(3rd-Person Narrator: Sammy)

Sammy left Rufus to sip on the remainder of the bottle and quickly put on her Guards' Uniform. Then the two of them headed straight for a massive Barracks. It apparently also served as the Recruiting Center and several men of different backgrounds were already lined up.

Moving past the Registering Desk, Sammy brought Rufus directly to the Training Grounds where many Training Dummies were set up. The large, open field had plenty of men and women sparring. One stood out from the rest by his hulking 2m figure releasing a murderous Aura.

One of his eyes was covered with an eyepatch and 3 long scarred slashes across his face asserted excessive combat experience. His grizzled face was extremely hairy but his eyes revealed he still had strength, despite growing older. This also further emphasized his incredible muscles as he was shirtless. All of him screamed of a veteran fighter.

In front of him was a long line of people wanting to spar with him. His current fight lasted but a few seconds, and his wooden sword already disarmed his opponent and poked them in their windpipe. After each one, he would grumble out a number in a gravelly voice. It ranged from 0-100, with a 100 being the best so far.

By the time Rufus and Sammy crossed the field, over to this hardened warrior, he already blew through past half of his challengers. A few minutes later, he finished with all of them. Although being slightly fatigued, this man thoroughly beat all his opponents, all of which still seemed to be recovering from their fight.

Sammy unhesitatingly walked up to him.

(Sammy) "Hi, Chief! How're you doin' Sir?"

She said, with a crisp salute.

(Chief) "Oh, just playin' wit' the Young'uns. They're gettin' weaker as I age."

He rumbled back to her, with a quick salute back.

(Chief) "Ready for a lil' round, just the two of us? You're all I got to have fun with missy."

The Chief laughed with Sammy as if both of them shared a private joke.

(Sammy) "I'm sorry to say no Chief Stonewall. But this is my old friend and he says he could easily beat you. Want a shot at him?"

Chief Stonewall started to look intensely over Rufus.

(Chief Stonewall) "I'm sorry to disappoint you boy. It's gonna be a tough one if ya don't got enough energy. Be proud of your body, but don't push your limits!"

He chuckled at his challenge.

(Rufus) "Don't worry 'Sir'. I definitely will beat you. You're much weaker than I thought."

Sammy looked at her insane friend. How could he say that to such a monster? And with such weak power to back up his words? He definitely offended Chief Stonewall and was in for a harsh beating. Overconfident recruits always got the rougher end of the stick.

(Chief Stonewall) "Boy, do not regret this."

Chief Stonewall was pumped to teach this brat a lesson. But then...

(Rufus) "Hold it Old Man. Everyone's going to think my win's a fluke if I fight you now. I mean, you're still out of breath from doing just a workout."

Rufus further offended the Chief. Sammy was punching him in the side, but his skin strangely felt much harder than usual and actually hurt her knuckles.

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(Chief Stonewall) "Oh? And what will this 'Old Man' watch you do as he gets ready to fight a Lil' Boy?"

(Rufus) "Drink up, Old Man."

Rufus tossed a water bottle at his face, which the Chief caught easily.

(Rufus) "EVERYONE!"

Rufus boomed.

(Rufus) "I FIND MYSELF IN A RAT'S NEST. WHERE WERE THE MIGHTY TOWNS GUARDS THE PEOPLE SPOKE OF? THERE ARE ONLY SCARED MICE, WATCHED OVER BY A WIMPY RAT! COME AND FIGHT ME, YOU LOWLY PESTS!"

Instantly, all eyes turned to glare at this egotistical man. From what hole did he crawl from and what rock did he hit his head on to challenge the entire Towns Guard? His strength was barely passable for a common laborer. And so, line after line formed in front of Rufus as he picked up a wooden sword.

(Rufus) "I won't need this."

He said, and slammed the sword straight into the ground, just up to its hilt. Although no one questioned this and instead were infuriated at his actions, that should have been a warning. Rufus readied his fists and looked at his first challenger.

