Seo Yura's voice sliced through the arena with bright, sharpened delight, carrying the kind of energy that turned violence into theater and humiliation into a crowd sport.
⠀
"Alright, you beautiful animals, Ring Seven is back on your screens!" she announced, and the audience responded at once with whistles, stomps, and the rattle of drinks against metal rails. "And stepping in first, we've got a man who talks like he's already won, fights like he's trying to collect someone else's bones, and has enough reach to make half this bracket deeply uncomfortable... give it up for Golden Reaper Vance!"
⠀
The crowd answered with a loud wave of noise as Vance stepped forward from his side of the tunnel, all long limbs and ugly confidence. He rolled one shoulder, then the other, chin slightly raised as if the ring belonged to him before the bell had even sounded. The overhead light stretched his shadow across the canvas, making him look even taller than he already was.
⠀
Seo let the cheers and jeers settle just enough before her voice rose again, sweeter now, but with a mocking lilt beneath it.
⠀
"And in the other corner... we have the newcomer! Is he a fraud? Is he lucky? Or is he actually the hidden wildcard some of you are starting to whisper about?" She paused just long enough for the crowd to stir. "The one... the only... Scaarlett Phanntooommm!"
⠀
The boos hit immediately.
⠀
Not all of them. But enough.
⠀
"Bum!"
⠀
"Fake-ass winner!"
⠀
"Get a better name!"
⠀
"He's getting folded this time!"
⠀
Xander rolled one shoulder as he walked toward the ring, the joints in his body loose, the motion almost absent-minded. His expression barely changed. The noise pressed against him from all directions, but it no longer felt like something entering him. It stayed outside. Away. Irrelevant.
⠀
His eyes stayed on Vance.
⠀
Nothing else mattered.
⠀
Not the jeers. Not the lights. Not the title hanging over his head like a joke he'd made too early and couldn't take back.
⠀
Even the sharp edges of his enhanced hearing and perception seemed to narrow themselves, blurring the world into a single line of intention. The crowd faded. The arena shrank. Vance remained.
⠀
This will be my first real match, huh...
⠀
He stepped beneath the lights and felt the canvas under his shoes.
⠀
I've suffered enough humiliation all my life.
⠀
Another step.
⠀
And even now, they boo me when they don't even know me...
⠀
His gaze sharpened further, settling on Vance's frame with slow, cold interest. The long reach. The spacing in his stance. The slight looseness in the shoulders. Too relaxed. Too sure of himself. Men like that either hit hard enough to justify arrogance or had never truly been punished for carrying it.
⠀
Well... I'm free now.
⠀
His jaw tightened just slightly.
⠀
My burdens were buried with me when I died.
⠀
The thought landed in him with unusual stillness.
⠀
It's time I made myself believe that.
⠀
Above the ring, Seo Yura was still pouring gasoline on the atmosphere.
⠀
"Look at them, folks! One tall enough to block out the sun, the other walking in like he doesn't give a damn what any of you think! Now that is the kind of tension I like. One of these men is about to make a statement, and the other might be leaving with a headache that lasts until next week!"
⠀
Near the lower rail, Jerry and TJ had pushed their way into a decent viewing spot again. Jerry leaned with both arms draped over the barrier, eyes fixed on Xander with amused curiosity. TJ stood beside him, grinning like he was already preparing his next bad decision.
⠀
Jerry chuckled under his breath. "Wonder if the kid's as good at fighting as he is at eating."
⠀
TJ snorted. "If he starts trying to swallow the other guy whole, I'm putting money on him forever."
⠀
The timer on the big screen bled downward.
⠀
00:05
⠀
Both fighters stepped into the ring.
⠀
Vance bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, rolling his neck once, letting his arms hang loose before raising them into position. His build looked even stranger inside the ropes. He wasn't bulky, but the proportions on him were all wrong in a way that made him dangerous. Too much reach. Too much space to work with. His elbows and knees looked made for collisions from ugly angles.
⠀
Across from him, Xander entered without ceremony.
