Chris had sensed the eighth challenger begin to stir before he spoke, so he wasn’t as surprised as the others at the eighth challenger’s mumble. But the others were shocked that he had regained consciousness that quickly. But that didn’t stop them from spreading that information to the spectators further away, who didn’t hear or notice that the eighth challenger woke up so quickly after receiving all those strikes from Chris.
Now it only remained to be seen if the eighth challenger was in good enough shape to continue fighting or if he would still get tossed out of the ring.
“Get back in line if you want another go.”
Chris’ words quickly sealed the eighth challenger’s outcome as he got tossed outside the ring. Since he was awake, Chris didn’t bother giving him any excessive comfort.
The eighth challenger grunted as he tumbled to the floor with a bodily thump. The other challengers who had been ready to catch him looked around awkwardly before shoving their hands in their pockets and avoiding each other’s gazes.
The eighth challenger had barely been awake and wasn’t conscious enough to notice or care about getting tossed to the floor and the challengers not catching him. It wasn’t any different from the treatment that the other challengers, who lost, got.
After taking a few moments to recover and regain his sense of balance after the repeated blows to his head, the eighth challenger struggled to stand up before heading over to Dennis to sign back up.
“Do any of you know that guy?”
Micah looked at Rego and Tineya. He would have liked to ask Art and Dennis too, but they were busy down where the action happened. Though, he mostly looked at Rego since he didn’t expect Tineya to have an answer.
But surprisingly, Tineya squinted and looked at the eighth challenger.
“Hard tell from here, but he looks like Kairon.”
“Didn’t he try to cross the wasteland a while back?”
“Guess he failed. Pretty badly at that since he lost all his strength.”
“Oi. Who’s Kairon?”
Micah interrupted Rego and Tineya before they could continue chatting.
“Sorry, boss. Kairon was a decently strong guy in town some time ago. Unlike Artholomew and Tineya, he didn’t have a gang or group and just went around on his own. He was actually quite famous. But then, he said he was going to cross the wasteland to find his sister, and that was the last anyone heard of him. After enough time passed to confirm that he was practically beyond recovery, people forgot about him.”
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“Alright. Sounds interesting. Bring this Kairon guy up here and tell Dennis to begin wrapping things up. I think we’ve gotten as much as we can get tonight.”
“Yes, boss.”
Rego nodded and left the booth to fetch Kairon and relay Micah’s message.
Kairon looked reluctant to follow Rego back to the booth at first. Micah didn’t know what Rego said, but whatever it was quickly changed Kairon’s mind, and he walked unsteadily behind Rego toward the booth. But when it came to the stairs, Rego had to support Kairon lest he lose his balance.
Dennis waited until Rego and Kairon moved to the stairs before he started preparing to step on stage.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long until the tenth challenger got slapped off the stage for trying the same method as the fourth and ninth challengers.
“Well, well, ladies and gentlemen. We have now seen ten consecutive challengers display their bravery as they stepped on stage to fight against the champion of Cube. An admirable effort. Yet, not a single one has landed a strike on the champion.”
Dennis’ words struck right at the hearts of the challengers who remained or had regained consciousness. The crowd was also disappointed.
“It’s unfortunate. But now you know that the prize pool is that big for a reason. Since it is the opening night, we will let the remaining five challengers try it. But after that, the Cube’s grand opening will be over.”
The crowd was a little disappointed that there was nothing more exciting planned. But they also understood that Cube had already sucked everything out of their pockets. If they wanted to see more, they had to come back another time and be ready to pay more.
There were still some who hoped for a turn or a twist as the five challengers fought Chris, one at a time. However, Chris didn’t let a single blow fall on his body, and he sent all the challengers outside the ring, either dead or unconscious.
People didn’t stop hoping even until the end. But not because they believed any of the challengers would win or last five minutes against Chris. It was just more exciting to watch the fights while thinking that maybe the next challenger would be the one to do it, to finally get the prize pool.
So, no one was really surprised when the consecutive challenges ended with Chris’ victory.
“That will be it for tonight, folks. Hope you had a great time!”
Dennis sent all the spectators away as the doors to the Cube opened and revealed the dusty red outside world of Vanitapolis, Hell. Dennis didn’t bother encouraging anyone to come back or to spread the word about the Cube and the battle arena. He didn’t have to. The spectators began talking about it before they even left the building.
But there was one concern very few dared to raise since it was no secret the Cube belonged to the same people who had taken over the town and were in charge of collecting protection fees. The lack of pol.
If they continued getting robbed of all or nearly all of their pol on a daily basis, they wouldn’t be able to afford entry the next time Cube opened, and they wouldn’t be any different from the poor saps who ended up on their knees, begging to be let in. And they definitely wouldn’t have enough to bet, which was one of the more exciting parts of the evening.