The Foolish Grappler Chapter 7

Thank you for reading this story I am working hard to see if I can meet the deadline, I set for myself however it's not looking that likely, sadly. However, thanks to the people who read my story it's nice to know someone else enjoys my effort even if slightly. As remember to feel free to give reviews as it will help my writing ability.

Thanks,

Lolzman

Now, if you haven't guessed by now, it did not turn out to be great because here I am in a dingy hotel room that I can barely afford with the few berries I have left with no way in sight of either succeeding in my goal of finding a trainer let alone even a way to earn some extra cash would be appreciated. Ah, this is probably confusing I should rewind it back to when I accepted the offer for a trip to the capital.

I Got on the ship about 9am the next day after saying goodbye to Marie and the Kennedys; sadly, Belle was crying, thinking I wouldn't return. Thankfully I managed to convince her I would be back to visit them when I had time. Anna, of course, said that I could stay at their house when I returned, which I thanked her for offering and accepted. After that, I packed the clothes that Anna was able to find that would fit me, plus the school uniform that I came with, plus a meal in a bento box to have on the trip over. After the last goodbyes, while boarding the ship, I found a place to relax near the rear of the ship to sit and take in the sights while we got underway.

The trip over was quite beautiful, a beauty that you don't get just from words on paper; it's just not conveyed well through the manga and anime. It's things like the water that is as flawless as if it is liquid sapphire or the clear blue sky combined with a nice cooling breeze that makes the view anywhere you look breathtaking. The island was no slouch either, watching the forest and beach go by as we circled the island weirdly; when we got near what the locals call the 'chin' of the island, the south-eastern part of the island got quite misty. You couldn't make out much of the land beside the shadows from the rocks.

Apparently, when I was stretching my legs after eating the bento, I overheard some of the sailors complaining about the mist and how we should of went further offshore less we get cursed; when I asked them about it, they explained it comes from decades ago where the island got invaded. The invading fleet split in two, one of them to attack the northeastern side of the 'nose' where the capital is now. In contrast, the other group would attack the chin to flank the enemy; they just disappeared with no one knowing what happened to them.

Legend says they angered the island such that it ate them whole, leaving no survivors. When I asked how that could even happen, they didn't know, just that's the rumour and that if you go too close, you will also be eaten by the island. Don't ask me how the hell an island is meant to eat a ship, but that's besides the point; it's more likely they got wrecked against an unseen reef, and the probably few survivors just went over to the north side with the reason that it's not known is just simply because its embracing and they wouldn't publicise it.

Anyway, weird folklore aside, we finally made it to the capital, and it really was a sight to see. The first thing you can see is the moat system that allows ships to access the capital; it goes from the sea to the capital, which is about a Kilometer inland. The capital itself is split into two main parts; the main part of the city is the centre which is in the centre of the lake, which is artificially linked to the sea, giving the capital access to the sea, likely giving it a lot of benefit for trade and such. The centre part is massive and vaguely reminds me of water 7 but much less grand and massive.

The outer ring consists of docks and the necessary warehouses for the goods from the docks. Behind them, buildings raise glute up on a gradual slope up to the centre, which houses what I would guess is the palace for whoever rules this place. The other part of this city is the shanty town-looking area that surrounds most of the lake, which has its own jetties for smaller boats; if I had to guess, this is where most of the lower class live and likely have to commute to the main city to work.

When I finally had enough of being speechless, I noticed that we were coming to one of the middle-sized docks, so I quickly gathered my bags and got ready to disembark. As I was waiting, I asked one of the deckhands whether if they knew a cheap place to stay given that I was quite poor; thankfully, they told me where I could find some cheap accommodation even if they warned me to be careful as it was in the more seedy areas on the eastern side of the island. Apparently, it was where a lot of sailors go if they wanted to not sleep on the ship or wanted to Hook up; if you catch my drift, the guy I asked for information had a lot to say about the availability of 'adult companionship'.

Well, after nearly dying of embarrassment, Just remembering that got me wanting to jump off the ship. I finally disembarked from the ship as soon as possible, making a right turn after I got off the pier that the ship docked to and followed the basic instructions the deckhand gave me. I could already tell, despite not being that long after midday, that this area was the more shady zone, already spotting at least five prostitutes offering their services to the dock workers and such that were beginning to finish their shifts. Hell, they even asked me if I wanted to 'become a real man", which I sadly can't say I wasn't tempted; however, I couldn't be wasting money on that, so I got cockblocked due to my lack of funds also the very likely diseases risk and the many other very legitimate reasons that was a really bad idea.

