Joshua was shocked to see that he was fighting so soon. He had been the last one to arrive and the first to fight. Maybe these two facts had a relation? It was not worth to be thinking about that. For that reason, Joshua followed them to the arena. With a few glances, Joshua saw how this Iron Fist guy was only at level 4, which did not pose a threat to him.
It was not as if Joshua was overly confident. But the chance of his opponent being able to face enemies with greater power was almost nonexistent.
As they got closer to the arena, Joshua heard some random person introducing the fight.
"He is from the highlands of the north. A fierce warrior that is making his debut here in this arena."
"FRENZIED SWORD!"
The man that called them tapped Joshua's back and said. "Go, hurry."
Without much thinking, Joshua walked into the arena. Even though he was an unknown fighter, people still cheered for him.
Joshua did not have the aspect of a warrior; a body filled with muscles and scars. But they knew that judging someone by their looks was a mistake.
The arena had a wide space, and before entering Joshua had the chance to pick a type of weapon from the standings. He instantly picked up an enormous sword. It weighed a lot, but Joshua still lifted it with one hand.
Someone from the audience yelled. "Look how easily he picked that heavy sword. I'm betting my money on him."
"You're right. I did not even realize it. My money is on him too," another one said.
"It's a decent weapon," Joshua thought as he walked inside the arena, waiting for his opponent.
"Now, someone you are all familiar with. Coming from the desert of Khananka. He possesses a fist capable of destroying the most sturdy armor. The one and only," the announcer held both of his hands up high, shouting.
"IRON FIST!!!"
Iron Fist was well known in this arena. He had fought countless times. People cheered for him way more than they did for Joshua. He had fame, and his victories backed it up.
The weapon he chose before entering the arena was a gauntlet. It was to be expected based on his nickname. Even when using fists no one would fight barehanded.
Joshua stood at one side of the arena, and Iron Fist on the other. They gazed at each other, and any capable fighter would know that the fight had already begun.
If one could cause fear in an opponent, half of the fight was already won. That was precisely what Joshua tried to do, but none of the fighters seemed to be affected.
Joshua was not there to play around. As soon as the announcer said the fight could start, Joshua dashed.
Iron Fist was startled, and his first thought was to block the huge sword with his gauntlets, but that was a mistake he would regret. Joshua had used almost all of his points into strength, so as soon as the sword and the gauntlets collided, Iron Fist was sent flying.
He hit the wall, breaking a few ribs with the impact. Blood dripped from his head, as he had hit it too. Iron Fist's legs started to shake.
Even an experienced warrior would be scared after receiving such an impact. Deep down he knew it was an impossible fight to win, but he had to try. It was a fight to the death after all.
"Oh, right. I have to kill him to win this thing. I've only killed monsters thus far so I should be terrified at the thought of killing him. Why am I feeling so calm?" Joshua wondered.
The reason behind that was precisely Solan, the God behind his mark. The mark had the sole goal to create the perfect warrior, just like the God of War himself. It was not that Joshua had no feelings, but the mark forged him that way.
There was also the fact that this world was not a pretty one. Death followed everywhere, and after seeing the massacre back at the village, Joshua had already come to that conclusion.
Without being able to retreat, Iron Fist could only dash forward. His speed was not that big of a deal, and Joshua dodged his every move.
A left uppercut was easily dodged with a backstep. A hook was avoided by ducking underneath. No matter what move Iron Fist tried to do, Joshua dealt with it.
The reality was far worse than he thought. He knew his opponent was impossible to beat, but hitting a few times was doable. But, in the end, no matter how fast his punches were, none hit the target.
Joshua felt pity for that man. Unfortunately letting him live was against the rules of the arena, and Joshua needed to win to get some money. So, the only thing he could do was to grant Iron Fist a fast death.
Iron Fist lost his fighting spirit, and when he saw a huge sword coming for his head, he accepted it. A clean slash and a head flew across the arena. Blood spurted everywhere, and the scene of a headless body made the audience scream in excitement.
"Damn this young man is ruthless." Everyone that bet their money on Joshua was screaming in joy.
Those who did not were already thinking of betting on him the next time.
Joshua's fame rose. The fact that he won against a well-known fighter helped a lot in that regard. After leaving the arena feeling pity for that man, Joshua talked to one of the staff members to get his money.
A whopping amount of 5 gold coins. The winner of the said fight would get a percentage of all of the money that was bet in the fight. Joshua was not sure what percentage that was, but he was sure that a huge sum of money was getting bet in each fight.
Fighters could fight a second time in the night if they wanted to, and due to Joshua spending no energy on that fight, he decided to try another time. If he managed to win a similar amount, then they would have the money to travel.
~~~~
Inside that same room, Joshua waited for his name to be called again. But when he saw that he was facing an opponent with a level of 9, he was somewhat nervous.
"Frenzied Sword and Berserker, please follow me…" the same person called again.