“Hello and welcome to our special event for today!” Jacked announced to ten people.

The Mayor clapped from his customized lawn chair. Next to him was his wife, biting her nails. His bodyguard , the chief of the town’s guards, stood behind him with an unamused expression.

“Today, we will watch a friendly magic duel between my student and Archmage Nox’s, the Mayor’s son, Cletus!” He screamed into his imaginary megaphones. His voice was loud as it is, he didn’t need one.

“That’s my son! Hohoho,” he cheered.

“I don’t think I can watch my boy get hurt, dear,” his wife cried and ran away. One of the maids chased after her.

“Women, am I right? Hohoho,” the Mayor joked to his bodyguard.

“Haha, good one, sir,” his voice was as expressionless as his face.

There were six people left who were watching. Amiha, Jacked, the Mayor and his bodyguard, a maid, and Nox. Amihan stood near Dumog’s corner of the makeshift ring. A square outline marked with white paint on the ground. It was behind the Mayor’s mansion and it served as the training grounds of the Town Guard.

“Both fighters to their corners, we will start in a few minutes,” Jacked walked to Dumog who sat on a wooden stool. “You good? Don’t you dare throw up your breakfast. It was nice of Sinta to cook something special for your match,” he placed a bucket in front of him, which only encouraged his stomach to turn even more.

“Don’t you think it’s too soon for me to participate in a magic duel? I don’t even know a single spell yet!” Dumog panted.

“Are you really that scared to fight a six year old?” Amihan asked, arms crossed.

“Oh, you’re going to be fine. Nox told me he only knows one or two spells, and none of them are lethal,” Jacked wiped his face. “But wear this just in case,” he handed him a black mouthguard that automatically forms around the wearer’s teeth. “I don’t want to pay to get your teeth fixed. Do you even have an idea how much I’ve paid for mine over the years?”

“Look at him, he looks like he wants to kill me,” wearing the mouthguard gave him a muffled lisp.

The three looked over to Cletus and Nox. He stared at Dumog, unblinking, as if he was looking at a horrible accident. The whites of his knuckles showed on his small hands balled into a tight fist. Nox sat next to him explaining some things, but he didn’t listen to a word she said.

“Yeah, that boy has some issues,” Jacked agreed.

“Maybe you’re just that ugly. You have a punchable face,” Amihan added.

“You should stop hanging out with Nox. You were cooler when you didn’t speak.”

“Enough, let’s talk battle plan,” Jacked squatted in front of him. “Whatever he throws at you, just don’t get hit by it.”

“You don’t have a plan for me, do you?” his shoulders slumped. “I’m going to get my ass beat.”

“By a six year old,” Amihan added again.

“True, I don’t have a plan. But whatever I said is probably better than what you plan to do,” Jacked put a hand on his shoulder. “What have we been doing these past few weeks?”

“Doing jobs that normal people don’t want to do?” He guessed.

“Wrong.”

“Doing illegal jobs?”

“Training, you dumbfuck! Just believe in the training and effort you put in. Believe in the training program and methods that I have made for you. Believe in my guidance.”

“I still don’t understand how that would help me now.”

“You can do it, I’ve watched you kill a child before,” Amihan tried to encourage him.

“That doesn’t help at all.”

“Fine, how about this, I’ll take 200 off your debt if you win,” Jacked sighed.

“Deal!” Dumog’s mood changed and he walked to the middle of the ring.

“Huh, maybe Nox was right. Maybe money is everything,” he scratched his bald head.

The students and their teachers met at the middle of the ring. Marked with a painted white line, separating it to two halves. Cletus stared at Dumog the entire duration of his walk. He wore a simple shirt and khaki shorts suitable for physical activities. Once they were face to face, he gave Dumog a smirk. His reply to that was to smile back, the mouthguard made it look like he had no teeth.

“Alright, I want a clean and fair fight. No going outside the ring and calling for timeouts. Utilize everything that you have learned from your master. This is a friendly match to test each other, no taking it personal, whatever the results of the match. Remember, this is a learning experience,” Jacked explained to them.

“This duel ends if one of you concedes, if we deem someone’s life is in danger, or if someone is knocked unconscious. Do not worry, we will stop the match before anyone gets hurt too bad,” Nox said.

“Are the rules and win conditions clear?”

They both nod their head.

“Okay, step back a few paces.”

Dumog felt like he was in a boxing match. That thought embarrassed him when he remembered that he was against a child. He laughed at himself at being scared of Cletus a few moments ago. Looking at him now, he was half his size. Thoughts of going easy on the kid crossed his mind, surely this would be a free 200 Gold for him.

“Start,” Jacked struck a small bell.

