The next match was one between a level 10 [watchout] that was about 17 years old, and a level 13 [cook] at 24 years old. Apparently, while weapons weren’t allowed...spatulas...were?

The [watchout] and [cook] were basically in a dodging contest, where the [cook] would swipe at the [watchout] with his spatula, only for him to dodge, then throw a punch. Due to their far lower stats, the fight felt a little slow, but the [watchout]’s acrobatics were very impressive, despite his lower dex.

As the [cook] swiped at the [watchout], he ducked below the attack, then kicked the [cook]’s stomach, sending him skirting a few feet back. Then, he followed up with a quick-footed punch, only to be met with another swipe of a spatula.

However, the punch was only a feint. He instead grabbed the spatula before it could hit him, sliding a few feet across the dirt -showing just how strong the [cook]’s activated skill(similar to my [dead as nightfall]), [empowered swipe] was- then tried to throw the [cook] over his shoulder, managing to slam the [cook] into the ground, injuring and disarming him. It was obvious that while both of them were experienced pit fighters, despite their low levels, the [watchout] was a master of self-defense.

Actually...why was he so low leveled?

Once the match was finished, the three-eyed announcer said, “Before the match you’ve all been waiting for, we will have a twenty-minute intermission. Feel free to pick up refreshments at the snack bar while you wait. Rock on!” the creature pointed towards the crowd with a thumb up and pointer-finger forward, then swerved back and walked through the curtains on the other side of the balcony.

Reco and Reigonald nodded to each other before following the shapeshifter through. Not long after, the [cook] and [watchout] walked through and took seats, too tired and beat to stand.

I walked up to the [watchout] and showed him my pre-written question. {How did you dodge so well with such a low level?}

The [watchout], Illban, looked at me with a curious expression, then shrugged. “I trained a lot in the Kuu style. It focuses on swift counterstrikes and dodging.”

...He trained in a style? What was that supposed to mean? {So you got a skill from it?}

He nodded, wiping sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. “Well, I did get [dodging tier 3] after my training, as well as a few other combat tier-ups. The big issue was, I could only learn it if I donated Exp to the master. That means its my job to earn another hundred or so to pay off my debt, so I’ve been betting Exp on my matches.” He laughed. “Though, I’ve been getting challengers way higher level than myself recently just cuz’ the pitmaster’s been getting fond of my performances.”

I looked over to the bruised [cook], who looked quite angry at himself. He’d been introduced as a man trying to pay for his kitchen’s improvement.

What was the point of this fighting if one person was destined to lose?

I couldn’t get thoughts like that out of my mind ever since the alley incident. It wasn’t like me to worry so much about what happened to the losers...

I had always said that I’d win, but never before did I think about who’d lose.

I nodded to him in acknowledgment, then took a seat in a chair. After a few minutes, the pitmaster/announcer returned and sat next to me, a wooden cup of water in her hand. She’d reverted to her human form, baggy clothes and all.

We sat in silence, waiting for the match to begin. After another few minutes, she looked at a strange bracelet strapped to her arm, then stood up, growing into the large [viinrught] before beginning her announcement.

“Please take your seats, as the match will start in thirty seconds!” The spectators quickly filed into their seats, nobody interested in missing a second of the master class’s long-awaited duel. Once most of them were seated, she continued.

“This is Reigonald’s first scuffle with one of the Bull Eight’s leaders! His opponent today is known as the Rockin’ Adventurer, Reco Deperato. She has long been known as one of the Bull Eight’s esteemed fighters and one of their most stylish and beloved ones at that!” She shifted at the balcony’s railing, standing as straight and imposing as could be. “I know many of us have been cheering for the Duke Thrower, encouraging him to finally fight with one of the Bull Eight’s members and prove his worth, and now is finally the time. However...today, we must not cheer for him, but for our enemy!”

That got the crowd confused, muttering amongst themselves.

