I idly tapped my pencil against my desk, watching Master Hanakumi’s screen.

  The lecture wasn’t even that boring—it was on unique stats within the second and higher areas—but I had other things on my mind.

  How was I going to beat Ardenidi?

  The class ended and I slipped out.

  While the stadium itself wouldn’t open until four, there was a courtyard beside it, filled with equipment. I could train.

  Unfortunately, after all the effort I put into Sharon’s diversion, my mental energy was so drained I had trouble keeping both eyes open, much less force a perspective.

  What was I going to do?

  Either I’d have to learn a ridiculous amount of martial arts in a short period of time, or I’d have to find some gimmick I could exploit.

  That, or Ardenidi would beat me.

  Would that be so bad?

  “Grind!” Sip called, adjusting his hold on the colorful robes wrapped around his body. “Hey, what’d you do?!”

  “Pardon?” I asked.

  He tossed a letter into my hands. “Some girl from the fifth court just challenged you to a duel.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Ardendi?”

  “Didn’t you hear a thing I said,” Sip asked, rolling his eyes. “It’s a mage from the fifth court. Some girl I didn’t recognize. She’s been storming around trying to find you.”

  In order to have a duel, you usually had to make a wager.

  But, if a duel was issued against someone of lower court, the player from the lower court wouldn’t have to wager anything in return.

  Meaning, if I won, I’d get a magic staff, while if I lost, I wouldn’t have to give up anything in return.

  There was only one absolute rule. Unless a referee or teacher intervened, you could not decline.

  I turned the letter over.

  A letter.

  A physical letter trimmed with an ornate gold and velvet pattern, shimmering with a slight mental force.

  There was no doubt about it. My opponent had summoned this letter. To summon something this complicated for a duel both illustrated her power, as well as the severity of the duel, plus that she knew how to send a complex message.

  I cracked the seal and read through, noting several things.

  It was outside, in the courtyard, with a ten stat limit on power to match my own ability. Second, the girl had not included a time, which implied she wanted me to duel the moment I recovered this message.

  “Who was she?” I asked.

  “How am I supposed to know?” Sip asked, shrugging. “By the way, she’ll totally kill you. Should I call a nurse or something?”

  “Thanks for the support,” I sighed, heading out the door. Sip trailed a little ways behind occasionally plusing with mana, summoning objects and screens, before shuffling them around in his hands.

  I glanced back at him. “What are you doing?”

  “Just placing some money on the fight,” Sip chuckled. “Hey, if you’re still conscious after this ends, I’ll buy you a burger or something.” He scratched his chin with a couple fingers. “Though, with your current rates, I might not be able to afford it.”

  “My odds are that bad?” I asked. “Figures.”

  There were two kinds of people in the academy. People who wanted to get stronger, and people who just wanted to survive.

  The latter did less fighting and more gambling. It was something the Union actually supported. The ability to discern the strength of an opponent and likelihood of an outcome was invaluable. If you guessed wrong just once, you’d be dead, and that was it.

  Apparently, Sip was pretty good.

  “Why don’t you get me some fries instead?” I huffed. “If I break my jaw, I can't eat much else.”

  Once we entered the courtyard, my eyes widened in surprise.

  Harva stood in the center, on a large, flat concrete area, marked with the usual dueling ring. Her staff crackled with mana, held by only a single finger. That wasn’t even a technique, really. I think she was just showing off.

  As I moved closer, her eyes looked onto mine.

  I took a step back. “Hey.”

  “Grind, you have mocked a poor, delicate girl.” Harva declared, catching her staff and swinging it toward me. “For that, I challenge you to three hits. At your own level, of course. You may choose whichever weapon you prefer.”

  Sip whistled. “Dude. You mocked a delicate girl?”

  He started laughing.

  “Please tell me you’re not referring to Ardenidi as the ‘delicate girl,’” I groaned. “And I wasn’t mocking anyone.”

  “Everyone’s delicate in their own ways,” Harva stated. “And did you not prolong your battles in order to prove your superiority over her? Did you not toy with her, using only your weakest abilities, luring her into a false sense of victory?”

  “That’s…well that wasn’t my intention,” I grumbled. “I’m just trying to get better at sword fighting.”

  Harva glanced at Sip. “Who are you?”

  “I made a bet,” he chuckled. “Go Harva!”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “I sure hope he’s not sticking around.” She glanced at me. “Should I make him leave?”

  “Nah, he’s alright,” I said, summoning Crapshoveler into my left hand. “Ready when you are.”

  {Harva : //10 Str//}

  The ref—Gus again—stepped forward, and the fight began.

  I jumped back, cracking Crapshoveler against Harva’s sweeping attacks, then against a series of jabs. Since I’d never seen her fight before, I hadn’t realized she used the crystal end like a spear, jabbing and thrusting.

  Unlike a spear, the staff’s affinity with magic allowed it to move effortlessly through the air, sometimes flinging from her hand, only to snap back, similar to Crapshovler but with a wider range of motion.

  First ducking under her swing, I followed up with a volley of sparking blows. Despite limiting her stats to ten, she simply had more types of stats than I did, giving her roughly double my ability.

  Harva suddenly accelerated forward with a blast of wind, ramming the blunt end of her staff into my stomach. My hands went numb and I flung over the ring, crashing into a distant bush.

