Chapter 298 - 298. Familiar Kicks

Art was trying to make sense of how Asher and Janes's tournaments were moving so much faster. Upon inspection of the bracket, he found that there was one match in Ashers' tournament that had ended up in a double disqualification when the referee realized that it was a person with a clone super power taking part. They were both the winning and losing side of a match and had broken the rules by entering twice in the same tournament. 

Jane had the more unique situation where two shifters had gone at each other in the match with everything they had. Two had charged at each other and come out looking fine. That was until one of them was revealed to have poison that paralyzed the opponent and the other was found to have a major concussion knocking them out no matter how well they were healed. 

It was a strange set of circumstances but had sped of their tournaments by an entire round leaving both at the finals already. Art would have stayed and watched but while the finals for his friends prepared he was being called out for the semi finals. 

The Frustration of being called out and being unable to see what was going on with his friend's match only lasted a moment. Art didn't have time to worry since the person on the stage was a familiar face in the martial arts world. It was the woman that the three of them had copied the kicks from in their videos games. The same woman that was known for her kicks and became famous for crushing opponents with them. 

Art was slowing his breath at the sight. He would need to take this match as seriously as possible. This was not just some opponent. It was a recognized martial artist! This woman had shown her strength before and made it known to the world. 

Unfortunately, Art had forgotten her name. He had even forgotten the name of the kicks she used in the game. He had been learning so many moves and techniques that his brain had misplaced the names but remembered the feelings of the move. "Umm, hey video game lady. Thanks for being my opponent in advance." Art sounded like a scared fan as he made his introduction. 

"Ugh, another fan boy. I swear that video game was worthless. If it wasn't in my contract I wouldn't have done it." The woman stomped a foot in annoyance. She had been dealing with wannabe martial artists and fans since the videogame premiered. 

"No, no. I'm not some fan. I just happened to use the video game to learn your kicks with my friends. It helped us when we started to seriously pursue martial arts a few months ago." Art felt like the woman was taking offense to him and he wanted to make sure that she knew how thankful he was for her appearance in the game. Yet, she did not take his words for what they were. 

"You think you are some martial arts master from playing a video game? I don't care if you used that cheap robbery of a feature. It doesn't actually teach you how to kick like me. It is a rip off that lets you think you can do the moves. At least I can teach you a lesson here so you don't go around saying you can kick like me." Her anger was clear and Art felt that he had only managed to push her buttons more. 

"I really learned a lot from the game. But if you don't believe me I will just need to take this as seriously as possible." Art found he was getting more annoyed than he expected. His blood was heating up and he was beginning to recall all of the moves that had been copied from this woman to the game. Every twist, high kick, and shin block. He had played the game constantly and watched the how to portion for fun and learning. He had all the tools to predict her moves and she had none to predict him. He was a surprise for her. 

"Alright, you two. A reminder. Do not leave the ring or you are disqualified from the match. If you have a clone super power and are found to be using it you are disqualified. If you use deadly force you are disqualified." The referee was required to make these points since he had heard of the other tournament's rules breakers. Now that he had he pulled the whistle to his lips and blew. 

The piercing whistle sent the two in to their stances. The woman had the same stance as the video game and it made Art feel like he had somehow woken up inside the video game itself. She had one leg slightly raised to whip out in a front kick or shin block while the other was firmly planted in the ground. Anyone without any experience would believe that all one needed to, to beat her would be to take out her other firmly planted leg. However, she was so fast that she could switch legs in the blink of an eye. Tripping her in this way was impossible due to her training. 

Art took the initiative to step in to the woman. Her legs were longer than his punches so he would need to catch one or somehow get under her guard. The only thing was, just because she had kicks as a specialty, didn't mean she couldn't punch. The game had her using three punches like any boxer. 

His forward movement was met with a testing kick from the woman who used it to test if Art would react to her too far away kick. Art let the kick stop short without any reaction. He knew if he moved back he would be under an onslaught of combos. If he moved in he would be met with a sweeping leg that would put him on the ground. 

The woman had an annoyed look and moved in. She wasn't going to let some newbies' intuition beat her. The next kick was heading right for Art's shoulder but looked to be going for his head. Yet, when Art turned sideways to make himself perpendicular to the kick, it went right by not making contact at all. The kick ended up in his hand and was hooked by one of Art's arms. 

He had used this to guard against Jane's kicks. It was a hard learned counter that he and his friends had learned just to beat the high kicks in the video game. Following through, Art pulled the leg and the woman towards him. He was met by a solid jab to the cheek but forced himself forward. His quick footwork forcing the other leg up slightly letting him use a double leg takedown. 

Art knew better than to let the woman control any pacing of the match and to let her legs free. This wasn't a standing match any longer. This was a wrestling match of body locks to keep a dangerous opponent from using the best moves they had. 

Because of Asher, Art had leaned some body locks and floor movement. This would be unusual for most martial artists because they would focus on the moves and techniques they specialized in. But for Art and his friends, this was just one part of becoming an all rounder without a real specialization. 

Art hooked the woman's leg and felt her trying to kick out of his grasp. He felt her letting loose jab after jab but found that the strength in her fists was much lighter than the extreme force in her legs that threatened to dislocate his hip. 

He managed to wrap an arm around her head and one arm to put her on a hooked head lock. With his heavier body weight Art had pinned her to the ground and was using force to try and subdue her. The reaction of the woman was to kick and struggle uncontrollably. Her mind screamed to get up and use her kicks to crush Art. She had never been predicted so easily then forced in to a battle on the mat. It was not her strong suit and not where she specialized. 

The referee had not heard the woman gove up and saw that the match was still ongoing. Art was still holding on and pushing harder and harder. Every time the woman would kick out to try and escape he would tighten the body lock. He felt that his face was starting to bruise from the constant jabs. 

The risks of losing due to being knocked out were too great but Art didn't let up even when he saw the drops of blood hit the mat. He just tightened his grip more until he felt the woman stiffen. Her arm dropped away and he realized she had started to turn blue. His immediate reaction was to release her and back away. 

The whistle blew and the woman lay on the ground gasping. She struggled for air and barely managed tp gasp out one question, "How...h-how did...you know?" She needed to know how Art predicted and countered her so easily. She couldn't leave the stage with the medical staff until she heard it. This was as if she had faced an opponent perfectly suited to counter her. It was too unbelievable.