The murmur of the arena is deafening, but not as deafening as the sound of me aggressively biting into the hardest cookie imaginable. That’s the last time I let Helia watch the oven. How did she even do this? The cookie grinds hard against my teeth, threatening to crack them.

  As I get lost in thought, a random first year bumps into me as he tries to find a seat. Man, this place is packed. I guess that’s what you get when royalty is involved. Everyone wants to see how Penelope fights. The fact that the first years are steadily catching up to the second years is also a factor. One I’m happy to see.

  As I look at the score, I scratch my horn. It’s not like we’re steamrolling them, but the decisive victories we’re taking are certainly turning the tide. Although I would be happier if the second years weren’t challenging everyone and anybody under the sun. Guess they finally felt the fire under their asses.

  “Thanks for saving us seats, CJ,” Hopper says as he walks up with Lupin.

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I had to deal with the glares of our fellow students as I constantly had to tell them, ‘Sorry, that’s taken.’ Yeah, don’t worry about it all,” I rattle off as I chomp through another cookie.

  Lupin looks at me and then back to Hopper. “Hop, why does the Chosen One stink of nervousness?”

  “I am not nervous. I have full confidence in Penelope's abilities.”

  “He’s nervous because he cares, Lu,” Hopper says, ignoring me.

  “Ah, that makes sense.”

  “Oi, can the two of you stop talking like I’m not even here. I’m the guy with horns and purple skin. It’s kind of hard to miss me,” I retort.

  Lupin lets out a small chuckle. “It’s ok to be nervous, Chosen One. Even though I know my sister will win this fight, I’m still nervous.”

  I eye him with suspicion.

  “Don’t get me wrong. I have full faith in my sister's abilities, after all, she’s stronger than me, but that won’t stop me from worrying. Nothing will, and I’m sure she feels the same way about me. It’s normal to feel nervous for the people you care about,” Lupin says as he looks at the arena.

  To think this is the same guy that I saw threaten Hopper. I guess this is the real him, or rather, the person he was hiding under all that anger. Now, this guy I could see being Hopper's childhood friend.

  “Guess you’re right. It is normal, but you’re wrong about one thing. Luna’s not going to win. Penelope is. There’s not a single doubt in my mind,” I say with a cocky smile.

  “Awfully confident, aren’t we?” Lupin asks with a toothy smile.

  “So confident I’d bet on it,” I say as I clutch the slip of paper in my pocket.

  “Well, I’m rooting for both of them,” Hopper says.

  Right as our conversation ends, a familiar voice booms through the arena. “Hello, everybody!! It’s your favorite announcer, Vivi! Today we have- Oh, who am I kidding! We all know how crazy this fight is going to be, so let's get right to it!” Vivi announces from the announcer booth.

  The arena booms to life as the doors to the arena open. In the fight pit, Penelope and Luna walk towards the center.

  “In this corner, we have Luna Sharpfang! Rank 2, the fastest second year! In the other corner, we have Princess Penelope Sylvian! Shared Rank 1, an elegant beauty who's here to win!!” Vivi says while stating the obvious.

  “Isn’t everyone here to win?” I ask myself.

  “As agreed by the participants, we will be changing the terrain into that of the Valley of Swords, a truly fitting scene for this duel! If the participants could initiate the [System] duel!” she says as the fight pit morphs into a large valley with multiple boulder-sized swords stabbed into the walls and ground.

  “By the [System], I, Luna, accept this duel. I’ve been looking forward to this Princess. I hope you don’t disappoint.”

  “By the [System], I, Penelope, accept this duel. I could say the same to you.”

  “Begin!” Vivi yells.

  My eyes flick to Luna as she gives me a toothy grin. She’s not armed, just like I expected. If the information I gathered is right, she’ll start with a blitz attack and then-

  “Are you going to be thinking this whole fight? Because if you're, this is going to end much faster than I thought,” Luna says as she appears to my side.

  Fast. I didn’t even see her move. She kicks, sending me flying across the arena, slamming hard into the wall of the arena. Through groans, I pull myself out of the indentation in the wall. That hurt. To think her attacks were able to cut through [Pain Resistance].

  “That was a good block, Princess. Hope your greatsword is okay,” Luna says as she slowly walks to me.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Taking my greatsword, I trace it up my forearm. Using [Imbue], it crackles to life with electricity. Surviving the first attack was the easy part, but no amount of blocking is going to win me this fight. I need to go on the offensive.

  Rushing forward, I [Step] towards and swing for her stomach. The blade connects, or at least it should have. Luna's claws spark against my blade.

  “Interesting [Skills]. Got any more?” she says as she slashes towards me.

  Her claws slash up my arm, leaving behind a painful sting. I kick her in the exchange, sending her back a couple of feet. Her reputation as the fastest second year isn’t anything to scoff at, but I picked this terrain for a reason.

