Tetsuro lost.
The eight-time undefeated champion just got knocked out of the ring by a kid who'd climbed to the 200th floor yesterday.
The crowd erupted. Half of them were shouting in disbelief. The other half were ecstatic gamblers who'd bet on the underdog at absurd odds and just made a fortune.
Tetsuo stared at his younger brother's crumpled form outside the ring. His brain refused to process what he'd just witnessed.
This has to be a dream.
"Fighter Tetsuro is unable to continue! Knockout!" The referee's voice boomed through the speakers. He'd seen enough upsets to keep his composure. "The winner is John Smith!"
Medical staff rushed to the sidelines as Liam hopped down from the ring. He heard a commotion and glanced back.
Tetsuro was waking up. His body was a mess of bruises and fractures, every movement sending fresh waves of agony through his nervous system. He could barely lift his head, but he shoved the medics aside with trembling hands.
"Smith!" Tetsuro shouted, his voice raw with pain and desperation.
Liam stopped and turned.
Tetsuro struggled to meet his eyes. "The power I've been chasing my whole life... it was all about testing myself in the ring. Pure martial arts against the best fighters in the world. But I failed. So tell me..." His voice cracked. "What power are you chasing?"
Liam considered the question for a moment. "If I had to put it into words? I guess I'm pursuing the continuous accumulation and transformation of aura itself. Pretty ordinary, really."
What he actually meant was the endless refinement and sublimation of life essence. But saying that out loud would've sounded pretentious as hell, so he'd translated it into simpler terms.
"Having more aura doesn't guarantee you're stronger," Liam added with a slight smile. "And it definitely doesn't guarantee you'll win. For me, strength is just a natural consequence of growth. There are so many powerful people in this world. How could I possibly challenge them all?"
He looked at Tetsuro, whose face had gone blank with confusion. "You said superpowers are flashy garbage. That they're unfair to someone dedicated to martial arts. That they're not what you're really pursuing. But from where I'm standing, you're just running away."
Tetsuro's breath caught.
"I've heard of plenty of martial artists who naturally awakened Nen while pursuing their craft," Liam continued. "After learning to control their aura, they kept training as martial artists. They fought stronger and stronger enemies without compromising their philosophy. But you? You got comfortable. You're a genius, you're an expert, and you don't want to step outside that comfort zone. You're afraid of losing in the ring. You're afraid of falling from 'genius' to 'nobody.' You're not willing to become a rookie again. A beginner."
"Okay, that's enough," Tetsuro choked out. Tears were streaming down his face now.
"Were you even affected by my ability in the ring?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "From the very beginning?"
Liam just smiled, waved, and walked away.
Behind him, Tetsuro's voice rose into a broken wail. "That's why I hate superpowers! It's so unfair! It's not—"
The medical staff cut him off, barking orders as they loaded him onto a stretcher.
Liam walked toward the exit, lost in thought.
Maybe Tetsuro had a point.
If his Manipulation ability had worked, if Liam had been forced back to baseline human strength with no access to Nen, then yeah. He probably would've lost. Tetsuro's technique was flawless. His physical conditioning was top-tier. In a pure fistfight between equals, the martial artist would've dominated.
But reality didn't deal in hypotheticals.
You can use Nen to force both fighters back to zero. And I can use Nen to make myself immune to that effect. That's actually pretty fair when you think about it.
He found Shizuku and Kurapika waiting near the corridor. Wing was with them too.
"Looks like I won," Liam said.
Wing smiled. "I'm looking forward to our match."
"What's the point of looking forward to it?" Liam asked. "Can't we just apply for the battle system and set our availability to the same day? There's a high probability we'd get matched together."
Wing blinked, then laughed. He pushed his glasses up. "You know what? I like that. Straightforward. Only by fighting strong opponents can you truly improve. When do you want to schedule it? I have eighty-seven days left in my preparation period."
"Let's talk while we walk," Liam said. "Come up to my room."
He'd been assigned a personal room on the 200th floor. Free accommodation. No reason not to use it.
The four of them headed upstairs. Once they were settled, Wing spoke up suddenly.
"Just so you know, I'm an Enhancer. In a head-to-head ring match, I have a natural advantage."
Liam paused mid-sip from his water bottle. "Really? Doesn't matter. Well, I just won a match, so I've got exactly ninety days left in my preparation period. How about we schedule our fight for ninety days from now?"
