A Wanderer's Lies

"Challenge accepted, Eli Hawk."

Isaac felt something in his stomach upon saying this name. He'd never come across such a name in the real world. It sounded too…fake.

As if it were straight out of a TV show.

'Stay focused.'

Isaac snapped out of his trance.

Standing before Eli, the tall teenager wore an expression of frustration as he clicked his teeth.

Meanwhile, not too far away from them…

"Let's go before he starts bothering us again." Amara tugged at the rest of the Golden Four.

"We can't leave. You just sacrificed him to the big bad wolf." Jett retorted, his voice raising a few pitches.

Jett shook his head as Amara continued to speak.

"You can leave if you want. I'll make sure Eli doesn't do something he regrets. He isn't thinking clearly."

Jett remembered what Harrison had told him.

"I'm staying too. It's our fault he was dragged into this. We might as well see it out." Cain added, siding with Jett.

"I don't think it's right, either. Watching for a little bit shouldn't hurt, right." Ava joined the boys as Amara looked desperately to Lucy for some backup.

"I don't mind." But the support she'd been looking for never came as Lucy wore an indifferent demeanour.

Amara was left on her own, scratching her head and pouting.

"Fine. But as soon as we see nothing is escalating, we leave." She declared as the others nodded.

"Geez, I swear. You three are too pure-hearted for your own good." Amara sighed while shaking her head and glancing at Cain, Jett and Ava individually.

However, what Amara didn't know was that of the three she mentioned, she was only right about two being pure-hearted while the third had other ideas.

"Hey, hey. No one's fighting anyone. Let's all just calm down."

However, their attention was drawn to the scene unfolding before them once again as one could see Oliver standing between Eli and Isaac.

"Move aside, boy. He's already agreed to duel me. Backing out now will be nothing short of dishonourable."

Eli hissed, to which Oliver prepared to reply until he felt a touch on his shoulder.

"It's fine. I'll do it." Isaac nodded reassuringly.

"You don't have to. Don't be pressured by him or the Golden Six, we've got your back." Zach whispered, his eyes darting between those before him.

Now that Isaac thought about it, he wondered who would truly reign as the strongest of the first years.

Zach was a Ghoul, Oliver was from an S-Rank verse and Isaac had made leaps and bounds in his progression.

'That's pretty interesting. Maybe I'll make it a hobby one day to find diamonds in the dirt to befriend.'

Isaac chuckled inwardly upon thinking this.

But considering both he and Zach were hiding their powers and Oliver had just exited his scenario and was new at handling his powers with his original body, they most likely wouldn't stand a chance.

"I got it. Don't worry."

Hearing this, Zach and Oliver relaxed as they took a step back.

"I commend your bravery. Not many are so nonchalant about taking me on…."

Before Eli could finish, Isaac raised his finger and cut him off.

"Not so fast, jungle boy. If we're fighting, we're doing it on my terms."

Upon hearing this, everyone present raised an eyebrow.

***

[This is quite the smart alternative you've come up with.]

In a large room with sleek white tiles on every surface that appeared to be made out of marble, stood two individuals staring at each other.

Meanwhile, Oliver, Zach, the Golden Six and a few other spectators leisurely watched from a seating area behind glass.

Merlin sat on Oliver's lap, ignoring the constant glances she got from Lucy and sneakily watching the events before her.

[I know. We walked past it not too long ago.]

Isaac and Eli currently stood in a space specifically made for soft duelling.

"Battle will begin in 3…"

An automated voice rang out from within the room.

"2…"

The reason this room was perfect for their duel was due to the fact it could ensure a straight Martial Arts battle.

"1. Battle commenced!"

Isaac could feel the strength in his body lessening as well as his Nen disappearing.

The reason for this was the room. It was one large Artifact. It could lessen one's strength to F Rank to ensure a fair fight.

As well as disallowing PS to be used.

It was also what Isaac and Jett would be using for their battle. Though, a highly advanced version.

Isaac had to take these types of precautions, just in case Eli wasn't trying anything funny.

'I almost spat blood upon hearing this. I'd abuse the hell out of it against stronger opponents.'

Though Isaac thought this, he quickly realised the weakening factor had factors that needed to be considered.

The fact, one needed to give verbal confirmation to be affected by it, and if anyone were to enter the room during the duel, the battle would halt as the fighters would return to normal.

As well as the fact this was a large room, not something that Isaac could carry in his Dimensional Space and use whenever he wanted.

"The rules of this duel are as follows. Every clean hit equals a point. You need three points to win."

Isaac explained, causing Eli to nod his head vigorously.

"Yes, I was present when the rules were explained. Let us proceed."

Isaac nodded, bending his legs as he prepared himself.

-ZOOM

Kicking off the ground, Isaac dashed toward Eli, instantly noticing his immense decrease in speed.

But he wasn't worried about this, knowing Eli was no faster.

Soon, he came face to face with his opponent, noticing Eli stood in a stance that looked like that of boxing to Isaac.

'I can't fight like a maniac as I do usually since I'm suppressing my healing.'

But Isaac wasn't going to fight like a pussy either, remembering Wayne's lessons.

Isaac threw a jab, continuing to move forward.

Meanwhile, Eli watched, easily weaving the blow and letting it pass his head, preparing to attack himself.

