NOVEL NEXT Chapter 530
Where does longing come from?
Plato believed that our souls pursue a perfect and beautiful ideal, while Freud saw human desires as stemming from repressed early emotions.
I think existential deficiency ultimately arises from knowing.
Having once perceived a world devoid of aura, having experienced life as a male.
I speculate that the desire to overcome and transcend the fundamental imperfection of the current body manifests in a love for martial arts.
“Simply put, it’s just the raw tension of competition and the passion of the athletes that feels great.”
Thud-
“Aaaah!”
With one smack from Miocic, a fan fell like a leaf in autumn.
After finishing the event matches with amateur fighters, it was time to spar with the fans.
The streamer IllusionX, who was commentating, glanced at me and grabbed the microphone.
“Matteo, do you know who came to this place today?”
Miocic let out an awkward laugh.
“I hope it’s not who I think it is. I just had a warm greeting with that friend right before coming up here.”
“Well, too bad, but it’s true. Let me introduce you! 2053 France National Exchange Tournament quarter-finalist! No! Me! Na-me! Let’s bring her up here.”
As the sunset began, a spotlight fell on my head.
With the help of the announcer, I stepped into the octagon.
“Oh. My. God. This isn’t happening.”
Compared to the people whistling, Miocic’s face gradually filled with bewilderment.
I pulled a chair over and sat next to him.
IllusionX, giggling at Miocic’s awkwardness, asked him, “Matteo, why do you dislike this cute and adorable female fan so much?”
“When did I say I dislike her? I’m just worried she’ll ask to take punches and calf kicks later. Phew…”
He seemed genuinely concerned.
Illusion handed me a microphone and led the conversation.
“Waaaaaah!”
“Whoa, the excitement is incredible! I don’t even know whose fan meeting this is.”
“Cheating! Cheating! Cheating! Cheating!”
“Did I cheat to invite you? Haha, that doesn’t make sense. How could I bring a competitor from a currently running National Exchange Tournament? Even if the President of the United States came, it wouldn’t happen. So, how did you end up here, Na-me?”
“My sister told me there’s a scenic place, so I came, and happened to learn that today’s event was happening.”
“So it wasn’t nature she was referring to, but muscle men.”
“Looking back, that does seem to be the case.”
“Wait, hold on, I have a question, kiddo. Do you know when my debut fight was?”
Miocic was trying to verify if I was a real fan by somehow getting me out of the octagon.
“Your MMA pro debut was in 2044, and you joined the UFC in August of the following year. Your debut match was on November 29, where you won by decision against Brandon Carter.”
“Wow…”
No way that was accidental.
I memorized the entire Tree Wiki before coming up.
Eventually, he half-gave in, opening up a bit.
“I’m grateful and truly honored that such a great young athlete is my fan. Many people think MMA is a dangerous, violent, and brutal sport. How did you get interested in such a sport from a young age?”
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s dangerous. If we just look at injury rates, American football, soccer, and basketball are way worse. As for permanent aftereffects, boxing seems riskier… So, I think MMA is a lot like magic battles. It’s safe but lets you experience life and death.”
“Can you feel the ultimate thrill?”
“Yes. Plus, it gives a sense of vicarious satisfaction from primal strength.”
“Did you all hear that? A 10-year-old girl wants to feel the thrill of life and death. That’s the most shocking answer I’ve ever heard.”
I thought the influence of living in a capsule for so long must be considerable.
“Soldiers who return from war often set out for battle again. Even though it’s virtual reality, I’ve been fighting here and there since I was a kid, so I think I naturally became accustomed to battle.”
The stage instantly turned solemn.
Miocic’s brows furrowed deeply as he kept his mouth shut.
He momentarily placed the microphone down and opened his arms for a hug.
“I have a one-year-old daughter as well. If I think about Mia going through such terrible things, h… I can’t even express it.”
“That’s also why I cheer for Miocic. He often shows this warm side outside the ring.”
“Right, do you want anything before sparring? I’ll definitely provide some fan service. How about an autograph?”
“I want to gauge how strong your punch is by taking a hit to my belly.”
“Hey!”
“If you’ve got an aura around you, it won’t hurt at all.”
“Just checking, but are your family members here?”
“Umm, my dad should be somewhere around.”
“Please don’t say that…”
After a back-and-forth, it was settled that if my dad gave the okay, I could show a calf kick.
A body punch clearly seemed beyond his principles.
The audience managed to find Professor Cheon and brought him to the front row.
“Father, are you okay? Your daughter is asking like that.”
“Go ahead.”
“Is this a yes or a no? Does your dad feel like, ‘If you can do it, give it a try?’”
“Dad has granted permission.”
Professor Cheon seemed reluctant, but I practically forced a yes out of him.
“You kick with your shins, of course?”
“Of course. Your legs are essential for athletes.”
“Oh, so you were worried about that.”
It was solely for the sake of the fighter’s feet.
Standing facing each other, he let out a small laugh.
“Do you know what I’m thinking, Illusion?”
“What’s that?”
“Everyone in the National Exchange Tournament is a genuine psychopath. How on earth can someone hit such a small kid like this?”
“Hahaha!”
“Just hurry up. I’m waiting here.”
The intensity was definitely 100%.
Thud-thud-
Before I kicked, I made sure the mat was properly positioned.
Like a pro, he raised both hands, getting into stance and stepping sideways.
‘Here it comes.’
The moment I recognized it, his foot touched the mat.
Boom-!
