CHAPTER 158: I NEED YOU BACK

Darrel Briccs is a beast wearing human skin.

He is tall and strong; his body is built to fight as he is gifted with long limbs and a thick neck, and he hits like a truck. Most of his fights have ended in a brutal knockout in the very first minute of the very first round.

Not many can step foot in the octagon and throw hands with Darrel because he will maul them like a crazy bear.

People are afraid to fight him, but he is still not the best in the world.

Sure, he has everything one needs to become a champion, but what he lacks is technique. And if he wants to become the champion of the world, he needs to be at least half as good as the current champion.

The current champion, Heinz Strotof, is a monster in his own right; never lost a fight in his life because of how good he is when it comes to the art of martial arts.

He isn’t a physical specimen like Darrel Briccs; he doesn’t have the long limbs or a thick neck to shrug off the big hits, but what he has is what people consider the greatest gift when it comes to fighting sports, fight IQ. It’s unmatched.

Heinz fights are like watching live art. People are mesmerized when he fights. It’s as if he can see the future, estimate what his opponent is trying to do, and counter it with style and finesse that leaves even the best minds in the field bewildered.

That’s the kind of monster Darrel is trying to conquer. A man who moves and hits like a ghost, his opponents tell stories about how they couldn’t even see his strikes coming before they were knocked out and staring at the lights.

Darrel knew that if he wanted to be the champion, he needed to up his skill to a level where his overwhelming power could be effectively used.

No matter how high Heinz’s fighting IQ is, if Darrel’s power can get the assistance it needs from his improved skill, then he might have a chance.

That is why Darrel hired Rangsan as his coach. Rangsan was a respected fighter in his younger days as well, praised for his unmatched skills, but that’s all he had, and he couldn’t over the monsters that prowl the higher levels of the sport.

Darrel is one of those monsters, a man with the power to take someone’s head off What he now needs is skill; combine his power with Rangsan’s skills, and he will dominate anyone.

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Adam approaches Lamai and the group as they seem to be in a deep conversation.

He doesn’t disturb them; instead decides to eavesdrop and hear what they are talking about.

"Rangsan, I feel like you are ignoring me. You used to be up my ass about training all day. Why do I feel like you have lost interest in training me?" Darrel asks.

"It’s nothing like that, I just got busy training this young fellow who has joined the gym, he is quite good. I see great potential in him," Rangsan says.

"It’s fine that you are giving some of your time to young prospects, but remember, I am your biggest bet, and our goal is the world heavyweight championship. I need everything you can give," Darrel says.

If Rangsan can’t provide him all his time, then there is no point in keeping Rangsan as his trainer.

Hearing his words makes Lamai frown as well. She gives her father a complicated look while Rangsan seems to be contemplating something.

She knows what her father is thinking about, or who. It’s Adam. Ever since Rangsan started training Adam, he has become obsessed with the possibility of getting a world championship under his name.

Darrel was her father’s best bet, as he is one of the best world champion prospects in the world right now and has a proven record to back that up.

But Lamai doesn’t know what’s gotten into her father for him to ignore this. Sure, she understands that Adam might be one of the best, if not the best, fighting geniuses she has ever come across, but he has no real fight experience and hasn’t given in completely to the sport.

He can just walk away, as he hasn’t yet started his career. So for her father to prioritize Adam over Darrel is a huge mistake.

She doesn’t understand why her father is even considering taking such a risk.

Lamai knows her father very well; she has trained under him all her life, so to see him make such a rash decision doesn’t make sense to her at all.

But what Lamai doesn’t know is that Rangsan sees more than she ever could.

He has been keeping his eyes on Adam as he trains under Rangsan; his ability to perfectly emulate everything he is shown is beyond anything Rangsan has ever come across. Lamai has seen this too.

But there is something else Rangsan has noticed that others failed to; he could see that Adam has been holding back all this time.

All this time, he witnessed Adam train and spar with different people, and what he noticed shook him to the core. For the monstrous abilities that Adam displayed, it turns out he is not even going all out.

If Adam did, even Rangsan doesn’t know how his opponents will end up.

This sent a shiver down Rangsan’s spine as he realized that Adam is not just a monster, he is the monster. A monster amongst monsters.

No matter how brutally powerful Darrel is, or how monstrous the current world heavyweight champion, Heinz Strotof’s fight IQ is, they are nothing compared to what Adam is.

This is why Rangsan has been obsessed with Adam being his ticket to the world championship, because he knows that with Adam under his guidance is guaranteed to win a world championship; there is not even a single doubt in Rangsan’s head about it.

Adam hasn’t even started his fighting career, and Rangsan can already see that big ass gold title, which is embroidered with expensive stones, wrapped around Adam’s waist.

Rangsan looks at Darrel. He sees a very promising prospect. Someone who has a very good chance of winning, but it’s not guaranteed, especially against a monster like Heinz Strotof.

But Rangsan still wants to give it a go. Even if Darrel doesn’t give him as much confidence as Adam when it comes to earning a world championship, he doesn’t want to throw it all away.

Darrel is really good, and if he does manage to slay the monster that is Heinz Strotof, then Rangsan will not only have one, but two world champions associated with his name.

He finally opens his mouth to talk to Darrel.

"I understand your frustration, and I am sorry for looking past you these past few days, but don’t worry, from today, we can go back to our regular schedule," Rangsan says.

Darrel smiles. "I knew I could trust you," he says, patting Rangsan’s shoulder.

Adam, who has been listening to their conversation, never expected that Rangsan was ignoring his golden prospect just to train him. But it looks like things have gone back to normal, so he doesn’t have to worry about the big guy holding a grudge against him.

He finally decides to introduce himself to the group.

"Coach," he calls out, Rangsan, as he walks up to them.

The three turn their head and see Adam. Rangsan’s neutral face immediately loosens up and begins smiling.

"Speak of the devil. Darren, this is the young man I was talking about. I have never met someone as gifted as Adam, here," Rangsan says, patting Adam’s arm.

Darrel looks at Adam and recognizes the young man; it’s the same young man he saw a few weeks ago. He remembered Adam because Adam made a strong impression on him because of his strength.

He didn’t expect Adam to be the same young man Rangsan is talking about.

"Trust me when I say this, you are looking at the future world champion," Rangsan says while laughing proudly.

Lamai sees this and frowns. As for Darrel, he gives Adam a very good look.

He has never seen Rangsan so certain about someone, not even him. So to say that Adam here is going to be a world champion when he has only begun his fighting career is a very bold and definitive prediction from Rangsan.

Now, Darrel’s interest in Adam has grown several fold.

"Lamai, you are in charge of looking for Adam today. I have a few things I want to talk to Darrel about," Rangsan says.

Lamai seems a little hesitant, but nods her head. Adam, of course, catches this. He can’t believe Lamai is still mad at him for no reason.

’I need to figure out today what’s making her be so mad at me,’ Adam thinks.

"Nice to meet you, kid," Darrel says to Adam. Adam nods and smiles as Darrel walks past him, following Rangsan.

Adam then brings his attention to Lamai, who immediately looks away from him.

"So... coach, what do you have in mind for today?" Adam asks. He keeps his usual attitude as he approaches her. He doesn’t want to directly ask her what’s the matter and blow this out of proportion.

He can see that Lamai is on edge, and if he tries to corner her and force her to spit out her problem, it will only cause their relationship to sour even more.

As much as Adam doesn’t care about what Lamai thinks, other than her being very hot, Adam does train under her father, and he will be seeing her every day.

And that will be a very unpleasant experience that Adam doesn’t want to deal with.