The sounds of his boots coming down on the cold, damp steps leading downward, rats scurrying away to the safety of their nests, the muffled cries of tortured souls nearby...Yep..this was the dungeon. He could smell the blood, see the stains on the walls. He knew that a long time ago, this had been a place for torture, a place where pain made its residence. Seeing the shackles and chains on the wall brought goosebumps to Joseph's skin, his spine tingled until he was startled by an eerie voice behind him. In a tenth of a second, Joseph had drawn a kunai and was pointing it at whomever was behind him.
An old man dressed in a kimono smiled in response to the young boy's aggressiveness. Welcome to the Game of Death. Joseph's eyes widened as he pulled back his weapon, visibly embarrassed You've been beckoned here for one reason and one reason only, and that reason is that you have shown great aptitude in the art of hand to hand combat. You are entry number 19 and well, this is the setting of your battle, the dungeon. I am your moderator and am here to outline the rules.
Joseph still could not believe this. Just two days ago, he had been given an envelope by a mysterious man dressed in a black suit. When he opened the envelope, the only thing there was in it was a white paper with a short statement explaining that he had been chosen to partake in a world-wide tournament to determine the "God" of unarmed combat. Turning the sheet of paper around he noticed another thing, an address and the word "dungeon". The fifteen year old boy had his doubts. His basic instincts told him that this was nothing more than some kind of trap made by some evil enemy of WAL that wanted to single him out and take him down..but the boy's curiosity eventually trumped his instincts. He was a super genius, but still a boy, after all, and his potent, yet, immature mind perpetrated a plan to keep this little sheet of paper from the WAL Captains and his mentor, Precise, and to secretly come to the address on it.
When the day of the tournament came, Joseph sneaked out of the WAL compound and arrived at the address. It was a huge castle, and there were many strong, shapely men congregated on the premises. Because the sheet of paper had said "dungeon", Joseph entered the castle and eventually found the dark passage that led downward to the dungeon. He knew that whatever this was, it was going to be one helluva challenge.
The rules for round 1 are short and simple, the old wheezy man continued. No weapons, no powers. Your powers are being monitored by state-of-the-art superhuman technology and as soon as we sense them at any point in your match, I will step in, stop the battle, and disqualify you. Joseph simply smirked upon hearing this. He knew that he had no powers whatsoever. Back in Young W.A.L., he always relied on intellect and raw skill to get the job done. It seemed as if his whole life was in preparation for this.
With that said, good luck men, may this be the beginning of a long journey for both of you.
As the old man walked away and made his way up the stairs Joseph turned to the corner and saw another bigger, well-built man there. One glance was all he needed to know that this man was to be his opponent. Joseph reached into his pockets and pulled out all his kunai, shuriklen, and other weapons. Setting them on an iron tablee, he once again look at his opponent and bowed his head in respect as low as he could. As a horn sounded in the distance, Joseph knew that it was time. It was time to prove himself. It was time to show the world that mastery of the sacred martial arts knew no age boundaries, and most importantly it was time to make his old sensei proud; the man who had shown Joseph the virtues of the art of combat.
I will make you proud sensei, the young boy said as he walked to the center of the room and shifted his right leg forward and left leg backward. He cupped his hands together in a peculiar fashion. This was a a defensive stance that he had perfected along with his sensei back in Tel Aviv. It combined many of the principles of defense outlined in various kinds of diverse martial arts. He was ready, and he was visibly giving his opponent the privilege of first strike. With one last gulp of courage and bravado, he uttered...
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