Chapter 21

"Yo," I said as I appeared in the motel room where Jessica was staying, in a flash of light.

"I'm kinda jealous. I wonder if I could get a skill like that?" Jessica mused. I shook my head and explained that skill tokens were only usable by me. This brought the poor investigator immense sadness, but she quickly recovered, pulling out her new phone to show me images from the other night, specifically those featuring Amethyst in her wrestler form.

"Wait, hold up. Go back," I said suddenly. In the corner of one image, I noticed a small, rotund figure. After a bit of adjusting and zooming in, it was revealed to be Steven.

"Oh, I didn't see him last night. He must have watched from a corner or something," Jessica remarked. I nodded and quickly had her send me the images. After receiving them, I left the motel, heading toward Funland, a mini amusement park owned by my dad, knowing he was busy operating it today.

"Oh hey, son! What brings you here?" Arriving at the entrance of Funland, I didn't have to go far to find my dad, who was handing out tickets. His smile widened when he noticed me approaching.

"Hey, Dad. I wanted to ask you something, if you don't mind." Nodding at my request, Dad led us to the side since there were no more people waiting to enter Funland at the moment.

"What's up, son? Finally interested in the family business?" He winked at me with the last part, but I sighed before speaking.

"Never, but I am interested in the illegal fight ring you've got going on." My first words made him sigh in sadness, but the following ones seemed to freeze him in place, his expression shocked.

"How do you know about that? Did someone tell you? Dang, nothing stays secretive in this town anymore!" He sounded downright betrayed, as if he had been stabbed in the back by the people he trusted most.

"Dad, please stop the theatrics. We both know the whole town was there; heck, even a few kids were in the audience." Hearing my words, my dad, who had been on his knees with his hands outstretched, quickly cut the act. He stood up, sighed, and mumbled something about me being no fun.

"So, what do you want to do? Do you want to join your old man in being an announcer? There ain't much money in it, but boy, is it fun to help people have a good time!" His words made me shake my head as I cracked my knuckles before speaking.

"I want to fight." Hearing my words, my dad's face went paler than the clouds in the sky, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"N-Nooo, ABSOLUTELY not! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is!?!" His panic washed over me like a river around a rock, but I was unbothered. I continued to insist he allow me to join, but the more I insisted, the more he denied my request.

"Son, listen to me. There are no rules! Literally! You could bring a knife, and it still wouldn't be against the rules as long as you don't kill anybody!" My dad's words only excited me more. I spent the next hour trying to convince him, and eventually, he relented after I promised to wear head and chest armor.

"Anyway, son, I'll try and slot you in, but under NO circumstances are you to challenge the champion. Do you understand?" I nodded deeply in understanding, but sadly for him, I was looking for just this chance.

Later that day, close to sunset, I stood in Jessica's room as she helped me paint a random set of leather armor I got from a token. It turned out I was more of an assistant, as she showed far superior skill and a keen eye for detail. At one point, she even had me swap out a few pieces so they matched better and for those that didn't Jessica quickly ran and got a few things at a textile shop.

"What's the point of this again?" I asked as Jessica added the last few details to the leggings for me to place in my inventory. I planned to get dressed when I arrived.

"Well, if you had to kick ass, wouldn't you want to look good doing it?" she said. I struck a pose, my muscles bulging under my shirt, but she shook her head, clearly unsatisfied with my answer.

"No, I'm always up for a good art project, but what's the point in you competing? Won't you get your ass kicked when Amethyst appears?" I shook my head and let out a boisterous laugh, not taking her words to heart.

"Well, I'm mainly doing this for two reasons." I held up one finger. "First, I've always wanted to fight dressed up like a WWE fighter. And second," I held up another finger, my voice humorous, "I've just really got nothing better to do." My last reason dumbfounded Jessica, but I didn't mind. I knew it sounded ridiculous, but slaying monsters gets boring, and who am I not to take advantage of this world's entertainment? Maybe I might even remember which episode this is in the show, as Amethyst's wrestler form felt very familiar—like something she used quite a lot.

'Maybe remembering this episode will jog my memory for others,' I thought. I spent the rest of the time idling. At one point, I asked Reinhardt if he would like to participate with me for the tag team belt, but sadly, the skeleton didn't feel like joining my little escapade. He said, 'He does not bully the weak.'

Hours later, as the sun began to set, I finally headed over to the venue where the fights would take place, a smile playing across my face. I held onto the bag containing my costume, clutching it tightly as I followed Jessica, who led me to the entrance. A large, burly man stood guard, acting as the bouncer for this event.

"You can go alone past this point," she said before activating her stealth and entering the venue, leaving me alone to approach the guard. He let me in easily after I told him I was on tonight's roster.

"That was easy," I whispered to myself. I wasted no time searching for my dad, but before I could find him, I unexpectedly ran into Ronaldo, who was wearing a kilt, a red dress shirt, a black tie, and a poorly made papier-mâché and wood Loch Ness monster hat, one of its eyes drooping precariously, with a goofy smile on its face.

"Hey, what's up, Ranoldo? Who are you supposed to be?" I greeted the boy who looked in my direction. He seemed to take a moment to recognize me, but eventually, he connected the dots and responded to my question.

