What do you have when you have a socially awkward young girl given a system that has stumbled upon a secret of the world that wasn't meant to be discovered by someone like her? A recipe for disaster, that's what. Just how will Zoey Winters be able to survive in a world that seemed to have gotten much bigger than she already thought it was? Maybe learning boxing could help.
Life isn’t so Simple Anymore!
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Chapter 1: Life Is Complicated.
Life isn't so Simple Anymore!
Chapter 1:
"And this class is how you find the missing degree of a right angle. Is there anyone who needs a second example?" Miss Flanagan asked.
"Can you do a different problem like this one? I don't think I get it yet." A student said.
"No problem, Kimberly. As long as you follow the formula I gave you, there is no reason why any of you should get these wrong unless you punch the wrong numbers in your calculator." Miss Flanagan began showing the formula and working through each step in the formula as she solved a similar problem.
Zoey wasn't really paying much attention to all this, though. Something far more interesting and weird was taking up all her attention. Right in front of her was a floating box telling her some cool things about herself and the existence of a fictional force that might be present in her world. Was she in a video game or something now? From what she could tell, no one else could see this thing.
At first, she thought it was part of her dream as she woke up in the morning. Like what if life on Earth suddenly became like an RPG? She was initially going to try and become a combative healer-type class. A combination of dishing out huge damage and healing from any wounds would be just too strong. But then the dream shattered when her little brother burst into her room telling her to get ready for school without mentioning anything at all.
The status screen went away, but she could still bring it back up. It was still here, just floating in front of her face. Zoey didn't know if her stats were good or horrible, considering that she had never worked out or exercised a day in her life. The only time she ever willingly did physical activity was for P.E. At home; she did anything but things that were healthy for her.
It was hard to think of numbers that went into the decimals as good. No matter how ignorant someone was, if they were told they had a 0.3 body, they wouldn't assume it was good. The only way that could be twisted positively was if they said, "At least it isn't a 0.0! Am I right?!" Zoey had a dislike for people like that.
It wasn't as if optimistic people did anything wrong to her. It just made her sick and a little bit jealous that they could look at this shitty world and just see the good parts of it.
'Having a positive attitude when the planet is slowing dying by our own hands, when the people in power are only becoming more corrupt and greedier, and when I haven't even had a single boyfriend all my life when I'm a fucking high schooler!' She inwardly shouted, getting to the crux of her anger.
'I know that I'm not like putting myself out there by acting slutty or whatever, but still! Guys should be interested in girls who don't act like thots!'
"Zoey? Do you mind paying attention to class instead of trying to break that pen in half?" Miss Flanagan asked in a voice that swiftly brought Zoey back to reality.
"I'm sorry," Zoey responded with a faint blush on her cheeks as everyone looked at her.
"Thank you. Now how would we find the missing degree of this obtuse angle?"
"Uhh..."
It wasn't hard to see that Zoey wasn't an A or B student either. Seeing how Zoey wasn't able to answer any questions based on what they were learning today earned her detention after class today. Making today one of the worst days ever. She's never been more embarrassed in school than she was today. Miss Flanagan made her look stupid in front of the entire class! And in front of Ethan, of all people too! The cutest boy in her class, with just the most adorable personality she's ever seen in a guy.
'The things I would do to him...' Her mind wandered into all sorts of fantasies while she was in detention with the Disciplinary Teach, Brock.
Detention at her school was pretty much torture for people who couldn't handle sitting still for hours doing nothing. What detention came down to at Sun Valley High School was basically this: Sit down at a desk, do homework or do nothing, and wait till your time was up. You couldn't sleep, rest your head down, use anything that resembled an electronic, or chew gum. Zoey didn't have a problem with this as she basically spent the time trying to figure out what else her status could do besides showing her what it had already told her.
The zero skills part was what was bothering her. It bothered her more than her weak body and obviously low mental stat. The magic was understandable as humans haven't yet found that magic particle in the universe and haven't figured out how to harness that particle for our own uses. But she had to have at least a single skill in her life! Like, who goes 17 years of their life without having one skill? Even something meaningless like juggling, whistling, or hell, twirling a pencil through your fingers!?
Zoey grabbed her pencil lying on her desk and, in her anger, tried to gain a skill by twirling it in between her fingers. She made sure to prop up her math book in front of her desk before attempting this stunt. If that hard-ass Brock saw her having the tiniest bit of fun, he'd surely order her to stop. When she successfully placed her only means of defense up, she began spinning. Immediately, the 0.3 in body and 0.5 in mental shown from her status showed their fighting spirit.
Zoey dropped the pencil on her first attempt and proceeded to curse several deities for giving her such a useless body.
"Zoey Winters! Place that book flat on your desk, and do not let me hear another sound from you!" Brock yammered loudly.
'Ugh! Asshole!' She cursed inwardly.
"I won't do it again..." She promised outwardly.
The next two hours were spent actually doing her homework. Since she didn't learn anything in the classroom, she had to figure out how to do it through the actual math book. Which didn't help her at all because she couldn't find a single damn formula listed in the book! Zoey distinctly remembered Flanagan talking about a formula that would help solve every problem.
'Then why the fuck isn't that formula in the goddamn book!?' She raced to the front of the book to see when her shitty math book was published and felt like ripping it to pieces.
2000 was when it was published. It was the year 2020, and this cheap ass school still hasn't gotten better books?! No wonder her school was always ranked so low online. Zoey didn't know if it was because they had no money at all or just had no idea what the fuck to do with the money they were getting.
'Well, if I fail, at least I know it wasn't my fault. It was the school's fault for being so cheap and not giving us the most recent academic books."
The last bell of the day rang, and they were ordered out of detention. Brock called them out in alphabetic order before releasing them, which meant that she was the last to leave. Zoey argued that it would've made more sense to release them based on the offense of their crime but knew her words would only fall on deaf ears. Brock definitely wouldn't listen to a trouble student like her. He considers every kid that gets detention as a delinquent.
'Such a fucking loser.' She swore while leaving the classroom.
Zoey made her way toward her locker. Most of the hallway was empty by this point, as it was 2 hours after school normally ends. The only people still here are teachers, janitors, coaches, and the kids that actually do stuff at school. Clubs, sports, and other stuff like that. Zoey didn't really have any interest in any of the clubs at school.
Well, no, that was a lie. She was interested in joining the Video Game Club, but that was because she heard that they don't do anything but play games all day. Zoey wasn't like some hardcore gamer or anything like that. She just played from time to time because of her dad. Now he was the biggest gaming nerd ever. He even goes to gaming conventions and stuff like that with her little brother, who is becoming just like their dad with his obsession with games.
While sifting through her locker, Zoey realized that she had forgotten something in Miss Flanagan's classroom. She could just leave and come get it tomorrow, but she might as well do it now. Miss Flanagan's class is her third period, and anyone could steal her stuff before she gets it tomorrow. It wasn't worth being lazy right now.
On her way to Miss Flanagan's room, she heard two voices inside. A boy and a girl. This stopped Zoey straight in her tracks. A faint blush formed on her face as she heard what they were whispering about.
'Has school morals seriously fallen to this point?!' Zoey exclaimed while pressing her ear against the door.
"Are you sure no one is going to come in?" The girl asked. She had to be a slut if she was willing to do this at school.
"Of course, I'm sure. I even have measures in place for if someone does try to come in." The boy reassured.
'Oh, he must do this often. Was there a desk against the door or something?' Zoey thought.
"Well, okay... I trust you." She sounded pretty innocent.
Maybe this was her first time doing nasty stuff in public.
"You have nothing to worry about. I've done this loads of times. Just make sure to relax, and it'll make everything easier." The casanova told the girl.
'Holy shit. They really are about to have sex! I wonder who they are... They must be one of the popular kids if they have the confidence to do something like this. But I need to get my stuff! Should I knock before they begin? That would be so awkward, though. What if they get mad at me for ruining their perfect opportunity? I should take a quick peek.' Zoey slowly peeked through the crack in the door and saw two figures close together.
Their faces were inches apart, and from this angle, Zoey couldn't glean anything except that their skin was white. But then, all of a sudden, they got even closer, and a bright light was visible inside. Zoey wondered what that light was, and just as she did, even more lights began to shine around them. The beat of her heart started to pump within her chest rapidly. These two weren't about to have sex! They were doing magical shit!
Zoey accidentally exhaled the air she didn't know she was holding in, and the two stared in her direction.
"Who's there?!" The boy yelled in a voice that sent shivers through her body.
"I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!" She yelled.
Zoey instantly regretted saying anything, but that didn't stop her from running down the hall at her fastest speed. She could hear the door to the classroom bursting open as she turned the hall. Her legs didn't stop moving until she was successfully out of the school building and a distance away from the school down the street. Hopefully, they didn't see her while she was running.
Zoey dropped on her butt completely out of breath. She never ran as hard as that ever in her life. She could've sworn she saw like 2 teachers chasing her when she was running through the building. The fast beating of her heart matched perfectly with her emotional state right now. Magic was actually real, and there were people who could use it! And they probably were going to kill her for seeing them use it!
"I need to find a way to defend myself!" Zoey exclaimed.
Once she made her way home, Zoey began doing everything she could to try and use magic. Chanting long magical spells to cast fireballs, magic missiles, and teleporting. But obviously, nothing worked, as her magic stat was literally at 0. So, she did the next best thing and started looking online for self-defense classes. Since she couldn't bring weapons to school, she had to learn a way to defend herself with just her body alone. Magicians were usually weak in close combat, right?
The only self-defense classes near her for women were things for like rapists and defending herself from people trying to assault her. That wouldn't be too helpful against people who could use fucking magic! So instead, she started looking for self-defense classes that weren't targeted at women. In her local area, there was a boxing gym that had a four-star rating, a taekwondo class with three stars, a karate dojo with four stars, and several fitness classes.
As an American, Zoey only had one strong impression of any of the classes listed. And that was boxing. There were no famous taekwondo fighters that she could name and only a few karate fighters that she could. The famous karate fighters didn't count, though, because they were movie actors, and Zoey didn't know enough about those actors to tell if they really had a background in karate. But with famous boxers, she could name a few. Nike Lyson and Buhammad Kali were some. Zoey prepared herself to visit the boxing gym tomorrow. The chilling tone from that casanova's words earlier still ran through her mind. He definitely planned to do something bad to her if he managed to get ahold of her.
'Wait, is he a Casanvoa? He was just doing magic stuff with that girl. There was no proof that they were going to do any naughty stuff but then again... There is nothing saying that they weren't going to go at it like animals after doing secret magic stuff.' She got distracted.
Zoey focused back on her computer and got back to shopping for boxing equipment. Their family shared a Lamazon Prime account, so she could put whatever she wanted into her dad's shopping cart, and when he went on Lamazon, he could buy them for her if he had the money this week. He worked as a video game designer. She already looked up what equipment she would need for boxing classes and added several things to his cart. Hand wraps, dark purple boxing gloves, a heavy bag to carry her stuff with, and boxing shoes.
Tomorrow when her dad asks why she needs all this boxing stuff, she'll tell him she wants to learn boxing to protect herself. It wouldn't be a lie either because that magic guy was for sure going to try and find out who she was and silence her. Boxing was just the best alternative that wouldn't make her look like a nutcase for the next few days. She could try and conceal a weapon on her at all times, but getting in trouble for something like that would be annoying. Zoey also doubted she'd be able to persuade any teachers that she was keeping a razor or knife on herself for protection.
Zoey didn't have a suspicious look to her or anything. Just your normal 17-year-old girl. She had dark brown skin, a short and thin frame, with straight black hair that went past her neck slightly. Sadly, she wasn't gifted with large tits, but her ass was nice. In her opinion, anyway. She'd screw her. If she started working out, she'd probably be able to get her ass to pop too.
Chapter 1:
"And this class is how you find the missing degree of a right angle. Is there anyone who needs a second example?" Miss Flanagan asked.
"Can you do a different problem like this one? I don't think I get it yet." A student said.
"No problem, Kimberly. As long as you follow the formula I gave you, there is no reason why any of you should get these wrong unless you punch the wrong numbers in your calculator." Miss Flanagan began showing the formula and working through each step in the formula as she solved a similar problem.
Zoey wasn't really paying much attention to all this, though. Something far more interesting and weird was taking up all her attention. Right in front of her was a floating box telling her some cool things about herself and the existence of a fictional force that might be present in her world. Was she in a video game or something now? From what she could tell, no one else could see this thing.
At first, she thought it was part of her dream as she woke up in the morning. Like what if life on Earth suddenly became like an RPG? She was initially going to try and become a combative healer-type class. A combination of dishing out huge damage and healing from any wounds would be just too strong. But then the dream shattered when her little brother burst into her room telling her to get ready for school without mentioning anything at all.
The status screen went away, but she could still bring it back up. It was still here, just floating in front of her face. Zoey didn't know if her stats were good or horrible, considering that she had never worked out or exercised a day in her life. The only time she ever willingly did physical activity was for P.E. At home; she did anything but things that were healthy for her.
[Status]
[Name: Zoey]
[Sex: Female]
[Body: 0.3]
[Mental: 0.5]
[Magic: 0.0]
[Skills: 0]
[Name: Zoey]
[Sex: Female]
[Body: 0.3]
[Mental: 0.5]
[Magic: 0.0]
[Skills: 0]
It was hard to think of numbers that went into the decimals as good. No matter how ignorant someone was, if they were told they had a 0.3 body, they wouldn't assume it was good. The only way that could be twisted positively was if they said, "At least it isn't a 0.0! Am I right?!" Zoey had a dislike for people like that.
It wasn't as if optimistic people did anything wrong to her. It just made her sick and a little bit jealous that they could look at this shitty world and just see the good parts of it.
'Having a positive attitude when the planet is slowing dying by our own hands, when the people in power are only becoming more corrupt and greedier, and when I haven't even had a single boyfriend all my life when I'm a fucking high schooler!' She inwardly shouted, getting to the crux of her anger.
'I know that I'm not like putting myself out there by acting slutty or whatever, but still! Guys should be interested in girls who don't act like thots!'
"Zoey? Do you mind paying attention to class instead of trying to break that pen in half?" Miss Flanagan asked in a voice that swiftly brought Zoey back to reality.
"I'm sorry," Zoey responded with a faint blush on her cheeks as everyone looked at her.
"Thank you. Now how would we find the missing degree of this obtuse angle?"
"Uhh..."
It wasn't hard to see that Zoey wasn't an A or B student either. Seeing how Zoey wasn't able to answer any questions based on what they were learning today earned her detention after class today. Making today one of the worst days ever. She's never been more embarrassed in school than she was today. Miss Flanagan made her look stupid in front of the entire class! And in front of Ethan, of all people too! The cutest boy in her class, with just the most adorable personality she's ever seen in a guy.
'The things I would do to him...' Her mind wandered into all sorts of fantasies while she was in detention with the Disciplinary Teach, Brock.
Detention at her school was pretty much torture for people who couldn't handle sitting still for hours doing nothing. What detention came down to at Sun Valley High School was basically this: Sit down at a desk, do homework or do nothing, and wait till your time was up. You couldn't sleep, rest your head down, use anything that resembled an electronic, or chew gum. Zoey didn't have a problem with this as she basically spent the time trying to figure out what else her status could do besides showing her what it had already told her.
The zero skills part was what was bothering her. It bothered her more than her weak body and obviously low mental stat. The magic was understandable as humans haven't yet found that magic particle in the universe and haven't figured out how to harness that particle for our own uses. But she had to have at least a single skill in her life! Like, who goes 17 years of their life without having one skill? Even something meaningless like juggling, whistling, or hell, twirling a pencil through your fingers!?
Zoey grabbed her pencil lying on her desk and, in her anger, tried to gain a skill by twirling it in between her fingers. She made sure to prop up her math book in front of her desk before attempting this stunt. If that hard-ass Brock saw her having the tiniest bit of fun, he'd surely order her to stop. When she successfully placed her only means of defense up, she began spinning. Immediately, the 0.3 in body and 0.5 in mental shown from her status showed their fighting spirit.
Zoey dropped the pencil on her first attempt and proceeded to curse several deities for giving her such a useless body.
"Zoey Winters! Place that book flat on your desk, and do not let me hear another sound from you!" Brock yammered loudly.
'Ugh! Asshole!' She cursed inwardly.
"I won't do it again..." She promised outwardly.
The next two hours were spent actually doing her homework. Since she didn't learn anything in the classroom, she had to figure out how to do it through the actual math book. Which didn't help her at all because she couldn't find a single damn formula listed in the book! Zoey distinctly remembered Flanagan talking about a formula that would help solve every problem.
'Then why the fuck isn't that formula in the goddamn book!?' She raced to the front of the book to see when her shitty math book was published and felt like ripping it to pieces.
2000 was when it was published. It was the year 2020, and this cheap ass school still hasn't gotten better books?! No wonder her school was always ranked so low online. Zoey didn't know if it was because they had no money at all or just had no idea what the fuck to do with the money they were getting.
'Well, if I fail, at least I know it wasn't my fault. It was the school's fault for being so cheap and not giving us the most recent academic books."
The last bell of the day rang, and they were ordered out of detention. Brock called them out in alphabetic order before releasing them, which meant that she was the last to leave. Zoey argued that it would've made more sense to release them based on the offense of their crime but knew her words would only fall on deaf ears. Brock definitely wouldn't listen to a trouble student like her. He considers every kid that gets detention as a delinquent.
'Such a fucking loser.' She swore while leaving the classroom.
Zoey made her way toward her locker. Most of the hallway was empty by this point, as it was 2 hours after school normally ends. The only people still here are teachers, janitors, coaches, and the kids that actually do stuff at school. Clubs, sports, and other stuff like that. Zoey didn't really have any interest in any of the clubs at school.
Well, no, that was a lie. She was interested in joining the Video Game Club, but that was because she heard that they don't do anything but play games all day. Zoey wasn't like some hardcore gamer or anything like that. She just played from time to time because of her dad. Now he was the biggest gaming nerd ever. He even goes to gaming conventions and stuff like that with her little brother, who is becoming just like their dad with his obsession with games.
While sifting through her locker, Zoey realized that she had forgotten something in Miss Flanagan's classroom. She could just leave and come get it tomorrow, but she might as well do it now. Miss Flanagan's class is her third period, and anyone could steal her stuff before she gets it tomorrow. It wasn't worth being lazy right now.
On her way to Miss Flanagan's room, she heard two voices inside. A boy and a girl. This stopped Zoey straight in her tracks. A faint blush formed on her face as she heard what they were whispering about.
'Has school morals seriously fallen to this point?!' Zoey exclaimed while pressing her ear against the door.
"Are you sure no one is going to come in?" The girl asked. She had to be a slut if she was willing to do this at school.
"Of course, I'm sure. I even have measures in place for if someone does try to come in." The boy reassured.
'Oh, he must do this often. Was there a desk against the door or something?' Zoey thought.
"Well, okay... I trust you." She sounded pretty innocent.
Maybe this was her first time doing nasty stuff in public.
"You have nothing to worry about. I've done this loads of times. Just make sure to relax, and it'll make everything easier." The casanova told the girl.
'Holy shit. They really are about to have sex! I wonder who they are... They must be one of the popular kids if they have the confidence to do something like this. But I need to get my stuff! Should I knock before they begin? That would be so awkward, though. What if they get mad at me for ruining their perfect opportunity? I should take a quick peek.' Zoey slowly peeked through the crack in the door and saw two figures close together.
Their faces were inches apart, and from this angle, Zoey couldn't glean anything except that their skin was white. But then, all of a sudden, they got even closer, and a bright light was visible inside. Zoey wondered what that light was, and just as she did, even more lights began to shine around them. The beat of her heart started to pump within her chest rapidly. These two weren't about to have sex! They were doing magical shit!
Zoey accidentally exhaled the air she didn't know she was holding in, and the two stared in her direction.
"Who's there?!" The boy yelled in a voice that sent shivers through her body.
"I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!" She yelled.
Zoey instantly regretted saying anything, but that didn't stop her from running down the hall at her fastest speed. She could hear the door to the classroom bursting open as she turned the hall. Her legs didn't stop moving until she was successfully out of the school building and a distance away from the school down the street. Hopefully, they didn't see her while she was running.
Zoey dropped on her butt completely out of breath. She never ran as hard as that ever in her life. She could've sworn she saw like 2 teachers chasing her when she was running through the building. The fast beating of her heart matched perfectly with her emotional state right now. Magic was actually real, and there were people who could use it! And they probably were going to kill her for seeing them use it!
"I need to find a way to defend myself!" Zoey exclaimed.
Once she made her way home, Zoey began doing everything she could to try and use magic. Chanting long magical spells to cast fireballs, magic missiles, and teleporting. But obviously, nothing worked, as her magic stat was literally at 0. So, she did the next best thing and started looking online for self-defense classes. Since she couldn't bring weapons to school, she had to learn a way to defend herself with just her body alone. Magicians were usually weak in close combat, right?
The only self-defense classes near her for women were things for like rapists and defending herself from people trying to assault her. That wouldn't be too helpful against people who could use fucking magic! So instead, she started looking for self-defense classes that weren't targeted at women. In her local area, there was a boxing gym that had a four-star rating, a taekwondo class with three stars, a karate dojo with four stars, and several fitness classes.
As an American, Zoey only had one strong impression of any of the classes listed. And that was boxing. There were no famous taekwondo fighters that she could name and only a few karate fighters that she could. The famous karate fighters didn't count, though, because they were movie actors, and Zoey didn't know enough about those actors to tell if they really had a background in karate. But with famous boxers, she could name a few. Nike Lyson and Buhammad Kali were some. Zoey prepared herself to visit the boxing gym tomorrow. The chilling tone from that casanova's words earlier still ran through her mind. He definitely planned to do something bad to her if he managed to get ahold of her.
'Wait, is he a Casanvoa? He was just doing magic stuff with that girl. There was no proof that they were going to do any naughty stuff but then again... There is nothing saying that they weren't going to go at it like animals after doing secret magic stuff.' She got distracted.
Zoey focused back on her computer and got back to shopping for boxing equipment. Their family shared a Lamazon Prime account, so she could put whatever she wanted into her dad's shopping cart, and when he went on Lamazon, he could buy them for her if he had the money this week. He worked as a video game designer. She already looked up what equipment she would need for boxing classes and added several things to his cart. Hand wraps, dark purple boxing gloves, a heavy bag to carry her stuff with, and boxing shoes.
Tomorrow when her dad asks why she needs all this boxing stuff, she'll tell him she wants to learn boxing to protect herself. It wouldn't be a lie either because that magic guy was for sure going to try and find out who she was and silence her. Boxing was just the best alternative that wouldn't make her look like a nutcase for the next few days. She could try and conceal a weapon on her at all times, but getting in trouble for something like that would be annoying. Zoey also doubted she'd be able to persuade any teachers that she was keeping a razor or knife on herself for protection.
Zoey didn't have a suspicious look to her or anything. Just your normal 17-year-old girl. She had dark brown skin, a short and thin frame, with straight black hair that went past her neck slightly. Sadly, she wasn't gifted with large tits, but her ass was nice. In her opinion, anyway. She'd screw her. If she started working out, she'd probably be able to get her ass to pop too.
Chapter 2: Boxing Lessons.
It wasn't until Wednesday that Zoey received her boxing equipment from Lamazon. Her dad had Prime, so she got her stuff faster than normal. So, she planned to go to the boxing gym today with her dad. From what she read online, he may have to sign a waiver for her or something so that she could train here. If she gets any injuries, the gym wouldn't be held liable for it. Standard business stuff.
Tuesday was actually the scariest day of her life. She kept picturing those two suddenly finding out it was her and confronting her during school. Zoey knew plenty about magic from video games, but this was real life! What spells could people with magic do in real life?! Was something like a simple fireball actually a high-level spell in real life? What about mind-reading? Is that possible!? In some games, it is!
Zoey was on edge the whole day and couldn't focus on any of her classes. Thankfully, she wasn't sent to detention this time. If she was, she might've just ditched and got a three-day suspension. She was just that terrified of the power possibly held by that boy and girl.
"Are you being bullied at school?" Zoey's dad asked.
"Uhh, I don't know," Zoey said, not sure how to explain it.
"Should I come up there and have a talk with the teachers?"
"No. That wouldn't help anyone." Zoey didn't even know the faces of the two, just their voices.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Learning how to box will be better for me." Maybe with this, she'll finally gain a skill with this status. It couldn't be that useless that it wouldn't even count boxing as a skill now, would it?
Zoey and her dad entered the boxing gym, and the smell of the sweaty men immediately hit her nose. She was glad she wasn't hit with any heat. The place had several fans blowing throughout. There were 2 big boxing rings in the middle of the gym, with only one of them being used right now. On the northern side, there were rolled-up mats, punching bags hanging up, and several weights. On the left side was just a large mat with guys doing sit-ups and stuff like that. Over to her right, there were chairs for people to sit in while waiting for the counter to be free. At least, that's what Zoey thought they were for.
Nobody paid any attention to her and her dad as they walked to the counter. He explained her situation and paid her monthly deposit before sticking around to see her training. Zoey almost blushed, just looking at her trainer. Did they really just give her a hunk like this as her trainer?
'I'm sorry, Ethan. I still love you, but this man is the man that girls dream about having as a sidepiece.' She gushed.
"Hey there, Zoey. I'm Zack. I'm going to be your trainer for this month, and I'm excited to have you." He asked politely.
'Oh god. You don't know how excited I am to have you as my trainer.' She had trouble keeping her eyes on his face instead of the muscles barely contained by that tight white tee. His face wasn't bad, but his body was just ummph!
"Nice to meet you..." She shook his hand.
"Good. You can go get changed in the women's locker room on the right past the counter. And we can get started right after."
Zoey got changed into her workout clothes and found Zack on the north side of the gym. She walked over in her shorts, shoes, and fitted black sports bra with her boxing gloves and hand wrapped in her hands. Zoey still had no idea how to wrap her hands properly, so she hoped Zack would be willing to teach her. There were a bunch of things she hoped Zack would be teaching her.
"Oh. You have your own equipment." He said, surprised.
"Yeah. I didn't plan for this to be short term, and I didn't want to borrow the gym's stuff all the time." Plus, she didn't know how often they washed their stuff.
"Before we begin, let's start off with a few basic warmups. Today will pretty much be me finding out exactly where you are and what you need to work on."
'Probably everything.'
"Okay." Zoey nodded.
The next 20 minutes were spent doing jumping jacks, squats, stretches, and stuff like that. It warmed her up, and thankfully, this amount of exercise didn't cause her to start sweating yet. Based on what she could see the other people doing, what she just did was practically nothing in comparison. After finishing up her warmups, now she could finally learn boxing.
Or at least she thought she was. Zack made her start jumping rope for 5 minutes, actually making her sweat this time. She took a look at her status, expecting some kind of change, but of course, this much wouldn't be enough to improve her body or get her any skills. To distract herself while jumping rope, she ogled at Zack. It took her mind off the eventual embarrassment she'll feel when she was dripping with sweat and tired beyond belief with Zack looking at her.
And no, it wouldn't be exciting to have him look at her like that. She wasn't one of those perverts that got off to stuff like that. She had some self-respect. Just because she spends more than half of her day thinking about dirty stuff doesn't mean she doesn't give a damn about herself. It was just other people she didn't give a damn about.
"How much do you know about boxing, Zoey?" He asked.
"Not much." She answered. The only thing she knew about boxing was how cool it looked when guys punched the hell out of each other.
"We're going to do something called shadowboxing, but before we do that, do you know how to put on your hand wraps?"
"I don't."
"Let me teach you that first, then."
Zack teaching her how to wrap her hands was way less sensual and romantic than she thought it would be. It didn't take too long, and he barely touched her at all. Maybe she's getting too into this whole trainer-student fantasy playing out in her mind. Because clearly, Zack wasn't interested in her or something. Or maybe he was really good at hiding it. She was good at that. He could be too. It could be something they both had in common.
"If you do some practice at home, you'll be able to do it by yourself in no time." He smiled with his blinding pearly white teeth.
She nodded her head as he tried to explain what shadowboxing was to her. And this was where they came into their first real problem of the day. Zoey didn't know the basics. Like earlier, she told him she knew practically nothing. He must be new to teaching if he was expecting her how to know how properly throw a punch and know of the basic boxing stance. A hunk with a lack of brains still has its appeal.
The most exciting part of this boxing lesson didn't begin until Zack got her started on the punching bags. He had to fix her stance and punches a third time here, but once she was finished and sweaty as all hell, she finally got a skill! Two skills, actually!
She got Punching and Footwork. Two level 1 skills that added a nice sexy number 2 next to her skills in status. Zoey also felt her punches, and moving around while punching felt more comfortable. It was like she wasn't learning how to do it for the first time and could easily do it. Like walking or breathing. It was a feeling like that.
"You're showing some nice moves now. Keep it up, Zoey!" He complimented.
He must have been able to see the effects of her skills too. Gaining these two skills energized her a lot more than she thought they would. Before putting on her dark purple boxing gloves, Zoey was tired as shit. She just wanted to take a rest, drink her water bottle, and wipe away all her sweat. But once she gained those two skills, it was like she was struck with lightning.
Her punches were no longer sloppy, they connected properly, and Zack didn't need to give her advice every few minutes correcting her. Instead of standing still and awkwardly throwing her fists, she could move with her fists now. It was like her body was disconnected before gaining the two skills, and now it was all one working machine. Zoey thought she was exaggerating for the most part, but seeing Zack's reaction at her sudden improvement made her think maybe she wasn't.
"Are you sure you have never done this before?" He asked skeptically.
"She's never done a lick of exercises before." Her dad spoke up, also looking as shocked as Zack was.
Zoey kept quiet because she could feel her cheeks warming up. If she tried to tell her dad to shut up, she'd probably stutter or bite her tongue. So, she focused on hitting the bag. Doing nothing but focusing on how to punch better and keep her legs moving. The pain in her legs and the drain on her energy eventually caught up with her. An ache in her lower body slowed her speed while her punches became far slower.
"That's enough, Zoey. We'll do some quick conditioning, and that'll be all for today." Zack said.
Zack seemed pretty young. She wondered how old he was to be a trainer at a boxing gym. Was he an amateur boxer or a professional? Did he have a girlfriend? Would he mind a girl younger than him?
"Hey Zoey, you there? You seemed a little out of it at the end there." Her dad asked while they were in the car.
"Huh?" The rest of the lesson must have passed right by her.
She must have got too caught up thinking about Zack and those glistening muscles of his. Zoey had never been happier about her dad's lack of awareness. He would definitely try and have a "mature" talk with her that would make them both incredibly uncomfortable. There was enough information on the internet about this stuff. Her dad didn't need to teach her much.
"How was it, Zoey? Did you have fun? Do you want to come back?"
"Yes." She replied simply.
"Great. You never really showed an interest in sports or anything besides being on your computer, so I never really knew what you were interested in." He chatted.
"Oh." Zoey didn't know how to respond to this.
"I'm happy that you asked me to bring you up there. I feel like I can actually get involved in your life without seeming like a nuisance, you know? I don't want to take you places and have you not be interested at all and just not having fun. I want us to be closer as father and daughter. So, if you ever want to go somewhere and Alicia is busy, just ask me. I work the night shift, so I'll be able to take you anytime during the day." He shared with her.
"Thanks, Dad... You can talk to me about stuff. I'm not going to get mad at you or ignore you for wanting to talk to me."
"Oh. That's good. With how teenage girls are these days, you never really know how they feel. I'm glad you told me that."
"I'm not really like other girls..."
"What do you mean, Zoey?" He asked as if he wasn't aware that she was an awkward mess of a girl who couldn't even express herself without getting nervous about making the wrong impression upon people.
"I mean, I'm not interested in most things other girls are. I don't go out to parties with friends. I never ask for money for clothes, jewelry, and other stuff like that. Don't you think that's a little weird?"
"I don't think it's weird at all. Sounds like you're already on your way to becoming your own person to me."
"What?"
"Your dad may not have been the coolest kid in school, but if there is one thing he does know is that you don't need to follow what everyone else is doing to be normal. Zoey, you're fine the way you are. As long as you aren't doing drugs or anything illegal, then you're fine."
"Pfft. Where would I even get drugs from?" Zoey laughed.
"That's a piece of knowledge you'll never unravel if it's up to me!"
"You don't have to worry about me doing any drugs, Dad. I'm not interested in the stuff anyway."
"Great! As long as the oldest stays on the straight and narrow, your brother shouldn't stray off the path either."
"I don't think Everett is going to do anything but play games when he grows up."
"Even better!" He was really happy with this answer.
"Dad, do you think magic is real?" Zoey suddenly asked.
"If it was real, I would already be a 10th circle sorcerer with a mastery of all elements, including space and time." He chuckled.
"What would you do if a sorcerer was after you?"
"I'd beg them to teach me their ways at almost any cost."
"What if they wanted to get rid of you?"
"I would submit to my fate to the masters of the arcane."
Zoey wasn't satisfied with that answer. If she asked again, telling him to be serious, it would only make things awkward when they just got a good mood going. Well, whatever. Zoey wasn't planning to let some magic perverts kill her. Zoey was one of the most rebellious people on the planet! If she wasn't such a huge fucking coward who's scared of negative consequences, she would be living her best life! But her current life wasn't so bad either. Now that she has this status box, maybe she'll be able to become a really good boxer who can punch fireballs into nothingness.
Well, wait, Boxing is just a sport, right? How good would it be in a life-or-death battle? Dealing with a non-magical person surely has to be easy as pie for a magician. Maybe she will have to learn how to box in the streets as well as in the ring...
Tuesday was actually the scariest day of her life. She kept picturing those two suddenly finding out it was her and confronting her during school. Zoey knew plenty about magic from video games, but this was real life! What spells could people with magic do in real life?! Was something like a simple fireball actually a high-level spell in real life? What about mind-reading? Is that possible!? In some games, it is!
Zoey was on edge the whole day and couldn't focus on any of her classes. Thankfully, she wasn't sent to detention this time. If she was, she might've just ditched and got a three-day suspension. She was just that terrified of the power possibly held by that boy and girl.
"Are you being bullied at school?" Zoey's dad asked.
"Uhh, I don't know," Zoey said, not sure how to explain it.
"Should I come up there and have a talk with the teachers?"
"No. That wouldn't help anyone." Zoey didn't even know the faces of the two, just their voices.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Learning how to box will be better for me." Maybe with this, she'll finally gain a skill with this status. It couldn't be that useless that it wouldn't even count boxing as a skill now, would it?
Zoey and her dad entered the boxing gym, and the smell of the sweaty men immediately hit her nose. She was glad she wasn't hit with any heat. The place had several fans blowing throughout. There were 2 big boxing rings in the middle of the gym, with only one of them being used right now. On the northern side, there were rolled-up mats, punching bags hanging up, and several weights. On the left side was just a large mat with guys doing sit-ups and stuff like that. Over to her right, there were chairs for people to sit in while waiting for the counter to be free. At least, that's what Zoey thought they were for.
Nobody paid any attention to her and her dad as they walked to the counter. He explained her situation and paid her monthly deposit before sticking around to see her training. Zoey almost blushed, just looking at her trainer. Did they really just give her a hunk like this as her trainer?
'I'm sorry, Ethan. I still love you, but this man is the man that girls dream about having as a sidepiece.' She gushed.
"Hey there, Zoey. I'm Zack. I'm going to be your trainer for this month, and I'm excited to have you." He asked politely.
'Oh god. You don't know how excited I am to have you as my trainer.' She had trouble keeping her eyes on his face instead of the muscles barely contained by that tight white tee. His face wasn't bad, but his body was just ummph!
"Nice to meet you..." She shook his hand.
"Good. You can go get changed in the women's locker room on the right past the counter. And we can get started right after."
Zoey got changed into her workout clothes and found Zack on the north side of the gym. She walked over in her shorts, shoes, and fitted black sports bra with her boxing gloves and hand wrapped in her hands. Zoey still had no idea how to wrap her hands properly, so she hoped Zack would be willing to teach her. There were a bunch of things she hoped Zack would be teaching her.
"Oh. You have your own equipment." He said, surprised.
"Yeah. I didn't plan for this to be short term, and I didn't want to borrow the gym's stuff all the time." Plus, she didn't know how often they washed their stuff.
"Before we begin, let's start off with a few basic warmups. Today will pretty much be me finding out exactly where you are and what you need to work on."
'Probably everything.'
"Okay." Zoey nodded.
The next 20 minutes were spent doing jumping jacks, squats, stretches, and stuff like that. It warmed her up, and thankfully, this amount of exercise didn't cause her to start sweating yet. Based on what she could see the other people doing, what she just did was practically nothing in comparison. After finishing up her warmups, now she could finally learn boxing.
Or at least she thought she was. Zack made her start jumping rope for 5 minutes, actually making her sweat this time. She took a look at her status, expecting some kind of change, but of course, this much wouldn't be enough to improve her body or get her any skills. To distract herself while jumping rope, she ogled at Zack. It took her mind off the eventual embarrassment she'll feel when she was dripping with sweat and tired beyond belief with Zack looking at her.
And no, it wouldn't be exciting to have him look at her like that. She wasn't one of those perverts that got off to stuff like that. She had some self-respect. Just because she spends more than half of her day thinking about dirty stuff doesn't mean she doesn't give a damn about herself. It was just other people she didn't give a damn about.
"How much do you know about boxing, Zoey?" He asked.
"Not much." She answered. The only thing she knew about boxing was how cool it looked when guys punched the hell out of each other.
"We're going to do something called shadowboxing, but before we do that, do you know how to put on your hand wraps?"
"I don't."
"Let me teach you that first, then."
Zack teaching her how to wrap her hands was way less sensual and romantic than she thought it would be. It didn't take too long, and he barely touched her at all. Maybe she's getting too into this whole trainer-student fantasy playing out in her mind. Because clearly, Zack wasn't interested in her or something. Or maybe he was really good at hiding it. She was good at that. He could be too. It could be something they both had in common.
"If you do some practice at home, you'll be able to do it by yourself in no time." He smiled with his blinding pearly white teeth.
She nodded her head as he tried to explain what shadowboxing was to her. And this was where they came into their first real problem of the day. Zoey didn't know the basics. Like earlier, she told him she knew practically nothing. He must be new to teaching if he was expecting her how to know how properly throw a punch and know of the basic boxing stance. A hunk with a lack of brains still has its appeal.
The most exciting part of this boxing lesson didn't begin until Zack got her started on the punching bags. He had to fix her stance and punches a third time here, but once she was finished and sweaty as all hell, she finally got a skill! Two skills, actually!
She got Punching and Footwork. Two level 1 skills that added a nice sexy number 2 next to her skills in status. Zoey also felt her punches, and moving around while punching felt more comfortable. It was like she wasn't learning how to do it for the first time and could easily do it. Like walking or breathing. It was a feeling like that.
"You're showing some nice moves now. Keep it up, Zoey!" He complimented.
He must have been able to see the effects of her skills too. Gaining these two skills energized her a lot more than she thought they would. Before putting on her dark purple boxing gloves, Zoey was tired as shit. She just wanted to take a rest, drink her water bottle, and wipe away all her sweat. But once she gained those two skills, it was like she was struck with lightning.
Her punches were no longer sloppy, they connected properly, and Zack didn't need to give her advice every few minutes correcting her. Instead of standing still and awkwardly throwing her fists, she could move with her fists now. It was like her body was disconnected before gaining the two skills, and now it was all one working machine. Zoey thought she was exaggerating for the most part, but seeing Zack's reaction at her sudden improvement made her think maybe she wasn't.
"Are you sure you have never done this before?" He asked skeptically.
"She's never done a lick of exercises before." Her dad spoke up, also looking as shocked as Zack was.
Zoey kept quiet because she could feel her cheeks warming up. If she tried to tell her dad to shut up, she'd probably stutter or bite her tongue. So, she focused on hitting the bag. Doing nothing but focusing on how to punch better and keep her legs moving. The pain in her legs and the drain on her energy eventually caught up with her. An ache in her lower body slowed her speed while her punches became far slower.
"That's enough, Zoey. We'll do some quick conditioning, and that'll be all for today." Zack said.
Zack seemed pretty young. She wondered how old he was to be a trainer at a boxing gym. Was he an amateur boxer or a professional? Did he have a girlfriend? Would he mind a girl younger than him?
"Hey Zoey, you there? You seemed a little out of it at the end there." Her dad asked while they were in the car.
"Huh?" The rest of the lesson must have passed right by her.
She must have got too caught up thinking about Zack and those glistening muscles of his. Zoey had never been happier about her dad's lack of awareness. He would definitely try and have a "mature" talk with her that would make them both incredibly uncomfortable. There was enough information on the internet about this stuff. Her dad didn't need to teach her much.
"How was it, Zoey? Did you have fun? Do you want to come back?"
"Yes." She replied simply.
"Great. You never really showed an interest in sports or anything besides being on your computer, so I never really knew what you were interested in." He chatted.
"Oh." Zoey didn't know how to respond to this.
"I'm happy that you asked me to bring you up there. I feel like I can actually get involved in your life without seeming like a nuisance, you know? I don't want to take you places and have you not be interested at all and just not having fun. I want us to be closer as father and daughter. So, if you ever want to go somewhere and Alicia is busy, just ask me. I work the night shift, so I'll be able to take you anytime during the day." He shared with her.
"Thanks, Dad... You can talk to me about stuff. I'm not going to get mad at you or ignore you for wanting to talk to me."
"Oh. That's good. With how teenage girls are these days, you never really know how they feel. I'm glad you told me that."
"I'm not really like other girls..."
"What do you mean, Zoey?" He asked as if he wasn't aware that she was an awkward mess of a girl who couldn't even express herself without getting nervous about making the wrong impression upon people.
"I mean, I'm not interested in most things other girls are. I don't go out to parties with friends. I never ask for money for clothes, jewelry, and other stuff like that. Don't you think that's a little weird?"
"I don't think it's weird at all. Sounds like you're already on your way to becoming your own person to me."
"What?"
"Your dad may not have been the coolest kid in school, but if there is one thing he does know is that you don't need to follow what everyone else is doing to be normal. Zoey, you're fine the way you are. As long as you aren't doing drugs or anything illegal, then you're fine."
"Pfft. Where would I even get drugs from?" Zoey laughed.
"That's a piece of knowledge you'll never unravel if it's up to me!"
"You don't have to worry about me doing any drugs, Dad. I'm not interested in the stuff anyway."
"Great! As long as the oldest stays on the straight and narrow, your brother shouldn't stray off the path either."
"I don't think Everett is going to do anything but play games when he grows up."
"Even better!" He was really happy with this answer.
"Dad, do you think magic is real?" Zoey suddenly asked.
"If it was real, I would already be a 10th circle sorcerer with a mastery of all elements, including space and time." He chuckled.
"What would you do if a sorcerer was after you?"
"I'd beg them to teach me their ways at almost any cost."
"What if they wanted to get rid of you?"
"I would submit to my fate to the masters of the arcane."
Zoey wasn't satisfied with that answer. If she asked again, telling him to be serious, it would only make things awkward when they just got a good mood going. Well, whatever. Zoey wasn't planning to let some magic perverts kill her. Zoey was one of the most rebellious people on the planet! If she wasn't such a huge fucking coward who's scared of negative consequences, she would be living her best life! But her current life wasn't so bad either. Now that she has this status box, maybe she'll be able to become a really good boxer who can punch fireballs into nothingness.
Well, wait, Boxing is just a sport, right? How good would it be in a life-or-death battle? Dealing with a non-magical person surely has to be easy as pie for a magician. Maybe she will have to learn how to box in the streets as well as in the ring...
Chapter 3: Progress and Some Plans.
It's been a few weeks now since going to the boxing gym, and Zoey was surprised at the progress she's made. While she was staring at the mirror admiring her body, it was like looking at a completely different person! She had abs now instead of flab! When she flexed her arms, there was real muscle there and not just a mess of squishy flesh! Zoey also learned a few more skills in the boxing gym during her time there.
Slipping, Blocking, Parry, and Focus. Zack said soon she'd be able to learn how to perform counters as well with her talent. The head coach even lamented about how sad he was that she was born a girl. If she was a boy, he'd make her his star pupil on the spot! This was after seeing her able to spar against some of the newest guys in the gym, even though she was a girl.
"It's all thanks to you, you sexy little box you..." Zoey teasingly rubbed her status box.
At school, Zoey managed to find out who the magicians were at her school from the sound of their voices. It was the school council president and his vice president. Luckily for her, it looked like they didn't have any way of finding her with magic. Or they were just acting as if they didn't know it was her, hoping to have her lower her guard and get her when she was alone. Zoey still didn't feel confident enough in her boxing skills to be able to deal with the two yet.
She was making good progress with Zack at the gym, but there was a feeling within her chest saying that she could do more. It was a stuffy feeling that made her annoyed and bothered. A challenge was what she was looking for. Something to test her skills to the fullest. Lately, her skills were barely making any progress in levels. Zoey figured that they must only increase when used in real situations. That was probably why most of them were stagnating around level 5. The only skill higher than level 5 was Slipping at level 6.
"We're reporting an increase in supposed gang activity in the local area. The police chief promised to deal with any troublemakers and advised that members of the public should remain calm." The news lady announced.
"Trust in your local police officers. We're here to protect the people. Feel free to call us and inform us about any gang activity in your area." The news station clipped to a video of the police chief.
"Mom, did you throw away my mask for Halloween?" Zoey asked with a strange look in her eyes.
"No, I put it at the top of the closet near the stairs. Why are you asking?"
"Just wondering... Hey Mom, I'm going to go outside. I'll probably be back before it's dark." Zoey got up and headed to the closet.
"Where are you going?"
"Just taking a jog around the neighborhood. I'll probably go see a movie or something while I'm out too." She couldn't honestly tell her what she was about to do. Her mom would stop her at all costs.
"You're taking a jog looking like that...?"
"What's wrong with it?"
Most of Zoey's skin was covered by her outfit. She had an oversized hoodie that obviously didn't fit a girl of her size and black yoga pants that tightly stretched around her lower body. This wasn't too strange on its own, but the fact that she was wearing blue boxing gloves on her hands along with a scary clown mask was. It looked like she was headed to the freak show or something!
"Be honest. Where the hell are you going?" Her mom wasn't as easy as her dad.
"If I told you I was going out to fight gangsters, would you believe me?" She smiled.
"Listen, if you're going to lie to me, at least don't make it so obvious. So, where are you really going?" She asked again.
Zoey sighed and turned right around, throwing the mask back in the closet and tying the boxing gloves on her waist. She reappeared back in front of her mom, looking less like a crazy person and more like a girl who was about to exercise.
"Is this fine?"
"Why can't you answer a simple question? I didn't say go and change. I asked you where are you going?" She really wasn't making this easy on her.
"You ask too many questions!" Zoey dropped her plans for today. She returned to her room without answering her mom.
After school tomorrow, she'll start cleaning up her neighborhood. Her mom works during the day, so she won't be able to question or stop her from doing this community service. Zoey already knew in her heart why she was planning to do this very dangerous activity. She wanted to see the numbers in her status go up higher. She liked the feeling of punching things and fighting. She liked seeing herself improve at a visible pace.
Zoey had never fought a day in her life before her first sparring lesson in the boxing gym. The hardest thing was keeping her eyes open as a fist came straight toward her face. After that was getting over the feeling of wanting to run away after being punched in the face. Then came the pleasure. Sparring did wonders for her skills. It did so much for her that any negative feelings associated with sparring were erased and replaced once she was actually able to start fighting back.
Now she wanted that feeling of danger, unease, and confusion back. There was also another feeling of wanting to let loose for once. Zoey held back in every single spar she's participated in so far. She restrained the shaking feeling in her fists that just wanted to run wild inside the ring. None of the guys in the gym seemed to really want to fight against her seriously because she was a girl. Zoey knew that the gangsters on the street wouldn't hold back at all against her. Plus, there would be value in learning how to fight on the street that she wouldn't get by fighting in the ring.
At its core, Boxing is a sport through and through. It was meant purely for the ring and nowhere else. That was why mainly the fist in used in boxing. There was no fighting style in the world that could be great just by using a person's fists. Zoey planned to advance boxing as a fighting style that can be used in any situation. On the ground, in the air, against multiple opponents, against deadly weapons, and especially against magic.
Of course, this was far into the future. Zoey had yet to master the basics yet. How could she think about making any changes when she's yet to do even that? If there was one thing that Zoey knew, it was that you couldn't run before you walked. And don't even think about walking if you haven't started crawling.
