They left the room without making another fuss, while Alexis greeted them with her left hand. I was still trying to process everything that was happening. "Duel." I didn't know what that was about and much less how I was going to win without knowing that it was a "duel" in Astirte. Alexis patted me on the shoulder and gestured for me to step outside of her office. She started walking down the hallway, next to me.
— Well, this is an up and down. But don't be discouraged, you will win the duel.
— Well, that doesn't help much... what is a duel supposed to be? And how do I win it? —I looked at him showing the stress that this situation was generating in me.
— A duel is a confrontation between two parties, both competing for an objective. In Hato's case it is to prevent your entry, while yours is to gain entry. —She said, crossing her arms.
—You're not supposed to be a dean or something, couldn't you just cancel the duel? —I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.
— Unfortunately, no. Duels are very important within Astirte's school culture. Canceling one is an irremediable sin. —Notice how her gaze shifted when she spoke.
— You're lying, right? —I crossed my arms.
— Yes, I just want to see what you're made of. —He let out a small laugh.
This was already starting to bother me. I was considering whether to continue with this or return to Pown. I sighed lightly and looked at the ceiling.
— Again, how can I win it?
— There are three ways to win. The first two and most obvious, defeat your opponent either by immobilizing him or leaving him unconscious. The third is to make him give up. And don't worry too much, I'll give you something to help you. For now, let's worry about getting to the epsilon arena.
[…]
We had reached the sand. This was a giant glass dome with several screens of translucent modules. Everything covered in lights with bluish and yellowish tones. A large number of stands surrounded it and several drones flew over its interior. These broadcast the interior of the dome to the screens. Alexis and I were in one of the arena's locker rooms. Alexis looked a little nervous while she was looking through several files on a computer, until she turned around and looked at me with an expression from beyond the grave.
—You will not have armor.
— huh? —I tilted my head, being confused at his statement.
— Fighters are supposed to have Tocnumtech armor, but it seems like they blocked access to all of them.
- Because it does not surprise me? —I let out a sigh. —So, what will I have for the duel? —I leaned against one of the walls of the place.
- Only this. —Alexis threw me a kind of bracelet with a cable and a sticky tip.
- What is this supposed to be? —I said, catching the device.
— A balancer. It's like the gun you made, only this one has more range and goes on the wrist. Come, let me help you put it on.
- Well. —I approached and showed me how she positioned herself.
— Well, you see these buttons. They go in the palm of your hand, the one on the left is for shooting, the one on the right is for retracting and the one in the middle is for making the tip release what it is holding. —He said pointing to each button with its respective explanation.
I simply nodded. Before she could say anything, a somewhat robotic voice began to come from a speaker.
— Duelists, please appear at the arena. If they do not do it within five minutes, they will be disqualified.
— Well, that's your signal. Stand on that circular platform and say "confirmation." Good luck, "Inventors detegunt, delusi ignorant."
I stood in the center of the platform and a light emerged from the edges of it, which began to scan me. Suddenly, a holographic cylinder surrounded me, revealing various data about my body and state. There were some letters in red that said "overweight," which bothered me since hopefully I had enough to eat. A tab appeared in front of me that said "Waiting for confirmation", without hesitation I said what Alexis taught.
— Confirmation.
The cylinder began to shake and a transparent tube emerged from the ceiling, locking me into the platform. It shot strongly in the direction of the tube, everything went dark and I could only hear the sound of the platform rising. I was going so fast that my legs were constantly losing their balance. In a matter of seconds, I appeared in the middle of the arena. The cylinder went back underground, leaving me free. The first thing I did was drop to the ground and recover from the nausea caused by the trip.
—No… they could go… to the arena… like… normal… people… —I said between gasps and retching. While she heard a voice come from the robots floating inside the place.
— Duelists, please prepare. In five minutes the second draw zone will be determined. —The robots were spinning in circles in the air.
I stood up slowly, while looking around the place. The ground was white with light blue lines and there was no type of structure around it. I could see a person standing in the distance, making some movements that they didn't know what it was. It looked like something was being equipped. I looked back at my wrist, staring at the device Alexis had given me. Suddenly, a robot stood in front of me and projected a holographic screen with my face and Hato's.
