“Humph, humph, humph!” A call rang out in the distance like the sound of a fearsome fight.

Cee looked toward its origin to find a single woman boxing her own shadow in the corner of the boxing ring. While she was standing near the ropes, some red corner, saw warming up her punches near the blue corner, while her hair was held back by protective padding on her head, hands and feet. She looked like a mixed mark artist dripping with sweat from her amber hair swinging back and forth. Her body was tattooed with dragon scales circles on her arms, legs and torso, covered up only by her sports tank top and shorts that resembled some young female yakuza locked in perpetual battle.

After a few moments of watching her fight, she finally threw her final punch so powerful it seemed to push the wind against the ropes. She whispered her hair to wipe off the swear and then slowly started to breath, calming and collectively. Then fixing her gloves and headgear she looked over to Cee saying.

“So, are you here to stand or is there something else you need?” She said,

“What do I need?” Cee wondered that for herself. “I don’t know, am I supposed to fight you?”

“Ha, ha, good one.” She said, “I doubt you could last all day with me let alone the first couple of rounds. Yet, I can see the man at the door let you in, so you must have potential.”

“Yeah, that’s what Noon said.”

“Yeah? He’s a good judge of character, but I’ll see what I can do.” She said casually walking over to Cee’s corner and extending her fist in a casual manner. “Name’s Eve by the way.”

Cee bunched it with a gloved hand, which created an unusual effect in her costume. Suddenly her red skin tight gloves began padding as her head band transformed into a full blow headgear. A set of frog eyes were pained as a logo, as she noticed this strange shift in costume.

“Gotta gear up before we spar.” She casually said.

“I thought you said you’d wipe the floor with me.”

“Consider this a training session,” she said. “I’ll even give you a small lead, equal stakes, best of seven how’s that sound? If you impress me, I’ll even grant you a token of my appreciation.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hey, sometimes you get tired of punching your own shadow. So why don’t you help a gal out? It’s like dancing, you just gotta know when to slip and when to kick.”

“Well...okay.” She said putting her fists and legs in an amateurish stance.

The moment she put up her gloves, Eve took the first punch at a speed barely noticeable by Cee was she ready to defend. Time stood still as she was once again left in the realm of frozen time, with only her thoughts to fold while the deck of fate was turned.

[ Slip (Lv. 1)

Player draws:

10 of Diamonds

LUCK draws:

8 of Clubs

[ ACT SUCCESSFUL ]

When time resumed Cee managed to slip away from the incoming punch and back away with a step.

“You’re pretty good at dodging,” she said. “Let’s see if you can dish it out as well as run. Come on, give me your best shot.”

Cee could see her stance was relaxed wide open as if she was concerned if she got hit or not. Still, something seemed off, like there was something she wasn’t getting. With that in mind she tried feral assault lifting her feet in the air to kick.

[ Break Dance (Lv. 5) vs. Boxing (Lv. 5)

Player draws:

Queen of Clubs & 8 of Diamonds

LUCK draws:

7 of Clubs, 2 of Clubs, & 8 of Spades

Opponent draws:

9 of Diamonds & 9 of Hearts

[ Pair of 9s BEATS Pair of 8s ]

[[ ACT FAILED ]]

Just when she thought that act was over, a new window flashed in the inert time zone in an unexpected way. In slow motion she could only watch as she carefully duck away from her failed kick as the second action took into effect.

[ Opponent uses Four Act Skill (Lv. 5) ]

[ Boxing (Lv. 5)

Opponent draws, 1st Hand:

6 of Hearts & 6 of Diamonds

Opponent draws, 2nd Hand:

7 of Clubs & Queen of Clubs

Opponent draws, 3rd Hand:

(Red) Joker & King of Hearts

Luck draws:

2 of Diamonds, 5 of Diamonds, & 7 of Diamonds ]

[[ Triple Punch Combo Activated! ]]

At that instant when time continued, all Cee could do was stand still as a three punches in rapid succession. One punch to the ribs, one punch to the face, and one uppercut that knocked her flat on her back. Even with the protective gear the sudden impact felt like the rush of roller coaster ride causing Cee to feel dizzy and winded. As she rested on the floor, Eve kneeled before her with a cocky smile as a halo of light shined from the ceiling.

[ You have lost -15 Luck Points. ]

“Didn’t see that coming, did you?” She chuckled, before holding out her hand to help her up.

“What, was, that?” She asked as she rose to her feet.

“Whether it’s fighting or dancing, it’s more than just a one act show.” She said taking her practice stance and stabbing the air. “You can’t just hit and think your opponent is going to let you try and hit them again. Once you plant your first punch...” She punched the air. “You got to plan your second...” A second punch was thrown. “...Your third...” She threw two more punches. “...And you fifth.”

“Is that what you were doing?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” She scuffed.

“Well, not really? I’ve kind of been very cautious at everything.”

“Why so?”

“Well, it’s a bit personal.”

“If you want I can put my gloves over my ears.” She said imitating the jester. “That’s why I love the ring, all the things you’ve got inside you can shake it off with your hands and feet. If you don’t have your head in focus, you lose track of the main goal, to knock your opponent down.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“It is, and that’s why the theme is universal.” She placed her glove hand on her shoulder and looked into her red eyes with her snake-like gaze. “I can see you’re the type to see how things play out, but if you stop thinking about what's happening and what could happen ahead you’ll find you’ll always be ahead.”