⠀
He didn't posture. Didn't throw shadow punches. Didn't glare for the crowd.
⠀
He just walked to his side of the ring and stopped.
⠀
00:03
⠀
The referee stepped in between them, lean and weathered, his expression carrying the practiced exhaustion of a man who had spent too many nights separating people from their bad intentions.
⠀
He looked from one to the other.
⠀
"Both contestants look like they're ready to tear each other apart," Seo Yura said over the speakers, her voice almost purring now. "I hope you bastards are ready for a wild ride."
⠀
The ref gave the final instructions in short, clipped words neither fighter cared to remember. No weapons. No deliberate killing. Fight until the result is obvious or he stepped in.
⠀
Both men nodded.
⠀
The timer struck 00:00.
⠀
The bell rang.
⠀
A hard, metallic sound.
⠀
Clean. Final.
⠀
It cut through the last of the crowd noise and split the moment open.
⠀
Xander stepped forward.
⠀
Vance did the same.
⠀
They approached the center of the ring at a measured pace, neither rushing the opening exchange. Around them, the arena seemed to lean in. Somewhere in the background other matches were still going, other crowds still roaring, but for Xander those sounds had dimmed to something distant and shapeless.
⠀
Vance's shoulders stayed loose. His lead foot glided rather than planted. His hands were a little low, but not careless. He was watching. Testing the distance already, measuring where his reach began and where Xander's trouble started.
⠀
Xander's breathing stayed slow.
⠀
His eyes tracked every adjustment.
⠀
I wonder how he's gonna come at me...
⠀
Vance's mouth twitched into a faint, ugly smirk.
⠀
Either way, I have to win.
⠀
And Ring Seven held its breath.
⠀
Vance threw the first punch.
⠀
It was only a jab, the sort of strike fighters used to measure distance, test reactions, and establish rhythm. But coming from a man with arms that looked like they belonged to something taller than human, it cut through the air like a leather whip.
⠀
Xander saw it coming.
⠀
His head tilted back just enough for the knuckles to slice past the tip of his nose. The punch missed by an inch, maybe less. The wind from it brushed his face.
⠀
Remember what Kari said. Bad center of gravity.
⠀
Vance's reach was dangerous, but that height came with a price. Long limbs meant wider motions. Wider motions meant openings.
⠀
Xander took a deliberate step back and looked up at him, expression calm.
⠀
"Is that all you've got, blondie?"
⠀
The crowd answered with a ripple of laughter and surprise. Some of them booed harder. Others leaned forward, suddenly interested.
⠀
Vance's mouth curled. "Keep yapping, little man."
⠀
He swung again.
⠀
This time it was a haymaker, wide and heavy, aimed to cave in the side of Xander's skull. At first glance, it looked sloppy enough to miss even if Xander barely moved. Xander shifted back, already reading the angle.
⠀
Then Vance's shoulder popped.
⠀
His elbow followed with a wet crack.
⠀
His arm extended another few inches.
⠀
Xander's eyes widened.
⠀
The hell was that?!
⠀
He twisted at the last possible moment. The fist grazed the edge of his cheek, shaving a thin line of skin open before tearing through empty space. The force of it made his hair whip sideways.
⠀
The arena screen flashed.
⠀
[ABILITY DETECTED: ELASTIC FRAME]
⠀
Seo Yura's voice erupted over the speakers.
⠀
"There it is! Vance's infamous Elastic Frame! For those of you who don't know, this lanky nightmare can stretch and snap his joints past normal human range, turning every missed punch into a second chance to ruin somebody's face!"
⠀
The crowd roared.
⠀
Jerry leaned over the railing, whistling through his teeth. "Damn, that reach is dirty."
⠀
TJ nodded. "Kid better not blink. That dude's arms got DLC."
⠀
Inside the ring, Xander touched the shallow cut on his cheek, then looked at the blood on his fingertips.
⠀
His lips curved slightly.
⠀
"That's still all you got, huh?"
⠀
Vance's expression twitched.
