Chapter 84: The challenge
Was that even possible after reaching 40% hardness?
Arnold was silently sad after Lila was done hitting him, noticing that the system didn\'t notify him of any reward.
However, while he already rested and decided to leave the training ring with his friends, the system decided to cast some smile on his face.
[You gained your first Combat Energy Point.]
[Combat Energy: 1.]
[You have gained 10 points to your Endurance.]
There was no way he wouldn\'t get some points to his Endurance after the countless hitting on his chest. At that point, the system had conveyed the hardness all over his skin even though he didn\'t strike them.
Literally, the system only wanted his efforts, almost everything he achieved was granted by the system. However, it wasn\'t as if he never needed to continue practicing Ironskin later on.
For now, Arnold had given it a break and decided to just visit the gym every morning. The system personally asked him to take some time to rest, so he was going to do just that.
[Still at 17%, he has to take a break.]
The system notified Arnold about Mark\'s record, which made him a little disappointed.
Although he was making slow progress, Mark was still relentless in perfecting the Broad Kick, seeing that Arnold hadn\'t told him to stop.
It was quite disheartening that Bobby Crimson was facing almost what Arnold had faced lately. If it hadn\'t been for the Pro Wrestling System, his case would have been even worse.
"Mark... It\'s enough for today. Let\'s go have some rest," Arnold called from a corner.
Mark, with fast rough gasps, stopped practicing and turned to look at Arnold\'s direction.
"Why should I? It\'s just 6 PM," Mark said.
He knew that he was still slacking on perfecting the Broad Kick, and really wanted to keep trying. Although it was visibly difficult, he knew nothing good comes without suffering.
"You have to understand me... You really need to take a break or else you wouldn\'t improve anymore," Arnold threw a sharp glance.
It was at this moment that Mark had a change of mind. He stopped practicing at that moment, then...
*Pow!*
Mark punched the forged humanoid structure standing in front of him, causing it a slight stagger. Then frustratingly, he walked out of the ring and joined his friends to evacuate the training ring room.
Arnold smiled at him as he approached them, then he couldn\'t help but pat him on his shoulder.
"Good job, bro."
Mark spared a stare in an instant, and then smiled back with a nod.
Soon, the three walked out of the training ring, ready to go have another meal together. After that, Arnold went ahead to his room and decided to call it a day.
******
Arnold was summoned to Manager Jack Harris\'s office the next day. Tristan Black had submitted his challenge letter to the management, requesting for a title match with Max Fury and his title on the line as well.
No one knew why he was doing this, but it was all fun at second thought. Many only thought that Tristan Black just wanted to create a record of becoming the first Grindhouse wrestler to have two Championship Titles at a time.
Since the history of Grindhouse Wrestling, there haven\'t been a wrestler who had achieved that. This event was only witnessed in the top shows...
It was now going to be the first time the Grindhouse Wrestling universe will be experiencing such event.
No matter how it ended, there would be a champion.
It\'s either Tristan Black...
Or Max Fury...
Clad in black suits, he approached the manager\'s office with a heart full of confidence.
With the complicated stares around, it was clear that the rumors of Tristan\'s challenge had spread. In the looks of most figure were pity, mockery, and disdain.
Arnold knew that everyone would doubt his chance of defeating Tristan Black, but he didn\'t care. After all, he didn\'t know if he could win either...
He accepted the challenge because he wanted to show off his fearlessness. Truthfully, not all low-level champion would accept to face Tristan Black for a championship match at this stage.
It wasn\'t even up to three months since he won the title, now he was putting it on the line against Tristan???
Tristan was the strongest Grindhouse wrestler for sure, everyone knew that... However, it only seemed like Arnold was thinking otherwise.
\'I\'m the strongest and greatest wrestler Grindhouse Wrestling would ever see. And I\'m just going to prove it against Tristan.\'
\'I will defeat him, and soon, I will become the Alpha and Omega champion of Grindhouse Wrestling!\'
[That\'s the spirit, host. So confident!]
Upon entering the manager\'s office, he was offered a seat. Arnold sat for a while, having noticed that Tristan hadn\'t arrived yet. He is a high-level wrestler already, so they had the privilege to live out of Capside Centre.
It only took a few minutes before he arrived, and the manager offered him a seat next to Arnold\'s as well.
"Welcome, Max Fury and Tristan Black... We have approved the challenge letter sent by Tristan Black, so Max Fury, you have to sign some match agreement papers for personal confirmation," Jack Harris requested.
Arnold nodded as the manager shifted some papers to his side, picked up the pen at the side, and inputted his signature.
"Thank you," Harris gratified with a smile as Arnold shifted it back to his side.
Then, Tristan was asked to sign the papers as well, which he did without hesitation.
When these were done, the manager took the papers to the side and glanced at both men. His gaze finally stopped at Tristan after a moment...
"Tell me, champ. What had made you challenge Max Fury?" Like always, Jack Harris would always be a friendly interviewer.
Tristan chuckled at that question, but he knew he had to respond... He would love to reply to him...
"I\'m challenging Max Fury because..."
"He has to pay for what his brother did to me!"