“And what’s your name?” asked the announcer.

“Eric.”

“Eric eh? What a nice name.” The man tilted his top hat, revealing bundles of white hair. Not grey, but white.

“Right, if you feel you are in any danger, get off the stage and you’ll be fine,” he warned in a hushed voice before turning to the crowd.

Like a switch was flicked, the announcer put on a bright smile as he shouted with intense excitement.

“We have a student from Grimphon here today! Give a round of applause for Eric!”

“YEAH!” I could see all of their faces from here. And even though I knew they were cheering for the sake of cheering, seeing everyone like that fired me up to fight to the best of my abilities.

Even if it was the same giant humanoid beast like before, I will find a way to knock it down with my fists.

“Channel your mana through here.” The announcer showed a cube to me. It was white—the transparent mirror kind of white.

When my hand touched it, it started sucking away at my mana reserves vigorously. I wasn’t even consciously injecting my mana.

As time passed, the cube grew brighter and brighter. Eventually, light rays started spilling from the cracks of my fingers.

“Not bad…” I heard the announcer mumbling to himself but not doing anything.

As the light shined greater and greater, a slight numbness crawled up my hand like what would happen when blood was drained.

I think I saw a reddish haze amidst that light, but...

“Remember what I said. Get off the stage if you aren’t confident.” The announcer shooed my hand away before I could inspect it further, putting the glowing cube in his pocket.

“Brace yourselves everyone! This will be a good one!” he shouted once more from his persona before leaping off the stage.

I looked to the direct center of the stage, having seen it once before.

It appeared as naturally as a natural phenomenon: a mirror the size of a door.

‘I’ll win.’

I put my hands out in front of me as each finger overlapped each other like a lattice, inevitably causing them to crack.

My pupils were glued to the mirror as I awaited the arrival of the beast.

A beast—that was what I was thinking.

I was on the lookout for a furry hand sticking out from the mirror, but what came out was a foot.

A bare human foot.

A human male.

His skin had a yellowish-hue like a tan but more golden. And his hair was grown out like a woman’s, tied up into a ponytail.

He wore a black fabric with white laces, one side overlapping onto the other to form his robed clothes. At the same time, the cloth stuck close to his skin unlike any robe I had ever seen. It left no room for fluttering in the wind.

Hanging from his waist was a sheath, an unconventional way to carry a sword.

“!_@*$&@) #*$_@ @*$@.” The man spoke quiet words.

I couldn’t help but feel like I’ve heard those words somewhere before…

“_#@)#!_ !) @*$(@( !!( @#(.”

“(#*!&#...”

The man took a step back as he saw the large crowd around us.

He took another step back before turning his head to realize the mirror had disappeared.

All the while, the crowd was chanting primitive words that penetrated any known language barrier.

“FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!”

“@&!&%&.” The man retreated one more step as both his hands fell on his sword, one on the sheath, and the other on the handle.

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His eyes displayed a level of uncertainty and confidence at the same time. The uncertainty came from not knowing what was going on, while the confidence came from preparation, or so I’d assume.

‘Why isn’t he drawing his blade?’

I found myself taking a step back in anticipation.

Even when it felt safe, I did not falter in managing the distance. He could very well appear behind me at any moment, though it shouldn’t be possible for him to strike me at this distance. The same went for me—even more so since I had no weapon.

“FIGHT! FIGHT!”

We both agreed to ignore those chants as our visions funneled into each other. Those squinted eyes laid upon me like how a predator recognized another predator.

He took a step forward this time and I responded by taking a step back.

‘There has to be a reason he’s not taking it out.’

I wasn’t an idiot. I knew that weapons, especially bladed ones, were much more dangerous than getting beaten with sticks and stones.

If he was really as confident as he shows, I don’t think I can win.

‘I hate this.’

He took one more step as did I.

I was now at the corner of the stage. Any further and I’d fall off.

“What are you doing? FIGHT!” Someone at the forefront of the crowd shouted at me.

