?Dawn, in her room, began considering what kind of training she needed to do next. She thought to herself: What should I focus on? There are still some weapon types I need to learn, not to mention hand-to-hand combat. But if I run into another creature immune to physical damage, I won’t survive without magic. She decided she needed a better understanding of what she could do with her existing abilities. A grand mage would be the best mentor to advance her power.

  ?Her goal was clear. She pulled out her phone and clicked on an Intervention Situation. The screen instantly replaced her bedroom with the sterile, stark white of the character creation room. Phantom stretched as she looked down at the control panel. A smile crossed her face as she considered how far she had come in such a short time. She felt like she was on a winning streak and couldn't be stopped. For her avatar, she picked the simple, familiar form of the basic female human. She sighed heavily, wishing she could be the Kitsune again.

  ?She then focused on her ability. Her finger hovered over Dark Manipulation, the affinity she had as a Kitsune. Yet, her mind drifted back to the one terrifying power she had yet to fully comprehend: the black fire with draining flames that consumed life essence itself.

  ?If she could learn more about Fire Manipulation, perhaps she could recreate that lethal, draining black fire. If not, at least she could try a new ability.

  ?She selected Fire Manipulation and told Cosmo to start the simulation.

  ?

  ?Phantom's vision focused back in, the sterile white replaced by the scorching heat of an eternal desert. She found herself standing just outside a massive, ancient city made of pale, sun-bleached stone. Above the city, a giant mountain rose, dominating the skyline.

  ?"Umm, excuse me?" a female voice asked.

  ?Phantom turned to see the Summoner in front of her—a younger-looking woman in a simple, nun-like outfit.

  ?Phantom bowed before introducing herself. "I am known as Phantom. Please give me the Recall Crystal before we move on."

  ?The Summoner hesitated, gesturing to the two people standing beside her. "These two are summoned heroes as well. They were summoned right before you. Would they agree if I give you the crystal?"

  ?Phantom looked at the two Incarnates. Alice, a female hero with long blonde hair, seemed pleasant enough. "Hello," Alice spoke up first. "My name is Alice, and I'm a Beast Tamer. I have no issue with you holding onto the crystal."

  ?Phantom squinted slightly, hearing the Beast Tamer ability. It brought back bitter memories of her own worst time in the system.

  ?Then, the thin man standing next to her spoke. "Umm, my name is Isaac, and I have an issue with you holding onto the crystal. We were just summoned, so how do I know you won't be the first to die?" Isaac scratched the back of his head, but his eyes held a calculating confidence.

  ?Phantom immediately recognized the need for a decisive factor. She remembered the functions of the system. "How about a duel? Winner gets to hold onto the crystal."

  ?Isaac put his hand to his chin, his thoughts seemingly confirming her weakness. "I assume you mean a system duel, right?" Phantom just nodded. "Standard Siege Rules, I assume?" Isaac asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

  ?Phantom, not entirely sure what the "Standard Siege Rules" truly entailed beyond the goal of destruction, simply agreed.

  ?"Are we allowed to fight too, or just troops?" Isaac asked, his confidence growing.

  ?Phantom was slightly confused by the question, but replied firmly, "How else would we duel if we didn't fight?"

  ?

  ?Isaac grinned, his confidence now absolute. "Cosmo," he thought, the mental command sharp and instantaneous. "Incarnate Duel initiated. Target: Phantom."

  ?A prompt popped up in front of Phantom's eyes: Accept duel from Isaac? Phantom confirmed.

  ?The desert air around them shimmered. The city, the summoner, and Alice dissolved as a bright white light enveloped Phantom and Isaac.

  ?They reappeared in a vast, desolate, temporary realm created by the system. The ground was mostly flat, covered in hard, dark earth, with a couple of small rolling hills. With a paved pathway from one castle to the other. Each Incarnate was teleported to their proper starting spot. Isaac was sent into a castle control room on one side of the small map just out of reach of the castle's control panel. Phantom was teleported just out of reach of the control panel in the opposing castle. Phantom found herself unable to leave this small circle she was teleported to. She began looking at the control panel, reading different buttons like advance, defend, build, and several other options.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  ?Before she could read the full panel, she heard Cosmo loudly count down from three. The system's voice was loud and booming in the small map. "Three, two, one. Duel."

  ?As the duel began, two opposing armies materialized. Each side was comprised of generic, iron-clad soldiers, mindless constructs generated by Cosmo to provide the bulk of the siege attack. All the troops sat mindlessly awaiting orders from the control panel.

  ?Isaac laughed, stretching out his hands over the control panel. He tapped away like a musician; his troops immediately snapping to the commands given. They began to bolster the outer walls and set up various defenses.

  ?A ripple of brilliant, electric energy coursed through Isaac. He was a Lightning Manipulator, an elemental specialty known for its raw speed and devastating focused power. Isaac equipped his trusty bow and daggers from his stash and headed for the castle exit.

