Frei felt light. Lightest he have ever been,

The irons that weighed roughly 8 kilos that were bound tight around his limbs and the chains that he had been accustomed to, had been all cut loose and open by the old man.

Frei lifted both his hands up, clenched tight so tight that his sharp nails pierce into his skins, bleeding it but Frei didn’t feel any pain, only the adrenaline surged throughout his body. He got into a boxing stance out of pure instincts, both his left fist and left leg in front while the other two right limbs behind. However the stance was imperfect, though not terrible.

Frei didn’t feel scared or nervous, probably because of the boy roughly similar age in front of him, at best can only intimidate kittens and puppies, and the fact that he was also visibly shaking and crying. Even with the previous shackles and ragged clothes, Frei can tell that the boy wasn’t that bad off, well based on a slave’s standard. 

Though the boy was skinny, he wasn’t malnourished nor was he as badly treated as the slaves Frei had seen before. As though scars of caning do exist across his body, it wasn’t that obvious or bad. 

Frei was confident he could beat him. Though he wasn’t quite sure of how to win.

As the cheering got louder outside the cage, the nobles started throwing coins and lifting their hands up in excitement of the fight. The pressure eventually got to the shaking unconfident boy, as he lifted his hands up the next moment, mimicking Frei’s stance, preparing to fight.

The two of them stared at each other’s eyes with great focus, and within their pitch-black, abyss-like eyes, reflected the other’s figure.

They closed in on the other, with only a distance of half a meter away from each other, each of their fist and legs can be used to hit the other if done correctly. 

Within the timeframe of them pacing themselves to one another, matching each other’s rhythm, with only their own breathing as the only disturbance to them. The boy looked away for a slight moment. 

Then all of a sudden his head was facing the direction of the campfire that was on his right a moment ago. 

He received a right hook from Frei, damaging his cheek bone and turning his face towards the campfire for a moment before he turned his head back and instantaneously threw a weak jab back at Frei. 

It landed. Frei was pushed back a little, and his head tilted a little from the punch yet his eyes fixated on the boy.

Frei turned a little trying to get a little momentum and force into his left jab, which unfortunately only grazed the boy’s skin due to his small frame and build.

Just barely dodging the left jab Frei gave, immediately returning with a left uppercut. He lunged forward trying to close in the distance and swing his left fist upwards onto Frei’s chin. 

Frei reacted in time, moving back slightly and only grazing his chin.

By now the then confident Frei became slightly more cautious as the boy got a little bit more confident.

After barely dodging the uppercut, he quickly returns a strike of his own, a body shot, hitting the boy undefended body, with him only defending his face. 

When the body shot landed, the boy reacted in pain, as he felt a minor ache in his left ribs even with the adrenalin. “ARGH” he yelled as he threw a flurry of uncalculated attacks at Frei.

Frei found an opening given generously by the opponent himself, as his body is left undefended once again only using his hands to throw random attacks. In response, Frei rushed in crouching to dodge all the attacks above him, and grabbed a hold of the boy, bringing him onto the ground where Frei had the advantage.

The two of them wrestled. However with the two of them having zero experience in wrestling, it just looked like two monkeys wrestling for food from the outsiders’ perspective.

Their vision reduced, unable to see each other clearly as they both tried to get ahold of one another, to keep the either one from moving. Frei was unable to move his right hand due to it being stuck under the boy so Frei had enough and started punching while he was leg locked by the boy who is right below him.

While the boy was getting hit in the abdomen, he endured it and started to grab Frei’s ragged clothes tightly using his left hands and on his right place his hands on Frei’s chest, then he tried to push Frei, releasing his leg lock and pushed Frei using every single fiber in his body.

One moment to another, Frei got lifted and pushed away, gaining enough distance and time for the boy to get up and return into stance, though sloppy. His sight blurred, mind dizzy and as the adrenaline gradually subsided, the ache in his ribs, the pain in his guts 

All the while, Frei was fresh and eager.

The boy, after fighting Frei, realized he can’t fight him in a battle of strength and agility, but rather in a battle of wits and intellect. While his body was aching and his attention on the eager Frei, he calmly examined the area around him all the while still maintaining distance from Frei.

Tables.

The dull cutlery.

The campfire.

The ground.

Frei looked intently, at each of the opponent’s limbs, each fiber so as to predict and foresee his next move.

Then the boy moved. He sidestepped to the big campfire within the center of the cage. While still retaining his focus on Frei. Then he moved behind it, provoking Free to move towards him behind the campfire.

Frei lowered his guard, now that the boy no longer has sight of him nor does Frei have sight of the boy. Frei calmly thought about the ways of confronting the boy hiding behind the campfire. 

Then the smoldering flames in the campfire revealed a small gap, a gap big enough to see through it. Frei saw for a split moment, the silhouette of the boy, preparing to throw a fork right at him.

The next moment, the fork was thrown through the fire, piercing Frei’s forearm, had he not blocked, the fork would have directly pierce his eyes. 

Frei grunted in pain. As he pulled out the fork, more eating utensils were thrown through the fire which then stabbed Frei. “Hooo.” Frei breathed out calmly, frowning his eyes, while multiple cutleries were stabbed into his flesh. The blood in his forearm started to drip down, then he looked at the table beside him, then he got an idea.

The boy, with no idea if the utensils did anything to Frei, decides to continue his strategy of delaying the fight by throwing. Until he was faced with the same thing, two or three utensils were thrown at him through the fire, he dodged two but one barely pierced his skin like a needle. ‘

Then suddenly, a loud step appeared on his right. It was Frei slamming the ground with his feet, with his fists readied up. Which surprised the boy, and Frei threw a heavy jab which landed perfectly.

*Thud*

The impact knocked the boy to the ground.

Frei got closer and as he continued, his shadow towered over the boy. 

The boy looked up at Frei, afraid of what he might do to him. The fire reflected off Frei's skin, with only part of his face clearly shown and the angered yet happy expression that Frei had scared him even more. 

Frei now got the upper hand and as he looked down on the fearful boy beneath him, he smiled. For no particular reason, at all. At least, a reason that he knows of.

Frei got on top of the boy, and started beating him, trying to knock him out. 

*Thawk*

*Thawk*

*Thawk*

The sounds of the beating were masked and covered by the gradually loudening sounds of cheering.

As Frei is slowing down the punches, gradually getting ready to stop. 

The boy threw grains of sand that he dug while getting beaten to a pulp, temporarily blinding him. 

“ARGH!” Freigrunted in pain. 

In that moment, the boy quickly lunged towards the blinded Frei, and had both his hands grabbing Frei’s head. Both his thumbs pressed with great pressure on Frei’s eyelids as Frei swung his arms unable to open his eyes.

Then the boy pushed himself towards Frei, pressing his thumbs further into Frei’s eyes and his body now on top of Frei. 

Now having the upper hand.