So, for her run tomorrow, she'll just stick with the basics. If everything goes to plan, she won't get stabbed, raped, or beaten half to death! The safest and smartest choice for her would be to continue her training at the gym, but this path wouldn't help her improve. The status box needed her to be challenged and placed in new situations for her skills to level and her stats to rise. The realism hasn't quite set in for her about the insane shit she plans to do. No doubt tomorrow will fix that for her. Maybe it isn't too much to say that it might make or break her when she encounters her first gangsters.
"I could probably take on an amateur male boxer and win right about now..." She figured from what she saw of the amateur boxers at her gym.
"So, taking on a couple of untrained thugs shouldn't be too hard in comparison, right?" It sounded easier in her head, but saying it out loud made it kind of scarier.
Zoey couldn't help the excitement sparking in her heart along with that fear. She wasn't exaggerating earlier when she said she liked punching things. Fighting felt good despite the pain and anxiety going through her nerves.
"I would definitely be a dom if I get excited thinking about hurting people." She laughed.
"What's a dom?" Everette suddenly popped up in her room, scaring her to the edge of her bed.
"What are you doing in my room!?"
"I wanted to borrow your punching thing for my channel."
"You have a channel?" Was he planning on becoming a streamer or something?
"Yea! Every time I get killed in Dead Man's Battlegrounds, I'll punch it until the respawn timer is done."
"Next time, knock on my door and wait for me to give you permission to come in."
"Why?"
"It's rude to barge into someone's room unannounced."
"Oh. But mom does it."
"Mom doesn't know what manners are."
"So, can I borrow your punching thing?"
"Take it."
"Can you help me bring it into my room? It's too heavy to move it by myself."
"Alright."
Zoey helped Everette and went back to her room. She didn't know he wanted to be a famous streamer in the future. Fuck, she didn't even know what she wanted to be when she grew up! Maybe if this boxing thing works out, she could become a famous woman boxer or something. There has to be a thing like that, right? It's 2020; there's no way there isn't like an official female boxing organization. Hopefully, she'll be able to get rich too.
Slipping, Blocking, Parry, and Focus. Zack said soon she'd be able to learn how to perform counters as well with her talent. The head coach even lamented about how sad he was that she was born a girl. If she was a boy, he'd make her his star pupil on the spot! This was after seeing her able to spar against some of the newest guys in the gym, even though she was a girl.
"It's all thanks to you, you sexy little box you..." Zoey teasingly rubbed her status box.
[Status]
[Name: Zoey]
[Sex: Female]
[Body: 1]
[Mental: 0.6]
[Magic: 0.0]
[Skills: 6]
[Punching Lv5]
[Footwork Lv5]
[Slipping Lv6]
[Blocking Lv4]
[Parry Lv5]
[Focus Lv1]
[Name: Zoey]
[Sex: Female]
[Body: 1]
[Mental: 0.6]
[Magic: 0.0]
[Skills: 6]
[Punching Lv5]
[Footwork Lv5]
[Slipping Lv6]
[Blocking Lv4]
[Parry Lv5]
[Focus Lv1]
At school, Zoey managed to find out who the magicians were at her school from the sound of their voices. It was the school council president and his vice president. Luckily for her, it looked like they didn't have any way of finding her with magic. Or they were just acting as if they didn't know it was her, hoping to have her lower her guard and get her when she was alone. Zoey still didn't feel confident enough in her boxing skills to be able to deal with the two yet.
She was making good progress with Zack at the gym, but there was a feeling within her chest saying that she could do more. It was a stuffy feeling that made her annoyed and bothered. A challenge was what she was looking for. Something to test her skills to the fullest. Lately, her skills were barely making any progress in levels. Zoey figured that they must only increase when used in real situations. That was probably why most of them were stagnating around level 5. The only skill higher than level 5 was Slipping at level 6.
"We're reporting an increase in supposed gang activity in the local area. The police chief promised to deal with any troublemakers and advised that members of the public should remain calm." The news lady announced.
"Trust in your local police officers. We're here to protect the people. Feel free to call us and inform us about any gang activity in your area." The news station clipped to a video of the police chief.
"Mom, did you throw away my mask for Halloween?" Zoey asked with a strange look in her eyes.
"No, I put it at the top of the closet near the stairs. Why are you asking?"
"Just wondering... Hey Mom, I'm going to go outside. I'll probably be back before it's dark." Zoey got up and headed to the closet.
"Where are you going?"
"Just taking a jog around the neighborhood. I'll probably go see a movie or something while I'm out too." She couldn't honestly tell her what she was about to do. Her mom would stop her at all costs.
"You're taking a jog looking like that...?"
"What's wrong with it?"
Most of Zoey's skin was covered by her outfit. She had an oversized hoodie that obviously didn't fit a girl of her size and black yoga pants that tightly stretched around her lower body. This wasn't too strange on its own, but the fact that she was wearing blue boxing gloves on her hands along with a scary clown mask was. It looked like she was headed to the freak show or something!
"Be honest. Where the hell are you going?" Her mom wasn't as easy as her dad.
"If I told you I was going out to fight gangsters, would you believe me?" She smiled.
"Listen, if you're going to lie to me, at least don't make it so obvious. So, where are you really going?" She asked again.
Zoey sighed and turned right around, throwing the mask back in the closet and tying the boxing gloves on her waist. She reappeared back in front of her mom, looking less like a crazy person and more like a girl who was about to exercise.
"Is this fine?"
"Why can't you answer a simple question? I didn't say go and change. I asked you where are you going?" She really wasn't making this easy on her.
"You ask too many questions!" Zoey dropped her plans for today. She returned to her room without answering her mom.
After school tomorrow, she'll start cleaning up her neighborhood. Her mom works during the day, so she won't be able to question or stop her from doing this community service. Zoey already knew in her heart why she was planning to do this very dangerous activity. She wanted to see the numbers in her status go up higher. She liked the feeling of punching things and fighting. She liked seeing herself improve at a visible pace.
Zoey had never fought a day in her life before her first sparring lesson in the boxing gym. The hardest thing was keeping her eyes open as a fist came straight toward her face. After that was getting over the feeling of wanting to run away after being punched in the face. Then came the pleasure. Sparring did wonders for her skills. It did so much for her that any negative feelings associated with sparring were erased and replaced once she was actually able to start fighting back.
Now she wanted that feeling of danger, unease, and confusion back. There was also another feeling of wanting to let loose for once. Zoey held back in every single spar she's participated in so far. She restrained the shaking feeling in her fists that just wanted to run wild inside the ring. None of the guys in the gym seemed to really want to fight against her seriously because she was a girl. Zoey knew that the gangsters on the street wouldn't hold back at all against her. Plus, there would be value in learning how to fight on the street that she wouldn't get by fighting in the ring.
At its core, Boxing is a sport through and through. It was meant purely for the ring and nowhere else. That was why mainly the fist in used in boxing. There was no fighting style in the world that could be great just by using a person's fists. Zoey planned to advance boxing as a fighting style that can be used in any situation. On the ground, in the air, against multiple opponents, against deadly weapons, and especially against magic.
Of course, this was far into the future. Zoey had yet to master the basics yet. How could she think about making any changes when she's yet to do even that? If there was one thing that Zoey knew, it was that you couldn't run before you walked. And don't even think about walking if you haven't started crawling.
So, for her run tomorrow, she'll just stick with the basics. If everything goes to plan, she won't get stabbed, raped, or beaten half to death! The safest and smartest choice for her would be to continue her training at the gym, but this path wouldn't help her improve. The status box needed her to be challenged and placed in new situations for her skills to level and her stats to rise. The realism hasn't quite set in for her about the insane shit she plans to do. No doubt tomorrow will fix that for her. Maybe it isn't too much to say that it might make or break her when she encounters her first gangsters.
"I could probably take on an amateur male boxer and win right about now..." She figured from what she saw of the amateur boxers at her gym.
"So, taking on a couple of untrained thugs shouldn't be too hard in comparison, right?" It sounded easier in her head, but saying it out loud made it kind of scarier.
Zoey couldn't help the excitement sparking in her heart along with that fear. She wasn't exaggerating earlier when she said she liked punching things. Fighting felt good despite the pain and anxiety going through her nerves.
"I would definitely be a dom if I get excited thinking about hurting people." She laughed.
"What's a dom?" Everette suddenly popped up in her room, scaring her to the edge of her bed.
"What are you doing in my room!?"
"I wanted to borrow your punching thing for my channel."
"You have a channel?" Was he planning on becoming a streamer or something?
"Yea! Every time I get killed in Dead Man's Battlegrounds, I'll punch it until the respawn timer is done."
"Next time, knock on my door and wait for me to give you permission to come in."
"Why?"
"It's rude to barge into someone's room unannounced."
"Oh. But mom does it."
"Mom doesn't know what manners are."
"So, can I borrow your punching thing?"
"Take it."
"Can you help me bring it into my room? It's too heavy to move it by myself."
"Alright."
Zoey helped Everette and went back to her room. She didn't know he wanted to be a famous streamer in the future. Fuck, she didn't even know what she wanted to be when she grew up! Maybe if this boxing thing works out, she could become a famous woman boxer or something. There has to be a thing like that, right? It's 2020; there's no way there isn't like an official female boxing organization. Hopefully, she'll be able to get rich too.
Chapter 4: A Nice Relaxing Walk.
School had just let out, and Zoey was now jogging her way to the main part of town. No Mom to question her about her motives and objectives. Just a girl with a plan to do something incredibly dangerous without wanting to feel guilty about making people worry about her physical or mental health. There was one point in her life when her parents thought she had Asperger's or autism because of her behavior. At the time, she thought it was funnier than anything because Zoey knew that she didn't have a mental condition. It was just that she sucked so much ass at talking to people that her parents thought she had a mental condition. That was the funny part to her. The sad part was desperately convincing them that she didn't need to be tested if she had either of the two disorders. Because once she got tested and the kids from her school learned about it, she would've been treated as if she had it no matter what result she got.
"I guess I should actually start making some friends, huh..." Zoey muttered.
The easiest way she could do that was by joining one of the girl's sports teams. Zoey just realized that she had just jogged all the way from school to the main part of downtown and was barely tired at all. Like she just did a few warmup exercises. Feeling the new changes in her body filled her with a confidence she had never really had before. Maybe joining the track team would be good.
'It's like I'm on top of the world, and everyone is my bitch! Hehehe...'
Zoey didn't know how bad the situation was in the city with gang-related activity. So, while she was looking for trouble, she was also just looking through the town on her own. Since she came with the intention of fighting, Zoey didn't bring her wallet or anything else that could identify herself. Just her backup pair of boxing gloves that were dark blue in color and standard workout clothes.
Knowing that she would look like a freak or a psycho wearing a mask or costume in broad daylight, Zoey just didn't bother. She lived pretty far away from this part of the city, so if anyone found her. They shouldn't be able to find out where she lived unless they were really desperate. And as long as she doesn't go around giving people her personal details, they can't get to her family. Any cars or people following her back home would easily be seen by her. This wasn't a social trip but one of pure selfish gain. If Zoey wanted to spin it on a more positive note, she could say that she was cleaning up the city.
"Have you heard about what they did to that fool, Markus?"
"Yeah, man. Shit's fucked up nowadays. A man can't even take a piss without getting jumped."
"I heard it was because he was saying all that shit about Dino online."
"Messing with that crazy fucker Dino?! He had to be wasted. Everyone knows Dino don't play around. If you get on his bad side, you're dead or fucked. Sometimes it's both."
"It isn't like Dino is the only one to worry about. There is still Tears and Lamar with their people in the city. Shit's just getting more dangerous every day."
"There should be a huge war sometime soon. I think we should get out of this before things really start to escalate."
"It's already gone to fuck, bro. Either we survive and pray to get out by the end of it or die trying."
"Man, I was just trying to make some money for my mom and sisters. I wasn't out here trying to kill nobody! I'm only fucking seventeen, man! There is some shit I shouldn't have to deal with right now."
"I feel you, bro. I really do. School sucks ass but constantly fearing for my own life and the life of my peoples is what really sucks ass. If I knew that this is what gang life would really be like, I would've never joined no matter how much money I could make."
The two guys soon left out of earshot. Her legs shook, and her face flushed after hearing their words. An uncontrollable feeling of excitement danced through her body. She was about to get into something really, really dangerous, and here she was, feeling thrilled about it. Gaining this status box has really changed her, and she didn't know if it was a good thing or not. It was hard to believe that it was a bad thing because of how much she smiled lately and how much her heart fluttered when it came to fighting or improving herself. Before gaining the box, she rarely expressed herself this much or tried hard at anything.
Walking through the city filled with only a few people walking here and there made Zoey feel like she was in some sort of ghost town. Gang members were posted around liquor stores, in alleyways, and walking about, like herself. None of them were causing trouble or anything like that, though. So, she couldn't just run up to them and start beating the shit out of them for literally nothing. Zoey would only deal with those disturbing the peace or causing crime. She would feel less like a psycho if she did that.
As she was about to pass by a small café, Zoey saw a group of boys near her age coming out of it, laughing with each other. Seeing how happy and light their mood was, she walked past them without a second thought. They couldn't be gang members looking like that. They looked like a bunch of pretty boys.
"Oi. Shorty with a booty. Come back here and holla at me for a moment." She was the only shorty around unless he was talking about his short friend next to him.
A faint blush appeared on her face after being complimented on her behind. She was pretty proud of it. Getting her ass to pop like this wasn't easy. She looked up plenty of butt exercises online to do at home. And it looks like that shit was working. Zoey turned around but didn't go near them.
"Didn't you hear me? Come here! And what the fuck is with those boxing gloves? You crazy or something?"
Zoey shook her head and was laughing on the inside at the pretty white boy trying to intimidate her. He was dressed like a wannabe gangster. Sagging his pants, chains around his neck, and too many shiny rings on his fingers, it was hilarious. She had enough sense not to laugh in his face, though, no matter how much she really wanted to.
"Did this bitch just tell me no? Does she not know who I am?"
Zoey shook her head again.
"To think there was someone who didn't know Miles's name in this part of the city..."
"She must not be from around here."
"Especially looking like that."
'Hey, fuckface! I still have ears, you know! What the fuck is wrong with how I look?!' Zoey was getting upset.
"I'll be leaving now." Zoey turned and walked away.
"Get her." Hearing this sent goosebumps up Zoey's arms. A nervous smile slowly formed on her face.
Get her? What was his plan here? Just because she didn't know him, he had to get her? This had to fall within self-defense laws, right? So, it shouldn't be a problem to let scumbags like this feel the results of her practicing in the name of self-defense. But if Zoey was being honest, she was more than happy to escalate this. Even if these little wannabes were not really her target for today.
Zoey turned around and saw the 5 boys coming after her. She got into her boxing stance and readied herself for a fight. Her heart started beating like a furious drum in her nervousness and excitement. The first one tried to grab her with his arms outstretched. A quick jab to the face, and he stumbled backward in confusion with blood leaking from his nose. Zoey knew she didn't have much time since the other 4 could soon surround her. Feeling her fist sink into the first guy's face like that was enough to rev up her engines.
She followed up her jab with a quick step-in and a nasty right hook to the left side of his face that sent his eyes spiraling in their sockets. He fell down, and the second one came, shocked at the sudden defeat of his friend. Zoey moved in and struck him in his fat gut. This was the one who had dissed her earlier. The wind was blown out of him from that punch, forcing him to hold his stomach from the pain and drop to the ground, also allowing her an easy target to reach. Her fist soared straight into his fat chubby jaw, knocking him into the goon behind him and falling over.
At this point, the 2 still standing realized that she wouldn't be as easy as they thought she would be. Those boxing gloves weren't just for show. They circled around her like a pair of wolves. One on her left and the other on her right. She saw them look at each other with a nod before moving in together. The boy on her left threw a sloppy punch that could easily have been dealt with, but at the same time, the boy on the right was running in to grab her. This wouldn't be easy to avoid.
'Why wait for them to come to me?' She questioned herself
Zoey used her small size to her advantage and slipped past the less dangerous boy on the left. As she got behind him, she struck him in the liver twice with her gloves, causing him to scream out in pain. Seeing that her tiny fists were actually working, she continued to let into him while his back was turned to her before the other one could arrive. By the time the boy on the right came, the boy who was on her left was already on the ground clutching his side while crying out in pain.
"Can't you fucking idiots take care of one fucking girl? Those gloves can't possibly fucking hurt as much as you're making them out to be. Look at the size of her! She's half your fucking size, and you can't even touch her!" Miles cursed.
These words filled the boy in front of her with panic. She used that panic to her advantage and moved in real close. With how close she was to him, the only way he could deal with her was by grabbing her. Too bad for him. She was already in motion to punch him. Or at least that was the only way she thought that he could deal with her was by grabbing her.
He actually kneed her away in fright. Luckily, she managed to block with her arms. If he was able to knee her with full force, her arms probably would've gone numb.
"Shit..." She muttered. The legs.
She forgot people could use those in real fights. To quickly make up for her mistake, she dashed towards him again. He was ready this time, but it made no difference for Zoey. This guy wasn't Zack or one of the other boxers from her gym who had plenty of fights under them. Just a guy who threw simple punches that could be seen a mile away.
Zoey parried his punch with her glove and fixed him up with a blow to the side of the face as he was thrown off balance from her parry. He fell down with an undignified fall, and Zoey still had 2 more guys to deal with. The guy who was taken down with the fat ass earlier and the ringleader, Miles. It looked like the blondie on the ground didn't want anything to do with her after seeing her take out the other guys. So, she made her way toward Miles.
The arrogant smirk on his face from earlier was completely gone and now was replaced with anxiety and fear. Zoey didn't pity him. He was too old not to know that his actions had consequences. Especially when trying to assault an innocent young lady with a nice booty.
"Stay back!" He brandished a knife from his pocket and pointed it in her direction.
Zoey's eyes zeroed in on that knife like a hawk. Seeing her suddenly stop must have made him think that she was regretting her decisions now. He started laughing and waving it in her direction.
"What, scared now bitch!? You shouldn't have messed with me! Now it looks like I gotta fucking cut you up!" It was obvious he had no idea how to use a knife.
This didn't make him any less dangerous. A knife is dangerous no matter who holds it. The safest option would be just to run away and deal with him another day. But then again, he definitely wouldn't be the only gangster to pull a knife out on her in the future. Dealing with someone like this might be considered training for the future.
"Oi, bitch!? Are you fucking deaf?! I said get on your knees and start fucking bowing to me!" Zoey unintentionally let out a chortle. He just looked so non-threatening.
He didn't like that one bit. The wannabe gangster ran at her with the knife to cut her. Zoey was terrified, but outwardly it didn't show much. In her mind, she was reasoning just how scary a knife could be in the face of actual magic. That helped her calm down just a little. Her skill, Focus, activated in times of peril. A moment like this certainly counted.
Miles was in slow motion for her as he slashed at her face. Zoey swayed her upper body to the left and, at that unnatural angle, delivered a powerful punch to Miles's wrist. Forcing him to drop the knife and nearly burst into tears. But Zoey wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot.
The young black girl knocked Miles to the ground with her shoulder and mounted him. His face was ugly, and he was crying by this point, but Zoey didn't care. He could've blinded her, scarred her face, or killed her! If she didn't unleash this fear in her heart at having a knife used against her, she felt like she would explode. Zoey brutally pounded Miles's face in with her boxing gloves. He begged for mercy. He begged for forgiveness. He tried enticing her with money. None of those things could make up for the fear of death she felt facing that knife.
Punch after punch after punch. She didn't hold back any of her strength which was now superior to any normal woman's. Zoey's fists could contend with male amateur boxers after getting her body stat to 1.0. In her mind, she imagined it to be equal to the same as a normal adult man's strength because women are naturally weaker than men. And she used to be even weaker than the normal girl due to not ever exercising except when forced to at school, along with her unhealthy eating habits.
Blood flew onto her face from one particularly devasting punch, and she only smiled, seeing the strength she now held in her body. Was she always such a blood-crazed lunatic? They say that power corrupts, and Zoey was starting to think that maybe she was getting corrupted into something she would've never had without the Status Box. But in her heart, she didn't feel that this was a bad thing at all. She liked this new Zoey she was slowly becoming.
By the time she was done giving him his due punishment, his face was black, blue, swollen, and bloody. Zoey got up off the unconscious Miles and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a bright smile on her face. She was tired as shit and couldn't wait to get home! The remaining survivor watched as she happily jogged her way down the street and out of sight.
'Today was a pretty productive day.' Zoey beamed.
Everything but her blocking skill went up a level, along with her body stat going up some! A squeal escaped her mouth once she realized she was right. This was the proper way of advancing with the Status! And those guys were basically nothing compared to real gangsters who know how to fight somewhat.
'Maybe if I farm up those guys till I can't get any more exp from them, I should move on to the real gangsters!' But then something crossed her mind.
'But finding guys like that would be hard. There couldn't be a bunch of groups like Miles running around, could there? I wonder what school he goes to. Maybe I can find more groups like his there.'
"I guess I should actually start making some friends, huh..." Zoey muttered.
The easiest way she could do that was by joining one of the girl's sports teams. Zoey just realized that she had just jogged all the way from school to the main part of downtown and was barely tired at all. Like she just did a few warmup exercises. Feeling the new changes in her body filled her with a confidence she had never really had before. Maybe joining the track team would be good.
'It's like I'm on top of the world, and everyone is my bitch! Hehehe...'
Zoey didn't know how bad the situation was in the city with gang-related activity. So, while she was looking for trouble, she was also just looking through the town on her own. Since she came with the intention of fighting, Zoey didn't bring her wallet or anything else that could identify herself. Just her backup pair of boxing gloves that were dark blue in color and standard workout clothes.
Knowing that she would look like a freak or a psycho wearing a mask or costume in broad daylight, Zoey just didn't bother. She lived pretty far away from this part of the city, so if anyone found her. They shouldn't be able to find out where she lived unless they were really desperate. And as long as she doesn't go around giving people her personal details, they can't get to her family. Any cars or people following her back home would easily be seen by her. This wasn't a social trip but one of pure selfish gain. If Zoey wanted to spin it on a more positive note, she could say that she was cleaning up the city.
"Have you heard about what they did to that fool, Markus?"
"Yeah, man. Shit's fucked up nowadays. A man can't even take a piss without getting jumped."
"I heard it was because he was saying all that shit about Dino online."
"Messing with that crazy fucker Dino?! He had to be wasted. Everyone knows Dino don't play around. If you get on his bad side, you're dead or fucked. Sometimes it's both."
"It isn't like Dino is the only one to worry about. There is still Tears and Lamar with their people in the city. Shit's just getting more dangerous every day."
"There should be a huge war sometime soon. I think we should get out of this before things really start to escalate."
"It's already gone to fuck, bro. Either we survive and pray to get out by the end of it or die trying."
"Man, I was just trying to make some money for my mom and sisters. I wasn't out here trying to kill nobody! I'm only fucking seventeen, man! There is some shit I shouldn't have to deal with right now."
"I feel you, bro. I really do. School sucks ass but constantly fearing for my own life and the life of my peoples is what really sucks ass. If I knew that this is what gang life would really be like, I would've never joined no matter how much money I could make."
The two guys soon left out of earshot. Her legs shook, and her face flushed after hearing their words. An uncontrollable feeling of excitement danced through her body. She was about to get into something really, really dangerous, and here she was, feeling thrilled about it. Gaining this status box has really changed her, and she didn't know if it was a good thing or not. It was hard to believe that it was a bad thing because of how much she smiled lately and how much her heart fluttered when it came to fighting or improving herself. Before gaining the box, she rarely expressed herself this much or tried hard at anything.
Walking through the city filled with only a few people walking here and there made Zoey feel like she was in some sort of ghost town. Gang members were posted around liquor stores, in alleyways, and walking about, like herself. None of them were causing trouble or anything like that, though. So, she couldn't just run up to them and start beating the shit out of them for literally nothing. Zoey would only deal with those disturbing the peace or causing crime. She would feel less like a psycho if she did that.
As she was about to pass by a small café, Zoey saw a group of boys near her age coming out of it, laughing with each other. Seeing how happy and light their mood was, she walked past them without a second thought. They couldn't be gang members looking like that. They looked like a bunch of pretty boys.
"Oi. Shorty with a booty. Come back here and holla at me for a moment." She was the only shorty around unless he was talking about his short friend next to him.
A faint blush appeared on her face after being complimented on her behind. She was pretty proud of it. Getting her ass to pop like this wasn't easy. She looked up plenty of butt exercises online to do at home. And it looks like that shit was working. Zoey turned around but didn't go near them.
"Didn't you hear me? Come here! And what the fuck is with those boxing gloves? You crazy or something?"
Zoey shook her head and was laughing on the inside at the pretty white boy trying to intimidate her. He was dressed like a wannabe gangster. Sagging his pants, chains around his neck, and too many shiny rings on his fingers, it was hilarious. She had enough sense not to laugh in his face, though, no matter how much she really wanted to.
"Did this bitch just tell me no? Does she not know who I am?"
Zoey shook her head again.
"To think there was someone who didn't know Miles's name in this part of the city..."
"She must not be from around here."
"Especially looking like that."
'Hey, fuckface! I still have ears, you know! What the fuck is wrong with how I look?!' Zoey was getting upset.
"I'll be leaving now." Zoey turned and walked away.
"Get her." Hearing this sent goosebumps up Zoey's arms. A nervous smile slowly formed on her face.
Get her? What was his plan here? Just because she didn't know him, he had to get her? This had to fall within self-defense laws, right? So, it shouldn't be a problem to let scumbags like this feel the results of her practicing in the name of self-defense. But if Zoey was being honest, she was more than happy to escalate this. Even if these little wannabes were not really her target for today.
Zoey turned around and saw the 5 boys coming after her. She got into her boxing stance and readied herself for a fight. Her heart started beating like a furious drum in her nervousness and excitement. The first one tried to grab her with his arms outstretched. A quick jab to the face, and he stumbled backward in confusion with blood leaking from his nose. Zoey knew she didn't have much time since the other 4 could soon surround her. Feeling her fist sink into the first guy's face like that was enough to rev up her engines.
She followed up her jab with a quick step-in and a nasty right hook to the left side of his face that sent his eyes spiraling in their sockets. He fell down, and the second one came, shocked at the sudden defeat of his friend. Zoey moved in and struck him in his fat gut. This was the one who had dissed her earlier. The wind was blown out of him from that punch, forcing him to hold his stomach from the pain and drop to the ground, also allowing her an easy target to reach. Her fist soared straight into his fat chubby jaw, knocking him into the goon behind him and falling over.
At this point, the 2 still standing realized that she wouldn't be as easy as they thought she would be. Those boxing gloves weren't just for show. They circled around her like a pair of wolves. One on her left and the other on her right. She saw them look at each other with a nod before moving in together. The boy on her left threw a sloppy punch that could easily have been dealt with, but at the same time, the boy on the right was running in to grab her. This wouldn't be easy to avoid.
'Why wait for them to come to me?' She questioned herself
Zoey used her small size to her advantage and slipped past the less dangerous boy on the left. As she got behind him, she struck him in the liver twice with her gloves, causing him to scream out in pain. Seeing that her tiny fists were actually working, she continued to let into him while his back was turned to her before the other one could arrive. By the time the boy on the right came, the boy who was on her left was already on the ground clutching his side while crying out in pain.
"Can't you fucking idiots take care of one fucking girl? Those gloves can't possibly fucking hurt as much as you're making them out to be. Look at the size of her! She's half your fucking size, and you can't even touch her!" Miles cursed.
These words filled the boy in front of her with panic. She used that panic to her advantage and moved in real close. With how close she was to him, the only way he could deal with her was by grabbing her. Too bad for him. She was already in motion to punch him. Or at least that was the only way she thought that he could deal with her was by grabbing her.
He actually kneed her away in fright. Luckily, she managed to block with her arms. If he was able to knee her with full force, her arms probably would've gone numb.
"Shit..." She muttered. The legs.
She forgot people could use those in real fights. To quickly make up for her mistake, she dashed towards him again. He was ready this time, but it made no difference for Zoey. This guy wasn't Zack or one of the other boxers from her gym who had plenty of fights under them. Just a guy who threw simple punches that could be seen a mile away.
Zoey parried his punch with her glove and fixed him up with a blow to the side of the face as he was thrown off balance from her parry. He fell down with an undignified fall, and Zoey still had 2 more guys to deal with. The guy who was taken down with the fat ass earlier and the ringleader, Miles. It looked like the blondie on the ground didn't want anything to do with her after seeing her take out the other guys. So, she made her way toward Miles.
The arrogant smirk on his face from earlier was completely gone and now was replaced with anxiety and fear. Zoey didn't pity him. He was too old not to know that his actions had consequences. Especially when trying to assault an innocent young lady with a nice booty.
"Stay back!" He brandished a knife from his pocket and pointed it in her direction.
Zoey's eyes zeroed in on that knife like a hawk. Seeing her suddenly stop must have made him think that she was regretting her decisions now. He started laughing and waving it in her direction.
"What, scared now bitch!? You shouldn't have messed with me! Now it looks like I gotta fucking cut you up!" It was obvious he had no idea how to use a knife.
This didn't make him any less dangerous. A knife is dangerous no matter who holds it. The safest option would be just to run away and deal with him another day. But then again, he definitely wouldn't be the only gangster to pull a knife out on her in the future. Dealing with someone like this might be considered training for the future.
"Oi, bitch!? Are you fucking deaf?! I said get on your knees and start fucking bowing to me!" Zoey unintentionally let out a chortle. He just looked so non-threatening.
He didn't like that one bit. The wannabe gangster ran at her with the knife to cut her. Zoey was terrified, but outwardly it didn't show much. In her mind, she was reasoning just how scary a knife could be in the face of actual magic. That helped her calm down just a little. Her skill, Focus, activated in times of peril. A moment like this certainly counted.
Miles was in slow motion for her as he slashed at her face. Zoey swayed her upper body to the left and, at that unnatural angle, delivered a powerful punch to Miles's wrist. Forcing him to drop the knife and nearly burst into tears. But Zoey wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot.
The young black girl knocked Miles to the ground with her shoulder and mounted him. His face was ugly, and he was crying by this point, but Zoey didn't care. He could've blinded her, scarred her face, or killed her! If she didn't unleash this fear in her heart at having a knife used against her, she felt like she would explode. Zoey brutally pounded Miles's face in with her boxing gloves. He begged for mercy. He begged for forgiveness. He tried enticing her with money. None of those things could make up for the fear of death she felt facing that knife.
Punch after punch after punch. She didn't hold back any of her strength which was now superior to any normal woman's. Zoey's fists could contend with male amateur boxers after getting her body stat to 1.0. In her mind, she imagined it to be equal to the same as a normal adult man's strength because women are naturally weaker than men. And she used to be even weaker than the normal girl due to not ever exercising except when forced to at school, along with her unhealthy eating habits.
Blood flew onto her face from one particularly devasting punch, and she only smiled, seeing the strength she now held in her body. Was she always such a blood-crazed lunatic? They say that power corrupts, and Zoey was starting to think that maybe she was getting corrupted into something she would've never had without the Status Box. But in her heart, she didn't feel that this was a bad thing at all. She liked this new Zoey she was slowly becoming.
By the time she was done giving him his due punishment, his face was black, blue, swollen, and bloody. Zoey got up off the unconscious Miles and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a bright smile on her face. She was tired as shit and couldn't wait to get home! The remaining survivor watched as she happily jogged her way down the street and out of sight.
'Today was a pretty productive day.' Zoey beamed.
Everything but her blocking skill went up a level, along with her body stat going up some! A squeal escaped her mouth once she realized she was right. This was the proper way of advancing with the Status! And those guys were basically nothing compared to real gangsters who know how to fight somewhat.
'Maybe if I farm up those guys till I can't get any more exp from them, I should move on to the real gangsters!' But then something crossed her mind.
'But finding guys like that would be hard. There couldn't be a bunch of groups like Miles running around, could there? I wonder what school he goes to. Maybe I can find more groups like his there.'
Chapter 5: A Nice Spar.
"Where is the girl!?" The head coach yelled out.
Zoey looked over at the bald round-bellied middle-aged man and wondered what he wanted with her yelling like that. Usually, he was fawning over his star pupil Ben, the boxing prodigy of this generation, in his words. A load of shit, in Zoey's opinion, but Ben was pretty talented. Zoey couldn't deny that. She'd probably get worked by his arrogant ass right now, even with her Status Box. But she was confident in being able to give him a challenge, at least.
"She's in the ring, coach!" Someone called out.
Zoey and Zack were doing some mitt work to improve her accuracy and develop some good punch combinations with some defensive maneuvers. Zack, at random times, would throw out sharp punches while she was hitting the mitts. This would help her keep her mind focused on both offense and defense in the middle of a fight. One couldn't be thrown out for the other, and both should be kept in mind during a fight. Zoey usually responded with whichever defensive skill of hers needed the experience more. If she needed to raise her Slipping skill, she would slip past that punch, bobbing and weaving her head to avoid it. Zack's punches were too heavy for her to try and parry. She'd only get punished for trying to deflect his heavy-ass hands. Blocking was similar because of his gorilla-like strength. She'd only hurt herself trying to block them.
"Zach! Stop your mitt work! I got something important for the girl!" He yelled as he always does.
Zach dropped his mitts for her to stop, and she listened. They went to the ropes and leaned over them to hear him out. Coach Scott only seemed to ever be in a good mood when Ben was nearby. He was pretty much an asshole, but his teaching skills were great. There was one time he even gave her some advice on her footwork while she was doing a heavy bag round, which was basically doing combos after combos on a punching bag for 3-10 minutes. That one-time advice he gave her almost instantly leveled up her footwork skill to the next level. Seeing how that small teaching lesson he gave her did that, she had to look at Zach with a certain look. His lacking teaching experience was probably the reason why her skills leveled so slowly when training with him.
"Yes, Coach?" Zoey took out her mouthguard.
"Get out the ring and take a 5-to-10-minute break. I need you for something important." He looked at her as if he hated to do this.
Zoey didn't understand why the Head Coach didn't like her. Even when she did something good or impressive, he still looked at her with those same eyes. Is he upset because she wasn't his daughter or something? The future boxing prodigy Zoey Winters isn't his to show off like a trophy? A smile showed up on her face thinking about this. Holding a big ass trophy for winning a boxing tournament or something. That was nice to imagine.
"Ben was just challenged to a spar by our rival gym down the street. You know them, right?" Coach Scott said, standing over her.
She took a drink of her water bottle.
"Yes. Those guys had a 3.7 rating online. This gym had a 4.0." Saying that seemed to make him upset. She didn't give a shit, though.
"I'm not going to send Ben over there because the boy has some important training to do. Plus, that little bastard of theirs isn't as bad as I thought he would be." That meant that little Ben could possibly lose or be injured before his upcoming match.
So, she was his guinea pig, huh? Throwing her out to the wolves and seeing exactly how he'll bite her apart. Pretty fucked up but Zoey didn't mind all that much. She was excited to fight against this talented fighter. Coach Scott never lets her anywhere near Ben in the ring or while he's training. He says the boy has nothing but sex on the brain, and she'll be a distraction, but Zoey thinks that's just an excuse so she doesn't embarrass his star boxer.
This fight could give her some good experience. Both with her Status Box skills and as a boxer. If this guy was as talented as Coach was making him out to be, it would definitely be a great fight for her. Zoey hoped that he was an out-boxer, swarmer, or a counterpuncher. Fighting against an out-boxer would help her gain some practice with long-ranged quick fighters. With swarmers, she could learn how to deal with people who want to get up in her face and stay there. If she fought against a counterpuncher, there was a chance she could finally learn how to counter and get the counter skill in the Status Box. For some reason, Zack was hesitant to teach her about counters, and Coach Scott was always too busy to teach her anything.
"Okay. I'll go. But do you think they'll accept even though I'm a girl?" Zoey asked. Most of the guys in their gym didn't want to fight her because she was a girl. Why would the situation be different in another gym?
"Don't worry about that, alright? Leave it to me. All you need to do is stay quiet and beat some ass for me, alright?"
'You're lucky I have something to gain out of this fat ass...' Zoey rolled her eyes behind his back.
"Okay, Coach. I'm ready to leave when you are." She told him.
Her and Zack's mitt work wasn't all that extensive today. He probably had more for her to do afterward. She finished her water bottle and threw it in the recycling bin on their way out. As they made it out, a nice sexy looking expensive black car was waiting outside. Was Coach Scott rich or something? A car like that could not be cheap. Did boxing trainers make good money?
"Jog your way down there, and I'll meet you there." Rich and a fat piece of shit.
"Okay, Coach." She nodded.
Coach Scott even had a driver and everything for himself! Ben, Zack, and the others must be making him a huge load of money. No wonder he was always so high-strung about them. She wasn't making him as much money as they were, so that's probably why she fell lower on the scale in comparison to them.
"I should finally go to Miles's school tomorrow..." Zoey muttered.
It's been a few days since she went into the main part of town and had that experience with Miles, the wannabe gangster. She hasn't had the opportunity to go back to the city since that day because of family and school stuff taking up her time. Tomorrow was a free day from school because somebody died, and the school thought it would be respectful to close down for the day. Which Zoey thought was weird because she didn't think schools would close down just because of the death of a single student. She guessed that the student had to be someone special or related to the principal because of that.
"Get your fucking ass out here, Mikey!" Coach Scott yelled from inside the building.
Everyone looked at them, wondering what the hell they were doing here. The inside of this gym was pretty nice. Not one bit lesser than their gym, in her opinion. Guess it made sense for them to be called rival gyms then. Even the dudes inside were just as hot as theirs.
"Is that fucking fat fuck at my door!?" Another voice called out.
"You know it bitch! Where is that fucking prodigy of yours at?! I wanna see if he's worth sparring against my genius boxer!"
'These two just love yelling, huh?' Zoey picked at her ear.
"What the fuck is this!? Did you bring your adopted daughter here to get sympathy or something!? I'm telling everyone you pussied out and were too scared to bring your fighter to fight mine!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Shut your fucking mouth, Mikey! Like you have the right to ask anything of me! Do you know how many wins my fighter got under his belt when he just started out!? Get at least half of my fighter's wins, and then we can fucking talk about a spar!" Coach Scott gloated.
"Did you bring your fat ugly stupid ass down here to talk shit or actually to get something done?!"
"Hell yeah! Bring down your little prodigy and face off against this girl of mine! If he wins, I'll get you the spar you want. If he loses, well... I don't need to tell you how that's gonna turn out." Coach Scott chuckled.
Coach Mike glared at her, looking her up and down to see what the hell was so special about her.
"Is this a fucking joke? Who is this? Why did you bring this little girl down here?"
"She's here to kick your boxer's ass! Now get him out here already! I don't got all fucking day to stand in your shitty ass gym! It smells like shit in here!"
He continued to stare at Zoey. Obviously, he could see something about this situation was off. If he didn't, Zoey would've believed he had brain damage. She just hoped that she could fight anyone at all. They probably wouldn't hold back against her because she was from a rival gym, and her coach wanted her to embarrass one of their fighters. Zoey's blood secretly started boiling in anticipation of a good fight.
"Cody. Get in the ring. See what she's made of." Coach Mike was not stupid, confirmed.
"Awh, Coach, I don't wanna fight a girl. Send Billy up there! He isn't doing anything!"
"Cody, get your ass in the ring!" He groaned loudly as he made his way up to the ring.
"This is good. That kid up there isn't some no-name either. Kick his ass for me, and I'll make sure to give you some more tips every now and then." He whispered into her ear with his hot ass breath.
"You think I can win, Coach?" Zoey asked.
"If I thought you would lose, I wouldn't be putting you up there. Now go on up there and spar like you usually do." Zoey didn't realize the coach had any faith in her. Or watched her at all.
"Okay." She put on some headgear and placed her mouthguard in her mouth.
Her opponent wasn't wearing headgear or a mouthguard. He looked hesitant, but Zoey could tell how confident he was about winning this. Probably thought he could beat her without even trying. This wasn't going to turn out good for him unless he was a talent on the level of one of the world champions.
"Where's your headgear, boy?! And get that fucking mouthguard in your mouth!" Coach Mike shouted.
"Chill out, Coach. I forgot, alright?" He shrugged. Someone handed him the items, and soon they could begin.
Zoey saw through his bullshit. He wasn't taking this seriously, and she wouldn't give him enough time to regret it in the ring. At first, she just wanted a good fight, but seeing his attitude pissed her off. Zoey got into a proper boxing stance. Her feet were shoulder-width apart, with one foot slightly in front of the other. Her front foot was turned slightly inward, while the back foot was turned outward at a 45-degree angle. Zoey's weight would be evenly distributed between both feet, with her knees slightly bent. This stance gave Zoey balance and stability, which allowed for easy movement and quick pivots. At least, according to Zack, it did.
"Lefty, huh? That's pretty cute." He whistled.
"Start!" Coach Mike yelled.
Zoey slowly moved in, waiting for Cody to get in some sort of stance at all. Her head instinctively moved to the side as his fist came whizzing past her out of nowhere. Zoey couldn't stay surprised as he threw another punch from a weird angle, forcing her to block. The force behind his punches wasn't light either. Was he a no-stance fighter, or was he just fucking with her?
"He's playing with you, girl! Get in there and show your stuff!" Coach Scott shouted at her.
Okay, so it wasn't a super genius she was fighting against. Zoey moved in while bobbing her head from side to side to dodge his strikes. It wasn't until she got in range to hit him that he finally put up a proper stance. But by that point, it was too late for him.
Zoey gave him a good punch to the abdomen, nearly causing him to spit out his mouthguard. She didn't give him time to start taking this spar seriously, either. Her fists struck his stomach a second time and then a third time, and then a fourth time. All of these hits landed before he could drop to the ground. Once Cody dropped to his knees, holding his stomach and grasping at the air with his glove, Zoey went over to the corner to give him space. She saw other boxers do this while sparring, so she figured it was common courtesy.
"What the hell are you doing, Cody?! Get the fuck up right now!" Coach Mike was turning red like a tomato.
"Gimme a sec Coach... She hits pretty damn hard and fast for a girl..." He slowly made his way up off the floor with drool leaking from his mouth.
Letting off those shots in his gut felt pretty nice, but the way he punched was interesting. She could learn something from this guy if she gave him a chance. Most of her anger from earlier was taken care of by seeing him fall like that. Zoey figured she could take it a bit easier now.
Once he made it off the ground, the match restarted, with him taking it more seriously now. He was an out-boxer that focused on jabs and straights. Zoey wasn't too good at taking hits, so she couldn't just charge right in and ignore his punches. She had to focus, and watch his fists, his arms, and his legs. Not the skill, Focus, because a fight on this level didn't require that and would only be a waste. She intended to learn about this opponent, not destroy him. That was eliminated from her system after dropping him to the mat.
'Why won't you just stay still?! My entire reputation is on the line here!' Cody cried out in his heart.
Trying to hit this girl was like trying to punch a fly! He's already accepted in his heart that he's going to be made fun of for slipping like that earlier. But if he loses, he'll never be able to raise his head in this gym again. Just what the hell is with this chick!? It's like she was toying with him instead of trying to fight him! Coach Scott always complimented him about his punches that could be fired from unusual angles, but this chick could see them! She could deal with them no matter what angle he came in at! She could parry them off to the side and land a jab or a punch on him. She had the skill to slip past them with a bob of her tiny ass head! What the fuck was going on!?
Since his usual gimmick wasn't working, he decided to throw a cross to see how she would react. Cody saw her pupils dilate and her body lean back as if she was bending under a limbo bar. He couldn't do anything as she was somehow able to land a blow straight toward his heart while bent over like that. His eyes recorded everything as he realized he wasn't the only one able to throw punches at unusual angles. The punch from her seemed like it stopped his heart from the amount of force he felt in his body. Those thin arms of hers were a damn lie! This had to be a guy dressed up as a chick. There was just no way it could be a girl... Cody refused to believe he lost to a chick, god damn it.
'It was a smart choice keeping this little monster away from Ben.' Scott thought.
His huge fucking ego wouldn't be able to handle someone like her. A silent hard worker who doesn't ask for much or say anything at all. Brings no attention to herself despite being able to pull off shit like this. Where the hell did this girl come from!?
'If only she was born as a boy... I could take her to the world championship stage!' Scott sighed.
She would be the perfect sparring partner for Ben to keep his skills sharp. They're both close in age. Ben is more talented, but Zoey isn't that far behind. Her foundation is fantastic. With a little more finetuning and fixing up, she'll be perfect. Ben is great at everything, but his mind is not where it should be. He doesn't give a damn about the basics and has his mind elsewhere.
'That boy wouldn't mentally survive losing against this girl, and I know it. Just one of the other guys who sparred against her ending up fucking leaving the gym because he lost to her and was made fun of about it!'
Zoey had this match in the bag. After knocking him down in the first bout, she started to learn the way he fought. Sucking everything about him out for herself to learn. Scott could see how she was just messing around with that kid up there. She took this spar seriously but wasn't being disrespectful, either. Not using 100% of her strength, being respectful to her opponent, and not being a fucking dick like Ben would be. Gloating and taunting his opponent while in a fight. The brat was a genius, but god damn, his personality was shit.
'You gotta be toying with me, God. Giving me two great boxers in my gym but making the one I wish I had a girl and the one I couldn't afford to lose a boy.' Scott sighed deeply while shaking his head.
Causing Mike to look at him as if he was insane. He wasn't satisfied with this?! One of his boxers was being publicly humiliated by one of his fighters. That was a girl! And not one of them Amazonian giant muscled freak girls, either! She was an itty bitty little thing that looked like she hadn't lifted a weight in her life! There was no way in hell he was having his prized fighter go against that thing in the ring. Even if he won, it definitely would come at a loss!
"Alright! Stop the spar!" Mike yelled. At this point, everyone in his gym was looking at the spar between the girl and Cody instead of training.
"I can keep going, Coach!" Cody yelled out.
Zoey returned to her corner and waited for the final decision.
"Shut the hell up, boy and get out of that ring before you embarrass me further." Coach Mike couldn't even look his fighter in the face.
Zoey took off her headgear and held out her fist. In his eyes was nothing but humiliation, anger, and anxiety, but he returned her gesture and tapped her fist with his glove. They both exited the ring, and Zoey left with Coach Scott laughing his ass off. She expected him to tell her to jog back.
"Where the hell are you going, Zoey?! Get in. I'll take ya back." He yelled from the passenger seat.
'Maybe he isn't as much of an asshole as I thought...'
"Take this towel and wipe yourself. I don't want any of your sweat dripping on my seats, though, alright?" He threw a towel at her.
"Alright." She responded.
'Still an asshole. Just a bit less of one now.' Zoey thought.
Zoey looked over at the bald round-bellied middle-aged man and wondered what he wanted with her yelling like that. Usually, he was fawning over his star pupil Ben, the boxing prodigy of this generation, in his words. A load of shit, in Zoey's opinion, but Ben was pretty talented. Zoey couldn't deny that. She'd probably get worked by his arrogant ass right now, even with her Status Box. But she was confident in being able to give him a challenge, at least.
"She's in the ring, coach!" Someone called out.
Zoey and Zack were doing some mitt work to improve her accuracy and develop some good punch combinations with some defensive maneuvers. Zack, at random times, would throw out sharp punches while she was hitting the mitts. This would help her keep her mind focused on both offense and defense in the middle of a fight. One couldn't be thrown out for the other, and both should be kept in mind during a fight. Zoey usually responded with whichever defensive skill of hers needed the experience more. If she needed to raise her Slipping skill, she would slip past that punch, bobbing and weaving her head to avoid it. Zack's punches were too heavy for her to try and parry. She'd only get punished for trying to deflect his heavy-ass hands. Blocking was similar because of his gorilla-like strength. She'd only hurt herself trying to block them.
"Zach! Stop your mitt work! I got something important for the girl!" He yelled as he always does.
Zach dropped his mitts for her to stop, and she listened. They went to the ropes and leaned over them to hear him out. Coach Scott only seemed to ever be in a good mood when Ben was nearby. He was pretty much an asshole, but his teaching skills were great. There was one time he even gave her some advice on her footwork while she was doing a heavy bag round, which was basically doing combos after combos on a punching bag for 3-10 minutes. That one-time advice he gave her almost instantly leveled up her footwork skill to the next level. Seeing how that small teaching lesson he gave her did that, she had to look at Zach with a certain look. His lacking teaching experience was probably the reason why her skills leveled so slowly when training with him.
"Yes, Coach?" Zoey took out her mouthguard.
"Get out the ring and take a 5-to-10-minute break. I need you for something important." He looked at her as if he hated to do this.
Zoey didn't understand why the Head Coach didn't like her. Even when she did something good or impressive, he still looked at her with those same eyes. Is he upset because she wasn't his daughter or something? The future boxing prodigy Zoey Winters isn't his to show off like a trophy? A smile showed up on her face thinking about this. Holding a big ass trophy for winning a boxing tournament or something. That was nice to imagine.
