"Riarshi and Tabito, your match begins... now!" Professor Khohn shouted. His hand shot toward the sky, signalling them to start.

At that exact instant, their eyes flashed. Small blue sparks fluttered around Riarshi's feet in the form of thin bright lines, while orange, roaring flames whipped around Tabito's arms.

Riarshi knew he was at a disadvantage when Khohn announced that today's class would be a one-on-one duel. Tabito's prowess with his flame magic was almost on par with Hara's competence with her overpowering matter magic. He had also seen firsthand how lethal it could be. 

Throughout the entire program, Riarshi had used Tabito's immense skill as a crutch, relying heavily on his power to pass each assignment thrown their way. Riarshi, with his feet planted firmly in the field's loose dirt, realized it was his time to show his progress - to prove that even a low magic user like himself could compete with someone as highly skilled as Tabito.

There was no other motive. At least that was what he told himself.

Tabito blasted toward Riarshi like a fiery rocket. His feet sunk into the field's dirt and the flames bursting from his body and hands propelled him forward, launching the ground behind him in an explosion of dirt and debris. Even the strongest kind of Intel magic couldn't have detected Tabito's tremendous burst of speed.

Wide-eyed, Riarshi swiftly side stepped, shifting his spark-covered feet, and slid out of the way of the flaming comet. Blue sparks glided along the battered ground.

Despite the successful extra training with Tabito and Hara the week before, he couldn't quiet the inner worries he had about his magical strength. Riarshi, however, promised himself that he would take his skills to the utmost limit in this fight.

Tabito came to a sliding halt about twenty feet behind Riarshi. He pushed hard with his right foot to break his speed, causing dust to flood the field.

"Hmm, not bad, Riarshi," Tabito sneered with surprise in his voice. "You're definitely faster than before. I guess that extra bit of training we did paid off." The dust floating over the field cleared just enough to show a pair of glowing orange eyes in the distance.

Riarshi clenched his fists and tossed Tabito a smug look in reply. "Don't underestimate your friend, Tabito."

Tabito, still crouching, straightened himself up from the ground and dusted off his shoulder. "I guess I shouldn't."

After a series of dodges, slides, jukes, and bursts of speed from both Newbies, a dry wasteland replaced the remaining grass beneath their feet. Loosened dust and dirt polluted the air. 

Although Tabito's blazing speed was enhanced with flame magic, the sparks around Riarshi's feet never faltered, allowing him to pivot and launch himself out of the way of Tabito's attacks just as quickly as they came.

Hara and the other seven class members spectated the fight from the field's sideline. Her blue eyes, darting back and forth along the field, traced each move in succession as the high magic flame user and the static commoner fought to determine who won the free ticket to the Internship Tryout.

Several other students on the sideline hollered in Tabito's favor.

"Come on, Tabito! Crush that commoner!"

"Stop messing around and beat his ass!"

Riarshi's mind buzzed a mile a minute calculating Tabito's movements. His eyes flashed, searching for an opening. Hearing the voices echoing from the sideline, his brain suddenly sidetracked for a moment.

Riarshi realized that Tabito was one of them - a high level magic user destined for greatness in this magic-ruled world. If someone had power, society expected them to become a Hero or any other noble occupation. They were practically demanded to use their powers in an effort to better the world, rather than waste them on something meaningless.

Riarshi was on the opposite end of the spectrum. He was a rural commoner with weaker magic, bearing no proper place in the Hero Program. Society held no grand expectations for him. Everyone expected him to fall into a predetermined role, work a low-end job, and die.

But he had bigger dreams. Although his parents and Mr. C left him alone in this world, he promised them he'd become a Hero. Riarshi knew that to prove everybody wrong - especially Professor Khohn, Hara, and Leon - he had to beat Tabito with his weak commoner magic to show he belonged with the best. And maybe, just maybe... he was also trying to prove himself wrong in some way.

A swift, swirling kick from Tabito broke Riarshi from his momentary distraction and smashed into his upper arm, sending a sharp pain up to his shoulder. 

Suddenly, the fire around Tabito's shoulders spread and enveloped the orange-haired teen's foot. The roaring fire crackled and seared Riarshi's exposed arm, leaving a glistening red burn on his skin.

Riarshi howled in pain. With an instinctive jump, he leapt away from the red fiery flames and held his burned arm close to his body. It throbbed painfully, forcing a grimace on his sweat-caked face.

