ROUND 1 - Those Who Crawl Beneath Our Feet

“Let the hunt begin.”

I lunged out of bed in a cold sweat. I couldn’t stop thinking about that day,  the sound still ringing in my ears. After accepting my request, my father let out a ferocious cry. I was hardly able to comprehend it; but it sounded as if every creature on Earth joined together in unison to release a roar that seemed to resonate throughout the entire world. This was a declaration of war, an order of upmost importance for all animals on Earth to follow unconditionally: killing me. I would be the single prey to a world of predators. However, to me, this was only an opportunity. I would fight every last animal species to learn their techniques and eventually challenge my father again. But to do that, I had to train. And it was during this morning, when I was heading to the local park to practice my punches, that I encountered it. My first opponent.

A tingling sensation tickled my leg. It wasn’t particularly painful, but would prove to be a slight distraction if I were to completely focus on my training. But when I looked down to investigate, nothing was there. Was it my imagination? Just as I started to doubt myself, I felt it again. And again. I could only come to a single conclusion.

An invisible foe! I immediately braced myself, raising my fists and pivoting my feet to enter a fighting stance. What sort of animal could completely mask its presence like this? Perhaps some species of chameleon? Regardless, learning this ability would benefit me greatly. Unable to track the creature, I threw a blind punch, using one of my custom techniques for the first time and hoping I’d get a critical hit.

“Human Style: My Fist!”

I punched the side of my leg, where the annoyance seemed to originate from. I hit nothing, but saw a small black speck crawl up my leg from the point of impact. Upon closer inspection, I realized the true danger I was in. With jaws of steel, unimaginable strength, and a tough exoskeleton to block even the strongest of blows.

“Yo, it’s an ant!”

It wasn’t invisible after all, just small enough to completely avoid all my attacks. But this was finally my time to prove myself! My first real duel! No matter the size, I would refuse to underestimate my opponent. But the more blows I delivered, the more my limbs were delivered a dose of pain.

Still unscathed, the small insect eventually made its way to the ground. I was absolutely flabbergasted. How am I supposed to win against a creature that can evade me completely? One who can attack from the shadows and hide beneath my feet?

“...”

Could I not just step on it?

And so I did.

It died.