"Ben was just challenged to a spar by our rival gym down the street. You know them, right?" Coach Scott said, standing over her.
She took a drink of her water bottle.
"Yes. Those guys had a 3.7 rating online. This gym had a 4.0." Saying that seemed to make him upset. She didn't give a shit, though.
"I'm not going to send Ben over there because the boy has some important training to do. Plus, that little bastard of theirs isn't as bad as I thought he would be." That meant that little Ben could possibly lose or be injured before his upcoming match.
So, she was his guinea pig, huh? Throwing her out to the wolves and seeing exactly how he'll bite her apart. Pretty fucked up but Zoey didn't mind all that much. She was excited to fight against this talented fighter. Coach Scott never lets her anywhere near Ben in the ring or while he's training. He says the boy has nothing but sex on the brain, and she'll be a distraction, but Zoey thinks that's just an excuse so she doesn't embarrass his star boxer.
This fight could give her some good experience. Both with her Status Box skills and as a boxer. If this guy was as talented as Coach was making him out to be, it would definitely be a great fight for her. Zoey hoped that he was an out-boxer, swarmer, or a counterpuncher. Fighting against an out-boxer would help her gain some practice with long-ranged quick fighters. With swarmers, she could learn how to deal with people who want to get up in her face and stay there. If she fought against a counterpuncher, there was a chance she could finally learn how to counter and get the counter skill in the Status Box. For some reason, Zack was hesitant to teach her about counters, and Coach Scott was always too busy to teach her anything.
"Okay. I'll go. But do you think they'll accept even though I'm a girl?" Zoey asked. Most of the guys in their gym didn't want to fight her because she was a girl. Why would the situation be different in another gym?
"Don't worry about that, alright? Leave it to me. All you need to do is stay quiet and beat some ass for me, alright?"
'You're lucky I have something to gain out of this fat ass...' Zoey rolled her eyes behind his back.
"Okay, Coach. I'm ready to leave when you are." She told him.
Her and Zack's mitt work wasn't all that extensive today. He probably had more for her to do afterward. She finished her water bottle and threw it in the recycling bin on their way out. As they made it out, a nice sexy looking expensive black car was waiting outside. Was Coach Scott rich or something? A car like that could not be cheap. Did boxing trainers make good money?
"Jog your way down there, and I'll meet you there." Rich and a fat piece of shit.
"Okay, Coach." She nodded.
Coach Scott even had a driver and everything for himself! Ben, Zack, and the others must be making him a huge load of money. No wonder he was always so high-strung about them. She wasn't making him as much money as they were, so that's probably why she fell lower on the scale in comparison to them.
"I should finally go to Miles's school tomorrow..." Zoey muttered.
It's been a few days since she went into the main part of town and had that experience with Miles, the wannabe gangster. She hasn't had the opportunity to go back to the city since that day because of family and school stuff taking up her time. Tomorrow was a free day from school because somebody died, and the school thought it would be respectful to close down for the day. Which Zoey thought was weird because she didn't think schools would close down just because of the death of a single student. She guessed that the student had to be someone special or related to the principal because of that.
"Get your fucking ass out here, Mikey!" Coach Scott yelled from inside the building.
Everyone looked at them, wondering what the hell they were doing here. The inside of this gym was pretty nice. Not one bit lesser than their gym, in her opinion. Guess it made sense for them to be called rival gyms then. Even the dudes inside were just as hot as theirs.
"Is that fucking fat fuck at my door!?" Another voice called out.
"You know it bitch! Where is that fucking prodigy of yours at?! I wanna see if he's worth sparring against my genius boxer!"
'These two just love yelling, huh?' Zoey picked at her ear.
"What the fuck is this!? Did you bring your adopted daughter here to get sympathy or something!? I'm telling everyone you pussied out and were too scared to bring your fighter to fight mine!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Shut your fucking mouth, Mikey! Like you have the right to ask anything of me! Do you know how many wins my fighter got under his belt when he just started out!? Get at least half of my fighter's wins, and then we can fucking talk about a spar!" Coach Scott gloated.
"Did you bring your fat ugly stupid ass down here to talk shit or actually to get something done?!"
"Hell yeah! Bring down your little prodigy and face off against this girl of mine! If he wins, I'll get you the spar you want. If he loses, well... I don't need to tell you how that's gonna turn out." Coach Scott chuckled.
Coach Mike glared at her, looking her up and down to see what the hell was so special about her.
"Is this a fucking joke? Who is this? Why did you bring this little girl down here?"
"She's here to kick your boxer's ass! Now get him out here already! I don't got all fucking day to stand in your shitty ass gym! It smells like shit in here!"
He continued to stare at Zoey. Obviously, he could see something about this situation was off. If he didn't, Zoey would've believed he had brain damage. She just hoped that she could fight anyone at all. They probably wouldn't hold back against her because she was from a rival gym, and her coach wanted her to embarrass one of their fighters. Zoey's blood secretly started boiling in anticipation of a good fight.
"Cody. Get in the ring. See what she's made of." Coach Mike was not stupid, confirmed.
"Awh, Coach, I don't wanna fight a girl. Send Billy up there! He isn't doing anything!"
"Cody, get your ass in the ring!" He groaned loudly as he made his way up to the ring.
"This is good. That kid up there isn't some no-name either. Kick his ass for me, and I'll make sure to give you some more tips every now and then." He whispered into her ear with his hot ass breath.
"You think I can win, Coach?" Zoey asked.
"If I thought you would lose, I wouldn't be putting you up there. Now go on up there and spar like you usually do." Zoey didn't realize the coach had any faith in her. Or watched her at all.
"Okay." She put on some headgear and placed her mouthguard in her mouth.
Her opponent wasn't wearing headgear or a mouthguard. He looked hesitant, but Zoey could tell how confident he was about winning this. Probably thought he could beat her without even trying. This wasn't going to turn out good for him unless he was a talent on the level of one of the world champions.
"Where's your headgear, boy?! And get that fucking mouthguard in your mouth!" Coach Mike shouted.
"Chill out, Coach. I forgot, alright?" He shrugged. Someone handed him the items, and soon they could begin.
Zoey saw through his bullshit. He wasn't taking this seriously, and she wouldn't give him enough time to regret it in the ring. At first, she just wanted a good fight, but seeing his attitude pissed her off. Zoey got into a proper boxing stance. Her feet were shoulder-width apart, with one foot slightly in front of the other. Her front foot was turned slightly inward, while the back foot was turned outward at a 45-degree angle. Zoey's weight would be evenly distributed between both feet, with her knees slightly bent. This stance gave Zoey balance and stability, which allowed for easy movement and quick pivots. At least, according to Zack, it did.
"Lefty, huh? That's pretty cute." He whistled.
"Start!" Coach Mike yelled.
Zoey slowly moved in, waiting for Cody to get in some sort of stance at all. Her head instinctively moved to the side as his fist came whizzing past her out of nowhere. Zoey couldn't stay surprised as he threw another punch from a weird angle, forcing her to block. The force behind his punches wasn't light either. Was he a no-stance fighter, or was he just fucking with her?
"He's playing with you, girl! Get in there and show your stuff!" Coach Scott shouted at her.
Okay, so it wasn't a super genius she was fighting against. Zoey moved in while bobbing her head from side to side to dodge his strikes. It wasn't until she got in range to hit him that he finally put up a proper stance. But by that point, it was too late for him.
Zoey gave him a good punch to the abdomen, nearly causing him to spit out his mouthguard. She didn't give him time to start taking this spar seriously, either. Her fists struck his stomach a second time and then a third time, and then a fourth time. All of these hits landed before he could drop to the ground. Once Cody dropped to his knees, holding his stomach and grasping at the air with his glove, Zoey went over to the corner to give him space. She saw other boxers do this while sparring, so she figured it was common courtesy.
"What the hell are you doing, Cody?! Get the fuck up right now!" Coach Mike was turning red like a tomato.
"Gimme a sec Coach... She hits pretty damn hard and fast for a girl..." He slowly made his way up off the floor with drool leaking from his mouth.
Letting off those shots in his gut felt pretty nice, but the way he punched was interesting. She could learn something from this guy if she gave him a chance. Most of her anger from earlier was taken care of by seeing him fall like that. Zoey figured she could take it a bit easier now.
Once he made it off the ground, the match restarted, with him taking it more seriously now. He was an out-boxer that focused on jabs and straights. Zoey wasn't too good at taking hits, so she couldn't just charge right in and ignore his punches. She had to focus, and watch his fists, his arms, and his legs. Not the skill, Focus, because a fight on this level didn't require that and would only be a waste. She intended to learn about this opponent, not destroy him. That was eliminated from her system after dropping him to the mat.
'Why won't you just stay still?! My entire reputation is on the line here!' Cody cried out in his heart.
Trying to hit this girl was like trying to punch a fly! He's already accepted in his heart that he's going to be made fun of for slipping like that earlier. But if he loses, he'll never be able to raise his head in this gym again. Just what the hell is with this chick!? It's like she was toying with him instead of trying to fight him! Coach Scott always complimented him about his punches that could be fired from unusual angles, but this chick could see them! She could deal with them no matter what angle he came in at! She could parry them off to the side and land a jab or a punch on him. She had the skill to slip past them with a bob of her tiny ass head! What the fuck was going on!?
Since his usual gimmick wasn't working, he decided to throw a cross to see how she would react. Cody saw her pupils dilate and her body lean back as if she was bending under a limbo bar. He couldn't do anything as she was somehow able to land a blow straight toward his heart while bent over like that. His eyes recorded everything as he realized he wasn't the only one able to throw punches at unusual angles. The punch from her seemed like it stopped his heart from the amount of force he felt in his body. Those thin arms of hers were a damn lie! This had to be a guy dressed up as a chick. There was just no way it could be a girl... Cody refused to believe he lost to a chick, god damn it.
'It was a smart choice keeping this little monster away from Ben.' Scott thought.
His huge fucking ego wouldn't be able to handle someone like her. A silent hard worker who doesn't ask for much or say anything at all. Brings no attention to herself despite being able to pull off shit like this. Where the hell did this girl come from!?
'If only she was born as a boy... I could take her to the world championship stage!' Scott sighed.
She would be the perfect sparring partner for Ben to keep his skills sharp. They're both close in age. Ben is more talented, but Zoey isn't that far behind. Her foundation is fantastic. With a little more finetuning and fixing up, she'll be perfect. Ben is great at everything, but his mind is not where it should be. He doesn't give a damn about the basics and has his mind elsewhere.
'That boy wouldn't mentally survive losing against this girl, and I know it. Just one of the other guys who sparred against her ending up fucking leaving the gym because he lost to her and was made fun of about it!'
Zoey had this match in the bag. After knocking him down in the first bout, she started to learn the way he fought. Sucking everything about him out for herself to learn. Scott could see how she was just messing around with that kid up there. She took this spar seriously but wasn't being disrespectful, either. Not using 100% of her strength, being respectful to her opponent, and not being a fucking dick like Ben would be. Gloating and taunting his opponent while in a fight. The brat was a genius, but god damn, his personality was shit.
'You gotta be toying with me, God. Giving me two great boxers in my gym but making the one I wish I had a girl and the one I couldn't afford to lose a boy.' Scott sighed deeply while shaking his head.
Causing Mike to look at him as if he was insane. He wasn't satisfied with this?! One of his boxers was being publicly humiliated by one of his fighters. That was a girl! And not one of them Amazonian giant muscled freak girls, either! She was an itty bitty little thing that looked like she hadn't lifted a weight in her life! There was no way in hell he was having his prized fighter go against that thing in the ring. Even if he won, it definitely would come at a loss!
"Alright! Stop the spar!" Mike yelled. At this point, everyone in his gym was looking at the spar between the girl and Cody instead of training.
"I can keep going, Coach!" Cody yelled out.
Zoey returned to her corner and waited for the final decision.
"Shut the hell up, boy and get out of that ring before you embarrass me further." Coach Mike couldn't even look his fighter in the face.
Zoey took off her headgear and held out her fist. In his eyes was nothing but humiliation, anger, and anxiety, but he returned her gesture and tapped her fist with his glove. They both exited the ring, and Zoey left with Coach Scott laughing his ass off. She expected him to tell her to jog back.
"Where the hell are you going, Zoey?! Get in. I'll take ya back." He yelled from the passenger seat.
'Maybe he isn't as much of an asshole as I thought...'
"Take this towel and wipe yourself. I don't want any of your sweat dripping on my seats, though, alright?" He threw a towel at her.
"Alright." She responded.
'Still an asshole. Just a bit less of one now.' Zoey thought.
Chapter 6: Looking For Miles.
'Now this is a rich boy school...' Zoey marveled at the sight in front of her.
Large black gates to keep any poor riffraff out, a huge school building with an outside pool, a track, and a field that could be used for football and soccer. Probably had a lot more shit inside too. Miles definitely got it good here.
'I wonder why he wants to be a gangster if he could get an education from a place like this.' Zoey thought.
Maybe things aren't all good at home. But Zoey couldn't really judge other people's life choices too much. Considering her goal in coming in and coming to this part of the city. She wasn't blind to the danger and insanity of it. Just excited. It was an abnormal feeling that she shouldn't feel, but it was one of the perks that came with getting the Status Box. Along with learning that magic and magicians were real. This was all to protect herself in the long run. Not just for the sick feeling of satisfaction of beating the face in of criminals and gangsters. That was a bonus, along with leveling her skills.
Right now, Zoey was waiting for their school to end and for Miles to come out. He seemed like the type to hold a grudge even when he was in the wrong. Zoey hoped that once he saw her, he would get help from one of his other friends. Then if she was lucky, a few of her skills and stats could rise today.
"What the fuck are we fucking doing today, fuckers?!" A spiky black-haired teen asked as he took a smoke of a cigarette.
"We could do some karaoke with some babes."
"I want to play pool."
"You always want to play pool."
"Hey, you guys see that down there?"
"I can't see shit."
"That fucking girl by the gates."
"What about her?"
"Boxing gloves, black skin. Isn't that the crazy bitch that put Miles in the hospital?"
"Is her ass nice? He said she had a nice ass."
"How many fucking black girls are running around the city with boxing gloves?! Of course, it's her!"
"Should we give Miles a call and tell her she's here for him?"
"He definitely isn't going to be happy if we told him we saw her and didn't tell him about it."
"I'll call him. Give me a second."
The three delinquents sat on the rooftop, smoking on their lunch break. They were "friends" with Miles, but they weren't one of his followers. He could bark, yell, and scream all he wanted at them, but unless he flashed some cash, they weren't doing shit for him. The only reason why they were calling him now was because they were interested in seeing this boxing girl for themselves. Miles would no doubt call up his friends to take care of her for him. They wanted to see the show.
If she could beat up Miles and his boys without being hurt, then she had to be capable somewhat. She also put Miles, of all people, in the hospital, which meant she was new around here. Nobody would touch Miles without good reason or preparation. His pockets run too deep, and his connections aren't weak at all.
"Why do you guys think she's here?"
"For Miles, why else?"
"Yeah, but Miles is in the hospital, not at school. Do you think she even knows he's in the hospital?"
"Maybe she got beef with someone else at our school."
"Oi, who is that walking towards the gate?"
"Is that Duncan?"
"Captain of the wrestling team Duncan?"
"Oh, he's going to crush that chick."
"Let's go down and get a better look!"
They rushed down the stairs to make it to the gate.
"You're a big guy..." Zoey muttered as she saw the beefy uniformed boy coming towards the gate.
"Miles sent me. Meet me at the park, and I will destroy you there."
"What park?" Zoey asked before he turned around and was about to leave. She didn't know the area all that well.
"... Liberty Park." He said after a moment of silence.
"I'll be waiting," Zoey told him.
Instead of asking for directions to the park, Zoey decided to handle other stuff first. She went to a small café for snacks, a drink, and a bathroom break. The next time she came to the city, she had to bring a charger with her or something. Playing on her phone drained her battery fast.
After spending some time to herself, Zoey finally walked to the park. School probably just let out for them unless rich schools had different times to get out. Once she made it to the park, she saw a crowd of people hanging around the area. Were all these people here for her? And how did they get out of school so fast? It should have just ended!
Zoey was confident in her skills, but she wasn't confident in taking on more than 20 people yet. Should she just run before they notice her? Would they be able to catch her? Her body stat was at a nice 1.1, which she guessed was 1.1x stronger than the average person.
"There she is! Come over here, Boxing Chick!" Someone called her out.
Everyone started to crowd around her, trapping her in a circular formation. The beefy boy from earlier glared at her while they were in the circle. This made her feel pretty relieved. It looked like she wasn't going to get jumped by all these people. They were just here to watch. Hopefully...
"Who are you?" He demanded.
"Uhh... A fighter?" She wasn't expecting such a simple question and answered like a retard.
She thought they were just going to fight, not talk. Zoey didn't prepare any answers for questions like that. At first, she was going to say something lame like a Fighter of Justice or something like that. But that would be too embarrassing.
"Duncan." He revealed his name. She only nodded, still refusing to give her name.
Zoey's legs got lighter as she got into her boxing stance. She stood on her toes and kept her weight equal on both feet.
"Why did you hurt Miles? Are you serious about wanting to fight me?"
"Save questions for later... Fight first." Zoey said, nearly unable to contain her fighting spirit. Also irritated with all the questions.
"She's ready to go, Duncan! You heard her!"
"Don't keep a lady waiting! She's ready to kick your ass! Haha!"
"Quit stalling you pussy! Aren't you the wrestling team captain?! Fight!"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Everyone shouted together.
'A wrestler, huh?' Zoey took note.
He let out a roar as he dropped down low and ran towards her with his arms open wide. A bad match-up for a standing fighter like her. But this will be a necessary and very fruitful learning experience in helping her learn how to deal with grapplers both standing and on the ground. As long as she was careful, she shouldn't take too much damage. He was slow, but once he snatched her, it could be over in seconds.
Zoey did the complete opposite of what everyone thought she was going to do. Instead of trying to dodge his charge and get out of the way of his arms, she instead dashed forward. She'll only get a chance like this once while he was still unaware of how she fought. If she ran away like a little mouse while tapping him every now and then, it could work. But she wanted to save something like that for when she had no other options.
"Oh my god! Is she crazy?!"
"The balls on this girl!"
"She's coming for you, Duncan! Hahahahaha!"
Zoey struck down from above and landed a blow to the side of Duncan's face, stunning him. Seeing him stumble after taking her punch, Zoey's arm reared back and landed another hit in the same spot, causing him to fall over on the ground. His fallen and dazed state was just ripe for taking advantage of. The boxing teen dropped to her knees and began letting off punch after punch on Duncan's head while he was down, surprising everyone watching.
She didn't even give him the chance to get up! Normally for these delinquents, after you knock someone down, you at least give them a chance to stand and try again, but this chick didn't care about that at all! She punched and punched and punched while Duncan was trying to rise back up. The many blows to his head were affecting him badly, and everyone could see it.
Duncan managed to push Zoey away with his hand, allowing him to stand once again. He was pissed, in pain, and could barely take in what was happening around him. The loud voices of the crowd shouting didn't help him in his attempt to focus. But there was one thing he could focus on, that short black figure in front of him running towards him.
Zoey leaped off the ground and aimed a strike straight towards Duncan's face while he was still recovering. All those hits from earlier had to have had an effect on him. Getting your head knocked around should do that to you. But sadly, it might not have been enough as Duncan took her punch head-on with his forehead and just grabbed her wrist.
"This is going to hurt a lot for you..." He growled.
Duncan was shocked once he felt the strength of the girl trying to pry her arm away from him. Why was this girl so strong? No wonder Miles got his ass beat by her. Her punches were enough to make him want to never take another one again. But he wasn't the captain of the wrestling team for nothing. If he couldn't hold down a girl as small as this, all of his weightlifting would be for nothing.
Large black gates to keep any poor riffraff out, a huge school building with an outside pool, a track, and a field that could be used for football and soccer. Probably had a lot more shit inside too. Miles definitely got it good here.
'I wonder why he wants to be a gangster if he could get an education from a place like this.' Zoey thought.
Maybe things aren't all good at home. But Zoey couldn't really judge other people's life choices too much. Considering her goal in coming in and coming to this part of the city. She wasn't blind to the danger and insanity of it. Just excited. It was an abnormal feeling that she shouldn't feel, but it was one of the perks that came with getting the Status Box. Along with learning that magic and magicians were real. This was all to protect herself in the long run. Not just for the sick feeling of satisfaction of beating the face in of criminals and gangsters. That was a bonus, along with leveling her skills.
Right now, Zoey was waiting for their school to end and for Miles to come out. He seemed like the type to hold a grudge even when he was in the wrong. Zoey hoped that once he saw her, he would get help from one of his other friends. Then if she was lucky, a few of her skills and stats could rise today.
"What the fuck are we fucking doing today, fuckers?!" A spiky black-haired teen asked as he took a smoke of a cigarette.
"We could do some karaoke with some babes."
"I want to play pool."
"You always want to play pool."
"Hey, you guys see that down there?"
"I can't see shit."
"That fucking girl by the gates."
"What about her?"
"Boxing gloves, black skin. Isn't that the crazy bitch that put Miles in the hospital?"
"Is her ass nice? He said she had a nice ass."
"How many fucking black girls are running around the city with boxing gloves?! Of course, it's her!"
"Should we give Miles a call and tell her she's here for him?"
"He definitely isn't going to be happy if we told him we saw her and didn't tell him about it."
"I'll call him. Give me a second."
The three delinquents sat on the rooftop, smoking on their lunch break. They were "friends" with Miles, but they weren't one of his followers. He could bark, yell, and scream all he wanted at them, but unless he flashed some cash, they weren't doing shit for him. The only reason why they were calling him now was because they were interested in seeing this boxing girl for themselves. Miles would no doubt call up his friends to take care of her for him. They wanted to see the show.
If she could beat up Miles and his boys without being hurt, then she had to be capable somewhat. She also put Miles, of all people, in the hospital, which meant she was new around here. Nobody would touch Miles without good reason or preparation. His pockets run too deep, and his connections aren't weak at all.
"Why do you guys think she's here?"
"For Miles, why else?"
"Yeah, but Miles is in the hospital, not at school. Do you think she even knows he's in the hospital?"
"Maybe she got beef with someone else at our school."
"Oi, who is that walking towards the gate?"
"Is that Duncan?"
"Captain of the wrestling team Duncan?"
"Oh, he's going to crush that chick."
"Let's go down and get a better look!"
They rushed down the stairs to make it to the gate.
"You're a big guy..." Zoey muttered as she saw the beefy uniformed boy coming towards the gate.
"Miles sent me. Meet me at the park, and I will destroy you there."
"What park?" Zoey asked before he turned around and was about to leave. She didn't know the area all that well.
"... Liberty Park." He said after a moment of silence.
"I'll be waiting," Zoey told him.
Instead of asking for directions to the park, Zoey decided to handle other stuff first. She went to a small café for snacks, a drink, and a bathroom break. The next time she came to the city, she had to bring a charger with her or something. Playing on her phone drained her battery fast.
After spending some time to herself, Zoey finally walked to the park. School probably just let out for them unless rich schools had different times to get out. Once she made it to the park, she saw a crowd of people hanging around the area. Were all these people here for her? And how did they get out of school so fast? It should have just ended!
Zoey was confident in her skills, but she wasn't confident in taking on more than 20 people yet. Should she just run before they notice her? Would they be able to catch her? Her body stat was at a nice 1.1, which she guessed was 1.1x stronger than the average person.
"There she is! Come over here, Boxing Chick!" Someone called her out.
Everyone started to crowd around her, trapping her in a circular formation. The beefy boy from earlier glared at her while they were in the circle. This made her feel pretty relieved. It looked like she wasn't going to get jumped by all these people. They were just here to watch. Hopefully...
"Who are you?" He demanded.
"Uhh... A fighter?" She wasn't expecting such a simple question and answered like a retard.
She thought they were just going to fight, not talk. Zoey didn't prepare any answers for questions like that. At first, she was going to say something lame like a Fighter of Justice or something like that. But that would be too embarrassing.
"Duncan." He revealed his name. She only nodded, still refusing to give her name.
Zoey's legs got lighter as she got into her boxing stance. She stood on her toes and kept her weight equal on both feet.
"Why did you hurt Miles? Are you serious about wanting to fight me?"
"Save questions for later... Fight first." Zoey said, nearly unable to contain her fighting spirit. Also irritated with all the questions.
"She's ready to go, Duncan! You heard her!"
"Don't keep a lady waiting! She's ready to kick your ass! Haha!"
"Quit stalling you pussy! Aren't you the wrestling team captain?! Fight!"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Everyone shouted together.
'A wrestler, huh?' Zoey took note.
He let out a roar as he dropped down low and ran towards her with his arms open wide. A bad match-up for a standing fighter like her. But this will be a necessary and very fruitful learning experience in helping her learn how to deal with grapplers both standing and on the ground. As long as she was careful, she shouldn't take too much damage. He was slow, but once he snatched her, it could be over in seconds.
Zoey did the complete opposite of what everyone thought she was going to do. Instead of trying to dodge his charge and get out of the way of his arms, she instead dashed forward. She'll only get a chance like this once while he was still unaware of how she fought. If she ran away like a little mouse while tapping him every now and then, it could work. But she wanted to save something like that for when she had no other options.
"Oh my god! Is she crazy?!"
"The balls on this girl!"
"She's coming for you, Duncan! Hahahahaha!"
Zoey struck down from above and landed a blow to the side of Duncan's face, stunning him. Seeing him stumble after taking her punch, Zoey's arm reared back and landed another hit in the same spot, causing him to fall over on the ground. His fallen and dazed state was just ripe for taking advantage of. The boxing teen dropped to her knees and began letting off punch after punch on Duncan's head while he was down, surprising everyone watching.
She didn't even give him the chance to get up! Normally for these delinquents, after you knock someone down, you at least give them a chance to stand and try again, but this chick didn't care about that at all! She punched and punched and punched while Duncan was trying to rise back up. The many blows to his head were affecting him badly, and everyone could see it.
Duncan managed to push Zoey away with his hand, allowing him to stand once again. He was pissed, in pain, and could barely take in what was happening around him. The loud voices of the crowd shouting didn't help him in his attempt to focus. But there was one thing he could focus on, that short black figure in front of him running towards him.
Zoey leaped off the ground and aimed a strike straight towards Duncan's face while he was still recovering. All those hits from earlier had to have had an effect on him. Getting your head knocked around should do that to you. But sadly, it might not have been enough as Duncan took her punch head-on with his forehead and just grabbed her wrist.
"This is going to hurt a lot for you..." He growled.
Duncan was shocked once he felt the strength of the girl trying to pry her arm away from him. Why was this girl so strong? No wonder Miles got his ass beat by her. Her punches were enough to make him want to never take another one again. But he wasn't the captain of the wrestling team for nothing. If he couldn't hold down a girl as small as this, all of his weightlifting would be for nothing.
Chapter 7: Uh Oh.
Zoey used her other hand and smashed the side of Duncan's face, not letting the panic of getting grabbed get to her head. Seeing that he was still holding her, she reared her arm back for another attempt and slugged him in the same spot, nearly causing him to fall over. Duncan shouted through the pain and lifted Zoey off the ground with one hand. Zoey didn't stop punching him in the face. Correct punching posture, be damned! She only needed to punch him till he dropped! Her eyes focused only on his face and head as she was held above the ground.
"Enough!" Duncan reached for her other wrist to grab and stop her from pummeling his face anymore.
"Damn, she fucked him up!"
"Duncan, your face isn't looking so good, bro!"
"Slam her ass into the pavement!"
"Haha, body slam her tiny ass!"
Seeing his attempt to grab her other arm, she pulled her fist back and landed a hard punch to his throat. Duncan immediately released her and cuffed his throat with his hands, trying to bring air into his lungs. Now that both of her fists were free, she rushed towards Duncan to finish him off. His eyes panicked when he saw her coming at him, but he was still suffering from the hit to his windpipe. He tried to put up his hand to block while keeping the other on his neck, but this didn't help him at all.
'That weak ass hand can't stop my punches! Your ass is mine, Duncan!' Zoey thought.
Zoey slammed her boxing glove into the side of his jaw, knocking his face to the right. Her right glove caught Duncan before he could fall and slugged his face to the left. An unsuppressed smile rose on Zoey's face as she combo'd the wrestler with her fists. Her fists sent his head up, down, left, right, and all around. The lights in his eyes were already gone, but she didn't stop! She could do more! She wasn't finished yet! Zoey could feel the progress of her skills rising the more she hit him.
"Whoa, there, Boxer Chick. If you go any further than that, you'll kill him." Someone grabbed her from behind, stopping her mid-combo.
Her eyes glared at the pretty boy with a lip ring stopping her, but he only calmly smiled at her. Duncan crumpled into a heap on the ground, unconscious. His face was barely recognizable, and his breathing was faint. Some of the delinquents watching made sure to take pictures of the defeated wrestler to post on social media. Zoey immediately hightailed it out of there once she saw the pictures and videos coming out. She wasn't dressed to hide her face. Her hoodie that could hide her face was at home!
Zoey ran all the way home without stopping once. On her way home, she checked her skills and felt like jumping through the air! Her punching skill rose two whole levels, and her body stat rose to 1.2. Now her Punching skill was at Lv8, far ahead of her other skills. Only the skill Footwork was near it at Lv7. She wasn't surprised about that being so high-leveled, as Footwork was involved in every aspect of her fighting style. There was rarely a day when she didn't use any footwork at the boxing gym. Just simply punching the bag, doing mitt work, or shadowboxing all included using the skill Footwork.
This was what her Status Box looked like as of now. It looks like she didn't need to study to raise her mental stat. She only got it to 0.6 before because she wanted to test if actually studying would raise it, and it did. But this time, she hasn't studied really much at all, and it still rose to 0.7. This made her realize that studying wasn't the only way to raise that stat. She still didn't know the other ways of raising it, but at least she knew there wasn't only one way of making it go up.
Still no progress with her magic stat. If Zoey wasn't having so much fun with her Body stat, she'd definitely be going crazy over trying to change her magic stat into anything but 0.0. On her computer, she had already bookmarked a few websites that could help her channel her inner magic. They were probably bullshit scams, but there was a chance that one of them could be real. Zoey doubted that wizards were patrolling the internet too. But that didn't stop her from being cautious. Zoey refused to search up online about magic and magicians being real because it would be insane to think she would get any legitimate results, and what if they did some magic shit and found where she lived!?
"No, thank you!" Zoey exclaimed as she made it home.
Zoey believed that she could probably stand a chance against teenage magicians like the student council president and vice president at her school. All she'd have to do was run in and knock them out before they could say anything. But if it was a fully grown magician, she'd probably be as helpless as a baby in front of them. She wasn't strong enough to face against an adult yet, probably. Well, actually, if the 1.2 on her body stat meant that she was 1.2x stronger than the average person, then she should be able to deal with a grown man. Zoey should be at least a little bit stronger than one.
After making it home, Zoey immediately went upstairs and took a shower so that she didn't stink of sweat and outside smell anymore. Once she got out, she went into her room and jumped on her bed.
"Zoey." Her brother knocked on her door.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Mom said your food is in the microwave."
"Uh... Okay." Why did she get Everette to tell her that?
"Okay. I'll be in my room." He left her alone.
Zoey wanted nothing more than just to lay her ass on the bed and just sleep the rest of the day away, but all of her teachers decided to give homework yesterday. Not like a student died or anything! Couldn't give them a break to grieve and shit! Zoey soon burst out laughing.
'It wasn't like I knew the person or anything.' She just wanted a reason to complain about the homework.
In the age of the internet and easily accessible information, Zoey got a little "help" for most of her work. And as a C and sometimes D student, she made sure to properly switch up a few answers that she directly copied off the internet. Instead of writing it word for word, she swapped some of the words around or just used a synonym off the internet. So far, none of her teachers have ever picked up on this and marked her wrong for doing this.
'What they don't know won't hurt them and all that shit.' She chuckled.
The next day at school, Zoey made it into the hallway on the third floor. Her locker was on the third floor since she was a junior. Today she expected it to be a completely normal day after their day off, but what awaited her was anything but normal. In front of her locker was the student council president and his vice president. In other words, the magicians knew of her and were waiting for her to come to her locker.
'How could they have found me out? I made sure to stay out of sight ever since that day. Was it that their searching magic took this long to finally find me? What should I do? Should I skip school? Should I beat them to a pulp before they can do some freaky magic on me? I'd probably be super suspended, but I'd be safe for the meantime...' Zoey shook her head. 'No, getting suspended isn't an option. With my grades, I definitely won't be able to bring them up unless I go into super study mode, Zoey. If I do that, I won't have any time for the Status Box, the gym, or the gangsters. Which is completely unacceptable.'
Zoey took a deep breath and balled up her fists as she walked to her locker. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her throat felt like it was being choked by an invisible hand. Was this a spell? Were they trying to choke her right now with an invisible magic hand or something? She wanted just to turn and run away, but her legs continued moving forward. No matter how badly she wanted to do the opposite.
"Zoey Winters." Alexander looked at her up and down.
"Hello. This is our first time meeting face-to-face, isn't it?" Lindsay slyly smiled at her.
These fuckers definitely know it was her.
"I don't know anything about magic. Magic isn't real, and magicians aren't real." Zoey's mouth moved on her own.
Both of their eyes widened at her statement. She felt like punching herself in the mouth after that outburst...
"So you did see..." Alexander's voice quieted into a whisper.
"I saw nothing." Zoey corrected him.
"Listen, Zoey. What you saw cannot be shared with anyone." Lindsay told her.
"I saw nothing, so how could I share what I didn't see with anyone?"
"After school today, meet us in the student council room. Since you already saw us, we might as well deal with it properly." Alexander told her.
Was he threatening her? Was this a threat? Were they planning to silence her after the school bell? Scheduling an execution as casually as that?
"We'll see." Zoey had her boxing gloves in her bookbag as a safety precaution.
"Speak to you later then, Zoey. Farewell." Alexander and Lindsay walked away from her locker.
"Enough!" Duncan reached for her other wrist to grab and stop her from pummeling his face anymore.
"Damn, she fucked him up!"
"Duncan, your face isn't looking so good, bro!"
"Slam her ass into the pavement!"
"Haha, body slam her tiny ass!"
Seeing his attempt to grab her other arm, she pulled her fist back and landed a hard punch to his throat. Duncan immediately released her and cuffed his throat with his hands, trying to bring air into his lungs. Now that both of her fists were free, she rushed towards Duncan to finish him off. His eyes panicked when he saw her coming at him, but he was still suffering from the hit to his windpipe. He tried to put up his hand to block while keeping the other on his neck, but this didn't help him at all.
'That weak ass hand can't stop my punches! Your ass is mine, Duncan!' Zoey thought.
Zoey slammed her boxing glove into the side of his jaw, knocking his face to the right. Her right glove caught Duncan before he could fall and slugged his face to the left. An unsuppressed smile rose on Zoey's face as she combo'd the wrestler with her fists. Her fists sent his head up, down, left, right, and all around. The lights in his eyes were already gone, but she didn't stop! She could do more! She wasn't finished yet! Zoey could feel the progress of her skills rising the more she hit him.
"Whoa, there, Boxer Chick. If you go any further than that, you'll kill him." Someone grabbed her from behind, stopping her mid-combo.
Her eyes glared at the pretty boy with a lip ring stopping her, but he only calmly smiled at her. Duncan crumpled into a heap on the ground, unconscious. His face was barely recognizable, and his breathing was faint. Some of the delinquents watching made sure to take pictures of the defeated wrestler to post on social media. Zoey immediately hightailed it out of there once she saw the pictures and videos coming out. She wasn't dressed to hide her face. Her hoodie that could hide her face was at home!
Zoey ran all the way home without stopping once. On her way home, she checked her skills and felt like jumping through the air! Her punching skill rose two whole levels, and her body stat rose to 1.2. Now her Punching skill was at Lv8, far ahead of her other skills. Only the skill Footwork was near it at Lv7. She wasn't surprised about that being so high-leveled, as Footwork was involved in every aspect of her fighting style. There was rarely a day when she didn't use any footwork at the boxing gym. Just simply punching the bag, doing mitt work, or shadowboxing all included using the skill Footwork.
[Status]
Name: Zoey
Sex: Female
Body: 1.2
Mental: 0.7
Magic: 0.0
Skills: 6
[Skills]
[Punching Lv8]
[Footwork Lv7]
[Slipping Lv6]
[Blocking Lv5]
[Parry Lv6]
[Focus Lv2]
Name: Zoey
Sex: Female
Body: 1.2
Mental: 0.7
Magic: 0.0
Skills: 6
[Skills]
[Punching Lv8]
[Footwork Lv7]
[Slipping Lv6]
[Blocking Lv5]
[Parry Lv6]
[Focus Lv2]
This was what her Status Box looked like as of now. It looks like she didn't need to study to raise her mental stat. She only got it to 0.6 before because she wanted to test if actually studying would raise it, and it did. But this time, she hasn't studied really much at all, and it still rose to 0.7. This made her realize that studying wasn't the only way to raise that stat. She still didn't know the other ways of raising it, but at least she knew there wasn't only one way of making it go up.
Still no progress with her magic stat. If Zoey wasn't having so much fun with her Body stat, she'd definitely be going crazy over trying to change her magic stat into anything but 0.0. On her computer, she had already bookmarked a few websites that could help her channel her inner magic. They were probably bullshit scams, but there was a chance that one of them could be real. Zoey doubted that wizards were patrolling the internet too. But that didn't stop her from being cautious. Zoey refused to search up online about magic and magicians being real because it would be insane to think she would get any legitimate results, and what if they did some magic shit and found where she lived!?
"No, thank you!" Zoey exclaimed as she made it home.
Zoey believed that she could probably stand a chance against teenage magicians like the student council president and vice president at her school. All she'd have to do was run in and knock them out before they could say anything. But if it was a fully grown magician, she'd probably be as helpless as a baby in front of them. She wasn't strong enough to face against an adult yet, probably. Well, actually, if the 1.2 on her body stat meant that she was 1.2x stronger than the average person, then she should be able to deal with a grown man. Zoey should be at least a little bit stronger than one.
After making it home, Zoey immediately went upstairs and took a shower so that she didn't stink of sweat and outside smell anymore. Once she got out, she went into her room and jumped on her bed.
"Zoey." Her brother knocked on her door.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Mom said your food is in the microwave."
"Uh... Okay." Why did she get Everette to tell her that?
"Okay. I'll be in my room." He left her alone.
Zoey wanted nothing more than just to lay her ass on the bed and just sleep the rest of the day away, but all of her teachers decided to give homework yesterday. Not like a student died or anything! Couldn't give them a break to grieve and shit! Zoey soon burst out laughing.
'It wasn't like I knew the person or anything.' She just wanted a reason to complain about the homework.
In the age of the internet and easily accessible information, Zoey got a little "help" for most of her work. And as a C and sometimes D student, she made sure to properly switch up a few answers that she directly copied off the internet. Instead of writing it word for word, she swapped some of the words around or just used a synonym off the internet. So far, none of her teachers have ever picked up on this and marked her wrong for doing this.
'What they don't know won't hurt them and all that shit.' She chuckled.
The next day at school, Zoey made it into the hallway on the third floor. Her locker was on the third floor since she was a junior. Today she expected it to be a completely normal day after their day off, but what awaited her was anything but normal. In front of her locker was the student council president and his vice president. In other words, the magicians knew of her and were waiting for her to come to her locker.
'How could they have found me out? I made sure to stay out of sight ever since that day. Was it that their searching magic took this long to finally find me? What should I do? Should I skip school? Should I beat them to a pulp before they can do some freaky magic on me? I'd probably be super suspended, but I'd be safe for the meantime...' Zoey shook her head. 'No, getting suspended isn't an option. With my grades, I definitely won't be able to bring them up unless I go into super study mode, Zoey. If I do that, I won't have any time for the Status Box, the gym, or the gangsters. Which is completely unacceptable.'
Zoey took a deep breath and balled up her fists as she walked to her locker. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her throat felt like it was being choked by an invisible hand. Was this a spell? Were they trying to choke her right now with an invisible magic hand or something? She wanted just to turn and run away, but her legs continued moving forward. No matter how badly she wanted to do the opposite.
"Zoey Winters." Alexander looked at her up and down.
"Hello. This is our first time meeting face-to-face, isn't it?" Lindsay slyly smiled at her.
These fuckers definitely know it was her.
"I don't know anything about magic. Magic isn't real, and magicians aren't real." Zoey's mouth moved on her own.
Both of their eyes widened at her statement. She felt like punching herself in the mouth after that outburst...
"So you did see..." Alexander's voice quieted into a whisper.
"I saw nothing." Zoey corrected him.
"Listen, Zoey. What you saw cannot be shared with anyone." Lindsay told her.
"I saw nothing, so how could I share what I didn't see with anyone?"
"After school today, meet us in the student council room. Since you already saw us, we might as well deal with it properly." Alexander told her.
Was he threatening her? Was this a threat? Were they planning to silence her after the school bell? Scheduling an execution as casually as that?
"We'll see." Zoey had her boxing gloves in her bookbag as a safety precaution.
"Speak to you later then, Zoey. Farewell." Alexander and Lindsay walked away from her locker.
Chapter 8: Confrontation.
Zoey stood outside the student council room with her bookbag open. She was in the process of wrapping her hands and putting on her boxing gloves. There was no way in hell she was going to willingly let herself be executed after all the shit she put herself through. The entire purpose of joining the boxing gym was to prevent something like this from happening. And she was going to make sure she got her money and time worth.
Zoey softly opened the door to the room and saw Alexander and Lindsay in the middle of talking about something.
"Glad you could make it so soon, Zoey." He said before noticing her gloves. "What are those for?"
Zoey made sure to close the door behind her before rushing forward. Alexander freaked out after seeing the look in her eyes as he tried to get up from his seat. Zoey's boxing glove smashed into his face before that could happen and sent the student president to the floor, bashing the back of his skull against the floor. Zoey couldn't tell if he was unconscious or not, but she still had one more magician to deal with before she could feel relieved. Her eyes squinted over to Lindsay.
"What are you doing!?" She screamed.
"Protecting myself," Zoey answered calmly with a dangerous tint in her eyes as she slowly cornered Lindsay.
"We weren't planning to hurt you! Why in the world would you think that!? We just wanted to make sure you kept our secret safe! In a non-violent manner!" She made sure to clarify.
"You weren't?" Zoey was taken aback.
"I don't think I've ever been hit that hard in my life..." Blood leaked from the student president's nose, and his lip was busted.
'Magicians are tougher than I thought... I put everything into that punch.' Zoey thought to herself.
"Zoey, we don't plan to hurt you in any way... We just wanted to ask for your help." He revealed.
"How could I help you?" Zoey asked. What could a bunch of magicians not do that she could?
Except for punching things pretty hard. She had confidence in punching things. But surely magicians would have a better way to deal with problems than punching them. A magic missile or a classic fireball could deal with most problems probably.
"It seems you are aware that we are Magjistars and can use magji."
"I don't know what that is, and no, I don't." Zoey continued to refuse the existence of the supernatural.
""Non-Majjistas would normjjally call us magicians, wizzards, sorcerrers, and stujff like that. And the sourjce of enejrgy we use to perform majji is called mahna, which is commonly referred to as mana, while majji is majjic." Alexander tried to explain with his busted nose.
"Magjistars are magicians, and magji is magic?" Zoey asked for clarification.
"That's right." Lindsay nodded as she went to one of the lockers and brought out a medical kit to patch up Alexander.
"So, what is it you need my help for again?" Zoey asked.
"As Magjistars, we can't recklessly get involved with normal humans, but we have no choice but to get involved with them if we wish to help them." He began explaining.
'Help from what?' Are we in some sort of danger?' Zoey wondered.
"We've actually been looking for someone like you for a while now... But who would believe us if we told them we were magjistars and could do magji?"
"If you showed them what you did in that room, they would," Zoey told them. If someone did magic in front of you, you'd have to believe it.
"We are forbidden from revealing our true selves in front of normal humans. The normal punishment for revealing in front of a human is being stripped of our ranks and having our magji sealed, but... if you help us solve a case here at school, we won't have to go through that." Alexander said.
Zoey took a moment to think before responding. They needed her help, and from how they described their situation, they needed it badly. But what could she get from helping them out? It was their own fault they screwed up. Zoey had no real reason to help these two for free. She wasn't some noble, heroic person who was willing to help anyone in a bad situation. Zoey was completely selfish and only cared about herself and her own interests!
"I'm not agreeing to help you, but what is the case?" Zoey asked.
"You know about Jeffrey William? The student who died the other day?" Zoey nodded.
"This case deals with the daemonic being that killed him."
"So, I could lose my life?" Even more of a reason for her to refuse.
"Well, yes, but if we go about it smartly, no." Alexander tried to reassure her.
"What he's trying to say is, if you can be bait for it, we can easily take care of it," Lindsay explained more directly.
'Now I'm bait?' Zoey's willingness to help reached an all-time low.
"What will I get for helping you?" Zoey asked before she turned around and started walking away.
Her asking this question seemingly caused Alexander's eyes to widen in surprise. As if her not immediately choosing to help them was something unexpected and shocking. Does this little handsome idiot not realize that her life was at stake and she was being bait for a demonic creature that had already killed someone?! Her trust in them wasn't all that high either! Their magic origins got revealed by her, of all people! A fucking socially awkward retard! Plus, Alexander and Lindsay couldn't defend themselves against her earlier. She could've had her way with them and pummeled them into a coma! How could these two even think about dealing with demons?
"Ifff you help us, you can feel releeved knowin' that you helped avenge the death of an innocent boy and stopped the chance of another murderous daemon from attackin' another student at the school," Alexander said.
"Not interested." She replied instantly, surprising him again. Zoey Winters was not a hero and never would be. Doing dangerous work without any benefits wasn't something for her.
"If you help us, we can help boost your grades for the rest of the year by doing your homework and providing you a split of the reward for the case after we turn it in," Lindsay said, speaking more to her liking.
"What is the reward for a case like this?" Zoey wanted to know.
"We Magjistars are gifted cavons for a case like this. Cavons can be exchanged for USD. After giving you your share for helping us, you can exchange it to USD for yourself."
"How much?"
"For a low-level daemon like this, you should expect 1 grand at the least. Three thousand, if you're lucky."
"I'm in." Zoey immediately agreed.
Alexander didn't understand how Lindsay was able to easily understand Zoey and convince her while he couldn't. He planned to ask her at a later date but, for now, was relieved they finally found help to deal with this daemon. Should be a simple open-and-shut case with Zoey here. Maybe if they're lucky, she'll hit the daemon twice as hard as she hit him!
"Let's go deal with the daemon then," Alexander spoke.
"Right now?" Zoey questioned.
"When else?" Lindsay retorted.
"He's at the gym in the storage room. Follow us." Alexander led the way to the gym.
The teachers gave them strange looks, but none of them stopped them or questioned them about what they were doing. Zoey guessed that was one of the benefits of being student council president and vice president. All the adults trusted you. Even that hard-ass Brock smiled at them with a wave. His gaze on her was softer after seeing her with the two. What a fake piece of shit.
"Wait, so you knew where the demon was but didn't deal with it until you had bait? Why do you need me?" Zoey wasn't sure why she was needed at all.
"Daemons don't show themselves to Magjistars. Only normal people because most of the time they can't defend themselves."
"Why does that matter? Can't you use like magic and sense them or something and then kill them dead with a spell?"
"I wish." Lindsay sighed.
"We are only trainee Magjistars. The magji we can perform is limited to only exterminating daemons. Once we solve enough cases, we'll be allowed to learn more magji as the Organization of Magjistars will feel that we are reliable enough to spend resources on." Alexander explained.
"So, how did you figure out it was a demon if you can't even sense it or whatever? And what was that magic you were doing in the classroom then?"
"We investigated the details around Jeffrey's death and also frequently heard rumors about strange things happening in the gym's storage room," Lindsay spoke this time, ignoring the question about what they were doing in the classroom.
"There are plenty of strange rumors in the school. They can't all be demons, can they?" Zoey said.
"Maybe?" Alexander answered, not completely sure. He couldn't sense daemons. Just kill them.
"We'll need you to tell us about those rumors in the future," Lindsay said.
They soon arrived outside the gym storage room.
"So, what's the plan here?" Zoey wanted to know. She probably should've asked on the way.
"You go in, and when you see the daemon, scream. Then we bust in and kill him." Lindsay explained simply.
"This plan seems too simple to work."
"Well, all we needed was a normal person to bait the daemon out so we could deal with him. We didn't have that before today, so he usually did whatever he wanted." Lindsay told her.