With a kick delivering all 110 kg of weight, the mat shook violently.
Accompanied by the crowd’s cheers, a long sweat mark was engraved on the mat.
But even after absorbing the impact of the kick, my feet remained firmly planted on the ground.
“Is this all you have? Keep going.”
I provoked him by displaying a series of body uppercuts.
It was the technique with which Miocic had gotten knocked out in the previous match.
His expression twisted a bit as he swung his foot at a lower angle this time.
Thwack-! Thwack-! Thwack-!
The sound from his foot echoed like gunfire.
I curled my five toes and endured all three impacts.
As the tension on the octagon peaked, he mumbled and wiped the sweat off.
“Phew, I can’t do this without an aura. I’ve never had to blame my aura before.”
The audience kept their applause and cheers going.
I briefly shook hands with Miocic and cleared the mat tied to my shin out of the octagon.
“Should we spar too?”
“But it will be touch sparring. No effort at all.”
“That’s not sparring; it’s weaving practice…”
I looked up at him with disappointment dripping from my eyes, but it didn’t work.
*
[NoName Miocic seems totally unfazed by a calf kick, LOL.]
Is this kid a descendant of a rhinoceros beetle or something?
How can she withstand that when they weigh five times more?
(Nervously fidgeting NoName’s father.gif)
[Comments]
– There’s a technique called “descending gathering” that can help withstand it. I’ve seen it used in football for resilience.
– If she’s been sweeping through tournaments with certified human weapons…
– Doing a calf kick at a daughter in front of her father? That really requires a lot of courage.
└ If Na-me just listened and took a punch, it would’ve literally been murder.
– Now it seems Na-me enjoys it too, LOL.
– Bodyguard: Please protect me! / NoName: I got it.
└ LOL!
[NoName’s insane evasion skills.]
(NoName weaving for 10 seconds.gif)
Whoa, that’s totally inhuman.
[Comments]
– She dodges just like water flowing.
– That was insane, LOL.
– It’s so natural that it feels like she’s doing it on purpose.
– No wonder she’s called a monster.
– I’m deeply curious about what the opposite of an uppercut is.
└ Was “down cut” a real thing? LOL.
[NoName’s sister was the savior of today’s broadcast, right?]
The excitement shot up during the game recap, but suddenly drifted into the lecture, leaving everyone first confused.
Even the listeners who shielded Na-me’s original mind started feeling secondarily bewildered after over 30 minutes.
But when her sister appeared, Na-me and the banter became hilarious, LOL.
I’d been watching her since the beginning of the stream, and it was the first time I saw NoName speak that much.
After meeting the villain market of Nice, it just reached a new high point.
And it seemed like the heavens were helping her broadcast since she randomly met Matteo Miocic.
[Comments]
– Sister Me appears to be pathetically demure but has a subtly crazy vibe flowing out of her, LOL.
└ Subtle? She’s completely overtly fourth-dimensional, LOL.
– Father looks quite old; is he a latechild?
└ Nah, he revealed earlier that he’s single, so it seems like he might be an adopted child like Na-me.
– I hope the golden child Na-me will treat her father well later on.
└ Asking Miocic to take a punch made me dizzy just hearing it, LOL.
– That body type is a serious non-Asian look.
– When I see Na-me’s sister, does anyone else think of Adella?
└ Their voices are different, but the repertoire of teasing Na-me is quite similar, LOL.
└ Queen Nyang learned only the bad habits from ASI’s sister.
└ Oh come on, teachers, do we really have to talk about virtual YouTubers here too?
[Do Na-me’s sister and Adella sound similar?]
People keep saying they’re different, but is my ear wrong?
(I’m here to watch sports, not to do them. I hate it!!!) ← This part.
(Please, let me just go to the library! Why do you keep following me when I only want to go to the library? Aaaah, I hate it!!!)
I brought an old video of Adella gaming, and it seems almost identical.
[Comments]
– Wow, this one is definitely kind of similar.
– Could it be Adella had voice surgery? That’d be creepy…
└ Is it possible to create such a similarity?
└ Nowadays, technology can replicate voices perfectly.
└ Sure, but it’s illegal to mimic other people’s voices.
└ No one cares if you mimic Adella. She used AI voices instead of a voice actor in her game too.
– Their speaking styles are also surprisingly similar.
– Ugh, the ghosts of Adella…
– Adella is dead. She’s gone. Please face reality.
– It’s disgusting to slander. What do you mean by voice surgery? It could simply be a coincidence.
└ For real, I could mimic that similar yelling part too.
It seemed like NoName’s sister’s appearance caused a stir in the community.
While some minor communities discussed voice surgery, most attention was on her appearance.
Many requests piled up on Na-me’s broadcasting station asking if she ever planned to unmask officially.
In the meantime, there were those who lost money gambling sports bets by just blindly trusting Na-me’s words.
[NoNameeeeee! Give me my money back!!!!!]
Na-me, did you deceive me?
You clearly said Kazakhstan and Germany would advance!
Why did Switzerland and Australia get through!!!!
[Comments]
– Got tricked, LOL!
– How could Kazakhstan lose to Switzerland, LOL?
– Kazakhstan’s unexpected defeat is truly mind-blowing.
– Wait, Australia won?
– What? Germany looks like they’re about to lose! Whoa!
– How do we predict Australia? LOL.
– Why did Germany drop out?
– How much did you bet?
└ (Original poster): 300, damn…
– 3 million won, LOL! You sure bet a lot.