It was a slim and springy young woman. When Sammy saw her, she couldn't help but gasp.

(Sammy) "Colonel... Isn't this a bit excessive?"

Colonel Sandra looked back at her.

(Sammy) "Your friend's too cocky. He needs to be taken down not just a peg, but off his high horse."

She readied her sword stance, Flashing Wind, and practically disappeared when charging at Rufus.

(Rufus) "You all really are horrible..."

Rufus said and swung out the back of his hand. It caught the Colonel straight in the face, and she flew into the crowd of Guards 3m away. Sammy's eyes bulged out of her sockets. Colonel Sandra's speed exceeded even the Chief's but she matched Sammy in strength. And Rufus just won by backhanding her? Impossible! How could he predict her as well as the Chief? she thought.

One after the other, Rufus beat into submission. It wasn't even a fight. This was a smackdown. A physical slap on the pride of the Towns' Protectors, the Towns Guards. Rufus grabbed the wrist of the next man and again threw him into the crowd behind him. This repeated over and over again.

Soon, they all swarmed in together to beat him into submission. But this only made his job easier. The first attacker to reach him was used as a make-shift club to sweep the crowd. After the person was damaged enough, Rufus tossed them away and used the next person. And then the next. And then the next. In even less time than what the Chief took, Rufus finished with everyone in the room. And he still did not move a single step from where he stood.

Sammy could not understand this. How could the fatty of her past get so strong? What treasure did he find to become so powerful? Why did he not tell her his true strength? When Rufus spoke of hunting monsters, she thought he was talking about hunting prey and selling their corpses. His savings were then spent on the Boulder Bull outfit he was wearing in order to impress her with his "manly" achievement. In the process, he became penniless.

But no, Rufus indeed was strong and his tales were more dangerous than what he led them on to be. He turned to face the Chief and sighed in obvious discontent.

(Rufus) "Well, hurry it up Old Man. We don't have all day here. Some of us want to go home and eat."

He said and slyly winked at Sammy.

(Sammy) "Don't include me on this! And who's going to cook for you?"

She retorted to his outrageous terms.

(Chief Stonewall) "Ohohohoho... So this brat is a wolf in lamb's clothing. Don't expect to win so easily. I'm going to get serious."

The Chief's already giant muscles expanded even more. His Aura grew darker to the color of a moonless night. It almost felt as if it absorbed the observer into itself, and promised to eat whatever soul got in the way.

(Rufus) "Che. Still not a threat."

Rufus grunted, still dissatisfied at such weak opponents.

The Chief's fists rocketed in rapid blurs at Rufus. Right, left, underhand, overhand, head, kneecap, thighs. They aimed to cripple him with the massive force behind each swing. But Rufus deflected his blows and struck counters across the steel-like arms. Loud bangs sounded across the Training Grounds, with holes being made from the floor being smashed in.

Sammy saw a battle between monsters, and she was surprised to see Chief Stonewall wasn't the stronger one. Both of their skills were exceptionally high. However, Rufus obviously more experienced and currently was moving only based on his reflexes honed from an uncountable number of life-or-death struggles. His defense stood firm in the face of the Chief's attacks, and slowly whittled away at his strength.

Fully aware of this, the Chief pulled back to get an advantage over Rufus. But he was unable to find an opening and the ground he landed on was horribly ruined during the fight. In his opponent's eyes, this was just an inferior fighter that flailed around with his strength to win. There was no analysis, no finesse, no technique, no PURPOSE behind his actions. It was a bunch of repetitive and predictable attack after attack, which wanted to win only by brute force.

So Chief Stonewall unleashed all of his power in a desperate self-destructive attack. Rufus was miserably disappointed and drop-kicked him into the floor. Chief Stonewall's fist had its energy dissipated into a small, glowing ball. A final clap from Rufus suppressed it. Today, he dominated the Training Grounds and even dealt with Chief Stonewall's Trump Card as if it were a novice's move.