He wasn’t sure how to approach the kid. Does he go straight at him and tackle him to the ground? It seemed too mean for him. Bullying a kid in front of his father, the Mayor, wasn’t a nice image for him. Thinking about it some more, there wasn’t anything he could do. Being in a match against him was already embarrassing enough.

While Dumog was battling himself in his mind, Cletus prepared and took a stance. Planting his feet and stabilizing his whole body, he raised his right arm and pointed at him with his index finger. His left hand supported his right from under it, cupping it. It looked like he was holding and aiming with a pistol.

The tip of his pointer finger progressively glowed brighter, a faint light blue. Dumog noticed it too late. Cletus shot a Mana Dart from his index finger. A loud pop echoed when he released it.

It hit his left shoulder and nearly made him fall. The Mana Dart was the size of a marble and it was as strong as a regular man’s punch. So it still hurts a lot. This stunned Dumog, he had to process what had happened.

After taking it in and remembering the amount of pain the shot dealt, he was ready to make his own move. He didn’t need to remember how it felt as another shot came one step in. This time it hit his stomach. Dumog tried his best not to lose his breakfast when he lurched forward.

Cletus, satisfied with his test shots, amped up the rate of fire and pelted him with Mana Darts. Dumog danced and flailed his arms around trying to avoid as many shots as he could. The shots stopped, he had to conserve and regenerate more Mana.

“Don’t just stand there! Remember your damn training, Run!” Jacked screamed from his corner. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was frustrated, he jumped up and down as he yelled.

Dumog ran forward with his arms covering his head. He ran towards Cletus in the hopes of him reaching him and being in range to wrestle him down. But that made him an easier target. Cletus responded with rapid-fire hits while taking steps back, stopping him and making the advance useless.

“Not like that!” Jacked wanted to pull out nonexistent hair.

He changed directions and circled around Cletus. They weren’t hitting as much now but it still hurt. He’d be covered in bruises the next day. One of the Mana Darts hit him in the groin. Dumog wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose, but he did laugh at him when it happened.

“Foul!” Jacked screamed.

“Overruled,” Nox replied.

Running around in circles wasn’t going to earn him 200 Gold. He still needed to make him surrender. And he’d need to get close to do that.

“Damn criminal. Go down already,” he heard Cletus say.

He wondered if he knew that they were the ones that cut the Thousand Year Tree down. Maybe he heard it from Nox or his father.

In an effort to get closer, Dumog tried to make the circle he was running in smaller. Now a few strides away, he risked getting hit with a few direct hits to tackle him. He kept his face down while he charged at the kid. Getting hit on the forehead didn’t hurt as much as anywhere else on the face. If he were to get hit on the jaw or chin, then it would be over.

A boy’s legs couldn’t keep up with the strides of an adult. Managing his mana and retreating backwards was an effort for Cletus. But he made sure that he didn’t deplete all of his resources.

Dumog, finally in range for his tackle, wrapped his arms in front of him. He attempted and failed. Grabbing air, he fell to the ground ass up to the sky. Cletus was behind him.

Cletus used his second and last spell, a small dash forward. Dash was an intermediate skill that most practitioners didn’t bother to learn, opting for something more powerful or related to their desired path.

No path in mind and considering his body, he decided it was best for him to have a spell that got him away from people instantly. Nox was skeptical at first when he requested her to teach him, but she did so anyway when he offered money. She had to learn it herself first before she could properly teach it.

Before the match began, he had decided that he would always leave three Dashes worth of mana aside. Though, Cletus was getting annoyed and impatient about Dumog not losing yet. Opportunity was in front of him, he shot him at the back of his head two times while he was down. He still stood up after that.

The Mayor applauded his son’s talent and Dumog’s tenacity. Meanwhile Jacked was still yelling, pissed at Dumog’s performance.

After the third shot, Cletus had to stop and move away to restore his mana. Dumog just stood there. Nox was about to intervene and stop the fight when she saw him. Despite their constant banter, she didn’t want Jacked’s student to get brain damage. She stopped herself when she saw him move again.

Dumog now knew all of his tricks. The whole fight had become a battle of attrition. Dumog’s endurance versus Cletus’ mana. The first one to deplete their resources would lose. It wasn’t a duel to test their skill anymore.

Cletus fired once again and Dumog ran. The shots were hitting its mark, but he ignored the pain. There was no point for him to think and plan anymore, he charged straight at the kid, letting his body do its own thing.

Much like earlier, once Dumog went for the tackle, Cletus Dashed away and shot him at the back of his head. This time he didn’t fall on the ground.

Through instinct he knew that he would use Dash to get past him. Doing a 180 degree turn, Dumog pounced.

“Got you!” He said.

