Deconstruct!

Instantly, Leon began deconstructing certain important components of the pair of gauntlets.

The original VX-09 Emberfist gauntlets was designed only to be used by Cyber Gladiators. This was because the design, musculature frame, and pressure induced when using the gauntlets were too strong for weaker Classes at F Rank.

A NetRunner or a Mechanist casually using the gauntlets could result in crushed bones and ruptured muscles, even a Gene Augur would not be comfortable fighting with it but that was for F Rank Ascended.

As an E Rank Mechanist now, Leon's physique was far stronger than an F Rank Cyber Gladiator's physique.

Still, he decided to Deconstruct the elements of the gauntlets that made them come with such side effects. His intention was to remove the old then replace a few core elements of the gauntlets with the new design of his modified and improved VX-09 Emberfist design.

Once he deconstructed a few main components of the gauntlet that made it so hazardous to Ascended with weaker physiques, his ADE flared again.

Construct!

By the time Leon entered the octagon cage, Daren's VX-09 Emberfirst gauntlets were no longer the same.

Now, they were Leon's modified VX-09 Emberfist gauntlets.

The moment Leon entered the octagon, most of the spectators recognized him as loud chatter immediately erupted in the spectator stands.

Having received the information ahead of time, the commentator capitalized on the opportunity to hype up the next battle.

"The moment you've all been waiting for…"

"It's Time!"

"Introducing the challenger, hailing from the West with an outstanding record of 52 fights, 0 draws, and 0 losses, the Ring Man from the West!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, Ring Man the fighter is actually someone we all know, Ringman the fighter is Thomas Riley!"

BOOM!

The spectator stands erupted in loud cheers.

"This is a man who bravely fought against the terrorists, a warrior forged in blood, a true fighter!"

"Now let's get ready to rumble!"

"Are you ready?"

The second commentator finished it. "LET'S GET IT ON!"

The moment the octagon cage door was closed, the excitement in this arena rose to a crescendo.

There was no citizen of Leviathan Quay who didn't see the videos yesterday, now they were eager to see what Thomas Riley could do in a ring.

After the video yesterday, people who had knowledge about Ascended speculated about his Class and Rank. Today, they would finally confirm it and for some of them, this was even more exciting than if he won or lost.

Boogeyman was half a head taller than Leon, but it looked like he towered over him. He looked buff and extremely muscular.

He wore a simple black vest and black pants, exposing his arms that were covered with fish-like scales and what seemed like gills.

This Geneform wielded a Spear as his weapon of choice.

Leon held his leather backpack on his right hand as he looked at his opponent. As for Boogeyman, this E Rank Gene Augur had a look of curiosity on his face for the first time today as he scrutinized the new challenger.

"You're really that guy?"

Leon didn't answer.

He looked at Leon's fists at the familiar gauntlets. "How did you get that guy's gauntlets? You know him before?" Boogeyman chuckled and said. "What you did out there yesterday was really impressive, but that's that and this is me".

"I think you're a Mechanist, how exactly do you intend to beat me?"

GONG!

The bell rang and Leon immediately bent down and opened his backpack's zip, rummaging inside while leaving his body completely exposed to his opponent.

Boogeyman had an amused expression on his face as he scrutinized his opponent. 'Is he dumb and deliberately underestimating me by leaving himself open like that or he's that confident?'

As an E Rank Ascended, this Gene Augur had no doubt in his ability to close this distance in less than a second and attack his opponent before he could react but he didn't do it.

This was because as an Ascended who fought for money, he understood fan psychology. Despite the fact that this was Thomas Riley's first time fighting here, Boogeyman was keenly aware that this guy was already a fan favorite.

And as a fan favorite who gained his fame through such noble means, if he beat his opponent mercilessly to a pulp, there was a high chance that he'll lose all fan favorability.

The fans would turn on him and hate him for beating Thomas Riley in such a merciless manner and for a gladiator who fought for money in the octagon, that was bad for business.

His lips curled up as he watched the Mechanist rummage through his bag. "You do know that guns are not allowed right?" He laughed.

Just as he laughed, Leon took that window and finally removed his left hand from the bag in a swift motion as he hurled a sharp dagger at his opponent.

Enhance!

With Enhance, the weapon's sharpness and speed in the air quadrupled.

It cut through the air at a rapid speed.

Boogeyman's eyebrows raised in surprise but he still reacted, taking a stance and quickly flicking his Spear up to intercept.

Clang!

The dagger was deflected but in that time, Leon already pulled the 2 machetes out of the leather bag even as 3 different sword drones emerged from the back, hovering around the octagon cage.

With Drone Control Matrix giving him an alternative vision through the eyes of the drones and with the gauntlets holding the 2 machetes, Leon charged at the Gene Augur but Boogeyman was unfazed. He had a faint smile on his face.

When Leon swung his machetes, he responded calmly in an effectively manner.

CLANG!

The stronger one between the 2 Ascended revealed itself immediately as Leon recoiled after the clash, but he didn't react nor was he surprised.

It was normal for a Gene Augur to have more STR than a Mechanist.

Boogeyman pressed his strength advantage, attacking the Mechanist from every side to overwhelm him like an avalanche.

Leon was forced to block.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The force behind the Gene Augur's attacks made Leon wince. His wrists would have ached in normal circumstances, but the VX-09 Emberfist gauntlets perfectly absorbed all the damage.

After a rapid and clean combo pushing him backward, Boogeyman ended it with an oblique kick targeted at Leon's left leg.

