- Showdown!

"Earn your level ups? What an absolutely painful thing to say! Although, it's to be expected from the rat that undermined me!"

"That voice… I think I know it from somewhere," Connor said.

"Yeah, wasn't he from our group? In the exam?" Joel asked.

"Yep," Gus said with a sigh. "William Dean. I seriously can't be bothered for this."

"You want to just take off?" Connor asked.

"Are you stupid? What's the use in doing that?" Gus asked.

"Well, if you can't be bothered…"

"No, we've got to deal with him now. Otherwise he'll just cause more problems for me, for us, in the future."

Turning around, Gus saw that there were two people with William. One of them was the boy from before, with the synthetic crown. The second was an equally big person, with a different complexion to the one with the synthetic part.

"Henri, take the big one. Karl, take the other one. The rat's mine," William ordered.

"Connor, Joel, you two got yours?" Gus asked.

"Got mine," Connor confirmed.

"I can handle it," Joel said.

"What do you say we make this proper?" Gus said to William and the others. "There are three separate areas to fight here, so why not use them?" Gus was not sure if he would get the reward for the duel if he was not in a marked zone, and so wanted to make sure the fight happened inside one.

"Sure," William said. "Whatever makes you feel better about it."

"So, rules. Obviously, knockout wins. Anything else?" Gus asked.

"No," William snapped, glancing at his companions. "Knockout only."

Remembering how easily he had put him down just after the exam, Gus was certain this would be fairly easy for him.

The six of them took their positions in the three areas, with Gus in the middle, Connor on the right and Joel on the left.

"So, how are we starting this? Any signal? Maybe a little dance from one of you, or something?" Connor said in a sarcastic, mocking tone.

Without warning, William swung at Gus with his right arm. Following their leader's example, the two in combat with Connor and Joel also suddenly began attacking.

Reacting quickly, Gus threw himself to the side to avoid the punch, before slamming a fist into William's side. Seeing him recoil from the blow, Gus pressed his advantage by sending his right fist into William's chest. Wrapping his leg behind William, Gus forced him down to the ground.

Once there, the fight was as good as over. Gus remembered from before that William was weak, and so knew that he would not be able to dislodge Gus from his position over William. Once there, he began pummeling blows into William, who desperately tried to block the attacks.

"I… I… I surrender," William stammered out, blood pouring out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Can't do that," Gus responded. "You were adamant that it's a knockout win only, so that's what is going to happen. And after all that talk, too. Must suck, being to weak to do anything," he said, goading him as he continued to strike William.

'That's enough,' he told himself. 'Keep calm, you don't want to be like them.' No matter what he thought, he could not stop himself from repeatedly striking down with his fists, over and over. Only when the boy beneath him stopped responding to the punches did Gus stop.

"For such an arrogant guy, he's pathetic," Gus murmured, rising to his feet.

*Opponent's Eliminated: [1]*

*Rewards: [25] EXP.*

'I guess twenty-five is the standard for here. But, I wonder what the difference is between here and the game last night?'

'Wait. Where is my mission rewards? I thought I had to beat this guy?'

*William Dean has not been defeated. Beating someone like him physically is the equivalent of drinking when you are dehydrated. It is the natural conclusion.*

'Oh, I see.'

Glancing across to the other two, he saw that their fights were a lot more enthralling to witness.

Connor skillfully traded blows with his opponent, fighting defensively until he found the right opportunity to go offensive, placing blows at specific, exposed spots on his opponent's body. While he lacked any notable technique and force, it was clear he was winning due to the sheer amount of blows he was landing on his opponent. So long as the fight continued to progress in the way that it was, then he would eventually win.

As for Joel, his fight was a lot less technical and a lot more forceful. He and his opponent slammed blows towards each other with tremendous force. As he saw it, Gus wondered how at least one of them had not collapsed from the sheer strain of receiving the blows over and over. He figured that Joel's strength enhancing machines were doing something to limit the damage, but had no idea how his opponent had not gone down.

The answer lay in his skill. The opponent, Henri, was somehow able to limit a lot of the damage he received by blocking with his arms. Gus figured that it was due to some form of cybernetic, similar to what he assumed about Joel's. While more technique should always be good, his fighting style came with one core weakness. One mistake, however minor, would mean defeat. Especially when the opponent is one as strong as Joel.

This came moments later, as a strong blow from Joel's right slipped past the arm of the Henri, smashing into his jaw and putting him onto the floor. With that fight down, Gus could focus on watching Connor.

The fight progressed as it had before, slowly and methodically. Connor kept poking and prodding at his opponent as if he were a fly, and would be taken down in one hit.

In the future, his fighting style would work well. For now, while he was too weak to deal a definitive blow to his opponent, it only served to longer expose him to the danger of taking a lethal blow. This happened seconds later, as a smart punch by his opponent caught him as he attempted to duck under a different blow.

Joel stepped forwards as Connor hit the ground, willing to step up and continue the fight. Gus put out a hand to stop him, "no. The fight is done, no point jumping in to start a new one. Let's just get him back to the house."