1 Ten Million

Today was like any other. Waiting for a whole day in front of his dojo, telling people to practice martial arts in a technologically advanced world seems to be failing. When the world has nutrient drinks that make you stronger, pills that give you your dream six-pack abs. The idea of training for it seems lackluster. And inside of one of the few dojos still standing, a group of men was surrounding a single person.

"So, when are you going to pay? Selling this old dusty place would help you pay off your debt, you know?" said a man with a scar on his face while holding a knife

"Don't worry, I'll pay the debt of that stupid old man. So, if you would just give me 1 year I'll pay all of it off" the teen in the middle of the group replied

"What can you do in a year? Disappear like your old man? hahaha," one of the goons said while all of them laugh simultaneously. Seeing all of them laugh the boy couldn't help but gnash his teeth in anger.

"Enough, tell me. What can you do in a year? Can you earn 10 million credits in that time?" the boss that was wearing a luxurious fur coat said while smoking. The boy was tongue-tied when he heard the amount of the debt.

'Dammit that old man what did he use that money for' the boy thought while cursing his missing father

Seeing the boy not replying the man sneered he tried to put out his cigarette on the tatami but before he could do so, he was assaulted by a sudden pressure. It became harder to breathe as he tries to look around to see where it came from. When he turned towards the boy, he saw the boy glaring towards him like a lion about to pounce on his prey. The look on the boy's face made him gulped but the realization of the event made him extremely thrilled.

'If I could get this boy!' he thought as he was thinking about the scenario to make the boy work for him

It took a while before the boss pieced his thoughts and said.

"Okay, how about we make it a bet?" he offered

"Bet?"

"If you can get 10 million within a year, you don't need to pay the debt. But if you can't, I'll get the deed of this place plus you will work for me until the end of your life!" the boss said as he smiled sinisterly. The boy thought for a while before replying to the man

"What if I don't take your bet?"

"Simple, we call the police to settle the debt. That would result in us getting the deed of this place and you still need the remainder of the debt." the boss shrugged as he explained. Seeing that he has no other choice, he looked straight in the eyes of the boss before he answered

"Hah, okay. I'll accept your bet. But you have to make sure none of your goons will do anything to this place in the reminder time of the debt." seeing the boy agree the boss was elated

"Of cour-" he was about to acknowledge the deal but the boy added

"and we need to have this all in a contract. To make this legal. I don't want you changing your mind suddenly if I manage to get the money" when he heard the thoroughness of the boy that made the boss more excited.

"Sure, sure. I will send someone tomorrow to send a proper contract. You can bring in anyone with you to check the contract later." the boss just acquiescence to the boy's request. The boss reached out his hands for a handshake to finalize the deal

"Okay" the boy stood from his spot and sighed, he has no other choice but to accept the deal or he wouldn't be able to keep his promise to his mother. He approached the boss and shook his hands. When he saw the smiling look on the boss's face he thought

'It's like signing my soul to the devil'

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It has been a week since John signed the deal with the devil. Nothing has changed except he now has a timer ticking down on his back. Every day he thought of nothing but how to earn money but he hasn't found anything that would make him earn 10 million credits in a year, or 11 months and 3 weeks from now or 358 days. He searched from being a sales agent to a construction worker but all of it seems fruitless. No one wanted to hire a first-year college drop out in the middle of the college season.

'Damn, I didn't know that even construction workers now have high standards.' he thought

He wasted his week trying to find a job that could help him online, posted on forums for help. And threw a hail mary by promoting their dojo on social media. He waited for replies and his different posts by most of them came in the form of memes and jokes

[TrampBestPres: Man, 10 million credits in a year? you should sign me up too if you find a job with that salary]

[SadPussy69: *Sad Kitten Image* sorry for your situation, here's a pussy to cheer you up]

[NotAScammer: www.earnmoneyfast.com click here for a quick buck no need to do anything just sign up using your real email address and the password you use on social media.]

Seeing the different posts he was losing it. Every second he wastes is like sand burying him slowly. He was thinking to escape but he remembered his promise to his mother when he was young

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"I promise I'll make the dojo's name resound to the whole world, mom! Just you wait okay! You better not leave me before then"

"I promise, baby. Don't worry"

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'That was the last time I talked to mom before she went into a comatose state' he sighed as he remembers his mother's words

'I can't panic, I need to focus. I won't let this debt stop me. Just you wait mom, I'll protect this place and fulfill my promise' as he was thinking of his goals someone knocked at the door of the dojo. He turned to see who it was only to see a woman in her twenties wearing tight pants and a t-shirt. She looked extremely beautiful with her bare face free from any make-up, she has long blonde hair that reaches until her feet. She also seems slightly familiar though he dismissed it when he heard her speak.

"How old is this place? There's dust everywhere" the woman said as she looks around the place. He saw John sitting by a computer gawking at her and shouted.

"Hey, you! is this Tatakai Dojo? wait doesn't Tatakai just means Fighting? wow talk about originality" The woman said as she continues to insult the dojo which infuriated John.

"What do you want?" He shouted angrily

"I want that!" the woman pointed towards the sign of the dojo

"What? That's not for sale! Go away!" he tried to shoo the woman away

"No, no. I'm not trying to buy it. What do they call it again? Right! Dojo Challenge! I'm here to challenge the master of this Dojo! I've always wanted to try this" she said excitedly

"Are you wrong in the head lady? That means you need to fight the master of the dojo. You should just leave" He once again tried to make the woman go away

"What is this dojo's master scared of challengers? Ha, a lousy dojo just like the one who named it. I came all this way for nothing" she insulted one last time before she turned around to leave but as she was about to go out the gates she heard the boy shout.