"Why didn't the magic organization just send someone to help you with this, then?"
"Ask Alex." She rolled her eyes.
Zoey saw a small blush on his stupidly cute face. It wasn't Ethan's level of cuteness but still hard to ignore.
"I'll explain later... Let's focus on dealing with this case for now."
"3k, here I come..." Zoey took a deep breath as she entered the dark storage room with her boxing gloves. She got into her usual stance and kept her senses up. From what Alexander and Lindsay described, this demon seemed more like a ghost that needed to be exorcised than a supernatural demon needing to be killed.
Alexander and Lindsay closed the door behind her. They stood outside the door and waited for Zoey's scream. She wasn't going to scream like they wanted, though. Even if she got jump scared, she would stay as silent as a mouse and only horribly jump in fright. Her heart would race, and she would start sweating but no scream. Zoey chalked it up to people handling fear differently. She didn't see the way she reacted to scares as strange or anything.
"Another tasty human sent for me to play wi---" The voice's words were cut off as Zoey's boxing glove whacked into something's face to the side of her.
It looks like the fear that struck her heart after hearing a voice suddenly whispering in her ear manifested in the form of a powerful left uppercut. The demon growled in irritation, but Zoey's fear at facing the supernatural exploded. She let the demon take the brunt of these terrifying feelings coming out of her by dishing out punch after punch on its face. A face that had two overgrown canines from the bottom jaw and red skin. It tried resisting by reaching for her fists, but this only frightened Zoey more, activating her Focus skill.
Its claws moved in slow motion in Zoey's eyes, no, not just its claws. Everything seemed to have slowed down for her. The blue blood leaking from out of its face, the impacts of her gloves denting in the face of this unholy creature, and its cries of anger and pain. Zoey rarely was able to activate Focus because of the requirements for using it. She needed to feel as if her life was in danger or her body was being pushed to its absolute limits.
Zoey's fists moved without her input as she continued to bash the demon's face in. Once it fell to the ground, she got on top of it and continued smashing its face with all of her strength. Soon, her fear from earlier turned into something resembling excitement. The demon could barely resist anymore, and the only signs of it being alive was the small whimpers coming from its mouth. The student president and vice president were going to kill this thing anyway, right? They shouldn't mind if she took care of this nasty little thing for them instead.
Zoey's body felt as if it was already spent from the adrenaline used earlier, but this didn't stop her from containing the dopamine flaring off in her brain into dispersing. She didn't stop her assault on the demon even after she barely heard any sounds coming from it. Her mind was blanked with ecstasy and joy from defeating the supernatural. Zoey's skills were rising with every punch she gave to this evil creature. The feeling of herself improving at a visible rate so easily clouded her mind that she didn't even realize that she was killing a living creature. It might be something that killed an innocent young boy, but it was still a living being. Most humans have a sort of innate hesitation and refusal to end another's life. Especially when it resembles them in physiology and intelligence.
It wasn't until she delivered the final blow that Alexander and Lindsay forced the door open. They haven't heard any sounds inside for at least three minutes! The plan was for Zoey to scream when she encountered the daemon, but there wasn't a peep out of her! Eventually, the two started to get worried that maybe something had happened to her before she could scream.
And what they saw when they walked in was something that made both of them nauseous. Their stomachs doubled over inside their gut, and they both had to turn away and vomit from the sight. Alexander had to empty his insides longer than Lindsay, but she still couldn't bear the sight of looking at Zoey and the aftermath of her actions. Zoey's body and face were splattered with blue blood all over. Her dark purple boxing gloves were now colored completely dark blue and she held a strange dark red shard in her glove's hand.
"That shard! Please give it to me!" Lindsay asked, still unable to directly look at her.
Zoey got up from the corpse, feeling like she just had the greatest orgasm ever. Hell, her legs were wobbly too! The death of the demon still hasn't really sunken in for her yet. As she was about to toss over the gem to Lindsay, the shard decided it didn't want to go to Lindsay. And instead, it shattered into pieces and went inside her boxing gloves.
"Uh...? I didn't do it?" Zoey proclaimed.
"Just our freaking luck..." Lindsay muttered under her breath with a facepalm.
"What happened? Did the magji shard break? I heard something shatter." Vomiting his guts up really took a lot out of him. He looked withered and drained. Not nearly as cute anymore.
"It merged with her boxing gloves," Lindsay told him.
"Oh, so she killed it. A normal human killed a daemon with boxing gloves... A girl around our age killed a daemon without even using magji. Haha... We're totally screwed, Lindsay... Hahahahahaha! We can say goodbye to our magji for good!" Alexander cackled.
"What's going on? Isn't it good that the demon is dead?" Zoey asked, completely lost.
"That shard was the only proof we had of turning this case in at the organization..." Lindsay informed.
"I could go with you guys and show them my boxing gloves. They should be able to sense it inside of them, right?" From what Zoey could tell, if she couldn't give them the shard, she wouldn't be getting her three thousand dollars.
"Are you sure you want to do that? Because the only way we cannot get stripped of our rank and have our magji sealed is if you agree to partner with us and reveal yourself as a human who knows about the magji side of the world hidden from the public. Letting the Magjistars at the organization examine your boxing gloves will only allow us to claim the rewards for the case." Alexander said.
"So, I'll have to do this type of stuff more often if I partner with you two?" Zoey tried to understand.
"Yes, and other stuff," Lindsay spoke up.
"I'll do that then." Zoey couldn't stop the shiver of excitement going through her body.
She could experience something like this more than once? Just seeing the changes to her Status Box was more than enough to want a repeat of this situation. The things she felt during this little demon hunt were something she never thought she'd ever feel before. Dealing with the delinquents in the main city or sparring with some of the beefcakes at the gym couldn't compare to dealing with that creature. She'd be crazy to refuse!
"What? Really?!" Alexander looked at her in excitement before quickly turning back around and retching nothing out.
"Yeah. I'll be down for some more demon hunting." Zoey agreed.
"Meet us in the student council room tomorrow. We'll take you there to get registered and get your share of the case."
"Okay."
"We'll be leaving now... The Magji Cleaners will deal with the daemon's body." Lindsay said.
"Can't I get a towel or something? I can't go home drenched in blue." Zoey asked.
'Inconsiderate pricks...'
"Oh, uhm... There should be a towel in there, right?" Alexander still couldn't look in her direction.
"I'm not seeing anything..." Zoey searched inside the storage room. "Oh! I found some. You two can go now." Zoey told them as she started wiping herself clean.
They were glad to hear those words and left without any hesitation. Zoey didn't know how those two were ever going to rank up if they couldn't even stand a dead body. Their job was to kill the demon! Whatever magic they were going to perform to kill the demon couldn't have been clean and easy, right? A question she had for herself was why was she handling it so well? Zoey watched a lot of movies and read some books where a person's first reaction to a dead body was like Alexander's and Lindsay's, but she handled it kind of well. Maybe it was because of the Status Box's effect on her... Or maybe she was always fucked up, and the world never had the chance to pull it out of her until now.
Zoey softly opened the door to the room and saw Alexander and Lindsay in the middle of talking about something.
"Glad you could make it so soon, Zoey." He said before noticing her gloves. "What are those for?"
Zoey made sure to close the door behind her before rushing forward. Alexander freaked out after seeing the look in her eyes as he tried to get up from his seat. Zoey's boxing glove smashed into his face before that could happen and sent the student president to the floor, bashing the back of his skull against the floor. Zoey couldn't tell if he was unconscious or not, but she still had one more magician to deal with before she could feel relieved. Her eyes squinted over to Lindsay.
"What are you doing!?" She screamed.
"Protecting myself," Zoey answered calmly with a dangerous tint in her eyes as she slowly cornered Lindsay.
"We weren't planning to hurt you! Why in the world would you think that!? We just wanted to make sure you kept our secret safe! In a non-violent manner!" She made sure to clarify.
"You weren't?" Zoey was taken aback.
"I don't think I've ever been hit that hard in my life..." Blood leaked from the student president's nose, and his lip was busted.
'Magicians are tougher than I thought... I put everything into that punch.' Zoey thought to herself.
"Zoey, we don't plan to hurt you in any way... We just wanted to ask for your help." He revealed.
"How could I help you?" Zoey asked. What could a bunch of magicians not do that she could?
Except for punching things pretty hard. She had confidence in punching things. But surely magicians would have a better way to deal with problems than punching them. A magic missile or a classic fireball could deal with most problems probably.
"It seems you are aware that we are Magjistars and can use magji."
"I don't know what that is, and no, I don't." Zoey continued to refuse the existence of the supernatural.
""Non-Majjistas would normjjally call us magicians, wizzards, sorcerrers, and stujff like that. And the sourjce of enejrgy we use to perform majji is called mahna, which is commonly referred to as mana, while majji is majjic." Alexander tried to explain with his busted nose.
"Magjistars are magicians, and magji is magic?" Zoey asked for clarification.
"That's right." Lindsay nodded as she went to one of the lockers and brought out a medical kit to patch up Alexander.
"So, what is it you need my help for again?" Zoey asked.
"As Magjistars, we can't recklessly get involved with normal humans, but we have no choice but to get involved with them if we wish to help them." He began explaining.
'Help from what?' Are we in some sort of danger?' Zoey wondered.
"We've actually been looking for someone like you for a while now... But who would believe us if we told them we were magjistars and could do magji?"
"If you showed them what you did in that room, they would," Zoey told them. If someone did magic in front of you, you'd have to believe it.
"We are forbidden from revealing our true selves in front of normal humans. The normal punishment for revealing in front of a human is being stripped of our ranks and having our magji sealed, but... if you help us solve a case here at school, we won't have to go through that." Alexander said.
Zoey took a moment to think before responding. They needed her help, and from how they described their situation, they needed it badly. But what could she get from helping them out? It was their own fault they screwed up. Zoey had no real reason to help these two for free. She wasn't some noble, heroic person who was willing to help anyone in a bad situation. Zoey was completely selfish and only cared about herself and her own interests!
"I'm not agreeing to help you, but what is the case?" Zoey asked.
"You know about Jeffrey William? The student who died the other day?" Zoey nodded.
"This case deals with the daemonic being that killed him."
"So, I could lose my life?" Even more of a reason for her to refuse.
"Well, yes, but if we go about it smartly, no." Alexander tried to reassure her.
"What he's trying to say is, if you can be bait for it, we can easily take care of it," Lindsay explained more directly.
'Now I'm bait?' Zoey's willingness to help reached an all-time low.
"What will I get for helping you?" Zoey asked before she turned around and started walking away.
Her asking this question seemingly caused Alexander's eyes to widen in surprise. As if her not immediately choosing to help them was something unexpected and shocking. Does this little handsome idiot not realize that her life was at stake and she was being bait for a demonic creature that had already killed someone?! Her trust in them wasn't all that high either! Their magic origins got revealed by her, of all people! A fucking socially awkward retard! Plus, Alexander and Lindsay couldn't defend themselves against her earlier. She could've had her way with them and pummeled them into a coma! How could these two even think about dealing with demons?
"Ifff you help us, you can feel releeved knowin' that you helped avenge the death of an innocent boy and stopped the chance of another murderous daemon from attackin' another student at the school," Alexander said.
"Not interested." She replied instantly, surprising him again. Zoey Winters was not a hero and never would be. Doing dangerous work without any benefits wasn't something for her.
"If you help us, we can help boost your grades for the rest of the year by doing your homework and providing you a split of the reward for the case after we turn it in," Lindsay said, speaking more to her liking.
"What is the reward for a case like this?" Zoey wanted to know.
"We Magjistars are gifted cavons for a case like this. Cavons can be exchanged for USD. After giving you your share for helping us, you can exchange it to USD for yourself."
"How much?"
"For a low-level daemon like this, you should expect 1 grand at the least. Three thousand, if you're lucky."
"I'm in." Zoey immediately agreed.
Alexander didn't understand how Lindsay was able to easily understand Zoey and convince her while he couldn't. He planned to ask her at a later date but, for now, was relieved they finally found help to deal with this daemon. Should be a simple open-and-shut case with Zoey here. Maybe if they're lucky, she'll hit the daemon twice as hard as she hit him!
"Let's go deal with the daemon then," Alexander spoke.
"Right now?" Zoey questioned.
"When else?" Lindsay retorted.
"He's at the gym in the storage room. Follow us." Alexander led the way to the gym.
The teachers gave them strange looks, but none of them stopped them or questioned them about what they were doing. Zoey guessed that was one of the benefits of being student council president and vice president. All the adults trusted you. Even that hard-ass Brock smiled at them with a wave. His gaze on her was softer after seeing her with the two. What a fake piece of shit.
"Wait, so you knew where the demon was but didn't deal with it until you had bait? Why do you need me?" Zoey wasn't sure why she was needed at all.
"Daemons don't show themselves to Magjistars. Only normal people because most of the time they can't defend themselves."
"Why does that matter? Can't you use like magic and sense them or something and then kill them dead with a spell?"
"I wish." Lindsay sighed.
"We are only trainee Magjistars. The magji we can perform is limited to only exterminating daemons. Once we solve enough cases, we'll be allowed to learn more magji as the Organization of Magjistars will feel that we are reliable enough to spend resources on." Alexander explained.
"So, how did you figure out it was a demon if you can't even sense it or whatever? And what was that magic you were doing in the classroom then?"
"We investigated the details around Jeffrey's death and also frequently heard rumors about strange things happening in the gym's storage room," Lindsay spoke this time, ignoring the question about what they were doing in the classroom.
"There are plenty of strange rumors in the school. They can't all be demons, can they?" Zoey said.
"Maybe?" Alexander answered, not completely sure. He couldn't sense daemons. Just kill them.
"We'll need you to tell us about those rumors in the future," Lindsay said.
They soon arrived outside the gym storage room.
"So, what's the plan here?" Zoey wanted to know. She probably should've asked on the way.
"You go in, and when you see the daemon, scream. Then we bust in and kill him." Lindsay explained simply.
"This plan seems too simple to work."
"Well, all we needed was a normal person to bait the daemon out so we could deal with him. We didn't have that before today, so he usually did whatever he wanted." Lindsay told her.
"Why didn't the magic organization just send someone to help you with this, then?"
"Ask Alex." She rolled her eyes.
Zoey saw a small blush on his stupidly cute face. It wasn't Ethan's level of cuteness but still hard to ignore.
"I'll explain later... Let's focus on dealing with this case for now."
"3k, here I come..." Zoey took a deep breath as she entered the dark storage room with her boxing gloves. She got into her usual stance and kept her senses up. From what Alexander and Lindsay described, this demon seemed more like a ghost that needed to be exorcised than a supernatural demon needing to be killed.
Alexander and Lindsay closed the door behind her. They stood outside the door and waited for Zoey's scream. She wasn't going to scream like they wanted, though. Even if she got jump scared, she would stay as silent as a mouse and only horribly jump in fright. Her heart would race, and she would start sweating but no scream. Zoey chalked it up to people handling fear differently. She didn't see the way she reacted to scares as strange or anything.
"Another tasty human sent for me to play wi---" The voice's words were cut off as Zoey's boxing glove whacked into something's face to the side of her.
It looks like the fear that struck her heart after hearing a voice suddenly whispering in her ear manifested in the form of a powerful left uppercut. The demon growled in irritation, but Zoey's fear at facing the supernatural exploded. She let the demon take the brunt of these terrifying feelings coming out of her by dishing out punch after punch on its face. A face that had two overgrown canines from the bottom jaw and red skin. It tried resisting by reaching for her fists, but this only frightened Zoey more, activating her Focus skill.
Its claws moved in slow motion in Zoey's eyes, no, not just its claws. Everything seemed to have slowed down for her. The blue blood leaking from out of its face, the impacts of her gloves denting in the face of this unholy creature, and its cries of anger and pain. Zoey rarely was able to activate Focus because of the requirements for using it. She needed to feel as if her life was in danger or her body was being pushed to its absolute limits.
Zoey's fists moved without her input as she continued to bash the demon's face in. Once it fell to the ground, she got on top of it and continued smashing its face with all of her strength. Soon, her fear from earlier turned into something resembling excitement. The demon could barely resist anymore, and the only signs of it being alive was the small whimpers coming from its mouth. The student president and vice president were going to kill this thing anyway, right? They shouldn't mind if she took care of this nasty little thing for them instead.
Zoey's body felt as if it was already spent from the adrenaline used earlier, but this didn't stop her from containing the dopamine flaring off in her brain into dispersing. She didn't stop her assault on the demon even after she barely heard any sounds coming from it. Her mind was blanked with ecstasy and joy from defeating the supernatural. Zoey's skills were rising with every punch she gave to this evil creature. The feeling of herself improving at a visible rate so easily clouded her mind that she didn't even realize that she was killing a living creature. It might be something that killed an innocent young boy, but it was still a living being. Most humans have a sort of innate hesitation and refusal to end another's life. Especially when it resembles them in physiology and intelligence.
It wasn't until she delivered the final blow that Alexander and Lindsay forced the door open. They haven't heard any sounds inside for at least three minutes! The plan was for Zoey to scream when she encountered the daemon, but there wasn't a peep out of her! Eventually, the two started to get worried that maybe something had happened to her before she could scream.
And what they saw when they walked in was something that made both of them nauseous. Their stomachs doubled over inside their gut, and they both had to turn away and vomit from the sight. Alexander had to empty his insides longer than Lindsay, but she still couldn't bear the sight of looking at Zoey and the aftermath of her actions. Zoey's body and face were splattered with blue blood all over. Her dark purple boxing gloves were now colored completely dark blue and she held a strange dark red shard in her glove's hand.
"That shard! Please give it to me!" Lindsay asked, still unable to directly look at her.
Zoey got up from the corpse, feeling like she just had the greatest orgasm ever. Hell, her legs were wobbly too! The death of the demon still hasn't really sunken in for her yet. As she was about to toss over the gem to Lindsay, the shard decided it didn't want to go to Lindsay. And instead, it shattered into pieces and went inside her boxing gloves.
"Uh...? I didn't do it?" Zoey proclaimed.
"Just our freaking luck..." Lindsay muttered under her breath with a facepalm.
"What happened? Did the magji shard break? I heard something shatter." Vomiting his guts up really took a lot out of him. He looked withered and drained. Not nearly as cute anymore.
"It merged with her boxing gloves," Lindsay told him.
"Oh, so she killed it. A normal human killed a daemon with boxing gloves... A girl around our age killed a daemon without even using magji. Haha... We're totally screwed, Lindsay... Hahahahahaha! We can say goodbye to our magji for good!" Alexander cackled.
"What's going on? Isn't it good that the demon is dead?" Zoey asked, completely lost.
"That shard was the only proof we had of turning this case in at the organization..." Lindsay informed.
"I could go with you guys and show them my boxing gloves. They should be able to sense it inside of them, right?" From what Zoey could tell, if she couldn't give them the shard, she wouldn't be getting her three thousand dollars.
"Are you sure you want to do that? Because the only way we cannot get stripped of our rank and have our magji sealed is if you agree to partner with us and reveal yourself as a human who knows about the magji side of the world hidden from the public. Letting the Magjistars at the organization examine your boxing gloves will only allow us to claim the rewards for the case." Alexander said.
"So, I'll have to do this type of stuff more often if I partner with you two?" Zoey tried to understand.
"Yes, and other stuff," Lindsay spoke up.
"I'll do that then." Zoey couldn't stop the shiver of excitement going through her body.
She could experience something like this more than once? Just seeing the changes to her Status Box was more than enough to want a repeat of this situation. The things she felt during this little demon hunt were something she never thought she'd ever feel before. Dealing with the delinquents in the main city or sparring with some of the beefcakes at the gym couldn't compare to dealing with that creature. She'd be crazy to refuse!
"What? Really?!" Alexander looked at her in excitement before quickly turning back around and retching nothing out.
"Yeah. I'll be down for some more demon hunting." Zoey agreed.
"Meet us in the student council room tomorrow. We'll take you there to get registered and get your share of the case."
"Okay."
"We'll be leaving now... The Magji Cleaners will deal with the daemon's body." Lindsay said.
"Can't I get a towel or something? I can't go home drenched in blue." Zoey asked.
'Inconsiderate pricks...'
"Oh, uhm... There should be a towel in there, right?" Alexander still couldn't look in her direction.
"I'm not seeing anything..." Zoey searched inside the storage room. "Oh! I found some. You two can go now." Zoey told them as she started wiping herself clean.
They were glad to hear those words and left without any hesitation. Zoey didn't know how those two were ever going to rank up if they couldn't even stand a dead body. Their job was to kill the demon! Whatever magic they were going to perform to kill the demon couldn't have been clean and easy, right? A question she had for herself was why was she handling it so well? Zoey watched a lot of movies and read some books where a person's first reaction to a dead body was like Alexander's and Lindsay's, but she handled it kind of well. Maybe it was because of the Status Box's effect on her... Or maybe she was always fucked up, and the world never had the chance to pull it out of her until now.
Chapter 9: Becoming A Bringer.
"So, it's in here?" Zoey asked, looking up at the incredibly tall and remarkable skyscraper in front of her.
"Yep. Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Alexander smiled proudly. As if he owned the building or something.
"Follow us and try not to get lost," Lindsay told her.
She still hasn't been able to lock eyes with her ever since yesterday. Alexander had trouble, too, but he made an effort at least to try and look at her. Lindsay tried to avoid her stare at every moment. Is it possible that she scarred her or something? Most teens their age wouldn't ever run into a situation like that. Zoey also didn't believe that these two had ever killed a 'daemon' yet, either. Yes, she pronounced it daemon like they wanted because apparently the magjistar's version of daemon came first, but demon became more popular in the West. She was still going to call them demons in her head, though. She was petty like that.
Zoey followed Alexander and Lindsay inside the building. The three of them look super out of place inside this fancy ass building. Men and women dressed in business suits looked busy as hell going in and out of the building. Important people making phone calls while walking. Zoey even overheard someone getting fired over the phone because of how loudly the person on the other end screamed it. The student council president and the vice president walked to the counter and asked for a meeting with the Janitor.
'Totally not fucking suspicious at all.' Zoey rolled her eyes as the three of them were directed to an elevator.
Lindsay pushed the button to call the elevator down. Or up. It didn't matter. Zoey knew some magic shit was going to happen soon, and she still couldn't get over that code phrase. Seriously? A meeting with the Janitor? If anyone with half a brain heard that, they'd knew something fishy was going on. Especially when it's a bunch of teenagers like themselves asking to meet with a damn janitor. The CEO or president of the company would make more sense than the janitor because they could say that one of them was related to the boss or something.
"We're almost there," Alexander said to perhaps comfort her, but she wasn't nervous at all.
"How did you two find out it was me who saw you in the classroom?" Zoey asked when they entered the elevator.
"We asked the teachers if they saw anyone running by in the halls." Lindsay calmly replied.
'Those snitching pieces of shit!' Zoey cursed.
And she was freaking out that they had some secret magic hidden away that they decided not to tell her about, but nope. It was something as simple as that. Yesterday they said they only knew spells that could kill demons, and Zoey thought they were lying because why would they tell her everything? She wouldn't share all her tricks with someone she barely knew.
"Oh." She replied simply.
When the elevator dinged, and the doors opened, the scenery was completely different from what it was on the first floor. It was like a ghost town on this floor. In terms of layout, it perfectly copied the layout of the normal side. A large reception counter with beautiful women manning it, to the right of that were three bathrooms for the two sexes and an extra one that had a question mark symbol etched onto the door, and to the left of the counter was a large case of stairs that looked like they went up endlessly.
Alexander and Lindsay strolled over to the counter and she followed behind them.
"We need to talk with an available Grade B or higher Magjistar." Alexander asked the pretty woman with a cute little frog on her head.
"Is the issue urgent?" The frog croaked.
"No. We can wait." He responded totally normally while Zoey was freaking out over the frog using a human meat puppet.
"I'll get with you in a moment, sir." She began rapidly typing on her computer.
"I guess magicians are more modern than I thought..." Zoey said under her breath. 'And freaky as hell too!
"How did you think of us?" Lindsay asked.
"Uh... Nothing like this." Zoey said. 'They adapted to modern times very well. I expected them to be stuck in their old ways and refuse modernness completely.'
"Contrary to popular belief, we Magjistars are more open-minded than people believe. We are always open to learning new knowledge and putting it to practical use." Alexander informed.
"A Grade-A Magjistar will be with you shortly."
'Her definition of shortly must be different from mines.' Zoey thought as an old man popped up in front of them immediately.
"Zieg!" Alexander exclaimed.
"Alex, my boy! Lindsay, my girl!" This Zieg happily responded back. "Come on, follow me with your new friend!"
'Friend? That's a strong word, old man...' Zoey thought to herself as she was magically whisked away into a large office space.
"What the fuck?!" Zoey accidentally exclaimed, much to the surprise of the Magjistars around her.
Feeling herself being forcibly taken through space and maybe time without her control or input was enough to send her brain into a spin. She fell on her butt immediately after being spatially displaced and relocated. Zoey's body went into fight or flight mode in this strange and unnatural situation. She had to do deep breathing exercises to force her heart to calm itself as she wasn't in any danger. Soon she found herself glaring at the old man.
"A little warning next time would be nice..." She asked.
"My deepest apologies, young lady. I didn't realize you were a..."
"She's going to be our new Bringer." Lindsay quickly said with a smile.
"Yeah, actually... If it wasn't for her, me and Lindsay would actually be getting our magic gates sealed right about now." Alexander told him.
"Your gates sealed?! You let a Gully find out your secret!?" He exclaimed before looking at Zoey with a dangerous look in his eyes.
Zoey nervously balled her fists. That look in his eyes was enough to cause all the hair on her body to rise up like a frightened cat. Her instincts almost urged her to rush forward and smash her fist into this old man's face. It reminded her of the same feeling that she got from the demon at school but a hundred times more! Would she stand a chance against a mage like this with just her skills now? No, questioning her capabilities isn't important. What's important is the courage needed to throw the first punch to protect herself and keep punching until she felt completely safe. If she needed to beat the shit out of an old man, she would. She'd do almost anything to protect her own life. Being a coward is something that Zoey would never be ashamed to admit. It's cowardice that keeps one alive and on their toes. So, at the first sign of magic, she'll move in deep inside his personal space and pummel him from close range to prevent him from chanting a spell.
'Wait, do magjistars need to chant for their spells?' She suddenly questioned.
"It's okay, Zieg! She agreed to be our Bringer, but what we needed your help with was a cursed object. When we took care of the daemon, its magji shard went into Zoey's boxing gloves. We just need you to prove that they are cursed so that we can get the rewards for the case." Alexander explained.
"Oh, is that all?" He let out a relieved breath. Probably happy he didn't have to cover up for his apprentices' mistake and kill a Gully, Zoey figured.
Zoey had no doubt that a Gully was an insensitive term or racist remark against normal humans like herself. This asshole probably thought he was on a different existence from humans because he could do magic shit. She could already see that racism or that superior-than-thou attitude slowly rubbing off on Alexander. The innocent little kind idiot didn't notice it, but she could. Lindsay was probably aware of it.
"Yep. That's all we needed." Lindsay clarified.
"Sorry about that outburst from earlier, Zoey. Do you mind letting me see the gloves?" He asked with a kind old man smile.
But Zoey wouldn't forget how quick he was to turn against her in his eyes. How quick he was to call her a Gully and think about dealing with her without anyone ever knowing. She handed him her spare boxing gloves, and he pulled out a cat from out of his drawer. And no, she didn't suddenly go crazy and start seeing things. He pulled out an honest-to-god cat out of his drawer and placed it on top of her boxing gloves.
Zoey couldn't even think 'what the fuck' at something like this after the frog receptionist from earlier. The cat started clawing her gloves and loudly purring. It was actually making her a bit uncomfortable at how sexual it looked. Her of all people, was getting uncomfortable at something vaguely sexual meant that it had to be some seriously freaky shit. And Zoey has glanced at most of the worst fetishes online. Her eyes have seen some things that bleach could never clean out.
"Yep. These things are cursed for sure." Zieg declared as he placed the cat back in his mahogany office desk.
Her boxing gloves which were ripped to shit by the cat, were slowly repairing themselves. Zieg handed her the gloves back, and she felt a need to place them on. To try them out and see what they could do now. But she restrained that feeling inside of herself. She was good at restraining herself.
The gloves went inside her bookbag that she had brought, and she had to ask.
"You say it's cursed, but what does this curse do exactly?" Zoey wanted to know. She was planning to use these to bust up some more demons. If she had to suffer a lifetime of baldness from the curse, then there was no way she was ever putting them on again. Not that she couldn't pull off a sexy bald chick. It was just that she liked her hair very much.
"Since the daemon you all took out was only a Grade D, it isn't a harsh curse. Just a curse of mending. As long as you feed it blood it will repair any damages sustained to the gloves. This is somewhat valuable for trainee magjistars." Zieg explained.
"Valuable? Can you sell curses or something?"
"No, but you can sell cursed objects. Normally cursed objects have some sort of drawback for the user that stops one from wanting to use it too often. I suppose you are rather lucky as those gloves of yours only need blood. They don't take your blood or force you to feed on blood. That isn't too bad of a curse at all. A rarity when discussing cursed objects." He answered.
"Most Magjistars sell cursed objects because they are more of a hassle to use. If the special ability of the cursed object is especially useful though, a Magjistar can try to have it purified or tamed by a Magjistar skilled in dealing with cursed objects." Lindsay explained.
"I'll keep them." Zoey decided.
"Okay then. Let's return back to the front desk and get you set up officially as our Bringer." Alexander said.
"Thanks, Ziegs!" The two called out as we left the office room.
"See ya around, kids! Nice meeting you, Zoey!" He smiled and waved.
Zoey still thought he was a piece of shit, though.
"Yep. Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Alexander smiled proudly. As if he owned the building or something.
"Follow us and try not to get lost," Lindsay told her.
She still hasn't been able to lock eyes with her ever since yesterday. Alexander had trouble, too, but he made an effort at least to try and look at her. Lindsay tried to avoid her stare at every moment. Is it possible that she scarred her or something? Most teens their age wouldn't ever run into a situation like that. Zoey also didn't believe that these two had ever killed a 'daemon' yet, either. Yes, she pronounced it daemon like they wanted because apparently the magjistar's version of daemon came first, but demon became more popular in the West. She was still going to call them demons in her head, though. She was petty like that.
Zoey followed Alexander and Lindsay inside the building. The three of them look super out of place inside this fancy ass building. Men and women dressed in business suits looked busy as hell going in and out of the building. Important people making phone calls while walking. Zoey even overheard someone getting fired over the phone because of how loudly the person on the other end screamed it. The student council president and the vice president walked to the counter and asked for a meeting with the Janitor.
'Totally not fucking suspicious at all.' Zoey rolled her eyes as the three of them were directed to an elevator.
Lindsay pushed the button to call the elevator down. Or up. It didn't matter. Zoey knew some magic shit was going to happen soon, and she still couldn't get over that code phrase. Seriously? A meeting with the Janitor? If anyone with half a brain heard that, they'd knew something fishy was going on. Especially when it's a bunch of teenagers like themselves asking to meet with a damn janitor. The CEO or president of the company would make more sense than the janitor because they could say that one of them was related to the boss or something.
"We're almost there," Alexander said to perhaps comfort her, but she wasn't nervous at all.
"How did you two find out it was me who saw you in the classroom?" Zoey asked when they entered the elevator.
"We asked the teachers if they saw anyone running by in the halls." Lindsay calmly replied.
'Those snitching pieces of shit!' Zoey cursed.
And she was freaking out that they had some secret magic hidden away that they decided not to tell her about, but nope. It was something as simple as that. Yesterday they said they only knew spells that could kill demons, and Zoey thought they were lying because why would they tell her everything? She wouldn't share all her tricks with someone she barely knew.
"Oh." She replied simply.
When the elevator dinged, and the doors opened, the scenery was completely different from what it was on the first floor. It was like a ghost town on this floor. In terms of layout, it perfectly copied the layout of the normal side. A large reception counter with beautiful women manning it, to the right of that were three bathrooms for the two sexes and an extra one that had a question mark symbol etched onto the door, and to the left of the counter was a large case of stairs that looked like they went up endlessly.
Alexander and Lindsay strolled over to the counter and she followed behind them.
"We need to talk with an available Grade B or higher Magjistar." Alexander asked the pretty woman with a cute little frog on her head.
"Is the issue urgent?" The frog croaked.
"No. We can wait." He responded totally normally while Zoey was freaking out over the frog using a human meat puppet.
"I'll get with you in a moment, sir." She began rapidly typing on her computer.
"I guess magicians are more modern than I thought..." Zoey said under her breath. 'And freaky as hell too!
"How did you think of us?" Lindsay asked.
"Uh... Nothing like this." Zoey said. 'They adapted to modern times very well. I expected them to be stuck in their old ways and refuse modernness completely.'
"Contrary to popular belief, we Magjistars are more open-minded than people believe. We are always open to learning new knowledge and putting it to practical use." Alexander informed.
"A Grade-A Magjistar will be with you shortly."
'Her definition of shortly must be different from mines.' Zoey thought as an old man popped up in front of them immediately.
"Zieg!" Alexander exclaimed.
"Alex, my boy! Lindsay, my girl!" This Zieg happily responded back. "Come on, follow me with your new friend!"
'Friend? That's a strong word, old man...' Zoey thought to herself as she was magically whisked away into a large office space.
"What the fuck?!" Zoey accidentally exclaimed, much to the surprise of the Magjistars around her.
Feeling herself being forcibly taken through space and maybe time without her control or input was enough to send her brain into a spin. She fell on her butt immediately after being spatially displaced and relocated. Zoey's body went into fight or flight mode in this strange and unnatural situation. She had to do deep breathing exercises to force her heart to calm itself as she wasn't in any danger. Soon she found herself glaring at the old man.
"A little warning next time would be nice..." She asked.
"My deepest apologies, young lady. I didn't realize you were a..."
"She's going to be our new Bringer." Lindsay quickly said with a smile.
"Yeah, actually... If it wasn't for her, me and Lindsay would actually be getting our magic gates sealed right about now." Alexander told him.
"Your gates sealed?! You let a Gully find out your secret!?" He exclaimed before looking at Zoey with a dangerous look in his eyes.
Zoey nervously balled her fists. That look in his eyes was enough to cause all the hair on her body to rise up like a frightened cat. Her instincts almost urged her to rush forward and smash her fist into this old man's face. It reminded her of the same feeling that she got from the demon at school but a hundred times more! Would she stand a chance against a mage like this with just her skills now? No, questioning her capabilities isn't important. What's important is the courage needed to throw the first punch to protect herself and keep punching until she felt completely safe. If she needed to beat the shit out of an old man, she would. She'd do almost anything to protect her own life. Being a coward is something that Zoey would never be ashamed to admit. It's cowardice that keeps one alive and on their toes. So, at the first sign of magic, she'll move in deep inside his personal space and pummel him from close range to prevent him from chanting a spell.
'Wait, do magjistars need to chant for their spells?' She suddenly questioned.
"It's okay, Zieg! She agreed to be our Bringer, but what we needed your help with was a cursed object. When we took care of the daemon, its magji shard went into Zoey's boxing gloves. We just need you to prove that they are cursed so that we can get the rewards for the case." Alexander explained.
"Oh, is that all?" He let out a relieved breath. Probably happy he didn't have to cover up for his apprentices' mistake and kill a Gully, Zoey figured.
Zoey had no doubt that a Gully was an insensitive term or racist remark against normal humans like herself. This asshole probably thought he was on a different existence from humans because he could do magic shit. She could already see that racism or that superior-than-thou attitude slowly rubbing off on Alexander. The innocent little kind idiot didn't notice it, but she could. Lindsay was probably aware of it.
"Yep. That's all we needed." Lindsay clarified.
"Sorry about that outburst from earlier, Zoey. Do you mind letting me see the gloves?" He asked with a kind old man smile.
But Zoey wouldn't forget how quick he was to turn against her in his eyes. How quick he was to call her a Gully and think about dealing with her without anyone ever knowing. She handed him her spare boxing gloves, and he pulled out a cat from out of his drawer. And no, she didn't suddenly go crazy and start seeing things. He pulled out an honest-to-god cat out of his drawer and placed it on top of her boxing gloves.
Zoey couldn't even think 'what the fuck' at something like this after the frog receptionist from earlier. The cat started clawing her gloves and loudly purring. It was actually making her a bit uncomfortable at how sexual it looked. Her of all people, was getting uncomfortable at something vaguely sexual meant that it had to be some seriously freaky shit. And Zoey has glanced at most of the worst fetishes online. Her eyes have seen some things that bleach could never clean out.
"Yep. These things are cursed for sure." Zieg declared as he placed the cat back in his mahogany office desk.
Her boxing gloves which were ripped to shit by the cat, were slowly repairing themselves. Zieg handed her the gloves back, and she felt a need to place them on. To try them out and see what they could do now. But she restrained that feeling inside of herself. She was good at restraining herself.
The gloves went inside her bookbag that she had brought, and she had to ask.
"You say it's cursed, but what does this curse do exactly?" Zoey wanted to know. She was planning to use these to bust up some more demons. If she had to suffer a lifetime of baldness from the curse, then there was no way she was ever putting them on again. Not that she couldn't pull off a sexy bald chick. It was just that she liked her hair very much.
"Since the daemon you all took out was only a Grade D, it isn't a harsh curse. Just a curse of mending. As long as you feed it blood it will repair any damages sustained to the gloves. This is somewhat valuable for trainee magjistars." Zieg explained.
"Valuable? Can you sell curses or something?"
"No, but you can sell cursed objects. Normally cursed objects have some sort of drawback for the user that stops one from wanting to use it too often. I suppose you are rather lucky as those gloves of yours only need blood. They don't take your blood or force you to feed on blood. That isn't too bad of a curse at all. A rarity when discussing cursed objects." He answered.
"Most Magjistars sell cursed objects because they are more of a hassle to use. If the special ability of the cursed object is especially useful though, a Magjistar can try to have it purified or tamed by a Magjistar skilled in dealing with cursed objects." Lindsay explained.
"I'll keep them." Zoey decided.
"Okay then. Let's return back to the front desk and get you set up officially as our Bringer." Alexander said.
"Thanks, Ziegs!" The two called out as we left the office room.
"See ya around, kids! Nice meeting you, Zoey!" He smiled and waved.
Zoey still thought he was a piece of shit, though.
Thank you for being the first person to reply to my story! I'd love to hear what you'd like to see more of or is there anything specifically that you're enjoying about the story?
Chapter 10: Boxing is Fun!
The chain of the heavy bag jingled from her punches, and the sharp, crisp sounds of her fists smashing against the bag attracted everyone's attention. Zack watched her with a smile on his face. As if everything she's become was because of him. Zoey had to give Zack credit where credit was due. He had been with her since day one and was still with her now.
Zoey threw her fists out with accurate and deadly speed all around the punching bag. She circled it while weaving in and out with her upper body. Continuously throwing her fists out while moving. If this was a person, they'd be unable to do anything but try and block this fast and disorienting assault or get worked by it. Zoey considered calling this move, Ring Around The Rosies, but the only way she could pull this off was if she was fighting against someone much weaker than her that couldn't react to it. It was just a fun little move she thought of.
"Whoever the hell that is, I'm loving the sound of those punches. Which one of you little bastards is trying to make me smile in the afternoon?" Coach Scott asked, coming out from the back.
He looked in Zoey's direction, and she could swear she saw a tear in his eye after noticing it was her. She couldn't find out if it really was a tear or if her eyes were playing tricks on her because immediately after, he turned away and yelled at everyone to get to work. Zoey still couldn't understand Coach Scott's weird ass attitude toward her. Did he like her? Hate her? Didn't care whatsoever? The man was as fickle as a girl, and she was a girl!
"I think it's about time. I will teach you how to counter." Zack suddenly said.
"Really?!" A wide innocent smile painted Zoey's face.
"Oh, geez. I didn't realize how excited you were about this... You have been ready for it. I was just delaying it because I thought you were happy where you were now."
"I want to learn everything," Zoey told him seriously.
"Alright then. Let's get in the ring so I can teach you how to counter then." Zack smiled.
They both put on the standard safety equipment before heading into the ring, headgear, and mouthguards. Zoey was reasonably excited to learn this, as counters were one of the things she was banned from practicing when she was still somewhat new to this. She's still new but not as new.
"I'm going to start off teaching you the riskiest but most effective type of counterpunching."
"Alright."
"It basically boils down to this, when the person you're fighting goes, you go. So, when I throw a jab, I want you to strike me where it will hurt the most. Alright?" Zack had two punch mitts on. Zoey nodded, watching his upper body.
He threw out a slow jab that even a first-timer could catch. Zoey did as she was asked and punched out with a similar speed toward his mitt.
"Good. Just like that. Now we're going to go a bit faster."
They circled around each other as they practiced. If, at first, it looked like an adult teaching a child how to do something, now it looked as if two competent fighters were going at it with everything they had. Zack understood when to stop and when to keep going. Seeing that she understood this part, it was time for them to stop.
"That's enough. Let's go on to the next part now."
The rest of the day was spent learning about counters in its entirety. Zack himself didn't really utilize counters all that much, but when you're a professional boxer, you need to learn everything you can. Even if you don't use it yourself, you don't know who you'll be placed against in a match. He even asked Coach Scott for a few tips on counters that easily gave her the Counter skill for her Status Box. Zoey was pretty sure Zack thought she was a monster when she could correctly perform a counter at the end of their training session.
"Jesus fucking Christ... I have been watching them the whole damn day, and I wouldn't have been able to pick up counterpunching that easily."
"Yeah, Zoey's a freak, ain't she? Can you imagine if she was a boy? The Coach would be sending us up there to spar with her every second. Just to get beat the fuck up like some clowns."
"Don't tell anyone this, but I don't think I could beat girl Zoey even if I tried my hardest."
"You're not the only one feeling that way. Haven't you seen some of the newer guys working hard as hell lately? I heard it was because the coach has been on their ass, comparing them with Zoey."
"He does like to do that when she isn't here. You know, I think Zoey might be better than Ben..."
"Ah, yeah, he's a fucking little prick, ain't he?"
"I didn't just mean his personality..."
"Oi, oi, oi. You aren't saying what I think you're saying, are you?"
"I might just be... You know?"
"Come on, dude. Zoey is great, and all but Ben is a real monster in the ring. The kid doesn't even try, and he still demolishes any opponent he faces. Zoey doesn't seem like she has what it takes to really match up."
"Have any of us even seen what Zoey is capable of? You know she's the reason why those new guys a while back dropped, right?"
"No. My mom was sick in the hospital. I had to take care of my gramps that week."
"Coach Scott decided to put her up against the new guys. You know what he said when he brought it up?" A grin popped up on his face.
"No, what he say?"
"If you can't even beat a girl, what the hell are you doing here? And they did not take losing to her well."
"Did she fucking beat their asses or something? What happened?"
"No. She just toyed with them. It was like seeing a professional go against a complete beginner. But she didn't toy with them like Ben would. That cocky smirk on his face while he's fighting you. Him constantly talking and not punching you when he has the chance. Just a complete game for him. Zoey was nothing like that. She acted like she didn't want to break the poor guys and just went so soft on them. Like she was their teacher or something! Teaching em how to box!"
"Wait, so she was all gentle and nice in their spar?"
"Yeah, like a total fucking girl! Haha! I was laughing my ass off seeing the dudes up there. If I ever had to face Zoey, I'd be glad if she treated me like I was a total pussy!"
Zoey could hear everything Steven and Tony were saying... She tried not focusing on it while learning how to counter, but she couldn't help but be a bit nosey. It was in her nature to be aware of her surroundings and hear everything she could like a fucking weirdo. And the only reason she treated those guys so gently was that if she went all out, they'd definitely leave! Who would've thought trying to spare a guy his feelings would backfire?! Now Coach Scott never lets her spar with any of the guys anymore. Their delicate pride wouldn't be able to handle it no matter how soft or hard she goes. If she didn't have people like Miles or demons, she'd definitely go crazy just practicing all the fucking time.
"See ya later, Zoey!" Zack waved.
"Bye, Zoey!" The other guys called out.
"Bye guys." She responded back.
Zoey started jogging her way home. When she first started, she had her mom pick her up from the gym. That changed ever since her first run into the city. Now she's been running everywhere she went to increase her body stat. Her mental stat is as slow as ever, but there was some good news! After killing that demon, this was what her Status Box looks like now!
Yep! There was a .1 after her magic stat! Zoey guessed it got there because of the demon! She didn't feel any different or felt like she could perform magical spells but seeing that it wasn't a flat 0 anymore was enough to make her happy. Maybe if she beat a couple more demons, her magic stat would rise even higher. Then would she be able to sense or create her own magic once it is high enough?
Zoey wasn't one of those nerds that dreamed of casting fireballs down from the sky on her foes or flooding waves of enemies with water magic. If it was before she got the Status box and started getting into boxing, then maybe she would be more open to the idea of becoming a generic magician class usually seen in an RPG. But now, once she gets her hands on some magic. She's using it to boost her boxing skills to the next level! Fire fists, stone fists, lightning fists, ice fists, the possibilities are endless!
Zoey's moderate-paced jog slowed down to a crawl as a bloodcurdling screech rang out from the alleyway she had just passed. Now there were a couple of options that came to Zoey's mind. She could phone the police and tell them of her location and jog back home, knowing she did what was expected of a normal citizen. Or she could go and investigate what the hell was happening in that dark ass alleyway without any mind to her own safety like a dumb broad from a horror movie. And then there was a third option of acting as if she didn't hear a damn thing and going about her business as usual.
"Please! Help me!!!" A woman's voice cried out from the alleyway.
Zoey's innate ability to be nosey at any opportunity forced her eyes into seeing the state of the woman. She was attempting to crawl out of the back of the alleyway. Her face and upper body were covered in blood, and the look of desperation in her eyes really hit Zoey hard. Their eyes met, and Zoey's insides squirmed. It was stupid. It was very stupid. But Zoey couldn't just act like she didn't see this and walk away. The guilt would follow her forever.
"Mind your own business..." A voice that sent chills through her body warned her.
From the alleyway, Zoey could see a face that was anything but human. A wicked long nose that could pierce through flesh, long claws that dug into the back of the woman, and an obviously sick twisted joy from causing pain and fear. It was a daemon. Just out in the middle of the day!
Normally a person's reaction to seeing something as freaky as this would be to scream and run away to preserve their own life. However, Zoey has just recently crossed the line of normality ever since dealing with her first daemon. Once she saw that it wasn't some rapist, murderer, or gangster doing something terrible to someone. It was like a blazing fire lit up within her body. Goosebumps rose along the sides of her arms.
'Status Box! Skills! Experience! Combo practice! Stat boosts!' These thoughts flowed through her brain like a siren.
Zoey opened up her bag and wrapped her hands as fast as possible before slipping on her demon-hunting gloves. The ones that the demon cursed the other day. After slipping on the gloves, Zoey dashed into the alleyway with a mad look in her eyes and a crazed smile. With an absolute lack of care for her health or safety, Zoey struck the demon's face with a running straight, knocking him off the woman and sending him a surprising distance backward. In her excited state, she didn't even process the look of bewilderment on the demon's face.
Zoey threw her fists out with accurate and deadly speed all around the punching bag. She circled it while weaving in and out with her upper body. Continuously throwing her fists out while moving. If this was a person, they'd be unable to do anything but try and block this fast and disorienting assault or get worked by it. Zoey considered calling this move, Ring Around The Rosies, but the only way she could pull this off was if she was fighting against someone much weaker than her that couldn't react to it. It was just a fun little move she thought of.
"Whoever the hell that is, I'm loving the sound of those punches. Which one of you little bastards is trying to make me smile in the afternoon?" Coach Scott asked, coming out from the back.
He looked in Zoey's direction, and she could swear she saw a tear in his eye after noticing it was her. She couldn't find out if it really was a tear or if her eyes were playing tricks on her because immediately after, he turned away and yelled at everyone to get to work. Zoey still couldn't understand Coach Scott's weird ass attitude toward her. Did he like her? Hate her? Didn't care whatsoever? The man was as fickle as a girl, and she was a girl!
"I think it's about time. I will teach you how to counter." Zack suddenly said.
"Really?!" A wide innocent smile painted Zoey's face.
"Oh, geez. I didn't realize how excited you were about this... You have been ready for it. I was just delaying it because I thought you were happy where you were now."
"I want to learn everything," Zoey told him seriously.
"Alright then. Let's get in the ring so I can teach you how to counter then." Zack smiled.
They both put on the standard safety equipment before heading into the ring, headgear, and mouthguards. Zoey was reasonably excited to learn this, as counters were one of the things she was banned from practicing when she was still somewhat new to this. She's still new but not as new.
