Chapter 16: 16 Insidious Attack

Vik suddenly accelerated his body and ducked under the punch that seemed to have been thrown randomly by Triple G. He then aimed for the guy’s left oblique.

This wasn’t the first time Vik had seen a Meta in action. But this was his first time fighting one.

For the most part, he had strayed away from Metas and never tried to swindle them. That’s because the assets they carried wouldn’t normally be worth the risk they posed.

But this time, he had to win. At any cost. Even at the expense of coming across as a hopeful idiot or a complete psycho.

So Vik boldly marched forward and led the charge. Something he shouldn’t have done without knowing about the extent of Metas’ powers.

Vik had used the crowd of five people attacking Triple G wisely. He had also instructed Tory to move the way he wanted him to. And his reaction time to Meta’s punch was impeccable. The punch he threw at the guy’s oblique from ducking under his arm and moving to his side was also well connected. But that was just it.

Vik felt like he had punched a solid wall that was made of limestone. Triple G didn’t have to defend. Because his enhanced body stats allowed him to withstand any mediocre punch thrown his way.

Plus, Triple G had a thin layer of mana protecting him. Or the mana layer that was rendered by Oasis Online. This layer of mana would protect Meta’s body from most normal attacks effectively.

That was not all. Vik also realized that the back of his hand that connected with the guy’s oblique had caught fire. And the fire was different from a regular fire. It burned Vik’s hand with even greater speed than normal fire.

“Aaaaargh. Fuck!”

Vik couldn’t help cursing as he retreated to the background and allowed the other three participants to carry out their wild charge. He tried to rub the back of his hand over his thighs but the fire didn’t get extinguished. If he kept on making the same mistake, even his pants would catch fire.

Triple G laughed at the time. It was apparent that he was only playing with the non-Metas because he needed to make sure the viewers stayed entertained for longer. He had allowed Vik to retreat and he was not actively trying to harm the participants.

The guy would occasionally throw a random fire punch. The fire would then leave his hands and get manifested into a flying fist before landing on one of the non-Metas he was surrounded by. Immediately that non-Meta would cry out in pain and retreat to the background.

All five of them now had burnt wounds on various parts of their bodies. And none of them had managed to seriously injure Meta.

Vik looked at Tory and gave him a stoic nod. Then he started running at full speed.

Tory knew what that nod meant and looked at Triple with a cruel light. “Attack,” he shouted and charged ahead with the other three rankers following him.

Vik moved to the side before circling Triple G. His headstart had allowed him to match the timing with Tory’s time.

Vik looked at Tory who was also charging at Triple G from the opposite side. He narrowed his eyes on the Meta he was tasked with taking down using any means. So that’s what he was going to do.

Tory suddenly changed his pace and orientation when he was only a few meters away from triple G. He let the three rankers move past him before suddenly increasing speed once again.

Bam.

Tory used the force generated due to his charge to hit the participant back that was running ahead of him. He had hit him with his right shoulder. And the point of contact was the participant’s back just below the Lat muscles, AKA the middle back.

Tory didn’t only stop these. He then effectively used his legs to kick the other participant that had just realized that something was wrong with their charge.

Triple G saw what happened in front of him. And he was unable to react on time. Frankly, he wasn’t expecting that participants would fight with each other.

And it took a moment or two more for the Meta to understand that this was no internal conflict. The participants that had been attacked had been used as decoys.

The first participant that wasn’t compromised came to attack Triple G with all he had. It seemed that he was angered by Meta’s way of brushing him off like he was no big deal.

By giving the man a round kick to the guts, Triple G proved once again that it was really no big deal for him. The man flew to the side at exceptional speed and hit the ground. He was slated to stay there till the end of the match.

Triple G’s leg that he had used to execute the round kick was just about to touch the ground when he received another charge from the second participant. A charge that wasn’t in his control.

Triple G’s instincts kicked in and he stopped caring about the limiters placed by the organizers. He executed his fire punch up close just as the second participant was about to crash land on him with his entire body weight.

It was now apparent that even if Triple G couldn’t manifest his powers at a moment’s notice, he could always prepare them and keep them ready when they were needed.

Punch.

The second ranker was lifted off the ground when the fire punch was connected to his abdomen from a low angle. The kinetic energy carried by that fire punch was enough to knock the guy in the air before he was overcome by pain. He flew away from the Meta while screaming in agony. His clothes also caught fire.

Although the injuries in Oasis Online weren’t real, the pain receptors worked in the same manner as in real life. Plus, the body would mimic the effects of the pain unwittingly when the neural network was in complete sync with Oasis’s reality.

Of course, that mimicry had its limits. But feeling pain and waking up with sore limbs wasn’t a pleasant idea for anyone.

The Meta wasn’t ready for the second decoy. Or more precisely, he couldn’t because of the quick succession of events. Only a few moments had passed since Vik had nodded to Tory about executing such a heartless move after all.

Bam!

The body that Tory had kicked crashed-landed on Triple G without any breaks. The latter raised his arms in front of him and lifted off the incoming body effortlessly. He was about to throw the third participant’s body he was holding when another force came through it while he was holding.

Tory had kicked with both his legs on the back of the third participant that Triple G was holding with both his hands in fronf of him. The Metahuman’s posture was already compromised. As a result of these attacks, his body finally tipped to the other side, while the third participant’s body was still in his hands.

Swish. Connect. Crush.

A move that was usually considered taboo among men. Vik had swung his right leg upwards after placing his foot between Triple G’s legs from behind him.

An insidious attack.

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