Tabito lightly chuckled. Normally he would tend to his friend, but his mind was too focused on the fight to worry about Riarshi's injury.

"Come on, Riarshi," said Tabito. The flames around his feet danced playfully, then went out, "you've seen me use that trick before during our practices. That's what you get for daydreaming in the middle of our fight. Kinda insulting, you know?"

Riarshi had the advantage in natural strength and hand-to-hand combat skills, but Tabito had the convenience of adding an insane amount of magic to his attacks. His flame coat gave him the immediate upper hand in close range battles, since any contact would cause an instant burn. Riarshi knew fully well there was no hope of landing a solid hit without collateral damage.

He had to do something about Tabito's flame coat.

Dust floated around Riarshi's eyes, making them water. Bits of stone and dirt lodged onto this slick burn, sending a radiating pain up through his shoulder. 

Riarshi shook his arm to wiggle off the pain. It didn't help much. He winced, wiped his watering eyes with the back of his non-burned hand, and glanced at the dust cloud flooding the field.

A subtle smirk emerged from his face.

Tabito pointed over to Riarshi, raising an eyebrow. "What-chu smiling about?"

"Come find out for yourself," Riarshi barked. "Unless you're scared."

Riarshi noticed Tabito smile back at him. To Tabito, banter was only fun if someone retaliated, and right now, with Riarshi jawing, he was having the time of his life. 

Dust circled Tabito's feet and the flames surrounding his arms flared higher and hotter. Riarshi felt the heat smack his glistening face.

Another bout of dodges and shifts begun between the two Newbies, but faster and quicker than before. Sparks and flames flew along the ground together in a swirling dance of orange and blue.

"Is dodging the only thing you're gonna do?!" Tabito yelled with effort - slightly annoyed - while throwing rapid combos of kicks and punches. The heat from the crackling fire on Tabito's fists and feet nearly burned Riarshi's skin from sheer proximity alone.

"If you still can't hit me, then yeah," Riarshi huffed as he ducked his head down from a screeching right hook. 

His knees almost gave out. He knew he was approaching his limit. The pins and needles of his magic rose into his chest and the rapid onset of bone splitting fatigue began setting in his feet.

That dark wall was closing in fast. He knew he had to finish this quickly. But he wouldn't use that power.

Riarshi's eyes widened and he squatted low. Another flame powered punch missed him by just inches. He wanted to take a breath to cool the burning in his chest, but he couldn't. He looked at his opponent. 

There was no follow up attack.

Tabito froze in place. His orange eyes bulged from his head. Suddenly, his throat felt like it was being scorched from the inside, sending him into a painful coughing fit. The roaring fire around his arms shrank to mere flickers. He collapsed to his knees, clenching his hands over his neck and heaving.

The audience let out an audible gasp.

"You need oxygen to keep your flames going, don't you, Tabito?" Riarshi asked strenuously. He had been holding his breath for a while now. "The dust flooding the field is suffocating the flames you emit."

Tabito's coughing fit and lack of oxygen caused the fire covering his body to finally flicker out. His strength seized, and he fell to a knee, his face and ears flushed crimson.

"I kinda -cough- copied Hara's strategy, to be honest," said Riarshi between coughs. "So I can't take -cough- all the credit."

During Hara's fight, Riarshi studied the dust hanging over the field like a thick brown cloud. Every time Helga charged toward Hara, her feet chewed up the barren earth and launched more dirt into the air. Riarshi assumed with confidence that Hara exploited the environmental change by using her matter magic on the dirt cloud, manipulating its particles to freeze Helga midair.

It all fell neatly into Riarshi's hands. Tabito's fighting style was very similar to Helga's - charge and attack, wash, rinse and repeat. If Riarshi dodged every punch or kick Tabito threw at him, the more dust and debris would fly into the air, thus eventually suffocating Tabito's flames with the eventual thick cloud that would likely emerge.

Riarshi was proud of his quick thinking. His heart pounded in his chest with adrenaline-induced excitement. He finally had a chance.

Looking toward Professor Khohn with a dagger sharp glare, Riarshi pointed to his legs, bare of sparks or magic.

"The dust has taken away my sparks, too, and I'm barely able to say these words without coughing up a lung." His eyes, watery from dirt flying into their corners, shifted to Tabito. "And just like you, I can't use a single ounce of magic in this cloud."

