Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG Chapter 146

Although the strike was ferocious, it lacked any kind of finesse. The guy swung it with full might, and yet timidly backed away from the swing as if he was afraid of hitting himself.

I easily dodged out of the way, taking the opportunity to close the gap and slide up towards him. The sword passed over my head, slamming into the ground in a spray of holographic sand. I shunted out a leg, kicking the sword as hard as I could. The sword flew from his grip, leaving him defenseless and my leg in a surprising amount of pain.

The man reacted rather quickly, punching out at . Unfortunately for him, it seed as though no one had ever taught him to punch correctly. He had his whole fist wrapped tightly around his thumb. I t his punch with my elbow and heard a crack followed by a yelp. Since I only hit a bot synced with his movents, I didn't actually break his thumb, but I knew from experience it still sent jolts of electricity that imitated the pain. He winced back, trying to put so distance, but it was already too late.

I lanced forward with my dagger which was already close to his neck from my elbow strike. The dagger easily hit his neck, slicing through the skin as holographic blood sprayed everywhere. The arena flashed red as the bot slumped to the ground.

“Winner, Moon!” The announcer cried. The fake crowds in the stands went ballistic with cheers for a few monts before a spot in the arena lit up green.

I headed for it, and the man, after picking up his sword, walked to his own spot. He eyed as the announcer ca back. “Round two, fight!”

This ti, Whino played far more cautiously. I once more fired the crossbow only to find out that the second delay was very much an intentional design. Probably so kind of balancing. He easily dodged the bolt again, though I made a note to start pulling before I actually lined up the shot next ti.

He moved forward as I reloaded, though didn’t make a slash. Instead, he rushed with a shoulder check. By the ti I registered Insight’s warning, I was too focused on reloading to fully get out of the way. The blow hit hard in the chest, knocking the crossbow out of my hands as I tumbled back. A shock of electricity jolted up my side, settling right where one of my ribs was as if it were broken.

The guy’s footing was extrely unstable, causing him to fall alongside as we hit the ground. I ramd my dagger into his side roughly, watching a spray of holographic blood erupt like a volcano. Unfortunately, that was as far as I got.

He used his sword as a cane, pushing it down to lever himself up. Unfortunately for , I happened to be exactly where he pushed his sword down. The sword pressed on my chest right around my lungs as electricity arced all through my body, knocking the breath out of .

The arena flashed red. “Winner, xXx_whino_xXx!”

We reset once more, both heading back to our starting spots. I picked up and pulled back the string of the hand crossbow, sliding the bolt back into place.

“Round three!”

I didn’t hesitate this ti around. The past few tis I was a bit timid with firing a shot off. This ti, I pulled the trigger before I even raised my arm and shot before the announcer's echo finished. The sudden shot took the guy by surprise, hitting him in the shoulder. The rubber bolt bounced off and sunk into the floor. A holographic one popped up where I hit him as if it were stuck in his shoulder. I reloaded fully as he flinched back, a shudder going through his arm as electricity tased him.

While he was down, I shot one more ti, hitting him right in the eye. He hit the ground hard as his body convulsed. “Winner, Moon!”

It took a while for the guy to get back up. His hologram shot a glare as the guy supported himself with his sword. He growled out at as he backed up to his position. “Just you wait.”

“I’m waiting.” I brushed off my shoulder.

”Round four!”

The man moved even before the announcer finished speaking. He lunged out with his sword in a massive horizontal sweep that cleaved through my stomach. Or, at least the cold from Insight did. Before he even fully got into his swing, I moved into position with my dagger. I caught his sword on my dagger’s guard, moving back with it as I tried to bleed off the montum of the strike to mixed success. The swing was heavy, nearly making stumble backward.

I managed to catch it and direct it over with one hand. With my crossbow, I smacked forward toward the guy’s face. I clocked his jaw with the bow limb, jolting his head as he staggered backward. I followed through with a knee to the groin. He dropped like a log as I brought the crossbow back point blank and pulled the trigger. He had just enough ti to open his eyes before the arena flashed red.

”Winner! Moon!” The hologram of the guy faded as the robot he was synced with returned to the gate leading into the coliseum. A mont later, the announcer roared from the emperor’s box. “Would you like to face another contender?!” The crowd nearly shattered my eardrums with their screams.

”Uh- sure. Can I get more bolts?” I looked around, but the rubber ones I’d shot off were nowhere in sight. I don’t know if sothing retrieved them while I was distracted, or if they were just lost in the sand hologram covering the floor.

Next to my starting zone, a pillar rose out of the ground. Exactly five bolts sat on it. I slid four into the quiver at my hip and loaded the last one. I did so light stretches as I waited.

Honestly… it was kinda fun. Maybe since I won? To be honest, fighting was pretty easy. At least, when there weren't any guns. I could probably take ten of that guy on. Granted, not all at once, but it wouldn’t be too hard. The arena was good at building my confidence if nothing else.

The gate on the other side of the arena opened. This ti around, the bot didn’t chanically move to its location. Instead, as the holoprojectors kicked on, holographic warriors popped up all around, sending heavy blows to the bot.

The bot’s hologram kicked on, overlaying it with a woman in badass black armor. Gold dragons twined around the armor, the scales seeming to glimr with power. The woman held two weird weapons in her hands. They were swords, but like, hooked? I dunno. First ti I’d ever seen such a sword.

They were designed like golden dragons, the tails being the end of the hooks. The pomls, a rectangular piece that looked a bit like brass knuckles, acted as the heads of the dragons. A dagger-like spike jutted out of the bottom side of the sword, looking like a dragon’s breath.

The holographic warriors charged the bot, and the bot slaughtered its way through without even an issue as it arrived at the starting point. Then, all the fanfare faded as the movents turned more natural and the woman seed to take control. Very flashy… and quite intimidating. This woman must’ve spent a shit ton of money on the costic store.

[Match: 1v1 best of 5. Unrated.

Contender: Rí Dao

Skill Estimate: Moon