Those with the strongest fist makes the rules

A tall elf pale white in complexion stared at me intently with her beautiful deep blue eyes. She wore a long beautiful silver gown that has stars embroidered on it. The temperature dropped all of a sudden and the surroundings were covered in frost.

"After several millennials, a worthy human has been able to get into the Original Realm." The elf said as she sizes me from head to toe.

"Your talent for magic is less than average but there's something about your soul, I guess that's why you were able to activate the circle in the real world. You are here now and it means you have some qualification but before you continue, you will have to defeat me and prove that you're capable enough to inherit the legacy of the Supreme Archmage and rule over every creature in this world and in the outer  universe if you're lucky enough" She continued.

"..... Inheritance ... legacy...  what Supreme bullsh*t.

Who the f**ck wants some stupid inheritance left behind by some dude I know nothing about and how am I to defeat you if I am this weak under the pressure you're emitting." These were things I said to myself internally of course, it's not like I have the guts to say it to her face but all in all I don't want any inheritance. Like what I said when I first reincarnated I have no plans for world domination and now someone is asking me to do something I don't want to. I absolutely won't do it.

The female elf looked at me making a strange expression on my face, she saw someone uninterested in the legacy left behind by the Supreme Archmage. In fact forget the Supreme Archmage, any legacy left behind by a very powerful mage will be coveted by everyone and it will cause a bloodbath and now there's someone in front of her not interested in the Supreme Archmage inheritance. 

Did he hit his head somewhere?

"Wait, she said something about me activating the circle in the real world. Those that mean this place is not an actual world but something like a pocket dimension?. If so, then it makes sense because the magical beast I saw on my way here including the thunderbird are said to be something of legend and myth even in a world of magic. " I said to myself

" Human, do you or do you not want the inheritance of the Supreme Archmage? Give me your answer immediately and let me decide your worth." The elf said to me impatiently.

" Umm… it's not that I don't want this Supreme Archmage inheritance but I have some questions and I was hoping you could provide some answers to me." I replied.

"Your questions I can answer only if I have the answer to them and if I can't answer it you will have to defeat me to climb the next step. Maybe the person you will meet will have the answers to it." She said to me,

" Well that's still fair" I said and got into a fighting stance. 

"Hmph….. show me your worth" her pale white hands glowed icy blue as she got into her own fighting stance.

"You're an ordinary human so I won't bully you too much, I will only use my physical strength on you" she added as she withdrew her magic and her hand returned to normal and she also adjusted her height to mine. 

"Still fair" I replied and got ready to defend her attack.

She's way more powerful than me even without magic. What I can do is to defend and understand her pattern. Maybe I can find a counter for it.

Her first attack arrived almost instantaneously and it was a punch. I dodged to the side barely avoiding it, I guess the training forced upon me by my father paid off.

Next, she raised her left leg in a kick towards the left side of my head and I blocked it with both of my hands and I could barely feel them afterwards.

Her attacks were quick and precise, hitting the intended places. My body now has different sizes of wounds and bruises. At first most of her attacks hit me but after some time, my reflexes were catching up to her  intentionally or instinct. 

Before all I could see were her afterimages and me blocking her attacks were based purely on instinct and luck. Now I can see her real body but she is still fast.

"Her attack patterns are very unique, it's like fighting different people at once. It's going to be hard to take her down easily." Edward said under breath as he successfully dodged another of the elf's attacks. 

A long time had passed but we were still fighting. All I could do at the moment was defend because she gave me no space to counter her attacks. 

My movements were becoming sluggish and I could barely keep up, the elf attacks were also slowing down but it still packed as much power as it did when we started initially. Knowing that my defending tactics won't work anymore, I decided to attack her aggressively.

When her next attack came at me due to the speed I was able to get myself a good distance from her, I dodged it and adjusted my center of gravity before launching myself into the air. I immediately folded my hand and sent a jab to her face which she caught and used the hand to draw me close to her. I finally saw an opportunity, before she could reach me I bent and rolled on the ground and got behind her.

I adjusted my center of gravity again by digging my leg into the ground and I made sure I packed enough power into my hand before punching the side of her belly. She staggered and almost lost her footing, without giving her space to breath I sent a  flurry of punches and kicks towards her. 

The position was now in reverse, I was doing the attacking while she was doing the defending but she couldn't last long under the barrage of attacks and neither could I continue the attacks forever so I took things up a notch by getting close to her and adding more power to my attacks.

My strategy paid off as she couldn't move after some time and she gave up.

"I must say human, you are very strong for someone as young as your age." She said impressed.

" You praise me too much, this is only a mere meager skill of mine" I replied.

" Hmph… you must either be too humble or conceited but I must say you do have the skill to back it up but don't let this victory get into your head because I fought with you with just my physical strength and not magic." She said destroying my victory celebration. 

My eyes twitched as she said it but I couldn't refute what she said.

"Thank you for reminding me. You promised to answer my questions, so can I ask them now?" I asked.

" You can ask your questions but remember that I will only answer those that I have the answers to" she said. 

" Ok then, What is this place and how were all the magical beasts that are said to be stuff of legend and myth in here and why are they here including you? Who is this Supreme Archmage you talk about and what type of inheritance did he leave behind?."I asked these questions in a rush. 

" I will answer your question one by one.

First, what is this place? This place is a separate world or space created by the Supreme Archmage. It doesn't exist in the real world and it has strict entry criteria. Not just any creature can access this place, only magical beasts or creatures that have the bloodline of powerful ancient magical creatures like me but the bloodline must be very pure or it won't be allowed entry. 

Secondly, you're surprised by the amount of creatures that look like those of myth and legend. I don't know the answer to it but I can tell you that they have been here for a very long time, if not hundreds or thousands of years. 

Lastly, who is the Supreme Archmage? I don't know the answer because I didn't get to see him. Now that I have answered your questions.

Continue your test on the step of fate" she said and disappeared.

I had no opportunity to talk to her or ask her more questions, she didn't answer most of my questions. I suddenly felt my body going cold and it felt impossible for me to move. It took some time before I could finally move my body. My body felt lighter than before and I could feel some kind of energy in my body.

"Is my magic core forming already? Why do I feel powerful all of a sudden?" I asked myself as I felt the immense power coursing through my body. 

The surroundings changed and I could see the stairs again. I took a deep breath and I made up my mind. I don't want to dominate the world but that doesn't mean that I want to be weak. No matter the world I find myself in, be it here or Earth, those with power make the rules and I have the opportunity to gain strength. Why should I give up on it? I'm not sick in the head.

I took a deep breath and climbed onto the next step.