Another Stupid Isekai

I was calm, but I also wasn't fighting. My family members were, on the contrary, very anxious. Especially John, since he was the first one to go out there, plus he had a good understanding of how strong his opponent was back in the day.

He sat on the ground in the corner, trying to focus. Tihana observed him with worry painted all over her face, while the rest tried to calm down themselves, as they too were going out there very soon.

From my own experience, I knew that in situations like those its the best to stay alone, to deal with your own head, as it quite often becomes the worst enemy of them all. It can defeat you even before anything physical happens.

Surprisingly, even though she was not participating, Carmelita seemed stressed too. Like she was sharing the emotions of the rest.

It wasn't good. She only was making the situation worse by not showing absolute confidence in them. I was the one doing that. The only one.

It all ended with a knocking on the door.

- Participant John, please prepare yourself and come out shortly. I'll escort you to the entrance where your equipment is already waiting for you - said somebody from behind the door.

It made him stand up. I noticed that his hands were shaking, so as he slowly made it towards the door, briefly making an eye-contact with Tihana, I came up to him.

- Despite whatever your mind is trying to tell you, you got this. Just don't sabotage yourself. You are a strong warrior. I know, because I saw what you can do. Don't allow your head to defeat you before that asshole, who is waiting in the arena for ass-kicking, can even try. This is another day on the job, kid. You go there, you win, and you come back here. Ok? - I slapped him lightly on the cheek.

He nodded but wasn't able to say anything. His throat was too tight to let any words come out.

- Good. Now go, and make my daughter proud - I assed moving to the side, to allow him to go further.

He nodded again, then briefly smiled, and lastly left the room.

- Leonel, turn on that TV - I instructed my son.

Tihana was already on it, though, and she biting her nails, pressed the button. We immediately could hear some music, with a loud voice of the announcer speaking over it, and much quieter cheers from people who could afford the tickets to see the event live.

- And like this, we are about to start! - Said some unknown to me guy with quite a nice, deep voice. - As we speak, the participants are readying themselves to come out and put their skills on display!

- That's right, Mathew! That,s right! - said another announcer. - I don't know like you and our viewers, but I can't wait. Those are not just some rookies we will soon be able to see here, but seasoned veterans. Best of the best. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw skills on pair with what was put on display several years ago in Egipt!

- Exactly Bruce! We are talking here about one of the greatest talents Arc has ever produced. A famous Sung-Jin Park is going to take on John Wu.

- I bet we don't need to introduce him, Mathew, but I'm still gonna do it. The famous South Korean prince. Who's not only incredibly handsome but also incredibly strong. He is known for his appearance on TV, taking on the best athletes from all around the world, and beating them in their disciplines. He starred in a few dramas. He recently even debuted as a model, guesting on the front pages of all famous magazines around the world.

- And he will be taking his old friend, John Wu. I bet this is to resolve some old beef the two of them had before John's disappearance. For those who don't know. John Wu, the son of famous billionaire Joseph Wu. Famous back in the day as a rising star among few others, disappeared after some nasty rumors about him started to spread, and showed himself again not too long ago.

- I'm sure he didn't really disappear, just kept quiet to not bring his father any trouble. Otherwise, there would be no point in this duel, Matthew. He kept getting stronger away from prying eyes, and now, when he appeared again, I'm sure Sung-Jin Park is taking the opportunity to resolve some issues from the past.

- It very much looks like this, Bruce. It very much does. Personally, I couldn't give a damn why they are fighting, as long as they will show us some great skills.

- You can bet that's going to happen! Look! Do we see one of the gates opening? This is Sung-Jin Park's side. Yes! It's the prince himself!

As the announcer spoke those words, a wooden, two-wing gate opened, revealing the tall and handsome gentleman on the other side, slowly walking out.

He had a white suit on, white gloves, and a red cape, with some leopard fur around the top part, which rested on his shoulders. In his hand, he carried a cane. It was made out of black wood, with a silver bottom part, and a silver top part shaped like a lion's head.

The fans in the stands started screaming and waving, for a moment completely overtaking the music in the background, which also changed to some K-pop. I didn't know the name of the song nor the name of the band performing it, but it didn't matter since nobody couldn't hear it anyway.

He unbuttoned his cape, letting it slide off and fall on the sand, which made the fans go even crazier. It was a miracle that some of them didn't fall down from their seats on the heads of people below them.

The cacophony they made was so deafening, that Tihana changed the volume, and it still was annoying. Even the commentators couldn't speak for a moment.