[Congrats! You earned 15 EXP for winning the match!]
[Congrats! You leveled up. The system has now reached level 2]
[Reward: You earned the True Fighter badge, and some new items have unlocked.]
[Percentage to Level Up 3: 0/100 EXP]
Vernon smiled happily as he looked at the transparent screen in front of him.
'That means the other items have been unlocked.'
Curious, he opened the Store System and saw five new items that unlocked at Level 2.
'I wonder what items are available now.'
Vernon clicked on the one that caught his attention the most.
[God's Eye]
Vernon's eyebrows furrowed. The item sounded impressive. He guessed that God's Eye would give incredible power because of the word "God" in the name.
[Description: You can read your opponent's movements before they move.]
'What does that mean?'
But Vernon quickly moved on to the other items, feeling too excited, until he suddenly remembered something.
'System, why does the Muay Thai card I got show level one? What does that mean?'
[Because you haven't mastered all the Muay Thai techniques. The system only gave you basic knowledge of Muay Thai techniques, like the ones you used earlier—such as the basic kicks. You've already used basic kicks like low kick, high kick, and Teep.]
'So, how do I improve it?'
[You need to complete Special Daily Quests to earn MP.]
'MP? What is that?'
[MP is Martial Potential, like EXP, which is used to level up your Muay Thai and unlock more techniques.]
'I got it.'
---
The next day, Vernon woke up at dawn, earlier than the others, to complete his Daily Quest without being noticed so he could train with Mico by 8 a.m.
A transparent screen popped up in front of him, followed by a 'Ding!' sound.
'What's the quest this time?' Vernon muttered excitedly.
DING!
[Daily Quest: Do a Sled Pull.]
[Level: Special]
[Reward: 10 Martial Potential (MP) and strength stat increase.]
The screen showed his system stats.
[Host Profile]
Name: Vernon Baxlor
Age: 27
Nationality: New York, United States
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 143 pounds
[Physical Stats]
Strength: C
Speed: D
Agility: D
Stamina: B
Endurance: C
[Achievement Stats]
Wins: 5
Losses: 0
Opponents Defeated: 5
System Level: 2 (True Fighter)
[Mental State: Good]
[Card System Collection]
Nothing
[Skills]
Boxing - LEVEL 3 (55/100 MP)
Muay Thai - LEVEL 1 (0/100 MP)
[Tip: You need to improve your physical stats before training Muay Thai to build muscle, as it will affect your fighting strength later.]
[The higher your physical stats, the more damage you'll deal to opponents, allowing you to earn more MP.]
'Got it!'
Vernon headed to the field behind Vagon BootCamp and grabbed the truck tire often used for training, tying it around his waist.
He tried to run, but his body didn't move at all because of the weight attached to him.
'Shit! This tire is so heavy!'
With all his strength, Vernon tried to pull the tire, but it barely budged.
Veins popped out of his neck, legs, and arms, showing how heavy the tire was.
He suddenly stopped to catch his breath, filling his lungs with air, then tried again.
After struggling for several minutes, the tire finally started moving, bit by bit.
Vernon growled as he pushed himself to the limit. His leg muscles tightened and burned. Slowly, he made progress.
He looked back and smiled in satisfaction, thankful he had moved a few meters, but he wasn't done yet.
He kept going, dragging the tire with his waist.
After an hour, he had managed to pull it five meters.
[Congrats! You completed the Daily Quest.]
Vernon smiled, wiping sweat from his chin as the notification popped up.
[Congrats! You earned 10 MP and a strength increase!]
The screen shifted, showing Vernon's updated stats.
[Physical Stats]
Strength: C+ (UP)
Speed: D
Agility: D
Stamina: B
Endurance: C
[Skills]
Boxing - LEVEL 3 (55/100 MP)
Muay Thai - LEVEL 1 (10/100 MP) UP!
'Finally.'
"You're amazing."
Vernon jumped and turned around. "Robinson?"
The man smiled. "I heard you beat Oliver."
Vernon looked away. "It was just luck."
"No way. I saw the footage of you taking down Oliver using Muay Thai. I didn't expect you to master the strongest martial art in MMA. I regret putting you in rank F."
"You deserve to be in rank B or even A."
"Don't praise me too much. I still need to learn to be a B or A rank fighter."
Robinson smiled proudly. "I like your spirit. I hope you can win the Black Death Tournament. I'll make you a champion in MMA, boxing, kickboxing, whatever you want."
"Why do you care so much about me?" Finally, he had the chance to ask.
"What do you mean?" Robinson frowned in confusion.
Vernon knew Robinson was pretending not to understand. "I'm sure you know what I mean."
"Don't make me think hard, Vernon," Robinson complained. "Just say it straight."
"You treat me differently than the other F-rank fighters, even more than the others. It makes the fighters here hate me."
Robinson laughed, as if it were a joke. "That's funny, because I'm always nice to all my fighters!"
Vernon felt sick hearing that. 'Nice? He's just using them to make money!'
"I'm going to promote you to rank B, replacing Oliver." Robinson's expression turned serious, as if his decision was final. "I'll fire him, because I don't need losers like him."
'Loser?' Vernon clenched his fists tightly.
"Sorry, I'm not interested."
"Why?" Disappointment showed on Robinson's face. "You deserve it after risking your life beating him. Hasn't Mico explained how to rank up?"
Vernon stayed silent, waiting for Robinson to explain.
"Every low-rank fighter who beats a higher-rank one deserves their rank, while the loser gets kicked out of this place."
Vernon's eyes widened.
Robinson sneered mockingly. "Don't you know why Mico, a former B-rank fighter, retired and is now training low-rank fighters?"
Vernon stared at Robinson, curious to hear more.