Life isn’t so Simple Anymore!

[Namgo]

If it was up to Zoey, she would've sent out at least five challenges on her way back home after the tournament. Once the Coach and everyone else saw who she wanted to fight, they immediately called her crazy and stopped her at once. Coach made a deal with her in hopes of stopping her from fighting more people he thought she could handle. If she could defeat two of the fighters she wanted to challenge, then he would allow her to challenge one more if she didn't take too much damage. And from there, if she could defeat those three challengers, she would get the chance to fight one more if she wasn't beaten to shit yet. He said he was concerned for her health, and by having so many fights in such a short time period, she'd be sapped of all her strength and have all of her moves analyzed by her opponents in the tournament.

So, if everything went perfectly right, Zoey would fight against seven fighters before next Monday arrives. In the meantime, she would have to continue her daily training, track practice at school, keep up with her grades, demon hunting with Lindsay and Alexander, increase her teaching skill somehow, and socialize with her new friends! Zoey's heart was telling her to ignore and throw away anything unrelated to fighting and increasing her skills with the Box, but her brain was telling her otherwise. It was really a lot to deal with at once, considering she needs to learn how to drive sometime soon as well since she's 17.

Zoey suddenly realized just how hectic her life had become after the Box arrived. Without it, she would only have to worry about studying, and that would be it, basically. Unless she somehow came across some people to befriend, being the loser she was. Well, she's still a fucking loser, but she's changing for the better! Actually, maybe not for the better because she was becoming a little bit crazy with the Box. But then again, who isn't a little crazy in this world? Anyone could look crazy from someone else's perspective.

'That makes me feel a little bit better about losing my mind to violence.' Zoey was dropped off at her house by the Coach.

Neither her mom nor dad acted any differently from how they usually did. Suddenly Zoey realized something. She was probably on live tv somewhere beating up two guys. There was no way that someone from her school hasn't seen her fighting! What should she do if someone brought it up around Katlyn and Callie?! Would they think she was a freak or a weirdo? How normal is it for a girl to be interested in boxing? Or fighting against guys in official fighting tournaments? Is it possible that they stop being friends with her over that? Zoey didn't know! Should she hide this side of herself from the people around her?

"Mom. Dad." Zoey called out to them before going upstairs to her room.

"Hmm?" Her step-dad looked up from his laptop at her.

"Yes?" Her mom took her attention off of the broccoli she was dicing.

"I have something to show you." Zoey pulled out her phone and searched for the YFTL fights on Beetube.

Zoey went over to the couch with her father and gestured for her mom to sit on to the side of her. She showed them both of her matches, along with a few others from the YFTL. It wouldn't make sense to hide something like this from her parents or anyone else. This was something she enjoyed doing with all her heart. If she had to hide something as important as this from the people she loved and cared about, then what could she share with them? Living her life in such an annoying way would drive her crazy. And not the type of crazy that she is already becoming.

"I knew you were taking boxing lessons, but I didn't think you'd be doing something like this." Zoey could hear the surprise in his voice.

"Is this how you got this new phone?" Her mother asked.

"Sure." Zoey just agreed, knowing that convincing her mother that she was actually hunting demons would be an impossible task without shoving a demon in her face and having it do demon shit.

"Why didn't you tell us about this, Zoey? We could've come out to support you." Bruce asked.

"I wasn't sure if you would let me keep going to boxing classes when I was doing stuff like this..." This was mostly aimed at her mom. Her dad was usually cool with anything she did.

"Well, do you like fighting and stuff?" He asked.

Zoey really loved her dad for how simple and straight to the point he was.

"Yes, I do. I want to keep going to boxing classes and keep fighting." She answered, her eyes unconsciously drawn to her mother's face.

She couldn't tell what her mother thought about it but knew if she disagreed in any way, it would only hurt their strained relationship more.

"Then that's fine with me. I don't like how you're fighting against boys and the fact that you could get hurt, but as long as it makes you happy, I'm happy." Bruce rubbed her back.

"Thanks, Dad..." Zoey felt a tear threatening to drop from her eye.

"Fine! I'm not okay with my little girl fighting at all. I just thought those boxing lessons were something for you to learn how to defend yourself from any perverts. But since it means so much to you, I guess I won't stop you." Alicia shrugged.

"Really, mom?!" Zoey's joy caused even more tears to come out.

"Yes, baby... But! If I find out that you're failing in school, that will be the end of your fighting career!"

"I'll go do my homework right now!" Zoey rushed to her room to get started.

---

"I really don't want to see my baby getting hurt..." Alicia pressed her hand against her forehead as she rested on Bruce's lap.

"I know, honey. But we both saw that look on her face." Bruce moved his laptop so that Alicia was more comfortable on his lap.

"It was because of that look I had to agree... Because of that fight, we had, I couldn't have her start hating me. I don't think I could keep myself from crying if Zoey hated me. Am I a terrible mother, Bruce? I'm trying my hardest, but I don't think anything is working." Alicia felt that her children were growing more distant from her as time went on.

"Of course, you're not a bad mother." He kissed her forehead. "A bad mother wouldn't be trying as hard as you are to make sure that your children love you and are safe."

"What should I do? What if Everett becomes interested in boxing, too, and wants to fight people? How do I keep my babies safe and well?"

"Alicia. I know this might be hard to hear, but you can't protect them forever. Zoey's well on her way to becoming a young woman. She's only got another year until she's eighteen, and it looks like she already knows what she wants to do as a career. Everett says he wants to become a professional streamer and gamer. He still has a couple of years to decide if he wants to be something else, but I think he's going to stay on that path. The only thing we can do for them is support them and their interests while making sure that they are safe and aren't doing anything wrong." He told her.

"I love you Bruce... Thanks for being with me and helping me with the kids for all these years, even though you never had too." Alicia lifted her head up and kissed him on the lips.

"I love you too. And Zoey and Everett are pretty cool kids, so I don't mind." He smiled.

"You know, I never really knew much about the stuff they were interested in... After they reached a certain age, they just stopped telling me things. When I was a kid, I wouldn't shut up around my mom. I told her everything and anything all the time."

"Sounds like you got plenty of things to talk to them about then. Ask them everything you want to know."

"But what if they don't tell me? What if they don't want to tell me?"

"Why wouldn't they want to tell their mother what their interests are? What they want to do when they grow up? If they don't tell you, who would they tell?" He reasoned.

"I guess that makes sense. Alright, I'll go have a talk with Everett. I'll talk with Zoey later." Alicia saw something on Bruce's laptop once she lifted it up. "What were you doing before Zoey came in?"

"Ah, during our talk, I decided to place some orders for tickets to her matches. Before that, I was just reading some comics."

"How much do they cost?"

"The cheapest seats cost 70 dollars while the cage side seats cost 500 dollars. But it does say that immediate family of the fighters can get free seats while extended family gets a 30% discount on tickets."

"When is her next fight?"

"Tomorrow, it looks like. Around 7 pm, against two boys called Tyler Warden and Mike Douglas at their gyms."

"I don't think I could handle going to her fight alone," Alicia admitted.

"Why don't you take Everett with you? I'm sure he would be interested in seeing it."

"I'll ask when I go up to his room but still... What am I supposed to do if she loses and gets hurt?"

"Don't panic. Losing is part of fighting. Just make sure to be there for her and cheer her on. Even if she loses, support and motivate her to train even harder for next time." Bruce advised.

"I don't want her to get hurt again!"

"Alicia, unless you plan to forbid her from fighting. You'll need to be supportive of her." He explained.

"You're right. You're right... I know. You're always right... I'll be strong for my children." She took a deep breath and then walked into the kitchen, quickly remembering to make sure the food didn't burn.

"Don't worry, honey! I'm here with you every step of the way." Bruce told her before she entered the kitchen.

 

[Namgo]

"So, I was like, no way, Warren! Why the hell would you even ask that? I'm not that type of girl, and I totally don't appreciate the way you're looking at me." Callie said.

Zoey was at her first track practice of the season with Callie and Katlyn. To start practice off, they ran 2 miles on the track. They were jogging at a comfortable pace, side by side with one another. She was making sure to stay with their speed and not unconsciously speed ahead.

"I would've kicked him in his balls if he said something like that to me," Katlyn said.

"Finding a nice guy at this school is almost impossible... I want to experience true love that doesn't involve my body!" Callie cried out.

"Love stories like that don't exist anymore in this era. True love is dead." Katlyn severed her hopes.

"What about you, Zoey? Do you think love is dead and I should just give up my dream of finding a nice respectable guy who doesn't look at me like a piece of meat?"

"I wouldn't really know anything about that..." She admitted.

Zoey was a Bonafide sex fiend in her imagination. The number of guys she's screwed in her head definitely numbers more than the actual number of guys she's ever talked to. At this point, she actually couldn't tell the difference between love and lust. That was just how far she was gone. Because right now, she couldn't think of a single guy she had a crush on that wasn't mostly physical. Maybe the true love Callie was talking about was something like how she felt about Ethan but without the constant sex and kissing. But wait, without those, isn't she just spending time with him? Now she was confused again.

'Just what the hell is love in the first place?' Zoey's brain felt like it was spinning.

"I refuse to believe that you never had a crush on a boy before," Katlyn said.

"I had crushes before. I don't think nice men are impossible to find anymore. Maybe you're just not looking in the right place?" Zoey guessed.

"You know Zoey. You might be right. The only guys I ever talked to were sports guys."

"Wait, really? Why?" Katlyn asked.

"I like guys with nice bodies." Callie shared.

'Me too.' Zoey agreed, but she could go for soft-looking men too. She was regularly the aggressor in her fantasies.

"Ah, you two, Zoey!?" Katlyn caught Zoey nodding her head.

"Huh?!" Zoey didn't even realize she nodded in agreement!

"Heehee... I thought you were more likely to go after nerdy boys or something." Callie teased.

'I could if he's cute enough in looks and personality. But those stuck-up and prideful nerds can go to hell.'

"To think you were into jocks. I'm surprised." Katlyn grinned.

"I..." Zoey didn't know how to respond.

"Well, you know, Zoey, if you have anyone you're interested in, we could totally help you out!" Callie offered.

"I'm good." She immediately shut her down.

Zoey would not be able to handle the embarrassment of someone knowing the thoughts running through her head. There were times when she thought about what if someone could read her mind, and she had no choice but to be 100% honest the entire time. It was fun to think about being her true self without restraining any part of herself away. But Zoey didn't think she was a very nice or friendly person. If she just went around acting the way she felt, no one would want to be around her! People still didn't usually fuck with her even when she acted nice and friendly, but still! People like friendly people more than assholes.

"Time for warm-up, girls!" Tiffany, their running coach, called them in after their 2 miles.

The boys and girls started heading to the grass together. The boys went over to the coach for the boys while the girls headed to the opposite side of the field with Tiffany and the others.

"Come on, Zoey! We could totally hook you up with someone. Tell us who you're interested in!" Callie pressed.

"No way. I got too much on my plate for a boyfriend now, anyway." Zoey dismissed. 'A friend with benefits is something else, though...'

"Like what?" Callie asked.

"The only things I can think of is her secret part-time job, track practice, and school work," Katlyn said.

"Wait! Zoey, aren't you 15?! How do you have a job already?!"

"No, I'm 17..." Zoey said.

"Seriously?" Callie looked at her.

"Are they hiring where you work at Zoey?" Katlyn asked.

'How the fuck am I supposed to answer that?!' Zoey works as a Bringer for magjistar, that were basically like magical exorcists.

She didn't know if other magjistars were looking for Bringers to hire, and Zoey didn't want to put her friend in danger anyway. It was okay for her since she had the Box. She could handle the danger that comes with the job. As far as she knew, Katlyn was a completely normal human who was good at running for a long time. Maybe she could run away from the demons as bait so that the magjistars could kill them, but demons are usually physically stronger than humans. There would be a point where she won't be able to run away from a demon before the magjistars can kill it.

"Not that I know of. I'll ask around, but you should probably look somewhere else. My job isn't exactly... the most normal." It wasn't a complete lie.

"The more you hide this secret job of yours, Zoey, the more I want to find out about it." Callie grinned.

"Sorry." Zoey wished it was the opposite.

The rest of track practice went smoothly. Zoey learned what'd she be doing as a runner for the 100m. Callie told her that it'd be pretty much the same practice throughout the season. Sometimes Tiffany will switch things up by adding something new, or the coaches will merge the boy's and girl's practices. But overall, this'll be it for practice. It'll be the track meets when things will get exciting. That will be where she can put all this practice to use and compete against other high schools in the city.

"Text you later, Zoey!" Callie gave her a hug and smothered her face in her stupidly big breasts. Zoey tried to respond, but her response got buried in Callie's chest.

Zoey wasn't jealous. It just made her wonder what the hell did she eat and drink to grow up to have tits that big. Now that she was in shape because of her training and the Box, which probably played a bigger part than she thought, Zoey was proud of her body. Even if she could've got these same results without the box, she still wouldn't have put in the effort to do it. The only reason she trains every morning and night is that, with the Box, she can actively see herself improving. While if she didn't have the box, results would take many months before they started showing.

Now that track practice was over, Zoey still had about two hours before her match with Tyler and Mike. If she went home, she could probably knock out some homework from today, but it's been a while since she's gone to the city in search of gangsters and delinquents. But now that she thought about it... Zoey didn't really need to go up into the city anymore in search of fights. She had some fights right here because of the Youth Fighting Tournament League! They'd be able to raise her stats and skills far better than some scum of society. This still didn't make her want to not go to the city.

If she wanted to raise Boxing to the pinnacle of all fighting styles, she'd need to experience using it in all kinds of situations and scenarios. Against pieces of shit that are willing to use knives against girls, against a group of people that are attacking her all at the same time, against demons with supernatural abilities, and against magjistars! Evolving boxing to something that can handle all that won't be possible if she only used it in the ring with specific rules that handicapped her from fighting to her full potential. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself a bit. Zoey only started boxing not too long ago.

'How about I worry about taking boxing to the next level when I fully master the damn thing first.' She decided.

So, Zoey made her way to the gym for some practice and maybe teaching. She was all for raising her skills when the opportunity came. After her first two matches in the YFTL, Zoey was no longer going to pummel her opponents into submission. Her fists were a lot heavier than she previously thought they were. Now, she would focus on leveling her defensive skills until time was about to run out. It was why she picked two weak-looking guys to fight against. Taking them out in a single punch or two wouldn't be a problem when there was a minute left or so.

"There's our little killer! Are you ready for your matches in a few hours?" Coach Scott happily greeted her.

"Uh, I was coming for a little warm-up. Then I was going to head down there." She explained.

"Oi! Zack! Get your ass over here and come help Zoey warm up!" He shouted.

"Here I come, Coach." Zack laughed.

"Zoey!!!" The other people in the gym started shouting her name when they realized she entered.

Do these jerk-offs know how embarrassing it is to have your name cheered for? All she did was walk into the gym, and now she had a small crowd around her. It was at moments like this that Zoey was glad that she wasn't white. Her face would be as red as a fucking tomato right now. She quickly greeted everyone and then made it to the back to get changed.

"I don't think I'll be able to handle the fame of winning the tournament..." She suddenly realized.

 

[Namgo]

Zoey stood in the ring with Tyler Warden and a referee. Officials from the YFTL, family and friends of both fighters, and some people from the media stood outside the ring to watch the match. Tyler was tall and slim, with long, curly green hair, brown eyes, a dark brown skin tone, and a sturdy figure. He wore a white gi and had a brown belt wrapped around his waist. She hasn't fought against someone that used karate yet.

She was very interested in seeing his techniques. All Zoey knew of karate was from Pollywood movies. Which looked cool, but from some of the stuff she read online about it, most of it was pretty impractical to try and use in a real fight. In a real fight, there was nothing stopping people from using everything they could to hurt their opponent. Teeth, nails, pinching, scratching, biting, and that wasn't including random everyday objects that might be in the area to use: chairs, broken pieces of glass, bottles, rocks, bricks, and more.

So, with a smile hidden behind a face of seriousness, Zoey lightened her toes and readied herself to fight. She did notice her little brother and mother in the crowd of faces next to her Coach and acquaintances at the gym. They seemed to be talking about something after noticing the resemblance between her mom and herself. Everett's eyes were focused up on the ring at her. So she couldn't look bad in front of her little brother. What if she somehow lost, and he started thinking that he shouldn't be learning from a loser like her? That would be too embarrassing.

"Begin!"

Tyler started their match off with a strong front kick. His toes led the attack to sink into her exposed stomach. Zoey's first thought was to crush his leg with a downward punch, but her body hopped back and avoided the kick. Her focus was defense! Tire him out! Raise those skills!

He cautiously moved forward, keeping his eyes on her fists. Zoey figured he must have seen her other two matches and knew how dangerous her fists were. Luckily for him, he still had 3 minutes left before she broke out these babies. So, all she needed for him to do was attack her.

'Don't be a pussy. Come try and beat the shit out of me!'

Sadly, this is not what he decided to do. He approached her like an actual opponent and didn't look down on her one bit. When she tried to bait him out by throwing a sloppy jab, he made some distance between the two of them. This was pissing her off. Why did she have to pick this guy to go against?

Neither Zoey nor Tyler has spoken one word to each other so far. They both analyzed each other's moves to try and gleam anything that they could take advantage of. Once Zoey realized that he was absolutely set on fighting in this match like a turtle, she knew she needed to switch things up a bit. She suddenly dashed into Tyler's space. Just like all the other times she moved in or attacked, his response was to gain some distance. But this time, Zoey wouldn't let him run away as he pleased.

Zoey's foot stomped on Tyler's, preventing him from moving a single inch backward. The shock in his eyes was evident once he realized that a boxer used their foot, and her scary fist was heading straight toward him. His panic was kind of funny as Zoey held back her strength and knocked her fist into his arms. He managed to raise his arms in time to block, but Zoey wasn't done playing with him yet. She moved in as if she was going to throw another punch. This sent Tyler into panic mode. His body lurched away to get as far away from her as possible, but how could Zoey let him run away like this?

She grabbed him by the arm and tossed him to the mat. The amount of self-control it took her not to rush down to mount him and start pounding his face in was almost enough to ruin everything she's been working for so far. But that look in his eyes, she didn't like it. It was almost as if he was actually afraid of her. With a look like that, how could she possibly get him to show all of his karate moves to beat her?

"Are you even taking this seriously...?" She softly asked. This was a question she seriously wanted to know. "How do you expect to become better if you aren't trying your hardest?" It was probably hypocritical of her to say this.

As she wasn't trying her hardest either. But this was different! She wasn't trying her hardest because no one's forced her to try her hardest yet. There wasn't a challenge from these fighters that pushed her to her boxing limit. But with this guy, he should be doing everything he could to...

'Oh, I'm a retard...' Zoey wanted to face-palm.

Zoey realized that their fights would be recorded on the YFTL channel on Beetube. So that means their fighting style, fighting habits, and moves would be analyzed by all of their future opponents. This didn't really mean anything to Zoey, who didn't care if her skills were 100% documented and explained. Just because people knew what you were capable of didn't mean they could stop it or handle it. All it meant was that she just needed to become an even better fighter capable of surpassing the old her that was researched! That sounded cringy as hell, but it was true.

In the end, this still didn't mean anything to her. It looked like she wouldn't be able to force Tyler into giving it his all because there was no need to expend himself in this fight against someone as strong as her. He still had two more chances to lose before he was eliminated in the tournament. Only when they were at the YFTL building performing in the ring would they not have another chance to participate in the tournament. Upon realizing this, Zoey decided to put an end to the match here. This guy obviously wasn't going to show her the awesome karate skills shown in the movies: no flying kicks, split kicks, or backhand punches.

Zoey rushed in to finish this match once Tyler made it back on his feet. He greeted her aggressive charge with another front kick that Zoey couldn't dodge or parry. It sunk into her stomach, making it the first time she's taken damage since the tournament. But she wasn't sent backward. No, she stood her ground and grabbed his leg with her boxing glove. Tyler tried pulling his leg back, but he was not stronger than Zoey.

She forcefully pulled him towards her and reared her fist back. His gut instinct was to block his face as the rocket in the form of a fist shot off toward him. Zoey didn't care if he blocked or not and aimed for his face regardless. A loud smack sounded out in the ring as Tyler was sent stumbling backward. Both of his arms were red, shaking, and almost completely numb. When he tried to prepare himself for Zoey's next attack, the only thing he could do was kick out with his legs once more.

'Enough of that shit.' She struck down with her fist like a lightning bolt and sent it straight back to the mat before driving her fist into his stomach, no longer holding back her strength.

His body lurched over from the force and angle of her punch while spittle flew from his mouth. The referee called the match once he fell to the ground and declared Zoey the winner. Cheers rang out from the guys at her gym. Applause from mostly everyone else, even Tyler's group. That was nice to see that they didn't hate her or anything. She made her way out of the ring as Coach had some stand-by MAT check her out for injuries. Most of the Medical Assistance Team went in the ring to check out Tyler, but they had some to spare for her.

