air as my space on the ground is eaten away by the molten plumes, attempting to sidestep and feint my way around the incandescent spheres. For the most part, I succeed, and my Fire resistance helps me avoid taking too much damage from the attacks I fail to fully parry.

I need to counterattack. Figure out some way of beating back Serrena’s eruption. Because deep within the crimson flames, she doesn’t look the slightest bit fatigued. No, she’s having the time of her damn life, grinning and relishing the sensations of combat. And honestly, it’s causing me to feel the same. Nervous, yes, going up against a warrior. But more than that, I’m excited. Eager and full of anticipation to continue to test my mettle against such a worthy foe.

Runes and glyphs shift within my mind. Building a [Flaming Reflect] array all while dodging attacks coming at me from all sides is hardly the easiest feat I’ve ever performed since the System arrived. But it’s incredible practice.

And I realize that that’s exactly what Serrena is doing here. I can tell from how long she’s holding up this surge of volcanic energy that she’s holding back considerably. She could have beaten me quite a while ago, had she wanted. But she’s coaxing me forward, training me in her own way. She wants me to get stronger. Whether it’s for her own designs or that of the Entity that sent her to me, I don’t know. Maybe it’s both of them who share this goal, and they are working in tandem toward that mutual purpose.

As the final runes lock into place and the array is completed, I switch from defense to offense, charging directly into the raging torrents of molten flame. My barrier in place, I feel no pain, suffer no injury, and only experience a pleasant warmth. The warmth of a friend, the thrill of rising to a new, greater challenge. The unrelenting joy of turning the impossible into the accomplished, again and again and again.

I release [Flaming Reflect] right as I get within striking distance of Serrena. The pyrescent energy all around us builds and builds, only to be bounced back at the grinning woman in the form of a titanic explosion that sends me flying into the sky and my comrades rushing into the stands for cover.

The flames stop, and a whirlwind rushes in to blow away the billows of smoke that remain. Serrena is… not completely unharmed, but far from out of the fight. She looks at me with a grin that borders on the maniacal.

“You truly are something, Seraphina! But I hope you didn’t expect to put down a demigoddess that easily! Time for round two!”