After my first three fights, next two were rather uneventful. But it was the sixth fight that went differently.
I was against a rather different student named James. He wasn't like the rest and seemed strong.
We were standing on the ring with our wooden swords in each hand but he then tossed his to the side and got in a boxing stance. We can do that?! I looked around for any sort of indication on whether this was okay or not and no one reacted. I guess...
Fighting with a sword might not be best idea and so, I tossed mine away too. I had learned a bit of martial arts but again, most was self-defense and I can't really win this fight.
As the fight began, James moved rather swiftly. I was able to dodge almost all his punches and kicks or block them but I just could not get an attack in.
He kicked me in the stomach making me fall onto the ground. I think this is where I lose. I slowly got up and looked around for a way to defeat him. Sword to the ankles would work. I started running in a general direction with a goal in mind. I have to get kicked or punched again onto the sword and when I'm about to get up, I'd hit him with the sword to his ankle. That should end the fight but I might fail the test. This seems rather... unethical?
As I kept pretending to be trying to dodge his attacks, I would let him hit once in a while so he would think he has a chance. And as expected, one of the swords was right behind me with him being oblivious to my intentions. He was one of those who didn't rely on magic as much but even then, he wasn't as strong as some boxers from my world or else, he could've one shot me.
Finally, he punched me and I acted like it hurt to much and I kneeled onto the ground.
"Give up." He said while panting as well.
I didn't move for a couple seconds to make sure the sword was in the right place. He turned around and called for the referee but just then, I smacked his ankle with the sword as hard as I could making him fall over.
"I tend to play dirty as someone without magic." I stood up and sighed before smacking him again in the head with the wider side of the sword snapping it in two.
"Stop!" Referee jumped in and announced me the winner. Apparently people weren't exactly against what I did for some reason. It confused me because I had expected that they'd be boo-ing me or something.
I was with my friends in the cafeteria as usual after the fight. While enjoying our drinks, I was told by a guard that James had sprained his ankle but it wasn't something healing magic couldn't heal.
"You really outdid yourself with this one!" Luke pulled in a side-hug.
"Huh?! Why are you not punching him!" Elena cried out. "That time, you KICKED me!"
"O-oh? Because..." I squinted my eyes while thinking of an answer but Amelia took over the conversation instead.
"I didn't expect you to make a strategy on the ring. It was your smartness plus luck. If he hadn't thought you were unable to move, he wouldn't have turned around to call for referee." Amelia said.
"James is pretty good and he would've seem right through you." Luke added in.
"And for that, I allowed him to land a few punches. Throughout the fight I let him hit me because we both lacked raw power to knock each other out. But also, I thought people would hate me for this cowardly trick."
"Not really. This tournament sees your pure understanding of fighting. Using deceit is an important aspect of a battle. What matters is that you win. How you win is irrelevant." Layla said.
"I'm glad you don't have magic or else you would've easily become the strongest student." Luke chuckled. "So, one more fight and then we will face off against each other." He continued.
"I doubt. I might lose in next fight."
"No. You're going to hold an important position as guardian of miss Ahankar. You would have quite a lot of control over dominion of Wisdom. You would be in the eyes of the entire world so best you prove yourself worthy." Elena said.
"Right. If even Lord Moh recommended meeting up with Lady Furrina, then, I can't even imagine how important you'd become politically speaking." Amelia added in.
"Just two more days before I embark on my journey to dominion of fire... or well dominion of pride. I think that sounds better. So, how's that different from this dominion?" I asked.
"Dominion of pride is a culturally rich dominion. Each dominion have their own thing. Like dominion of wisdom is known for its academy but also its innovation and inventions. Just like that, dominion of pride is known for art of different forms. People take pride in what they create so a lot of cuisines either originate from there or end up being improved there. A lot of people move to the dominion to learn about art and become artists. But just like every dominion, there is a dark side to it. It segregates the classes too much that you don't even see peasants in the same city as nobility. Such is not the case with other dominions. As you know, pride is also a form of sin. Pride in the people of dominion of fire can blur the line between reality and ideals. The dominion currently has six kingdoms under it and all six are beautiful. Architecture is impeccable." Layla said. As expected of a bookworm. You can always rely on her when it comes to information about anything.