"Thank god you're okay." Her mom wrapped her up in a hug in front of everybody after being checked out and asked many questions.

"I'm fine." She escaped her mother's hug. Oh god, did she really have to do this in front of the guys from the gym? They only know her as the mom that grounded her. If they see her acting all nice and shit, it'll make Zoey look like the asshole for getting grounded by this woman!

"A real-life match is way crazier than watching it online..." Everett said, completely shocked by his sister's fight.

"Was that your first time watching a match in person?" Steven asked.

"Yeah. I didn't think it'd be so... raw." He didn't know the right word.

"Hahaha! You haven't seen nothing yet. If you thought that was something, just wait till the real tournament starts." Tony laughed.

"You should've seen your sister's second match. She was like an unstoppable monster against that sumo dude." Aiden added.

"Where is Mike?" Zoey asked. This question seemed to shock most of the people around.

"You really are a killer, huh? Just got out of a fight and already itching to get back in one!" Coach laughed. "He's on his way with his people." He answered.

"Don't you want some water or to take a break or something?" Her mom asked.

"Some water would be nice," Zoey answered. Her mother handed her one from the cooler nearby.

"Zoey, mind telling us where you learned how to fight like that?" Zack grinned. "I don't remember teaching you any throws or foot stomping." He was interested in her response.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that because of the flashy finish!" Steven said.

"It felt like it would have been effective." She answered half-heartedly.

Obviously, Zoey wouldn't tell them she learned it from fighting delinquents on the street. There were plenty of other moves she's learned from fighting against gangsters but didn't really plan to use them in the tournament unless she needed to. One of her sub-goals was using standard old boxing to win this tournament. Mostly because Coach was the one to give her this opportunity, so it would be nice of her to try and use the things she's learned from his gym to win. Zoey's main goal in all of this was to raise her skills, her body stat, and to gain more experience in fighting.

'You might have more talent for this than I thought...' Coach Scott thought to himself, still lamenting the fact that she was born a girl.

"What the hell kind of answer is that?!" Tony laughed.

"How do you feel that exactly?" Dylan wondered. He regularly studied Zoey's form and style while being taught by her.

"I watch other people fight and see if I can add it to my own style." She answered truthfully.

"That's fine and all, but don't let me dare see you throwing a kick out there!" Coach Scott spoke up. Zoey nodded. She didn't mind a handicap like that for now.

 

[Namgo]

Zoey's next fight started off in a manner that she didn't quite expect, nor did anyone else. Mike wasn't anything like Tyler. He was the type of person she wanted to fight against but, at the same time, didn't. That was because right now, he had her on the ground, trying to submit her with a wrestling move or something! No one could blame Zoey, as how could anyone expect that Mike would start off the match by rushing in like a wild bull and wrapping around her waist?! It was like trying to shake off dozens of children who are hell-bent on staying attached to you at the waist and bringing you down to their level.

So now Zoey was in her first real ground fight of her life. The scraps she had with delinquents where she pounded their faces in the middle of dark alleyways wasn't anything like facing off against a proper martial artist who knew what he was doing on the ground. Zoey knew her experience with grappling and ground fighting was basically zero, which was why she did everything she could to stay on top and pound away at any visible skin on Mike's body without letting him latch onto her or move his legs and arms around too much. She's done a little research on martial artists that have experience in ground fighting.

Her research may have consisted of watching several top 10 submission videos on Beetube but hey! Research was research! And she wouldn't dare let anyone say that those videos didn't help her. Because now Zoey knew exactly which limbs to not give to submission-style fighters when on the ground and how to prevent herself from being caught up in mistakes. Thankfully, Zoey was stronger than Mike. That also helped her from being put in a submission.

Zoey got up from the ground and put some distance between her and Mike. His pale white skin, short, nearly bald head, light brown eyes, and broad build made Zoey think of a typical wrestler. He was in a low stance with his arms opened wide, giving the impression that he was going in for another tackle. However, Zoey was ready this time. If he wanted to try that stunt again, he can expect a full-powered straight with her left fist.

"Don't tell me your nervous." He giggled, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"..." She didn't respond and kept her feet light, ready for any type of sudden movement.

He lurched forward with his body and frightened her. It was only a feint, and that kind of pissed her off. Then straight after the feint, he did the same motion, but this time actually throwing out a punch! Zoey hopped backward and realized she needed to calm down. She couldn't let him play mind games with her.

However, her back was to the cage. She had nowhere to run anymore, and he was grinning at her like a wild hyena who found an injured lioness all on her own. Mike didn't give her the chance to escape to the left or right. He followed her and kept her in that tight space with limited movements. Zoey's anger was rising at the smiling bastard. Fine, he wanted to corner her?

'Why don't I show you what this cornered girl can do?' Zoey stepped in and sent a quick jab.

Her glove impacted against his forehead as he dove in low to tackle her legs. She slid back to the cage foot first but did not fall! Their position right now was incredibly awkward, with Zoey on top of Mike's back with him clutching his arms around her legs. Zoey used this chance to pound the right side of his ribs in with her boxing gloves while using her left hand to keep a good grip on him while in this position. Mike squirmed like a newly caught fish who refused to be the fisherman's dinner. At one point, she got kicked in her left eye from how hard he was struggling. That kick caused her to instinctively cover her eye with the hand that was holding Mike down, giving him the chance to slip out and get behind her back. His legs wrapped around her stomach while his arms tried to strangle her by the neck!

Zoey managed to put an arm in between her neck and his arms before he could complete the hold. In this weird ass position, it was impossible for her to throw a good punch. Although, a good elbow wasn't out of the question...

"Guh!" Her elbow dug into his side.

She continued to jab at his ribs with her elbow until she felt his grip weakening. It was at this point that Zoey started thinking something a little bit scary. Suppose Mike was some scumbag delinquent or demon that she was facing off against right now. Zoey would actually be smiling at this turnaround. The pain he was feeling, the freedom she was regaining, the close call of actually losing because of her lack of experience, all of it tied in together as she broke free of Mike's hold and found herself staring at his exhausted face. Her fist was raised, and she had a hard time stopping herself from going all out and just beating his face in while he was defenseless.

Even Zoey herself was shocked when she looked at her shaking fist. It was like two parts of her were fighting against each other. The part of her that demanded absolute freedom of expression and didn't want to be hidden away anymore. And the part of her that refused to show the inner side of herself. To continue playing the friendly and likable Zoey Winters that gave a shit about what others thought of her. This inner battle was temporarily put on hold as the Referee crouched over the stationary Mike, who tapped the mat twice and then gave her the win.

"Mike has forfeited the match! Zoey Winters is the winner!" He announced.

'Hah?' She wanted to fight more! But at the same time, she was glad it was over. Zoey didn't know how much longer she would've been able to hold back against him.

"You were a great fighter." She told him before leaving the ring.

"Heh... I didn't stand a chance..." She heard him murmur to himself. "God damn it...!" He tightly balled up his fists and hit the mat.

Zoey met the people from her gym and her family, who all congratulated her while she was getting checked out by the MAT again. Despite being given the clear by the MAT, Coach refused to let her set up another match for tomorrow like he promised. To say that she was fucking pissed was an understatement. But she did understand why he didn't want her doing what she was doing. Her close call with Mike in there when she almost got choked out only made him even more afraid for her, so, like a healthy young girl would when being denied of something she wanted.

Zoey spent most of the night punching her feelings out on the punching bag until she felt exhausted enough to sleep. The next morning, she sought out Alexander and Lindsay for the sole purpose of finding demons because her opportunity of fighting was denied by Coach Scott. Ever since they got their butt kicked by those two magicians, they've been going through a little training session of their own. It was hard for her to tell if they would be a match against the kicking guy and sword girl now because she didn't know what kind of training they went through. Right now, they didn't look any different from usual, except maybe they were a bit more confident? Lindsay had a bandage over the bridge of her nose, while Alexander had one on his right cheek.

"It's a good thing you stopped by Zoey! Me and Lindsay were going to investigate the main part of Krey. We've heard of missing people reports from that area and wanted to check it out to see if a daemon is up there." Alexander explained.

"The city? Wouldn't magicians be all over if it was there then?" Zoey asked.

"A good number of the main city's magjistars are busy focusing their attention on other matters. Our job is only to investigate to see if it is a daemon. If it is, and it's a daemon we can handle, deal with it. If we can't retreat and report back to the OM. (Organization of Magjistars)" Lindsay stepped in.

"So, what if it isn't a daemon but some serial killer or something?" Zoey wanted to know.

"Report it to the police," Alexander answered.

"What if we can stop him?"

"If it's possible, do so. But we can't use any magic." Lindsay said.

"...Okay. Let's go." Zoey kept her thought to herself.

Usually, you'd think that there would be some magical tool or spell that could wipe the memories of people so that magjistars could help people while using their powers without having to worry about normal people seeing them. But maybe that was only for the higher-ups and most skilled magjistars. There was no part inside Zoey's brain that believed that there wasn't a spell that messed with brains. If Lindsay could use ice magic and Alexander could use lighting magic, there had to be a mage that did brain magic or mental magic.

'Now, how in the fuck was I going to put up a fight against someone like that, though?' She wondered. 'What if I upped my mental stat some more? It couldn't hurt, right?' A little bit more studying was going to have to fill her nights coming soon.

"Great! Let's head out!" Alexander was more than happy to look for some daemons.

 

[omnijpmonn]

I just want to say, this is an absolutely fascinating story. It's got multiple threads going on without losing cohesiveness. Nice! Looking forward to more.

 

[Namgo]

"This man was said to be at the scene of the incident in the missing persons' report. The police refused to believe his statements, and ever since then, he's been sitting inside his apartment." Lindsay read from her phone.

"The homicide at the family diner?" Alexander asked for clarification's sake.

"Yes. Apparently, more than a dozen people went missing in the middle of the day. He was the only one that managed to get away." Lindsay knocked on the door.

'If that isn't an obvious sign that it's a demon, then I don't know what is.' Zoey wanted to roll her eyes.

People don't just go missing in the middle of the city inside a restaurant. But this was more convenient for Zoey. She would get to fight a demon like she wanted if they were lucky enough to find it. Zoey wondered why they didn't just go to the crime scene and then locate any trace of demon magic or essence with some magic tool or something. Then she realized if that were possible, Lindsay and Alexander would've already done so. They were basically the bottom-of-the-barrel magjistars in terms of position in the magic company.

"Why are you kids outside my door?" A thin-framed man with messy balding hair, bags under his eyes, and a beer gut greeted them in the door frame.

"Hello, sir." Lindsay reached out with her hand for a handshake. He refused and only stared at them with suspicion. "I would like to ask you a few questions involving the mysterious disappearances at Glizzy the Clown's Family Diner. Do you have any time to spare?" She asked.

"Even if I tell you what happened, you won't believe me. No one does. Shit, I still can't even believe what I saw..." He scratched his head, with small patches of black hair falling to the ground.

"That is something you don't have to worry about, sir," Alexander told him as he reached into his school uniform's inner pocket.

'Why the hell are they doing this stuff in their school uniforms? Won't that make them easy to recognize?' Zoey wore a simple light blue hoodie, leggings, and sneakers with a bag over her shoulders.

Their school uniforms were pretty distinct, as almost every other school in the city allowed their students to wear regular clothes with some regulations. Then again, Zoey didn't know what the worst that could happen because of it. It wasn't like either of them was going to reveal themselves as magicians. Right now, they were simply collecting information.

"If it's the truth in your eyes, it's the truth in ours," Alexander said.

"All we want are the facts, Mr. Fletcher," Lindsay added. "And you are the only man capable of sharing them with us."

"Fine... But you can't come in. It's a fucking mess inside." He came out the door and closed it behind him.

Zoey, Lindsay, and Alexander posted up inside the hallway listening to his story. People occasionally passed by them during his story, but they paid no mind to them. They weren't blocking anyone's path or door. So, there was no need for anyone to bring up complaints with the landlord.

"I just got off work that day... It was a regular day that was no different from usual." He started off.

"Since I was feeling a little hungry and didn't feel like cooking for myself when I got home, I decided to stop by Glizzy's. Even when I first walked in, I could tell that something wasn't quite right. It was like the usual feeling I got when I walked inside Glizzy's was gone. I felt like something wasn't right, and that made me nervous." His eyes were drawn to the floor instead of theirs.

"Did you feel cold? Shaky? Out of breath?" Lindsay asked.

"Yes! That's exactly it! It was like I wasn't in control of my body anymore, and I felt like I had to get away no matter what."

'Is that some sort of telltale sign of a demon in the area?' Zoey wondered.

"Then what happened?" Alexander wanted him to continue.

"Then, I looked in the direction of where I was getting this feeling from. It was in the corner section of the diner. There was a man and a woman sitting at a table talking to each other. At first, I didn't think much of them. They looked like just regular ordinary people to me. So, I thought I was just freaking out over nothing." He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Until I realized that I was the only person who could see them. No one else seemed to notice the pair at all. Not the waitresses, the employees behind the counter, the customers, only I did. Even when I asked other people about the two, they only looked at me as if I was crazy, pointing to an empty table and saying people were over there. That was when I understood something was wrong. I didn't see ghosts. I wasn't overworked and started hallucinating. And when those two looked at me with the woman waggling her finger, I ran out of that diner as fast as I could. I didn't turn or look back until I was safely inside my home, soaked in sweat and piss. The only thing I can remember after that was the police bursting into my room and taking me down to the station to question me."

"Can you describe the two people to me?" Lindsay asked.

"The guy had piercings on his ears and tongue. He was a skinny guy with brown hair. The woman had green hair, glasses, big tits, and wore a checker pattern skirt." He answered.

"Green hair..." Alexander mumbled something.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Fletcher. We have gained a lot for our report at school because of you." Lindsay smiled.

"You believe me...? You don't think I'm crazy and killed all those people?"

"If you did, you would certainly be in jail, don't you think? How could you cover up the murder of over a dozen people in less than 6 hours?" She asked him.

"I guess... I guess that does make sense..." A small smile formed on his face.

"Plus, you don't really seem like a bad guy to me." Alexander patted him on his shoulder.

"You kids... are the only people to believe me..." Tears were starting to pool around his eyes.

"The world is a lot more magical than you might think, Mr. Fletcher," Lindsay said as they started to leave.

'Pfft! How could she say that with a straight face!?' Zoey inwardly laughed.

"So, are we going to the diner?" Zoey asked with her face just as calm as ever.

"No. They wouldn't stick around after causing a big commotion like that. The two daemons should be hiding somewhere in the city."

"Lindsay. Do you think that female daemon is the librarian that got away?" Alexander brought up.

"I'm certain of it. But I have no idea about the male daemon with her. Apparently, they've possibly teamed up?"

"Daemons don't team up," Alexander stated as a matter of fact.

"Why not?" Zoey asked.

"They're too prideful and selfish for something like that."

"Isn't that just like an opinion, though? How can you be so sure that they aren't teaming up?" Zoey wanted to know.

Because in her mind, it was an open-and-shut case that two demons were working together and eating people together. Why else would they be talking at a diner with each other? Maybe it was because she didn't grow up as a magjistar that she was missing something, but still. It seemed pretty obvious that they were teaming up.

"There are very few cases of daemons ever working together documented at the OM. And of those cases, it was only when both daemons' lives were in certain danger." Lindsay said.

"Okay." Zoey shrugged her shoulders, still feeling that she was right. "So, how are we going to find the demons? Just walk around the city and hope we get lucky?" Zoey asked.

"Our job isn't to find the daemons. It's to investigate to see if daemons caused the situation." Alexander reminded her.

Just as they were about to leave the apartment complex, they ran into an exciting duo. Piercings, ripped jeans, slim body type. Emerald-green hair, huge breasts, red and black skirt. Numerous people lined the sidewalk. Everything started to go into slow motion for Zoey once she realized who these two were. Focus. She grabbed Alexander and Lindsay by the back of their collars and pulled them away to a more comfortable distance away from the two demons. Then she picked them up and started running away.

"Those humans! Those are the ones who nearly killed me from back then!" The woman screeched.

"Kill 'em!" The man realized who she was talking about.

Both chased Zoey as she ran away at full speed with Alexander and Lindsay over her shoulders. Despite carrying two dead weights, Zoey didn't seem slow at all! The two daemons ran after her with everything they had but still couldn't close the distance between them. It wasn't until Zoey made it to a heavily secluded area with a significant lack of humans nearby that she stopped running and let the two trainee magjistars down.

"Hmph. What sort of trick is this? Do you seriously believe you can take us on?" The lady seemed to have thought they led them into some sort of trap.

"You should've just kept running. But since you decided to accept your fate so graciously, I suppose I can eat your corpse with some respect." The man's long, forked tongue shot out of his mouth, reminding Zoey of another demon with a similarly long tongue.

"We might be out of our league here." Alexander nervously chuckled, taking out his wand.

"I'll have to use my new Magji Tool faster than I thought..." Lindsay reached into her skirt and pulled out a tiny green crocodile plushie.

'Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight.' Zoey's blood boiled.

Zoey couldn't help but get giddy at the thought of fighting two daemons. The number of skills that would arise from this battle. She couldn't wait! Her hands visibly shook in anticipation of the battle ahead while she put on her cursed boxing gloves. This was exactly what she needed today.

 

[Namgo]

'Zoey must be pretty nervous to be shaking like that... I'm not surprised. Dealing with these two daemons won't be easy. I'll have to give it everything I got so that we can try to escape out of here.' Alexander thought.

Both he and Lindsay were surprised as Zoey rushed forward without the slightest hint of hesitation. Neither were as surprised as the daemons themselves! What the hell was this human doing?! Was she deciding that encountering them was too much to handle and killing herself by running head first into them would be a better end? Poison's hands started to length and grow into sharp, deadly long claws.

"She has poison! Don't let her claws touch..." Alexander's warning wasn't fast enough as Zoey's shoulders were raked by the daemon. It easily tore through her hoodie.

However, as a tradeoff for being poisoned, Zoey's fist caved in Poison's face without any consideration for her attractive looks that might make the average male hesitate to hit such a delicate face. She was sent flying into the wall as Zoey rushed towards her, not ready to let up just yet.

"You little?!" Vio couldn't believe the strength possessed by that human.

Poison's eyes were completely blank! That human managed to momentarily knock her unconscious with just one punch! Either those gloves had to be Magji Tools, or she was a talented magjistar somehow with that pitiful amount of magji within her body. Regardless of which, he needed to take her seriously.

Vio ran after the strong human to kill her before she could kill Poison. As he was about to snatch her by the hoodie, he was stopped by the other two with more respectable magji in their bodies. They used their magji and nearly got him by surprise. This meant Poison had to deal with the strong one on her own. He had no chance to help her any more than he already had.

Zoey gave Poison the worst beating of her life. Each impact of her punches was like miniature car crashes on Poison's face. Her glasses were shattered, and the face that most men would consider dangerously alluring was so swollen it was like looking at a pig's face, and the poison she was so proud of was running through Zoey's body, but it wasn't the type of poison that weakened her. It affected Zoey's senses and made it hard for her to realize what was going on. She had blurry vision, a loss of balance, and a feeling of weakness in her body. Nevertheless, Zoey wouldn't stop punching the demon until she couldn't raise her fists anymore.

Suddenly, Zoey was pulled away by a strong force. She wasn't able to see what grabbed her or what was happening, but she tried getting back up on her feet to get ready for another fight. Her hand slipped, and she fell right on her face. The poison's effect was getting worse... How the hell was she going to fight like this? Impaired hearing and vision? Was she supposed to smell, touch, or taste her way through this fight now? Hell no! Zoey continued to try and get back up onto her feet before feeling someone grab her under her armpits and lifting her up.

"They're gone. They got away." Alexander told her.

"Oh..." Was the only thing she could say. 'My exp...' Then everything went black.

[Status]

[Name: Zoey]

[Sex: Female]

[Body: 1.9]

[Mental: 1.1]

[Magic: 0.3]

[Skills: 9]

[Abnormal Condition Resistance Lv1]​

When Zoey woke up, she found herself back at home. Raising up from her bed, she immediately checked her phone. A few messages from Katlyn and Callie, two long messages from Lindsay and Alexander, and one from her mom. A warmth welled up in her heart after seeing how many messages were sent to her. Her phone was no longer dry and empty! She had actual friends to talk to now!

But before she got to reading and responding to all those messages, Zoey got up and checked on the condition of her body. She moved all her limbs around, went through a few light warmups with her training equipment, and felt like nothing was wrong with her at all! Either that Abnormal Condition Resistance skill was the shit, or Lindsay and Alexander fixed her up with some healing magic or something. In actuality, she felt even better after waking up!

Alexander: I hope you're feeling alright by the time you read this. We used basically all of the case's money on a magjistar doctor to fix you up. If you still don't feel well, feel free to tell me! I might be able to ask my mentor for a favor to heal you. If you are feeling well, tomorrow me and Lindsay plan to deal with a daemon on the outskirts of the city. Call either one of us if you're interested. Stay healthy. ?

