Who said this was a fist fight?

In terms of technique, Will was outclassed. J.J.’s attacks carried speed and weight beyond simple magic strengthening. The guy knew how to punch, how to kick, he knew proper forms that took advantage of his height and weight.

He had thought for a while that no one could be as skilled as Aoi, but that was wrong. This guy had clearly devoted himself to his training. It was humbling, but also frustrating.

Will felt like a punching bag. His attacks weren’t landing, he was being chased from one corner to the other. The only reason he wasn’t on the floor with a bloodied face was that his strengthening magic was beyond what J.J. could fully penetrate through. That said, if things kept going his way, Will’s defenses would give out and J.J. would be able to finish him off. And adding to all that…

“Yeah! Yeah! Hit him harder!”

“Fuck that pretty boy up!”

“Gouge his eyes out, J.J.!”

“You fucking suck, blondie!”

The audience on the second level was rooting against him. Will had never been in any sort of competition before, and he couldn’t say this felt nice.

‘Hahaha! You’re not popular at all here, Will.’

Whatever. He just had to focus on the guy in front of him, nothing else.

Will managed to dodge a jab with the swaying of his upper body and escaped the corner, going back to the middle of the ring. It was there that he noticed something.

J.J. let out a frustrated grunt. He was panting, and the intensity of his aura wasn’t as visible as it was at the start of the fight.

“Wake up, you fool!” Aoi shouted from outside the ring. “This isn’t a fist fight!”

It was like an electric current let his brain start working again. Yeah, he really was a fool. J.J.’s technique was so mesmerizing that Will had completely forgotten. This wasn’t kickboxing or MMA. This was a fight between mages, aether users. J.J. had an advantage in physical technique, but that was it. All this time, he had been fighting a punching bag that absorbed most of the damage of his attacks. As frustrating as getting punched was, seeing your attacks have barely any effect had to be worse. And if Will’s punches and kicks weren’t landing, then he had a couple other options.

J.J. was tired. What’s more, they had switched places and now J.J. was in the corner. Will made his choice.

He felt the warmth of his aether gathering in his right hand, concentrating. The purple-colored aura became thicker by the second, alerting J.J. that something was going to happen. Too late.

Will aimed his right hand and held his wrist with the left to keep himself steady. First came the sound, like a mix between a gunshot and a whip cracking the sound barrier. The next thing the audience saw was a blindingly fast beam of purple light hitting J.J. in the chest, pushing him back against the corner before he fell.

It wasn’t a beam, but a single bullet made of aether. The beam-like effect came from the streak of aura it left in its path. It was fast and effective, perhaps just a step below a real gun, but it was still incomplete. Regardless, it was Will’s first proper technique using evocation magic.

He examined J.J. from a distance. No visible injuries, but the aura surrounding him was quickly fading. The man clutched at his chest to confirm that there wasn’t a hole in there, and was relieved when he found himself still in one piece. He had used all of his remaining aether to defend against Will’s bullet, and as a result, he could no longer stand up and fight.

“Combatant J.J. is unable to continue fighting! The winner is W.S.!”

The arena broke out in a mix of cheers, boos and shouts. In the mix, Will was able to hear a few interesting things.

“What was that!? Evocation magic?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“I thought he was going to throw a fireball, but..”

“It’s a gun! A magic gun!”

Will couldn’t stop his own smile. Shutting up the people who were booing him just before felt pretty good.

‘Man, you really are petty sometimes…’

‘Yeah, you’re rubbing off on me.’

Now that the fight was over, Will walked up to J.J. and offered him a hand. The man smiled, took it and stood up with Will’s help. He had to lean on the fence to stay on his feet, however.

“Boy, that was some attack…” J.J. said, laughing tiredly. “I’ve never seen a concentrated mass of pure aether like that. Why didn’t you open up with that?”

“I’m… not very accurate with it yet,” Will admitted. He then smirked. “I also got caught up in your pace and wanted to fight you head on. I clearly had no chance there, so…”

“Man, I need a weapon like that…” J.J. sighed. “Something powerful to finish things off. No matter how much I hit you, you wouldn’t budge. Your strengthening magic is absurd, too.”

“Nevermind that. You okay?” Will asked, not wanting to talk more about his own powers.

“Yeah, I managed to block it at the last second. Almost felt like being punched in the gut, only it drained all my aether instead of knocking the air out of me.” He shook his head with a smile. “Well, I lost, but it was interesting. I think I learned a lot about what I’m lacking. Thank you.”

“Same here.”

“Good luck on your next fight. Now that you beat me, you HAVE to win it all.”

Will chuckled. “I’ll try.”