Before Gary had any chance to refuse participating in the next fight, the crowd opened up a way for him and with a not so gentle push, Kai forced him to enter the arena. The highschool students were now looking at him from all over. It felt as if they were seeing right through him trying to analyse what type of person he was.

‘Was it a mistake to go to Kai?’ Gary was left wondering. As a fan of Altered fights he had naturally dreamed about being on stage himself. Who would have thought he would get a chance… only that it would be at an ‘underground’ fighting club?

The spectators did not seem to be too impressed with Gary as he was pretty average in terms of height. Today had been the first time he had ever visited a gym, so his lean figure did not have any muscles for him to show off. Compared to the last contestants, he just didn’t look as if he would last long.

[Your heart rate is increasing]

[90 BPM]

[95 BPM]

[99 BPM]

‘Goddamnit Kai, why couldn’t you have warned me at least?! Shit, I have to calm down. With so many people watching I can’t display too much power!’ Gary worried as he looked around. His fight-or-flight response kicked in, and he would definitely prefer the latter option until he got a better feel for his newfound powers. 

Unfortunately for Gary, Kai was nowhere to be seen. 

“Let’s now give a big welcome to his opponent! With fifteen fights under his belt, he has won ten of them, Biiilllllyyyy Buuuuusssstttteeeeerrrrr!” The announcer called out and the crowd erupted in cheers as a large bald headed man entered from the opposite side. Billy had his top off displaying his six pack of flabs, and aside from a normal looking pair of pants, he had a pair of thick gloves on his hands.

“Oi, you gotta be kidding me! I thought this was highschool students only?! Why the hell is my opponent a middle-aged man?!” Gary complained to the announcer, panicking far too much to realise that what he had just said could be heard by everyone including his opponent.

“... your opponent might have been held back, but he is merely nineteen years old!” The announcer explained to Gary, as well as some other newcomers.

“Thanks for not making me feel bad about giving you a beating!” Billy spoke, approaching Gary as he punched his right fist into his left open hand, a large vein sticking out from his head due to his anger.

“Looks like both of our fighters are ready, let's get this show on the road!” The announcer shouted out and Gary’s system apparently agreed with him as well. 

[New quest received]

[Win your debut fight]

[The opponent in front of you is out for blood! Use whatever means necessary to defeat him!]

[Quest reward: 50 Exp]

The Quest this time didn’t make Gary feel any better about the person he had to fight, and through the clear screen he could see Billy charging right at him, swinging his right fist. The attack seemed sloppy to him and Gary’s improved eyesight allowed him to almost see the very wrinkles on his opponent’s hand.

His natural instincts kicked in and he ducked down avoiding the attack, placing his hands over his face. Having dodged the attack, Gary didn’t use the chance to attack the other part. Instead… he started to run away from Billy. 

***

After having won his fight Innu had gone over to the bar counter and had ordered himself a beer, part of the quirks he had received for winning his match. As he had expected, several people had quickly come over, attempting to recruit him over to their teams.

 It was rare to see a ‘Loner’ who was quite talented and knew martial arts on top of that. Innu had listened to the various offers, but none of them had piqued his interest.

Kai had deliberately waited for all the hyenas to disappear, but rather than to directly approach Innu like all the others had done, he had ordered himself a fancy cocktail. Once he had received it he took a big swig and leaned against the counter from which he had simply started to watch Gary’s match for a bit.

So far Green Fang had managed to avoid the wild but powerful swings from Billy a few times, even thrown a couple of them himself, unfortunately they all had rebound off the other’s large belly.

“Do you fancy yourself a betting man, Innu?” For the first time, Kai addressed the other boy.

Innu took a second to reply, as he had started to believe that Kai might have really just come over for a drink. He had noticed that he was dressed in the same colours as the fighter in the arena.

The strange thing about that was, although Kai had the looks of a pretty boy, he nevertheless appeared to have the physique of an experienced fighter. Much more so than his buddy whose only strength appeared to be dodging and running. Even under his clothes his muscles were apparent and Innu had a feeling that the other was not only someone who would not shy away from a fight, but might actively seek it.

However, most importantly to Innu, the one trait that stood out even more than the others… was that this eccentric boy next to him smelled of money! From the hoses he wore, to the watch he was wearing on his wrist, all of it looked to be genuine brand-name items!

“If I wasn’t a betting man, then I wouldn’t be here and I bet with my life every time I fight,” Innu eventually replied. 

“Well, that makes two of us then. Thanks to your performance in the last match I’ve already earned a pretty penny~,” Kai said, as he took out a wad of cash which he then playfully tossed up. He noticed that Innu’s eyes became bigger, seemingly trying to estimate how much it was worth, putting a mild smirk on Kai’s face.

“I’ve seen that you’ve rejected the offers of the other guys, so how about a little wager to make things interesting? In a moment, I will go over to place a bet on ‘Green Fang’ winning with the money I used for my earlier bet. If I turn out to be correct, you’ll join our gang and half the payout sum will be yours. We can call it a nice ‘little’ advance payment for joining the crew. On the other hand, if he loses, all the money you see here will be yours.”

*****

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