She moved her corner and pounded her fist together.

“Alright, this time, let’s see what you got as far forward thinking.” She held her ground open to the first attack.

“...alright.” Cee said getting her legs ready.

If what she said was true, then I gotta stop thinking about what if I fail and plan what should happen if I succeed. She thought, If that’s the case, do I even need to worry about how the cards play? Maybe I should worry about the end result. Could that be why I keep seeing the deck of fate?...Just gotta stay calm, worry about the end instead of the first step.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing. Eve waited patiently not even worried about how long she thought about it, more worried about what the moment she actually stuck. When she opened her eyes again, lifted her leg just the moment before the strike and then stepped forward. If this kicked work she would slam on her shoulder like an ax, if not this would leave her heavily vulnerable for a shot.

On the deck of fate would decide when time resumed its natural course. She ignored the results and focused on the action in front of her, only paying attention to screens that matter.

[ Pair of 6s BEATS 4 High ]

[ Activate Reinforcement Lv. 1 ]

[ Pair of 6s BEATS Pair of 2s ]

[ Opponent uses Four Act Skill Lv. 5 ]

Despite lacking the means to avoid she knew the impact was coming. All she needed was the hope that she could prepare accordingly until the inevitable came to pass. It was time to pull out all the stops and hopefully things would go according to plan.

[ Combination Skill ]

[ ACT FAILS ]

[ Activating Magic (Lv.1) ]

[ 9 BEATS 7 ]

[ ACT FAILS ]

[ Activating Reinforcement (Lv. 1) ]

[ Pair of Aces ]

[ COMBINATION SUCCESSFUL ]

[[ Double Punch Combo Activated. ]]

She didn’t know what to expect but she was willing to move ahead no matter what the outcome. The second punch slipped from making contact, but not the second punch. It made contact with her strong kick, kneeing her punch over her shoulder to catching her off guard.

[ You lose -5 Luck Points. ]

[ Your opponent loses -5 Luck Points.]

In that moment when the kick made contact and Eve was struggling to retain balance, Cee felt something quell up inside her. As she was caught off guard, this might have been a moment to deliver another strike. That’s when another window appeared before her foot hit the ground.

[ Activating Two Act (Lv. 2) ]

[ One Punch Activated. ]

As soon as her foot hit the ground her fist trusted forward like a hammer toward Eve’s chest. It was enough to make her lose complete balance and fall back on the ground. Cee was shocked as she never knew she could do that, but Eve quickly got up with a look of anger in her yellow eyes.

“What kind of move was that,” she said in an authoritative voice.

“I-I wish I knew.” She said nervously. “I just did what you said, and acted without thinking.”

She reached back her hand as if holding back her fist, as she tried frantically to get into a defensive position. Yet, when Eve took her hand, did so in a friendly manner as if extending a handshake.

“You did pretty good, kid.” She smiled, “You’re learning to adapt, become pre-emptive, and lots of other qualities that will come in handy.”

“Did I impress you?”

“Well, you got a lot of work ahead, but let’s say it’s not bad for a start. I’m parting with you as a friend, so that’s good enough for now, wouldn’t you say?”

“...yeah, good enough.”

As her hand was left extended, Cee finally got around to reaching out her own fist and bumping it as a sign of respect. The instance where she did her safety gear was immediately transformed into her normal gloves and headband, and she receive a small reward for her accomplishments as well.

[ Break Dancing has been Upgraded to Lv. 6. ]

[ Acquired new skill Two Act Lv. 2. ]

[ You have received +200 Karma Points. ]

“Thank you, for giving me this opportunity.” She said with bow of respect.

“Maybe next time we meet you’ll show me how much you’ve grown.” She flexed her right arm in the form of fist like a professional box posing for a camera.

Cee noticed a small glow from her right biceps, that appeared to appear on one of her scaly tattoos. Unlike the rest that were pointed downward, this one was pointed up, a reverse scale, that had an engraving of four leafed clover on the inside. An amber light from the reverse scale dwarfed all the stage lighting of the ring, washing away the entire area and returning her to the darkness once more, to check on her current resources.

[ Name: C-Note

Luck Points: 16

Karma Points: 310

G$: 0 ]

[ Punch (Lv. 1) ]

A Heater skill.

You may engage in a fighting challenge,

Does not count in a combination skill draw,

May advance into its own unique style.

Cost: 1 KP

[ Two Acts (Lv.2)

A passive skill.

You may perform skills consecutively,

Use for only Level 2 skills or lower,

May advance at certain levels.

Cost: 10 KP x Skill Level x Successful Draws

“Wow, I didn’t know some skills could be used without a combination of costs.” She said examining the first skill. “Must be why people become fighters in the first place. Combining that with Two Acts it could either be doubly effective. Applied to dancing it could be like mixed dancing.” She said with excitement. “Still, I’m running low on points, I hope I still have enough for the next challenge.”

A flash of brown light appeared in the void matching the darkness that surrounded it. When the light disappeared she found herself caught in a haze of fog in unknown streets of her next challenge.