"I am... drum roll please... the Loch Ness Bloggster!" The excitement in his voice was palpable, and I couldn't help but applaud his enthusiasm.

"That name is honestly quite interesting. How did you come up with it?" I asked, noticing the teen blush as he glanced in a specific direction—more precisely, at a girl who was selling popcorn nearby for a staggering five dollars.

"My girlfriend actually came up with it." As he said this, I watched Ranoldo wave his arms at the girl, who quickly noticed him and waved back. In her excitement, she accidentally spilled popcorn on a passerby, though she didn't seem to mind as she continued to wave.

"Isn't she dreamy?" Ranoldo seemed lost in a state of infatuation as he continued to stare at the girl. This made further conversation impossible so I walked off finally finding my dad Who was talking animatedly with someone.

"Oh, hey son, you're here?" My dad greeted me, turning around, though his tone felt a bit disappointed, as if he didn't want me there. I ignored it and asked him to point me toward the changing room or some private place where I could change.

"Oh, sorry son, I forgot to tell you—you're supposed to change before coming." Hearing my dad's words, I wanted to curse, but noticing the smug smirk playing on the corner of his lips, I realized he did it on purpose and got ready to walk away.

"I'll run back and change. Please try to buy me some time. My wrestler name is..." Saying this, I walked away, but instead of leaving, I scaled up the side of the building. I quickly found myself on the roof, which as expected of an old abandoned building it had many holes that allowed me to peer down at the crowds below. I swiftly changed out of my regular clothes before I then sat there on the roof, I watched as my father began the event.

"I'd like to welcome you folks and thank you all for coming down to watch as two new competitors enter the arena!" As he said this, a spotlight came on, revealing a relatively skinny, yellow-haired teenager dressed as a typical lumberjack. He even had an axe, which he toted over his shoulder, the massive tool far too large for his small frame.

"Some say he can fell a tree with a single swing of his mighty axe. Others say he can scare a bear with just a glance. Give a round of applause for...THE LUMBERJACK!" The crowd's cheers were deafening, even from where I stood on the roof, watching as my dad quickly moved on to my introduction, probably thinking I'd miss the deadline since I had gone to change.

"What do you think of when you hear his name? A monster? A Force of nature? Well folks, I think What matters are his actions, and now let's see the actions of our new competitor..." Before my dad could finish, I made my move, jumping through one of the holes in the ceiling. The cape that adorned my suit fluttered as I plummeted down, the blood-red veins running through it reflecting back the light, giving the illusion of glowing even brighter.

"WRAITH!" My dad finally finished my introduction as I slammed into the ground, staying in a kneeling position. My costume, now in full view as it revealed its self to be a stark black, with the only contrast being the red lines that ran throughout, all leading to the symbol on my chest—a bloody skull.

'Shit, he's here,' from the look on my fathers face I could guess his thinking combine that with his words freezing after announcing my name it was clear as day he didn't expect me to be here. But I didn't mind. I stood there calmly, staring at my opponent who soon stepped into the ring, seemingly trying to intimidate me by swinging the axe and lodging it into the ring's floor, leaving a massive gash in the process.

"You think you're tough?" His question went unanswered as I channeled my inner Batman, giving the boy the most threatening stare possible. It seemed to have a decent effect as the teen began to grow visibly neverous.

'This is just too good. Maybe I should have Jessica make one for everyone so we can form the Justice League or something.' Keeping my praise for Jessica and my excitement well hidden, I waited for the match to start, which it did not even seconds later.

"AAAAAAAH!" The teen ran at me as the bells echoed, but I stayed still, not even flinching as he swung the axe at my chest. I had already noticed the basically flat blade.

BAM

That was all that echoed as the axe head slammed into my chest, doing no damage. The armor was strong enough to tank the hit, while my body didn't even budge, a fact that seemed to shatter the boy's confidence. Before he could react, I delivered a heavy punch to his chin, though I made sure to hold back, knowing my punches could kill if not careful.

"IN A STUNNING VICTORY, WRAITH HAS TAKEN DOWN THE LUMBERJACK!" I heard my dad's voice echo as the crowd cheered, but I ignored it. Instead, I began to check on the boy, making sure I didn't hurt him too badly.

"Hey, wake up," I said, tapping on the boy's face. He slowly opened his eyes, confused about what had happened, but I didn't bother explaining. I sent him out of the ring, where he was met by an older man dressed similarly, who began whispering words like, "It's not your fault, son," and "You can still join me in the tag team matches."

'What a good dad,' I thought as I looked over at my own father, giving him a deep frown that caused him to sweat profusely. Not lingering for long, I hopped out of the arena, but before I could get far, I heard my dad announcing something that seemed to shock both me and him.

"Change of plans, folks! It seems we will be turning this into a tournament, the winner of which gets to face the Purple Puma!" Turning around, I immediately noticed my dad reading off a paper handed to him by what I could only assume was Amethyst in her wrestler form. She stared deeply at me, a feral grin playing on her face, but I noticed something strange about her—her level.

[Purple Puma (Amethyst) Lv: 20]

Image of Mc suit should be here and a picture of Mc to