Chapter 295 Kaleb’s Tricks

The Sunday match quickly came. Lee Seng and Ritsuka stayed in their waiting room. They could hear the students filling into the arena. Lee Seng glanced at himself in the mirror one last time before joining Ritsuka on the couch.

"Thank god I wore that heavy leather training jacket. This doesn't feel so heavy." Lee Seng tapped the leather armor as he glanced at Ritsuka's direction.

Ritsuka tapped away on his phone. He was playing a music game. Music softly played as Ritsuka matched his taps to the beat. Lee Seng had learned through early morning training that Ritsuka did this to give himself some time to prepare himself for the day. In this case, he was mentally preparing himself for the fight.

Lee Seng grabbed his phone off the coffee table and opened a social media app. He casually looked up the hashtag he heard being thrown around for the match. To his surprise a lot of people were excited for the match.

"No powers, only skill?" One poster wrote. "This is gonna be a test of true skill! We'll finally get to see what Lee Seng Chang is really about!"

"I feel like Lee Seng is going to just run around. He did that before he got powers and only has a confidence boost cause he has powers now. Only a matter of time before everyone knows how bad you are. #Kaleb4TheW"

"I've seen Lee Seng train during the early hours of the morning. He goes really hard and seems very practiced. I would say Kaleb has it wrong if he thinks this is 'fair game.' #LS4TheW"

Lee Seng let out a smirk. People were really treating this as a big match. He wondered why a lot of them were just about him or Kaleb.

"I heard it was beef between Kaleb and Lee Seng. Kaleb just wanted some reassurance with a partner." A poster commented.

"Well, Kaleb and his teammate have been working together for years. Lee Seng and Ritsuka haven't." Someone commented under the poster's post.

"Ritsuka placed 2nd in the Solo event. He did very well in duo matches as well. Lee Seng placed 5th in the Solo event and did alright in his duos. A couple of months had passed so Lee Seng might show us something new."

"Alright, it's time." A voice spoke excitedly as the door opened. Ritsuka and Lee Seng looked up from their phones and noticed it was the guy who showed them the way to their waiting room.

"Please leave anything you don't need in the Arena. Take your weapons with you." They instructed. Lee Seng and Ritsuka moved over to the lockers and set their phones in the locker with their things. Lee Seng grabbed his katana and moved over to the exit.

Ritsuka followed behind, grabbing his plain sword on the way. The two were lead over to the arena doors. They could really hear people shouting and cheering, already.

"Ready for this?" Lee Seng asked Ritsuka. He watched ritsuka pull at his collar beneath his armor.

"Y-yeah, it's just like the duo matches." Ritsuka nodded. The arena doors slowly opened. They could hear the announcer already announcing them.

"Against Kaleb and Jack is going to be none other than two of the Top 5 Soloists in the Solo Run, Ritsuka Yamada and Lee Seng Chang!" The announcer hyped up the crowd with that introduction. Lee Seng and Ritsuka made their way out into the arena. People were cheering and screaming.

"Wow, people are really into Arena Battles." Ritsuka commented.

"We're back in the gladiator days!" Lee Seng shouted. The two moved to the middle as the announcer began to talk again.

"Alright folks! This is a particularly interesting match as these two teams have opted for a no powers fight!" The announcer explained. The crowd "ooo'd" afterwards. "I know right? Exciting and an all out men vs men battle! Get ready to see these young men in action cause I already know some of y'all have been thirsting over Lee Seng's new thread pictures online!"

The crowd began to swoon, again. Ritsuka looked over at Lee Seng who was conflicted on whether or not he should be proud of posting that picture or embarrassed.

"Alright, alright. I've said a lot! Let's get into the match, shall we?" The announcer pulled the crowd back in. They cheered as the announcer continued. "Alright, alright. Let's go through the rules of this unique Arena Battle!

"Like I said, these fine young men have decided to not use any powers during the fight. What does that mean? No powers, one weapon for each person and a whole lotta bling gear! I see you, Ritsuka with that limited edition armor!" The announcer began to explain, taking a cheeky jab at Ritsuka, who immediately looked down.

