Walking through the dark tunnel worried him, so he kept his hand on the wall and stayed on high alert. Unlike before, he didn't have a light to lead the way, so he was walking mindlessly; he didn't know how far he went or how long he was walking.
His wounds were healing nicely, although he still felt a bit dizzy and tired; he had lost quite a bit of blood. He couldn't let himself keep getting hurt like that if he wanted to pass.
What felt like a few minutes passed with him walking into this dark tunnel; he turned back around only to see more darkness from both sides. He shook his head and kept walking. Luckily, he regained some of his Chi during this long walk.
He heard some screaming and the sound of lightning? He began sprinting to check it out but failed to notice that the ground ahead had a hole open up. He tried to grab the ledge, but the rock was too smooth, and his fingers easily slipped.
The fall wasn't too bad, as he landed on his feet before falling back on his butt. What he hadn't been expecting was two people to be fighting. The man with golden hair from before, his clothes hadn't survived the confrontation as they had cuts and holes everywhere. The female across from him wore a sundress with leather armor covering her body; parts of the clothes appeared burnt and had holes. She had long crimson hair tied in a ponytail and vibrant red eyes.
The two stopped fighting and looked at Charlotte; she had fire dancing in her fingertips. At the same time, the guy had sparks emanating from his body. Charlotte jumped to his feet and gazed between the two; if he didn't think it was unfair before, he did now. How could they know what elements they were blessed with? Was there a way to find out?
The two shared a glance and seemed to come to an understanding. The woman threw a small fireball at Charlotte while the guy pointed his finger at him and fired a lightning bolt. Charlotte dashed towards the guy as he ducked under the bolt of lightning. He had expected the fireball and lightning to follow him, but they didn't.
He went for a blow to the guy; the lightning sparks around him seemed more than just decorative. When they touched his body, it made him tense up and stopped his attack, and the guy kicked him away.
The girl had created a ball of fire and fired it toward Charlotte before it curved and exploded in front of the guy. He had managed to jump back and escape relatively unharmed, although now he had burn marks on his skin, and his clothes looked even worse for wear.
"Damn, it's like that, and here I thought we had teamed up."
His voice was strangely friendly despite the glare and the smirk he had on his face. The sparks disappeared as he began healing the damage he had received.
"In your dreams, you thin-'
The two seemed so caught up in their conversation that they had forgotten Charlotte; he used this chance to spread Chi into his arms and legs for a quick attack. He ran towards the woman, punched her across the face, and launched her away. Recalling his Chi as soon as he hit her.
The guy started laughing, and Charlotte turned towards him, raising his fists and moving his eyes between the two.
"How about teaming up with me?"
He said with a smirk still on his face. Charlotte didn't respond as the woman got up and glared at them.
"No thanks, I can't trust a snake."
It was her turn to smile and laugh as fire covered her fists.
"Seems the riffraff is good for something; let's see who wins."
Charlotte's wounds had healed enough, and his experience with the wolf had taught him one thing. The flames from this girl wouldn't affect him if the fire of the wolf had barely done damage, so his focus should be on the guy.
The three were in a deadlock as they waited for the other to act; neither wanted to act first. Charlotte didn't want to move first; unlike the other two, he only had his fists to fight with.
The guy moved first as sparks danced in his palm. Charlotte ran towards him, and the female ran at him. The guy fired a lightning bolt at the girl to slow her down as he focused on Charlotte.
Charlotte covered his head and hands in Chi; his senses heightened to their extreme. The guy channeled lightning around his arms; as soon as Charlotte went for a punch, his wrist was caught, and sparks ran through his body and made him tense up and stop in place. A fist collided with his face, and sparks ran through his body as he struggled to move. His punch hurt but didn't do much damage as he focused on speed instead of power.
A stake of fire hit his arm and made him let go of Charlotte; as soon as it happened, Charlotte moved and struck him in the chest. The smile dropped from his face as he got pushed back, and his hand moved to his chest. Charlotte heard something crack or break; either way, his ribs wouldn't heal quickly enough.
The woman threw a small ball of fire at him and ran past him as she punched Charlotte in the ribs and chin. Charlotte flinched as a mark of a fist was left on his ribs and chin. He swung wildly to her face; she ducked and kicked him in the gut.
She got hit on the back by a lightning bolt, which made her freeze in place as she groaned in pain; Charlotte took this chance to punch her in the face and toss her at him.
He didn't even try to catch her as he moved back to gain distance, and she rolled to her feet. The three once more stayed still and prepared as they exchanged glances.
He had one advantage over them: the damage he was receiving was healing, unlike the other two, who had to use Chi to heal. He couldn't tell exactly, but his instincts told him the other two were losing a lot of Chi quickly with each attack.
It was his turn to smile; this deadlock was good for him. He just had to avoid them teaming up on him.