Lindsay: Hello, Zoey. I hope your injuries have not gotten worse by the time you read this. You don't have to worry about anything if they haven't. We told your mom and dad a convincing story so they weren't too worried about you coming home unconscious. If you're feeling up for another case, just message me or Alexander when you can. This daemon will be more fitting for our ranks, and hopefully, none of us will get injured this time. Ttyl Zoey.

Well, it was nice to see that someone was worried about her and was looking out for her. Maybe next time she hears poison, she shouldn't just run in like an idiot and try to kill the demon as fast as possible. But then again, she did just get a skill perfectly capable of handling something like poison... Zoey didn't know what kind of abnormal conditions her skill was referring to but from the video games she'd played. Poison, fire, ice, lightning, stunning, and mind control were all things that fell under abnormal conditions. If she thought about it, this skill could become the perfect skill against all demons and magjistars combined with her defensive skills.

Leveling up her defense skills will make her practically untouchable, but if somehow demons were able to bypass that untouchableness, Abnormal Conditions would be a backup for her. The thing about this skill was that it was basically going to be impossible to level except on rare occasions, just like Focus. Unless she wanted to burn herself alive, electrocute herself, and start downing harmful substances, there was no way this skill was being leveled up. And while Zoey was pretty sure she was batshit crazy and insane, she wasn't that far gone yet to start doing things like that. Painful things still hurt a lot, and doing reckless and suicidal crap like that wasn't what she wanted to do. She was addicted to the progression but not completely losing her mind and body to the Box. Just only a little bit of its power has consumed her.

A knock on her door grabbed her attention.

"Come in." She spoke.

Everett came in with some boxing gloves their stepdad had bought for him. They were designed with flames and fit perfectly for his small hands. She guessed he heard her messing around with the boxing equipment and came for some more teaching. Zoey didn't mind. Teaching was a super easy skill to raise, and she wouldn't pass up a moment to raise it even more.

"Can you teach me how to fight like you do in the ring?" Recently Everett's been obsessed with boxing and other fighting styles similar to it.

So much, in fact, that he's started playing more competitive fighting games. His favorite type of fighters were close-range aggressive type fighters. But usually, for those characters, they were horrible at long range, and getting in close to the opponent took patience and caution. Otherwise, they'd be spammed to death from afar or punished for going in too hard.

"Sure, but you might not be suited for my style of boxing." She told him, observing his body.

From the way he was growing, becoming a swarmer probably wasn't for him. He was getting taller, and if he put on some muscle, it still probably wouldn't be the type of muscle that would make him a beefy god. Everett would probably suit an out-boxer or a counterpuncher more than becoming a swarmer or slugger. But Zoey didn't know shit about those styles of boxing. Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, as she did hold some knowledge but very little experience with fighting those types. Most of the people she fought against fought in a similar way to herself.

"That's okay. I want to learn anyway." Everett said.

"Alright. Let's start out with some light exercise before we get into the real thing, alright?" Zoey responded back to Callie's and Katlyn's texts.

"What do I do first?"

"Jumping jacks." She advised.

"Got it."

The next two hours were spent training with her little brother until it was time for dinner. Zoey recently bought some weights for herself to try and raise her body stat more but remembered that she needed to raise that mental stat! So, she downloaded several brain exercise apps on her phone and took out her school books while Everett was sweating and heaving on her floor. It was a relaxing night for her, and after their two-hour training session, her teaching skill leveled up to level 6, and her mental stat rose to 1.2.

"I'm still pissed at Coach... I guess I'll skip out on going to the gym and deal with that demon with Alexander and Lindsay. Oh! I still need to watch more videos on ground fighting too." Zoey suddenly remembered.

 

[Namgo]

'What the fuck? This isn't what I wanted at all...' Zoey sullenly crossed her arms, watching Alexander and Lindsay easily dealing with the Farmer Daemon.

"Lightning Volume I: Ball of Lightning!" Alexander's stick shot out a sphere of lightning.

The Farmer Daemon looked like a scarecrow. He had farmer's overalls, a long scythe in his hands, and an army of crows that flew from out of his open chest and did his bidding. Alexander's lightning ball easily fried the crows to ash which made Zoey wonder if they were real birds or not. If they were, Alexander's lightning is way stronger than she thought. She still believed she could beat him and Lindsay even if they fought her together.

As long as they didn't sneak up and ambush her. Even with her cursed gloves, taking on the power of ice and lightning together? It's total bullshit. Especially if Alexander landed one of the lightning spells on her, Zoey's body was tough, but she didn't believe it was tough enough to handle lightning just yet. But in a straight-up fight, Zoey believed she could handle the two.

"Ice Volume I: Beam of Frost!" A ray of ice magic landed on the demon.

In no time, the small area her beam hit began spreading ice across his figure. The Farmer Daemon couldn't resist its effects even with the help of his crows. They pecked and clawed at the ice, but none of it helped. Soon, the demon's head was blasted apart by Alexander's lightning, and that was that. Zoey wasn't even needed at all. This demon out here in the sticks didn't do things like how demons did in the city. There was no hiding, hostages, or anything. He was just tending to a farm and killed any humans that came by.

"How was that, Zoey?" Alexander came over with a confident look on his face. "We're getting stronger just like you." He smiled.

"I don't think taking care of something on our level is anything to be proud of. We're supposed to be able to handle daemons of this level, after all." Lindsay said despite the straightness of her back and a small smile lingering on her face. In her hand was the magji shard of the Farmer Daemon.

"Is there a ranking for demons?" Zoey asked.

"Of course," Lindsay replied.

"That's how we are assigned cases. As D-Grade magjistars, we take on D-Grade daemons. It goes all the way from S-Grade to D-Grade."

"How are these ranked exactly? What's the difference between the grades of demons?"

"D-Grade daemons can be killed with a sword. C-Grade needs a pistol. B-Grade will be difficult even with a shotgun. A-Grade, not even an armored fighting vehicle, is enough. S-Grade daemons are tough enough to probably withstand multiple air-dropped bombs, maybe." Lindsay explained.

"What grade were those two from yesterday?" Zoey wondered if her fists were as strong as a pistol or a shotgun.

"C-Grade." Alexander shrugged.

"But with the poison daemon's poison, they might be able to trouble a B-grade magjistar," Lindsay added.

"Let's go get our pay then, I guess," Zoey said. So, she was somewhere in-between a C and B grade as a Bringer.

"Yep!" Alexander responded.

Leaving behind the destroyed fields of a demon farmer, they made their way to the bus stop to get back to the city. Zoey planned to make a small little visit to a certain number of delinquents since her needs weren't fulfilled with Alexander and Lindsay. Today was the day that she went absolutely nuts on raising her defensive skills. That was the promise she made to herself today. She kept talking about doing it, but today she really meant it. Only one or two punches will be thrown at most.

"Hey Zoey, are you taking a boxing class or something?" Alexander asked while they were riding the bus.

"Yes."

"You know, I didn't think that martial arts would be all that useful against daemons. But after seeing you with those gloves and those other two from before, I can't think that way anymore. I was wondering if you think I should learn a martial art to help me fight against daemons better."

"It could only help." Zoey didn't know why all magjistars weren't working out daily or already practicing martial arts.

Being in better shape would make it much easier to fight against demons. In fact, Zoey thought it made complete sense that the taekwondo guy and kendo girl beat Alexander and Lindsay to a pulp. They were two completely average people, just with magic! Those other two trained, learned a proper way of fighting, and had experience with fighting. Alexander and Lindsay had none of those three. Except maybe being trained in the ways of magic, but so did the taekwondo and kendo mages.

"Which one do you think I should start with?"

"I only really know about boxing... You can look up some videos on Beetube about other fighting styles. After watching them, just choose which one you think will help against fighting demons more." Zoey suggested.

"Hmm... That's not a bad idea." Lindsay pulled out her phone.

"What got you interested in boxing, Zoey?" His innocence and general friendliness reminded Zoey of Callie. It was getting a bit too much for her.

"I just thought it was strong." She sort of told the truth.

The only reason she got into boxing was to protect herself from these two. If they wanted to kill her or force her mouth shut about magic after catching them, they would've been catching her hands instead. Her life and way of living possibly being at stake were enough to force her into a desperate situation like that. Like if she didn't think her life was in danger, Zoey would've never signed up for boxing or anything similar. She would've continued living the mediocre life she's always had, even with the Box. Probably.

"I don't know much about popular fighters. When I was learning in Extraordinary Magji Academy, we rarely went over stuff in the normal world." He shared.

"Just search for it online and type top 10 strongest fighters in history or in 2020," Zoey told him.

"It's that easy?"

"Didn't you say magjistars were more open-minded or something before?" Zoey questioned Lindsay.

"He's a bit of a special case..." Lindsay was embarrassed because of him.

The rest of the ride back wasn't anything special. Zoey said her goodbyes to the two after getting their reward from the OM and made her way to Delinquent's Row. This was a place she found out about a while ago when she was fighting delinquents every week or so before the YFTL. But she never had the time to walk around here until now. Zoey had her hoodie raised and tightened around her face so that no one could recognize her face. Someone recognizing her by her gloves would be ideal, but it's more likely they'll recognize her by her skin color. She has become something of a big shot in the delinquent community. At least, that's what she thinks. Unless Miles is way less popular than she thought he was.

"Hey there, short stuff, don't you know what kind of place this is?" Some big dude called out to her.

Wearing a gold chain, pants sagging, a body filled with muscle, and more than a couple of dudes around him. That was a good number of people to fight against, but fighting people that don't know her wouldn't be satisfying. They'll definitely start running away once she shows her strength. She needed to find Miles's people! Those guys are willing to fight her to the end. Miles's pockets were stuffed with cash that he used to convince his guys to do his dirty work for him.

"Do you know where I can find Dino?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"How the hell do you know that crazy motherfucker? You ain't as new as I thought you were if you know about Dino." He seemed upset about that. "Nah, I don't know where he is. No one but him and his closest boys do." He took out a smoke and lit it, no longer interested in her anymore.

"What about his boys? Do you know where they are?"

"No! Now leave me alone!" He turned away from her.

This made it harder for Zoey to find the big bad of the delinquent gang. So, she aimlessly walked around up and down the streets. Getting catcalled, hit on by delinquents, and generally objectified, but no one has tried to force her into doing anything she didn't want. Just calling her a stuck-up bitch or other curse words after she ignored them, which meant no beating for them. Zoey was a firm believer of sticks and stones may break her bones, but words would never hurt. Sometimes.

"Holy shit, is that Boxer Chick?" Someone recognized her.

Her eyes glanced over to the boy with the lip ring. His looks didn't ring a bell, so Zoey had no idea who he was. Hopefully, he'll be able to point her to some angry delinquents who need their asses kicked. If not, she didn't want to stick around and talk to him. Even if he was tall, handsome, and kind of hot, she came to satisfy a different need!

"I'm looking for Miles or Dino. I heard they were friends." She walked over to him.

"We've missed ya, Boxer Chick! Haven't you heard that Miles has been sending anyone he could pay after ya ass? You definitely shouldn't be walking around here unless you're looking for a beating."

"I've been walking around here for ten minutes. No one is looking for me." She told him.

"Really? Guess they didn't think you'd be here, of all places. But hey, since you're looking for Miles, how about I bring you to him? I know a pool place he goes to often."

"Why?" Zoey asked.

What did he get out of helping her? He didn't seem as cool as he looked. He gave off more of a friendly, bad-boy vibe or something. Or a class clown with a bad streak.

"Wherever you go is definitely interesting! You see, I shouldn't tell you this, but because of you, the power dynamics of the gangs in the city is slowly changing. You beating up Miles's boys is having a bigger effect than you think."

"What gang are you in?" She asked.

He held his hands up. "Whoa, Boxer Chick, I don't want no beef. I don't know what you get out of this, but I do know I don't want to get on your bad side. If you can come around here again and again even after pissing Miles off, you aren't someone that I want to mess with." He spoke. She was interested in his gang, but with him saying something like this, she could only shrug. "Take me to him," Zoey politely asked.

He did as she requested and brought her to the building. To get in her good books or just to be nice, he even paid for her to get inside. The look on Miles's still busted-up face was a surprise to Zoey. That beating she gave him was even worse than she thought. But he did deserve it for pulling a knife on her.

Zoey felt her "dark side" acting up. Once she looked at Miles in the eyes, she had an urge to smile and wave at him like they were best friends or something. When he had a look on his face like he wanted to burst a blood vessel or something. In fact, it only took him a few seconds before he exploded and started screaming uncontrollably.

"I WILL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY FACE!" Miles shouted while spittle flew from his mouth before pulling out a taser from his pocket.

 

[Namgo]

"Calm the hell down." The guy next to him slapped him across the back of his head.

Zoey had never seen him before, but if he was brave enough to smack Miles when he was as pissed as that, he couldn't be just anyone. Blonde spiky hair, nose piercing, broad shoulders, and a scary face. This guy was probably the delinquent of all delinquents. If he was a friend of Miles, then she'll probably have to beat him up too.

"But Dino! That's the-" Miles tried to speak out, but he was smacked once again. This time he shut up for good but didn't forget to give her a pissed glare.

"So, you're the famous Boxer Chick that's been messing with my gang?" He asked her. She nodded in response.

"Give me a second, alright." He took out his phone and started to make a call.

Zoey couldn't hear the words of what he was saying but guessed he was calling his boys over. If he was, Zoey couldn't be happier. That was exactly what she wanted today. Then tomorrow, she could head back to the gym and set up another official match with the Coach. Everything seemed to be working out in her favor today! Except for that demon in the countryside, she wanted to fight him.

Dino put his smartphone in his pocket and smiled at Zoey. "Since you decided to be so heavy-handed with my boys, I'll do the same. Don't expect to leave this part of the city without a trip to the hospital." Zoey couldn't be happier to hear such words. She really hoped he was bringing a whole group of boys. It surprised her that he wasn't being soft with her because she was a girl. A third option that she expected was him trying to recruit her to his side. That would've been really funny to see Miles's reaction.

"Okay," Zoey spoke her first words since their meeting.

She took off her backpack and started putting on her boxing gloves in preparation for the fight. Zoey didn't notice the shaking of her body as she imagined how many boys would be waiting for her outside. Her skills were going to rise like crazy, and she couldn't wait! It was like she was a little girl again at the amusement park with her parents and brother.

"You might want to leave." She told Lip Ring.

"Me? Aren't you the one shaking?" He pointed out.

"This is nothing." She tried to reassure him.

"It doesn't look like nothing to me. Listen, Boxer Chick, if you've gotten in over your head, I can help you, you know?" He grinned.

"That's okay. I don't need any help." Zoey decided to be honest with him.

"You're weird as hell, Boxer Chick. Your mouth is saying one thing, but your body is saying something else. Listen, I'm gonna stay and watch you. If it looks like you're in trouble or Dino pulls some shit, I'll come to help."

"Why?" She asked.

'Stay out of my fight, you annoying handsome bastard. This exp farm is mine to claim. Go mind your own business, capeesh?' Zoey was getting a little irritated with him.

"You're interesting." His eyes met hers.

"Hm." She heard some noise outside and guessed that it was for her.

'Fuck off, pretty boy. I already said I was here for something else, not to get dicked.' Zoey wanted to roll her eyes.

"Don't think that just because you're Tears's brother, I won't lay a hand on you." Dino threatened with a glare.

"Haha. What do you mean? Why would you want to hurt an innocent face like this?" He held up his chin.

"Rat bastard." Miles insulted.

"I'll be back," Zoey said to them all once she saw all those boys outside.

Some held bats, pipes, and bricks, but most of them were unarmed. Zoey realized that using mostly her defensive skills was going to be impossible with all these guys. A few of them will be punched out. Mostly those with the weapons, as she couldn't raise her blocking skill against those without getting hurt badly. She was sure that a few even brought knives like Miles did before. So, she would have to be on the lookout for those guys. Walking outside the building, Zoey waved hello to all the delinquents who came here on Dino's orders.

"Is that the bitch?"

"Yep."

"Isn't it a little fucking embarrassing that we need this many people for one girl?"

"If Dino says to do something, I'm doing it. Not questioning why he has us doing something."

"Yeah, you can go complain to Dino about feeling ashamed to beat up a girl. Tell us how that will work out for you."

"Fine ya shitty bastards. I'll do it, but I still won't like it."

"Get her all at once. Don't give her a chance to knock you, bastards, out. She's dangerous." They moved in together.

Zoey's brain felt like a field of flowers were blooming inside her head once she saw them coming towards her. A guy with a bat came rushing at her with it raised over his head. Her eyes locked onto him as she readied herself to fight. She swayed her body to the right as the bat came crashing down towards the place where her skull used to be before landing a jaw-smashing punch on his face, using his forward momentum against him. Right after him, a weaponless guy tried grabbing her after seeing his friend go down.

Dealing with a grabber was difficult as few of her defensive skills could handle them. She couldn't slip past his grab unless he was trying to reach for her face or head. Blocking wasn't an option. Maybe she could parry his grab if he was trying to use only one hand, and she wasn't sure if countering it counted after being grabbed. So, to play it safe, Zoey raised her right hand to block, baiting him into grabbing her arm, which he did happily. Then after being grabbed, she used her left hand to pound his stomach in and dropped him. Zoey shook him off her arm, and he fell to the ground.

Then after him, a pipe came swinging towards her face. She narrowly managed to move her head back in time. He came at her with another swing like a madman. This time Zoey put a stop to his wild style with a quick dash into his space and a heavy left-handed hook to his waist. Seeing him drop like a stack of cards, she moved on to the next person coming after her.

Zoey fought with more than a dozen delinquents outside the pool shop. Just like she wanted, her defensive skills leveled up like crazy. With her Box, fighting experience, boxing skills, and proper positioning, Zoey lasted much longer than a person in her position should have. Since her back was to the pool shop, no one could sneak up behind her and attack. All the delinquents were forced into facing her from the front, leaving them little opportunity to surprise her with attacks from her blind sides. This gave Zoey the freedom to tire them out all she wanted before putting them down.

The average delinquent couldn't touch her even if they gave their everything. She slipped past their punches by bobbing her head, blocking punches that she knew wouldn't hurt, parrying their slow and untrained punches, and countering those trying to fight her with weapons. Weapons that they had no idea how to properly use. They just swung like cavemen. This made it easy for Zoey to read their movements.

Once Zoey saw how quickly her skills were rising while fighting, it actually felt like her body was being filled with energy. Her mind nearly blanked out as she lost herself in the pleasure of fighting. Was it better than sex? She didn't know. She was kind of a fucking virgin, after all. But she was confident enough to say that it had to be damn near close!

As the brawl went on, Zoey could feel herself improving. Her punching posture, footwork, defense, offense, all of it improved! Once Zoey dealt with more than half of the delinquents, their courage started to shake. That upset her. She wasn't tired yet. She could still go further. She could keep fighting! So, she let a not-so-sneaky guy creep up on the side of her and land a nice punch on the back of her head.

She dropped to the ground to play up the act, and that ignited everyone's fighting spirit. The throbbing to the back of her head was real, but her dropping to the ground from the punch wasn't. Zoey quickly got back up and rushed toward the guy that hit her. How could she let him off so easily after hitting her like that? Apparently, once he saw the look in her eyes, he started running away as fast as possible.

'I'm on the track team, you know? You can't run from me!' She snatched him by the back of his shirt and tossed him to the ground, landing on the back of his head.

Zoey would've smashed his face into the pavement with her fist if a guy didn't grab her from behind.

"Hey, I got her! Get her!" He shouted before being elbowed in the side of the face.

Another elbow struck him in his face, and his grip loosened before he fell to the ground, barely conscious. After being snuck up like this from behind, Zoey quickly made her way back to the front of the store. From time to time, she would play up the injury she got from that one guy to make sure that none of them started to run away. Looking injured would make them think that she wasn't as tough as she was making herself out to be.

All of this was for the sole sake of leveling her skills! At least, that's what she told herself at the start. But that wasn't the only reason why Zoey was doing something this dangerous and stupid. Zoey liked fighting. She liked the high stakes where everything could come crashing down on top of her if she made one mistake. She liked the feeling of seeing herself visibly become better in real time. She liked beating the hell out of people. She liked feeling strong! Fighting made her feel alive and actually content with life!

And after all the delinquents were dealt with, she smiled. Zoey smiled a sick, twisted, and demented smile that she had no choice but to fully display. This was who she was now after getting the Status Box. But this didn't mean that she could throw away the other parts of her. The Box might have become one of her main motivations to do anything, but she couldn't let it become her everything. She was still Zoey Winters. There was more to life than raising her skills... She refused to let herself forget this.

