First Steps Towards Iron Street Vale

When Ryder opened his eyes, he tried to get up from the simple sofa, even though his body still felt sore. He tried to recall what had happened the night before.

'What happened to me last night?'

Ryder closed his eyes, continuing to try to remember the events of that night.

'My money was taken by two men in black suits… then I was given money by someone I didn't know.'

After remembering everything, Ryder held his head. The pain still lingered inside it.

As he fully regained consciousness, he found himself in a car garage. There were many tools for repairing cars scattered around, and the smell of oil filled the room.

He scanned the garage area until his eyes landed on a Chrysler Prowler, a two-door, two-seater sports car.

"That car is so cool," Ryder muttered in admiration.

It was the first time Ryder had seen the car in person, and he never expected he would be able to see a Chrysler Prowler, an old car that was no longer in production.

"Good morning, Ryder!" someone called from behind the car.

"Y-You!" Ryder exclaimed, slightly startled.

"Where's your morning greeting? It's rude of you not to greet the person who saved your life!" The man frowned, looking at Ryder with an unreadable expression.

Sweat was dripping down the man's body. He is not wearing a shirt, showing six-pack abs indicating that he works out frequently.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Ryder?"

"Your body… it's so cool!!" Ryder's eyes sparkled like stars. He was truly impressed by the man's physique.

The man gave a thumbs up while saying, "Don't worry, I'll teach you later if you're willing to become my subordinate." He looked at Ryder with a smile.

Hearing that, Ryder immediately stood up from the sofa.

"What do you mean? I have to be your subordinate?" Ryder protested, spreading his arms wide.

"You need money, don't you?"

"Of course, I need money! But why should I become your subordinate?" Ryder asked, trying to understand what the man meant.

The man scratched his head, then snapped his fingers. "I need a strong person I can bring along to take over Iron Street Vale," he continued while picking up a screwdriver lying near the car.

"Take over Iron Street Vale?"

"Yes. I'm already retired from the street fighting world. I used to be just like you!" he said while opening the car's hood.

Ryder walked closer to him. Once he was there, he looked at the man seriously. "So you were a street fighter in Iron Street Vale?" Ryder asked while glancing at the car's engine.

Ryder was also curious about the Chrysler Prowler's engine, observing it intently.

"That was in the past, Ryder. I'm forty-one years old now," the man said as he continued working on the engine.

Ryder nodded, but his focus was once again drawn to the beauty of the car's engine.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Duke Ellington. A retired street fighter," Duke said while raising his eyebrows at Ryder.

"So I finally know who owns the number ending in 67. It's you, Duke!" Ryder exclaimed confidently.

"What do you mean? My number ends in 53," Duke replied, immediately taking his phone out of his pocket and showing his number to Ryder.

"WHAAAAAAT!!"

Ryder's voice echoed outside the house, realizing that his guess was wrong. It turned out it wasn't Duke.

He placed his hand on his chin, thinking hard, 'Who actually owns the number ending in 67?' Then he turned to Duke. "If it's not you, then why are you interested in me?"

"That's a good question, Ryder."

Duke closed the car's hood. "I saw that you have the potential to become a strong street fighter, Ryder!" Duke continued, trying to convince him.

Before answering Duke, Ryder held his head, then his stomach and cheeks, as if his body was becoming lighter. The wounds he got last night were slowly disappearing.

"What's happening to me? Why is the pain going away?" Ryder muttered, still unable to believe what he was feeling.

Duke patted both of Ryder's shoulders. "That's a healing drug, a medicine that can erase pain after a fight, Ryder."

"What!" Ryder's eyes widened.

"No need to be that surprised, Ryder. That medicine is called Gx-180s. It's a drug you can only buy on the black market," Duke said with a serious tone.

Ryder swallowed hard after hearing the words 'black market'. That market could only be accessed by people who had VIP cards, and not everyone could get one.

Gx-180s was a pain-relief medicine sold for five gold Crown coins. It was one of the cheapest drugs Duke bought, even though there were many other healing drugs sold on the black market.

"Relax, Ryder. We'll go to the black market if you agree to become my subordinate. The drug I bought was one of the cheapest there," Duke explained to Ryder.

Ryder couldn't think clearly at that moment. Duke's offer was very tempting, and he was curious about the black market. He could also earn a lot of money if he became Duke's subordinate.

Taking a deep breath, Ryder closed his eyes. In his mind, he saw the smile of his mother, the smile he always longed for.

"Alright, I agree, Duke. I'll become your subordinate," Ryder said firmly.

Duke removed his hands from Ryder's shoulders and said, "Welcome to my garage, Ryder." He walked to the side of his car, toward an area that looked like another garage. Once there, Duke pressed a red button.

When the button was pressed, Ryder's eyes immediately turned to that direction. He couldn't wait to see what Duke was about to show him. The garage door slowly opened, revealing a boxing ring, a punching bag, and a vending machine in the corner of the room.

Ryder walked over, unable to believe that Duke had a facility like this, even though it still seemed to have many flaws.

"Wait a minute, Duke. Why are there only three things here? A ring, a punching bag, and a vending machine."

Duke laughed at Ryder's question. "About that… I just bought all of this two days ago," Duke said, continuing to laugh.

Ryder's face turned confused after hearing Duke's explanation, while Duke was still laughing. Ryder never expected to have a boss like this.

Duke had bought all of that equipment two days ago while he was in the center of Blaze City. In Iron Street Vale, it was rare to find stores selling this kind of equipment, and even if there were, they would usually sell the cheapest quality.

However, Duke bought everything here with the best quality. Duke's ring ropes were red, the punching bag was also red, and the only thing that was different was the gold-colored vending machine.

"So now, do I have to call you boss?" Ryder asked, looking at Duke with a small smile.

"No need, you can call me Duke or boss. It's up to you," Duke replied with a slight smile, still wearing his black bucket hat.