2020 Guards unite (part 2)

The small sparring event continued as matches happened one after the other, and Quinn observed them. Based on his observations, Quinn could see why they had all been chosen as guards if he seriously evaluated them.

They all looked to have next to no real fighting experience. They knew how to use the basic skills, but none of them had a Vampire aura that seemed powerful enough to give the upper hand against the others. In the evaluation, the families would likely pick someone with experience or enough talent to make it worthwhile, and these guys had neither. In fact, it was evident that they needed a guide or a teacher to clear even some of the basic things.

However, barring that, a few of the people had somewhat caught his eye. One of them was Nell, the one who had organised this tournament. Just like the others, he didn't have a particularly great vampire aura but what he did have were some fighting skills.

He knew how to use his hands and turned out to be quite a good grappler. If the others would get close and throw a few missed punches here or there, or even take a hit or two, the match was over because he would lock them up in specific ways so they were unable to use their fists or legs, then push and pull at certain joints until one heard them pop.

Luckily, a vampire could quickly heal from these wounds with a bit of blood, so injuries of this level were common in the matches.

"You know, now that I think about it, I think Nell has won most of these tournaments, and he was the one that had come up with the idea in the first place," Ronkin commented, standing next to Quinn, watching the match. "…is he scamming us?"

"Haha." Quinn couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure that's not the case. The amount of money is small, but when put together is quite large. On top of that, any of you could have stopped coming to these matches after seeing his skills. If it were a scam after winning the first tournament, he would have stopped and not invited you guys."

Quinn looked at Ronkin, who had his eyes glued to the match, and eventually, he said something.

"Is there…a way I can beat him? I am sure you must have a way…so if I may, I want to ask, what would you do if you were in there?"

Ronkin was talking so loud that the others watching could hear. They found it weird that he was putting so much hope into the newcomer, who was also a guard like them.

Quinn looked around at the eyes of others, and he could tell that he was catching attention, which was something he didn't want to do, so he decided to keep quiet.

"If I told you…that wouldn't be fair on the others. So all I can say is to do your best."

Ronkin felt a little down at hearing that answer, and the sadness soon turned into frustration as he clenched his fist.

"Quinn…I have to start winning these fights...I told you before. I have to get better, and I have to improve my rank in the next evaluation. I need the money for my family. I didn't tell you this before because there was no point in knowing, but now, I feel like you can help me.

"My son… he's sick. It's a disease that is rare for vampires. In the first place, vampires don't even usually get sick, and because of this disease, he's bedridden and can't even go to school like the other kids. So I need…a vampire to look over him. Or go to someone with a strong ability to cure him but to do that…I need the money. So please, if you know, help me win this tournament."

Now Quinn understood why Ronkin fought so hard. It wasn't a selfish reason like most. If he was put in the same situation, Quinn would have done the same. The thing was, with Ronkin's skills right now, without more training, Quinn didn't really have an answer for him to win this tournament, maybe the next one in a week's time, but with this one, he would just have to go as far as he could.

"If you get to the point where you can reach him if you match up with him. Then I'll tell you." Quinn said.

A smile grew on Ronkin's face. Winning the next match would mean he would soon catch up with Nell, maybe even in the finals this would happen, but he would only have to win one more match to get into the final four, but there was a chance he could be the lucky one since there were eight left in the tournament.

Unfortunately, it looked like Ronkin wasn't so lucky, and he was to fight once again. When entering the fighting area, Quinn was a little concerned because the opponent he was going up against was one of the other two that he had his eye on, one of the other decent fighters.

It wasn't because of skill though, like Nell, nor was it to do with vampire aura. Instead, it was because his speed, strength and reflexes were all a notch above the others.

'Unless Ronkin is at the top of his game, he won't be able to win this one.' Quinn thought.

The two were standing opposite each other. From the cheers from the side, Quinn learned that Ronkin's opponent's name was Dice. Once they were ready, everyone heard a beeping sound, indicating it was time for the two to fight, and almost the same scene had played out.

Dice had charged in, throwing out a blood swipe. Looking at Dice's arm carefully, Ronkin moved to the side, dodging it, throwing out a slash of his own while running in for the attack. Dice had moved out of the way, and Ronkin's hand was about to grab him when he stopped it.

"Nice try…but this is as far as you get." Dice said as he used his strength to bend the fingers of Ronkin, snapping them, then kicking him right in the stomach.

Bearing through the pain, Ronkin wasn't going to let being unable to breathe slow him down, and he swung both hands, throwing out two lines of aura. It was unexpected, and both of them had hit Slash right across the chest.

A light mark was made, but it wasn't deep enough. Seeing this, Dice charged in again, and when he did, he suddenly disappeared from Ronkin's view and grabbed him right behind the head.

"That hurt." Dice said as he slammed Ronkin's face right into the ground. He then lifted him and ran right into the end barrier, smelling his face into the energy barrier.

"Stop!" Nell shouted. "There is a clear winner, even if Ronkin is still concussed and can't say it himself. This is a friendly fight, and there is no need to go to the death."

Once he let down the energy barrier, and with a weak walk, Ronkin made his way to where Quinn was. He had just made it before collapsing, but Quinn had caught him midair before he did.

"I'm…such an idiot," Ronkin said. "I really thought I could win this time. I didn't even think about the others in this tournament and only thought about Nell when I wasn't ready to reach him yet… I'm so…embarrassed."

Watching the fight go on, there was something strange, Quinn thought. He wasn't good at comforting others, so he didn't say much to Ronkin. But he was also an adult, so it was best for him to let his emotions out for the time being.

Instead, he was still thinking about the fight and was looking toward Dice. He still had been hurt from the wound Ronkin inflicted in a desperate moment.

[Inspect]

'It's as I thought…he was drinking Dalki blood in a place like this. Where the guards are just trying to have a bit of fun…Well, I guess I should give him a taste of his own medicine?'

"Nell…is it okay if I change my mind slightly. Would it be okay to join the tournament?" Quinn asked.

Nell had. The large smile on his face. Usually, he would have said no, but he was interested in Quinn.

"Sure, go on ahead."

The next match had mainly been changed, so Quinn would go up against the other guards, and since Ronkin had talked to him so much, they were pretty interested to see what he could do.

The beeper sounded for the match to begin, and it started with the other vampire rushing in. Quinn did the same since most of the other vampires did this. When a blood slash was sent out, off by less than a second, Quinn threw his own blood slash so they would clash against each other.

It was almost like they were looking in a mirror. It seemed like an accident until it happened again, and when they were finally close to each other, Quinn parried away the hit and hit the vampire right in the face flinging his head back.

The vampire took the blow well, though, and threw out another punch, which Quinn blocked as well, and there was another solid blow to the face.

Ronkin, watching this, knew all of this well because, at some point, he had been on the receiving end, and eventually, the vampire's head was hit back, and he was knocked out, no longer in the state to get back up.

It was a strange sight for all of them to see. Nothing overly impressive happened. There was no big blow or one person overpowering the other, just a display of skill and nothing else. As the match ended, Quinn looked over to Dice.

He wanted to teach the latter a lesson in this match…and he was sure, with the Dalki blood powering him, that Dice wouldn't fall so early, allowing him to get a few more hits in as well. That was until Quinn felt a slight vibration on his wrist.

Pressing a small button on his watch, he was patched through. It turned out someone was trying to call him.

"Is this Quinn Balen I am talking to?" The voice asked.

"Yes, speaking."

"I am calling from Roland primary school. Unfortunately, there has been an incident involving your daughter Minny."

******

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