Chapter 8: King vs Bang.

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I drove another kick into my opponent—a lanky guy with absurdly long, flexible limbs who kept trying to grapple me. He had talked big, insulting my small stature throughout the match, but his stats, though slightly below mine, combined with his martial arts prowess, made him a dangerous fighter. It had been an interesting fight, one that forced me to rely on all my skills to gain the upper hand. With Perfect Reflexes and Perfect Movement in concert, I slipped under his arms and shot a kick up into his jaw, stunning him just as I anticipated. Twisting my body, I unleashed a flurry of kicks on his torso before finally kicking him off the arena.

Though I lacked formal martial arts training, my unarmed skills and experience from battling monsters and other inhuman foes in the dungeon served me well. While some of the fights had pushed me to my limits, none had yet forced me to go all out—or even use my hands.

"Glad to see it wasn't just overconfidence earlier," Bang remarked as he approached. I had watched a few of his matches when I could, each one showcasing a perfect, effortless mastery of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist. It was on a completely different level compared to the others in the tournament. I had been running the movements over and over in my head, even during some of the more boring fights, trying to decide if it was worth attempting to copy and adapt the style.

"I hear we're up against each other in the next round," I said. "Sorry we won't meet in the finals—seems I've made myself a liar."

"I've noticed that while you're a powerful fighter, you're technically lacking," Bang replied, offering the invitation I had been expecting. "After this tournament, I'd like to invite you to join my dojo."

"I appreciate the offer, but I have to decline," I said, firmly but with regret. "No offense, but I want to create my own style rather than learn yours."

"A difficult path," Bang mused, sizing me up.

"Nothing worth doing is ever easy," I stated, and Bang nodded in agreement before asking a question I wasn't eager to answer.

"How old are you, anyway?" he asked seriously.

"Old enough to both give and take a beating, granddad," I replied with a smirk. Bang huffed in annoyance.

"I won't go easy on you just because you're young," he said, a sign of respect from one martial artist to another.

"And I won't make it easy for you to win," I shot back. This was nice, I supposed. Bang was far out of my league for now, but he wasn't the type to cause permanent harm. The only danger lay in my inability to show visible injuries. I resolved that if my health ever dropped below 8,000, I'd forfeit the match.

We sat together, watching the next match on the large screens. I sat in silence, while Bang pointed out the various strengths and weaknesses of each style, how they compared, and how experienced the competitors were. The older man was a wealth of information, and I found myself enjoying his company. He had spent most of the day waiting, having fewer matches than me due to his status as an established combatant.

The announcement for our match came sooner than I expected. After a long period of waiting and watching, I had fallen into a relaxed state—not bored, but far from the joy of fighting something truly strong. We exchanged a glance, then exited the waiting room together, taking our places on opposite sides of the field.

The announcer was excited to see Bang and "the mysterious new contestant" face off, and I was relieved that my cloaked identity had held up. The referee asked the usual questions, and I answered robotically, showing none of the anticipation I felt.

Without Gamer's Mind, I would have been nervous, terrified even. But just as it muted my unbearable boredom, it also dulled my other emotions, leaving me with a patient yet determined feeling. This was my first fight against one of the main cast, and one of the stronger ones at that. I placed my foot an inch above the floor and deliberately took my hands out of my pockets, movements that did not go unnoticed by Bang.

"3," the ref announced. Bang dropped into a familiar stance, his eyes piercing as he focused all his attention on me, like a snake staring down its prey.

"2," the ref announced. I raised my foot another inch, focusing The Strength of Insects to spread the damage of the impending attack.

"1," the ref announced. Time seemed to slow, all noise faded, and I focused solely on the future I saw before me, ignoring the enormous strength in front of me.

"Go!" the ref shouted. I brought my foot down, shattering the entire arena and launching debris into the air. Taking inspiration from the Gon vs Hisoka fight in *Hunter x Hunter*, I kicked the shards toward Bang. This was only the opening move of my plan, and I had one more advantage left to play. Activating all my Dexterity skills simultaneously, I leaped from piece of rubble to piece of rubble, moving in a perfect 3D flanking maneuver. The moment his sight was obstructed, I activated my stealth. Bang, still standing where he started, was already clearing the rubble with a fluid motion, effortlessly dispatching the debris.

My surprise punch was blocked perfectly, as I had expected. Even without facing me, Bang caught my kick on his forearm while blocking the flying rubble with his other arm. I rotated my body, launching a kick at his side, but he easily jumped over it before countering with one of his complex moves, which I barely avoided by jumping backward.

At this point, the stones had reached their apex—just under a second since the match had started—and after two exchanges, I already knew I couldn't win. It wasn't just that his stats and HP were higher than mine; he also had far more battle experience. This was a bonus boss I had no chance of defeating, but also no reason to. I would never kill the famous Silver Fang, and since that wouldn't happen, I wouldn't get Exp either way. The prize money was nice but not necessary, and the fame for winning would eventually belong to me when I matured.

My first strike was my best, and though I could calculate many different attack strategies, none had more than a ten percent chance of landing a hit. I sighed, feeling relieved that this world had so much more to offer, that the summit was so much higher. I straightened up, letting the rest of the debris fall to the ground.

"Giving up already?" Bang asked, still in his stance.

"I'm going to have to up my training after this," I replied before lunging forward. His hands moved along curved lines to intercept my blows. I watched every motion, using my reflexes to the fullest, even predicting his movements. But nothing worked; my flurry of attacks was deflected every single time, no matter the angle.

I pushed off his arms and dropped to the floor, hooking my foot around a broken stone and flinging it at his head. He caught it and crushed it effortlessly, forcing me to step back. I quickly devised a plan that had a slightly higher chance of success. Dashing toward him, I spun my body upside down, lashing out with a kick and digging my hands into the shattered arena floor. As soon as I felt my leg connect with his arm, I thrust my hands into the ground and pulled them up, filling the arena with sand and dust, making sight impossible. With my eyes closed, I activated Awareness of the Natural World, clearly revealing Bang's location. I then flipped up, activating my newest skill, Ultimate Luck, and released all the bad luck charges I had accumulated over the past few months.

Somehow, my fist slipped through Bang's blinded defense and struck his abdomen. I heard a crunching sound before the world turned red as a massive force hurled me out of the arena and into one of the side walls. Concrete crunched beneath my back, and fiery pain burned through every bone in my body. Yet, thanks to Gamer's Mind or Gamer's Body, I managed to stumble to my feet, extricating myself from the partially collapsed wall.

**King**

**The Gamer**

**Title - None**

**Species - Human**

**Health- 3,261/25,460 (HP Regen: 509 per minute)**

**Mana – 23,150/26,510 (MP Regen: 530 per minute)**

He had dealt over 20,000 points of damage, even through my damage resistance. If he had hit just a bit harder, that would have been the end of me. What a terrible way for this story to end, I thought. Even ignoring the grief it would cause my parents.

"I'm out," I began to say, only to be interrupted by the sight of Bang standing right in front of me, having moved faster than I could track.