Felix stared his opponent dead in the eye. It was another novice fight, Felix not having gained enough renown to be moved up to the higher tier – and better compensated – matches. Even if he had, it had been months since he'd last fought in The Ring.
"Fight!" the announcer called, ducking out of the ring. The short, bald man opposing Felix went for an immediate attack. It was sloppy, and the man's movements reminded Felix of a bull rushing forwards. Like a matador, Felix sidestepped and delivered a hard chop to the base of the man's neck.
The fight was over just as soon as it had begun, resulting in Felix's victory. Ivan had been right; not everyone was trained properly, nor were they all ready for these fights. The announcer stepped back into the ring, wearing a surprised expression.
"Would you like to fight again?" he asked.
Looking over at Ivan, Felix noticed the Russian shaking his head violently. With a deep breath, Felix refocused on the immaculately dressed person in front of them. The crowd stopped talking for the first time since Felix had taken the stage; this was a chance for them to witness something interesting. Felix couldn't care less about their amusement, but this was something he needed.
"Yes," Felix nodded. The announcer's caterpillar eyebrows shot up in shock. Not many chose to go a second fight, since it meant that they'd be given whatever opponent was available. And whatever opponent literally meant whatever opponent, whether that was someone on the fighter's own level or someone significantly better.
"We have a rare event tonight, ladies and gentlemen! Felix Hale wishes to take on another fighter!" The announcer called out, wearing a broad grin. "I'll go take a look at who would want to take a crack at this newcomer!"
Ivan stormed up to Felix's corner as soon as the announcer stepped away. His wrinkled forehead signified that he was worried, but that was completely at odds with the snarl he displayed. "What in the world are you thinking? They'll pit you with someone you'll never beat! You'll be lucky if you don't leave this place in a body bag!"
"I know it's dangerous, but it's not like they can kill me. I'm too widely known for that, I think," Felix said, doing a few squats to keep himself warmed up.
"They have much more money than you could ever imagine, Felix. That money will disappear you faster than you can say 'money.' Many people have died here. It's too late to go back on your decision now, though..." Ivan trailed off, his eyes catching on the rapidly approaching announcer. With perfectly coifed, blonde hair, and a pressed suit, the man radiated an elegant aura. The man next to him… did not.
"Our only available fighter tonight is none other than One-Eyed Jack!" the announcer yelled, increasing his volume to match the roar of the crowd. He ushered Jack into the ring and prepared to start the fight.
Jack was a bit taller than Felix was, clocking in just a little over six feet tall, then. He was lean, lacking the overwhelming musculature that someone like Ivan had. That said, his arms looked like whips, capable of delivering incredible force with what he did have. Where Ivan was a bear, Jack was a snake.
And when the fight began, Felix realized that Jack didn't just look like a snake, but he fought like a snake. He was far more careful than Felix's previous opponent, making sure to advance only close enough to be outside of Felix's strike range. Every kick, every punch that Felix tried to hit was evaded, Jack dancing away from them with precision.
Then the game was over. Jack was done dodging, instead counterattacking for each of Felix's wide kicks. A fist connected with Felix's forearm, and then another. Now it was Felix who was completely on the defensive. He briefly considered using his powers to prevent his original blunder of making the first attack, but he shook himself free of that idea. It would ruin the whole point of being here.
Felix dealt with the pain, instead watching for any signs of patterns in his opponent's stance or moves. A significant amount of his concentration was locked on making sure he stayed away from any of the more truly dangerous hits, he was at least able to multitask well enough to realize that there was a pattern: left hook, right jab, and an attempted uppercut.
The attacks were all fairly rudimentary, none of them requiring a kick at all! He was probably just following the common advice of "if it ain't broken, then don't fix it." Noticing the pattern would grant Felix just one chance at bringing Jack down. If he failed on the first attempt, Jack would surely change his pattern, losing any weaknesses Felix would have caught.
Left hook – block. Right jab – block. But when it came time for the uppercut, Felix quickly evaded backwards, watching as Jack's fist sailed through the empty air. Without a moment to spare, Felix tried for a big roundhouse kick, only satisfied that it had worked when he heard Jack's 'whoomphf.'
Felix grappled Jack while he was distracted, staying on Jack's left side so that his right-side vision wouldn't be of much use. Like with Harper, Felix began to get him in a chokehold to end the fight, and three taps on the arena later, it was.
Ivan rushed up to the stage. "That was wicked, Felix! Let us go home now, and we'll come back another time," he said, nodding to himself as if this were some sort of sagely suggestion.
"Would you like to fight again?"
Felix looked his arms up and down, seeing the future bruises already. This was going to hurt, but his mind was made up. The best blades are forged in the hottest of temperatures.
"Yes, I would."