Thankfully it didn't take me that long to find the Inn that I was told to find; it wasn't that hard to spot given the big sign out front with "The Spice Oasis'' it was a bit of a giveaway, not going to lie. It looked halfway between a wild west saloon with Swinging doors and a generic fantasy-style Inn/Taven; it looked good enough for me to stay while I found the trainer I needed. When I entered through the Swinging doors, I found the inside to be as lively as the outside was, with many people eating and drinking at the many small round tables.

The initial layout seemed fine, with most of the room having round tables to seat the patrons. In contrast, there were benches and longer tables around the edges with a bar opposite the door. On the far side of the room, there was a kitchen behind the bar based on how the waitress would come and go from the door near the bar. Lastly, there was a set of stairs on the opposite side of the bar, then the door to the kitchen. The waitresses wore black dress skirts with plain shirts with black neckties, which was normal enough but to go with the weird style, they also had cowboy hats and boots.

Seeing as there wasn't another counter, I presumed I would need to go to the bar to book a room which I did. As I walked up, I finally saw the barman in a weird getup, looking like he was cosplaying a cowboy. He had the whole shebang, including a western shirt with pearl snap fasteners, blue jeans, cowboy boots and a hat along with a leather belt with a big buckle; it was holding a hoster to what I can only guess is his gun. Why is this place all western style? Last time I checked, this island didn't have that style.

"Howdy there, customer do yah need to quench your thirst or start your hunger? Maybe your even looking for a place to lay your head as your look a bit young for companionship," He said while cleaning a glass mug; he had a western cowboy drawl which was both fitting and out of place given where we were.

"Um, Can I have a room for one, please? How much will that cost?" I hope this won't cost an arm and a leg. I didn't ask the sailor how much for a night because I forgot to, which was my bad.

"It costs yah 200 just for a single night or 150 a night for more than 3 nights; on top of that, you can pay extra 50 extra to get you breakfast and dinner here."

"I will pay for three nights then, plus breakfast and dinner for each of the days" I went to pay him, but I just realised that my money was in my inventory; how the hell was I meant to get it out?

To access your Berry, just think of your money while putting your hand into a pocket or bag out of sight of anyone else.

Ah, a helpful tooltip; seeing that, I quickly reached into my pants to get the needed amount and handed it to them.

"Thank you, sir hope you have a nice stay here at The Spice Oasis" He then handed me a key with a tag with the number seven on it which I happily picked up.

"I hope I do" After that, I moved to the stairs to the rooms on the higher floors, looking for which room I would spend the next few days in, hopefully until I find a trainer.

I finally found the door to my room, and it was, in a word, simplistic; it had a simple wooden bed with an acceptable mattress, it also had a set of drawers which is where I put my things, and lastly, it had a window which thankfully was facing the port giving me a nice view over all pretty good better then I thought it would be. Seeing how it was beginning to get dark, I think I will go out tomorrow. I guess all I can do now is go down and have dinner.

The downstairs was pretty typical, with quite a few tables and chairs with a bar stocked with alcohol; it had a lively atmosphere that was quite inviting with dock workers who had finished work and were looking to have a meal. So I went to the bar to order my meal; the barman saw me approach, put down the glass he had been cleaning, and threw the handtowel over his shoulder.

"What can I do for you tonight, lad," He said in a gruff voice; however, it had a welcoming tone.

"Yo, Um, how do I order my meal? Do I just-" As I was asking, he interrupted me by turning around and speaking to the gap behind the bar, likely leading to the kitchen.

"One main dish, Lad; you don't have to be so nervous. I can tell your all jittery just from looking at ya, so take this time to relax" After giving the order to the kitchen, he turned back to me and pointed towards an empty bar stool in front of him.

"Ah, thanks, it's my first time in this big of a city; while its interesting to see and experience this city its a bit nerve racking", I explained as I sat down on the stool.

The meal, which was some kind of meat soup that was served, was good, not great, but it was quite nice. After that, I hung around on that stool at the bar watching the room; it was the first time I truly was able to just watch how people in one piece experienced life, talking about how was work at the docks or how the sailors talked about the weather slowing down the ships making trading harder and finally how a neighbouring island got raided by pirates however it was weird that no one mentioned the Wolf neck village which I found odd wouldn't that be a bigger topic then a neighbouring island or the weather.

