Apollo didn't answer and just continued walking forward. However, the annoying fellow beside him didn't stop running his mouth.
"Hey, answer me! I'm talking to you!"
"Okay, Blondy, you've got my attention," Apollo stopped, turning to the egotistical noble. How come he always encountered people ? Is this the current meta in this world? he thought. He was tired of people . "Your words better be worth my time."
"Haha," Blondy laughed. "Man, can't you just answer your lord's request? Why act so tough when you only know a few tricks?"
"Lords? And what? Few tricks?" Apollo looked the man up and down, a mocking smile appearing on his face. "In my eyes, you're just a kid pretending to be strong. But deep inside, you're just a scared, brain-rotted young man who still pees his bed from time to time."
Hearing this, Blondy's expression turned incredulous, his eyes confused at first before his face reddened with fury.
"What did you just say?!" Blondy raised his voice, fists clenched and teeth gritted.
"You heard me," Apollo said before turning around and walking toward the arena in the distance.
"I will f*cking kill you!" Blondy shouted from behind.
Apollo didn't answer, but a satisfied expression appeared on his face. Annoying these egotistical, silver-spooned nobles was really pleasurable, especially seeing their reddened faces. Apollo felt great satisfaction. Would he do it again? Definitely! He even wanted to actively seek them out just to fulfill his desire.
Soon, the two of them jumped onto the stage, facing off against each other while Blondy stared at the Beggar with menacing eyes.
"I will make you regret what you just said to me," Blondy said. This was the final round to determine the winner of their room, and he would never hold back. He wouldn't even care if he 'accidentally' killed this annoying masked man.
"Then do it. You're just wasting your breath with empty threats," Apollo said, smirking at the blonde.
"Are you two ready?" the Referee asked after letting them trash-talk each other.
"I was born ready," Apollo said, quoting a phrase he'd heard from a movie back in his previous life.
"Ha, me too!" Blondy shouted.
"Then let the fight begin!" The Referee brought down his hand, signaling that the battle had begun.
Apollo readied himself, expecting his opponent to immediately attack him, but contrary to his expectations, Blondy just stood there, watching his every move.
Oh? Smart? Apollo raised an eyebrow.
"You know, I've been watching your previous fights," Blondy said. "And I think I've found your weakness."
"Is that so? Then do tell," the Beggar taunted, his expression remaining relaxed and calm.
"You don't engage much with your opponents and you prepare long-range attacks, which leads me to believe…" A confident smile appeared on Blondy's face. "You're not good at hand-to-hand combat."
Hearing this, Apollo's eyes 'widened.' "W-what do you mean? I'm actually very good at it."
"Haha, you stutter, you f*cking commoner who thinks just because he defeated a few people, he deserves to stand in front of me," Blondy laughed aloud. He was sure he was correct, especially when he heard his opponent stutter when he mentioned the weakness.
"W-why don't we find out then!" Apollo said, his voice 'shaking.'
"Sure, sure," Blondy said, lowering himself. "Too bad, hand-to-hand is my forte."
With a bang, Blondy instantly appeared in front of the masked man, his fist already coming down to hit Apollo's.
But in this slowed-down world, a cunning smile appeared on the Beggar's face.
Sigh… these people are really just fools.
With a resounding crack, Blondy's fist exploded into his opponent's face, surprising him. However, what happened next made him shiver. The "masked person" in front of him turned into water before splashing onto the ground.
"Wow, that's a great punch, to be honest, though it would have been better if you hit the real one," a voice sounded from behind. When Blondy turned around, he saw Apollo in the distance, looking at him with a mocking smile.
"You!" Blondy's face turned even redder than before. "You coward!"
"Coward?" Apollo chuckled. "Then let's see who the real coward is!"
He raised his hand and started gathering Qi from the surroundings into his palm, converting it into a fiery blaze that sparked around him. All this time, this was the technique he'd mainly been using, along with Hydra Mirage and True Hardening, if his opponent managed to close in on him. As time passed, his control over Fire Blast was becoming easier and faster.
This was probably why Blondy thought he wasn't good at hand-to-hand combat, which was somewhat true. Apollo still hadn't met anyone who made him think otherwise about his ability to fight with only his fists.
With his conjuring time faster than before, he fired at his opponent, the fireball speeding toward him threateningly!
Seeing this, Blondy used his Movement Technique, which made his body faster and lighter. He immediately dodged to the side, his previous spot exploding into charred ground.
"Sh*t!" Blondy cursed as he felt the intense heat. "Let's fight using only our fists!"
"Hahaha, no way!" Apollo shouted back as he fired another Fire Blast.
Continuous explosions sounded on the stage while Blondy dodged each of them. But some of the residue landed on him, making his steps unstable, which led to one of the Fire Blasts landing directly on him.
A burst of excitement erupted from the audience. Every time this half-masked fighter was on stage, explosions always rang out, which was exactly what the audience wanted.
The dust cloud churned, and Blondy flipped a couple of times in the air before landing on the edge of the stage.
His body was red, like he had just been cooked. After coughing a couple of times, Blondy wiped his mouth and saw blood on his hands.
"How does your own blood taste?" Apollo asked, walking towards his opponent with slow, deliberate steps.
Blondy looked down, not answering the question.
"Eh? What's wrong, dude?" Seeing that the student still didn't answer, Apollo couldn't help but tilt his head.
"How much?" Blondy asked, still looking down.
"How much?" Apollo repeated, confused by what his opponent meant.
"How much for you to jump off the stage? I will pay!" Blondy looked up, his eyes radiating determination, but there was still fear in them. F*ck it! This is humiliating, but if I can't defeat someone, then I will just have to use money!
Apollo couldn't help but feel shocked when he heard this. Seriously, you just got hit once, and now you're giving up on fighting and instead want to buy me off to forfeit this match? Just how cowardly are you?!