Chapter 294 - 294. Housefly

The audience was totally focused on the shifter with the golden lion mane. The man was brutally striking his opponent and forcing him back out of the ring. His opponent was some form of grey skinned shifter. Jane wanted to guess elephant but the strength looked uncontrolled and slow. Hence the reason the lion shifter was able to show off and win. 

For just a second Jane thought that not having the attention was a bad thing. However, as she thought ahead she realized that this was perfect. She would be able to jump in and beat the big opponents later and make a huge showing. This would put her on top and make the world notice her more. Perfectly achieving one of the groups' goals. 

Since there would be a break no matter what at the end of the matches Jane took the chance to go check up on everyone else. She was just in time ti see Laura getting her medal and Art walk in to the ring with his next opponent. 

"Hey, random question. What's with that nickname you chose? I chose slither because I focus on a style of fighting I derived from a snake's strike. But ummm, yours is a bit more out there." The skinny man that was facing Art couldn't contain his curiosity. 

"Oh, you know how it goes. Brother lies to you. Then he kicks you out of the house. Then he ends up as a judge for the tournament you're in. So of course, you need to get some revenge in by winning and taunting him the entire time." Art just laughed while saying this. His shoulders shrugged the entire time. 

The skinny man just grew more puzzled because he didn't think this was a normal situation at all. It was too strange. "Uhh, well, good luck kid. I hope you win if you beat me." overall Aty gained a positive opinion of the man. But that didn't mean he would hold back. 

"I hope we have a good match." Art fell in to his stance. He had been graciously given a hint of his opponent's style when the skinny man introduced himself. He knew that a snake strike would be fast and harsh. This meant that he would need to react as if he was fighting Jane at her fastest pace. Or even worse, fighting Laura's speed with Jane's accuracy. This made him focus much more than usual. 

The referee blew his whistle prompting the skinny opponent to dash forward with a swaying movement. It was as if his running was the same as a snake slithering. If Art had not prepared himself the curled palm strike coming at his neck would have ended the match in the blink of an eye. He knew this was how his opponent much have won the first round. 

Art wasn't a fool. Since he had prepared himself he used the same strategy he had started to use against Laura and Jaen when they were faster than him. He started to fake a right hook. This left the opposite side of his body open and vulnerable to an attack. Or at least that was what it would look like to the opponent. 

When the slight shift of the skinny opponent foot work happened Art started to jab with his other hand. This was what he had baited the skinny man in to. The jab was right in the opponents' path and was completely unavoidable. The hit wasn't too hard but it landed square on the nose. 

This stunned Slither and sent him reeling back. Art knew if he allowed even a moment to recover that he would be under heavy attack. Laura and Jane had taught him not to hesitate ever. 

Moving swiftly, Art unleashed a combo of jabs and hooks to his opponent's body. When he realized his opponent was staggering and about to hall he used a single straight punch to the temple and turned around to walk away. The only sound was his opponent hitting the ground and the referee announcing his win again. The Announcer had sidestepped Art's chosen nickname this time. 

"You've seen it again! The freestyle boxer has claimed the second round without a single scratch! His nerves and determination are unfazed. Look at him as he lets the judges know that he will be the one they hand the medal to. That is the confidence of a man on a mission to victory!" The audience ate this up but didn't realize that Art was really calling out his brother. 

Asher was still laughing about this as he also walked toward the ring. He had expected Art to win but not to keep up the taunting of his brother. It was just too funny for him and he was having a hard time holding back his laughter. 

When he made it back to ring number four he found it empty. "Hey, am I late or something?" Asher got the attention of the referee. The referee looked at him slightly shocked but then looked around as well. 

"Ehm, no participant. The participant has the ability to shrink in to the size of the common housefly. He is right in front of you." Asher felt like he had definitely just angered his opponent. "I am required to say this since the last opponent left the ring not even seeing his opponent. The judges deemed it an unfair loss since the power was activated before the match with the intention to trick the opponent and not properly duel." 

Asher understood that this was most likely because of the audience and broadcast. If they saw someone win without fighting at all then it was just too poor of a showing. No one would cheer or want to pay. Odds were there would be too many who even wanted their money back. 

Suddenly a man started to grow and appear in front of Asher. He was surprised that the man had a skin tight jump suit on. It must be some miracle fabric from hero corp. If the man hadn't had it then he would have flashed the entire audience. "Since you are both done, then let's get to the match! " The referee wasn't going to sit and wait any longer. He blew his whistle and the match as on. 

Before Asher could move to attack the man shrunk again and Asher lost sight. He was not sure where the man had gone but he was preparing for a harsh punch or attack out of nowhere. Not knowing where the opponent was, was just too dangerous. 

Asher wasn't sure what to do but decided to slowly rotate around and use his foot work to search for the housefly sized opponent. The referee was watching carefully and was soon staring at Asher with a slack jawed expression. "Dang it, where is he!?" Asher was getting frustrated when the referee walked over to him and placed his nads on his shoulders. 

Asher had been completely focused on the match. He had not noticed the medics running towards and ion to the stage. They stopped on the ground and activated a super power. When the man Asher was supposed to face grew to his normal size he was unconscious and bruised. "What happened to him?" 

It was clear that his opponent had been beaten brutally. The only question was, how? "Son, it was an accident. I could barely see him too. Your foot landed on him while you searched. He should have grown larger but chose not to. He will be fine. The medics have him." The referee expected Asher to be mortified. 

He wasn't sure what to think though. Asher looked at the hurt opponent and then down at his feet. He hadn't even felt it. He wouldn't have known if the referee hadn't told him. "I guess...I will just go back to the waiting room." The referee watched as Asher retreated, He thought Asher must have been crushed. But in reality, Asher was just trying to figure out how he hadn't even managed to notice his opponent at all. Even when he stepped on him. 

The audience and the announcer on the other hand were having a good time of it, "The lucky jinx has just crushed the record for fastest victory. You saw it today. It was less than ten seconds. Even the speediest super power we have ever had took fifteen seconds. This is a day that will go in to the Riktor tournament history books regardless of victory or loss!" 

The audience was recording the replay on their phones and sharing it around. Unknown to Asher, he was becoming know as the stomper or the crusher. The fastest match of every tournament was going to him and his internet fame was on the rise beyond what anyone would have expected. The others of the group all found this just like Asher. 

He had gotten lucky to find things so much in the past that a win like this was very possible. They all felt bad for the unlucky opponent but knew he would recover with the best medical care. Asher's match was just what Jane needed to go in to the next round.