In Oasis Online.


    Sounds of people shouting and yelling.


    A group of four non-Metas sitting quietly on the low-altitude benches. Two people among the non-Metas seemed to be talking with each other in hushed voices.


    "Vik, are you sure about this?"


    Tory asked while looking around him. They seemed to be in a room without any windows. There was only one exit, which was connected to a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was blinding white light. The noises of cheers and jeers wereing from the same direction as well.


    Vik sighed and looked at Tory who was a bit stressed. He didn''t want to do this either. But this was the most brutal form of retaliation he could think of at the time. Retaliation against Raquel. Retaliation against the odds ced against them.


    For that, he needed to win the match and make the organizers do what he wanted them to do. He was nning to turn the viewers of the show into his witnesses. All so that he could present his side to the popce.


    Vik and Tory didn''t care about justice. That option wasn''t avable to them without being seen as hypocrites. But for better or worse, their hustling targets were criminals like them. They hadn''t hurt or swindled any innocent people.


    Nevertheless, Raquel had crossed that line when she began killing people who were totally unrted to the incident. Therefore, instead of justice, this was vengeance. An eye for an eye.


    "Your time''s up. Let''s go."


    A cold and callus voice reverberated in the waiting room. The five non-Metas turned to the source of that voice at the same time and found out that it belonged to a muscr man who also had a beer belly.


    Vik and Tory looked at each other before looking at the participants beside them. They too had the same thoughts running through their heads. As if they were all going to face a shit ton of misery together.


    "Are you ready, Tory? There''s no turning back after this. If you want, I can do this alone, you know. You just need to..."


    Vik offered his friend thest resort. As he saw it, doing this thing was akin to pping Raquel in the face. She was bound to retaliate violently when shit hits the fan.


    And yet, Tory didn''t back down.


    "Hermano, don''t underestimate "cajones". Let''s go down in mes. Hahaha!"


    Vik smiled mirthlessly when he heard Tory''s response. A response he knew he was going to get from him.


    ***


    A battle ring was ced in the middle of arge stadium. It had a raised tform made of a foam-like material. The perimeter of the battle ring was secured by strings that were held by poles ced intermittently at a fixed distance.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is a special night. Do you know why? It''s because you won''t see any boring fights today.


    Hahaha. That''s right. We have the one and only Triple G in the house."


    Suddenly, a hooded man jumped from the crowd andnded in the middle of the battle ring. He had jumped so high that it brokemon sense. Or to be precise,mon sense ording to non-metahumans'' standards.


    This man had arms as thick as a young elephant''s limbs. His legs were also sturdy, muscr, and felt like boulders made from decent-sized trees.


    This muscr man in histe 30s looked like some brand ambassador for nutritional supplements. But that wasn''t the only thing that stood out about him. His bald head reflected the blinding lights that were focused on the battle ring. It was as if his ultimate form had required him to sacrifice his hair.


    That was not all. Triple G''s arms were on fire. A literal fire that seemed to raise its mes'' height whenever the man raised his hands to excite his audience.


    Triple G was a metahuman. And as a metahuman, he gained simr powers in Oasis Online as well.


    Tonight he was going to fight with five non-Metals at the same time. This was the typical crowd-puller match that required him to use his powers shily to add some spice.


    In Oasis Online, this was a popr series. Triple G was the series'' weekly-appearing Metahuman star. The fights would be broadcast on Oasis Online through various channels and screens ced everywhere, which was essible to the general poption.


    The announcer present in the ring in full formals kept on hyping Triple G''s achievements so far as he greeted his audience with vigor. The usual drama unfolded which was part and parcel of showbiz.


    Only after giving Triple G the attention he deserved did the announcer move on.


    "Dear viewers, now it''s time to meet a solid group of five challengers that will try their best to defeat Triple G. don''t underestimate them just because they are normal people like you and me.


    Each of them hase here with only one aim. This is to defeat Triple G and take home 2000 New World Coins each.


    To win this much money in just a few minutes, they will do anything in their power to break Triple G''s winning streaks. Only time will tell which side will emerge victorious in this Meta vs. non-Meta fight.


    So please wee, with a huge round of apuse, this week''s five contenders."


    People present in the stadium looked at the corridor that was supposed to provide entry to the contenders. Soon enough, a group of five people appeared with tensed expressions on their faces. It seemed that they were all newbies. Newbies in terms of appearances in the show. Because nobody in the audience could recognize them.


    The announcer didn''t waste any more time after he saw that the five non-Metas had entered the battle ring. He cleared his throat before speaking loudly.


    "The match begins at 3… 2…. 1. Go."


    The five people attacked Triple G at the same time. They knew that Metahumans take time to manifest their powers. Thus, giving him idle time was detrimental to them.


    "Hahaha. A bunch of rats, thinking they can overwhelm a Meta just because they can act quickly. Let me show you the difference between those who are born to be ruled over and those who are born to rule.


    Here. Receive my Divine Punch."


    Vik had stress lines on his forehead when he heard the guy talk about his normal punch as some sort of named attack move. Then there was his trash talk about other participants being rats in front of him. The guy was a sellout for show business.