He didn’t, Cletus didn’t have enough time to run away so he Dashed again. Dumog assumed that it had a cooldown, but it didn't.

One dash left and Dumog on the ground, he had a choice to stand back and gather more Mana, or wait for him to stand up and get a clean shot at his face. The Mana and power he was putting into his Mana Dart up to that point was a specific amount. It wasn’t the strongest he could do. But increasing the Mana output on a single shot now meant that he would need to tap into the reserves for his third Dash. Dumog stood up again.

It was the same size as the previous shots he fired. But this one was bright, denser, and faster than all of them. The recoil of it almost knocked him off his feet and a burning sensation lingered on his finger.

Dumog ducked while he had his back turned. It passed by the top of his head and hit the mansion, piercing a hole. The move wasn’t premeditated, it was simply a natural reaction of his own body.

He was a physical learner. Developed through the years of the style of parenting he grew up with. If he did something wrong, he would get hit. A few hits and he would learn to not repeat the mistake.

Out of Mana, Cletus turned and ran away in the hopes that he would regenerate more before Dumog caught up to him. He could hear his manic breathing and heavy steps getting louder from behind.

“You have no Mana, bitch!” Dumog said as he chased the six year old boy.

He hugged and lifted him from behind. Jacked got what he was asking for, he applied the training. Dumog squeezed the boy like he would the red balloon, his arms wrapped around his torso. Cletus puked and heaved for air. He tried to surrender, but it was impossible for him to speak under Dumog’s grip.

“Stop!” Nox ran to the two.

Several cracking sounds came from Cletus, audible because of the silent backyard. Dumog only stopped when Nox struck him on the head. He won.

“Don’t you dare say this to anyone okay? I know where you work and where you live,” Jacked threatened the maid.

The Mayor and his bodyguard laid unconscious behind them. Amihan and Jacked went over to them before they could hear Cletus’ bones breaking. Jacked hit the Mayor’s neck, knocking him out. And before his bodyguard could see it happening, Amihan swung at his jaw.

They went to the ring and picked Dumog off the ground.

“Didn’t expect him to actually kill another child,” Amihan commented.

“Hey Nox, do me a solid, will you? Tell them they had a heat stroke or something,” Jacked smiled.

“Ugh, just go already. And I’m sending you a fucking bill for this,” she checked Cletus’ pulse. “He’s not dead, go!”

The two ran off with Dumog on their shoulders. Nox stood up and looked at the damage. Two nobles and the Chief of the Guards on the ground. She took a drag from her pipe.

“I am not being paid enough for this shit,” she sighed. “Bring me a stretcher,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.”

***

Cletus woke up in his room, his chest wrapped up and it hurt to breathe. It was the next day, the morning sun came in through the big window. One of the maids sat on a chair next to him.

“Young Master! Congratulations, you won your first duel. And against an adult no less. I heard you were amazing,” she was far too energetic for him in the morning.

He wished that it was Nox that greeted him instead. And he doesn’t remember winning. Reliving the fight in his head ruined his morning even more.

“I can’t believe I lost to that snitch,” he whispered to himself.

“What was that, Young Master?” She smiled at him like he was a kid. Which, to be fair, he was.

“Nothing.”

“Okay, sit tight and relax, okay? I’m going to report that you’re awake to the Archmage,” she patted his head.

He grunted in reply. The maid left the room.

“Oh God, how can you let that criminal win and live free?” He groaned out loud.

You called?

“God?” He asked.

No, well, I guess there isn’t a difference for you people.

“Who or what are you? Is this some magical prank from the bald freak?” He tried to sit up but his injuries wouldn’t let him.

I’m a spectator of sorts, there are more like me. But you don’t need to learn any of that. All you have to know is that I have a gift for you. Oh, and if you tell anyone about this or your gift, you will die. Name: Cletus

Level: 3

Race: Human

Age: 6 (46)

HP: 10/54

Mana: 100/100

Stats

(You have to be a full grown adult to increase some stats) Health: 54 N/A Mana: 100 [ - ] [ + ] Mana Regen: 1.00/s [ - ] [ + ] Strength: 5 N/A Agility: 5 N/A Dexterity: 6 N/A Endurance: 4 N/A Constitution: 3 N/A Intelligence: 7 [ - ] [ + ] AVAILABLE POINTS: 15

“What is this? I don’t understand.”

Figure it out yourself.

He stared at the box, wondering if he just talked to a higher being. Nothing happened when he tried tapping on the screen. It reminded him of the games his son played, before he was sent to this world six years ago.

“Breakfast is here!” The maid came in with a tray in her hands.

Cletus willed the box away, and it obeyed. “Weird,” he said.

“What is?”

“Nothing, miss!” He smiled at her like a normal child.