《Skill Overdose》 Ch. 1 - Overdose 11:53 PM "Ah, it''s almost time for the headache day... Er, kuhum. I mean my birthday." A seemingly careless young man, who''s a student in his sophomore year, said before sitting on the edge of his bed in the room with plenty of decorations in it. Liam Keene. An orphan, who had been living by himself for almost five years straight, wore an ugly expression just as he woke up after having a quick nap. ''I better prepare myself for the upcoming pain later.'' He stood up and walked in front of the wooden cabinet near his bed. Liam crouched down and opened the cabinet before picking up a small and shabby old box in the corner. He quickly stood back up again and sat on top of his bed cross-legged as he placed the box in front of him. He swept away all the dirt and dust that was covering the box using his hands away from the bed also to see the text written in the box. "Hah... Liam''s heal box, huh. Although this hardly even healed me before, it might still be useful." ''...If it works.'' Liam carelessly flipped the box upside down to put all the things out of it. All the stuff that fell were different kinds of medicine pills specifically for headaches. The pills scattered all over the bed and some even went on the floor but he didn''t care less about it being messy. "I bought so many yet I only consumed plenty..." He said inwardly as he intently looked at the pills. "The pain possibly increases every year... Should I just consume pills more compared to last time?" Liam thought about the idea for a while but soon decided against it. ''The chance of having an overdose will just get higher. That''s out of the choices.'' He kept feeling uncomfortable just by having to think deeper into it. "Meditation... I think I can hold onto it. Although it could be more painful than before, the duration is just a minute or two, right?" Liam spoke his thoughts knowing that there''s nothing in the room beside him. Somehow, talking to himself was one of the things that calmed him down every time he was being pressured by nervousness or something similar. "Yeah. It''s gonna happen for just a minute and I''m gonna be safe and sound if I just endure it." "I would not die today... There''s no way... Probably..." Liam said reluctantly and let out a heavy sigh. Everything he said just now, was the same stuff he had already said before, and the result? Pain. Extreme Pain. Although he was very much skeptical and knew that he was only convincing himself all this time, what else could he possibly do in his current situation? 11:57 Liam tried to overcome the anxiety that was building up inside his heart by simply closing his eyes as he started meditating to clear all the negative thoughts which were going through and through inside his mind. Fortunately for him, in the past couple of years, he acquired the knowledge of meditation by solely searching and reading countless articles about learning how to meditate and calm one''s mind. 11:58:42 A short while later. At the current moment, Liam possessed a calm, clean mind resembling a shining mirror and still water as he carefully tried to make his thought cleared out while not having to move one bit from his position.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! 11:59:01 11:59:25 11:59:33 11:59:42 DING! DING! A cellphone rang and a sudden message popped up covering the entire screen. ¡ª Hey, uh, Liam! It''s me, Ian, can I go to sleep in your house my parents are out of town... Liam opened his eyes after he heard his cellphone rang just a second ago, but as soon as he did that, he instantly lost all his focus and also his calm demeanor. The meditating man was disturbed and now the thought of bad things happening to him sooner crept into his mind. With a bitter expression, Liam, to his friend, cursed inside endlessly. Realizing it was too late now, his anxiety started to build inside his heart once again. "Shit! I forgot to turn off the power of my phone...!" Liam immediately regretted his carelessness and started to find something in a hurry. Another message popped up at the wrong time... again. ¡ª I have a gift for you so don''t worry about me being a useless friend. Liam read the message of his friend and started cursing inwardly once again. "Screw your gifts! Why now?!" Liam quickly grabbed all the medicine pills he had in a panic and put them all into his mouth without considering the side effect and the overdose of consuming many of the same pills. ''Shit, shit, shit...'' Liam hurriedly digested dozens of pills and continuous curses echoed throughout his mind while also constantly wishing for a miracle to happen. He didn''t know what to do anymore. 11:59:59 DING! A sound rang through his mind and a text printed in a game-like window was suddenly floating in front of him. As he read a mechanical voice followed. ¡º The prerequisite condition has been met, [20 Years Old]. New skills will be given to you by Project X''s System. Please wait. ¡» "Uh... Eh? Huh-!? Project X? What the hell... What is going on, right now? Condition? It''s the first time that something like this happened to me." Liam said with a confused expression carved all over his face. ''What is this? Is this for real?'' Liam doubted his eyes while trying to think how this unbelievable phenomenon happened in front of him. "Although something similar did happen..." Liam thought that, for the past few years, it always had been an unauthentic, robotic female voice saying, ''You will be given a random skill from the project. Be prepared for the side effects?'' or something close to that. But ant wasn''t like this. It was never a floating, holographic-like screen along with the mechanical voice. "What''s this screen in front of me now?" He didn''t believe it at first but when he recalled the voice that suddenly resounded in his mind out of nowhere a few years ago, he thought that it was possible that the thing in front of t now was somehow related to it! "Ah, shit! Overdose...? Am I having an overdose, right now?!" Liam was frustrated as he just realized that he unknowingly consumed over a dozen pills and now he was being taken by the backlash. ''Ugh...getting hard to breathe!'' "Shit! Ack...! haah...haaah." Liam stood up and walk inside the bathroom. He opened the tap and drink all the water that was pouring down from it. Liam moved upward and looked into the mirror above the sink. He saw himself in the mirror with an expression that of a dying man. The overdose was taking effect fast! His skin was turning pale, an extremely itchy sensation was going on from his chest to his neck, and his breathing was slowly but surely starting to dissipate. The thought about him dying today suddenly ran through his mind. "N-No way..." ACK! ''I don''t want to die, right now!'' No. ''Not yet...!'' I still needed to do something. ''I still don''t want to die yet...!'' What was it... "haah..haah..." Liam felt like crying as he got himself feeling an intense amount of pain in his chest, but only then did he recalled the memories of his birthday 5 years ago. "M-mom... and Dad..." ''I still need to...'' ...Avenge them! Thud! Liam lost all the energy in his body and fell on the floor. He clutched onto his right chest while his vision was slowly turning pitch black, and it seemed like his breathing was going to stop at any second, because of the overdose effect. He couldn''t think properly anymore, his consciousness was fading... But suddenly¨C DING! The game-like window screen which Liam already saw earlier was now floating in front of his eyes and was once again followed by a voice. ¡º The System''s Guide has been finally imparted. The System will now guide the host from now on and for the rest of his life. ¡» ¡º The host is slowly dying from the effect of a strong Pill Overdose. ¡» ¡º The (2nd Bonus Skill) that has been imparted to the host by the system is automatically activating. ¡» ¡º Granting the host a skill needed for his current situation. ¡» ¡º The skill [Immunity] has been granted. ¡» ¡º The Overdose and other bad side effects of the consumed pills are now gone because of the skill [Immunity]. ¡» "Haaaaaah... Haaaah... Haaaah..." Liam, who was still panting heavily, saw the text written on the game-like screen in front of him. A few moments later, he stood up full of energy like nothing bad had ever happened earlier. "What in the world is this now... This... This thing came incredibly right on time. Ha... Haha... Hahahaha-" After a moment of his senseless laughing, Liam decided to take a quick bath to be refreshed. He didn''t know what to think or do anymore after what happened earlier. He soon decided to go to his room and be relaxed. He laid his body down on top of the bed... With a smile on his face. "Fuck dying... Hail the System!'' Liam shouted random things to gratify himself as he just escaped death''s door before he eventually decided to go back to sleep. ©n©n©n©n ©n©n©n©n ©n©n©n ©n©n ©n Moments later... [ The host will be given a...] "Ah... I''m starting to love you now, system." Ch. 2 - A Grim Birthday 5 years ago. Inside Liam''s room. "Whew. Happy birthday to me." Liam unknowingly greeted himself as soon as he woke up and got up from his bed. He stretched before he put out his pajamas and changed them into casual clothes. Liam soon went and opened the door out of his room. What Liam saw a middle-aged woman was standing gently in the living room while wearing a pink dress that suits her very well. "Happy birthday to my adorable son." Liam''s mother greeted him with a big smile. "Uh. Thank you, Mom, but what''s with the ''adorable'' on your greetings?" Liam complained and out on an unsatisfied face with a slight intention to taunt his mom. "What? Don''t you like it?" Liam''s Mother asked with a puzzled look. "Mom, I''m too old for that, you know. Does it suit for a fifteen-year-old man like me?" "I see, you''re a man now. Fine, ''sweetie''." "Ugh... Whose mother is she?" Liam grumbled and suddenly felt a chill before taking a look at his Mother. Her expression was grim was too scary for him. "Ah, haha... It was just a joke, mom. I was only teasing you." Liam said reflexively. ''Mothers do have a dark side of themselves.'' Just then a footsteps can be heard coming from the staircase. Liam turned his gaze towards the direction of the footstep and saw a decent-looking middle-aged man. "Happy fifteenth-birthday, Liam, my son." Liam''s father greeted him happily. "Thanks, dad." Liam smiled back and shortly after thanking his Father, his head started moving around left and right to find something in their house. "Oh, uhm. So where are the gifts for me, Dad?" Liam asked his father who sat on the chair. "Eh? Didn''t your mom tell you about it?" "About what exactly?" "We are planning to go out later, Liam. You can buy anything you want outside." "Eh...? Ah! I can buy a new PC then!" "Except for that, of course." "Lame~" Later in the afternoon. "Dad! Where did you leave your car keys?" Liam stopped at the doorway and asked his Father outside the house. "It''s upstairs in our room, Liam. Your mother and I are going to the next street now. We will wait for you there, okay?" His father replied. "Yes, sure!" A while later, Liam found the car keys and immediately rushed outside their house. He looked for his mom and dad but they were nowhere to be seen outside. "Ah, wait! They didn''t even tell me which street they went to..." Liam constantly thought about whether to go left or right but decided to just message his mother on his phone to ask where they were. After taking out his phone from his pocket a beautiful crimson-red butterfly suddenly appeared and flew towards him. He turned his gaze to the butterfly as he slowly stood up to see it more clearly. But then... BANG! A loud sound of a gunshot could be heard coming from the street next to theirs. Liam looked in the direction of the gunshot and felt a chill ran down his spine. ''Why...? Why do I sense something bad there?'' Liam hesitated at first before quickly running towards the street where the sound of a gunshot came from earlier. "Hiyaaah!!!" A few moments after wandering around the area, Liam halted as soon as he heard a familiar voice of a woman, he then walked in the direction of the cry to see what was happening there. ----- At a narrow alleyway. "You bastards! Wh-What did you just do to my husband!" A woman shouted desperately behind the three men wearing black coats and black hats. "Hey, pretty woman. Can''t you see? Your husband is already dead. Now do me a favor and please shut the fuck up and wait for your turn!" The first man said with a loud voice as he glanced at the woman. "N-No! It can''t be... Why! WHY!" "Tsk. So noisy. Hey, lead! Can I play her before we do the killing?" The man asked as he stared at the other man standing. "Ah, you brain-dead idiot... You do know that ''Five'' will certainly kill us if we waste even more time here, right?" The said leader of the group asserted, a bit annoyed. "Now, get it over it! Your gun was loud as shit. Take out your knife and use it to kill her instantly. The authority will be coming here soon."The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Alright. We will do this the quiet way now, Lady. Kindly, over your mouth, please~" The first man said to the woman. "N-No! Hiyaaah! No! Help Me! Please... Someone! HELP ME!" The woman screamed for help and, with fear and hatred struck in her eyes, she also started to tear up. "Ah, I said stop shouting! Know that no one will be able to help you, got it?" The first smickered as he grabbed the woman''s wrist and tightly gripped her mouth with his hand to silence the woman. Meanwhile, the third and last man, who was quiet until now, took out a combat knife from inside his coat and pointed it at the woman''s throat. He moved the knife backward and started arranging his position to stab the woman. Soon, the knife moved forward, aiming for the woman''s chest. But suddenly¨C "H-Huh? Dad? Mom?! Y-You, bastards! Ah, ah... What, what did you do to my father!" Liam just came at the end of the alleyway. He stopped as soon as he saw a group of people here but what shocked him the most was that his intuition was right. His family was here. He was trembling from the mixed emotions he was currently feeling. Even though he didn''t know what happened before or who the guys here were, he was suddenly filled with fear, anger, sadness, and disbelief. Liam, who did not know what to do in the situation, end up shouting after seeing his mother''s pitiful state and recognized his father''s lifeless body lying down on the floor. The third man''s hand came to a halt. He was a bit surprised by the random kid who all of a sudden got in this place and shouted that made him halt from stabbing the woman. "Huh, who is this brat?" The same went for the first man who let out a question. "Hey, I don''t know who that kid is but we''ll deal with him later. So kill her now, you idiots!." The leader said hastily. He was starting to lose patience and once again ordered the silent guy to kill the woman. But before the guy could even stab her, Liam''s mother barely managed to escape the grasp of the first man. "L-Liam! Run! Don''t come here! I''m fine, so please... RUN!!!" She shouted while looking at Liam while tears poured down from her eyes. Liam panicked as he heard his mother''s cry before eventually following her orders. He hurriedly turned around to run away not worrying about what was about to happen. BANG! "You''re one hell of a noisy woman." The man grumbled. Liam, who was preparing to run far away from the men, halted his movements as soon as he heard the sound of another gunshot. He was scared as he slowly turned around to know what exactly happened behind him. He didn''t want to know what happen. He hoped nothing bad had happened. But what Liam first saw there was his mother. He froze. His mother laid down on the floor with lifeless eyes while blood continuously gushed down from her chest. He felt his heart almost stopped beating for a second after seeing his mother on the ground. While the blood flowed down from his mother''s chest, tears also began to flow down on Liam''s eyes. Liam started trembling non-stop. He didn''t know what to do nor what to think anymore. "Hey, you two! Get rid of that boy. It turns out, he''s the child of these two. Leave the bodies. It''ll be too late to clean them up now since the authorities will be here a little sooner because of your idiotic head. And don''t you dare use the gun again." The leader said to the other guys as he took a phone from his pocket before slowly walking away from them. "Ho? Alright! What a reunion! Another piece work to be rid of, huh?" The first man spoke with excitement as if he found entertainment. Liam came back to his senses as he heard the loud voice of the guy and started to run away in an opposite direction. His mind was currently in chaos and he didn''t know what to do rationally. Mom and Dad were shot. I need to run. They''re both dead. Run. Mom and Dad! What do I do? I''m sorry! They are coming for me. Dad, Mom... I should''ve stayed with you! I''ll avenge you! I''m going to die... I will kill those bastards! Just run! They will kill me! I need to run! Argh! Shit! For a long while, Liam kept running and running. He didn''t even know where he was right now but what he knows was that the unknown men with black coats are still following him. Shortly after, he arrived in the middle of the street before stopping as he turned around to look for the two men following him, but he was glad that he couldn''t see them. As soon as he relaxed himself a bit, he saw a silhouette of two guys with a knife in their hands. He didn''t have a choice but to run again. Liam stared at the dark alleyway in the corner of the street for a moment before immediately running there. He tried to hide there but he couldn''t feel a slight ease in that place so he decided to turn around and look for a better place to go. Fortunately, he found an unlocked gate and immediately went inside it. Inside there was an abandoned factory that seemingly was prohibited for ordinary people to come in. He ran to the nearest and seemed to be the biggest warehouse he saw in there. Liam quickly opened the door at the corner of the building. He came inside it, but it was only pitch black inside the place so he hurriedly looked for a light switch. Flick. As he eventually found and flipped the lever, one by one, lights opened scattering throughout the warehouse. Liam was stunned the moment all the lights reflected throughout the entire building making him see everything inside the factory. It was entirely different compared to its appearance outside. Inside there was a huge monitor akin to a cinema screen, a 10 meters long white table, electrical equipments, all the science laboratory equipment seemed to be there too and in the middle of it all was a gigantic glass box, surrounded by cylindrical tubes. The enormous glass box in the middle was almost as big as a three-story house with a blue-green-like liquid inside it. It was surrounded by ten cylindrical test tubes, which were slightly bigger than a normal person''s height and width. All the test tubes were covered by some black thin metal so the inside cannot be seen. It was connected to the gigantic box glass with wires and plastic tubes that were as big as one person''s wrist. There was also another glass box behind the gigantic one which has a third of the size of the original one, and a large rubber tubing was connecting the smaller glass box to the gigantic one. The smaller glass box contains a fluid with unsatisfying colors filling the whole box. "T-This..." Liam was still speechless. He was still in awe every time he thought about recalling the exterior of the factory which was not as good as the interior. The difference between the exterior and the interior of this warehouse was extremely vast. You couldn''t even tell that it was a factory if you have not seen it from the outside The exterior could be seen as a real abandoned warehouse while the inside... Perhaps it was a secret laboratory. Unaware, while he was still astonished by this so-called abandoned factory''s warehouse, the two men were already walking towards the warehouse''s door. Tap, tap, tap. Creak...! "Hoho? There you are, boy! You found a very interesting place, but you know what? We''re tired of playing hide and seek with you and I know you''re already tired too so do me a favor and just go rest in peace will ya''!?" The first man came in while flickering the knife in his hands to taunt Liam. ''A-Ah... No! Fuck! This is an open space!'' While Liam was finding a place to hide, the second man, who barely talk since earlier, pulled out his gun and spoke. "A warehouse with thick walls and enormous open-spaced interior. A gunshot won''t be heard outside if fired from here." With a calm but serious expression on his face, the second man spoke for the first time while aiming down the gun he was holding at Liam''s feet. Bang! Liam instinctively jumped and dodged the bullet by a hair''s breadth. He was scared shitless but quickly regained his senses and ran straight to the staircase to his left. But he still didn''t know that the staircase would only lead him to a one-way metal flooring which could only get him cornered. Soon, Liam ran through the end of the metal floor and looked for another way to turn to, but he couldn''t find one. He turned around again to leave, but the first man following him was already in the middle of the floor blocking his only way out. "Oh, no! You have nowhere to go. I guess this is the end for you, eh? You know what. I''ll let you kneel in front of me and say your last prayer... Before I slit your throat." The man said as he stopped a few meters away from Liam. As he heard that, Liam trembled in fear. He didn''t try to show it but he was extremely terrified. He had nowhere to go and the man was slowly moving towards him. Unconsciously, he took a step back to get away from the man, and that caused him to trip and fell to the metal guard rail. The guard rail was thin and cannot withstand such an impact from his body so it soon collapsed before Liam could even stand up. As soon as the guard rail broke and almost falling, Liam turned his body and reflexively prepared for the fall. He looked down and saw the top of the glass box wide open. Afterward, the guard rail as well as Liam was now in the middle of the air, falling in the gigantic glass box with nothing to land but an unidentifiable liquid. "Oh, shit! Oh, fuck! Oh, god!" Liam''s thought was currently full of cursing while his body was having a free-fall through the air. SPLASH! Ch. 3 - Overkill Inside the warehouse. SPLASH! The first man with the black coat saw Liam fell over the glass box and couldn''t help himself but chuckle at the embarrassing sight. "Ha... This ridiculous kid. Hey, quiet dude! Press every button that you''ll see there, will ya''. Let''s see what will happen to this brat." The second man, who seemed a bit annoyed after being ordered by the other guy, eventually decided to press all the buttons he saw that are connected to the glass box. On the other hand, Liam managed to swim up the pool of liquid, but he couldn''t escape since the pool doesn''t reach the top of the glass. Not a second later, he took a glimpse of what was below him and he panicked when he realized what the guy in front of the glass was trying to do. "H-Hey! You bastards! Get me out of here! Why are you doing this?!" Flick! One by one, the thin metals covering several test tubes were being pulled up and lights began to glimmer from the ceiling of the warehouse directly into the glass box. Liam, who was struggling to escape, saw the things inside the test tube and was startled. "Wha... What the hell am I looking at right now...?" He thought as he gazed at every test tubes which contains what seem to be human brains, floating in the middle of another unusually large tube with another strange liquid. A moment later, every part of the brain inside suddenly scattered throughout the test tube and stuck to an electrical wire and a small flexible tube that was connected to the big glass box. Liam panted heavily as he finally stopped struggling, but a moment later his eyes widened when he looked at what was happening behind him. The last one to be uncovered was the big test tube behind the glass cube. It was different from the other test tube, as its content contains a thick fluid with a two hue of gold and blue. It was like an abstract painting where the colors were touching each other, but never getting mixed as if it was water and oil. FLICKER! And as if the sudden events weren''t enough, the huge monitor suddenly opened and an image of a red warning sign showed up. Then a monotone and robotic-like voice with a faint tone of a female can be heard echoing from it. [Warning! The glass box will get overdone by the project-x.] [Warning! The glass box contains a metal object that will cause an electrocution and a probability of a random side-effect in the archetype project.] [Warning! The subject inside the glass box will get overdose by an amplified nucleus, electron, and all of the secret elements that are needed in the archetype project.] [In thirty seconds, the Project-x will be used in the subject with great efficiency. please be prepared.] [Thirty seconds remaining.] "Ah, shit. Well, this is looking bad. Hey, it''s time to leave now!" The first man said before he ran down the staircase. "H-Hey... Wait. You bastards! I''ll kill you two! Hey, ugly-faces! AARGH! I WILL KILL YOU TWO!" Liam shouted in frustration inside the glass box. The second man, who was just about to leave the place, heard Liam''s threat and decided to do something. A moment later, he walked in front of the glass and stuck a piece of paper with a message written on it before leaving the warehouse afterward. Liam saw the man put something in the glass so he dove down the pool of liquid to see what was it exactly. Filling his curiosity, he saw the paper and the text written in it. ''This...'' His grim face just changed into a furious one like that of a beast, and tempt for vengeance crept inside his heart like a raging fire. He knew that after today he would never forget the message that he wrote, even after death. ''Dark Society. Find it and destroy it if you want to... If you''re still alive that is.'' [Sixteen seconds remaining.] "T-These guys... I''ll shred them to pieces and destroy that society..." Liam swam back to the top of the liquid pool again but still had yet to find a way to escape. The gap between his hands and the top of the glass box was huge so he couldn''t even think of escaping the glass box from the top. It was hopeless. A few seconds later, the warehouse started to rumble, and the cause of it was the said processing of the "Project-X". BOOOM! One of the Electrical Equipment caused a big explosion. "Haha... Shit. If I couldn''t even get out of this mess, how could I think of slaughtering them...?" "This... This is just a fucking overkill-!" Liam shouted from the bottom of his raging heart. "Argh!" ''What''s this extreme frustration I''m feeling... Am I frustrated because I''ll die without being able to do anything?'' [Five seconds remaining.]If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "After all that stuff about revenge, is this going to be my end...?" [Three!] "...no, I." [Two!] "I still..." [One!] "I still want to live..." "The Electrocution will end in five seconds." "I WANT TO LIVE!" BZZT! "WRAAAAARGHH!!!!!!" An electric shock formed from below the glass box and stirred through the entire pool of liquid. Liam screamed in agony as he suffered from the unimaginable pain caused by the strong electric current constantly surging through his body. He couldn''t take the five seconds of an intense electrocution and his consciousness soon faded away. At the same time, the Project-X''s elements from the other glass behind made their way to the main glass and began to spread throughout the entire pool of the still unknown liquid. While Liam was currently unconscious, the elements scattered and slowly but surely, shifted towards the direction of his body. The warehouse rumbled greatly because of the so-called overdose of the current process. One by one, the Electrical Equipment inside the warehouse collapsed or exploded quickly like wildfire because of the overheat and electric overkill progressing inside them. Om the other hand, almost all of Project-X''s elements were consumed by Liam, and the pool of liquid, which used to have different types of colors, started to dissipate while it slowly became like normal water. After a while, the biggest Electrical Equipment began shaking violently as it showed a sign of exploding. [The process is completed.] The monitor once again let out a voice. [The Project-X is currently inside the main subject. Until a certain condition is met, only the initial stage of the system will be assigned to the host.] As the AI finished its words, suddenly... BOOOOM!!! _____ Inside a news studio. "Breaking News!" "Just an hour ago, inside of a town from the city of Tala, a massive explosion occurred in one of the warehouses of an abandoned factory..." A female host in a studio said with a serious expression while being live on air. "One of the townsfolk living near the abandoned factory said that he saw a teenager who ran inside the factory alone with a hurried look on his face. For now, the rescue team is..." _____ 1 day later after the explosion. Inside the ruins of the factory. A naked body can be seen inside the corrupted rocks. The lower part of his body was covered with rocks and tiny pieces of metal from the ruins. Rumble! It was Liam. He finally woke up from his deep slumber. He unconsciously moved his torso upwards and turned his head left and right with a confused expression that suddenly formed in his face. "Huh...?" Liam regained his senses as he realized he was still in the factory, and for a few moments, he couldn''t believe it. "I''m, I''m alive? I didn''t die... Ha, Hahaha..." He laughed awkwardly. He didn''t know what to feel. Should he feel relief or should he feel anguish? He spent his time calming himself down before eventually getting up from his position. Tap, tap. He stood up and looked all around his naked body. "I, I don''t have any wounds... bruises or scratches... There is no damage to my body? Not like I wanted to have some but... It''s strange." Liam questioned this strange phenomenon, quite confused as to what he was seeing. He was about to step away when, suddenly, a small rock fell on his head. "Ow! What the hell... Holy shit-!" Liam screamed in shock the moment he saw a long steel bar falling from the corrupted ceiling. He was frozen for a moment before reflexively jumping sidewards. After barely saving himself, he let out a sigh of relief. "...that woke me up. Although I already said that I wouldn''t want to have damaged in my body, this warehouse want me to die, huh." Liam, who''s a bit frustrated, spoke into the empty air. ''But still, it''s strange... It''s possible that the liquid inside the glass box reduced the damage and protected me from the explosions. I didn''t get to see what happened because I fainted...'' His body trembled just recalling the unimaginable pain he received from the electric shock. As he looked around the area again, he suddenly wondered why the rescue operation or even anyone didn''t saw him here. "Hah..." But he decided to forget it since he was still well and alive. A moment later, Liam went to another factory near him to find some clothes to wear for himself. Flick. "Huh...?" The lights opened and he didn''t expect what he saw inside the warehouse. "The interior... It''s ugly?" At the very least, the interior of the second warehouse looked normal compared to the laboratory-like cellar he went just recently. It was empty inside, like an abandoned storage house. It''s what you will expect from an abandoned factory. "This factory just makes me confuse." He was surprised and thought before eventually wandered around the warehouse. Liam soon found a stack of cardboard boxes near the corner and in one of those, he grabbed a ripped pants, an old brown coat, and leather boots. "I''m looking like an old beggar with these, but who cares." He said inwardly after looking at himself with the clothes he wore. Liam stealthily went out of the factory so that no one can see him as he was trying to avoid being questioned by the people. After successfully escaping the factory, he went towards the direction of their house, while now having a swollen look on his face. ''Rest in Peace, Mom, and Dad. I... It will be more peaceful sooner or later when I do what I have to do...'' _____ Yesterday, 40 minutes after the explosion. Outside of the factory. The police already gave up finding the said teenager''s body, even though they only started searching 10 minutes ago when the fire was extinguished by the firemen. Although they didn''t even try hard as they fussed that there was only one person. They imagined how bad the explosion was just by seeing the damage it caused so they came up with a brief conclusion that the said teenager was dead and his body was already burnt to ashes. Unless the relative of the one who died requested an investigation for the body, they wouldn''t bother with it anymore. Inside the exploded warehouse. Thud. A boulder was eventually pushed by another fallen rock and the body of a man could be seen lying flat where it was positioned earlier. It was, of course, Liam. Almost half of his body was burnt to a crisp with the torso as an exception, but besides the burn, half of his right arm was already crushed by one of the huge rocks and his left shoulder was pierced by a long steel bar. The rest of his body was colored of a brown and red hue because of the electrocution and the raging fires earlier. His face was full of cuts because of the shattered glass that pierced it earlier. However, either because his body wasn''t damaged enough to overthrow his strong will of living or either an undefinable occurrence, something beyond science has happened to him, he was still alive and breathing and was somehow only unconscious. DING! A sound of a bell rang through Liam''s mind but because he was basically in a coma right now, he wouldn''t be able to hear it. After that, a monotonic, mechanical female voice echoed through Liam''s mind. ''The side-effect of the Project-X is starting to be ineffective as the host''s body currently has severe damage that can not easily be healed.'' ''The Project-X is now 100% engrave into your body.'' ''Functioning the Time Limit of The System...'' ''Permanent.'' ''Congratulation! You are the first host of Project X''s System but until a certain condition has been met, only a voice will be the one to function inside the host''s mind.'' ''The System has given the host three bonus skills that will activate when they got themselves in a grievous state or a dangerous situation.'' ''Your current state is exceedingly severe. Your life is in danger.'' ''The first bonus skill has been activated automatically.'' ''Granting you a skill that is needed for your current situation.'' ''The skill ''Regeneration'' has been given to you by the system.'' ''The host is currently unconscious.'' ''The skill ''Regeneration'' was activated.'' Shrr... Every time a minute pass, Liam''s body gradually returned to its old self like nothing has ever happened. He has yet to learn this, but the skill he received from the ''Project X''s System'' was heaven-defying. Almost 10 minutes have passed, and now Liam''s body was perfectly fine and was completely healed and recovered. Ch. 4 - Overpowered Skills Present Time. DING! Liam closed his eyes and began trying to fall asleep, but he immediately went up again and sat cross-legged on top of his bed the moment after hearing a familiar chime that echoed inside his mind. He thought that the intense pain in his head was about to happen again so he prepared for the worst to come. But... "What the hell do I do...?!" He didn''t have any preparations to deal with it anymore. Liam panicked just by the thought of having to experience the extreme pain caused by headache again, when suddenly¡ª SHRNG! Multiple game-like windows which also appeared earlier suddenly popped out of nowhere again and floated steadily in the air just in front of him. ¡º The prerequisite condition [20 years of age] was met. ¡» ¡º The host will gain five new skills which was imparted by the system. ¡» ¡º The system detected a dilemma that will soon befall on the health of the host. ¡» ¡º The skill [Immunity] was activated. ¡» ¡º The severe migraine, cluster, sinus, and tension have been completely depleted due to the skill [Immunity]''s effect. ¡» "Ha...hahaha... Unbelievable. I''m starting to love this system already." Liam instantly forgot about having the headache as he excitedly waited for the five new skills the moment he read about it and was trembling in anticipation. The young man was so eager to know if the skills he would get this time would even better the skills he received for the past few years. A while later... DING! Once again, a chime rang in Liam''s mind, and another floating window followed. ¡º The 1st skill you have received is named [Appraisal]. The skill [Appraisal] can see through one''s status and attributes. ¡» "Ah, statistics...? Is this based upon an RPG leveling system like what I''m thinking of?" Liam questioned. ''Am I a player? Or am I a character getting played by a player from the other dimension or something?'' He chuckled as he realized that all of his questions were nothing but senseless and delusional. DING! ¡º The 2nd skill you have received is named [Mental Boost]. The skill [Mental Boost] can increase the Intelligence of a person for a certain period. ¡» Liam widened his eyes after a window appeared again. "Ah, it came out immediately after. And... Intelligence? Like knowledge? Intellect? Is this some kind of mental power? If it''s based on an RPG then it''s gonna be somewhat connected to my mana, right?" He asked but there was only an awkward silence since no one replied. Uh... ''Is the system not able to answer questions given to it? It''ll be good if it did but I have a feeling that it wouldn''t, or at the very least, not yet.'' He scratched his chin when curiosity got up to him before stopping all of his movements as he suddenly realized something from the text he saw earlier. "Project X? That was..." Liam tried to recall something about the name "Project X" as it felt oddly familiar to him, but it was interrupted after hearing the chime from the system again. ¡º The 3rd skill that has been given to you is named [???]