I Can Make Everything Level UP

Billy's third adversary was another well-built barbarian, but he could tell just by looking at the eyes of the guy that he wasn't an ordinary fighter. He had the brawn, the experience, and the brains to cause trouble for Billy. So, he raised his guard against that guy. Unfortunately, he couldn't be that cautious since the fights still could only last for thirty seconds.

The third opponent was a man in his twenties, but he had one hell of a black bear, to the point that he looked like a bear. Still, unlike his other opponents, the third barbarian assumed a defensive stance and waited for Billy to make the first move. That was quite the dangerous thing to do, but it means that he had some confidence in his defensive skills.

Billy charged at him, planning to overpower his defense, and tried to punch his stomach, but while moving insanely fast, the bearded barbarian moved both of his arms to block Billy's punch and grab his wrist at the same time. Billy tried to free himself, but the power of his grip was insane… The barbarian tried to lift him in the air and smash him to the ground soon after, but Billy used Palm Cannon with his left hand before he could do that. The adversary got surprised since he didn't imagine that Billy would be able to do something like that in such a situation, but he only clenched his teeth and accepted the pain.

The strike landed on his right side and made the ribs crack in several points, and Billy didn't hold back after all. Despite that, while his face was blue to the pain, the beardo still continued the motion to lift Billy.

"Seriously…" Billy thought.

For a moment, Billy almost used magic to free himself by electrocuting the adversary. Still, he stopped at the last moment and strengthened his legs with Stamina Manipulation and Rage. The beardo threw him to the ground in the next moment, but his back never hit the ground. His feet landed first, and he stopped the motion right there once they pierced the arena and granted him some stability.

In the next moment, Billy punched the hand that was grabbing his wrist and broke all the fingers there. The power of the grip decreased, and he used that chance to throw the beardo away from that position where his body was bent backward until he was in the complete inverse position. The barbarian didn't have the chance to react since Billy's physical strength exploded and surpassed his own. He landed outside the ring with his butt on the ground and took a deep sigh. He could have smacked his face or entire body against the floor if Billy wanted, but he didn't want to wound that guy more than necessary. He lost in all possible aspects…

"That one was tough, huh," Svan said.

"Yeah… I am not used to having an opponent like that," Billy said. "One that waits for the attacks."

"That is an unusual fighting style for us who most of the time have the physical advantage," Svan said.

Most of the fights now were ending with one guy outside the ring or knocked down on the floor. Thanks to that, the tournament was quickly reaching the finals. Eventually, the others had their turns as well, and Natalie ended up thrashing one of the guys who was looking too much at her boobs… Even though Billy wanted to break his teeth so much, she easily knocked him to the ground with a punch on the Solar plexus.

In the next round, Alexander had to fight a barbarian woman, and while Billy thought that he would have a hard time punching a girl. He didn't hesitate, and when he had the chance, he grabbed her arms and then tossed her away from the ring.

"Uwah… Look at him, returning so triumphantly after beating a girl," Billy said.

"I didn't beat her," Alexander said. "I tossed her way and this is a fighting tournament! Of course I had to wound her a bit!"

Alexander still had some room to grow if Billy could make fun of him easily like that. In any case, after Svan and Marie's turn, the third round ended after just two days, and the number of participants had decreased to 250. Things were finally going to end that week, but Billy felt that he was missing something, and he couldn't quite tell what it was…

The fourth round ended on a single day, and from the fifth onward, the organizers finally changed the rules… Still, Billy wished that they didn't change the thirty seconds rule in order to make that end faster. They made the fights last up to five minutes, and they put all the numbers into a jar and determined the next battles by using that. Billy's next opponent wasn't anything special again, but the following one…

"Hehehe, this will be fun," Marie said. "Don't worry, I will be gentle, kid."

Billy liked to hear those words, and Natalie stepped onto his feet thanks to it. He didn't react in any way, but her senses were getting sharper and sharper…

"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later," Billy said and then offered a handshake." Let's have a good fight."

"I will kick your ass," Marie said while accepting the handshake.

"You are contradicting yourself…" Billy said and then sighed.

Every day after the tournament, the group would reunite with their acquaintances to celebrate their victories, but that didn't they didn't do that since Billy was going to fight a friend. Things won't be easy the next time, and Marie wasn't the type who could switch off her mode that easy on a single night, so they had to keep their distance in order to do their best the next day. Naturally, they didn't have to kill each other, and they didn't intend to do that, but accidents happen from time to time, and both of them were going to do their best, so… it was impossible to say what might happen…