The System's Hold Over Me

"Phew... I should just use the bus." Frizz exclaimed as he panted, exhausted from the pedaling. He just arrived at the old gym where he and Mill used to hang out. He parked his electric-bike near the entrance and locked it, and as he was about to knock on the door, it opened. Behind it was Mill with a welcoming smile.

"I saw you arrive; it's good you're here." Mill greeted as he welcomed Frizz inside. He gave him a short tour of the boxing gym.

"That there is the boxing ring, it wasn't there before when we used to come here." Mill showcased.

"That's my coach and my trainer." Mill pointed at the two.

"We have punching bags but we use punching mannequins mostly."

"Oh hey, Hana." A tall woman with black hair and eyes passed by, wearing a sports bra and tight leggings. She was as almost as tall as Frizz and she had a slender but muscled figure. Her face displayed an expression resembling a frown, she was focused. Hana nodded at Mill as she walked by, not even paying attention to Frizz.

"That's pretty much it; welcome to the gym." Mill smiled as he gave Frizz a thumbs up.

Mill's trainer and coach waved at him, motioning him to come. "We'll drink later after we're done here; this shouldn't take long."

Frizz nodded as he looked around the gym in awe, it had a different look outside. It still looked like the old gym from before but inside, there were radical improvements. It looked modern.

"I have something to discuss with my coach; feel free to try my new gloves." Mill excused himself as he tossed the new boxing gloves at Frizz.

(I might as well have some fun.) Frizz took off his jacket and stretched his arms and legs. Putting on the white boxing gloves, he walked toward the punching mannequin. He wound up a punch and struck it, causing it to sway back and forth from the force. Smiling, he began punching it repeatedly.

"Your punches are sloppy." A feminine voice punched in causing Frizz to turn around.

(Smelly girl...) "Hana, right?" Frizz asked as he delivered another blow.

"Sorry for butting in, but if you punch hard like that you're going to get injured."

"Oh, I don't mind. Thank you for the concern." Frizz courtly nodded at her and smiled.

"It's strong, like actually strong." Hana looked surprised. "However, it lacks the precision and the proper technique."

"Precision?"

"Yeah, you're just hitting it for the sake of hitting it. You need to aim properly, especially in a fight. The less punches it takes for your opponent to be knocked out, the better." Hana explained.

Frizz stopped for a moment, remembering his past encounters. "I see... You're exactly right." He aimed a punch at the head, causing the mannequin to wobble.

(His punching is like really bad, anyone half decent can see it from a mile away. He tends to wind it up far back. However, they are very powerful. He must be working out for a long time.) Hana mused as he eyed Frizz's figure, noting that he was tall but was barely physically impressive. (Huh...)

"Hey Hana! Frizz, you've been going to the gym, aren't you?" Frizz turned around, it was Mill this time.

"Why'd you say that?" Frizz confused, inquired about Mill's question.

"Because your punches actually has a lot of power in it, you're like way way stronger than me when I had my first fight." Mill bluntly stated as Hana nodded her head.

Frizz froze for a moment. (Right, I have been leveling up and gaining perks; I have gotten stronger.) "I guess you could say that, though I still don't know how to fight."

"Not an issue; no one really needs any fighting techniques when you can just call the police." Mill points out the obvious.

"I guess you have a point," though Frizz recalled the time when he had to get violent with some drug dealers.

"Or sue..." Hana pointed out causing Mill to laugh. "Good one! Anyways, Hana? Want to join us? We're going out to drink."

"Pass. I've something to do." Hana swiftly turned to around as he nodded goodbye. Mill stared at her back as she walked away.

"Quite a looker." Mill pointed out with his brows as he looked at Frizz.

"Yeah, she's alright." (That body odor though. Still to be fair, even Mill or probably everyone here in this gym smells.)

"Anyway, you want to go away? Let's go drink; I am thirsty." Mill asked.

"What time is it?" Frizz asked as he took off the gloves and slipped on his jacket, wiping the sweat on his temples and brows. "Seven o'clock in ten minutes," Mill checked his watch.

"Let's go meet at Faye Bar; I've heard that they have discounts today, and there'll be a lot of women!" Mill exclaimed.