. The skill [???] cannot be used until the host met the prerequisite condition. ¡» "Huh¨C What''s with this one? It didn''t even tell the condition. How am I supposed to get this skill without knowing the required condition?" Liam said his thoughts out loud in frustration as he was unexpectedly given a mysterious skill. He had thought that the system would give him an overpowered skill, if not the most needed skill for him, right off the bat, but he realized he was being a bit greedy after just receiving a golden finger. "Well... I could only hope that this''ll at least be a decent skill." He breathed out a sigh and waited before eventually glancing at the new window in front of him. DING! ¡º The 4th skill you have received is named [Discerning Eye]. The skill [Discerning Eye] is a buff that increases a person''s perception. ¡» "Hm? Ah, this would be useful in certain situations." Liam was a bit glad to learn the fourth skill''s effect since he at least could use it, unlike the 3rd skill. ''The skills I received today are not bad... The last skill. I don''t I wouldn''t mind anymore, whether it''s better or worse anymore.'' DING! Another window appeared. ¡º The last skill you have received is named [Hyperthymesia]. The skill [Hyperthymesia] is a passive skill that lets the user recall all the memories of their life vividly. ¡» "What is this?" Liam''s eager look turned into confusion as he tried to read it for the second time. He couldn''t know if this skill would be beneficial for him. Amidst this, suddenly... "Huh?" His head started aching. Urk! Every memory he had, from the moment he could remember until today. All his memories were now lodging back in his present mind back-and-forth. It was a spectacle. Hyperthymesia. It was normally a condition in which an individual possessed a superior autobiographical memory, meaning he or she can recall the vast majority of personal experience and events, but for Liam, it was different. First of all, it was called a skill by the system, not a condition. Second, since the skill was added just now without any preparations whatsoever, the entire memories of events he had were currently surging through his mind to make him ''recall'' them unwillingly. Lastly, since it was a skill ''made'' by the system, it was sure to be buffed and have greater effects compared to how it normally was. What was the other effect you wonder? He could recall everything crystal clear and it was not an exaggeration. Liam could remember the name, gender, skin color, clothes, and the face of every person that he met in the past. He could remember what he wrote, draw, sang, and everything he did in his life.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He could remember the emotion he felt, the physical contact he had, and the conversation he did with everyone in the past. The pain and the pleasure. He remembered all the best and worst things that happened in his life even without his own will. The memories of events of Liam''s life kept spinning around in his mind. "Wha, what is happening..." He couldn''t even talk or think properly as his thoughts were constantly being disturbed by the currently progressing memories. But suddenly, out of nowhere, It felt like time had stopped for him as he remembered the day when his mother and father took him out in the park. He was still so happy back then. And not even a second later, a memory of him crying for a long time at his Mother and Father''s funeral overlapped with any other memories he was currently having. Liam could recall that painful day just like watching a video in a slow-motion. He remembered the time when he saw his father''s body on the alley''s floor lifeless and his mother''s descending tears after being shot. Liam had his eyes filled with tears after recalling that day, five years ago, but he held it and decided to endure it. He thought he already forget about it all, but he just didn''t want to realize it himself that up until now all the sorrow, the anger, and the vengefulness he felt that day were only just being kept inside him as he tried hard to forget about it. Liam closed his teary eyes as he bit his lips. ''...Today, just like last time, I vow to destroy the organization that made my life miserable. I will make sure to avenge my parents...'' Inwardly, he declared, that he would use every single bit of his strength and his skills to trample and crush those sons of bitches with a vengeful plan that he just needed came up within a flash. But... "Ah... Shit." The determination-filled student turned back to his usual self as he snapped back to reality and realized that he was still just living in the real world and not in a fantasy one. "I got too full of myself, didn''t I?" And so, he released a dismayed sigh as he lied down and merged with his bed. "I don''t know even know what they do or where they are so I couldn''t even get myself to plan something. I just vowed but I am still quite a useless student who received a little boost from a system... Just how am I supposed to destroy a whole organization?" Liam closed his eyes again to try and fall asleep while also doing his habit of talking to himself which somehow makes him calm down most of the time... ''I don''t even have an overpowered skill...'' With a rather complaining tone, he began talking in the empty air... "Hey, system. Where are the godly skills that I''ve always wanted and needed? Will you give me a martial art special ultra ultimate skill or something like that sometime in the future...?" Liam asked some nonsensical stuffs to the system itself. although he wasn''t expecting a reply. He rested his mind until a sudden appearance of a light source made him open his eyes. And what he saw was¡ª "Huh? Ah. Oh! This is amazing..." "An actual stat window!" Liam unconsciously shouted before he chuckled. He was surprised by the stat window that suddenly appeared in front of him. ©n©n ©n©n ©n©n ©n©n ©n©n ©n©n Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 10 ???: none HP: 100 MP: 20 (Automatically replenishes 1 Mana every minute and 30 seconds.) Stamina: 100% (If the Stamina is low, the host''s HP would start decreasing and nausea would settle in.) [Attributes] Strength: 9 Dexterity: 12 Intelligence: 9 Endurance: 11 Perception: 15 (Note: The exact stats of an average human adult varies in each attribute; STR - 12 ? DEX - 14 ? INT - 10 ? END - 13 ? PER - 5) ATTR Distribution Points: 0 [Skills] Passive Skills: > Health Recovery > Firmness > Regeneration > Immunity > Hyperthymesia Active Skills: > Athletic Lv. 2 > Crystal Vision Lv. 1 > Accurate throw Lv. 2 > Appraisal Lv. 1 > Mental Boost Lv. 1 > Discerning Eye Lv. 1 > ??? Lv.1 Skill Distribution Points: 0 [Tasks] Task remaining: 50 ©n©n ©n©n ©n©n ©n©n ©n©n ©n©n "Haha... I don''t know why but this makes me thrilled." Liam excitingly read all the things written in the stat window with a big smile carved on his face. He was pleased with this. Once more, it made him realize that he was extremely lucky by having the system itself. ''There are also these attributes that I can potentially increase.'' Things like attributes or even just the state window alone only existed in games or some fantasy novels and a person like Liam, who enjoys reading books or playing games, would''ve had wish at least once in his life just for him to see it. [Perception: 15] "The Perception attribute is higher than the average. I suppose that it signifies the instinct of a person, this means that the system records even your natural ''attribute''." Liam, who learned and was aware that he had a natural ability a long time ago which is having a higher instinct compared to normal people, accumulated a piece of information from the system. After revealing his thoughts, Liam tried to check the skill menu by touching it. "Huh? Wha¨C?" Liam made a confused expression. ''I can''t touch it? Perhaps, I can do it with...'' "Speaking?" Liam thought of another way to make the system work after he realized touching doesn''t work. ''Can I open it by saying certain words?'' "Open?" "Open skill menu!" "Open system''s skill menu...!" "Open skill?!" "Open menu!?" "Skill Menu...?" SHNG! "Oh, it worked." ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n Skill Menu [A skill can be leveled up by using it in repetition or by expending Skill Distribution Points (which increases in each level). A skill can be upgraded when it reaches level 3 and level 5.] Passive Skills: > Health Recovery - A beneficial side-effect of having the Project-X''s System. The user''s HP will randomly recover by 2-4 points every minute of being inactive. > Firmness - The damage taken by the user will be reduced by 40% and the Health Recovery of the user will be activated unconditionally for 20 minutes. {Activates when the user''s HP is below 40} > Regeneration - The natural regeneration ability of the user''s body will be amplified to a certain extent, completely healing their injury in the shortest amount of time possible. {Activates 3 minutes after being in an unconscious state.} > Immunity - Diseases, poisons, drug effects, or side-effects that can affect the user''s body will be completely nullified. > Hyperthymesia - Lets the user recall all the memories of their life vividly. Active Skills: > Athletic Lv. 2 - Raises the Dexterity and Endurance attributes of the user by 8(+3) points for 10(+5) mins. {5 MP} > Crystal Vision Lv. 1 - Dramatically improves the sight of the user within 3 minutes. {5 MP} > Accurate Throw Lv. 2 - Lets the user throw one object more accurately. {1 MP} > Appraisal Lv. 1 - Lets the user see through another person''s statistics/attributes. {0 MP} > Mental Boost Lv. 1 - Raises the Intelligence attribute of a person by 5 for 3 minutes. {5 MP} > Discerning Eye Lv. 1 - Increases the Perception of a person by 5 for 3 mins. {5 MP} > ??? Lv.1 - ??? {??? MP} ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n "I''m genuinely amazed... This system might be my life-saver, or uh life-changer?" After seeing each skill''s description and effect, even the ones he had not read till now, he couldn''t possibly have even a bit of dissatisfaction from it. "There''s a lot of useful skills in this, but the problem is, where and how can I use or even test them?" Liam knew that it will be troublesome if he just carelessly tried to show his skills in public as even now he still thinks that it was too unbelievable. ''Also, how does the leveling system work in my case?'' While he was in deep thought, a sound was heard coming from downstairs of the house. Knock, knock! Liam heard the sudden knock from downstairs but he sensed a bad feeling coming from the other side of the door. ''What''s this... Why now...?'' At first, he was conflicted about whether to open it or just leave it but soon hurriedly ran downstairs and quickly grabbed a kitchen knife since curiosity got over him. "Athletic," Liam mumbled the word to activate the Athletic skill thinking it will help him protect himself when a bad situation comes down. He walked slowly towards the door. With a tense expression, he slowly twisted the doorknob with his left hand while the other hand was holding the knife pointed forward. Liam, even in this situation, imagined himself as an assassin preparing to slice someone in the neck just like the one he sees in the movies. The moment he opened the door, his right hand was now moving forward at an incredible speed, whether it was due to the fear of who or what was coming to him or something else, he didn''t care as long as he could get rid of the ''danger'' right outside the door. Halt. His movement was smooth enough to accurately aim for his target''s neck, but as soon as he saw the person''s face that he was trying to stab, his hand came to an abrupt stop. Liam instantly pulled the knife behind his back as if to hide it from someone. Including him, the two people in the doorway made an awkward silence before one of them started shouting. "Why the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night, Ian!" "Jesus fucking Christ¡ª What the fu¨C! W-Was that a knife?! You almost just killed me! Holy shit, Liam!" Both then began exchanging words in panic, as the night continued to rise. Ch. 5 - Absorption "Holy shit, Liam! I thought I''d be gone because of you! Why in the world are you holding a knife!" Ian was shocked by what happened and started blaming his friend. "Hey! Calm down! I didn''t know that it was you outside, okay? I''m sorry." Liam almost immediately apologized after what he just did. "What the fuck!? So if it wasn''t me here in this door, you''re gonna kill that someone! That''s very nice, Liam." He replied in a sarcastic tone. "Uh. I-It''s not like that, you know. It''s just that I had a weird premonition... Hm?" Liam stopped mid-sentence when he realized the eerie feeling was still there, but it wasn''t coming from his friend instead it was coming a few meters away from his house. So he averted his gaze from Ian as he looked outside but he still couldn''t see anything because of the darkness of the night. "Discerning Eye. Crystal Vision." Liam whispered the names of his skills for them to activate. He specifically chose these two skills because it would give him the advantage to be able to sense whatever or whoever was releasing such aura. One would increase his perception and make him sense a presence well while the other would make him see things more detailed and clearer. After focusing his eyes outside for a while, Liam was eventually able to sight three people outside. All of them were a male wearing dark clothing while wearing masks different from each other. Two of the guys were crouching behind the bushes to hide, only revealing their upper part of the body, while the last guy with the clown mask was leaning his back on a broken street lamp. He was holding a dagger in his right hand, somewhat swaying it in the air, and a moment later, he turned his head in Liam''s direction. The startled Liam trembled when the man with the creepy clown mask looked at him. He felt an extremely sharp gaze stabbing him coming from behind that mask. On the other hand, Ian noticed something strange about his friend, his expression look troubled, so he looked in the direction where his friend was facing and was able to see a silhouette of a man under the broken street lamp, and that was when he realized this situation is not normal. It was suspicious so he asked. "Liam, what is this...? Do you have an idea what is happening?" While waiting for an answer to reach him, at the same time, the two guys behind the bushes suddenly stood up and walked in the direction of the other guy. "This..." Liam knew the fact that their current situation didn''t look good but he couldn''t answer him right away because everything that had been happening was too fast. The eerie sensation that he was feeling was getting worse and worse over time so he pulled Ian inside the house as he quickly closed the door. Ian was a bit surprised. Judging by his movement, his friend, Liam, must know something about what''s happening, or at the very least, he knew what to do in this situation. "Hey... Do you perhaps know something about this? What''s with those guys?" "I don''t know, but this doesn''t feel normal. Those guys... They seem to have an objective here. Robbery...?" "I notice that too. Should we call the police? We can just lock the door and wait for them to come over, right?" "We could but¡ª" While trying to come up with an idea of what to do, Liam felt a chill ran down his spine. A murderous intent was oozing from outside. "Ian, go upstairs." Ian was a bit shocked. Liam''s mood changed almost instantly. He never imagined his friend being extremely serious like right now. Just what happened for him to turn like this? But just as he was about to ask something, Liam suddenly opened the door again. Ian saw the three guys coming to them and was already half-way from reaching them. "Wha, What are they doing?" "I don''t think that this will be just a simple robbery so go." "But what are you gonna do?! You can''t just stay here! D-Do you even have a plan?" "Go upstairs, Ian!" Ian was a bit skeptical about it but when he heard Liam''s shout, he decided to follow his order and went upstairs. At the very least, he also wanted to help his friend to push the guys away from their place, but he felt something different in his tone and his eyes that made him follow what he said without a slight hesitation. "Accurate Throw." Liam made sure that Ian was nowhere here before activating the Accurate Throw skill as he started to focus. He held the knife behind him tighter and planned to throw it at one of the guys, but he was hesitant. Stabbing a person with a knife? At worst, he could kill a person by doing it. He never had a thought of doing something like that until now. At least in normal circumstances. But right now, his situation was entirely different. His instincts felt their hostility, no, their intent to murder. And the fact that his perceptive ability never lied to him, startled him even more. So he prepared himself for what is to come and concentrated. A second later, he threw the knife aiming at the right shoulder of the guy in front of the others. "!" Before the guy could even react and dodge the thrown weapon., it had already pierced through his shoulder. "Ack!" The guy was hit, and even though it was not in a vital part that could threaten his life to an extent, it was still enough to make him feel a hellish pain. He made a pitiful cry before falling on the grass floor. "Y-You...!" The guy didn''t know how a kitchen knife could badly hurt a well-trained man like him, and above all, it was thrown by an unknown kid who seemed to be a student in university. The other people with him seemed shocked and dumbstruck when they saw their companion crying in pain because of what happened, but they soon regained their senses. The person with the clown mask who was holding a dagger in his hand, went on the floor on one knee to look at the other guy''s wound. The thrown knife was deeply pierced inside the guy''s shoulder that even the tip of the blade can be seen at his back. After seeing the severeness of the wound the clown masked was taken aback. ''That kid made enough force for the knife to penetrate through his shoulder. It''s already surprising that he even hit him with the distance between us.'' If he hadn''t known from research that the guy who threw the knife was just a classmate and friend of their target, he would assume that the guy who threw the knife was an expert. ''Did he receive training for this...? Either way, we can get rid of him once we get close.'' Tap. The last guy was the only one standing. While the other two, the one with the clown mask and the injured one, seemed to retreat, he was walking slowly towards the direction of the kid.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Hey, uh, kid. Where did your friend go? You probably know that this is kinda shady judging from what you, uhm, did to my companion. But to tell you the truth, I am just a thief in our group, which is somehow good, meaning I''m not going to hurt you." The guy suddenly started nonchalantly speaking to Liam. "But-! If you don''t plan to give him to us... I''m afraid that something bad will happen to you sooner or later." The guy who called himself a thief threatened Liam but still with a casual tone. "I don''t fucking care and don''t you dare move!" Liam didn''t care less about what the guy was saying and was preparing to fight as he shouted at the thief. The guy chuckled as he looked at the kid who was seemingly trying to act tough. "What''re you gonna do? Throw your hand and stab me too?" Liam made a fighting stance. A sideways and a wide stance. His dominant foot was placed in front of the other with both legs slightly bent. His right hand was placed near his chin and his left hand was in front, slightly higher than his shoulder. He may look like a tough one to fight by doing this but inside he was nervous and doesn''t know what to do. Even his stance was just a half-baked copy of the original one from an old graphic novel. This was his first fight in a very long time and he had nothing on his hands to scare the guys outside so he just made up something to look prepared. Liam checked the system and noticed that the Athletic skill would eventually deactivate in 5 minutes. He needed to settle this quicker. Soon, he closed the system and took a look straight. His expression turned sour when he realized that the thief was nowhere to be found in his earlier position and was now running towards him. "Shit!" Liam took a step backward as he saw the guy who appeared in front of him without a warning. WHOOSH! The thief''s fist flew towards him but he dodged it by a hair''s breadth. The thief tried to kick him after but he was nowhere to be seen in his sight, then a baseball bat was suddenly flying to his face. He blocked it with his left hand but the impact of the throw still managed to hurt him. "keuk! You coward fuck!" Liam moved forward the moment the bat hit the thief and immediately kicked his side. The thief immediately jumped away from Liam. The two were now in the living room. And within that single moment, both of them recognized the incredible speed of Liam himself. ''How the hell is this kid faster than me?!'' ''I''m... this fast?'' Not a few seconds later, the thief turned his body in front of Liam and took a few steps back to create himself a good stance but before he could even prepare, Liam was already running towards him at full speed with his fist aiming at his face, so he tried to block the fist by crossing both of his arms. Liam saw the thief''s sudden defense so he made halt his movements and averted his hand. He took that opportunity and changed his stance in an instant before kicking the thief''s side once again. The thief tripped from the impact of the strike and fell over to the glass table. He stood back up again facing Liam a few meters away from him. It was sudden but both looked at the glass shards and glanced at each other for another while. The thief was the first one to move again and he started to pick up some of the shards with his black gloves while on the other, Liam dashed to get him. He then threw all the glass shards at the kid running towards him. Liam saw the scattered shards flying at him and reflexively crossed his arms to protect his eyes. Some of the shards pierced and wounded his arms and some even managed to get through and wounded his face. Blood started pouring from the more open wounds and even his face didn''t manage to avoid looking messed up made by the scratches. However, that didn''t stop Liam from attacking the thief. The distance was cut as he stretched his arm and hit his stomach. Without letting a second pass, he backed away, kicked his crotch, and bashed his face with a strike of his elbow. The thief lied down on the floor, struggling from the pain and agony, and a moment later, he lost consciousness. ¡º The skill [Athletic] has been deactivated. ¡» ¡º The skill [Crystal Vision] and [Perceptiveness] has been deactivated. ¡» Liam heaved a sigh of relief, realizing that he managed to keep up before his skills deactivate. He checked the system and read his stats which was dwindled because of the fight earlier. His HP was now 75, MP was 7, and his Stamina was down to 62%. Liam, feeling something odd, stared at the body on the ground and had a sudden idea. "This is the right time to test my Appraisal skill, isn''t it?" He activated the Appraisal a moment later and tried to check the thief''s stats. ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n Stat Window Name: Anthony Rendon Level: 13 Job: Thief HP: 23 MP: None Stamina: 34% [Attributes] Strength: 10+ Dexterity: 10+ Intelligence: 8 Endurance: 10 Perception: 6 [Skills] Passive Skills: > Thieving Master Lv. 3 > Hand Fighting Techniques Lv. 1 Active Skills: > Stealth Lv. 1 > Dash Lv. 1 > Sleight of Hands Lv. 1 ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ''I can''t see a stat level above 10. I assume this is due to the Appraisal skill''s current level. And now that I took a look at this... He''s a thief like what he said, and his job and skills are here to confirm that fact.'' Liam was in deep thought after making an interest in what the skill ''Appraisal'' can do. "I don''t know how he learned the skill ''Stealth'' but it could be awfully useful if it works like what I have in mind." "And if somehow, by some godly ways, I could learn that skill, also putting in the fact that the system can amplify skills with levels, I can be invisible..." ''But will that ever gonna happen?'' He revealed his thoughts concerning the thief''s Stealth skill and what he would or could do if he somehow had it until the notification from the System suddenly echoed again. Liam opened the system and was once again surprised. ¡º The task [ Defeat an enemy to the point of being unconscious.] has been completed. You gained 2 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points. ¡» ¡º The task [ Activate 5 different skills at the same time.] has been completed. You gained 4 Stat Points and 5 Skill Points. ¡» "H-Holy... Is the system trying to be generous? I didn''t expect the tasks to work like this. I didn''t even check the contents inside it but I already have completed some of it." Liam was in awe after seeing this sudden event. He didn''t expect the system to send out Task Completion and its rewards out of nowhere. DING! ¡º The prerequisite condition has been met. The [Skill Absorption] skill has been learned by the host. ¡» ¡º The [Skill Absorption] skill lets the user absorb one skill of their target and learn it. It can be activated when the target was beaten to an unconscious state or killed by the user. 10 minutes cooldown. ¡» Not giving him any more time to talk about the previous surprise, another one came out. "Ab, Absorbs... W-What?!" Liam read it three times already to confirm that his eyes weren''t deceiving him but he really couldn''t believe it. Liam felt like the heavens are smiling at him due to the coincidence and sheer luck that just happened in front of him. "Stealth... The Stealth! I can get that skill, right now!" He exclaimed after realizing this. A moment after learning how to do it, Liam immediately walked near the thief and tried to place his right hand on top of the thief. As soon as he placed his hand an inch above the body, he muttered, "Skill Absorption," before a new notification from the system appeared. ¡º What skills would you like to choose? ¡» ¡º Choose randomly. Thieving (P). Hand Fighting Techniques (P). Stealth (A)... ¡» Not even bothering to read the other skills, Liam immediately chose what he wanted the most and said the word with anticipation. "Stealth." ¡º The process of absorbing and learning the skill will be finished in a minute. ¡» He couldn''t believe it. Absorbing a skill from another person and learning it straight away. "I feel like I''m cheating, right now. Oh, wait. I''m gonna asked Ian if he knows about these three guys." Liam was so immersed in the system that he completely forgot about something. "...Wait. Three guys?" As he came to realization, Liam suddenly felt a presence behind him so he quickly turned around and saw the guy with the clown mask standing menacingly. Before he could even react to it, the guy immediately kicked Liam''s stomach as he stood up from his previous position. Urk! He received a critical hit yet Liam still tried to stand, but before he could even try to take a breather, he saw a fairly big and ripped elbow covering his entire vision and soon landed in his face. His vision went blank for a moment after receiving the impact. And while he was trying to balance himself, the aftereffect of being hit in the stomach appeared. "Ugh...!" Liam coughed a mouthful of blood as he took a few steps back away from the clown-masked guy. He decided to use a skill but most of the useful skills were in cooldown so he had no choice but to pick the easiest one to draw. "Accurate Throw." Liam went to the broken glass table and grabbed two pointed steel bars in it with both of his hands. He threw one to the guy at an incredible speed before casting the skill again and shoot the last one. "Hm?" The clown-masked guy saw steel bars flying towards his face. He was a bit surprised after noticing that the steel bar was accurately aimed at his head but he eventually caught the flying steel bar. "Bad move." He then swung the steel bar he caught and smashed it into the other steel bar that was about to hit him, making it flew to the side. Like nothing has ever happened, the guy held the steel bar tightly and to his back before he threw it to Liam with great power. "Gu- Aaargh!" Liam screamed in pain. His body was pushed back as the steel bar pierced through his shoulder. His legs couldn''t withhold the pain as he knelt on the floor. A prickling, painful sensation spread from his shoulder through all parts of his body. He never felt something like this before in his entire life, but now he had to go through this intense pain just to protect himself and also his friend. But he thought, in the end, will he be able to? Tap, tap. "You''re good at throwing things, kid. I wouldn''t be surprised if you told me that you trained for years, but..." A deep, threatening voice came from inside the creepy clown mask. "But it''s not enough to take someone like me down. I don''t know how you beat my man here, but what I know is... You''re gonna die by my hands today for getting our task delayed." The guy pulled his dagger out from his vest. "So prepare yourself." As if to imitate the kid, he took a few steps back and pointed his dagger at Liam''s head before throwing the dagger towards him. PSHLK! The sound of flesh being pierced reverberated throughout the room. The guy heard that but he didn''t feel relief in the slightest. ''This kid...'' Liam stopped the dagger from stabbing his chest by blocking it with his bare hand. His blood trickled from his hand and fell to the floor before he opened his mouth and stared at the guy. "I''ve beaten your guy with skills... just like how I will do, to take you down, right now." Liam announced with his eyes lit up like a raging fire. Ch. 6 - Powerlessness Inside the House. Thud! Liam knelt in agony. His body was filled with visible injuries, and fresh blood continuously poured down from it. Some part of his sweater was ripped and it was dyed into crimson-red because of the blood. Urk! A sharp and pointed steel bar just pierced through his shoulder and he never felt something like it. The agonizing pain made him want to disappear in this instance. Before the pain registered onto his brain, it was a cold and tingling sensation that turned into a burning sensation that spread throughout his entire body. He couldn''t think properly and he almost wanted to throw up. "Hng..." The longer time passes, the worse his suffering. To Liam, it was a hellish feeling that even a part of his consciousness started to whisper dark and negative thoughts. ''You will feel no more pain if you just end your life, right now.'' But he didn''t give in to those thoughts. The majority of the people in the entire world never realized that their will is always tested when they encounter a dire situation. Liam is the type of person who when he finds a chance, he''d go with a sheer force of will and turn the situation in his way... but he does not realize this effect yet. Tap, tap. "You''re good at throwing things, kid. I wouldn''t be surprised if you told me that you trained for years, but..." A deep, threatening voice came from under the clown-mask as the guy leaned forward to look down on the kid kneeling on the ground. "But it''s not enough to take someone like me down. I don''t know how you beat my man here, but what I know is... You''re gonna die by my hands today for getting our task delayed." The guy pulled his dagger out from his vest. "...so prepare yourself." Liam heard it all. The man''s threatening message. It just made him feel even more hopeless in this situation. He noticed the dagger aimed at him as he also realized his death isn''t that far from becoming true. When''s the last time he felt something like this? ''I feel powerless.'' Sigh. ''Moments like this just make me want to...'' Fight even more. Pshlk! Liam moved his head upwards as he blocked the flying dagger with his left hand. "!" "You ask how I did it?" Blood trickled down from his hand as he started speaking. ''This kid...'' "I''ve beaten your guy with skills... just like how I will do, to take you down, starting right now!" Furiously, he exclaimed. The masked man was taken aback. He was slightly displeased by the kid''s arrogance in his words, but that was not important, right now. The kid in front of him stopped the dagger from hitting him in the head with his bare hand. "That takes a massive amount of guts. Does he not fear losing one of his hands?" The man questioned inwardly. The man was filled with awe, never in his life had he thought that a person, to be more precise, a random kid, could do something like this. And his eyes. They were different. Those angry, fiery eyes looks like it was hungry for a fight. In their organization filled with ''fighters'', he was one of the best. It''s not too far to call himself in the top 100 as he is also known as a member of the infamous group, ''slashers''. All those years yet he hadn''t seen someone like the kid. It was fascinating yet kind of scary. Ding! On the other hand, while the man was deep in thought, Liam took the chance and had already opened his system. He decided to use his stat points hoping he could at least have a little advantage by doing so. ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 10 Job: none HP: 51 MP: 7/20 Stamina: 59% [Stats] Strength: 9¡ú12 Dexterity: 14¡ú17 Intelligence: 9 Endurance: 11 Perception: 15 ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n He invested three points in Dexterity and the rest in Strength. But while the system is opened he also noticed another window appeared beside the stat window but smaller. There, it showed the quantity of how much HP he was losing. -2 HP -1 HP Each time a second passes, he loses a bit of his HP mainly due to blood loss. Liam was dormant as he sees this but his mind was in chaos. He could die here. So what was the bullshit he said just now? No. "I should not be panicking." However, he was forced to abandon the conflicting thoughts as he tried to think of what to do next. ''I''ll die in this situation unknowingly if I didn''t have the system unlike how I have it now... and anything can happen.'' As he calmed down, he realized he still had a skill left to be used... if met with a certain environment, it was a skill that you could confidently say a cheat. "Keuk!" Liam uttered in pain when his shoulder suddenly twitched. He got rid of the steel bar in his shoulder so the pain was mortifying. ''This is fucking painful as hell-!'' -5 HP ¡º The skill [Firmness] has been activated. ¡» ''Just now...'' A massive amount of vitality unexpectedly brimmed throughout his entire body at the same time a notification from the system showed up. Realizing that this could be an opportunity, Liam took the risk as he dashed forward towards the man standing in one place. "What...?" Pshlk! "Guh- Argh!" The masked man muttered as he felt agony from his lower body. The kid removed the steel bar from his shoulder and pierced one of his legs. ''Shit. I shouldn''t have treated him as a normal kid and let my guard down after he blocked my dagger.'' He removed the steel bar in his leg and took a step forward as he decided to attack. "I''ll kill you." But before he could take another step, the kid made another sudden move. Liam removed the dagger from his hand and threw it towards the light switch after activating Accurate Throw. Flick. "Stealth." The living room was now completely dark. "That kid, he..." The clown-masked guy twitched. He muttered while he aimlessly turned his head around to somehow locate the kid he was trying to kill. "Something changed." Chink. A sound of a metal object hitting the ground can be heard from behind the man so he turned around to look but saw nothing but darkness. ''A distraction?'' Swish. He turned around again as he heard a ripple in the wind behind him, he saw a fist suddenly approaching his face. He dodged it by a hair''s breadth and threw a roundhouse kick in the direction of where the fist came from, but he only hit the air. Tuk!Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Instead, he was the one who was hit. Liam kicked his abdomen after coming from behind. He then swiftly took a side step after seeing the guy coming for him with his fist. Swish. Ack. The guy failed to land a hit and was once again hit by the kid with a punch in his face. "Annoying." ''I could barely predict his movements in this darkness, but somehow he seemed to be able to clearly see in here... He can dodge my attacks and even strike me easily.'' What happened to the kid who was on the verge of death moments ago? Tap. Pant. Liam stopped for a moment and took a breather. The skill ''Stealth'' he had have was truly overpowered¡ªeven more than what he expected. Like what he had read in the skill''s description, Liam being in a dark environment, was able to make himself move like a shadow. "...in this shadow-like form, the sound of the user''s movements would dramatically be suppressed the longer the distance they made from another person''s ear." He recalled the words written in the skill''s description. [The second effect of the skill increases the user''s swiftness and stealthiness giving them more range and flexibility as they attack their target.] Lastly, although not as great as two of his with similar effects, it gives him slight accuracy and night vision. When he first learned this, he couldn''t believe it. He never realized how awful his situation could be if the thief earlier used this to fight him. His judgment was right and he was lucky enough to receive a godly skill like this. Going back to the present, Liam began to make his move. "With the skill''s effect, the best way to attack is by a surprise. So I''ll have to attack him from behind" As soon as he thought of this, he went away from his position and started to invoke his next attack. Swish! Puk! Swish! Ack! Swish! Urk! Swish! Swish! For a few moments, Liam did a series of hit and run. The masked man finally showed a hint of being damaged as he coughed a mouthful of blood, but he still didn''t let his guard down since the kid, who he was about to kill earlier, is now toying him like a child. ''A punch from the side!?'' He turned to his side and raised his arms to block the incoming attack, but while he succeeded, he was faced with another strike on his abdomen. Ku-! ''I don''t understand! He became faster and slippery unlike earlier.'' Ugh-! "Even if he had an unbelievable amount of fighting spirit in him, he shouldn''t be able to receive a power-up like this... What the fuck is this?!" The man exclaimed inwardly The man started losing his patience. This strange occurrence puzzles him. The kid had injuries¡ªa very serious one. With a hole in his hand and his shoulder, he should''ve lost all his energy from blood loss and agony since earlier, and yet he still managed to move this easily and land continuous strikes at him. He had built his reputation by his close-combat capabilities and yet why does it feel like he was being beaten by his own expertise? Tap. Once more, Liam stopped to breathe. At this point, he was only waiting for the guy to be exhausted so he could deal enough damage to knock him down unconscious. He''d have to wait for the police to arrive and ask what their group wants to do with his friend. The only problem was, he''s also become more tired compared to when he was just filled with energy. His muscles were screaming for a rest and the pain from the injuries he received not too long ago began to snap back again. But there''s another reason he''s eager to defeat the man. Liam silently smirked and thought, ''If I beat him, I''ll be able to take one of his skills...'' He''s already addicted to using his [Skill Absorption] skill despite only using it once. The idea of him getting a strong skill from the guy he was currently fighting turned his stern attitude into excitement... and that was not a very good thing to do. "I just need to find the best chance and I''ll take this guy down." Tap. The masked man was more pissed than earlier and he still can''t swallow the fact that he was being played around by a random kid and also wasting his time. He was piqued, but not several seconds later, he decided to put his emotions aside and instead tried to think of a way to get out of his ugly situation. ''I see...'' The man looked around his surroundings and realized that his eyes were slowly started to adapt to the darkness as he was also getting a glimpse of his target''s movements. ''He''s been doing the same method of attacking since earlier, huh.'' He smirked. "Then..." Huff. Liam moved towards the man and got behind his back. The man didn''t react to him getting close making him think that he is already tired. ''This is it... A chance!'' Liam stopped as he positioned himself to strike his target in the head with his fist, planning to punch with all he got so Liam could finally knock the man out. He eventually swung his arm. But then- "You see, kid. The problem here is that," The man turned his head around as he looked at Liam. "You lack experience." He twisted his torso to the side, barely avoiding getting hit in the head, before he turned around, stepped forward, and stomped his foot into Liam''s. Ack! Liam tried to get away but before he could do so his cloth was grabbed and was pulled towards the man and another was hit in the abdomen. Puk! "Ugh!" He immediately removed the grabbing hand in his clothes and tried to get away as far as possible. ''Shit! The firmness skill could only do so much... My body is screaming in agony!'' The truth about the Firmness skill was that it does lower the decrease of HP when taking damage, but it does not reduce the damage and pain taken on the user''s physical body, making the user still feels the pain. That explains the pain Liam felt on his stomach, and that was also why he could barely use his left arm to attack the guy because it was more or less crippled due to the massive hole in his shoulder. Still, he hadn''t thought of giving up. While his life is currently on the line, so will be his friend''s life if he failed to defeat his enemy. Pwut! The guy threw another punch in the darkness but he only hit the empty air. He lost the kid once again. "Fuck! Damned brat. I''m tired of playing hide and seek! Just fucking get over and give that kid up to our organization!" The man frustratingly cried out as he was not able to grasp the kid longer and kill him afterwards. On the other side, Liam noticed something. "Huh." He stopped moving for a while as soon as the masked man finished his words. ''Their organization...?'' Huff. "What if¨C" That moment, he thought of something risky. ¡º Less than 1 minute before the skill [Stealth] would be deactivated. ¡» After planning on the spot, he sneakily went towards where the light switch is located. Flick! The lights were turned on. The masked man was surprised by this and not soon after, he glanced at the light switch thinking that the kid was there, but what met him was countless flying objects. He took a few steps back and dodged the objects that fell on him. Some managed to land on his body but those were not important right now as he just realized that that thing just now was merely a distraction. So he turned around and his hunch was right, Liam was there, holding the dagger he had thrown earlier at the light switch. Seeing that it was too late to dodge, the man instinctively crossed his arms to block the knife to cover his face from being stabbed. ''Huh?'' But what he didn''t expect was- Tap. ''No way, this kid! is he going for my neck?!'' Pwut! The sound of air splitting was heard. "No, I can''t believe this!" He muttered as he closed his eyes. Pwook. The guy opened his eyes after a while. Huh? "I''m not scraped..." He slowly reverted his arms downwards. He had no injuries, but another thing he noticed was that the hoodie of his black sweatshirt, was cut and ripped from its side. ''Did the kid miss? No, he couldn''t possibly do that when the distance is not long... Then, why?'' As he questioned this, the man''s hoodie had eventually broke away from the cloth under and his neck was revealed. Liam immediately glanced at the man''s neck and saw a tattoo. Ba-dump. "A..Ah..." Liam''s heartbeat got faster and heavier after looking at the familiar tattoo. He lost all his strength from his arms and dropped the dagger on the floor. He recognized it from someone long ago. ''''D... DS. I-it''s the same as the guys''..." Liam''s lips were trembling as he mumbled. Ba-dump. "...Five years ago..." That moment, he recalled the exact same tattoo of the two men who murdered his parents. "D-dark society." "Ho? Ho...Hahaha...." The man grasped his mask with his palm as he started to laugh in an eerie tone. "So you know something about our organization, huh." He moved his hand towards the kid, who was frozen still a meter away from him, and patted his shoulder. "How surprising. Although we''ve had cases like this before..." The guy said as he slowly took off his mask. The corner of his lip arched upward and his eyes squinted while looking at Liam. At this point, he completely forgot about his objective by coming here as he immersed himself into playing with the kid as revenge for what he did to him earlier. "So which case are you? Did you lose a friend? No. Given how young you are..." A creepy expression formed on his face. "Are you one of the people who lost their whole family?" Looking at the kid''s now pale complexion, it seemed like the man was right. And that made him feel better. Ba-dump. Liam''s vision darkened. His chest felt tighter. He couldn''t get any more of this. "Not that it matters, since you won''t be able to live longer than today." But the man continued to talk. "I feel like I have to tell you this before you die so you can''t get any sleep even in death." "Starting today until the day you die, we''ll be coming for you and kill you with our own hands, even if you try and hide anywhere in this world..." Ba-dump. "If you''re still alive that is." The man laughed once more. Conveniently for him, the kid still hadn''t moved. He turned around and walked to get the steel bar lying on the floor. BADUMP. Liam shivered greatly. ''Why?'' In a mere blink of an eye, he recalled the memories of the men killing his family over and over again. He recollected how they did it in every little detail mostly due to the Hyperthymesia skill. He remembered his father''s lifeless body on the floor and his mother''s tears flowing down from her eyes. Ba-dump, ba-dump. Liam breathed more heavily. He was filled with many emotions that he couldn''t explain. Regret. Revenge. Pain. Rage. Sorrow. His mind was full of many thoughts that he couldn''t think properly. ''Why?'' He wanted to do something but couldn''t do anything. A man from the organization he vowed to destroy was in front of him, but he couldn''t move from his spot. Powerlessness. Pierce his shoulder or stab his hand, being powerless and not having to do anything is more painful. Tap. The man stopped in front of Liam with a distance of over 2 feet. He was holding the steel bar that he once used to attack the kid earlier. "I wonder how much hell you would feel if I riddled a hole in your stomach like a straw piercing a container." He moved his hips slightly to the side and stretched his arm with the pointed steel bar backward. He prepared to stab Liam''s body with a full swing. "Let''s test that out and tell me how you feel, okay?" Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump. Swoosh! The steel bar left the man''s grasp as it moved fast swiftly towards Liam''s chest. There were only a few inches of distance away, and approximately 1 second, before it could pierce through his chest. Until suddenly... DING! ¡ºThe last bonus skill has been activated automatically.¡» ¡ºThe host is filled with rage and sorrow but his feeling of powerless is more overwhelming making his body paralyzed. The host needs more time to think.¡» ¡ºGranting you a skill that is needed for your current situation.¡» ¡ºThe skill [Dull Time] has been granted to the player.¡» ¡ºThe skill [Dull Time] has been automatically activated. Time will be slowed for 20 seconds.¡» Ba-dump. Liam came back to his senses. Traumatized Time was slowed Liam was the only one "normal". He was immune to the slowness of time because it''s his own skill so he was the only one normal. All of his senses and his thinking ability were much faster than normal and it simply made around him unbelievably slower. But to his point of view, his body and brain were still working and processing normally and for him, he was very, very fast. Time was relative so a person will never notice that he was slowed unless he also had a godly skill like Liam have. The steel bar that will hit him in 1 second earlier was slowed down and right now, it will hit him in approximately 10 seconds. That means that Liam was 10 seconds faster than everything. Liam regained his sanity and began calming down. He looked at his surroundings. "S-skill. T-this is definitely a new skill. I..." Liam said as soon as he noticed that everything around him is in a slow motion. "...I need to k-kill this guy right now. For me and for my family''s sake." He was still filled with strong emotions but he can manage it better than earlier before his skill was activated. He gazed at the steel bar that the guy was holding for a second then he took a side step and walked near the left side of the guy. He thought that this was his chance so he moved the dagger that he''s holding upwards then he aimed and pointed it at the guy''s neck. Liam''s hand was trembling. This was the first time that he would experience trying to kill someone. Even just a thought of killing a person makes him somehow scared yet he will have to do it with his own hands right now. He don''t want to do it but he had no choice. The normal people may not notice but the innocent world was slowly changing into a battlefield where the weak ones would be trashed by the strong and powerful people. Liam was also aware of that because he had seen it with his own eyes. If there was a bright society or community then there was also a dark one. Liam slowly moved the dagger to prod the guy''s neck but then... ¡º The skill [Dull Time] will be deactivated in approximately 1 second.¡» Liam was stunned. He didn''t know that the skill can only be used for a short period of time. He took a few steps back to get away from his enemy, then he immediately took a random defensive stance. WOOSH The steel bar hit nothing but the air. "W-what in the... H-how!?" The guy widened his eyes. He was stupefied after seeing that the kid he was trying to stab with the steel bar earlier disappeared. His body shook non-stop. He turned his body to his left side and saw the kid normally standing there. He was frightened and let the steel bar escape the grasp of his hands. The creepy look on his face was nowhere to be seen, his expression turned into something like... despair. THUD The guy lost all his energy because of the consternation he felt and so, he collapsed on the ground. His body was facing Liam while sitting on his butt and gazing at him with a look of bewilderment in his eyes. "Ahhh! Wraaaagh! M-monster!" The guy screamed continuously every time he glances at Liam. He rotated his body and began crawling away from him. Liam was dumbfounded. How can a person who was usually strong and agile, a person that came from a harmful organization, be a freak like this? Screaming and crawling. He thought that this can only be done by a crazy person or a person who suffers from a trauma. Trauma. Perhaps this guy was traumatized by what Liam have done earlier because his psychological state and mental fortitude was really weak. He was traumatized by a skill. It was possible. How can anyone not be shocked after seeing an impossible scene? Unfortunately, that scene was made by the guy himself. If only he haven''t tried to stab Liam earlier or if only they didn''t come barging in his house, he would''ve never experienced something like this. Now he was so shocked that it caused him to become traumatized. Liam heaved a sigh of relief. He tossed the dagger away. He himself also lost all of his energy and fell on his butt. ''I almost died. Again. For two times in a row. I was also saved by the system too, but how can I express my gratitude? Shout to the world that my system is the greatest?'' "Ah! then it could give me an extra skill. hehe." He stopped himself from daydreaming more and noticed that he was slowly fatiguing. He felt that it has something to do with the system so he opened it to check what was the cause. The first thing he saw was a notification window that appeared in front of the stat window. ¡º Your Stamina is below 30%. It will give you a [Fatigue] effect. The [Fatigue] made from the system will not be removed by any skill. ¡» ''Ah. So that is why. My perception is sure working properly.'' Liam released a short laugh as he thought of something. He then continued to check the system and his stat window. ¡º Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 10 Job: none HP: 53 MP: 2 Stamina: 27% [Stats] Strength: 15 Dexterity: 16 Intelligence: 8 Endurance: 10 Perception: 15 [Skill Menu] [Task] Task: 48 ¡» "Hm? My stamina is so low... I guess I''ve been moving like crazy." Liam shook his head. He still felt strange and decided to check the skill menu. ¡º Skill Menu [ Every skill can be upgraded by doing it repeatedly that or by using 10 Skill Distribution Points. ] Passive Skills: > Health Recovery > Firmness {CD 10 mins} > Regeneration > Immunity > Hyperthymesia Active Skills: > Athletic Lv. 2 - {5 MP, 1 min CD} > Crystal Vision Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 1 min CD} > Accurate Throw Lv. 2 - {1 MP, 5 sec CD} > Appraisal Lv. 1 - {0 MP} > Mental Boost Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10 sec CD} > Skill Absorption Lv. 1 -{0 MP, 1 hr CD} > Stealth Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 1 min CD} > Dull Time Lv. 1 -{5 MP, 25% STA, 9 hrs CD} ?NEW? > Skill Absorption - lets the user absorb one skill of another person and learn it normally. (Can be activated if that person is beaten unconscious or killed by the user.) > Stealth - lets the user move stealthily. > Dull Time - Slows the time for the user in a 1:10 ratio for 20 seconds. ¡» "Damn... This Dull Time skill will suck me up. And I can only use it 2 times a day. It''s a heavenly defying OP skill! Though the requirements or something isn''t entirely good, the cooldown is so looong... It''s fair enough." This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.Liam grumbled after reading the skills He continued reading down and suddenly tilted his head. [Lets the user move stealthily.] "What the hell...! How is this gonna help me to understand it clearly? Move stealthily? Oh yeah, it makes sense. Sense my foot..." Liam face-palmed after reading the vague description of the skill that he even cursed inwardly. He didn''t really like to think absurdly when he was already trying to relax. He was still suffering from fatigue so he chose to sit back, relax, and restore his Stats. But suddenly... CLINK "Keurk! Wraak!" A series of disgusting sounds were being made by the guy, who was hardly rolling on the shattered glass, behind him. The guy was continuously being pierced by the countless piece of shattered glass, but it seemed like he doesn''t care about anything right now. His skin was slowly turning blue while making those unsatisfying sounds like he was choking. A moment later, the guy''s movement halted the same time the noise he made stopped. Apparently, he died from choking and from crazily rolling on the shattered glass that was caused by being traumatized to an extent. But Liam still didn''t know that he died yet. ''''''C-crazy...'''' Liam replenished his stamina for up to 30%, He was hesitant at first but then he decided to stand up and walked near the guy and take a look. But then... DING! DING! DING! "Eh...?" Liam was surprised by the multiple notification chimes which echoed through his mind. He was stock-still for a second or so because of it but soon came back to his senses. ''What''s up with the system today?'' Liam was about to open the system but stopped and took a look outside when he heard a siren of a police car. SLAM Liam relaxed his mind because he saw the police were already here and came barging in but he was also disappointed with the fact that they were already so late. "PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK AND GET DOWN THIS INSTANT!!" A police officer said with his handgun aiming at Liam. "W-wait!? I''m not the criminal here!" Liam said to the police officers that were walking towards him with a look of scorn in their eyes. "I SAID PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK RIGHT! NOW!" The police officer in the front of the rest shouted at Liam then he pressed the trigger safety. Liam was hesitating to crouch and move his hands. He was just standing still because he really didn''t want to be ordered around for something he didn''t even do. But what can he do? He was also being ordered by a police officer who was aiming a handgun at him. He then crouched down soon. The other two police officers that were searching around the house are puzzled. Judging by their surroundings, it was a robbery and murder. How can a person be this sick? It was messy and bloody in the living room. Other than Liam, they found two men laying down stiff on the floor. They took the mask from the first guy and he has a chunk of blood coming from his mouth and plenty of bruises in his body while the other guy without a mask have countless bruises and many small wounds that are caused by the shattered glass that pierced in his skin. The police officer in front of Liam was about to smack him on the back of his head to make him unconscious but he soon stopped when he heard a footstep that comes from the staircase. "Mr. Hanes! I''m glad that you''re safe. We would arrest all of these guys right now. You can question him in the police station." The officer said as he took out a shackles from his pocket. It was Ian who came down. He looked at the guy who the officer was about to shackle. "Wait, Chief Tenly! He is my friend. He''s not the criminal. He protected me from those two guys on the floor." Ian said as he pointed the two guys on the floor. "How can it be? Two criminals going on one ordinary person. Are you sure he''s your friend sir? If he is then he''s also just a second-year student, right?" The chief was skeptical about it and some sudden questions slipped from his mouth. "What the¨C!? Oh, you think I''m crazy? Just look at his injuries! Does he even look like a well-trained criminal? Compared it to the other guys there. And is their mask still not enough to convince you that they are criminals!?" Ian shouted furiously. He was angry that the officers questioned him, and his friend. "Sigh. Anyways, you''re so late. Ah, is driving a police car for 20 minutes also makes you stupid? Call an ambulance right now! Recommend the highly trained ambulance staff!" Ian spoke to them like was an authority that have a higher position than them. "I-I''m... We''re sorry sir. We didn''t think properly this time. The ambulance will come here soon. We will arrest them now." The chief apologized at Ian, then they walked near the two guys. The chief was shocked after observing the one without a mask. The guy has turned blue and with some white foam forming in his mouth, his expression looked like he had seen a ghost before his current state became like it. "Uh, sir... Your friend... Did he do this to the two criminals... C-can he tell us how and why?" The chief said with an alarmed expression. "He''s currently shocked by the recent happenings. He can''t think and talk properly right now. But obviously, it''s self-defense. He can tell you all the details after he is completely healed. And also ask that guy what does he want from me." "Yes, Of course. We should take our leave and arrest this guy, sir Hanes. We would immediately tell you if he answered the question you asked for, sir. Ah, wait for the ambulance to come, a friend of Mr. Hanes." The police officers then went to their police car with the shackled, unconscious guy while the other guy who''s nothing but a lifeless body was being held by another officer. "Uhm..." Liam was still standing there after watching the great scene unfold. He was rendered speechless the entire time. He can''t remember when and how did his best friend become bossy as hell. A moment later, he glanced at Ian once more. "Hey, Ian... Should I call you boss or sir? Or do you want to be called master?" "What the hell are you talking about?" "You were ordering around a three police officer like you were a higher position than them. And a CHIEF apologized to you. How the hell can you even asked me what am I talking about!?" "Oh... that is... just a small thing. Yeah. Don''t worry about it. You know that my father''s company is pretty big right?" Of course, Liam knew that company. After all, that was where his mother and father used to work before they passed away. "Yeah, I know that, but I didn''t know that it was this great! Wait. You''re so brave to the officers, why the hell didn''t you help me beat those guys eh? You''re just hiding like a freak upstairs." "Hey stop teasing me! I''m not that great at fighting. Thank you for protecting me earlier. I don''t how but you''ve become strong. Strong ones are great but nonetheless..." Ian paused for a second before his expression changed. "How... How the f*ck are you even standing with that many and massive injuries! ARE YOU A MONSTER! A normal person would even cry and want to die if he has a small portion of your overall injuries and yet you are here standing and talking to me like any other normal person... What the f*ck! Is you''re shoulder a butthole!?!" Blah! Blah! Blah! Ian continuously grumbled, shouted, and cursed Liam. And here is our Liam, just scratching his right cheek and averting his gaze away from Ian. He was now calmer than earlier, now that he''s talking with his best friend and knowing that he''s safe. He did not dare to tell Ian about the system he got. The system was his only tool to get his life better, he could protect the people he wants to protect and he could also put an end to his vengefulness by relying on the system if he wanted to and he knows that Ian doesn''t want him to do all of that. "Oh my god! This is an emergency! Take him to the stretcher! He has critical wounds! Come on!" A beautiful voice of a human echoed throughout the room that made both Ian and Liam turned their head to the direction of it. What they saw was a pretty young lady wearing a white, gentle hospital uniform. She was continuously giving an order to the rest of the ambulance staff as soon as she saw all the injuries that Liam have. "I''m sorry sir. We can''t let you get on the vehicle. If you want to follow him then go to our hospital." The lady said to Ian as she went out of the house with the people that carried the stretcher. Liam was on the stretcher and was still conscious while he was looking at Ian and winked at him with a dazzling expression on his face. "heh. A beautiful petite woman with short blonde hair and pretty brown eyes wearing a nurse uniform and a skirt. I know that''s one of the types of girls that you want. hehe. You lucky bastard." Ian said to himself while looking at the happy-faced Liam in a stretcher that was being carried to the vehicle. Liam was now inside the ambulance. ''Shit! If I sleep then my injuries will be healed! I can''t do that in this vehicle filled with medical people. The crazy doctors, or even the scientists will examine my virginit... I mean my body right away! Ahhh-! It''s not good but...'' He can only sigh inside his heart as the vehicle was beginning to move. ''...Anyways, what a beautiful sight this is.'' He can''t take his eyes off the lady, who was currently treating his injuries. --- --- --- IMPORTANT NOTES BELOW (Creator''s Thoughts) Upgrading a Skill Inside the ambulance WEE WOO! WEE WOO! Liam was lying flat on the stretcher. His eyes were closed but he was still conscious. He was pretending to be asleep... He can''t be awake and just stand up, because he knew he was just injected with the strongest anesthetic drugs and tranquilizer that the paramedics got to let him stay unconscious. They highly doubt that he will open his eyes from such a small surgery. Unfortunately, he got the Immunity skill so no drug effects can affect him including the good ones so of course the anesthesia was not gonna work on him. If there are no bad effects then there was also no need for the good effects. That was also why he still felt the pain that was caused by the surgery that the paramedics are doing for him to heal. ''Ack! Ooooh! Keuk! Shitty alcohol! Urk!'' He was trying his best to hide his pain from the people around him and could only react deep inside his mind. He really can''t sleep right now even if he does want to sleep for his own good he can''t because he have the Regeneration skill that would heal all his wounds in a short period of time. Either being asleep or being awake and open his eyes, he would just make the people around him be shocked to a great extent. The paramedics are busy preventing the blood of the patient from leaking out non-stop from his open wounds and injuries. They were only two paramedics inside the ambulance. A young lady and a middle-aged man. They were both good at things. The young woman was great at doing tasks but still inexperienced when finding a solution and the man was experienced but not just slightly above average with his movements. They were like a talent against wisdom. They were quite different at some point but they both know the same thing. That a person with a critical condition can easily surpass 100 heartbeats per minute, then how can this guy''s heart still be below 90 BPM? "W-what? Is this possible? I think our ventilator is broken. Right?" The blonde-haired girl was shocked and asked her co-worker on her side. "I... I think so too." The man answered in response with a puzzled look in his face. Paramedics always need to be calm and composed but how can they not panic if the ventilator was currently not working properly. How can they know when to use electric current to the heart of their patient if danger comes. But unfortunately, they don''t have time to panic now, the patient''s life can also get affected by their mental state. Soon they continued to do their own work. The truth was, it''s not the ventilator that have a problem. It was Liam and his system, which have a problem. The Health Recovery was a passive skill that lets the user replenish his HP for 1 point every minute. It can replenish the HP completely if the user''s physical body has no severe damage and was resting. Liam''s body had so many injuries so it can only be refilled up to 80% of his HP that was also why his heart BPM was almost normal. A moment later. Liam somehow became bored, and at the same time, he was annoyed. Why does he still need to pretend to be sleeping if he can just open his eyes? However, he didn''t want to do it because he have his dignity for others. Or for just the beautiful blonde-haired girl. Well, that''s what he thought. Liam slightly opened his eyes narrowly that no can notice. He almost smiled when he saw the blonde-haired girl with a soft oval-shaped face and a shiny brown eyes. ''Hm. Why do I feel like I''m missing something?'' He opened the system and checked it with his still narrowed eyes. He ignored the notification window and immediately read the system. ''Hm? It''s all working normally. My HP is 79, MP is 9, Stamina is 67. But this strange feeling is still crawling inside me.'' Liam then closed his system. He didn''t care about it much because boredom was still filling him. He even thought that it would have been more fun if his system has games and stuff. He was currently having some pipe dreams in his mind right now. A while later. The ambulance stopped. Liam''s delusion was stopped by the paramedics taking him away. The stretcher was being taken to the emergency room. And a medical operation will get done for him once again. ''AaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaaaa...'' Sometime later. ''...aaaaAaaah. Oh! is it finally done now?'' The doctor that performed the operation to Liam called the nurses. "I''ve done my operation. Take him to the surgeon in the operation theater right now. His in a critical condition." Liam was listening to the conversation of the doctor and the nurses and he wanted to complain but too bad he''s been injected by another dose of anesthesia and tranquilizer so all he have to do is... nothing. He despaired, not just because he''s gonna be pretending to be asleep for a long time again but because the beautiful lady was long gone from his side. ''HuwaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...'' Another long sigh was being made inside Liam''s heart and mind because he have to do another pain-enduring time. A long, long time later. ''Aaaaahaaaaah... Oh wow! I''m in a patient room now.'' Liam thought as he fully opened his eyes for the first time in a long time. It was early noon and he was currently lying on a patient''s bed. Almost all of his entire body was wrapped with bandages and it''s even hard for him to move his head without using force. "Oh my god. This patient room is so fancy. I only see this in movies. Is this a VIP room?" "Yes Sir. You''re in a VIP room." "H-HOLY!" Liam was surprised. His body shook greatly for a second and he forcefully moved his head to see the person who answered him. "Sir! Please don''t move too hard. Your injuries are just closing but they are still fresh. They would open if you move again." It was the short blonde haired girl, who is the type that Liam likes. "Ah. Y-yes... I''m so sorry for that." Liam said while his head is still facing the lady. "That''s including your head, sir. Please try to rest it. And also, the one who told us to place you in this VIP room is Mr. Hanes." The girl said with a worried look. "Oh. I see." Liam said as he turned back his head out of embarrassment. ''Ian you really are the best!'' A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.His thoughts may be kinda terrible but he was really soft when talking to people who are not that close to him, especially girls. "Aren''t you a paramedic?" Liam asked the lady while fixedly staring at her. "Of course. However, I also have experience with nursing people. And Mr. Hanes recommended me to nurse you although I''m not that good." The girl answered with a nice and humble expression, then she formed a smile, narrowed her eyes, and tilt his head slightly as soon as she meets Liam''s gaze. Her eyes sparkled and her hair swayed as she moved. ''S-so gorgeous. I''m gonna melt...!'' Liam almost said his thoughts out loud for losing his composure because of the beautiful girl that was nursing him. But held himself back because he will look like a freak by doing so. "Ah, yes... That''s really great." Liam mumbled while still gazing at the girl. "Hm? What is great sir?" The girl asked like an innocent child. "N-nothing! It''s nothing... You can continue doing your work." "Hm. I''m really sorry sir, I didn''t really have time to ask Mr. Hanes, but can you please tell me your name." The girl asked Liam. "Yes, sure. The name is Liam Keene and my number is..." Liam said excitedly. "Ah Mr. Keene! There''s no need for your number. It''s only for your friends or family." "...Okay..." The nurse lady then leaves after writing some things at the medical paper. "Sigh. Why did I try to say my number earlier." Liam grumbled and felt slightly embarrassed and dejected by what he did. ''I still feel strange. Is it because I didn''t ask her name... No, It''s definitely not that.'' Liam shook his head. DING! "Oh right. There is my system''s notification." Liam said out loud as he remembered the notification earlier at his house because the notification chimed just now. He then opened it while he was still laying down on the bed. He first saw the notification window. ¡ºYou have endured pain for a very long time up until now. Endurance has been increased by 2 points.¡» ¡ºThe task [ Make an enemy be startled by you.] has been completed. You gained 2 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points.¡» ¡ºThe task [ Kill a person.] has been completed. You gained 4 Stat Points and 5 Skill Points.¡» ¡ºYou have leveled up. All attributes has been raised by 1 point.¡» ¡ºIt''s the first time you leveled up since ''the system''s guide'' has been imparted to you. A bonus rewards will be given.¡» ¡ºThe reward [Upgrade one random skill] has been given to you. Would you activate it now? ?Y // N?