"A small fight sometimes brings big problems."

So we went outside and decided how to carry out the "friendly" contest. Belit wanted to use the weapons and I would not have had any problems, but her colleagues rushed to convince her otherwise.

The test would consist of a simple hand-to-hand combat. The loser would be the first to become unconscious or surrender.

Once we agreed in the conditions of the match, we looked for a large space to settle accounts.

There was an ideal place near the small stable in the tavern. It was surrounded by some nearby trees that gave shade, had grass but not flowers, and had a single bush; in this last one it was where I planned to throw to the barbarian if I had to knock her out of a hit.

Belit took a few moments to show us all her impressive muscles, which gleamed with sweat in the dying afternoon sun, although I was not sure if it was a last attempt to intimidate me or she was just bragging before her companions. I took advantage of that valuable time to feel the presence of mana and the elements in the vicinity.

There was living mana and dead mana but I decided to use only the first one because I did not wanted to alarm the mage or the priestess. As for the elements, I really had a wide variety of options to choose from.

Just by sensing the nearby stable I knew it could provide me with water from the drinking trough, blood from the horses and mules that were inside, wood from the boards with which it was made, and bone from the dead animals that were buried nearby.

On top of that, in the space around me I could feel the air that surrounded me, the earth on the dirty ground I walked on, the herb and nature on the grass and trees growing nearby. To a lesser extent I perceived the mixture of light and shadow of the sunset rays that illuminated my figure.

If I tried harder and extended my senses to the tavern, I could reach the fire and ash of the fireplace. And of course, the poison inside the alcoholic beverages but this was quite tenuous, since it was completely diluted by the water.

What a shameless tavern owner!

Around the adventurers I could also feel the metal element of the adventurers' weapons and the fire element and the void element of the deep magical aura of the mage.

I did not dare to probe the priestess but I was sure that she would stink of divinity. Also, she probably had even more light element than the sunset rays. And maybe, if she turned out to be an important character, a little bit of destiny and luck.

But I did not need any of that and it would have taken me a little longer to force the mana to absorb the elements already linked to their bodies and minds.

Why do that when I could take all the elements I needed from those sources that were free?

And even if I did not have all those items at hand, I would have preferred to remove the poison and metal elements directly from my weapons rather than use theirs. Mine were of greater purity and quality.

Anyway, all this took me only a few moments. The great advantage of irregular magic over traditional formulaic magic is its enormous speed. The disadvantage was that it was harder. But for a talented mage like me it was like child's play. Belit had still not finished showing off and I had already formulated my plan of action.

I took a bit of bone element from the nucleus of the remains of some animals that were buried nearby to reinforce my own bones. The second element was earth from the soil to strengthen my muscles. Then, a little air element to get faster.

And finally, I used the water element that I took from the nearby from the drinking trough to make my body more slippery. I judged that that was more than enough.

The barbarian female finally decided to take action. With a shout of war so ululating as unintelligible, she rushed to me. It was not a bad tactic. The ululating sound she made with her tongue probably would have distracted more than a wizard or priestess. Losing concentration meant failing the spell and being helpless before the barbarian woman. But I was not so simple.

I barely dodged the first blow by moving to one side and let it pass by. She rearranged herself with an agile pirouette and I backed up in the direction I had chosen a while ago, near the bush.

Once again Belit charged screaming. I have to admit, it was an awesome sight. All her shining muscles in movement and the grimaces she made with her face gave me the impression that a wild beast was pouncing on me.

But I did not need concentration to cast spells. In fact, I did not need to cast spells at all. The few moments before the fight were all that I had needed to summon the living mana and the elements, and I was using them in its raw and unrefined form by virtue of the irregular magic technique.

I dodged the muscular woman's attack one more time and then turned to face her. Just a little bit more. I charged at Belit and let her hit me once. It felt like a wild bull trampling on me. I was sure that if I had not strengthened my bones I would probably had some broken ribs by now. But I ignored the pain and carried on. I pushed her heavy body and make the barbarian step back twice.

Belit could not charge at me because we were too near but the female warrior throw another barrage of punches to me. I let those rub against my chest so that she would not suspect my strategy.

I felt Belit's fist slip once again on my chest and she must have thought that the next blow would actually hit me. But I already had the barbarian exactly where I wanted her. I gave the female warrior a single punch with my magical enhanced strenght. A simple hook to the chin.

The blow was so strong that I raised Belit in the air more than a meter. It is possible that I had cracked her jaw. The barbarian fell like a bag of potatoes on the bush. She was completely knocked out. Three teeth were missing from her bloody mouth. They had fallen to the soil.

I know what you are thinking. It was a brutal blow. Unnecessarily violent. Yes, I agree. But very effective too.

And besides, the group of adventurers had a priestess. As long as I had not killed the barbarian woman with that blow, I was sure the female elf could heal her. Of course, they weren't gonna like what I did at all.

But then, maybe that's how they would left me alone once and for all.

The group of adventurers hastened to help their friend. The priestess checked that the barbarian was still breathing and sighed in relief. She immediately started chanting to cure Belit. In the meantime, the kender and the magician busily tried to contain the redhead ranger that wanted to fight me. That guy had a look that indicated that he wanted a piece of me no matter the cost.

I smiled and just ignored them. I walked a few steps toward a radom direction and enjoyed the last rays of the evening sun in my face. The fight had put me in a good mood. The monster inside me liked violence. He also liked sex and food but mainly, violence. Over time, some of his features had infiltrated my habitual behavior.

"Isaac."

I turned slowly and found myself facing Belit again. She was almost completely recovered. The magic of the elf had healed her wounds. The barbarian smiled at me with her newly regenerated teeth.

"You're the first person to beat me in one fell swoop since I became an adult. And also, the only male in ever doing so, besides my father."

I returned the smile and I extended my arm in the classic barbarous greeting.

"Friends?"

"Friends!" She answered with an enigmatic smile, while she held my arm with her own.

Everyone in the group looked at us joyfully. Well, not all. The redhead ranger still looked at me like he wanted to punch me in the face. Repeatedly.

I began to think that maybe he wanted that this female barbarian became more than a friend to him. Well, I did not wanted to get in his way.

I did not desired a romantic relationship at all. And if I ever suddenly decide to enjoy a one night stand, the elf priestess with the red hair and the well-formed curves was more to my taste than the muscular black haired barbarian.

Now that everything was resolved, I was free to go back to the tavern to enjoy another beer, although I would have to increase the alcohol in the drink by magical means.

And then I was going to go to sleep early to continue my trip in the morning. I planned to get away from the kender, the barbarian and the rest of the crazy people in this group of adventurers as soon as possible.

But lately nothing goes as planned.

At that time, before I could even take a step towards the tavern, the barbarian surprisingly hugged me. Then, she grabbed my head and, in front of the redhead ranger and everyone else, she gave me a kiss right on the lips.