⠀
Xander activated Clarity of Vision.
⠀
The arena sharpened in an instant. A faint green glow outlined his irises as the grid spread across his sight, marking lines of attack, weak points, possible angles, and the subtle shifts in Vance's strange posture.
⠀
Seo caught it immediately.
⠀
"Hold on! The newcomer's eyes just lit up! Looks like Scarlet Phantom has some kind of visual ability, folks! This is getting very, very interesting!"
⠀
Xander moved.
⠀
He lunged in fast, shoulder dropping as if he were aiming low. Vance reacted, shifting his weight backward to avoid a body entry. Xander changed the line midway, turning the feint into a sharp punch toward the diaphragm.
⠀
It should have landed.
⠀
Instead, Vance folded.
⠀
His torso bent in a disgusting, unnatural curve, spine bowing backward like a pulled cord. Xander's fist passed just beneath his ribs.
⠀
Then Vance snapped forward.
⠀
His forehead crashed into Xander's face with a dull, brutal thud.
⠀
Pain burst behind Xander's eyes. White sparks flooded his vision. His feet stumbled backward as his skull rang like someone had slammed a bell inside it.
⠀
Seo's voice spiked.
⠀
"Beautiful counter from Vance! He bends out of the strike and whips back with the headbutt! That's the danger of Elastic Frame, ladies and gentlemen. You don't know where the hitbox ends until it's already kissing your teeth!"
⠀
Xander shook his head, but the world lagged behind the motion. The ring stretched for half a second. The crowd blurred. His stomach dipped..
⠀
Vance lunged again, grinning now.
⠀
His next punch came heavier than before. The shoulder expanded first, then the muscles of his arm seemed to coil, lengthen, and tighten in the same breath. It wasn't just reach this time. The limb had become spring-loaded.
⠀
The screen updated.
⠀
[ABILITY VARIANT: ELASTIC FRAME: SNAP EXTENSION]
⠀
Seo laughed sharply into the mic. "He's stacking it! Vance just shifted from range manipulation into snap-force enhancement! That punch is coming in hotter!"
⠀
Xander activated Feline's Nimbleness.
⠀
Blue kinetic energy flared around his limbs, licking over his arms and legs like a living flame. His pupils narrowed into vertical slits beneath the red contacts, and the grid from Clarity of Vision tightened into something more predatory.
⠀
A system prompt pulsed in the corner of his vision.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] [Predator's Instinct] has activated.
⠀
Vance's fist shot toward him.
⠀
Xander slipped it by a hair.
⠀
The punch missed his ear and cracked the air beside his head. He felt the pressure of it against his skin.
⠀
Another prompt flashed.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] [Hyper Adaptation] has triggered. As a result, you have gained a new passive skill:
⠀
[Mental Resilience] (Rank-E) Your mind stabilizes more quickly under neurological stress, including shock, fear, and concussion. Focus retention improves under pressure, reducing the disruption caused by pain or disorientation.
⠀
The fog in Xander's head thinned.
⠀
The ringing remained, but it no longer ruled him. His vision locked back into place. The grid steadied. The movement lines returned, crisp and clean.
⠀
His limbs pulsed brighter with blue energy.
⠀
The recoil from his last dodge fed into the next motion.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] [Combat Instinct] has triggered. Next attack damage increased by 15%. Temporary Strength increased by +2.
⠀
Xander exhaled slowly.
⠀
He lowered his stance, weight sinking into his hips.
⠀
It's my turn now.
⠀
Three red dots lit up across Vance's body.
⠀
Left foot.
⠀
Torso.
⠀
Knee.
⠀
Vance cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, still smiling despite the sharper look in Xander's eyes.
⠀
"Not bad," Vance said. "Guess you're not all talk, short stuff."
⠀
His arms hung loose at his sides, fingers flexing.
⠀
"But I'm only getting started."
⠀
Xander vanished forward.