¡» "FOR REAL!" Liam widened his eyes and shouted in surprise. "I''ll be damn! System, you''re so generous. You rock! ha. I don''t even know how to level up. Even my pain-endurance earlier have paid off and gave me a reward." He was so happy by the fact that the system gave him so many rewards. CREAK The door opened and a random female nurse came barging in the room with a worried look on her face. "Are you okay, sir!?" The nurse asked as he glanced at Liam. "Eh? Y-yes. I''m sorry. I just remembered something." Liam replied. "Okay, sir. I''ll take my leave." The nurse said before she went out of the room. "I was kinda getting noisy. But damn! The rewards are so good. I know that leveling up a skill is really hard to even my athlete isn''t upgrading. And yet it''s upgrading a skill for free! How hard is that! Thank you so much system! I wish this is also the reward if I leveled up once again. Enough! Better open the bonus reward right now." Liam ended his delusions and excitedly chose the ACCEPT in the rewards with his mind. ¡º The skill [Skill Absorption] has been upgraded. The [Skill Absorption] skill has been changed into [Absorption]. ¡» ¡º The skill [Absorption] can absorb a target''s one random attribute from 25%-50% and can also absorb one active and passive skill from them. ¡» Liam saw and read all of the notification with his mouth agape and his widened eyes. He was frozen for a moment and then read again multiple times, checking if he''s eyes are deceiving him. But it was all true. "HEAVENS! This is a godly and a heaven-defying OP skill! It''s sooooo good! Oh my god!" Liam shouted and really wanted to move around and let his happiness flow out, but too bad, he can''t move with a pack of bandages covering his entire body. "Sir! Are you really okay!" The nurse hurriedly came back again to Liam''s room then asked him another question with a worried look. "Y-yes. I just remembered something again. Please don''t come if I did that again next time. Sorry to bother you." Liam felt sorry for the lady that was checking his condition. The nurse then got out of his room after hearing the explanations of Liam. ''F*ck. This is so good. I really want to try this out right now.'' Liam was daydreaming for a moment but then he suddenly remembered something. "F*CK!!!" _______ In a hospital''s hallway on the VIP floor. The nurse once again heard the shout of the patient in the VIP room but he did not dare to come in because it''s the VIP patient that have said it. She was about to go down but then a doctor called her. "Hey, nurse! Can you please tell the attendants to take this body to the morgue. And tell the staff to report the police that this guy has the same tattoo of the guy in the jail." A middle-aged man doctor said to the nurse then he gave the gurney to the nurse. "Ah, doc! What''s the tattoo of this body?" The nurse asked. "Letters are tattooed on his neck. It''s D and an S. or DS." "Okay, doc." "Yes, Thank you very much." After the doctor and the nurse said their farewell to each other, they went to different ways to do their own tasks. _______ In Liam''s VIP room "F*ck. Shit. Damn it. Arghh. Why did I forget that." Liam continuously spouted some words. ''Shit! I didn''t use the skill absorption to get that guy''s skill!'' "I''m so dumb. Huwaaaah." Liam wanted to cry but he let out a sigh instead. How can he forget to use his amazing skill to get another new skill from the guy? Just why!? After a few minutes of regretting his stupidity, Liam was currently tired and bored. He thought that he could sleep now since his injuries are covered with bandages and the doctors or nurses won''t see that it was already healed but... "Hmmm... Oh wait! I think this is the nearest hospital to my town so that means that... that the dead guy is here. probably? It''s better to check it later but... I really need to sleep first I''m so tired now." Liam then closed his eyes because that''s the only thing he could do now. Memories In Liam''s room "Hmm... This is... This is really tasty!" Liam said while having a pleased expression. There was sunlight passing through the window curtain and he is still lying on the patient''s bed. With some fruits and a lot of letters on the table, it seems like many people visited him. "Of course, sir. This is from me." The blonde-haired girl was sitting in his side while feeding him grapes. "Yes, yes. I want more of this... Feed me more." Liam was really satisfied but he can only talk and eat because he was still covered with bandages. But unfortunately, it was only just a dream... "Hm. What a nice dream. I can still remember it clearly because of my skill. haa..." Liam moved his torso upwards as he woke up, then look around the room if there were any people around but there was only him inside. The window was covered by a window curtain but you can still see that there was a bit of light outside so it was obvious that it''s currently before noon or so. He easily moved his torso upwards to a sitting position. Afterward, he touched his left shoulder multiple times. "I guess my injuries are healed now. This regeneration is truly amazing but..." Liam stopped touching his shoulder before resting his chin in his hand. "...When and how the hell did I get this really good skill? And why did I only thought of this now...?" Liam tried to recall something about the Regeneration skill but can''t remember anything about it. Even with the Hyperthymesia skill that he received to remember things vividly. "Hm? One year ago, the skill I got is... Firmness and I didn''t know how it work back then. I even told Ian to let him beat me up. But I became unconscious after he hit my face once with a strong punch," _______ 1 Year Ago. Pant...! Pant...! "Haaaah...Haaah..Haaah the f*ckin'' headache still hurts so much!" Liam grumbled after enduring the headache just a minute ago. He was sitting on the edge of his bed. He was clutching the blanket. And his body was covered with thick beads of sweat. "The system is currently preparing a skill to give to the host." A slightly robotic female voice spoke inside his mind. "You better give me something good, System! The expensive pills that I had bought last year had decreased so much today. Please give me a moneymaker skill or something." He demanded the system while he was still massaging both of his temples with his fingers. "The system had given you the Firmness skill." The voice once again spoke in his mind. "The Firmness skill will be activated if the HP is below forty. The damage taken by the user will be reduced by 40% and the health recovery will be activated automatically. It can last for 20 minutes." Liam was steady so that he can focus and listen carefully to the voice but then his face became blank. "What... What the hell is this... Is this skill bad or good? Huwaah! Health recovery? Can I become healthy with it? What even is the H and P... or is it HP? Games? Ah forget it! Let''s just try it." Liam stood up straight then he opened his mouth. "Firmness," Liam said then look at his body and his surroundings but nothing was happening. "Firmness activate...? Ah f*ck. I just remembered that it has conditions. Huwaaaaaaah." Liam soon sat on his bed and let out a heavy sigh with a displeased expression in his face. _______ Present time "Ian said that I had a bruise on my cheek when I was knocked out by him but there''s no trace of a single bruise after I woke up," Liam said, talking to himself after recalling something about his skills one year ago. Gulp. Liam drank the glass of water on top of the small table at the side of the bed. "So I think I got this regeneration skill even before last year. Hm. Two years ago I got the Crystal Vision. I didn''t really use it a lot for my daily life," Liam then began recalling something again two years ago. _______ 2 Years Ago Pant... Pant... "Haaaah... haaah... haaah. F*ck! Even with the pills it still hurts like hell!" Liam constantly scuffed his hair. "But I guess... I guess it''s still better than the previous years'' torturing pain." Liam spoke his mind while he was lying down on his bed that was turning wet because of his sweat. "The system is currently preparing a skill to give to the host." A robotic female voice spoke inside his mind. "Yes, yes. Give me another skill. I really want a good skill!" Liam shouted vigorously even with his tired body. "The system had given you the Crystal Vision skill." The voice once again spoke inside his mind. "The Crystal Vision skill will let the sight of the user be greatly improved. It can last for 5 minutes." "Oh, what a nice description... I really want to complain now... but let me sleep. Hmm. I''m so tired." Liam said that as he began to fall asleep. He closed his eyes. In the Afternoon "F*ck! I''m late! Why didn''t Ian came? Argh! It''s because of the shitty headache. I can''t even use my skill right now." Liam said inwardly as he walked hurriedly fast in the hallway of their school. CREAK "You''re so late, Mr. Keene! Get to your seat and start answering the quiz!" Liam''s teacher said to him angrily. "Y-yes sir. I''m sorry." Liam apologized before he sat on his own chair. ''F*ck! I didn''t review my notes last night! Shit! My only choice is to cheat right now, but...'' Liam thinking of something bad but it got cut when his plan wouldn''t work. ''But the seat arrangements are widely distanced. How can I... Wait. My skill. It said that it can greatly improve one''s eyesight right? uwah.'' Liam looked at his teacher in the front and his surroundings than he slightly opened his mouth. "Crystal Vision," Liam said in a low voice. "Crystal Vision Activated." Liam then looked at his surroundings once again. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.They still look the same, but it''s entirely different now because he can see everything in a clear and detailed view. By just moving his eyes, he can see the forming thin and old cobwebs that are covered with soots in every corner of the classroom. He can see the dust on the floor that can''t be seen by normal people if he didn''t look too closely. He can even see anything in a slow-motion if he focuses on it. And he can now see the link that was sticking in the answer sheet of his smart classmate. He was so satisfied because he can now answer the quiz. _______ Present Time "But I did use it once... I mean twice. Hmm... Or thrice... I used it many times already when there is a quiz that I didn''t study. And there is no regeneration incident that happened back then so I definitely didn''t received it two years ago." Liam looked at the bandages on his feet for a moment then he decided to take it off. "And... Three years ago, I got the skill Accurate Throw. I used both the Athlete and the Accurate Throw skill to play basketball with random guys but unfortunately, it somehow turned into a fight." Liam scratches his cheeks as he recalled his memories two years ago. _______ Three years ago "AAAAAAAARGH!!! What! The! F*CK! Is this HEADACHE!!! Again!!! AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" A while later. Liam''s whole body was soaked under the water of the bathtub. His eyes were tightly closed. And he was clutching his hair with both of his hands. "The system is currently preparing a skill to give to the host." After the headache was gone, he heard a robotic female voice spoke from inside his mind then he moved his torso up. "Bleurgh! Haaaaah... Haaah... Haaah" He threw up and breathed heavily. "The system had given you the Accurate Throw skill." "The Accurate Throw skill lets the user throw something more accurately. It can last for 5 minutes." The robotic female voice spoke again inside his mind. "It... It happened again... And also on my birthday." Liam was bewildered. The strange occurrence last year had happened to him once again, how can he not be very nervous. An hour later. Liam can''t sleep and It took an hour before he even calm down from the strange event that had happened to him earlier. "Does this mean that... I can use this Accurate Throw as a skill... like the Athlete skill I got last year? It must be." Liam said to himself as he recalled what thing he had done with the athlete skill he had got last year. ''I must try this later.'' He thought that he would have to try it later after school but first, he needs to sleep. 4:20 PM, After School Liam didn''t go to his house after school but he went straight to the plaza instead. He was sitting on a bench just underneath a tree. With his torso slightly moved forward and his fist supporting his chin, he was wondering. "Accurate Throw... If I throw something would I be accurate? Psh, obviously." Liam said his thoughts. He then looked around at his surroundings. On the opposite side of him, over a 15 feet distance, there is a water bottle standing on top of a bench. ''I guess I would have to try this skill right now.'' Liam then picked up a pebble just beside the tree. "I can use the Athletic skill 4 times in half an hour. I wonder how many times I can use this Accurate Throw skill." Liam said and once again glanced at the water bottle. "Accurate Throw." He put his hand up after mumbling the name of the skill and immediately threw the pebble in the water bottle. PUK The pebble hit the bottle. Accurately. It was hit in the middle of the bottle just like what Liam was aiming to hit. "H-Holy! It really is accurate! HAHA-!" Liam shouted very loud as he thought that his skill really was ACCURATE. He was even laughing because he really can''t believe that his skill was truly this good. The people were frightened while looking at him like he was a crazy guy and even the two kids standing and talking near him walked far away from him. ''Why do these people look at me like that? What a crazy bunch of people.'' After a while of looking around, Liam can''t find a good target anymore in the plaza so he just decided to go home. While he was walking in a random street just five roads next to the street where he lives, he was searching for a game or a sport that requires throwing with accuracy on the internet. He was busy looking at his phone and then a ball suddenly bumped on his feet. He halted for a moment and then he turned his head towards the direction where the ball came from. The thing he first saw is a basketball hoop. It is definitely a streetball they are playing because it''s only a half-court and the players are only 6 people. ''Now this, is an example of a game of throwing with accuracy.'' Liam picked up the ball then he glanced at the players who are making hand signals which tell him to pass them the ball that. He just ignored the guys and prepared to shoot instead. He gazed at the basketball ring and imagined that he''s going to shoot the ball there perfectly and accurately. "Accurate Throw. " As Liam said the skill name he grabbed the ball with his dominant hand and turned his body towards the ring and took a shooting stance. The guys who were watching him took a stance suddenly giggled while the others were puzzled Who in the world would shoot a ball from that distance and with that confidence? The distance between him and the ring exceeds over fifty feet that surpassed the half-court of an NBA court. There were only a few professional basketball players who managed to shoot and pointed from a half-court distance and that shot was almost fully made by lady luck herself. They don''t even have the confidence to shoot the ball from afar if there was more time remaining. Every player knows that a half-court shot was widely considered to be the lowest percentage shot in basketball and yet this guy took a shooting stance and made an expression that says he was confident of getting a perfect shot. The people in the court thought that the guy who''s preparing to shoot was crazy so they just decided to laugh it off. Liam didn''t know that he was being made fun of by the guys. Though even if he knew it, he wouldn''t care much about it because he will definitely prove to them that he can throw the ball without flaw. He moved his hands upwards and lowered his body and then a moment later he then threw the ball towards the ring. He didn''t even need to jump to shoot the ball from a long distance. The guys'' gaze followed the ball as it flew into the air. They were doubting inside. Why do they feel like the ball will not miss it''s shot. WHOOOSH It''s not the sound of air rippling downwards but it''s the sound of a ball passing through the ring without making contact with itself. It was indeed accurate... Because the ball went in. Professional Player The ball went in. It didn''t make contact with anything inside the ring. It only just touched the net made from falling down the basket. The guys who were just normally playing basketball earlier had watched this spectacle with their mouths agape. It was really unbelievable. They wouldn''t have believed this far-fetched scene if they hadn''t seen it with their own eyes. They didn''t know the real explanation of this but they all came up with the same idea. It was luck. It was definitely just pure luck. But of course, it''s not luck. It''s a ''skill'' that one can have. And here was Liam, who will prove it to them later. Liam glanced at all the guys in the court. They were seven people in total including the guy standing on the corner of the court. "Can I play with you guys, right now?" Liam asked with a hint of excitement in his eyes. He even smiled while asking because he''s eager to play basketball and test his new skill. "S-sure. We just finished and we lack one person to play a four on four streetball so you can definitely join us." The guy, who caught the ball that Liam threw earlier, immediately accepted his request. He was a little hesitant earlier but he just thought that there was nothing that could go wrong anyway. He could even have extra money by playing with the normal-looking guy. Well, that''s what he thought. The guy was taller than him by a head and he was quite a bit muscular compared to the skinny guy. Liam then walked slowly to the court while looking at all the guys'' rigid expression. "So any new rules?" He asked the guy that spoke to him earlier. "My name is Dan. Just a normal streetball rule. But we can bet for 30 dollars per person if you have that little bit of money. First to 30 points. What''s your name? You sure you can play? Or is it just a mere luck? Don''t bet if you can''t." The guy straightforwardly said to Liam with a hint of arrogance in his eyes. He even wanted to ask him how you can play with that height. Liam currently has an average height of 172 cm and before he got the Athlete skill he had a mere 167 cm height, it was just Dan who was tall. He usually didn''t play basketball or any kind of sports but when he got the Athlete skill a year ago, he played some sports dozens of times with his classmates or friends from school. "Of course, I have a lot of money in my pocket right now so don''t worry about that. As for the thing about whether I can play or is it just my luck. I''m a bit lucky, but let''s just say I have some skills in me. My name is Liam." Liam made a fake smile as he said that. He didn''t care about someone''s arrogance but he would definitely care if someone insulted about his own capabilities. He held back his emotions and decided to remain calm. Because sooner or later he would definitely show these guys what a strong skill is like and then slap their faces one by one. "Skills? hahaha. Okay fine. They owe me so they will be our opponent. Team up with them." The guy made dry laugh then pointed out the three guys standing idly in his back with a finger. "I see. Are they good?" Liam was not sure if he could play with the guys without any mistakes or something like that so he asked Dan. "Hm. I think so. They were only 15 points lesser than our score so I think they''re capable. Oh! You guys, your debt will be forgotten if you win." The guy smirked after bragging in front of Liam and looked at the guys. ''So they''re a street bully...'' Liam thought that made him even more irritated by his opponents. "Your arrogancy is out of this world," Liam said inwardly before he went for his teammates and plan some things. "Okay. let''s play immediately." A moment later. Liam''s opponent was the first one to play offense so he didn''t activate his skill straight off and saved it for later. And because he also didn''t activate the Athlete skill, his moves on defense was just like that of an average player. He gave off a bad impression to both of his teammates and his opponents. As they thought, Where''s the skill that you are being proud of earlier? A player from the opposing team performed a three-point shot and it didn''t miss. They were now three points ahead of Liam''s team. "Athletic." As soon as the ball fell down Liam cast his skill by repeating the name with a faint voice. The ball was on his teammate, who looked like that they will not going to pass the ball to him. Even after a minute they didn''t give Liam a chance to hold the ball because they doubt that he will be able to move forward and shoot. The guy holding the ball then stepped inside and then immediately shoot the ball but it was likely to miss the ring because he was blocked by Dan and counteracted him. The two teams all turned around to looked at the thrown ball with different expressions on their faces. Showing both contentment and grief. Because of it they didn''t know that someone was already running behind them. Liam, who was running fast without being seen, got in the middle and then he jumped. He jumped and successfully grabbed the ball, that was going to miss sooner, then moved it towards the ring with a strong force. SLAM! Liam dunked in front of his opponents and his own teammates. He got up from falling down then looked at his back. They were all stunned by a spectacle that he made once again. "You guys can pass the ball to me at any time." Liam knew that his teammates won''t pass him the ball if he doesn''t perform a good play. So he decided to do it. Dan, who was frozen-stiff, looked at Liam with a bit of a puzzled expression forming on his face. He didn''t even see him moving inside. And also how can this small guy jumped so high, even if the ring isn''t as tall as the official one? They were all still and thinking the same while looking at Liam, but they regain their composure when he clapped once. "Okay, let''s go!" Liam shouted to break their thoughts. A moment later, Dan''s team was doing a good play of passing the ball. They planned to do another three-point shot so they were trying to mess up their opponents'' position. As soon as they saw the other team was messed up they passed the ball to Dan. Dan moved forward inside than his opponent followed him, he sidestepped and turned around then passed the ball to his teammate, who he believed was going to shoot the three-point shot. He passed the ball at an incredible speed. The ball was fast enough that no one can quickly react to it if they were not prepared. In terms of speed and strength, he was the best in his team, but when it comes to shooting he''s probably one of the worst. He was proud of his speed and they were always winning in a streetball because of it. The ball was moving in a straight line and in the middle of a wide way to pass the ball. It was possible for the opponent to catch that ball but Dan doubt that someone will be able to move that fast. While he was already rejoicing in his own mind, Liam was running as he planned to stop and catch the ball. The guy who was guarding him earlier didn''t react quickly and let him move away and now he was hurrying inside to move towards the ball. THWACK! Liam moved in the middle between Dan and the other guy, then he grabbed the ball, turned around, moved outside, avoided everyone''s blocking by doing a side step, done a crossover, and turned around again, he then leaped. Stolen story; please report.He did that all in just a mere 5 seconds. It was incredible even for the casual players nowadays. He used to watch all kinds of moves from the "REAL" NBA two hundred years ago. And now he have done one of the moves with his own body and not just in his imagination. In the short time that he was jumping he whispered. "Accurate Throw." The ball then moved away from his hand as it flew towards the ring. SWOOSH It was three points! Liam''s teammates were happy in their minds but they cannot express their joy and thank him out of nowhere because it will be embarrassing as they remembered what have they done to him in the first round of the game. They didn''t care about how he did it, the important thing was that they now have hope that they can win this match. They have been playing for an hour just to pay the sixty dollars debt that they owe to Dan because of a bet by playing some games before but they lost once again, making a sum of a hundred and twenty dollars. And now that they have a chance to win. How can they not be happy? "H-how?" Someone from the other team asked reflexively. Liam''s teammates were happy inside but his opponents were obviously the opposite. How can they be happy with this? This guy was fast. Faster than Dan but why? Why and how was he still so accurate at shooting? Dan''s team was all confused. They have a mindset that if one was fast and strong in offense and defense then he isn''t that much accurate when shooting a ball. Then how can they explain this? It was Dan who asked Liam as he also has that mindset. "Oh, it''s the skills that I mentioned earlier," Liam said to Dan with a smile on his face. The others may think he was lying but it''s actually not. In fact, what he said was the complete truth. He was using the skills that he received from the system. Of course, the others don''t know that. "Let''s start again." A few moments have passed. Liam was playing well with his teammates. Or was he just toying with his opponents? Anyone would think that if you watched the match since the second round of the game. His teammates barely even shot a ball. He did many shots until now and out of all of it the ball did not touch the backboard once. A three-point shot, A layup, and he even did a hard move called the hook shot. Liam''s team currently has a score that was way above their opponents score. The opponents only score because he didn''t use his athlete skill when it deactivated and it''s not their time to point. 15-28 15 was the score of the opponent and 28 was the score of Liam''s team. They were leading it and the other team didn''t get the chance to catch up. Liam was currently rushing inside the ring as soon as he got the chance then his teammate passed him the ball. He got the ball but then three people moved in front of him to make him stop. Since the second round, the other team focused on Liam and only him. They didn''t care about his other teammates anymore as they were just like a noob to them. But he was entirely different just from his moves so they decided to stop him from shooting but he still always slipped through and did another incredible move to point. And right now, they cornered Liam. With one from each side and one from his front. He got nowhere to go. But even so, he still was rushing forward despite the bad situation he''s in. The guys, who were blocking him, became anxious as he was still running towards the ring. The guys at the side followed his steps and came into their thoughts. What move will this guy will do again? Dan was the one blocking Liam in front. He was furious. He felt like he was just being played by him so he stands still and preparing to block the man rushing forward with his strength. Liam, who was running towards the ring, didn''t give a f*ck about everything right now. He only cared about toying Dan and his arrogance. He accomplished it a long time ago now but he just remembered about the bet. He didn''t really have money in his pocket but he played because he was certain that he would win by using his two skills. And winning a lot of money was good for him too as he always do that for almost a year since then. Liam jumped. He jumped really high. His pose while jumping was truly incredible. He has also seen this movie two hundred plus years ago when a man named Michael Jordan jumped high and made a spectacular move for a slam dunk. His knees hit Dan making him fall on his butt. The other guys from the side can''t do anything too. The three watched him flying in the air. All of them are watching him flying through the air. Liam was now falling down. He stretched his hand, which was carrying the ball up in the air and as soon as he was falling down he also moved his hands towards the basket making it contained more force and more speed. SLAM! He was still grabbing and holding at the ring. He let go of the ring and fell to the ground like a king. And just from standing the angels would sing. That''s what his teammates thought because they have won! They have won! They have won! Liam''s teammates thought important things should be repeated three times. "Where''s the money. Don''t you lose your face right now." Liam immediately asked the money to Dan because he knew that something was going to go wrong just by looking at his face. "You''re a professional player aren''t you? You''re just toying with us right?" Dan asked furiously. He really wouldn''t think of something like that even after years. Professional players can''t go outside and play with strangers. But because he doesn''t want to be embarrassed by him from losing and being arrogant he thought that this man is a professional then he made it as an excuse. "Professional? Are you kidding me? Did your arrogance ate you earlier eh? Did you turn stupid after losing? Why would a professional play with a random arrogant man like you." Liam said without holding back at all. He knew that trouble would come up at any time if he didn''t say anything. "You mother f*ckin'' Liar!" Dan shouted to him then he ran forward to Liam. ''F*ck this guy is crazy!'' "Athlete. Athlete. Athlete...!" He already said something to cast his skill but his state didn''t change one bit. He didn''t move at his place and just watched a fist flying towards his face. PHWACK Liam was punched on the face. The others immediately run. His teammates earlier run away and his opponents earlier are running towards him. PHWACK Another fist hit Liam. The fist landed on his stomach. He spat a mouthful of blood, after all receiving a punch from the strongest guy on their group was really scary. He turned around to run away but he got cornered by the rest of the guys. He got nowhere to go now. "You played well. So are you a pro? hehe... HUAHAHAHA!" Dan laughed as he looked at Liam with blood on his mouth. "You picked the wrong group, fool!" He became serious again then he moved his fist towards Liam''s face. Before the guy hit his face. Liam whispered something. "Athlete." PHWACK Liam has been hit once again but he did not step back. He looked at the guy again with a fearless look. He smirked as he raised his middle finger in front of Dan''s face. "F*ck you!" Liam shouted then immediately punched the face of Dan. With a quick turn he saw the guy behind rushing towards him. He dodged the incoming punched then he kicked the guy from behind, making him lose balance and fell over to the ground. He turned around to all of the guys. "Come to me you motherf*ckers! I''m not a pro but like I said..." Liam glanced at every single one of them. "I have a f*cking skill... TO BEAT ALL OF YOU! I''LL F*CK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU SHITTY BASTARDS!" Liam shouted furiously. It''s not every day when he gets angry but right now, he was literally furious. Hard Time. Present Time Liam face-palmed. "I just realized..." Liam mumbled as he recalled his memories three years ago. "...I''ve gone f*cking mad that day." He then shook his head to forget his memories of that day. ''My skills... Everything started four years ago, but I don''t think that I received my regeneration at that time,'' Liam started to think about his regeneration skill again and continued to strip the bandages that were wrapped around his upper body. ''But it''s still a good thing to try recalling something with my Hyperthymesia skill cause it''s really vivid.'' He was really pleased that he had received a good skill from the system that he can use for great things. Afterward, He started to recall his memories from four years ago. _______ Four Years Ago 11:20 "Huwaaaah..." Liam was finally sleeping after his hard time studying and finishing his homework. "Finally getting to sleep and relax." He lied down on top of his bed and while looking at the ceiling, he was thinking of something that happened to him and then he let out a heavy sigh. ''It''s been a year since mom and dad died. I already accepted their death but... I still feel a bit of sorrow lingering inside my heart... Or something even worse than it.'' He then closed his eyes to be relaxed and be freed from the negative thoughts. 12:00 DING Liam was sleeping peacefully when a loud chime suddenly sounded. He immediately got up and looked at his surroundings. He felt an eerie feeling that made him a bit frightened. ''What the hell is that sound. I think it came from my mind but... It was really loud.'' "You will be given a random skill. Be prepared for the side effects later." Liam trembled for a moment the instance he heard a female yet robotic voice inside his mind. "Imparting the skill." "What the f-" Before he even continue his curse an intense pain surged through his head. "HUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! GYAAAARGH!" THUD! Liam fell over to the floor. He screamed in agony and he clutched his head tightly. "Keuk! F*ck! Shiiiit! AAAAAAAARGG! AAAH! F*ck! F*ck! F*CK!!" After a minute of suffering, the pain was still active and continued to erupt all over his head that even blood started to leak from his nose. Liam stood up even though he was still experiencing the intense pain in his head. The pain was also the reason why he stood up. He looked around his room and stared at a plain wall. He took one step towards the wall. Then another step. And after another step he started to run with his head bent down and pointing at the wall. "NO F*CKING PAIN!" SLAM! A loud sound was made by a solid thing that hit the wall hard. It was the head of Liam that had hit the wall. And now his whole face was soaked in blood. While the headache was starting to fade away, his consciousness was also dissipating. His body was slowly bending backward and his feet are swayed which showed a sign that it will collapse at any moment. But before he fell to the ground, the voice earlier spoke inside his mind again. "The system is currently preparing a skill to give to the host." And before Liam lost his entire consciousness, he still managed to hear it, although he can''t do anything anymore. He was in the middle of his falling when a voice once again spoke in his mind. "The system has given you the Athletic skill. It''s an active skill and can be activated by..." THUD! Liam fell to the ground. And his consciousness completely disappeared. Later that day. Liam finally woke up. It was already afternoon and the first thing he did after waking up was to touch his face and check the wound he got from banging his head into a solid wall. But he didn''t feel any liquid on his head and he didn''t feel any wounds that could hurt if touched. "Is it a... Dream? N-no, Definitely not. I can''t be feeling any pain from a dream," He was still puzzled of the fact that so many bad things had happened in just a minute or so earlier pass midnight. "But... Where is the blood? I slammed my head right?" He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. There was not even a scratch that can be seen from his head. ''How!? I definitely felt that I got an open wound in my head and a lot of blood gushing down to my face.'' He turned around then walked on his bed and sat on the side of it. ''And that voice. I can still remember it clearly. The skill... That skill... What can it do? Is it even real?'' Liam decided to put the thoughts away for a moment and went downstairs to find something to eat. He didn''t find any food in the kitchen so he went out to the groceries. Before finding a grocery, he stopped at an ATM and checked his bank account that was previously his parents''. The amount of cash in the bank account was a bit over five hundred dollars. "The money... It''s almost gone now. My parents left me a three thousand dollar cash and now there are only five hundred hundred dollars left. How can I continue to live with this." He let out a sigh then continued to find a grocery. He really didn''t like that he was a Big Spender. No one would. Half an hour later, Liam got to found a grocery near a park that was almost half a city away from his town. After buying some things to eat, he went to the park so that he can be quite relaxed since he went out too far away from his home. He then found a bench to sit on. The bench was in front of a perfect circle pond so its a nice view for him while eating his instant noodles. After finishing his food, he stood up and walked in front of the pond. It was really beautiful with its perfect circle shape and its bluish color. He suddenly wants to go around the pond just to see its own beauty and to get some fresh air but he thought that he doesn''t have good stamina to run for a long time and distance. It''s not like that he was an Athlete or something. ''Wait. An Athlete... Athletic...?'' Liam remembered that he have received a skill called Athlete. Well, that''s what the voice in his head said to him earlier. He already got his emotions mixed up by thinking about it. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.But he soon got over it. And only his analytical skill was left in his mind. ''Let''s say that I really have the skill and I activated it. Will I become an athlete who has a good stamina and agility or will I know how to be athletic like playing sporting events.'' He thought deeply and imagined some absurd things. He hated thinking something irritating but he really likes thinking something satisfying so he just continuously thought about what happened at midnight earlier. ''Okay. I''m not bad at imagining things but it''s just an imagination. However, this time I will try to do my imagination in this real-life even though it sounds crazy.'' Liam then decided to try it. Not just from his imagination, but in this real-life, just as he said. He thought that nothing can happen if he could just try it. He was currently at the point of his life where he doesn''t know what to believe because he felt like he didn''t need to care about anything anymore so he just has to go with the flow as any other people did in their meaningless life. If it doesn''t work he would just forget the things that had happened last night including the voice and the time he hit his head, thinking that it was just a vivid and painful dream. But if it did work... "Then it would be really great. And I would be like a player in a game with only one skill. haha." He released a short laugh before he let out a heavy sigh. ''I must be going crazy to do this.'' Liam soon opened his mouth gently. "Athletic," He said with a faint voice. As soon as the word ''Athletic'' echoed, something happened to his body. His whole body feels somewhat lighter than earlier and it''s still getting lighter. A strange feeling kept arising in all of his muscles. It wasn''t numb but like a hundred or so small ants were crawling inside his flesh. Liam looked all over his body. He was surprised and a bit scared by the fact that his imagination somehow became real. "W-What is the¨C No. I... I must try this skill. It will definitely beneficial for me in the future." Liam said with great really wanted this to happen since he started imagining something like it. Since his parents passed away, he thought to himself every day that he has to be independent, but his independence has been dragged down by his lack of talent, wisdom, and skills. He was never been good at anything in life. Finding a part-time job was already hard for him. With his below average stamina, agility, and strength that even a work of moving heavy things easily made him tired. If not for the fact that he always had to get help from his best friend Ian, who has a wealthy family, he would definitely not be studying at school today. The cash in his parents'' bank account was only enough for the food and some utilities for him to live in a whole year. It was truly a hard time. He wanted to beat the ''talent'' and learn some skills for him to use but... How could he? He couldn''t get a skill just by idling around, studying at his school, and finding jobs, could he? With all of the hard things in his life, he was living with despair in his heart. But now that he got a skill for only the cost of intense pain. How could he not take it and use it? WHOOSH Liam immediately ran. He decided to go around the pond like he had previously wanted and now he was currently running really fast. In just a second he was now at a distance of approximately 3.5 meters away from where he was earlier, with a single step that moved for over 1 meter and his stamina was barely decreasing. It was an achievement hard enough for even the healthy adults. With the Athletic skill, He was just as fast as an energetic adult, who always used to jog every day in the morning. And compared to him without the skill, he was just like a weak child running for something stupid. ''I''ll definitely use this skill to turn my life better.'' Since that day, Liam always used the Athletic skill every day. When he have free time, he used it to jog in the morning so he can get his stamina better. Sometimes when going to school he frequently used the skill so that he can save money from going to public transportation. He could now also work at some part-time jobs. He even once used it to run in an event called "Junior Marathon". It was a smaller version of a marathon with a distance of 10km, and he won the 2nd place. Even though he could not win against an athletic 19 years old, who had gotten the 1st place, he was still pleased because he received a prize money. Even if it''s still a small amount of money that he could grasp from his own hard work, it was enough for him to tell himself that he can live independently. _______ Present Time Liam smiled as he recalled the beginning of his comfortable life four years ago. But he suddenly remembered something. "Wait! Five years ago. In the warehouse. I was buried under the ruins right?" Liam thought the time where the warehouse exploded, but he was still sound. ''That means that there was a really high and a frightening chance that I would get pierced, squashed, or get completely burned by something from the whole mess that day. It''s not like I have a godly luck that I made it in the below the one percent chance, so it can only mean that... I regenerated at that time.'' Liam just realized that he was so stupid enough to not know about the regeneration skill. "Hm? So the Project-X that day... It is the godly ''System'' that I currently have right now. I really am a living lab rat." He also recalled the time when he was in the gigantic glass box and the things he had heard from the gigantic monitor. Project-X was already inside him. PWISH The bandages that were fully covering Liam earlier were nowhere to be seen in his body. He tossed it at the trash can near the door before he stood up and walked in front of a huge mirror. He was wearing a patient wear that he saw from under his bed earlier. A sky-blue pajama and long sleeve shirt. He grabbed the cloth on the shoulder part then he slid it down. What he saw was a big scar on his shoulder. "Hm? So serious injuries still leave a scar." Liam then slid it back. He looked around the room to find something. ''As expected of a VIP room, there is also a small closet here. I wonder if Ian would pay for this or he would just spout some things that will make the staff frighted. kehe-'' Liam picked out the black sweatshirt and white pants from the closet and immediately wore them. CREAK Liam went and opened the door. He looked outside but he didn''t see someone. He slowly stepped outside the door. He changed the door sign inside the room which was exclusive for VIP members to "Do not disturb for 1 hour" so he was sure that no one, not even doctors could possibly be able to go inside his room for 1 hour. He grabbed the hood from his back then he slid it to the front. Half of his face was now covered with it. ''I will now go to the dead guy and get some skills for myself. Fast and Stealthy...'' Techniques are OP In a hospital''s corridor. Liam was currently sitting on a bench near the reception area. He was waiting for something that can be useful to him. "Hey, I''ll use my vacancy now. Don''t fall asleep or we will get scolded!" "Yeah, yeah. Just go already." The two receptionist talked to each other until the other one went somewhere in the hospital. ''Finally. This is my chance.'' Liam stood up as soon as the receptionist walked past him, then he slowly walked at the side of the reception. His goal was simply to get a nurse''s uniform. The reception area always have an extra nurses uniform in case of an emergency. If he get it and wear it, he can freely walk inside the morgue without alerting the securities who were probably watching from the CCTV cameras. "Stealth." As soon as the word came out from his mouth, he walked behind the receptionist guy who was struggling to keep his eyes open because of the tiredness. Liam with the Stealth skill can still be seen by anyone, but his move can''t be heard by them so his plan was to get behind the guy and sneakily grab the uniform under the table. It was before noon where the canteen would open so there were not many people wandering around the hall so this was the best chance that he got. He quickly grabbed the folded uniform under the table and immediately ran far away. After wearing the uniform in the bathroom, he went to find the morgue. He walked past many nurses and doctors but they didn''t seem to care about him so he managed to find the morgue easily and safely. CREAK Liam looked around and saw a countless of body containers inside the room. ''Ahh. What a pain in the ass. I don''t even know his name.'' After a moment of reading the information in the paper which he found in a table, he saw the word ''Criminal'' written under the name of that person before he immediately went away and find the container with the same numbers as the paper. "Here it is," Liam said after moving around and found the one that he was looking for. RUSTLE The container was pulled and a cold and lifeless body can be seen from inside it. Dead bodies are definitely not a normal sight that you can see every day so people would sicken and feel disgusted or scared and Liam was not an exception. He almost threw up but he managed to somehow stop it. ''So this is the guy I had killed. I-I''m actually doing this for a skill. F*ck! But... there''s no turning back now.'' "Appraisal." He firmly said the skill name then looked at the window that showed up at his front. ¡º Name : Artyom Sorlov Level: 14 Job: Fighter//Executor//Leader HP: 0 MP: 1 Stamina: 0% [Stats] Strength: 10+ Dexterity: 10+ Intelligence: 10 Endurance: 10+ Perception: 7 [Skills] Passive Skills: > Hand Fighting Techniques Lv. 2 > Kicking Techniques Lv. 1 Active Skills: > Fast Hands Lv. 2 > Grip Strengthening Lv. 1 > Blade Hands Lv. 1 ¡» "A Foreigner? What''s with the one mana poi-" Liam saw the MP wand was about to say something but it got cut as soon as he saw the skills of the guy. ''T-this guy... Isn''t he just way too strong? He didn''t use all his skill to me. I... was just lucky at that time. I might be dead if I fight him head-on. With guys like him, I really need to get stronger real fast.'' "Hand Techniques is quite handy when fighting someone if I guess its use correctly, and Blade Hands would probably become OP if it''s leveled up. I will choose these two then." He immediately decided to choose the one that he thought the most useful to him. Liam then put his left hand on top of the dead body''s head. ¡º What skills would you like to choose. ¡» ¡ºRandom. P// Hand Fighting Techniques. A// Fast Ha...¡» "Random? I can randomize what skills I will get?" Liam asked inwardly then proceeded to read the text written. "Hand Fighting Techniques and Blade Hands!" He said after reading the entire skillset and decided what skills to choose. ¡ºThe Passive and Active skill has been learned. Half of a random attribute of the person will be given to you immediately.¡» "H-HOLY! I suddenly learned boxing and another good technique. This... This is crazy. I''ll check the techniques later." Liam was frightened by the sudden knowledge that surged through his mind. Learning something so fast was somewhat terrifying for him. ''Oh. I still didn''t increase my attributes with the stat points. I''ll also do it later then.'' He continued to read the contents so that he can calm his heart down from what happened. He then moved his left hand back and pushed the container to the compartment. ¡ºThe Intelligence attribute has been chosen. 5 points of Intelligence has been given.¡» "Eh? I feel like my brain started consuming knowledge, but I still don''t know what''s the other use of it apart from making me more smarter." Liam made quite a dissatisfied expression. He was not very pleased with the intelligence attribute as the other physical attributes are much better to increase, but he just accepted it because he was a free gift given by the system and there was no need for him to complain. "Okay, let me see my stat now." ¡º Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 11 Job: none HP: 100 MP: 20 (Replenish 1 pt every 1 min and 35 sec.) Stamina: 95% [Stats] Strength: 16 Dexterity: 15 Intelligence: 14 Endurance: 13 Perception: 16 Stat Distribution Points: 11 [Skill Menu] ?OPEN? [Task] Task Remaining: 46 ¡» "Oh yeah! I just leveled up. How do I even level up? My system has really no intention of answering my questions... and also, WOAH! The mana points decreased the time of replenishment. Is it because my Intelligence has been increased? If it is then... I can always use my skills without worrying much about mana." He was surprised after seeing his stats with great improvement. ''I should see my skills too.'' ¡º Skill Menu [ New option has been added on the Skill Menu. Technique has been added in the subcategory of the Passive Skill. Techniques can also be leveled up and upgraded.] This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Passive Skills: > Health Recovery > Firmness {CD 10 min} > Regeneration > Immunity > Hyperthymesia Techniques: ?NEW? > Hand Fighting Techniques Lv. 1 Active Skills: > Athletic Lv. 2 - {5 MP, 1 min CD} > Crystal Vision Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10 sec CD} > Accurate Throw Lv. 2 - {1 MP, 1 sec CD} > Appraisal Lv. 1 - {0 MP} > Mental Boost Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10 sec CD} > Discerning Eye Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10 sec CD} > Absorption Lv. 3 - {0 MP, 20 min CD} > Stealth Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 1 min CD} > Dull Time Lv. 1 - {10 MP, 25% STA, 9 hrs CD} > Blade Hands Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10% STA, 15 min CD} ?NEW? > (P) Hand Fighting Techniques - Basic Hand Fighting Techniques for Boxing and Bajiquan. > (A) Blade Hands - A skill that make your hands move slightly faster. Hitting a target with this skill will make your hands much sharper that can cut the target making a shallow wound to them. Can be used for 1 minute. ¡» "So that''s why I learned boxing and the other one. Martial arts master had a hard time practicing something like Bajiquan. And here I am cheating with my system. Learning, or... Stealing skills by another skill. Techniques sure are scary, but it is OP." Liam didn''t know if he should be ashamed or be happy but he smiled for a moment. TAP "Is that guy you''re talking about here?" A faint voice can be heard from outside the room. Liam turned around to the door and felt something strange again. ''Ah, shit! There''s people outside.'' "Yes. I saw someone come in. His face is unfamiliar and no one can''t come in there without permission from the operators and all the staff in this hospital all knew that." Another voice was heard coming from outside the door. ''Ah! What should I do? I can''t use stealth with the lights on.'' "Okay. Luckily, we''re here. You should probably get back now. Me and my partner will handle this." CLICK ''Ah f*ck. I guess I will have to use my trump card here.'' CREAK "Put your hand-" Two arms that are holding a gun can be seen from the door. It was a police officer walking in. He said something before barging inside. But Liam didn''t completely hear it as the time was slowed for him... "Dull Time." He already said it before he even saw the gun which came from behind the door. ''Ah! There''s only twenty-second to escape.'' Liam then walked in front of the door then he slightly pulled it backward. He saw a man in his early thirties police officer walking in the room and another one who seemed a bit younger with blonde hair, and there are also three nurses standing at the back. He immediately walked past the officers and didn''t make even made a small physical contact with their bodies because he still doesn''t know what would happen if a person was hit by a fast-moving thing like he was right now. 15 seconds left and Liam was still stuck in the narrow corridor because the only way to get out there has been blocked by the three nurses at the back. He was panicking at first but he soon calmed down when he thought that there was still more time. The skill Dull Time was given to him originally because he only needed more time to think but it was truly a godly skill to use in a dangerous situation. 10 seconds left, Liam was still thinking hard and cold sweat started to pour down on the floor but he realized something and thought of a quick plan to get out of the place he was currently standing. "Athletic," Liam said hurriedly. As soon as he said that, strong energy filled his entire body before he quickly ran forward again. A few inches away before he could hit the nurses, he jumped and kicked the wall from the side that made his body turned 90 degrees in the air. He spun for a while and he soon landed on the ground. 3 seconds left, he immediately ran inside the closing elevator with no people inside it. DING "Going up to the VIP floor." The voice from the elevator''s speaker spoke. "Haaah...Whoooo." Liam heaved a sigh of relief. He can finally be relaxed, now that he wasn''t caught by the police and he isn''t going to jail. ©n©n©n©n©n©n At the morgue "If you are sure that someone really came inside here, then why is there no one here." The police officer spoke with a high tone on his voice to the nurses. "Y-yes. I''m really sure. His face was even covered by a nurse mask. But I definitely saw him came in earlier." "Hey partner. Do you believe this guy here... Hey." The officer shouted when he saw his partner, who was not budging an inch and still looking inside the morgue with a confused looked on his face. "Earlier... When you pushed the door open, I saw a shadow of a man inside this room." The police officer who was behind the guy who opened the door earlier spoke and said something to his partner. "What!? Are you going crazy? Don''t joke around now." "We''ve been a partner for years. You know that I''m not into jokes when in an investigation." "Then how? How is it that there''s no one inside now eh?" "I don''t know too... But also when you came inside this room earlier, suddenly, a bit of an air pressure moved towards me." "I felt that too but... Argh okay! I know you just want to investigate something again. You''re always into this "Strange things". But it does always turned goo- Hey, Derek! Are you even listening?" "Hm?" The other officer crouched down to look at something. He glanced at the floor then slit his eyes on it. "Look here. There is sweat and thin footprints. I guess we''ll have to check the whole hospital then." "WHAAT!" ©n©n©n©n©n In the VIP room As soon as Liam walked inside his room, he got rid of the nurse uniform that he wore earlier and threw it at the trash can. "Whew. I''m safe here. I definitely got much smarter earlier. hehe. I probably would not be able to get out of there when I didn''t increase my Intelligence. I hope the police are outside this hospital now." Liam said out loud as he lied down on his bed. "I can''t really get my thoughts away for the techniques that I got earlier. It''s so amazing just by thinking about it in my mind again. It feels like it is I trained for years and it was like a part of me now. I suddenly want to try it." Liam said helplessly as he was urging to try his new skill. ''Oh! I have lots of distribution points. I better use it now. Stats first.'' Liam opened his system and he began to use the Stat Points. ''I just upgraded Strength and Dexterity earlier this day so I will have to increase the others.'' ¡º Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 11 Job: none HP: 99 MP: 11 (Replenish 2 pt every 1 min and 20 sec.) Stamina: 68% [Stats] Strength: 16 + Dexterity: 15 + Intelligence: 14 ¡ú 18 Endurance: 13 ¡ú16 Perception: 16 ¡ú19 Stat Distribution Points: 0 ¡» "Ah. The change is incredibly fast. It really feels like I became a bit smarter now or... maybe not. And also, I''m more sensitive. I think I can feel that someone is intentionally walking towards my room." Liam pet out a soft chuckle as he thought that he changed greatly in just a short time. He stopped laughing when he realized something. "Wait. What?" KNOCK KNOCK ''Shit. I already throw my bandages in the trash. And I just used the Dull Time skill earlier...'' CREAK ''This is bad...'' Strange Things Somewhere In The Hospital. "Hey! Where are you going again. We just came from the security office." The young blonde-haired police officer said to his partner, troubled by him. "Evan, we just saw a man came out from the elevator on the VIP floor. And that elevator was empty from the first floor up to the floor before the VIP floor. It''s uncanny if you think about it." The police officer, who looks like in his early 30''s, spoke with his partner with a subtle expression. "Argh... This again. What if the CCTV had a bug at that time. Hais. Okay. Is it your mystery time now? Should I call you Detective? Or should I call you the one and only and the great... Inspector Wright?" "Stop it. Let''s just go to the VIP floor... and let''s investigate that guy," Inspector Wright or Derek Wright continued wandering around the building with his partner. He wasn''t bothered a single bit from the mysterious spectacle they watched. Looking back, he have been a police officer for almost a decade. He became an inspector when the higher ranks saw his great potential at investigation. He was the youngest yet one of the greatest inspectors there was in the country. He used to be into crime investigation, but unexpectedly, he requested to change it into the most strange one when he witnessed an unimaginable scene. A criminal broke free from a handcuff and jumped incredibly high to the other side of a tall wall. The higher rank officers would definitely not believe it if he doesn''t have solid proof or evidence, but luckily, a random citizen managed to film the scene entirely. That was just one of the dozens of evidence of strange happenings that he got from most of his investigation. The entire police department in the country, in fact, in the whole world, did not dare to state it to the public as it will create chaos throughout the world. "...This time we will just ask some questions about the ''Strange Things'' that is happening everywhere." Inspector Wright declared. "What!? Why don''t we ask him in prison? Oh right. He didn''t commit a crime. We just came to talk to him. You''re so kind, that''s nice." The other guy named Evan decided to just follow his partner''s unusual decision. ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n Inside the VIP room. CREAK "I''m here Liam. How are you today-" After closing the door, the guy who went in cut off his words and paused for a moment. "WHAT THE HELL! Why are you already wearing casual attire! Where are the bandages in your body you stupid little¨C!" Ian was the one who suddenly came inside and he was already angry when he saw Liam with no bandages. "Hey! Calm down! Okay. I''m fine, I''m fine." Liam blurted. "How can I calm down!? You have critical injuries in your body...! Where''s the doctor and nurses!? I''ll complain about this right away." Liam looked at him confusedly. ''There''s a sign in the door... Aren''t you the one who came in without permission?'' Liam was already tired of hearing his best friend''s continuous whimper so he stood up, slid down the shoulder part of his shirt, let him see the soft scar on his shoulder. "Wha¨C? How? It''s... healed. How Liam? It''s not even a day since your operation? How is it that your injury is... " Ian just saw it for a second but he already have a lot of questions to ask. Liam finally made Ian calm down from his yelling, but what''s next were his questions that needed to have an immediate answer. "Don''t you know that there is a treatment where the wounds heal many times faster than the ordinary?" Fortunately, After waking up he already made an excuse to say to Ian, in case of an emergency. Of course, it was just a lie. "Eh? Of course, I know that but we are one of the minor countries in Asia. It costs a fortune. How can we have that treatment in this country? Even so, that treatment will heal a severe injury in half a day to two days time. You had so many injuries but all of it is already healed..." Ian said confusingly. A century ago, the great scientists from a major country in North America have discovered something and found a way to fully heal a person''s major injuries and completely cure a person''s disease. When all the people around the world from that time heard about the incredible news they were hopeful and thought that it was a heaven-sent thing, but unfortunately, the injuries treatment costs from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 and the godly cure to diseases cost $5,000,000,000 to $50,000,000,000 depending on how severe the wound or disease was, or how long the treatment would take, and it was only available in the major countries of a continent so apparently, only the wealthiest of the wealthy people can have it and the poor ones can only feel despair in their heart. In Liam''s country, one of the minor ones, most people were not very wealthy but were also not so poor. The richest people in the country can surely go to the major countries on the continent and get the cheapest treatment or so but the rest of the citizens could only hope that the price of the treatment would go down. "I... Didn''t know about that." "Argh-! Forget it. I can''t think of anything right now. As long as you''re alright." Ian exclaimed. ''Oh, he finally gave up... Mission complete.'' Liam already knew that he just needed Ian to calm down and he would just forget about his current problems. After a while, they sat down on the bed and talked about some things and made the atmosphere good between them. Ian decided to go home now, saying there were some things he wanted and needed to do, but it was interrupted, when a knock could be heard coming from the door. "It must be the doctor or the nurses. I shall thank them." Ian said to Liam merrily. "Yeah... Good. That''s... That''s nice." He replied. "Eh? Why did you suddenly covered your body with a blanket?" "Ah! The air conditioner turned really cold." "Hm? Okay. I''m going to credit them." "Actually! You don''t need to thank them. I already did that. You just need to left this building immediately and also take them away... Okay?" Liam didn''t plan this. He would have to have the bandages on himself before the doctors or nurses came in but Ian didn''t go away from his side until now him so he didn''t have a chance to put the bandages on himself. "O... Kay? You''re being weird." KNOCK KNOCK "I''ll open it now," Ian said as he walked towards the door and opened it quickly. CREAK The door was opened and what appeared were the police officers earlier in the morgue. "Police?" Ian slightly tilted his head in confusion. The blonde-haired police officer was slightly surprised when he saw a random guy opened the door for them but he soon decided to speak after he saw a familiar face behind him. "Oh. Excuse me. I''m Officer Dole from the National Police Department. Can we just ask some important questions to that man over there." Ian furrowed his eyebrows when he heard that Liam was being mentioned by the officer. "What''s the problem with him, officer?" "There''s none, but we need to ask him about our investigation. It''s more likely that he is a witness or a subject to something important." Ian felt that something not great would happen if he just let the police converse with his friend. "He is currently tired and resting." ...So he made an excuse. "Ah, but you know, this is urgent." Officer Dole also spoke it forcibly. ''What the hell is happening right now.'' Liam was still lying down in the bed while his body was covered with a blanket. He wanted to cover his head but he needed to let them know that he was asleep although he was faking it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.He didn''t know if he should be happy or sad. There were no doctors or nurses outside his room but there were police officers wanting to talk to him. "Don''t you know me? I''m Ian Hanes from the Nobus Corporation." Liam stopped thinking and was surprised after hearing what his friend said. "Officers, you should leave peacefully right now," Ian said with an annoyed look. "Hanes Family?" Officer Dole was a bit confused when he heard the said name, but he smiled after realizing something. "Ah, that family. Alright, haha-! Then it''s good to see¨C" "I''m sorry, kid, but this is part of an important investigation of the entire police department." Inspector Wright interrupted his partner''s stupid conversing with Ian. "I just told you that he''s currently resting." Ian was furious about the fact that he was still struggling to get the officers to leave. ...And he continued his threat. "If you still didn''t leave this building in a minute then I''m afraid that," "What? You''re gonna tell your father and hide behind his back...?" Inspector Wright remarked. "Listen here. I don''t know much about you, but we know that your father is a respectable person and he is quite famous throughout the whole continent of Asia, however, don''t use your father''s name to scare us, officers, because we are also a person that needed to be respected, not just in this continent but also in the whole world." He shot up a cold glare towards Ian. "We could even save your comfortable life when it''s in danger so please excuse me because I will ask him about some important matter." Inspector Wright didn''t like to wait so he decided to hurt him with words to stop him from talking more. Ian was speechless. He was stunned by the inspector''s word. He didn''t know that a mere talk could hurt him. He was furious but he can''t let it overcome him and let it out the inspector because the inspector... Was still calm even after the talk. Inspector Wright saw Ian was stiff so he immediately walked inside the room without caring at him at all. Ian was more furious than earlier and he can''t hold it back anymore because he was ignored by the Inspector. He followed him inside and immediately held his shoulder with tension to stop from going forward. In a certain situation, that was a sign for an upcoming fight. A long time ago, when he fought with a child who was the son by a millionaire, his father told him not to fight back so he respected his father''s words and didn''t fight back anymore since then. Even when someone bullied him in school. Since the day that a bully pushed him to his edge, He always told them his father''s name to make them shut up. But this time that his father''s name has no use, what can he possibly do? Does he need to fight back? Of course, he needs to fight back. He grabbed Inspector Wright''s shoulder and pulled him with a great force. Inspector Wright turned around and saw Ian''s straight face. Though he was expressionless, his eyes were entirely different. It''s like there was an unstoppable flame burning within it. He immediately held and released the hand that was held onto his shoulder and pushed his body away. "What do you think you''re doing kid." "Fuck you." Ian formed a fist and aimed it directly towards Inspector Wright''s face. Inspector Wright thought that his partner would stop the kid from attacking, but he was still at the door and there was no time to catch up his fist so he decided to do a counter-attack to Ian and arrest him. Ian was really eager to land a hit to the man in front of him. It''s either because he was really angry or he just wants to hit someone. It was a very long since he got so furious and it was also a very long time since he decided to fight someone seriously. His fist was tightly clenched and it was moving towards it''s target at a quick speed. Inspector Wright was already prepared to block it and gently attacked Ian. PWHACK His fist finally hit something but his expression was not pleased. He was shocked because what he hit was a hand. The right hand of his best friend, Liam. ''Fast...'' He was fast. That was what the three thought. Officer Dole, Inspector Wright, and Ian thought the same thing. They were all dumbfounded when Liam suddenly came out of nowhere and blocked his punch. How? A kid, who just healed his injuries, moved quickly and blocked a speeding punch. A guy, who looked like a student, blocked a punch from behind. His friend, who was just resting at the bed earlier, got up without him noticing and blocked a punch. "You can''t punch an officer Ian. Even if you have a high status so please, calm down." Liam said calmly as he brought down Ian''s fist. "Liam?" Ian was really confused. How could his friend stay calm in this situation while he was not? "Woah, how''d you do that?" Officer Dole who was just running to stop Ian earlier asked Liam. ''I barely notice this guy, or kid, stepped out. if I just didn''t lose my composure because of this Hanes kid...'' "Excuse me but can we talk to you in private right now?" Inspector Wright cleared his thoughts and immediately asked Liam. ''Damn. This guy is calm even after what they did. I wouldn''t be surprise if people admire him.'' Before Liam replied, he glanced at Ian and told him that he should go home and that he also didn''t mind talking to the officers. Ian was hesitant at first but when he saw Liam''s calm behavior, he decided to go home. And also his eyes. It was like a voice that tells him everything would be just fine. "Ah, we can talk here." Liam finally spoke to the officers. Earlier, when Liam knew that it was the police outside his room, he was kind of scared. But when Inspector Wright talks back to his brave but naive best friend, Ian, he was in awe. A sudden respect for him formed on Liam. The officers sat on the sofa in the corner of the room and Liam sat on a wooden chair opposite them. "Thank you for your cooperation." Inspector Wright said. "So what should we talk about? Inspector..." "Inspector Derek Wright from the National Police Department. We would like to ask you about the ''Strange Things'' that are currently occurring in the whole country... or you can say in the whole world." Liam was confused after hearing that. Strange things that were occurring in the whole world? How was he related to that? He cleared his thoughts and asked. "What exactly are these ''Strange Things'' you''re asking about?" Inspector looked directly at Liam''s eyes that say he was innocent at this kind of things so he glances at his partner and gestured something. "Strange Things like a man breaking his handcuff and jumping into a three-meter wall. Strange Things like a man bending an extremely thick metal bar. Strange things like a man punching and breaking a 5-inch thick brick with his bare hands." "What are you talking about?" Liam became even more confused. He was skeptical after he heard about it but he remembered that the man he killed also had some incredible and extraordinary skills. Even so, he pretended to not know about it. As Liam said it, a nurse came in and gave a backpack to the other officer. Officer Dole grabbed something from inside and placed it on top of the small table in front of them. It was a military laptop. "The ''Strange Things'' is what the people do with their powers. Look here, this is one of our military laptops that contain secret information about the ''Strange Things'' that I was talking about. And the people who have unbelievable and incredible powers are called "Neowight" by the people in all of the national police departments in the whole world." ''Neowight... Am I one of them?'' --- --- --- --- --- --- IMPORTANT NOTES BELOW Neowight In The Hospital''s Main Hall. After eating a lot of food in the canteen to calm his own mind, Ian finally finished doing things and got to the first floor of the hospital by taking the elevator. "Ah! Liam... Why do I feel like he have changed so much in just a short time. Not just his physical attributes but also his personality is entirely different from the last time I''ve been with him." Ian said out loud while walking towards the exit door. Ian noticed that some people are looking at him like he is crazy so he stopped talking to himself and continued to walk to towards the exit. The glass door was an automic sliding one so he just need a second to wait and go outside. The glass door finally opened completely but before Ian could stepped outside, he saw a black car stopped in the hospital''s driveway, then a five person who is wearing a black coat went out from it. Ian was still observing all the men outside but when he saw the guy who is wearing a brown fedora hat took out a hand gun from his cloak, his heartbeat became faster, then he immediately walked inside to hide. He turned around to look back at the guys, then at that moment, he felt like the time was slowed for him. He looked back at the people inside the hospital with a frightened expression on his face. "THERE''S A GRENADE COMING! EVERYONE RUUUNN!" ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n 10 minutes earlier, at the VIP room. "If you can''t really believe us by only the talk, then you can watch this video of the Neowights that we have filmed during our secret operation." Inspector Dole said to Liam with a proud look. The screen in the military laptop started moving and filming a man doing some things. The camera that used to film the video was moving quite a bit but you can still see all the man''s activity. In the first five seconds of the video, A middle-aged man was kind of like observing a chain link fence like he have something weird to do with it later. In the next five seconds of the video, the man moved his right hand upwards and then he waved it sidewards to the left. In the last five seconds of the videi, the chain fence started bending and distorting like a paper being crumpled. Liam was startled when he saw the video but he got rid of the thoughts but he suddenly became calm and got used to it immediately when he finished watching all the following video. All of the video was only 20 seconds long but it was still really unbelievable and a bit frightening. A man walking in the air, A lady punching and breaking thick tree branches with one punch, A man throwing a kid-sized boulder in the air and catching it again and the last one was a kid who suddenly appeared in front of a fast moving car and stopped it with only hid brute force. These are unimaginable and an impossible thing to believe that it is done in real life. Before the video started, Liam sneakily activated his Crystal Vision to know if the video was edited or not and he finished it without seeing something like an edit because It was indeed real. After watching the video, he thought that the Neowights are a group of people from the Dark Society but he got rid of that thought when he remembered that the people in that organization have tattoos on their necks and the ones in the video haven''t have tattoos on their neck. The two officers were observing Liam''s expression. To them he seems really convince so it is the time to question him about it. "So? What are these ''Neowight'' things got to do with me?" Liam asked Inspector Wright. "As you can see in the video, most people in there are bad guys that does bad things so when they are freely wandering in the country. It could probably turn into a disaster. And I think you have a useful information or... something even more great that can help us capture them." Inspector Wright said calmly. "I don''t know what you''re talking about inspector." Liam replied. "They have a goddamn power! Stop going with your fake innocence kid." Officer Dole was a bit angry at Liam. He was annoyed by this kid in front of him because he doesn''t know if he is just ignorant or just pretending to be innocent. "Don''t talk like you know something or everything officer." Liam said with a deep tone but with a calm expression. "Che." "I''ve been investigating this strange things for eight years and I''m much more experienced than the guy in the back so I''m gonna tell you why we suspect you to be one of the Neowights." "What!? You''re suspecting me!?" Liam shouted. He was half-pretentious right now because he is not sure if he is a Neowight or not. He have the great system which gives him powerful skills but he doesn''t know if the Neowights have a system like he currently have today.