[Status]

[Name: Zoey]

[Sex: Female]

[Body: 2.1]

[Mental: 1.3]

[Magic: 0.3]

[Skills: 5]

[Boxing Lv1]

[Focus Lv4]

[Teaching Lv6]

[Abnormal Conditions Lv1]

[Endurance Lv1]​

 

[Namgo]

Now that that was dealt with, Zoey still had two more people to deal with. She was tired beyond belief and could barely stand. Blood that was not hers stained her outfit in various places. But she figured that she could probably still take on Miles and Dino. All she knew of Dino was that he was crazy. If she left things as they were now, there's no telling what he would do once he found out more about her. Maybe it was because of all the blood rushing to her head. Zoey felt a little bit more vicious right now than she would usually be. Or maybe she was always like this.

All that viciousness, aggression, and drive was instantly sucked out of her once she heard police sirens. The aches, pains, and tiredness were seemingly erased into nothingness at that sound. Zoey hightailed it out of Delinquent's Row like the track athlete she was. Where she was going was not something she had time to think about.

---

"So, you still want to mess with that crazy chick?" Cyrus snickered, his silver lip ring shining from the light of the lightbulbs.

"Even seeing her with my own eyes, I still can't fucking believe it." Dino turned away from the window as the Boxer Chick ran.

"A monster... A freak of nature..." Miles unconsciously shivered.

"I wouldn't be able to take her down unless I find somebody she's close to or a gun."

"You really want to escalate things that far?" Cyrus glared.

"She just humiliated me and my boys right in front of my face. What kind of man would I be if I let this go?"

"You're out of your fucking mind if you think I'm going to let you murder her." Cyrus gripped the smartphone in his pocket.

"Heh. Who said anything about murder? Don't be a fucking psycho. I'm just gonna put her in the hospital for a little bit."

"Listen, Dino. I'm actually starting to like that insane chick. If I find out that you or anyone else did anything to her with a gun or something, I won't mess around with you anymore."

Dino casually flicked his fist back to hit Cyrus in the face. A loud smack sounded out throughout the pool room. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to like that? Didn't I tell you earlier? I don't give a shit that you're Tears's brother. You keep acting big, and I will smack the shit out of you." Dino spoke to him.

"Don't think that I'm a pushover just because I'm the younger brother." Cyrus caught Dino's backfist.

"You wanna go a round with me?" Dino grinned.

"Like I got the time to mess with a brain-damaged bastard like you." Cyrus turned and started walking away.

"But don't forget, I'll be watching you and her. Prepare yourself if anything bad happens to her outside a regular fight." He told him.

"There won't be a second time, Little Tears," Dino warned.

---

An innate fear struck her when she heard the sirens. It was probably because of her mom that she had a terrible fear of cops but after the videos she's seen online about police brutality and the punishments given to the cops that act out of line, Zoey couldn't trust any cop and hoped to never find herself involved with one.

She wasn't ignorant enough to believe that all cops were bad, but it only takes one bad encounter for that to be her last. Ducking behind dumpsters, hiding inside stores, and doing everything she could to avoid being seen by the police, she looked completely fucking insane. Zoey already knew she was somewhat mentally unstable, but anyone would look crazy if they were scared for their life, wouldn't they? That Endurance skill she just got was doing her great favors right now. Even after that massive brawl she just went through, she still had the stamina to do shit like this. Leveling up this skill was definitely going to be a priority for her in the future.

Endurance, Boxing, maybe Teaching. From what she could see, Teaching only worked for people who were taught by her. Like her brother and Dylan, both got way better at boxing when she was directly teaching them as the skill leveled up. This made Zoey wonder if it could work on animals, too, but she didn't have the time to take care of a pet. With boxing classes, the tournament, track practice, and their meets every Friday, and school? When would she have the time to try and teach an animal anything? Maybe she could get a job as a teacher or something if this boxing thing doesn't pan out.

Wait! A boxing teacher or instructor! She could teach young men and women and train them up into world champions! Or she could just become a regular teacher. That would benefit the world more than being a boxing coach. If she was being realistic, being a boxing coach would pay more. Zoey heard that teachers get paid less than actual shit for their job. It was hard to choose.

Maybe if she got two or three teaching assistants to help, her figure out a curriculum for her class and other stuff for her class while working a side job fighting at night. The money she got from the fights would be used to pay her assistants and for her own personal use.

"Thinking about my future is stressful... It's way easier being a smooth brain who lives life day by day just experiencing life." She sighed, turning her bloody hoodie inside out and wrapping it around her waist to cover the bloodstains on her shorts.

Zoey walked into the mall to buy herself some new clothes and to burn or throw out the ones she had on now. Going home to explain her clothes covered in blood to her mom wasn't something she was going to do. Neither could she use her period as a valid excuse. Periods can be messy sometimes, yes, but getting all over her hoodie and shorts? There wasn't a chance in hell that her mom would believe that. Or anyone with a functioning brain.

While at the mall after buying herself a new outfit, Zoey ran into two familiar faces she did not expect to see today. Her old clothes were wrapped in multiple bags so that no one could see what was inside. With how blinding the blondie's smile was Zoey knew that this probably wouldn't be a quick chat. She hid the bag behind her back as the two came over to talk.

"Zoey!!! Why didn't you tell us you would be at the mall today!?" Callie greeted.

"I didn't plan on coming to the mall today. It just sort of happened," Zoey explained.

"I totally know what you mean. That happens to me like literally all the freaking time." Callie seemed to have misunderstood something.

"Ah, you left the tag on and nice outfit." Katlyn ripped the tag from the back of her shirt along with the one on her pants.

"Thanks," Zoey said.

She bought a grey short-sleeved top, ripped jeans, and white soft-knit sneakers. This wasn't anything that Zoey would normally buy, but after hanging out with Callie and Katlyn, she realized that she needed to step up her clothes game. The clothes she thought were perfectly acceptable were actually completely fucking lame compared to Callie's closet of clothes. A closet that she showed off in extensive detail over the phone. There was no brand that Zoey didn't know about after that 5-hour video call.

"Did you buy that outfit at Hanny's?" Callie asked.

"Yeah. You said they sold good clothes, so I went there." Zoey answered.

"I knew it! We should totally go on a shopping spree for Zoey!" Callie squealed.

"Before making a big decision like that, how about you ask Zoey if she has any more money for a shopping spree?" Katlyn spoke up for Zoey.

"And this is why you're my favorite gal pal, Katlyn," Callie said.

"Yeah, I can do some shopping, but I got to go to the bathroom real quick. So, give me a moment." Zoey made an excuse.

"We'll be waiting over there by that bench. I need to think of all the places we need to go anyway!" Callie said.

Zoey turned around and went to the nearest bathroom in the store. She stuffed the bag of her old clothes into the trash thing under the paper towel dispenser and texted her mom and dad that she would be coming home later than she said. To stop her mom from asking what she was doing or why she was coming home late, she added that she was hanging out with her friends at the mall. Sadly, this didn't stop her at all, and Zoey had to explain who Callie and Katlyn were, how old were they, if they were boys or girls, if she had their parents' numbers, and if they did drugs or not. It upset her that she was asking so many questions about her friends, so she ghosted her mom and would deal with her later.

"I'm back." Zoey greeted the two looking at a video on Callie's phone.

"Great! Let's get shopping!" Callie jumped up and put her phone in her back pocket.

"This'll take a couple of hours, so get ready to be on your feet like all day," Katlyn warned.

'I wonder if my Endurance skill will level up from this.' Zoey thought in amusement.

 

[Namgo]

Zoey walked into the boxing gym with her gear. She was still a little bit upset with Coach but understood that without him, there was no opportunity for her to advance in the fighting world. After thinking that, Zoey realized that maybe that wasn't true. While she hasn't been recognized yet as a fighter in the YFTL at school or in public, she knew it was going to happen eventually. There had to be coaches from all over willing to steal her from the Coach's grip.

She might not be one of the best boxers, but she would say she had some pretty damn good potential for becoming a world champion or whatever. As long as she works more on her ground game, Zoey felt that she could become unbeatable in the ring. But that was still a while away for now. Right now, she just has to master boxing itself. Something that will only take time with her new Boxing skill.

Boxing is all of her previous boxing skills combined into one. Once they all passed level 10, they merged into this skill. Even though the skill was at level one, Zoey didn't feel as if she forgot anything or was a worse fighter than before it merged. It was actually the opposite. All of those skills becoming one made Zoey feel like she was a well-oiled machine that could do anything boxing-related perfectly.

"Hey, Zoey." Dylan greeted her with a smile as he shadowboxed next to the mirror.

"Hi, Dylan." Zoey had some time before she started her own training. She could spare a few minutes to try and level up Teaching.

"Did you really get mad with the Coach when he didn't let you fight?" Dylan whispered.

"I wasn't happy, but I wasn't mad either." She answered, not willing to share that much with him. "I had other stuff to do."

"Zoey. How can you go into the ring and just fight like that?" He asked, dropping his stance.

"What do you mean?" She just fought.

"Like, you aren't afraid to get hit. You aren't afraid to fight and rush into dangerous situations. But you still keep a calm head and don't panic even if things don't go right. Like, you're so amazing in the ring, and I just..."

"Have you done your first spar yet?" Zoey suddenly asked.

"No, I haven't. Why?"

"Maybe you'll be able to understand if you get in the ring for yourself, but first, let me teach you a few things first." Zoey wanted to see how well her teaching skill worked.

Dylan was mostly taught by her, with Zoey telling him everything she knew about boxing. The other recently joined boxers either learned by watching the amateur and professional boxers train or had someone directly teaching them. She basically told him everything that Zack told her, and he soaked it up like a sponge, thirsting for water. If she knew anything about talent, she would say Dylan was a pretty talented boxer, but it takes more than talent to be a good fighter. He needs experience, he needs the right mindset, and he needs to want to get even better.

...​

"Are you ready?" Zoey asked as she gave him his headgear.

"No." He answered honestly, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"You'll be fine. Remember, you're just showing off everything you learned. You are not trying to knock him out or beat him. Just putting into practice what you have learned." She told him.

"Okay... Okay..." He took a deep breath and turned around to face his opponent.

---

'Tch. Putting me against this fucking nerd in a spar?' Tate Owens scoffed.

Tate went to the same school as Dylan and knew exactly who he was and why he was here. There was no chance a guy like this could stand a chance against him. He was taught by that black girl the entire time he's been here, and she wasn't even a professional fighter! While he and the other guys were taught by coaches who had experience in guiding boxers and fought in official boxing matches.

This sparring match was going to turn into a one-sided beating. Something that Dylan had to be used to by this point. Tate was actually surprised his coach even played along with that black girl's request. When she asked him for a boxer that started around the same time Dylan did, he was more than happy to give him away for a spar against him. Was there something he didn't know about that black chick? Why did his coach treat her so nicely?

"Are you both ready?!" One of the amateur fighters yelled, obviously in a good mood for the spar ahead.

He stood on the outside of the ring, hanging on the ropes. Both Dylan and Tate nodded in response. That black girl whispered something into the dork's ear, but no matter what she told him, he was going to get his ass kicked. Tate was confident in being able to accept official bouts soon and become an amateur boxer himself.

"Watch carefully, everyone. I'll have you all doing more of this soon." His coach told to the other guys he taught.

"Begin!" Tate confidently rushed in to pound Dylan's face.

He threw a straight punch with the power of his hips, shoulders, and legs behind it, only for Dylan to lean out of the way and scurry away to get some distance. Tate didn't understand how that scrawny little chicken could avoid his punch but promised to make sure it wouldn't happen again. If the little nerd had some balls, he could've thrown a punch right there and gave him a good one. This was definitely going to be a piece of cake.

Tate slowly closed in on Dylan, who seemed determined to not let him in close. Eventually, he cornered him in the corner. Moving his body to the left whenever Dylan tried to and then moving to the right when he tried escaping that way. Now he had no choice but to take his punches. He's been wanting to test these combinations out on someone ever since he learned them.

---

Left jab, left jab, right cross. Dylan's head bobbed to the right and to the right again before going under Tate's fist as it came closing in on him. His eyes were open as wide as possible. Zoey explicitly told him to keep his eyes open, or he will get hit. Getting hit was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"What are you doing, kid? Punch him! Don't just run!" Someone yelled at him.

Left jab, right cross, left hook, right cross. In the eyes of those watching, Dylan was like an untouchable little rat! No matter what Tate threw at him, he could avoid it and slip past him. Everyone could see that Tate was running out of steam from throwing all those punches at full power and landing absolutely none of them. It wasn't until Zoey's voice came in that things started to take a different turn.

"Why are you running?" Her voice was basically a whisper in comparison to the other guys screaming.

"Quit fucking running, you pussy!" Tate yelled, his fist heading straight for his face.

Dylan's eyes watched that fist fly right toward him. After it slipped past his head with a sway of his head, he did exactly what he felt that Zoey was telling him. His right fist came surging from below right into Tate's unprotected stomach. The feeling of his fist landing felt so unfamiliar that Dylan nearly forgot to follow up. Punching a person felt completely different from punching a punching bag or the air. Whether he liked it or not was not something he could think about right now.

Spittle flew from Tate's mouth with his head hanging low, clutching his stomach. Dylan raised up and, seeing the vulnerable face of Tate, threw a left hook into a right hook into a miss? As he was about to finish his combination, he was suddenly picked up from behind as the assistant coach slipped into the ring and caught Tate before he fell. His eyes were cloudy, and he was barely conscious.

"Tate! How many fingers am I holding up?!" He kept Tate's head steady, putting up three fingers in front of his face.

"I'm not done yet... I didn't lose..." He didn't answer the question.

"Someone bring me an ice bag for him!" He shouted. The coach supported his neck and head as he kept Tate still, carefully lying him down on the ring without twisting or turning his head.

"Can you put me down now, Zoey?" His face was flushed at being picked up by a girl so easily. It was like he weighed nothing to her at all.

"Sorry." She put him down. "You did well for your first spar. Next time we try this, go a little bit softer so that you don't knock your opponent out. Sparring is just to gain experience in the ring and to put your training into practice. And remember to throw punches when you have the chance."

"Sorry, and thank you." He nodded, taking her teachings to heart.

"Hey, you!" The assistant coach called out to him.

"Huh?"

"You did pretty good besides going further than you needed to. Would you be willing to spar with some of my other guys in the future?" He asked.

"Oh, uhm, sure." Dylan rubbed his head, he tried to scratch it but he still had his gloves on.

"Glad to hear it, kid!"

---

Zoey saw that her teaching skill leveled up by one after Dylan's victory. She wanted to do a little victory dance after seeing her student win against a real coach's student. He might've looked down on Dylan and thought he would be easy work but still. Dylan fought in a careful manner, unlike his opponent, who fought recklessly with no thoughts about his defense. It was his complete victory, no matter what way you looked at it.

"ZOEY!? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Coach Scott came screaming from out the back.

'Uh oh. I don't think I've ever heard him sound like this before.' Zoey slipped out of the ring and made her way to his office with everyone's eyes on her.

 

[Namgo]

"Where the hell have you been, girl!? If you didn't show up today, you would've been eliminated from the tournament for missing a challenge! Get your stuff ready and get in my car outside! We don't got long!"

"Okay." Zoey did as he said, even if she didn't like his tone.

She thought that even if she lost a fight that she had two more chances to participate since they weren't at the stadium. Maybe not showing up to a challenge was a different matter altogether then. It did make sense, though. Someone losing a fight was completely different from refusing to show up in the first place. So, it was good that she showed up at the gym today. There were still plenty of people she wanted to fight in the tournament, after all. Finding them later to ask for a fight also seemed kind of awkward.

"You understand why I had to break our deal, right?" He asked her as they drove to the fighting location.

"Yeah. I know why." Zoey didn't want to get too into it with Coach. Even if she disagreed with him and tried to argue with him about how she deserved all 7 of those fights, she would still lose.

In what world would a trainer or coach allow their fighter to fight in 7 matches throughout the week? Him even making that deal with her was insane enough. Zoey had to reign in her instincts right now. She was still starting out as a fighter. There was plenty of time for her to go crazy later on in her career. All she had to do was calm her shit and listen to Coach Scott for now.

"You mind leaving me with a way to contact you so something like this doesn't happen again?" He asked.

"Don't you have my dad's number? He was the one to sign me up at the gym." Zoey asked.

"What's his name?" Scott wasn't dumb. He tried that, but he didn't know her dad's name!

"Bruce Murphy."

"Alright, I'll remember that for next time." Scott didn't want to ask a 17-year-old girl for her number just yet.

"I'll try to come to the gym more when I get the chance," Zoey told him.

"That wasn't the issue. The issue was just that I couldn't get in contact with you to let you know about your fight. Now that I know I can call your dad, and he can tell you, we should be fine." Scott didn't want her to spend all of her time training during this period.

---

Scott understood that she was a young girl in high school. Her even showing a great interest in a sport like this was a huge surprise for a man like him. Not often girls her age would be interested in violent sports like this unless they were raised by fighters. And this was without mentioning her unbelievable talent for boxing. Even if he signed up all of the best boy fighters he coached and put them in the same scenario that Zoey did in the YFTL, none of them would've done half as impressive as her. It was this fact that really allowed him to understand how great of a fighter Zoey was. Scott intended to take her to the world stage and even further beyond if she wanted to go that far. For now, he would do whatever he could to expose this girl to the fighting world.

She really seemed to like fighting, so he would give her as many fights as possible. The most-paid fighters in the world were those that got the most exposure. It wasn't those that were most talented, going undefeated with a record like 8-0 or 30-0, or being attractive. It was the fighters that managed to pull in the big crowds! If he does some studying on marketing or hires someone like that for Zoey, it won't be long before she's a boxing superstar! Even if the girl is a little strange, who cares!? As far as Scott knew, there was no famous fighter that was shy. She'll adapt and evolve to become a sensational figure in the boxing community and fighting community as a whole.

This made him wonder if he should get her into the Woman's Boxing National League. From what he's seen of the girl now, becoming a world champion won't take too long with the girl's talent. Hell, what about the Olympics!? She could get a gold medal in the woman's boxing division! Scott couldn't help himself from laughing as he thought of all the opportunities for this monster in the back of his limo. His entire life was going to change because of her! He needs to hire that Advertising Specialist and help Zoey get an official pro boxing license after the tournament.

"Sorry. I just thought of a funny joke..." She gave him a weird look when he started laughing out of nowhere.

First, he should get her through this tournament. Regardless of which place she gets or even passes preliminaries, it didn't matter. She was good enough to reign uncontested in the pro woman's fighting league for a while after the tournament came the boxing license. Boxing license for the pro boxing scene and the Olympic tournaments that'll give her the chance to go there. Once she does well in the Olympics and the Woman's Boxing National League, she can go even further to the world stage. In the FTL, where the best fighters in the world make their name.

---

'Must've been pretty damn funny for you to just start laughing like that...' Zoey's heart felt like it was bumping out of her chest. 'Fucking fat, bald bastard...' He scared the shit out of her.

"Who challenged me?" Zoey asked.

"A kickboxer with a few wins under his belt."

"Belt? Like a champion?" Zoey felt her skin slightly jump at the opportunity to fight a champion.

"Sorry, not a champion. He's won a few fights in the amateur division. Hasn't gone pro yet but says he plans to when he beats you."

"Oh." Was her only response. 'Beat me? This guy has a lot of fucking nerve to say something like that. When he beats me and not if he beats me? Is he out of his fucking mind?' Zoey was amped to fight against this kickboxer.

Once they made it to the gym, she was surprised to see all the faces inside. There were way more people here than at her two fights with Tyler and the wrestling guy. This guy must be pretty popular. Should she create some social media pages for herself? While she didn't care if more people came to her fights, most of the popular fighters right now all had social media accounts. Zoey was purely in this for self-satisfaction and the improvement of her skills. She didn't care about much else.

"Look who decided to show up! I'm surprised you made it on time." Her opponent said from inside the ring. It was a standard ring regularly seen in boxing or kickboxing matches, not like the octagonal rings from before.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's get it started already. My fighter's ready." Coach spoke for her.

As Zoey walked into the ring, it was like she was surrounded on all sides, not by the cages but by everyone watching her. It looks like she was fighting in an away ring instead of a home ring, but did she even have fans? Oh God, that was a good question... She definitely needs to read some of those comments on her matches on the ride back to the gym. Zoey was actually surprised she hasn't done it sooner, considering how desperate she was for positive attention. Everyone liked to be complimented. Zoey thought it was not a bad flaw to have to seek compliments from strangers as long as it wasn't the only reason you did anything.

"Are you two ready?!" The referee asked.

Zoey nodded as she put on the YFTL-approved boxing gloves and properly put on her mouthguard. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know her opponent's name! Cocky Kickboxer? Dumbass Kickboxer? About-to-get-his-shit-wrecked Kickboxer? All of them felt right so, she'll just call him Kickboxer.

"Yep. Let's get this started." Kickboxer was just as cocky as she thought he was.

His stance was relaxed. He had quite the size difference on her. Kickboxer was tall with long legs, long arms, and good muscles. Zoey guessed he was going to be the type of fighter to keep her at a distance and land good hits on her until she dropped. For someone like this, Zoey wanted to replicate one of her favorite fighters, Nike Lyson. The way he aggressively rushed in and bullied the shit out of tall and lanky fighters like Kickboxer spoke to her on a fundamental level. Mostly the part where he punches the hell out of them until they drop.

