The academy’s dorms offered two small meals per day: breakfast and dinner, the first of which Michael, Tommy, and Natalie swallowed in one go before leaving for their exams. They were used to empty stomachs, so this unexpected treat raised their spirits to the maximum.
“I’ll beat anyone!” Michael shouted in the middle of the street.
Once they entered the academy, he shook hands with his friends and left for the designated entrance. Strangely, as soon as he turned his back to his comrades, they were gone. He turned around three seconds later, but the academy’s courtyard was empty. Furthermore, once he arrived at the area designated for his exam, there was nobody there.
‘Am I late?’ he wondered.
“Come. Walk inside.” A guard beckoned him towards a tall door, three times the normal size, which led to a rather small, empty room. The room wasn’t even connected to the palace and was more like a shack placed to the side.
“Where are the others?” Michael asked. He couldn’t have been the only brawler.
“Worry not,” the guard patted his shoulder. “You’ll see them soon enough.”
Confused by the pity he saw on the guard’s face, Michael passed through the door.
His eyes suddenly hurt. Moments later, when he opened them back, the shack was gone, and he was in the middle of a circular arena. Above his head, there was a cloudless sky. From the edge of the fighting platform, water, an ocean maybe, stretched endlessly until beyond the horizon.
“Contestant, state your name.”
Michael looked to his left and saw a giant, hulking man sitting on an oversized chair which stretched out of the arena. He was even bigger than the door, with biceps larger than the boy’s chest and a beard the length of Michael’s body.
“You look strong.” The boy was in awe.
“Name!” The giant stomped his foot and shook the entire platform.
“Michael Jones, 15 years old, Capricorn.” The boy stood straight as a log like Mr. Griffin had taught him during classes.
“Challenger, state your name.” The giant turned his eyes towards the other side of the arena. A huge wave appeared out of nowhere and splashed onto it. In its wake, a smaller, younger, yet still giant teen appeared as if he were a merman.
He stood up from a kneeling position revealing a body twice as large as Michael’s. His chin was square and looked tougher than bricks. His abs were showing and seemed stronger than steel.
“Argus Smith,” the teen presented himself. “First son of Argus the bone crusher, grandson of the glorious Anteaus Smith.”
“Well, shit.” Michael spit to the side. He hadn’t heard of either of those names before, but the examiner’s eyes sparkled at the mention of the grandfather.
“Are you ready?” the examiner lifted his arm.
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‘Am I?’ Michael raised his fists.
“Fight!”
[Back at the dorm]
Finn and Annie were enjoying a lovely breakfast of one egg plus fries. It did not fill their stomachs, but there were fortunately no restrictions on the tap water.
“I’m going for a walk today.” Finn stood up while rubbing his stomach. “Would you like to join me?”
“I’d love to,” Annie cheerfully took his hand.
[Back on the floating arena]
Michael rolled for his life right before Argus punched a hole into the stone. The stage was full of such holes by now, and water seeped out of them like miniature geysers.
“At least you’re good at running,” the examiner laughed out loud.
“I appreciate the compliment,” Michael ran to the side. “But, this matchup is bullshit!”
With his much longer limbs, Argus caught up to him in an instant.
Michael dodged the first punch and countered with a right, but it was like hitting a wall. To avoid a game ending squeeze, the boy rolled between the giant’s feet just as Argus was trying to catch him.
‘Ok, big guy,’ Michael weighed his options. ‘I like to play fair, but you’re a cheater from birth, so...”
Argus took a step forward and tried to football kick him into the stratosphere. Fortunately, although big and fast, his moves were predictable.
Michael dodged at the last minute and climbed up Argus’ body. Before the giant could regain his balance and catch him, the teen poked out his right eye and did a backflip to safety.
Argus wailed while Michael rushed in and punched his groin.
“You have no honor!” the examiner bellowed.
‘You can shove that up your ass!’ Michael kept a straight face.
[On Phoenix city’s main street]
Annie was admiring the displays while Finn was taking mental notes. Reaching record speeds with his memorization skill, he quickly built a comprehensive image of the city’s markets.
“That looks so tasty,” Annie all but drooled at the sight of boiled corn.
“Hmph,” Finn snorted. “It’s overpriced and... bingo.”
Finn dragged his friend through the back alleys until he reached a less than wholesome part of the city. There, on a rundown corner of a rundown street, a sketchy old man was selling sketchy drinks and corn.
“Hello fine Sir,” Finn approached him with his best salesman smile. “That’s some fine corn you have there. Would you like to sell it all in an hour?”
[Back on the floating arena]
Michael’s breath was hoarse, his vision blurry. There was a deep wound on his cheek from where the giant’s nail had grazed him.
Argus, on the other hand, was out cold on his back. After losing both of his eyes, he flailed wildly until he gassed himself out. It took four punches to the throat to knock the bastard out, but it was worth it.
“You’re not going to deduct points for mauling, right?” Michael fell on his bum and the examiner stood up.
“All wounds are annulled after you leave this place,” he explained with a look of disgust. “Although, if it was up to me, you should live with this shame forever.”
His eyes were not on Michael, but on the young giant. Begrudgingly, he snapped his fingers and Argus was gone.
A second ring appeared on Michael’s fingers. It was made out of gold with a slightly glowing orange rock.
“Challenger, state your name,” the examiner shouted and another giant appeared out of the ocean.
Though a bit wobbly, Michael got up and prepared for combat.
‘Did Tommy get all the humans?’ he wondered. ‘Surely, he can’t have it worse than this.’
When the second giant ran at him with intention to kill, his thoughts briefly moved on to Natalie. A cheeky smile appeared on his face and his back straightened. His fists clenched and he rushed towards the enemy.
The fight no longer seemed hard, for he wasn't fighting just for himself. 'This one's for you... For us.'
[Name: Michael Patel.
Age: 15 years and five months old.
Race: Human.
Abilities:
- Writing and reading {Intermediate}
- Mathematics {Beginner-}
- Geography {Beginner}
- Theology {Beginner+}
- History {Beginner}
- Hand to hand combat {Intermediate+}
Debuffs:
- Overconfident.
- Hormones.
Comments: None]