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He recalled five years ago when the system''s voice told him that he was the first person who got the Project-X''s system and so he thought that he is probably not a Neowight. He is just the luckiest person to have the system. "I''ll explain all the details right now. Earlier before noon you were moved into the VIP room with full of bandages in your body which means that you''re heavily injured at that time..." Inspector Wright started explaining about what unbelievable things had happen since Liam got inside the hospital. He said that Liam was obviously had a lot of major wounds after moving inside this VIP room when they looked at the CCTV, then he said in just 7 hours of his resting inside, he was already dressed up likea civilian and was even walking normally towards the elevator, then they started talking about the thing that someone unidentified had gotten inside the morgue. Unfortunately, the CCTV in the reception and in the morgue was somehow broken at that time so they can''t see what clearly happened but when they saw the CCTV that is monitored to a corridor that unidentified guy dressed with a nurse uniform hurriedly came inside the elevator at the same time that the Inspector and the officer were searching inside the morgue. "...and that guy came in the VIP floor and walked inside your room. I''m gonna continue my suspicion to you, investigate you and tell you all the happenings earlier. I''m going to start now is that okay." Inslector Wright remained calm even after telling all the story of his suspicion. "Sure. What is it." Liam suddenly felt like he is currently in an interrogation just in a movie and so he kindly accepted his offer to investigate him. Liam was aware that Inspector Wright is going to do everything just to let him accept his investigation so he didn''t made any rejection. "There are three strange things that had happened today. The first is that it was you who has been doing strange things but doesn''t know everything about the ''Strange Things'', The second is that you came outside this room without a single scratch on your body, and the last is you have successfully escaped the morgue without is seeing a strand of your hair." Inspector Wright finished his sentence wittout a bit of nervousness. "Hm. There''s no need for me to hide it then. The first strange thing your talking about is a thing that I don''t really know either. It''s just today that I know about these ''Strange Things'' and these Neowights. The second one... I''ve probably gotten this power accidentally a long time ago but it was just today that I have known it and used it properly." Liam replied. He was clearly stating facts right there and Inspector Wright knew that. With his decades of experience of being an investigator, he had mastered a skill to know if a person was saying the truth. In just hearing a person''s heartbeat, observing a person''s facial muscles and looking directly at a person''s eyes, he would know if the person were to lie. "Okay. And about the third one?" Officer Dole was the one who asked Liam. "About the third one..." Before Liam could finish his words, something happened. BOOOM! BOOOM! As the two grenades exploded, the whole hospital trembled and the cry of hundreds of people inside echoed throughout the building. "An explosion! It''s probably a grenade! Evan check it in the windows! Is it a terrorist attack!?" Inspector shouted and frowned. ''What is a terrosist going to do in a hospital? '' ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n In the Hospital''s Hallway The people who was unaffected by the explosion, immediately run far away from the hallway. Some people ran in the other corridor and some people ran upstairs and in just a minute the hallway was left with only all the injured people. Ian can''t run because he was slightly injured. He can''t properly move his left foot but he still managed to hide at the right moment and is now safe hiding behind the reception desk but he doesn''t know if the people near him were also in his state. He doesn''t have time to think of silly things so he calmed himself and sneakily went to the stairs. He was almost going upstairs when he heard a boy crying just near him. "MOM! MOM! *SOB* Wake up Mom!" The kid is crying in front of his mother''s bloody body and he is also covered with dust and have blood pouring down from his head that made Ian pitied him more. He decided to comfort and help the kid so he walked towards him but he stopped when he heard loud footsteps from the hallway. "Oi! Don''t be a crybaby kid! Your mother is in the hospital so no need to be scared. And there''s also a morgue here if things go bad. HAHAHAHA!" The man with a scar on his face shouted and laugh like a crazy man. "Stop it. We need to kill him now. He''s probably gonna tell your ugly face to the police." A good looking man with a fedora hat, a gun in his right hand and a dagger in his left hand spoke. "Aww. Scarface is going to be mad if you keep teasing him like that. Your name just became number ninety eight after killing the previous one and you''re the lead today so be good to us." A woman said while chewing a gum. She had a unique purple-colored pigtail hair. "Your both stupid so stop talking. Hey! The two of you at my back, go to the VIP floor he''s probably there." "Yes boss!" The two random guys said at the same time then they immediately went to the elevator with a handgun on their hands. "The rest of us will wait here. Scarface and Pigtail. Go block the door for now." The good looking man said while waving his dagger aimlessly in the air and walking slowly towards the crying kid. "And what will you do?" The woman with the name of Pigtail asked. "I''ll silence this little kid right here." The man is in front of the kid when he said that, then he crouched. "You''ll see your mother soon kid." As he said that he quickly moved his hands with a dagger upwards then pointed but at the kid. While his dagger was moving downwards towards the kid''s head, a flat computer screen is suddenly flying towards the him. With the man''s fast reaction time, he immediately changed the direction where the dagger was landing towards the computer screen and blocked it easily. "Eh? A heroic act? At this period? WOW! HAHAHAHA!" The man laughed hard when he saw the kid being saved from being killed in front of his eyes. "And who is this guy that dares to me from my killing operation?" The man suddenly stopped laughing and immediately turned everything within him serious. ''Why the f**k am I doing!?'' Ian reflexively protected the kid from being killed. He didn''t know how stupid he became at that moment to just suddenly pursue a terrorist. Ian cleared his thoughts, then he crouched and moved towards the stairs near him. But when he finally moved to the end of the desk a loud footstep suddenly came behind him. At that time, his heartbeat began moving faster and he was trembling greatly. And when he looked back, a foot was rushing towards his face. PWHACK Ian fell over the ground pitifully and the guy was slowly walking towards him. "Oh nice. It''s just a bratty gu- wait. HMM?" The good looking man said after kicking Ian then he looked at his face closely. "ha... haha... HAHAHAHAHA!" The man laughed hard once again. "Hey guys look! I found our target! HAHAHAHA." Ian glance at the laughing man then his face turned into something furious. ''I''m the target. AGAIN!'' Deadly In the VIP floor. "Hey kid! The situation of the whole building is dangerous. Why are you still following us?" Officer Dole is worried about Liam who is following them. "My friend, Ian Hanes, said that he is still in the first floor of the hospital and he is in a dangerous situation down there. He also said that the grenade had exploded in the main hall so some of the people there might have probably been injured or some even might have been... dead." Liam was quite serious and focused. The increase in his intellegence attribute was really worth it. Not only did it made Liam''s mana regeneration faster but it also made him smarter, more focused, his mind being calmer and his thoughts being more persistent. "Hey Derek! Should we go down immediately or should we wait for the back up?" Officer Dole asked his partner. "All of the people inside this building is in a crisis right now... And a minute to those terorists means death for dozens of people in here. We should head down and not waste any second." Inspector Wright said seriously. "Shit! There are many innocents there. Elevators can make us go down fast. I would start the shoot out by then." Officer Dole said. "Every elevator in this building is connected to the corridor in the main hall. We don''t know what danger would happen if they see us coming out from an elevator." Liam said also seriously. "Right kid. I thought of that idea too. Let''s go down the stairs then." Officer Dole was a bit embarrassed. He didn''t expect that a mere kid would surpass him in a brain test. They walked pass the elevators and moved quickly to the stairs. But suddenly when they are finally closing in to the stairs... DING! An elevator opened and a handgun was the first one to come out from it. "TERROSISTS! HIDE!" Inspector Wright shouted to Liam and his partner then he hurriedly moved to the corner of another corridor. While Liam and Officer Dole is still running to the corridor, which is the opposite from the Inspector, a two well built man pointed their gun at them and immediately shooting them with bullets. BANG! BANG! BANG! Fortunately, they hid in the brink of a second. "Damn it kid! I told you it''s dangerous here. Don''t you dare go beyond this corridor!" Officer Dole shouted. "Sure but... can you give me a combat knife or a dagger." Liam requested. "What!? Why!?" "Uhm. For self-defense?" Faint footsteps can be heard coming closer to them so they were slightly pressured. "Hey Evan! In three seconds, were going to rain them with bullets okay?" Said Inspector Wright loudly. "Yeah sure!" Officer Dole immediately responded. He wanted to save people and even if don''t want to he don''t have a choice. Inspector Wright likes to be in an intense situation. That is why he changed the type of investigation to the ''Strange Things'' from the crime one. "Three!" Inspector Wright shouted. "Here! I''ll give you this knife." Said Officer Dole as he gave a combat knife to Liam. "Two!" "Don''t do anything stupid with it and safely protect yourself." Said Dole. "One!" "LET''S GOO!" Inspector Wright and Officer Dole both got out from their hiding spots at the same time while pointing their gun at the two terrorist who is walking forward. BANG! BANG! BANG! The two guys quickly reacted as they kicked the door near them, then they ran and hid themselves there. The two officers stopped shooting the men after they hid in two different rooms, then they also hid back to their hiding spots. While the officers were reloading their handguns and while the two terrorist were still hiding and preparing to shoot bullets in the two opposite rooms, Liam sneakily glimpsed at the corridor where the terrorist were walking earlier. The terrorists finally got out. They moved only their torso out while pointing the guns where their enemy was shooting earlier but they didn''t saw them. They only saw a guy who looks like a student in a university but he is standing and holding a knife in his right hand so they aimed the gun at him thinking that, he too is another enemy of them. The two officers are still busy hiding and they were only getting more focus to shoot the terrorists so they didn''t know what was happening to their surroundings. Liam saw the terrorists aiming the gun at him, he was stunned for a bit but he didn''t care and still continued to do something. He looked at the terrorist who is in the door on the right side of the corridor, then he moved his right hand upwards and looked directly at the guy''s head as he is going to do something to it. "Accurate Throw." As Liam said that, Inspector Wright and Officer Dole moved and aimed their guns at the terrorists. And the terrorists also changed their targets from Liam to the two officers. But before everyone could even shoot each other, A knife can be seen in the middle of them all so they were stunned for a bit. And their halt made the terrorists lost one guy of them. The guy on the right was deeply stabbed in his left eye and a tragic cry of that man rang throughout the entire corridor. The terrorist that was pierced in the eye can''t take the unimaginable pain so he fainted and fell to the ground, the all of them, including the last terrorist in the VIP floor and Liam hid in their own places. The terrorist slammed the door of the room he''s in and the officers went back to the corridor and leaned on the wall with a stunned expression. "That was the knife that... " Said Officer Dole, then he glanced at Liam. "I gave to you earlier... You little!" Officer Dole finished his words. He didn''t know if would be happy or not about him doing that. "That was a very accurate and strong throw. Where did you learned it?" Asked Inspector Wright.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "My father was interested in knives throwing when he was still an adult. He taught me to throw knives when I was younger." Said Liam with a straight face. What Liam had told them is a half-lie. His father was really interested in knives throwing but he never taught him anything about it. He was only good because of his great skill from the system. The reason why he lied is because he knew that the Inspector is only testing him. The inspector wanted to know if what Liam did earlier was another power that he is hiding but he can''t see anything about him lying. Inspector Wright nodded, then looked at Officer Dole "Evan, Let''s go." They can''t hear a movements in the door where the last terrorist was earlier so they thought that he is hiding inside the room. They immediately moved in front of that room and Liam just followed them, then they stopped at the body of the terrorist who was killed by Liam. Every operation room in a hospital can be seen in the VIP floor and even a chapel and a small gym can be seen there. Luckily, the terrorist is in the cardio room because if not, patients would be frightened or would be stressed to death. Liam then stepped in front of the terrorist. "Get your knife kid. You''ve just killed a man. It''s not something that you can be proud of, but it''s also not a lowly achievement that a normal person can do." Said Inspector Wright. He said it not because he wanted to, but because he saw Liam shivering. He thought that he is nervous of the fact that he killed someone so he said something that would comfort him. "Wait here for us okay? Protect yourself with that knife. We will arrest the last terrorist." said Inspector wright, then he started walking sneakily with Officer Dole towards the chapel where the terrorist is currently hiding. Liam is truly shivering, but what the Inspector have thought the cause of it is the entire opposite. He is shaking because he was in awe. He just saw the man''s stats by activating his Appraisal skill. ¡º Name : Donovan Lewis Leve: 17 Job: Assassin // Fighter // Side Leader HP: 15 MP: 3 Stamina: 54% [Stats] Strength: 10+ Dexterity: 10+ Intelligence: 9 Endurance: 10+ Perception: 6 [Skills] Passive Skills: > Warrior''s Mind Lv. 1 Techniques: > Assassination Techniques Lv. 2 > Kicking Techniques Lv. 1 > Torturing Techniques Lv. 2 > Hand Fighting Techniques Lv. 2 Active Skills: > Buff Lv. 1 > Hidden Assault Lv. 2 > Free Run Lv. 1 > Blade Hands Lv. 1 > Dash Lv. 1 > Killer Kick Lv. 1 > Fiery Punch Lv. 1 ¡» "T-this..." Said Liam with a frightened expression. His heartbeat is going faster as time goes by. When he increased his intelligence attribute, he became more calmer than ever, but he will not be calm when he thought of his sure death. The man he had just hurt with a knife is overwhelmingly strong. He was 6 levels higher than Liam and he even have more deadly skills than him. Liam thought that if he and the officers were to fight this man in a hand-to-hand combat, they would be killed in an instant. He was still thinking about the things that would badly happen to him until something familliar rang inside his mind. DING! It was the system''s notification. Liam opened the system without any hesitation. What he saw made his mind slightly calmer and then smiled subconsciously. ¡ºThe Appraisal skill have levelled up. You can now see every living things'' stats.¡» "I don''t know how it levelled up because I just used for only three times, but either way this is definitely good for me." After that, he then looked again at the man''s stats to see if there is any change in the skill. ¡º [Stats] Strength: 26 Dexterity: 15 Intelligence: 9 Endurance: 22 Perception: 6 ¡» Liam was surprised when he saw that he can finally see the full attributes of a person instead of just a 10 with a + sign in it, but he was shocked when he saw that the terrorist''s stats is higher than him. "This guy is... You... are far too strong for me..." Liam said as he looked at the guy with a bit of fright. "But I''ll be stronger too." "Absorption." A chime soon rang through his mind and a new window showed up in front of him. ¡º What skills would you like to choose. ¡» ¡º Random. P// Assassination Techniques. P// Kicking Techn... ¡» Before he could finished reading, he immediately chose something and said. "Assassination Techniques and Fiery Punch." There''s no need for an entire explanation of why he chose them. He really needed to be incredibly strong as soon as possible. In a matter of a few seconds, some knowledge about the assasin''s basic techniques carved into his mind. Then another chime resounded inside again. ¡ºThe Strength attribute has been chosen. 6 points of Strength has been given to you.¡» After Liam saw the notification that he got a points of strength, he formed a smile. He decided to check his stats and his new skills but he changed his mind when he heard loud noises in the chapel where the officers and the last terrorist are in. BANG! BANG! BANG! As soon as he heard the loud gunshots, he remembered the knife that the Officer gave to him and then he glanced at the man on the ground, then he crouched and immediately took the combat knife from his life eyes, followed by a disgusting sound of a flesh and blood. The gunshots is still continuing and it looks like the last terrorist have no intention to surrender. He wanted to help them so he stood up and walked slowly towards the room. CLANG Liam is in the door of the chapel and was walking inside, but when he heard a slight movement and felt a presence behind him he came to a halt. Before he turned around, he thought that it was a civilian and he decided to get the person out of here because it was dangerous, but when he turned around to look, his body greatly shook and trembled continuously. It was the terrorist who was on the ground just a second ago. His left eye have a deep hole in it and is pouring down lots of blood, but his right eyes is looking directly at Liam''s eyes like a lion preparing to eat its prey. Liam was at loss. He was still shivering. His brain cells probably stopped operating for a second. His mind that was calm earlier became chaotic and is flooded by fright and nervousness. How did this guy didn''t meet death when he was stabbed in the eye? He sure have a high endurance but he can''t take a knife in his eyes that was why he fainted, then he also lost tons of blood. How can he still looks like he wants to fight Liam? He had absorb 6 points of the strength of this terrorist and is now 3 points stronger than him in terms of strength, but his endurance is lower than him by also 3 points so it will be a tie when they fight, but you can''t forget about the guy''s skills. His skills are deadly and scarier than Liam so he can not be confident if he decided to fight him right now. That is what Liam''s thinking inside his mind right now. A moment later, the terrorist took a fighting stance. He clenched both of his hand and opened his legs widely. Some part of Liam, forced himself to be calmer and more focused of what''s happening right now and it worked, but his nervousness is still wandering in his mind. He immediately activated the Crystal Vision and focused at his body to see if there are any movement from the terrorist, then he activated stealth to be prepared when the terrorist suddenly made a move. He had never been more focused in his whole life until now. This is a matter of his life and death. TWITCH Liam immediately moved his hands in blocking when he saw the twitch on the legs of the terrorist. The terrorist took a step forward, then Liam moved his body slightly downward to quickly avoid the attacks from his enemy. He was so focused at the terrorist''s body, then a moment later... he disappeared. The terrorist have disappeared at Liam''s sight. Liam felt an air pressure when the terrorist vanished and he also felt a strong presence behind him. As he turned around, a kick was already coming towards him. The kick is so strong that the ripples in the air can be heard because it was loud and clear when it is moving. Of course that is no normal kick, it is the skill of the terrorist called "Killer Kick." Liam subconsciously moved both of his hand in front of him to block the incoming attack but the attack was so atrong that he flew a meter away and his stomach was also hit so he is coughing a mouthful of blood. Liam is currently leaning his back on the wall while enduring the pain in his hands and his stomach. The knife flew away when he was kicked earlier by the terrorist so he have no weapon anymore. The terrorist is still looking directly towards Liam''s eyes and now he is walking slowly towards him. "SHIT." A Warriors Mind and Will Inside the chapel. BANG! "Damn it! This guy just won''t give up!" Officer Dole was bothered with the terrorist. Officer Dole and Inspector Wright were crouching in the bench to cover themselves from the shoot-out and the terrorist is hiding behind the altar with two handguns in him. "We don''t need to rush this. He is just one kid with two waterguns and we are police officers. Just think of something like that. He''s already cornered." Inspector Wright said with a straight face. "You... I don''t know what''s on your head right now." Officer Dole was confused. "Come on let''s go." As the Inspector said that, they immediately moved. Officer Dole moved to the other bench on the right and the Inspector moved to the left corner of the bench he is currently getting covered. The terrorist was leaning his back on the altar. Most criminals would be feeling despair when being cornered but he just don''t want to give up his life in a jail cell. He just need to kill these two police men and he''s out. He moved his right hand out and shot aimlessly at his back. BANG! BANG! BANG! While there is a rain of bullets from the terrorist, the two officers glanced at each other, then they moved forward without caring anything about the gunshots. Officer Dole was the first one to see the terrorist with an opening in the altar and he became confident of getting this guy, but his smiling face changed in an instant when he saw what the terrorist was holding in his left hand. "F**k! This guy has a grenade! Be careful Derek!" Officer Dole shouted as soon as he saw the terrorist aiming his grenade at the Inspector. He tried to shoot the terrorist but he stood up and run then he threw the grenade towards the direction where the Inspector was moving. BOOOM! ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n At the main hall. "An explosion? Looks like they have some big problem up there... Even though you are here kid." The good looking guy with a fedora said as he looked up. He was crouching to have a conversation with his target. "F**K-YOU." Ian said with a disgusted expression. This is the second time he wanted to fight someone and it was 2 times in a row, but he can''t move both of his hands right now because it was tied by a rope behind his back. "Attitude, kid. Did you know that our objective here is to capture you to our headquarters? Or if you somehow insisted about it we''ll kill you immediately? But hey! Look at you. You are safe and sound." The guy smiled. "I don''t care about you. The police will come here soon and you all are f**ked." Ian said furiously. "Oh really? What I know is that some of my guys were busy playing with the police cars outside," "You..." Ian said. The guy moved his body closer to Ian, then he opened his mouth slowly and said "I''m only keeping you alive because... I''ll be the one to play with you, your father, and his company." Ian was surprised when he heard what the guy said and he became even more angry. He is getting more and more furious as he recalled what the guy said more than earlier when he was fighting the Inspector. He remembered that some people have been dying in his father''s company for the past 5 years and he now know who did it. Ian gritted his teeth, opened his eyes wide, and moved his head backwards. The guy is confused. He didn''t know what Ian is doing so he just watched him do something. Then what comes is a headbutt from Ian. A strong headbutt. PHWACK Ian and the guy both have blood pouring from their forehead but they have different reactions. Ian is still furious. It really looks like he would headbutt the guy in front of him until he''s dead. And the guy is just... smiling. "HAHAHAHAHA." The guy stood up while he is still laughing hard. A moment later, his laughing immediately came to halt and his expression turned scary. It was like that he was ready to kill at that moment. PHWACK! ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n In the VIP floor. ''An explosion!? Looks like they can''t help me for a long time.'' Liam finally stopped coughing blood and can stand up properly, but the terrorist that kicked him is still looking for a fight and is walking slowly towards him. ''I think he just used his skills. The one that he used to go behind me was probably [Dash] and the one that he used to attack me was the [Killer Kick], then the reason why he stood up from being unconscious was probably because of a skill too. A passive skill just like my [Regeneration] skill when I became unconscious. He have the skill called [Warrior''s Mind] that made him go fight like a warrior and think like a warrior. I can''t use the stealth skill to run fast because my leg have a fracture so we''re tied and the fight would end if either he died... or I died.'' As soon as he became calm, his thoughts began to process greatly and he became more focused to how to fight the terrorist. The terrorist ran forward as he became closer to Liam, then he formed a fist to punched him. Liam dodged the punched easily, then he moved behind the terrorist and jumped. "Blade Hands." He straightened his hands then he quickly moved it to the terrorist''s back, then wounds and cuts can be seen from it.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The terrorist turned around and moved his hands slightly forward. His hands we''re also straightened just like the hands of Liam. As soon as Liam saw the terrorist''s hands, he thought that he also used the [Blade Hands] skill. Their hands is fast that a person with an average eyesight would never see where their hands were going to land. They moved their hands towards each other and also blocked the hands of each other so until one minute pass they probably won''t have anymore wounds or cuts. One minute passed, the terrorist formed a fist and tried to punch Liam. Liam duck to avoid the punch, then he moved his forefist towards the terrorist''s solar plexus. That moved was from the [Assassination Technique] that he just learned by absorbing it from the terrorist who he is currently fighting with. The forefist then touched the terrorist''s body, but unfortunately, he stepped back to avoid the critical hit from Liam. As the terrorist stepped back, he quickly moved his knee upwards to hit Liam''s face, but he blocked it with his hands, even so the hit cause him to fall on the ground. Liam stood up and he saw the terrorist running to the side, then he stepped on the wall and jumped towards him with his fist flying directly towards his face. He can''t dodge the fist in time so he moved his hands in front of his face and tried to block the punch. He blocked it succesfully, but the force was so strong that his head was hardly pushed backwards even though he blocked it with both of his hands. Liam took a few steps back. After being hit his brain slightly shook, his vision became blurry and blood started to pour down from his nose. The terrorist took the chance to kill the kid in front of him. His body suddenly became more muscular while walking towards him. A moment later, Liam was finally able to see things clearly again, but what he saw is a bulky man in front of him. "What the actual f**k is this?" Liam said as he looked to the terrorist. The terrorist who was in the same size as Liam, a 178cm tall guy, became a head taller than him and his muscles became more larger. "F**K! I THOUGHT I''M THE ONLY ONE WITH SOME GREAT SKILL!" Liam shouted. He didn''t remember that the terrorist have the [Buff] because his focus was once again lost by his fear. Liam turned around and ran away from the terrorist even though he knew that he will still be followed by him. While he is running, he opened the system with his will and looked at his stats. ¡º Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 11 Job: none HP: 59 MP: 14 Stamina: 53% [Stats] - [Skill] - [Task] - ¡» "I still have so many MP!? The MP regeneration is really fast. Hm? I still don''t know what can the Mental Boost skill do but I might as well use it." Liam stopped when he saw people in the corner of the hallway were still running and panicking. He don''t want any people to be hurt just because of his cowardness. When he turned around, he saw the terrorist a few meters away running towards him. He released a heavy sigh then he began to gain focus. [Mental Boost.] Liam said with a faint tone. As soon as he activated the skill, his whole body released a faint glow. Then his mind suddenly began calculating and analyzing. "Okay. Let''s fight now." Liam said confidently. He don''t know why but some his almost all of his entire mind and thoughts doesn''t want to talk about the skill he used right now. He already calculated the situation he''s in and he just don''t want anything to do other than this advantage. The terrorist is now in front of him, then he tries to kicked Liam and the ripples in the air can be heard again. Liam jumped with his athlete skill and dodged the kicked easily. The terrorist had kicked the wall and made a cracked in it then he turned around and an elbow was coming towards his face. PHWACK! It was an elbow strike from the martial art called "Bajiquan" that Liam have learned from the hand fighting technique and it was really strong. The terrorist head was pushed back so far that it even hit the wall hard, but he immediately turned back and without caring at the wounds on his head, he clenched his fist and tried to punch Liam. Liam ducked and avoided the punch, then he stepped forward with his fist aiming at the terrorist''s face and it landed at his chin. The hit caused the terrorist''s bones to receive the force and the nerve to shook. Most people would be knocked out and fall to the ground if they were hit in the chin with sufficient power and right angle and Liam did all that. Liam then closed his eyes to rest thinking that his opponent would get knocked out in a second, but even after some seconds passed, he didn''t heard a body falling into the ground and so he opened his eyes slowly. He saw the terrorist standing perfectly with his one eye is still looking at him intently. Then a chill ran through Liam''s spine. He really underestimated a guy with a "Warrior''s Mind". "So a warrior really have a warrior''s mind and will eh? Then... Let us both fight like a warrior." Liam said seriously. Somehow he didn''t feel any fright when fighting the terrorist anymore and somehow he just wanted to fight physically without relying on his brains more. "Blade Hands." Once again, their hands became faster than a normal person and began exchanging attacks. Liam was hit in his arm but the wounds is not deep, his cheeks received a small cut and his left shoulder has been cut deeply. The terrorist was hit and made a shallow wounds in the stomach, a deep wound formed in his face from his eyebrows to his chin and his right arm have a long cut in it. In just a minute, they received a plenty of wounds then the exchanging of attacks began immediately. They hit each other''s body, blocked each other''s fist and kick and received each other''s blow at the same time. After a while of exhanging blows, they finally stopped for the first time in a long time. But this doesn''t mean that the fight is over or someone gave up his own life. It means that their last and strongest attack will begin in a second that will decide each other''s life and death. Liam''s Athletic has been deactivated for a long time since he decided that he would fight like a warrior but his firmness skill has been activated after exchanging blows to the terrorist. The terrorist''s is still in his "buff" form but he didn''t made any signs that he used something that greatly enhanced his fighting power so he and Liam is probably in the same position. Liam could use his Athletic skill at anytime but he just don''t want to so the only thing he could use at the moment is the new skill he learned Fiery Punch. He don''t know what use will it do but it will decide his life and death in a second. The terrorist could probably use his Deadly Kick again. And so the last round began. The atmosphere between them became heavy and serious as they walked slowly towards each other. The terrorist formed a wide stance and Liam clenched his fist and took it high up to his face. "You''re strong kid. Just like a warrior." The terrorist said. Liam was surprised at first when he heard the terrorist talk for the first time he met him but he put his emotions aside and he just thought about fighting the guy in front of him. "And so are you." Liam said. After they exchanged their words, they immediately moved towards each other. Liam jumped to the guy and aimed his fist towards the terrorist''s face. The terrorist took his right foot upwards and moved towards Liam in the air and the sound of the wind getting rippled can be heard from the trail of his foot. In a second that Liam was in the air he furiously said "Fiery Punch!" Liam just followed what the name of the skill said. A punch. Earlier, he thought that it was a one time use skill like the accurate throw so he decided to do a punch. Then suddenly, his fist gleamed and a reddish flame formed and surrounded it. Liam was shocked when a fire suddenly covered his whole fist and he was looking at it for a short period, then he immediately turned his head to the terrorist and focused on hitting him. The kick landed on Liam''s head as he came down from the air and his fist fist landed on his face. BOOM! A loud sound of a flesh being hit by a huge object can be heard from the whole corridor they are in. Liam was hit in the shoulder to his head that made him flying for a few meters. His right hand has been fractured and his back received an impact after crashing over a wall, then he began coughing a mouthful of blood. His vision became pitch black and he can''t move his entire body but somehow his consciousness hasn''t fully dissipated. The terrorist was severely injured. His body is in an unimaginable state. With Liam''s fist that contained a high amount of explosive power hit his face earlier, his face became swollen, broken and is covered with blood. Some part of his face have a bulge in it and some part of it have open scratch, wounds, and cuts. You can''t probably looked at it without wanting to throw up. His old face can never be seen anymore. The worst part that you would definitely know that his death was assured was that the wall that his head hit earlier had a spat of thick and red blood. His head have been cracked open and his skull was probably broken. That was how deadly the skill of the terrorist had. He would''ve killed Liam in an instant if only Liam had not taken and it and if only he could just remembered that he had that skill. An Answer Inside the chapel. "This guy finally died! He just won''t stop shooting recklessly." Officer Dole heaved a sigh of relief, then he glanced at his partner intently "Hey. Why do you look so down? Are you hurt by the grenade? We just killed a terrorist. Just thinking that we could probably get into a higher rank makes me so happy. We also saved people by killi- HEY!" Inspector Wright was standing still with his head looking towards the door. It was like he can clearly see what is happening behind the door by just looking at it. The Inspector then looked back at his partner. "Earlier, didn''t you hear something exploded?" "Nope. I was busy shooting that guy and... Wait? Explosives!? There''s more TERRORISTS!?" Officer Dole was shocked when he realized that there is other terrorists besides the other two who was dead by now. "Why are you surprised? I thought you already knew that there were more terrorists since the two of them was holding just a handgun as they came up here. How stupid they were if they first terrorized the upper floor with only two of them being the terrorist." Inspector Wright slightly tilted his head while glancing at his partner like he was a stupid kid. Officer Dole was embarrassed by his stupidity but he then think of something to make himself looks like more intelligent. "Y-Yeah... Then they probably have more explosives in them and more people died earlier when it exploded so we should immediately head down there right?" "No, that''s not what I''m talking about." Inspector Wright said reluctantly. Officer Dole fell silent for a moment. "F*CK! What is it then!?" "It''s neither a grenade nor any other explosives. I probably know every sounds that the military weapon makes and it''s nothing like a weapon. The sound was like a huge fist that contains great force and incredible speed hitting a thick flesh... But it''s definitely more times stronger than what I just explained right now." Inspector Wright said seriously. "Is that even possib- Oh shit! There is a f**king Neowight here!? Wait, does that mean that all of the terrorists have powers." Inspector Dole was surprised until he realized something that entirely changed his expression "THAT KID! HE''S STILL IN THIS FLOOR! SHIT!" Officer Dole immediately ran towards the door and the Inspector followed him. While Inspector Wright is following his partner, he was looking at him with respect. Even though Officer Dole is kind of stupid sometimes, when danger is falling in the innocent people, he will always be the first one to save them. Inspector Wright respected him because he''s going to save some people in his sight even if it cost his life. He is the bravest amongst the other police officers out there. SLAM! The door was kicked open by Officer Dole. He looked around to find Liam but he saw nothing outside besides gory surroundings. With the floor that is slightly damage and the wall that is stained with blood, it was totally obvious that something grim had happened while they were in the middle of shooting the terrorist inside the chapel. Officer Dole is trembling, but it''s not in any relation of fear or ecitement but because he is seriously mad "T-This... The kid... WHERE IS THAT F***ING TERRORIST!" Inspector Wright is standing behind his partner and watched him get furious for a moment. He then tapped his shoulder "Hey, be calm. We know that they, the Neowights, have extremely dangerous power hidden inside them and I know that you are thinking that if that guy earlier really has a power or ability, then the kid is probably dead by now... but terrorists would always leave their victims behind as they kill them unless if they have something to do witht them but there is no dead body that can be seen in this whole corridor." Officer Dole calmed down a bit as he heard his partner talked, then he glanced at him while pointing his finger to the blood-stained wall "Then... what is all this blood." "It must be the kid getting seriously injured but... that kid also had an ability just like he said. In fact, his ability is just like the ''''thing'''' that the Alpha Organization has been using to heal their patients'' injuries at an incredible rate." He averted his gaze then he looked at the blood in the wall "When the first time that I observed him with my innate ability, there was an aura oozing out from all over his body like no other man does and right now... His blood is releasing a slight vibration that ripples through the air. He''s definitely alive because of his incredible fighting spirit. It just lit recently but it''s never going to die again." "Did you just tried to comfort me with this idle talk?" "Fufu. You know that I would never lie Evan. Even if I do lie, I would''nt dare when the situation is this serious." ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n Inside an elevator. DING! DING! DING! Liam was sitting and leaning his back on the steel wall of the elevator and he was looking intently in the air.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He was a bit dissapointed when he learned that he can''t use his skill ''Absorption'' to the same person twice but when he heard multiple chimes, he formed a smile and his heart beat slightly faster. Although he was really excited, he didn''t immediately check what it was since he was busy checking his stats. ¡º Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 11 Job: none HP: 15 (¡ü2) MP: 16 (Replenish 2 pt every 1 min and 20 sec.) Stamina: 13% [Stats] Strength: 22 Dexterity: 15 Intelligence: 18 Endurance: 16 Perception: 19 Stat Distribution Points: 0 ¡» Liam loosen up as he saw that his HP finally stopped decreasing because of the continuous bleeding, but it turned into increasing it because his body is inactive by relaxing and not moving. His life or death fight with the terrorist was so intense that he have injuries all over his body. From his head to toe, severe wounds and deep cuts can be seen with bare eyes. With 1 bone fracture each in the left arm and right leg, 13 cuts, 7 open wounds and bruises all over the body, one would already faint by shock or be unconscious by the unimaginable pain, but Liam is an exception to the normal people. But. By risking his own life, he killed a person for the second time. Somehow he don''t feel sorry for killing that man nor do he feel dirty because of it. He thought that for those kind of people, who killed people without mercy, doing all kind of filths or simply scums, they wholely deserved not being pitied. Currents, he can''t move his whole body right now so he can only sit and interact with the system. The VIP floor is 50 floors high up the building so it will took him quite some time before he could go down to the main hall in the first floor. Liam decided to check the notification because his heart was filled with anticipation when he remembered the multiple chimes that it made. As soon as he opened it with his mind and heard the click sound, he was taken aback when a number of windows showed up in front of him in an instant. It took him quite a moment of schock before he could finally read the window in the front of the other window. ¡º You can finally see the stat [Experience Points] in thr Experience Bar. You can now know about how the levelling system works. EXP can be gain by completing missions, overcoming obstacles and opponents, aquiring new experience, wisdom, knowledge and insights.¡» Liam still read it multiple times until now even though he already accepted it and believed it since the first time it popped up. His lips arched upwards when he finally stopped reading and he didn''t even notice it himself. "hehe. I finally get to know when would I level up. By giving this to me, System, you, the great guru, is like you just answered my question from last time." Liam said as he remembered that the system didn''t have an answer to his question. How do he even level up? But now he thought that his question has been answered by the system giving him the Experience Points and Experience Bar. "If that''s the case then... I shall ask more question. I don''t know how would you do it but please answer it." Liam said seriously. His question is very important as it will somehow change what was his way of thinking. Liam turned the notification windows down and looked into the empty air. "System, You said that I''m the only one who have you, a ''system'', but why does other people have more deadly skills than me? Aren''t they supposed to be just as strong as me or weaker? Also, how come that they don''t need mana to use skills? That''s more OP than me and you, who gave me a levelling system." Liam said and released a heavy sigh, knowing that the system wouldn''t answer him in an instant. "I don''t know if you are giving a hell about my question but please come up with an answer even if it''s a very long time. I just need a good answer." He soon cleared his mind of waiting for the system''s answer and opened the notification again. But before he could read a notification, his mind was resounded with a loud ''Ding''. Liam was a bit surprised when a new notification suddenly followed up late before the others. He waited for a moment before the fading in text appeares in the notification winfow and the voice of a slightly-robotic female finally drew out. After reading it whole, he widened his eyes and opened his mouth in shocked. ¡º Your question earlier was so simple that I already have dozens of answers for it after hearing it once.¡» Even though his personality and intellect changed in a good way at a fast rate, he can''t still completely withstand a shock from his heart and mind. It took quite a moment of time before his thoughts processed normally again. "Did the system just answered me or is it just me hallucinating. Probably not. Then... WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" Liam tried to move his body to get the pressure away from him but he can''t with his grave injuries. ¡º Read and understand this answer very carefully so you would not have to question again.¡» "What? How? No. An answer. This... In HELL you would answer me!" ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n BLRG! "Shit. I almost threw up. What in the actual f**k is this!? Who''s the sicko that could''ve done this." Officer Dole turned around to not see the disgusting thing in the wall. He just saw a man''s broken head and face. Not just broken, sickeningly and gorily broken. The rear head of the man was reshaped like a bitten apple, his face was ripped from top to bottomand was full of wounds and bruises, his left arm was bent and his body is full of severe wounds and deep cuts. The blood almost covered his entire body. Any inexperienced person would probably puke if they saw the man''s state for the first time. Officer Dole had been an officer for almost 7 years and this kind of scene is rare for him so it''s normal for him to be disgusted. A moment of him thinking finally made a suspicion. "Wait! This... Is this the terrorist''s doing too?" Officer Dole said as he turned around to look at the body again "Damn it! I''ll f**cking go kill him right now! This is definitely him. Shit. That guy." Inspector Wright was still inpecting the body until now and he suddenly made a serious face. "You''re wrong Evan." Inspector Wright said with a deep tone. "What!? Wrong? What is wrong? Isn''t it that f**king terrorist who did this to this poor guy?" The Inspector glanced at his partner for a moment before pointing the man in the wall with his index finger. "That ''poor guy'' right there..." "is the terrorist." Incoming Torture Inside the elevator. "This... This system really will give me an answer right now isn''t it?" Liam said while he was reading the window that said ''Read and Understand the answer carefully'' over and over again. ''This is fine too but... a system answering just feels weird and uncomfortable for me, I mean the novel about a system that I read a long time ago sucks and didn''t even talk once. I guess the system I have was just better than it then.'' Liam stopped his delusional thoughts when a sound he was waiting finally appeared. And then a long holographic screen popped up with countless letters inscribed in it. "Oh. This answer... is sure a really long one. hah~" Liam murmured when his eyes pointed from the top to the bottom of the window. ¡º You are indeed the first one to have a system and you might still be the only one right now...¡» "Ah. So I''m the first one, but what does ''I''m still the only one'' with ''still'' means?" Liam was confused when he read the first sentence. He soon came up with a thought that he was just living in a minor country and the entire world is getting more advanced and crazier from time to time. ''Oh. How am I the first one to have it if there are many major countries out there with advance technologies and wealthy people?'' ¡º ...but because I, the system, am the first one and the hardest one to be ever made, no other systems will be able to surpass my greatness, I''m sure of that. It''s either because they made me with their full effort and support or they don''t have something to copy me because the laboratory that were used to build me has been destroyed. They also made me here in this country because they wanted to keep it more secretive.¡» The next sentences made Liam get surprised because that was exactly what he is asking inside his mind earlier. ''Is it just me or this system is bragging?'' "Anyways, I guess I was just lucky to even encounter one, Fully because of those damned bastards...But, how amazing, this system." It was like the system already knew that Liam would ask and it already made an answer. Liam then continued to read with calmness. He got nothing to worry about anymore now that system will answer him with something better than he would expect. ¡º About the other people having such a good and deadly skills, don''t get mad if you read it later, ¡» "Did... Did the system just got worried about me getting mad?" Liam was completely dumbfounded. He got so many question running inside his mind right now, like ''Was the system so advance that it can also read people''s emotions?'' and ''How can he know that I''ll be mad? Does the system also have feelings and he knows what can make people mad so he said it in advance?'', but he can''t say anything because he got a strange feeling that the system won''t answer him. The system was already showing all the answer that Liam needed and also with some feeling and preparation so he got no choice but to read it until the end now. ¡º The people, like the ones you already fought, have been trained for so long that they had learned or made up skills by only themselves. Maybe because that''s their job or class to have the skills or maybe something strange was bound to happen to them particularly and somehow they were imparted with some godly skills. Of course, they can''t also use it continously, like you with your skill''s Cooldown, because that would badly affect the user''s body. They don''t use mana because they simply don''t have it or to be more specific, most of the people in this world don''t have mana. If you''re asking if I just said ''most of the people'', You heard or read it right. it''s because this world is changing dramatically that a plenty of people can even have and use mana. They can use skills freely because they made those skills by themselves. Unless it required a really great sacrifice. As simple as that. Why can''t you use them without mana? Because you were just stealing or obtaning skills not learning or making by doing hard training so to make it fair (or just because the maker of me, the Project-X''s system, can''t make it anymore overpowered than this,) the Project-X have an effect that lets a person have some mana and use it to activate the skills that the user have. Mana won''t just reside in a person unless that person goes through something like advanced science or beyond science itself. If you''re probably thinking about what mana is, it''s an unknown energy that swells throughout the body of a person but it does not do anything unless the person learned hard and great to know what to do with it. It has many uses. That is all. ¡» Liam finally finished reading the entire answer of the system written in the window and he was made speechless for a second. "Ah. Uhm. This... Okay fine. I''ll calm myself down and understand this carefully." Liam calmed down and let himself understand the answer after. "The people I have fought has been trained well and they have learned a skill by doing so and in another case, some people received skills by doing something strange, like what happened to me in the factory, so those Neowights have those skills probably because of the latter case. I guess I''m still more OP because I have skills without training hard to get them but there is a limit of how many times I can use it because of the skill CD time and the mana. Now I don''t get the full meaning of mana but I know that I''m using its energy to activate the skills." Liam said all his thoughts about the answer he got. He once again felt relieved after receiving an answer from the system so he put his body to rest without closing the system. He then checked his stat to see the Experience Bar.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡º Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 11 [ 25 / 120 ] Job: none HP: 29 (¡ü2) MP: 30 (Replenish 2 pt every 1 min and 20 sec.) Stamina: 36% [Stats] - [Skills] - [Quest] - ¡» "Eh? That''s it? Its so simple but either way it''s fine for me." Liam said. Liam was about to read one of the system''s notification when he heard a familiar sound once more. DING! ''Another new notification?'' He waited for a moment when suddenly his surroundings became bright. ''Shit. It was the elevator opening isn''t it?'' Liam immediately closed the system and was standing up quickly, but before he could straighten his legs, a large hands that was enough to cover his entire face, grab his head and shoved him down on the floor. Liam tried to push away the guy''s hand but his own hands were currently weakened by the fractures and wounds that it have so it didn''t made the large hand flinch. AHK! Liam screamed in pain when his head were held even tighter but what''s even more agonizing was the following attack by the guy. A huge fist was flying towards his face and when it landed, blood gushed out from his nose and his vision was starting to get blurry. The guy pulled Liam''s head towards his direction, then he slammed it in the wall of the elevator with a frightening speed. Liam''s consciousness faded away and his entire body fell on the floor when his head was freed from the grasp of the unknown man''s hand. "Hmmmm? This kid is full of wounds. Did he got away from the guys in the VIP floor with his pitiful state? I might as well get him to the hall. That guy will also be curious how this kid got away." The guy with a scar on the face said with with a creepy smile formed in his face. ©n©n©n©n©n©n "OHO! You still have some pride left to ignore me eh? You want another beating? Or just a slap?" The good looking guy with a fedora said while bending his body to confront Ian face to face. Ian was forced to kneel and his hand were tied by a rope behind his back. He was being asked or taunted repeatedly but he chose to just ignore the guy in front him but he was getting beaten everytime he ignored the guy. Even after many beating he still didn''t think of answering him once. "HAHAHAHA! Damn. I''ll definitely make you my helpmate with that personality if only you weren''t my target. Okay. This will be the last one." After the guy talked, he put his dagger out and tapped under the the kid''s chin. "If you don''t answer, then we''ll just take you, but if somehow I got frustrated with your answer, I''ll kill you. Listen. Where is you father''s secret warehouse?" The guy asked and the atmosphere beetween them changed because of the guy''s aura that made Ian feel a slight pressure. Ian has his head turned downwards. It was like he was starting to get scared from death and was thinking of an answer. "I... I..." Ian said with a trembling voice, then he finally turned his head upwards that lets the guy see his fearless eyes, then he said "I''ll never say anything to a f**king bastard like you! You son of a b*tch!" The guy formed a creepy smile that made Ian felt a chill all over his body. The guy pulled his knife then he quickly tried to stab him on the head. "Ehem!" SHNG! The guy with a fedora changed the dagger''s direction to the man who just released a forced cough and threw it towards him, but the guy tilted his head slightly and dodged the dagger in a hair''s breadth. "WOAH! You could have killed me with that men." "I would like that too because you just f**cking interrupted me killing this brat." The guy said annoyed by the bulky man. "HUAHAHA! Here, got a present. I think he just barely survived from the guys in the upper floor." "So what scarface? What do I do with him? Play games?" The fedora guy said without looking at the young man that was being pulled by the scar faced man. "Just look at his body? We can ask him what happened up there later." The scarfaced man threw the young man to let the other guy see it. "Hoh. Strange. No young dude will be able to survive with these injuries. I forgive you. I''ll check him now." "What''s there to forgive? Oh. Where''s that b*tch?" "Hehe.You calling her that because she''s not here eh. You coward. Anyways, I don''t know and don''t care. Also, bring him here." THUD! The scarfaced guy flipped the body over so they can see his face clearly. "Wow. He''s a fighter. fufu." The fedora guy said. Ian regained his senses after being shocked because he almost experienced death earlier. When he heard the two guys'' conversation, he became curious and decided tp check the guy''s face, but when he saw that guy, he became even more shocked that made his heart stopped beating for a second. "LIAM! F**K! LIAAAM!" He was immediately filled with worry after seeing his bestfriend in an unimaginable state. He tried everything to go to him but the rope that was tied in his hand was also tied up in a metal bar so he can''t move anywhere. "HUH? fufu... FUAHAHAHAHA! Finally a plot twist! So is he your clasmate, friend or bestfriend? Either way, we finally got a guy to torture am I right scarface!?" The fedora guy said with a joyous expression. "Yeah, Yeah, just go with it." "You motherf**kers!" PHWACK! ©n©n©n©n©n "Damn it! This stairs is too long! Where the hell is that kid? What the hell are you even talking about earlier!" Officer Dole said while running down the stairs. "Like I said, there are only two things that could''ve happened earlier. That Liam kid met a good strong guy or to be exact a Neowight or Liam is a Neowight himself." Inspector Wright said seriously but calmly. "What!?" "Which possibility do you think is the real thing that happened." "I dont know Derek! Stop asking me! I can''t imagine that kid having some power. I didn''t even see someone with power in personal once." "Stop!" Inspector Wright stopped and so his partner. Pant! Puff! Huff! "What floor is this?" Inspector asked after resting for a bit. "uh. 15th floor. Why?" Officer Dole replied. "Why is there a lady walking aroung here? I thought everyone hid or ran?" Inspector asked once again. "Dunno but let''s check and hide her elsewhere. It''s really dangerous here." Inspector said. Officer Dole was the first one to walked towards the corridor because of his worry. As he turned around to look for the lady in the left, he was stunned for a moment then he reflexively took a step backwards. He avoided a dagger that was thrown bythe lady in the nick of time. Officer Dole hurriedly ran back in the stairs to hide behind the wall. He glanced at his partner with a serious expression and said, "A f**king female terrorist is there!" "But... We don''t have any ammo anymore." Inspector replied. "Shit." A Good Surprise 9th floor, in the stairway. "That woman doesn''t have a gun but I definitely saw that she still got a lot more of knives that is stored in the pockets all over her legs. She''s probably an expert of throwing and she''s probably together with those shitty terrorists. We got to capture her immediately or else the people in here will be in much danger." Officer Dole said in a hurry. "Wow. You became smarter this time ah? Anyways, do you have your knife?" Inspector Wright asked. "Yeah. I found it in front of the chapel in the VIP floor. You have yours right?" "Of course." "Nice. Let''s go." After their calm and casual-like conversation, Officer Dole ran forward then he ducked and slid down towards the other corridor. He dodged the knife that was thrown by the woman into him when he ducked. Inpector Wright was the next one to show himself up. He slowly turned sidewards to see the woman then he blocked the knife that was flying fast towards him by shoving it with his own knife. The woman was shocked for a moment and when she finally came to his senses, a knife was already been thrown towards her face but she dodged it in the nick of time. Officer Dole ran towards to the woman when his partner threw a knife to her. His hands almost caught the woman before she threw another knife that wounded his legs and made him took a few steps back. Inspector Wright didn''t just sit back as he took another knife that was thrown into him earlier and threw it again in the direction of the woman. The woman blocked the knife with a dagger that she was currently holding, and catched it when it was about to fall. She suddenly tossed the knife to her left side where the elevator''s push button was located when the elevator sign was written with the same number as the floor their currently in. The two officers glanced at each other for a second before they immediately ran towards the woman when they learned about her plan of escaping. The woman didn''t just stand and wait for them to catch her up as she throw all her knives towards them one by one trying to pushed then away while she was walking slowly towards the unopened elevator. She noticed that the two officers were barely being held back because they were dodging and blocking her knives so she was slightly worried but when the elevator finally opened, her lips arched upwards then she quickly ran towards inside it. Officer Dole and Inspector Wright followed immediately but the elevator was already closing when they are still quite far from its reach. The woman did a hand sign that said a farewell to them, then the elevator was finally closed. Officer Dole threw a knife but it didn''t make it in time. "DAMN IT!" ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n¡ê Ten minutes earlier. Liam opened his eyes slowly. He found himself kneeling while his hands were tied up and it seemed that he can''t also move it anywhere. The first thing he saw in his surroundings was destroyed furnitures, scattered debris and fragments, and dismembered human bodies. The dozens of burnt and disrupted bodies that was lying all over the floor made Liam shut his eyes from shock. Only the inhuman and cold-blooded people could do this to the innocents. Just as he was about to think of a way to get out from his tied hands, a man suddenly walked in front of him. Liam saw a guy with an above-average looks wearing a fedora. He was also holding a dagger. ''Another terrorist? He must be a guy under the terrorist I fought earlier. What are they into?'' "Hm? Didn''t I carved your face with a knife earlier? Or did it not made a contact to the skin? I didn''t feel it but it bleed right? Or was it from the wounds on your head? ah. Why do I even care? But..." The fedora guy said, bothered by himself. Liam was speechless when the guy started to talk to himself. He soon realized what the guy was talking about. It was because his ''Regeneration'' skill activated and healed some wounds and injuries on him. Although it was only a few minutes of him being unconcious, his fractured bones and internal injuries had already been healed so he can moved his body, but because he still have some wounds and other more injuries outside his body besides the cut in his face that unkowingly healed his body suffered every twitch it made. A few moments passed but the guy was somehow still talking to himself. "This guy here is crazy." He said inwardly as he was still looking at the man in front of him. The fedora guy''s mouth came to a halt then he moved his head to Liam and formed a serious expression. The aura from him changed entirely. It was there was another person that possesed his body. "Hm? You''re currently awake right? Strange. No normal young man could possibly wake up a few minutes after being walloped in the face and getting pounded to the wall. It sure is strange." The guy said with confusion in his tone but with a serious face. "Also I have a good surprise for you. Hold up a second, it will be great. Wait for it." The guy changed again and he was obviously excited as he immediately leave Liam alone. Liam wasn''t stupid enough to really wait for the guy as he immediately opened the system and checked the notification as soon as the fedora guy leaved his sight. He was finding all the notication that either increases his attributes or level him up. He accepted all the attributes that he received from completing some unknown task, that he didn''t even checked once after getting the system, or from rewards. ¡º The task [Defeat an enemy with five or above levels higher than you] has been completed. You gained 50 Experience Points, 4 Attribute Points and 3 Skill Points.¡» ¡º You endured an agonizing pain for more than 10 minutes. You gained 10 EXP Points and your Endurance increased by 2 points.¡» ¡ºYou fought with only brute strength for more than 10 minutes. You gained 10 EXP Points and your Strength increased by 2 Points. ¡» ¡º You have experienced a life and death fight for the first time. You gained 40 EXP Points, 3 ATR Points and 2 Skill Points. ¡» ¡ºThe task [Fight like a warrior] has been completed. You gained 15 EXP Points and 2 ATR Points.¡» ¡º You leveled up. All Attributes increases by 1 point. ¡» Liam immediately checked his stats. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 12 [10 / 140] Job: none HP: 33 (¡ü2) MP: 20 (Replenish 2 pt every 1 min and 20 sec.) Stamina: 39% [Stats] Strength: 25 ¡ú26 Dexterity: 16 ¡ú20 Intelligence : 19 ¡ú20 Endurance: 19 ¡ú21 Perception: 20 ¡ú 21 Stat Distribution Points: 9¡ú0 ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Immediately after spending all his stat points, he just remembered that he also got some skill points. ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Skill Menu [ New option has been added on the Skill Menu. Technique has been added in the subcategory of the Passive Skill. Techniques can be leveled up and upgraded.] Passive Skills: > Health Recovery > Firmness {CD 10 min} > Regeneration > Immunity > Hyperthymesia Techniques: ?NEW? > Hand Fighting Techniques Lv. 1 > Assasination Techniques Lv. 1 Active Skills: > Athletic Lv. 2 - {5 MP, 1 min CD} > Crystal Vision Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10 sec CD} > Accurate Throw Lv. 2 - {1 MP, 1 sec CD} > Appraisal Lv. 1 - {0 MP} > Mental Boost Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10 sec CD} > Absorption Lv. 1 - {0 MP, 20 min CD} > Stealth Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 1 min CD} > Dull Time Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 25% STA, 9 hrs CD} > Blade Hands Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10% STA, 15 min CD} > Fiery Punch Lv. 1 - {9 MP, 10% STA, 30 min CD} ?NEW? > Assasination Techniques - Basic assasination techniques like seeing vital points and smoother phsyical attack. > Fiery Punch - An ancient martial arts skill that lits the user''s fist while he was doing a punch. The strike contains an incredible amount of destructive power. Skill Distribution Points - 20 ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n He read the skill distribution points first and was surprised by how many points he had in Stats and in Skills. How lucky he was! He read the new skill next and was surprised once again. The skills he got are really deadly but awesome! He would not say it out loud because his mind became a genius that acts like a prison wall to his emotions, but deep inside his heart, he was truly happy. His face even brightened up a little. He immediately chose the ''Fiery Punch'' skill to be leveled up. He can''t still use it for the next 20 minutes so he was hoping that if he let it get an upgrade, its cooldown time would decrease. ¡º The [Fiery Punch] skill leveled up. (9 MP, 6% STA, 20 min CD) ¡» "YEES!" Liam shouted inwardly. His lips curled upwards and he didn''t even realized it. ''Ten more minutes and I can beat and escape from those guys.'' Liam was already planning something but he felt uneasiness as he was thinking. ''Why do I feel this uneasiness right now? Am I forgetting something?'' As he was thinking, a loud footstep suddenly rang in the hall like it was here to answer his question. Liam widened his eyes as he felt a presence of three people not far away him. ''It was the guy earlier, but who are the two.'' Even though he can''t see the presence visibly but he can feel them and familiariaze himself when he focused on it so he knew that the first person who was walking was the fedora guy earlier. ''But why do the other two feels familiar?'' The other two were somehow also felt familiar to him. He focused his hearing when they were closer and he could sense and hear that one of them is definitely being pulled. A thought suddenly came to his mind. A frightening but a possible thought. His heart slightly beat faster when it came to him and the uneasiness were also getting stronger from every second. ''No. It''s not him. It can''t be.'' TAP! TAP! The fedora guy walked and turned towards him. He smiled and moved his head forward. "HERE IS YOUR SURPRISE KID! FUAHAHAHA! Hey! Toss him! Scarface!" The fedora guy said while still giggling. THUD! The bulky guy with a scarface threw a lifeless body in front of Liam. Liam just glanced at the face of the man who has been thrown for a second and his mind already recognized it. "!" His body stiffened and his eyes widened in utter shock. He saw his best friend, Ian, lying on the floor with a bruise and wounds on his face and some cuts in his chest. Liam''s face darkened. He can''t think straight anymore after seeing Ian''s current state. Sure, his injuries were not as severe as Liam but still, he would never let his best friend get hurt just like what he promised to himself. "huah. Don''t worry. He isn''t dead. We just beat him so bad that he fainted. PFFT! Right Scarface? fu.. fu.. FUAHAHAHA! I remembered his face! HAHA!..." The fedora guy said, feeling a strange happiness inside him. "HAHA... haa.. haa. We... We asked him some very important but simple question. He didn''t answer but luckily you came. ''cause I almost killed him. hehehe. I also almost killed you with my dagger but damn! This friend of yours spit a blood on me. Do you believe that? So we went to the bathroom, scarface pulled him inside, beat him up without answering, and, and FUAHAHAHA!" Every single words he released from his mouth made Liam''s mind get more and more chaotic. Angry, Sad, Grim, Sorrow, Fear, Sympathy. Or every negative emotions that exists lurked inside him. But somehow one emotion dwelled stronger than the others. All the definition of grim was filling Liam. Wether it was his appearance or his feelings. Liam was grimmer than ever and you can tell just by looking at his widened cold-still eyes and his frightening darkened face. Scarface stopped looking at his laughing leader and focused his attention to the tied kid. He felt a chill when he looked at him although he can''t see his face or eyes because he bent down. He decided to walk towards him and check his condition. He thought the kid was crying because he saw his friend beat up. When he was near the kid, his legs suddenly moves. He put out one foot first and the other foot next. Like a hammer, his legs looked tough and heavy when it came out. The fedora guy stopped laughing and gaze at the kid he tied with a thick rope just a few minutes ago. "Hm? Is he planning to get out of that? A thick rope that is tied on a thick metal? What a stupid kid." The fedora guy said with a look of disgust. "It seems like it. But how can you change your personality so fast? I thought it''s when a problem occurs that disturbed your mental state or some instinct then it will change." "Huh? Oh... yeah. It is... like that. Strange. Is there... a problem right now?" The fedora guy said. CLANG! They both stopped talking to each and looked at the kid who was trying to stand up. He was trying straigthen his legs but the rope was still tied to the metal bar. Suddenly, his legs and arms became somewhat bigger. Liam didn''t know but he was unconsciously gathering all his strength to his legs and arms making the muscles there more thicker. CLANK! Scarface and the fedora guy both watched the kid stand straight, they just saw him do a miraculous scene. He was bending a super thick metal by only his pure strength! Liam continued to stand and get away from the metal. The thick metal was still bending and it looked like it was going to break anytime soon. CLAANK!! SCREECH! A sound of a metal rang through out the hall. Much louder than earlier. Scarface and the fedora guy closed their eyes at the same time when they heard the screeching noise of the metal. The fedora can''t take it anymore so he tried to go to the strange kid and opened his eyes, but he saw nothing there. PHWACK! He immediately turned his head to see where the sound came from. It was the kid punching and kicking Scarface at an incredible speed. Every hit was releasing a painful and echoing sound. It was obviously not a normal punch. ''I... didn''t notice him.'' Monster In the main hall. Liam lost himself and didn''t realize that he was pummeling the scarface guy like he was a raging beast. Because a large quantity of his strength was compacted in both of his arms and legs, every hit he was releasing contains a great amount of power and he was never being pushed back because his legs were like a heavy rock that was bringing his body to move forward. The scarface guy was taken aback. He never once imagined in his life that his body, that he trained for almost 20 years, was being beaten like he was a punching bag by a guy who looked so much younger than him. Every hit he took from Liam, his firm and thick muscles were either being swelled or being torn apart by its great speed and power. It''s been a long time now and he can''t take the shame anymore. He opened his arms and stopped defending, then he tried to hit the kid with a right hook punch. Even though Liam seems like he lost himself, there was a part of his consciousness that resides and let him overcome his pure emotions. Earlier, when he thought about Ian got beaten, he wanted to escape immediately and kill the guys who hurt him and the only strong emotions he felt that moment were grimness and fierceness. But now that he was currently fighting one, he somehow managed to think of his own self, at the same time, a bit of his consciousness plod in. His perceptiveness came back to it''s original strength and his reflexes and evasion followed. In the end, Liam was able to dodge the incoming attack by moving his upper body sidewards. He grabbed the stretched arm with his left hand and dealt damages to the scarfaced guy by punching his chin and his left biceps before the guy could move his left arm. He hit him in his Vital Points! Of course the guy wasn''t left being completely stunned from getting hit in the chin. He can''t move his left arm for a few minutes and it was just that. However, he was startled by the fact that the government from all around the world ban the normal citizens to even know a single human body''s vital points, yet the young man in front of him actually hit his body in the vital points flawlessly! The scarface guy was stunned for a second before he ducked and grabbed Liam''s body with his right arm. ''Fine. I''ll have to kill this kid. his strength isn''t something to scoff at.'' The scarface guy decided to immediately kill the kid in front of him. He pressed his muscles tightly and brought Liam up into the air. THUD! Liam was knocked down to the floor and hit his head badly. He also full regained his sanity that way and dodged a massive fist falling to his face. He stood up and took a step back. Liam regained his composure and he began focusing to turned the situation to his advantage. He was no longer angry and frustrated by Ian being beaten because he didn''t need to anyways. He just need to beat all the terrosist and everyone inside this hospital is going to be safe. The scarface guy didn''t wait much long and ran straight towards Liam. He jumped high even with his heavy body and tried to punch the kid in the face. Liam was surprised for a moment before he ducked and leaped sideward leaving the scarface hit nothing but air. By that time, Liam learned that he could willingly shift his sheer strength to any part of his body. ''I should call my shifting strength ''vibe'' because it''s giving me a slight excitement to fight.'''' He moved his strength... or his ''vibe'' down to his legs, then leaped towards the scarface guy. Liam, who is planning to strike with his perfectly mastered basic technique of boxing ''straight punch'', was already smiling to see how strong he is. That is why the subcategory of the Passive Skill in his System ''Techniques'' was considered overpowered because once you get the technique, you will not just learned it but you can do it perfectly like you trained it for years. Adding that and his gathered strength, it can surely knocked down a person. Unless that person was as strong as the brawny guy in front of Liam right now. The scarface guy turned around and saw a fist flying to his face. PHWACK! Scarface took a solid hit from Liam and lost his balance. Liam thought that this is his chance to knocked the scarface guy down unconscious when he was about to fall to the ground. As soon as Scarface''s butt touched the ground, Liam already moved his feet towards his face.