However, he was taken aback upon noticing a second punch already shooting toward him.

'He predicted where I'd dodge and threw the attack early.'

Eli deduced, watching Isaac pull back his previous jab and follow through with the cross.

-BANG

However, Isaac's fist was met with Eli's forearm; the attack was blocked as a soft BANG could be heard.

Despite Eli successfully blocking the attack, he neglected the moment of respite as he brought the same he'd just used to block down to his side.

-BANG

Eli once again protected his side that had been left open after blocking the previous block.

'He's able to spot the least protected area on my body and attack in an instant. Impressive…'

Eli thought, noticing his cranium was now open and it seemed Isaac noticed this too as he raised his leg and shot it out like a whip.

'But predictable.'

Eli prepared to move inside Isaac's defences, sweep his single leg and mount him.

However…

-STOMP

-BANG

Assuming Isaac's kick would flick past him as he lowered his body, Eli was surprised to see Isaac's leg barely leave the ground, stomping back onto the floor as he closed the distance between the two.

In this split second, with Isaac came a sharp elbow, striking Eli straight in the face.

"One point to Isaac. Return to your corners."

The automated voice announced.

"Woah, what was that?!"

Meanwhile, in the spectator room, Cain almost leapt out of his seat as he watched the events before him unfold.

"I'm not sure. His fighting style is so…unorthodox." Jett added, seeming more and more engulfed in the battle as time went on.

Though he could notice his interest piqueing, he didn't know why.

It was obvious to anyone who was a skilled fighter that Isaac was using nothing more than the basic Hand-to-Hand combat perk, but it was how he fought that entranced Jett.

"W-Wow. Did you know Isaac could fight like that?" Zach asked as Oliver shook his head.

"I've known he spends a lot of time on boxing bags, but I didn't know he was so skilled," Oliver replied, to which Lucy, who wasn't too far away, picked up.

"Well done. You've managed to land a hit on me."

Eli stood up straight, the elbow seeming as though it had barely affected him, despite his bruised nose.

Isaac stayed quiet as the both of them returned to their designated locations.

'He was assessing me.'

Isaac deduced.

He could tell Eli wasn't going all out.

And he was right.

In that brief exchange, Eli now had a better grasp on how Isaac fought, the level of his Hand-to-Hand perk and a few tactics on how to beat him.

Meanwhile, Isaac still didn't know anything about his opponent.

"3, 2, 1, battle commenced."

The automated voice once again rang out, indicating the start of the second round as Isaac prepared.

Only this time, something was different about Eli.

If his peculiar movements that made him seem as though he had little control over his movements weren't enough, Eli could be seen lowering his body, bringing his chest inches away from the ground.

"Cockroach Tackle."

-BOOM

Eli dashed toward Isaac at speeds that should have been impossible for the rank they were limited to.

"So fast!" Amara commented as they all watched.

The distance between the two was instantly covered as Eli drew closer to Isaac.

'Crap!'

Isaac was too slow.

His body's speed was limited and he'd noticed the attack coming too late to dodge.

Therefore, Isaac could only cross his arms in an X shape, ready to block whatever attack was coming.

"Triceratops Fist."

-BANG

Isaac felt a heavy blow land on his forearms as he clenched his teeth, his mind unable to figure out whether his arms were broken or not.

Additionally, Isaac's feet could be seen leaving the ground as the force caused him to soar through the air and crash into the marble wall.

"Did he just jump off the ground and use the force of the attack to create distance?"

Oliver asked, causing the others to glance at him and soon nod in agreement as the fact became more apparent.

-SMASH

As Isaac smashed into the wall, he slid to the ground, barely catching his footing as he tried to assess the damage caused to him.

But he was given no time to even breathe as a daunting presence dawned on him once again.

'He's already here?'

Isaac thought inwardly, his line of sight meeting Eli's as the latter closed in closer to his opponent.

-BANG

"One point to Eli. Return to your corners."

A blow landed on Isaac's abdomen, and the air was knocked out of his lungs, causing him to heave as he stumbled.

'What the hell was wrong with that punch?'

It was so powerful despite their physical stats being limited to the likes of a regular athlete.

"I'll admit, you're not all talk. But you can't possibly match me without an Art…"

Before Eli could finish, he noticed something.

"He's…grinning?" Amara spoke the thought the others had on their mind, seeing Isaac's expression seem as though he was a child given a gift.

Meanwhile, Ava watched with a blank expression.

However, unknowingly, seeing this, her lips curled upwards.

"Return to your corners."

The automated voice repeated, causing Eli to slowly leave without saying anything.

Isaac too, back on his feet, returned to his position as countless thoughts ran through his mind.

'He's faster, stronger, more experienced and likely had more cards up his sleeve.'

Isaac thought, realising he was in an unfavourable position.

However, he did have one chance to turn this battle around.

"3…"

'I only read the book briefly, but I understand the basic concept of it.'

"2…"

Saying this, much to the surprise of the others, Isaac closed his eyes.

"1…"

'Let's see if you were worth the money, Ki.'

"Battle commenced!"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Next chapter title: Ki [2]

NNext chapter title: Final Showdown [1]

Just think of this battle system as the same one in Cobra Kai's All Valley tournament.

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