A Contest Among Men

From Elise who became Eric's perspective

"I just found out it was you who challenged us," Clara said unexpectedly in the girls' dorm.

"Yes, there's a lot of history between Eric and me. And you as well," I deliberately gave a suggestive answer.

Instead of getting angry, she looked surprisingly calm.

"I've heard about the effort you both have made to climb up here every day. I acknowledge that. But I'm telling you, I won't lose."

She extended her right hand.

It seemed she was asking for a handshake.

I also reached out and firmly grasped her hand.

"I won't lose either."

For a moment, we seemed to have gained a kind of friendship.

The day of the event arrived in no time.

The venue was an arena, filled with students and gamblers, buzzing with excitement.

Predictably, many were betting on Eric and Clara to win.

Akira and I, along with our former selves and Clara, faced each other in the spacious arena.

It was probably the first meeting between Akira and Eric.

"I absolutely will not lose," said Akira.

"I have my reasons why I must not fall here. Let’s have a good match, man to man," Eric declared.

The phrase "man to man" caught my attention, but my gaze was deliberately ignored.

The referee stood in the center to explain the rules.

"This match will be decided by the accumulation of damage to the magical armor. The fight stops the moment physical damage impacts the body, so stop when the signal is given."

White lines marked four circles in the dirt, and we each stood with our own thoughts in the designated spots.

Men at the front and women at the back, maintaining about a 5-meter distance between each pair.

It was close enough that basic fire spells could easily reach.

After the starting signal, the first thing to do was to create distance.

I gave Akira a nod, and he responded with a thumbs up.

As the referee shouted "Ready," he swung down the white flag.

The match began.

Akira and I both started casting the whirlwind spell.

"Wow!"

Eric’s first spell was a shout spell, dealing powerful damage at close range.

"Damn!"

Akira avoided a direct hit but still took moderate damage.

We calmly assessed the situation and used the whirlwind spell to create distance.

"What’s wrong! Running away? Chicken!" taunted Eric, using my former face.

Ignoring the provocation, Akira calmly began to increase the distance.

He then chanted and released his spell.

"Advanced Fire!"