⠀
Not literally, but fast enough that the front rows gasped. He darted toward Vance's left side, aiming for the foot marker first. Vance tried to adjust his stance, but Xander's heel snapped down onto the inside of his lead foot, pinning it for a fraction of a second.
⠀
Then Xander drove his fist into the second marker.
⠀
Torso.
⠀
The punch landed just below the ribs with a heavy, compact sound.
⠀
Vance's breath hitched.
⠀
Before he could retreat, Xander pivoted and slammed a low kick into the third marker at the knee. The joint buckled inward slightly, not enough to break, but enough to ruin Vance's balance.
⠀
The crowd erupted.
⠀
Seo's voice cut through the chaos. "Scarlet Phantom slips inside the range and goes straight for the structure! Foot, body, knee! That was clean! That was nasty!"
⠀
Jerry slapped the railing. "There we go, kid!"
⠀
TJ grinned. "Hit the tall ones in the foundation! That's basic construction!"
⠀
Vance stumbled half a step, face twisting in fury.
⠀
Then his arm snapped downward.
⠀
His elbow bent in a direction it had no business bending, and his forearm whipped around Xander's guard. The back of his fist smashed into Xander's temple.
⠀
The impact knocked Xander sideways.
⠀
Blood spat from his mouth as he caught himself on one hand and rolled back to his feet, skull buzzing again. The new Mental Resilience kept the lights from going out, but the pain still had teeth.
⠀
Vance laughed, rubbing the spot where Xander had hit his ribs.
⠀
"You hit like a mosquito."
⠀
Xander spat red onto the canvas.
⠀
"And you talk like someone who practices insults in the mirror."
⠀
A few people in the crowd laughed.
⠀
Vance's grin died.
⠀
He surged forward, both arms extending in staggered rhythm. Jab, whip hook, snapping elbow. Each strike came from a range that kept shifting by inches, turning defense into a guessing game.
⠀
Xander moved through it.
⠀
Not perfectly.
⠀
One strike clipped his shoulder. Another grazed his ribs. But his eyes tracked the pressure changes now, the tiny tells before each extension. His body adapted faster than thought could explain.
⠀
He ducked beneath a hook, stepped inside, and drove his knee into Vance's midsection.
⠀
Vance grunted. Xander followed with a short right to the jaw.
⠀
Two consecutive hits.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] [Combat Instinct] chain triggered. +2 temporary Strength for 10 seconds.
⠀
Xander felt power surge through his arms.
⠀
He threw a third punch toward Vance's liver.
⠀
Vance's body folded sideways before it landed, bending around the strike like soft rubber. Then his hand changed.
⠀
The fingers straightened, fused with tension, and sharpened along the edges with a dull, bone-white sheen. His palm elongated slightly, the side of his hand becoming thin and cruel like a chopping blade.
⠀
The screen flashed.
⠀
[ABILITY DETECTED: REAPER EDGE]
⠀
Seo's voice jumped with excitement.
⠀
"And there it is! Golden Reaper Vance reveals the edge behind the name! That hand is not for slapping, folks. That thing cuts!"
⠀
Vance's arm lashed across Xander's chest.
⠀
Xander twisted back, but not far enough.
⠀
The sharpened hand sliced through skin and muscle in a diagonal line from shoulder to lower ribs. Blood sprayed across the canvas and splattered over Xander's abdomen, hot and sudden. His breath caught.
⠀
For half a second, the pain was silent.
⠀
Then it bloomed.
⠀
"Shit!"
⠀
The crowd exploded again.
⠀
Vance stepped in, trying to follow with another cutting strike, but Xander planted his back foot and drove a counter straight into Vance's face.
⠀
The enhanced punch landed clean on the mouth.
⠀
Vance's head snapped back. Blood burst from his split lip and sprayed into the air in a fine red arc. One of his teeth clicked across the canvas.
⠀
Seo screamed over the noise.
⠀
"BLOOD FOR BLOOD! Vance opens Scarlet Phantom's chest, but the Phantom answers with a counter that just rearranged that pretty little mouth!"
