Werewolf's Gambit

Chapter 2

The next day found Ethan in the ring again. The teen was fighting a man nicknamed The Galaxy Man who possessed razor-sharp skills. Fortunately, Ethan could handle it. The match began the moment his opponent, Galaxy, entered the ring. Galaxy started slashing at the air right away, causing debris to flying into the air and for sharp indents to be in the wall. They would assume that this man was insane with unhinged his laughter was if they had no prior knowledge of skills. That wasn't the case at all, though. He was a man who loved to inflict pain in the most painful ways and his skill was a prove of that.

Galaxy Man’s talent was Attack Transport. He can generate attacks and direct them at his foe. This meant that he might damage his opponent without even touching them The attacks he would make and transfer are visible, which was drawback of the power. As long as he was quick enough, Ethan could simply swipe at the assaults and stop them. He did precisely that, but it was slow and some slashes still hit him – causing him to wince in pain. He watched his adversary more closely, his eyes following every move as he dodge and swiped at the attacks, his aim improving by the moment.

In the crowd, a brown haired man seated above was watching the fight below – his wood brown eyes taking in Ethan keenly.

‘This guy is dispatching my attacks with ease.’ Ethan’s opponent thought, irritated. ‘I should give him something to worry about!’

Galaxy Man leaped into the air and started to launch a barrage of attacks, twisting them this time to encircle his foe. “Let's see you chop through all of these!” He cackled, grinning widely.

‘This might be enough to hurt him, but it might not be enough to remove him from the fight. I also need to exercise caution. I don't have a lot of mana, after all. My mana regeneration isn't really all that quick to begin with.’ Galaxy Man pondered.

Being encircled, Ethan made the decision to use another trick himself.

A lot had changed since the discovery of abilities because humans have always been an inventive race. One could perform things that were formerly thought to be impossible thanks to their abilities. Some people called it magic. Others considered it to be a curse and worked to get rid of it. One's physical prowess was enhanced by abilities, which also gave one superpowers. In other words, someone with an ability was by nature more powerful than someone without one.

Neither contestant was helpless. The other was considering trying something different while one was giving it his all to win.

Ethan was totally encircled. He was unable to concentrate in one place as he had to dodged and weave through various attacks. It would be more difficult for him to focus on the true target because he would be exposing his behind to attacks.

He spun his body and muttered, "Hope I don't get dizzy!" He was able to s***h at the attacks that were coming his way thanks to his Werewolf speed and stamina. Though he was aware that neither he nor his opponent could continue in this manner indefinitely.

The attacks halted shortly after they started. Ethan quickly began slashing away at the remaining assaults.

's**t! I've run out of Mana!’ The Galaxy exclaimed internally in distress.

"Ha! You seem to be finished!" Ethan grinned and he started to run in the direction of his opponent. He prepared to attack with his right paw lifted in the air, but vision of a teenage girl right before his eyes distracted him.

“… Charlotte?"

"Help! Help me, Ethan!” His sister screamed, reaching out to him. “They’re gonna-” Suddenly, a hand covered her month. She started struggling in the person’s hold. A syringe was stabbed into her neck, causing her to scream behind the hand. As she lost consciousness, the vision before Ethan’s eyes faded away.

“Charlotte!” Ethan called out, falling into a void. He came back to the present with a gasp. He looked around, looking fir his sister. The teen was panicking that he didn’t see the attack coming his way and he was thrown back- hitting the cage with a loud bang.

The crowd were mumbling and shouting, asking him what was he doing. Everyone could see that he appeared to be lost in a fog or something.

“Kid! What the f**k are you doing?!” Alex screamed from where he was, worried with how Ethan was bleeding from the cuts inflicted on him.

“Lost in the clouds, kid? You’d die if you don’t concentrate!” Galaxy Man cackled, still levitating in the air.

“Charlotte…” Ethan called for his sister under his breath, his head bowed. He was grunting, tears of frustration welling in his eyes. Suddenly, he raised his head and let out a loud roar which had people covering their ears.

The Galaxy Man decided to profit from the Silver Fang's apparent state of confusion and generated barrage of attacks and sent it in the direction of his opponent after gathering what little Mana he had still remaining.

Ethan slashed at them rapidly, canceling them with his slashes that were coated with crimson energy before the onslaught could reach him. Nothing stood between him and his adversary at this point. He leaped at Galaxy Man and deliver a punch to his check, causing the man to drop to the fall with a loud bang and creating a small crater in it. Ethan descended upon him, his knee connecting to the man’s stomach and causing debris and dust to fly in the air. Not yet done, Ethan delivered a punch to the man’s face that created a small shock wave that cleared the dust. He didn’t stop until Galaxy Man was out cold, battered and bleeding. Ethan picked up his body via grabbing his neck and roared in his face before throwing his back away – the unconscious man hitting the walls and breaking it. His motionless body landed on the stony ground with a loud and wet thud.

For a few seconds, the crowd was silent. It was obvious there was a problem with the Silver Fang based on what they had witnessed just before the battle concluded. However, as soon as the first person began to clap, the others did so as well, and the audience quickly burst into applause. Despite the fact that the game's outcomes were largely predictable.

Ethan reverted back into his human form after some few moments, Alex’s voice coaxing him into a calm state. The teen looked unhinged and Alex feared the worst. The two hurriedly left the arena, Alex taking him to the lower room and out the back door to get some fresh air and tell him what happened in the ring – which Ethan did after he came down from his current state.

After his second match that evening, he earned a total of $8,000 for his efforts. Even though it was a lot, it wasn't sufficient to cover the ransom. He knew he needed to battle more, but he was worried that he might be out of mana.

He decided to retire home after the second match, bidding goodbye to Alex who watched him go with a worried look on his face. Ethan reached his residence and he stared at the building with blank eyes. It took a while before he made his way inside. Along with his uncle and his sister, Ethan resided in an apartment complex. However, the family had never been the same since her kidnapping a few days prior.

Since learning that his niece had been taken, his uncle had only experienced insomnia. He had made every effort to locate her. He reported her missing to the police, but they continue to say they have no leads on her possible kidnappers.

Ethan was silent when he entered their home, not wanting to alert his uncle – who was sleeping sprawled on the couch with the television on. It was the first time in a week since his uncle had slept this soundless and Ethan was glad. He dropped his duffle bag on the floor and used his werewolf strength to take his uncle to bed. He tucked his uncle in and left the room, leaving the man to rest. Ethan took a bath, his mind running back to the vision he had saw. When he was done with his shower, he collapsed onto his bed with a towel on his head and went into a deep sleep.