Finally, the time had come. Rin was in the back, sitting on a wooden bench as Trodon wrapped some cloth around her hands. Her fighting outfit, which Trodon had handed to her, consisted of a baggy white shirt, some painfully tight black shorts, and those wrappings.

So many things were running through her mind at once, that it made the pounding of her heart against her chest speed up.

[Who am I fighting? How good are they?]

[Where's Xhez going to be when the fight starts? If I end up losing badly, she's probably going to worry a lot.]

[Is it too late to go pee? Ah, this is nerve-wracking!]

Amongst it all, that last moment of the fight from before played back in front of her eyes over and over again. She wondered if she was going to end up like that, with the referee, as Trodon called him, having to pick her teeth up from the stage after it's done.

"Alright, you're set," Trodon told her. "You're going to be walking in through there," he pointed at the door. "Just wait for the referee to give you the sign and you can walk out. The rules are pretty simple. You fight until one of you submits, the referee stops the fight because it's too one-sided, or one of you can't fight anymore, be it because you're unconscious or whatever. You can't use magic, Essence, weapons, and you can't punch the guy in the balls, or in the back of the head. Outside of that, everything goes. Alright?"

"Wait, why can't I use Essence?" Rin asked.

"Because if you do, the boost in strength might mean someone accidentally dies. And, well, we don't want that, now do we?"

"O-Oh."

The confusion on her part came from the fact that the way she was trained, she was used to that being the objective. Upon thinking about it a little, she quickly realized that if she could punch holes through skeletons' heads with Essence, she could probably do the same to an actual person, and, yeah, that would cause some problems.

"Okay," Rin nodded, putting on a nervous smile. "I got it."

"Remember," Trodon told her, "I say this to every fighter because it's true. The fact that you're even stepping in there means you're half a winner already. That takes some serious courage. Best of luck to you."

"Thanks."

Just like that, Rin and Xhez were the only ones there. In the background, other fighters were busy sparring and the sounds of their punches served as a bit of background music as Rin turned toward the stage.

"Holy crap, this is stressful," she said, chuckling a little as Xhez watched.

"I believe you will do well!" Xhez said.

"Let's hope so," Rin replied. "Tell you what. If I win, we'll go eat something nice later. If I lose, then, maybe I'll just take a nap or something and sleep the shame away."

As she said that, she looked ahead and saw the referee gesturing for her to walk out.

[Well... It's time.]

Then, a pair of slightly humid arms embraced her, suddenly, as Rin was about to go.

"Good luck," Xhez said, pulling away with a smile.

[... I am so lucky I met you,] Rin thought, grinning back at her, as she nodded.

[Let's go.]

As Rin walked out onto the stage, she heard the audience clap and roar as her opponent walked out at the same time, and she laid eyes on him.

The man who walked out had dark skin and arms wrapped like hers. On his back, Rin could see a sheet of golden fur that ran down his body, and he had a pair of wolf ears on his head, along with a golden headband.

[... Okay,] Rin thought, taking a deep breath. [Doesn't look too tough, but, yeah. I still need to be careful.]

Amongst the crowd's cheers, there were also some curious looks and muffled questions that Rin could hear, as a few people gestured at her. There were many nobles seated to the right, as well, as the building in general held far more people than when Rin had arrived. She swallowed some of the saliva that had been building up in her mouth and put her hands on her hips.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer started, as Rin kept her eyes on the crowd. "Keep your eyes on our fighters right now, because these could be a pair of future stars! The upcoming match is a bout between two beginners," he said, as he introduced them.

Rin's eyes went to the right, back to the nobles' seats. She couldn't see anyone she recognized, though, after a while, she saw someone wearing a white hood over some robes of the same color.

It was hard to see from this distance, but Rin could barely make out some short brown hair falling over her shoulders.

[... Hold on,] Rin narrowed her eyes. [Is that...?]

"... Lyn Rosecaller!" The announcer declared her name and Rin's eyes snapped back to the front.

[Right. Focus.]

"Fighting from the left side, with a record of 1 win and 0 losses, this beastborn's name is Oni Fangblade!"

[Glad to know everyone has an edgy name around here,] Rin thought as the referee signaled for her to walk up.

And so, she was here. Standing in front of her opponent, she scanned his face just to see what he could be thinking. He had no emotion on his portrait, other than a slight pull of his brows, as he watched Rin without even blinking.

[You've got this,] Rin told herself, as he got into a fighting stance, and Rin did the same. [You've got this.]

"Ready?" The referee asked so quietly that Rin almost didn't hear him. Though, it might have been the audience's sounds that made it sound so low.

She nodded. Then, he asked her opponent the same question, and he nodded as well.

"Begin."

As soon as he said that, the boy charged toward Rin, much faster than she'd anticipated.

[Crap!]

She tried to jump back, but he landed a shot square on her abdomen that knocked the wind out of Rin's lungs.

"Ah-!"

