As soon as they arrived at the gym, Amber, Floyd, and Gwen were left amazed by the place.
"Wow! This area is huge!" Floyd said.
The gym was bigger than any other the three saw, and the sheer number of training items left them flabbergasted.
"Pretty nice, eh?" Benedict said. "We can use whatever we want here, so suit yourself..."
Then Benedict scanned the room and saw three familiar people, Anderson, Aaron, and Mikey. They probably had the same idea of training. The young man turned to Erik while pointing at the three and said.
"You told me you would introduce us..." Erik looked at him. "I can if you want..."
"Yes, please." Erik had just met Benedict, but it was clear that the latter was a battle junkie since he wanted to meet Anderson to ask him for a fight.
Clearly, the other three heard Benedict, so they simply started to walk in Anderson's direction, despite Floyd being reluctant.
As they got close to the three students, Anderson noticed them and smiled charmingly. Then Aaron and Mikey saw the approaching students too.
"Hey guys," Erik greeted them with an easy smile. "My friend here, Benedict," he said while pointing at his roommate, "Was impressed by your fighting prowess and was wondering if you would be OK sparring with him."
Anderson was by no means an amiable person. He gave his all for those he loved, but aside from that, he treated everyone based on their strength.
That explained why he was cold toward Erik initially but started treating him nicely once he awakened. The young man was slightly worried he wouldn't accept the fight, but since he knew how obsessed Anderson was with training, he hoped he would.
Here everyone was strong, so there was no reason for him not to accept based on some sort of prejudice.
Anderson observed Benedict. He was actually shorter than him and not very muscular. However, he looked like a strong guy and was part of the Red Palace, so the young man decided to accept his challenge.
Anderson then nodded and pointed to the fighting area in the corner of the room.
"Go ahead, then."
***
After getting into the ring, Benedict looked like a kid in a candy store. Before starting the fight, Anderson decided to set some rules.
"Ok, I don't want to make this a dangerous fight, so let's only use martial arts. Is it ok with you?"
"Yes," Benedict replied.
"To quit the fight before anything bad happens, we can surrender by saying I QUIT. All right?"
"Yes, yes..."
"Good, let's start then."
Everyone was naturally curious about Benedict's strength. As much as Erik said to Floyd, Amber, and Gwen, the guy was not from New Alexandria, and they were eager to know how strong people from other cities were.
"Ready? FIGHT!" Erik said, and immediately Benedict went straight forward without even looking around first.
His eyes were set only on Anderson, who stood before him. Once the two opponents locked gazes, Benedict made a fist and punched Anderson directly in the face.
Anderson simply evaded the attack and replied in kind with a punch of his own. However, Benedict wasn't a pushover and avoided the attack. However, he was surprised by the move; no one had ever been able to do something like that to him.
"Nice try," Anderson said calmly. To these words, Benedict smiled.
It was then Anderson's turn to attack. He raised his leg to kick his opponent in the head. Benedict parried the move but found himself unable to evade a third one.
In fact, by using the momentum he gained, Anderson jumped in the air and unleashed another kick with his other leg, hitting Benedict in the chest. It didn't hurt him that much, but the force of the blow knocked the air out of him, forcing him to take several steps back. However, he kept smiling at Anderson.
"That was good," Benedict commented, still dizzy from the lack of oxygen.
"Thank you," Anderson replied.
They circled each other cautiously, trying to figure out what to do next. Suddenly, Benedict lunged toward him and threw a spinning kick at his abdomen. To avoid the attack, Anderson stepped backward, but his opponent was relentless and charged at him again.
"The guy is pretty strong," Floyd said.
"Indeed, he has good foundations," Gwen replied.
Erik and Amber observed the fight, with the first wishing to become as good as them. Luckily, the young man had the system on his side, and having increased dexterity the last time; he was bound to have an easier time training.
"He's fast," Erik remarked, referring to Benedict while observing the fight.
"Yeah..." Amber agreed. "So far, he's holding his own against Anderson, but he won't be able to do it for much longer."
Erik nodded. Anderson was too strong, and even if Benedict was good at fighting, there was no way he would lose in a melee match.
At that moment, a girl approached the ring and started watching the fight. Then, Anderson blocked Benedict's attack and countered with his left hand. Benedict dodged it easily and retaliated with a punch aimed at his opponent's stomach, which he parried by raising his right leg.
However, Anderson found an opening into Benedict's defenses, the only one he showed during the whole fight. Gwen naturally noticed it too, "He lost," she said, and then Anderson grabbed the young man by the arm and threw him on the ground.
Benedict didn't feel pain since the ring was fully padded. However, Anderson placed his foot on his throat and firmly declared, "I won."
That was the moment when everyone would understand what kind of guy Benedict was. Was he the arrogant type who couldn't even accept a loss like Nathaniel, or was he a good guy who would see this defeat as an opportunity to improve his skills?
"I quit," Benedict said. It was clear to all what kind of man he was.
Anderson then helped him stand up. "You fought well, Benedict..."
"Thank you," the young man replied. "I had a lot of fun; thank you for the match also!"
"You are welcome!"
At that moment, Benedict turned to look around, only to see the young woman watching the fight.
"Martha!" he shouted.
"Hey, Benny!" the young woman replied.
"You do know each other?" Erik asked.
"Yes, she came to my same high school; she is a friend of mine!" Benedict said happily.
"Hi, I'm Martha," the woman shily said.
"Hi, Martha! I'm Amber!"
"I'm Gwen."
One by one, the others introduced themselves to her, including Aaron and Mikey. After the fight, Gwen felt obliged to compliment Benedict, "Nice fighting style," she told him.
"Thanks!" Benedict exclaimed.
With that, the students decided it was time to start training. Erik was the first one to do so since he still had to work at the farm, or better, he had to go there to hunt Thaids. At the moment, the job at the farm was simply an excuse he used to go to the northern district, where the breach was located.
Erik worked out for an hour, and as soon as he did, the usual notification rang inside his ears.
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETE.]
<Finally>
Since it was still early in the morning, Erik kept training and spent the next hours perfecting his martial art moves. However, what the burly man said resonated with him.
ραпdα Йᴏνê|(сòm) It was true that his power was well suited to be used with a weapon, so the young man decided to do something about it. Learning how to wield a sword wasn't going to be bad. However, he needed to find a teacher to learn it. Fortunately, soon melee weapon combat class was going to start.
=====================================
A.N: Guys, let me know if there is something I can improve or that I should change, I'm still new to writing, and I have a lot to learn. Aside from this, I just wanted to say that I made massive changes to the previous chapters. I had even changed some names, such as a nation one, since it was indeed a very lame name. I hope you will like the changes, see ya!
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