Chapter 749: Nevermore: Benevolent Monk

The air was still as Jake closely observed the monk. His opponent had yet to even take a stance but still simply stood in a relaxed pose with his palms held against each other. Yet, even so, Jake hesitated to attack.

No openings.

It didn’t matter what Jake thought up. No matter what, his intuition told him whatever he did had a low chance of not ending with him getting a punch to the face. Jake considered dragging out the time and if that would be good or bad for him, but considering the nature of the monk, it wouldn’t surprise Jake if the guy was happy with a tie where no violence occurred.

Not feeling like he had much of a choice, Jake stopped delaying and moved in. Arcane energy entered his legs as he went for a low-committal low kick to start with. He did so with the expectations of the monk dodging the foot infused with destructive arcane power.

That isn’t what happened.

The monk braced himself and lifted his leg to block Jake’s kick. A wave of destructive arcane energy that had sent every other opponent reeling back smashed into the man, but Jake felt none of the usual feedback. Instead, he felt like he had just tried to kick a streetlight, the monk not moving a single inch from the impact.

“I hope we both agree that a blocked hit does not count as one landed... though I would be willing to give you one point,” the monk said as Jake looked at him with surprise.

“Actually landed hits only,” Jake clarified.

The monk smiled, and Jake instantly leaped backward to avoid the incoming attack. The raised leg the monk had used to block smashed down into the sand, making the ground erupt all around them. With the same motion, the monk exploded forward along with the wave of blinding sand, a kick aimed at Jake’s stomach.

Quickly, Jake reacted as he blocked with his own leg. At least he tried to. The monk purposefully missed him by a few centimeters, and rather than land a kick, he instead hooked his foot around Jake’s leg and pulled, throwing the still mid-air Jake off balance as he was dragged back.

What the-

Jake didn’t even have time to think as he instinctively responded to a fist descending down toward his chest. Both his arms were infused with stable arcane energy as he crossed them just in time. The fist smashed into his arms, making Jake feel like someone had just hit him with a baseball bat, blasting him down into the sand as the air was temporarily knocked out of his lungs.

The pain went through his body as Jake felt true danger for the very first time in the Colosseum... and he was all for it.

Right after he hit the sand, Jake twisted his body, landing a kick to the side of the unprepared monk, making him stumble to the side. This time it didn’t feel like he had hit a bloody wall, but actual human flesh. Sadly for him, he didn’t have the time or thoughtfulness to add any destructive energy of note to the kick.

It still gave him the time to do a handspring to get back on his feet.

“What are we seeing!? Doomfoot was swept off his feet and, for the very first time in the Colosseum, used something other than his legs to block!? But who can blame him after that awe-inspiring power displayed by the Benevolent Monk! There sure wasn’t any benevolence in that first!”

Jake didn’t need to have it pointed out, but yeah... the kicking-only challenge was officially over now. In one brief exchange, it had rapidly become clear there was no way he could have kept that going without having the stuffing knocked out of him.

Regarding his opponent, he saw that the monk stood with a bright smile. Jake momentarily panicked as he wondered if he was bleeding anywhere and thus lost, but that wasn’t the case.

“Rarely does one have such a wonderous opportunity... I believe it is 0-1 in your favor,” the Benevolent Monk said.

“Make that 1-1. I count that as a landed hit, as I didn’t fully block it,” Jake corrected him. His kick had barely done anything but briefly throw the monk off balance while Jake’s back still ached. It was only fair.

Besides, with the explosive power the monk had just displayed and Jake’s own offensive prowess, there was no fucking way the fight wouldn’t end with some blood being spilled on either side.

They were approaching the end of their duel... and they both knew it.

Jake was breathing heavily as he backed off a few steps, sweat dripping down his brow. The monk was also far less still than before, having to heave for breath himself. Every muscle in Jake’s body ached from what had only been about ten minutes of fighting total, with the true number of exchanged moves well into the hundreds.

Even so... no blood had been spilled yet. Jake had blue marks everywhere, his arms were especially looking bad, and the monk didn’t look in good condition either. But, as long as the blood stayed as internal bleeding, it didn’t count. With neither of them using any weapons and both able to control and strengthen their body, it was far more difficult than normal to create any open wounds.

Looking at this opponent, Jake saw the monk’s calm eyes and smile. Despite his labored breathing, he looked confident in himself. The monk clearly had more in the tank and probably still something hidden up his... well, he didn’t have sleeves, but he definitely had something hidden somewhere.

Jake also had one more trump card to play. One attack he had purposefully not used in the entire fight so far, as he was looking for the perfect opportunity. One technique that could shift the entire bout in a single moment:

Fear Gaze.

And he knew it was soon time to use it. Both of them were getting tired, and their bodies no longer moved exactly as they intended every time. This meant more minor opportunities to attack, and Jake was waiting for one of those opportunities.

In concert, both of them seemed to agree to resume their fight as both stepped forward and entered each other’s range once more. Jake winced with pain every time he blocked but didn’t let it distract him as he tried all he could to land a blow. He finally managed to land a punch as he himself was kicked.

The score went to 8-9 for the monk as the opportunity arose as the monk’s kick had put him slightly off balance.

Jake leaned his head to the side, avoiding a quick jab as he moved in for the finisher. The opening he had been waiting for had finally presented itself, and there was no way he wasn’t capitalizing fully. Using the same motion he had to dodge, Jake threw a haymaker – an attack the monk would have easily dodged under normal circumstances, but this wasn’t normal circumstances.

As he lunged forward, he activated Fear Gaze at full power to send an arcane-empowered fist with all of Jake’s momentum baked into it, barreling toward the momentarily frozen monk’s face. He only needed the monk to be frozen for less than a quarter of a second, less than any of his prior opponents, and-

It fell short by a fraction.

Jake’s arcane-infused punch swept across and nicked the monk’s chin as he, barely in time, moved his head to the side while landing a counter-attack of his own. Jake had no response but to brace himself, having put everything into his attack.

The Benevolent Monk’s body exploded with power as he stomped down in the very same second his palm hit Jake in the stomach, sending a shockwave through Jake in both body and soul. Reverberations went through him as he flew back, his entire body wracked with pain as blood pooled in his mouth before he smashed into one of the many pillars.

A crack was heard as the pillar was filled with fractures, Jake coughing up a mouthful of blood on impact as he fell to the ground, heaving. Internal wounds ravaged his insides, forcing him to cough up even more blood. He had barely managed to strengthen his back using his arcane energy, making the stone break rather than his back, but it was still cut up everywhere and filled with a mesh of deep scratches. With everything put together, Jake struggled as he tried to stand, failing to do so.

Fuck...

“Alas, one cannot win every bout in their lifetime but only carry with them the lessons from a loss,” the Benevolent Monk said in a sentimental tone, making Jake grit his teeth. He had messed up and overestimated hi-

“I surrender. Thank you for this experience. It was indeed an exquisite experience that I hope bears repeating,” the monk finished, making Jake look up in shock despite the pain.

The monk stood there with a smile on his face... with a small cut on his left cheek from Jake’s punch, a single drop of blood rolling down before dripping onto the sand below. Still smiling, the man walked over and offered Jake a hand.

Without thinking, Jake took it as the Benevolent Monk helped him stand and gave him a solemn nod before turning around and walking out of the arena, Jake still just standing there with a body that felt like shit and an even shittier feeling in his stomach.

I... didn’t win shit, Jake cursed internally as the commentator went wild, seemingly not questioning the highly questionable outcome of the fight. The only comfort Jake could find was that he was certain of one thing...

There was no fucking way he wasn’t going to meet that monk again in the Colosseum for a proper rematch.