BENEDICT LÈ BONDEREE
I cursed loudly in my head as I watched this lowly human defy me. Did he not know of my status as a high-ranking noble, or was it that he simply didn't care? As I watched him from across the school yard, I couldn't help but feel irritated by the mere sight of his face.
Quickly, with a snap of my finger, I addressed my underlings to follow behind me as I approached this ungrateful human. "Uh, uhm, my lord, are you sure about this? That guy is not nor—", one of them stuttered out with a nervous and frightened tone to his voice.
"Do you doubt my judgment?" I asked him, as I quickly grabbed ahold of his neck. "No...never," he muttered beneath his breath. Like the lowly pig he was.
EINAR STONBROL
Oddly, as they approached me, I noticed discord among Benedict and his cohorts. Perhaps it was inner conflict of some sort. The three had finally arrived and stood before me, making themselves appear more intense and intimidating. However, I was unfazed in the slightest. After all, noble or not, I viewed Benedict as an insect not worth my time.
"Einar Stonbrol," he said with confidence beaming from his tone. After taking a huge breath, he pointed his finger at me and continued, "I, Benedict Lè Bonderee, hereby challenge you to a duel!"
Oddly, everyone in the yard at the time had drawn their attention towards us. I suppose duels at this school were a big deal. As I looked around, I noticed the mass of eyes staring anxiously at me, awaiting my response. Unknowingly, I gave off a wry, trembling smile. "Sure, why not?" I agreed to his challenge.
The duel was scheduled to happen after the school day was over.
Later that day, the stage was set. We were to duel in the school's training arena, which to my surprise was surrounded by hordes of students.
"How did you get yourself into a fight on your first day?" Zuria scolded me, with a look of disappointment on her face.
"It just kinda happened," I said, as I laughed awkwardly. But she was unmoved, somehow looking even more disappointed than before, but this time with a tint of anger in her expression.
"Don't worry about me, it'll be over quick," I said, while giving a confident smile and wave to the crowd.
"It's not you I'm worried about...please try to hold back."
"Yeah, yeah, I will."
As I walked onto the ring, I questioned myself. 'What could his motives be? Is he picking a fight out of pure spite?'
We stood opposite each other as the referee gave us the rules of the duel:
- No excessive force which may result in permanent damage or death.
- All forms of magic and physical combat are allowed, as long as they reside within the first rule.
- And finally, the match comes to an end when someone falls to the ground.
- A fighter is eliminated if they step foot out of the ring.
Some basic and simple-to-understand rules.
As soon as the whistle rang, officially starting the battle, Benedict attacked with a whip of flames that he manipulated with his mana. It was pretty easy to dodge and avoid because of its two-meter range. I moved carefully, making sure I was not coming out of the ring. Side to side, left to right, he swung his weapon with no aim or control, merely attacking blindly, hoping to strike his opponent.
As soon as I saw an opening, I quickly moved in. Using mana to cover my body and increase my strength, I rushed in and landed a fatal blow to his lower abdomen.
"Cough...cough..." he moved back, grabbing his stomach in pain, barely able to stand straight.
"Why you," he grunted, irritated by his own flaw. He then charged at me, screaming, trying to best me in physical combat.
"Sloppy, slow, and predictable," I advised him, as I dodged and blocked his punches and kicks with ease. His movements were like those of a child. He fought as though he was playing with a group of friends.
After dodging his tenth punch, I moved under him and flipped him over, pinning him to the ground. The expression on his face was filled with confusion and irritation.
I stood up over him, and as I looked down onto his body laying on the floor, my impression of him had not changed. Nothing but an insect not worth crushing.
"Winner, Einar Stonbrol, the human!" The referee announced, as I casually walked back to the sidelines where Zuria was waiting for me.
"Told you it'll be over in a second," I said to her, trying to appear cool and nonchalant.
"Whatever, I just hope you didn't hurt him too bad," she sympathized with Benedict.
"I didn't even use magic spells, if that's not holding back, who knows what is?"
"You know that physical attacks can be just as painful as magical ones."
As we had our conversation, I felt an unknown surge of mana coming from behind me. It was as though a tap had been left running, and the mana was pouring out as casually as water.
"Einar, look out!", Zuria exclaimed, moving me out of the way.
No sooner had a gigantic fireball passed where we just stood and destroyed the ground around it.
"Thank you, Zuria," I thanked her, as I helped her to her feet.
"Yeah, sure...but what's happening to Benedict?" she asked, getting to her feet.
I turned my gaze towards Benedict, who had now mutated somehow. His appearance was somewhat the same, however, his elf-blue eyes had turned pitch black, and an odd black liquid came running from them, as though they were tears of black blood.
He began to laugh, as horrendous dark veins began popping out on his body.
"Not so tough now, are we?" he muttered, as he laughed even more.
With a sudden scream, he released even more amounts of mana. He chuckled, as everyone in the arena ran out in fear.
"You thought you could embarrass me!", he cried out, as he held his chest, squeezing himself.
With a single swing of his hand, he raised four fires from the earth, which surrounded him, making a square shape.
"So, after four rings of fire circled around him..."
"Well, Einar Stonbrol... I, Benedict Lè Bonderee... hereby challenge you... to a duel!"