"We're quite deep in the woods, Boom." Jamal told him.
They had left the alley and walked for a good hour or so out of the town. As they continued walking, they didn't say a single word to each other. Jamal just simply followed the man, hoping to see what he was up to. I did not think I would have to fight one of the strongest known fighters in the entire world, he thought to himself, I'm already struggling to fight against one person, but Boom himself is basically impossible! He had to come up with a plan to take him on. Since he knew he would probably lose, he would have to at least show him that he wasn't completely useless. First, he needed to analyze what powers they both had. Boom has only ever been seen using incredible strength against his opponents, so the man could rush at him probably faster than the boy could react or even form any fire at all. He also was still pretty hurt, but if he wanted to train then he would have to give it his all. Depending on the environment, I'll see what I can do, he believed in himself.
"We are finally here!" Boom yelled to him.
It was just an open space inside the woods. To one side of it, there was a clear stream running by with colorful fish and other creatures. Jamal couldn't see any other objects that he could use to defend himself. I'm totally screwed, he pondered, this isn't looking good for me.
"If you don't mind, I'll like to start." Boom whispered to him, scaring him from his thoughts. Boom laughed at that when it happened, already prepared for the likely outcome.
"Boy, if you want to get stronger, you got to at least show that you aren't scared. Now, since it looks like you had plenty of time to think, let's begin!" He exclaimed while charging at him.
"Wait, I'm not-." Jamal couldn't let out before he barely ducked in time. He looked behind as he saw Boom ready to punch at him. He rolled to the side as he watched Boom crack the ground before a big crater appeared. Jamal's eyes widened in fear.
"Don't worry, I'm barely trying. What about you?" Boom asked him, still smiling. "'Cause I can do this all day!"
Jamal formed two fireballs in each hand and threw them at him as fast as possible. Boom, with one hand and in a quick motion, simply waved it before it was even close to him. The wave created an insane amount of wind, almost knocking Jamal off his feet. Jamal looked around and then he saw the stream several yards away. He laid down next to it and searched for a pebble or rock to throw. Once he found a few decent ones, he grabbed them and ran as Boom was chasing behind him. As that was happening, Jamal was heating the rocks as fast as possible.
"Come here! I'm having a bit too much fun wasting around. I think it's time I finish this." Boom said, getting serious really quickly. "If this is what I'm going to deal with I will refuse to train you."
"Don't worry, 'cause after this, you will!" Jamal said as he threw the heated rocks at him.
Boom didn't even flinch and just dodged the rocks. "Is that all you got-." he started to speak.
He wasn't aware that Jamal was using that as a quick distraction and with all his might, lit up his fist and punched him straight in his chest. Boom couldn't even speak in shock.
"H-H-H-H-How did you hit me-." Boom stuttered out.
Boom then begin to stumble and almost fell. Wait, am I really that strong-, Jamal thought for a second, before getting hit by what was one of the most memorable pain a human could ever feel. His eyes almost blacked out from whatever hit him, but it was clear. Boom was bluffing and tricked him into thinking that he actually got hurt and punched him right in the stomach. Blood was already leaking from his mouth and Jamal was shaking from the devastating attack.
"Ah, come on, that was a light punch, if you were getting knocked down from that, then I don't think you're worthy. If anything, I knew you said you weren't that strong, but I expected better." Boom informed him with displeasure. "How can I train someone that can't even take any of my punches, even a weak one, I barely put any effort in that one!"
"No-, It-, can't be over like this. Not yet anyway." Jamal muttered to the powerful man. "I still have something in me."
"Sit down, don't even bother. I felt like this was going to be a waste of time and you already proved it. You were already injured, and now you definitely not coming back up for a while. I had better things to do anyway. The town is south of here if you forgot. Good luck finding your way home or wherever you live." Boom told him with little pity as he turned around and started to walk.
No, this was my only chance to get stronger and better, Jamal had anticipated, I can't let him leave, I don't want to be like this anymore, get up, come on and get up, Jamal Wrint, you need to get up!
Suddenly a bright light appeared and Boom looked behind him. Jamal slowly got up but his right arm, wait, it was on fire.
"I will not give up! You will train me!" Jamal shouted as he ran to Boom and punched him with what energy he had left.
Boom was surprised that the punch actually hurt a bit and that it even pushed him back a few feet. Where did he get this amount of power, he questioned, I don't want to do this, but I might have to finish this...
He looked into Jamal's eyes to see that they were glowing until he suddenly appeared in front of him and uppercut him. He flew a few feet in the air, and he actually felt some blood in his mouth. He saw Jamal already above him and yelled full of rage as he prepared to punch him. You've given me no choice Jamal, he sighed and took a deep breath. As if time slowed down, he fixed his position and retaliated with a quick punch back at Jamal. But it wasn't a punch with little to no effort, this was a full-powered one.
All of a sudden, the forest was quiet for a few moments, then dirt and trees went into the sky. The wind that appeared out of nowhere was stronger than even the most powerful windstorms. The clouds above him cleared sixty miles away. Three miles of forest were now decimated from that sole blow. Jamal flew hundreds of feet into the sky in seconds. Boom, still in a decent amount of pain, jumped up, creating a thirty-foot crater in the ground. As Jamal was starting to fall he caught him. The glow in his eyes was gone and so was the fire. Half of his shirt was gone and his clothes might as well been non-existent.
"I know you can't hear me, but I'll train you. I'm sorry but you were getting out of hand. I understand your pain and I found your problem. But for now, I'll get you some rest and let you recuperate." he stated to his unconscious body and they were falling, "I hope I didn't kill you or do serious damage, but after you heal is when we're getting down to business."