Another Stupid Isekai

- That was some greeting from his fans! - eventually said one of the announcers.

- It indeed was, Bruce! A great hunter deserves a great welcome! - said the other one.

- I can't help but notice that you're a fan of his, Matthew.

- I indeed am.

- What does your wife has to say about this? - the man asked jokingly.

- She is just as big of a fan as I am. As a matter of fact, she was the one to introduce me to the prince.

- I would want to chat more about this, Matthew, but unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately, the second gate is opening! Let us si what kind of gear John Wu is going to bring to the arena!

John looked more properly in his kevlar pants, shirt, and the rest of the gear which looked like a bulletproof vest. On each forearm, he had the usual sturdy bracers, and he was holding his not-so-fancy halberd.

Still, you would expect him to be a bit fancier in terms of clothing, but he had that part of his life behind him, and now, instead f looks, was focusing more on utility.

The song he chose was blasted through the speakers, but this time the audience wasn't able to take over it, so people could actually listen to the tune he chose. It was a classical piece on a piano, which didn't really work well as a hyping-up song.

- Yes, Bruce, he indeed is. They both look like taken from completely different tales, but I personally prefer Sung-Jin's look.

- You have to remember, that looks aren't everything. Although I'm sure they both have items from top shelves, I also prefer Sung-Jin's look, but that doesn't mean John brought something worse with him.

- Well, in the end, it won't be on the items, but on the users and their skills, Bruce. I hope to see, just in a moment a very nice display of strength. The countdown has started, as people watching us on their screens can already see, while the people present in the arena can hear it! Are you ready?! I hope you are because we are about to start!

- Indeed, Matthew! I can't wait to see this clash of titans!

As the bounced finished his sentence, a sound of a gong could be heard loud and clear. People on the stand held their breath, and the fight began.

Sung-Jin snapped his fingers, making the ground under John's feet explode with a swirling tornado of fire, that disappeared as quickly as it showed up. It was a complete miss, as John avoided it with ease by jumping away. He then started running, activating his skills.

A blur of red energy surrounded him transforming into the dragon that enveloped his whole body. It made him go slightly faster. Just enough to, again, easily avoid more explosions caused by Sung-Jin snapping his fingers.

The burst of swirling flames erupted from the ground each time, quickly disappearing in the air.

It was obviously a useless trick, as this type of attack couldn't really work, but it fulfilled its purpose of making an impact on the audience. After all, it was a flashy skill, not to mention a good distraction.

The announcers were commenting on it, like it was the most important part, ignoring the fact that the man was actually drawing something throughout the whole time with his cane on the sand. I caught on to it, but they overlooked it completely, focusing on the meaningless stuff.

Judging by what I saw, he was making a protective barrier to keep attacking without having to worry about a potential counter which was obviously coming. Anybody with a brain knew that John needed some time to use his skills before delivering ablow, but the assault from Sung-Jin made him unable to just turn them all on. He had to buy some time by running around and dodging.

The moment the spell got finished, the prince changed the grip on his cane by slightly throwing it up. He fought it more or less in the middle, then pointed the lion head at John, and started shooting scorching red beams of energy at him.

All of them missed thanks to some fancy footwork to the side of Tihana's boyfriend. He already finished his preparations, since his the blade of his halberd that the electrical discharges jumping all offer it, not to mention his eyes, which were burning with red energy.

He was looking for a slight opening to jump and attack. He spotted it exactly a moment later, leaped into the air, and landed on top of Sung-Jin, bringing his weapon down, just to smash it on top of a round barrier surrounding the mage.

The red energy, combined with the impact of the hit, created a nasty shockwave, which raised a cloud of dust, and sent John flying. He landed on the sand, crouching, but immediately rushed to the side, to avoid a powerful scorching ray, which hit the spot he just left, turning the sand into a puddle of liquid, red glass.

- Wooooow! - Bruce exploded, as he witnessed the first attack. - What a blow!

- Woooow! What a response - Matthew drowned out his companion, with the reaction to Sung-Jin's beam of energy. - They both are not pulling punches!

- Yes! A great, action-packed start, which makes me look forward to the rest of the duel!

The cloud of dust settled down, while John was on the move, avoiding the follow-up attacks. Same scorching red beams of energy.

Some of them slammed into the protective barrier, protecting the audience, and the other hit the sand, making more glass.

After the initial exchange, none of them was willing to make a move. They both wanted the other one to start the second exchange, as they clearly felt more comfortable with a counter. I couldn't blame both of them. John didn't want to attack, because of the barrier, which was the same exact reason Sung-Jin was not willing to do anything stupid, because he felt comfortable under the protection of his spell.