The match began.
Kad took a step back, then launched himself out of the arena.
Commander Dasus said, "Well that is one way to handle it."
Glus looked a little disappointed.
Winner Lasa
After a few more matches I had won all three of mine. I had made it to the semi finals. Good. But so had Lasa. I have to admit she really earned it.
Semi Finalists
• Fur
• Me
• Lasa
• Has
Has was a Sal A. Could I really take him on?
They drew the matchups. Lasa versus Has. Me versus Fur. I thought, This is good for me but bad for Lasa. She did not stand a chance. After all she was a healer.
First match Lasa versus Has.
Has and Lasa faced each other.
"I am sorry, girl," Has said.
Light beam, Lasa called.
The light beam struck. She was blasted out of the arena, but the attack did not stop. She smashed through a wall.
"Medics hurry!" someone yelled.
They carried her away.
Has did not hold back. He was not taking any chances. I watched, anger rolling through me.
Next match the semi final. Me versus Fur.
Fur and I lock eyes. "Fur I said I would throw you out. And I will," I told him.
Begin.
I dashed forward at lightning speed but Fur had two storms placed in front of him. I was caught in them but managed to stay inside the arena. How am I supposed to get close to him? I could not use my wolves. There would be too many questions.
Fur HP 1000
Hint when he is about to cast a spell his eyes glow gray for one second
His eyes glowed gray. He launched wind orbs. I jumped over them, charged, grabbed Fur, and tried to throw him out. He used wind from his hands and we were both lifted into the air, tumbling out of the arena.
"You idiot!" I shouted. "We are both going to fall!"
Fur smirked. "Too bad. Looks like you cannot keep your promise."
We were about to hit the ground.
"Bite!" I yelled.
Bite appeared from the side and shoved me back into the arena just in time. Fur hit the ground.
From the crowd came shocked voices. "What was that?" "How did he do that?" "What just happened?"
I had no choice. Summoning Bite revealed that I used summoning magic. Technically it was allowed.
The judges conferred. No external assistance was counted against me. I had used only my strength and my summons. The win stood.
Winner Mike
The final would begin in twenty minutes. I wondered if I could beat Has and his light magic. I had the cabin alone for twenty minutes. I ran through everything in my head.
What do I have available right now? Wolf Strike. And that was it. Pack and Bite were off limits because using them would transform my teeth and reveal my secret. The fact that I summoned Bite in the last fight worked because I did it at the very end and fought the rest with my fists.
So things looked bad. One attack. What could I do against Has?
The fight began.
Has said, "Sorry Mike I want to win this."
"Don't hold back then," I answered.
We moved lightning fast. No one could follow every exchange. People only heard snippets. "That is not a normal Sal two." "He is way stronger."
Wolf Strike, Wolf Strike. One missed because Has was fast, but one hit his stomach. He spat blood. Light beam, light bubble, light shield. Has fought smart. He created a shielded bubble and fired a beam at me.
Not bad, I thought, and I dodged the beam. I jumped up.
System message Do you want to power up your Wolf Strike?
Yes but then you have to give up all your endurance for today I said yes.
Endurance 1
I hit the shield and it broke. The bubble burst. Has was struck in the gut and fell through the wall. He tumbled outside and landed hard.
"That was a finisher," Commander Dasus said. "Winner Mike. The prize will be announced shortly."
I fell to the ground, exhausted. I could not move. I fainted. The last thing I heard was Glus saying, "We have to rank him up again he defeated an A rank so fast."
I woke in a hospital bed. Kad, Giel, Lasa, and Glus stood near. Glus looked at me and asked, "Mike you have been hiding your abilities why?"
I met his eyes. "Commander Glus I did not even know I could do that myself," I said.
Glus nodded. "If you are truly this strong you might someday be able to defeat me. That is good. This base needs talented kids like you. Summoning magic is rare one of the rarest kinds. It makes me wonder why the system ranked you as Sal two in the first place."
He crossed his arms. "When you can walk we will re rank you."
"Oh and one more thing," he added, "the prize for winning the tournament is you will be allowed to join an A rank mission. An A mission."
Great I thought. I gave everything and that is the reward. It is a military school after all.
"Thank you sir," I said quietly.
