Eventually, the fight between the two men drew to an end, and a round of cheers broke out from the crowd. However, Alex couldn't share in the crowd's excitement, his reason being he had no idea just who these men were, and honestly, didn't care.
The crowd began to disperse, making way for a fairly old man making his way to the center of the arena. The old man had a mic in his grasp, and clearing his throat, he announced the name of the winning contestant, as well as offered an open spot to the people present, whoever wished to spar would then be selected based on a series of factors.
These factors were completely random. So, one would have to be lucky if they were selected to be the next contestants to spar.
These local street fights weren't just all that from a glance. If one were to arise victorious in a match, the contestant would receive a reward. What exactly the reward was what only the person would find out later on.
"And the winner of the match is, none other than, Silver Dagger! And now, to select the next contestants to participate…" the announcer said, with the crowd hanging on his every word. It was clear this man held a sense of importance to the gathered crowd, and from the high-quality clothing he wore, it was easy to see why.
After a few moments of silence, the old man scanned the crowd with his eyes. It seemed quite crude to select fighters this way, but, considering he had a piece of metal covering one eye, it provided him an extra edge in the vision above everyone present. Emitting a glow, the man looked at everyone present, before finally making his decision. Still, among other things, connections played a major role in determining who the next contestants would be.
"You, hazel-eyed dude! And you, the guy in an oversized tank top!" The announcer yelled, pointing his fingers at the next two contestants. As the crowd followed his line of sight, they quickly realized who the next two fighters would be.
"What?! This guy's just a teenage Rockie fighter with zero experience. And the other one hasn't been here in weeks. Heck, last time he was here, he had beaten up a close friend of mine half to death!"
"This has to be a joke!"
"Mr. Uzzie, can't you select some other fighters for the next match? I mean, the crowd wouldn't really enjoy the fight if these two are the contestants," someone from the crowd said, airing the view of the entirety of the crowd.
Retaining his silence, the announcer named Mr. Uzzie had given them his answer, as he motioned for the two contestants to step into the arena.
'I guess Johnny has something to do with this,'' Alex thought in glee, taking a stance within the arena.
The arena was composed mainly of sand, allowing for minimal injuries during the matches, and, as well, slowing down opponents, making it harder for them to move while coordinating their attacks. This was something Alex dreaded about the matches, but still, he had to complete this Quest one way or the other.
Once the other contestant had taken his stance, an alarm rang out, signaling the start of the match. Right off the bat, the rookie fighter sprinted forward, twisting his body as he delivered a round-house kick to his opponent. However, grabbing the foot inches from his face, Alex pushed it to the ground, raising his legs in the air, aiming to deliver two rotating kicks to the head.
Unable to react in time, the two kicks connected, sending blood splattering on the floor, but he wasn't out of the fight yet.
Applying more pressure, Alex put the rookie fighter off balance. Using the opportunity, he delivered two uppercuts in rapid succession, landing a few kicks on his ribs and a kick to the abdomen, as well.
The crowd remained silent throughout the one-sided battle. Although they were aware of Alex's battle prowess, they also knew what the rookie fighter was capable of. Although he didn't possess the purple-glowing mech accessory like everyone else, he had managed to bag a few victories from a few experienced fighters, however, those were all due to clever strategy, not raw strength.
During this fight, he intended to achieve the same result. However, not knowing whom he would be dealing with, the rookie fighter was in for the shock of his life.
The fight had already dragged into the two-minute mark, with the rookie fighter spewing out more blood, his body adorned with a variety of bruises. The town fighters' council had their reasons for banning the use of weapons in the fights, and something similar to this was the reason.
In the heat of battle, one might go barbaric, as their fight-or-flight response would kick in, leading them to do something they might regret. A deep slash to the chest, a knife to the throat, the heart, the eye, and so on. A lot of things could happen when one is fighting for his life.
Kicking the rookie fighter at the top of his head, the force of the kick had knocked him face-first into the sand and dirt. As his blood mixed in with the sand, and his unresponsiveness after ten seconds of counting, a bell rang out, signaling the end of the match.
"And the winner of the sixth fight is… The Conqueror!" The announcer said.
The crowd went completely silent, and the reason was simple. They had all voted; betted their money on the rookie fighter winning the match. But, with this current development, they couldn't contain their shock. What made matters worse was an excited shriek. The shriek was coming from a man, the only person present who had betted on Alex winning the match. And to flaunt their pride in public, everyone present had betted with him on Alex's loss.
"Hahaha! I'm rich. Finally, I don't have to keep on living like a street rat anymore! Sayonara, suckers!" The man quickly made his way out of the crowd, having no intention of staying any longer. As his figure disappeared amongst the crowd, a slashing sound found faintly be heard, accompanied by muffled screams.
The man didn't make it out of the crowd.
Alex had sustained little to no injuries in the match. All the blood stains on him belonged to the rookie fighter, who had been taken away to receive medical attention by a group of men on a medical bed.
Although Alex was glad he had finally won a match after so long, he was more interested in the reward from his system, rather than what the announcer of the matches had to offer.
"Conqueror, you have succeeded once again. Follow me, and receive your reward," the old man gestured, already stepping away from the crowd.
Following not too far behind, Alex followed the old man away from the crowd, arriving in front of a medium-sized building not too far away.
Pulling the door open, the old man entered, with Alex right behind him. Passing through a series of passages, eventually climbing up a set of stairs, the old man had led Alex to a large room.
The large room was shrouded in darkness, but with the flip of a switch, the lightbulbs fixed to the ceiling brightened the room.
Alex still hadn't received his Daily Quest completion reward from the system. Still, he decided to distract himself for now with whatever his tournament reward would be. Although Alex had won a couple of times in the past, he had never received his rewards. But, today was going to be an exception to that, as he planned on cashing out all his rewards in one failed swoop.
The town fighters council had a policy of always awarding contestants their rewards, no matter how much time had passed after their victory. This was why Alex wasn't so worried about cashing out so late.
Pushing a button on the wall, a compartment started to rise from the floor below. A cranking sound could be heard as the process transpired. Eventually, a flat base containing an array of resources. These resources were of little value to the current world, considering they were items of value long before the dawn of the apocalypse.
Gold, diamonds, silver, pearls, Alex could see an array of once precious resources laying on the flat surface that had just risen from the floor below. Honestly, Alex couldn't help but shake his head as he stepped forward. Crouching down, he picked up a diamond the size of his palm. Inspecting it properly, he realized it was, in fact, real, before tossing it back into the pile.
'Seriously? If this is what I get for risking my life in the ring time and time again, I might as well just forget about it and focus only on my Daily Quest.'
"Sorry but, I don't want any of these. They're basically useless to me. I'll take my leave now," Alex didn't even wait for the man's response as he exited the room, making his way out of the mansion. The old man didn't bother following him since there were groups of guards located at every nick and corner of the building. The Conqueror wouldn't be able to steal anything, even if he wanted to.