“Whoa! That dude just raced through everyone!” Trey voiced his thoughts as he ran. One of the people running at the forefront of the group they were following captured the Vanjax boar in quite literally a flash. After the stunt, the man suddenly yelled some names back at the group which prompted two more people to quickly block the other contestants.
“Alright! Now, how should we steal it from them!?” Trey said out loud, oblivious to the puzzled looks the other contestants were giving him.
(“So embarrassing…”)
Jenyx held his mask and pretended to fix it. Although the attention didn’t bother Trey, as someone who chooses to shy away from the limelight at any given time, being at the center of attention with him was unbearably sapping to the mind that Jenyx wished to leave as soon as possible.
“H-how about we just wait and see for now? There’s still lots of time anyway…” Jenyx uttered in a barely-audible voice.
“Screw this! These kids think they’re invincible just ‘cause they’re young! I’ll show you what happens when you mess with real adults!!”
One of the men who got knocked down started kicking up a fuss and insulted the wild-looking man. He was rather large in both height and weight that he dwarfed most of the contestants—including the men who blocked their way. The man was fuming so much that Jenyx wouldn’t have been surprised if a blood vessel just popped in his head. What did that guy do to make him so angry anyway?
The man ran up to and raised his fist, aiming it squarely at his opponent’s face. As he swung downwards, he put all of his weight into that one punch, no matter the consequences. A punch like that from someone so… endowed, so to speak, would normally have enough force to cause multiple fractures on someone’s skull.
But it didn’t matter.
The difference in their body mass—which should’ve made it impossible for the large man to have lost to someone so lacking in comparison—was disregarded completely and ended with the large man laid flat on the floor for the second time. The false belief that he held the physical advantage over the youth was shattered into a million pieces and tossed aside, much like he was. In the face of this unknown power; In the face of martial arts, he was nothing more than a child, and there is nothing he can do but accept this fact.
“Now then… anyone else?”
The wild-looking man, known as Gurin, proudly spread his arms in an inviting manner. Beside him, Aidi was shaking his head sideways. Gurin was clearly looking down on them, yet they had no answer for it. The only way to have a chance at winning the competition was to get past both Aidi and Gurin, and then steal the boar from the one they were protecting. However, it was easier said than done when the ones confronting you were two experienced martial artists. Unsurprisingly, nobody dared to make a move on them after witnessing Gurin’s might.
It was clear that anyone who would fall for such obvious taunts were blithering, emotional fools.
“Psst, Jenyx! Hear me out. I have a plan!”
Or their fellow martial artists.
**
“Haaah!!”
Trey made the first move and thrust his fist towards Gurin’s chest—which the latter deflected and countered with a kick. Just like that, the two kept exchanging swift attacks one after another, with neither giving an inch to their opponent. None of the contestants could peel their eyes off of Trey as he matched Gurin blow for blow. It was hard to believe that this youngster—who didn’t even seem to be of legal age yet—was actually fighting on equal footing against someone they could only describe as an insurmountable wall.
(“This boy is…!”)
To the unsuspecting eye, the flow of the fight between Gurin and Trey suggested that they were in a deadlock; trapped in a virtually even fight that could be influenced by slight factors in their physical capabilities. However, to Gurin and Aidi, who each had some semblance of exposure to martial arts ever since their fateful meeting with their leader, the boy before them was what people called a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’.
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“Ghh!?”
“Gurin!!”
Perhaps it wasn’t the best time to be immersing himself in his thoughts. Gurin felt Trey’s fist bury itself on the right side of his gut, finding his kidney in the process. A mouthful of air sharply escaped from his body as he was forced to take a step back from his assailant.
“You… who are you!?” Aidi yelled as he stood between Gurin and Trey.
“Nobody. Just a nameless student who’s itching for a fight!” Trey resumed his earlier stance as he spoke.
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter. We doing this or what?”
“He’s right… Aidi. What matters is that we’ll win this, right!?” Gurin placed his hand on Aidi’s shoulder and spoke in a slightly breathy voice.
(“Even though Gurin’s trying to shake it off as if nothing happened, I know he took considerable damage from that exchange. Who is this boy!?”)
This boy who came out of nowhere and landed a hit on Gurin was most probably an experienced martial artist as well. He was possibly—no, he was most probably at a level or two above them, because despite the intensity of the previous clash, Gurin was the only one who felt the claws of fatigue creeping up his body.
“Don’t look at me like that. I can still fight!”
“Of course you can. We can’t let him get past us, Gurin!”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Oh? Are you finally gonna take me seriously?”
The two assumed their stances in a near-synchronized fashion without responding to Trey.
“Nice, that's nice! I'll be taking this seriously as well!”
**
(“This guy is seriously too hot-blooded…”) Jenyx complained in his mind. Hiding in the mass of contestants, he carefully surveyed the situation—especially Trey, who was currently engaged in a fight with both Gurin and Aidi. Despite fighting bare-handed, he didn’t seem to be struggling against his opponents. In fact, it seemed like he was enjoying himself as their battle grew more and more intense.
(“He really wasn’t bluffing earlier, huh?”)
*A few minutes ago*
“I can distract these guys while ya go and get the boar. Easy right!?”
“No! What do you mean easy!? Didn’t you see what he did to that man?”
“Yep, seems like they do martial arts too! Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself!”
“No, I- Hey, wait! Trey! Wait!!”
Now that he looked back on it, it wasn’t exactly a conversation so much as an order. He just suddenly dropped directions on him and went to work without even asking whether Jenyx was onboard or not. It was clear from Trey’s personality that he wasn’t one who sat around waiting for other people’s opinion. He was decisive. A trait Jenyx found to be both enviable and worrying.
Right now, Trey was doing his best to keep both Gurin and Aidi’s attention on him. On the other side, Jenyx was stranded, still weighing the pros and cons of Trey’s plan, unable to make a decision. What do I need to do? What do I want to do? Constantly worrying about what the future might bring as a result of his actions was a part of him he disliked. It was what paralyzed him; What made him into the person he is today. No matter how much he agonizes over the future, he could never foresee what was to come, so why bother?
Perhaps he could never truly rid himself of this tendency. But his fear had kept him in the darkness for far too long.
After deliberating for a short while, Jenyx had finally made up his mind.
“Whatever happens next, don’t you dare blame me, Frenzy!” Jenyx whispered to himself as he cut past the crowd and headed straight for the scarred man who held the boar down. He had a huge body, but it was unlike the pot-bellied man’s. It was mostly muscle, and they were as intimidating as they were large. A direct confrontation wasn’t in Jenyx’s best interests, but he was raring to see how he would fare against someone who could use martial arts. Besides, at worst, his opponent probably wouldn’t use enough force to kill a person since this was just a competition.
(“It’s not exactly wishful thinking… right? He probably wouldn’t kill me…”)
Jenyx extended both of his hands forward in an attempt to push the man away from the boar. With how fast he reached them, Jenyx believed that he had caught the man unaware, and therefore held back by what he deemed to be an appropriate amount to not injure the man.
“Huh!?”
Just as he thought he was about to make contact with the man’s shoulder, his hands were flung aside and the force of the impact knocked him backwards. His surprise attack had failed.
“A kid…? What are Aidi and Gurin doing?”
The scarred man stood up and met Jenyx’s eyes. Below him, the boar was unresponsive, knocked out cold. To have taken a Vanjax Boar all alone, that by itself was an indication of the man’s caliber—regardless of the boar’s erratic behavior.
(“I knew it. This isn’t going to be easy!”)
Even though he knew he was at a disadvantage, the rush and the tension of letting loose set his heart alight.