Garys’s arm was still extended out in a punching position, his head facing the floor. All the training he had done, it was so short that he had almost forgotten it in the fight, but still somehow he was able to pull it off. In a way, Gary was expecting for something to happen, for his opponent to get back up, but before even lifting his head something else happened.
After hitting Leng, Gary was greeted with a little nice surprise: it was the system message.
[Quest reward: 500 Exp]
[Exp 542/882]
The Quest was complete, honestly Gary didn’t expect a single hit to end it all, he was also expecting to have to use his little stat boost one more time if necessary, but with the two forces of energy being used the blow was just too much for Leng to handle.
However, getting the system message meant that Sren must have also been defeated as well. When Gary looked up, he could see Innu’s face. It didn’t look to be in the best of conditions, he was huffing and panting, but Sren was similarly lying on the floor.
“That damn slimy guy, he was like a snake. I couldn’t hold him down and his body was so damn flexible, but still after a couple of knees to the stomach he sure did slow down a bit.” Innu shared, looking up half expecting that he needed to help Gary, but to his surprise his friend had won his fight as well.
Although, his face didn’t look to be in the best condition either. The two of them smiled at each other as the realisation hit them.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve all seen it. The winners for tonight’s debut match are The Hoooooowllllleeeeeerrrrrsssss!” The announcer shouted.
There were cheers among the crowd as quite a few had made good money on the odds given, while others complained. Those were the ones who had clearly decided to play it safe and had bet on the twins. Although annoyed about having lost some of their money, all of them could still respect an entertaining fight, so they too joined in on the cheering.
Surprisingly, in the midst of cheering, there were a few howls that could be heard as well. It sounded like some type of war cry, and clearly people had already had too much to drink trying to imitate a wolf due to the gang’s name. However, the members thought it suited them well, and maybe it would become a tradition of some sort after one of them had been through a tough time.
For Austin he was still in the middle of his thoughts, trying to make up his mind in regards to Gary.
‘The green kid eventually won, but it just looked a bit sloppy, but the look in his eyes when he threw out that punch, I liked it.’ Austin smiled. It was the first fight of the evening, yet after having come all the way out here, the loner was debating whether he should stay or just call it the day. After all, he had seen what Kai had wanted to show him.
“Well, what do you think?” The other boy asked by his side. “Can you see a ‘better future’ for yourself by joining our little gang? ”
Austin continued to look at Gary, as Innu wrapped his arm around Gary’s neck, and started to go through the other’s green hair with his hands. Innu was showboating and enjoying every bit of his hard-earned victory as he bowed down to the crowd.
Meanwhile, Sren and Leng were recovering and getting up from the fight. They didn’t even shake hands and were already leaving the arena. Not that Gary ever expected them to be respectful in the first place, but after a fight like that, the anger that Gary had for them seemed to escape from his body.
“Based on what you asked me before, I’m guessing you want me to join this gang of yours?” Austin concluded. It was a good way to introduce The Howlers, especially since Austin already had an interest in Innu.
“Don’t you think it will be more interesting than what you had planned before?” Kai replied.
“I told you my answer before. I don’t follow anyone who’s weaker than me, so if you really want me to join your gang, then tell me when you want me and you to throw some hands.” Austin was getting excited, especially since he had seen Kai’s form earlier, making him convinced that the other wasn’t the pretty boy he had suspected him to be.
“That’s reasonable, but if that’s the case, you should fight the leader, not me.” Kai replied with a smile. Hearing this, a memory clicked in for Austin. Back when the police had questioned him about Billy’s sudden appearance, he had asked Innu who the green haired boy and the transfer student had told him that it had been his leader.
“Very well.” Austin nodded.
“Alright, but you’ll have to do that another time. After this match right now, he’ll need some rest. Tag along with us for a little bit, I have something to show you after this.”
——
The two White Rose agents were in a similar state of mind. They figured that there was a good chance that Gary would be leaving after his fight, so they had a quick discussion whether they should go after him or stay around longer.
Ultimately, they agreed to treat Gary as a potential lead. Since they knew where he would be tomorrow, they decided the smarter move would be to stay and start questioning people about Billy once the event was over. Since Gary had been in that debut fight, it shouldn’t even be suspicious if they were to ask if someone knew if there was any connection between the two.
“If not, we’ll just have to pay a visit to his school tomorrow.” Saide suggested.