"I'm going to start off teaching you the riskiest but most effective type of counterpunching."
"Alright."
"It basically boils down to this, when the person you're fighting goes, you go. So, when I throw a jab, I want you to strike me where it will hurt the most. Alright?" Zack had two punch mitts on. Zoey nodded, watching his upper body.
He threw out a slow jab that even a first-timer could catch. Zoey did as she was asked and punched out with a similar speed toward his mitt.
"Good. Just like that. Now we're going to go a bit faster."
They circled around each other as they practiced. If, at first, it looked like an adult teaching a child how to do something, now it looked as if two competent fighters were going at it with everything they had. Zack understood when to stop and when to keep going. Seeing that she understood this part, it was time for them to stop.
"That's enough. Let's go on to the next part now."
The rest of the day was spent learning about counters in its entirety. Zack himself didn't really utilize counters all that much, but when you're a professional boxer, you need to learn everything you can. Even if you don't use it yourself, you don't know who you'll be placed against in a match. He even asked Coach Scott for a few tips on counters that easily gave her the Counter skill for her Status Box. Zoey was pretty sure Zack thought she was a monster when she could correctly perform a counter at the end of their training session.
"Jesus fucking Christ... I have been watching them the whole damn day, and I wouldn't have been able to pick up counterpunching that easily."
"Yeah, Zoey's a freak, ain't she? Can you imagine if she was a boy? The Coach would be sending us up there to spar with her every second. Just to get beat the fuck up like some clowns."
"Don't tell anyone this, but I don't think I could beat girl Zoey even if I tried my hardest."
"You're not the only one feeling that way. Haven't you seen some of the newer guys working hard as hell lately? I heard it was because the coach has been on their ass, comparing them with Zoey."
"He does like to do that when she isn't here. You know, I think Zoey might be better than Ben..."
"Ah, yeah, he's a fucking little prick, ain't he?"
"I didn't just mean his personality..."
"Oi, oi, oi. You aren't saying what I think you're saying, are you?"
"I might just be... You know?"
"Come on, dude. Zoey is great, and all but Ben is a real monster in the ring. The kid doesn't even try, and he still demolishes any opponent he faces. Zoey doesn't seem like she has what it takes to really match up."
"Have any of us even seen what Zoey is capable of? You know she's the reason why those new guys a while back dropped, right?"
"No. My mom was sick in the hospital. I had to take care of my gramps that week."
"Coach Scott decided to put her up against the new guys. You know what he said when he brought it up?" A grin popped up on his face.
"No, what he say?"
"If you can't even beat a girl, what the hell are you doing here? And they did not take losing to her well."
"Did she fucking beat their asses or something? What happened?"
"No. She just toyed with them. It was like seeing a professional go against a complete beginner. But she didn't toy with them like Ben would. That cocky smirk on his face while he's fighting you. Him constantly talking and not punching you when he has the chance. Just a complete game for him. Zoey was nothing like that. She acted like she didn't want to break the poor guys and just went so soft on them. Like she was their teacher or something! Teaching em how to box!"
"Wait, so she was all gentle and nice in their spar?"
"Yeah, like a total fucking girl! Haha! I was laughing my ass off seeing the dudes up there. If I ever had to face Zoey, I'd be glad if she treated me like I was a total pussy!"
Zoey could hear everything Steven and Tony were saying... She tried not focusing on it while learning how to counter, but she couldn't help but be a bit nosey. It was in her nature to be aware of her surroundings and hear everything she could like a fucking weirdo. And the only reason she treated those guys so gently was that if she went all out, they'd definitely leave! Who would've thought trying to spare a guy his feelings would backfire?! Now Coach Scott never lets her spar with any of the guys anymore. Their delicate pride wouldn't be able to handle it no matter how soft or hard she goes. If she didn't have people like Miles or demons, she'd definitely go crazy just practicing all the fucking time.
"See ya later, Zoey!" Zack waved.
"Bye, Zoey!" The other guys called out.
"Bye guys." She responded back.
Zoey started jogging her way home. When she first started, she had her mom pick her up from the gym. That changed ever since her first run into the city. Now she's been running everywhere she went to increase her body stat. Her mental stat is as slow as ever, but there was some good news! After killing that demon, this was what her Status Box looks like now!
[Status]
[Name: Zoey]
[Sex: Female]
[Body: 1.4]
[Mental: 0.8]
[Magic: 0.1]
[Skills: 7]
[Skills]
[Punching Lv10]
[Footwork Lv7]
[Slipping Lv6]
[Blocking Lv5]
[Parry Lv6]
[Focus Lv2]
[Counter Lv1]
[Name: Zoey]
[Sex: Female]
[Body: 1.4]
[Mental: 0.8]
[Magic: 0.1]
[Skills: 7]
[Skills]
[Punching Lv10]
[Footwork Lv7]
[Slipping Lv6]
[Blocking Lv5]
[Parry Lv6]
[Focus Lv2]
[Counter Lv1]
Yep! There was a .1 after her magic stat! Zoey guessed it got there because of the demon! She didn't feel any different or felt like she could perform magical spells but seeing that it wasn't a flat 0 anymore was enough to make her happy. Maybe if she beat a couple more demons, her magic stat would rise even higher. Then would she be able to sense or create her own magic once it is high enough?
Zoey wasn't one of those nerds that dreamed of casting fireballs down from the sky on her foes or flooding waves of enemies with water magic. If it was before she got the Status box and started getting into boxing, then maybe she would be more open to the idea of becoming a generic magician class usually seen in an RPG. But now, once she gets her hands on some magic. She's using it to boost her boxing skills to the next level! Fire fists, stone fists, lightning fists, ice fists, the possibilities are endless!
Zoey's moderate-paced jog slowed down to a crawl as a bloodcurdling screech rang out from the alleyway she had just passed. Now there were a couple of options that came to Zoey's mind. She could phone the police and tell them of her location and jog back home, knowing she did what was expected of a normal citizen. Or she could go and investigate what the hell was happening in that dark ass alleyway without any mind to her own safety like a dumb broad from a horror movie. And then there was a third option of acting as if she didn't hear a damn thing and going about her business as usual.
"Please! Help me!!!" A woman's voice cried out from the alleyway.
Zoey's innate ability to be nosey at any opportunity forced her eyes into seeing the state of the woman. She was attempting to crawl out of the back of the alleyway. Her face and upper body were covered in blood, and the look of desperation in her eyes really hit Zoey hard. Their eyes met, and Zoey's insides squirmed. It was stupid. It was very stupid. But Zoey couldn't just act like she didn't see this and walk away. The guilt would follow her forever.
"Mind your own business..." A voice that sent chills through her body warned her.
From the alleyway, Zoey could see a face that was anything but human. A wicked long nose that could pierce through flesh, long claws that dug into the back of the woman, and an obviously sick twisted joy from causing pain and fear. It was a daemon. Just out in the middle of the day!
Normally a person's reaction to seeing something as freaky as this would be to scream and run away to preserve their own life. However, Zoey has just recently crossed the line of normality ever since dealing with her first daemon. Once she saw that it wasn't some rapist, murderer, or gangster doing something terrible to someone. It was like a blazing fire lit up within her body. Goosebumps rose along the sides of her arms.
'Status Box! Skills! Experience! Combo practice! Stat boosts!' These thoughts flowed through her brain like a siren.
Zoey opened up her bag and wrapped her hands as fast as possible before slipping on her demon-hunting gloves. The ones that the demon cursed the other day. After slipping on the gloves, Zoey dashed into the alleyway with a mad look in her eyes and a crazed smile. With an absolute lack of care for her health or safety, Zoey struck the demon's face with a running straight, knocking him off the woman and sending him a surprising distance backward. In her excited state, she didn't even process the look of bewilderment on the demon's face.
Chapter 11: The Fight.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" The woman's words fell on deaf ears as she limped her way out of the alleyway.
Neither Zoey nor the daemon paid much attention to the woman. They both sized each other up in the shadowy alleyway. The sun's rays didn't reach anywhere back in this alley, but the human and magical creature had no problem seeing each other. Zoey lightened up her feet and smashed her boxing gloves together. The daemon raked his claws together with a small show of sparks.
"Who are you?" It asked.
The demon flicked its super-long tongue at her, and she rolled her eyes. It was freaky and gross, but that wasn't enough to scare her. Now if it had some genitals while looking like that, then Zoey would be afraid. This demon had a Ken doll body. Perfectly toned and cut body but was completely blank down there. Its face was a lot longer than a normal person's face was, kind of droopy like it was melting but at the same time not.
"I'm a Bringer," Zoey answered.
"A lowly Bringer dares to try and fight against a daemon?" It laughed.
"Please stop talking. I'm not good at witty quips and comebacks, even though I'm black. I can't think of decent insults and replies off the top of my head." Zoey told him.
Back when she was little in school, she noticed how all the other girls would be able to respond to any mean thing said to them. The boys could come up with anything, and they'd be able to flip it just like that and go toe to toe with the boys in a battle of childish insults and wit. Zoey never understood how it could come to them so naturally like that. It never worked that way for her! She'd definitely stutter and trip over her own words before something came out. And if you stuttered while trying to say something back to someone who dissed you, you had already lost. So, Zoey never said anything to anyone. That way, she wouldn't be made fun of, and nobody would notice how horrible she was at insulting people.
"Where are the Magjistars with you? I don't sense any nearby. What trick are you trying to pull, human?" It constantly asked question after question.
Zoey tiredly rolled her eyes and just dashed toward the demon without further comment. Her eyes focused directly on Long Face, and he stopped her with just a slash of his claw. She stopped before his large hand could cleave her into pieces and then leaped back into his space. He raised his other hand to swipe down at her. Zoey grinned and showed off all of her pearly whites as she slipped past the claw and grabbed the demon's arm with her boxing glove.
With a strong tug, the demon was forced off-balance from her 1.4 body stat. Zoey's free arm was already in motion to drill itself into the demon's face. The laws of motion could not be defied at this moment. The creature of magic and evil had no choice but to obey it. Zoey's fist crushed the demon's head into the pavement. Blood shot out from its mouth and face onto Zoey.
The up-and-coming boxing enthusiast didn't believe a demon would fall so easily to a fragile girl like herself. She forced her knees onto its wrists, preventing it from clawing at her while she sat on top of it. Realizing that its options to fight back were limited, it started bucking its hips in hopes of knocking her off of him. Zoey decked him in the face once, but doing this only made him move his hips even wilder. So, she hit him again and again and again. Then suddenly, its tongue shot out and wrapped around her neck, tightening around her throat.
The wet slimy warm meat rope attempting to crush her throat spooked her so badly that she rose off of the demon's body. Zoey grabbed at her throat and frantically pulled, but her strength wasn't enough. Her mind was starting to go blank from a lack of oxygen. Everything was turning blurry. The Focus skill activated, and Zoey realized that she didn't have much time left. She needed to do something and do it now or else...
The fear and panic of death slowly started to seep into her brain. Panic filled her body with adrenaline as she closed in close to the daemon, wildly grinning at her with its eyes. Zoey slugged the demon across the face, knocking his head to the left. Her other boxing glove caught it before it could go too far to the left and struck it straight back to where it came from. At this point, Zoey could barely even see the figure of the demon anymore, but her fists knew where to go. She practiced her boxing combinations every single day. By now, it was muscle memory for her.
Zoey uppercut the demon's chin with the last of her strength. Its sharp teeth separated its tongue from its mouth, and Zoey could feel the pressure on her neck lessen. Now that she could breathe again, Zoey did it with fucking gusto! She sucked up the air like pufferfish and didn't exhale until she knew she had brought all that air into her fucking lungs. The daemon was the last thing on her mind until she could breathe again.
Zoey unwrapped the tongue from around her neck and tossed it on the ground.
"You're fucking dead, you piece of shit! You almost fucking killed me!" Pure rage took hold of her mind. She no longer held back her true thoughts and feelings.
Zoey's fist swung with terrifying anger into the daemon's gut. It was as if an explosion had taken place inside its stomach. But the teenage high schooler wasn't done just yet. Her other fist slammed into its gut as well. Cannon ball-like blows repeatedly shot straight into the daemon's abdomen. The blood spurting out from its mouth onto her hair, clothes, and body didn't phase her in the slightest. Nothing but paying back the asshole that nearly killed her lingered in her thoughts.
The pavement, walls, garbage bags, and the dumpster had turned purple from the daemon's blood. If a person were to pass by this alleyway, all they would hear was the sound of a person's groaning and a weird thumping noise that came in rhythm with the moans. It would make some blush, and a few speed past the alleyway in disbelief and shock. Only the two people in the dark alleyway would know what was truly taking place inside.
Zoey stood over the barely living demon and pulled out her phone after taking off one of her boxing gloves. Only to curse under her breath after realizing she didn't have Alexander's or Lindsay's phone numbers. She definitely should've asked after becoming their Bringer. Now what the hell was she supposed to do with this demon? There wasn't some convenient daemon disposal chute anywhere nearby.
'Or was there?' Zoey suddenly saw something that could help her current problem.
Zoey was about to lift the demon's body up but noticed that her gloves were moving on their own. This scared her until she saw a familiar gem rising outside of the demon's mouth.
"Another magji shard?" Zoey muttered.
Her gloves were all too happy to grasp the gem without her input and crush it into pieces, devouring the fragments whole. A strange feeling welled up inside her boxing gloves, but she didn't have time to investigate it. She tossed the demon's body into the dumpster and closed the lids before jogging her way home as fast as possible to clean this purple blood off of herself. She met her mom on her way inside, who had nothing but questions, but she forced herself past her and made it inside her bedroom.
"Zoey Winters! If you do not bring your purple little ass downstairs right now, you are not leaving this house until you are 18 years old!" Her mother yelled.
Zoey's soul shivered when her mom used that tone of voice. That voice meant she did exactly what she said, or there was an ass-whooping in the very near future. She might have threatened her by saying she wouldn't leave the house until she was 18, but the beating on her ass was something already included, no discussion. Zoey wanted to scream out her lungs because of how nosey and annoying her mom was but knew that wouldn't help her if she somehow heard. She just almost fucking died, and now she had to go through this fucking shit?
Zoey calmly made her way back downstairs without any show of attitude on her face or in her actions. She refused to give her mother any excuse to say anything more to her. In the past, when Zoey stomped, screamed, or talked back to her mother when she was like this, it never ended well for her. So, she learned and adapted. Shutting her mouth and just saying whatever her mother wanted to hear until she was free to leave. Like a good little slave would. It didn't matter how Zoey felt. It only mattered what her mother thought on the matter. After all, she was the 'adult.'
"What is going on with you, Zoey?" Her mother had her hands on her hips, staring straight into her eyes.
Zoey didn't do well with eye contact because of this. Her mother loved staring people directly in the eye, and Zoey hated eye contact. When talking to people, she focused on other parts of their face, specifically avoiding the eyes. And since she's done this for so long, it has become second nature to not look people in the eyes for her. She doesn't even realize it for the most part because the general outline of the face is good enough for her.
"I jog now," Zoey answered, trying her hardest not to show the irritation on her face.
"Jogging, huh? And tell me how jogging has my baby coming home covered in purple, whatever this shit is with a mark all the way around her neck!?" She yelled.
Zoey also didn't like yelling, being yelled at, or being loud except on special occasions. Some jokes can't be said softly and require a certain volume to really achieve peak comedy. But back to her mother, who couldn't keep her voice down for anything. She was one of those people that loved the sound of her own voice and couldn't bear to keep it lower than 70 decibels. Proud of the fact too. And if you didn't know, 60 decibels was the normal volume for conversation.
'Telling her the truth is only going to make her mad, but whatever. My brain is too small to think of a convincing excuse to explain the purple blood and tongue hickey.'
"Uh... I..." Zoey couldn't even be honest.
Telling her mom that she just got done fighting a demon in a life-or-death battle with just the boxing lessons she learned at the gym would make her think she was crazy or lying. Both options wouldn't have pleasant endings. She had no idea how to explain the Status Box or the fact that magic was real. Zoey saw no way of getting out of this without being punished or being looked at as insane and needing to have her brain checked at the hospital.
"I'm waiting, Zoey." Her foot angrily tapped against the kitchen's wooden floor.
"Just ground me, whoop me, I don't care!" Zoey gave up. It was getting harder for Zoey to think of reasons to like her mother.
Her mother didn't like this answer. She frowned
"Why can't you just talk to me?" She asked tiredly.
'Because it's hard to talk to you!' Zoey wanted to scream.
"You know I love you, right? You don't know how much it hurts me to see my own daughter close me out of her life. I worry and worry, but you never tell me anything." Tears pooled around her eyes.
'Maybe you should've thought about that before deciding that I needed to be raised with whoopings, forced showings of respect and manners, and interrogations about every aspect of my life.' It hurt Zoey to see that she was making her mother cry, but what else could she do?
Tell the truth and then not be believed. It wasn't like she had any proof to back up her claims. And she 100% doubted her mother would believe her words. Black people don't fuck with supernatural shit like this. They stay far away from it and chalk it all up to nonsense and make-believe. Zoey knew that her mother would schedule an appointment with the hospital if she tried to honestly tell her everything. Tell her about the Status Box, what it could do for her, about Magjistars and magji, about daemons, everything. Zoey knew her so well that there was little doubt in her heart that she could never truly connect with her. As mother and daughter, as women, as people. The only resemblance between the two was their chocolate-brown skin, difficult-to-maintain hair, and similar faces. They had little to no interests and hobbies that intersected, Zoey understood her mother's personality and knew it was nothing similar to hers, and lastly, for a large majority of her childhood, Zoey hated her mother. She genuinely hated her.
There were times when she went to sleep, just repeating how much she hated her mother. How badly she wished she had a different mom. A mom that didn't give her whoopings because her mouth was smart. A mother who could talk, reason, and communicate with her daughter at a calm volume without yelling at her and giving her orders.
"Just anything? Anything at all?" Her mother was tired at this point, but Zoey didn't care. Thinking back on the past kind of upset her.
"Go to your room. No gym. No jogging. No phone. And no computer." She sighed before stomping off into the living room. Tears clearly stained on her face by now.
'If I started stomping, I bet you would have something to say...' Zoey thought to herself as she softly and quietly walked upstairs into her room.
It looks like her plans for the next few weeks are canceled.
'How fucking annoying...' Zoey grabbed some clothes to change into before heading into the shower.
Neither Zoey nor the daemon paid much attention to the woman. They both sized each other up in the shadowy alleyway. The sun's rays didn't reach anywhere back in this alley, but the human and magical creature had no problem seeing each other. Zoey lightened up her feet and smashed her boxing gloves together. The daemon raked his claws together with a small show of sparks.
"Who are you?" It asked.
The demon flicked its super-long tongue at her, and she rolled her eyes. It was freaky and gross, but that wasn't enough to scare her. Now if it had some genitals while looking like that, then Zoey would be afraid. This demon had a Ken doll body. Perfectly toned and cut body but was completely blank down there. Its face was a lot longer than a normal person's face was, kind of droopy like it was melting but at the same time not.
"I'm a Bringer," Zoey answered.
"A lowly Bringer dares to try and fight against a daemon?" It laughed.
"Please stop talking. I'm not good at witty quips and comebacks, even though I'm black. I can't think of decent insults and replies off the top of my head." Zoey told him.
Back when she was little in school, she noticed how all the other girls would be able to respond to any mean thing said to them. The boys could come up with anything, and they'd be able to flip it just like that and go toe to toe with the boys in a battle of childish insults and wit. Zoey never understood how it could come to them so naturally like that. It never worked that way for her! She'd definitely stutter and trip over her own words before something came out. And if you stuttered while trying to say something back to someone who dissed you, you had already lost. So, Zoey never said anything to anyone. That way, she wouldn't be made fun of, and nobody would notice how horrible she was at insulting people.
"Where are the Magjistars with you? I don't sense any nearby. What trick are you trying to pull, human?" It constantly asked question after question.
Zoey tiredly rolled her eyes and just dashed toward the demon without further comment. Her eyes focused directly on Long Face, and he stopped her with just a slash of his claw. She stopped before his large hand could cleave her into pieces and then leaped back into his space. He raised his other hand to swipe down at her. Zoey grinned and showed off all of her pearly whites as she slipped past the claw and grabbed the demon's arm with her boxing glove.
With a strong tug, the demon was forced off-balance from her 1.4 body stat. Zoey's free arm was already in motion to drill itself into the demon's face. The laws of motion could not be defied at this moment. The creature of magic and evil had no choice but to obey it. Zoey's fist crushed the demon's head into the pavement. Blood shot out from its mouth and face onto Zoey.
The up-and-coming boxing enthusiast didn't believe a demon would fall so easily to a fragile girl like herself. She forced her knees onto its wrists, preventing it from clawing at her while she sat on top of it. Realizing that its options to fight back were limited, it started bucking its hips in hopes of knocking her off of him. Zoey decked him in the face once, but doing this only made him move his hips even wilder. So, she hit him again and again and again. Then suddenly, its tongue shot out and wrapped around her neck, tightening around her throat.
The wet slimy warm meat rope attempting to crush her throat spooked her so badly that she rose off of the demon's body. Zoey grabbed at her throat and frantically pulled, but her strength wasn't enough. Her mind was starting to go blank from a lack of oxygen. Everything was turning blurry. The Focus skill activated, and Zoey realized that she didn't have much time left. She needed to do something and do it now or else...
The fear and panic of death slowly started to seep into her brain. Panic filled her body with adrenaline as she closed in close to the daemon, wildly grinning at her with its eyes. Zoey slugged the demon across the face, knocking his head to the left. Her other boxing glove caught it before it could go too far to the left and struck it straight back to where it came from. At this point, Zoey could barely even see the figure of the demon anymore, but her fists knew where to go. She practiced her boxing combinations every single day. By now, it was muscle memory for her.
Zoey uppercut the demon's chin with the last of her strength. Its sharp teeth separated its tongue from its mouth, and Zoey could feel the pressure on her neck lessen. Now that she could breathe again, Zoey did it with fucking gusto! She sucked up the air like pufferfish and didn't exhale until she knew she had brought all that air into her fucking lungs. The daemon was the last thing on her mind until she could breathe again.
Zoey unwrapped the tongue from around her neck and tossed it on the ground.
"You're fucking dead, you piece of shit! You almost fucking killed me!" Pure rage took hold of her mind. She no longer held back her true thoughts and feelings.
Zoey's fist swung with terrifying anger into the daemon's gut. It was as if an explosion had taken place inside its stomach. But the teenage high schooler wasn't done just yet. Her other fist slammed into its gut as well. Cannon ball-like blows repeatedly shot straight into the daemon's abdomen. The blood spurting out from its mouth onto her hair, clothes, and body didn't phase her in the slightest. Nothing but paying back the asshole that nearly killed her lingered in her thoughts.
The pavement, walls, garbage bags, and the dumpster had turned purple from the daemon's blood. If a person were to pass by this alleyway, all they would hear was the sound of a person's groaning and a weird thumping noise that came in rhythm with the moans. It would make some blush, and a few speed past the alleyway in disbelief and shock. Only the two people in the dark alleyway would know what was truly taking place inside.
Zoey stood over the barely living demon and pulled out her phone after taking off one of her boxing gloves. Only to curse under her breath after realizing she didn't have Alexander's or Lindsay's phone numbers. She definitely should've asked after becoming their Bringer. Now what the hell was she supposed to do with this demon? There wasn't some convenient daemon disposal chute anywhere nearby.
'Or was there?' Zoey suddenly saw something that could help her current problem.
Zoey was about to lift the demon's body up but noticed that her gloves were moving on their own. This scared her until she saw a familiar gem rising outside of the demon's mouth.
"Another magji shard?" Zoey muttered.
Her gloves were all too happy to grasp the gem without her input and crush it into pieces, devouring the fragments whole. A strange feeling welled up inside her boxing gloves, but she didn't have time to investigate it. She tossed the demon's body into the dumpster and closed the lids before jogging her way home as fast as possible to clean this purple blood off of herself. She met her mom on her way inside, who had nothing but questions, but she forced herself past her and made it inside her bedroom.
"Zoey Winters! If you do not bring your purple little ass downstairs right now, you are not leaving this house until you are 18 years old!" Her mother yelled.
Zoey's soul shivered when her mom used that tone of voice. That voice meant she did exactly what she said, or there was an ass-whooping in the very near future. She might have threatened her by saying she wouldn't leave the house until she was 18, but the beating on her ass was something already included, no discussion. Zoey wanted to scream out her lungs because of how nosey and annoying her mom was but knew that wouldn't help her if she somehow heard. She just almost fucking died, and now she had to go through this fucking shit?
Zoey calmly made her way back downstairs without any show of attitude on her face or in her actions. She refused to give her mother any excuse to say anything more to her. In the past, when Zoey stomped, screamed, or talked back to her mother when she was like this, it never ended well for her. So, she learned and adapted. Shutting her mouth and just saying whatever her mother wanted to hear until she was free to leave. Like a good little slave would. It didn't matter how Zoey felt. It only mattered what her mother thought on the matter. After all, she was the 'adult.'
"What is going on with you, Zoey?" Her mother had her hands on her hips, staring straight into her eyes.
Zoey didn't do well with eye contact because of this. Her mother loved staring people directly in the eye, and Zoey hated eye contact. When talking to people, she focused on other parts of their face, specifically avoiding the eyes. And since she's done this for so long, it has become second nature to not look people in the eyes for her. She doesn't even realize it for the most part because the general outline of the face is good enough for her.
"I jog now," Zoey answered, trying her hardest not to show the irritation on her face.
"Jogging, huh? And tell me how jogging has my baby coming home covered in purple, whatever this shit is with a mark all the way around her neck!?" She yelled.
Zoey also didn't like yelling, being yelled at, or being loud except on special occasions. Some jokes can't be said softly and require a certain volume to really achieve peak comedy. But back to her mother, who couldn't keep her voice down for anything. She was one of those people that loved the sound of her own voice and couldn't bear to keep it lower than 70 decibels. Proud of the fact too. And if you didn't know, 60 decibels was the normal volume for conversation.
'Telling her the truth is only going to make her mad, but whatever. My brain is too small to think of a convincing excuse to explain the purple blood and tongue hickey.'
"Uh... I..." Zoey couldn't even be honest.
Telling her mom that she just got done fighting a demon in a life-or-death battle with just the boxing lessons she learned at the gym would make her think she was crazy or lying. Both options wouldn't have pleasant endings. She had no idea how to explain the Status Box or the fact that magic was real. Zoey saw no way of getting out of this without being punished or being looked at as insane and needing to have her brain checked at the hospital.
"I'm waiting, Zoey." Her foot angrily tapped against the kitchen's wooden floor.
"Just ground me, whoop me, I don't care!" Zoey gave up. It was getting harder for Zoey to think of reasons to like her mother.
Her mother didn't like this answer. She frowned
"Why can't you just talk to me?" She asked tiredly.
'Because it's hard to talk to you!' Zoey wanted to scream.
"You know I love you, right? You don't know how much it hurts me to see my own daughter close me out of her life. I worry and worry, but you never tell me anything." Tears pooled around her eyes.
'Maybe you should've thought about that before deciding that I needed to be raised with whoopings, forced showings of respect and manners, and interrogations about every aspect of my life.' It hurt Zoey to see that she was making her mother cry, but what else could she do?
Tell the truth and then not be believed. It wasn't like she had any proof to back up her claims. And she 100% doubted her mother would believe her words. Black people don't fuck with supernatural shit like this. They stay far away from it and chalk it all up to nonsense and make-believe. Zoey knew that her mother would schedule an appointment with the hospital if she tried to honestly tell her everything. Tell her about the Status Box, what it could do for her, about Magjistars and magji, about daemons, everything. Zoey knew her so well that there was little doubt in her heart that she could never truly connect with her. As mother and daughter, as women, as people. The only resemblance between the two was their chocolate-brown skin, difficult-to-maintain hair, and similar faces. They had little to no interests and hobbies that intersected, Zoey understood her mother's personality and knew it was nothing similar to hers, and lastly, for a large majority of her childhood, Zoey hated her mother. She genuinely hated her.
There were times when she went to sleep, just repeating how much she hated her mother. How badly she wished she had a different mom. A mom that didn't give her whoopings because her mouth was smart. A mother who could talk, reason, and communicate with her daughter at a calm volume without yelling at her and giving her orders.
"Just anything? Anything at all?" Her mother was tired at this point, but Zoey didn't care. Thinking back on the past kind of upset her.
"Go to your room. No gym. No jogging. No phone. And no computer." She sighed before stomping off into the living room. Tears clearly stained on her face by now.
'If I started stomping, I bet you would have something to say...' Zoey thought to herself as she softly and quietly walked upstairs into her room.
It looks like her plans for the next few weeks are canceled.
'How fucking annoying...' Zoey grabbed some clothes to change into before heading into the shower.
Chapter 12: The Grounding.
"I heard you were grounded." Her little brother whispered through the small crack in her door.
"I'm definitely not allowed to play games with you, Everett. And next time, knock on my door." Zoey told him, tossing her hand wraps in the air and catching it.
"Mom would say something if she knew I was talking to you." His lips poked through the crack of the door.
"She didn't ground me from talking to my own brother." She laughed at the sight of his lips. "Come in."
He slowly opened the door before closing it as softly as he could. He looked around her room and sat on the bed next to her.
"I bet you were hitting that punching thing really hard, huh?" He asked, pointing to the punching bag.
"Yeah. How'd you guess?" She smiled.
Zoey didn't exactly handle anger well. She liked to keep her emotions under control and be totally in control at all times, but humans were flawed creatures. She let all her frustration and anger out on the heavy bag last night and managed to level up her Punching skill to level 12. After she calmed down a little, she decided to start leveling her other skills to level 10. Giving more focus to her defensive skills instead of her offensive ones. Punching was very fun and satisfying, but Footwork, Slipping, Blocking, and Parry would definitely save her life if she was in trouble.
Yesterday she almost died. Zoey didn't believe in God despite most of her family being religious black folk who visited Church every Sunday. But she definitely felt like she saw a light after nearly suffocating in that alley. Maybe seeing that light trope used so often in TV was the reason why she believed she saw one too. She read online that the brain attempts to calm and soothe the person from the horrible position that they're in by showing them something else. Zoey didn't know if it was true or not, but it sounded logical enough for her.
Now after that near-death experience, Zoey would be far more careful in dealing with demons. Keeping an eye out for weird shit like that long tongue and anything else that could catch her off guard. But most importantly, focusing on her protective skills and raising them higher. Punching things hard enough won't work forever. There had to be hundreds of demons out there that could deal with her punches through weird means. Shock absorbent skin, armor, rock skin, or even being too huge to deal with. Until Zoey can learn magic to fuse with her boxing skills, she will definitely need a way to stall to survive against things she can't punch half to death.
"I could hear the sounds from in my room," Everett said.
"I'll try and put a towel under my door next time to block out the sound."
"Hey, Zoey. Do you hate Mom?" He suddenly asked, surprising her.
She took a moment to think before responding.
"No. I don't hate Mom. I love her, I guess." This wasn't a lie.
Zoey knew why her mother was the way she was. Her mother had her during high school, and her biological dad broke up with her mom. A 16-year-old girl is not ready to raise a child in any form. Along with the way her mom was raised by her granny, it was the most obvious choice that she would repeat the teachings of her mother to raise Zoey. Being forced to go to Church on Sundays, getting whoopings on the butt for punishments, listening to the demands of your parents without ever questioning them, and just following with what they say even if you can't understand.
'Mom's generation just sucked ass at raising children. It's not her fault that I hated her for most of my childhood.' Zoey understood.
Who could reasonably expect a 16-year-old mother to know how to raise a child properly? Zoey wasn't forgiving her mother for how she raised her but simply acknowledging that she knew no other way of raising her. And she didn't hate her now that she was older. She pissed her off and had a lot of things she disliked about her, but that was that. Her mother still did a lot of good in her life. It wasn't filled with all bad or horrible moments. Zoey was just the type of person to focus on the wrong done to her rather than the good first.
"Oh... I love her too, but I think I love Dad more..." He whispered.
"That's okay, Everett. Just never tell Mom that, okay?" She wouldn't handle it well if one of her children said something like that. "It'd break her heart." She told him despite how similar Zoey felt.
A long time ago, her mother accidentally found one of her dream journals. A dream journal filled with her thoughts about everything and anything. Cartoons, celebrities, boys in her class, girls in her class, her teachers, and how she felt about her mom. So, of course, her mother had a talk with her. About why she said she called her a bitch in her dream journal. Zoey never wrote that she hated her mom in the dream journal, just nicknamed her as Bitch. That talk with her mom was one of the most painful and excruciating ones. Back then, it made her annoyed. Annoyed because back then, Zoey only saw her mom as an enemy. An enemy she loved, hated, and needed all at the same time. So whenever her mom got sad or started crying inwardly, Zoey didn't give a shit. She was a selfish little asshole kid like most others. Why would she? The only thing she wished was that her mother would hurry up and stop talking to her about it. In the back of her head, she made sure to hide her dream journals much better to prevent that situation from happening ever again. Not to change the way she thought of her mother.
"Okay. I won't say anything..." His legs dangled off the edge of her bed.
"Hey Zoey, why'd you start boxing?" He asked.
"I wanted to learn how to defend myself." She answered honestly.
"Why not something cool like karate or taekwondo or Muay Thai, or Brazillian Jiu jitsu?" He knew a lot about fighting...
"I liked boxing more."
"I would've picked taekwondo. I wanna learn how to kick awesomely."
"Kicking is cool." Zoey hasn't yet used her legs in a fight yet, but she already had a few ideas in mind.
"What were you defending yourself from?" Zoey didn't know if she wanted to answer this as honestly...
"Magicians..." It came out syllable by syllable.
"Magicians?" He responded as any reasonable person would.
"I thought I would have to fight two magicians. So, I took up boxing to give myself a better chance of fighting back." She told him.
"Are you joking with me?" He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Watch this." Zoey suddenly regretted how she treated her mother yesterday.
Zoey went inside her bag and pulled out her cursed boxing gloves. She grabbed a knife from under her bed and sliced open the padding of the gloves. Everett stared in amazement as the gloves started mending themselves back together. He couldn't contain his squeal of excitement and let Zoey's ears take the full brunt of it.
"Magic is real!? My sister is a magician!?" Zoey shook her head.
"I'm not a magician. I just got magic boxing gloves. But I do know two magicians at my school." He squealed even louder this time.
Her mom burst into the room to see who was murdering a squealing pig inside. From the look on her face, it looks like she expected to find Zoey doing something she wasn't supposed to be. Her eyes did close in on the knife in her hand, though. But with a lack of blood anywhere and Everett not looking scared at all, she realized that couldn't be the problem. But she was going to make it a problem.
"What are you doing with that knife?" She questioned.
"Showing you something I should've done yesterday." Zoey got up with her gloves and the knife. A look of confusion sprouted on her mom's face.
Zoey showed her exactly what she had shown her little brother a moment ago.
"What is this? How is it doing that?" She asked.
"It's magic. Or magji, as they like to call them."
"Magic isn't real, Zoey. This was a nice little trick you decided to show me, but you're still grounded. And give me that knife." She grabbed the knife out of her hand, and Zoey, for a moment, felt tempted to grip her hand around the handle tighter so she couldn't. But she didn't.
Now she could say she tried, right? Some magic was performed right in front of her face, but she thought it was a trick instead. Didn't even give it the faintest chance of being real. It annoyed Zoey, but once again, she understood. Some people are really ignorant, and it just so happens that her mother is one of those people. And unless she could form a fireball or teleport, there was no way she was accepting the existence of magic anytime soon.
"I believe it's magji, Zoey..." Everett spoke behind her.
"Thank you..." Her disappointment in her mother was at an all-time high, but at least she wasn't alone.
"Is that the only thing they can do?" He asked.
"They like blood." She closed her door after her mother left. A lingering thought tempted her to lock it just to spite her mother, but if she found the door was locked, she'd make a big deal out of it.
Her mom was raised in a family where there were no locked doors. If a door was locked, it made her nervous and uncomfortable. Locked doors made Zoey feel safe and comfortable. Everett was similar as he also liked to lock his doors and not have a certain mother just bust in his room whenever she felt like it.
"Blood?!"
"Yep. If they drink blood, they repair themselves."
"That is so cool..."
"That's it, though."
"Can I borrow them?!"
"No. I need them for school." There might be more demons at her school, from what Alexander and Lindsay believe.
"What's at your school that you would need magic gloves for?"
"Cursed gloves. And demons!" Seeing his excited little face was not going to get boring anytime soon.
Zoey soon started to tell her little brother about everything.
"I'm definitely not allowed to play games with you, Everett. And next time, knock on my door." Zoey told him, tossing her hand wraps in the air and catching it.
"Mom would say something if she knew I was talking to you." His lips poked through the crack of the door.
"She didn't ground me from talking to my own brother." She laughed at the sight of his lips. "Come in."
He slowly opened the door before closing it as softly as he could. He looked around her room and sat on the bed next to her.
"I bet you were hitting that punching thing really hard, huh?" He asked, pointing to the punching bag.
"Yeah. How'd you guess?" She smiled.
Zoey didn't exactly handle anger well. She liked to keep her emotions under control and be totally in control at all times, but humans were flawed creatures. She let all her frustration and anger out on the heavy bag last night and managed to level up her Punching skill to level 12. After she calmed down a little, she decided to start leveling her other skills to level 10. Giving more focus to her defensive skills instead of her offensive ones. Punching was very fun and satisfying, but Footwork, Slipping, Blocking, and Parry would definitely save her life if she was in trouble.
Yesterday she almost died. Zoey didn't believe in God despite most of her family being religious black folk who visited Church every Sunday. But she definitely felt like she saw a light after nearly suffocating in that alley. Maybe seeing that light trope used so often in TV was the reason why she believed she saw one too. She read online that the brain attempts to calm and soothe the person from the horrible position that they're in by showing them something else. Zoey didn't know if it was true or not, but it sounded logical enough for her.
Now after that near-death experience, Zoey would be far more careful in dealing with demons. Keeping an eye out for weird shit like that long tongue and anything else that could catch her off guard. But most importantly, focusing on her protective skills and raising them higher. Punching things hard enough won't work forever. There had to be hundreds of demons out there that could deal with her punches through weird means. Shock absorbent skin, armor, rock skin, or even being too huge to deal with. Until Zoey can learn magic to fuse with her boxing skills, she will definitely need a way to stall to survive against things she can't punch half to death.
"I could hear the sounds from in my room," Everett said.
"I'll try and put a towel under my door next time to block out the sound."
"Hey, Zoey. Do you hate Mom?" He suddenly asked, surprising her.
She took a moment to think before responding.
"No. I don't hate Mom. I love her, I guess." This wasn't a lie.
Zoey knew why her mother was the way she was. Her mother had her during high school, and her biological dad broke up with her mom. A 16-year-old girl is not ready to raise a child in any form. Along with the way her mom was raised by her granny, it was the most obvious choice that she would repeat the teachings of her mother to raise Zoey. Being forced to go to Church on Sundays, getting whoopings on the butt for punishments, listening to the demands of your parents without ever questioning them, and just following with what they say even if you can't understand.
'Mom's generation just sucked ass at raising children. It's not her fault that I hated her for most of my childhood.' Zoey understood.
Who could reasonably expect a 16-year-old mother to know how to raise a child properly? Zoey wasn't forgiving her mother for how she raised her but simply acknowledging that she knew no other way of raising her. And she didn't hate her now that she was older. She pissed her off and had a lot of things she disliked about her, but that was that. Her mother still did a lot of good in her life. It wasn't filled with all bad or horrible moments. Zoey was just the type of person to focus on the wrong done to her rather than the good first.
"Oh... I love her too, but I think I love Dad more..." He whispered.
"That's okay, Everett. Just never tell Mom that, okay?" She wouldn't handle it well if one of her children said something like that. "It'd break her heart." She told him despite how similar Zoey felt.
A long time ago, her mother accidentally found one of her dream journals. A dream journal filled with her thoughts about everything and anything. Cartoons, celebrities, boys in her class, girls in her class, her teachers, and how she felt about her mom. So, of course, her mother had a talk with her. About why she said she called her a bitch in her dream journal. Zoey never wrote that she hated her mom in the dream journal, just nicknamed her as Bitch. That talk with her mom was one of the most painful and excruciating ones. Back then, it made her annoyed. Annoyed because back then, Zoey only saw her mom as an enemy. An enemy she loved, hated, and needed all at the same time. So whenever her mom got sad or started crying inwardly, Zoey didn't give a shit. She was a selfish little asshole kid like most others. Why would she? The only thing she wished was that her mother would hurry up and stop talking to her about it. In the back of her head, she made sure to hide her dream journals much better to prevent that situation from happening ever again. Not to change the way she thought of her mother.
"Okay. I won't say anything..." His legs dangled off the edge of her bed.
"Hey Zoey, why'd you start boxing?" He asked.
"I wanted to learn how to defend myself." She answered honestly.
"Why not something cool like karate or taekwondo or Muay Thai, or Brazillian Jiu jitsu?" He knew a lot about fighting...
"I liked boxing more."
"I would've picked taekwondo. I wanna learn how to kick awesomely."
"Kicking is cool." Zoey hasn't yet used her legs in a fight yet, but she already had a few ideas in mind.
"What were you defending yourself from?" Zoey didn't know if she wanted to answer this as honestly...
"Magicians..." It came out syllable by syllable.
"Magicians?" He responded as any reasonable person would.
"I thought I would have to fight two magicians. So, I took up boxing to give myself a better chance of fighting back." She told him.
"Are you joking with me?" He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Watch this." Zoey suddenly regretted how she treated her mother yesterday.
Zoey went inside her bag and pulled out her cursed boxing gloves. She grabbed a knife from under her bed and sliced open the padding of the gloves. Everett stared in amazement as the gloves started mending themselves back together. He couldn't contain his squeal of excitement and let Zoey's ears take the full brunt of it.
"Magic is real!? My sister is a magician!?" Zoey shook her head.
"I'm not a magician. I just got magic boxing gloves. But I do know two magicians at my school." He squealed even louder this time.
Her mom burst into the room to see who was murdering a squealing pig inside. From the look on her face, it looks like she expected to find Zoey doing something she wasn't supposed to be. Her eyes did close in on the knife in her hand, though. But with a lack of blood anywhere and Everett not looking scared at all, she realized that couldn't be the problem. But she was going to make it a problem.
"What are you doing with that knife?" She questioned.
"Showing you something I should've done yesterday." Zoey got up with her gloves and the knife. A look of confusion sprouted on her mom's face.
Zoey showed her exactly what she had shown her little brother a moment ago.
"What is this? How is it doing that?" She asked.
"It's magic. Or magji, as they like to call them."
"Magic isn't real, Zoey. This was a nice little trick you decided to show me, but you're still grounded. And give me that knife." She grabbed the knife out of her hand, and Zoey, for a moment, felt tempted to grip her hand around the handle tighter so she couldn't. But she didn't.
Now she could say she tried, right? Some magic was performed right in front of her face, but she thought it was a trick instead. Didn't even give it the faintest chance of being real. It annoyed Zoey, but once again, she understood. Some people are really ignorant, and it just so happens that her mother is one of those people. And unless she could form a fireball or teleport, there was no way she was accepting the existence of magic anytime soon.
"I believe it's magji, Zoey..." Everett spoke behind her.
"Thank you..." Her disappointment in her mother was at an all-time high, but at least she wasn't alone.
"Is that the only thing they can do?" He asked.
"They like blood." She closed her door after her mother left. A lingering thought tempted her to lock it just to spite her mother, but if she found the door was locked, she'd make a big deal out of it.
Her mom was raised in a family where there were no locked doors. If a door was locked, it made her nervous and uncomfortable. Locked doors made Zoey feel safe and comfortable. Everett was similar as he also liked to lock his doors and not have a certain mother just bust in his room whenever she felt like it.
"Blood?!"
"Yep. If they drink blood, they repair themselves."
"That is so cool..."
"That's it, though."
"Can I borrow them?!"
"No. I need them for school." There might be more demons at her school, from what Alexander and Lindsay believe.
"What's at your school that you would need magic gloves for?"
"Cursed gloves. And demons!" Seeing his excited little face was not going to get boring anytime soon.
Zoey soon started to tell her little brother about everything.
Chapter 13: Scary School Rumors.
The next day at school, Zoey arrived in the student council room with Alexander and Lindsay. The bell to leave has already rung so, it was only them inside. Zoey wondered what the rest of the student council team looked like. Since she knew that Alexander and Lindsay were the magicians, she didn't bother snooping around for the other members. They were probably just normal people.
"Zoey! Now that you're here, we can finally get started." Alexander smiled.
"I still don't think we have any more demons lurking in our school," Zoey told him.
They were most likely just rumors. Unlike that gym storage room incident where there was an actual death, these other rooms didn't have anything like that. No injuries or deaths at all. Some strange things were said to have happened in these rooms, but no one has ever gotten hurt. Just frightened and spooked.
"I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Lindsay smiled.
"There's the girl's bathroom on the 3rd floor that's said to be haunted. Never enter alone, or you will be dragged down in the toilet, never to be seen again." Zoey told them the first one.
"Let's move!" Alexander quickly got up and headed out the door.
'Did he get excited because I said girl's bathroom, or is really eager about killing demons?' Zoey grinned inwardly.
Zoey and Lindsay followed behind the excited magjistar without speaking to each other. Zoey felt awkward trying to talk to Lindsay because it felt like she didn't like her. She still avoided looking into her eyes, and there was always a sort of tense atmosphere around them whenever Alexander wasn't around. Zoey wasn't nearly socially competent enough to try and understand Lindsay's deal with her. If she wanted to be weird around her, she wasn't going to stop her. She didn't mind walking in absolute silence up the stairs and down the halls with her.
"Zoey! Lindsay! Are you ready to deal with a daemon?!" Alexander asked.
"Have you even confirmed the presence of a daemon?" Lindsay scoffed.
His eyes darted to the left before making it back on Lindsay's.
"No, but I'm really confident there's a daemon in there." His excitement with this was starting to ring bells in Zoey's head.
'I just think he really wants to go in the girl's bathroom.' Zoey thought.
Zoey saw Lindsay's skepticism as well. She wasn't alone in her suspicions of Alexander, at least. He gestured for Zoey to enter inside to reveal the existence of this daemon for them all. Since demons only reveal themselves for normal humans, low-ranked magjistar grunts have no choice but to rely on Bringers like her to bait out the daemons. Zoey took off her backpack and took out her cursed boxing gloves. She took a few moments to put them on and then slowly made her way inside the girl's bathroom.
"I'll call out if I see anything," Zoey told them.
The 3rd-floor girl's bathroom was exactly identical to the 2nd-floor. So there wasn't much unfamiliarity for Zoey in here. She didn't feel cold or uncomfortable inside here, but maybe that was because she wasn't in a stall yet. Zoey walked into the first stall and waited for a little bit. Her bladder wasn't telling her she needed to pee anytime soon, so she didn't feel any need to sit down on the seat. Plus, it would be harder to punch something if she was squatting like that.
Nothing happened in the first stall, second stall, third stall, or fourth stall. Zoey gave the demon 5 minutes to do anything to her in each stall. Plenty of enough time to try and drag her down a toilet or whatever. Then she made it to the final stall in the bathroom. Her heart started beating a little bit faster when she came to this stall. Usually, in horror movies, the ghosts or killers wait till the person investigated every single part of the place you find suspicious before jumping out and spooking you. Deep down, Zoey expected a similar situation to take place here.
"Zoey! Are you alright in there!?" This sudden call out startled her so bad she almost banged the back of her head against the stall's door.
"Yeah. I'm fine. There's no daemon." She responded back, wanting to punch Alexander's face in.
Zoey walked out of the bathroom without any encounter with the supernatural.
"What's the next rumor, Zoey?" He asked with the same excitement as before.
'I guess I was wrong when I was thinking you were a little pervert. He just really wanted to kill a demon.' Zoey thought.
"There is the moaning sounds that come from the kitchen in the cafeteria after hours when everyone goes home, but I don't think that's..." Alexander didn't even let her finish before making his way toward the cafeteria.
"What other rumors are there?" Lindsay asked with her hand on her face. No doubt embarrassed because of Alexander.
"Music room, track girls' locker room, boys' basketball locker room, janitor closet on the 1st floor..." Zoey listed off all the rumors she'd heard during her sophomore year.
Much to his disappointment, none of these places would hold a daemon for Alexander to exterminate with his magji spells. Zoey was also a bit disappointed. Since there was no demon, there wasn't any way she could quickly level her skills today. She could try training at home tonight, but fights give the most experience to her skills. And because she was grounded, she couldn't go into the city and find trouble with the scum of society.