Anyway, after an hour of enjoying watching, I felt it was time to head in, so I got up and went to my room, where for what seemed like another hour, I laid in bed trying to fall asleep; thankfully, I finally did.

Walking around this city isn't that bad after waking up and getting ready for the day; I got a good breakfast of fish and egg, which doesn't normally come to mind when you think of breakfast, but it was surprisingly good. After that, I quickly asked about places where I could learn how to fight luckly, the barman was knowledgeable of the area. He gave me some names to look out for and basic directions; many of the dojos and gyms are near the high-class area.

So I was finally coming up on the first place that I was told to go, a place by the name of Heavenly Branch; it looked like a traditional Japanese dojo which kind of made it out of place given this isn't wano.

I knocked on the front door, hoping someone was in so I could get started immediately. Luckly for me, someone answered the door quite quickly. I only had to wait for about 2 minutes. The person that answered was a man who seemed to be in his fifties, wearing a brown Gi with a black belt. I did check his character sheet to see how powerful he is. Hopefully, I can get that optional objective.

Name: Lion McDaniel

Age: 58

Height: 6'0

Weight: 115kg

Sex: male

Lv: xx

Occupation: Sensei

Hp ***/***

Description: Lion is an elderly man and walks with a slight hunch in his back. He has light brown eyes and slightly tanned skin. He has long grey hair, thick grey eyebrows, and a thin long white moustache hanging to his chin. He has been the Head Master of the dojo of the Heavenly Branch for 20 years and has taught thousands of students of all different skill rangers; while getting on in age, he retained all his skills and techniques which would make up for his ageing body.

Stats:

Brawn: **

Vitality: ***

Dexterity: ****

Intellect: **

Wisdom: ***

Charm: **

"Hello, I'm Lion McDaniel; nice to meet you, is there anything I can do for you?" Ah, he seems nice. I felt good about this; maybe I lucked out on my first visit.

"I am looking for someone to teach me how to fight is that someone here," I said, the line that I had been preparing for this moment, cursing my lack of social skills.

"That depends; while this dojo does have classes, they are currently full, so you will have to pay the express fee to get entry to the class" Wait, for there's a bloody express fee; the hell does the dojo need one; they can't be that busy. I hope it is not too much I don't have many berries to spare with my accommodation.

"How much is this fee?"

"5000 berries a month" THE BLOODY HELL…. Wait, if that's just the fee, how much is it in total.

"WHAT Why is that so expensive just for some training surly it dosn't cost you nearly that much to train someone?"

"Oh thats just the fee to get on our express waiting list the total is more along the lines of 15000 berrie thats including the express fee" HOLY HELL, THAT'S A BLOODY RIPOFF…

I am not paying that much for a trainer at this low level; maybe I can get him to lower the price.

"What do you think we are kid? This is a business; if we let anyone join it will bring down the reputation of the dojo."

"Can I maybe work for you to help pay for the cost? I am willing to clean and do the odd jobs to be able to train here" Hopefully, this will allow me to finally get to train?

"Kid we aren't a charity here now since you seem like you don't even have the money to pay for a month; we are done; good day," He says as he slams the door shut in my face; that didn't go as I expected it to go, but maybe I just got unlucky to pick the place with the asshole surely the other places are better … right?

So the second place I tried was a gym by the name of Champion Alliance. It was quite a large building that, from the few windows at the front, was mostly open, with gym equipment everywhere with people using them. I opened the door and was greeted by the sound and, more importantly, a smell that wasn't pleasant at all. I walked to the front desk to the woman who seemed to be the receptionist and asked if this place offered training in fighting.

"Welcome to Champion Alliance what can we do for you" She spoke with a smile and a cheerful tune, even though I wasn't sure if it was faked.

"I was looking for a place to learn to fight I .. Heard good things about this gym?" I tried complementing, hoping that would make it more likely to be accepted.

"Your in luck our chairman is in his office how about you start this form while I call him down ok" Great, this is my chance to finish this quest and finally learn to get strong I can't afford to mess this up.

"That would be great", I replied as I took the foam and started reading it as I moved over to the chairs that were set out opposite the front desk.

I finally had a look at the form that I was filling out, and for most of the beginning, it was simple enough; however it began to ask questions, I wasn't sure of, for example, what was my date of birth or where was my place of birth I don't see why they are important to be able to train. Still, I just put down the wolf's neck as my place of birth, and for my date of birth, I just took off 15 years of the current date in the corner of the document. However, then it came to questions I had no clue what to do with, such as what is my citizen number and what house I am from? Does it mean like a noble house? as I thinking about it, the reception lady spoke, interrupting my thoughts.

