Ace Brookes walked hastily from one end of Magnolia to the next. Not batting an eye to the scenery or the faces of the strangers that passed by. It was an average winter’s day. He didn’t stand out much from the crowd either as he usually would. He went for comfort as he wore his puffy olive green jacket and casual runners. Just enough to get the job done

The weather was considered “clear” for a winter’s day, and the city was busy as usual, but it wasn’t a very fruitful week in Magnolia for the gas mage. He was constantly going back and forth to the tiny Rune Knights office in the fairy’s town, trying to pick up as many requests off the board as he can. The young fourteen year old mage had heard of an upcoming promotion opportunity for one of the many rune knight apprentices that had been scattered throughout Fiore. Ace knew that anyone with a bit of experience was already trying to prove themselves worthy for this one shot at becoming a seated rune knight. The statistics said it all! Only fifteen percent of all the rune knights were seated members. Ace knew that if he was to make it that high at such a young age then that would be one of his huge milestones. It was going to at least secure him and his grandad a decent future. It was about time. Ace had been loyal to the knights for just over two years now and it was about time he properly showed everyone what he was capable of. The rank up would undoubtedly make him more recognizable than he already is within the rune knights. However, the gas mage has been away for quite a while now and he must have been a bit rusty to just kick off and start doing all these quests at once.

He strolled in to the tiny office and nodded at the rune knight apprentice that worked in there. He picked up a job request without putting much thought into it which wasn’t very much like Ace. His mission was to knock down as many jobs as possible to be further considered by his superiors. He casually turned back around, nodded at his fellow knight once more and walked out the door as quickly as he can. Ace scanned over the contents of the job speedily. The gas mage then stopped in his tracks and was suddenly all that much more intrigued by what this random knit picked job had to offer. It was taking place in Magnolia’s Boxing Arena. If you know Ace then you know how big a part boxing played in his childhood. His grandad’s past somehow ties up to boxing and for some reason Ace never really got the full story out his grandad. The young mage already had firsthand experience in boxing, which is why he was generally that much stronger than kids his age. Its not every day you get to see a fourteen year old with decent boxing skills and interests.

513/2000

Ace was so caught up with his job as a rune knight that he’d lost much contact with the sport of boxing. This job brought back memories just by ringing a bell about the extreme fist hurling sport. He scurried through the wide streets and slummy allies of Magnolia to eventually make it to the grand boxing arena. It was huge and the architecture was marvelous. The young mage’s eyes gleamed as he stared up inspecting the huge boxing gloves statue that sat on top of the building’s main entrance. In a flash he recalled his past as it flashed before his wide opened eyes and was brought back to reality with the crying of a nearby baby in a stroller. He turned his head to the side with slumped down shoulders and a sloppy standing stance, then proceeded to lift the request to see where he was going to meet this boy, Tyler. According to the quest leaflet, Tyler was going to be inside the gym within a given time. That meant he had around fifteen more minutes to catch up to the boy inside. Ace barged in to make sure he doesn’t miss his chance. There he was, just like it said in the paper; blonde, around the age of 16. He was wearing a white tank top and had his boxing gloves on as he circled around a boxing bag of his size. Ace walked up to the boy as he wondered what his reaction might be. Ace was a couple years younger than Tyler which might be a shock to the young boy posting this request only for a younger individual to provide physical help. It was definitely an odd event, even Ace thought so.

“So you must be Tyler…” he stated with a neutral facial expression. The boy who was now panting let down his guard and looked at Ace. “Hi, yeah that would be me, do I know you from somewhere?” Tyler must’ve thought that Ace was a kid from school or something. Ace held up the quest leaflet without saying a word, then handed it to the blonde haired boy. “Oh! Yeah, so you must know someone.” He exclaimed. “Tell them to come by tonight at 7:00. The actual fight only starts around half an hour after that. I’ll briefly fill you guys in then.” There was a slight difference in height between the two of them. Ace kept looking up at the boy and said “7:00 it is…” as he gave a slight nod and turned to face the exit. He thought he’s better off getting something light to eat as seven o’clock was around two hours later.

And so he did. The young gas mage managed to find a little sandwich shop not too far from the boxing arena. He got himself something to barely keep him going as the last thing he wanted was to be all stitched up during the fight. To be completely honest with himself, Ace didn’t even know why he didn’t mention that he’ll be fighting.

1023/2000

All the gas mage knew is that he was going to be pinned in the ring with this massive man. How was it even going to work out he wondered. But all that was important is he had to take down that man at all costs. All these thoughts crossed his mind as he sat down cross legged across the road from the boxing arena. When the sun was starting to set and the time finally came by, he had to go in for his 'briefing”. He got up and walked straight down the main entrance. His head was meters down below the massive gate as he walked in dead center, ready for what he was about to face.

