Special Tournament 11

Chapter 23

Special Tournament 11

The gray creature looked at its gaping wounds, then opened its palm, covering one of the holes.

Gray skin, like liquid, flowed from the top of the hole, slowly making its way down.

The liquid rebuilt the flesh that was taken out, healing the area like concrete drying, the wound now a light gray compared to the rest of its body.

Then it placed its two hands on the rest of the other holes, fully restoring them.

Shiro watched the act, stunned by its healing capabilities. The creature got into a wide-armed crouched stance, like an animal waiting for its prey. Its gaze locked onto Shiro beneath its brown leather hat.

What do I do?

My sister only taught me the basics of hand-to-hand, only relying on weapons!

Shiro thought for a moment, recalling a show he used to watch as a kid. The name of the show was A Fizz.

Shiro combined his knowledge of the show and the basics of combat from his sister. He centered his gravity point.

Raising both hands to cover the vital parts of his body, he slightly raised his left leg, bringing it forward, leaving his back leg for support. He controlled his breathing.

Pa!

In a blink of an eye, the creature dashed toward Shiro, bursting the ground underneath. Its claws opened like a tiger ready to strike.

Whoosh!

Shiro stepped to the side as the creature’s hand swiped. He regained his stance and quickly twisted his hips, rotating his whole body, sending a flying kick.

Shiro’s kick made contact with the creature’s face.

His foot felt an impact, but before it could fully land, the creature twisted its head toward Shiro, its heavy gaze beneath the brown leather hat.

The creature’s head deformed like liquid. Shiro’s foot glided right through; bits of mushy gray skin stayed on Shiro’s foot.

The creature healed itself, filling in the spot that was meant to be ripped apart.

“What the hell!”

Shiro, out of fear, stepped back, regaining his posture.

Do physical attacks not work on it? Shiro’s face paled, his hair standing on end.

The creature didn’t get into a stance; it held still like it was delayed. The creature was paused.

Looking at its abnormal actions, Shiro felt an unholy gut feeling of death. He widened his eyes, revealing a cracked smile.

The feeling of death… felt joyful. The feeling of losing one’s sanity felt overpowering. This feels great! Shiro thought, joyful.

Fight or die! Fight for the joy. Shiro’s sanity felt like it was wiping away little by little, but at the great cost of power.

Shiro, without thinking, dashed forward, throwing a jab.

THWAK!

The jab made an impact, stronger than before. Shiro’s heart pounded once again as his fist, even though feeling the impact, phased right through.

His enjoyment disappeared.

Fuck, FUCK! What am I thinking? Joy?! Who can find joy from this?

Shiro’s thoughts rambled.

The creature didn’t move, waiting.

Why isn’t he moving, and why don’t my attacks work?

Shiro looked at the creature up and down, observing its movements. As he watched its hands, the creature’s fingers twitched.

Shiro, whose heart was beating fast, didn’t know what to do and stumbled in his posture.

“Raise your arms and block, you idiot!” The voice who had told him to turn around before spoke once again, and without a second thought, Shiro covered all his vital points.

In a second, the creature twisted its arm, releasing a devastating blow.

POW!

The blow landed on Shiro’s left side. The impact was strong. Gah! Shiro groaned in pain as the attack felt like what his kick would have been. Feeling the pressure, Shiro was sent flying down toward his bed.

Crack!

Crashing into the lower part of his bed frame, Shiro groaned in pain. The bed split from the side. Blood dripped from his back as the wood punctured it.

The creature stayed still, not moving after landing the attack.

Am I going to die? His thoughts wondered.

Why am I not being saved? The higher grade user should have heard it by now!

Shiro closed his eyes. He sighed as he got up, ignoring the pain from his back as he stumbled slightly.

As Shiro arose, his smile reappeared once again, but instead of getting into a stance like he would have, Shiro decided to trust another thought — his thought of truth. Life or death? I’m not going to die here. No growing the reputation of commoners has struggles.

Anything to win…

Shiro raised his arms. Dozens of bubbles formed from left to right, covering him like a barrier. More bubbles filled behind him. His Fage barely scraped.

Without a stance, Shiro threw a sluggish attack. Instead of a normal jab, he forced all his body weight on one side, throwing a right overhand.

Just as expected, Shiro’s fist swiped right through. Following the blow, Shiro leaned his weight onto the other side of his body but this time twisted his hips, throwing a sluggish left hook.

The attack once again phased through the skin.

After the second attack, he should attack again. I need this feeling again! Shiro thought, full of joy in his head.

The creature finally moved, faster than all of Shiro’s attacks. It swung a hard right hook.

POW!

The creature’s fist landed a clean shot onto Shiro’s face. The impact crunched his nose inside his skull, but this time Shiro didn’t feel fear; he felt intense joy, smiling like a madman. The attack’s pressure and force sent Shiro flying back to the hallway, slamming into the bathroom door.

THUD!

Shiro’s body ripped right through the door, slamming into the wall. Smiling, he watched the creature as it slowly walked toward him.

The bubbles didn’t follow Shiro; instead, they strangely stayed in the same place. As the creature was reaching Shiro, he moved his fingers, the connection syncing with the bubbles.

In a second, all the bubbles that fluttered his bedroom charged toward the creature’s back. Shiro laughed as the bubbles were about to reach the creature, but instead of phasing through it, the creature did something Shiro never thought it would.

The bubbles impacted the creature. Each bubble made a sound like it had hit a solid wall.

BOOM!

Shiro, lying on the ground, laughed like a madman, yelling...

“I finally figured you out!”