"He will be down in any minute now; he is just clearing some business", She Spoke after getting done with a call with the chairman. I guess this is a good time to ask her this question.

"Umm, Miss What does this questions mean which House do you hold loyalty towards and what is my citizen number?" I tried to say as politely as possible, trying not to sound stupid and weird, therefore getting kicked out.

"... You are a citizen of Alpha, are you not? We only can only service citizens here" Her tone took a noticeable shift of questioning and wary.

"Oh I am just new to this wonderful island so I dont have a citizen number yet is it truly needed to join this wonderful place?" I tried to lie and complement island, hoping that would earn me sympathy; sadly, that wouldn't work.

"Normally when someone moves here here they fill the paperwork out to obtain their license" Curse you, Paperwork; you follow me even into another world will I ever be done with you.

"Is it really necessary to have one? How important is it?" How important can simply saying who you are loyal to and a social security number wannabe be?

"I can't let you enter our Gym as I will be punished as its part of the rules" It turns out to be really important; who knew I didn't otherwise, I wouldn't do this.

"What are the rules maybe they don't apply in this case" Maybe if I learn the rules, I can find a loophole?

"Thats the rule because I had enough of those young bastards tyring to politic in my gym so I must have that rule or they become a pain in my ass again", Came a voice from the side of the room with the staircase which I would guess goes to the offices upstairs. The body the voice belonged to had to be the reincarnation of Rocky Balboa.

Name: Stone Valboa

Age: 32

Height: 6'2

Weight: 120kg

Sex: male

Lv: xx

Occupation: Trainer

Hp ****/****

Description: Stone Valboa is a man with a highly athletic, muscular build. He has wavy black hair that goes to his shoulders and dark brown eyes. He is wearing a tracksuit right now, along with a whistle around his neck, and he is holding a clipboard in his hands. He started the Champions Alliance with the money he won in one of the 2nd tier competitions in the tournament of the kings. With the fame and money he won, he sought to create a home for his wife and kids; hence he finally settled down and started this gym with guest visits from past fighters he befriended.

Stats:

Brawn: ***

Vitality: ***

Dexterity: ***

Intellect: **

Wisdom: **

Charm: **

"But I swear I don't have any interest in the politics of this island I just want to learn how to fight."

"I believe ya kid but sadly, this is how it works" He generally looked disappointed.

"Well, I guess I will leave have a good day," I said while inside, cursing the hell out of them for having such a stupid rule.

The third place I tried was Fanged Venom which I feel should be noted is a dumb name. I found it by chance on my way to another location I was told about. It looked like a mix between a bar and a gym; the outside wasn't anything noteworthy, while the inside had a dingy vibe. The layout was pretty basic, with three training rings set up, with the one closest to the bar having stands along the wall next to it. Connected to that area was what seemly looked like a normal bar that was picked up and dropped into a gym, with the last area being a fitness area with punching bags and weights. The door was open, so after I knocked with no answer, I opened the unlocked door to see if anyone was there.

"Hello, is anyone here? I want to learn how to fight I am willing to work doing odd jobs to be able to pay for it….. Anyone-" I started speaking, wondering if anyone could hear me; as I turned around, I bumped into a wall. A wall that wasn't there a second ago, I looked up, and there was a giant of a man, probably standing at least 9 feet tall full of muscle with arms the size of tree trunks and a chest harder than a wall of steel. He looked down at me; how the hell did this guy stick up on me? He got to weigh at least a ton or something.

Name: Bull Beetle

Age: 28

Height: 9'0

Weight: 308kg

Sex: male

Lv: xx

Occupation: Champion

Hp ****/****

Description: Bull Beetle is a tall, broad-chested, broad-shouldered, tan-skinned, muscular man with a heavily muscled upper body and a slightly thinner lower body in comparison. His life has been relatively simple, with him bulling kids smaller for him while not being bullied in return due to his father being a renowned warrior, which Bull gladly and shamelessly use to his advantage. He is a new up-and-comer in the Fanged Venom fight club and has been undefeated. He is unbelievably arrogant, thinking most people are below him to such a point there are quite bad rumours about him committing crimes that people believe he committed.