⠀
Xander slid back, one hand hovering near the cut across his chest. Blood ran between his fingers and down his stomach, warm against the blue flicker of Feline's Nimbleness around his limbs.
⠀
Vance staggered once, tongue passing over the gap in his teeth. His eyes darkened.
⠀
Xander's own breathing grew heavier, but his gaze stayed sharp.
⠀
The ring felt smaller now.
⠀
Vance wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his bladed hand and laughed, low and ugly.
⠀
Xander lowered his stance again.
⠀
Neither of them looked away.
⠀
The real fight had finally started.
⠀
The cut across Xander's chest was deep enough to paint his torso red in seconds. Blood ran hot over his skin, soaking into the waistband of his shorts, dripping steadily onto the ring floor.
⠀
But then the bleeding slowed.
⠀
The edges of the wound twitched. Tiny threads of flesh tightened beneath the blood, knitting together at a pace slow enough to be seen if someone stared, but fast enough to be impossible.
⠀
The arena screen flashed.
⠀
[ABILITY DETECTED: REGENERATION]
⠀
For one breath, the crowd went silent.
⠀
Not quiet.
⠀
Silent.
⠀
Even Vance froze, split lip dripping blood down his chin as he stared at the wound closing across Xander's chest.
⠀
Seo Yura's voice shattered the silence like a match thrown into oil.
⠀
"REGENERATION, FOLKS!! The Scarlet Phantom has a unique ability! Who is this man?! A fraud? A fluke? Or did we just discover a monster wearing a cringe ring name?!"
⠀
The arena erupted.
⠀
People stood. Some screamed. Others slammed fists against railings. Betting slips waved like battle flags. A few VIP silhouettes shifted behind the tinted glass above, suddenly much more interested than they had been a minute ago.
⠀
Jerry's jaw hung open near the lower railing.
⠀
TJ slowly pointed at the screen. "Jerry... did that kid just start healing in front of everybody?"
⠀
Jerry blinked twice, then grinned like he had just found buried treasure in a trash can.
⠀
"Brother," he said, "I think we accidentally befriended a jackpot."
⠀
At the spicy noodle stall, the counter lady leaned over the counter, eyes wide. The food runner beside her clapped both hands over her mouth.
⠀
"That's the noodle kid!" the runner shouted. "That's him!"
⠀
The stall lady pumped a fist. "You better win, spicy boy!"
⠀
Vance spat blood onto the ring.
⠀
"You bastard..."
⠀
Xander barely heard him.
⠀
Something was moving inside him.
⠀
His eyes flickered. The green glow from Clarity of Vision pulsed once, then dimmed, then sparked again. The grid in his sight trembled as if the system itself couldn't decide whether to guide him or get out of his way.
⠀
That feeling was back.
⠀
It had first stirred when he clawed out of the grave, lungs burning, fingers tearing through coffin wood and wet soil. Then it had grown sharper in the locker room when Red Ogre had nearly crushed the life out of him. Back then, it had felt like survival.
⠀
Now it felt hungrier.
⠀
His pupils shifted, narrowing past human focus into something wild and predatory. The calm strategist in him still existed, but something older and blood-wet pressed against it from beneath.
⠀
The crowd's roar distorted around him.
⠀
Seo caught the change instantly.
⠀
"Hold on... look at his eyes! The Phantom's visual ability is destabilizing! That's not the same look from earlier, ladies and gentlemen. That is not calm anymore. That is pure predator pressure!"
⠀
The screen zoomed in on Xander's face.
⠀
Half covered in blood. One cheek still marked by the earlier cut. Eyes gleaming with a vicious animal brightness beneath the red contacts.
⠀
Kari watched from the contestants' side, arms folded.
⠀
A small smile touched his face.
⠀
Not amusement.
⠀
Recognition.
⠀
A system prompt flickered.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Due to heightened bloodlust, you are unable to maintain the "calm aspect" of [Clarity of Vision].
⠀
The grid warped, bending around Vance's outline in jagged pulses instead of clean tactical lines.
