Everyone had heard that it was the first time for Ash to participate in that kind of special event.
Everyone else had already participated in at least one of them since it had not been mentioned that it had been their first time.
The winning streak of Ash may have been good, but from how Ash was talked about, she was not a type of fighter that some of them would fear all that much.
She was a fighter that played the long game, avoiding taking damage and breaking down her opponents, whether it was waiting for their stamina to deplete or for injuries to build up.
Such an approach would not be so easy to apply in the present environment where there were many opponents to contend against.
What made it just as difficult was how weapons were used.
It would not be so easy to avoid weapons constantly and to reduce the damage taken to oneself while trying to win a war of attrition without a weapon.
Ash was unarmed, so that made her weaker.
