Volume 2 Episode 16

Win.

That's all what Christian had heard in his life. Ever since he showed unlimited potential and an astonishing growth rate of leveling up, he had always been told to win. To beat others. To never give up. 

Christian Ivan Andric was a shy person. He couldn't make conversations with people and thus he had no friends. As a result, he spent most of his time focusing on improving his skills and powers. His speed of leveling up had always been an anomaly to him. It was way faster than other people, and coupled with his self training helped him to get to the eighteenth level faster than most people. 

But he didn't like to train. He did before, but not after his parents started forcing him. They, who had been tempted by fame and money that came with extraordinary talent tried to make the most of it. 

He hated doing it. He hated training for someone else. He hated winning for someone else. He hated living for someone else.

But he didn't have the courage to take a stand. He didn't have the courage to stand up for himself. He didn't have the courage to tell them to stop.

.

.

.

Christian Ivan Andric was a shy person.

As he stood against his first opponent, he couldn't remember what he actually wanted. He didn't remember if he even had a dream. All he heard was one word.

.

.

.

.

.

Win.

**********************************************

"Contestant number thirty four, Mr. Lin Hamill, please step into the arena."

With the officials calling his name, Lin got up from the couch and moved through the stadium tunnel, reaching the entrance of the stadium. As he stepped onto the arena, he could hear the chanting and shouting of the spectators, all of whom seemed like they were having a great time. The stadium itself was large enough to host a football match, and had a capacity of over seventy thousand people and it looked like most of it had indeed been booked. It had indeed lived up to his expectations of being one of the most famous events in all of Korea. 

He then stepped into the field. As magic user battles tend to cause a lot of damage, the fights were conducted in arenas the size of a large football field. This tends to minimize property damages and spectator injuries. It also gave the contestants more freedom to express their powers. Lin stepped forward to greet his opponent before the match began as a form of courtesy, and while doing so, he studied the person he was facing.

His opponent was Hugh Geller, a level eleven second year old with the affinity of ice magic, a sub genre of water magic. He had to be on guard as he could only use fire magic in front of the audience, and fire is easily at a disadvantage when faced with ice. Even though his mind was going through all sorts of scenarios, Lin still had a poker face, and shook the hand of the opponent. Geller also followed suit, locking their hands.

'Why's he wearing a jacket in this weather?' Lin looked at the jacket Hugh was wearing. It was the type of jacket you'd wear on a very cold day, not something you would wear normally.

"Good luck Mr. Hamill."

"Good luck to you as well, Mr. Geller."

After a short exchange of pleasantries, both parties moved away from each other, as the referee came in between them and spoke.

"You both know the rules, but I still have to say it! The contestant is considered to have lost if; he or she gives up voluntarily, he or she loses consciousness, he or she is knocked outside the field, or finally, if he or she appears to be in critical danger. These reasons stated before are considered for the final judgement and shall not be questioned at all. Do you both agree?"

At the referee's question, both the contestants nodded their head, giving their confirmation. The referee nodded back, and stepped out of the field, and the large screen on the top of the stadium started a digital countdown from ten. The audience started counting down along with the screen, and soon all you could hear was the loud countdown of the spectators, as the chanting enveloped the stadium. Both the participants looked at each other, studying the other party, trying to figure out what their plan might be, and how to counter it.

TEN!

'He probably knows that I'm a fire magic user, which might mean that there's a chance that he'll underestimate me. I might be able to make use of that during the first attack if I am fast enough." Lin thought about his strategy.

NINE!

'Wait! He might've already researched my fight with Leslie. That fight was a trending topic in the academy for sometime. Besides, he has been looking at my hands for a few seconds right now. He might probably be expecting a fireball attack right off the bat. Considering my fight with Leslie, that might be what someone might think my plan would be.'

EIGHT!

'Considering that I had to test my level before entering the arena to present the latest information of the participants to the public, he might've already known I reached level nine. Which means he's most probably extra cautious. This might prove to be bothersome.'

SEVEN!

'So what can I do against Hugh? I may be able to handle being injured with my healing abilities, but he can definitely knock me out of the field if the fight goes on.'

SIX!

'So what is the plan? What will work against him if he is overly cautious? He probably won't let me get close to him, so I may have to resort to long long range attacks which still works to his advantage.'

FIVE!

'Is my only option to extend the fight to test our endurance? I would most likely lose out as water element users usually have a lot of endurance, especially the ones with ice as their magic. Should I take the risk?'

FOUR!

'No, wait a minute. Could it work? I mean, it would result in my endurance running low faster than expected, but so will his. Should I try it?'

THREE!

'Yeah, I guess I should take this chance. Plus it would be an eye-catching experience for the viewers as well. Might as well use it to make me a bit more famous.'

TWO!

'Hugh, you better remove your jacket..'

ONE!

'... Because it's going to get really hot soon.'

LET'S RUMBLE!!!!