Max stood in the center of the arena, the weight of his phone in his pocket feeling like a tether to a new reality. He didn’t have time to dwell on the specific details of how he had managed to convince a titan like Dennis Stern to authorize such a transfer. He had promised to pay the man back with interest, but since he hadn’t stayed on the line long enough to hammer out the exact terms, he knew there was some level of trouble waiting for him on the horizon.
Dennis was a shark; he would probably not be satisfied unless Max eventually returned at least double the money he had borrowed. But that was a problem for the future, a problem for a version of Max that survived this night. Right now, as the data processed and the Vow recognized the shift in his net worth, he felt stronger than he ever had in his entire life.
The numbers on his screen were undeniable. His total wealth had reached a new peak:
$2,006,380,000
The starting amount of money Max had possessed at the very beginning of this journey was exactly one billion. Some how, some way, against all the odds of the underworld, he had managed to double it. As the power of his Vow surged to match the new balance, it was the first time Max truly felt superhuman.
He was still perhaps a rather weak superhuman compared to the legends who had made a name for themselves over decades, or those who had managed to last through countless wars, but in a lot of ways, he had reached a threshold. He was no longer the man he had been in his previous life. The frailty of his past was being overwritten by the cold, hard capital in his account.
The fight had reached a tense equilibrium where neither side felt like they held the advantage. Max and Ramon moved in a slow, predatory circle, closing the distance between each other step by step. They were both waiting, coiled like springs, for the other to make the first move.
The silence broke when Ramon kicked off his back foot. The exoskeleton hissed, driving his leg forward at a great speed that still managed to catch Max off guard. That burst of mechanical movement was something Ramon still had over him, the suit didn’t need to "wind up" the way muscles did.
The heavy metal leg drove into Max’s stomach, but the result was different this time. Max managed to catch the limb, absorbing the brunt of the blow. Because of the Vow’s increase, everything about Max had been upgraded, including his endurance and his physical body toughness. He didn’t crumble; instead, he threw the captured leg to the side with a grunt of exertion and charged in himself.
When Ramon went to strike with his gauntleted hand, Max performed a calculated parry, pushing the mechanical arm to the outside. He followed the movement through, grabbing the arm from behind and forcing it into a brutal joint lock. He pushed against the metal frame, his muscles bulging as he prepared to break Ramon’s arm at the elbow.
Max pushed, and Ramon felt a surge of panic. Even with the mechanical assistance of the exoskeleton, his raw strength was almost losing out to Max’s new physical power. Ramon fought against the lock, and in a desperate bid to free himself, he used the suit’s vertical lift to hoist his arm upward, lifting Max clean off the floor.
Ramon then slammed his arm down, hoping to crush Max against the stage in the process, but Max was too agile now. He managed to wiggle his way out of the grip mid-air and landed firmly on the ground. The moment his feet touched the wood, Max swung his leg in a wide, sweeping kick. The strike connected with Ramon’s ankles, the force sending the scientist crashing to the floor.
Lifting his leg high, Max slammed his heel down like a hammer. It hit Ramon right in the center of the chest piece. A weird, high-pitched mechanical grinding sound was heard as the metal buckled under the impact. When Max lifted his foot to perform the strike a second time, Ramon scrambled, rolling away desperately before getting back up to his feet.
"Haven’t you noticed?" Max said, his voice dropping into a dangerous register. He was now the clear aggressor, swinging his leg in a high arc, trying to kick Ramon on the side of his head.
Ramon managed to block the kicks, and when he thought he saw a fleeting opening, he struck back with a straight punch. Once again, Max performed the same maneuver as before. He avoided the punch with a slight tilt of his head, locked his arm up around Ramon’s extended limb, and used nearly all of his force in one concentrated surge. He pushed, and this time, the exoskeleton’s internal structure snapped, breaking apart with a spray of sparks. But it wasn’t just the machine that failed; Max had severely damaged Ramon’s actual arm as well.
"Ahh!" Ramon screamed in agony. He swung his other arm backward in a wild, flailing motion, trying to hit Max and create space. Max simply lifted his arm to block the desperate attack.
Although it still hurt to block the heavy metal strikes, Max had realized the true extent of his new body. He would survive this. He could take the pain, and even if he suffered minor fractures, his body was healing from them at an accelerated rate in this state.
After blocking the hit, Max ducked low and swung a tight, compact hook right into Ramon’s chest. He continued to avoid all of the incoming strikes, delivering compact blows again and again to the exact same point on the armor. He was fighting just as if he were Na, focusing all his strength into a single, localized target.
He struck one final time, and a loud cracking sound echoed through the arena. It was followed by several electrical whining sounds and small spurts of acrid black smoke rising from the chest unit.
"That’s two parts of your exoskeleton suit broken now," Max claimed, his eyes cold. "You’re getting weaker than you were at the start of this fight!"
"No... no! This is the suit that was meant to beat them all!" Ramon cried out, his voice filled with a frantic denial. "I can’t fall to a nobody like you!"
At the perfect time, Max swung his leg, kicking the forearm of the other exoskeleton arm. The same sickening electrical sound of failing circuitry followed as the limb went limp.
"This fight was over the moment the playing field became equal and it became about skill," Max claimed, stepping over the smoking wreckage of the suit. "You’re done for, Ramon."