"And he got another punch in! This Daredevil kid is unstoppable!" The commentator brightly exclaimed, throwing a punch in the air as he was being swayed by Yuuta and Nakamura Ryota's momentum.
Like any other boxing fights, the boxers in the ring weren't allowed to wear anything except for their shoes and shorts. But as for Yuuta, he was given special permission to wear a mask on the upper part of his body because not only would it be disadvantageous for him, it would also impede him from seeing his opponent. Of course, the opponent, former featherweight champion Nakamura Ryota, didn't know that he was fighting with a blind boxer. Had he known, he would've forfeited the fight and nobody would like that.
Ting ting ting!
"And that's it for the second round!"
As the commentator continued talking about what happened in the recent round, Yuuta went back to his corner, breathing heavily. He never thought that someone a bit older than him could move almost as fast him. Since he had never met an opponent who could rival him in terms of speed and strength, he sort of messed up his pace on the first rounds of the match, making him more exhausted than usual. Sweat flowed all over his body and his rapid heart rate drowned the heavy breathing he was hearing from both him and the opponents. Right now, his mind is filled with nothing but the fight ahead of him, making him wholly ignore the cheers and shouts of the audience who were around him.
And although he couldn't see them, he knew that there were at least more than a thousand of them, and that wasn't even counting those who were watching the live broadcast since cameras were littered all over the place. Furthermore, it was Nakamura Ryota we're talking about here. If there aren't any TV Stations that are interested in his debut match in the underground, then the fight would all be pointless for him since every fight he does is all about the publicity of his skills.
"You're doing all right. We don't expect you to win against a former world champion but the results of your fight are way beyond our expectations. If you continue at this pace, I think you may have a chance at defeating the world champion at an unofficial match. But seeing all the cameras broadcasting your fight all over the world, I don't think this is just your regular ole' unofficial underground match."
"Tell me about it." Yuuta continued breathing heavily as he tried to get as much rest as he could on the one-minute rest he has. "He's fast, probably much faster than me. And also, his punches pack a punch. He's not the former world champion in the featherweight division for nothing. Why did I even sign up for this?"
"Remember the prize money, that's at least six zeroes right there." Daichi-san reminded him as he twirled his fingers in the air. "Of course, since this is sponsored, I will be receiving my fair share from the sponsors themselves. It's different from your other underground fights, you know because I won't be getting my share from your victory money."
"I get it. I get it. I could probably buy a car after I win the money. Oh yeah, now that I think about it, you didn't tell me how much prize money I'll get if I win the match?" Yuuta asked out of curiosity.
"Mmm... probably around ten times that amount. I mean, for an underground fight, that's still small considering that he's the former world champion of the featherweight division. Do you know that ten million yen for a boxing match is still the bare minimum? for bigshots like them?"
"Wait, TEN TIMES? You should've told me that right at the start! I could at least buy a house with that amount of money!" Yuuta exclaimed.
Ting ting ting!
"We're now beginning the fifth round! Both sides are already showing signs of exhaustion, what do you think Tanaka-san?" The first commentator asked, referring to the second commentator who was right beside him.
"Well, I never thought that the underground had such talented fighters. I thought everything goes here but seeing the amount of fighting prowess this Daredevil has, I guess I should take back my prejudice." Tanaka-san chuckled.
"Oh! And there's the one-two Hookshot from Nakamura Ryota followed by a straight! the DareDevil barely dodged it as he unleashed an uppercut! AND IT HIT!!!"
The crowd erupted into cheers as Nakamura Ryota hit the floor with a thud. But then, he immediately got up and shook his head. The punch made his head a little woozy but it wasn't enough to knock him out.
"That's a good punch. You're feeling more energetic than before, Daredevil." Ryota commented as he resumed his boxing stance of his left arm on guard while his right arm was loose.
"Well, I heard something pretty nice from my manager. Turns out the winner of this match gets ten million or so yen." Yuuta responded, throwing a few more punches in the mix so Ryota won't have any room to breathe.
"I'm surprised you're manager forgot to tell you about it. I never knew that the underground had such poor customer service."
"Yeah, it's the underground we're talking about here."
"Wait? What's happening?" Yuuta asked himself as he heard the all too familiar voice in the game once again. "Am I in Lucid Dream Server right now? No, that can't be. That's impossible."
Flash!
From the small gaps of the mask that covered Yuuta's upper face, small flashes of light could be seen, flashing all around him. Yuuta stopped short in his tracks as he looked around. There was something weird going on and he didn't know why it's happening. But one thing's for sure, he could see everyone around him!
There was a momentary reflection before Yuuta immediately got back to his senses. He was in a fight, and he can't afford to get distracted!
Blam!
One moment, Yuuta was standing around, admiring the figures all around him as he was granted the gift of sight, the next moment, he was lying down on the ground as a powerful straight hit him squarely in the face. And just like that, the gift of sight was robbed off from him once again.
<.....>
"Wait.... what happened? My sight... why can't I see anything again... was that just a dream? What's going on?" Yuuta lost his bearings and because of the punch, his confusion worsened.
"AND THE COUNTDOWN HAS STARTED! TEN... NINE... EIGHT!" One of the commentator's voices drowned all the noises in the background, making Yuuta focus on it.
"Countdown?" Yuuta asked himself. A split second later, he finally realized what was happening right at that moment.
"That's right, I'm in a fight. I don't know what happened but I should just think about it later. Right now, I have to win, and then we can do all the overthinking we can after that."
As if there were balls on his feet, Yuuta stood up in one smooth motion as he resumed his boxing stance of putting two of his hands up as guards. He wasn't that shaken after taking a solid hit in the face since he had taken more powerful hits to the face in the past. And well, a featherweight punch couldn't be comparable to a heavyweight punch and Yuuta had experienced countless powerful punches like those during his stay in the underground.
"I don't know what happened but I commend you for standing up after receiving a solid straight in the face. Not a lot of featherweight fighters could handle that, you know."
"Well, I've fought with heavyweights so your punch doesn't really hurt. I was just caught off-guard." Yuuta said with a smirk on his face. In fact, the punch he received more or less woke him up from whatever dream he was experiencing a few seconds ago.
Before Nakamura Ryota could retaliate with his words, he suddenly felt his foot being rooted deeply in the ground as the air was sucked from his lungs. He didn't even see what was happening as he received a good blow towards his stomach.
"How did yo— "
Another punch hit him on his right temple but before he could hit the ground, he was hit with another punch to the gut, making him drop his mouthguard as more saliva came out. Nakamura Ryota has not even hit the ground so he was very susceptible to all the punches he was receiving. Before his knees dropped to the floor, Yuuta managed to sneak in another punch to the face before Nakamura Ryota tumbled down to the ground.
"Figures, the rules of the underground are different with championships." Yuuta sighed as he clicked his tongue. After realizing that the breathing of Nakamura Ryota has eased a little bit, he knew that he had already won.
And what's more, it was a knockout.