Chapter 62: Excellent_Render
Excellent_Render
Around an hour had passed since Mike began his journey through the virtual world known as Fighter’s.Inc, and so far.
’It’s been pretty easy.’ Mike thought as he watched his latest opponent turn into particles of light. This fight had been a little tricky as his opponent used some strange energy that restricted movement in his limbs whenever they collided.
Mike hadn’t wanted the fight to end quickly, so he didn’t rush to finish it when they started, which allowed his opponent to start using their ability on him.
Under normal circumstances, such a thing would have been a pain to deal with. However, Mike just overpowered it was sheer force and punched them in the temple, ending the fight.
’Lots of variety, though.’ He thought as he pondered on all his battles thus far. They hadn’t given him much of a challenge yet, but the sheer variety he’d seen so far was certainly enlightening, and seeing the different ways people used their abilities already gave him some inspiration, and there were only more battles to come.
’Now I see why people like this platform so much. It’s a great training ground as is. And if I’m not wrong, things are just going to get tougher.’ He mused as he began his next fight, which would be his first fight in the Wood Tier, Rank 1, as he’d more or less breezed through the rest.
A few seconds later, he saw his opponent.
It was a fairly muscular male who wore what looked like a lion mask. Similar to Mike, he wore a sleeveless shirt. But he had shorts on instead of baggy pants.
Above his head, his name tag read ’Excellent_Render’.
His choice of weapon caught Mike’s attention, though.
His hands were bare, but on his fingers, sharp metal claws covered them, giving Mike an idea of how he’d fight. Moreover.
’I feel some danger.’ Mike thought with surprise. Up until this point, his instincts had been silent in regards to how threatening his opponents were. But now, he felt a trace of danger from the person in front of him.
He smiled behind his own mask.
’This should be fun.’ He thought as he readied himself.
Soon, the countdown ended, and as soon as it did. His opponent shot forward, their bodies low to the ground as they brandished their claws.
Mike didn’t hesitate as he started running Crimson Ladder and went forward himself.
When the two got close, Mike sent out a low kick toward the guy, but to his surprise, he hopped off the ground with all fours, sailing above Mike as he struck down with his claws.
Mike raised his gauntlets above his head, the sound of metal against metal reverberating throughout the around as they had their first collision of the battle.
Mike reacted quickly and tried to grab him out of the air, but Excellent_Render was surprisingly nimble as he twisted out of the way and avoided getting grabbed, his momentum carrying him to land behind Mike on all fours where he stared back at him.
Mike was once more surprised.
’He’s very agile, almost like a cat.’ He thought as he braced himself, and his opponent charged forward again on all fours, staying low to the ground.
As soon as he got close, he swiped at Mike’s feet, but Mike had read the incoming attack as he stayed light on his feet, avoiding getting his legs shredded while using opportune moments to counter.
However, his opponent was truly nimble like a cat as he managed to react to Mike’s attacks with uncanny precision while evading at odd angles. It didn’t help that Mike had to constantly punch downwards due to how low to the ground his body was.
He didn’t seem annoyed. Though. In fact, he enjoyed the pressure as the two of them continued to move around the arena.
It should be noted that, until now, none of them had used any abilities and were simply testing the waters. As things stood, though, Excellent_Render had the advantage, and when some time passed, he was determined to push it.
Mike’s instincts warned him as he saw tufts of black fur appear on his opponent’s arms and legs, turning them beast-like to resemble a feline, as a thin black tail emerged from his tailbone.
’I knew it! He really is a cat!’ Mike thought as he tried to back away, but the transformation clearly boosted Excellent_Render’s abilities as his arm shot out faster than before, catching Mike in the thigh and drawing blood.
Mike winced a little, but he didn’t let it affect him as he instead pushed Crimson Ladder even more. His stats rising to meet his opponent’s.
As the battle proceeded, though, it became clear that sheer stats wouldn’t be the key to winning this fight as his opponent was simply too nimble, and while Mike avoided taking any serious damage, the cuts on his lower body were growing. However, it should be noted that his regeneration was still active, and it would take a long time before something like bleeding out occurred.
If things continued at their current pace, chances are that Mike would simply outlast Excellent_Render due to his superior durability and endurance, and judging by how his attacks were slowly speeding up, it was clear that he couldn’t sustain his ability for too long.
Despite this, though, Mike had no intention of letting the fight end that way.
That’s because since the battle began, Mike had been observing Excellent_Render, and while it wasn’t perfect...
’I think I somewhat get it now.’ He thought as he suddenly jumped backward to create some distance. Excellent_Render didn’t hesitate to chase after him, but the brief breather was enough for Mike to activate his Partial Transformation.
Immediately, his frame bulked up slightly as his muscles grew and his height increased. Tufts of fir appeared around his body, but it was more prominent around his arms which had transformed into something reminiscent of paws, and the openings in the fingertips of his gauntlets allowed his claws to fit through seamlessly.
His own tail sprouted out from his tailbone, which was noticeably bushier due to the difference in species, and his ears morphed to resemble those of a wolf.
The increase in stats was immediate, and Mike felt like he could just pummel Excellent_Render if he wanted, but that isn’t what he wanted.
The latter also halted his attack slightly, now looking wary after Mike’s Transformation. Their stats had more or less been equal despite him using his ability, but Mike hadn’t done so. So now that he had, the disparity in stats should have increased massively.
Just as he was pondering what to do, Mike did something that made him freeze.
Without breaking eye contact, he leaned down until he too was on all fours, and the way he did it was oddly reminiscent of how Excellent_Render did his...
A flash of annoyance and disbelief appeared in his eyes as he decided to charge forward, believing that Mike was attempting to taunt him now that he had transformed, likely believing that he was far superior to him, making him joke around.
However, the reality was quite different.
As he moved, so did Mike, and when they got close, both of them swung their claws.
They collided, and Excellent_Render was startled, both due to the strength behind the strike and just how similar it had been to his own.
On all fours, both of them danced around each other like beasts as they continued to send out their claws, aiming to catch the other, and while their actions were similar, it was clear that Excellent_Render was still superior in terms of agility and nimbleness.
Mike seemed to realize this fact as well as he found his attacks getting dodged more often, while in return, he was blocking a lot more.
It couldn’t be helped, while his stats were now superior, Excellent_Render was simply that much more agile, and his reflexes, while most likely below Mike’s instincts, still matched said agility enough to make him extremely difficult to pin down.
’This isn’t working.’ Mike thought as the fight continued. It was obvious that he’d been trying to analyze and make use of Excellent_Render’s fighting style. However, as he did so, it was like something just didn’t mesh well.
The more they collided, the more certain he was that he was doing something wrong. He was analyzing his opponent’s movements, but his body wasn’t moving the way he wanted it to.
Mike had started wondering if his decision to copy Excellent_Render was the right one, and this point was further hammered home when his opponent seemed to have calmed down from the shock of having his combat style copied and moved with far more grace, allowing him to score a few hits on Mike once again.
’Gah, he’s just too agile, and–’ Mike suddenly had a thought and nearly facepalmed as he realized what he might have been doing wrong.
’Of course he’s agile. His ability revolves around a cat, or whatever it is. I’m a Lupine!’ He chastised himself as he gave a particularly forcefully swipe which forced Excellent_Render to retreat a bit.
As soon as he did, he watched as Mike’s stance seemed to change a bit. He was still on all fours, but he didn’t look like a coiled spring ready to bounce like Excellent_Render. Instead, there was something more primal in his stance, and as soon as he saw it, Excellent_Render wasn’t sure why, but he felt a lot more wary.