CHAPTER 34: RYAN WON.

Arthur stood near the edge of the mat, his arms were crossed next to his chest, eyes fixated on Ryan’s every movement. But when Ryan’s next punch landed, Arthur’s lips curled into a faint smirk.

That faint smirk, that quiet pride. "The victory’s yours. Ryan," Arthur said under his breath. "Now finish the match and savor it whole."

Ryan lunged forward, his feet slid against the mat like a storm breaking through the calm. He unleashed everything which he had left inside of him, each one ounce of strength.

BAM. BAM. BAM.

Twenty strikes — no hesitation, no fear and no wasted motion. The final punch, a perfect straight cross to Jin’s jaw.

CRACK!

The sound cut through the noise of the crowd like a whip.

Jin froze, then his eyes slowly rolled back. His knees buckled and his body hit the mat with a heavy thud.

For a brief second, the entire arena including the club members went silent. No one dared to move, no one breathed.

Then the sudden explosion of loud cheers, shouts, claps erupted like thunder in the sky.

"RYAN! RYAN! RYAN!"

Ryan stood in the center of it all, chest rising and falling, his arms hanging loose by his sides. He could barely stand, his muscles were shaking because of exhaustion. But when he looked down at Jin’s limp form, a strange calm washed over him, it felt like some strange burden had left his chest.

Slowly, Ryan leaned beside Jin’s body. He grabbed him by the collar and pushed him slightly

closer to his face.

His voice was quiet, but every word carried a deep feeling in them. "Revenge of that day when you hit me is now fulfilled."

[DING!]

A familiar blue glow appeared in front of his vision.

[Quest Complete — Participate in Inter-School: Win one battle.]

[Rewards Claimed:]

[Jab upgraded → C+]

[Hook upgraded → C]

[Cross upgraded → C-]

[Endurance upgraded → C+]

[Strength upgraded → B-]

[Willpower upgraded → D]

Ryan stared at the glowing screen—purely in disbelief. His heart pounded faster as his eyes landed on one word — B- Strength.

It was his first ever B-rank stat.

He let out a small chuckle, his chest burned with each breath he took. ’Finally... I finally did it.’

The announcer’s voice boomed through the chaos:

"The winner of the second match is Ryan West and the Boxing Club."

The crowd erupted, cheers, whistles, clapping — the air shook with the positive energy. And for the first time in his life, Ryan wasn’t the butt of a joke.

People were chanting his name, looking up at him, he was now a fighter not a loser.

Ryan looked around for a while, barely believing what he was hearing. His chest swelled with pride and his throat tightened slightly as the world around him

started to blur.

Then his gaze shifted towards Arthur.

Arthur hadn’t moved even an inch from his place, he still stood there with his arms folded, his expression calm. But his eyes — for the first time had a glint of satisfaction.

He gave Ryan a small nod and said quietly. "Good job, Ryan."

That simple line hit harder than any applause he got from the audience.

Ryan let out a bright smile as he muttered under his breath. "Thanks.... Arthur."

Before he could say more than that, a voice cut through the air.

"RYAN!"

Maya came running towards him, her ponytail bouncing, her face bright with relief and pride. She didn’t stop until she was right in front of him.

Then she hugged him tightly, almost knocked him out.

"You did it, Ryan." she said, laughing.

Ryan grin widened, even as his ribs screamed in protest to him. "Yeah... guess I actually did, haha."

She pulled back slightly, meeting eyes with Ryan. "You’ve changed, Ryan. You’re not that guy whom I met in the gym back then. You’re—" she stopped, smiling even wider now. "You have improved a lot."

She laughed as she covered her injured hand with the bandage. "Guess we both had something to prove, huh?" She said while looking at her hand.

Around them, the boxing club members slowly gathered — cheering, shouting Ryan’s name, hitting his back so hard that he almost coughed. Even the coach had a faint grin on his face.

The announcer’s voice came through again, steady and booming through the speakers.

"We’ll take a short break! Next match will be between Muay Thai Club Versus Taekwondo Club.

"

The crowd buzzed with excitement again, already talking about the next round, but Ryan barely heard any of it.

He stood there, breathing slowly, letting everyone else settle— the victory, the pain, the noise everything was nothing for him. The sweat on his face mixed with the warmth of the lights and the roar of the crowd.

He slowly looked at his hands that once trembled in fear now felt steady—powerful. He remembered the humiliation which he felt for ages, every insult, every time he’d been beaten down.

Today he took his first revenge but the real one against Amit, Josh and Sophia is still left.

Ryan West now wasn’t just the loser anymore, he had earned his name.

For the first time in his life... He was becoming a part of something.

Ryan West wasn’t just the loser anymore.

Ryan sat across the Boxing Club dugout. ’System, did I fight well?’

[Host, what you want me to tell? I think your friends told you everything already.]

’But, I want to know from you about it.’

[Host, you fought well, it was a great fight and you won the battle against someone who’s clearly stronger than you is definitely a good feat.]

’Yeah... For a minute I thought that I was dead, that suplex of his almost made me lose my senses."

[Host, for now let’s leave this and let’s focus on the other matches now because knowing the abilities of the enemy is the best weapon which you can use.]

Ryan gave a soft nod as the voice of the announcer filled the air once again.

"Now we will continue with our next match, which is between Muay Thai Club and Taekwondo Club."