Paulie brought James further into the back of the arcade. A simple ring had been set up a couple of rooms back, nothing more than hastily tied together ropes to mark off the area. A man stretched on the other side, his arms falling down past his torso. James was sure if the man slouched his hands could touch the floor without issue.

He had a similar scheme as Paulie. Horns were installed on his head, though these were shorter than his leader’s. Various swirling tattoos also covered Morley’s body, but in patterns of red and blue instead of Paulie’s darker colors. He glanced up as James arrived.

“Doing good Morley?” Paulie asked.

“Always,” Morley answered. His voice had a deep resonance to it, like he was speaking through a long tube.

“Right,” Paulie turned to James. “Rules are easy. No leaving the ring. No eye pokes, groin hits, or other dirty techniques. And nothing deadly. One of ours will stand in as a referee to make sure. Other than that, anything goes. Fight continues until someone is knocked unconscious.”

“Got it,” James said. He stepped into the ring, rolling his shoulders and hopping a bit to pump himself up.

He could already tell this would be a strange battle. Morley had arms like whips and enough reach to hit James way before he got into range. He would have to find a way to sneak inside the man’s guard.

Morley picked at his teeth as James prepared himself, likely because he thought James was some snot-nosed cultivator. James could use that overconfidence. Parts of his training, the more cerebral parts, came back to him.

James recalled Peregrine and his mannerisms, adopting them as his own and looking at Morley. He sniffed haughtily, acting as if the other cultivator was beneath him. That got Morley to smirk, and James had to control his face so he didn’t follow suit.

Paulie jumped over the ropes and swaggered into the ring. He oozed confidence as he looked between the two fighters. “Both fighters ready?” he asked lazily.

James waved a hand like this wasn’t worth his time as Morley nodded.

“Begin!” Paulie shouted.

James’s goal in riling Morley was two-fold. First off, he wanted to make the long-armed fighter overconfident and use that to his advantage. Second, he wanted the fighter to advance on him first.

James knew that he couldn’t reach his opponent easily, not with the man’s long arms. He outranged James at all points, even James’s kicks couldn’t reach past his opponent’s guard. If he attacked while stepping forward he still wouldn’t reach Morley’s body before the man retreated. Therefore, James wanted Morley to rush in as he dodged the first punch.

Only, Morley didn’t move. He stood there, arms up in a guard position as he waited for James.

Paulie snorted. “Looks like you prepared for nothing, kid. Morley here’s a counter-fighter.”

James cursed under his breath and tried to think of what else he could do. Morley seemed content to wait. The official games had to have a time limit that prevented this, but here all James could do was try something.

Then Paulie sighed and looked at Morley. The blue and red tattooed man nodded and moved forward. He practically slid across the ground, startling James with his speed. A punch flew out, forcing James to shift his body right to dodge.

He saw a flash of movement to the right, Morley’s left coming in for a hook. James entered the Metastate using the information from Morley’s shifting weight to determine where the punch would land. James ducked low.

A knee flew up to meet him, James catching it with his shoulder. He grunted in surprise but Morley wasn’t done. The fighter stepped back then struck out in with two punches in quick succession.

James had little options but to retreat. His mind raced as he tried to recover. Morley was one of those that hid their movement until the last moment, only showing exactly what he had to. He was like Nadia, but with straight jabs instead of swirling movements.

There was barely a moment to think as punch after punch came after him. James continued to dodge, though he could see Morley was pushing him into a corner. If he had no room to maneuver, James knew he was done. It was time to start taking risks.

James tried to remember the roped area behind him, specifically where the support posts say. He knew he had no chance of climbing on the ropes but perhaps he could use the pole to gain some kind of advantage.

He started to let himself shrink into the corner, doing his best to make it seem as if he was running out of options. Morley pressed his advantage, punching in rapid succession at James’s chin. James for his part bobbed and weaved through the blows, slowly taking steps back until he was sure the pole waited behind him.

Then, he struck. James flooded his opponent’s senses with intentions to dodge left and right, then reckless attacks that attempted to grab arms or tumble toward legs. He sent intention backwards as well, various feints and maneuvers that let him skirt just out of Morley’s reach.

The fighter, for his part, barely acted surprise, though James caught the small tensing movements across his body. He was waiting for James to move, but there was no way Morley could expect what James did next. The young cultivator hastened backward until he felt the pole behind him.

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With practiced movements, James swung himself outward while holding onto the pole. Abdominal muscles clenched as James moved into a handstand on the pole. Morley actually had to take a step back, the length of James’s body enough for his foot to reach a chin.

Paulie whistled. “Would you look at him go!”

Morley, now that he’d seen James’s movement, kept himself just out of reach of the man. James used the reprieve to catch his breath and cool down a bit, letting off some of the load he was under in the Metastate. While he rested, James tried to plan his next move, his eyes darting around Morley.

His opponent shifted his weight on each look, placing himself into a better guarding position. But James wasn’t looking to end the fight in the next move. He realized his singular explosive movements wouldn’t work here.

James lowered himself from his handstand until he crouched like a frog. Morley was content to let it happen, willing to wait until James tried his next move.

In one smooth motion, James flipped himself off the pole into a high jump kick. He used no tricks of intention or feints, just a single pure kick. Morley reacted to it by dodging to the side and bringing his elbow down toward where James would land.