⠀
Another timer blinked at the edge of Xander's sight.
⠀
[Predator's Instinct: 24 seconds remaining]
⠀
Xander's breathing deepened.
⠀
I have to keep up my momentum.
⠀
Blood slid down his abdomen. His chest still burned, but the pain was becoming distant.
⠀
Overwhelm him with speed. Punish him when he least expects it.
⠀
A maniacal grin spread across his face.
⠀
Vance took half a step back despite himself.
⠀
Xander laughed.
⠀
"It's time to humiliate you in front of all these people." His voice came out low, strained, and delighted in a way that made the front row quiet down. "I hope... I really hope this doesn't ruin your PR."
⠀
Then he lunged.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] [Hyper Adaptation] has triggered! As a result of consecutive high-speed movement, you have gained +1 Dexterity.
⠀
His body accelerated.
⠀
With the active skill buffs still burning through his muscles, that single point stretched far beyond what it should have. His movement sharpened from fast to vicious. Blue kinetic energy pulsed around his limbs like flame crawling over a blade.
⠀
His stance lowered.
⠀
Then broke forward.
⠀
Like a wild cat launching at prey.
⠀
Vance's eyes widened as Xander crossed the distance.
⠀
He swung a sweeping kick, leg extending unnaturally at the knee and ankle. The range was obscene, the arc almost unavoidable, and the edge along his shin sharpened into the same pale Reaper Edge that had cut Xander's chest.
⠀
Xander didn't stop.
⠀
He drove straight through it.
⠀
The sharpened shin carved across his thigh, opening a bright red line from hip to knee.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] You have taken heavy dama-
⠀
Xander ignored the window.
⠀
He planted his bleeding leg anyway and slammed his fist into Vance's ribs.
⠀
The blow folded Vance sideways with a grunt.
⠀
Xander followed with a left elbow to the stomach, a knee to the inside of the thigh, then a short hook to the jaw before Vance could fully recoil. No polished footwork. No careful measurement. His body moved on instinct now, flowing from opening to opening, finding damage wherever Vance left even a breath of space.
⠀
Seo's commentary rose with the exchange.
⠀
"Scarlet Phantom just walked through the cut! He ignored the Reaper Edge! He is not backing off, he is not resetting, he is mauling him inside the pocket!"
⠀
Vance snapped both arms outward, joints cracking as they stretched like whips.
⠀
Xander ducked under one and took the second across his shoulder. Blood sprayed from a fresh tear, but he stepped in deeper instead of away, forehead nearly touching Vance's chest.
⠀
Too close for the long limbs to build power.
⠀
He drove three rapid punches into Vance's abdomen.
⠀
One.
⠀
Two.
⠀
Three.
⠀
The third made Vance's mouth open in a silent choke.
⠀
Xander grinned up at him through the blood.
⠀
Vance snarled and brought his knee up.
⠀
The joint extended mid-strike, turning the knee into a rising spear aimed for Xander's chin. Xander twisted, but the blow still clipped him under the jaw and snapped his head back. His feet slid across the canvas. For a heartbeat, his vision flashed white.
⠀
Mental Resilience caught him before the fog could swallow him.
⠀
He landed in a crouch, one hand scraping the floor.
⠀
Blood dripped from his chin.
⠀
The crowd was no longer booing.
⠀
They were confused now.
⠀
Excited.
⠀
Afraid of missing something.
⠀
A man near the rail shouted, "Yo, this dude is actually sick!"
⠀
Another yelled, "I thought he was fake! What the hell is he?!"
⠀
Jerry slammed a fist against the railing. "That's it, kid! Make the giraffe regret having knees!"
⠀
TJ cupped both hands around his mouth. "Bite him if you have to!"
⠀
Xander rose with a laugh that sounded too close to a growl.
⠀
Vance wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. His confidence hadn't vanished, but it had changed shape. He was watching now. Adjusting. Reading Xander's rhythm.
⠀
The next exchange came faster.
