8 Chapter 8 - First Battle (3)

"What did you say?"

Tatsuki looked at him angrily, but then stopped when he saw the coldness on James' face and the obvious anger in his eyes.

With the awkward atmosphere, the audience began to pressure Tatsuki to throw. Forcing himself to calm down, Tatsuki threw his bakugan.

"Bakugan brawl, Bakugan stand. Come out, Pyrus Freezer!"

When the bakugan rolled on the ground and opened, it had a six-legged, octopus-like appearance. When it shimmered open, it revealed a bakugan that was also very similar to an octopus.

This octopus-like bakugan had four green eyes. Its six tentacles touched the ground. Its main color was red. However, it was possible to see red and orange patterns. As Freezer appeared, a grin appeared on Tatsuki's face.

<Pyrus Freezer> | <Darkus Hammersaur>

<G-Power: 350> | <G-Power: 400>

The stats were the same as before. Still, James remained vigilant. He held the card in one hand, ready to use a counter ability. Unsurprisingly, Tatsuki immediately put the ability in his gauntlet.

"Ability activated: Inferno Beam!"

As soon as he used the ability, a red beam shot out from the balls on the left and right sides of Freezer's head!

In response, Hammersaur went into a defensive stance, covering his face with his arms, while James put up his ability card.

"Ability activated: Crush Hurricane!"

Just as the ability activated, Tatsuki quickly used a new ability card. Laughing sarcastically, he said, "I don't think so, the ability is active: Anti-Darkus! As of now, the ability you used is canceled."

At first the beams seemed to weaken, but then they became strong and terrifying again! The first time the beam hit, Hammersaur barely survived. But with the second one he was sure to lose.

James frowned as the second beam came. This made Tatsuki think he had him cornered.

"Haha! You're new after all. You don't stand a chance against me."

Just then James interrupted him:

"Gate card, open."

With that, the area turned dark.

Once again the beams hit him, but this time Hammersaur was able to avoid the damage as if he felt nothing. Hammersaur's eyes lit up with the power he felt. He stopped defending and started running towards Freezer.

At this, Tatsuki panicked. And in panic, he put up a ability card.

"Ability activated: Flaming Tentacle"

Freezer's tentacles began to be covered in flames. But Hammersaur continued onward without a care in the world. After all, Hammersaur still had the upper hand. And James knew it.

He paused briefly. Then he decided it would be a good idea to try when he was already winning. He put two ability cards in the gauntlet and said:

"Double Ability Activated: Crush Hurricane + Dark Mirror"

The backs of his hands became like black glass as the flames from Freezer's tentacles faded and turned a purplish hue and flowed into Hammersaur. It seemed so powerless... And then, without hesitation, Hammersaur swiped its claw!

The claw struck like a sledgehammer, and in one stroke it turned into a ball and returned to its partner. It was a quick, clear defeat. Just as this happened, a bronze card appeared on the ground. Hammersaur then roared in triumph. Amidst the silence, his roar was loud enough to hurt people's ears.

Of course, he eventually turned into a ball and returned to James.

Tatsuki: 000 Life Points | James: 500 Life Points

He had won. He... He beat Tatsuki. And he did it without losing even 1 LP. This caused everyone to fall silent.

Meanwhile, the system window appeared in front of James.

<Level up. Stats updated.>

<(First Match Special 2x) 40 SP>

Tatsuki was looking at James, accepting his defeat. At the same time, like everyone else, he was deeply bewildered. He spoke in amazement and disbelief:

"Double ability... Double ability... I don't believe it's really your first match."

James shrugged. He had banished the system window from his view. "Think of it as revenge for all the newbies you bullied," he said nonchalantly, his gaze completely fixed on the bronze card.

He had already realized the moment he fell that no one could see that bronze card. No one even cared about that card. Which meant...

'This could be a module. But how do I get it?'

[Normally, you have to get it manually. You need a module to get it remotely. But wait a second...]

Immediately after Fox's speech, the card started flying towards him. Bronze quickly grabbed the card with his hand. Meanwhile, the announcer spoke:

"James is the winner! Just when it looked like Tatsuki was going to win, when all breaths were held, when all hope was lost, James, in a great and surprising performance, crushed Tatsuki with a double ability!"

With that, there was a huge explosion of sound.

"Is he really a newbie?"

"Newbie? My ass! Which newbie have you ever seen use a double ability?"

"Maybe it's luck. He took a risk to avoid a third round and got lucky. Isn't that possible?"

"Then he must be swimming in luck or something."

All the while, James had mixed feelings. The anger he felt towards Tatsuki was completely gone. After all, he was finally able to realize that he had won. He had won his first match. He had taken the first and most important step in his quest to remain human!

He wanted to laugh. He was relieved of all the stress and tension of the moment.

"Hahahahaha! This feeling is more enjoyable than I expected! I've never felt so good!"

Just at this moment, he felt again a shortness of breath that came and went momentarily. That's why his laughter stopped. Still, he couldn't help grinning.

Tatsuki, on the other hand, had already begun to descend in surrender. Seeing this, James shouted as if something had suddenly occurred to him:

"Hey look!"

Tatsuki turned his head.

"What happened?"

James pointed to the bakugan on the floor.

"If you're not going to take it, can you throw it to me? I'm thinking of keeping it as a souvenir, the first person I beat."

Tatsuki frowned, but went and threw the bakugan at him anyway. He had no intention of using such a useless bakugan. Besides, given the margin James had won, he could have taken his precious Freezer, but instead he had asked for that trash. Come to think of it, he might even thank him for it.

Quickly grabbing the bakugan, James tried to say a polite "Thanks." But then he hesitated. He hesitated between saying it and not saying it. Should he be kind to someone who had treated his own Bakugan so badly?

This hesitation was short-lived, though. He remembered that the other person, like everyone else, did not know that they were intelligent life forms, and finally said, "Good match after all. Let's do it again sometime, before anything happens." Even though his last behavior still made him angry, he had to be able to appreciate the other person when necessary. His opponent had done his best in his own way.

It was also the first time he felt he had really enjoyed himself. In that moment of the fight he was able to forget most things, even his own condition.

Tatsuki stopped. He was about to say something. His face took on a strange expression, but in the end he laughed too. After all, it was just a game. At least it was for Tatsuki.

"You're right, it was a good game after all."

After saying that, he left without saying anything more. Immediately after he left, everyone started chanting "James!" almost as one. James naturally ignored them as he walked off the court. He even had an annoyed expression for a brief moment.

However, this quickly disappeared. With the level up, he felt extremely invigorated.

"The feeling of this leveling up... it's amazing."

[Quite addictive, isn't it?]

James thought about the feeling for a moment. Then he nodded his head slightly in agreement and spoke:

"Yes, it is. I feel fresh like I just woke up. I could get into a fistfight with someone right now."

[Calm down, you just got out of the fight.]

"I know, I know. It just felt too good, that's all. I wonder what exactly is this module we're getting?"

By the time such a conversation took place, he had already landed and was on his way to get as far away from the disturbing crowd of voices as possible.