A minor headache decided to use the spot just behind my eyes as drums as it pounded out a beat to wake me up. “Damn,” I muttered. “What is going on with my body recently?” While I had never been the picture of healthy, especially when one considered what I was used to eating, I had never had any of these issues.

  “Biomonitoring systems are detecting minor traces of toxins.” My AI’s voice cut into my brain, it both startled me and caused my headache to flair up even more.

  My hands flew to cradle my head as I asked the stupid program, “What do you mean traces of toxins?”

  “Unknown, the system was not monitoring the game at the time.”

  Wasn’t the system supposed to do that at all times? Something told me it was but I couldn’t spare the energy to fight with the program right now. Instead, I took my time to slowly turn in and place my feet on the floor while I asked “But it is monitoring it now?”

  “The system constantly monitors your physical health,” its reply confused me. “A protocol in the system must have been triggered to monitor your in-game health.”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” I got out as I stood up and shuffled my way to the bathroom. “Are you talking about a toxin in my game character or in my physical body?”

  “In your avatar.” It was as if a small amount of weight suddenly lifted off my shoulders. I don’t know why, but I had expected the AI to tell me that the game had somehow implanted a toxin in my physical body. Probably due to all the novels I had read about this kind of game and technology being used in similar, or worse, ways.

  “Any idea on how long until the toxin is out of my body?” I asked as I moved to splash my face with cool water.

  “Symptoms will pass within the day.” Ok, I could deal with that. Especially if this was the worst that I could expect over that time. It wasn’t like I had anything dangerous or exciting planned for the day. Just training.

  After a quick shower and a simple breakfast made by yours truly, I made my way down to the training room. Mindi and Jeremiah stood nearly nose to nose in the middle of the room as they talked animatedly about something.

  “I am telling you,” Mindi sounded like she considered the guy an idiot as she spoke. “Pull directly from your mana pool and form the spell manually. You will find that it is both faster and more flexible.”

  “That makes absolutely no sense.” He sounded like he was annoyed at something as his voice continued to grow louder. “Calling a spell forth with a skill should be faster and more powerful considering the system is actively helping you.”

  “No,” Mindi's voice was nearly a growl as stomped her foot in annoyance, something I had never seen her do.

  “Morning,” I cut in as I tried to stop the argument from escalating to a shouting match. They both whirled around to face me. “Where is everyone else?”

  Mindi rolled her eyes while Jeremiah stated, “On the other side of the walls getting the training area ready. But that’s not all that important.” I raised an eyebrow at his declaration but didn’t stop him. “You need to help me convince this backward mage that using skills to cast spells is better than doing so manually.”

  “I am not backward. You are the fucking idiot that thinks that anything he does is perfect and cannot be worse than another method.”

  I found myself acting like my mother did when another kid and I got into an argument. My hands lifted to placate them as I spoke. “I am sure that both types have their strengths. I honestly wouldn’t know and thus cannot say.”

  “Huh?” Jeremiah looked taken aback at my statement. “You don’t use skills to cast your spells?”

  With a shake of my head, I said, “I didn’t even know that you could use skills to cast spells. Anyway, we can talk and walk so would one of you lead the way to wherever we are supposed to meet the group.” With a step backward to get out of the doorway and make room for either of the two to take the lead. I watched and waited for a good minute as they glared at one another. Fed up, I growled out a question for both. “What will Barti and Michael think when I tell them what took us so long to get out there?” That got both of them scrambling as their eyes became as wide as saucers.

  Not that I would have said anything to either Barti or Michael. And that was assuming they asked. Hell, even if they did, I could have feigned not feeling well and that it took me longer than normal to get down to the training room. But, neither of the two bozos in front of me knew that. Not with how fixated their brains had gotten on proving their casting method was better.

  They were both quiet until we stepped out of the building and onto the main road. “What spells can you cast?” Mindi asked. I thought she was asking me but when I tried to answer, her elbow jabbed into my side, shutting me up.

  Jeremiah hesitated for a minute until finally saying, “Air and water ball, gust, and a few other minor spells.” While I didn’t know what spells he could cast, I knew that he could cast more than that.

