Gary had visibly suffered a large blow, yet he somehow managed to stand up as if it had been nothing more than a light tap. The crowd was flabbergasted, but not as much as Billy himself, who knew best how much power should have been behind his hit.

‘Billy’s weight should be two times that of Green Fang,’ Innu calmly analysed from the side. ‘Unlike the rookie he should also know how to fight properly, so it’s impossible for him to have gone easy on his opponent. I’m also pretty sure there’s a reason behind him wearing those gloves…’

Innu had been certain that Billy was the clear favorite in this match. Although Gary hadn’t been too bad in terms of dodging and evading the other’s attack, the rules of the arena were too much in favor of the veteran fighter. That one hit alone should have been the deciding factor.

“There’s always a puncher's chance as they say in boxing,” Kai commented, looking on leisurely, as if everything was proceeding exactly according to his calculation. Nobody noticed that the cocktail glass that he had put aside was on the brink of fracturing.

———

Gary was just as amazed at the extent of his ‘resilience’ as everyone else, but since it was his body, he was simultaneously the first to come to the realisation that it sadly changed very little. If anything, it just meant that he would have to suffer longer as a punching bag.

As if on cue, Billy’s experience helped him come to the same conclusion. Since Green Fang had not used this opportunity to fight back, it just meant that his opponent still lacked the means to defeat him. Why else would he have run around the whole time?

As such, Billy went in for another punch towards Green Fang’s head. Sensing the incoming threat, Gary braced himself and used his hands to block it, yet in the next moment he felt a sharp pain from his sides, once more.

“Closing your eyes in the middle of a match?! You really are a greenhorn!” Billy shouted.

[You have been inflicted with a grave injury]

[-20 HP]

[63/100 HP]

[Your left rib cage has been broken]

[Energy points will be used to perform emergency healing]

[-15 Energy]

[73/100 Energy]

Gary was unable to reply, too busy to grit through the pain. His opponent had fully intended to incapacitate him by striking at his supposedly injured side once more. Were it not for his newly attained healing factor, Gary was sure that the resulting injury would have put him out of commission for a few weeks in the best case scenario.

‘I need more power to be able to do anything to that blob!!’ Gary thought to himself. ‘I just have to be careful to not let my heart rate rise too much!’ He was not sure where exactly his limits were, but from the few times he had experienced it Gary was aware that around 100-120 BPM he seemed to grow more powerful. Nevertheless, somewhere between 130-150 BPM he also started to transform and lose his sanity…

The pressure of having to continuously dodge Billy’s fists, but more prominently the second alarm sounding out, the crowd closing in on them, making the fighting area even smaller than it was before, worked in his favour.

[100 BPM]

[103 BPM]

[107 BPM]

Unfortunately, although Gary’s plan was working as intended, it was not doing so fast enough. Unless he got a power boost fast, he might end up losing this fight. His Energy was seemingly unable to heal his HP and he was not looking forward to find out what happened once it hit zero.

He thought back to earlier today and what had allowed him to get his boost. It was one person, the new girl, Xin. He imagined that she was somewhere in this crowd, watching his fight, like she had done earlier today.

[111 BPM]

[118 BPM]

[125 BPM]

[Your Strength is increasing]

Gary could feel the strength rising in him, and seeing Billy’s fist, he didn’t evade it. This time he widely swung back, and both fists collided mid air. Some of those in the crowd squealed as they imagined the pain Gary must experience at that moment. They were not wrong, he was in a lot of pain, convinced that the knuckles in his fist were broken, yet if they were, it didn’t seem to be to a degree that his Energy ‘healing’ kicked in.

———

“Ladies and gentleman, this is the first time that Green Fang has not been pushed back by Billy Buster,” the announcer gleefully commented. “Could this be the start of a comeback for our underdog?!” The crowd erupted in cheers as this fight finally started to resemble an actual brawl instead of a game of tag.

———

Gary could care less about the crowd’s entertainment. Internally he was cursing due to the pain his hand was suffering from, pleading the system to do to his hand what it had done to his rib. Alas, it was to no avail. He had no choice but to continue to ignore it, yet the good thing was that Billy was suffering even more than him.

The metal plating the fighter had kept hidden had been smashed by Gary. Using such underhanded tricks was not against the rules of the arena, merely frowned upon since the crowd was expecting to see a ‘fair fight’. Using brass knuckles and the like was basically the equivalent of a fighter admitting that they didn't believe in their own skills.

‘How is that possible? How did that broccoli head’s punch suddenly get so much stronger?’ Billy was left wondering, as he stood there looking at him, with his right hand throbbing. ‘Could it be he just pretended to be weak to play with me earlier? No that should be impossible, he is obviously a greenhorn, so how?’

It was a strange sight to behold, but Green Fang suddenly seemed like an entirely different person. His eyes were dead set on the person in front of him, and Billy could feel a slight shiver run through his body.

Today, it was midnight already going into the next day, and the sky was quite clear, shining down on all of them was part of the moonlight. Although Gary was unaware of all of this, he was just ready to go with his natural instincts.

‘I..I..need to calm down.’ Gary thought.

The pain in his hand, the adrenaline of the fight and the thoughts of Xin were all pushing his heart rate above what he had ever had before.

[150 BPM]

[155 BPM]

[160 BPM]

‘What is happening to me?’