But seeing it through one of the sword drones, Leon's footwork saved him as he stepped to the side on time to dodge.

Boogeyman tsked, then he resumed his offensive.

The Spear quickly overwhelmed the 2 cutlass, showing the quality disparity between both weapons as they started being nicked apart, showing cracks, and then the sword drones finally attacked.

One of them shot down from the back at a rapid speed, stabbing towards Boogeyman's head.

The Gene Augur sensed it as he somersaulted to the side to dodge, but another sword drone instantly shot towards him, forcing him to roll backward, but then the last sword drone also attacked.

Mid-roll, Boogeyman could not dodge a 3rd consecutive time. He tried to change the direction of his roll but he wasn't fast enough.

Bam!

The sword drone missed its mark which was his spine but it managed to cut through his side, the speed and force enabling it to bypass the defense of the E Rank Gene Augur and cut deeply into his ribs.

"Ugh…!" Boogeyman gasped as his blood flowed, leaving the spectators shocked as they exploded.

When Daren fought against this guy, his attacks met their target a lot of times but due to his ridiculous defense, they were mostly just tiny nicks and cuts.

But now, Leon managed to do what Daren failed to do in 3 minutes in less than a minute- to make this man bleed.

Seeing himself bleed, Boogeyman grinned, then his ADE flared.

Cell Repair!

He maintained eye contact with Leon as if taunting him as his body visibly healed from his injuries but Leon didn't react.

Instead, he rushed towards him again to engage in close combat.

In close combat, Leon's skills matched the Gene Augur but the innate class advantage was just too big as once again Boogeyman began pushing him back, slowly overpowering him.

Even with the sword drones interfering, after the first attack, Boogeyman got used to them as he intercepted them every single time.

Slowly, he began pushing Leon from the center of the octagon.

Gradually, his hits began connecting as he gave Leon his first injury. After that first solid hit, more nicks and cuts slowly started accumulating on the Mechanist's body as Boogeyman dominated.

Leon tried to attack from increasingly unconventional angles with the help of his omnidirectional vision and sword drones but Boogeyman reacted to it all.

It was clear that this was a veteran Gene Augur.

Despite how intense the battle was, both fighters refrained from using a few of their core abilities, still Boogeyman dominated.

It was a testament to Leon's close combat skills which was never a big trait of Mechanists that he managed to survive this long, but he was faltering.

Attack after attack, hit after hit, Boogeyman seemed to strike at the heart of his combat style, unraveling his style. Every hit seemed to demoralize the Mechanist, weakening his resolve.

After a minute, one of the machete finally shattered.

CRACK!

That broke Thomas Riley's resolve even more, he barely kept on fighting.

From the center of the octagon, after more than 2 minutes of this battle, Boogeyman finally pushed Leon to the edge of the ring.

Whether coincidentally or not, it was close to where his leather bag was.

After another heavy attack with his Spear that made Leon's legs wobble unsteadily despite blocking it, Boogeyman finally saw a clear opening and without hesitation, he lunched a devastating straight kick at Leon's ribs.

BAM!

The kick connected and instantly, Leon hunched over as he coughed blood.

Before he could react, Boogeyman landed another kick to the side of his body, this one sending him flying and coincidentally flying towards his leather bag.

Leon rolled on the octagon like a ragdoll but the moment he fell just beside his bag even as Boogeyman chased him, his eyes gleamed. 'Got you!' He let go of the final cutlass and dipped his hand into the bag.

'Something's wrong'. Boogeyman thought but he wasn't particularly afraid, he was just curious to know what the Mechanist had to do next.

He saw Leon pull out a circular-shaped gray object.

Before he could react, the object detonated.

POOF!

Thick black smoke instantly rose up in the octagon, covering more than half of the space inside, covering both fighters.

Overheat Drive!

Enhance!

The spectators couldn't see through the smoke, all they heard was a pained grunt and a heavy thudding sound of someone collapsing to the ground.

They waited, and slowly, the smoke dissipated.

When the smoke dissipated, with all of them on their feet now, the spectators stared into the octagon and what they saw left them shocked.

Boogeyman was on his knees, his muscles strained and stretched taut as he struggled to breathe. His face was already turning purple.

Behind him, Thomas Riley squatted with his hand tightly wrapped around his opponent's neck in an extremely tight Rear Naked Choke!

The pair of gauntlets had a firm immovable grip.

With Overheat Drive temporarily doubling his strength for 10 seconds, and with Enhance directly enhancing the weapon which also affected Overheat Drive, Leon held Boogeyman in an unbreakable chokehold.

The spectators stands became eerily quiet as they watched, waiting for the outcome.

Boogeyman's body jerked, his now red eyes bulged in disbelief. He struggled but he couldn't budge the firm grip that was around his neck, and slowly, he started losing touch with reality.

Within a few more seconds, Boogeyman was put to sleep.

GONG!

"And the winner is Ring Man!"

"Victory through a Rear Naked Choke!"

The spectator stands erupted.

Leon finally let go of his opponent as he collapsed to the ground with a thud even as medical practitioners rushed in.

Leon looked down at him and flexed his hands. Despite all his preparations, he almost broke free. 'What a tough bastard'. He thought.

In that moment, as the whole arena cheered and sang his name, his System lit up with a new notification.

DING!

~----~

[You have gained +7 Ascended Essence!]

[Ascended Counter: 261/2000]

~----~

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.