To be honest, I didn’t fight much—unless you counted the unfair one-sided battles with my siblings.

Yesterday was my first time. It was when I fought Melissa. My first fair fight.

I liked the idea of winning, but I can’t say that I loved the feeling that came from winning; I’d need to experience more of it before I could decide.

But what I have found out is that I like fighting. It felt like everything was put to the test at every twist and turn. Everything I have ever done to teach and train my body was put to action. There was a sort of self-gratification from recognizing all the work I have done.

Perhaps that was the reason I never submitted throughout the years. I had the confidence in myself that I would become the best one day and step over every one of my siblings.

Is that why I didn’t feel bad when Daniel defeated me? I didn’t even get him to use his magic; I wasn’t worthy of it. And I was fine with that for now.

The first step was always the same. And after passing the first step, there was another first step, then another first step. Only when I’ve climbed all the first steps will I be at the top of the staircase.

‘All I need to do is land a good punch in.’

At the end of the day, this was just another first step.

Even if I was scared of that sword, I still had to get in his face to punch him.

Just like with Melissa who showered me with magic, I had to close the distance.

Daniel was a little different, he didn’t retreat nor did he engage. He waited for my punch first before he attacked.

And this man who had his hand resting on the sword’s handle… I had a suspicion that he was much like Daniel in the fact that he was waiting for me to make my first move. And at the pivotal moment, he would finish me off.

‘So this is what I’m afraid of…’

I was afraid that he’d counterattack me if I got close.

But if I didn’t get close, then how do I beat him?

“Hey look, isn’t that Eric?”

‘That voice…’

I looked at where it was coming from and saw the two of them. From the stage, one of them looked like a lost child who’d had enough of this world while the other shone through like a star in the sky.

‘Melissa and…’

By doing so, I made a fatal mistake.

“GAAH!”

—Daniel—

And here I thought it would be something interesting. But that fool got distracted and fell off the stage.

Of course, he didn’t get off unscathed because…

‘Samurai?’

‘That’s weird.’

The kid laid at the bottom of the stage, blood oozing out of both his forearms.

The lucky fool at least had the reflexes to bring his hands up, or else his head would have been sliced off clean.

On the other hand, the samurai looked down on the kid from the stage…

I can’t recall the name so I’ll just call him blue-haired kid.

‘Is this some sort of duel arena?’

I had just arrived with Melissa dragging me along, so I wasn’t sure of the situation.

From the side, there was a man with a funny top hat.

That man rushed over to the blue-haired kid.

“Are you okay?” He quickly checked up on the blue-haired kid as he administered some first-aid with bandages.

The samurai on the other hand was looking through the crowd as though he was looking for someone.

I met his eyes once and that was all…

Was this just a friendly sparring match? But that wouldn’t make sense if I were to account for the fact that he pulled an actual sharp blade on the blue-haired kid.

On a lighter note, did this world have katanas and samurais too?

It was a natural thought since someone wearing a kimono-esque attire as well as using the same style of drawing a Japanese sword should probably be… Non-existent.

‘Wait a minute.’

The thought had only occurred to me now as I made the connection between “Japanese” and “Another World.”

This samurai was Asian, unlike the hundreds of people I have seen since my arrival to this world. I could say with good confidence that a hundred percent of this town, city, kingdom, or whatever it was called, was white as hell.

Which was why it didn’t make sense for an Asian man to be here. And while I once had Asian blood flowing through me, all that was left was plot armo—ahem, what was I saying again?

Anyway, to an average person, it is unlikely for them to make the connection between the words, “Japan,” and “Another World.”

But as someone who’s been through a fair share of cultural cross-pollination, I was bold enough to assume the worst.

That is to say, this samurai—no—that Asian man on the stage.

He fell victim to Japan’s number one serial killer.

‘…’

On a serious note, why the hell is he staring me down like he wants to kill me for my shitty joke?

Does he not have truck insurance like all Japanese people do?