“For, you see, the Rockin’ Adventurer is a [frey diver], a class built to take on many foes at once. The [frey diver]’s signature ability is [into the frey], a skill that makes them gain constitution and strength when up against many opponents. While common sense would tell you it isn’t useful in a one-on-one pit fight, the truth is much stranger. If anyone cheers for her opponent, they too count as a foe. So, if we wish for our city’s greatest duke-throwing fighter to win this fight, we must not cheer for him but for his foe!

Now! Will the Rockin’ Adventurer, Reco Deparato, please come out!”

From one side of the arena, Reco emerged, cartwheeling across the dusty ground and ending her movement with a precise spin, batting her reddish-brown hair aside dramatically. Then, she halted and hit a ‘rock on’ pose, looking to the audience with a confident smile. “Rock on, and don’t forget to cheer for me!” She turned the motion into a snap, taking a fighting pose. She wore a vest over her bra and trunks, unlike the male fighters.

Everyone in the audience, even me, began to cheer for her. Her charisma must have been super high because I hardly noticed or expected just how excited I was to watch her fight.

“And, now, our man who needs no introduction. Our very own Reigonald, the Duke Thrower!”

Walking from the other side, Reigonald strode forth with a confident stride, staring Reco down with a stare piercing enough to make me cringe in fear from atop the balcony. Several girls cried out from the crowd, sounding...pleased with the intimidating stare.

I hoped his wife wasn’t the jealous type.

He paused once he got close enough, and stared at Reco, looming over her like a bear. He pointed to her. “Today, Adventurer of the pit, I’ll prove my worth!”

Reco leaned back and scoffed. “Are you sure about that? I haven’t heard of you in my life, Reigonweak. Do you really think you have any hope of defeating me and my 106 wins and 34 losses?” she said, acting utterly full of herself,

“I don’t have hope, I have certainty. I’ve trained for years hoping to one day fight and beat you.”

Reco chuckled, then broke out into a full-on maniacal laugh while falling into a fighting stance, holding her arms slack by her side. “Train all you want, but I won’t lose easily!”

Reigonald placed a foot forward and took an aggressive stance, his hands put forward. “Then let our fists speak for themselves!”

The announcer continued, “Then, with no further ado, Reigonald the [treebreaker] and Reco the [frey diver], Fight!”

-fight start-

The crowd burst into contradictory cheers for Reco just as the fight began.

Faster than I could possibly anticipate, Reco closed the ten feet gap and threw a punch. Reigonald threw out a blur of a jab, but mid-strike, Reco spun to the side so fast I swore she’d used [burst of speed], then used the momentum of that spin to slam a fist at Reigonald.

Reigonald had actually predicted the instantaneous feint and moved his fist mid-fight to hit her face. Reco reacted by moving back, ducking beneath his fist then kicking him. Instead of dodging, Reigonald took the hit in stride then charged Reco with his broad shoulder, sending Reco flying away. He didn’t pursue, though, and let her recover.

“You’re faster than you look, Mr.Scowl,” Reco said as she skirted across the dirt.

“And you’re just as agile as they say,” Reigonald responded, placing a hand where her kick had bruised him.*

He went on the offense this time, throwing a right hook at Reco, only for her to dodge him with a swift spin that she turned into a jab, which was quickly blocked by the man’s other arm. They both tried to kick the other, but their feet instead collided. Reigonald’s own attack was far stronger than Reco’s and managed to send her flying into the stadium’s wall.

Midair, Reco somehow span in a circle so her feet would hit the wall instead, her impact loud enough to be mistaken for a landslide. Just how strong was that kick!? “Not bad, man!” Reco said, smiling with glee as she leaped from the wall, dashing towards Reigonald. She didn’t hit him in her counterstrike but instead grabbed his hand, held out in defense, planted a foot into the ground, then turned her momentum into another spin, taking him for the ride.

Even though he tried to stand his ground, Reco’s spin was unnaturally quick, to the point that the incredibly high-constitution man was taken into her spiraling vortex, spinning along with her. She let go, and threw him flying into the same wall she had leaped from, the Duke Thrower’s impact cracking the stone behind him, the rubble falling, covering his back.