People had already left their jobs for the evening and started coming down to the boxing arena. It was nearly packed and the loud chatter of the men who were placing bets filled the arena. He looked around, dazzled by the lights for a second, then turned to go to the back where he would get ready. People still came in every second and the security’s job was starting to get more and more busy.

“I heard someone was to take down Rodric for good today…”
“How so?”
“That boy who’s dad trains at the gym. Heard he got a professional to take him down.”

Ace overheard the men’s small talk as he proceeded to head back to the locker rooms. A huge security guard dressed in all black stepped in front of the young mage as he tried to slip into the locker rooms and put his oversized hand lightly on the young mage’s chest, stopping him from going in. Ace still stared forward with his eyebrows frowning and keeping his serious facial expression as usual. He then turned his head up to look at the guard and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper from his jacket pocket. Showed it to the security guard and slipped past his trunk like arm into the locker rooms’ hallway. The security guard finished inspecting the request and looked back down with shock only to see that the mage had already went in. “Shiiiiiiiit… Look at this” he said with a deep voice to one of his partners as they looked back at the young Ace Brookes.

Tyler was glad to see Ace come through the push doors to the locker room, but his eyes quickly darted behind Ace in anticipation to see who the fighter was. “Where is he?!” He exclaimed. “Where is who” replied Ace sheepishly. “The fighter... The fighter that you were supposed to bring us…” replied Tyler with a concerned tone. “Ahh.. You never asked. I’m the mage” he replied calmly. Tyler then took a better look at Ace as if it was his first time seeing him, now knowing that he was going to be the one thrown into the ring with that monster of a man. He noticed the rune knight emblem on his left ear lobe standing out in a royal blue. “I see…” Tyler said as thoughts flooded his head. If he was just a fourteen year old mage then that wasn’t going to be enough for Tyler to believe in him, however he was also a member of the highly acclaimed rune knights. That was the stamp that sort of proved Ace’s credibility.

1583/2000

In no time, Tyler and a bunch of middle aged trainers were wrapping tape around Ace’s hands in preparation for the fight. There was certainly no time to be wasted. Tyler started babbling on about how Rodric fights and what Ace had to look out for in particular. Tyler constantly stressed on one main thing; humiliate Rodric… He believed that Rodric didn’t beat the champ fair and square. As an avid fan of the sport, Ace was easily able to relate. This man had to be taken down.

Time flew by and it was already time for the young dark skinned mage to hop in the ring and face off against Rodric, the current champion. With one tactic set in mind, and that was to dodge all of his punches at any cost. His haymakers were known to land opponents flat on the canvas. Ace’s height difference was sparingly going to be an advantage as it was going to help him dodge attacks.

He walked steadily down the dark hallway, hearing the ever growing chants of the audience. It seemed to be calling out “CHA-LLEN-GER”… That was all in favor of the young rune knights’ apprentice. Ace walked out into the gleaming lights as the crowd went quiet. Everyone was in shock as to what they have just witnessed. Just like that, the crowd seemed to lose hope in the challenger very quickly. They still rooted for him but it seemed like tonight’s match was just going to be a horrific scene.

Ace Brookes stepped into the ring with his merely chiseled body basking under the arena lights. The first bell went off and the crowd was starting to cheer quietly. Rodric grinned as he approached Ace with confidence and started throwing powerful jabs and hooks at the shorter opponent. Ace’s undeveloped short build had actually aided him in making it harder for the boxer to land his punches. The crowd’s roars grew louder and louder the more Rodric missed and the more frustrated he became with his undersized opponent. Ace kept murmuring under his breath to tease his opponent. He would be the first to know that boxing is a mind game. More similar to chess than street fights, but many have no clue.

Out of nowhere, Rodric switched up his technique as he started to lose his patience. He charged forwards towards the young mage and hurled his whole body forward as he lunged a powerful packed blow to end his own misery. The punch however was very slowly prepped and Ace could see it coming just as well as the man sitting at the very top row of the bleachers clenching his betting ticket. Unsurprisingly, Ace did slip past it, but he did feel the power this man has put behind his punch. It was overwhelming. At this stage, Ace looked over at the man through his guard and could see him barely able to keep his balance. Ace ran forward towards his stumbling opponent and lunged upwards sending an uppercut towards the champion’s jaw. In a flash the champion was out. The crowd was going wild and so was Tyler as he bragged to everyone around him how he had faith in the young mage.

Ace claimed his prize money and waited to be appointed as the new champion then forfeited it back to the previous town champ. He talked to Tyler briefly after the event as the young blonde thanked him and handed him his Jewels reward for the job. Ace was off.