44 – MonstroHector might not have admitted it if asked, but he was glad for Sass’s company while he waited for the convention hall personnel to change the layout of the fight floor. She walked with him to get a snack—a protein bar and a pouch of electrolytes—and then they sat together near the top of one of the emptier bleacher sections, watching as a crew of synths tore down two of the rings and shifted the other two.“Things will move fast from here. If you win, you won’t get much time before your next match.” Sass prodded her sore shoulder, wincing.“Sorry about that.”“Don’t be stupid. You could have done worse. You’ve got an aura system, right?”Hector nodded. “How’d you know?”“Because I’m friendly and I talk to the event staff. I hope you know what you’re doing, because I’ve heard Monstro has killed people. It’s no wonder they put him up against synths in the early rounds.”“But he didn’t rate the high-tier brackets?”Sass sighed, shaking her head. “There’s only two fighters they seeded into the top tier. Whoever wins these next two fights will fight the two of them, and then the winners will be the main event.”Hector blinked, surprised. “They only put two fighters in the high-tier brackets?”She nodded, shrugging. “Three prime-time fights is plenty for this venue. Most of the town is gonna be here.” She was exaggerating; she had to be. Hector figured ten thousand people could fit in the hall, and there were many times that amount of people living in Redwick. Still, it was a significant percentage.“You know them?”“The prime-time fighters? I know one—he’s from around here.” She shrugged. “A synth named Vek, and I’ve no idea where he got that name. I guess it’s weird that they let synths fight with people, but honestly, folks like Monstro are tougher than most synths.”“It’s maybe strange, but not unheard of.” Hector had seen plenty of synthetics fighting in (...)