'This is the place,' he thought as he looked up at the gym. In complete honesty, it didn’t look special. It just seemed like a pretty average place to fight and work out.

Eh, something’s better than nothing. And this is definitely better than just going out and fighting random people in the street.

Upon walking into the gym, he was met with what was a pretty odd design. On one side laid out regular gym equipment, with all of it seeming rather old. However, the other had a line of MMA cages, each of them with a group of people surrounding them. However, one of them caught his eye. It had around a dozen or so people surrounding it, shouting and cheering on a match. The head coach is most likely among them.

Walking over to the small crowd, he took a quick glance over at the fight itself. From what he could see, the fight is practically one-sided. It was too obvious that the guy was severely outmatched.

It's just a regular beatdown.

'Why do they care so much about this?' he thought as he listened to the crowd shout and cheer for the fighters. It's just violence; not much to be excited about. 

Eh, people are weird. 

Pushing his thoughts to the side, he scanned the crowd until his eyes landed on one person. Dressed in military garb and with salt and pepper hair, a man seeming to be in his late 50s stared at the fight in front of him, a frown on his scarred face. However, Jake could tell that something was different about him. 

'There he is,' he thought before walking over, deftly moving through the crowd. A part of him knew he was the owner. Once he got close enough, he gave a light tap on the old man's shoulder, causing him to turn.

"Hm? What do you want?" the man asked, a brow raised. Yep, this is who he was looking for.

"Can we talk in private?" Jake responded, pointing to what he was assuming was the guy's office. After all, it's the only one with some type of embellishment, with it having copper lining. 

"Yeah, just give it a bit," the man said before turning back to the beatdown. 

Taking a quick glance, he suddenly noticed something. The smaller guy…he had a familiar aura. It was faint, but similar. 

It was like he was staring at…her…

Suddenly, he heard a loud crack, bringing him back to reality.

The fight already ended, predictably with the guy’s loss.

Feeling a pat on his shoulder, he turned his head to see the scar-covered man look at him, a small frown on his face.

"Follow me," the man said before walking towards the copper and wood door.

Guess he was right.

Following the scarred man, he entered what looked like a rather bare office. The only few things that stood out to him were a few framed photos on the desk and a shield with a familiar emblem hanging on one of the walls.

‘A former Warden, huh,’ Jake thought. He interacted with them before, mainly due to side quests. A collective title used for what is essentially the city police, they focus mainly on defensive warfare and urban combat.

"So, what'd you wanna talk about?" the scarred Warden asked him, arms crossed. 

"How much is it to gain a membership here?" Jake asked. Nothing is free after all.

"Nothing. Just come in before dusk and you can train as much as you want," the Warden answered, a look of confusion on the guy’s face.

Oh yeah, money isn’t really held in high regard in this world. 

"Oh, cool. Do you know where I can get any gear, then?" Jake said. At the very least, he wouldn’t need to worry about certain things.

“Yeah, I got some stuff that you can use,” the Warden said, reaching under the desk. After a short bit of ruffling, the warden set down a pair of gloves and what seemed to be a lock.

"Here. Take these. They'll work for you now. Anything else, there's a corner store nearby," he said, a small smile on his face.

Taking the gloves, Jake noticed that they were a mix of hard leathers and soft fabrics. Putting them on, he flexed his hands before letting out a few jabs in the air.

Overall, it seemed to be pretty good.

Taking the padlock, he gave it a quick look over. Rubbing his thumb on the side, he heard a slight click and before he knew it, it was unlocked.

That’s a pretty neat mechanism.

Putting the lock in his pocket, he walked out of the office before going directly towards the locker room. Upon entering the locker room, he walked around a bit, searching for one that was empty. Upon finding one, he tossed his bag into it before putting on the padlock. Clicking the padlock shut, he gave it a quick tug. Upon ensuring that it was secure, he left the locker room before going to one of the empty MMA cages. As he got closer to the cage, his eyes landed on a tablet next to the door. 

Most likely controls the difficulty.

After a bit of messing around with it, he eventually decided to make it so the bot was around the strength of a low-grade Knight.

A good starting point for training.

Upon entering the cage, he was met with a rather crude looking android. With boxing gloves replacing hands and a reflective steel face, it stood in a balanced stance, almost waiting for an attack.

Might as well grab its attention.

Letting out a small breath, he got into a loose combat stance before dashing forward and launching a hook at its side. Once his fist slammed into the rubber-like side, he quickly dashed back, dodging a hook aimed for his head. Shifting his back foot, he launched himself forward, letting a hook towards its face. Seeing this, the bot brought its arms up to block the strike.

Focus.

As the world slowed to a crawl, he twisted his body and, going underneath its guard, let out an uppercut, causing it to stumble back. Shifting his weight, he launched a kick into its side, causing it to lose balance. 

As the bot quickly got into its stance, he felt…something gnaw at the back of his mind.

Odd.

Pushing the feeling aside, he ducked under a swing, letting off a hit into what could be considered its stomach. However, it seemed unfazed and attempted an elbow strike. Jumping back, he suddenly felt that gnawing sensation. It felt…off, like there was something pent up inside of him, waiting to be let out. 

Might as well let it out, then.

Closing his eyes, he tried to mentally tap into that feeling. However, upon doing so, he felt a wave of energy and a single command in his mind;

Destroy.

Opening his eyes, he dashed forward and let off a punch into its sternum with newfound strength, launching it into the cage wires with a loud crash. Feeling the energy leave his body, he stumbled out of the cage and into the locker room, making a beeline for his locker. Unlocking his padlock, he grabbed an energy tonic before popping off the top and downing it.

Feeling the energy come back to him, he started to make some mental notes.

First off, his body is much more controllable and responsive than before. It usually took him around half a second for his body to move, it takes less than a quarter of a second now. A pretty decent improvement.

The other thing was that feeling of power. Lightly flexing his forearm, he called back to that feeling. Pulling up his sleeve, he saw his arm slowly turn a bright red. Immediately, his mind went back to the Skill Shards. In particular, the one from the Berserker.

So, he got the buff skill, Frenzy. That’ll be useful, especially in close quarters.

Tossing the padlock into his bag, he slung it over his shoulder before walking out of the gym. Upon exiting the gym, he quickly saved the location before looking around. As he watched the bustling street, he decided to just explore and walk around. After all, he had nothing better to do.

Besides, he might get an extra bit of field testing for his new powers.