"Ain't he all cute? Anyways, the rules are simple: hurt the other one as much as possible so their life bar goes down on the screen! Each person is linked to the Arena system so we can actually get a glimpse of how they might feel. Note: this isn't always the case but it does give your opponent some information!

"Next rule, no fatalities! Anyone who ends up committing a fatal blow will be automatically disqualified. We are here to dish out and have a good fight, not watch a blood bathnof murder! Alright, with that outta the way I just wanna take the time to remind the fighters and crowd: whatever happens in the Arena, stays in the Arena. Please do not fight amongst each other after the fight has happened, especially you crowd! There shouldn't be a reason to fight when you're watching this fight! With that, let's start the countdown!"

"5… 4…. 3… 2… 1… LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!" The announcer shouted. A horn went off and Lee Seng and Ritsuka immediately watched Kaleb and Jake come at them.

"Looks like you got Jake!" Lee Seng observed.

"Don't get pummeled now!" Ritsuka commented. The two grinned as their opponents rushed them. Kaleb pulled out nunchucks and began to move them around. Lee Seng hadn't ever fought against someone who used nunchucks, so he decided he would wait for Kaleb to attack first.

"Getting scared now, Chang?" Kaleb smirked. "I'll show them all you're nothing! You'll be my little slave after we're done here!" Kaleb whipped the nunchuck straight for Lee Seng's side. Lee Seng jumped backwards, avoiding the hit. Kaleb whipped the nunchuck back and swung again. Lee Seng went for another dodge, only to be met with the chain extending. The chain slammed into his side. He could register with his armor that he did get hit but it didn't feel like he got hit with much.

Kaleb pulled the nunchuck back, chain pulling into the nunchuck as he resetted it.

"Ah, maybe I should've watched more of your fights." Lee Seng sighed.

"You'll get to learn everything you need to learn when you're my slave!" Kaleb lashed forward. Lee Seng pulled his sword out and slashed, hitting Kaleb's nunchucks as he blocked the attack. The two began to exchange blows, Kaleb creating more distance so he can easily get a hit on Lee Seng with his extended chain moves.

Kaleb whipped the nun chucks out, Lee Seng dodging the extended range. The chain extended further, wrapping tightly around Lee Seng as Kaleb held a tight grip around him. A nasty smile plastered across his face as he pulled Lee Seng straight for him.

"This is for annoying me!" Kaleb shouted.

Jake and Ritsuka exchanged blows with their swords. Jake held a sword and shield in each of his hands. Ritsuka only wielded a katana. Ritsuka used his speed to his advantage to scare Jake into taking a more defensive stance, but Jake retaliated without hesitation.

"Is that all you got!?!" Jake asked as he blocked and pushed Ritsuka's attack away. He followed it up with a diagonal slash downwards. Ritsuka could feel thee sword hit him on his legs. "Got fancy armor but it seems like it does nothing for you."

Ritsuka dashed forward and sent a barrage of attacks straight for Jake. Jake blocked each one, moving backwards as he readied another attack.

'Now.' Ritsuka slammed one last attack and watched as Jake went in for a piercing attack. Ritsuka moved to the side, sending a side kick below Jake's sword as he hit Jake. Jake went stumbling backwards. The sound of chains caught Ritsuka's attention. 'Dammit, Kaleb has Lee Seng now.' Ritsuka quickly dashed forward towards Kaleb as he pulled Lee Seng in.

"Kaleb! Watch out!" Jake shouted. A wide grin appeared on Kaleb's face.

"Right where I wanted you." Kaleb spoke. He pulled the chain, the chain flying back as it whipped around Lee Seng quickly. The nunchucks connected and Kaleb swung straight for Ritsuka's head.

'It's not gonna hit me. I can do it!' Ritsuka continued his strike. He watched as the small staff extended and slammed straight into the side of his head. The impact sent Ritsuka tumbling to the ground.

"Ritsuka!" Lee Seng shouted.