Chapter 104: Angelica Myers.

  Before Angelica's match with Zoey Winters, she knew that the girl wasn't just any regular opponent. Even before sending out her challenge to Zoey, she had mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally prepared herself. Regardless of if she won or lost, it would be a tremendous change in her current status as an up-and-coming female fighter. This wasn't something she could just do on a whim.

"I don't recommend it." Geoff shook his head. "As your personal trainer, I'd advise you to keep the momentum you have going now and steadily climb your way up the fighting ranking. There's no need to take such an unnecessary risk this early in your career."

"Don't you think you're overestimating that American girl? She's a good fighter, but I don't think my reputation is going to tank just by fighting her even if I somehow lost." Angelica laughed off her trainer's worries.

"It is you that is underestimating her." Geoff stared into Angelica's eyes. "I've done my research and Zoey Winter is not a fighter you want to touch at your current stage."

"You think I'm going to lose?" Angelica had a strange smile on her face as she gazed back into Geoff's eyes.

"I didn't say that." Geoff didn't admit it, but Angelica felt he was unsure she could take Zoey. "I'm just advising you as your personal trainer that now isn't the time to go after big fish like Zoey Winters. Your progress right now is staggering enough in the fighting community in our country. Why put that at risk now before it's even consolidated?"

"Don't you think that Zoey has even more to lose than me, though?" Angelica smiled. "Have you watched that playlist? Zoey Winters's Legendary Debut?" She asked.

  Geoff adjusted his glasses nervously before nodding, "Yes... but what does that have to do with anything?" he soon asked. "I don't have a playlist with millions of views even though my fighting career is longer than Zoey's. I've been undefeated far longer than Zoey has. So why is it that she is being praised as the Demoness of Fighting when she's just started out? Am I doing something wrong or does she have something that I don't? Where are my top brand sponsors? Where are my millions of social media followers? Where are my invitations to be interviewed and have guest appearances on tv?" Angelica asked.

"..." Geoff wisely stayed silent.

  A young girl on the cusps of adulthood and in the prime of her life undergoing envy is not something that can be reasoned with. It wasn't like Angelica Myers was lacking anything in her life either. She has a great social life at college, well-off loving parents, and supportive friends. Geoff still didn't understand what brought this on though. Is it greed for more fame? Is she just upset that another girl similar to her is being considered better than her or more popular than her? Or does she just have something against Zoey Winters?

"I'm going to fight Zoey Winters. In preparation for the fight, I need you to invite fighters for me to spar with." Angelica ordered.

"Who should I send the invitations to?" Geoff asked.

"Male fighters." Angelica's lips perked up as she saw Geoff's shocked look. "Don't try to talk me out of it. If I can't defeat male fighters, I won't stand a chance against Zoey."

  Geoff understood the reasoning. Zoey has been recorded defeating several male fighters of various types of martial arts. So far, Angelica has only fought other female fighters. It is only logical that Angelica would come to the line of thought that she too needed to defeat male fighters if she wanted to fight Zoey and win. It's just that... what man would willingly accept a challenge from a woman?

  If they win, they gain nothing. If they lose, they lose all of the rep they've built so far in their fighting career. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Some of the fighters defeated by Zoey Winters didn't fade into obscurity. In fact, some might say that because of their defeat to her, they've realized their faults and begun to work on them. Those fighters doing well after the YFTL in their own countries' fighting circuits only added to Zoey Winters's reputation as a Demoness of Fighting. She's a fighting freak in her own right, and these men were not weak because they lost to her. It was only natural that a regular human, talented or not, would lose to a monster.

  Whether Angelica could match up to a monster wasn't something that Geoff could imagine, regardless of her parents' line of work. However, no matter his thoughts on the matter, he was just Angelica's personal trainer and childhood friend in the end. The decision to fight Zoey started and ended with her. His job was to make sure to help her prepare for this incredibly reckless and foolish decision to the best of his ability. Geoff was going to do everything he could as her personal trainer.

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Angelica raised her gloved fist in victory as she stood hunched over, sweating and huffing. Around her laid three male fighters knocked out on the ring's floor. Taking on three professional male fighters at once was something that Geoff thought was utterly suicidal. As he stared at the girl in utter shock, she merely raised her lowered head and smiled at him. I told you so was what Geoff saw in that smile. Determination, confidence, and unrestrained joy.

Geoff could only helplessly smile as he shook his head. While he wasn't actively hoping that Angelica lost in this crazy stunt, a small part of him wished that they could cancel the whole fight with Zoey Winters. Geoff has had to use more money than ever in this crazy training regimen to improve Angelica's strength. He wasn't sure the money could be repaid if Angelica somehow lost in her match against Zoey.

  He's had to hire private physicians to stay at the gym as Angelica attempted this hellish training routine, bribe male fighters of various fighting disciplines that no word of them losing to Angelica would get out, or if they won, they wouldn't be implicated in any way at her injuries, and buy new training equipment. Geoff rarely got to sleep for more than 4 or 5 hours during this time. His local coffee place that sells the best damn coffee he's ever tasted was the only reason he's survived so far keeping up with his superhuman of a fighter.

  As the time neared for Angelica's fight with Zoey Winters, she trained to the brink of exhaustion and severe injury. Somehow, she always showed up the next day completely fine and ready to go once again. Geoff was more than a little envious seeing her show up every day with a bright smile on her face filled with energy. He didn't know if it was just her character or because of her parentage.

It didn't take long for Angelica to reap the benefits of her inhuman training. Soon enough, she was completely capable of fighting three grown men at the same time in the ring without any injuries. If Geoff weren't there to witness it himself, he'd say it was nothing more than fiction. Was she possibly a descendant of an ancient race of space monkeys? Could it be that she was just born without a tail? It was the only logical explanation that Geoff could think of if he didn't know her true origin.

"I'm ready," Angelica claimed, filled with fighting energy.

"I'll send the challenge," Geoff replied.

"Thank you, Geoff."

Angelica's popularity boomed in the two weeks before the official match. If she was previously only somewhat known in her country before, now she was known across the world! She was gaining attention and popularity everywhere. Her social media exploded with new followers. Views on videos that included her spiked in numbers. Emails and calls flooded in asking for appearances, interviews, and sponsorships.

Geoff felt a dangerous aura around Angelica during these two weeks as he was taken through the wringer because of all the attention on Angelica. He had a feeling it was because all it took was one public challenge to improve her fighting career significantly. More specifically, one public challenge to Zoey Winters. If it were any other fighter Angelica sent a challenge to, male or female, the situation would be vastly different from how it is now. Perhaps there would be a slight jump in popularity and attention, but both Geoff and Angelica knew that this vast increase in influence was thanks entirely to the massive community surrounding Zoey Winters.

"Focus..." Angelica sat in a meditative pose.

  She closed her eyes and delved deep into her inner mind. Rethinking back to every single one of Zoey Winters's fights. Angelica memorized all of Zoey's fights during these two weeks and was using everything she's learned to think of several ways to shut her down in their upcoming match. It was called image training. A technique she's learned from her parents and a primarily useless technique unless the user knows exactly how their opponent fights. Something that is incredibly easy in the fighting world as every official match a fighter is in gets recorded and can be watched over and over again.

  Angelica smiled as she stood over Zoey's defeated body in her mental world. This fight will only be the beginning of her career as a world-renowned fighter.