“Dorian are you okay?!” The instructor shouted as several employees who gathered earlier made space for the two. “Yeah, I’m fine, but damn I thought you said to take it easy. This brat is insane.” Dorian whispered angrily as someone helped him up.

Some members within the crowd raised their voices at me. Things such as; this was meant to be a sparring match and that I was being out of line, taking it too far.

“One for one. Let’s finish this, kid.” The muttering went silent, Dorian was back inside the ring ready for the final round.

I acknowledged by entering a fighting stance as I wondered if my last punch would have connected if not for Eris’s interference. The chances of failure were high, but that slim hope still existed. He won’t let me close the gap this time. I’ve got no choice but to win or I won’t be able to prove that martial arts had a place in this world.

He had to be thinking, ‘this brat must have some kind of mana nullifying attack. He’s looking down on me, I’ll force you to use your magic!’ Dorian knew his mana formations were perfect and no way he’d mess up such a simple routine spell.

Not a glimmer of hope in sight for my magic to be summoned. Could it be, it won’t resurface unless I’m about to die? What kind of crap is that and even if it’s unleashed, I have no control, indiscriminately killing everyone within my vicinity? At least I knew how to practice and learn to use my magic. A smile appeared on my face as I laughed inside thinking about it.

Eris please don’t disappear on me. You’re my only chance at winning this match. It was as if she could hear my thoughts as Dorian went all out this time engulfing the ring in his destruction. All the attacks that touched me evaporated into a discharge of mana. I adjusted my fighting to include this new feature. I threw punches and kicks at every blue orb in my path. I was having fun cheating, for the first time in a fight.

It all ended with a flashy flying kick to his chest, resulting in the same outcome as before. “No magic and only martial arts, this kid must be making fun of us! Amazing! He cheated somehow, show him his place!” Varied opinions yelled forth from the crowd. I was slightly worried about the last comment. Did they figure it out? I tensed up before realizing the person who said it was merely spouting nonsense stemming from anger.

“Sir, this is a sparring match for improving one’s magic not-” The guide was cut off when Dorian shouted furiously. “That wasn’t your magic, you played me! Your damned slave was nullifying my magic the whole time!”

“But, why would he need her to use magic for him? The guide questioned Dorian.

“That’s what I want to know!” Dorian tried to approach me but was stopped by Eris who got in front, ready to protect me from any harm. I placed my hand on her shoulder letting her know it was okay.

“I wanted to show that martial arts mixed with magic would improve a person’s fighting capabilities. Learning both at the same time can be beneficial and I can teach anyone that is interested.” I tried my best to get my point across hoping to grasp the slim chance things could still turn out well. My next sentence threw everyone off. “I don’t know how to use magic.”

The audience clamored in shock, they never knew of anyone without magic. The stories they heard of those with no magic were horrible stereotypes. I knew this and still willingly told the truth.

The reason I had no peace in my life was because of the history of our world. It was said to be a bad omen or impending doom for any who interacted with a no-mage. Some even thought they would lose their own magic through mere association with one. It affected only me so why would anyone else care. They will all follow traditions and the way of society, over logic and reality.

I sighed as they all concluded I had no magic, while I clearly said I did not know how to use magic. I had to mess up something so simple. Would it have made a difference to begin with?

Hateful words were tossed around, but many stayed their distance waiting for the employees to throw us out. I was used to this treatment, not sure why I thought it would be any different this time around. We were forced to leave and even lost the two-gold used as collateral. Getting thrown out is one thing, but I felt several pairs of eyes following us out. I looked at Eris, she also seemed to notice the suspicious gazes.

“Thank you, Eris. Not just for earlier, but also for before at the arena. Why did you end up helping me...? No, it’s okay don’t answer that, let’s get out of here.” Eris remained quiet as if in thought about how to answer. The last thing I wanted was to be pitied by a former slave, scared my trust would cause me pain once again.