Masked Men

Arnold suddenly passed out after the attack from behind. He didn't even get to see the attacker before he lost consciousness, even the loud dialogue the attacker made didn't get into his ears.

For quite a long moment, Arnold lay helplessly in the alleyway, small amounts of crimson liquid gushed out from the back of his head.

******

When he woke up, he found himself in the Grindhouse Wrestling hospital. Mark and Lila could be seen standing by the side of the bed where he was lying.

In a rush, Arnold tried to rise with widened eyes.

"What happ... Arghh!" He quickly held the back of his head.

"Hey, Max! You were attacked from behind by two masked men. You have to rest now and get better first," Lila forced him to lay back.

"Two masked men?" Arnold frowned. "Arghh... This hurts so much."

He couldn't help but lie back on the ward bed.

"We saw you lying in the alleyway while we were approaching your room. Although they were almost out of sight when we saw them, they were two men who had their faces masked up. We couldn't recognize them," Mark spoke.

Arnold hesitated a mused. "Masked Men..."

"We would have placed the suspect on the Luchas, but these guys didn't possess the small body structure that had. Even the mask they wore didn't look like an actual lucha mask. They must be some guys who had got beef with you somewhere, I don't know," Lila said.

At that moment, Arnold was utterly confused. His thought suddenly flashed to Rowan Pierce and Axel Stone. He knew his battle with those men never ended well, shifting his suspicion against them.

"Do you think Rowan Pierce and Axel Stone did it? My mind suddenly went there," Arnold said.

Mark and Lila exchanged glances at themselves and turned to Arnold.

"I thought as much... But... I really don't think both of them could team up to attack you. They have been great enemies for a long time," Mark caressed his lips.

"Then who the f**k attacked me!" Arnold raged. The next moment, dark flames could be seen burning inside his eyes.

"C'mon, bro. You have to calm down and get some rest. We will get to the root of this later on," Lila tried to make Max Fury calm down seeing his sudden change of mood.

Arnold gasped softly and tried to calm down. While he decided to keep quiet, he summoned the system.

'Any idea of who attacked me?'

[No idea. There are just two masked individuals.]

'Shit!'

[I'm just a wrestling system. I have no power to detect one's masked identity. But the only thing you should do now is to calm down and be more careful. Remember, there are always enemies lurking around.]

'Maybe it's Thane Ryder and someone else... I don't know. But I must take my revenge.'

[Sure... If you want to take your revenge, it's fine. But you have to start preparing hard for the championship match. The pay-per-view would be in two weeks and a few days. I'm sure you don't want to lose.]

'Of course I don't want to.'

[Good. Be the hardworking Max Fury I know and begin training. There are more Attribute Improvement styles that should be used to make improvements faster.]

The fact that the championship match would be on the upcoming pay-per-view event made Arnold's heart skip. Not only this was a huge opportunity, but it was also going to be a tough one.

A pay-per-view show was always filled with fans times two bigger than that of normal shows. Wrestlers also get bonuses after a win, and at most, this was the main source of the boast of one's popularity.

The main thing here was that this was going to be Arnold's first performance in a pay-per-view show. If he really was aiming to excel, then he had to win.

It took on few hours before Arnold objected to leaving the hospital, claiming that he was fine. Thanks to the system, he was gradually feeling the surging pain go with every passing second. It was only a matter of time before it would vanish.

Although the doctor advised him to stay — someone who suffered such a brutal attack would be predicted to still be unconscious at that moment — Arnold insisted on leaving.

"It seems like this guy is a hidden monster. He might be innocent on the outside, but he is an irresistible force inside."

"Tell me how come he could get so better in just a few hours after that fatal damage at the back of his head," the doctor muttered, watching Arnold and his friends leave the hospital.

Mark and Lila forced him to rest in his room for the rest of the day, yet Arnold still insisted on going to the training ring. No matter how they begged, Arnold was so good at convincing them that he was totally.

"Trust me, I'm more than fine!" Arnold smiled.

Not only did his words convince them, but his walks and agility which appeared to be so strong and normal made it clear that Arnold was okay.

At this time, their eyes were almost blown up.

How could someone who got hit at the back of his head and passed out be so strong and agile a few hours after? In some way, it was a life-threatening attack, but this young man acted as if he only had a scratch.

When they entered the training ring, as always, Max Fury utilized great power and passion in his practices.

Today, he seemed to apply greater pressure than other days. Just like he always did, he got better and better at every strike, leaving his friends in awe.

The more he kept practicing and striking, the more he looked like a young monster. One moment his legs would be in one direction, the next moment, they would move swiftly as if like invisible entities to the next.

The force in which he used to attack was top-notch, every strike sounded like an exploding bomb. His strength always revealed the glory of a true fighter, always relentless to achieve a certain goal.

While they watched and observed, Lila smiled and let out a bunch of words.

"Damn... That new move is killer."