The woman's fist never landed.
The moment her strike should have connected, a sharp sound rang out across the oasis. It was the same voice they had all heard before. The Voice of the World.
[Rule violation detected. Direct combat is forbidden. Further attempts will be punished.]
The woman froze mid-motion. Her hand was locked in place abruptly, killing all the momentum behind her punch. The guy she had wanted to punch stood right in front of her, untouched and grinning widely like he had just confirmed a theory he had.
No one knew what had happened, but from the few clues, everyone could kind of guess that the guy goaded her into action to try attacking him. She looked like someone that was naturally short-tempered too, so she was his obvious choice.
The woman gritted her teeth, realizing she'd just been used as a test subject. A public test subject.
Everyone had relaxed back into their positions and went quiet, but one could practically see the gears in their heads turning.