— Starting zone election draw. —He said while playing a drum roll. Suddenly, a green frame illuminated my photo. — Winner, Ersa. Please choose the area of the duel.
I didn't understand what was happening. Alexis didn't explain this to me, I put my hand on my chin and tilted my head.
—Pown?
The robot went to the highest area of the dome. From the loudspeakers in the place, they began to talk.
— Designated area, beginning dome adaptation.
Several buildings began to emerge, while the ground changed color and everything shook. A few seconds passed and the entire place became a part of Pown. He was amazed at what had happened. I approached one of the buildings and when I hit it I noticed that it was completely solid. This was unprecedented, I had never seen anything like it. Without warning, a trumpet blared followed by the phrase "Go ahead." An explosion was heard and when I realized, I had Hato in front of me. He punched me in the abdomen, which threw me a few meters back.
It had hurt a lot. I spun in the air and pointed my hand with the device at a building and fired it. When I looked back at Hato, he was approaching me. But I managed to hook the balancer and was thrown into the building. Dodging his next attack, I unhooked his grip after swinging towards one of the windows of the place. I ended up crossing it and started running all over the place, until I reached another window and jumped out of it. I wanted to get as far away as possible so I could think of a plan, but when I looked down, I saw that Hato was following me at full speed and was pointing a gun at me, which began to fire.
I hooked the rope of the device on another building and swung again, this time against a leaning building. I retracted the rope again and began to slide down the structure. Hato jumped up and started running in my direction. "That's not physically possible," I thought. Before we got close, I jumped and ran over him. I turned and fired the rope at him, but he dodged it easily. He pulled it back to fire it at another building, but Hato managed to land a blow on my back and made me miss. I rolled several meters on the ground. I could hear how everyone was shouting with excitement, it was obvious that they were applauding Hato.
(How am I supposed to win with just this?) I said looking at the balancer.
I looked up, only to see him start to fire his gun at me. I ran behind some boxes and got the balancer ready to go. At that, I noticed that their bullets were the same as those of the vanguard. In addition, about five minutes passed between each power attack. If I was right, I have about three minutes to get the win. I came out of my hiding place and ran towards him. He started shooting faster, while I used the balancer to attack him. He dodged it again, but it hit a building and I used it to propel myself. I managed to land a blow on his abdomen, unhooked the device from my wrist and fell rolling on the floor. I stood up only to receive another powerful punch, this one making me hit a wall. Surprisingly it was somewhat soft.
Some of the bullets hit me, they released their electric discharge and I fell to the ground. I was trying to get up, failing in the process. I looked up and saw Hato running over. He stood in front of me, and positioned himself to kick me in the chin. Before doing so, he feinted a few times while he laughed.
—This is what you get for making fun of my grandfather and the avant-garde, you dirty underground. —He launched the kick.
— I will continue doing it until they manage to surpass me. —I caught Hato's leg with one hand and he was surprised.
I stood up suddenly and threw him to the ground. I lunged at him and hit him twice in the chin, knocking him unconscious. I stood up and wiped my mouth with my fist, it had filled with dust. As I did so, I looked at Hato to say a few words.
—Haven't you ever thought that my clothes are non-conductive?
The robots showed a circular screen that said "Ersa won." The entire stadium was completely silent. Until some people started applauding, cheering my victory. The buildings began to flicker and fade along with the rest of the things that had been generated, revealing once again the dome that was there at the beginning. A hatch opened, from which Alexis and the Admiral entered. They were divided, with the admiral going with Hato and Alexis with me.
— Well done, I expected no less from you. So… are you going to study in Astirte? —She said while patting me on the back.
- Yes I'll do. But if you come up with another duel that I don't accept, I'll leave. —I gently hit his chest with my fist. I still didn't know his motives, but I want to believe that it's simply curiosity as to how far I can go.
—You will pay for this! The vanguard will not keep an eye on you! —The
admiral shouted, as he carried Hato towards the exit.
—I think I made two enemies. —I muttered.
- What did you say? —Alexis stopped hitting me.
— Nothing… well, let's sign those papers. —I said to change the subject.
Alexis nodded and we both walked towards the exit. But one of the robots got in front of us and started taking close-up photos. I ended up posing making a V with my fingers, while smiling. The robot walked away and let us continue on our way. This is the beginning of my story in Astirte, I waited to see what the future held for me.