However, seeing the elbow, James brought his foot to the floor early, this time using his intention to flood Morley’s sense. He had to gamble that his opponent wouldn’t react to the correct movement, and to his relief Morley stepped back. James landed on one foot, using the momentum to fall into a somersault.

Once he reached the apex, James pushed with his whole body, sending a donkey-looking kick straight at his foe along with various other intentions. Morley answered with a boxer’s guard, deciding to take the possible blow and counter later.

James felt his feet slam into Morley, the long-armed man jumping back to lesson some of the impact. James grunted as his legs fell to the ground, Morley ready to stomp down on one. James forced himself to move, twisting around while he sent various other intentions toward his foe. Morley’s foot barely missed James’s leg as he rolled, making a mighty thump as it hit the floor.

James pulled himself upright, bouncing on his feet as he tried to think of his next move. He could feel his neck heating up, meaning he probably had one or two more good moves in him. Likely only one. It seemed he’d really need to gamble if he wanted to win.

With the field somewhat reset, Morley took the chance to start stepping in with more Jabs. James tried to use his sense to avoid and step in, but Morley had a perfect counter for each movement. If James dodged left and stepped in, Morley simply moved back. If he dodged right, his foe had a hook ready and waiting for him that forced James out. If he tried tackling, a knee would start coming up in response.

Since nothing traditional worked, James moved back to the pole and started off with another jump. However, this time he sent as many variations of intention as he could before he jumped. Flying tackles, jump kicks, elbow drops, anything that he could do in the air, James sent Morley’s way. Then, he jumped with absolutely no plan in mind.

Morley waited until James committed to a move, only to widen his eyes in surprise when James never did. Unprepared, Morley attack slightly too late. A punch went out toward James’s chin, the man bringing a hand up to block before slamming directly into his foe.

The two went down in a pile of limbs, but James was faster. He scrambled around until he found an arm, pulling it behind Morley in an arm bar. The fighter struggled to break free but James held tight. He opened his mouth to call for Morley’s surrender.

Morley moved his shoulder moving strangely out of place as he twisted around on the floor. James let go in surprise and just barely caught the fist below coming for his jaw. With one last spurt, James leaned back and avoided the uppercut, rolling away and standing.

Once again the two fighters were back on equal footing, thought James knew he couldn’t continue any longer. His neck and back sweltered under his robes. Sighing, he held his hand up.

“I give up,” he said.

There was a clatter to the side. He looked to see Paulie off his chair and on the floor. “What! It was just getting good!”

James shrugged. “Sorry man but I’m about to overheat. Can’t risk it.”

Paulie groaned. “Just my luck. First time I get to see Morley start actually trying in one of these and you go and ruin it.”

“What can I say,” James answered. “I’m great at missing expectations.”

He looked to Morley. “Good fight. Didn’t think you could get out of my grapple after that.”

“Double-joint cybernetics,” the fighter answered. “Covers my weakness best.”

James nodded and looked to Paulie. “So, how much do you want for winning?”

“Ah junk,” Paulie groaned. He looked to Morley. “He actually made his case, didn’t he?”

Morley nodded. “He would do better than most in the fights and could probably win the obstacle races. He is quick on his feet.”

The gangster grabbed his horns, tugging them as he made a face. He seemed to be warring against himself. Eventually, he looked over to James.

“Alright, friend. Let’s hear this betting plan of yours,” he grunted.

James looked surprised. “Wait, really?”

“Yes, really!” Paulie shouted. “Now junking spit it out before I change my mind!”

“Okay, so how much do you know about what goes on in the city?” James asked.

“What does that have to do with this?” Paulie asked.

“A lot,” James answered. “I need to know how easily information travels.”

“We know a lot. Rumors are easy to come by when all your information can come through a handheld,” Paulie answered. “Now what does this have to do with anything?”

“Have you heard about the infighting in Blue Mountain Sect then?” James asked.

“Something to do about a new disciple,” Paulie answered with a nod.

“Right, that’s me,” James said. “And most of the sect is up in arms because I’m from outside the city. One of the agritowers, to be specific.”

Paulie raised an eyebrow. “No joke?”

James shook his head. “No joke.”

There was a glint in Paulie’s eye. “I think I’m starting to see your idea, friend.”

This time the friend sounded a lot more friendly.

“So, a new disciple appears in Blue Mountain Sect, one from outside SeeSee. Comes from the towers and now gets to compete in the games. Of course, there’s no way a tower kid would ever be as good as a cultivator,” James said.

“And sure, he might beat perhaps one or two competitors, he’s still a disciple in one of the greater sects,” Paulie continued. “But there’s no real chance he’d ever beat another skilled cultivator.”

“And that’s where we come in,” James said. “I keep the first couple of matches close, barely win them. Then when it gets to cultivators that have more talent, I go all out.”

“You win a few more and suddenly the odds start getting better, more people start betting on you, after all you’re on a hot streak,” Paulie said.

“And then I take the dive,” James finished.

Paulie slapped his knee. “Scrapped beasts! We’d make a killing!”

“So,” James asked with a smile. “You in?”

Paulie walked over and grabbed James’s hand. “You got yourself a deal, friend.”