"Begin!" The ref waved his hand down, and only one fighter rushed in.

 

[Namgo]

Andrew has watched every match that Zoey Winters has fought in. In fighting culture, studying your opponent by watching all their matches is expected. You can't go far without knowing something about the person you're going to fight against. It wasn't until Andrew watched and analyzed all of Zoey's matches with his coach that he felt confident enough to face off against her and completely dominate her.

There was also the fact that kickboxers just held an innate advantage over boxers in the first place. They weren't as restricted as boxers were. Kickboxers knew how to throw punches and kicks, while boxers only knew how to throw punches. Andrew planned to use that advantage for himself. A boxer doesn't have experience in dealing with kicks and how to defend themselves against them.

Zoey Winters was going to be helpless against him as he swallowed up her rising fame and undefeated streak by destroying her with his legs. For a trained kickboxer, facing off against a regular boxer is basically giving them a free win as long as they weren't fighting under boxing rules. Despite this, Andrew still would head into this match with some caution. She didn't win against all of those guys just by luck. Her fists were strong enough to knock out a sumo wrestler! He would have to be an idiot to overlook something as important as that. Not to mention her good reflexes as well.

Regardless, Andrew still believed that he could defeat this girl based on the fact that kickboxing gave him more freedom compared to boxing. So once the referee started the match, he rushed in with a flying kick. The surprise on his face once he saw her standing still wasn't little. Andrew wondered what her plan was just standing there.

---

Zoey wanted to test out something with her boxing in this match. At first, she was going to just rush in and pummel the shit out of him with an onslaught of punches, but lately, she's been watching old videos of legendary boxers throughout history. Normally, it would be expected that she would watch highlights of the legendary boxers that were known for knocking out their opponents and having an overwhelming offense. This would be correct, but she also looked into the other types of legendary boxers. Just last night, she spent hours watching the greatest defensive boxers in the history of boxing and now wanted to emulate them somewhat.

They were practically untouchable in the ring. Close range, mid-range, clinching, none of it mattered with these talented fighters. If they didn't want to take a hit, they didn't! In the videos, they were basically toying with their opponents. For those defensive boxers, it didn't matter how many punches were thrown towards them. None of them landed. Like, imagine boxing for your entire career and then facing up against some guy who you can't even land a hit on! All those fights in the past, all the training you've done up to this point, and in front of the entire world. Everyone is watching you not land a single hit on this person.

It was entirely demoralizing. The defensive boxers made their opponents look like children and not trained professional boxers with valid fighting experience. Bobbing and weaving their heads in confusing patterns, throwing annoying jabs and punches when they weren't expecting it, constantly staying on the move to tire their opponents out even more, and then fatally countering them when they get pissed off or slacked off on their own defense. Zoey loved it when they humiliated their opponent with just how much they outclassed them in defensive technique. She wanted to feel that type of immense control in a fight for herself.

So, this fight was going to be the birth of her Defensive Boxing Form. She still had four other styles to work on as well, but for this fight, Defensive Boxing Style should be enough, especially after having all of her boxing skills combined into one. It would be the first time she's using it in a real fight. Zoey was excited to see just how much it improved.

Kickboxer came flying towards her like some sort of kung fu prodigy with a flying kick. His form was basically perfect, just like in the movies! Why couldn't Tyler do something like this in their fight?! This guy didn't give a shit about fighting carefully if he started their fight off with something like this. Maybe this guy wasn't as bad as Zoey thought he was.

Zoey ducked down low under his flying kick and allowed him to fly right over her. As soon as he landed, he did a spinning back kick aiming for her face. With a quick sway of her head backward, he followed up with another spin and kick that forced Zoey even further back to the ropes of the ring. At this distance, throwing a punch that could land was impossible, but he could easily land a kick on her. This guy was pretty good! If Zoey didn't keep her guard up for a second, she easily would've been overwhelmed by those kicks.

"I'm surprised you dodged all that for a boxer. But kickboxers can do more than just kick, you know?" He moved in closer to her with his left fist leading and right fist pulled back.

Zoey figured that he was right-handed from that stance. Just as Zoey was expecting him to throw a jab or a different kind of punch as he got near, he suddenly kicked out with his leg! A low kick aimed at her thigh! Not knowing how to defend against a low kick or expecting this, Zoey stayed true to her Defensive Boxing and lifted her leg back. At the same time, if she was doing her regular boxing, she realized she could've grabbed his leg right there.

Once Kickboxer realized his kick missed, he recovered his leg back and moved in with a left straight. This left straight turned into a right hook and then into a flurry of punches. Zoey felt like she had entered the Ratrix as she bobbed and weaved her head from side to side and up and down, dodging all of his punches. Until he suddenly kicked and landed a low kick on her thigh. The slight pain from her thigh ruined her happiness at that insane dodging she just did as she instinctively threw out a punch from the sudden pain. Her quick jab landed on his face, and he stumbled backward with a reddened face.

'Shit! I fucked up and threw a punch when I wasn't supposed to.' Zoey got back into position for Defensive Boxing to try and win instead of following up on her punch that obviously stunned Kickboxer.

"Quit messing around and fight like you usually do!" Kickboxer snapped with an angry look on his face. She never acted like this in any of her previous fights!

'Make me.' Zoey wanted to respond with a giggle.

She only gestured with her boxing glove for him to come on. He wasn't happy to see this as he immediately struck out with a kick that looked like it was coming for her midsection, but as she continued to watch his leg, she realized he was trying to kick her in the face. Zoey ducked down low while keeping her eyes on Kickboxer. After his missed high kick, he tried kicking her with a spinning back kick that would've landed right on her chest if she wasn't watching him after dodging that first kick.

Zoey slipped the kick by moving her body to the left and then throwing a punch into his vulnerable face with a right jab. He couldn't recover his leg back in time after Zoey's punch, allowing her to land a powerful left straight into his blocking arms. After missing his kicks and getting hit by her jab, he put everything into defending his face. Once he found his leg back on the ground, he tried getting her out of his face with a non-stop flow of punches like before.

The smile Zoey was hiding back once she saw this was almost unbearable. His fists weren't as flexible as his kicks. They were straightforward. There wasn't a point where Zoey had to second guess what type of punch he was going to throw, unlike his kicks. Because of this, Zoey got to show off the most exciting part of her Defensive Boxing Style and get some much-needed practice with it.

---

Those watching the fight between Zoey and Andrew were stunned, speechless during the match. A majority of people came out in support of Andrew, but even they started to realize the difference in skill between him and Zoey as the match progressed. She was playing around with him. None of his powerful kicks or fast punches could land on Zoey. It was like she wasn't even trying as she toyed with him all around the ring. Even when she was pressed against the corner or the ropes against his punches, he still couldn't land a good blow! And when he did land a hit, it wasn't that impactful. But neither was Zoey's punches.

They could only sigh as Andrew picked the wrong opponent to try and face off against. He was breathing heavily and nearly tripping over himself as Zoey took him around the ring. Everyone could see the anger and rage on his face because of how humiliating this had to be for him. Some started to think that if he kept a cool head and continued to use his kicks to his advantage, he would've stood more of a chance against her. But looking at him trying to take out a boxer with his fists as a kickboxer, it just looked sad.

Then the match came to a close as Andrew was thoroughly exhausted at this point. He was nothing more than a punching bag for Zoey to wail on after every missed punch of his. Andrew didn't even get to drop to the mat before the match was called. The referee stopped the match after he took four direct punches to the head after every missed punch of his. It was obvious at this point that he was not fit to continue the match. If he let it go on any longer, Andrew could possibly suffer irreparable damage to the brain.

---

"Zoey Winter wins!" The referee announced to the applause of the audience.

Zoey gave a respectful nod to her opponent, that probably hadn't phased back into reality yet, before walking out of the ring. Coach had a few of the MAT check up on her even though he knew how well she did out there.

"You just keep getting better and better, you little monster!" Scott couldn't believe what he saw out there!

"Thanks..." But Zoey wasn't completely satisfied with her win.

Her Defensive Boxing Style was still very far from being complete. She needed more experience against kicks. More experience against punches that weren't based in boxing. And just more experience overall. While it felt more than amazing to replicate what she saw in the videos, Zoey knew that it would only work against specific fighters. She got lucky out there.

"What's wrong, kid?" Coach seemed to have noticed something.

"Nothing, Coach. With this, I got enough wins to join the tournament, right?" Zoey asked.

"As long as no one else challenges you and beats you, taking your spot. Then you should be fine." He answered her.

"Do you think anyone will challenge me after this?" Zoey was curious.

"Not if they're sane." Coach and everyone else had to have realized what a freak she was. Once the video of her match gets uploaded, she should be a favorite to win the tournament overall.

"Okay. Let's go then." Zoey got up out of her seat after being cleared by the MAT.

"I called your dad. He said your mom should be at the gym to take you home."

"Alright." That was good. Zoey wasn't in the mood to jog home right now when it was getting dark.

 

[Namgo]

"I want her dead! I want to kill her! I want to tear her to pieces!" Poison screamed.

Noxious green gas spewed from Poison's mouth as took a heavy swig of the cup of beer in anger. Vio pitied her but, at the same time, took great enjoyment in her suffering. Daemons weren't known for compassion or sympathy, but that didn't mean they couldn't comprehend it. Not that he felt bad for Poison. She was just unlucky. That Boxer Human was much stronger than the two magjistars somehow. It was also enjoyable to see her be beaten so thoroughly without a chance of fighting back. He spotted a fatal weakness in Poison's fighting style.

Vio took on the two magjistars himself and didn't nearly have as much trouble as Poison did with the Boxer. If he didn't step in to save her, she would've died without a shred of doubt in Vio's mind. Normally, he would've just left her for dead to save his own hide but deep down. He felt that he owed Poison. This teaming-up thing really was beneficial to him. Life has become way easier ever since he teamed up with Poison. Humans are just helpless little sheep against them, and killing magjistars has never been easier. If they couldn't take on a particular group of magjistars, running away was even easier with Poison's poison.

Even strong magjistars couldn't ignore her poison.

"You're going to have to eat a magjistar as strong as those kids from before or at least a hundred humans," Vio told her.

"You don't think that human is that strong, do you?" Poison asked.

"You and I don't stand a chance against her by ourselves. With how quickly she took you out, she'd also be able to take me down in no time. Unlike you, I'm not a daemon with any special magji. All I have is my body." Vio answered.

"What if we found another daemon to team up with us?" Poison suggested.

"Another daemon? Do you know any daemons nearby? The magjistars have been searching through the city more often, so most have gone into hiding." Vio asked.

"I don't. But I know you do." She smiled.

"I'm not getting involved with that maniac." Vio put his foot down.

"If we managed to convince a daemon like him to team up with us, who will be able to stop us!?"

"If we can't convince him, we're going to die pointless deaths. So, I'm not doing it."

"Don't tell me you're scared? The proud daemon Vio? Eviscerator of humans and magjistars alike? Scared of a little daemon that doesn't even feed on humans." Poison mocked.

"That freak is nothing like us, and you know it! He's a mistake that should've never been born!"

"A freak with strength that we need!"

"We don't need him! All we need to do is avoid that Boxer Human and continue what we've been doing for the past month! Bringing him into our deal will only bring trouble!"

"Bringing him into our deal to fight any strong magjistars will only help us. Can't you see that, you giant idiot!? He kills the strong magjistars. We eat their heart and grow even stronger!"

"None of that matters if he suddenly decides that he wants to kill us because of how strong we've gotten! Do you think you stand a chance against him? I know I'm not willing to pointlessly waste my life messing with that freak." Vio argued.

"Why do you have to be such a daemon!? Only caring for yourself. Never taking risks because you're afraid for your own life. Being scared of the slightest dangers. You sound like a coward! Just trust me on this one! I've already shown you the benefits of working together." Poison yelled.

"Unless you can guarantee that I won't die, I'm not doing it."

"Of course, I can't guarantee that! It's Him we're dealing with, after all! All I can say is our future as daemons won't go very far unless we take this risky step. You think that freak won't be interested in a human being able to defeat us even though she barely had any magji at all? He'd be all for working along with us to fight her. He only cares about fighting strong opponents."

"Fine, damn it, fine! I still don't want to do this, but I don't see how else I can become a powerful daemon..." Vio had to give in to the temptation of obtaining a higher power.

Being a frog in a small pond didn't sound as appealing as being the next Daemon King of this era. There might come a time when Poison threatens this position, but as long as she acts right, he could settle for making her his queen. She has a sharp mind and good instincts. That will be useful during his reign as Daemon King.

Plus, without her, he would've definitely died by now to a group of magjistars. His human disguise as working as a bartender was almost ruined by two magjistars coming in for a drink. They were strong enough to sense his daemonic magji despite his disguise. On his own, he would've been overpowered and killed without a doubt. It was only because of Poison's poison that they weakened and eventually killed the two magjistars together. Devouring those two increased their strength so much that the two realized that they could've taken them both on their own at that time. But because of this, they had to flee the bar and move to a new one. Poison pointed out that whenever magjistars die, wherever they died becomes the first location investigated by other magjistars.

"You won't regret it. Just follow my lead, and if things do go wrong, I'll cover our escape."

"The things women are willing to do just for revenge... Freaking insane, all of them." Vio sighed, downing all of his alcohol.

---

A sharp sound came from Zoey's punching bag. She smiled as sweat dripped from her forehead down to the floor, making a puddle underneath her that she would have to clean up when she finishes this portion of her training. Ever since she's got the Box, Zoey has spent every single day training for a certain number of hours. The type of training changes every day while the number of reps increases every two weeks. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were all upper body training. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday were lower body training. Sundays were her rest days. Zoey's dad bought her some weights to use for her training and even started to work out with her occasionally because of how often she did.

It wasn't just him that wanted to get fit either. Everett and her mom also became interested in getting fit too after seeing the changes in her body. Her family could obviously see the difference in her body from when she started boxing from before she started. Seeing how healthy and happy she's become since then made them think maybe it wouldn't hurt for them to exercise daily too.

After the end of working out her body, Zoey practiced her boxing. Combinations on Mondays, hooks on Tuesdays, uppercuts on Wednesdays, crosses on Thursdays, jabs on Fridays, and combinations once again on Saturdays. At the start of her training, she only threw 50 punches, but now she pushed herself to throw 1,000 punches. She just finished throwing her 1000th jab and could finally say she was finished with her daily training.

Zoey once read a quote that said, "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." It was this and a healthy amount of research working out at home, along with various action animes that structured her training. If Zoey could master every aspect of boxing, it shouldn't be that hard to evolve it from a sport to a fighting style that could take on daemons and magjistars. The key to bringing herself to a higher state of boxing was more and more experience. She needed a lot more fights against martial artists, daemons, and magjistars.

But that wasn't as easy as it seemed. In today's culture, people with fighting skills don't just search for the next strongest fighter. Zoey's barbarian type of drive wasn't what most fighters had. Most people did it for the paycheck, the fame, or because they didn't have anything else but fighting in their lives. Very few wanted to test themselves against stronger and stronger fighters to see themselves improve and grow to unmatchable levels. Finding these people would be impossible for someone like Zoey right now.

She was only a 17-year-old girl. Realizing this, Zoey felt that she was the only person around her age to have insane thoughts like this. What other teenager would be so obsessed with fighting people without some form of monetary gain? Zoey still had much of her life to experience and go through.

'So, I need to find a way of finding more daemons and magjistars to fight... I'll have to find out through Alexander and Lindsay if magicians fought each other in like a friendly exhibition or something.'

 

[Namgo]

In a dark alleyway, far from the views of any normal people, shadows covered the alleyway. Despite the sun's rays shining down on the city without restraint, not a single speck of light entered down this hallway of a busy street. People walked past this alleyway without noticing anything unusual about it and went along their way. Rodents flies, and other creatures also subconsciously avoided this alleyway.

"Guk!" Poison was forced to the wall with a thick muscular hand around her throat, choking her.

"Gah!" Vio was in a similar situation right alongside her.

"You aren't the first daemons to try and trick me. Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe your lies?"

A white-skinned daemon bursting with muscle glared at the two with his red glowing eyes. Poison was pissed that this muscle-bound freak didn't even give her the chance to explain or prove anything before attacking her. Vio was pissed because he knew this was exactly how it would turn out. Now he was going to lose his poor little life because of Poison's grand ambitions. She couldn't even talk her way out of this one because their throats were getting crushed!

"L-Let me... speak!" She coughed out, showing no signs of putting up a fight.

Seeing that she wasn't trying to retaliate to save her own life did make him confused. The male daemon was doing everything he could to remove his arm from around his neck, while the female didn't resist at all. Could it be that she accepted her fate and knew that she didn't stand a chance against him? Regardless, he would kill them all the same. Daemons were attracted to and envious of his strength. These two weren't the first ones to try and manipulate him into following them like their servant.

"She's real! T-the powerful human... is real!" Poison hacked up while being choked.

He released his hold around her throat and let her drop to the ground. She coughed to take in air before quickly speaking. Poison noticed the changing skin color of Vio, which meant that he was on the verge of dying from lack of oxygen. There was no time to waste.

"I know someone that can give you a satisfying fight! As long as you follow us, we can give you as many powerful opponents as you want! Our goal is to become the strongest daemons of the era and no longer hide away from the fragile humans and annoying magjistars! We know that you're not interested in just any regular opponents, so we'll bring you to an unusually strong human! You can just kill us if she's not up to your standards!" Poison pleaded her case.

"Interesting..." He dropped Vio, who fell face-first to the pavement and passed out.

"So, you are willing to allow me to hold your lives for the sake of your ambitions?" He asked.

"For the time being. How could I call myself a daemon if I was okay with death constantly floating over my shoulder? I intend to surpass you in time, but for now, I can only do what is within my limits. Will you be willing to work with us? We will find strong opponents for you to face off against, and you will protect him and me from anyone too powerful for us to handle together." Poison rubbed her sore throat.

"This is a first for me. You intend to use me but, at the same time, fulfilling what I desire in life. I have no reason to refuse, but for some reason, I despise the thought of having to work along with you two weaklings. Is it my innate nature as a daemon, or is there something about you two that is not reliable?"

"Our lives are in your hands. If you are unsatisfied with the strength of the opponent we send you against, you can easily kill us for wasting your time. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?" Poison held out her hand with magji focused around it.

"A Heart-Bound Contract? What is the meaning of this?" He glared at her.

"Just take a close read. You will find it to be in your favor." She held her hand up in his face for him to carefully read the floating glowing letters.

1. Poison and Vio shall at any time be killed by Warrior if they are unable to find him a worthy opponent every 182 days.
2. Warrior is unable to kill Poison and Vio if the first conditions are properly met by the end of the time period.
3. Poison and Vio are unable to command and force Warrior to do their bidding.
4. Warrior will relinquish all the bodies of killed opponents to Poison and Vio.
5. Poison and Vio will be responsible for satisfying Warrior's needs regarding finding strong opponents as long as he cooperatively works alongside Poison and Vio.
6. If Warrior doesn't work cooperatively with Poison and Vio, they cannot be harmed or killed by him, and the time period of 182 days will be doubled to 364 days.

"How is it?" Poison asked.

"You're one shrewd daemon..." He muttered.

"Is there anything unsatisfactory? You will get your wish for strong opponents without having to lift a finger. We will do all the work for you while all you have to do is wait and then fight." Poison explained.

"Fine." Warrior's sole purpose in life was to fight powerful opponents. It was the entire reason he was born in the first place.

They shook hands, and a magji chain wrapped itself around their magji shards. The pain brought both of them to their knees and also woke up Vio from his fainted state. Poison had no issue forcing Vio into the contract as his cowardly nature gave her the idea for it. This was a partnership, after all. What kind of partnership would this be if her life was the only one in danger?

"We have a base that you can stay at with us." Poison told him.

"This strong human. Tell me about her."

"Very well. Follow us." Poison led the way out of the alleyway, with Warrior following behind her and Vio stumbling behind them in a dazed state.

---

"Zoey, are you busy?" Everett knocked from outside her door.

"Why?" She asked.

"Can you play Freestyle Battleground Arena with me? I keep getting trash teammates and can't improve my rank." He asked.

"Uhm, it's been a while since I played any games... I might not be able to help much." Zoey responded.

"Pleaseeeeee." He begged.

"Alright, but I told you I'm rusty. If I die a lot, it isn't my fault." She got up from her bed and got on her computer.

"Awesome! I'll send the party invite!" Zoey heard his little feet slapping against the floor all the way to his room.

She hasn't played a game since summer break before her junior year started at school. After getting the Status Box, everything started to get a little crazy for her. She found herself busier and busier since then. Zoey didn't count the mobile games on her phone as games either but more as time-wasters. You know, those types of bubble-popping games and other games that used to be games that the kids secretly played on the school computers before the teachers started blocking the websites.