My friends rushed forward and shouted my name. Lasa asked softly, "Are you okay?" Kad smiled though sadness lingered in his voice. "Man Mike you have gotten so strong. Too bad I will never be like that."
Giel laughed and added proudly, "You showed Fur who is boss. And Has too he ended up with two broken arms."
My eyes widened. "What seriously is he mad at me?"
Lasa shrugged. "We do not know. He has not said a word."
Kad leaned closer. "But now everyone knows you have summoning magic. The news spread quickly. Is it even true?"
"Kinda," I admitted.
Glus burst back into the room. He was pale. "The base is under attack I just got word it is the Suls." Twenty of them every one wielding shadow magic and at least B rank level.
Everything starts to blur. Why now? I cannot move. Why attack at this moment?
"Glus I have a system it lets me level up!" I shouted.
Glus looked stunned. Then BOOM. An explosion rocked the building. Kad and Giel grabbed me and dragged me out of bed as more explosions hit closer.
Glus, shaken but focused, said, "A system one that levels you up how is that possible?"
Three Suls appeared. One stepped forward and removed a mask.
Dog. Monkey. Lion.
The man with the lion mask pulled it off and looked at Glus. "Do you remember me Commander I am Zur," he said.
Glus shouted, "Run!" and drew his axe. "Come at me!"
His first strike cut off Dog's arm. A brutal kick finished him. Monkey leapt at Glus and Glus sliced him cleanly. Monkey fell.
I watched, thinking Glus is insanely strong and I am supposed to surpass him someday that seems impossible.
Then Lion drew a sword. Steel met steel. The fight turned deadly. Lion pierced Glus.
First Zoio then Glus. Why why is this happening?
I open the system. I sell Bloodclaw my first weapon for twenty Wolfis and I buy one Life Potion for fifteen Wolfis and one Small Endurance Potion for five Wolfis.
System update Health restored Endurance Can use three Wolf Strikes
I can stand again.
"Run I will catch up," I shout.
Everyone stares. "Mike what are you doing?" Giel yells. "Go to the cafeteria we will meet there."
They run. I turn to face Lion. "You bastard," I growl.
Glus tries to speak. Blood on his lips. "Mike what are you doing?" he breathes. "Why do you know each other?" I ask.
Glus coughs. "He was once my student. On a mission all his friends died. He and I were the only survivors. He thinks it was my fault."
While I was unconscious I had a dream a memory from childhood. Even then I always wanted one thing to become the strongest.
He did not care about fame.
He did not care about being liked.
He only wanted power so no one could ever hurt him again.
Even as a little boy Mike kept a strict routine. He trained every other day. He did push ups, ran laps, copied fighters from books and old videos. While other kids played he trained.
In the dream he saw his younger self: a small, determined boy, bruised and sweating, punching a worn training dummy again and again.
If I am strong, they cannot take anything from me, the boy whispered into the dark.
As the dream faded Mike, still unconscious, tightened his fist. The image repeated itself in his head. A little boy with scraped knees and a sweaty shirt, eyes set with stubborn will. Day after day he woke early even when he was exhausted. He did push ups and long runs and shadow boxing until his muscles burned.
If I get strong enough, no one can ever take anything from me again, he would murmur.
Other children laughed and lived without worry. Mike carried a burden too heavy for his age. Over the years the training hardened him. He grew stronger not only in body but in mind. He learned to pull himself together and to push forward when no one watched. Still something hollow remained. Training filled the hours but did not fill the emptiness.
In the hospital room a faint light warmed the ceiling. Back in the present he blinked and felt the cotton of a bandage at his temple and the pillowy weight of a blanket. Faces leaned in the doorway: Kad, Giel, Lasa, and Commander Glus. The steady beep of monitors marked time. The memory of the tournament and the attack lay heavy in his chest, but beneath it the same iron truth held: he trained to never be taken by surprise again.
He flexed his fingers. Strength tasted familiar on his tongue. The dream was over. The resolve under it had not faded. He had wanted power since he was small. He wanted it now more than ever.
Outside the window the island wind pushed clouds across a pale sky. He let himself breathe and listened as his friends murmured quietly beyond the curtain. The future was uncertain. The system still whispered, the world still threatened, and inside him something was waking that would not be silenced.