"Ninety days?" Wing looked surprised. He adjusted his glasses, frowning slightly. Master Bisky had given him a mission. He needed to win ten matches and earn the right to challenge a Floor Master. The sooner the better.
"Not just ninety days," Liam clarified. "When both of us have won nine matches each."
Wing's eyes widened.
"Right now, you and I are both at one win, zero losses," Liam continued. "Before ninety days are up, we each need to rack up nine wins. Today's February 15th, so let's set the match for May 15th. Before that date, we both reach a nine-win record. During that time, we can watch each other's matches. Scout each other out. Then on May 15th, we fight. Whoever wins gets their tenth victory and earns the right to challenge a Floor Master. Sound good?"
Wing's expression shifted from surprise to genuine excitement. "That's perfect."
"But I have one condition." He stood up, his demeanor suddenly serious. "Since we have three months to prepare... let's compare our Ren."
His eyes sharpened. Aura exploded from his body like white flames erupting from a furnace. The pressure filled the room instantly.
Kurapika flinched, his breath catching. He'd been around Nen users for only a few days, but even he could feel the difference. This elegant young man's aura was overwhelming.
Liam stood and released his own Ren. His aura surged outward, blazing with maximum output.
It was like two fighters touching gloves before a boxing match. A ritual. A mutual acknowledgment of strength.
After several seconds, both of them had a clear sense of each other's power.
The difference is about double.
Liam, Shizuku, and Wing all came to the same conclusion simultaneously.
Wing's Ren output was nearly twice Liam's.
And Wing was an Enhancer.
That meant Ko, Ken, and every basic offensive and defensive technique would hit at full efficiency. Enhancers were built for close combat. It was their natural battlefield.
On top of that, Wing's total aura reserves eclipsed Liam's by a massive margin.
"Looks like winning against you is going to be pretty difficult," Liam said, letting his aura settle back into Ten. He exhaled slowly.
Wing's spiked aura smoothed out as well, returning to its calm, flowing state. He adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Well then. See you on May 15th."
Shizuku frowned. "That's not quite accurate, is it?"
Wing blinked, then laughed sheepishly. Right. They'd both agreed to win eight more matches before May 15th. They'd inevitably run into each other during that time. They'd probably communicate, watch each other's fights, maybe even train in the same facilities.
After Wing left, Kurapika turned to Liam. "You used the same ability you used to control me on yourself, didn't you? That's why Tetsuro's ability didn't work on you."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "You figured that out already? Not bad."
"I'm working under the assumption that there's no such thing as an incomprehensible Nen ability," Kurapika said evenly. "If there's an ability to control others, then logically there should be methods to prevent being controlled by similar techniques."
His brow furrowed slightly. "But during your fight with Tetsuro, your aura barely changed. Even when you knocked him out of the ring, I didn't see any major fluctuations."
"That's because I was using Ryu," Liam explained. "I've gotten pretty good at using it subtly. A beginner like you wouldn't notice unless you were specifically looking for it." He grinned. "If you'd been using Gyo to focus your observation, you might've caught some of the details."
"I see. My training is still shallow." Kurapika nodded thoughtfully.
Shizuku spoke up. "Wing said he's an Enhancer. It doesn't seem easy for you to win against him in the ring."
Liam was a Manipulator. His biggest trump card was the Star Mark, and Shizuku didn't think he'd use that openly in front of thousands of spectators. It didn't seem necessary. But without it, the matchup looked brutal.
"Having a clear goal makes training so much easier," Liam said cheerfully. "I think part of the reason my progress has slowed down recently is because I hit a bottleneck. But maybe it's also because I didn't have a concrete challenge to aim for."
Kurapika looked up. "It's been three months for both of you. Your opponent will probably get stronger too. He might not be at the same level on May 15th as he is now."
Everyone had ninety days. It seemed unlikely Liam could close a gap this large just through Ken grinding and basic techniques.
"So I need to approach this from the Nen ability angle," Liam mused.
He wasn't planning to use the Star Mark in the ring. Too obvious. Flying Star Bubble was banned for the same reason. Too identifiable.
Spirit Gun was risky in a crowded arena. The audience were all civilians. If a charged aura bullet went wide and hit the stands, people would die. Unless he had perfect angle control, that technique needed to be used carefully.
I need to develop something new.
Something suited to my fighting style. Something effective in a ring format. Something that could let me punch above my weight class.
"So over the next three months, I need to handle basic training, develop a new ability, and win eight more matches," Liam said with a grin. "Looks like it's going to be pretty fulfilling!"
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