He slid down into a kneeling position, planting a hand in the ground as he took deep breaths of exhaustion. “Not bad at all. They said you had the skill to make you spin faster than an [assasin] with [burst of speed], and they weren’t kidding. However...” He stood from the ground, his stare creating a seemingly palpable aura of danger and determination...

He was cool enough to make me cheer him on with “mmms!” and “ahhs!”

Reco actually looked back to me to wink as I did, then looked back to her foe to see him perform his next line.

“No matter what, I won’t lose to you so easily. It’s time for me to activate my signature skill, [barkbreaker]!” Reigonald hit his fists together, then his skin turned to bark from them, covering his body in brown wood.

The [viinrught] yelled out, “[barkbreaker] is a skill that turns Reigonald’s skin to bark so strong it can deflect steel blades! Its his ultimate trump card, and he has never been so much as scraped while it remained active. It only lasts one minute, though, so will he be able to defeat the Rockin’ Adventurer in time?!”

“Oh no, he won’t.” Reco said, “Come at me, treeman!”

And Reigonald did. He charged at Reco like a wrecking ball. She tried to spin to the side, but despite his incredible defense, her foe was as fast as ever and managed to grab her leg, then throw her like a ragdoll around his massive form, crashing her into the ground on the opposite side of him. He began to throw her left and right, smashing her into the dirt with enough force to send the ground flying almost thirty feet into the sky, showering the arena with dirty rain.

“He did it! He managed to grapple the infamously quick adventurer’s leg! But will that seal his first victory against a member of the Bull Eight, or does she have another trick up her sleeve?”

He did it again, and again, then when he went for another throw, his hand seemed to slip through Reco’s ankle, and she backflipped three times away from him with incredible acrobatics, despite her crushed ankle.

“That was one of Reco’s skills, [anti-grapple], which let her slip from Reigonald’s grip!”

Reco swiped blood off her nose, taking a dramatically weakened stance. “You...you are far stronger than I could have expected...” She smiled with the grin of a masochist, making the crowd cheer for her even more out of fear she’d win. “It’s absolutely wonderful!” She ran towards him, straight-on!

“The adventurer is approaching him, even when he still has 45 seconds on his [barkbreaker]! What could her plan be?”

Reigonald met her in the middle of her dash, and threw her a punch..and Reco leaped atop his arm. He stopped in surprise for just a second while she confidently smiled down on him from six feet above, but he eventually threw a second punch while trying to shake her off. With perfect balance, she leaned far to the side, throwing a leg into the air at a 180-degree angle, dodging the jab.

Seeing his current plan wouldn’t shake her off, he threw his arm down. However, Reco simply hopped onto his shoulders. He tried to grab one of her legs with an arm, but she just balanced one-footed on the other, even as he shook his body violently to get her off.

Forget [sure footed], whatever gave her that balance was an ability a magnitude stronger!

Reigonald tried everything he could to shake off the [frey diver], but nothing worked. Even when he tried to grab both her legs at once, she fell backward off of him, and instead of falling to the ground, she grabbed his legs midair, then spun around one of his thighs only to throw herself up into the air again before Reigonald went for a simple, air-splitting jab, landing back onto his shoulders!

“Look at those acrobatics, Those swift and agile motions! I’m getting motion-sickness just looking at her!” the announcer said, her eyes moving about confusedly as they tried to keep up with Reco’s movements.

For the remaining time of his [barkbreaker], Reco turned Reigonald into a living playground, dodging all attacks and shaking off all attempts to shake her off.

Strangely, though, I saw they were quietly talking to each other as they did.

With my immersion in the fight a little broken, I looked to the other pit fighters as they observed the fight. Their jaws, just like my own, were dropped. Her downright unbelievable acrobatics had put their own skills into perspective.

“There’s no way she isn’t using a skill,” the [cook] said with a defeated expression. “Or-or maybe she just lucked out on her dexterity?”