"Take back what you just said!" the boy was now staring at her with fury as he said those words.

"What? want me to take that back? Why the hell would a dojo master wouldn't entertain a dojo challenge if he's not scared? You'll earn money just by accepting the challenge and beating your opponent and your dojo still doesn't want it? Isn't that just because he's scared of losing?" the woman continued her barrage of words. John was triggered by a certain word and asked the woman

"Can you repeat that again?"

"What? The dojo master is scared of losing?"

"Before that"

"You'll earn money by accepting the challenge?"

"That one! How much would I earn if I accept challengers?" John was suddenly excited and quickly approached the woman. Seeing the sudden change of attitude, the woman became slightly scared by the over-enthusiasm of the boy.

"I don't know? This is my first Dojo challenge since it was tough to find a dojo these days" she said as she backed away slightly from the boy.

Seeing as he has no point of reference. He tried to sound the woman out.

"How about one thousand credits?" he asked nervously not trying to scare the woman away with the price he just set

"Just one thousand? Okay! I'll transfer it to you now" she said without batting an eye

'Shit, did I price it too low? Let's just take it as a discount for the first challenger' John thought as he sighed seeing the quick response of the woman. He just dismissed it as bad luck and showed the woman his smartwatch to pass the credits to his account.

"Okay, done! Now call the master of this dojo!" The woman suddenly became excited

"Okay, just proceed to the bathroom to change or will you fight, wearing that?" John pointed at the bathroom and then to the clothes the woman was carrying

"Oh, right! Wait for a while. I'll change it! you should call the master now" she ran towards the bathroom in excitement

"Yeah, Yeah"

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"I'm ready!" the woman excitedly came out of the bathroom wearing shorts and a sports brassiere, she also has a glove on both hands. She had her hair tied up in a bun on top of her head. She looked around the dojo and saw no one but the boy

"Hey kid, where's the master of this dojo?" she asked

"I am the master of this dojo. My father left, so I was the only one here"

"Really? Damn, this sucks. You should have said earlier. If I knew it was just you, I would have come back another day." She lost her enthusiasm when she knew she was fighting the boy

"Don't worry, I'll fulfill your request for a dojo battle" John said seeing the reaction of the woman

"Nah, I'm not fighting a kid" she turned around towards the bathroom to change once again but the boy taunted him

"What? Scared of a 'Kid'?"

"What?" the words of John made the woman turn around

"I said, are you scared of me? running away now that you know you're fighting me?" he continues to taunt her. The woman now has a frown on her face hearing the words of the boy

"What? Scared of losing to a kid? So much for all those words earlier. What was that saying? Right, Just full of hot air" the final words made the woman snapped and approach the boy

"Fine, I'll play your game! But don't come crying once I get that signboard of yours" the woman was now gnashing his teeth at the boy

"Sure, sure but you need to defeat me first right?"

"Right. Whatever, I'll just finish this quickly and be on my way" said the woman

"Quickly? got it! I'll knock you out in a jiffy" retorted John

"Tsk, so are we starting now?" the woman asked

"Wait, is there any other thing you need to do? I searched earlier and you need to introduce yourself for the formality of some sort."

"Right, how could I forget that! Okay, wait a second. I'll record everything" she then ran towards her things at the bathroom and came back carrying a recording drone.

"Okay, everything is set. I'll record how you pass out later and post it on the internet!" the woman declared

"Whatever you say" John just dismissed her words. The two then stand in front of each other only a few meters apart.

"Astrid Olsen, of the blue tiger fighting arena" she introduced herself as she assumed a fighting stance

"Jonathan Smith, of the Tatakai Dojo" John just turned sideways and put one of his arms behind his back. With one arm facing forward he signaled Astrid with his hands to start.

Astrid first tried to size up John by throwing some light jabs and kicks which he blocked using one hand. She then tries to approach slowly while throwing some punches towards him which was again blocked. What she didn't notice was John hasn't moved from his spot since the start of their fight. After a few more jabs and kicks, Astrid finally notices that she hasn't done any damage to John. Seeing her pause, John smiled trying to taunt her once again which he succeeded. Astrid became mad at the look on John's face and tried to tackle him to the ground. But before she could approach her sight suddenly turned black and she fell to the ground. John gave her a light tap on the back of her head to make her faint.

"Done!" seeing the fainted opponent, John just dusted his hands signifying an easy job.

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An hour passed until Astrid came to. She felt her headache for a while before she realizes what happened. She suddenly tries to get up which made her headache hurt a little more. She tried to look around the area only to see her lying down on a futon, while the boy she fought earlier was nowhere to be found.

She stumbles as she tried to stand up then she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. She saw the boy enter carrying a tray of food and an ice pack. She approached the boy trying to take the tray from him thinking that it was for her only to be given the ice pack instead.

"This is my dinner, that's for your headache," John said dodging the tray on his hands. Astrid was getting angry since it was the first time someone treated her like that but she calmed her self down as she breathes deeply before asking

"What did you do earlier?" she was confused as to how she was suddenly knocked out

"You had the drone out, right? Just watch the video, it's not like you'll believe me anyway" John nonchalantly said

"Right! How can I forget about that!" She found the drone by her side as she watches the footage. While she was watching, Astrid heard John speak.

"You're really gutsy. Fighting a dojo without even knowing the basics?" his words made her stunned

"You don't know me?" she asked in surprise

"Should I know you?" John looked at her questioningly.

She was about to say something before she stopped and continue watching the video. She repeated the final part again and again and again but she still didn't see what happened. That's when she made up her decision

"Shishou! Please teach me!" she announced while kneeling in front of him bowing her head to the ground

"What?"