Just like that, the battle wraps up nicely. I have to admit… I’m impressed. That teacher’s not bad. His performance no doubt belongs in the higher echelons of skill, though perhaps falling slightly short of Guillaume and the like.

“Urgh.”

What sounds like a moan comes from my right. I look over at the source of the noise. It’s the elf. His eyes are fixed on the teacher’s back like he’s ready for a second round. “Not yet!” He yells, inching towards him, though visibly slower.

I remain still as a statue, contemplating.

The elf’s voice serves as some sort of reminder. In an instant, I’m reminded of my objective as a student. Thinking about it, I’m also a participant in this ‘test’, after all. No matter my personal gripe with the academy, my ego refuses to let my competition take the better of me.

“I’m sti─”

I proceed to lunge at the elf. Equipped with the taser in my left breast pocket, I aim for the nape of the monkey boy.

But…

“Hey, you wanna join in?”

My attack doesn’t land. Just a few centimetres short of contact, he catches my wrist. The force applied is strong. Undoubtedly, a sign that he registers me as an opponent.

“Hah.”

I kick with my left leg. Thud. He blocks my attack to his chest with both arms, disengaging from me. A metre’s worth of distance is now between us. Unfortunate. This is going to drag out longer than it needs to. Advancing to a new mode of attack, I tuck away the taser. In the meantime, the elf boy picks up his scimitar. Immediately, he lunges forward, a swing of his scimitar in motion.

“Lightning Coin Flip”.

I throw out a coin from my inner pocket. The second it leaves my hand, blue lightning begins to emit from the coin, surrounding it like an orb. Static electricity reaches out eardrums. The elf dodges. His head swivels to the side, watching it with earnest curiosity.

“Show me what you can do!”

Steel rings through the air. I meet the elf’s blade with a retractable baton.

“Not bad!”

He tries to slash me again. Clang. My arm shudders under the weight of his scimitar, barely clinging onto the baton. At this rate, I’ll be put at a disadvantage. He has the benefit of both reach and strength, and keeping up is wearing on me.

“Celvihar!”

Right after his incantation, something akin to the strength of a punch hits me in the chest.

Shit.

This must be magic.

I hadn’t noticed, but it seems he’s capable of one-handed incantations.

“Gragh!”

My body’s thrown off balance. The impact of the blow sends me a few steps backwards while choking out air and spit from my throat. In the face of my untimely weakness, the elf rushes in, coming nearer and nearer.

A flash of genius brings time to a halt.

I understand now.

There are 1.3 metres between him and me. The approximate distance he needs to close is even less than that, given the length of his sword. I have to act now. The moment he closes in is when the fight reaches its conclusion.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Focus.

I still have one thing left.

My shaking hand goes into my inner pockets for the last time. Inside, I grip cold, cylindrical metal: a rudimentary device, but the last of the bullshit at my disposal.

Here it goes.

Toward the elf, I point my newfound weapon—pepper spray.

“TASTE THE POWER OF CAPSICUM!”

A stream of concentrated inflammatory agent shoots at the elf. Without missing a drop, pepper spray engulfs his face, covering it whole.

“W-what’s this?!”

Its effect is almost instantaneous. Strain already coats his voice. The desire for escape overwhelms him. His sense reduced to smithereens; the elf begins to rub at his eyes. Stinging, burning, corneal abrasion and respiratory difficulties are all combined in one efficient weapon.

Time to strike.

I step in and send a right hook to his face─only for him to grab it immediately.

Tsk.

His spatial awareness is decent, I admit. To catch my jab while blinded is respectable. And yet, despite his successful defence, I’m assured of my victory. His physical reaction to my pepper spray is severe.

Probably twice fold that of an ordinary individual.

Shut eyes, irrational mumblings of an incomprehensible nature, and gagged breaths all point to debilitating weaknesses I can exploit. Based on that, my confidence renews itself. Letting go of the pepper spray, I send a left punch to the elf’s face.

Only for him to grab it immediately again.

Momentary dissatisfaction grips my heart.

Am I that predictable, or is this elf boy just that capable?

A string of emotions passes through me, none all too pleasant.

Dammit.

Anguished at this turn of fate, I swallow dryly. He still has my fists in his palms, and I struggle to establish control, pushing and pulling. Back and forth, this continues, with neither of us gaining an advantage, seemingly extending into an eternal stalemate.

Fifteen seconds total and this still hasn’t ended.

“That’s it!”

I funnel the reserves of my energy into one final push.

We fall. The force of my push sends me straight into him. Unable to stop the inertia, I brace, tightening my muscles for the inevitable collision.

“Arhgaa”.

A groan escapes my chest. I’m on the ground now. Hands out, clothes dirtied, and exhaustion weighing down on me. But it doesn’t matter. I continue to fight, desperately wrestling, desperately clamouring to get atop the elf and establish high ground. All shred of self-awareness leaves my body at this point. A minute of gruelling physical labour passes this way. Dirt and leaves coat my skin as I try harder than I’ve ever had, grappling with an elf monkey on wet soil.

“HYOOOOO”.

“What the fuck are you kids doing.”

Spatial awareness. I feel like a hatchling, just broken out of the shell that is my battle trance. As a result, peripheral vision returns to me, enabling me to look up at my surroundings. There are a lot of things I see now. At this moment in time, my mind just so registers an ensemble of people. To be precise, the rest of the students, our male teacher, and another elvish woman looking down at us, casting judgement.

Now I understand.

This whole time, people have been watching us.

Realising as much, I begin to understand how strange this must look.

Yep…

Two males locked in physical contact. Rolling like pigs in dirt. An ensemble of groans of noises coming out all the while.

“Hmm.”

Immediately, a flash of light assails my eyes. To my right, I glimpse Morgana recording us with a smile. Holding on to her phone, camera trained on me.

It should go without saying what she’s doing.

Desperately, I try to rectify the situation. “Uh, Haru─”

“It’s not over yet! I’m going to try EVEN HARDER, RARGH!!!”

My attempt to placate his madness bears no fruit. A puzzled frown grips my face as I try to fend off yet another series of grapples. Trancing out, I feel what is possibly my sanity escape, leaving through bated breath and tired arms.

Help…

I can’t keep going. Please let this end.

“ARGHHHHHHHHH!”

What remains of my pride dissipates into thin air. A feeling of emptiness, growing in accordance with every whisper or snap of a camera lens, gradually penetrate my being. Without saying anything more, I close my eyes and lament, wondering where it all went wrong.