"Don't you have a girlfriend or something?" Frizz asked in concern. "Nothing wrong with window shopping." Mill huffed his chest. "I guess that makes sense," Frizz concluded.

"Let's go," Mill declared.

Twenty minutes later...

"Dude, what took you so long?"

Frizz puts up his finger as he takes a couple of deep breaths. "These bikes are not built for speed." He turned on the dashboard, it was almost out of battery.

Mill rolled his eyes. "Just park it over there and let's go inside." Frizz parked and locked his electric bike. They both headed towards the entrance until a guard stopped them and said tapped on the sign. 'Entrance Fee, 100.'

Frizz was about to pull out the exact amount until Mill stopped him and motioned that he'd pay. The guard let them in, and the cashier plastered a mark on their arms.

"Where should we sit?" Mill asked.

Frizz pointed at a distant table, away from the music booth. "There."

"I'll go order; you sit there," Mill hurried to the counter.

One hour later...

Mill and Frizz laughed as they reminisced about the old times, slowly emptying the bucket of beer they'd ordered. However, as the night progressed, it was getting harder to converse as the music got louder and the disco lights got flashier. Still, they persisted until everything blurred out, and they were just slurring at each other as they laughed.

[System]

[Alcoholic Advantage] perk is active.

"Oh, that's cool, hahaha," Frizz muttered and chuckled.

Two hours later...

Frizz could make out Mill's figure, "dancing" on the dance floor with other people. The dancing in question was more of an erratic shift of his limbs. Frizz laughed and clapped as he suddenly recalled an old memory of Mill 'dancing' and stepping on the feet of his prom partner.

He finished another bottle. He stood up and wobbled his way to the restroom, entering the wrong-gender and swiftly leaving as feminine screams screeched. "Wrong room, hahahahaha."

One hour later...

The night still raged on. Frizz, however, had enough; the drinks were good, but Mill kept dancing and talking with strangers. Leaving no time to properly talk. It was about time to head home, and he couldn't risk his friend doing something that he'd regret.

He spotted Mill dancing with a woman, and it looked like they were dangerously close to each other. He stood up and headed towards Mill. There, on the dance floor, Mill and a short pretty woman in a red skimpy dress were staring at each other, with two other women giggling beside them.

Frizz grabbed Mill's right forearm. "We have to go home."

"Is this your friend?" The skimpy-dressed woman asked Mill. Frizz was rather uncomfortable with the woman's seductive look. It doesn't help that her two friends joined in and eyed Frizz.

"We have to go home, Mill." Mill snickered and scoffed. "And leave these three respectable pretty women alone?" Mill shrugged away Frizz's hand.

"Frizz, this beautiful woman's name is Ayah, and the ones behind her are Kae and Aylin." Mill introduced them to Frizz.

Frizz looked at the two women that Mill pointed. Kae wore a yellow crop top with shorts, and Aylin wore a white long sleeve with skimpier shorts. "Nice to meet you; I am Frizz." He politely smiled. (The women were indeed pretty as Mill said, even if without their makeup.)

"Let's all go take a seat," Mill suggested and walked towards their previous table. They all took a seat, and Ayah sat near Mill, with her hands dangerously close to his crotch. Kae and Aylin sat near Frizz.

(Ah, screw it. I tried to stop him. It's your grave.) Frizz was about to reach for a bottle when a drunk patron kicked Mill's chair.

"Why are you three here? We were having fun with my friends until you left us and disappeared." The three women shrank, avoiding the man and clearly not interested.

"You left us for these two?" The light shone on the drunk man; he was almost bald.

Mill stood up. "Hey, what's your problem?" he asked as he shoved him away.

Frizz facepalmed. (Oh, he didn't. He just shoved him.) For Frizz, it was obvious where this was headed—a fight. The almost bald man, clenched his left fist and aimed a punch at Mill's head. Mill parried the strike and he headbutted the man, causing three of his friends to arrive, ready to fight.

A bouncer arrived just in time, forcefully breaking the tension between the two. "Fighting is not allowed, outside all of you. Now." Frizz restrained Mill as they walked outside, the three women closely following.