“No, that’s pure skill, nothing less than impeccable fighting sense, and maybe a bit of [balance].” Illban said, crossing his arms as he stared at her performance with a dumb smile of awe.

Pure skill...What did he mean by that?

Just before Reigonald’s skin returned to normal, Reco fell to the ground face-first, planted her hands into it, then kicked towards her foe like an annoyed horse, her feet contacting his face just as it became vulnerable, sending him stumbling away from her. She backflipped into a cocky position, looking away from the man as he recovered from his crumpled position in the corner.

“You...you’re even faster than they said you’d be...” he said through harsh breaths.

“I always am.”

“What skill...was that...?”

She turned around to face him with a contemptuous smile. “Skill? What skill are you talking about, my [acrobatics tier 5], or my [balance tier 3]?”

“That...that’s all you used to play me like a fiddle back there?”

Reco looked to the announcer. “Mrs...ahem* Mr.Inna can confirm that’s all I used.”

The face Mr.Inna nodded, displaying his feathered arms out. “Indeed, I can confirm. The adventurer only used those two skills!”

The crowd burst into chats of surprise.

“Incredible...I have so far to climb.” Reigonald said, his head downcast from the obviously genuine feeling of being outclassed.

Reco flipped back her hair and snapped. “You’re a lot closer than you think. I’m the weakest of the Bull Eight, but that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover. You’ve given me a run for my money.”

“That...that is good to know, however...” Reigonald stood tall, his determination pouring out like a tide. “I won’t give up, not yet! [quick punches]!”

He charged at Reco, then threw his punches for all his might! He threw punch after punch, jabbing, sending hooks, the odd kick, and flurries quicker than a blur, and eventually...

One person cheered for him at the top of their lungs. Then another, then another, and soon, the bleachers were filled with screams for his victory, the audience giving him all their passion and trust.

He threw a flurry of punches at Reco, each strong enough to shatter walls, and so fast that the dust underneath them turned into a miniature sandstorm, covering them in an obscuring cloud of dust.

Reco met him, fist to fist, blow for blow, no tricks.

After ten seconds straight and what seemed like hundreds of punches that drowned out even the crowd’s screams for his victory, he stopped, out of breath.

And as the dust settled, Reco stood, her bloodied hands outstretched.

“But even your best isn’t enough, not yet,” Reco said, before throwing a punch at his gut so hard it threw the massive man tumbling from all the way across the arena, and lodging himself into its walls.

“Oh no! Reigonald was so cool, even I forgot to cheer for the other side!” the announcer yelled, distraught. “Can he get up to make one final stand!?”

Reigonald slowly began to stand, pushing himself off the ground, before falling down, too exhausted to stand. He closed his eyes, relaxing.

“H-has Reigonald given up? Has he resigned himself to losing, here and now?!” the announcer asked, almost passive-aggressively.

I saw him roll his eyes, muttering to himself. “No...I’m not...” Reigonald flipped over lethargically, then pushed off the ground, rising from the dust, one foot at a time. “I’m not done yet...” he stood all the way, his legs shaking as he barely kept balance. “Not until I can’t go on, and not a muscle I have can keep me standing...not until then will I give up!”

With his last breaths, he flung himself towards his enemy.

And Reco did the same.

The crowd quickly turned their cheers around, cheering for Reco instead. And, as they collided in the middle of the arena, their fists aimed towards their heads, the audience each yelled as lout as they could for Reco, wishing for her defeat.

“You can lose, Rockin’ Adventurer!” the choir of spectators yelled synchronistically.

Then, their fists hit.

The audience waited in bated breath as the two combatants stood still, unmoving even after their attacks.

Reco fell to one knee and looked up at the giant towering above her.

It seemed, for a moment, that he hadn’t taken damage, but then...he fell. Like a belltower collapsing, he hit the dust, unconscious, a small smile on his face.

“And Reigonald fought to the bitter end, for his pride, for his future, for our hope in him! The victory goes to Reco Deparato, the Rocking Adventurer!”

Then, the crowd cheered.