"It looks like we'll have to find daemons to deal with in the local area instead of just the school." Alexander suddenly spoke.
"I'm grounded, so, I can't do anything out of school for a while," Zoey said.
"What?! But you're our most important member!" He exclaimed.
"Sorry. Mom says no outside for me until my grounding is over. Just school and home."
"That is unfortunate," Lindsay commented.
"Looks like we'll have to hunt daemons when Zoey's punishment is over." He sighed.
"What're your numbers?" Zoey suddenly asked. She didn't want to find herself in another situation, like with the Long Face demon.
"Oh, that's right! We haven't even added each other on our phones yet!"
"My mom took my phone, so, you'll have to add mine to yours, but you can still tell me yours. And don't text me. I'll text you first. That's when my punishment will be over."
They nodded, and Zoey gave them her number before saying goodbye and walking outside to the front of the school. Her mom was waiting in the car. She really didn't want to talk to her because she was still upset about being grounded. She hoped that she also didn't want to talk to her. Ignoring her wasn't going to work unless she wanted to get slapped upside the head or get her grounding extended.
"What took you so long?" She questioned like Zoey was an offender on parole, and she was her parole officer.
"Friends..." Zoey spoke through her teeth.
"Why haven't I ever heard of them?" She dug deeper.
"Just got to know them," Zoey responded.
"Mhmm..."
The car ride home was long, but at least it was silent. After her first few questions, she didn't ask anything more. Once they made it home, Zoey immediately opened the door with her key and made her way to her room. Everett immediately came into her room behind her after hearing her come home with an excited look on his face. Like she had loads of stories to tell him after coming back from school.
"We looked for demons at school but didn't find any." She told him.
"I have the coolest older sister!" He shouted.
"Can you teach me how to box Zoey!?" He asked right after.
"Why?" She was curious.
"I wanna fight daemons too!"
"No way. Demons are too dangerous. I almost died trying to fight a demon." Zoey immediately shut him down.
"But how am I going to protect myself if a daemon comes after me!?" He brought up a good point.
Zoey couldn't let her brother not have a way of defending himself against demons. Maybe teaching him how to box wouldn't be a bad thing. She'd just have to make sure he understood that it was to protect himself and not a way of killing demons. She was teaching him so that he wouldn't die if he came face to face with a demon, not so that he could hunt daemons and teach them a lesson with his awesome cool boxing skills.
"Okay. I'll teach you how to box. But you will not ever look for demons without me. If you even think there's a small possibility of encountering a demon, you will run as far away as possible. If I'm not there, don't even think about sticking around. Demons will kill children." She seriously warned him.
"I understand..." He nodded.
"Okay. Go change into something more comfortable, and we can get started." She told him.
He ran out of her room like she just told him they were going to a world-famous amusement park. When he came back dressed in shorts, a white tee, and little boxing gloves of his own, Zoey had trouble keeping herself in control. Everett was the cutest little brother. Seeing her little brother gain an interest in boxing because she was into it made her heart tingle. The rest of the afternoon was spent teaching Everett the same way Zack taught her when she first started out. And surprisingly, she gained a new skill that wasn't related to fighting for once: Teaching.
"Zoey! Now that you're here, we can finally get started." Alexander smiled.
"I still don't think we have any more demons lurking in our school," Zoey told him.
They were most likely just rumors. Unlike that gym storage room incident where there was an actual death, these other rooms didn't have anything like that. No injuries or deaths at all. Some strange things were said to have happened in these rooms, but no one has ever gotten hurt. Just frightened and spooked.
"I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Lindsay smiled.
"There's the girl's bathroom on the 3rd floor that's said to be haunted. Never enter alone, or you will be dragged down in the toilet, never to be seen again." Zoey told them the first one.
"Let's move!" Alexander quickly got up and headed out the door.
'Did he get excited because I said girl's bathroom, or is really eager about killing demons?' Zoey grinned inwardly.
Zoey and Lindsay followed behind the excited magjistar without speaking to each other. Zoey felt awkward trying to talk to Lindsay because it felt like she didn't like her. She still avoided looking into her eyes, and there was always a sort of tense atmosphere around them whenever Alexander wasn't around. Zoey wasn't nearly socially competent enough to try and understand Lindsay's deal with her. If she wanted to be weird around her, she wasn't going to stop her. She didn't mind walking in absolute silence up the stairs and down the halls with her.
"Zoey! Lindsay! Are you ready to deal with a daemon?!" Alexander asked.
"Have you even confirmed the presence of a daemon?" Lindsay scoffed.
His eyes darted to the left before making it back on Lindsay's.
"No, but I'm really confident there's a daemon in there." His excitement with this was starting to ring bells in Zoey's head.
'I just think he really wants to go in the girl's bathroom.' Zoey thought.
Zoey saw Lindsay's skepticism as well. She wasn't alone in her suspicions of Alexander, at least. He gestured for Zoey to enter inside to reveal the existence of this daemon for them all. Since demons only reveal themselves for normal humans, low-ranked magjistar grunts have no choice but to rely on Bringers like her to bait out the daemons. Zoey took off her backpack and took out her cursed boxing gloves. She took a few moments to put them on and then slowly made her way inside the girl's bathroom.
"I'll call out if I see anything," Zoey told them.
The 3rd-floor girl's bathroom was exactly identical to the 2nd-floor. So there wasn't much unfamiliarity for Zoey in here. She didn't feel cold or uncomfortable inside here, but maybe that was because she wasn't in a stall yet. Zoey walked into the first stall and waited for a little bit. Her bladder wasn't telling her she needed to pee anytime soon, so she didn't feel any need to sit down on the seat. Plus, it would be harder to punch something if she was squatting like that.
Nothing happened in the first stall, second stall, third stall, or fourth stall. Zoey gave the demon 5 minutes to do anything to her in each stall. Plenty of enough time to try and drag her down a toilet or whatever. Then she made it to the final stall in the bathroom. Her heart started beating a little bit faster when she came to this stall. Usually, in horror movies, the ghosts or killers wait till the person investigated every single part of the place you find suspicious before jumping out and spooking you. Deep down, Zoey expected a similar situation to take place here.
"Zoey! Are you alright in there!?" This sudden call out startled her so bad she almost banged the back of her head against the stall's door.
"Yeah. I'm fine. There's no daemon." She responded back, wanting to punch Alexander's face in.
Zoey walked out of the bathroom without any encounter with the supernatural.
"What's the next rumor, Zoey?" He asked with the same excitement as before.
'I guess I was wrong when I was thinking you were a little pervert. He just really wanted to kill a demon.' Zoey thought.
"There is the moaning sounds that come from the kitchen in the cafeteria after hours when everyone goes home, but I don't think that's..." Alexander didn't even let her finish before making his way toward the cafeteria.
"What other rumors are there?" Lindsay asked with her hand on her face. No doubt embarrassed because of Alexander.
"Music room, track girls' locker room, boys' basketball locker room, janitor closet on the 1st floor..." Zoey listed off all the rumors she'd heard during her sophomore year.
Much to his disappointment, none of these places would hold a daemon for Alexander to exterminate with his magji spells. Zoey was also a bit disappointed. Since there was no demon, there wasn't any way she could quickly level her skills today. She could try training at home tonight, but fights give the most experience to her skills. And because she was grounded, she couldn't go into the city and find trouble with the scum of society.
"It looks like we'll have to find daemons to deal with in the local area instead of just the school." Alexander suddenly spoke.
"I'm grounded, so, I can't do anything out of school for a while," Zoey said.
"What?! But you're our most important member!" He exclaimed.
"Sorry. Mom says no outside for me until my grounding is over. Just school and home."
"That is unfortunate," Lindsay commented.
"Looks like we'll have to hunt daemons when Zoey's punishment is over." He sighed.
"What're your numbers?" Zoey suddenly asked. She didn't want to find herself in another situation, like with the Long Face demon.
"Oh, that's right! We haven't even added each other on our phones yet!"
"My mom took my phone, so, you'll have to add mine to yours, but you can still tell me yours. And don't text me. I'll text you first. That's when my punishment will be over."
They nodded, and Zoey gave them her number before saying goodbye and walking outside to the front of the school. Her mom was waiting in the car. She really didn't want to talk to her because she was still upset about being grounded. She hoped that she also didn't want to talk to her. Ignoring her wasn't going to work unless she wanted to get slapped upside the head or get her grounding extended.
"What took you so long?" She questioned like Zoey was an offender on parole, and she was her parole officer.
"Friends..." Zoey spoke through her teeth.
"Why haven't I ever heard of them?" She dug deeper.
"Just got to know them," Zoey responded.
"Mhmm..."
The car ride home was long, but at least it was silent. After her first few questions, she didn't ask anything more. Once they made it home, Zoey immediately opened the door with her key and made her way to her room. Everett immediately came into her room behind her after hearing her come home with an excited look on his face. Like she had loads of stories to tell him after coming back from school.
"We looked for demons at school but didn't find any." She told him.
"I have the coolest older sister!" He shouted.
"Can you teach me how to box Zoey!?" He asked right after.
"Why?" She was curious.
"I wanna fight daemons too!"
"No way. Demons are too dangerous. I almost died trying to fight a demon." Zoey immediately shut him down.
"But how am I going to protect myself if a daemon comes after me!?" He brought up a good point.
Zoey couldn't let her brother not have a way of defending himself against demons. Maybe teaching him how to box wouldn't be a bad thing. She'd just have to make sure he understood that it was to protect himself and not a way of killing demons. She was teaching him so that he wouldn't die if he came face to face with a demon, not so that he could hunt daemons and teach them a lesson with his awesome cool boxing skills.
"Okay. I'll teach you how to box. But you will not ever look for demons without me. If you even think there's a small possibility of encountering a demon, you will run as far away as possible. If I'm not there, don't even think about sticking around. Demons will kill children." She seriously warned him.
"I understand..." He nodded.
"Okay. Go change into something more comfortable, and we can get started." She told him.
He ran out of her room like she just told him they were going to a world-famous amusement park. When he came back dressed in shorts, a white tee, and little boxing gloves of his own, Zoey had trouble keeping herself in control. Everett was the cutest little brother. Seeing her little brother gain an interest in boxing because she was into it made her heart tingle. The rest of the afternoon was spent teaching Everett the same way Zack taught her when she first started out. And surprisingly, she gained a new skill that wasn't related to fighting for once: Teaching.
Chapter 14: Freedom!
Teaching her brother how to box was funny. He absolutely sucked at it. He was dog shit at boxing. No wonder he was so good at games instead. But as time went on, he started sucking less and less as her teaching skill rose more and more. It was easier to raise this skill over her other skills for some reason, Zoey couldn't figure it out.
"Am I doing it right?" He bounced on the tips of his toes and threw a sloppy punch at her punching bag.
"Your balance is off after you throw a punch. And always keep your other hand up after throwing a punch. If you throw a punch like that and miss, someone will easily be able to counter you and knock you out in one hit." Zoey informed.
"But I'm not planning to be a boxer." He told her.
"Oh yeah. My bad. A demon will be able to kill you in one hit if you punch like that." She corrected.
He liked that explanation better and threw a somewhat less lousy punch the second time around. She gave him a nod to tell him that was good enough. The two of them went like this for most of the morning, and near the end of their teaching lesson, Zoey's mom burst into the room. She didn't really burst inside, but she sure as hell didn't knock before coming in. Zoey locked eyes with her mother. She had her phone in her hand. It looked like she was trying to fish out an apology or some feeling of sadness within Zoey, but Zoey had no such feelings inside her. She wasn't sorry that her mother was ignorant and couldn't understand her.
"Here." She placed her phone on her desk and soon left after that.
It looks like she wasn't that ignorant if she knew that Zoey wasn't going to apologize or act any differently with her. She could cry, scream, or punish her again, and Zoey would act no differently. However, since her grounding was over, that meant she could level her skills more efficiently now. But this time around, Zoey has to make sure that she doesn't get demon blood all over her again before she returns home. Zoey spent most of her life adapting and improving whenever she got in trouble for something with her mother. Life is a learning experience. A learning experience in how to avoid trouble better!
Zoey called up Alexander and Lindsay to tell them she was no longer grounded. When talking to Alexander, he sounded more excited than her when she told him that she could leave the house again. Lindsay explained that this was because they found a case in the local park. They just learned of the case not too long ago, and she just so happened to get off of punishment around the same time. Both of them invited her to the park, and she had no reason to refuse.
So, she left the house with her cursed boxing gloves and some casual clothes that wouldn't hinder her if she got into a fight. Unlike the other times she got involved with daemons, Zoey didn't plan to fight this time around. It turns out, Lindsay and Alexander needed to deal with daemons if they wanted to grow as magicians. The bringer couldn't deal with the daemon for them. Zoey thought that was understandable. She did wonder how often were the bringers more effective than the magjistars in dealing with demons in the magic community.
'Probably not often at all. I should be a freak of nature.' Zoey felt a little bit of pride in a title like that.
In how many shows or stories could you see a boxer being more effective than a mage? Zero! That's how many! And this is when she hasn't even learned any magic to complement her fighting style. Zoey felt like giving off an arrogant laugh when thinking of her future potential with the Box. With the Box, she probably didn't even need magic!
"Zoey! I'm glad to see you again!" Alexander greeted her with a wave and a smile too wide for what they were about to do. Which was committing murder.
"Hello." She responded back.
"Hey, Zoey." Lindsay also greeted her.
"Hi, Lindsay." She said to her too.
In Alexander's hand was a strange purple box. The type of box you'd see used for a jack-in-a-box. It had a wind-up thing and everything too. Zoey wondered if was that some sort of magic object like that cat from Alexander's magic teacher. Lindsay had a small little wand in her hand, and the young boxer was a little bit confused. It was still daylight out. Were they going to hunt the demon in broad daylight? People were still walking through the park and past it.
"So, uh... how are we going to do this? What's the plan?" Zoey asked. She was completely lost.
"Leave everything to us this time!" Alexander happily announced.
"If anything goes wrong, we'll need you to help out, though," Lindsay added.
'Oh, so that's why I'm here. Well, being counted on for backup is 10x better than being counted on for being bait for the supernatural creature that has no issues with ripping people apart.' Zoey shrugged.
Alexander began winding up the jack in a box as Lindsay readied herself to use that little brown stick in her hand. Zoey watched Lindsay as it looked like she was going to be the attacker this time around. She put on her boxing gloves in anticipation of things going wrong somehow. It would be better if she had them on when an emergency happens rather than trying to put them on after something happens. Nothing wrong with a little caution, you know?
The little jester in the jack in the box exploded outward with a creepy clown laugh as a purple mist flowed from its mouth. The mist quickly expanded into something that formed a border around the entire park. Zoey covered her mouth and nose in confusion and panic. Around her, the people walking through or past the park suddenly fell to the ground. She didn't know if they were just sleeping, unconscious, or something else. Her eyes met Lindsay's, and somehow just with her eyes, she got the feeling that this gas wouldn't hurt her. Or she'd help her, at least. Zoey wasn't good at eye contact or trying to glean information out of people's eyes.
Once she removed her boxing glove from her mouth and nose, she immediately fell asleep. A state that she would've been stuck in if it wasn't for Lindsay waking her up by injecting a little magic into her body. After waking her up, Lindsay ran off toward Alexander. It took Zoey a bit before she could clear her head. Suddenly going unconscious and then waking up soon after wasn't an experience that one could just shake off in a few seconds. The brain probably needed some time to understand what the fuck it just went through. Especially since magic was involved.
In the distance, Zoey could see Alexander and Lindsay facing off against a demon together with their cute little stick wands. The demon, this time, was a fat man with a big round gut and a hairy belly button. Basically, he was a demon with a dad bod who let himself go and probably loved to drink beer in the morning, afternoon, and night. This was pretty fortunate for the president and vice president, who could move faster than the demon with their young athletic bodies. If they had to face off against the tongue demon she went against, they'd be ripped to pieces by now.
"Lightning Volume I: Ray of Lightning!" Alexander shouted as a lightning arc shot from his wand.
"Ice Volume I: Beam of Frost!" Lindsay yelled with a pretty spiral of blue energy coming out of her wand's tip that spun towards the demon.
'That's pretty damn cool, even if calling out the name of their spells is embarrassing.' Zoey had to admit.
The lightning reached the demon so fast that he couldn't even attempt to dodge it! Alexander's lightning shocked the demon all the way down to his bones, leaving him open for Lindsay's attack. Lindsay's ice spell froze the dad-like demon into an ice sculpture. The two of them looked at each other with an excited smiles before chanting the same spell together.
"Basic Volume I: Destruction!" An incredibly slow red line of energy flew towards the frozen daemon.
Zoey watched as the magic penetrated the ice and entered inside the body of the demon before the ice prison it was stuck inside exploded into pieces. Multi-colored particles rose into the sky after its destruction, and a sparkling green gem was left behind. The reactions of the two trainee magicians were very funny to see.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Alexander repeatedly raised his fist in the air at their victory.
"Looks like I haven't forgotten my lessons at all." Lindsay picked up the magji shard with her wand by using magic to levitate it.
"Our second case successfully done! We'll become real magjistars in no time!" Alexander exclaimed.
"Nice work, team. How much do you think a case like this is worth?" Zoey congratulated.
"Same as last time," Lindsay answered.
"You don't know how happy I am to hear that," Zoey told her.
Money was one of the most precious things on Earth. The number of things she could buy with this demon-hunting money was amazing. Too amazing! She still hasn't spent all the money from the money she got last time! Zoey just didn't know what in the world to spend thousands of dollars on! Don't forget she was a girl in high school! The things she could buy with all that money were just so overwhelming she couldn't decide what to use it on first!
"A new phone!" Was her first choice. And obviously, it would be the latest and most expensive phone out on the market right now.
"Am I doing it right?" He bounced on the tips of his toes and threw a sloppy punch at her punching bag.
"Your balance is off after you throw a punch. And always keep your other hand up after throwing a punch. If you throw a punch like that and miss, someone will easily be able to counter you and knock you out in one hit." Zoey informed.
"But I'm not planning to be a boxer." He told her.
"Oh yeah. My bad. A demon will be able to kill you in one hit if you punch like that." She corrected.
He liked that explanation better and threw a somewhat less lousy punch the second time around. She gave him a nod to tell him that was good enough. The two of them went like this for most of the morning, and near the end of their teaching lesson, Zoey's mom burst into the room. She didn't really burst inside, but she sure as hell didn't knock before coming in. Zoey locked eyes with her mother. She had her phone in her hand. It looked like she was trying to fish out an apology or some feeling of sadness within Zoey, but Zoey had no such feelings inside her. She wasn't sorry that her mother was ignorant and couldn't understand her.
"Here." She placed her phone on her desk and soon left after that.
It looks like she wasn't that ignorant if she knew that Zoey wasn't going to apologize or act any differently with her. She could cry, scream, or punish her again, and Zoey would act no differently. However, since her grounding was over, that meant she could level her skills more efficiently now. But this time around, Zoey has to make sure that she doesn't get demon blood all over her again before she returns home. Zoey spent most of her life adapting and improving whenever she got in trouble for something with her mother. Life is a learning experience. A learning experience in how to avoid trouble better!
Zoey called up Alexander and Lindsay to tell them she was no longer grounded. When talking to Alexander, he sounded more excited than her when she told him that she could leave the house again. Lindsay explained that this was because they found a case in the local park. They just learned of the case not too long ago, and she just so happened to get off of punishment around the same time. Both of them invited her to the park, and she had no reason to refuse.
So, she left the house with her cursed boxing gloves and some casual clothes that wouldn't hinder her if she got into a fight. Unlike the other times she got involved with daemons, Zoey didn't plan to fight this time around. It turns out, Lindsay and Alexander needed to deal with daemons if they wanted to grow as magicians. The bringer couldn't deal with the daemon for them. Zoey thought that was understandable. She did wonder how often were the bringers more effective than the magjistars in dealing with demons in the magic community.
'Probably not often at all. I should be a freak of nature.' Zoey felt a little bit of pride in a title like that.
In how many shows or stories could you see a boxer being more effective than a mage? Zero! That's how many! And this is when she hasn't even learned any magic to complement her fighting style. Zoey felt like giving off an arrogant laugh when thinking of her future potential with the Box. With the Box, she probably didn't even need magic!
"Zoey! I'm glad to see you again!" Alexander greeted her with a wave and a smile too wide for what they were about to do. Which was committing murder.
"Hello." She responded back.
"Hey, Zoey." Lindsay also greeted her.
"Hi, Lindsay." She said to her too.
In Alexander's hand was a strange purple box. The type of box you'd see used for a jack-in-a-box. It had a wind-up thing and everything too. Zoey wondered if was that some sort of magic object like that cat from Alexander's magic teacher. Lindsay had a small little wand in her hand, and the young boxer was a little bit confused. It was still daylight out. Were they going to hunt the demon in broad daylight? People were still walking through the park and past it.
"So, uh... how are we going to do this? What's the plan?" Zoey asked. She was completely lost.
"Leave everything to us this time!" Alexander happily announced.
"If anything goes wrong, we'll need you to help out, though," Lindsay added.
'Oh, so that's why I'm here. Well, being counted on for backup is 10x better than being counted on for being bait for the supernatural creature that has no issues with ripping people apart.' Zoey shrugged.
Alexander began winding up the jack in a box as Lindsay readied herself to use that little brown stick in her hand. Zoey watched Lindsay as it looked like she was going to be the attacker this time around. She put on her boxing gloves in anticipation of things going wrong somehow. It would be better if she had them on when an emergency happens rather than trying to put them on after something happens. Nothing wrong with a little caution, you know?
The little jester in the jack in the box exploded outward with a creepy clown laugh as a purple mist flowed from its mouth. The mist quickly expanded into something that formed a border around the entire park. Zoey covered her mouth and nose in confusion and panic. Around her, the people walking through or past the park suddenly fell to the ground. She didn't know if they were just sleeping, unconscious, or something else. Her eyes met Lindsay's, and somehow just with her eyes, she got the feeling that this gas wouldn't hurt her. Or she'd help her, at least. Zoey wasn't good at eye contact or trying to glean information out of people's eyes.
Once she removed her boxing glove from her mouth and nose, she immediately fell asleep. A state that she would've been stuck in if it wasn't for Lindsay waking her up by injecting a little magic into her body. After waking her up, Lindsay ran off toward Alexander. It took Zoey a bit before she could clear her head. Suddenly going unconscious and then waking up soon after wasn't an experience that one could just shake off in a few seconds. The brain probably needed some time to understand what the fuck it just went through. Especially since magic was involved.
In the distance, Zoey could see Alexander and Lindsay facing off against a demon together with their cute little stick wands. The demon, this time, was a fat man with a big round gut and a hairy belly button. Basically, he was a demon with a dad bod who let himself go and probably loved to drink beer in the morning, afternoon, and night. This was pretty fortunate for the president and vice president, who could move faster than the demon with their young athletic bodies. If they had to face off against the tongue demon she went against, they'd be ripped to pieces by now.
"Lightning Volume I: Ray of Lightning!" Alexander shouted as a lightning arc shot from his wand.
"Ice Volume I: Beam of Frost!" Lindsay yelled with a pretty spiral of blue energy coming out of her wand's tip that spun towards the demon.
'That's pretty damn cool, even if calling out the name of their spells is embarrassing.' Zoey had to admit.
The lightning reached the demon so fast that he couldn't even attempt to dodge it! Alexander's lightning shocked the demon all the way down to his bones, leaving him open for Lindsay's attack. Lindsay's ice spell froze the dad-like demon into an ice sculpture. The two of them looked at each other with an excited smiles before chanting the same spell together.
"Basic Volume I: Destruction!" An incredibly slow red line of energy flew towards the frozen daemon.
Zoey watched as the magic penetrated the ice and entered inside the body of the demon before the ice prison it was stuck inside exploded into pieces. Multi-colored particles rose into the sky after its destruction, and a sparkling green gem was left behind. The reactions of the two trainee magicians were very funny to see.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Alexander repeatedly raised his fist in the air at their victory.
"Looks like I haven't forgotten my lessons at all." Lindsay picked up the magji shard with her wand by using magic to levitate it.
"Our second case successfully done! We'll become real magjistars in no time!" Alexander exclaimed.
"Nice work, team. How much do you think a case like this is worth?" Zoey congratulated.
"Same as last time," Lindsay answered.
"You don't know how happy I am to hear that," Zoey told her.
Money was one of the most precious things on Earth. The number of things she could buy with this demon-hunting money was amazing. Too amazing! She still hasn't spent all the money from the money she got last time! Zoey just didn't know what in the world to spend thousands of dollars on! Don't forget she was a girl in high school! The things she could buy with all that money were just so overwhelming she couldn't decide what to use it on first!
"A new phone!" Was her first choice. And obviously, it would be the latest and most expensive phone out on the market right now.
Chapter 15: Oh Em Gee.
Time passed for Zoey, and things were going pretty well for her. She continued to hunt demons with Alexander and Lindsay. Her teaching lessons with her brother continued even though she didn't have that much time to teach him anymore. Zoey's own boxing lessons started back up at the gym, and seeing everyone's reaction to her coming back was pretty nice. They seemed like they all missed her! Even Coach Scott teared up seeing her again. But Zoey was pretty sure those tears were for Ben, who was taking on a new guy without even trying.
"Why is Ben going up against a beginner? With how he acts, I'd think that Coach would keep him far away from any newbies." Zoey pointed out.
"Turns out someone put him in his place on the street, and now he's been improving for the better," Steven answered.
"Who was it?" Zoey asked without showing any outward change in her emotions.
While inwardly was actually pretty excited at the thought that someone could beat Ben. Just out there on the street waiting for her to find them? Wait, no. She wasn't some kind of lunatic that went after every strong opponent she heard about. There were rules she made for herself when going out on a hunt. Only aim for gangsters, delinquents, criminals, and demons. Sometimes assholes who don't know how to act in public too.
"It turns out it was some delinquent. Ben didn't tell us anything because he's upset about losing to the guy, but we have our ways." Tony chuckled.
"Just some regular ole delinquent?" Zoey questioned.
"Nah. The kid was pretty badass. I heard that he knew taekwondo." Steven answered.
"Did you find out his name?"
"Nope. Only Ben knows that one." Tony shrugged.
"Alright, guys. Talk to you later. I got some catching up to do ever since I was grounded." Zoey told them before walking away.
"Grounded?" They both questioned before bursting out in laughter.
"I thought something serious happened!" Steven said.
"For real! Like your mom or dad got sick!" Tony shared.
"I keep forgetting you guys are still kids living with your parents and going to school and all that."
"They're so damn talented in boxing. It's easy to forget."
"I can teach you guys sometime if you want!" Zoey shouted. She couldn't let her teaching skill only be used on her brother, and Steven, and Tony were pretty cool. Sometimes they were dicks, but that's just people in general. At least, that's what she thought.
"We'll see Zoey!" They laughed at her offer.
'Assholes... I'll show you how good of a teacher I am. Just wait.' Zoey's eyes pierced into the frail figures of the newbies before going into the locker room to change.
The group of new faces joining the gym all collectively shivered once Zoey's predatory eyes met their direction. They didn't understand why they felt frightened, but if they did, shivering was the right response. Zoey was someone who willingly endangered herself on multiple occasions just to level up her skills. Say nothing of trying to prove a point while also raising her Teaching skill. She's long understood that ever since she gained the Box, she's become a little less sane. Especially after killing that daemon and not even having nightmares about it. In fact, she'd had dreams of rapidly leveling her skills to the max and conquering the world. But that was just a silly dream. Taking over the world wasn't something she was really interested in.
Zoey tried to rationalize her lunacy by arguing that she had nightmares about her near-death experience. That meant that she wasn't too far gone, as she was still scared of losing her life. Once it reached the point that she was willing to endanger herself without any fear at all to her life and the people around her. Maybe that will be the point where she needs therapy or to be stopped like some out-of-control vigilante. Could Alexander and Lindsay stop her?
'It depends. Alexander's lightning... That was too fast for me to react to. If he got that spell off before I could punch him, I could probably die or get electrocuted. It wasn't powerful enough to blow a hole in that daemon, so, it must be a shocking type of spell. I definitely need to work on my defenses.' Zoey thought to herself as she got called on by Coach Scott.
"Zoey! Get your ass up here! Let me see if you got sloppy while you were grounded." He yelled.
Letting everyone know that she still got grounded by her parents like some sort of stupid kid. Hearing everyone laugh like he told the funniest joke in the world pissed her off. She had half a mind to pound all the jerks who laughed with her boxing gloves but knew that would not help her case. At least, her case for being allowed to stay in the gym anyway.
Zoey climbed into the ring with Coach Scott. He had mitts on for her to punch while they were in the ring. Since this was to make sure her skill didn't fall while she was gone, Zoey planned to start off lightly. And if he wasn't satisfied, she'd ramp it up to casual. And if that somehow still wasn't enough, she could go hard.
Something that she's never really done in this gym ever. Unless you counted all the times she trained hard, then Zoey hasn't ever used her full strength in the gym. Seeing that Coach Scott was ready, Zoey moved in. With a nice crisp punch on the mitt, Zoey smiled at the familiar feeling. The small shock in Coach Scott's eyes was nice to see too.
"Oi! Keep your head up!" He shot a lightning-quick jab toward her face. Zoey blocked with a proper guard.
"Keep going! I didn't tell you to stop!" He urged her.
Zoey shot out with a simple 1-1-2 combo. Left jab, left jab, right straight. Before switching it up to a 1-2-2, left jab, right straight into an even stronger right straight. She accidentally used a bit more power in that she wanted to and sent Coach Scott sliding back slightly. His eyes seemed like they were smiling, but the feeling she got from the coach was anything but positive. Did he want her to ramp it up?
"Don't stop. Why the hell are you stopping?!"
Guess it was okay to go up to the casual level. Zoey's simple punches took on a different personality. Almost as if her fists were showing a hint of their true power. Coach Scott wanted to see this true power. He wanted to force it out of Zoey and see its deadly potential! His mitts controlled the flow of their training.
They slowly started to ramp up in speed, and everyone's eyes started to wander over to them. With all the noise they were making, it's no surprise that the attention was on them. Scott was trying to ooze out every slightest bit of the strength she was purposely hiding away. Zoey caught on to this instead of falling into his trap. What would he do even if she revealed how good she was? Were there places she could sign up as his fighter as a high schooler where Ben wouldn't be the better choice?
"Ah, fuck it." Zoey liked to pretend she was this smart, analytic, thinker, but deep down, she was just a meathead. It was so much easier to be a meathead.
Zoey gave Coach what he wanted. Just on the off chance that he could possibly find somewhere to place her where she could officially fight, just like Ben, Steven, Zack, and Tony. She's never had her debut fight and was always envious of the others when they talked about how they felt fighting in the ring. Shit, she was brave enough to fight and kill a demon, but she's enough of a coward that she can't even show how good she is at the sport she's starting to like? That's retarded!
Her fist shot out like miniature cannons and numbed the coach's hands when he tried to block it with the mitts. His eyes widened at this, but Zoey barely noticed anything but the mitts in his hands. Heavy punches, not fitting at all for a girl of her size, pounded into the mitts. Actually, forcing the Coach backward. He could barely keep up! He might've been out of the boxing game for a while, but that didn't mean just anyone could run him over.
Coach Scott toughened himself up and handled Zoey's offensive assault like a professional. Gritting his teeth, he continued to block and throw out punches for her to dodge. They were like a well-oiled machine in how seamlessly they were moving. Zoey wasn't even paying attention to how quickly her skills were rising because of this sudden training with Coach Scott. Her only focus was giving him what he wanted and the small chance that something fun could come out of it.
"Alright! That's enough!" He stopped their training.
"Looks like that grounding did some good for ya! You came back even better than before." He shook his hands to get some feeling back in them.
"Uh. Thanks?" Was this the first compliment she's ever gotten from him?
"I've been looking to give you something to do besides train all day in here. We all noticed how your ears perk up whenever someone talks about their match. So, I finally managed to find something nearby for you to take part in. Your first match starts next Monday." He told her.
Zoey couldn't help herself from smiling a smile way too wide. She did manage to hold in the scream she wanted to let out but the smile? That's asking for too much out of a socially awkward dork like her.
"Thank you for this chance, Coach Scott! I'll do my best!" Zoey practically screamed.
"Can't have you wasting away in this gym forever just because you're a girl. I always reward those that work hard." Scott said for everyone to hear. "I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. Your training with Zack will also have some changes. This fighting tournament I signed you up in isn't like any other tournament out there."
"It's not a boxing match?" Zoey questioned.
"Girls, don't box out here. Especially not girls at your age. This is a youth fighting tournament with all fighting styles." He smiled. Zoey's eyes brightened up at his words.
'Yes! Yes! Yes!' She inwardly squealed while wanting to rapidly stomp her feet on the mat.
"Why is Ben going up against a beginner? With how he acts, I'd think that Coach would keep him far away from any newbies." Zoey pointed out.
"Turns out someone put him in his place on the street, and now he's been improving for the better," Steven answered.
"Who was it?" Zoey asked without showing any outward change in her emotions.
While inwardly was actually pretty excited at the thought that someone could beat Ben. Just out there on the street waiting for her to find them? Wait, no. She wasn't some kind of lunatic that went after every strong opponent she heard about. There were rules she made for herself when going out on a hunt. Only aim for gangsters, delinquents, criminals, and demons. Sometimes assholes who don't know how to act in public too.
"It turns out it was some delinquent. Ben didn't tell us anything because he's upset about losing to the guy, but we have our ways." Tony chuckled.
"Just some regular ole delinquent?" Zoey questioned.
"Nah. The kid was pretty badass. I heard that he knew taekwondo." Steven answered.
"Did you find out his name?"
"Nope. Only Ben knows that one." Tony shrugged.
"Alright, guys. Talk to you later. I got some catching up to do ever since I was grounded." Zoey told them before walking away.
"Grounded?" They both questioned before bursting out in laughter.
"I thought something serious happened!" Steven said.
"For real! Like your mom or dad got sick!" Tony shared.
"I keep forgetting you guys are still kids living with your parents and going to school and all that."
"They're so damn talented in boxing. It's easy to forget."
"I can teach you guys sometime if you want!" Zoey shouted. She couldn't let her teaching skill only be used on her brother, and Steven, and Tony were pretty cool. Sometimes they were dicks, but that's just people in general. At least, that's what she thought.
"We'll see Zoey!" They laughed at her offer.
'Assholes... I'll show you how good of a teacher I am. Just wait.' Zoey's eyes pierced into the frail figures of the newbies before going into the locker room to change.
The group of new faces joining the gym all collectively shivered once Zoey's predatory eyes met their direction. They didn't understand why they felt frightened, but if they did, shivering was the right response. Zoey was someone who willingly endangered herself on multiple occasions just to level up her skills. Say nothing of trying to prove a point while also raising her Teaching skill. She's long understood that ever since she gained the Box, she's become a little less sane. Especially after killing that daemon and not even having nightmares about it. In fact, she'd had dreams of rapidly leveling her skills to the max and conquering the world. But that was just a silly dream. Taking over the world wasn't something she was really interested in.
Zoey tried to rationalize her lunacy by arguing that she had nightmares about her near-death experience. That meant that she wasn't too far gone, as she was still scared of losing her life. Once it reached the point that she was willing to endanger herself without any fear at all to her life and the people around her. Maybe that will be the point where she needs therapy or to be stopped like some out-of-control vigilante. Could Alexander and Lindsay stop her?
'It depends. Alexander's lightning... That was too fast for me to react to. If he got that spell off before I could punch him, I could probably die or get electrocuted. It wasn't powerful enough to blow a hole in that daemon, so, it must be a shocking type of spell. I definitely need to work on my defenses.' Zoey thought to herself as she got called on by Coach Scott.
"Zoey! Get your ass up here! Let me see if you got sloppy while you were grounded." He yelled.
Letting everyone know that she still got grounded by her parents like some sort of stupid kid. Hearing everyone laugh like he told the funniest joke in the world pissed her off. She had half a mind to pound all the jerks who laughed with her boxing gloves but knew that would not help her case. At least, her case for being allowed to stay in the gym anyway.
Zoey climbed into the ring with Coach Scott. He had mitts on for her to punch while they were in the ring. Since this was to make sure her skill didn't fall while she was gone, Zoey planned to start off lightly. And if he wasn't satisfied, she'd ramp it up to casual. And if that somehow still wasn't enough, she could go hard.
Something that she's never really done in this gym ever. Unless you counted all the times she trained hard, then Zoey hasn't ever used her full strength in the gym. Seeing that Coach Scott was ready, Zoey moved in. With a nice crisp punch on the mitt, Zoey smiled at the familiar feeling. The small shock in Coach Scott's eyes was nice to see too.
"Oi! Keep your head up!" He shot a lightning-quick jab toward her face. Zoey blocked with a proper guard.
"Keep going! I didn't tell you to stop!" He urged her.
Zoey shot out with a simple 1-1-2 combo. Left jab, left jab, right straight. Before switching it up to a 1-2-2, left jab, right straight into an even stronger right straight. She accidentally used a bit more power in that she wanted to and sent Coach Scott sliding back slightly. His eyes seemed like they were smiling, but the feeling she got from the coach was anything but positive. Did he want her to ramp it up?
"Don't stop. Why the hell are you stopping?!"
Guess it was okay to go up to the casual level. Zoey's simple punches took on a different personality. Almost as if her fists were showing a hint of their true power. Coach Scott wanted to see this true power. He wanted to force it out of Zoey and see its deadly potential! His mitts controlled the flow of their training.
They slowly started to ramp up in speed, and everyone's eyes started to wander over to them. With all the noise they were making, it's no surprise that the attention was on them. Scott was trying to ooze out every slightest bit of the strength she was purposely hiding away. Zoey caught on to this instead of falling into his trap. What would he do even if she revealed how good she was? Were there places she could sign up as his fighter as a high schooler where Ben wouldn't be the better choice?
"Ah, fuck it." Zoey liked to pretend she was this smart, analytic, thinker, but deep down, she was just a meathead. It was so much easier to be a meathead.
Zoey gave Coach what he wanted. Just on the off chance that he could possibly find somewhere to place her where she could officially fight, just like Ben, Steven, Zack, and Tony. She's never had her debut fight and was always envious of the others when they talked about how they felt fighting in the ring. Shit, she was brave enough to fight and kill a demon, but she's enough of a coward that she can't even show how good she is at the sport she's starting to like? That's retarded!
Her fist shot out like miniature cannons and numbed the coach's hands when he tried to block it with the mitts. His eyes widened at this, but Zoey barely noticed anything but the mitts in his hands. Heavy punches, not fitting at all for a girl of her size, pounded into the mitts. Actually, forcing the Coach backward. He could barely keep up! He might've been out of the boxing game for a while, but that didn't mean just anyone could run him over.
Coach Scott toughened himself up and handled Zoey's offensive assault like a professional. Gritting his teeth, he continued to block and throw out punches for her to dodge. They were like a well-oiled machine in how seamlessly they were moving. Zoey wasn't even paying attention to how quickly her skills were rising because of this sudden training with Coach Scott. Her only focus was giving him what he wanted and the small chance that something fun could come out of it.
"Alright! That's enough!" He stopped their training.
"Looks like that grounding did some good for ya! You came back even better than before." He shook his hands to get some feeling back in them.
"Uh. Thanks?" Was this the first compliment she's ever gotten from him?
"I've been looking to give you something to do besides train all day in here. We all noticed how your ears perk up whenever someone talks about their match. So, I finally managed to find something nearby for you to take part in. Your first match starts next Monday." He told her.
Zoey couldn't help herself from smiling a smile way too wide. She did manage to hold in the scream she wanted to let out but the smile? That's asking for too much out of a socially awkward dork like her.
"Thank you for this chance, Coach Scott! I'll do my best!" Zoey practically screamed.
"Can't have you wasting away in this gym forever just because you're a girl. I always reward those that work hard." Scott said for everyone to hear. "I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. Your training with Zack will also have some changes. This fighting tournament I signed you up in isn't like any other tournament out there."
"It's not a boxing match?" Zoey questioned.
"Girls, don't box out here. Especially not girls at your age. This is a youth fighting tournament with all fighting styles." He smiled. Zoey's eyes brightened up at his words.
'Yes! Yes! Yes!' She inwardly squealed while wanting to rapidly stomp her feet on the mat.
Chapter 16: A Strange Encounter At The Library.
"I don't know much about fighting tournaments as my focus has been on only boxing, but Coach believes I should be able to think of something for you. He told me the types of fighting styles you'll probably encounter in the tournament, and I can help you with some of them." Zack scratched his head. Somewhat sorry he couldn't be of more help.
"Is it like MMA? Where a bunch of people with different fighting styles fight in one ring?"
"Kind of, but even more exaggerated than that. I heard there's a girl that will be allowed to use kenjutsu. There's a wrestler, a street fighter, a taekwondo user, and more. This tournament is actually a little bit crazy, in my opinion." Zack shared, unaware of how excited Zoey was getting.
"Alright. I'm ready to learn what I need to." Zoey responded.
"The only thing I can teach you is how to avoid getting grabbed and hit. I have no knowledge of ground fighting. I don't know how to fight opponents with weapons. And I don't know how to handle grapplers. I'm sorry I can't help you any more than this." Zack honestly told her.
"Looks like I got my work cut out for me, huh?" She softly chuckled at Zack's uselessness. He was still hot, so she somewhat forgave him.
"Alright. Let's get to work on your defense." He placed on his gloves.
"I'm ready." She got in her boxing stance.
Zack was right about them doing nothing but working on her defense. She got some much-needed exp for her defensive skills but nothing drastic because of how inexperienced of a teacher Zack was. After training with Zack, she stayed a little bit after with Steve and Tony to coach one of the newbies that recently just joined. Alexander and Lindsay texted her earlier about catching a demon with them at the library. Zoey said she'll meet up with them around 5 or 6. She had something she wanted to prove to Steve and Tony. Those assholes thought her offer from before was something to laugh at when she offered to teach them some things.
"Hey. You're new here, right?" Zoey walked over to him.
He was a frail skinny boy who wore glasses. Neat black hair, all skin and bones on his body, and no signs of confidence anywhere. But this was just Zoey's first impression of him. She could be wrong, and he could be a gushing geyser of confidence. The wannabe boxer stopped his practice and turned around to face her.
"Keep on with your conditioning. You don't have to stop for me." She told him.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"Zoey. I'm almost a regular at this gym. If you need any help or advice, feel free to ask me. I'm open to helping anybody out if they need it." She kindly smiled, acting completely unlike her usual self.
"Can you tell me what I'm supposed to be doing?" He whispered.
Zoey was immediately confused. "What do you mean?" She tilted her head. He stopped punching the punching bag and looked at her with some embarrassment, "I paid to come to this gym and learn boxing, but no one has told me to do anything. Should I talk to someone, or am I supposed to learn as I go?" He explained. This made Zoey have to scratch her head at this one. Her step-dad didn't skimp out when he paid for her membership. Maybe her membership was deluxe or something, and that was why she got a personal mentor.
"I'll teach you." Zoey was more than happy to raise her teaching skill with this complete newbie.
"You?" He asked, shocked and almost in an offensive manner. Like she couldn't teach him because she was a girl or something. The little fucking sexist prick.
"Yeah, me. Unless you have anyone else in mind." She wanted to roll her eyes.
"Please teach me how to box." He bowed his head.
"I'll take care of you when I can. I have a match coming up on Monday, so, I have a lot of training to do in preparation for it but don't feel scared to ask me for anything. For now, I have to see what you can handle. I have a few hours before I have to meet up with some friends, so, I'll be here with you until then."
Zoey then spent the next few hours teaching the guy and learning how out-of-shape he was. She actually believed he was even worse than her when she started. But she had the Box, so, maybe that wasn't a fair comparison. Over the course of their time together, Zoey learned that his name was Dylan. Her teaching for him was the exact same as it was for her brother. Which was also the exact same way she was taught by Zack and Coach. By the end of their lesson, Zoey gained an extra level for her teaching skill.
"Bye, Dylan."
"Bye, Zoey, and thanks for everything. I mean it." A grateful cute little smile was on his nerdy face.
She left the gym and made her way to the library with her new phone. Zoey finally took the time to use the money she got from being the Bringer for Alexander and Lindsay. It was the most expensive and highly rated phone out right now, costing over a thousand bucks with a $100+ monthly payment for the phone bill. So, maybe it wasn't a great choice considering how often she gets to hunt down daemons, but how could she pass up the chance to get the best phone on the market? It was downright amazing how perfect this phone was.
Facial ID protection, absolutely perfect sound quality, flawless camera with tons of different filters, a battery that doesn't suck and won't die in 20 minutes of constant use, super-fast speed, a great size that fits in her hand without feeling too big or too small, and enough storage to store thousands of pictures and songs.
After getting this phone, Zoey has done nothing else but use it during her free time. Watching videos online, social media, video games, movies, cartoons, anime, there was basically nothing she couldn't do with her phone! It ate up all of her time, and besides her daily morning practice, she rarely did anything else. So, even with the hefty purchase of spending most of her cash from the demon case, she didn't regret it in the slightest!
'I wonder what kind of demon hides out at a library. Is it a demon that wants to suck knowledge out of people's brains or something? It'd probably be faster than reading all the books, I guess.' Zoey shrugged.
Zoey texted Alexander that she was here, and in a couple of seconds, he called her.
"Where are you?" She asked.
"Zoey! Come to the back! We need your help!" Zoey could hear several sounds coming from the background.
"Ice Volume I: Explosion of Ice!" She heard Lindsay yell.
Zoey quickly put on her cursed boxing gloves and rushed to the back. When she made it back there, she saw some hooded guy kicking Alexander across the face and Lindsay trying to freeze some chick with a wooden sword. Behind them was a green-haired glasses-wearing demon lady trying to escape out the back window. Forcing her to make a choice on whether she should save the two or chase after the heavily injured demon to finish off and trust that these two could handle themselves. But it wasn't that hard to decide.
'What the fuck is even going on?!' Zoey didn't know people hunted magicians just like they hunted daemons.
Seeing that Alexander was getting the ass kicked out of him, she decided to go help him first. Zoey dashed in at a low angle as Alexander was sent flying past her. Hoodie arrogantly smirked at her with his leg raised high. She clapped her boxing gloves together as her fist was sent soaring toward his face. His leg was surprisingly strong as it managed to hold up against the might of her fist. They were about equal in strength, from what Zoey could tell from that first clash. This shocked her greatly. It was stunning to know that someone around her age could keep up with her physically.
Maybe that 1.5 body stat didn't mean 1.5x stronger than the normal human and something else. Or this guy really was 1.5 times stronger than the average person. Zoey couldn't tell, but considering that they were fighting magicians, maybe it was magic making their bodies stronger. She didn't know anything.
"And who are you supposed to be?" He questioned. Their clash had yet to break.
"Fight. No talk." She responded like a retard. Zoey wasn't good at talking and fighting at the same time. If she slipped up and said something stupid or lame, she'd feel like dying of embarrassment. Just like she just did now. Boy, was she glad that it was hard to notice when black people blushed.
Zoey unclutched her fist and grabbed the hoodie dude's leg as she brought her other fist back to strike him directly in the face. Hoodie was forced to block with his arm and felt the horrible power that was one of Zoey's punches. Realizing that taking another one of those would nearly disable his arm for the rest of the fight, he brought his other leg up to kick her across the face. Zoey raised her glove to take the blow for her, and a loud impact sounded out as his foot made contact with her gloves. His kick sent her slightly sliding to the right. She lost her grip on his leg, allowing him to get free and gain some distance from her.
He prepared for her to come at him, but instead, she ran towards the sword user.
"Connie! Behind you!" Hoodie shouted just in time as Zoey tried to strike the sword girl in the back of her head.
She quickly turned to face Zoey and brought her wooden blade down toward her head. Zoey focused her attention entirely on the sword and was promptly punished for it with a kick to the nose.
"Ah, shit... Can't just focus on the weapon because it's scary. I have to focus on the attacker and the weapon." She muttered as she wiped the blood from her nose.
"Ice Volume!" Lindsay's voice cried out, and the swordswoman instantly responded by running away.
It looks like Lindsay had trouble hitting moving targets with her ice magic. She was fast but not too fast for Zoey. Zoey chased after the girl again and didn't repeat the mistakes she made the last time. Knowing that she had to get up close and personal, Zoey avoided and blocked any slashes that came her way while getting closer and closer to the girl.
Connie struck with all her might and speed to deal with the persistent boxer chick coming after her. She didn't know who the hell this was or why she was interrupting her fight, but she wouldn't go easy on her. Especially if she was associated with these two. But for some reason, she couldn't land a good hit on her after she kicked her. The Boxer blocked with her gloves, avoided her slashes, or deflected them by hitting the side of her sword. It was almost as if she was learning as their fight went on and understanding how to fight her!
