They continued to connect, and even if he was bigger, the constant connections were taking a toll. Streams of blood could be seen over his rotund belly and face, and he had lost that will in his eyes. He had already been defeated.

  Oleksandr switched up from just going for striking upon seeing that he could go for the takedown. His position dipped, and he whipped forward his right leg to go for a powerful sweep.

  Boulder was already losing stability from his intense fatigue and the hits to his head – this sweep didn’t send him onto his back but made him stumble into one of the cage walls.

  The fight dragged on in this manner, with Boulder hanging on by a thread, and the fight’s automatic timer soon came to an end.

  There were five minutes of intense battle, and boos resonated within the crowd as the fight came to an end. It was clear they weren’t happy with the outcome.

  A man in a striped white and black shirt rushed into the cage, forming a gap between the two combatants.

  The winner, Oleksandr, was announced, met with little cheers and mostly boos and sounds of dissatisfaction.

  Just as Leo had thought. If he wanted to succeed here, he’d have to be good but have market value as well. His time slowing abilities were useful, and he was hoping that it would give him a chance to strike that balance.

  It worked with football at least, so maybe it would work here? The only way he’d find out is if he saw for himself.

  Looking to his new phone, he could see that it was only fifteen minutes until his match. It was time to get ready. Slowing time, he managed to slow time not by just 2X but more.

  He could feel that it was slower, and he was making sure to slow time by as much as he possibly could. Making a brisk advance to the door of the fighter’s club, he moved fast enough for a breeze to follow his advance.

  Some of the fighters saw this with their own eyes, shooting each other glances after witnessing this. How fast did the kid just move? It looked like he just shot up to running pace and shot over the balcony in a flash.

  Some of the viewing fighters nearer to him could even feel the breeze for themselves.

  However, they didn’t think much of it. Why would they? He was probably just warming up with a jog or something.

  Leo soon arrived at what seemed to be the row of changing rooms, in the main hall behind all the action. Entering one of these areas, it seemed to just be an ordinary locker room with different fighters preparing for their fight.

  Just like before, it seemed like he was sticking out, and he couldn’t help but feel the glares on the back of his neck and from around him.

  However, he let everything go and continued. He’d dealt with this for too long in life to let it continuously break him down. Now, he could make a change.

  All the lockers had their own added locks, adding a nice sense of security to the place – something he certainly didn’t expect to find in a place like this. He just placed his hoodie in there, wearing his black joggers, and pure black trainers.

  Revealing his physique seemed to garner light chuckles from those around him, but he wasn’t concerned.

  As he took off his hoodie, he could hear a voice coming from outside the changing rooms.

  “Fighter “Golpe” please make your way to cage 3 for your fight! Fighter “Fury Davis” please make your way to cage 4 for your fight!”

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  He continued to name off different fighters, and he could hear people from the adjacent changing rooms leaving and making their way to their next fights.

  “Fighter “Chronos” please make your way to cage 6 for your fight!” The same man announced as he walked up and down these changing rooms.

  Leo briskly walked out -not with his time slowing this time- and advanced to the end of this hall to begin his battle. As he did so, taking another glance at the watching spectators, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

  His legs trembled as he walked forward, but his joggers did a good job at hiding this.

  The fighters flooded out of this hidden hallway in a line, before entering the area with the main cages to then funnel out into their respective cages. Leo arrived at his own cage and swiftly entered, making the announcer almost shocked.

  What sort of kid was this? Many mocking laughs were heard from the crowd, but Leo didn’t look at any of them. They didn’t know what he was capable of.

  Upon waiting a few more minutes or so, another person entered the ring. His opponent.

  “Oh, the gods have blessed me!” He called out, cackling with disdain.

  “Who did they just pit me up against?!” Leo wondered.

  He was up against a man that stood at 6 feet tall and looked to be around 190 pounds. Even if he was twice as strong, would that give him the clear win.

  He felt like with that officer he encountered in the shadowrun, the surprise of his sudden assault helped him deal the damage he did. If it was a true fight, with the man ready to attack back, things might’ve been different.

  However, this man was a decent bit smaller than the officer he encountered. He had his shirt off and wore long white shorts which revealed his muscular physique.

  He continued to look forward, shaking off his limbs with a smile on his face.

  “Our fighters, or should I say fighter, has arrived!” The announcer called out, getting a nice reception from the crowd behind him.

  Whatever.

  “In one corner we have a newbie. Standing at 5’9, 115lbs, he go against our expectations, or will he just prove our lingering thoughts that he’s in the wrong place? Please give it up for Chronos!!” He roared, met by boos and laughter from the immediate crowd beside his cage.

  Leo didn’t even look at any of them. However, he couldn’t help but feel the nerves. His legs were shaking, just like they’d been upon him coming here.

  “In the other corner we have our fighter!” The announcer said, before chuckling and turning back to the spectators behind him.

  “Anyway, he has a single fight to his record, a win by decision! However, it seems like he has something to show us here! With clear technique and amazing punching power, he should be able to take this home! I hope you guys have eyes and put down your bets well, because we’re all making a profit here! Let’s give it up for Rick Iron!!”

  He had dirty blonde hair, which flowed down his face similar to Gustavo Day from his football squad. Both fighters closed in on each other as the fight was soon to commence, and they both nodded at each other before lifting their fists for the match beginning.

  “May the match begin!” He called out.

  Rick rushed straight toward Leo, with his hair flowing back in the process. Leo had no need to try and thug this out using his ordinary strength. No. He had his abilities and he was sure as hell going to use them.

  Just as Rick took his first step, Leo inhaled and felt his typical time slowing. He began to look sluggish, as if he was being weighed down by something. Now, this slow gave Leo just the perfect opportunity to slug forward his right fist.

  He tried to throw his bodyweight behind the punch, however you did that, but he hadn’t fought before. Even with that, he was more than twice as strong as usual, and he landed the strike straight onto his chest.

  However, Leo didn’t stop there. He released a flurry of punches, hitting his chest, face. He tried to just overwhelm him with the strikes.

  “What is going on here folks!! This kid hits with dynamite for fists!” The announcer called out, watching Rick unable to react.

  As he tried to block the hits using his arms, Leo managed to use his strength to break past his guard and deliver powerful, precise punches.

  A few seconds has passed, and Leo was starting to feel the fatigue of his continuous power use. To leave a message, he swung in another heavy right hand punch, landing it right onto his target’s jaw.

  This launched him back into the cage behind him, as spit and blood also shot out his mouth.

  In just a few seconds, Rick looked like he had taken a beating for minutes on end. Bruises were already starting to show up on his arms, and blood was dripping from his mouth and nose.

  Leo took some time to breathe and try and get his stamina back. Not only was he using his time slowing ability, but he just threw punch after punch without really giving himself the chance to take a breather.

  Luckily for him, Rick needed the breather just as much as he did. As he pushed off the cage, there was even a slight stumble to his walk, met with vehement cheers from the crowd. Giving a quick glance to them, he could see countless people with hands on their head.

  Just as he wanted. That shock value.