Zoey started up the game and got the invite from Everett. She clicked to accept it, and now she was in a party with her little brother. His character was dressed up as some badass awesome hottie in a business suit. A black suit, white tie, black shoes, black dress pants, and a handsome face behind the dark sunglasses. While her character only had a white tank top covering her upper body and mint-green panties for bottom wear with her bare feet. In other words, she was a completely poor noob with nothing to her name or character!

"Did you just buy this game...?" Everett asked over the voice chat.

"I bought it but never really got around to playing it..." She answered.

"Wait?! You don't even know how to play?!"

"It's just a shooting game, isn't it? I just got to shoot people to win, don't I?"

"Well, yeah, but! It's a lot harder than you think! People usually form squads to win with like four people! So, in like every game, you could be facing up against a team of up to 4 people shooting at you from every single direction!"

"Cool. Let's start playing then." Zoey didn't want to feel like she wasted her dad's money buying this game without playing it at least once.

"Alright..." Everett didn't sound too happy about this. Zoey thought it was funny.

They entered a game with 98 other gamers to fight against. They dropped out of a cargo plane with parachutes and were completely weaponless. Everett led the way for her and basically just told her to follow him. He led them to an abandoned military airbase, and Zoey could see dozens of other gamers floating down alongside them.

"Find a weapon! That's your first goal!" He told her.

"Is there a gun I should look out for, or it doesn't matter?" In some games, there were guns that were so bad that people would rather go weaponless than pick them up.

"Doesn't matter. Find a gun, take the ammo, and kill anyone you see that isn't me. Then we'll meet up and travel together."

Their first match together started off well until it turned into complete horseshit. Zoey and Everett managed to survive the starting phase with decent weapons, good gear, and a vehicle to drive with. Only when they decided to search an abandoned farm did they get trapped on all sides by a 4-man squad who filled the house full of bullets, explosives, and fire to kill them. Apparently, these people were known as stream snipers and knew exactly where to find them to kill them to mess with her brother's stream.

"That's kind of lame." Was Zoey's comment about it while inwardly she was more like, 'You little motherfuckers messed with the wrong one! You want to ruin my innocent little brother's stream?! I'll show you not to fuck with the Winters...'

[Gaming Lv1]​

 

[Dopplerdee]

I have no clue why more people aren't reading this it's great.
Also she says she doesn't have anything mental going on but she kinda ticks all the damn boxes for Autism...

Edit: have you tried different sites to get more readers for this? Because this deserves more readers.

 

[Namgo]

Zoey didn't instantly turn into a gaming master after gaining the gaming skill. The Status Box was powerful, but it wasn't that powerful. It required her to continually build experience with the skill if she wanted the skill to help her become unstoppable. Gaming Lv1 slightly improved her hand-eye coordination and aiming when playing a game. In their second, third, and fourth match, they all ended up in similar ways to the first match. Her brother got stream sniped, and they were surrounded and gunned down. However, in the fifth match is where things took a turn for the better.

[Status]

[Name: Zoey]

[Sex: Female]

[Body: 2.2]

[Mental: 1.3]

[Magic: 0.3]

[Skills: 6]

[Gaming Lv5]​

This skill leveled up quickly when she was doing everything she could to not hold her little brother back and give those sons of bitches a bullet in each of their skulls for harassing her innocent little brother. She didn't know how often something like this happened, but she was definitely going to level up this skill until she was a gaming god and could defeat anyone in this game so that her brother could have an enjoyable experience. Just because he was a little kid, do they think they can harass him? Just because he's trying to become a famous streamer and bring entertainment and joy to people across the world? Not on her fucking watch.

Zoey knew if she didn't have the Box, she would probably be telling him to block and mute them on the game and move on with his life. That was a valid option, as the blocking system in this game was made well. You wouldn't be matched up against people you have blocked, but as a result of this, it may take longer for you to get into matches if you block a lot of people. She only knew this because Everett brought it up that they should just block them.

"One more round. If they kill us this time, then let's block them." Zoey said over the mic.

"Alright..." Everett put them into a queue, and they quickly found a match in 10 seconds.

As they were in the cargo plane getting ready to drop, Everett suggested that they land at the prison. Zoey did as he suggested, and soon, they were falling toward the prison with their parachutes. xXYou_Zuck_PnessXx, Orphan Donor, BigNickDigger, and FuppyPucker were right behind them. Those stream snipers had a hard-on for messing with her brother and trolling his streams. Once she landed, she ran straight into the prison building and began searching through the rooms for weapons.

BigNickDigger came following right behind her, punching at her with his fists. If he landed four punches or two jumping punches, it would be enough to knock her down. Since Everette wasn't anywhere near her at the moment, if she went down, she was dead. Thankfully throwing a punch slowed your character down for a moment, making it impossible for people to punch and keep up with people running away. Zoey managed to juke him and avoid most of his punches but not all of them.

She had about half of her health left before she found a weapon. Luckily, she managed to find a Remington 870, along with some shells that were more than enough to carry her along to the end of the match, and bandages. He managed to land another solid punch on her that sent her health below 25% as she was equipping the shotgun. As he was about to throw a punch that would've definitely knocked her down, she turned, blasted his head off, and pumped her shotgun. BigNickDigger's character immediately went down, and Zoey teabagged his character before finishing him off with a second shot.

"I got one of them." She told Everette.

"Great! I need some help on the north side of the prison. I only got a pistol, and there's a bunch of people here." Everett said over the mic.

"I'm on my way." Zoey began bandaging herself to recover some health as she ran to the north side of the prison on her map.

The Remington 870 was a godsend in a location like this, with tight spaces and short hallways. Anyone that came face to face with her as she turned a corner was instantly downed and eliminated from the match with two quick, satisfying buck shots. Zoey's aim was borderline unbelievable. She didn't miss a single shot on her way to the north side of the prison. Taking out more than five other players to help her brother out. Of those five, Orphan Donor was one of them. He was equipped with an assault rifle and ambushed her at the door leading to the part of the prison where her brother was at. Orphan Donor nicked her legs and left arm, slowing her down and almost killing her.

Zoey hid inside a cell next to the door leading to where her brother was and bandaged herself. Thankfully, he didn't come busting out the door to fill her full of bullets. Unlike Everett, they couldn't watch her screen unless Everett suddenly died and he started spectating her. Once healed, she opened the door and tossed a grenade where she heard his bullets firing from. Her headphones heard the sound of his footsteps running before the explosion went off. That was when she ran in. She immediately spotted him running behind a bunch of boxes that couldn't be shot through.

Knowing that he didn't know her current position, she snuck around to his left before he could spot her. But Zoey wasn't the only one with good headphones. Orphan Donor was ready for her by listening to her footsteps and started spraying bullets once she made it to his backside. He went down with one accurate buckshot to the dome, while Zoey had less than 2% of health left. Her screen was red while the sounds of a heart beating rapidly came through her headphones. She gave him a quick double teabag before finishing him off and limping her way to Everett.

"You got any bandages?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah, I got some for you. If I make it out of this, hehe." He laughed.

"I'm here. I'm here. Where are you getting shot?" Zoey looked around but didn't see anything.

"Up top on the balcony walkways and the exit door."

'Shit, the balcony? My shotgun can't get a good shot from that far away.' One of the disadvantages of the shotgun was long-range. It was unbeatable at close-range but basically useless at long range.

"I only got my shotgun. Can you toss me your pistol for a second?" Zoey asked, hobbling her character over to Everett.

"Yeah, sure, but can you hit him from here?" Even he wasn't confident in hitting xXYou_Zuck_PnessXx from down here.

"Maybe." Zoey picked up Everett's dropped pistol and hovered her crosshair over xXYou_Zuck_PnessXx's head.

xXYou_Zuck_PnessXx was shooting at them with a submachine gun from the balcony, while FuppyPucker shot at them from the exit with a light machine gun. Zoey pegged the penis guy in his head twice before he went into hiding. She then, with the pistol, aimed her sights at the puppy fucker. She shot him three times in the gut, and his character went down, crawling off into the distance, slowly bleeding out. The penis guy should be bleeding out, and unless he has bandages, he should be dying soon, just like the puppy fucker outside.

"Let's go." Zoey dropped his pistol for him, and they started running outside the prison together.

Everett picked up FuppyPucker's light machine gun after he bled to death outside the exit, and they started running off toward the middle of the map before the Circle of Death killed them on the outer edges. The Circle of Death was a game mechanic that forced players to constantly be on the move. If you were caught outside the Circle of Death, your health would begin to moderately drain until you died or got back inside the circle. Eventually, one last player or squad will be left before the Circle of Death completely closes in the entire map.

After escaping the prison and killing the stream snipers, Zoey found a military jeep. She decided to drive because her shotgun would be less effective in a shootout while they were driving compared to Everett's light machine gun. They made their way to the middle of the map where the Circle of Death was closing in and camped there together. Zoey went inside a building and searched for armor and bandages. Everett made his way to the roof to keep a lookout for other players coming.

With the stream snipers dead, it was much easier to play the game without having someone know exactly where they were, along with three other people. Zoey and Everett won their first game together thanks to their communication skills, excellent gaming senses, and good luck. She was given an extra level in her Gaming skill for winning, and Zoey felt extra proud for helping out her brother. Maybe going for another round to teach them a lesson wouldn't be so bad.

"Sorry, sis," He called her sis because he didn't want his viewers finding out their personal information because they already knew his first name. "That win was enough for me today. I'm gonna end the stream and do something else. But thanks for playing with me. I appreciate it..." He told her.

"No problem," Zoey responded.

"Bye, guys. See you next time." He turned off the stream and quit the game.

Zoey, however, did not quit the game but actually queued up for another match. She acted quite subdued and friendly while on her brother's stream. While actually, she wanted to be completely toxic and unladylike! Cursing out the players on the game, making fun of them for dying to her, and laughing as they raged! It was fun being toxic to strangers. Wait, no. It was fun to win! She liked the feeling of winning!

 

[Dopplerdee]

Ah, the screams of dumb asses who stream snipe a kid...

 

[Namgo]

"Do magjistars fight each other?" Zoey suddenly asked.

She was sitting inside the student council room with Alexander and Lindsay. It was the weekend, there was no track practice on weekends, and Zoey felt like fighting today. The YFTL doesn't start until Monday, and Zoey doubted anyone would send a challenge her way today from the tournament. A 5-0 streak, with all of them being technical knockouts or knockouts.

"Yes?" Lindsay was unsure of what she was asking.

"Like friendly battles with each other. Not what you two went through at the library." Zoey clarified.

"I'm glad you brought this up, Zoey! You see, we were recently invited to the Annual Meeting of Young Magjistars from our old school, and we weren't sure about going. But if we went with you there, then we'd easily be able to win!" Alexander said.

"Win? Zoey's strong, but I don't know if she's that strong..." Lindsay was hesitant.

"What are you two talking about?" She wanted to know more about this meeting.

"The Annual Meeting of Young Magjistars is where magjistars from our old school and our sister school go up against each other in two events. The first is a group event with all the students participating, while the second is individual battles." He explained.

"I want to participate." Zoey immediately spoke up.

"Great! Let's go register then." Alexander swiftly got up from his seat.

"Calm down. Sit down, and let's just think for a little bit." Lindsay sighed. "We are not strong enough to contribute any meaningful contribution to our school, and you know that. All we would be doing is embarrassing ourselves and helping our school lose if we signed up."

"You guys are weak?" Zoey asked.

"In terms of ranking, yes, but the ranking for magjistars is kind of dumb as it's done by fighting experience and the number of cases successfully solved, not by strength," Alexander complained.

"But what about that S grade and D grade stuff?" Zoey looked at Lindsay.

"That's an unofficial but also kind of official ranking. Most people think it should be changed to match the magjistar's strength, but for some reason, the higher-ups from the Organization of Magjistars think otherwise and refuse to change it." She explained.

"So, are you weak, or are you strong?" Zoey didn't like how complicated Lindsay was making this.

Alexander smiled before responding for them, "We're not weak, but we lack experience. Both of us were praised as the most talented first years in our class, and a lot of people expect great things from us."

"Then let's go sign up," Zoey said. This would be the perfect way to gain experience, after all, for all three of them.

"Agreed!" Alexander was in favor of joining the meeting with Zoey by their side.

That girl's fists were like cannonballs. If the average magjistar was hit by her cursed boxing gloves without any magji protecting them, then it was pretty much a done deal. He could distract them with his lightning while Zoey got in close to attack from the side or behind. Or she could run in to distract, and he would knock them out with his lightning. Adding Lindsay to their team would only improve their chances of defeating nearly anyone at the meeting.

"I still don't think we're ready for something like this. I agree that joining to gain more experience would be good for us, but we can't register with only that mindset. Because everyone else will be joining to represent the school, win, gain attention from higher-ranked magjistars and apprentice under them, and gain recognition within the magjistar community. All of those are much more serious and valid reasons than ours."

"So what?" Zoey wanted to be real for a little bit.

"What do you mean, so what?" Lindsay asked.

"Who cares about them? We're joining to improve ourselves. What do other people's opinions matter?" Zoey questioned.

"How are we going to become better magjistar if we avoid great chances like this out of embarrassment and fear?" Alexander supported. "Didn't we promise to become one of the greatest magjistars of this generation? We can't skip out on something like this to do that."

"Maybe you're right... but I still don't feel good about this whole thing. We're going to be looked down on by basically everybody. No one is going to trust us with anything. Everyone is going to think we're weak and stupid and foolish." Lindsay went on and on.

'I didn't realize just how much Lindsay cared about what others thought. I thought she was a cool beauty that worked as a good partner for Alexander because of how serious and focused she was compared to his naïve and goodie-good personality.' Zoey thought.

"It'll be fine," Alexander reassured her. "Trust me. It's going to turn out better than you think it will." He had absolute faith in those dangerous weapons of Zoey's.

When he saw how she completely overwhelmed that poison daemon, he knew she was far above them in combat strength. Zoey was an anomaly as a Bringer. There hasn't ever been a point in history where the Bringer was naturally stronger than the Magjistar they partnered with. Alexander knew that one of the magjistar teachers, judges and etc., would see the potential she has after seeing her in action and realizing that she was an ordinary human.

"I don't know what makes you so confident, but fine. I'll trust you." Lindsay still had her objections but knew when she was outnumbered.

The fear in the back of her mind of Zoey resurfaced after seeing that determined look in her eyes after she found out about the meeting. Unlike Alexander's innocent blue eyes that only held excitement for the future in the same way you would expect out of a child who you promised to buy ice cream if he acted well in school, Zoey's determination felt more selfish in nature. Lindsay felt greed, anticipation, and a hint of violence? Maybe. That was the first time she and Zoey ever had a disagreement like that. She was too headstrong about going up against magjistars. Did she have something against magjistars? There was that time when she thought Alexander and herself would kill her after discovering their secret. Zoey's first thought was to attack them first and maybe even kill them herself.

Thankfully they managed to explain the situation to her, and she reigned back her fighting urge and became docile. It was only when she was fighting that Lindsay saw that other side of Zoey, but with this, it was the first time she's seen that other side when not in a fight. The other side of Zoey that lusted for blood, death, and fighting. Anyone with half a brain could tell that when Zoey was fighting against daemons, she held nothing back and enjoyed every second of it. Alexander didn't, but that's because he hasn't yet seen the world's true nature. Lindsay also noticed when Alexander wanted them to take on a daemon without Zoey, she was upset about it. She might've not noticed herself, but Lindsay noticed from her body language that she wanted nothing more than to fight the daemon herself.

Seeing a regular human want to fight the supernatural so badly was bizarre. Just what did she gain from fighting against them? Was it satisfying just fighting in general? What is it that drives Zoey? Lindsay didn't understand why she risks her life being their Bringer and fights daemons with such eagerness. She couldn't believe it was just for the money and them doing her homework from time to time.

When she wasn't fighting, she seemed like a doll or a figurine of a human. Quiet, unresponsive unless directly spoken to, always in her own thoughts. Maybe there was something about Zoey that wasn't completely trustworthy. Or maybe she's just overreacting about the single disagreement they had. That would make a lot more sense than Zoey secretly hiding her true self away from them and being some crazy fighting freak of a human that lusted for battle.

"Great! Let's go sign up then and then get ready to train together! We have to make sure we are in our best condition for the meeting next week."

"Train together?" Zoey questioned.

"We have to teach you about magji and other stuff before the meeting, or you will be at a disadvantage," Lindsay explained.

"Oh. I guess I don't know anything about magic, huh." She's been with these two for months now and hasn't even asked them about magic!

Zoey might've had a 0.3 in magic, but that didn't mean it was impossible for her to perform magic! That stat will definitely go up the more she fought against demons and maybe even magjistars! And once it gets up to a respectable number, magic will be at her fingertips! Knowing how to correctly perform and train that magic like a normal mage would only benefit her! Even now, Zoey still didn't know the most optimal way to train her Mental stat.

"We'll also have to ask you for help on combat training as the way you fight is very different from how normal magjistars fight," Alexander added.

"Sure?" Zoey didn't know if she had much to share about that. Most of her combat experience came from beating up thugs on the street, but she did have some knowledge on the subject from looking up stuff related to fighting online.

"Don't forget that this is just training. No need to take it too far." Lindsay said, looking at Zoey.

'Oi! What the fuck is that look supposed to mean?' Zoey thought, irritated.

"There's no such thing as easy training," Zoey responded.

"Ah! Lindsay just meant don't go as hard as you did on that poison daemon on us! Hahaha." Alexander clarified.

"Of course not." Zoey didn't want to kill them. Killing a daemon was different from a human. Don't ask her how, though.

 

[Dopplerdee]

Girl needs some chill

 

[Namgo]

"Are you sure this place is safe to train at...?" Zoey questioned.


They were at the school right now inside the gymnasium. Somehow, Alexander managed to book the whole school for them. Not a single teacher or member of staff at the school was here. It was only the three of them. This made Zoey wonder if Alexander was some richy rich or magjistars really could do anything they wanted.


"Yep! We can do anything here, and no one would know about it but us!"


'Why did my mind go straight to a threesome...?' Zoey shook her head, ashamed of herself.


If she was to be in a threesome, it definitely wouldn't be with Lindsay. Zoey would rather choose another dude to join. She wouldn't choose a girl because she wasn't gay, but taking two guys on at once for her first time was a bit much. It would be better if her first time was with someone she had genuine feelings for. While with Lindsay, it'd be awkward. Their personalities don't really click, you know? She was cool with Lindsay and all, but like, that was it. The relationship between the two of them was more like co-workers who kept everything strictly professional. At least, that was what it felt like to Zoey. With Alexander, it was different. She was sure the two of them were already friends in his cute little innocent head.


"So, first things first! We have to explain to Zoey how magji works and what she needs to expect at the Meeting."


"Instead of doing that, I have something planned out for us already. I've highlighted what I believe are our weaknesses and we will work according to my schedule. I printed it out for you two so, if you have any questions please ask." Lindsay handed them both a piece of paper with words printed on its front and back


Zoey glanced at the training plan and was surprised at how professional it looked. She definitely had a lot to learn for the Meeting next week. All of them had much to work on, it seemed. It looked fun, so Zoey didn't have a problem with it. Learning about magic was only going to be helpful for her. It would help her beat up magjistars and daemons easier and maybe give her the chance to finally put her 0.4 Magic stat to use.


"Any questions?" She asked with a polite smile.


"Yeah. I'm confused about what this part here means. What exactly does Awaken Alexander and Lindsay's Killer Nature With Zoey's Help mean?"


"Pfft!" Zoey held her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. What the hell was Killer Nature? Was she implying she was a killer or something? 'Oop. I am a killer. A demon killer.' She suddenly remembered.


"You'll see." She sighed, not exactly excited for that portion of the training.


Alexander and herself lacked something very vital that all magjistar required to excel in this career. Every day magjistars put their lives at risk to exterminate daemons. It takes a certain amount of willpower and insanity to do a job like this day in and day out without going a little crazy. That crazy was something that both Alexander and herself didn't have. As trainee magjistars fresh out of school, their experience with dangerous daemons was minuscule. Zoey was someone who had a sufficient amount of crazy to become the perfect magjistar or perhaps too much crazy. She was their only chance of finding the crazy inside themselves. Otherwise, they would have to risk their lives against daemons and hope they would find it on the brink of death.


"First Lesson! Getting Zoey Used to Magji!"


"So, how is this going to work?" Zoey asked, putting on her cursed boxing gloves.


"You will try to avoid all of our magji attacks," Lindsay explained.


"Okay." That sounded simple enough. "I'm ready." Zoey got ready to dodge Alexander's lightning magic by lightening her lower body.


"Lightning Volume I: Ray of Lightning!" Just like what she was expecting, Zoey's eyes focused on Alexander's wand before he even chanted his spell. Knowing the lethality and speed of his lightning magic, it was easy for her to activate Focus and avoid the spell.


