[12:05pm]

The immediate aftermath of the battle.

BOOM!

Grand Prix Arena erupted.

The fans turned hysterical, jumping and screaming at the top of their lungs even as some cried in disbelief while some even fainted from the historical magnitude of the moment and the achievement that they just witnessed.

Many fans didn't understand the intricacies of the battle that they just watched, but this didn't stop them from appreciating what just happened.

"Thomas Riley!" "Thomas Riley!" "Thomas Riley!"

They chanted.

As for the commentators, they were just as hysterical as the fans.

"What a fight!"

"King Agama is out, he's actually out!"

"What have we just witnessed?" The commentator screamed in a shrill voice. "Heavens, this is history! Thomas Riley just made history!"

"We have a new King of Grand Prix Arena!"

"Never has a Mechanist made it to this stage!"

"Never has a Mechanist dominated a combat sports tournament!"

"He's rewritten our entire perspective of the Mechanist Class!"

"Boring scientists? Pale, skinny, and weak nerds with medicated glasses? Ladies and gentlemen, think again because Thomas Riley just started a Mechanist revolution!"

"What a fight!"

"What a win!"

"What dominance!"

"And with that, Thomas Riley's rank in the preliminaries rises by more than 5000 thousand places to Rank 34!"

"That's the most that a fighter has jumped after a single fight!"

"Never has a Mechanist been this high! In fact, never has a Mechanist been ranked among the top 10,000".

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are witnessing history!"

"Live it, cherish it, savor it because you may never witness a moment like this again!"

In the octagon cage, even as the cage door opened and as medical personnel rushed in with a stretcher to carry King Agama out for treatment, Mr. Paul also charged into the octagon with his thugs and his cameraman.

"That's my fighter! Hahaha, that's my fighter!" He charged towards Leon, unbridled joy and excitement written all over his face as he was the first to embrace him in an exuberant bear hug.

"LEGEND!" He screamed without restraint in his face, spittle flying like bullets from his mouth. "You're a f*cking legend!"

Leon scrunched up his face. 'You f*cking bastard! You're spitting on my face!'

Before he could retaliate, Daren also arrived as he pushed Mr. Paul away and hugged him tightly before patting him on the head.

"You f*cking monster, you actually did it!"

Leon laughed. "I told you, didn't I?" He broke character in public for the very first time.

It may look like he dominated the battle and he actually did since he didn't suffer a single injury unlike his opponent, but his ADE was almost exhausted at the end.

Using so many gadgets and staying elusive against such a powerful Ascended drained almost all his ADE.

In that moment, Sergeant Tyla also entered the octagon and she was the only one who was mindful enough to bring him a bottle of distilled water.

"Here, take, you must be thirsty".

"You're damn right!" Leon grabbed the bottle and drank it all in one gulp before hugging her in the energy and vibes of the moment.

That fight took a lot out of him than he wanted to admit.

A few minutes later as the commotion of his stunning win soon left the confines of Grand Prix Arena, extending to the rest of the world, Leon's smartphone finally lit up with a new notification that he was expecting.

BEEP!

[Credit Alert!]

[Your account has been credited with 8,000 Neo Credits!]

Leon grinned. "That's what I'm talking about!"

…

[12:40pm]

Multiple news channels across Leviathan Quay, Sprawl Delta, Verdanthold, and the multiple Towns directly under the territory and jurisdiction of the Geneforge Clans broadcasted the trending news.

["The Fight of the Year!"]

["They call him the Combat Mechanist!"]

["Dubbed by fans as the 4-minute Deconstruction of the Lizard King, Thomas Riley whose less famous ring name is Ring Man defeated last year's 8th ranked fighter in the finals, putting himself in the world combat map."]

["The E Rank Mechanist displayed deep understanding of the combat rules and an uncanny ability to exploit the rules. He used a lot of gadgets but none of it can be classified as breaking the rules."]

["For 4 minutes, Thomas Riley neutralized all of King Agama's strengths in one of the most dominating fights of the preliminaries that's already being called the Fight of the Year by combat sports fans, experts, and analysts."]

["After the fight, Thomas Riley has surely made the jump into the rank of the most famous fighters of this year's tournament."]

["And he has managed to develop a niche hardcore and extremely loyal fan group. Mechanists who are stranded for cash participate in the tournament occasionally, but never has a Mechanist made it to the top 10,000 ranking and never has a Mechanist been so famous in the tournament, beating a top 10 fighter from last year's tournament."]

["Thomas Riley has started a new trend in the Gene Combat Sports Tournament, and it has the whole world divided."]

["What matters though is that today, on the 6th of July Year 714 A.G, Thomas Riley made history in the Gene Combat Sports Tournament."]