Tabito lifted his head. His fist covered his mouth with each painful cough and dirt polluted tears seeped from his bloodshot eyes, rolling down his red-flushed cheeks.

"We're both on an even playing field now. But unlike you, I've been told my entire life that I could never be a Hero with how little magic I have. I've been told I don't belong in this world. But right here - right now - I'll show everyone that someone like me can become a Hero, even if I have to throw away my power to do so."

The cloud wouldn't last forever if they both stopped moving. He had to act quick.

Riarshi clenched a white-knuckled fist and sprinted toward his downed friend. Each frantic step churned more coarse dust into the air, adding to the already thick brown cloud looming over the field. 

His lungs felt like they were about to burst into a ball of flames, shriveling and dying within his rib cage. But he held his breath, and charged with all of his might, legs burning with fatigue.

He didn't care if Professor Khohn thought he lacked power - he didn't care if Hara and the other students looked down on him. He would make a statement to everyone.

He released his held breath with a mighty roar and swung his fist toward Tabito's jaw.

Suddenly, Tabito erupted into an intense, blood-curdling, and desperate scream.

Saliva spat from his mouth and splattered to the field below. His eyes shined a blinding orange and flames burst from his hands like a flamethrower. 

He whipped his hand in front of his face in an arc, sending a wave of fire at Riarshi. These flames, hotter than any flame Tabito produced that day, mixed with the dust in the air and transformed into a tall glass wall.

Riarshi's eyes shot open. He couldn't stop his attack - his body was already in motion. Unable to dodge, he smacked into the glass face first. Pain and blood exploded from his nose.

Tabito stood to his feet, lit his fist with a ball of flame magic, and swung a massive uppercut, crashing through the glass wall and connecting with the bottom of Riarshi's jaw. 

A loud CRUNCH! echoed over the field. Riarshi's limp body went airborne and rolled like a rag-doll onto the dust-ridden field. The awful, painful, scrapping sound of skin on dirt rippled in the sky. He came to a sliding stop about thirty feet away.

"The match is over!" Khohn shouted, swiftly raising a hand. "Tabito is the winner of the duel!"

Tabito, with no strength left in his legs, dropped to his knees. His breathing was loud and labored, taking deep breaths to regain the oxygen he had lost. 

A shocking realization hit his brain when the dust cleared and he saw Riarshi's motionless body on the ground. A sharp breath filled his lungs. Despite his lack of strength, he sprung off his knees and sprinted toward his downed friend, stumbling across the field.

Tabito, with a look of horror across his face, grabbed Riarshi by the shoulders and shook him violently

"Riarshi! Riarshi!" he shouted, jolting Riarshi's neck. "Are you okay?!"

Riarshi's eyes slowly opened to see his teary-eyed classmate in the shadow of the strong overhead sun. He grunted, felt the awful sting of a burn, and rubbed his face. Another pink burn framed the underside of his chin, but the searing pain from his touch proved that this one was deeper and more blistered than the one he received on his arm.

"Oww, jeez Tabito, you got me good," Riarshi groaned, each syllable stinging his throbbing jaw.

Tabito held out a hand and helped Riarshi to his feet. Riarshi heard cheers from the other classmates from the sideline.

"Hell yeah, Tabito! You put that Lagic where he belongs!" Leon hollered with a waving fist.

"He never even stood a chance!" Adachi added, cackling like a hyena.

The other students followed their lead with various other jabs and insults.

"Don't listen to them, Riarshi. It was a good fight." Tabito reassured him with a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You gave it your all." His eyes darted between the nasty, shiny burns on Riarshi's chin and arm.

"Thanks, Tabito," Riarshi mumbled. His vision was fading, and the taunts of the other students were beginning to blur together.

Riarshi stumbled, his strength was quickly slipping from his knees. He saw the color drop from Tabito's face - or it could have been the old lady from the marketplace - he hadn't a clue what he was looking at anymore. Either way, whoever he was staring at looked distraught.

Riarshi teetered and collapsed to the side. Someone grabbed his shoulders, pulled him upright, and supported his weight before he hit the ground. His groggy head, lolling on his shoulders, turned to see Khohn, whose arm then wrapped tightly around his waist.

"We're going to the infirmary," he said sternly.

Khohn's features were blending into a chaotic blur of brown and white. Before it all went black, Riarshi thought he saw a look of disgust - or was it sadness - on his professor's face.