  ?At the same time, Phantom, just being released from the starting hold, immediately equipped her bow glove. She then began to take a closer look at the control panel. Not really sure what she should do, Phantom just pressed the button labeled advance. Phantom, unsure if anything even happened, started to head outside the castle. Once outside, she saw a bunch of troops moving from her castle down a path made toward the other castle. She looked up at the sky; it started rapidly turning dark, like the worst storm she had ever seen was about to begin.

  ?Isaac, just outside of his castle, just finished launching a volley of electrically charged arrows into the sky. He smiled as he thought, It's almost over now. He strapped his bow to his back and drew his two daggers. His whole body began to charge with electricity before he jolted up into the sky. All Phantom could see was a super bright ball of electricity traveling through the clouds in her direction. She quickly pulled back an attack using the bow glove and her fire ability. The glove produced a large fiery bow as the attack built intensity. She launched a fire arrow the size of a lance toward the ball of electricity. The ball quickly avoided the fire and slammed down toward Phantom.

  ?As the ball closed in, Phantom realized the ball was Isaac himself. Isaac crashed into the ground next to Phantom like a lightning strike. As he landed, he swung his lightning-charged dagger. Phantom, in a panic, managed to block the attack using her bow glove. The impact of the attack didn't hurt Phantom, but it still sent her tumbling back a few feet. Before Phantom could regain her composure, Isaac drew his bow and set loose a couple of shots. The arrows quickly found their mark.

  ?Cosmo's voice was heard next. "Winner: Isaac."

  ?Then, just as quick as they were put there, all Incarnates were teleported back beside the summoner.

  ?

  ?The Summoner, being unaware of what just happened, looked back and forth between the heroes before asking, "Well? Are you two going to duel?"

  ?Phantom shot the summoner a confused look. But before she could say anything, Isaac spoke up. "We have already handled that matter. I was victorious, please hand me the crystal." Phantom clenched her fist, feeling intensely frustrated.

  ?The Summoner looked back and forth between Phantom and Isaac, confused since they only stood there for a couple of seconds before she said anything. Then, since Phantom wasn't arguing, she handed the crystal to Isaac. Isaac, with the crystal now in his stash, asked the summoner for the details of their task.

  ?The summoner let out a small sigh before speaking. "There is an artifact that powers our city. But here recently it has started going out of control. I fear if it breaks or even worse, gets overcharged, this city will cease to exist. Is there any way you can stabilize our power source?"

  ?Isaac smiled gently. "I'm sure we can figure something out for you and your people." The Summoner gave a nod of approval and walked back toward town.

  ?As the summoner got out of range to hear them talk, Isaac began to explain. "Phantom, I saw you were confused by the summoner not knowing we had our duel. You see, the duel is made in a separate space provided by the system. The time here freezes while we duel, then obviously resumes when we finish."

  ?Isaac started to rub his chin as he thought. "Was that your first duel?" Phantom, feeling a little embarrassed by the quick defeat, just nodded her head yes. Isaac nodded, understanding why Phantom didn't know. But then he thought about the fact that she was able to deflect one of his attacks.

  ?"Phantom. What rank are you?"

  ?Phantom squinted her eyes, not sure what that had to do with anything, but curious. Phantom said, "I'm a newer Incarnate. I'm still rank F."

  ?Isaac's head whipped back a bit from surprise. "I just achieved rank C. I'm surprised you could even block an attack of mine. I figured you were at least a low Rank D."

  ?Phantom then thought back to the attack Isaac was talking about. She barely managed to get her glove up in time to take the attack. She felt like it was merely luck that she got past his initial strike. She looked at the glove equipped to her hand. The Rank A: Phantom's Arc.

  ?Isaac, noticing Phantom look at her glove, questioned, "What rank is that glove of yours? I've never seen something like that."

  ?Phantom clenched her hand a few times before answering, "It's Rank A."

  ?Isaac's face twisted into one of disbelief. "Impossible. I mean, it explains how you deflected the attack, but it should be impossible for you to get gear that much higher than your own rank."

  ?Phantom just shrugged and said, "I have someone that has been teaching me. I got it from them."

  ?Isaac laughed slightly before asking, "What rank are they, and do you mind telling me their Incarnate name?"

  ?Phantom thought for a moment, wondering if any harm could come from telling Isaac about Agent X. She thought to herself, Heck, I doubt he even knows him. Deciding no harm could come from it, she answered, "For his rank, I honestly don't know yet. I assume he is S-rank. But he goes by the name of Agent X."

  ?Isaac began to visibly sweat hearing the name Agent X. Before Isaac could go into full panic mode, he had to be sure Phantom was talking about the same monster that he had been paired with before. "What did his avatar look like?"

  ?Phantom looked slightly up at the sky, thinking about the question. "Well, once he was an elf, once he was a Komodo dragon, and then another time as an elf. So I'm not quite sure what you're asking."

  ?Isaac began to relax, just before Phantom continued. "Oh, I almost forgot—the first time I met him, he was the large obsidian demon."

  ?Isaac broke out in a cold sweat, realizing it really was the person he was thinking of. That blood thirsty maniac was training someone? But this just couldn't be. That monster actually taking on an apprentice? Isaac was confused and horrified at his recent revelation.