The second fight had not even begun and Caution was already growing irritated by the second.

Astel didn’t look like he was about to fight somebody. He stood in a slightly bent posture. One arm was by his side while the other wrapped around his shoulder like he was hugging himself. No weapon was in his hand, and he frowned as if he had forgotten something.

Meanwhile, Lara, the girl who had been stealthily standing next to him previously, wielded two daggers, one in each hand. She held a stone cold expression, one Caution had seen many times in another world. Clearly, the girl wasn’t playing around.

Before the exam tester could initiate the fight, Astel raised an arm awkwardly. “Wait a minute!” His voice cracked on the first word.

“Yes?” The exam tester questioned.

“Well, is there a way we can… be tested in another way? I just don’t see why we need to fight to show off our abilities.”

Caution nearly facepalmed. What did this boy say?

“No, there is not,” the exam tester replied. “As an adventurer, you will be fighting many enemies, ranging from bandits, to monsters, to corrupt evil forces. Fighting is an essential skill and sparring against your peers is the best way to practice. If you refuse to take part in this section of the exam I’m afraid you will fail.”

“I understand.”

“Would you still like to participate in this duel?”

“Yes,” Astel said. He still hadn’t wielded a weapon or taken up a fighting stance.

“Very well. On three,” the exam tester said. “One, two, three!”

Less than a second after the word “three” had been uttered an arrow soared through the air and sunk into flesh.

Caution’s jaw dropped. Lara matched his expression. A green arrow protruded from her shoulder. Without hesitation, she broke off the arrow and grunted in pain.

Now fully processing what had happened, Caution realised the attack was not as lightening quick as it had seemed. It was the element of surprise. Within a blink of an eye, a green bow, arrow, and quiver had materialised for Astel to use. No one had expected a thing.

Lara’s grip on the two daggers tightened. “Damn it! Archers suck.” She dashed forwards then flipped sideways to evade a cluster of arrows. Immediately after her feet touched the ground she continued running and followed a zigzag pattern to avoid the rapid fire. Caution was impressed at her agility. She was probably quicker than him.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Astel momentarily paused the attacks and spoke an incantation. A glowing orange arrow multiplied into a dozen while flying through the air. None reached their target.

Lara jumped high in the air, flipping forwards. A cloud of dust formed around Astel but he quickly chanted for a gust of wind to blow it away. Caution was not surprised at the quick counter. Dust clouds was a basic magic spell that would obviously be a pain in the ass for archers so they had to be prepared for such an attack.

As Lara landed on the mat with a loud thud, Astel rearranged position in an attempt to maintain the distance he had. He wiped his forehead with a sleeve before letting four arrows fly. Lara ducked or moved her body out of the way to avoid the first three. The last arrow missed completely, embedding itself in the mat metres ahead of him.

Astel reached for an arrow in his quiver but there were none remaining. “Oops,” he said.

Lara smirked. She darted towards him and then leaped, swinging down with both knives. Her body slammed into a hard surface. “Huh?”

An emerald floating sphere engulfed her. Astel let out a sigh of relief. The arrow which had supposedly missed from before glowed a bright green. It seemed to have projected the trap.

Astel picked up the arrow and turned to the exam tester. “It’s over, right?”

There was no response but the silence answered the question. Caution remembered her words.

You will each be put into pairs and duel against each other until one is unconscious or submits.

*THUD!*

Lara kneed the sphere.

“I wouldn’t bother trying to-”

*THUD!*

Before Astel could finish his sentence, Lara spin kicked the sphere, producing a loud enough sound to make him jump.

For the next five minutes, everyone in the hall watched the girl display her proficiency with the two knives. Sparks flew as she swiftly slashed up and down with the weapons. Her speed did not slow once despite the shoulder injury. Tiny cracks gradually formed on the sphere's surface.

“She’s beautiful,” Lilly said.

“You mean terrifying,” Yolga disagreed.

Accompanied by a battle cry, Lara lunged with both knives and the sphere shattered into shards.

“Wait!” Astel blurted immediately. “Wait! I submit!”

“Very well. The second fight goes to Lara,” the exam tester announced.

“Are you kidding me?” Caution's voice was calm yet still managed to be loud. It was as if he held a megaphone. “You were both in good enough condition to fight so why didn’t you finish the fight?”

The hall was silent.

“I ran out of arrows so…” Astel didn’t retain eye contact.

“So?”

“I don’t know; I just didn’t see the point. Felt like I had no chance of winning so…”

So you gave up. Caution couldn’t hide his disappointment. He shook his head. “She’s clearly exhausted. You could have taken advantage of that. You didn’t even try to fight her up close. How do you know you don’t stand a chance if you don’t try? You could have won.”

Astel shrugged. “I guess you’re right. Maybe.” The boy trudged off the mat.

Caution stared. From his perspective, the fight wasn’t over and there was no winner or loser. He understood Astel’s thought process but it didn’t quell the frustration. He had submitted too easily. He had given up too easily.

The fight was too entertaining to end prematurely and if there was one thing that pissed him off it was an unfinished fight.