⠀
Vance jabbed low, then extended the strike halfway through to hook around Xander's guard. Xander slipped inside it, but Vance's other hand sharpened and slashed down toward his neck.
⠀
Xander tilted just enough to avoid losing skin there, took the cut across his collar instead, and answered with a palm strike to Vance's sternum.
⠀
Vance stumbled back.
⠀
Xander chased.
⠀
Vance kicked.
⠀
Xander hopped over it, landed on the extended limb for a fraction of a second, and used it as a step to drive a knee into Vance's cheek.
⠀
The hit landed with a wet crack.
⠀
Vance reeled, but his long arm snapped around like a trap. His elbow smashed into Xander's side and drove the air from his lungs.
⠀
Xander hit the canvas on one knee.
⠀
Vance lunged to finish him.
⠀
Xander rolled forward under the extended arm, came up behind him, and slammed a punch into the back of Vance's kidney. Vance's spine arched. He swung backward blindly, catching Xander across the face with the heel of his palm.
⠀
Blood sprayed from Xander's nose.
⠀
He stumbled.
⠀
Then smiled wider.
⠀
The blue aura around his limbs flickered violently.
⠀
[Predator's Instinct: 8 seconds remaining]
⠀
Vance's breathing was rough now. Blood ran from his mouth. One eye was swelling. His ribs were starting to show dark bruising beneath the skin.
⠀
Xander was worse.
⠀
He was drenched in blood from chest to thigh, face streaked red, hair damp with sweat and violence. The Reaper Edge cuts were closing, but slowly. Too slowly to make him look healed. He looked like something that had crawled out of a slaughterhouse and decided it wasn't finished.
⠀
He raised his head.
⠀
"Blondie... you're not bad."
⠀
His voice was quiet enough that the ring mics barely caught it.
⠀
Then his smile sharpened.
⠀
"But you gotta learn some respect."
⠀
Seo's voice dropped into a near whisper, letting the tension breathe through the speakers.
⠀
"Listen to this arena... they don't know whether to cheer or run. Vance has adjusted, but Scarlet Phantom is still moving. Still bleeding. Still smiling. Whatever this kid is, he is not normal."
⠀
Kari's smile faded into something more thoughtful.
⠀
"He is still thinking," he murmured.
⠀
Inside the ring, Xander felt the last sliver of control thread through the bloodlust.
⠀
He doesn't think I can get any faster.
⠀
Vance shifted his stance, guarding lower now, ready for the pounce.
⠀
That's my edge.
⠀
Xander dodged backward as Vance's arm lashed out, creating just enough distance.
⠀
Then he opened his status window for less than a breath.
⠀
Six unspent points.
⠀
No hesitation.
⠀
Dexterity.
⠀
All of it.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] You have distributed 6 Stat Points into Dexterity. Current Dexterity: 16 → 22 With active skill modifiers, temporary Dexterity: 32.
⠀
A shock ran through him.
⠀
Not pain.
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Velocity.
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His body suddenly felt too light, too responsive, as if every muscle had been tuned a fraction closer to thought itself. The floor beneath him seemed farther away and easier to leave. Vance's breathing became slow. The tremor in his fingers became visible. Sweat droplets hung in the air, fat and shining beneath the ring lights.
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[Predator's Instinct: 4 seconds remaining]
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I don't have the mana to use this again.
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Xander locked eyes with Vance.
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And I'm not in the mood to lose.
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He dashed.
⠀
For the first time, Xander surprised himself.
⠀
The ring vanished beneath him.
⠀
He became a red-smeared blur, blue energy trailing from his limbs in ragged streaks. His own vision struggled to keep pace with the speed of his body.
⠀
For half a second, the broken grid of Clarity of Vision snapped back into place.
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Clean.
⠀
Bright.
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Merciless.
⠀
Weak points lit across Vance's body like targets on a condemned building.
⠀
Vance tried to parry.
⠀
"What the?!"
⠀
Xander disappeared from his line of sight.
⠀
Not truly.
⠀
But close enough.