Alexander wanted to question everything he learned in school about mortals after seeing Zoey dodge his lightning spell. His lightning was practically no different from natural lightning except that it was just fueled and created by mahna. So, when he saw a completely normal human dodge his lightning within a distance of only a few feet, he understood that there was something fundamentally wrong with Zoey. No normal human could do that. No normal magjistar could do that. No daemon could do that. Why could she do it!?


"Magji Tool Series II: Man-eating Croc!" The plushie crocodile that Lindsay carried around with her began to transform and grow!


Lindsay had her wand pointed at the doll with something flowing into it as it grew into a terrifying hybrid between a man and a crocodile. Over 7 ft tall, weighing definitely more than 600 pounds or so, and cute as all hell. After growing to its full size, it sunk the gym's floor from its weight alone, leaving reptilian footprints. Now that was something that Zoey wasn't sure if she could beat the shit out of, but she sure as hell was excited to find out!


Unconsciously, a smile grew as she rushed towards the beast. She wouldn't have to hold back against something like this. It was just a plush doll, right? Plushies can't die from being punched too hard. So, while still under the effects of Focus, she took the first move by throwing one of her strongest punches. A left-handed straight with added torque and power from her shoulders, legs, and waist. Right into the beast's stomach. Zoey would've aimed for the face if she was tall enough to reach it. With her current height, she was barely at its belly button.


The lizard wasn't sent flying, it didn't show any signs of pain, nor did it look like her punch had any effect on it whatsoever. Her fist only went really really deep into its belly, extending out from his back. After letting her have her turn, it decided it was its turn now. Lindsay's big croc reached down with its snout to bite Zoey's head off. Zoey was already in position to hop back and gain some distance after she felt the softness of the lizard man's belly. She avoided his bite and landed a 4-hit combination on its lowered crocodilian face. It was like punching a pillow!


She couldn't beat this thing by punching it to death! None of her other skills could help her in taking this thing down. So, Zoey did the next best thing. Putting her status as a track team member to good use, she ran towards Lindsay to put her out of commission.


"Stop!" Lindsay yelled just before she was about to make it to her.


"???" Zoey was confused. She might be a social retard in some situations, but they were only training. So, calling a stop was normal.


"I didn't expect the first lesson to turn out like this, but I guess it turned out better than I expected?" Lindsay wasn't sure how to describe what just happened.


All she knew for sure was that Zoey wasn't human. Those punches she gave to her Magji Tool were enough to drain her of all her mahna in an instant. It wouldn't last one more hit from her before returning to its plush state. The way that Man-eating Croc worked was by using her mahna as a substitute for its animation. She gave her mahna to it. It became animated and did whatever she asked of it. Depending on how much damage it sustains determines how long it lives. Its movements were tied directly to her mahna, like a substitute of some sort. Instead of her putting her life on the line and fighting, it would be her meat shield to reveal the opponent's strength, way of fighting, and help her land her spells. But if a freak of nature like Zoey or another strong opponent came along, all of that went out the window. She could order it to capture the person, and then she could try and freeze them both before all of her mahna was drained.


"My Lightning Magji I was so proud of..." Alexander fell to his knees, still in disbelief.


Zoey felt kind of bad seeing him like this. Just a little bit. Maybe she could try and cheer him up a bit but giving people a helping hand isn't something she's good at, like giving someone a pep talk when they're down. She always imagined herself being in that position once she got friends and realized that she would say some real shit or honest shit that would just put them down even further, even when she was just trying to help them.


"Your lightning magic is very strong and fast but easy to predict." She tried to console him by giving him advice.


"Hmm... She has a point. If someone already knows about your lightning, they can be prepared to handle it. You need something else to engage enemies with and use your lightning as a trump card of sorts." Lindsay explained.


"Like a finishing move?" He asked.


"No." She stated plainly. "The lightning is the finishing move. You need something to set up your finishing move. Like my magji tool, is the setup for my ice magji." She explained.


"Maybe I could use a sword or something..." Alexander wondered.


"We have a week, so you need to choose something fast." Lindsay told him.


'Finishing move?! I need a finishing move! Every great fighter has a finishing move!' Zoey suddenly realized. There were so many great punches that she could use as her finishing move!

"How are you going to deal with someone attacking you from a distance, Zoey?" Lindsay asked.


"Run at them," Zoey answered.


It wasn't like she could do anything else. She couldn't stretch her arms and punch people far away or teleport. Maybe when her Magic stat reaches 1.0, and she could learn spells, something like that might be possible. Like using space magic or something and being able to throw punches at anyone, no matter the distance. If space magic was even a thing. Right now, Zoey had no idea what kinds of magic were real or not except for lightning and ice magic. Maybe poison magic because of that poison demon lady but poison wouldn't help her deal with someone far away.


"Zoey has the opposite problem that we do. If someone gets up close in her face, she'll be fine. While with us, it's a different story. But if we had to take care of someone from far away, it wouldn't be much of a problem. With Zoey, it's impossible for her to do anything but try and get closer." Alexander said.


"Exactly..." Lindsay agreed. "We might have to buy her a magji tool for something like that. Either something to protect her as she gets close to an enemy or a way to attack from afar."


"The first one would probably work better with her skills." Alexander thought out loud. Zoey's most dangerous aspect was the fact that she was an absolute monster at close range. It would be better for her to focus on that rather than trying to make her good at close and long-range. Maybe it would be possible in a perfect world, but they didn't have the time.


"We'll have to find something during the week." Lindsay agreed.


"So, what now?" Zoey asked.


"Now, you will come at us with the intention to kill," Lindsay said.


"???" Zoey was confused. This was just training, wasn't it?


"Fifth and final lesson of the day: Awaken Alexander and Lindsay's Killer Nature With Zoey's Help!" Lindsay explained.


"I'm still confused on that one..." Alexander spoke up.


"Magjistars put their lives on the line every day. Are you confident in saying that you'll be able to handle doing something like that for the next ten years? Twenty years? Three years, if I'm being realistic. Magjistars don't live long or happy lives. It's impossible for anyone without a few screws loose to handle a career like this. Zoey is going to help us loosen a few screws by trying to kill us. Because without that, we'll either lose our lives or never make it as far as could have as magjistars." Lindsay said.


'Is she calling me crazy?' Zoey had a feeling she was but wasn't sure. Why couldn't there be a social skill that she could level up?


Zoey knew she was crazy, but that didn't mean other people could call her crazy. What kind of person would she be if she let people go around calling her crazy? She's doing her part to act like a normal person with average social skills. It's one of the reasons why she joined the track team! To make friends and seem more like a normal human being. She didn't want to be a socially awkward loser her entire life! It was already pathetic that she's made it to age seventeen like this.


"I don't think every magjistar is crazy..." Alexander muttered.


"Every strong magjistar is," Lindsay stated as a matter of fact.


Alexander gave it some thought before having to agree with her. The most talented magjistars were definitely a little odd. Excluding him and Lindsay, everyone else was weird. But was it really a bad thing that he wasn't a weirdo? Could his future as a magjistar really be affected by not having some weirdness?


"What do you mean by trying to kill you?" Zoey needed to know.


"Imagine us as daemons," Lindsay answered simply. "But don't actually kill us, alright?" Lindsay had to add that part.


Zoey frowned. "I'll do my best." She answered. The fact that she felt the need to say that at all was unnecessary. She knew how to control herself. It wasn't like she was some mindless beast that only thought of fighting and hurting things. But just because of that little extra comment, maybe she won't hold back a bit when facing her.


"I don't know if I'm ready for this..." Alexander was slightly frightened to take on a Zoey that wasn't holding back.


Memories of how she completely dominated that poison daemon flashed through his mind. The female daemon was helpless against Zoey's fist. Each punch looked like it was more than enough to hospitalize a normal person. She was at Zoey's absolute mercy, and any retaliation or attempt to fight back was shut down instantly. Could he handle something like that?


"Good. That's the point." Lindsay said, shivering just as much as Alexander was.


After seeing her kill her first daemon, they knew that Zoey was an abomination of the human species. As they spent more time with her, it only proved that their first thought of her was correct. She had strength that no other human should have at her age. Her mind didn't work the same way as other humans did. And for some reason, she was only getting stronger!


"It's better for us to go through something like this with Zoey instead of against a daemon that would have no problems actually killing us," Lindsay told him with her shaking legs.


"I guess so..."


"So, you want me to come at you two with everything I got?" Zoey asked for clarification's sake.


"Yes..." Lindsay gulped.


"Alright. I'll begin in thirty seconds." She told them.


Zoey began to warm herself up to go all out for once. Getting into her boxing stance, taking a deep breath, and then shadow boxing the air. Loosening up her muscles and bones in preparation for this. This would be more fun if she was actually able to give everything she got without having to worry about suddenly stopping or holding herself back. Because then, her skills would raise more quickly. The Box wanted her to use her skills in real-life situations instead of repeatedly practicing. Both ways worked, but one was more beneficial to the growth of her skills.


Like with Gaming and Teaching, those could be raised when she properly used them. For some reason, Gaming rose quicker when she was playing with her brother than when she played alone. Teaching couldn't gain experience at all unless she was teaching someone else. Apparently, studying didn't count as teaching herself, which she thought was pretty fucking lame and stupid. But it's whatever.


With Boxing, Focus, Endurance, and Abnormal Conditions, they gained experience very slowly if she was using them in a training session. Outside of that, they quickly rose. Competitions and fights were the way that the Box wanted her to raise them. Zoey did wonder how the Box determined this for her skills.


In the thirty seconds that Zoey was using to warm up, Alexander and Lindsay were preparing themselves for the fight of their lives. Lindsay's plushie stood in front of her as she covered the ground around her in ice and then aimed her wand at Zoey. Alexander created several balls of electricity to circle around himself and then a couple more to protect himself from Zoey's rush. Both of them understood that Zoey only had one method of attacking them. Rushing in and punching. If they kept her at a distance, it would be much harder for her to attack them.


Zoey was surprised to see them utilizing their spells in new ways. She's never seen either of them do anything like this before. Usually, Alexander only created one lightning ball, and it was just a single big one that slowly flew towards someone, but these small little ones were new. Lindsay freezing the ground was also new. Her ice magic was only used to freeze demons, not anything else.


But it didn't matter much to Zoey. Seeing things like this only excited Zoey, as she could use them to further her boxing style even more! The Ultimate Boxing style that could take on anything in the world! With the Box, it was only a matter of time before she could claim something like that. She was also sure that Lindsay and Alexander's magic fell under Abnormal Condition's requirements. So, she could use this chance to finally raise that to level two if she was right.


With an impactful pound of her boxing gloves against each other, she rushed towards Alexander and his field of lightning balls. Her boxing gloves smashed apart the numerous little balls of magic while shocking herself at the same time. The pain jolting up and down her body from the shock of the magic was painful, but knowing that Abnormal Condition was gaining experience was more than enough to fill her with pleasure to numb the pain. After leveling up, the pain was reduced even further as she was about to make her way to Alexander. Then suddenly, she was almost hit directly in the stomach by his lightning bolt.


'Ah, shit... I was too focused on the balls...' Zoey was blasted to the gym floor with her boxing gloves blasted apart, taking the brunt of the spell.

"Are you okay...?" Alexander asked, seeing the black smoke rising from her body.


Zoey didn't hear his question as saw her Abnormal Conditions go straight to lv3 after taking a spell like that head-on. Her eyes practically glowed like stars in the night sky as she raised her numb hands and bit her thumb to drip blood onto her boxing gloves. Only after the gloves absorbed five drops of blood they began stitching back to normal. Once they were back in perfect health, Zoey dashed toward Alexander with newfound excitement.


'She's coming to kill me. She's coming to kill me. I'm going to die!' The aura of excitement from Zoey felt like unrestrained bloodlust from a daemon to Alexander.


His body froze up as Zoey punched his lightning balls into nothingness. Apparently, the electricity flowing through her from those balls meant nothing to her. A normal daemon would be paralyzed or at least momentarily stunned from touching one of those, but did the monster in human skin known as Zoey care about that? The answer was plain to see.


"Alexander! Snap out of it, you idiot!" Lindsay smacked him across the face as she arrived next to him.


His body, taken by fear, was suddenly returned to reality. A stinging pain was present on his face, but he was glad as all heck that Lindsay did that for him. Zoey was rushing at them like a buffalo with a mission to harm with grievous intent. He smiled with his partner next to his side.


"Sorry. Let's do this!" He grinned with lightning sparkling at the tip of his wand.


"Stay focused. I'm just as terrified as you, but we cannot afford to freeze up! Our lives will be ripe for the taking if we do something like that against a real daemon." She reminded him.


"Yes, Ma'am!" Zoey was going to reach them in only a second now.


"Now, let's try not to die." She cracked a smile as well.


Zoey jumped up into the air with her left fist pulled back as Lindsay's Croc appeared in front of her, blocking her view of the president and vice president. She clicked her tongue at its sudden appearance and was forced into sinking her fist into its really fucking soft face. It grabbed her by the waist before she could land, and in her peripheral vision, she could see Alexander and Lindsay preparing to blast her with ice and lightning magic.


'Annoying! Let go of me, you stupid fucking plushie! If one punch isn't enough for you, I'll punch you until you're dead!' Zoey began to let the magji tool have it as she smashed its face with no mercy with her fists.


It continued to hold onto her, ignoring her blows. By this point, Lindsay and Alexander's spells were already on their way to hit her. But Zoey's anger blinded her to that fact. Her only focus was beating this crocodile plushie to death. Eventually, the croc could take no more and transformed back into its harmless plushie form as Zoey dropped back to the ground. Lindsay and Alexander's spells met each other where Zoey was previously at, exploding into an electrified freezing mist. Zoey, now free to move as she pleased, dashed towards Lindsay with her eyes spewing rage.


Knowing that she was completely out of mana, Alexander knew he had to do something to help Lindsay. He fired off another lightning bolt at Zoey while her back was turned, hoping to get a good hit on her like before.


"Lightning Volume..." That was all Zoey needed to hear as she began zigzagging her way to the barely-standing Lindsay. It lowered her speed but made it harder for Alexander to hit her.


This simple but complex way of moving was all it took to throw Alexander's aim off, but he didn't have enough time to readjust. Zoey was inching closer to Lindsay every second. He needed to fire off his spell now, or else Lindsay was finished! So, he fired it.


A lightning bolt shot out of his wand, and just as it was about to impact Zoey's back, she suddenly twisted her body and narrowly avoided it! Alexander had no choice but to drop to the ground in defeat and helplessness. Zoey was completely capable of reacting to his lightning. He had to admit it... He was inferior to a human. There was no more doubt left in his heart that Zoey was superior to him even though he was a magjistar.


Lindsay, on the other hand, was staring death in the face. Her heart froze as death in the form of a female boxer finally reached her, and Alexander's lightning bolt went flying past them with loud crackling. Zoey's fist felt like it impaled her, and Lindsay was sent flying through the air before crashing into the wall. She couldn't help herself from screaming as the pain struck every part of her body.


'It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Why am I even going through this...' But the true feeling of death didn't set in until she saw Zoey standing over her with her fist pulled back, ready to let her experience exactly what that female daemon did.


'She isn't human... I refuse to believe she's a human. She can't be a human. Nothing about her makes sense. This bloodlust. This adaptability. This strength! This killing intent! I don't want to train anymore... I don't want to train with Zoey anymore... Why did I ever suggest something like this? Was I crazy? A freak like this didn't know the meaning of restraint! Please, I don't want to fight anymore... Just leave me alone...' Tears began to gently fall down her face.


Zoey saw the pitiful look in Lindsay's eyes, and something about it infuriated her. Was she about to cry? While Zoey was petty, if she continued, she had a feeling that irreparable damage would happen to their relationship. If it hadn't happened already... As she was about to drop her fist and stop the training, she felt herself being taken off the ground and knocked away.

[Terrifying Aura Lv1]​

'Oh yeah, there was another person here, wasn't there?' Zoey grimaced at the pain from the surprise spell as she forced herself to get up.


Alexander didn't know what to think when he saw Lindsay bawled up like that in fetal position. All he knew was that he had to do something. Anything. It didn't matter what. He just had to help her! Now he was getting the crap beaten out of him by Zoey. There was nothing he could do to resist her at this distance. He was completely under her control as she sent his head flying in all directions. As the beating continued, a small terrifying question rose from his heart.


'Why isn't she stopping even though I can't fight back? Is she seriously planning to beat us half to death so that we think she's going to actually kill us? There's no way right...?' Zoey knocked him off his feet with an uppercut that made him feel like his jaw had just shattered.


She soon mounted him with her boxing glove raised back, aiming to pound his face in while he was barely conscious at this point. It was at that point the small terrifying question from before sent a spike of adrenaline and pure fear running through his body. No longer could he see Zoey as the quiet human girl with unnatural strength. In his eyes, she was a horrifying daemon seeking to put an end to his life in the most miserable way.


Alexander wildly bucked his hips and knocked Zoey momentarily off balance. Using this brief opportunity, he threw a punch and hit her right across the face. This knocked her off of him completely as he got up


'I won't die. I can't die. I have so much to do. So much to prove. I can't lose! I'm going to become the greatest magjistar in history! I have to win...! I will win! Win! Win! Win! Win!' Alexander began infusing magji onto his body like a cloak.


"Hahahahaha... Lightning Volume II: Lightning Freedom!" Lightning sparked, zipped, and crackled all around him. His pink hair was now spiky and rising to the air while his eyes became pure white.


"How can I lose with this much magji?!" Alexander expressed, seemingly turning into a completely different person.


'Did he lose his mind or something?' Zoey questioned as she stared at his new spell? Or was this a transformation?


He didn't bother giving her an answer as he blitzed toward her with a flying kick. Zoey blocked the blow and was surprised to see that she was sent sliding very far back with an ache in her arms and a tingling in them as well. This was... different. She felt a different kind of shock erupt in her body after taking that kick from Alexander.


'Skills! Experience! Exp! Exp! Exp!' Bounced around inside her head like a child that downed three sodas and snorted some sugar through their nose.


The Zoey that she was holding back finally revealed herself because of Alexander's transformation. Now that he's a little stronger, she didn't have to hold back anymore, right? She could finally let loose and really show her skills now, right? A small smile formed on Zoey's lips in anticipation of the fight to come. At this point, she couldn't tell if it was because of Alexander's lightning that she felt like electricity was running up and down her body or her own excitement!


"I'm going to win, daemon! As I am now, I could never lose to anyone! I'm going to win!" Alexander cackled, overflowing with confidence and insanity.


"Oh yeah? Lay it on me, big boy!" Zoey smashed her boxing gloves together, not even taking note of him calling her a daemon.


The two fighters ran toward each other, eager to start round two.

Zoey wanted to see just how much this changed Alexander could handle. So, she started off with her All-out Boxing form. The 5th form of the Ultimate Boxing Style. Complete and utter freedom to dominate any opponent in front of her. While it was nowhere near completion, she figured it would be enough for Alexander. As far as she knew, he had no fighting experience against fighters. Close combat was his weakness.

Alexander sent a sharp punch aimed at her face. The crackling of the electricity around his arm spoke of its dangerousness. Zoey met him head-on. Offense was her thing, after all. She sent a straight of her own, and lightning ran through her body once they clashed.

She expected him to be sent sliding back, but this transformation of his put him above her own strength, which was new to her. Despite realizing that Alexander was stronger and faster than her, the smile on Zoey's face only continued to grow. Did she only have strength as her advantage? Of course not! Boxing was a fighting style that relied on more than just brute strength!

Zoey took on Alexander's quick and unhinged assault using all the fighting experience she's gained so far. His attacks were fast, but they weren't fast to the point where she couldn't react to them. She should be fine if she protected her vital areas, like her face, throat, and chest. But being on the defensive like this wasn't exactly her style.

With a clumsy block of one of his kicks, Zoey looked like she was taken off balance. In his transformed state, Alexander quickly honed in on this moment to take advantage of it. Unfortunately for him, it was only a feint. Zoey easily got her balance back, and then shoulder bashed straight into Alexander, almost knocking him over. She quickly dashed over and grabbed him by the face before he could recover. Letting into his stomach with her right glove multiple times.

His back hunched over from the power of her unrestrained blows, but his will to survive and win never wavered. Even while he felt his intestines being pounded into paste, he was able to cough out another spell. This spell blasted both himself and Zoey away from each other. Zoey saw that her Abnormal Conditions leveled up to 5 after taking that spell head-on and forced herself up despite the pain and numbing of most of her body.

"How can I be losing with all this magji!? I've never lost to anyone but my teacher when I used this spell! What are you!?" A scary amount of electricity began to focus around Alexander's figure.

Zoey was too focused on raising her skills to notice, but more than two skills were rising because of this training session. Besides Boxing and Abnormal Conditions, Teaching, Endurance, and Terrifying Aura were rising as well. It may not look like it, but Zoey was teaching both Alexander and Lindsay with this training because they were training together. Endurance grew with every painful hit Zoey took and how long she pushed herself despite being tired. Terrifying Aura gained experience if Zoey terrified her opponents and to what degree has she frightened them. The more terrified, the higher the experience gained for the skill.

