Chapter 339: Before the Fight
Moby was escorted down the long flight of stairs and was led down a hallway lit up by yellow-tinted lamps on the red-painted walls. The walls themeslves hosted large, fancy doors and at the end of the hallway lied a lifting gate with a vast open area ahead, which he could only conclude to be the battle arena.
"Over here…" The woman escorting him spoke as she opened one of the side doors, motioning him to go in.
Moby simply nodded and did as he was told.
When he entered, he found the room to be rather small, at most he estimated a 3-meters by 3-meter area, only enough for a couch, table, toilet, along with some open area for him to walk around and move his legs. It was barely even enough space to stretch, but for his purposes, it was more than enough so he didn't complain
"Please be patient and wait for your name to be called. Your quarter-final match should not be too far from now…" The man that stood at the door spoke before he looked like he and his associate were going to walk out.
"Wait, one moment!" Moby called out, catching their attention.
"Yes?" They turned around and stared.
"Will I not be able to spectate the other matches? And, where is the power level limiting collar?"
"Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention this, my apologies." He bowed slightly. "You will not be able to spectate any of your opponent's to make the fights more interesting. You will simply be waiting here silent between every match. And, you will be given a collar right before your first match and you will keep it on until further notice. Do you have any more questions? I hope all is clear now."
"Yes, all is clear, you're free to go…" He casually waved them off as he sat down on the rather comfortable couch.
"Okay, thank you…" They both nodded their heads, giving him a certain look that he was quick to notice.
"I guess I'll just rest until my name is called…" He yawned, placing his large bag of coins to his side and made himself comfortable.
'Hey, Moby, why did you decide to do this? You had more than enough points to live lavishly. And, you didn't even consult with me before doing this…' He heard a voice in his head, making him casually smile.
'Well, it's all very simple… You see, I know I have a massive advantage going in here. What is stopping me from wanting more? Why settle for what I have? If I won't go for something when I'm almost guaranteed to win how will I fair once it's an equal playing field or even if I am at a disadvantage?'
Avilia was slightly taken aback by his words and smiled brightly in his head.
'I honestly didn't expect that from you! You still surprise me to this day! I'm proud!'
'Proud?' Moby raised an eyebrow, he hadn't heard those words come out of Avilia's mouth in quite a while. It was mostly her being surprised at his learning speed but the word 'proud,' was something else.
'Well, I am your mentor am I not?' She smugly retorted.
'You can think that of yourself all you want! But thanks for the compliment!' He laughed, playing it off like no big deal.
The next few minutes were peaceful, he patiently bided his time by thinking deeply about his next moves.
The only major problem he could see going in was that he will be forced to use unorthodox martial arts he doesn't use often or simply something extremely loose from his family-style. His style was very distinct, having a heavy emphasis on counters and using his opponent's moves against them rather than overpowering with brute force, he did not want to give away his identity that easily.
In the end, he decided on something and used the rest of his efforts on whatever training he could muster, but, after what felt like a good amount of training, a sudden idea shot up in his head and he could not help but ask.
'Avilia, would this mask be able to conceal my eyes of sin if I use them?'
'To a degree, yes, but I would not recommend you risk it… If you do want to use them, I recommend you not do it at full power as to not break the illusion of your mask. The one you made was rather cheap, I told you that making a more expensive one would pay off!'
'No! You said that this mask should be enough for my purposes!'
'Yeah! As long as your purposes didn't include heavy combat!'
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
That was when a sudden sound came from the door, along with a creaking as it slowly opened revealing two entirely new members of staff.
"Hello there Joker! You will be the final match of the first round! Please wear this!" They handed him a metal collar, one that looked similar to the one he used with Mason Griffith as they trained.
He held it and inspected it firmly in his hands before putting it on, feeling a rather familiar jolt that sucked him dry out of most of his energy. The collar itself felt somewhat flimsy and like he could break out of it by flexing his neck, but, he assumed that would mean instant disqualification.
He used a fairly high-quality one so he knew all there was to know about them. The truth was that these devices only lowered the initial power level down to that amount, but further buffs such as eyes of sin and his several demon magic buffs. But, this also worked in terms of Ki, the energy that felt like angel energy he learned from Mason Griffith. This also applied to other non-mana-based energy such as his feint, impure demon energy that was invisible to the eye.
"Are you ready?" They asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts as he responded.
"Of course! Lead the way!"
As he walked out into the not-so-familiar hallway and was now face to face with the lifting metal gate, he heard a voice came from behind him, making him respond without even turning around.
"Please wait until your name is called and the gate will automatically open,"
"Understood,"
The air was cold, yet Moby could not help but slightly sweat despite his confidence. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he had yet to even start a match. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, casting all of his buffing spells by waving his hands into various symbols. Although he was excited to face someone in a match of pure martial arts, he was not about to ignore his advantages in pursuit of a fair fight.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! The final match of the first round is about to begin!! This might be by far the most anticipated match of the round! Taking your attention to the right! You know his name! It's spread far and wide! He had gambled his way to become one of the richest men in the entire building and has yet to lose a single time! Please welcome! JOKER!!"
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