  Mindi likely knew this as well, but she didn’t force the answer out of him. “How about this,” she had a gleam of an idea in her eyes that kind of scared me. “You pick a couple of water spells of varying difficulty. Things not tied to your class. Then we both cast the spells one after another at a target. Whoever finishes first wins.”

  “What do we win?” His eyes also seemed to gleam as the discussion went from a theoretical argument between mages to a challenging quest for a gamer.

  “Depends on what you want.” She sounded nonplussed at his sudden change in attitude.

  “How about Kyren.”

  His answer startled me and all I could get out was a “Wait. What!?” I practically yelled at his price. One of the gate guards looked in our direction but otherwise did nothing as we passed through. A window popped up at that moment.

  Leaving Proxima. 25 silver deducted for toll.

  “The toll went up again,” Jeremiah grunted before continuing his discussion of the reward he wanted. “If I win, I want to take Kyren to the Spring Festival but he has to wear the dress.”

  “No, absolutely not.” I cried out.

  Unfortunately for me, neither listened as Mindi uncharacteristically spoke over me. “Agreed, but if I win, he goes with me.”

  “Fuck both of you!” I yelled at the both of them. “How about you guys wear the dress and I wear whatever the fuck I want!?” They both shot me a look that practically said to shut up. Annoyed and sick of the discussion, I let my mana flow out of me and into the ground ahead of us. It took me a matter of seconds to form the two spells I needed below the surface.

  As soon as they were within a foot of the two spots, I released the spells. Two pillars of fire erupted right in their path. The displaced stone and dirt flew up, peppering both of them with tiny rocks. While neither were all that hurt, it was still enough to get my displeasure through their obviously thick skulls.

  Or so I thought. They both shot me a glare but it was Jeremiah who spoke first. “Keep that up and I might demand that we go shopping for something else for you to wear.”

  “Oh, I was just going to demand that he put the dress on now.” She said before something occurred to her. A mischievous grin curled the corners of her mouth as she continued. “In fact, didn’t Barti say that you needed to wear the dress during training?”

  “He did, but we are not in training right now. Merely walking to it.” I scoffed as I was annoyed that she remembered.

  “So you are going to get dressed out here?” He asked. His eyes seemed to roam over my body. He was likely imagining what I would look like as I changed. It was a look that sent a shiver of distaste racing down my spine. I wanted to beat the guy's ass for even thinking it. While I wasn’t female and didn’t have as much to hide when in a group of men, I was more than a little self-conscious of my body and their judging, wandering eyes.

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  I shook my head as an idea popped into my mind. It wasn’t a good idea, to be sure, but it was my only chance to stop this before it got any worse. This wasn’t the time to step down. For all I knew, this was one of those times when their eyes and looks could be stopped with a simple demonstration. Showing them that I was truly what I said I was.

  As we crested a hill we found ourselves on a flat, dirt-covered, place. It was large enough for my old high school to host several sports games at one time without fear of interference or crowding. Oddly though, the place wasn’t just dirt. Here and there, as well as forming the ring around the whole thing, were stones buried just enough to sit flush with the surface.

  Standing in the middle, Barti, Tindi, Victor, Lance, Patric, Linda, and Michael all waited. All of whom looked in our direction as Victor talked animatedly about something. Barti was the one to stop him as we got close enough to hear the group clearly. “Where is your armor?” He spoke with a bit of annoyance at what he likely perceived as my ignoring his instructions.

  “Let me get changed.” As I spoke every eye snapped in my direction. Some looked to be thinking they would get an eyeful of something while others looked concerned. I didn’t care. Or at least I kept telling myself I didn’t care. Maybe if I kept repeating it, it would become true.

  I didn’t give myself any time to second guess my decision or hesitate as I started to strip. The moment my shirt went over my head, more than one pair of eyes looked at my chest.

  I don’t know how I could tell, but I just knew that the girls were looking at my muscles while the guys were looking at my pecks. As I moved on, I tried to not react as I undid my pants and let them slip down my legs. I went so far as to intentionally let them catch on my boxers on their way down, revealing my junk to the whole group.