As Teaching rose in level, so did its effects on those who were being taught by her. Those under the effects of Zoey's Teaching skill wouldn't realize that whatever area that Zoey was teaching them in would have drastic growth! For both Lindsay and Alexander, over the course of their training, their fighting ability was growing incredibly fast, and unless they went under several life-threatening battles every day. They couldn't replicate anything close to what they're experiencing under Zoey's Teaching skill.

Because their fighting ability was growing so fast, Alexander was able to temporarily match up to Zoey in close combat from time to time, even with her greater experience and skill. However, it wasn't enough to overpower and defeat her on his own. He was fighting an uphill battle using everything he's got, and it still wasn't enough to bring out the win until Lindsay found her second wind seeing Alexander give his all to put Zoey down.

If her fear of Zoey's strength was holding her back, why didn't she just eliminate her fears? Slightly encouraged by Alexander's lunacy, Lindsay bashed her forehead against the gym floor till she felt that she had enough courage to stand on her feet and stand up against her. Normally, she wouldn't do something so painful and reckless, but could she possibly advance as a magjistar if she couldn't even do something like this? It took a few tries before Terrifying Aura no longer had its grip around her heart and a bloody forehead, but eventually, she did it. Now with a heart filled with lunacy, Lindsay reentered the battle.

"Ice Volume II: Frenzied Blizzard!" She yelled, momentarily taking away Zoey's attention from Alexander.

A fierce spiral of white snow came flying out of Lindsay's wand straight toward Zoey's unprotected back. Lindsay and Alexander carefully watched her to see how she would react to this attack. Alexander prepared himself to cast a spell to attack her after she responded while Lindsay reanimated her plush croc with more mahna. It grew in size right beside her, and she climbed up its soft body with her legs dangling in front of its chest.

Zoey responded the only way she could, by running away from the spell as it wasn't something she could really punch, unlike Alexander's lightning balls from earlier, which she could. However, even with being on the track team, magic was just something else... It quickly caught up to her and let Zoey experience what it felt like to be in a blizzard for the first time in her life. Every single inch of her body was enveloped and invaded by the cold. By the time the blizzard passed by her, she was nearly frozen into an ice cube.

She was completely unable to respond as two spells flew towards her, slowly merging into a spiraling beam of magji as they neared one another. One was a beam of lightning, and the other a beam of ice. Zoey could only stare at it as it headed straight for her. But how could she accept being hit without even trying to retaliate back?

Zoey threw one last punch with all she could muster toward the combined spell. Unknowingly finally tapping into the 0.4 magic stat she had as her fist was briefly coated in mahna. This added to her already naturally powerful body and only increased her Tornado Fist's strength even more so. A spiraling left punch with a blue aura coated around it headed straight for the spell. As the two clashing forces met, an explosion formed.

An explosion of ice, lightning, and boxing glove pieces erupted. Alexander and Lindsay silently watched to see the aftermath. The ice part of the clash coated the area in a white mist, making it difficult to see what happened. In only a few moments, this would no longer be an issue. Both magjistars saw Zoey barely stood standing on her feet with her fist still held out in a punching position. However, she completely lost consciousness.

"It's finally over..." Lindsay climbed down from her plush crocodile and dropped to her butt.

"Thank all that is good and just in this world... If she could keep going after something like that, then I... I don't know..." Alexander joined her in her relief.

"Remind me to never suggest training with Zoey ever again," Lindsay asked.

"This only happened because you wanted us to get a killer instinct or whatever. Remember? It was fine before that." Alexander reminded her.

"Okay, let me explain myself. I didn't think that Zoey would be a complete monster! Sure, I knew she was strong, but this!? What we just experienced was completely outrageous! If she really went all out, then she could probably match a B-grade daemon by herself!" Lindsay clarified.

"I just don't understand how she's like this either... It doesn't make any sense. Could it be that normal mortals are affected by the Balance of the World just like magjistar are? Is that why she's so powerful?" Alexander asked.

"No, that doesn't make sense either... If that was true, every human born without magji would be incredibly gifted physical wise. We would have hundreds of people just like Esteban at the school. Because he was born with so little magji potential, the Balance of the World gave him physical attributes beyond the normal magjistar." Lindsay debunked.

"Then what's the deal with Zoey?" Alexander couldn't figure it out.

"Maybe she has even less magji than Esteban..." Lindsay shrugged her shoulders.

Both Lindsay and Alexander didn't feel anything from Zoey when they first met her. But both of them clearly felt the mahna residue from her punch there. Either Zoey has finally tapped into the potential always hidden inside her, or she was always able to use magji. Lindsay was more inclined to believe the former over the latter because she only used it when she had no other options. Alexander shared her opinion because it didn't make sense to him why she would hide it at all.

"Let's wrap up today's training and never do something like this again." Alexander clapped his hands.

"Agreed." Lindsay had no problem with such.

Alexander princess carried the unconscious Zoey to the infirmary. No one was there, so they could nurse Zoey back to health with some simple magji.

 

[Dopplerdee]

Ah yes. Finally somebody sees her for who she is.

 

[Namgo]

[Status]

[Name: Zoey]

[Sex: Female]

[Body: 2.5]

[Mental: 1.3]

[Magic: 0.6]

[Skills: 8]

[Boxing Lv4]

[Focus Lv5]

[Teaching Lv9]

[Abnormal Conditions Lv7]

[Endurance Lv4]

[Terrifying Aura Lv2]

[Gaming Lv6]

[Mahna Manipulation Lv1]​

When Zoey woke up, she was in her bed somehow instead of at school. She quickly grabbed her phone to check for any new messages and saw quite a few from her mom, dad, friends, and Alexander and Lindsay. After going through and reading them, Zoey went ahead and answered them through text. It was about 5 am in the morning, and today was Monday, meaning the YFTL tournament officially started today. She would have to skip track practice today to make it in time for her fight at 5 pm.

"I lost to Alexander and Lindsay..." Zoey suddenly remembered.

It was the first time she's lost since she's gained the Box, and Zoey wasn't exactly sure how she should feel about it. If she had gone all out from the start, she wouldn't have lost at all, but since it was just training so, this loss doesn't count, right? No. Zoey's meager amount of pride wouldn't let her chalk up this loss as not a real loss. She lost to Alexander and Lindsay because of their teamwork and magic.

She lost because she didn't fight smart. She lost because she looked down on Alexander and Lindsay. She lost because she didn't expect them to be stronger than what they'd shown her. She lost because she hadn't trained hard enough! Maybe she could've avoided Lindsay's blizzard spell if she was just a bit faster. She could've obliterated their combined magical spell if she was just a bit stronger. If she was just a bit more aware, she probably could've seen Lindsay before she released that blizzard spell and avoided it beforehand.

Zoey's mind raced as she thought of everything she did wrong in the training and how to prevent it from happening again in the future. As all these ideas flowed through her mind, she began her morning training with envigored passion. Her regret over losing to two people she believed she could crush easily, even if they worked together, bothered her. The fact that she lost at all, even with the Box of all things, irritated her. But it also humbled her.

It wasn't the first time Zoey's overconfidence in the Box shattered. There was that time she almost lost her life to that tongue daemon from before, which led to that fight with her mom. It was now that Zoey truly understood that the Box wasn't all-powerful. The box's prowess lay in giving her the potential to rise above others. Zoey wasn't invincible because she had the box, far from it. If anything, her current lifestyle was only possible because of the box.

Zoey wasn't ashamed to admit that she was dependent and reliant on the box, but she knew that if someday the box disappeared for whatever reason, she would be helpless. Just as it came into her life without warning, it could someday disappear as well. This meant that all the skills she relied on now had to be something she truly understood and practiced daily.

Mastering Boxing was something that could only take time, experience, training, and a lot of studying. There were several aspects of boxing that she had yet to experience because she wasn't even an official boxer yet. Less than an official boxer, she wasn't a licensed amateur boxer either! Most of her experience in boxing came from learning at the gym and fighting delinquents or daemons.

Besides Boxing, Gaming, and Teaching were two other skills she could also practice without the box. Gaming improves a lot of things depending on what type of game Zoey is playing. FPS (First Person Shooter) games require her to have quick reaction skills, controlled and precise aiming, and good game sense. If she played an RTS (Real-time Strategy), her skills in micromanaging and strategy would improve the longer she played it. Fighting games were simpler to learn, but at the same time, not because every fighting game had different rules and mechanics one had to learn to truly master them. Repetition, memorization, experience, and practice were all needed to become a great gamer who excelled at fighting games. So, just like Boxing, if Zoey wanted to keep her gaming skills, if the Box someday disappeared, she would need to remember and continue to practice all these things. Maybe even write them down in case the Box somehow tears out the knowledge she's learned with it.

Zoey went over to her computer and ordered online a travel journal to carry around with her and write notes on for her skills just on the chance that one day her Box would disappear. It might feel awkward to get used to writing down everything she hears, but eventually, it'll become a habit, just like how she gets up at 5 am every morning to train and do homework. Maybe her Mental stat will even go up by doing this. Writing down new things you learn is another way of getting smarter, isn't it? Why else would teachers require students to write down notes in school? To torture them?

Mahna Manipulation was new... She could feel something moving inside her and somewhat control it. It was a pain to force it to move, but if she tried hard enough, it could move where she wanted. By trying to gather the force into focusing on her palm, she expected to see something form on top of it, but all it did was focus the energy on inside her palm. Despite being able to use the energy required for magic, Zoey didn't understand anything at all. All she knew was that she could move this stuff around inside of her now.

Focus, Abnormal Conditions, and Terrifying Aura are all things that would disappear into the wind if the Box disappeared. Focus was just like adrenaline. Time slows down as her life is seemingly about to flash before her eyes. Only a handful of people could experience something like this during their lifetime, and Zoey was sure she used it more times than a normal person could. To deal with the loss of this skill, all Zoey would have to do is work on her evasion and train her reaction speed somehow. Abnormal Conditions could also be trained but not anywhere near as reliably as Focus. Unless she wanted to dip herself in ice-cold waters, place herself in saunas while meditating, and slowly poison herself while ramping up the lethality. There was no way she could train this if the Box went away, and she had a feeling that the results would be negligible against daemons and magjistars who could control lightning, ice, and all sorts of other things.

Terrifying Aura is something that Zoey believes will come naturally. With enough strength, anyone can be scary. This skill is also something that Zoey believes she won't miss either. If she had a terrifying aura in every moment of her life, wouldn't it be harder to live a normal life and make friends? Was there a way to forget skills? While Zoey did enjoy fighting daemons and getting paid for it, she didn't plan to do it for the rest of her life. Boxing was fun, too, but if the Box didn't disappear anytime soon, Zoey was confident that she'll reach the peak of the boxing world eventually. At that point, she'll have to retire, wouldn't she? There would be no further challenges, no sources of experience, and nothing more to learn. Becoming a coach wouldn't help give her experience either, except in Teaching. So, where could she go after that?

"This is too much crap to think about!!!" Zoey could feel her brain overheating. If this was a cartoon, smoke would be rising from her head right now.

"Just focus on today's match and nothing else!" Zoey shut her brain down as she practiced her boxing combinations.

Later at school, nothing of importance happened. Lindsay and Alexander were glad to see that she was in good health. Considering how they came up to her at her locker while everyone was in the hallway. Zoey figured the two of them thought of her as a friend. Because now, the top students at their school were happily chatting with this unknown girl with zero popularity.

"So, no more sparring?" Zoey was slightly saddened to hear this.

Her skills rose so much from their training yesterday. She even got a new skill from it. Zoey also wanted her revenge against these two for beating her. Even if she lost this time, she was confident they wouldn't get the upper hand against her next time. But if they didn't want to, she couldn't try and insist on it. That would kind of make her look like a sore loser.

"That's right. We're going to spend the next few days teaching you more about the world of magji." Lindsay said.

"We're also going to try and find you some magji tools to either complement your strong points or make up for your weaknesses," Alexander added.

"Do I need to do anything besides learn?" Zoey asked.

"Once we find some suitable magji tools, you might need to test them out to get a feel for them," Lindsay explained.

"Alright. I'm going to be kind of busy most of this week. So, I might not be able to give much time..." Zoey felt a little bit awkward.

She had two important fighting events coming up back-to-back. The YFTL this week and the magjistar school battle thing with Alexander and Lindsay. Zoey wasn't sure exactly how the YFTL official tournament was run despite having a match today! Coach hasn't told her anything at all, and she didn't even know if she was fighting today or who she was fighting against. Maybe Coach wasn't as good of a coach as she thought... Maybe she should search up how the YFTL tournaments work online later.

"Busy with what?" Alexander innocently asked. As far as he knew, Zoey didn't do anything besides go to school and practice boxing at a gym.

"I uhm..." Zoey wasn't sure if she wanted to share that she was a fighter with these two, but when she thought about it, would a friend hide something like this from another friend? BUT! The two of them might refuse to take her to the magjistar fighting battle royale thing if she told them.

"I'll tell you next week," Zoey responded.

"Next week?" Alexander didn't know why he had to wait that long for his simple question.

"Yes. Next week." She nodded.

"Well, we'll see you in the student council room after school today. See you later, Zoey." Lindsay grabbed Alexander by the shoulder before he could delve into Zoey's business.

"Bye." Zoey grabbed her books and got ready to head to class.

 

[Dopplerdee]

Ah yes the feeling of losing for the first time.

 

[Namgo]

"Why didn't you let me ask Zoey what she was busy with?" Alexander questioned.

They were waiting on Zoey inside the student council room. Lindsay pulled out her phone and put on a video playlist saved onto it. The playlist was called Zoey Winter's Legendary Debut! She did not make the playlist but only found it titled this way. Apparently, the creator of the playlist called herself the biggest Zoey Winter's fan in the comments of each video.

"What is this...?" Alexander's eyes widened as he watched the videos along with Lindsay.

"The answer to your question." The two of them silently watched all of Zoey's fights since her debut fight all the way to her latest fight.

An undefeated bojutsu user, a ripped sumo wrestler, a cautious karate practitioner, an aggressive grappler, and a feisty kickboxer. The only one who came close to victory was the grappler, but even then, he still couldn't pull out the win against her. Maybe if he was a bit faster in securing his hold around her neck, or maybe if he had better control over the hold, he could've got her. But regardless, all of those strong fighters couldn't stand against Zoey.

Lindsay only found this information about Zoey by chance. She was researching fighting styles that either she or Alexander could possibly learn to complement their current strength. After clicking on a video about the strongest martial arts, she saw a boxing recommendation in the video suggestions. That reminded her of their close friend that used boxing as a fighting style, and through clicking on a rabbit hole of boxing videos, she somehow found out about Zoey's existence in the fighting community.

"At five today, Zoey is going to fight in a 12-man tournament bracket throughout the next few weeks. Monday of today, Monday of next week, and Monday after that, and the Monday after that before she's done. If she makes it to the finale." Lindsay explained.

"If she was busy with this, why did she agree to come to our AMYM? (Annual Meeting of Young Magjistars) She could've just said she was busy and couldn't come." Alexander didn't understand.

"What if she wanted to participate in the tournament and the meeting?" Lindsay's eyes gave off a small glint.

"What do you mean?" Why would she want to do that?

Wasn't participating in one fighting tournament stressful enough? Alexander was doing everything to prepare his mind, body, and soul for this upcoming AMYM. It would be his chance to show all of his peers and those from the magjistar community everything he's learned and experienced so far after becoming a trainee. He planned to shock the pants off of everyone at the meeting and hopefully impress the judges and veteran magjistars.

If he had to participate in another tournament while prepping himself for that, too, he didn't know how he would split his time preparing for both at all. Plus, with a tournament like Zoey's, she had to study and prepare countermeasures for her opponents, while with the AMYM, he didn't have the opportunity to do that. All he could go off of was the memories he had of their techniques at school for the magjistars at his school and rumors from magjistars from their rival school. But none of that was concrete or useful enough to help him prepare beforehand.

"Zoey likes fighting." Lindsay gave it to him in the simplest manner she could.

"Zoey likes fighting..." Several memories started to flash by inside his head. "Zoey likes fighting!" Alexander shouted.

"That's right. If there is an opportunity to fight, Zoey wants to be a part of it." Lindsay nodded.

"But doesn't she..." Alexander's words were caught in his throat.

Daemons, experienced martial artists, magjistars, men, women, Zoey didn't care who or what she had to fight. All she wanted was to fight, and fight, and fight some more. Lindsay couldn't be happier to see that Alexander finally understood a core part of Zoey's being. But how he would use this information was not something she could predict.

"She would be upset if we didn't let her participate in the AMYM." Alexander came to a realization. That was why she didn't tell them about her being in the Youth Fighting Tournament League.

"Or something like that." Lindsay agreed.

"Should we tell her we know about her fighting career?" Alexander suddenly asked.

"She'll tell us when she's ready." Lindsay shook her head. Zoey had her own reasons as to why she didn't tell them. It wasn't their place to intrude if she didn't want to share it with them. After all, it was only a coincidence that Lindsay found out about this information regarding Zoey.

"I guess we'll just give her some basic magji knowledge before letting her leave." Alexander shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't have to worry about that. I've already readied something for her." Lindsay took out a thick notebook from her book bag.

She placed it on the large desk in front of Alexander. It was titled Math Tips and Tricks. Alexander was confused why she placed this in front of him. While he knew Zoey struggled in math, how was this going to help her learn about magji? It wasn't until Lindsay opened the notebook up that Alexander understood.

Inside the book were all of Lindsay's copied notes while they were at Extraordinary Magji Academy learning about the responsibilities of magjistars, the basics of mahna, the history of mahna, magji, magjistars, daemons, mortals, and more. The entire notebook was filled to the brim with knowledge that Lindsay has heard, seen, or experienced in school and extra during her time as a student.

"How long do you think it'll take her to learn all this exactly...?" Alexander knew how strong Zoey was when it came to studies.

He was sure Lindsay knew as well, but with her giving all these notes to Zoey, his belief was challenged. Both of them frequently helped Zoey with her homework whenever she had trouble because of the deal they made with her for becoming their Bringer. They knew that she was barely a C-student. Unintentionally, they realized one of the weaknesses of Zoey that she couldn't cover up with her inhuman fighting prowess. She didn't have a monster-like brain, only a monster-like body. It was rather fair, in their opinion. If she was both unstoppable physically and mentally, how would other people stand a chance against her? By then, even the Balance of the World would have to step in at that point.

"If she's dedicated to learning, a couple of years," Lindsay answered.

"How is she going to prepare for the AMYM if it takes years to learn for her!?"

"There's no need to panic. I've accounted for this as well. I've highlighted the most important points that Zoey needed to know about magjistars and magji before the meeting next Monday. The only thing we can do is hope she retains enough knowledge by the time of the meeting." Lindsay answered.

"Oh." Alexander was surprised. "How'd you prepare all this so quickly?" He was amazed.

"I've started preparing ever since I found out about Zoey's fighting career." She felt some pride in Alexander's astonishment.

"That's amazing! So, instead of teaching Zoey, we can just focus on our own training, and if she ever has any questions about the notebooks, she can just call us and ask!"

"That's correct. We also won't be getting in the way of Zoey's tournament by taking up her time directly."

"Lindsay, have I ever told you how amazing you are?" Alexander doubted he could've done anything like this.

"..." A faint red blush appeared on Lindsay's face as she simply adjusted her glasses and said thanks.

Eventually, Zoey showed up to the student council room with a calm look on her face. It didn't look like she was going to have a big fight today at all with how emotionless she looked. Alexander couldn't keep himself from smiling, though. He knew a secret about Zoey that she didn't know that they knew. Lindsay did most of the talking for them as she gave her the notebooks and explained their purpose.

A brief crack in Zoey's calm façade was broken as she was handed the books and allowed to leave. She gave a relieved smile as she was about to hurry out of the student council room.

"Good luck Zoey. Feel free to call us if you have any questions in the notebook!" Alexander said as she was leaving.

'Good luck?' Zoey was confused. "Okay, thanks!" She hurried out of the room and almost couldn't stop herself from running in the halls, even though it might get her in trouble.

Zoey left school and saw that her dad was waiting outside in his car. She hopped in, and he drove her towards the gym. He couldn't help but laugh as he saw his stepdaughter fidgeting in the passenger seat in excitement. Maybe he did make the right decision in signing her up for boxing. It was probably the first time he's ever seen her this excited before.

"Looks like someone's ready for the big fight." He chuckled.

"What?" Zoey wasn't expecting her dad to notice how excited she was.

"Haha, you can barely sit still. If I knew boxing made you this happy, I would've signed you up years ago." Bruce smiled.

"I probably wouldn't have liked it back then..." Zoey was embarrassed that her dad saw through her for once. Usually, it was her mother, despite their conflicting personalities. She observed her like a hawk since she was a baby and picked up on all the little habits she had growing up. Now her dad was finding them too. It made Zoey feel like she couldn't hide anything at all! Could it be that she was the type of person who revealed everything through her expressions? There's no way, right?