"Aden, you don't have to do this to yourself… you could just yield. You don't have to do this!" the voice of a young girl was overshadowed by the shouts of the others in the dome like building.
"Aden, don't you dare lose this fight… I bet all my money on you!"
"Seems like today is my lucky day, thank the light ancestors that I bet on Stark."
There were different arenas for fighting in the building, but this particular one in the middle of the building was the only one currently in use.
In the arena a boy with blue and red coloured hair laid on the ground, occasionally grunting and spitting out blood from his mouth that now had only few teeth left.
His whole body was battered and bruised, his eyes swollen, fingers broken and random holes in his body with blood flowing out from them.
Anyone who sees him in this state will already know he is experiencing excruciating pain, yet the one who stood above him showed no sign of pity or remorse as he started creating a large earth rock, bending the floor below.
Lifting the earth rock with his powers, he slammed it on Aden's stomach with intense force, which made him pass out instantly.
"Brother!" the girl screamed.
Right after he passed out, the transparent barrier covering the arena dispersed, and the one known as Stark spat on Aden's face before leaving the arena.
At the same time, a fairy lady arrived at the arena and put her hand on Aden's head. Afterwards, his body started to glow and also started to heal.
During this time, the girl had made her way to the arena, as she patiently waited for the healer to finish her job.
After some minutes, Aden finally came to. He lifted his body up to sit on the floor stained with his blood. As he craned his stiff neck to check out his surroundings, he saw his little sister Camilla cleaning her tears with her hand as she rushed towards him.
As Camilla hugged him, the memory of everything that transpired few minutes ago flooded his head, as he came to the realization that he lost the match.
"I…I lost?"
Camilla broke the hug and looked into his double coloured eyes, blue and red and spoke;
"Aden… brother, you shouldn't be thinking about that right now. Look at the state you are in, you should be more worried about getting back in top shape for your event tomorrow."
"I lost… I really lost."
"Hah… let's just go home."
After helping Aden to his feet, Camilla stood before the fairy and bowed slightly in gratitude.
"Thank you for your help Ria."
Aden also bowed lightly from where he stood.
"It's no problem, just try to get him to stop these fights. Repeated injuries could damage him permanently."
"That is something I am very sure he won't accept, but hopefully, he would be able to fare better now that he's getting his LSS (Life Sustainer System) tomorrow."
"Well I suppose that can't be helped."
"*Cough*… you guys are speaking like I am not standing right here." Aden said.
Turning around, Camilla and Aden turned to leave the already empty building, leaving the fairy alone to clean up the mess of blood.
On their way home, Camilla started a conversation with her elder brother.
"Aden, you know that you are going to get your LSS tomorrow, so why couldn't you just refuse the duel or at least extend the date till after… you know you can't afford to not be in top shape or who knows what could happen."
Aden, as part of the human race, is one of the very few who do not have the ability to bend elements, which all other humans are able to do starting from the age of ten.
This scarce phenomenon, others referred to as a curse and the ones with that curse are often regarded as a waste of space which should rather be killed even by the other races.
For Aden though, his case was a bit different, as even without being able to bend elements to his will, he could still defeat others of his age range in duels with just his strength alone, as long as they didn't have a system.
Now, since the last five years, he didn't have any record of losing a duel, so the only thing that appeared in his mind was;
'Stark has acquired his LSS!, it's no wonder he insisted on having the duel today, he didn't want me to obtain mine because he knew that I would defeat him again, just like last time.'
"Brother! Aden!" Camilla lifted her hand to touch Aden's, as he did not give a reply to what she earlier said.
"I've defeated Stark once before, and not with much trouble either."
"So, the only thing that could have given him an edge that I can think of… is that he has obtained his LSS in the previous month, and that is against the rules of the duel since he did not state it previously. I can hold that against him, but since I will be getting my LSS tomorrow, I would keep that for some time."
Camilla sighed inwardly, as she already knew her brother to be one who doesn't accept defeat that easily, so she was happy that he decided to leave the matter till another time.
On getting home, the sun was starting to set, so it meant their parents would be returning from the guild where they worked to make ends meet.
The cross family contains five people; the father Rick Cross, who could bend the element of air, the mother, Sapphire Cross who bends the water element. Aden's brother, who seniors Aden with two years, Endric Cross bends the earth element while his little sister, whom he seniors with two years, bends the fire element. He was the only odd ball in the family.
"I'll come out when its dinner time." Aden said to Camilla before going into his room to freshen up.
***
Aden lay on his bed, as different fleeting thoughts came and went in his head.
'If I wasn't born by good parents, I am pretty sure that with my current condition, I would be living in penury right now with nothing to live on, even with my strength.'
'That Stark, once I obtain my LSS, I will make sure to whip his ass for good, and call him out for his sly ways regarding the duel; at least, even if I can't bend elements, the system will grant me some abilities for fighting.'
The races of the light force die prematurely at the age of twenty, so that is why everyone is recommended to come obtain their Life Sustainer two to three months after they age eighteen, as that is when the organs of the body start to malfunction slightly.
After obtaining the LSS at age eighteen, at age twenty, one is to attend the LSSA (Life Sustaining System Academy), where one is to go learn how to properly use the life sustainers for two years; this was where Endric, Aden's elder brother was currently.
After the two years, one could apply for the light force military, join a guild, or do other jobs to earn money.
The currency being spent was Silver, Gold and Platinum and volt. 200 silvers equals one gold, 200 gold equal one platinum while 200 platinum equals one volt.
His thoughts went back to the building where he fought Stark.
'The Bewx Battle Dojo is the only arena that allows a 'cursed human' like me to participate in fights legalized by them. Although the owner sees me as a source of more money, as people are usually interested in the fights between a cursed and a normal human and place more bets that way, the others are too worried about a cursed fighting in their Dojo due to their useless reputation.'
'I lost today's duel, so I am not getting any pay today.'
'Not like the money makes much difference any way, I just need to keep on fighting to increase my overall strength.'
Aden's parents were not rich, like some others, but they were still well to do, as his parents were adventurers in a guild. They were able to provide for their children without going through too much trouble, though they couldn't spend lavishly.
As Aden delved deeper into his world of thoughts, he heard a knock on his room door, accompanied by the voice of his little sister.
"Brother, dinner is ready, come out quickly before your food gets cold." She said and left.
They were already used to him staying in his room till dinner time, so no questions were asked.
With a low grunt, Aden got up from his bed and moved towards the dining room slowly.
As he got to the dining room, he saw that his parents and sister had already started eating, so he quickly started to eat his after a quick greeting to his parents.