The night was young and beautiful, the moon shines so bright without the clouds covering it. The villagers are all entering their own respective homes, merchants start to close their store, children jumping up and down as they are excited about what their dinner will be.
In an empty dark room, there is a boy training his body to near death. Doing push ups and sit ups nearly a thousand times. This boy refuses to learn magic, only relying on his strength and willpower.
He could hear his family laughing and joyfully eating at the dining table. Alejandro has no food to eat nor any beverage to drink. He continues to train despite the distracting conversations that could be heard coming from the dining room.
Alejandro is preparing for the sparring session with his brother tomorrow. He just can’t rest now, knowing his brother has a powerful type of magic.
Not long after, he passed out due to exhaustion and overworking his body.
Finally, the sun has arrived. Shining at the sky, asserting dominance to all the people. The merchants start to open their stores, villagers prepare to go into the forest to gather daily needs, hunters are also preparing their magic aura and swords that are enhanced by magic as they are about to hunt creatures that are consumable.
Alejandro’s father and mother are also on their way to their bar for they are about to open the business. Only then, Alejandro and Raphael are the only people left in the household.
Meanwhile, Raphael is in the training room, alone. Wondering where in the world is Alejandro, the one who challenged him to a sparring session?
Birds are chirping outside the house, making Alejandro’s finger twitch. He then immediately stands up as he realizes that it is morning already. The day of the sparring session!
“Oh no! I overslept! I should have rested early last night rather than training until I fainted.”, Alejandro ran to the training room as fast as he could. He knows he may be late and Raphael is already waiting for him inside.
He opened the door and saw his brother standing looking at him very angry. “Why are you late, fool? You were the one who challenged me and you dare show up late?”
“I am sorry, brother. I overslept due to fatigue, but don’t worry I will give you a battle that will make you struggle and lose!” Alejandro said with a proud posture and preparing his fists.
“No matter, let us begin. The one who falls off the floor first is the loser, thus making the one who is still standing be the victor and receive the reward.” Raphael replies as he prepares his magic aura, making his classic signature fists bump into each other, giving Alejandro a sign that he could still retreat from a foolish decision. However, Alejandro is not scared, he even prepares to make a stance that a fighter will make when a duel is about to start.
The room was silent, only the birds chirping can be heard. An intense atmosphere can be felt and none of the boys started to make a move yet. They both know that the one who moves first is the most likely to be defeated first.
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However, Raphael had the upper hand as his magic spells are mid range, allowing him to make the move first and cast a spell. But Alejandro was also not a fool, he already knew this and he had a plan from the very beginning.
Raphael started to bump his own fists together, casting the magic spell. “Feel the heat of the sun, brother!”, just as Raphael made his fists bump together, Alejandro already ran towards him, his reflex and speed is just incredible, hence avoiding the burning magic spell that Raphael casted. Even though he managed to avoid it, he could still feel the heat like a lava from a volcano.
“Wait, what?!” Raphael shouted as he was shocked that Alejandro avoided his spell. He then sees Alejandro’s fist in his very own eyes, thinking if he gets hit by this fist, he would probably be thrown off across the training room and immediately falls on his knees, his nose bleeding and will vomit a mouthful of blood.
However, just as Alejandro’s fist could reach Raphael’s face, Raphael’s instinct and reflex made him duck and open his hand as he reached Alejandro’s stomach. He did not make his fist clenched, rather he opened it as it touched Alejandro. Casting yet another spell that burns like a sun that burned off Alejandro’s shirt.
Even though it all happened so fast, the burning fire was still spreading in Alejandro's stomach. However, Raphael underestimated Alejandro’s reflex. Alejandro knew every part of his body and how to control it, thus when he felt the burning fire in his stomach, his knee already made a move that will hit Raphael’s jaw as it is already in his reach.
Nice reflex brother, however I am the master of my mind and body. I already know how to utilize every part of my body, making it a machine that is only intended for defeating enemies only. Your magic is truly powerful, I even feel the burning pain in my stomach even if it is still spreading, but you cannot simply beat my body’s speed and power.
Alejandro thought he already won, but at the last second, before Alejandro’s knee could hit his opponent’s jaw, Raphael shouted “Arghhh!!!” making his spell reach past its limits.
The burning fire increases its speed and swiftly spreads through Alejandro’s entire stomach up until his throat and his arms in a matter of seconds.
The boys simultaneously got thrown off the training room. One was blasted by a painfully burning fire and the other one that got hit by a knee in his jaw. They were separated but they could still see each other in the distance, wondering who won.
Even though Alejandro’s body was burned and it was emitting smoke, he couldn’t care less as he wanted to see if his brother got knocked down, but a fog of smoke was covering his surroundings, making it hard to see if his brother is still standing or not.
Finally, the fog of smoke cleared out. Alejandro’s eyes were wide open as he saw his brother still standing, blood coming out on his mouth and a disfigured jaw.
“It looks like you lost, brother. What a shame.”
Due to Alejandro’s excitement of knowing if his brother was knocked down, he didn’t realize he was actually kneeling on the floor. His both arms were unable to move and he then just started to realize the burning pain over his entire body.
“ARGGHHH!!!!!” Alejandro shouted on the top of his lungs, feeling the pain of a burning sun.
“You did this to yourself, brother. I did not want to do this, but your punch that nearly landed on my face, could have killed me. You were serious about this fight even though it was just a mere sparring session, you made it into a duel. A match ‘til death.”
Raphael walked past Alejandro and said “Don’t worry brother, I will not ask for the 5 bronze coins. I knew that you had no coins to begin with. I simply wanted you to see the power of the magic that you were not interested in. You were a fool thinking you could beat me to begin with.”
Raphael left the training room, leaving Alejandro behind as he was still shouting from the burning pain that he was feeling.
Alejandro nearly won, however the truth won. The truth was simply that a magic user is more powerful than a regular human with no magic power. Hence, the victor of the duel was his brother, Raphael.