  Pointing my greatsword at her, I smile. I [Step] towards her, appearing at her side. Then again and again. I don’t stop moving as I [Step] around her at a rapid speed. Building momentum, I finally slash towards her with all my might. The swing cuts clean through her space.

  “This is disappointing. I was hoping you would be more fun. I can tell you’re strong, but you’re way too in your head. Try thinking less and fighting more,” Luna says as she stands on the tip of my crackling greatsword.

  “Sorry, that’s just not who I am. I think and think and think, until I’ve thought of every possibility. How will you fight? Where will you slash? How hard do you hit? Why do you dodge? How fast are you? I want to know everything and anything, because that’s who I am and that’s why I will win, but there’s been this nagging feeling in the back of my head,” I say as I look up at her.

  “And what’s that, Princess?”

  “Why aren’t you using that [Skills]? Do you think so little of me?” I ask as the mana in me flows into the surrounding area.

  Luna gives me a toothy smile. “If I’m being entirely honest, I like to fight. In fact I love it. The feeling of tearing flesh and taking hits. Everything about it is exhilarating. It’s a high I could never find anywhere else. So, to prolong that high, I only use that [Skill] when I’m going against a strong opponent. Someone who can take the hits. Sorry to break it to you, Princess, but you’re not that person.”

  My gaze hardens. “I’ll have you eat those words,” I say as I drop my greatsword.

  The [Imbue] on my greatsword drops the moment it leaves my grasp. The blood traced on the surrounding swords come to life as I [Imbue] them with light. The sudden flash of light is teetering on the edge of blinding, but for a Beastkin with heightened senses. It might as well be the light of the Sun Goddess Relat. Blinded and unable to dodge my attack in mid-air is right where I want her.

  Swinging with my fist, I slam straight into her chest, sending her through multiple of the swords in the fight pit and deep into the outer wall. Knowing what I know, that certainly wasn’t enough to take her down, but-

  A cackling laughter echoes from the indentation as a bloodied Luna crawls out. “That’s what I’m talking about! More! More of that, Princess! Show me more!”

  In a blur, she appears inches away from me. Claws ready to slash out my throat. Expecting this, I lean into the attack, letting it pierce into the side of my chest. The pain radiates through me as her claws dig into me. Grabbing her arm, I keep the claws in me.

  “Caught you.”

  Pulling her close, I slam my head hard into hers. At the same time, she takes her free hand and slashes into my hand. The tendons in my arm tear, forcing me to let go, but I’m not letting her go that easily. As she pulls her claw out of my ribs, I punch out her elbow.

  Luna rears back in pain as she lets out a cackling laugh. She holds her arm up and winces as it dangles freely. With her wolfen eyes, she looks me up and down.

  “Seems like you have a problem. Have you tried thinking more and fighting less?” I ask as I pick up my greatsword.

  “Seems I owe you an apology, Princess. I’m Luna Sharpfang, daughter of Lycaon Sharpfang. May Zeita bless our hunt,” she says as her eyes change to a fiery red.

  [Apex], a [Skill] that encapsulates the very essence of what it means to be at the pinnacle of power. For a short duration, she’ll have boundless physical power. [STR], [DEX], and [CON]. She’ll surpass me in all of them. The ideal situation would be for me to wait out the end of [Apex], but even if I could, I don’t think I want to. That’s just not who I am. There’s no point in winning if I don’t beat her when she’s at her strongest. I have to meet everyone's expectations and then surpass them.

  Forgive me, Luna. You’re just a stepping stone towards the person I want to become. Who I aspire to be. The one I saw in my visions. The Chosen One.

  Luna rockets towards me at a speed that I haven’t seen yet, nor do I see now. The swords around me rattle as she passes them in a blur. Following the sound, I anticipate and block her attack. The weight of her attack nearly causes me to buckle. Another attack. Another block. Again and again her attacks reverberate through me, shaking me to my core. Blood trickles down my arms. The grip on my greatsword is weak. My lungs are burning. My body wants to give up. It wants to fall.

  As Luna goes to attack again, I’m too slow to block it. She slashes down my back, sending pain through my body. As the flurry of blows continues, she gets faster, and I get slower. I fail to block more attacks as my body begins to suffer the effects of this fight. I might not be able to feel the pain as much thanks to [Pain Resistance], but that doesn’t mean the wounds aren’t there. I need to end this quickly.

  As Luna goes to attack, I [Step]. Luna slashes the air next to her to no avail. From above her, I push myself off my [Shield] and rocket towards. Her claws spark on my greatsword as I come down on her. With her claws preoccupied, I let go of my weapon. A blinding white energy builds in my fist as I punch her straight across the jaw. The following [Light Beam] bursts through her head. As the light fades, a seared and singed face smiles down at me.

  “That’s what I’m talking about!” Luna yells before passing out.

  Trying to catch my breath, I look down at my mangled body. I shake my head.

  “How unbecoming of me,” I say as I pass out from the blood loss.