As with his speed, he was also stronger than she thought he'd be. She staggered, nearly falling back as the boy went to follow up with a pair of blows to the head. However, by the time he launched them out, Rin got her bearings.

She gritted her teeth and used the momentum from being hit to spin, landing a kick on his chest that pushed him away.

He was clearly hurt by it if his pained expression was anything to go by, but the determination on his face hadn't changed. And, Rin took up the same position.

[A solid kick didn't do much damage to him,] Rin thought, taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself down. [Or, maybe I didn't put enough strength behind it.]

He charged toward her again, just as he'd done at the beginning, but now, Rin was ready. He went for a right hook onto her jaw, but Rin leaned back and dodged out of the way. Then, he continued with a left hook that Rin dodged just as quickly, and a punch aimed at her body that Rin managed to block. This small combo was followed by a series of jabs that Rin leaned out of the way of, her sunlight hair swinging from one side to another with the movement of her head.

She didn't retaliate at all, however, on purpose. As the fight started properly, Maria's lessons resurfaced in her mind, all at once.

[Measure his distance, read his patterns,] Rin told herself. [How does he fight? When is he open for a counter?]

Determined to figure this out, she didn't make a single attempt at returning fire. However, naturally, just due to the sheer volume of punches the boy was throwing out, a few of them landed.

Rin was hit across the chin with an uppercut which made the world turn white for a second, and she was punched above her left eye with a curving blow, which stung long after the hit had connected, as Rin felt something liquid rolling down her left cheek.

Still, with her teeth gritted, she kept her hands up and watched, analyzing him.

Right up until the referee said something.

"Hey, defend yourself! If you don't fight, I'll stop it!" He let her know.

"W-What?" Rin muttered.

[Oh, right. Crap. If it's too one-sided they'll just give the guy the win.]

Noting that in her mind, Rin understood she needed to figure this out fast. Or, at least, launch some punches of her own. So, she did just that.

As the boy went in and tried to land another combo, Rin stepped in as well. She threw a punch right down the middle, between his hands, and it caught him on the nose. Rin felt a crack under her knuckles when it happened, and the boy staggered back.

"Agh!" He cried out, as Rin watched.

[That was a good hit, right?] She thought, watching him continue to stumble. [I need to add to it!]

She followed up with a series of blows of her own. A few were aimed at the boy's head, others were aimed at his body. Each one found their mark, as the boy looked like he was about to fall off the stage with how far back he was stumbling.

[Wait, can't I just finish the fight right now?] She wondered. [Yeah, now's my chance!]

It was her turn to lunge forward then. Rin sprinted toward her target, just a few steps, before pulling an arm back for a haymaker.

And, as she threw it, the boy leaned out of the way, caught her by the wrist, and pulled her down to the ground, right by the edge where the crowd was.

[What!?]

As the audience roared, he then tried to put her arm between his legs, and Rin raised a brow.

"What the hell are you- OW!"

As he pulled back, she nearly felt her arm break. As the pain grew in her arm, she knew she needed to do something, and all she could think of was to pull against him. Surprisingly though, this worked to prevent her arm from snapping, and both Rin and the other fighter learned that she was physically the strongest one in this fight.

Still, he wouldn't let go of this hold he'd put her in.

[How do I...?]

With the boy trying his best to pull down, and Rin resisting that force as much as she could, she soon decided to just start punching the guy from there. She reached as far as she could, and she landed a punch on that same broken nose that made the boy's hold loosen. Keeping her arm where it was, she went for a second, third, and then a fourth punch that finally made him let go.

But he wasn't about to let Rin stand up again. Instead, as blood came down from his nose, he reached up and pulled Rin by the shirt, trying to yank her down.

"Uah!" She yelped before she pulled away.

[This guy is annoying!] She thought as she tried to pull as hard as she could. [Aren't we supposed to be punching each other? What is this?]

Both of them tried, and tried, tearing the fabric bit by bit until, finally, it broke apart.

...

There was a pause.

Rin looked down at him, he looked up at her.

The boy had a stunned look on his face and even the audience had stopped cheering.

Rin, however, capitalized on this moment of confusion by reaching in and punching him as hard as she possibly could without forcing Essence into her body.

That hit, finally, did the job as the boy fell on his back and didn't get back up.

Quickly, the referee was by his side, healing him, but not before throwing a weird, awed look at Rin.

Rin, however, didn't care. As she realized what she'd just done, she raised her fists into the air, stained with the guy's blood, and grinned.

"YES!" She yelled out, as she puffed her chest out with confidence. "I..."

When the crowd started hollering, as opposed to cheering, that was when Rin realized something was up.

It was only when she looked down at herself that she noticed it. In the struggle, her shirt and her bra had both been completely ripped apart.

And Rin's chest was bare, out in the open, for all around her to see.

"Y-Your winner," the announcer said, "Lyn Rosecaller!"

[...] Rin blinked. [Crap.] That, however, didn't make victory taste any less sweet. [Eh, whatever.] She kept her hands raised. [I did it!]