…

[01:12pm]

Leviathan Quay, Floating District G12, Grand Prix Arena.

After dozens of minutes of recuperation in the hospital, King Agama whose real name was Ben finally regained consciousness and right there in his hospital bed, journalists with connection access met the famous fighter to interview him.

"Ben, how do you feel after the fight?"

Ben shrugged. "What else? I feel disappointed, I feel like I could have done better but it's what it is".

"Before the fight, did you ever expect that your opponent, a Mechanist would beat you?"

"I never expected him to beat me". He paused to organize his thoughts. "You know, like the media says, he truly is a rare breed. I've met lots of Mechanists over the years but none like him, none with the same instincts and acumen that he has for combat".

"Mechanists prefer staying inside laboratories and workshops, he's the first Mechanist that I've met who've broken this mold and I respect him for it".

"About the fight itself, honestly losing was a shocker to me".

He cleared his throat. "I rarely lose and I've never lost against a Mechanist before, I guess this is a new feeling that I'm going to have to get used to".

"Like you all saw, he came with a game plan and he executed it perfectly. I respect him for that, not many fighters can boast of that".

"He had all the right gadgets to neutralize my strengths and amplify my weaknesses. If I didn't face it directly, I would have never believed that something like that is possible".

"In a way, he broadened my horizons".

"Thomas, if you're seeing this, good fight. You won this time but next time, I promise that you won't win".

"I'll win".

The reporter smiled then he asked one final question. "Do you see you and Thomas becoming friends?"

"Of course. I mean, why not?" He forced a smile which made him grimace in pain. "He's a battle Mechanist, in fact he's the battle Mechanist, what's not to make a friend out of about him?"

He chuckled. "I would love to be his friend so I can fight against him every day and show him the superiority of the Cyber Gladiator Class".

…

[2:02pm]

Sprawl Delta, Vex Larkinson Gene Hospital.

Vex Larkinson Gene Hospital is a hospital and gene laboratory that's owned by one of the greatest Mechanists in the history of the Geneforge Clans, an E Rank Mechanist who majored in bioengineering.

Apart from the massive underground floors of the hospital and laboratory, it has a 20-story tall surface building.

Around 2 in the afternoon, Mr. Vex returned from a meeting as his helicopter landed on the helipad in the roof of the massive building.

He wore a sharp gray business suit and brown leather shoes.

The moment the esteemed Mechanist came down from the helicopter with his team, he was swarmed by reporters who were eager to interview him.

In the end, after his assistant whispered a few words in his ear, he stopped in front of the interviews to entertain their questions.

"Good afternoon Mr. Vex," one of the reporters quickly seized the opportunity. "Sir, what do you think about Thomas Riley, the E Rank Mechanist that's making headlines across the Southern Biome?"

The middle-aged man scrunched up his face and replied. "Well, every man has his passion but to me, the idea of a combat Mechanist is deplorable and barbaric".

"Mechanists are intellectuals blessed by ADE with abilities to change the world through their thinking and their constructs".

"His barbaric tendencies aside, I do believe he's a great Mechanist".

"If I was his father or his uncle, I'll tell him to quit those childish tendencies and focus on realizing his full potential".

"If he ever has a change of mind to focus on his innate talent, tell him to come to my hospital. Vex Larkinson Gene Hospital is always open for him, and the pay here is very good".

With that, the middle-aged CEO walked off with his entourage.

There were few prominent E Rank Mechanists like Vex Larkinson in the territory of the Geneforge Clans, but most of them voiced their thoughts out in one way or another regarding Thomas Riley.

…

Deep in the psionic network that encompassed all of Neo-Tokara, a 'glitch' existed in a pure data state, merged with the millions of data streams around the world and traveling unseen, quietly surfing the psionic network.

All of a sudden, this quietly traveling 'glitch' paused as a piece of information in the psionic network caught his attention.

["The Fight of the Year!"]

He paused on this piece of information in the net because a certain keyword attracted his attention- ["…combat Mechanist."]

Merging with all relevant datastreams, he quickly surfed through all the available information and a peculiar look appeared on his unseen face.

'Is it him?' He thought. 'But Thomas Riley… hmm, is that just a moniker?'

With a thought, all the relevant data appeared before him.

[Identification Details:]

[Name: Thomas Riley]

[Image=]

[Origin: Western Fringe]

[Unique traits: Black hair, black eyes, 6 feet 2 inches tall. Recipient of a unique cosmetic surgery to look very human…]

…

[Fighter: Ring Man]

[Fights: 96]

[Wins: 96/ Draw: 0/ Loss: 0]

[Win to Loss ratio: 100%]

[Current Rank: 34]

[Rank Change Price: 21,300 Neo Credits]

This unseen 'glitch' clicked its tongue, excited. 'It's you, right?'

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