Stats:

Brawn: ****

Vitality: ****

Dexterity: **

Intellect: *

Wisdom: *

Charm: *

"Oh sorry I am looking to join-" As I was about to explain why I was in this man's building, or at least I thought it was owned by him, he picked me up with just one arm making it look easy as picking up a stick. This really stuck fear into me as I am anything but light; while I gave up weighing myself, I had to be at least over 100kg I am very much overweight, yet that seems to matter little for him.

"Get out vermin I am fed up with filth like you thinking that you could just join a club or dojo or gym and get powerful. It disgust me that so many rats have scurried out of cracks thinking they can actually gain power when they are weak. Rats like you should know your place-" Who the hell is this guy, and the fuck is he monologing like a two-bit villain would. So, not fully realising the situation I was in thought now was a great time to talk back….. This was a regrettable action, one that would be regretted in about…

"Hey I don't know who the fuck you are but I am here just to look to get stronger if I ain't welcome, then just say so I can get out of here" Seriously, what is up with this dude? Guest, this was a bust, luckly I have- It was then that I regretted it as I was thrown harshly into one of the pillars separating the bar and the rest of the area.

- 40 HP

AHHH, MY BACK was the words going through my head after I came back into focus and was greeted by some of the worst pain I had felt in my life. All I could do was lay on my side after I hit the ground and hold my back which felt like it was on fire; at least I could still feel my feet, so my back was not broken, though, with this pain, I kinda wish I couldn't feel it anymore.

"Look at you do you really think you can be anything other than rubbish your fat, lazy, weak willed, a foolish waste of space; all it takes is one hit and your are already unable to fight back though you couldn't fight back regardless so nothing much has changed. Do you have any idea how many pieces of waste have shown up thinking they could just train and get strong that this was going to be their ticket out of their shit lifes they deserve. Well, I finally had enough when you just thought you could walk in here and demand that we-" I could hear the anger in his voice; it was so overwhelming I could hardly move I could actually feel him wanting me to die right now, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Luckly it was then he was interrupted by a deep female's voice.

"Stop it now Bull you've made your point; now go to the lockers and cool off" She came from the stairs that lead to the 2nd floor above the bar; she came over and squatted next to me.

"Well, kid, sorry about that, but you got unlucky coming in here asking for training while he was around but he is right about one thing we don't train people who come to us to help them. So you better leave while you still can; else I can't say you will be able to walk out of here with your own legs" She spoke in a no-nonsense tone; if I had to describe her, she was the pinnacle of Tomboy Milf energy looking both motherly and able to rip your head off with a punch. I didn't want to risk being caught checking her out and quickly got up, much to the disdain of my back.

"Ah Thank you for saving me-" I began to thank her, but she interpreted me.

"Just leave before I throw you out" I realised that was my queue to get the hell out of here with my life, so that's what I did.

After all of that, I returned to my room early because I was in a lot of pain; however, that wasn't the only reason I also didn't feel like going to other places because I didn't feel like being denied again. I could take only so much rejection though I would have thought it as more than this. Sitting on my bed, I can see a pattern forming one I don't really like, one where despite my willingness to do basically anything to get the chance to learn how to fight, I am denied for one reason or another.

Why is this so hard? I just don't want to die in this insane world. It's not like I even have a long time goal after all of this. All I am doing Now is what I can so I don't die in a ditch somewhere.

I don't know if I want to be a pirate because while fun, if I find a good group of people, I don't really want to die a likely early death and if I get in the wrong crowd, well, I will be forced to do stuff I don't want to do that's, not an option. Though I am certain that I don't want to be part of the marines, not saying there aren't some good guys in there. I just don't want to be the lap dog of the world nobles plus, given how this isn't just a manga, I would probably be stationed on an island in the middle of nowhere to waste my life away, and that doesn't sound that attractive. However, it is safe; maybe that's what I do.

Fuck, nothing's ever easy, but wouldn't it be so just this once. Well, I guess I just have to give it another shot and try my luck; surely my luck has to gotta go my way soon, right I can't keep rolling snake eyes like this. I should just shut up and rest I have lost a large chunk of Hp, so I got to rest and try my best to recover without seeing any medical help. Rest now so I can go at them with full strength tomorrow.

Staring at the roof and counting the number of dust on it is strangely relaxing, definitely when you can't sleep and have nothing else to do but count the dust and think. Will I ever amount to anything in this world, or will I just be another fat pile of disappointment of wasted potential…. I guess times going to tell, hopefully.