⠀
A fist struck Vance's ribs from the left.
⠀
Before Vance could turn, another hit cracked into his hip joint.
⠀
Then a heel smashed into the inside of his thigh.
⠀
Xander moved around him in flashes, striking and vanishing, each impact landing with the ugly precision of something between fighter and predator. Vance's elastic arms whipped out in panic, slicing empty air, catching only a smear of blood and blue afterimage.
⠀
Seo Yura screamed into the mic.
⠀
"He's gone! He's in front, he's behind, he's under the guard! Vance can't track him! He's moving like a Ghost!"
⠀
Xander drove a knuckle into Vance's solar plexus.
⠀
Vance folded.
⠀
Xander shifted behind him.
⠀
The final weak point pulsed behind the knee.
⠀
Xander's shin struck the back of it like a snapping branch.
⠀
Vance's leg collapsed.
⠀
As the taller man dropped, Xander rose with him.
⠀
His knee came up at the perfect angle.
⠀
Vance's face fell into it.
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The impact cracked across Ring Seven like a gunshot.
⠀
Vance's nose broke instantly, blood bursting outward as his head snapped back. His eyes rolled. His long body crumpled to the canvas in a tangled heap, limbs folding awkwardly beneath him.
⠀
The crowd went dead silent.
⠀
Xander landed in front of him, chest heaving, blood dripping from his fingertips.
⠀
The blue aura vanished.
⠀
The timer expired.
⠀
The grid disappeared.
⠀
For one breath, he simply stood there, swaying slightly, red from his own blood and Vance's, eyes still glowing with the last fading trace of something wild.
⠀
Then Seo Yura's voice exploded through the arena.
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"FOLKS, DO YOU SEE THIS?! DO YOU SEE THIS?! THIS IS WHY THEY CALL HIM THE SCARLET PHANTOM!"
⠀
The crowd detonated.
⠀
"HE MOVED LIKE A GHOST!"
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"THAT WAS INSANE!"
⠀
"SCARLET! SCARLET! SCARLET!"
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"PHANTOM! PHANTOM!"
⠀
Seo kept going, riding the roar.
⠀
"Covered in scarlet blood, vanishing through Vance's guard like a nightmare in motion! The name sounded like a joke before, but right now? Right now, it looks like prophecy!"
⠀
Jerry and TJ were losing their minds by the railing.
⠀
TJ grabbed Jerry by the shoulders and shook him. "That's our food dumpster! That's our weird little guy!"
⠀
Jerry laughed so hard he nearly doubled over. "I told you! Jackpot!"
⠀
At the noodle stall, the counter lady was clapping like she had money on him. The food runner screamed, "Spicy boy wins!"
⠀
Kari watched silently.
⠀
Then nodded once.
⠀
The referee stepped over Vance's unconscious body, checked him quickly, then turned toward Xander. The ref grabbed Xander's wrist and lifted it high.
⠀
Xander's chest rose and fell in ragged pulls. His wounds were still closing. Blood still slid down his torso. His face was a ruin of red streaks and sharp eyes, but he was standing.
⠀
Seo Yura's voice rang over the chaos.
⠀
"Winner by knockout... Scarlet Phantom!"
⠀
The name rolled through the arena differently this time.
⠀
Still ridiculous.
⠀
Still theatrical.
⠀
But now, it belonged to him.
⠀
Xander looked up at the lights, panting, the crowd's roar crashing over him in waves.
⠀
Then the system chimed.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Quest Completed... [Learn Some Respect, Part 2]
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT] Quest Completed... [Fight Night]
⠀
Rewards have been added.
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT]
⠀
You have reached level 3!
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT]
⠀
You have acquired a new Title!
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT]
⠀
Your perception has increased by 1 point!
⠀
Xander's bloodied mouth curled into a faint smile.
⠀
And for the first time tonight, no one was laughing at him.
⠀
...…
⠀
...
⠀
[SYSTEM PROMPT]
⠀
You have taken multiple heavy hits. Current Hp: 9