"You're not the only one who can learn in battle!" Connie switched to a one-handed sword style and brought her blade down with terrible force.
Once Zoey swayed her head back, Connie brought her fist back and punched in a similar way to how Zoey threw her punches. Connie saw Zoey's pupils dilate as if it was a cat that was about to pounce on its prey. She instantly understood that throwing that punch was a mistake and knew that whatever was coming was going to hurt badly.
"Cory! Help!" She shouted as Zoey grabbed her wrist before her fist could connect with her face.
Zoey's other fist was already primed and ready to fire like a shotgun. Connie's perception of the world was seemingly slowing down as that dangerous shell in the form of a boxing glove was coming toward her face in slow motion. It seemed that her fate was all but determined when she fell into the pace of the Boxer. She should've kept to her roots and stayed true to the swordsmanship she was taught since she was young. This would be a good lesson for her to remember after she wakes up.
"Already on it!" The world began moving at normal speed again for Connie.
Zoey's punch was stopped by Hoodie's long-ass leg, which took the brunt of her punch for the Sword Girl. He fiercely bit his lip to stop himself from shouting, then grabbed the confused Sword Girl and leaped away with his one good leg. He turned and looked at her with a scary look in his eyes.
"Whoever you are, gully, you will regret butting your nose in where it didn't belong." They took the same exit the demon from earlier took, leaving Zoey alone with the injured Alexander and Lindsay. Zoey made sure to remember his face for calling her a gully. A word she was 99% sure was a slur for humans by magicians.
"Do you two need to go to the hospital?" She asked.
"I'll be fine with a few bandages and band-aids, but thanks for asking, and thank you for helping us out there." Alexander smiled.
"You saved us..." Lindsay muttered.
"Did you think I wouldn't?" Zoey narrowed her eyes at her.
"Sorry. That's not what I meant. I just didn't think you were this powerful..."
"Yeah! For a normal human, you're really strong! I don't understand it at all, but dang, am I happy that you are! Those two were trainee magjistar just like us, but they wanted to steal the daemon we worked hard to weaken. If it weren't for you, they probably would've hospitalized us and exterminated the daemon for themselves." Alexander exclaimed.
"And that's fine at the wizard guild or whatever?" Zoey asked.
"Kind of. There's no real proof that they attacked us, and if we accuse them of attacking us and trying to steal our target without any evidence, we'll be the ones punished for wasting the higher-ups' time." He explained.
"Okay," Zoey responded. 'Sounds kind of fucking stupid and retarded, in my opinion, but what do I know about running a secret magical organization?' She shrugged.
"I guess I'll head home then." There wasn't any demon here for her to exterminate anymore.
"See you at school, Monday!" Alexander waved goodbye with his bloody nose.
"Thanks again for the help, Zoey," Lindsay said.
"No problem. Wait for me next time." Fighting those two helped her a little bit in preparation for the tournament.
"Is it like MMA? Where a bunch of people with different fighting styles fight in one ring?"
"Kind of, but even more exaggerated than that. I heard there's a girl that will be allowed to use kenjutsu. There's a wrestler, a street fighter, a taekwondo user, and more. This tournament is actually a little bit crazy, in my opinion." Zack shared, unaware of how excited Zoey was getting.
"Alright. I'm ready to learn what I need to." Zoey responded.
"The only thing I can teach you is how to avoid getting grabbed and hit. I have no knowledge of ground fighting. I don't know how to fight opponents with weapons. And I don't know how to handle grapplers. I'm sorry I can't help you any more than this." Zack honestly told her.
"Looks like I got my work cut out for me, huh?" She softly chuckled at Zack's uselessness. He was still hot, so she somewhat forgave him.
"Alright. Let's get to work on your defense." He placed on his gloves.
"I'm ready." She got in her boxing stance.
Zack was right about them doing nothing but working on her defense. She got some much-needed exp for her defensive skills but nothing drastic because of how inexperienced of a teacher Zack was. After training with Zack, she stayed a little bit after with Steve and Tony to coach one of the newbies that recently just joined. Alexander and Lindsay texted her earlier about catching a demon with them at the library. Zoey said she'll meet up with them around 5 or 6. She had something she wanted to prove to Steve and Tony. Those assholes thought her offer from before was something to laugh at when she offered to teach them some things.
"Hey. You're new here, right?" Zoey walked over to him.
He was a frail skinny boy who wore glasses. Neat black hair, all skin and bones on his body, and no signs of confidence anywhere. But this was just Zoey's first impression of him. She could be wrong, and he could be a gushing geyser of confidence. The wannabe boxer stopped his practice and turned around to face her.
"Keep on with your conditioning. You don't have to stop for me." She told him.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"Zoey. I'm almost a regular at this gym. If you need any help or advice, feel free to ask me. I'm open to helping anybody out if they need it." She kindly smiled, acting completely unlike her usual self.
"Can you tell me what I'm supposed to be doing?" He whispered.
Zoey was immediately confused. "What do you mean?" She tilted her head. He stopped punching the punching bag and looked at her with some embarrassment, "I paid to come to this gym and learn boxing, but no one has told me to do anything. Should I talk to someone, or am I supposed to learn as I go?" He explained. This made Zoey have to scratch her head at this one. Her step-dad didn't skimp out when he paid for her membership. Maybe her membership was deluxe or something, and that was why she got a personal mentor.
"I'll teach you." Zoey was more than happy to raise her teaching skill with this complete newbie.
"You?" He asked, shocked and almost in an offensive manner. Like she couldn't teach him because she was a girl or something. The little fucking sexist prick.
"Yeah, me. Unless you have anyone else in mind." She wanted to roll her eyes.
"Please teach me how to box." He bowed his head.
"I'll take care of you when I can. I have a match coming up on Monday, so, I have a lot of training to do in preparation for it but don't feel scared to ask me for anything. For now, I have to see what you can handle. I have a few hours before I have to meet up with some friends, so, I'll be here with you until then."
Zoey then spent the next few hours teaching the guy and learning how out-of-shape he was. She actually believed he was even worse than her when she started. But she had the Box, so, maybe that wasn't a fair comparison. Over the course of their time together, Zoey learned that his name was Dylan. Her teaching for him was the exact same as it was for her brother. Which was also the exact same way she was taught by Zack and Coach. By the end of their lesson, Zoey gained an extra level for her teaching skill.
[Status]
[Name: Zoey]
[Sex: Female]
[Body: 1.5]
[Mental: 0.8]
[Magic: 0.2]
[Skills: 8]
[Skills]
[Punching Lv15]
[Footwork Lv10]
[Slipping Lv6]
[Blocking Lv5]
[Parry Lv6]
[Focus Lv3]
[Counter Lv5]
[Teaching Lv5]
[Name: Zoey]
[Sex: Female]
[Body: 1.5]
[Mental: 0.8]
[Magic: 0.2]
[Skills: 8]
[Skills]
[Punching Lv15]
[Footwork Lv10]
[Slipping Lv6]
[Blocking Lv5]
[Parry Lv6]
[Focus Lv3]
[Counter Lv5]
[Teaching Lv5]
"Bye, Dylan."
"Bye, Zoey, and thanks for everything. I mean it." A grateful cute little smile was on his nerdy face.
She left the gym and made her way to the library with her new phone. Zoey finally took the time to use the money she got from being the Bringer for Alexander and Lindsay. It was the most expensive and highly rated phone out right now, costing over a thousand bucks with a $100+ monthly payment for the phone bill. So, maybe it wasn't a great choice considering how often she gets to hunt down daemons, but how could she pass up the chance to get the best phone on the market? It was downright amazing how perfect this phone was.
Facial ID protection, absolutely perfect sound quality, flawless camera with tons of different filters, a battery that doesn't suck and won't die in 20 minutes of constant use, super-fast speed, a great size that fits in her hand without feeling too big or too small, and enough storage to store thousands of pictures and songs.
After getting this phone, Zoey has done nothing else but use it during her free time. Watching videos online, social media, video games, movies, cartoons, anime, there was basically nothing she couldn't do with her phone! It ate up all of her time, and besides her daily morning practice, she rarely did anything else. So, even with the hefty purchase of spending most of her cash from the demon case, she didn't regret it in the slightest!
'I wonder what kind of demon hides out at a library. Is it a demon that wants to suck knowledge out of people's brains or something? It'd probably be faster than reading all the books, I guess.' Zoey shrugged.
Zoey texted Alexander that she was here, and in a couple of seconds, he called her.
"Where are you?" She asked.
"Zoey! Come to the back! We need your help!" Zoey could hear several sounds coming from the background.
"Ice Volume I: Explosion of Ice!" She heard Lindsay yell.
Zoey quickly put on her cursed boxing gloves and rushed to the back. When she made it back there, she saw some hooded guy kicking Alexander across the face and Lindsay trying to freeze some chick with a wooden sword. Behind them was a green-haired glasses-wearing demon lady trying to escape out the back window. Forcing her to make a choice on whether she should save the two or chase after the heavily injured demon to finish off and trust that these two could handle themselves. But it wasn't that hard to decide.
'What the fuck is even going on?!' Zoey didn't know people hunted magicians just like they hunted daemons.
Seeing that Alexander was getting the ass kicked out of him, she decided to go help him first. Zoey dashed in at a low angle as Alexander was sent flying past her. Hoodie arrogantly smirked at her with his leg raised high. She clapped her boxing gloves together as her fist was sent soaring toward his face. His leg was surprisingly strong as it managed to hold up against the might of her fist. They were about equal in strength, from what Zoey could tell from that first clash. This shocked her greatly. It was stunning to know that someone around her age could keep up with her physically.
Maybe that 1.5 body stat didn't mean 1.5x stronger than the normal human and something else. Or this guy really was 1.5 times stronger than the average person. Zoey couldn't tell, but considering that they were fighting magicians, maybe it was magic making their bodies stronger. She didn't know anything.
"And who are you supposed to be?" He questioned. Their clash had yet to break.
"Fight. No talk." She responded like a retard. Zoey wasn't good at talking and fighting at the same time. If she slipped up and said something stupid or lame, she'd feel like dying of embarrassment. Just like she just did now. Boy, was she glad that it was hard to notice when black people blushed.
Zoey unclutched her fist and grabbed the hoodie dude's leg as she brought her other fist back to strike him directly in the face. Hoodie was forced to block with his arm and felt the horrible power that was one of Zoey's punches. Realizing that taking another one of those would nearly disable his arm for the rest of the fight, he brought his other leg up to kick her across the face. Zoey raised her glove to take the blow for her, and a loud impact sounded out as his foot made contact with her gloves. His kick sent her slightly sliding to the right. She lost her grip on his leg, allowing him to get free and gain some distance from her.
He prepared for her to come at him, but instead, she ran towards the sword user.
"Connie! Behind you!" Hoodie shouted just in time as Zoey tried to strike the sword girl in the back of her head.
She quickly turned to face Zoey and brought her wooden blade down toward her head. Zoey focused her attention entirely on the sword and was promptly punished for it with a kick to the nose.
"Ah, shit... Can't just focus on the weapon because it's scary. I have to focus on the attacker and the weapon." She muttered as she wiped the blood from her nose.
"Ice Volume!" Lindsay's voice cried out, and the swordswoman instantly responded by running away.
It looks like Lindsay had trouble hitting moving targets with her ice magic. She was fast but not too fast for Zoey. Zoey chased after the girl again and didn't repeat the mistakes she made the last time. Knowing that she had to get up close and personal, Zoey avoided and blocked any slashes that came her way while getting closer and closer to the girl.
Connie struck with all her might and speed to deal with the persistent boxer chick coming after her. She didn't know who the hell this was or why she was interrupting her fight, but she wouldn't go easy on her. Especially if she was associated with these two. But for some reason, she couldn't land a good hit on her after she kicked her. The Boxer blocked with her gloves, avoided her slashes, or deflected them by hitting the side of her sword. It was almost as if she was learning as their fight went on and understanding how to fight her!
"You're not the only one who can learn in battle!" Connie switched to a one-handed sword style and brought her blade down with terrible force.
Once Zoey swayed her head back, Connie brought her fist back and punched in a similar way to how Zoey threw her punches. Connie saw Zoey's pupils dilate as if it was a cat that was about to pounce on its prey. She instantly understood that throwing that punch was a mistake and knew that whatever was coming was going to hurt badly.
"Cory! Help!" She shouted as Zoey grabbed her wrist before her fist could connect with her face.
Zoey's other fist was already primed and ready to fire like a shotgun. Connie's perception of the world was seemingly slowing down as that dangerous shell in the form of a boxing glove was coming toward her face in slow motion. It seemed that her fate was all but determined when she fell into the pace of the Boxer. She should've kept to her roots and stayed true to the swordsmanship she was taught since she was young. This would be a good lesson for her to remember after she wakes up.
"Already on it!" The world began moving at normal speed again for Connie.
Zoey's punch was stopped by Hoodie's long-ass leg, which took the brunt of her punch for the Sword Girl. He fiercely bit his lip to stop himself from shouting, then grabbed the confused Sword Girl and leaped away with his one good leg. He turned and looked at her with a scary look in his eyes.
"Whoever you are, gully, you will regret butting your nose in where it didn't belong." They took the same exit the demon from earlier took, leaving Zoey alone with the injured Alexander and Lindsay. Zoey made sure to remember his face for calling her a gully. A word she was 99% sure was a slur for humans by magicians.
"Do you two need to go to the hospital?" She asked.
"I'll be fine with a few bandages and band-aids, but thanks for asking, and thank you for helping us out there." Alexander smiled.
"You saved us..." Lindsay muttered.
"Did you think I wouldn't?" Zoey narrowed her eyes at her.
"Sorry. That's not what I meant. I just didn't think you were this powerful..."
"Yeah! For a normal human, you're really strong! I don't understand it at all, but dang, am I happy that you are! Those two were trainee magjistar just like us, but they wanted to steal the daemon we worked hard to weaken. If it weren't for you, they probably would've hospitalized us and exterminated the daemon for themselves." Alexander exclaimed.
"And that's fine at the wizard guild or whatever?" Zoey asked.
"Kind of. There's no real proof that they attacked us, and if we accuse them of attacking us and trying to steal our target without any evidence, we'll be the ones punished for wasting the higher-ups' time." He explained.
"Okay," Zoey responded. 'Sounds kind of fucking stupid and retarded, in my opinion, but what do I know about running a secret magical organization?' She shrugged.
"I guess I'll head home then." There wasn't any demon here for her to exterminate anymore.
"See you at school, Monday!" Alexander waved goodbye with his bloody nose.
"Thanks again for the help, Zoey," Lindsay said.
"No problem. Wait for me next time." Fighting those two helped her a little bit in preparation for the tournament.
Chapter 17: Thrilled For The Future.
"Vio... team up with me.." An injured female figure pleaded.
"I should help put you out of your misery. Give me a good reason not to feast on your magji shard to make myself stronger." The male's tongue flicked out of his mouth, revealing that it was forked and long.
"If you haven't forgotten, I'm a Poison Daemon! I will make sure with my dying breath to poison you with everything I have left. And we both know that no one will be willing to save a daemon on the verge of death." She glared at him.
"But why should I team up with you? Grouping is for those weak magjistars. As a daemon, you should have more pride!"
"Are you stupid? When has pride ever helped a daemon? Maybe it's because the humans group up and work together that they have the advantage over us! Have you ever thought about that?! It's because of how they cooperate that we are the ones forced into hiding while they freely walk amongst the humans!"
This caused the male daemon to momentarily reconsider his previous beliefs.
"What benefits will there be if I teamed up with you?" He got straight to the point.
"Hunting humans will be easier, defending ourselves from magjistars will be a piece of cake, and becoming stronger will be no problem the longer we live! We won't betray each other for the smallest benefits or fight for food. There are millions of humans! There is no reason why we can't share half of that million together. Don't let greed blind us, and we can flip our standing around! Magjistars will be the ones hiding from us, and we will walk around with the humans." Her voice radiated with magji.
"I'll join you, but I won't be bossed around by a pathetic daemon like yourself."
"Whatever. Who cares about who is on top or not? Do you think the magjistars that hunt us down argue and fight over who is in charge? Quit being so simple-minded, you fool! But thank you for hearing me out." She grabbed his shoulder for stability.
"I'm only doing this because of how great you made it sound. If I find out that you spoke nothing but lies, I will leave immediately."
"That's fine. Leaving is perfectly acceptable if us grouping up together doesn't work out in both of our favor." Poison told him.
"Follow me. I've been using this place to hide from magjistars. With all that blood your leaking, you'll lead someone straight here." He brought her inside the bar he stole from a human.
"Thanks, Vio." She slowly walked inside, clutching her wounds.
"I don't feel comfortable teaming up on a single girl." One of the gangsters said as they surrounded her.
"No one is making you do anything, pussy. Go back and tell Miles that you didn't want to rough up a girl." The other sneered.
"You know Miles has gone crazy. He's been spending money left and right to get this girl in his hands. He'd break my shins or some shit if I told him something like that." Zoey did not know this.
Miles had delinquents searching all over for her. If he would've told her, she would've happily revealed herself. This way, Zoey could say that she wasn't crazy for fighting all these guys. These guys were crazy to fight with her. Right? It kind of makes sense.
"Then get the girl, and don't get fucked up." They closed in on her together.
Two in the front and two in the back. Maybe choosing this dark alleyway in the middle of the day wasn't the smartest choice. Thankfully none of them seemed to be holding any weapons. That made things a bit easier. Zoey decided not to make the first move this time. She had some training to do in preparation for the fight or fights on Monday. Which was pure evasion! Evading every fucking thing she could until she could land a good blow and finish the fight.
Zoey wanted to do the complete opposite and go full offense, but this was her first real official fight! If she fucked up by giving in to her desires and lost somehow, she'd never forgive herself. She didn't even want to think of how Coach would react or how the others at the gym would. All that training just for her to lose in her first real fight. She'd want to kill herself.
Zoey dashed forward toward the closest delinquent in front of her. He readied himself to grab her, thinking that she was attempting to escape. Seeing that he left his stomach and face so unguarded, Zoey couldn't help but make a small mistake and accidentally knock him off his feet with an uppercut. The sound of his body falling to the ground unconscious was enough to place some reasonable fear into the other 3. They were probably thinking that this chick wasn't wanted for no reason.
"Sorry. That was an accident." She apologized, hoping that they would go back into aggro mode and attack her.
But nope, these were real humans and not video game mobs. They grabbed objects in the alleyway and grouped up together. One held a pipe, one picked up an abandoned bicycle, and the last one grabbed a cinderblock. Making this fight a bit more annoying but a lot more exciting. In fact, one of the thugs thought it was confusing why she wasn't running away even though her back was to the exit in the alleyway, and there was no one blocking her way out.
'Alright, you fuckers! Come get some!' Zoey gestured her boxing glove at them, beckoning them to come over.
"Fucking psycho Boxer Chick..." Pipe Dude took the first step forward.
He swung the pipe like a baseball bat, aiming for Zoey's body like she was a pinata. Zoey leaned her body back just enough for it to swipe the air in front of her, she considered slugging him across the jaw for his miss, but Bicycle Dude came in just in time. A bicycle was thrown at her from the side, forcing her to hop to the side unless she wanted to get hit. The bicycle crashed against the wall next to her as Pipe Dude and Cinderblock Dude attacked her at the same time.
Zoey had the option to flee right behind her but she decided to take these two head-on. She slipped forward by ducking her head low and bringing her arms below their vision. The pipe went sailing over her head while the cinderblock never left Cinderblock Dude's hand. Zoey's gloves covered their faces as she grabbed their heads and brought them down headfirst into the pavement. To make sure that they were down, she gave them an extra punch to the face.
"You're a goddamn freak..." The last standing delinquent said to her. "Just leave already. We aren't strong enough to take someone like you down." He dropped his hands.
"Hmm..." This was disappointing. Zoey wanted a bit more exp for her skills, but if he wanted to give up, she couldn't stop him.
She shrugged and walked out of the alleyway. Before those guys came over to start trouble with her, Zoey was on her way to try out for track. Hopefully, she still had time to try out. This would probably be her last chance to make friends in her junior year. Zoey started jogging her way to the school's track in the back after putting her boxing gloves in her bag.
Once she arrived, she noticed plenty of other girls hanging around on the track field, on the stands, or near the coaches. Zoey made her way over to the group by the coaches and, like a ghost, included herself in the group.
"For those wanting to try out for running, you'll stay here with me. For girls interested in jumping, head over to Coach Smith. And those that aren't interested in running or jumping but throwing, you will be with Coach Todd." She explained.
Zoey felt like running would help out her more in a fight. Jumping and throwing weren't things she often did in a fight. The only things she threw were her fists! So, she stayed with this lady coach along with a majority of the other girls. Few split off to throwing, while a good amount went to jumping.
"Looks like we have a lot of runners this season. I hope you all aren't trying out for the same positions, or this'll be pretty awkward." She laughed.
Some girls laughed along with her but not Zoey. She planned on being a 100m sprinter. It fit perfectly with her fighting style. Getting to her opponent as fast as possible and punching them into pieces. It looked like the 100m runners were the most contested spot among those trying out today.
"Alright, girls. Since there are so many of you, we're going to have to see what you girls got. But don't panic if the 100m isn't for you. We have plenty of more positions you girls can try out for. If you feel particularly confident, you can participate in more than one event." She smiled.
Zoey lined up behind the other girls waiting for her chance to sprint the 100m on the track. Nine girls lined up side by side to start running. She was one of the last to line up so, she had plenty of time to see exactly what she was supposed to do in a sprint besides just run. The girls getting ready to sprint seemed to know exactly what to do because they all had the same starting motions before it began. That was something that Zoey was going to need to learn when she joined the team. With the Box, Zoey doubted that any of the other girls stood a chance against her. Right now, she was stronger than some guys in strength alone. And most of those guys were fighters or worked out regularly.
"Alright. Next nine, move your tushies on up!" It was Zoey's turn to go.
"I should help put you out of your misery. Give me a good reason not to feast on your magji shard to make myself stronger." The male's tongue flicked out of his mouth, revealing that it was forked and long.
"If you haven't forgotten, I'm a Poison Daemon! I will make sure with my dying breath to poison you with everything I have left. And we both know that no one will be willing to save a daemon on the verge of death." She glared at him.
"But why should I team up with you? Grouping is for those weak magjistars. As a daemon, you should have more pride!"
"Are you stupid? When has pride ever helped a daemon? Maybe it's because the humans group up and work together that they have the advantage over us! Have you ever thought about that?! It's because of how they cooperate that we are the ones forced into hiding while they freely walk amongst the humans!"
This caused the male daemon to momentarily reconsider his previous beliefs.
"What benefits will there be if I teamed up with you?" He got straight to the point.
"Hunting humans will be easier, defending ourselves from magjistars will be a piece of cake, and becoming stronger will be no problem the longer we live! We won't betray each other for the smallest benefits or fight for food. There are millions of humans! There is no reason why we can't share half of that million together. Don't let greed blind us, and we can flip our standing around! Magjistars will be the ones hiding from us, and we will walk around with the humans." Her voice radiated with magji.
"I'll join you, but I won't be bossed around by a pathetic daemon like yourself."
"Whatever. Who cares about who is on top or not? Do you think the magjistars that hunt us down argue and fight over who is in charge? Quit being so simple-minded, you fool! But thank you for hearing me out." She grabbed his shoulder for stability.
"I'm only doing this because of how great you made it sound. If I find out that you spoke nothing but lies, I will leave immediately."
"That's fine. Leaving is perfectly acceptable if us grouping up together doesn't work out in both of our favor." Poison told him.
"Follow me. I've been using this place to hide from magjistars. With all that blood your leaking, you'll lead someone straight here." He brought her inside the bar he stole from a human.
"Thanks, Vio." She slowly walked inside, clutching her wounds.
"I don't feel comfortable teaming up on a single girl." One of the gangsters said as they surrounded her.
"No one is making you do anything, pussy. Go back and tell Miles that you didn't want to rough up a girl." The other sneered.
"You know Miles has gone crazy. He's been spending money left and right to get this girl in his hands. He'd break my shins or some shit if I told him something like that." Zoey did not know this.
Miles had delinquents searching all over for her. If he would've told her, she would've happily revealed herself. This way, Zoey could say that she wasn't crazy for fighting all these guys. These guys were crazy to fight with her. Right? It kind of makes sense.
"Then get the girl, and don't get fucked up." They closed in on her together.
Two in the front and two in the back. Maybe choosing this dark alleyway in the middle of the day wasn't the smartest choice. Thankfully none of them seemed to be holding any weapons. That made things a bit easier. Zoey decided not to make the first move this time. She had some training to do in preparation for the fight or fights on Monday. Which was pure evasion! Evading every fucking thing she could until she could land a good blow and finish the fight.
Zoey wanted to do the complete opposite and go full offense, but this was her first real official fight! If she fucked up by giving in to her desires and lost somehow, she'd never forgive herself. She didn't even want to think of how Coach would react or how the others at the gym would. All that training just for her to lose in her first real fight. She'd want to kill herself.
Zoey dashed forward toward the closest delinquent in front of her. He readied himself to grab her, thinking that she was attempting to escape. Seeing that he left his stomach and face so unguarded, Zoey couldn't help but make a small mistake and accidentally knock him off his feet with an uppercut. The sound of his body falling to the ground unconscious was enough to place some reasonable fear into the other 3. They were probably thinking that this chick wasn't wanted for no reason.
"Sorry. That was an accident." She apologized, hoping that they would go back into aggro mode and attack her.
But nope, these were real humans and not video game mobs. They grabbed objects in the alleyway and grouped up together. One held a pipe, one picked up an abandoned bicycle, and the last one grabbed a cinderblock. Making this fight a bit more annoying but a lot more exciting. In fact, one of the thugs thought it was confusing why she wasn't running away even though her back was to the exit in the alleyway, and there was no one blocking her way out.
'Alright, you fuckers! Come get some!' Zoey gestured her boxing glove at them, beckoning them to come over.
"Fucking psycho Boxer Chick..." Pipe Dude took the first step forward.
He swung the pipe like a baseball bat, aiming for Zoey's body like she was a pinata. Zoey leaned her body back just enough for it to swipe the air in front of her, she considered slugging him across the jaw for his miss, but Bicycle Dude came in just in time. A bicycle was thrown at her from the side, forcing her to hop to the side unless she wanted to get hit. The bicycle crashed against the wall next to her as Pipe Dude and Cinderblock Dude attacked her at the same time.
Zoey had the option to flee right behind her but she decided to take these two head-on. She slipped forward by ducking her head low and bringing her arms below their vision. The pipe went sailing over her head while the cinderblock never left Cinderblock Dude's hand. Zoey's gloves covered their faces as she grabbed their heads and brought them down headfirst into the pavement. To make sure that they were down, she gave them an extra punch to the face.
"You're a goddamn freak..." The last standing delinquent said to her. "Just leave already. We aren't strong enough to take someone like you down." He dropped his hands.
"Hmm..." This was disappointing. Zoey wanted a bit more exp for her skills, but if he wanted to give up, she couldn't stop him.
She shrugged and walked out of the alleyway. Before those guys came over to start trouble with her, Zoey was on her way to try out for track. Hopefully, she still had time to try out. This would probably be her last chance to make friends in her junior year. Zoey started jogging her way to the school's track in the back after putting her boxing gloves in her bag.
Once she arrived, she noticed plenty of other girls hanging around on the track field, on the stands, or near the coaches. Zoey made her way over to the group by the coaches and, like a ghost, included herself in the group.
"For those wanting to try out for running, you'll stay here with me. For girls interested in jumping, head over to Coach Smith. And those that aren't interested in running or jumping but throwing, you will be with Coach Todd." She explained.
Zoey felt like running would help out her more in a fight. Jumping and throwing weren't things she often did in a fight. The only things she threw were her fists! So, she stayed with this lady coach along with a majority of the other girls. Few split off to throwing, while a good amount went to jumping.
"Looks like we have a lot of runners this season. I hope you all aren't trying out for the same positions, or this'll be pretty awkward." She laughed.
Some girls laughed along with her but not Zoey. She planned on being a 100m sprinter. It fit perfectly with her fighting style. Getting to her opponent as fast as possible and punching them into pieces. It looked like the 100m runners were the most contested spot among those trying out today.
"Alright, girls. Since there are so many of you, we're going to have to see what you girls got. But don't panic if the 100m isn't for you. We have plenty of more positions you girls can try out for. If you feel particularly confident, you can participate in more than one event." She smiled.
Zoey lined up behind the other girls waiting for her chance to sprint the 100m on the track. Nine girls lined up side by side to start running. She was one of the last to line up so, she had plenty of time to see exactly what she was supposed to do in a sprint besides just run. The girls getting ready to sprint seemed to know exactly what to do because they all had the same starting motions before it began. That was something that Zoey was going to need to learn when she joined the team. With the Box, Zoey doubted that any of the other girls stood a chance against her. Right now, she was stronger than some guys in strength alone. And most of those guys were fighters or worked out regularly.
"Alright. Next nine, move your tushies on up!" It was Zoey's turn to go.
Chapter 18: Track Tryouts!
Zoey got down into the starter position like the others and readied herself to take off at the sound of the starter gun. She didn't recognize any of the other girls at tryouts, so, she had nothing to focus on but herself. The gun went off, and Zoey was actually a bit startled by the sound of it and started off way slower than the other girls. In no time, she shot out like a bullet and quickly overtook the other girls. Once she realized just how fast she was going, she intentionally tripped and lost her lead before finishing in third.
"Are you okay?" A girl with her hair wrapped up in a ponytail asked after the run. She got first place.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." There were no scrapes or bruises on her legs.
"I'm sure you would've got first if you didn't trip." She got second and passed her after she tripped.
"Maybe." Zoey didn't want to look cocky even though she knew she would've smoked all these girls.
Zoey didn't know exactly how fast she was because she never ran long distances before. It was like in that one superhero movie where the kid with super speed joined the track team and could easily pass the other kids with his power but chose not to so that he could fit in with the rest of the kids. Well, it was similar to that. This was for her to gain friends mostly, but she could also get a scholarship for track and field if she did well enough on the team. Thinking about college was something that was never too early. Especially since she would be the first one in her family to go to college if she did.
Since her mother got pregnant young, she never went. Zoey had no idea where her birth father was or what he was doing. And with their financial situation, it would probably be a burden to send her to a good college. They were a lower-middle-class family, so, it would be for the best for everyone if she did get a scholarship for college. But this is where things became a pain in the ass.
Should she continue to do only well enough to stay on the team to try and make friends or completely blow her peers out of the water with her 1.5 Body stat to guarantee a scholarship?
'Well, I'm still only a junior. I can worry about scholarships in my Senior year and focus on making friends this year.' Zoey decided.
"Great run out there, girls. You all had some good times. If anyone wants to try out other events, please follow me. For those who only wanted to try out for the 100m, stick around on the benches, and I'll tell you if you made the team or not at the end of tryouts today." Coach Lady explained.
Zoey made her way to the bench and immediately got to playing on her phone instead of socializing with the other 100m run runners. It wasn't in her nature to be social and talk to others first. She usually lets other people talk to her first and then socialize with them. That was probably one of the reasons why she had no friends now, but she still had time to change! Being a socially awkward freak was just a phase and definitely not something that would follow her into her adulthood.
"Hey. I didn't catch your name." Ponytail tapped her shoulder.
"I'm Zoey." She took her earbuds out.
"I'm Callie. I have never seen you before. Is it your first time trying out for track?" She was so bright, sociable, and pretty. It was almost blinding to Zoey's eyes.
"Was it that obvious?" Zoey asked.
"Well, I've been running since I was in elementary school. So, it's easier for me to tell than other people." She admitted.
"Oh." Zoey didn't know how to respond to that.
"I was surprised by how fast you were going. I was so sure that you were going to get first place. Are you sure you haven't done any track before?"
"Unless you count doing the mile in P.E, then none at all."
"You definitely got talent for running, then. I can't wait to run with you on the team! We're gonna blow the other teams out of the water this season!"
"Yay...?" Zoey couldn't handle the positivity and brightness coming from this girl.
"Oh, and my best friend Katlyn is also on the team with us. She was the girl that got second place. She's more of an endurance runner than a sprinter, but she can do both really well. Well, she can really do any of the events well, but she mostly does the 400, 800, and relay. I'm only good at running fast." Callie shared.
"Have you both been running since elementary?"
"Yep. That's actually where we first met. We were total enemies back then, and both fought for the title of track star for our school. Both of us had to share the title eventually, but at that point, we didn't care who was better than the other. We just both really loved track and strived to do our absolute best at it."
"Sounds like a movie." Zoey couldn't believe such friendships could actually form in real life.
"I know, right?!" Callie beamed. "It's like we were meant to be besties."
"Sounds great."
"But enough about me. Why did you decide to try out for the team?"
It was super embarrassing admitting this to someone like this but what the hell? She came here to make friends in the first place. "I wanted to make some friends." Zoey honestly shared. The tearful look in Callie's eyes almost made her think she was pitying her, but her next few words fixed that misunderstanding instantly.
"That is the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life..." She wiped away the tears about to form around her eyes. "I'll be your first track friend Zoey! And I promise to make everyone else that makes the team friends with you too!"
"That's a lot of people... Can we start small first?" There were more than a dozen people here. How could she handle being friends with that many people at once?
"Nope! Every single one of them is going to become your friend." Callie decided then and there.
"Uhh..." Zoey was frightened for her future on this team.
"Yep. So, get ready to talk with all these people just like how you're talking to me." Callie smiled.
"I'm terrified." Zoey wasn't scared to admit that. Callie only giggled at that.
She thought it was cute and funny that Zoey was scared to make friends. When it was a perfectly reasonable thing to be afraid of! Friends aren't just things you have. Your bonds will be things that you have to constantly take care of, or they'll break! If you leave them alone for too long, they can wither away! And with all of these people, she'll have to juggle bond after bond to make sure that none of them get broken by her.
"There's nothing scary about making friends, Zoey. You're literally the only person in the world who would think that." She laughed.
"I disagree." She's been on the internet more than enough times and has read plenty of comments from other real human beings about their social anxieties.
"By the time track season ends, you'll think back to this moment and laugh at how silly you were being," Callie promised.
"I'll have to get accepted on the team first." Zoey pointed out.
"You don't have to worry about that. I already know that you're going to be on it." Callie puffed out her chest with confidence.
"How?"
"Didn't you see how fast you took off out there?! The coach would have to be blind not to bring you on the team! You were awesome before you tripped."
"I agree. You're definitely going to be on the team." Second place came over and added as she wiped the sweat off her face with a towel.
"Katlyn! Meet our new friend Zoey! We're now her first two track friends." Callie excitedly declared.
"Is she bothering you, Zoey? I can't zip up her mouth, but I can kick her somewhere else if you want to be alone." Katlyn offered.
"No. She's being nice."
"Don't assume I'm bothering people! I'm super nice and friendly to everyone."
"Not everyone likes super nice and friendly. Sometimes it's just annoying."
"How can that be?"
"Not everyone wants to socialize all the time. Even I need a break from you every once in a while."
"Is that why you sometimes stop texting me back at a certain time after school?"
"Yes. You just don't know when to shut your pretty little mouth sometimes." Katlyn pinched Callie's mouth shut as it formed into a cute pout.
"Hmph! I'm sorry I just want to talk with my bestie and get to know people." She crossed her arms.
"Don't get upset just because I was being honest with you. You just got to learn to moderate yourself."
"I'll think about it as long as you promise to watch that movie with me later on tonight."
"Fine." Katlyn rolled her eyes. "Do you want to watch it with us, Zoey?" She offered.
"Uh. Sure. What time and what movie?" Zoey was blindsided by the offer from out of nowhere. Her mouth moved before her brain did.
"We're not going to a real movie theatre but like watching it on Zeeflix while on the phone together," Katlyn explained.
"Cool. I can do that." Zoey pulled out her phone.
"Oh my gosh. Is that really the qPhone 13 Ultra?!" Callie basically screamed.
"I didn't think you were a rich girl, Zoey..." Katlyn was just as shocked as her best friend.
"I'm not rich. I just, uh. Got this as a gift from my uncle. He's the rich one." She lied.
Zoey didn't know how to explain that the money she got for the phone was gained by killing demons. Now that she had a second to think about it, she could've just said she had a part-time job and saved up for it. After realizing this, she wanted to smack herself in the face. Why couldn't she think of that before she opened her fat mouth!?
"If your uncle is rich, then how aren't you rich?"
"I actually just lied a moment ago. I saved up for it at my part-time job." Zoey revealed.
"Uhm... Why'd you feel like you needed to lie about it?" Katlyn asked, slightly put off by the lie.
"Because I didn't want you two to ask me about my job. I'd like to keep it a secret if that's okay." She felt like a total fucking mess. Jesus fucking Christ, why couldn't she have been born with a normal brain?
"That's fine, Zoey! As long as you aren't doing anything dangerous, it's fine with us." Callie told her. "It's not dangerous, right?"
"Nope. Totally safe." Zoey flat-out lied again.
"Then it's cool," Katlyn said.
Zoey then added their numbers to her phone and got to know them both a little bit more before the end of tryouts came. Just like Katlyn and Callie said, she passed tryouts and was now an official runner on the team. As long as she handed in a physical from a doctor that said it was safe for her to participate in sports. Once she brought that in Monday, she would be allowed to join in practice with the rest. So, Zoey left track tryouts and went home. Considering today a huge success as she made the track team and gained two friends!
"Are you okay?" A girl with her hair wrapped up in a ponytail asked after the run. She got first place.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." There were no scrapes or bruises on her legs.
"I'm sure you would've got first if you didn't trip." She got second and passed her after she tripped.
"Maybe." Zoey didn't want to look cocky even though she knew she would've smoked all these girls.
Zoey didn't know exactly how fast she was because she never ran long distances before. It was like in that one superhero movie where the kid with super speed joined the track team and could easily pass the other kids with his power but chose not to so that he could fit in with the rest of the kids. Well, it was similar to that. This was for her to gain friends mostly, but she could also get a scholarship for track and field if she did well enough on the team. Thinking about college was something that was never too early. Especially since she would be the first one in her family to go to college if she did.
Since her mother got pregnant young, she never went. Zoey had no idea where her birth father was or what he was doing. And with their financial situation, it would probably be a burden to send her to a good college. They were a lower-middle-class family, so, it would be for the best for everyone if she did get a scholarship for college. But this is where things became a pain in the ass.
Should she continue to do only well enough to stay on the team to try and make friends or completely blow her peers out of the water with her 1.5 Body stat to guarantee a scholarship?
'Well, I'm still only a junior. I can worry about scholarships in my Senior year and focus on making friends this year.' Zoey decided.
"Great run out there, girls. You all had some good times. If anyone wants to try out other events, please follow me. For those who only wanted to try out for the 100m, stick around on the benches, and I'll tell you if you made the team or not at the end of tryouts today." Coach Lady explained.
Zoey made her way to the bench and immediately got to playing on her phone instead of socializing with the other 100m run runners. It wasn't in her nature to be social and talk to others first. She usually lets other people talk to her first and then socialize with them. That was probably one of the reasons why she had no friends now, but she still had time to change! Being a socially awkward freak was just a phase and definitely not something that would follow her into her adulthood.
"Hey. I didn't catch your name." Ponytail tapped her shoulder.
"I'm Zoey." She took her earbuds out.
"I'm Callie. I have never seen you before. Is it your first time trying out for track?" She was so bright, sociable, and pretty. It was almost blinding to Zoey's eyes.
"Was it that obvious?" Zoey asked.
"Well, I've been running since I was in elementary school. So, it's easier for me to tell than other people." She admitted.
"Oh." Zoey didn't know how to respond to that.
"I was surprised by how fast you were going. I was so sure that you were going to get first place. Are you sure you haven't done any track before?"
"Unless you count doing the mile in P.E, then none at all."
"You definitely got talent for running, then. I can't wait to run with you on the team! We're gonna blow the other teams out of the water this season!"
"Yay...?" Zoey couldn't handle the positivity and brightness coming from this girl.
"Oh, and my best friend Katlyn is also on the team with us. She was the girl that got second place. She's more of an endurance runner than a sprinter, but she can do both really well. Well, she can really do any of the events well, but she mostly does the 400, 800, and relay. I'm only good at running fast." Callie shared.
"Have you both been running since elementary?"
"Yep. That's actually where we first met. We were total enemies back then, and both fought for the title of track star for our school. Both of us had to share the title eventually, but at that point, we didn't care who was better than the other. We just both really loved track and strived to do our absolute best at it."
"Sounds like a movie." Zoey couldn't believe such friendships could actually form in real life.
"I know, right?!" Callie beamed. "It's like we were meant to be besties."
"Sounds great."
"But enough about me. Why did you decide to try out for the team?"
It was super embarrassing admitting this to someone like this but what the hell? She came here to make friends in the first place. "I wanted to make some friends." Zoey honestly shared. The tearful look in Callie's eyes almost made her think she was pitying her, but her next few words fixed that misunderstanding instantly.
"That is the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life..." She wiped away the tears about to form around her eyes. "I'll be your first track friend Zoey! And I promise to make everyone else that makes the team friends with you too!"
"That's a lot of people... Can we start small first?" There were more than a dozen people here. How could she handle being friends with that many people at once?
"Nope! Every single one of them is going to become your friend." Callie decided then and there.
"Uhh..." Zoey was frightened for her future on this team.
"Yep. So, get ready to talk with all these people just like how you're talking to me." Callie smiled.
"I'm terrified." Zoey wasn't scared to admit that. Callie only giggled at that.
She thought it was cute and funny that Zoey was scared to make friends. When it was a perfectly reasonable thing to be afraid of! Friends aren't just things you have. Your bonds will be things that you have to constantly take care of, or they'll break! If you leave them alone for too long, they can wither away! And with all of these people, she'll have to juggle bond after bond to make sure that none of them get broken by her.
"There's nothing scary about making friends, Zoey. You're literally the only person in the world who would think that." She laughed.
"I disagree." She's been on the internet more than enough times and has read plenty of comments from other real human beings about their social anxieties.
"By the time track season ends, you'll think back to this moment and laugh at how silly you were being," Callie promised.
"I'll have to get accepted on the team first." Zoey pointed out.
"You don't have to worry about that. I already know that you're going to be on it." Callie puffed out her chest with confidence.
"How?"
"Didn't you see how fast you took off out there?! The coach would have to be blind not to bring you on the team! You were awesome before you tripped."
"I agree. You're definitely going to be on the team." Second place came over and added as she wiped the sweat off her face with a towel.
"Katlyn! Meet our new friend Zoey! We're now her first two track friends." Callie excitedly declared.
"Is she bothering you, Zoey? I can't zip up her mouth, but I can kick her somewhere else if you want to be alone." Katlyn offered.
"No. She's being nice."
"Don't assume I'm bothering people! I'm super nice and friendly to everyone."
"Not everyone likes super nice and friendly. Sometimes it's just annoying."
"How can that be?"
"Not everyone wants to socialize all the time. Even I need a break from you every once in a while."
"Is that why you sometimes stop texting me back at a certain time after school?"
"Yes. You just don't know when to shut your pretty little mouth sometimes." Katlyn pinched Callie's mouth shut as it formed into a cute pout.
"Hmph! I'm sorry I just want to talk with my bestie and get to know people." She crossed her arms.
"Don't get upset just because I was being honest with you. You just got to learn to moderate yourself."
"I'll think about it as long as you promise to watch that movie with me later on tonight."
"Fine." Katlyn rolled her eyes. "Do you want to watch it with us, Zoey?" She offered.
"Uh. Sure. What time and what movie?" Zoey was blindsided by the offer from out of nowhere. Her mouth moved before her brain did.
"We're not going to a real movie theatre but like watching it on Zeeflix while on the phone together," Katlyn explained.
"Cool. I can do that." Zoey pulled out her phone.
"Oh my gosh. Is that really the qPhone 13 Ultra?!" Callie basically screamed.
"I didn't think you were a rich girl, Zoey..." Katlyn was just as shocked as her best friend.
"I'm not rich. I just, uh. Got this as a gift from my uncle. He's the rich one." She lied.
Zoey didn't know how to explain that the money she got for the phone was gained by killing demons. Now that she had a second to think about it, she could've just said she had a part-time job and saved up for it. After realizing this, she wanted to smack herself in the face. Why couldn't she think of that before she opened her fat mouth!?
"If your uncle is rich, then how aren't you rich?"
"I actually just lied a moment ago. I saved up for it at my part-time job." Zoey revealed.
"Uhm... Why'd you feel like you needed to lie about it?" Katlyn asked, slightly put off by the lie.
"Because I didn't want you two to ask me about my job. I'd like to keep it a secret if that's okay." She felt like a total fucking mess. Jesus fucking Christ, why couldn't she have been born with a normal brain?
"That's fine, Zoey! As long as you aren't doing anything dangerous, it's fine with us." Callie told her. "It's not dangerous, right?"
"Nope. Totally safe." Zoey flat-out lied again.
"Then it's cool," Katlyn said.
Zoey then added their numbers to her phone and got to know them both a little bit more before the end of tryouts came. Just like Katlyn and Callie said, she passed tryouts and was now an official runner on the team. As long as she handed in a physical from a doctor that said it was safe for her to participate in sports. Once she brought that in Monday, she would be allowed to join in practice with the rest. So, Zoey left track tryouts and went home. Considering today a huge success as she made the track team and gained two friends!
Chapter 19: The Big Day.
"Looks like you're in perfect health, Zoey." Her doctor smiled after seeing her results. "You're almost like a completely different person since the last time you came in. I almost couldn't believe these results if I wasn't looking at you right now." She seemed almost happier than Zoey was after realizing she got abs, and her body was sexy as hell right now.
"I joined the track team," Zoey revealed, hoping that would be enough to explain it.
"That's good. Sports are always a good way of making sure your health is improving. It looks like joining the track team did wonders for your health, Zoey. I can't find one thing wrong with you, and trust me. There's always at least something." She chuckled.
Zoey laughed along because she felt that was the normal thing to do in this situation. Today was the day of her big fight. So, after this, she still had to head to the gym and then go with Coach to the place where the tournament was being held. She asked her mom to take her to the doctor for a physical to get it over with instead of delaying it like she usually would. Despite how calm she looked on the outside, Zoey was like a bubbling volcano on the brink of erupting from how excited she was.
Her first official fight ever, socializing with her new friends in a group chat and at track tomorrow, and possibly hunting demons with Alexander and Lindsay. Zoey thanked her doctor for the doctor's note, saying that she was fully capable of joining the track team, and left with her mom to the gym. Things between them were still a bit iffy after her grounding, and she had a slight feeling that they were going to lean back into the bad zone. She's been eyeing her new phone, and Zoey already knew she was doing mental gymnastics to try and figure out how in the hell did she afford such a nice-looking phone. Both of them knew that her dad didn't pay for it.
'Guess I gotta wait till she brings it up for herself.' Zoey didn't have an excuse ready for her to explain how she could get this new phone.
Talking to her mother truthfully would be the same as talking to a brick wall. A brick wall that could whoop and ground her. Well, maybe not whoop. Zoey was getting pretty strong, and if her mother wanted to give her a spanking with a belt, she wouldn't be so forgiving to just let her. All those spankings over the years really cultivated a small sense of revenge within her. It only took a single spark for that resentment that was developing for so long to explode.
But Zoey wouldn't actually punch her mother. Sure, it was maybe fun to think about getting payback for all the pain she gave her growing up, but this was her mother. In this part of her life, growing up, she needs her mother. Getting through high school, boys, preparing for college, driving, applying for a job, making a resume, learning about cars, and probably a bunch more shit she had to rely on her to learn. So, making good with her mother would only be beneficial for her. No matter how annoying she is. She only loves her and wants the best for her.
'I might be really fucked up...' Zoey thought as she waved goodbye to her mother and walked into the gym.
"Oho! There she is, fellas! Our little ultimate fighter! Go on and get changed. Then let's get ready to head out." Coach Scott happily shouted.
"We're coming to watch, Zoey!" Tony teasingly smiled.
"So make sure you don't lose your first fight! Everyone will be watching!" Steven grinned.
"Shut the hell up, you little pricks! If you throw off her mojo, I'll knock both of you, little bastards, out." Coach Scott yelled at them. They giggled like little school girls as they scrammed.
Both of those assholes were eager to mess with her. Somehow, they knew how nervous and excited she was about this fight. She turned her head and quickly walked into the back to get changed.
"Where are we going?" Dylan quietly asked.
"Aren't you the newbie that was learning from Zoey?" Tony asked.
