Standing in the middle of the bodega, Ben soon decided on which line he'd used on the beauty.

Stepping closer to the dark-skinned woman but not too closehe then delivered the words "Hey, we got off on the wrong foot. Why don't we split those cantaloupes, one each?"

The girl looked at him and smirked. "Can't get sh*!"

"Huh?" Ben blinked.

"The fruits are mine! Vai tomar no cu!" After saying something he didn't understand, the girl took her fruit, and walked out, glancing back at Ben with a hateful expression for trying to steal her favorite food.

Meanwhile, he stood there, confused as he watched the fruits of his labor ripen

[Target's current attraction level: mortal enemy(-1)]

'So unreasonable?' He recalled that the last time he'd reached the bottom level with a woman, it was when he accused her of committing genocide on millions of people

Now, it was because of a cantaloupe?

Ben could only wonder what the correct divine line was as the wrong ones disappear from the system window, soon answering his doubt.

[A: "Wow, you have the chin of Superman. I bet you could take a serious punch." ]

Ben cringed. 'Who is she, Mick Foley? ...Mickey Rourke? ...Mickey Mouse?'

The line seemed too cartoonish...

He didn't get it. 'Or maybe another masochist?'

Ben shook his head for a few seconds. Then, he chalked it up to not being able to win them all, as he grabbed a banana and a protein bar and made his way over to the gym.

***

After taking the elevator to the bottom floor, Ben exited to the sounds of shouts and bodies hitting mats.

Walking into an off-white reception area, he saw there was a large sign on the wall that read, "Barbosa MMA Gym."

There, behind a desk, a huge muscular black guy was going through some paperwork, as a few others passed through from time to time. Ben observed that the space was only the beginning of a much larger compound though. On each side, there were entrances to many rooms where blue mats lined the floors and walls, with jacked guys running around and wrestling inside. At the end of one room, he could even see what appeared to be an octagonal cage. 'Is that the famous MMA octagon?'

He wasn't a big MMA fan but he'd watched it on TV before. So he knew that like boxers, MMA fighters sometimes fought in a ring overseas, but in the west, a cage with an octagonal shape was the norm. Inside, Ben could even recognize a face. 'Haven't I seen that fighter on TV?'

He didn't know the man's name but was certain he was a pro, and a famous one if even Ben could recognize him.

At this point. the big guy behind the counter looked at Ben. "Can I help you?"

It was then that Ben also heard a familiar voice.

"Ben!" Fariq exited one of the rooms, wearing a blue uniform of some type that looked like a kimono. Walking over, he put a hand on Ben's back as he nodded to the receptionist. "Terrence, this is my buddy. He's here to sign up but I'll give him a crash course first."

"All right, Fariq. Let me know when you guys are ready." The large guy at reception said before returning to his work.

Fariq then proceeded to give Ben a tour of the various training areas and locker room. The guys there were so muscular that many of them put Ben's recent gym gains to shame. Seeing such powerful dudes around, he even became a bit nervous.

Ben was here to attempt MMA, but he wasn't sure if he could do it. He'd never been a fighter, and his experience was limited to punching c*cks... 'I can only give it a try. If it doesn't work out, I'll just have to become the strongest c*ckpuncher of all time'

He was planning to give Skyler White a run for Walter's money...

That's when Ben remembered something and turned to Fariq. "Hey, in MMA, is c*ckpunching allowed?"

Fariq stared at him for a long time. "No, Benc*ckpunching is not allowed. It is not allowed anywhere"

Ben shrugged. 'I guess I'll be a free spirit' Even if they didn't allow it, he didn't feel the need to play by society's so-called "rules"

"This is the area where you'll do your first training today. It's the beginner's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class." Fariq pointed to a wide room covered in mats.

"Jiu-jitsu? I thought this was an MMA gym?" Ben was a bit confused.

Fariq explained. "MMA is short for mixed martial arts. In other words, it is a combination of multiple martial arts, and consists of three primary areas. First, there's stand up striking like Muay Thai kickboxing, boxing, or Karate. All MMA fights start on the feet so this area is important.

Then, you have stand-up grappling where fighters compete for control, and to try to bring their opponent to the ground if they prefer fighting there. This includes disciplines such as Judo or wrestling.

Last but not least, you have ground grappling which these days, is dominated by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or BJJ as we call it."

Ben nodded. "I see. So why am I starting with BJJ?"

Fariq smiled. "Because it's the safest area to begin with, and the specialty of this gym. Also, ground grappling is very important. You know, most fights end up on the ground, whether in MMA matches or on the streets."

Ben squinted. 'That's weird. In anime, all fights end up in the sky'

Having shown him everything, Fariq then brought Ben back to the reception area. "You'll learn about all of MMA over time, but for now, beginner's BJJ will be a good introduction for you." Next, Fariq helped him fill out the registration forms for new members, and soon, Ben was an official member of the Barbosa MMA Gym!

Yet, right when the receptionist accepted the forms, something unexpected happened--Ben received a system alert!

[Dojo detected]

------

*Author's Note: I'll be doing a coin lottery tomorrow for everyone that has privilege--100 coin giveaway to each of 10 people. So if you haven't joined the discord already, go ahead and do so. You can also access the private R-18 galleries there. Discord: https://discord.gg/VSKzgzV8J9 (case-sensitive). On a PC, you can copy the link from the novel's about/synopsis page.