"what ?!" I shouted in shock.

"Relax, it'll be fun. Besides, flame boy's a big softie he'll go easy on you" Mia replied looking very assured of what she said.

I turned to 'flame boy' and he looked nothing like a softie. He had red hair along with orange eyes on a face that belongs to a model ( I'm pretty sure girls fawn over his good looks ).

"Fun? I only awakened three days ago and I haven't even used a single ability yet and you expect me to spar with someone?" I asked, not believing what she was proposing.

"Oh a late bloomer. Don't worry too much newbie I'll go easy on you" Flame boy replied instead of Mia.

"F-fine, let's get this over with" I reluctantly agreed. I wanted to test my abilities anyway and doing it in a controlled (?) environment is the best I could ask for.

"Yay! I'll be in the stands cheering you on" I heard Mia while I was moving towards flame boy in the arena.

"So newbie, what should I address you by?" He asked when I entered the arena.

"I'm Alex" I replied trying to calm myself down and mentally prepare for the spar.

"I see. I'm Richard Blaze but you can just call me Blaze" he introduced himself with a smile.

"Okay, since this is your first spar I'll let you choose the location" he said making me confused.

Were we not going to spar right here? I thought this was the combat arena. Before I could ask, the coliseum we were in suddenly became a white room and a screen much like the system's appeared in front of me.

I see why they call it room now. We were in a simulation of some sorts previously, pretty cool.

I looked at the options on the screen and I started choosing. For the location I chose a ruined temple (I could've gone with a forest but I'm not sure that's a good idea considering the opponent I was against) and for the time of day, I chose night ( although I'm not sure the blessing would activate but I tried it anyway).

{Why not just choose somewhere snowy or moist, y'know to gain the upper hand?}

(Nah, I'd feel like I was cheating if I did that)

{Isn't choosing a situation that boosts your abilities also cheating?}

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

(Nope, and we don't even know if it'll work)

After I was done with the selection— to my surprise, the room transformed into the ruined temple I chose and I could even feel the night wind brushing again my skin.

"Weird choice but okay, you ready?" Blaze asked taking a battle stance.

'Holy sh*t it works' was the thought going through mind. I felt much stronger than usual and before I could reply to Blaze, the system screen popped up.

[Blessing of the night is active, all your stats are doubled and all your abilities are greatly boosted]

'show me my stats only' I asked the system.

[Status:

Name:Alex

____________

HP: 100/100

MP: 100/100 (200/200)

LV: 1

Exp:0/100

Blessing: Thanatos' Chosen

_________

STR: 15 (30)

AGI: 30 (60)

STA: 25 (50)

INT: 30 (60)

END: 30 (60)

LUK: ???

]

That's convenient. I dismissed the screen and looked at Blaze. "Yeah, let's do this".

(Any tips author?)

{Tank every hit.... with your face}

(F*ck you)

My banter with the author was interrupted by Blaze who moved towards me with a sudden burst of speed, leaving a trail of flames behind him.

Before my brain could register, my body moved to avoid his attack by instinct.

'what the hell? Didn't he say he'd go easy on me' I thought and jumped back just in time to avoid his flame foot.

"Not bad newbie, let's kick it up a notch" he said grinning from ear to ear. This was no softie, he was the devil himself.

But what surprised me was the fact that I was actually keeping up and..... I was having fun?? ( Was I a battle junkie all along?). Sure some of my stats were a bit higher than the average blessed but most of that was due to me working out and escaping bullies (that's why my endurance, stamina and agility were a lot higher than the rest).

Although I was keeping up, I noticed Blaze was holding back. He didn't use any other flaming attacks apart from his flaming legs and fists. At the start it was hard to dodge—gaining a couple of burns here and there—but as the spar continued, I noticed it became easier to dodge.

I guess Blaze noticed it too so he started using smaller flaming projectiles. That's when it hit me (not the projectile), I was also a blessed (could I call myself that?) and although I don't have access to Thanatos' abilities yet, I remembered gaining Nyx's gift.

Before I could figure out how to activate my ability, a fireball crashed into me sending me flying.

Bloody hell that hurt. I feel like my chest ( where the fireball landed) was burning from the inside. I stood up again, despite the pain, and immediately activated [Cloak] when I noticed I was in the shadows.

Noticing the confusion on Blaze's face, I used that chance to look at my chest. Although it felt painful, only my clothes were a bit burnt. My skin was completely okay, if not a bit red.

I sighed in relief and started moving in the shadows, ready to attack.

-------- Blaze's POV ---------

I was going through my normal daily routine, my combat practice. I was about to summon some dummies to practice with, when someone called out to me.

I turned with a smile to see Mia as I expected. She was the only who dared or was allowed to call me flame boy. My smile almost dropped when I saw a boy standing beside her but I kept on the smile.

The boy has messy black hair and silver eyes, along with a face you'd call handsome but definitely not Mia's type (from what I know). That eliminated the possibility of him being a competition, maybe a new friend?

A couple of minutes later, after some convincing from Mia, the boy whose name I found out was Alex stood opposite me in the arena.

I enjoyed seeing the surprise on his face when the arena transformed into a white room.

When he was choosing the location for the fight, I expected him to choose a wetland or snowy mountain but to my surprise he didn't. He chose a ruined temple, which was strange.

Our spar started and although I was only using basic attacks, the newbie was keeping up. After releasing that he was now used to my attack pattern, I decided to switch it up a little. I started using fireballs.

He managed to avoid the first few fireballs but for some reason, he got distracted and that's when I took the chance, hitting him squarely on the chest.

The attack was meant to hurt but not cause too much damage. With that attack landing, I was sure the spar was over but to my surprise, he stood up again and then he disappeared (?)...

'Is his ability teleporting? Or invisibility?' I thought.

By instinct, I moved to the side just in time to dodge what looked like a black arrow. I sent a fireball in the direction it came from but no one was there..

' I guess this newbie has a lot up his sleeves ' I thought, a wide grin gracing my face. Alex had succ

essfully aroused my competitive spirit.

No way I was going to lose to a newbie and that too in front of Mia.