Chapter 1: The Monster
Somocho:
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Height: 5'8
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Black
Physical Appearance: He has wavy black hair to match his bright blue eyes. He wears a green hoodie and a pair of black shorts. He has an athletic build and chose to excel in physical attacks.
The cheers of the crowd were deafening as Somocho took his first steps out into the arena, the blinding lights hitting him harder than anything his opponent could do. He shielded his eyes but once his eyes adjusted his mouth hung agape from seeing how large the crowd was. Somocho took a heavy breath and then threw some jabs in the air, smoke coating each jab. Suddenly the ground shook in a rhythmic fashion and it only got more severe as a 6'0 goliath charged into the ring, jumping over the ropes and slamming his feet down, knocking Somocho down. Somocho slowly got up and stared him in the face. The announcer chipped in as the tension grew,
"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for coming to the 76th annual hero exam!" Cheers roared throughout the stadium and the announcer made quick work to hush the crowd, "Yes, yes. We know it is an amazing time of year where we can watch the strongest fighters go at it! Just remember that these are the people who worked incredibly hard to get here so don't insult them if they lose quickly. Without further ado, let's hear it for Somocho!" The crowd was silent...Somocho knew that the announcer was doubting him in particular but he had one trick under his sleeve, "Now let's hear it for the one, the only, JODO!" The crowd suddenly returned to the eardrum-shattering applause. Somocho was dizzy from the yelling and he stumbled around trying to keep his balance. Without warning, Jodo went forward and slammed his huge fist into Somochos stomach. Somochos face churned with pain and Jodo smiled and used his signature right fist to uppercut Somocho. Somocho knew it was coming but he couldn't move. In only 6 seconds he was in the air. When he reached the ground, the ground did not comfort him. It felt like broken glass. Jodo just stood there with a smile, he was talking to a ref. "I'm sorry sir. I just am a little excited." The ref nodded his head, understanding what happened, but Somocho was struggling to stand. He used both hands to grab the ropes and force himself back up. The announcer's voice chimed in again, "Well now that the endless assault is done, you both can start in 3...2...1...Now!" Jodo ran at Somocho with a big smile on his face and charged up a heavy right jab. The crowd was ecstatic as they wanted the royal child to win. Somocho knew that this was his only chance because of Jodos punch speed. Somocho hurled his whole body into a right was a lot faster than Jodos and when he opened his eyes he saw Jodo standing there with an evil glare. He grabbed Somochos head and lifted him off the ground like a ragdoll. Somocho struggled but to no avail. Jodo threw him into the turnbuckle and Somochos vision was blurry. He was gonna pass out. He lurched forward and vomited blood on the floor. He shivered and he felt cold to the touch. Jodo was running, planning to do something to him. Somocho couldn't stay up any longer. He fell to his side and coincidentally Jodos headbutt landed into the turnbuckle. Somocho suddenly rose up slowly as Jodo was screaming and slamming his fist onto the turnbuckle. Somocho tapped Jodos shoulder and Jodo threw a jab at Somocho but Somocho swayed out of the way and with the last bit of energy he could manage, threw an uppercut as a counter. Nobody could tell what's gonna happen. Somocho stood with his fist raised after the successful uppercut and Jodo stood dumbstruck. It was only 10 seconds but the tension made it feel like 1 million. Suddenly the goliath, Jodo, fell. Somocho kept his arm raised. His face was not of one who won but of one who had been destroyed. His face had a pained expression like the uppercut hurt him more than Jodo. The one thing everyone knew hurt though was Somochos hand. It hard third-degree burns on it and it suddenly clicked that Somocho was passed out due to shock and the pain. The sounds of the ref counting for Jodo to rise was silenced in Somochos mind. He just kept repeating the same words in his head,
"I actually used it correctly...After months of training...I did it…" After a while, the ref finally reached 10 and put Jodo onto a stretcher along with Somocho. The announcer chimed in, obviously taken back by the match,
"W-what an outstanding match! Hopefully, your bets aren't ruined! Next match is Romokon versus Denji. Two of the best sword fighters in the school, and also they both are rivals! Somocho looked at Jodo on the stretcher. Jodo was just staring up at the passing textures of the ceiling tiles. Somocho was gonna say something but Jodo beat him to it,
"Don't mock me, kid...I know I lost…" Somocho quickly tried to comfort the wallowing man,
"N-never! I won by a fluke, you should have mopped the floor with me-" Jodo interrupted,
"No...I made a mistake of underestimating you. No matter the opponent I shouldn't take any of them lightly." Somochos eyes widened in surprise but he remembered how he won and tried to argue,
"But if I was a good fighter I wouldn't have been hit in the first place." Jodo chuckled at that response,
"As my classmate, I have to say, it doesn't matter if you get punched, what matters is that you stand up and keep fighting. In my eyes, you just took the opportunity. You are a fighter, you just have to believe in yourself." Somocho stared at Jodo in awe and Somocho looked down,
"I just got lucky...I put it all on the line with that last punch. I've never used it before." Jodo laughed,
"There's no luck in the ring, bud. If I have to give you any advice, be alone. Because you will operate better with nothing to lose compared to holding back because you're afraid of burdening others with your death from a life-threatening attack. That's why you beat me after all. You knew you had nothing to lose so you just gave everything you had into one punch instead of separating them into equally powerful punches as I did." Somocho just stared and slowly comprehended the words he said. Jodo added one more thing,
"Also you may think that your punch was bad for you but that punch felt like a rocket for me. I got the bad end of it...I can't move my arms or legs, all they do is shake because of the shock. Now if you say anything negative or try to argue, I'll just sleep, Okay?" Somocho said one more thing before going to sleep himself,
"Thank you, Jodo. It means a lot coming from an S class warrior like you." Jodo laughed,
"You're the S class warrior now. Welcome to the big leagues." Jodo slowly closed his eyes and slept.