  {Grind}

  [(-15) 10 Hp]

  If she’d used the wrong end, that’d have punctured a lung.

  Was she trying to kill me?!

  Harva brushed off her silvery black dress. “One.”

  I groaned, grabbing the side of my head.

  The base of my skull just kept ringing. Even simple thought was becoming painful.

  Crapshoveler snapped into my hand.

  This wasn’t over.

  Her movements were fast, sure, but I could still read them.

  I could do this!

  …

  Sip chewed noisily, spilling crumbs and shredded lettuce from the sides of his mouth. Of course, in the diner’s current crowded disorderly state, nobody seemed to care.

  “She got you good!” Sip laughed.

  I slipped a fry between my swollen lips, doing my best to chew without the left side of my face.

  “I mean, a fifth court using weaponized mental energy on a Dirt?” He shook his head. “What was she thinking? She could’ve killed you! And she did it twice!”

  “Ishm fishn,” I said.

  “And then there was that blow to the jaw. How fast was that?! There’s just no way she wasn’t increasing her stats. No. Way.”

  He took another bite. Chewed. Swallowed. “I mean, you kinda deserve it though. Mocking a delicate young woman is pretty serious.”

  “Shes not fragishle,” I groaned. “I jusht wanted to ensh ours figshts in drawsh.”

  “Whatever, man,” Sip said. “I mean, she’s winning now, right? Since you’re too beat up to fight tonight?”

  “Maybshe…”

  Sip leaned forward, getting serious. “You’re not seriously thinking of fighting tonight, are you?”

  “Ish take a nap. Shen I’sh be healthshy.”

  He merely gestured to my broken arm.

  “Fishn,” I groaned. “No fishting.”

  I went home, collapsing into bed.

  No more fighting.

  That was probably Ardenidi’s plan. Since she couldn’t guarantee beating me, she had Harva fight me, hopefully wearing me down. But Harva actually beat me. Ardenidi had truly, fully won this match.

  It was for the best.

  So why was I heading toward the courts?

  I walked through the doors, catching a couple concerned looks from players around me. They might declare me to damage to fight, but if my arm wasn’t totally broken, and my lips were slowly going back to normal, so—

  A burly man clamped his hand on my shoulder.

  “What did you do to the precious Harva?” Leo hissed. “She came to study with a scar on her cheek.”

  Oh yeah. I’d gotten at least one hit on her, didn’t I? I used reach on Crapshoveler, allowing me to do a spinning kick off the ground, into a grab, into cutting down with one foot.

  “We foghtsht,” I grunted.

  Leo bristled. “Is that so? Then, on her honor, I LEO CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!”!!

  “Sho’ve gosht sho be kiddshing me. ”

  I summoned my clock.

  The courts open at five. It’s just Leo. I could take him. Even in this state.

  …

  Five hours later I was in the nurse’s office with three broken ribs and an arm doubled over backward.

  Worst of all, my face was a contorted mess of blue and purple.

  At the very least, Sip made a couple Qualms off our fight.

  “Hey we could make this a business,” Sip cackled. “I place massive bets on your defeat, and then you throw the match! I mean, it’s only illegal if you’re betting on your own outcomes! If you’ve got a financier—”

  I shot him a very pointed glare.

  “Why did you even bother?” He went on. “I mean, fighting one fifth-court was already a bad idea, but two in one day? Not to mention both of them were Coppers! Grind! You have no stats!”

  No getting around it now.

  The court fights would’ve already finished. Ardenidi was moving on the seventh court.

  I let out a sigh.

  Sip looked up. “Hey, do you hear that? It sounds like someone running—”

  Ardenidi kicked the door down, hurtling into the nurse’s office. “WHERE IS HE?!”

  The nurse shuffled forward. “Dear miss, I’m going to need you to leave, our patients are trying to rest—”

  Ardenidi shoved past her, grabbing the end of my bed. “WHY YOU LITTLE—”

  She locked eyes with Sip. “Who’re you supposed to be?”

  “Whoa, whoa,” he said, backing away slowly. “I don’t know this guy.”

  Gee thanks.

  Ardenidi huffed. “You have lousy friends. Now, WHY DIDN’T YOU FIGHT!?”

  I glanced at myself. I blinked.

  She squinted. “Sure you got hurt. But why didn’t you fight?! Now I’m a seventh court you insipid brat!”

  She won.

  And she was…angry?

  Hang on. Harva and Leo could’ve carried out their little scheme without her knowing, forcing their friend to move on to the seventh court. So—

  Ardenidi jabbed my head. “I challenge you to a duel! Tomorrow! At the seventh court! A fight to the death!”

  With that, she stormed out of the nurse’s office.

  The nurse looked up. “You...but…but you can’t challenge people to a fight to the death.”

  Welp.

  I sank deeper into my bed, trying to ignore the spiking pain all over my body.

  What was I supposed to do now?

  // {Notice} //

  Hi! Hope you enjoyed a fantasy story. But as much fun as a fantasy is, there’s things in the real world beyond what writing can fix. That’s where you come in.

  Want to fight human trafficking? Whether you’ve got money or time there are two organizations I wholly recommend.

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