Once my shift as a guard at the martial arts school was over, I quickly headed towards the city circus.
My wounds were almost completely healed, at least I no longer had any wounds that affected my movements.
Once I arrived at the venue, at the window where the fighters were assisted, there were already a few fighters waiting their turn to register for a fight.
Taking my turn in line, I only had to wait a few minutes in the line as it surprisingly moved quite quickly. I figured with the amount of people in the place, it would at least save me having to wait an hour.
Looking at the same man behind the window, I gave him a friendly wave, and for the first time I could see a look of surprise on that apathetic face.
—I didn't expect to see you here so soon, usually practitioners wait up to a week or two before fighting again—
"Really?" I asked, surprised. I thought that, like me, most people wouldn't wait more than three or four days.
The man nodded and calmly explained, "Only practitioners of the third stage and above usually participate in the circus more often, their bodies usually heal faster unless they suffer serious injuries during combat and even then they earn enough to buy healing-type pills like candy so they also don't worry too much about getting hurt in a fight."
—Incredible — As expected of the higher levels and it was only the first rank of the immortal arts.
Without losing the course of my visit, I asked for an appointment for a fight. The man nodded and after taking my badge and writing some things down in his notebook like last time, he assigned me an available fight after a fight that was already taking place in the fighting ring.
As I entered the corridors, I couldn't help but take a deep breath. Whether or not I became cannon fodder depended on this. Perhaps the confrontation with the swordsman last time was nothing more than a bad day, however, it couldn't be ruled out that there were many immortal practitioners with the same combat experience.
I could only hope that the heavens would bless me in this uncertain future, although it is uncertain whether they can hear me.
. . . .
Looking at my opponent, he was just like me, he used his fists to attack, he had armor equipped that covered the vital parts of his body and unlike me who only wore leather gloves, he wore gloves made of metal, however, unlike the flashing swordsman, this one did not emit any kind of danger.
—Fight! — shouted the referee.
The man started running towards me, however, his steps felt clumsy, as if he hadn't been fighting for very long.
Dodging his blows with great ease, I counterattacked with a series of blows that went from the sides until they made their way towards the man's jaw.
Moving away from him a little, I thought I would have to continue my attacks, but then the referee's voice echoed.
"Winner, white fist!" shouted the referee, his voice echoing in the ears of everyone watching the fight, erupting in a great uproar.
—Shit, because I didn't bet on him, no, my money! —
Another voice followed him —It's a shame, you weren't in his previous fight—
"Your previous fight?" asked the man, who was complaining in his misery.
Someone nodded while touching his pockets with joy. "That's right, if he could beat the flashing swordsman, why wouldn't he beat his opponent who is no match for the flashing swordsman?"
Similar conversations occurred among several groups.
. . . .
My body was shaking, I didn't know if it was from the adrenaline coursing through my body or from the stress that both my body and mind had been accumulating over the past few days.
Luckily my opponent was quite weak, costing me only a little energy.
The heavens seemed to have heard my previous request, I faced an opponent who was far from as strong as the flashing swordsman.
—White fist, you need to get out of the ring — Said the referee when he saw that I didn't move from my spot.
His gaze swept over the man lying unconscious on the platform, to think that someone would be defeated with just a series of moves.
Putting my thoughts aside, I nodded and quickly headed towards the fighters' window.
. . .
—Whew, you crushed that man like a rag doll, well take your reward — said the man behind the window, still without any emotion on his face.
I didn't move my hands to take the reward, instead I spoke —I want another fight—
The man at the window looked at me in surprise, he hadn't expected my request at all, once again composing himself with his usual poker face, he spoke with great seriousness in his words - Look kid, the circus doesn't have a limit on the number of fights you can participate in per day, that's true, however, you must understand that this isn't a game, there's always the risk of dying in a fight between immortal practitioners, so for your own good, refrain from wanting to continue fighting, better rest for today and come back tomorrow when you're recovered, your opponent this time was someone easy but it won't always be like that -
I knew this was being a kindness from the man, but I still had to refuse. "Even so, please, I want to participate in another fight."
The man looked at me for several seconds, he seemed to be thinking about something, after a few seconds of silence in which he kept his gaze on me, he sighed and said - You have your reasons, judging by your look this might not be your last fight of the day, but I have to warn you - He looked at me with a serious look - If you die it's only your fault and in case you get seriously injured, I can deny you access to the circus indefinitely -
I nodded, knowing the risks, but it was still several times better than going to war between greedy nobles where his chances of survival were almost zero.
—Your next fight will be in an hour, rest while you can, I'll wait for your money until you're done —
I nodded, heading back towards the circus corridors, however, my steps stopped for a few seconds, I turned to the man at the window —Thank you, really —
The man shook his head. "You see a lot of people come and go in this job, but you never really get used to it."
The man paused his words for a moment and after thinking about it, he said, "Boy, it seems you're still young. Strive to stay alive. A life can't be bought with gold coins."
After that he didn't allow any more words to be said, he knew there was no need for them to be said.
At least for once since I became aware of this world, I was able to realize that there are many good people, and that gave me a little hope for what this world had in store for me.
. . . . .
After an hour, I calmly climbed into the combat ring. In front of me was a woman, quite pretty, with a barbaric air that gave her a certain charm along with her reddish hair, carrying a mace that was perhaps as big as herself.
"Now that's a problem," I thought, maces aren't like swords, spears, or knives, that's obvious, their attacks can't be redirected or blocked that easily, trying to do so could cause you to lose your balance or receive serious damage to your body, a broken bone might be the least of your worries if I was hit by that thing.
"And this after having a motivational talk with the man at the window." I couldn't help but lament and laugh at the irony of the heavens.
"Combatants!" The referee raised his hand high, I positioned my body, and the woman did the same, maintaining a mocking smile as she looked at me with disdain.
As I thought about why, I noticed that his gaze was fixed on the gloves he was wearing.
I couldn't help but smile to myself, thinking, "Don't even expect to be able to attack me just once."
The referee lowered his hand, shouting to the top of the sky, "Fight!"