  With effort, I pushed my need to rush and fix my underwear to the side. Choosing instead to take my time as I reached for where the two were latched onto one another. When my boxers were released from their captor’s grasp, I stood back up. It took only a moment for me to put everything away as I pulled the dress out of my inventory and dropped it over my head. It quickly settled into place.

  “What the fuck was that?” Victor asked. His eyes looked like they were still glued to my lower half.

  Before I answered, I took a second to get a look at everyone's reactions. Lance was as indifferent to me as ever. His tail sat still as he looked out into the distance. Barti had an eyebrow up as if he was asking me if I really needed to do that. Honestly, probably not but it was already done. No taking it back now.

  Linda, Mindi, and Tindi all had a bit of jealousy in their eyes. No clue why though. Each of them looked just as good in their own way. Michael, his eyes were full of heat, something I didn’t expect. Though I was fairly sure Linda would kill him if he ever tried to act on it. Patric, on the other hand, was not as limited, and judging by the looks in his eyes, he was running through various scenarios in his head.

  Thankfully the last two, Victor and Jeremiah, looked like they had gotten the shock of a lifetime. They looked both horrified and disgusted. Which had been the reaction I had hoped to get from everyone. I shrugged as I answered Victor. “I was told that I needed to wear the dress when training, not that I needed to wear it wherever I walked.”

  Most of them rolled their eyes, but all of them shifted their focus to Michael and Barti. “I say we have him go against our wolf,” Michael stated.

  Something flickered across Mindi and Tindi’s expressions at the word wolf. Before they could do or say anything, Barti spoke up. “I don’t see an issue with that. Into your positions, both of you.”

  Lance stayed quiet as he turned and walked toward a piece of stone halfway to the other side of the circle. It was made of a bright white material. As soon as I noticed it, I noticed the rest of them. Each was the same distance from each edge and the center. I was fairly sure that, if the circle was viewed from above, they would be evenly spaced. “What does this circle do?” I asked as I started backing toward a stone opposite his.

  “Just shields the rest of the world, and the viewers, from any stray magic. It also prevents outsiders from interfering with the match. Fair warning though, this one will not prevent you from dying so I wouldn’t be stupid if I were you.” Linda stated. “It is a similar spell to that used in every arena and coliseum in this kingdom.”

  With that, the group took the opportunity to get out of the circle as I jogged to my starting position. With a mental shake of my head, I cleared my head and focused on my opponent. I took a second to try and recall anything that I could about his fighting style. Unfortunately, no matter what, I couldn’t seem to find anything concrete or useful in my memories.

  The only time I had gotten to see him fight was while we were killing bugs. During which he fought with knives or claws that appeared out of nowhere. Which meant I had no clue what weapons he used. As for his tactics. They were just as unknown because there were times that he brute forced his way through his opponents while other times he did some hit-and-runs.

  So, honestly, I was in the dark about my first opponent. The only things I knew were that he seemed to like up-and-close attacks and that he was part wolf. So useful when you were going to fight the guy. My only hope was to keep my distance and…suddenly a loud bell rang out from all around me. The very air shook as whatever it was announced its presence.

  While I was looking for the source, my eyes wandered a bit. By the time they went to check on my opponent, I realized he was no longer there. A moment later, something slammed into my side. I folded in half as the force of the hit sent me flying through the air.

  The sides of my left leg were the first things to touch the ground. They provided just enough drag to slow my lower half down and rotate my upper half forward. Within moments of being hit, my entire side was being dragged across the dirt and stone ground. “Ow.” That was all I managed to get out before he was on me again.

  I watched as a clawed fist flew in my direction. It was aimed at my middle. Without time to think, I let my body do what it would. Mana gushed out of my center and into my limbs as I enhanced my body. My sword dropped into my hand already moving. Slicing through the air as I moved to block his strike.

  His claws and my sword met a shower of iridescent sparks. The color reminded me of a magnesium fire I had seen online. Only, videos could never seem to get across just how hot the damn stuff was. I could feel the sparks as they landed on my arms, even through the dress. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to check on my burns. I had to simply hope that they were not that bad or that the pieces of metal wouldn’t light me on fire.

