"Everybody!" Akiyama's voice echoed through the speakers. "Due to an unexpected circumstance, one of the participants of the Seventh Fight has been replaced."

"But the show will go on! We have the replacement, and the fight will still be exciting! The Seventh Fight of the night will start soon." Akiyama stated.

The crowd cheered in anticipation.

To get to the fight ring in the middle of the room, there were two paths opposite of each other. Each one led from a tunnel to the arena.

I stood in one of the tunnels, waiting for the announcement to head onto the stage. Due to the fact I was about to fight however, I had changed my outfit.

I still wore my shirt and and shorts, but I now had bandages wrapped around my fists. However, in these fights most clothes are discarded.

So I'll be taking off my shirt. That's it. What did you think I was going to do? Get your mind out of the gutter.

"Why do you think I was thinking that?" Loki questioned me.

Shut up.

"You ready?" I heard Goku ask from behind me. "It'll be starting any moment now."

"Yeah." I replied, taking off my shirt and handing it to him.

So, why exactly am I doing this match?

The reason is for the money. With it, I can have enough to pay for any information that I may need for the future. And having extra money in this world can be useful for many other reasons.

Not to mention this will give me a chance to test my strength against a strong opponent. They shouldn't be as strong as Amber, but still pretty strong.

I'm looking forward to this.

"You have a scary grin forming on your face." Goku sweatdropped.

"Is it strange that I'm starting to get excited from fighting?" I asked.

"Not at all." Laughed Goku, slapping my back. "I was the same way."

"Get ready!" Akiyama suddenly announced. "The Seventh Fight is starting!"

"In our first corner, we have The Doom Plague, The Master of Deception, Shino Torasaki!" Akiyama stated.

The crowd cheered.

A man walked onto the path, dramatically throwing his hoodie off to show his ripped body. A single, large scar was located on his chest. Bandages were wrapped around his fists.

"Master of Deception? Please, if anybody then it's me." Scoffed Loki.

You're literally the God of Trickery.

"Yes? So?" Loki asked.

Nevermind...

"And in our other corner, we have newcomer Ken Kage, Student of the Legendary Goku Taiyou!" Akiyama continued.

I walked onto the path, heading towards the ring.

"What? That's the replacement?" I heard one crowd member say.

"That's just a kid!" Another one replied.

"That kids going to get murdered." Someone else sighed.

"He's pretty built for being so young." Another commented.

I jumped onto the other side of the ring, facing Shino. He looked at me, scoffing.

"Seriously? This is the replacement they got for me? This brat?" He sighed.

"I was the only one available." I shrugged.

"Well, it won't hurt to add another win onto my list." He viciously grinned.

"How cocky." Loki stated. "Hate people like this."

Aren't you cocky too?

"I'm a god. I at least have the power to back myself. Well, used to. Doesn't matter now that I'm an Arcana." Loki replied.

Well, I'll just have to show him not to underestimate me then. I want to have a real fight to see how far away I stand from Amber, now that both of us are at Tier 5.

A referee stood in the middle of the arena, holding a whistle.

"Rules are simple. No weapons. No killing. Game goes on until you yield or cannot fight anymore." The referee explained, glancing at me.

Obviously he believed I needed to know since I'm a newcomer. That's appreciated.

The referee backed up, stepping out of the ring. He brought the whistle to his lips, and then blew.

Immediately Shino rushed me, bringing his fist back for a vicious punch to my face, ready to finish this. Luckily for me, that also means he's incredibly defenseless.

I slightly tilted my head to the side to allow his fists to go flying past. I sent my own fist towards his face, connecting with a counter.

The audience gasped in surprise.

He stepped backwards, holding his cheek in surprise. A small bit of blood leaked from his mouth.

"You kidding me? You hit that hard?" He questioned. "Now you're going to get it."

His posture became more serious, but he still kept his hands fairly low. Unlike a boxing stance where the hands protected the top, his hands were at the bottom of his body.

Quite the strange position. I analyzed every single bit of it with the help of Copycat, but I still couldn't see why he was in that posture.

He brought his right hand up, swiping it at me in an attempt to connect another punch. He's slower than others I've faced though.

I easily sidestepped it. He sent another punch, but I sidestepped that one as well. He sent another fist towards my head.

As I went to dodge it he then suddenly lurched forwards, bringing his other fist towards my side. He was swinging with both!