"Since you're not taking us with you, I'd recommend not causing any troubles. They take their pride VERY seriously and if they feel like their pride has been injured, it doesn't take long before you end up in prison." Amelia warned me.
"Maybe we should just go with him." Elena suggested.
"A-AH! No! That wouldn't be necessary. All of you are rather important figures in kingdom of Deem. I can't possibly take you with me to a different dominions." I honestly don't want to spend any more time with them than necessary. It is not like I dislike them or anything but apart from some personal preferences, I feel like if either Elena or Amelia were to accompany me on my journey, it would become an irreplaceable memory for me and I could even fall for them. That simply can not happen due to multitude of reasons. First, I'm afraid of women. Second, I will be taking over the dominion of wisdom and having some power in dominion of wind might make me politically too powerful and third, monsters invading nations is still a big issue that needs addressing.
...
Our hangout ended and I was on my way back to dorms all alone when someone pulled me into the bushes. It was Elena.
"Why do you keep avoiding us?" She asked with a rather determinant expression. She was not going to take excuses.
"We haven't known each other for long, that's why. I don't want to impose on you." I answered. It wasn't exactly a lie.
"But even when we ask to help you, you refuse one way or the other. It's not like we became friends yesterday. We have known each other for over a month but in that time, we have spend almost entire school days together. I think we are close enough. That's not how it works. You can't keep pushing us away expecting us to 'understand' your situation. All you do is say 'it's something from past' and avoid any sort of conversation. I don't even know why you kicked me away. I don't care as much about kicking part but... but you seemed scared... I don't know what you were scared of. Of me? Of... who exactly?" She was about to break into tears but doing her best to hold them back.
Elena started off as someone who tried bullying me because she thought I was lying about my achievements in Kingdom of Scofinia and quickly we started hanging out on daily basis and I even went to her place and helped her mother with an illness. My thoughts about her aren't exactly sane either. My past trauma has made me into this... disgusting mess. My innermost thoughts about her were so stomach-churning that I could never say them out loud. I hated myself for even thinking that way. It's not like I hated her or wanted things to be this way. If I say things out loud, I might end up getting slapped.
"Come with me." I took her to my room and locked the door. I didn't want other eavesdropping.
"You see, in my past life, my parents were rather busy people so, I had a nanny. She was hired by my parents on someone's recommendation but I was... what... six? Feels like a fever dream. But the first moment two of us were alone in my house, things took a dark turn instantly. She used to bring over all sorts of men and quite a lot of them would even hit me for pure enjoyment. They would have sex right in front of me but because my parents were almost never home... they didn't know at the time. But one night, she seemed particularly frustrated. To cut the long story short, I was forced by her into doing certain things. It went on for a while before I told a relative. It became a big deal and... my dad didn't like how much negative attention he was getting. He was labelled as a bad parent by media and so like any sane parent, he threatened to kill me so I would never speak of it again to anyone. To my parents, reputation mattered more. At least she was fired but that was the end of it. So when you fell onto me the other day, it reminded me of those days." I answered honestly. It was something I think I've become desensitized to. I wasn't exactly angry or sad but I felt nothing.
Elena didn't know what to make of the trauma dump but in my defense she asked for it. If I were to say... honestly I wanted Elena to do the same to me. These feelings I couldn't tell anyone. It felt predictable and consistent. If she had forced herself onto me, I would've submitted. But its so repulsive to even think of her in that light. These intrusive thoughts kept me up at nights and almost made me want to end my life. I'm just not sane. I'm just a piece of shit for even thinking this way... I'm abhorrent. The more I thought of my past the more I didn't want to live but if I don't say things out loud, I can turn things around and live a more fulfilling life here. I do have great friends and support system here. With time... I can be fixed.