Team Whittier's locker room was full of excitement.
Around Damon, his coaches and teammates were singing with words of encouragement, pats on the back, and congratulations.
But while everyone was engrossed in the moment, Damon was losing himself in his own thoughts.
He couldn't help but wish he had a phone and call his mother.
He wanted to tell her how far he had come, how much he had achieved.
But even though he knew she was proud of him, he doubted she was watching his fight.
He didn't blame her either.
Watching your child step into a cage, risking everything, wasn't something every parent could handle.
Damon leaned back on the bench, his hands resting on his knees, his mind racing.
The room around him was full of noise, conversations, laughter, the sound of victory.
Yet in his own head, things felt quiet. Reflective.
He exhaled slowly, focusing on what was coming next.
The final fight.
His biggest test.
While his teammates and coaches celebrated his victory, Damon sat there, his mind already on the future.
Whittier stepped into the locker room, his smile plastered on his face.
He glanced around at his team, clearly proud of what they had achieved so far. .net
The room quieted down as everyone turned to him.
"Well, lads," Whittier spoke first, his tone composed but weighted with the excitement of the situation. "I couldn't be prouder of what you've done. You've fought your hearts out and shown why you deserve to be here. Each of you has proven something to yourselves and to the world."
He paused, looking directly at Damon. "But this isn't the end, not yet. The final fight is still ahead, and it's the one that really counts. It's time to dig deep and prepare for the hardest battle yet. No matter what happens, just remember, you've made it this far because you earned it."
Whittier made a piercing sound as he clapped his hands together. "Alright, no more resting on your laurels. Time to focus and prepare. The fight of your life is just around the corner."
The atmosphere in the room changed from one of celebration to one of concentrated preparation after that.
.
After all, his Endurance was the reason he hadn't been knocked out yet.
Agility had proven useful, especially when he pulled off that hybrid submission, so maybe it deserved more focus too.
While weighing his options, his thoughts drifted back to something that had crossed his mind before, the possibility of an S-Rank.
The system didn't list a Elixir for it in the shop, and no further details were given.
It left him wondering if the S-Rank even existed, or if it was just something the system hinted at but never actually provided.
It had also come to his attention that it was getting easy to level up, sure the training was needed hard training, but it wasn't as hard as earlier, he could confirm this because ever since in this show he took an Elixir, a week was enough maybe even less.
So this was also a reason for him to think about what was next after S-Rank.
But I guess that would be a thought for later.
Damon decided not to make any purchases right now.
He wanted to reflect on it a bit more and make sure his next steps were perfectly aligned with what he needed to face Brian.
For now, he focused on the task at hand, washing up then choose and then finally focus on his fight camp and preparing for the biggest fight of his career.
Finishing up his shower, Damon wrapped a towel around himself, feeling both the pressure and the thrill of what lay ahead.
The system could wait. Right now, he needed to focus on the fight.
Damon finished getting dressed, pulling a shirt over his head as he mumbled to himself, "I wonder if coins are included on the last challenge on that system quest."
"What was that?"
Startled, Damon spun around to find one of the assistant coaches standing behind him. The man raised an eyebrow, looking slightly puzzled.
"You good, Cross?"
Damon's heart skipped a beat as he realized he'd spoken out loud. But then he calmed down, assuming the coach probably hadn't heard him clearly.
"Yeah, I'm good," Damon said, shaking his head to brush off the awkwardness. "You just startled me a bit."
The coach's expression softened, and Damon forced a casual chuckle. "I was, uh, singing my favorite song by Ineman. You know, just getting in the zone." He threw out the lie with a grin.
The coach raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Alright, as long as you're focused. Keep that mindset, Cross, big fight ahead."
Damon nodded, relieved that the conversation hadn't gone any deeper.
As the coach walked off, Damon sighed quietly, feeling the tension slip away.