"That's me..." He rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, Zoey's about to have her first official match since she joined. We're coming along to cheer for her in her first match." Steven answered him.
"Can I come along to watch?"
"Sure, why not? The more, the merrier!" Tony laughed.
"I heard Coach was making Ben come." Aiden came over and whispered.
"Ben? Won't he be pissed that he signed up Zoey and not him for something as big as this?" Tony already knew the answer.
"Yeah, he was really mad that Coach picked Zoey over him. I heard he threw a tantrum at Coach, and Coach finally put his foot down and put him in his place." Aiden shared.
"What?!" Tony and Steven exclaimed at the same time. They couldn't believe they missed out on such a huge incident.
"When did this happen!?"
"Ah, it happened at my fight yesterday. The two of them were in the crowd yelling at each other after I won."
"God damn it!" Tony cursed.
"Fuck!" Steven shared his frustration at missing out on something as good as that.
"There might be a video of it online. If you search hard enough, maybe you'll be able to find it." Aiden shrugged.
"Oi! Let's fucking go! Zoey's ready, so whoever is coming with better come in the next minute before we drive off." Coach Scott shouted.
Coach ordered an entire fancy ass limo just to take her to the match. Steven, Aiden, Zack, Tony, Dylan, Ben, and a few other newbies came along in the limo to see her match. Or maybe they just wanted to ride a fancy limo for the first time. With how excited they looked to be in the limo, it was probably the second one. Assholes... They should be excited for her instead.
"Since when did all of you bastards give a shit about Zoey? You all better not be using this as a chance to get out of practice, or I'll show every single one of ya hell when we get back!" Coach shouted, making many of the boxers turn their heads while nervously giggling.
"Of course, we care about Zoey, Coach. She's been with us long enough to be considered a regular at the gym." Tony said.
"Yep. Yep. Plus, she's a damn good boxer and deserves to show everyone what she's made of!" Steven supported.
"Hmm. That's more like it." Coach liked this type of encouragement for the girl.
Eventually, they made it to the tournament, and crowds and crowds of people were being led into the large building. Zoey was starting to get a bit nervous seeing all those people. She thought this was just going to be some small little fighting tournament—just her in a ring fighting against some other fighters with a small crowd of people watching them. Not even Zack or Ben got this many people at one of their fights. Just what the hell kind of tournament did Coach sign her up for?
"It's your time to shine, Zoey!" He roughly patted her back and pulled her inside the building as the rest of the boxers followed behind him.
The line of people soon separated into three lines once they got in—one long line for fighters and their people, another for spectators, and a third for media. Spectators were the longest, but it seems that they were processing them very quickly. All the spectators had to do was pay for a ticket or show their ticket if they already paid, and then they were led down the hallway to the right. Those from the media weren't allowed to record while in the main lobby, but that didn't stop them from ogling those in the fighter line and gossiping along with the spectators across from them about each fighter.
No one knew who Zoey was or anyone else besides Ben and Zack. Mostly Ben, though. They all figured that he was the mysterious boxer in the first bracket of the tournament. It kind of excited her when thinking of the confusion that'll break out when she's revealed as the fighter.
'You thought it was Ben all along, but really it was me! Zoey!' She had to cover her mouth from laughing at her own joke.
"Glad to see you're in a good mood, Zoey. If I had this many people for my first fight, I'm sure I would've froze up like a statue." Zack chuckled.
"You didn't have half as many people as this, and you still did shit." Coach Scott spat.
"Hey, at least I won in the end." He laughed.
"Barely! You should've destroyed that guy! All that training I put you through was thrown out the window just because you got stage fright." Coach shook his head.
"You did put a lot of pressure on me before the fight began, Coach. Telling me I was going to easily win wasn't exactly good motivation. And then just yelling at me to murder him after he punched me in the face didn't help either."
"I was trying to help you, brat. All you needed to give him was one good punch. And do you remember how you won that fight? With one good punch."
"Guess I can't say anything about that." Zack helplessly shrugged.
"I didn't know we would be fighting inside a cage..." Zoey muttered as she saw the ring on the monitor above the counter.
It was an octagonal ring. The camera moved all over the stadium, allowing those in the reception room to see the many seats filling up. Zoey didn't know what she was expecting when the Coach told her she would be fighting in a youth fighting tournament. But she can confidently say that she wasn't expecting anything similar to this. Not the slightest fucking bit.
"I came to register my fighter. All these other bastards behind me are just here to support them." Coach talked to the receptionist.
"No problem, sir, and you are?"
"Coach Scott."
"Coach Scott... Ah. Here you are. And which one of these boys is Zoey?" She innocently asked.
"What kind of boy do you know is named Zoey!? Obviously, I'm registering her!" He blew his top as the guys started snickering.
"Sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" She apologized with all her heart as she rapidly tapped on her keyboard. "Since she's in the first match of the day, she will be escorted to the locker rooms with her coach. Those that are a part of her gym, they will be taken to the left and allowed to choose any seats near the front that they want with these tags. Please do not lose your tags, or you can be forcefully removed from your seat by security, that will regularly check every half hour or so for them." She blurted out so fast it almost sounded like one word.
"Let's go, kid." Coach led the way to the locker rooms while the guys were still laughing about the receptionist, thinking that one of them was called Zoey.
"We'll be cheering for you, Zoey," Zack said as they were heading to their seats.
"Don't fuck up!" Tony laughed.
"We won't let you live it down," Steven added.
"Do your best, Zoey." Dylan kindly supported.
"Don't get hit too much and mess up your pretty face," Aiden advised.
'Pretty?' Now that she looked at Aiden, he wasn't that bad either. She'd be willing to spend some time with him alone if he was funny or had something interesting about him besides his face and body.
Ha! Who is she kidding? That was all she needed to rock his world.
"I joined the track team," Zoey revealed, hoping that would be enough to explain it.
"That's good. Sports are always a good way of making sure your health is improving. It looks like joining the track team did wonders for your health, Zoey. I can't find one thing wrong with you, and trust me. There's always at least something." She chuckled.
Zoey laughed along because she felt that was the normal thing to do in this situation. Today was the day of her big fight. So, after this, she still had to head to the gym and then go with Coach to the place where the tournament was being held. She asked her mom to take her to the doctor for a physical to get it over with instead of delaying it like she usually would. Despite how calm she looked on the outside, Zoey was like a bubbling volcano on the brink of erupting from how excited she was.
Her first official fight ever, socializing with her new friends in a group chat and at track tomorrow, and possibly hunting demons with Alexander and Lindsay. Zoey thanked her doctor for the doctor's note, saying that she was fully capable of joining the track team, and left with her mom to the gym. Things between them were still a bit iffy after her grounding, and she had a slight feeling that they were going to lean back into the bad zone. She's been eyeing her new phone, and Zoey already knew she was doing mental gymnastics to try and figure out how in the hell did she afford such a nice-looking phone. Both of them knew that her dad didn't pay for it.
'Guess I gotta wait till she brings it up for herself.' Zoey didn't have an excuse ready for her to explain how she could get this new phone.
Talking to her mother truthfully would be the same as talking to a brick wall. A brick wall that could whoop and ground her. Well, maybe not whoop. Zoey was getting pretty strong, and if her mother wanted to give her a spanking with a belt, she wouldn't be so forgiving to just let her. All those spankings over the years really cultivated a small sense of revenge within her. It only took a single spark for that resentment that was developing for so long to explode.
But Zoey wouldn't actually punch her mother. Sure, it was maybe fun to think about getting payback for all the pain she gave her growing up, but this was her mother. In this part of her life, growing up, she needs her mother. Getting through high school, boys, preparing for college, driving, applying for a job, making a resume, learning about cars, and probably a bunch more shit she had to rely on her to learn. So, making good with her mother would only be beneficial for her. No matter how annoying she is. She only loves her and wants the best for her.
'I might be really fucked up...' Zoey thought as she waved goodbye to her mother and walked into the gym.
"Oho! There she is, fellas! Our little ultimate fighter! Go on and get changed. Then let's get ready to head out." Coach Scott happily shouted.
"We're coming to watch, Zoey!" Tony teasingly smiled.
"So make sure you don't lose your first fight! Everyone will be watching!" Steven grinned.
"Shut the hell up, you little pricks! If you throw off her mojo, I'll knock both of you, little bastards, out." Coach Scott yelled at them. They giggled like little school girls as they scrammed.
Both of those assholes were eager to mess with her. Somehow, they knew how nervous and excited she was about this fight. She turned her head and quickly walked into the back to get changed.
"Where are we going?" Dylan quietly asked.
"Aren't you the newbie that was learning from Zoey?" Tony asked.
"That's me..." He rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, Zoey's about to have her first official match since she joined. We're coming along to cheer for her in her first match." Steven answered him.
"Can I come along to watch?"
"Sure, why not? The more, the merrier!" Tony laughed.
"I heard Coach was making Ben come." Aiden came over and whispered.
"Ben? Won't he be pissed that he signed up Zoey and not him for something as big as this?" Tony already knew the answer.
"Yeah, he was really mad that Coach picked Zoey over him. I heard he threw a tantrum at Coach, and Coach finally put his foot down and put him in his place." Aiden shared.
"What?!" Tony and Steven exclaimed at the same time. They couldn't believe they missed out on such a huge incident.
"When did this happen!?"
"Ah, it happened at my fight yesterday. The two of them were in the crowd yelling at each other after I won."
"God damn it!" Tony cursed.
"Fuck!" Steven shared his frustration at missing out on something as good as that.
"There might be a video of it online. If you search hard enough, maybe you'll be able to find it." Aiden shrugged.
"Oi! Let's fucking go! Zoey's ready, so whoever is coming with better come in the next minute before we drive off." Coach Scott shouted.
Coach ordered an entire fancy ass limo just to take her to the match. Steven, Aiden, Zack, Tony, Dylan, Ben, and a few other newbies came along in the limo to see her match. Or maybe they just wanted to ride a fancy limo for the first time. With how excited they looked to be in the limo, it was probably the second one. Assholes... They should be excited for her instead.
"Since when did all of you bastards give a shit about Zoey? You all better not be using this as a chance to get out of practice, or I'll show every single one of ya hell when we get back!" Coach shouted, making many of the boxers turn their heads while nervously giggling.
"Of course, we care about Zoey, Coach. She's been with us long enough to be considered a regular at the gym." Tony said.
"Yep. Yep. Plus, she's a damn good boxer and deserves to show everyone what she's made of!" Steven supported.
"Hmm. That's more like it." Coach liked this type of encouragement for the girl.
Eventually, they made it to the tournament, and crowds and crowds of people were being led into the large building. Zoey was starting to get a bit nervous seeing all those people. She thought this was just going to be some small little fighting tournament—just her in a ring fighting against some other fighters with a small crowd of people watching them. Not even Zack or Ben got this many people at one of their fights. Just what the hell kind of tournament did Coach sign her up for?
"It's your time to shine, Zoey!" He roughly patted her back and pulled her inside the building as the rest of the boxers followed behind him.
The line of people soon separated into three lines once they got in—one long line for fighters and their people, another for spectators, and a third for media. Spectators were the longest, but it seems that they were processing them very quickly. All the spectators had to do was pay for a ticket or show their ticket if they already paid, and then they were led down the hallway to the right. Those from the media weren't allowed to record while in the main lobby, but that didn't stop them from ogling those in the fighter line and gossiping along with the spectators across from them about each fighter.
No one knew who Zoey was or anyone else besides Ben and Zack. Mostly Ben, though. They all figured that he was the mysterious boxer in the first bracket of the tournament. It kind of excited her when thinking of the confusion that'll break out when she's revealed as the fighter.
'You thought it was Ben all along, but really it was me! Zoey!' She had to cover her mouth from laughing at her own joke.
"Glad to see you're in a good mood, Zoey. If I had this many people for my first fight, I'm sure I would've froze up like a statue." Zack chuckled.
"You didn't have half as many people as this, and you still did shit." Coach Scott spat.
"Hey, at least I won in the end." He laughed.
"Barely! You should've destroyed that guy! All that training I put you through was thrown out the window just because you got stage fright." Coach shook his head.
"You did put a lot of pressure on me before the fight began, Coach. Telling me I was going to easily win wasn't exactly good motivation. And then just yelling at me to murder him after he punched me in the face didn't help either."
"I was trying to help you, brat. All you needed to give him was one good punch. And do you remember how you won that fight? With one good punch."
"Guess I can't say anything about that." Zack helplessly shrugged.
"I didn't know we would be fighting inside a cage..." Zoey muttered as she saw the ring on the monitor above the counter.
It was an octagonal ring. The camera moved all over the stadium, allowing those in the reception room to see the many seats filling up. Zoey didn't know what she was expecting when the Coach told her she would be fighting in a youth fighting tournament. But she can confidently say that she wasn't expecting anything similar to this. Not the slightest fucking bit.
"I came to register my fighter. All these other bastards behind me are just here to support them." Coach talked to the receptionist.
"No problem, sir, and you are?"
"Coach Scott."
"Coach Scott... Ah. Here you are. And which one of these boys is Zoey?" She innocently asked.
"What kind of boy do you know is named Zoey!? Obviously, I'm registering her!" He blew his top as the guys started snickering.
"Sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" She apologized with all her heart as she rapidly tapped on her keyboard. "Since she's in the first match of the day, she will be escorted to the locker rooms with her coach. Those that are a part of her gym, they will be taken to the left and allowed to choose any seats near the front that they want with these tags. Please do not lose your tags, or you can be forcefully removed from your seat by security, that will regularly check every half hour or so for them." She blurted out so fast it almost sounded like one word.
"Let's go, kid." Coach led the way to the locker rooms while the guys were still laughing about the receptionist, thinking that one of them was called Zoey.
"We'll be cheering for you, Zoey," Zack said as they were heading to their seats.
"Don't fuck up!" Tony laughed.
"We won't let you live it down," Steven added.
"Do your best, Zoey." Dylan kindly supported.
"Don't get hit too much and mess up your pretty face," Aiden advised.
'Pretty?' Now that she looked at Aiden, he wasn't that bad either. She'd be willing to spend some time with him alone if he was funny or had something interesting about him besides his face and body.
Ha! Who is she kidding? That was all she needed to rock his world.
Chapter 20: The First Fight!
"Alright, kid, put this on before you go out there." Coach passed her a bright red hoodie that had the gym's logo on the back and was way too big for her.
She put it on without any complaint and got a feel for it. Seeing if it would get in her way while she was fighting. Thankfully it didn't, so she didn't have to awkwardly tell Coach that she couldn't wear this or her performance would lower.
"You can take it off before the match starts. Don't worry about fighting in it." He only told her now. Making her kind of feel stupid.
As she was doing that, he began explaining to her how this tournament worked. Which Zoey believes he should've done when they were on the fucking way to this damn place.
"This is only the preliminaries which means only a single round for 4 minutes. This may not be the only fight you participate in today, either. If there are a lot of other fighters that manage to get through, you'll have to fight against one of them. Only 12 fighters can make it in the brackets. We need to get you in one of those brackets."
"Mokay." Zoey put in her mouthguard.
"Oh, and none of that nice shit in the ring, alright?" A question mark flew above Zoey's head. "I'm talking about how you like to place nice with your opponents instead of murdering them dead and killing em. You don't go for the kill but wear them out like you're playing with them. That's going to get you killed one day."
"But how am I supposed to gain experience as a fighter if I don't learn from my opponents?" She asked after taking her mouthguard out.
Something about this sentence made Coach look at her weirdly. She couldn't tell, but some warmth was brought to his heart after hearing this from Zoey. This little firecracker actually cared about improving her skill. She wasn't scared of losing or wanted to win with everything she had. All she wanted was to become a better boxer.
"Forget what I said, kid. Just don't lose without giving your all." He patted her on the back and pulled up her hoodie. "Now let's go out there and kick some ass." He opened the door leading to the ring.
"But what about the rules? And who am I even fighting?" She placed her mouthguard back in as she followed behind him.
"They'll tell you-" Coach's words were cut off by the sound of the audience screaming once they saw her coming out.
Zoey almost instinctively held her gloves to her ears from the ear-deafening cheer. These guys didn't even know who she was! Why in the hell were they cheering so loudly?! Is it because this was the first fight of the day, or was it because they're all drunk already? She had seen them selling alcoholic beverages earlier.
She made it inside the cage with the referee and her opponent. The referee was dressed in black and white with a stern look on his face. Her opponent was faced to the audience instead of her, and the ref had to physically turn her to the audience when she was busy looking at the guy she was about to fight. That was embarrassing, but the true embarrassment was realizing that literally thousands of people were watching her. Zoey's shocked face was present right on that big ass screen up top.
"Our first fight of the day, folks! Both of them are completely new faces to the YFTL! On our right side, we have Haruto Tanaka!" The audience screamed as loud as they could.
"Haruto Tanaka came straight from Japan for the opportunity to perform in the Youth Fighting Tournament League! Back home, he was known as an unbeatable fighter with his bo-staff! He hasn't lost a single fight yet!" The audience yelled even louder.
Normally if someone was placed against someone known as unbeatable, they would start to get nervous and doubt themselves, which isn't what happened to Zoey at all. Instead of becoming nervous about the fight, she grew excited. Just how far would this boy be able to raise her boxing skills? Would he push her on the defensive and allow her to quickly raise her defensive skills? Or would he just get steamrolled by her, completely unable to resist against her? Zoey had to cover her mouth because of the excited grin growing on her face.
"And in our left cornerrrrr! We have Zoey Winters! She lives right here in the good old USA as a boxer! It's said right here that she's only been practicing for a few weeks, so we might be in for a quick show, folks! Let's get our first match of the day going!" Zoey did not like how she was introduced compared to her opponent.
That announcer bastard landed himself right on her shit list. If she could find girl boxers around her age in the nearby area, she could have an undefeated streak too! From the bets on the screen, Haruto had a 99% lead over her 1%. Zoey looked towards the Coach and them, only to find that Dylan was the only one looking at her with support. Besides him, everyone else was completely unsure of her victory. This pissed her off.
"No hits in the genitalia, no eye-gouging, no fish hooking, no biting, no hair pulling, no strikes to or grabbing of the throat, no intentional grabbing of the cage, no throwing your opponent out of the cage, no strikes to the back of the head or spine, no headbutts, and no manipulation of the fingers or toes. Got all that?" The referee asked.
"Yep." Haruto confidently smiled.
"Uh, yes?" Zoey's head was spinning. She could only catch a few of those rules.
"Then begin!" He shouted, and the fight was on?
Zoey could only barely glimpse a wooden stick heading for her forehead. She leaned her body all the way back to avoid it and then ran forward. Closing in underneath, the boy, with her other fist, reared back to launch straight into his unprotected stomach. In the back of her mind, she was screaming, "Noooooo!!!" at the possible loss of skill experience she could've gained from this boy. But surely, he would be tough enough to withstand a single hit from her, right?
Zoey's fist landed true and took the boy straight off his feet all the way into the cage. He landed back first onto the cage and then dropped into an unconscious slump onto the mat. The entire stadium was completely silent at this outcome. This wasn't what Zoey cared about.
"Please stand back up... Please stand back up, Mr. Unbeatable...." She begged.
Her skills! He could raise so many of her defensive skills! She could easily parry, block, and slip past that staff of his! Who knows if her next opponent would fight in a way that could let her do the same? Plus! The announcer basically said that he was a genius! Haruto could've brought her boxing skills to new heights as she actively learned how to fight against his weapon.
"It's over! It's really over just like that!" The announcer shouted as the Ref called the match.
"Haruto was knocked unconscious from one punch from Zoey! It only took one punch! Does she have solid steel for fists or something!? How could this happen!?"
"That's bullshit! How in the fuck could a scrawny ass girl like that punch like that!?"
"She's so tiny, I could eat her!"
"Check the gloves! She's hiding something in them!"
"My money.... it's all gone...."
"Coach... I don't think I've seen so many zeroes before in my life..." Dylan nervously shared, looking at his checking account.
"What the hell!?" Was everyone else's reaction as Dylan grew rich in only a single day. Everyone else was too afraid to bet.
"God damn it! I knew I should've trusted her!" Steven cursed the heavens.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Tony shared his regret.
"This fucking kid..." Coach had never been prouder. He, too, was not confident in Zoey's chances.
"Just a fluke." Ben scoffed. "If that dumbass wasn't looking down on her, he could've easily reacted to her coming in." This was a surprise since it was coming from Ben, of all people.
"He thought he had her as soon as the ref started the match." Zack agreed.
"Guess you really can't be too cocky, huh? It only takes one good hit sometimes." Aiden chimed in.
"Check the gloves! Check the gloves! Check the gloves!" Many members of the audience began to chant.
"It looks like the crowd believes that Zoey's gloves have been tampered with in some way! Is it true that our little Single Blow Boxer could be cheating in only the Preliminaries!?" The announcer only added to the chants.
It looks like Zoey wasn't going to be a fan favorite in this tournament. A lot of angry adults were staring at her, blaming her for losing a shit ton of money. If Zoey wasn't the socially awkward dork she was, she'd be laughing in their faces for doubting her. She didn't know people were legally betting money on teenagers, but if this was how they reacted when they lost, they didn't really deserve to be here. Zoey was hearing a lot of nasty things being said about her that weren't true at all and were really pissing her off.
'Hahaha! You fuckers! You deserved to lose for betting against me! Pieces of shit!' The ref asked for her gloves, and she willingly handed them over with a calm look on her face. Inwardly snickering at all of them.
He checked them out as carefully as he could. Only to keep his decision as Zoey as the winner, and everyone else could shut the fuck up. Once the gloves were proved to be untampered, everyone went silent again except those few that were still screaming about becoming filthy rich for betting on her. Zoey was led out of the cage as the victor, with Coach waiting on her from outside.
"I'm proud of you, kid." Coach smiled.
"I didn't think he'd be done in one hit..." Zoey truthfully admitted.
"Nobody did! Hahahaha! Did you hear those crying babies?! You did fantastic out there, Zoey, and don't let anybody tell you differently." Coach Scott laughed his heart out.
"Thanks, Coach..." It was good to know he didn't bet against her with how happy he looked.
She put it on without any complaint and got a feel for it. Seeing if it would get in her way while she was fighting. Thankfully it didn't, so she didn't have to awkwardly tell Coach that she couldn't wear this or her performance would lower.
"You can take it off before the match starts. Don't worry about fighting in it." He only told her now. Making her kind of feel stupid.
As she was doing that, he began explaining to her how this tournament worked. Which Zoey believes he should've done when they were on the fucking way to this damn place.
"This is only the preliminaries which means only a single round for 4 minutes. This may not be the only fight you participate in today, either. If there are a lot of other fighters that manage to get through, you'll have to fight against one of them. Only 12 fighters can make it in the brackets. We need to get you in one of those brackets."
"Mokay." Zoey put in her mouthguard.
"Oh, and none of that nice shit in the ring, alright?" A question mark flew above Zoey's head. "I'm talking about how you like to place nice with your opponents instead of murdering them dead and killing em. You don't go for the kill but wear them out like you're playing with them. That's going to get you killed one day."
"But how am I supposed to gain experience as a fighter if I don't learn from my opponents?" She asked after taking her mouthguard out.
Something about this sentence made Coach look at her weirdly. She couldn't tell, but some warmth was brought to his heart after hearing this from Zoey. This little firecracker actually cared about improving her skill. She wasn't scared of losing or wanted to win with everything she had. All she wanted was to become a better boxer.
"Forget what I said, kid. Just don't lose without giving your all." He patted her on the back and pulled up her hoodie. "Now let's go out there and kick some ass." He opened the door leading to the ring.
"But what about the rules? And who am I even fighting?" She placed her mouthguard back in as she followed behind him.
"They'll tell you-" Coach's words were cut off by the sound of the audience screaming once they saw her coming out.
Zoey almost instinctively held her gloves to her ears from the ear-deafening cheer. These guys didn't even know who she was! Why in the hell were they cheering so loudly?! Is it because this was the first fight of the day, or was it because they're all drunk already? She had seen them selling alcoholic beverages earlier.
She made it inside the cage with the referee and her opponent. The referee was dressed in black and white with a stern look on his face. Her opponent was faced to the audience instead of her, and the ref had to physically turn her to the audience when she was busy looking at the guy she was about to fight. That was embarrassing, but the true embarrassment was realizing that literally thousands of people were watching her. Zoey's shocked face was present right on that big ass screen up top.
"Our first fight of the day, folks! Both of them are completely new faces to the YFTL! On our right side, we have Haruto Tanaka!" The audience screamed as loud as they could.
"Haruto Tanaka came straight from Japan for the opportunity to perform in the Youth Fighting Tournament League! Back home, he was known as an unbeatable fighter with his bo-staff! He hasn't lost a single fight yet!" The audience yelled even louder.
Normally if someone was placed against someone known as unbeatable, they would start to get nervous and doubt themselves, which isn't what happened to Zoey at all. Instead of becoming nervous about the fight, she grew excited. Just how far would this boy be able to raise her boxing skills? Would he push her on the defensive and allow her to quickly raise her defensive skills? Or would he just get steamrolled by her, completely unable to resist against her? Zoey had to cover her mouth because of the excited grin growing on her face.
"And in our left cornerrrrr! We have Zoey Winters! She lives right here in the good old USA as a boxer! It's said right here that she's only been practicing for a few weeks, so we might be in for a quick show, folks! Let's get our first match of the day going!" Zoey did not like how she was introduced compared to her opponent.
That announcer bastard landed himself right on her shit list. If she could find girl boxers around her age in the nearby area, she could have an undefeated streak too! From the bets on the screen, Haruto had a 99% lead over her 1%. Zoey looked towards the Coach and them, only to find that Dylan was the only one looking at her with support. Besides him, everyone else was completely unsure of her victory. This pissed her off.
"No hits in the genitalia, no eye-gouging, no fish hooking, no biting, no hair pulling, no strikes to or grabbing of the throat, no intentional grabbing of the cage, no throwing your opponent out of the cage, no strikes to the back of the head or spine, no headbutts, and no manipulation of the fingers or toes. Got all that?" The referee asked.
"Yep." Haruto confidently smiled.
"Uh, yes?" Zoey's head was spinning. She could only catch a few of those rules.
"Then begin!" He shouted, and the fight was on?
Zoey could only barely glimpse a wooden stick heading for her forehead. She leaned her body all the way back to avoid it and then ran forward. Closing in underneath, the boy, with her other fist, reared back to launch straight into his unprotected stomach. In the back of her mind, she was screaming, "Noooooo!!!" at the possible loss of skill experience she could've gained from this boy. But surely, he would be tough enough to withstand a single hit from her, right?
Zoey's fist landed true and took the boy straight off his feet all the way into the cage. He landed back first onto the cage and then dropped into an unconscious slump onto the mat. The entire stadium was completely silent at this outcome. This wasn't what Zoey cared about.
"Please stand back up... Please stand back up, Mr. Unbeatable...." She begged.
Her skills! He could raise so many of her defensive skills! She could easily parry, block, and slip past that staff of his! Who knows if her next opponent would fight in a way that could let her do the same? Plus! The announcer basically said that he was a genius! Haruto could've brought her boxing skills to new heights as she actively learned how to fight against his weapon.
"It's over! It's really over just like that!" The announcer shouted as the Ref called the match.
"Haruto was knocked unconscious from one punch from Zoey! It only took one punch! Does she have solid steel for fists or something!? How could this happen!?"
"That's bullshit! How in the fuck could a scrawny ass girl like that punch like that!?"
"She's so tiny, I could eat her!"
"Check the gloves! She's hiding something in them!"
"My money.... it's all gone...."
"Coach... I don't think I've seen so many zeroes before in my life..." Dylan nervously shared, looking at his checking account.
"What the hell!?" Was everyone else's reaction as Dylan grew rich in only a single day. Everyone else was too afraid to bet.
"God damn it! I knew I should've trusted her!" Steven cursed the heavens.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Tony shared his regret.
"This fucking kid..." Coach had never been prouder. He, too, was not confident in Zoey's chances.
"Just a fluke." Ben scoffed. "If that dumbass wasn't looking down on her, he could've easily reacted to her coming in." This was a surprise since it was coming from Ben, of all people.
"He thought he had her as soon as the ref started the match." Zack agreed.
"Guess you really can't be too cocky, huh? It only takes one good hit sometimes." Aiden chimed in.
"Check the gloves! Check the gloves! Check the gloves!" Many members of the audience began to chant.
"It looks like the crowd believes that Zoey's gloves have been tampered with in some way! Is it true that our little Single Blow Boxer could be cheating in only the Preliminaries!?" The announcer only added to the chants.
It looks like Zoey wasn't going to be a fan favorite in this tournament. A lot of angry adults were staring at her, blaming her for losing a shit ton of money. If Zoey wasn't the socially awkward dork she was, she'd be laughing in their faces for doubting her. She didn't know people were legally betting money on teenagers, but if this was how they reacted when they lost, they didn't really deserve to be here. Zoey was hearing a lot of nasty things being said about her that weren't true at all and were really pissing her off.
'Hahaha! You fuckers! You deserved to lose for betting against me! Pieces of shit!' The ref asked for her gloves, and she willingly handed them over with a calm look on her face. Inwardly snickering at all of them.
He checked them out as carefully as he could. Only to keep his decision as Zoey as the winner, and everyone else could shut the fuck up. Once the gloves were proved to be untampered, everyone went silent again except those few that were still screaming about becoming filthy rich for betting on her. Zoey was led out of the cage as the victor, with Coach waiting on her from outside.
"I'm proud of you, kid." Coach smiled.
"I didn't think he'd be done in one hit..." Zoey truthfully admitted.
"Nobody did! Hahahaha! Did you hear those crying babies?! You did fantastic out there, Zoey, and don't let anybody tell you differently." Coach Scott laughed his heart out.
"Thanks, Coach..." It was good to know he didn't bet against her with how happy he looked.
Chapter 21: An Unexpected Surprise.
"So, what do I do now?" Zoey asked as she was brought into the stands by Coach after putting on her normal outfit.
"You sit and watch." He smiled. "Take a good look at your future opponents and devise strategies to take them on." Coach advised.
"How many fights can I have in one day?" She asked.
"It depends on how quick the matches are. If they're as quick as your match, then you should be able to get a second match by tomorrow."
"Okay then." It was a good thing she brought her homework to do in the meantime.
She could fuck around on her phone the entire time, but that wouldn't help her grades or stop her from possibly failing and getting kicked out of track for not keeping up with her grades. So, while she loved boxing, getting stronger, and fighting. Her grades came first. Even if she found some way to make a living without going to college, being the first one in her family to go to college would be cool. No one on her mother's side has ever gone to college. Zoey didn't know anything about her father's side of the family. They only visited her mom's.
So, bringing out the huge algebra book on her lap, a notebook, a pencil, and a calculator, Zoey got to work on some annoying numbers and their expressions. From time to time, she found her attention being grabbed by some of the fighters on stage. Coach said that most of the preliminary fighters won't be anything special. The preliminaries are usually to eliminate the trash that managed to get in through connections and not skill.
"Am I one of them?" She didn't do anything special to be invited here.
"Yeah, but you're different." He explained. "You think I would bring you here if I thought you were trash?"
"I was just asking." Zoey shrugged before getting back to her homework.
There were two notable fighters that Zoey saw that instantly grabbed her opinion. The first one was Cory and Connie. The kicking guy and sword girl that attack Lindsay and Alexander in the library. And if they were here, then they obviously must have seen her first match. Zoey's concentration was being pulled away by the thoughts of fighting fighters as strong as them. They were magjistars and probably cheating with their magic by strengthening their body, but wasn't she doing the same with her Box?
Except Zoey couldn't turn off her Box or its skills. It was automatically on without her consent. But besides those two, there were some other fighters that Coach Scott pointed out to her. He pointed out the two magjistars, another boxer just like her but with a lot more cockiness and arrogance, and body, a calm female aikido fighter, and a hyperactive Muay Thai martial artist. Zoey wanted to fight every single one of them for the sake of battle experience and her skills and to evolve boxing as the ultimate fighting style.
"They're calling you up, kid. It looks like you get two matches in one day. How lucky." Coach patted her back, bringing her attention back to the ring.
"Huh? Someone challenged me specifically?" Zoey asked.
"Yep. Now go and make 'em regret ever thinking they can kick your ass!"
"Uh, okay." She went off to the locker room to get changed.
"Kick his ass, Zoey! Tony shouted, placing all the money in his bank account on Zoey.
"Show him your special move!" Steven yelled, doing the exact same.
"She has a special move?" Dylan asked. He decided not to gamble anymore today with his winnings.
"No. Those two are just trying to hype up the crowd." Zack chuckled.
"Maybe this guy won't be an idiot," Ben said, looking at Zoey's next opponent.
"And we're back, folks! It looks like we have Single Blow Boxer back in the ring once again! This time she is facing up with Aoiyama, a sumo wrestler that has seven wins and one loss under his belt. Let's find out who is going to win in this match-up!"
Aoiyama looked down at the tiny girl that was supposed to be his opponent. This was going to be a cakewalk. He would've been a fool not to choose this small girl as his opponent. What could she even do to the glorious folds of pure muscle he had on his body? As the annoying announcer continued to talk, the little black American girl dared to stare him in the eyes without any fear. He'll soon change that in a second.
The heavy-set young man squatted down low with his fist pressed to the mat. His opponent continued to meet his eyes, and for a second, he could've sworn he saw a flame burning inside them! Aoiyama readied himself to absolutely obliterate this girl. He didn't come all the way to America just to lose to some little black girl. It would be the biggest disgrace in his life. How could he go back to Japan and aim to become the future Yokozuna with a loss under his belt by someone like this? Impossible! Completely impossible is how!
"Begin!" The ref said.
Aoiyama was no longer inside the cage. In his place, an angry bull weighing 260+ pounds was charging straight for the girl. There was no avoiding this attack. At least, that's what Aoiyama believed. The Black Boxer simply hopped out of the way, and he didn't notice until he nearly rammed his head into the cage. In no time, Aoiyama's skin started to turn red as he angrily turned and charged once more.
Unlike before, he kept his eyes straight on the Black Boxer. He reached out with his hands to grab her. With his strength and size, once he grabbed her, it was basically over. Once she was in his hands, he could squeeze her little torso until the ref stopped him, slamming her onto the mat, and then crush her with his weight or just throw her to the other side of the ring.
'Hahaha! A free win for me!' He laughed, reaching for the black boxer in his dash.
"So slow..." Zoey muttered as Aoiyama's eyes widened.
Oops, he heard her. Oh, well. It was too late anyway. Now Zoey was 95% sure that a big fella like this could definitely take one of her normal punches without falling like that Mr. Unbeatable from before. So, once he reached out to grab her after running at her, she slid to his exposed side and built up momentum and torque in her fist and body before throwing it out.
The side of his stomach was inwardly blown back as the force of Zoey's punch was spread across his entire left torso. All of the innards on Aoiyama's left side felt pain, and he was about to drop from a pain he's never felt in his life before. His knees quaked as his hands instinctively reached towards where Zoey's punch landed. Making everyone realize that Zoey really had killer punches if she could hurt someone like this that was more than thrice her size. Zoey tried pleading with her eyes, telling him to not drop. She needed more experience in things other than punching!
"負けません!" He spoke in Japanese.
Zoey could see the determination and liveliness in his eyes as he reached to grab her once again. With a leisurely step backward out of the way of the hand practically moving in slow motion, Zoey punched his hand down. She inwardly sighed as this big guy was practically already done. Might as well give him a respectful send-off. Now that he was basically presenting himself to her as a free meal, Zoey ate him up.
She sent his face soaring to the left before catching it with her left fist and then knocking him to the cage with a straight that sent him stumbling backward. With his large exposed gut calling out to her, her fists responded with a message of their own. It was called Rapid Blow Finish! Zoey's fists shot out like a machine gun into Aoiyama's belly. The impact of her fists against his belly echoed out for everyone in the stands to hear. Each punch caused a wave of fat to spread across his stomach.
The referee had to push her out of the way before she could finish her combo. Aoiyama's eyes weren't lit, and he wasn't moving. He fell to the ground with his head banging off the mat. Zoey didn't know how exactly to react when everyone else in the audience was dead silent again. Should she hold up her boxing glove in like a victory stance? Why not try it for the hell of it? Zoey raised her arm up, and a couple of people cheered as the announcer went nuts.
"It looks like we got a dark horse in the tournament this time round, folks! Zoey Winters! The Girl with Cannons for Fists! Student Boxer! Female Fatale! Now no one can underestimate this girl for her size or gender when she's beating strong guys left and right!" He yelled. Earning some good points in her book again.
Zoey was very easy to please with compliments and the like. No one usually complimented her or said positive things about her. But that was because she didn't really have friends before. Maybe now that she's friends with Callie and Katlyn, she'll stop being the introverted awkward freak she is now. Hell, maybe she'll even gain some friends from this tournament after it was over.
"Alright, kid. You ready to go? I don't think anyone else is going to request a match from you after two matches like that." Coach asked.
Zoey's eyes wandered over to the taekwondo boy and kenjutsu girl. They didn't meet her eyes like she expected, so she decided to leave. If they gave her a certain look, then maybe she would've stayed to fight with them but now that she was thinking about it. It would be more exciting to fight them in the actual tournament. Not the preliminaries, where only the admission into the actual tournament is the only thing at stake. She didn't know the other talented fighters, so why would she look at them?
"So, what do you think, Ben? Think you can stand up with freaks like this?" Tony asked.
"I want to spar with Zoey." He revealed.
"Not now. Wait until the tournament is over. She has a lot to focus on and can't waste any time messing around with you." Coach Scott instantly shut that down.
"Tch. Whatever." He gave Coach a nasty look.
"When is my next match, Coach?" Zoey asked.
"Probably Friday. Since you all are kids, they give you a three-day break maximum. You can challenge people, and they will be forced to fight with you the day after you announce your challenge. So, most scumbags use this time to pick off the fighters that got hurt today."
"Don't I need to win five matches before I'm officially in the brackets for the tournament?" She asked.
"That's right," Zack answered.
"Where and how do I challenge people? And can I challenge more than five people?" She really wanted to fight.
"Calm down, you little spartan. I'll answer all your questions in the car." He laughed loudly at her obvious eagerness.
"Damn, Zoey, you have really been waiting for this, huh?" Steven laughed.
Now she's embarrassed, great. If these guys could see right through her, that meant she was actually wearing her heart on her sleeve. But it wasn't her fault she was like this. It isn't often that she could really fight with people, and when a chance like this came along, how could she help herself from wanting to jump around like an excited bunny in heat? All these fighters around her just made her itch like crazy that she couldn't fight them all.
'I might actually be going crazy...' She suddenly realized.
"So, what do you think of the Dark Horse?"
"Strong. I can't wait to fight her!"
"She is strong, but I still can't tell how skilled she is."
"Both of her opponents were knocked around by her. But that Haruto Tanaka... he was definitely not weak."
"Have you fought him before?"
"No, but I've seen a few of his matches. No one stood a chance against him in any of the videos I watched."
"Maybe it was a fluke that she beat him."
"She has good reflexes to dodge his attack at the start of the match like that."
"And then to immediately follow up with a counter-attack? It might not have been a fluke."
"We should keep an eye on her. Someone like her is definitely going to make it past the prelims."
"It wouldn't hurt."
"Zoey Winters, huh... I want you all to myself!"
"You sit and watch." He smiled. "Take a good look at your future opponents and devise strategies to take them on." Coach advised.
"How many fights can I have in one day?" She asked.
"It depends on how quick the matches are. If they're as quick as your match, then you should be able to get a second match by tomorrow."
"Okay then." It was a good thing she brought her homework to do in the meantime.
She could fuck around on her phone the entire time, but that wouldn't help her grades or stop her from possibly failing and getting kicked out of track for not keeping up with her grades. So, while she loved boxing, getting stronger, and fighting. Her grades came first. Even if she found some way to make a living without going to college, being the first one in her family to go to college would be cool. No one on her mother's side has ever gone to college. Zoey didn't know anything about her father's side of the family. They only visited her mom's.
So, bringing out the huge algebra book on her lap, a notebook, a pencil, and a calculator, Zoey got to work on some annoying numbers and their expressions. From time to time, she found her attention being grabbed by some of the fighters on stage. Coach said that most of the preliminary fighters won't be anything special. The preliminaries are usually to eliminate the trash that managed to get in through connections and not skill.
"Am I one of them?" She didn't do anything special to be invited here.
"Yeah, but you're different." He explained. "You think I would bring you here if I thought you were trash?"
"I was just asking." Zoey shrugged before getting back to her homework.
There were two notable fighters that Zoey saw that instantly grabbed her opinion. The first one was Cory and Connie. The kicking guy and sword girl that attack Lindsay and Alexander in the library. And if they were here, then they obviously must have seen her first match. Zoey's concentration was being pulled away by the thoughts of fighting fighters as strong as them. They were magjistars and probably cheating with their magic by strengthening their body, but wasn't she doing the same with her Box?
Except Zoey couldn't turn off her Box or its skills. It was automatically on without her consent. But besides those two, there were some other fighters that Coach Scott pointed out to her. He pointed out the two magjistars, another boxer just like her but with a lot more cockiness and arrogance, and body, a calm female aikido fighter, and a hyperactive Muay Thai martial artist. Zoey wanted to fight every single one of them for the sake of battle experience and her skills and to evolve boxing as the ultimate fighting style.
"They're calling you up, kid. It looks like you get two matches in one day. How lucky." Coach patted her back, bringing her attention back to the ring.
"Huh? Someone challenged me specifically?" Zoey asked.
"Yep. Now go and make 'em regret ever thinking they can kick your ass!"
"Uh, okay." She went off to the locker room to get changed.
"Kick his ass, Zoey! Tony shouted, placing all the money in his bank account on Zoey.
"Show him your special move!" Steven yelled, doing the exact same.
"She has a special move?" Dylan asked. He decided not to gamble anymore today with his winnings.
"No. Those two are just trying to hype up the crowd." Zack chuckled.
"Maybe this guy won't be an idiot," Ben said, looking at Zoey's next opponent.
"And we're back, folks! It looks like we have Single Blow Boxer back in the ring once again! This time she is facing up with Aoiyama, a sumo wrestler that has seven wins and one loss under his belt. Let's find out who is going to win in this match-up!"
Aoiyama looked down at the tiny girl that was supposed to be his opponent. This was going to be a cakewalk. He would've been a fool not to choose this small girl as his opponent. What could she even do to the glorious folds of pure muscle he had on his body? As the annoying announcer continued to talk, the little black American girl dared to stare him in the eyes without any fear. He'll soon change that in a second.
The heavy-set young man squatted down low with his fist pressed to the mat. His opponent continued to meet his eyes, and for a second, he could've sworn he saw a flame burning inside them! Aoiyama readied himself to absolutely obliterate this girl. He didn't come all the way to America just to lose to some little black girl. It would be the biggest disgrace in his life. How could he go back to Japan and aim to become the future Yokozuna with a loss under his belt by someone like this? Impossible! Completely impossible is how!
"Begin!" The ref said.
Aoiyama was no longer inside the cage. In his place, an angry bull weighing 260+ pounds was charging straight for the girl. There was no avoiding this attack. At least, that's what Aoiyama believed. The Black Boxer simply hopped out of the way, and he didn't notice until he nearly rammed his head into the cage. In no time, Aoiyama's skin started to turn red as he angrily turned and charged once more.
Unlike before, he kept his eyes straight on the Black Boxer. He reached out with his hands to grab her. With his strength and size, once he grabbed her, it was basically over. Once she was in his hands, he could squeeze her little torso until the ref stopped him, slamming her onto the mat, and then crush her with his weight or just throw her to the other side of the ring.
'Hahaha! A free win for me!' He laughed, reaching for the black boxer in his dash.
"So slow..." Zoey muttered as Aoiyama's eyes widened.
Oops, he heard her. Oh, well. It was too late anyway. Now Zoey was 95% sure that a big fella like this could definitely take one of her normal punches without falling like that Mr. Unbeatable from before. So, once he reached out to grab her after running at her, she slid to his exposed side and built up momentum and torque in her fist and body before throwing it out.
The side of his stomach was inwardly blown back as the force of Zoey's punch was spread across his entire left torso. All of the innards on Aoiyama's left side felt pain, and he was about to drop from a pain he's never felt in his life before. His knees quaked as his hands instinctively reached towards where Zoey's punch landed. Making everyone realize that Zoey really had killer punches if she could hurt someone like this that was more than thrice her size. Zoey tried pleading with her eyes, telling him to not drop. She needed more experience in things other than punching!
"負けません!" He spoke in Japanese.
Zoey could see the determination and liveliness in his eyes as he reached to grab her once again. With a leisurely step backward out of the way of the hand practically moving in slow motion, Zoey punched his hand down. She inwardly sighed as this big guy was practically already done. Might as well give him a respectful send-off. Now that he was basically presenting himself to her as a free meal, Zoey ate him up.
She sent his face soaring to the left before catching it with her left fist and then knocking him to the cage with a straight that sent him stumbling backward. With his large exposed gut calling out to her, her fists responded with a message of their own. It was called Rapid Blow Finish! Zoey's fists shot out like a machine gun into Aoiyama's belly. The impact of her fists against his belly echoed out for everyone in the stands to hear. Each punch caused a wave of fat to spread across his stomach.
The referee had to push her out of the way before she could finish her combo. Aoiyama's eyes weren't lit, and he wasn't moving. He fell to the ground with his head banging off the mat. Zoey didn't know how exactly to react when everyone else in the audience was dead silent again. Should she hold up her boxing glove in like a victory stance? Why not try it for the hell of it? Zoey raised her arm up, and a couple of people cheered as the announcer went nuts.
"It looks like we got a dark horse in the tournament this time round, folks! Zoey Winters! The Girl with Cannons for Fists! Student Boxer! Female Fatale! Now no one can underestimate this girl for her size or gender when she's beating strong guys left and right!" He yelled. Earning some good points in her book again.
Zoey was very easy to please with compliments and the like. No one usually complimented her or said positive things about her. But that was because she didn't really have friends before. Maybe now that she's friends with Callie and Katlyn, she'll stop being the introverted awkward freak she is now. Hell, maybe she'll even gain some friends from this tournament after it was over.
"Alright, kid. You ready to go? I don't think anyone else is going to request a match from you after two matches like that." Coach asked.
Zoey's eyes wandered over to the taekwondo boy and kenjutsu girl. They didn't meet her eyes like she expected, so she decided to leave. If they gave her a certain look, then maybe she would've stayed to fight with them but now that she was thinking about it. It would be more exciting to fight them in the actual tournament. Not the preliminaries, where only the admission into the actual tournament is the only thing at stake. She didn't know the other talented fighters, so why would she look at them?
"So, what do you think, Ben? Think you can stand up with freaks like this?" Tony asked.
"I want to spar with Zoey." He revealed.
"Not now. Wait until the tournament is over. She has a lot to focus on and can't waste any time messing around with you." Coach Scott instantly shut that down.
"Tch. Whatever." He gave Coach a nasty look.
"When is my next match, Coach?" Zoey asked.
"Probably Friday. Since you all are kids, they give you a three-day break maximum. You can challenge people, and they will be forced to fight with you the day after you announce your challenge. So, most scumbags use this time to pick off the fighters that got hurt today."
"Don't I need to win five matches before I'm officially in the brackets for the tournament?" She asked.
"That's right," Zack answered.
"Where and how do I challenge people? And can I challenge more than five people?" She really wanted to fight.
"Calm down, you little spartan. I'll answer all your questions in the car." He laughed loudly at her obvious eagerness.
"Damn, Zoey, you have really been waiting for this, huh?" Steven laughed.
Now she's embarrassed, great. If these guys could see right through her, that meant she was actually wearing her heart on her sleeve. But it wasn't her fault she was like this. It isn't often that she could really fight with people, and when a chance like this came along, how could she help herself from wanting to jump around like an excited bunny in heat? All these fighters around her just made her itch like crazy that she couldn't fight them all.
'I might actually be going crazy...' She suddenly realized.
"So, what do you think of the Dark Horse?"
"Strong. I can't wait to fight her!"
"She is strong, but I still can't tell how skilled she is."
"Both of her opponents were knocked around by her. But that Haruto Tanaka... he was definitely not weak."
"Have you fought him before?"
"No, but I've seen a few of his matches. No one stood a chance against him in any of the videos I watched."
"Maybe it was a fluke that she beat him."
"She has good reflexes to dodge his attack at the start of the match like that."
"And then to immediately follow up with a counter-attack? It might not have been a fluke."
"We should keep an eye on her. Someone like her is definitely going to make it past the prelims."
"It wouldn't hurt."
"Zoey Winters, huh... I want you all to myself!"