Chapter 129 - 129. One And Done
The boy who had challenged Art looked pretty fit overall. He had an athletic build and was standing on the balls of his feet. "You think that you are so tough that you can weigh yourself down and still win, huh? I\'ll teach you a lesson." The cocky attitude trumped anything that the others had done when showing off the golden egg.
"I think that is the co-captain on the soccer team. Normally it\'s a junior but they voted for him since he is their best player." Laura recognized him since she had always been friendly and met a lot of people. With her super power she had just emphasized this fact.
"So he might be fast and quick to react. Art is going to be slower, but he will hit harder for sure." Jane was already breaking down how she thought the fight would go.
"I think Art had this in the bag. He is slower but with the running we have done, I think his stamina would have caught up more than he realizes. The runs we do in the morning, then gym class, then training at night. It is all going to add up."
The three watched as the two boys took their positions. Garnet had stepped forward as the referee. She lowered her hand in between the two. "Ready?"
"Ready." The soccer co-captain was flexing and bouncing on his toes.
"Ready?"
"Ready" Art was already in his stance and waiting for the call.
"Fight!" Garnet raised her hand and took a few steps back.
The soccer co-captain leaped forward in an instant. His super power was clearly something to do with muscle reflex. He was able to make his movements much faster than any of them had expected. However, Art wasn\'t a fool and had prepared for an incoming attack. He knew he was slower and wouldn\'t let it end his battle too soon.
Art had raised his hands to block the quick punch from the soccer co-captain. The punch hit Art on his arm and stopped dead. The added weights made him much harder to budge from his spot. The co-captain did not expect this and hesitated in his retreat. This left Art with the chance to swing his own punch.
The left hook from Art came like a boulder at the co-captains face. His cocky attitude had left his eyes and was instead replaced with a dull shock. When Art made contact the fight was already over before it had even started. The added force behind the punch from the weights and Art\'s power adding speed was enough to knock the soccer co-captain flat to the ground.
\'Asher was right. I can make these little metal beads move faster.\' Art was thanking Asher in his mind and showing him a wide smile. This proved the theory that he had had and made him feel much closer to his best friend. Art was only able to exert minimal force on the metal due to his lack of understanding, but it was enough to add the force to decide a battle.
The co-captain was grabbed and help up by his friends while a staff member came to him with an ice pack. The damage wasn\'t severe, but he was stunned and needed some time to rest. "That was some punch kid. Asher wasn\'t lying about you. But that force you used will damage your hands over time. Practice the proper punching technique tonight and make sure you purchase a pair of padded gloves from the school store."
"Of course, I will do that after I have the points." Art would be a fool to ignore Garnet\'s advice and readily accepted it.
"Dude, that was crazy. You put him on the floor in a second. I didn\'t know your left hook was so terrifying." Asher ran over and fist bumped Art.
"Your knuckles are all red, get an ice back too." Jane was the first to notice what Garnet had spoken about just a second ago. Art\'s knuckles on his left hand were already turning red from the punch. This was a lesson to all of them about the wear and tear of the fighting styles they would practice. If Art continued onwards with the straightforward and tough fighting style then he would need to improve his body\'s toughness. most likely through equipment since he did not have a physical super power.
"I think I should put my gloves on." Asher pulled the white and blue gloves he had gotten from the hero corp store and tightened them around his hands. He flexed them a few times and looked around to see who else would be trying to challenge him or his friends.
"I don\'t know what you are looking around for. The best win streak so far is three in a row, and the first two were pure luck." Garnet had approached them again and was making sure Asher knew that he had no challengers.
"Then that means I have to challenge someone myself, right?" He looked around trying to decide but saw that a girl with strange white patches on her skin was challenging Jane.
"That girl looks like she had bone on her skin. Think Jane will be able to win against her?" Art had noticed the challenger too and was trying to analyze the girl\'s super power.
"That is definitely bone. It should make her much tougher to damage. I can bet in a few years it will brow in to an outer skeleton protecting most of her skin." Garnet had seen similar abilities that grew forms of skeletons or armor around the camper.
"Wait, does that mean if you are too weak that Jane won\'t win no matter what? I don\'t want my new girlfriend to lose." Laura was already in a tizzy shearing this. She had just made this friend and she wanted t see her dominate the training field since she herself was not that adept in fighting.
"Don\'t overestimate an armor like ability. They are strong if one approaches them in a blunt manner. Bit if you look and strategize then they will brindle in an instant." Garnet was ready to teach them all a lesson while they watched this match.