I dodged one fist while barely blocked the other with my forearms, causing me to slide across the arena to the corner. He didn't give me a moment to relent, coming at me once more.

He sent another strong punch towards my face. I needed to get out of this position. I was backed into a corner.

As the punch neared, an idea formed into my brain. I quickly ducked under the punch, before rolling onto the ground and inbetween his wide-spread legs to get onto the other side.

I scampered to my feet as he turned around, but now our positions were reversed, as now I had him backed into the corner.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to read his style even with the help of Copycat. I can't get why he does anything, and despite having him in a corner I have a bad feeling.

I rushed him, sending a fist towards him. Instead of blocking it or dodging it, he grabbed my hand and sent me to a stop.

Shit. Why'd he catch it?! All the force should have hit him! With my strength, that could be extremely damaging-?!

He slammed his other fist into my stomach, sending me flying backwards. I rolled across the ground, stopping at the other end of the ring.

He started to walk towards me, an annoying grin on his face. "Hey, you know why I'm called the Master of Deception?" He asked.

He crouched down, taunting me. "It's because I'm unpredictable. No one knows my style. And the secret is that I don't have one."

Oh...I see...that's why I couldn't understand his movements, even with Copycat...

"You given up yet? Has your sense of pride been crushed? Have you realized the difference inbetween us?" He asked, his grin widening with every question.

Instead I laughed.

"Huh? What's so funny?" He asked, his face going into a scowl.

"Not using any sort of fighting technique? You're just waiting for your ass to be beat." I chuckled.

"Why you?!" He angrily growled, grabbing me by the throat and pulling my limp body into the air. "It's over. You've lost. But maybe I should cripple you so you realize that. Maybe the right arm, or the left leg?"

The referee looked at me, desperately trying to tell me to yield before my opponent did anything drastic.

But it wasn't over yet.

I swung my legs upwards, wrapping around his arm. "What the hell?!" He gasped in surprised.

I moved my foot back, before slamming it into his face. He let go of my throat, allowing me to flip in the air before landing on my feet.

Thank you, basic copied acrobatics from Lily. I need to go to a class to learn more...

"You're no Master of Deception." I replied. "You're a fraud."

"How dare you?!" He glared at me, eyes filled with rage and blood dripping down his nose.

He rushed at me, successfully taunted. When an opponent becomes angry like this they can lose their sense of reasoning.

He sent a flurry of powerful punches at me, but I easily sidestepped every one. He wasn't trying to hit any vital points, he was just hurling his fists in anger.

And that allowed me to easily dodge them, because I could easily track the movement of his fists.

He sent another fist towards me, lunging forwards. Since he hasn't practiced any techniques, he doesn't have an essential thing that only trained people have.

Balance.

I quickly ducked under the fist, dodging around him and appearing behind. I kicked him in the back, causing him to tumble forwards onto the ground.

He's just an extremely strong brute. Anybody slower than him is absolutely destroyed due to his quick and hard punches, but anyone quicker than him can dodge those.

I hopped onto his back, twisting his arm behind him and holding him down. "Yield." I stated.

He flailed his other arm, trying to hit me. I gripped his wrist, pulling his other arm behind him as well. I kept him down, keeping him against the ground.

The referee started to count down, waiting to see if he could break through. Despite his tremendous muscle though, he couldn't get break my hold. His feet hit my back, but despite the pain I kept my hold on Shino.

Likely a surprising sight.

The referee blew the whistle. "Shino Torasaki is no longer able to fight! The match is over!"

I got up off of him, dusting my hands off.

"The newcomer Ken Kage is the winner of the Seventh Fight!" Akiyama announced.

The crowd went wild.

"No! This is bullshit! I can't lose to a fucking teenager!" Shino yelled.

He got off the ground, running at me and readying a punch. He sent it towards me, but I quickly dodged and brought my hand up.

A black spear manifested into my hand, pointing at Shino's throat. He went still, his arm still outstretched by my face as he realized the weapon at his neck.

"Try it again. I dare you." I scoffed.

The crowd went wild once more.

"That swine Torayama!" A spectator angrily yelled.

"What?! He won?!" Gasped another one.

"He's like Amber!" Someone else realized.

"He's also an Adventurer-In-Training?!" Someone deduced.

"Oh my god, he's hot!" A woman cried.

"The new Master of Deception?!"

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