  He stood there as his claws ground against the edge of my sword. It was taking everything I had, enhanced and not, to keep him where he was. If I moved or let the enhancement spell fail, he would gain the upper hand. Likely even winning. So, I needed to do something now, before I ran out of mana.

  His position made my legs useless and I couldn’t twist around or my sword would twist out of the path of his claws. Freeing them to continue their trajectory. The same went for either hand. That only left magic.

  As quickly as I could, I formed a tiny fireball below each of his feet. The one closest to me went off first. While the small amount of force was nowhere near enough to toss him off his feet, it was enough to cause him to stumble a bit as he tried to keep his balance.

  I took the opportunity presented to shove him back with all my might. He stumbled back as his arms reflexively wheeled their way through the air. I slashed forward only to stop when my sword touched his neck. “STOP!” cried Michael from where the group stood. I did as he bade. Pulling my sword away from Lance’s neck and returning it to my inventory.

  Lance seemed a bit hesitant but eventually offered me a hand. The claws that had been there were nowhere to be seen. When I took it, he pulled me to my feet. While we waited for the rest of the group to join us, I asked him a question. “Where do your claws come from?”

  He looked taken aback by the question. Like he couldn’t believe I would ask such a thing. “All beastman have natural weapons of one kind or another,” Barti’s voice startled me as he simply appeared. “It is one of the things that you, as a human without such things, will have to watch for.”

  I tried to cover my surprise with a question. It didn’t help that my mind kept generating images of elves with claws or such growing out of their hands. “What about you? Elves don’t have such weapons either, do they?”

  He actually laughed at that. “No, we do not have claws. We have our magic.”

  “But don’t humans have magic too? Wait, don’t most creatures have magic?”

  “Well yes, but I think you misunderstood me. We don’t have just magic. We have our magic.” He emphasized the word ‘our’ for some reason.

  “The dumb elf isn’t explaining it well. He means that the elves have a special kind of magic.” Mindi said while she shot a glare at Barti. Before I could roll my eyes and tell her I got that much, she continued. “A magic that they generate naturally.”

  “As opposed to how we gather magic from our surroundings?”

  “Yep,” Linda said, “My dad once told me that it makes it hard to hold an elf. You need to constantly drain their mana to keep from escaping.” Tindi and Mindi both shot her a look of suspicion. She held her hands up in surrender. “He is a guard. You don’t think that there are no elves in jail do you?”

  “Anyway,” Michael said, trying to pull the discussion back on track. “Kyren, let us start with you. What do you think you did wrong during that fight?”

  I answered without hesitation. “I got distracted by whatever created the bell-like noise.”

  Mindi, Tindi, and Victor all laughed, “That was the starting bell.”

  “Oh,” I mumbled as I dropped my eyes toward the ground in embarrassment. How was I supposed to know that there would be a bell announcing the fight? Then again, it was a bit obvious now that I thought back on it.

  “But, is there anything else?” Michael asked.

  “I didn’t keep an eye on my opponent. I underestimated him. I didn’t have my weapon out at the start of the fight.” I started to list things off before finally saying, “I let myself get into a disadvantageous position with only one way out.”

  Michael nodded before turning to Lance. He didn’t even have to ask before Lance spoke. “I didn’t go for the kill with my first attack.”

  “Correct,” Barti said. “You had the advantage thanks to Kyren being distracted by the starting bell. You could have, and should have, ended the match there and then. So why didn’t you?” Lance simply shrugged as he chose not to answer the question. “Well, no matter. Get back into position.” The group as a whole turned to the closest edge and started to walk.

  “Wait,” I said, causing Barti to turn and look at me. “Am I really facing him again? Shouldn’t I fight someone else?”

  “While you won that fight, you have much to learn from fighting him. You will keep going until we feel you are ready to take on someone else.” That was all he said before taking off to join the group. Shaking my head, I walked the dozen feet needed to return to my starting position. This time getting my sword into a ready position while also locking my eyes onto Lance. I was determined to not lose sight of him this time.