Martial Arts Worlds

Through a flash of light, Kiernan stepped out into the field with two goals facing each other. A scoreboard on the wall showed the score.

It was currently 0-0.

He was all alone here, but then, another flash of light came, and one person stepped out into the field.

The person had cat ears, a tail swaying behind him, and quite an adorable-looking face, like an anime character come to life.

'A cat person? Is that one of the Animalkin from Animal Kingdom? First time I've seen one in person.'

After having the three classes, he headed to the private gaming room, where he connected to Infinite Dojo and came to check out the Solo Punch Ball.

It intrigued him more than ordinary martial arts matches.

A gamertag appeared above the cat boy's.

[ShadowMeow]
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"A human, meow?"

ShadowMeow tilted his head in surprise. It looked like he didn't expect to be met with a human opponent.

"I put that I'll be only playing against other Animalkin, though? The settings didn't get updated, meow?"

'What is he talking about? By the sounds of it, it looks like he didn't plan on facing against other races. I wonder why.'

ShadowMeow's tail turned fluffy, and he started to hiss hostilely.

"A filthy, weak human!"

ShadowMeow stood on all four legs, hissing loudly.

"What's wrong with you? Not liking humans much, huh?"

Kiernan walked to the center of the field. The match was about to start soon.

"Why would I like an inferior race, meow? All you humans know is how to destroy and corrupt everything you touch."

ShadowMeow said with a sneer.

"Hmm, so if I defeat you, does that make you my inferior?"

Kiernan asked with a smirk.

"Hahahaha! There's a reason why Animalkin and Human have separate rankings in Infinite Dojo. The game's makers knew that Animalkin are superior, so it wouldn't be fair!"

ShadowMeow said with a childish laugh, and after that, the sound went off as the game was about to start.

[Game is about to start!]

[ShadowMeow vs. Hunter]

[ShadowMeow: Rank - 221,456]

[Hunter: Rank - 45,555,985]

'His rank is much lower because there are fewer Animalkin playing the game than humans. I guess he is also among the newer players, which is why I got matched with him.

'I wonder how much my rank will increase if I defeat him…'

Kiernan stood tall in the center of the arena. ShadowMeow stood on his four legs.

Then, a hole appeared in the field, and a striped ball shot out from the ground, flying high into the air.

"MEOW!"

ShadowMeow leaped off the ground and snatched the ball from the air. He easily jumped five meters into the air, which was ridiculous agility!

'What in the world?'

"Meow!"

ShadowMeow raised his leg and axe-kicked straight down towards Kiernan, but he blocked it with his arm and felt the impact reverberate through his entire body.

"Meow…?"

ShadowMeow's expression changed, and he fell to the ground, clutching his leg in pain. It felt like he kicked an iron pole!

"That hurts, the hell?!"

"I understand now. Animalkin have different physiques, don't they? You're part of the cat family, so you have enhanced agility compared to humans, but your physical strength is… mediocre."

Kiernan ripped the ball from ShadowMeow's hands, and claws appeared from his fingers, trying to claw at Kiernan's arms, but he stepped back to avoid those claws.

"Give it back, human!"

ShadowMeow jumped back to his four legs.

"Try to catch it."

Kiernan reeled back his arm and then threw the ball across the air. It flew fast and straight into the goal's net.

[Goaaaaaaal!]

[Hunter 1 - 0 ShadowMeow]

"Argh!"

ShadowMeow returned to his goal and picked up the ball. His cheeks had turned beet red out of embarrassment.

If any of his friends found out that he allowed a human to score, he would lose all his face and would be the laughingstock of the school!

'What would be the good strategy? Be a goalkeeper, let the opponent get close, and then block the shot? A little risky because he could just try to force his way to the goal.

'If I stay away from the goal and have a battle at the middle of the field, he can throw the ball to the goal like I just did. It is very hard to defend, but since I got the first goal, I have an advantage.

'Even if I can't defend him, as long as I keep scoring, I will eventually win 3-2.'

Squeeze!

ShadowMeow tightly grabbed the ball. His claws almost popped it. He then rushed forward, using his insane agility to dash through the field.

The speed was the cat family's expertise!

'Ah yes, cats are fast too. He is faster than Ryan, that's for sure.'

ShadowMeow ran straight towards Kiernan. Then stepped to the left, then to the right, and finally towards the left.

With his final step to the left, he accelerated to his maximum speed and tried to pass Kiernan, but then he moved to the right, making him crash into him.

"Argh!"

ShadowMeow got bumped back. He felt like he had just run into a solid wall.

'What the hell is wrong with him? How come his physical strength is so crazy? No, it doesn't matter. He is just a human. I can just run past him with my superior speed!'

"You should defend the ball better."

Kiernan smacked the ball out of ShadowMeow's hands. He was only focusing on running and not defending the ball.

"No!"

ShadowMeow leaped towards the ball and caught it before Kiernan could. He rolled over the grass, and before even standing up, he threw the ball towards the goal.

"?!"

Kiernan jumped to block the ball, but it slipped past him and flew into his goal.

[Goaaaaaaaal!]

[Hunter 1 - 1 ShadowMeow]

'Shit. I forgot cat's crazy reflexes. Even though I slapped the ball away from him and immediately went for the ball, he was able to react even faster.'

"Hahahaha!"

ShadowMeow laughed loudly and danced happily as he celebrated scoring the point.

Kiernan took the ball from his goal, and with a smile on his face, started running through the field.