"You're one of the two kids everyone's talking about tonight, eh?"
Another fighter.
"Let's get this over with quick. Are you a stray fighter?" I asked the hairy man with dog ears on his head.
"Ha, don't think too highly of yourself, kid. You only just started out tonight," he said, cracking his knuckles as he stepped into my territory.
Fighting stray fighters wasn't in my plans, but they've proven useful for improving myself.
I had two more fights after the first one I had when I set my own territory—all of them stray fighters.
I won both thanks to setting up rules and restrictions for the fights.
"Answer the question! Are you a stray fighter or not?" I tried to mimic Fran's cold and commanding tone as much as I could. But in the end, I don't have that one inside me.
"Ha! I think it's pretty obvious I'm a stray fighter. You should already know your neighbors by now."
The people around my territory are all Snap's rivals—and one guy with a big territory who's an outsider to my plan.
"Then I'll set the rules for our match."
"Anything goes, right?"
"No. The fight will be points-based," I said, a grin forming on my face.
"Points!? What're you talking about?"
"We both start at one hundred points, and every time an attack connects that's punch-related, you lose a point," I explained confidently.
"Ha! You really think you have the right to—"
"It's my territory, and I can choose the rules to achieve a win."
"Y-you can't do that."
"Nothing says I can't. This place's most important rules are territory defense and the 'no magic or weapons' rule."
No fighter ever sets up rules here. Everyone's so used to just starting a fight with no concern for rules that my approach seems completely alien to them.
"No fists? That kid's last fight had a rule that, to win, you couldn't dodge any attacks. If you dodged, you lost automatically"
"That's cheating. I'm sure he dodged some attacks while his opponent followed that rule."
"No, the kid didn't dodge anything. He took every punch to the face or body and stood his ground."
The chatter of the small crowd that had gathered around my territory helped bring more of the dog man's fans over.
"I have no reason to accept those rules. No one does!"
"It's all part of the negotiation. When a fighter with territory goes to his neighbor to defeat them and earn more land, they both have to negotiate the terms of the fight, isn't that right?"
The negotiation is usually just about the territory the winner gets.
But setting rules for the fight is also possible, especially since different martial arts styles are in play.
"Negotiation do—"
Predictably, the other two also tried to argue the same point.
"Negotiation is also used by stray fighters. Did you forget they can negotiate to steal territory from others?"
He flinched, realizing I was playing by the rules of this underground arena.
"As I said, no punch-related attacks, or you'll lose points. The winner is whoever has the most points by the end."
"F-fine! I don't even need my fists to beat your sorry face, kid."
"Since I have no real fans, you don't have to worry about someone from the public acting as referee, right?"
"You dream big if you think someone would risk anything to give a kid an advantage."
Looks like we reached an agreement, dog man.
"Then let's start. Remember, no punches or you lose..." I declared just before the match began.
We didn't set any negotiation stakes for the winner or loser. Stray fighters usually don't bet anything anyway, so it's not a problem for now. But I'll have to consider what to bet when I fight for actual territory.
I chose this specific set of restrictions because my opponent had clearly focused on his upper body, leaving his lower half noticeably weaker.
As soon as we began, I saw him struggling with his muscle memory. He had to force himself not to throw a punch, or he'd fall behind in points.
I feinted a quick, weak kick. He dodged with ease.
Another swing—this time aiming at his calf. Another dodge.
But this time, I closed the distance right after he dodged.
I raised my arms and clenched my fists. His muscle memory kicked in, and he responded instinctively with a quick jab.
I blocked the jab and immediately retreated.
"That's one less point for you," I claimed the lead in this fight.
"Wha—? That's..." he growled, baring his canines in an attempt to intimidate me. "I'll murder you, you little brat!"
He lunged at me, pulling his fist back for a punch.
I raised my guard, ready to take the hit and continue the fight.
What he did next surprised me the most.
"Wha—?"
He grabbed my arm roughly, shaking my entire body as he yanked me to the side.
As I stumbled, still in his grip, he aimed for a knee hit at my gut.
His knee, however, had very little power behind it—clearly improvised.
While his knee was still in contact with my stomach, I used my free arm to hook around his knee joint. I yanked it upward with force.
He lost his balance and fell, still holding my arm.
His back hit the ground. Dust rose up. I raised my elbow before he could react.
I dropped it hard against that weak spot just below the ribs—his solar plexus, I think?
It seemed I was right, as his body reacted with a sudden jolt, his legs kicking once before I heard it—not a scream of pain, but a dry gasp, the sound of all the air leaving his lungs.
He froze, then acted on pure instinct.
A punch—quick and primal, driven by survival instincts. It connected fully with my face, sending me flying off my advantageous position.
I hit the sandy ground of the arena.
Looking back, I saw the dog-eared man curled up, still struggling to breathe.
I couldn't let this perfect opportunity slip by. I had to finish the fight.
"Wait!"
An old man stepped in front of me as I charged toward the dog demi-human. His arms were out, his stance firm.
"You win! He can't continue," he said, his eyes burning with determination as he looked at me.
"D-don't, trainer... I can..." my opponent could barely form the skeleton of a sentence.
"Listen up, Wild Hound. You're already two points behind, you lack proper training in your lower body because we focused too much on your arms, and this kid knows how to fight under this ruleset."
The trainer didn't even glance at the curled-up fighter. He kept his eyes locked on me.
"So that means I win," I confirmed.
"Indeed. You proved yourself better tonight. But don't think it'll stay like this. We'll grow stronger and beat you another day."
I let out a long sigh, stepping into the middle of my arena and crossing my arms.
"We'll see what happens that day," I muttered under my breath.
The old man heard me despite the loud noise of the arena—the voices of spectators shouting, claiming winnings, and discussing the fight. He silently nodded and walked toward Wild Hound.
He helped him stand, swung Wild Hound's arm around his shoulder for balance, and led him away.
"You've got a good trainer," I commented to myself, remembering the bastard who tried to use me.
They stopped for a moment. Wild Hound looked back at me with an angry, hurt expression. His clenched fist trembled.
A single word from the old man was enough. The dog demi-human turned his head forward and lowered it.
Another battle won. That makes four victories since establishing my own territory.
More people are gathering to see my fights. I don't pay them that much attention, but I can make out a couple of things they manage to say.
They tend to talk about having fun watching fights that set up a rule for both fighters. They say that it makes the fight a bit more interesting as the two fighters have to come up with solutions to the restriction.
While they may see it as mere spectacle, I use it as my weapon to fight here.
Restricting the possible reactions, approaches, and possibilities makes it easier to think of ways to defeat your opponent.
With a restriction, we both have less options to go for, which makes fights just a bit easier to predict as a fighter.
That is interesting and all. But it won't help me on my objective—defeat Snap.
I'll have to go to his territory to challenge him, meaning that I won't be able to rely on my restrictions to win our fight.
But that's exactly why I'm holding my territory.
Snap already promised me that we can fight one last time. If I defend my territory, he'll have to come to me and accept my ruleset.
Extending my territory will make it easier for me to win.
But, to gain more area, I have to be challenged by neighboring territories, and not a single one has come to fight against me.