THE RELUCTANT WARBORN

Kael Draven leaned against the brick wall outside the campus gym, arms crossed, watching the afternoon crowd filter past. Students rushed between classes, some laughing, others buried in their phones. Nobody paid him much attention, which was exactly how he liked it.

Most days, anyway.

"Yo, Kael!"

He turned his head. Marcus jogged over, backpack bouncing against his shoulders, grinning like an idiot.

"What's up?" Kael asked.

"Dude, have you heard about the match tonight?" Marcus stopped in front of him, catching his breath. "Logan's calling you out again."

Kael sighed. "Logan needs to find a hobby."

"Come on, man. You embarrassed him last time. He's been talking trash all week." Marcus raised his eyebrows. "You gonna let that slide?"

"I don't care what Logan says."

That was half true. Kael didn't care about the trash talk. But he did care about keeping his reputation intact. On a campus like Averline University, where underground fight circuits ran almost as strong as the academic programs, respect mattered. Lose it, and people will test you constantly.

Marcus nudged his shoulder. "You know you're going. Don't pretend."

Kael smirked. "Yeah, probably."

The gym locker room smelled like sweat and old metal. Kael changed into a black tank top and training pants, stuffing his regular clothes into a locker. A few other guys were already warming up, shadowboxing or stretching. He recognized most of them. Campus fighters. Some decent, some not.

Logan wasn't there yet.

Kael wrapped his hands slowly, methodically. He'd been fighting since he was fourteen, first in back alley scraps, then in more organized settings. His old man had taught him the basics before disappearing when Kael was sixteen. After that, Kael taught himself. Watched videos, sparred with anyone willing, learned what worked and what didn't.

He wasn't the biggest guy in the room. Not the fastest either. But he was smart. He saw patterns, read movements, and adapted on the fly. That made him dangerous.

"Draven."

Kael glanced up. Logan stood in the doorway, flanked by two of his buddies. He was taller than Kael, broader in the shoulders, with a shaved head and a permanent scowl.

"Heard you were looking for me," Kael said calmly.

Logan stepped forward. "You got lucky last time."

"Sure."

"Tonight, no luck. Just you and me."

Kael finished wrapping his left hand. "Sounds good."

Logan's jaw tightened. He wasn't used to people staying calm around him. Most students on campus either feared him or kissed him. Kael did neither.

"Ring's opened at ten," Logan said. "Don't be late."

He turned and walked out, his friends trailing behind.

Marcus appeared at Kael's side. "You really piss him off, you know that?"

"It's not my fault he can't handle losing."

"Just be careful, man. Logan's been training hard. I heard he's got some new moves."

Kael stood and rolled his shoulders. "Good. Maybe it'll last longer than three minutes this time."

The underground ring was set up in the old storage building behind the athletics center. Technically off limits, but security never bothered checking. Too many people paid them to look the other way.

By the time Kael arrived, a crowd had gathered. Maybe fifty people, all pressed around a makeshift ring marked with tape on the concrete floor. Dim lights hung from the ceiling, casting harsh shadows. The air buzzed with anticipation.

Kael pushed through the crowd. People slapped his back, called his name. He nodded but didn't stop. His focus narrowed.

Logan was already in the ring, bouncing on his toes, rolling his neck. He looked pumped. Confidence.

Kael stepped over the tape line.

The crowd noise swelled. Someone rang a bell, probably just a piece of metal banged with a wrench, and the match started.

Logan came forward fast, throwing a heavy right hook. Kael slipped it, ducked under a follow-up jab, and circled left. He kept his guard tight, eyes locked on Logan's shoulders. That's where the real tells were.

Logan feinted high, then drove a low kick toward Kael's lead leg. Kael checked it, absorbed the impact, and countered with a quick jab to Logan's face. It snapped his head back.

The crowd roared.

Logan reset, more cautious now. He threw a combination, one-two-three, pushing forward with aggression. Kael blocked the first two, parried the third, and stepped in close. He drove an uppercut into Logan's ribs, hard and precise.

Logan grunted, stumbled back.

Kael didn't chase. He waited, patient, letting Logan come to him. That was the key. Don't rush. Let your opponent make mistakes.

Logan charged again, angrier now, throwing wild punches. Kael weaved, ducked, and when Logan overextended on a big right cross, Kael pivoted and swept his leg. Logan crashed to the ground.

The crowd exploded.

Kael stepped back, giving him space. Logan pushed himself up, breathing hard, face red. He looked furious, but also done. His energy was spent.

"You good?" Kael asked.

Logan glared at him. For a second, it seemed like he might charge again. But then he spat on the ground and walked out of the ring.

The crowd swarmed Kael, shouting, congratulating him. Marcus appeared, laughing, shaking his head.

"Three minutes, man! Exactly three minutes!"

Kael smiled, but his mind was already elsewhere. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by the usual emptiness that came after a fight. He didn't do this for glory. He did it because it was the one thing that made sense. The one thing he was good at.

He pushed through the crowd and headed for the exit.

Outside, the night air was cool. Kael walked across campus alone, hands in his pockets. The moon hung low, bright and full. Somewhere in the distance, music thumped from a dorm party.

Life felt normal. Predictable.

He had no idea that everything was about to change.