2 Monstrous Talent

Talent.

There was not a single world champion in the world who hadn't been talented. But what truly allowed them to reach the heights they had was the hard work and dedication they put into their training. It was the cultivation of their talent which allowed them to reach the heights of success that they had.

That was the unspoken rule all knew.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

It was a common saying that everyone knew and understood. A rule that was often the first thing he taught to his fighters, he allowed them to train the way they wished in the beginning, most unused to the true requirements necessary to succeed. He had them spar with progressively more and more experienced fighters until they lost.

This loss highlighted their faults.

But it also served as a test.

If they could brush off this loss and continue to work hard then it proved they had the mental fortitude to succeed. With a new and improved attitude to training as well, the only way for them then was up. This would usually only take a week or two before they hit that wall and he had seen plenty of talented people, both in his time as a fighter in this gym and then as a coach.

Yet he had never seen anything like this.

What would usually take a week or two to find the limit of a fighter, was still going on, five weeks later. The young fighter, Esau when being brought in had seemed impressive in his first fight. His opponent was young, around the same age, though he was relatively new to the sport of boxing. Both fighters had been inexperienced actually, yet a clear difference was seen in their mentalities.

Daniel was not hesitant, but he lacked confidence in himself.

Esau on the other hand was full of confidence.

Yet whereas Daniel had some measure of skill and technique in his fighting style, Esau on the other was pure, raw brutality. He had no flare, no substance nor any form of technique to his attacks, just wide sweeping blows that were so choreographed they were easy to predict.

After a few exchanges of blows, it was clear to see that Esau's constant aggression had worn down Daniel mentally. Even more so when his blows, already fast and powerful, started to become more concise and sharp, his stamina never once waning. Eventually, it just became a one-sided beatdown, Daniel hunkering down in a defensive stance as Esau just unloaded stronger and faster blows with greater precision.

No one had been unsurprised when the guard broke down and the final blow came in, knocking Daniel unconscious. The coach himself had been impressed enough to take Esau under his wing as another prospect. Yet he never cared for the training or the sport in general, like usual though, the coach did nothing to change this, just arranging sparring partners for him to go up against.

Yet each and every single one of them met the same fate as Daniel.

After two weeks and still no loss, he finally decided to give Esau a real challenge. Harry was a young fighter, a couple of years older than Esau and having just started his professional career. However, Harry was extremely talented, one of the most talented he had ever seen and had the potential to become a world champion.

The first round went as expected for all that watched.

Esau came in, his form far more concise and skilful than it had been in the beginning, seemingly having learned from watching his opponents. Yet it was nowhere near enough to prove a threat to Harry who masterfully dodged them all, then started landing his own. The fight turned and Esau had been unable to properly defend himself, let alone continue to be the aggressor.

It was a miracle that he actually lasted through the first round, but it had been clear that he was saved by the bell. The coach had been pleased by this, expecting this to be the limit that would finally make Esau change his attitude and then he could really start changing him into a boxer. With his talent, Esau would be the best, better than anyone that came from the gym and a definite world champion contender.

But once the second round started, Esau had showcased just how talented he was.

Before this, he always seemed to learn.

In his fight against Daniel, his once sweeping strikes became more skilful and technical, looking like a boxer's strikes. An adaptive ability that seemed to always appear when his skills became much better with fighting greater competition. Yet he had never shown anything like had done in that spar.

Before, he always was the aggressor, always matching his opponent's blow for blow, eventually gaining the upper hand towards the end of the first round. At that point, during the second round, having a mental advantage over his opponents, he would just end the fight.

No one had made it through two rounds with him, no matter how skilled.

No one had been able to keep the upperhand during the first round.

Not until Harry and that caused Esau to change.

The moment the bell rang for the second round, Esau came out and shocked everyone watching. Up to this point, he had been an out-boxer, much like everyone he had come up against. Harry though was a swarmer or an in-fighter and a good one.

This clash in styles and Esau's unfamiliarity with it gave Harry the advantage in the first round. So when Esau came out, almost perfectly copying Harry's style of fighting, one directly opposite to his own, no one had been able to quite believe their eyes. In the beginning though, Harry still retained the advantage and people laughed at Esau, believing it to be arrogance dictating his actions.

That changed though when slowly, Esau not only began matching blows with Harry but began overwhelming him. All while using a style unfamiliar with him and one Harry was far more experienced in.

Much like all his other fights, the bell rang with Esau gaining the advantage and then during the third, Esau dominated, ending the fight with a knockout, just like the other. No one had been able to believe what they saw, not even him. But it had proved that Esau did not simply possess a natural talent for fighting, he possessed a monstrous talent for it.

It was for that reason he was disappointed when these two entered his gym. "You wish to take, Esau?" He asked, looking across at the two people sitting down in their chairs, the sound of his fighters hard at work being a dull sound through the walls.

Both were middle-aged, one being a small, bulky and hairy man, though a dangerous one just from the way he sat there. He was familiar with combat, probably a soldier or a veteran, that much he could tell just from looking at the man. The other though was a frail, balding man in a wheelchair.

"I wish to meet with him." The man who had introduced himself as Charles Xavier corrected.

"I'm guessing to take him to a gym of your own." The coach frustratedly stated, recognising a skilled fighter in the man who had been introduced as Logan. That guy was a fighter, probably a trainer also, Charles probably being the manager of their gym.

Charles shook his head. "No. We are aware of Esau's problems at his old school and we are an organisation that handle children just like him. We hold a close link with Bayville High School where Esau will be transferred to next term. Our job is to provide an environment for those with special needs. We also handle children with violent tendencies like Esau, ensuring that they are fit to return to schools."

"So you're not trying to recruit him for a gym of your own?" The coach asked dubiously, looking to Logan. "Then why are you here?"

"To make sure the kid doesn't try anything funny," Logan responded gruffly.

"Logan is a member of our staff, often ensuring that students cannot hurt themselves or others," Charles explained. "Now, if you would please direct us towards Esau, this a conversation we should be having with him, more than you."