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Another hit was taken by Scarface that made his body tilt sidewards. Liam moved again and tried to hit Scarface''s face again with his knee but it was blocked by his right arm. Scarface pushed Liam away with his left arm. He can finally move his left arm! With it he can fight the kid and still kill him but unfortunately, it was all to late now. His body was aching more and more because of the aftershock of getting hit continuously earlier and his vision was starting to darkened because he took a solid hit to the face. ''This kid is not fighting recklessly anymore. He changed once again, but his strength did not.'' He stood up and formed a fighting stance. He was no longer on a defense. In this kind of fight, he can''t win by only defensing. Even though he can''t say that he can win surely by fighting him head on, he still have a higher chance by doing so. He ran towards Liam really fast, then when his foe was finally in his range, he grabbed his right arm and pulled it towards him. Liam was stunned by seeing a hulk running at an incredible so he didn''t react fast enough. He then released his massive fist to strike it to his opponent''s face. "!" Liam was being held so tight and pulled so quick that he can''t fight back to escape, then the next thing he saw was a huge fist which was covering his sight quickly. PHWACK! Scarface relaxed a bit when his punch landed on his target successfully. He only have a few strike moves but those ''few moves'' are enough to take out every single one of his opponents. Even though he was confident that his strike earlier was strong, he still didn''t let his guard down and still grabbed Liam''s arm. He was looking at the kid''s pushbacked head. His eyes and his muscles were not moving an inch. Scarface knew that this is the sign that a person was currently unconcious but somehow, he still felt some uneasiness lingering within him. He decided that he will end the kid in front of him with a hit in the stomach while he was still in an unconscious state. He clenched his fist and it seems to be getting bigger and bigger by a second until it became a gigantic size with height of 3 inches and a width of 5.5 inches. It was really similar to a big stone and it was now flying to it''s target. At that moment, Liam suddenly opened his eyes and immediately regained his composure. He heard a loud ripple in the air and saw a giant hand moving towards his stomach. He quickly reacted by simply moving his hips backwards. The fist flew pass Liam but it scraped his shirt and somehow even scratched his skin without touching it. When the scarface guy''s arm stretched out completely and his fist punched the air, a weak shockwave formed where the fist stopped. It made a loud clap-like noise and made the air around it have some intense pressure that formed a sudden wind for quite a distance. Liam who dodged the deathly punched was frightened but at the same time he was relieved. That punch earlier was no doubt not much weaker than his skill ''Fiery Punch'' and he don''t know if he could still be alive after getting hit by it. He unconsciously felt a happiness of surviving once again since he fought the guy who barged in his house and the terrorist in the VIP floor. "I dodged it--... No. I was just lucky that I woke up somehow... I am still weak." Liam said inwardly as he gathered his all of his strength to his left arm and quickly threw a punch the man in front of him. !!! One hit under the nose and one hit to the chin. It was another two vital points that only veterans knew. The guy blanked out, released his tightly grabbing hand and slowly fell into the floor. THUD! Liam reverted his hand and glanced at the other terrorist, the fedora guy, with an intent of killing. His expression was calm and his body was yet to move daringly, but his eyes and the atmosphere around him are completely different. He didn''t to do things slowly from now on. "You. Are. Next." Liam said with a deep and cold voice. Liam averted his gaze and looked at the unconcious brawny man on the ground. He kneeled in one knee and put his hand above the body. "Absorption. Random." The guy with fedora was completely shaken. He was watching Liam doing things with bewilderment. Not even a several minutes passed but the kid that have so many severe injuries and wounds, was creating a barely posibble act in front of him. After just waking up with the injuries, he bent and broke a thick metal just by using force in a rope, he pounded an extremely trained body of a man and beat him within a couple of minutes, and now he was doing something weird by putting his hand on top of an unconscious guy. Just what kind of monster did he encounter!? 5 years ago, when he was still a naive minor, his mother passed away from a lethal disease and he was left with only but a heartless father. When his father isn''t near him, despite being poor, he was easily making friends because of his good looks, that''s the only thing in the world that made him happy for the first time and it was also the last time. His demon of a father didn''t let him out of the house. He was so bored and lonely that he finally decided to see his friends that he made outside. But that was the last time he thought of that decision because his father quickly found him out. He tied his body, put him in a wooden closet and feed him with only a cup of rice and salt, for one week straight. He cried for the whole time until the closet door finally opened completely. He thought that his father felt some kind of sympathy for him because he let him sit on a chair, but no, he smelled his father with a scent of strong liquor. A moment later, his clenched his fist, and pounced it into his face. That''s the first time he was punched. One hit out of a thousands of hit. Several years later of those sick beatings. He endured the pain, fear, loneliness, anger, and every negative emotions, he adapt, and finally overcame everything. He was emotionless. It became a part of him. Just like an ability. It was a really strong and deadly ability. But unfortunately, it has a bad side effect that soon became permanent. A month later after being ''emotionless'', he accumulated an unknown disease. It was a mixture of Dissociative Identity and Bipolar disorder. Emotionless, Overjoyed, Sorrow, and Fury. He was changing like crazy. One time, his father was extremely agitated by his sudden changes of emotion and beat him more, then the thugs that his father were in debt of barged into their house. His father was beaten up. He was in the same state as him. The thugs realized that he was being abused by his father so he let them kill his fayher and brought him a knife. He was being forced into doing it. Even though he didn''t care, somethung inside him was moving really, really weird. His emotionless state turned into merciless. He eventually held the knife and stabbed his father countless of times. His eyes suddenly moved toward the laughing thugs. He stood up and easily killed all of them by either stabbing them in the stomach or slicing their neck. The room was filled with nothing but crimson-red blood. A moment of silence passed before coming up with the decision to end his pitiful self. He didn''t care about anything anymore. Even his own life. He''s been dead for almost a year now. What can possibly change? But before he could slit his own neck, a man with a black fedora hat suddenly appeared and stopped his hands from moving any closer. The mysterious man''s lips slowly arched upward. "From now on, you are going to be my student... You''ll be a monster.." Fear In the main hall. Liam stood up. He walk slowly towards the fedora guy while he was calmly checking all of the system''s notification since he killed the terrorist in the VIP Floor until now. ¡º By being a true warrior in just a mere few minutes, you have gained a Passive Skill called [Warrior''s Will]. ¡» ¡º The skill [Warrior''s Will] will eventually wake up the user after getting forcefully unconscious by an enemy. The more dangerous the situation is, the sooner it will activate. ¡» ¡º Your stats are all above 20 points. The control of your overall strength and 50 EXP Points will be the reward for it. ¡» ¡º You perfectly put all your strength into one place, your right arm. The skill [Arms Strengthening] has been gained by you doing it. ¡» ¡º The skill [Arms Strengthening] makes both of your arms contain 50% of your own Strength and another 50% increase of Strength. Its main purpose is to make the user''s arm to have a great strength but at the same time, it won''t drained all of the user''s current strength. ¡» ¡º The Dexterity Attribute has been chosen. 7 points of Dexterity has been given ¡» ¡º You obtained the Techniques of [Blunt Weapons] and obtained a skill called [Athletic]. ¡» ¡º By absorbing the same skill twice, the skill will automatically leveled up. ¡» ¡º The skill [Athletic] has been upgraded. The [Athletic] skill has been changed into [Mesomorphic]. ¡» ¡º The skill [Mesomorphic] raises the Dexterity and Endurance by 75%(25+) and the Strength by 25% of the current attributes for 15 mins(10+). {5 MP}. ¡» ¡º You successfully defeated an enemy with 2 levels higher than you. You gained 30 EXP Points, 3 ATR Points, and 1 Skill Points. ¡» ''Hm. So that''s why I woke at the right timing. It saved my life. Anyways, that''s a lot of windows and it''s all good.'' Liam was about to check the status window when he saw something familiar within the terrorist''s upper body. He took a quick look and immediately recognized it. In the neck, there was a dark-colored tattoo. "Dark... Society." The fedora guy was frozen in his place when the aura of the young man changed drastically again. A cold shiver suddenly ran down his spine. Fear. For the first time in a really long time, he felt the thing that he overcame completely. He was scared, frightened, and terrified everytime his eyes locked into the body of the young man that he used to treat like a dog. "W-What happened to him that he had a sudden change? A fearful... change." The fedora guy said with his trembling mouth. Even though his eyes was not facing directly towards him, there was a dark, ominous aura oozing out and somewhat gazing at him. Trembling in fear, he tried to stepped away. ''When you think someone is stronger than you, don''t you dare run away or I will be the one who will kill you if you did...'' He stopped when he recalled what his master said to him. He now remembered where he felt his last fear. ''You''re going to be the one who will let them run away. Remember that Rynn.'' It was from his own master, who taught him to control his own emotions and his disorder. The fedora guy or Rynn quickly cleared his thoughts. He regained his composure and brought out his two daggers. ''I''m just going to kill this guy and I''m off to killing that Hanes kid. This is truly getting out of hand." He immediately came back to being ''emotionless''. Liam looked back, can''t cease his emotions anymore, he stood up. He walked slowly towards Rynn who was already in a position to fight with two of his daggers. Every step Liam took was a pressure to Rynn but he still remained looking unaffected by anything. His walking came to a halt when he saw a thick with a medium length wooden staff down on the floor. He eventually picked it up and touched from it''s end to another. Liam held it up and stretched his hand backwards. He then threw it towards his target, fast but smooth, with the help of his ''Accurate Throw'' skill.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Rynn was a bit stunned when he did a sudden throw before dodging it with a side step. When he went back to his old position, Liam was already nowhere to be seen. He quickly raised his cognizance and felt a presence behind him. He saw Liam holding the staff that he threw just a moment ago. Before Liam even move from his spot earlier, he already activated two of his active skills. The first one is the ''Mesomorphic'' skill that helped him buff all of his physical attributes especially his speed, then the ''Stealth'' skill that completely removed the sound of his movements and increased the smoothness of his attack or strike execution. He quickly moved the staff and prepared to strike with it. With the help of two of his techniques, the ''Assasination'' and ''Blunt Weapon'' one, he masterfully hit Rynn in his vital point from to his legs. Rynn immediately recovered from shock and moved his dagger towards Liam''s face, but he hit nothing but air. Liam took the chance and in 1 second, he successfully hit another two of his vital points. It so strong that the thick staff broke from the impact caused by the hit. Rynn seemed to suffered from the pain but it looked like nothing happened to him, either because he endured it very well, or he just didn''t care. He quickly turned around and saw Liam with his arms that looked slightly thicker and larger than earlier. He was shocked and took a glance to his face unconsciouly. Liam looked at Rynn with a glint of coldness in his eyes, then he slowly opened his mouth and said "You''re dead." PSSHT! "Breaking News! At exactly 17 minutes ago, at the Main Area of City E-5, Loud explosions can be heard coming from the NYX Hospital. The police already made a move just a few minutes after the explosion but somehow they can''t seem to get near the building, either due to the traffic, accidents, or even some crime, but the higher ups are still continuing to recruit some other police to get there..." In a room filled with nothing but amenity and superfluity, there was a middle-aged man with a formal attire, watching a news in a large screen that almost fits in an entire wall of a room. He seems to be displeased by the news because he was sitting in a large leather office chair with a deep furrow forming in his eyebrows, but at the same time, he was giving an extremely composed aura. He tilted his head and opened his mouth. "Hey, Nathan. What hospital did my son said he would go off to?" Just before the voice vanished through thin air, a young man in his mid-20s took a few steps forward before swiping his gentle, black tuxedo with his hand. With how gentle and serious he looked, you can definitely know that he''s a secretary or a private bodyguard in just one glance. "Earlier, he said that he would go to the NYX Hospital, sir." "Is he back in the mansion now?" "Sir, near the mansion or even near our organization''s buildings, there has been no report about seeing the son of yours." "Hn. Do you think that he is still in that hospital." The middle-aged man said, pointing the large screen with his chin. "93% chance that he''s still in there hiding. If somehow he''s still inside that hospital, there is a 4% chance for not being safe from those terrorist, unless their objective is connected to him." "Did you already send some people to go there?" "A dozen of men, since a few minutes ago, but they have been stucked in the high ways, underground ways, over pass, and even the shorcut roads, together with some police or reporters after having a traffic accident or other serious problems in the way." "Hn. My silly son is in there for sure, but why is he there again?" "For his best friend or his so called ''brother'', Liam, who was badly injured and was sent to hospital, sir." "Ah. That Liam kid. I think I saw a great potential in him several years ago unlike any other kiddos out there when his parents were still living and working here. Anyways, should I personally come there and give them money or something to make them stop." "You can''t sir. The situation there is dangerous. The explosion is caused by multiple grenades and it was probably a massacre made by those terrorist inside. Just a mere money can''t completely fill their filthy hearts." "fufufu. so Violence is what they want eh. Let''s give them peace. Bring me there. Four guards. Helicopter." "But sir!" "What? They could kill me? If that happened, pain will be just a mere memory when I use ''that'' right? so also bring it too." "Y-yes sir. I will come too and provide information." "Hm. Okay. Stay low key by paying the media and saying them in advance that we''ll go there? Or ride in a large chopper, while we''re wearing a heavy and thick bullet-proof suit." "The bullet-proof tuxedo is thin and light but it''s perfect and it will be the safest si-" "Yes, nice choice. Ride in a chopper then. Come on, let''s go, and fly into the night. haha!" The middle-aged man stood up and smiled after looking at the young man besides him. "Yes sir, Mr. CEO, Hanes." ¡ã CLICK! In a room with dark-colored walls and antique decorations, faint. Three guys were facing each other while sitting on a beautifully-designed wooden chair. They were divided by a long wooden table and was opposite to each other. There were two men in their mid-thirties and a young man was sitting besides the other man. They seemed to be confused after watching a piece of news. The guy with the black coat who was sitting besides the young man turned his head towards the guy who was still looking at the TV screen, looking serious. "Hm? Isn''t that your apprentice''s mission? He took so long that it actually came in the news. I heard that there''s only one person they''re looking for. Why is this-" "Hey. If you don''t want a fight, don''t talk. A problem occured can''t you notice. No trained man in our organization can take that long unless a big problem might have occured." The guy said as he stood up and removed his brown leather coat, leaving his maroon-colored shirt and his pure golden chain necklaces that shone bright as his diamond earings. He walked towards the door and wore a dark-red coat from the hanger stand before stopping again and looking back at the guys before him. "I''m going to head out real quick. Make sure to train your new kid harder cause I really want mine to fight him now." A cold glint emitted in his eyes and proceed to exit the room. "Hm? Did I say something wrong?" The guy with a dragon tatted in his face down to his neck said confusedly. "No, master. He was just angry that I''m better than his apprentice." "haha! really? fufu. You''re really good at making me laugh. I thought you were just a smart ass, the first time I saw you." "I''ll take that as a compliment, master. Anyways, is it just me or does he have an intention to go to the hospital all by himself?" "You''re certainly right, kid. He''s going straight outta here to there real quick." "That hospital is three kilometers away from here. Over twenty minutes with a car due to heavy traffics today, so he''s probably going to be late, if the said ''problem'' occuring there is bad." "hahaha. You''re taking us ''mediums'' way to lightly. If there''s a big problem just like what you said, why should we take a car? Didn''t I say that our own feet will be faster than those cars. I think even the slowest out of all of ''us'' can run 8 meters per second. Calculate that, smarty." "Sorry, master, and sure, I''d do that. Let''s say that, that cold guy can run up to five meters per second. Three kilometers will have get him over ten minutes." "Hm? Nice guess, but for him, I think five minutes will get him there." THWACK! "You motherf**ker. You just hit me in the face didn''t you?" Rynn said with a furious face. Liam was surprised at first when the ''emotionless guy'' earlier got angry, then he looked at him with a faint smile before slowly opening his mouth and said "huh? Can''t you feel your own blood pouring out from your shiny nose?" He stepped away swiftly after saying the words that he thought, might aggravate his enemy more. "You!" The Boss Currently, at a certain highway. All the loud honking of the electric vehicles in the roadway made the whole area became noisy unlike the usual behavior before. The heavy traffic created a chaos to all the people stucked in there. "What the hell is with this damned traffic, men!" A young man driving a car said with an annoyed face. "The news said that dozens of traffic accidents had happened in the City E-5''s ''Tala'', the main area." Another youth said while swiping his finger on his phone. "What!? You really mean Tala!? It has one of the biggest highways in our country! We''re even in an expressway and in the opposite direction from Tala! Don''t tell me even the massive underground way has a heavy traffic? Ugh! Where''s the police or someone who''d go there and fix the situation, eh?" The guy driving said. "Even if you shout and ask me. We won''t know." The other guy said as he proceed to focus at his phone. The guy driving released a heavy sigh after the conversation. He decided to open the side window of the car to get some fresh air. As he opened it, he tilted his head slightly to see a little bit of what''s outside. FWOOSH! "Hu-Huh!? WHAT!? HEY, DID YOU SEE THAT!?" The guy driving said as he almost jumped from his seat. "My god! You scared the shit out of me! What is it!?" The other guy said while being extremely frustated by his friend. "Ma-Man! There was a man with a red coat! He ran so fast to the opposite way! The wind earlier was even pressuring! A-And he! he-" "What the hell are you even talking about! I don''t see a guy running in the sideways back there. You crazy!?" "No! I told you he was so fast! Faster than an old van!" "Stop it! It was probably just an imagination cause by your stress. No one can surely run that fast. And what''s with the old van? Where''d you got that dumb analogy, huh?" "But... I really saw someone ran towards there." "Even if someone really run like you said, why would he go there? That is a one way towards the accident and next way there is the hospital which the terrorists are currently present. Anyways, don''t disturb me while I''m on my phone." "You..." ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n "You... You dare hit me in the face. I''ll f**cking kill you! Y-you just hit me. I''ll kill you! I''ll kill you so bad!" Rynn was saying things like he was hysterical by what''s currently happening. ''Hm? Something''s wrong.'' Liam took a few steps back and glared at his enemy. "Something is changing within him." He said inwardly as he looked at Rynn who was wildly scratching his head with both of his hands. The atmosphere around him was changing entirely. "I... I''ll kill you. You. I''ll kill... you!" Rynn said. "Ah!" Liam gasped as he thought of something. "Appraisal." ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Name : Rynn Gale Leve: 16 Job: Assasin // Apprentice HP: 37 (-1 +1) MP: 4 Stamina: 49% (+1 -1) [Stats] Strength: 23 (¡ü1) Dexterity: 20 (¡ü1) Intelligence: 14 Endurance: 19 (¡ü1) Perception: 9 (¡ü1) [Skills] - ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n "huh? It''s increasing. His HP and Stamina is not decreasing nor it is increasing, but his stats are. Except for the Intelligence, all of his attributes are increasing one by one." Liam said inwardly. He decided to look at Rynn''s stats to see if it was something about his skills. The first thing he checked was his passive skills and most of it was really odd, so he decided to see what''s the use of the skills by focusing his mind into it. ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n [Skills] Passive Skills: Merciless - Attributes will received a great power up in exchange for all emotions getting cleared except full annihilation. (Activate if the problem is dangerous.) Emotionless - No emotion can be felt. (Activates if no problem is occuring in the user''s health or in his situation.) Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Techniques: Assasination Techniques Lv. 2 Short Blades Techniques Lv. 2 Hand Fighting Techniques Lv. 1 Kicking Techniques Lv. 1 ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Liam didn''t even need to check the other skills. The two passive skills in the top was already a complete explanation of what was happening to his enemy. He soon became serious and composed. He never thought that an another man would have another overpowered skill just like the terrorist that he just fought earlier at the top floor. He took a fighting stance stating that he will fighting his enemy head on even though he was holding two dagger. He didn''t know how much would the passive skill increase his enemy''s overall strength but he still got a lot of skills to get out of the situation if something bad happen, like ''Mesomorphic'' and ''Stealth'' for example. A while later, Rynn stopped scratching his head and left it messy. He relaxed his upper body and arms but not his hands which was carrying his two daggers. He then slowly moved his head upwards that reveals his disgusting reddened eyes glaring at Liam. Woosh! Rynn suddenly appeared behind Liam. He quickly moved his daggers in a cross near his chest then sliced it at his target''s back. He thought he succeeded to cut him but he also disappeared in front of him. Liam was already behind him with Rynn barely even noticing it. Out of habit, he kicked his back gracefully to aggravate him more. ''So I''m still way faster than him. I''m really glad that I have an amazing skill.'' Rynn immediately turned around and glanced at Liam. His veins in his face seemed to explode soon if he would be hit like that one more time. He took just one stepped and he was already near his enemy who was a few meters away earlier. He stopped and began moving his daggers to where his target was, but later, he noticed that none of his strikes touched even a hair of his enemy once. Every strike he did was being dodged by his enemy by a hair''s breadth. He felt like his speed was almost as close to his by only a margin but somehow, he still can''t managed to hit him even if he adjusted his speed. That''s because Liam has the Mesomorphic skill that increases his Dexterity up to 75% and now his attribute was currently 46 that greatly surpassed the average speed of a human. He took another step forward and proceed to slice with his daggers in an incredible speed and fashion now that he was more focused with his annihilation. Why did he still continued to slice Liam if he really can''t do so successfully? Simply because he thought he hit him just like earlier when he made his surprise attack on Liam behind the back. He soon learned that he was just hitting a faint afterimages of his enemy. ''I can''t catch up to him. I can see him but I can barely react to it and move my dagger in time. Is it his reflex or his speed?'' However, he will never lose hope, because hope is already gone within him. He stopped making attacks and took a few steps backward. He made his dagger into a reverse grip and suddenly he started to pick some thing in the ground. Liam immediately noticed what he was doing and decided to stopped him there. But he was all to late when Rynn stood up and threw things at him. He wanted to dodged it of course because it''s not just a simple throw. Its been thrown with great power and speed. In terms of strength, both Liam and Rynn are the same. Liam already knew that by now as he tried to dodge the flying pointed steel bars and glass. He did it by ducking and a step to the side. He stood up from his position but a dagger was moving fastly towards his face. He reacted in time and dodged it by a hair''s breadth. Liam grabbed the extended left hand of his enemy and pulled him towards himself. As Rynn''s body was being pulled towards the direction of Liam, a fist was flying towards the direction of his face. PHWACK! His face was pushed first and his body followed. He lost his balance and fell on the ground. He opened his eyes and saw a foot covering his sight. THWACK! Rynn blanked out on the ground for a second after receiving the punch before jumping up from his position. He already prepared his daggers to move but his target wasn''t in front of him so he turned around, just to let his left hand get kicked and his dagger get thrown. Liam didn''t give him a second to move as he moved his fist to his enemy''s stomach. Rynn quivered in pain that made his enemy a one second chance to grab his knife that fell on the ground. He straightened his body and prepared his dagger but once again his target has disappeared from where he used to be. By intuition, he quickly turned around and clenched his dagger to moved it in front of his kneck. TWING! His intuition saved his life just a second ago by blocking a dagger from slicing his neck, but he didn''t block a fist from hitting his kidney. The strike was strong and it made him to lower his body in agony. Liam saw it coming so he immediately held the dagger in a reversed grip and moved it towards his target''s head without thinking twice. He felt something dangerous coming from afar that made him not wanting to waste time anymore. That feeling was also getting stronger by a second as if it was directly approaching him. He shifted the dagger in his hands fast downwards but he stopped it, or to be exact, he stirred the dagger towards the air after sensing a presence of a threat throwing an object towards him. He managed to blocked it then he took a few stepped back after another dagger was thrown towards him. "S-Scarface!? Boss Rynn!" A woman with a grily face shouted after seeing Rynn in a rough state. Liam was shocked after seeing a woman with a girly face and a purple hair, but what shocked him the most was that she called the guy in front of him ''Boss''. "Another terrorist?.. and... ''Boss''?" Liam said inwardly, confused at the moment. The woman took another knife from a pocket on her legs and it seemed that she will be throwing it based on her stance. Liam planned to block it with the dagger he got but he heard a twitch from behind him so he moved his body a little to dodge it and catched it after it passed him in a short distance. He quickly turned around and throw the dagger in his left hand to a certain direction. PSHLK! It landed on the vital point, the shoulder tendon, of the bulky guy that he made unconcscious a few minutes ago. He was about to stand up when a dagger pierced through a spot where it hurt the most so he just groaned in pain and collapse on the floor once again. If someone just knew how great Liam''s fast maneuver was, they would be stunned silly. Liam didn''t waste a second and took one step to get in front of Rynn, who was preparing his body to fight. Rynn was surprised for a moment when Liam appeared in front before moving his dagger towards his enemy''s face, but he disappeared yet again. Liam went behind him and threw the dagger he was currently holding to the woman who came down the main hall to help his boss just a moment ago. Just as the woman was about to take another dagger again, a dagger that used to be hers was already flying towards her. Luckily, she dodged subconsciously in time and only getting scraped in the cheek. Liam quickly turned around around again without caring about her, and immediately took a dagger on the ground, that was thrown by the woman earlier, then threw it towards Rynn''s legs. Rynn soon fell on one knee as he was feeling extreme pain. Liam moved fast and removed the knife that was stucked deeply into his enemy''s leg, then he threw it towards the woman in the corner. PSHLK! It succesfully hit her one of her legs as she fell on the ground. The woman and the big guy fainted. Liam relaxed a bit after all of his enemy collapsed, then he glance at Rynn behind who was mumbling something. "I''ll never going to get myself near death again." Liam said inwardly. "It doesn''t hurt for me but I tell ya'', you''re a f**ckin'' monster, you goddamned guy. I''ll kill you later on, kay?" Rynn said boldly, not caring about his injuries. "I''m not a monster. I don''t kill innocent people." Liam said calmly. "Fuahahaha! How f**king naive! I''ll kill you or even all the people here if I have some time later! HAHAHAHA!" "What a f**cking boss" Liam said as he turned around quickly and catched another dagger that was thrown by the woman. He immediately threw it back at her again and looked at Rynn again without minding the woman''s cry. "But wait... You''re the boss?" Liam asked, extremely confused. "Hey, I''ll kill you. What do you mean by that?" Rynn replied with an angry expression. Liam took a few steps forward befor opening his mouth and saying, "The guy you sent up there was far stronger than you." Rynn widened his eyes and stood up with inly one leg as he tried to punch Liam but failed nonetheless. PHWACK! Liam kicked him again but his expression was still angry and his mouth was beggining to say something. "Hm? What? Did I say something wrong?" Liam asked. "You... I''ll kill you. Are you mocking me? Comparing me to a f**cking gunman! We don''t use guns because we''re already strong! That''s the number one unspoken rule in our organization!" Rynn shouted furiously and abruptly. "Woah. You just said some clues about your tiny group, thanks, but what I am saying earlier is a fact. I guess he''s an introvert so he didn''t tell you guys, but earlier, not like you, he can kill me with his eyes closed. He''s more fitting to be a boss." Liam said. "You... You are dead. I''m gonna kill you! You''re dead!" CLATTER! CRASH! Both Liam and Rynn turned around to look for the cause of the unwanted clangorous sound in the main entrance that the terrorist blocked with some thin wood and scrap metal earlier. The entire hand-made barricade was broken and was destroyed in just a mere second based on what they heard. Then a man wearing a dark-red coat came out from the dust it made. "MASTER!" The one who will destroy you (1) 11:41 PM, In the main staircase of the first floor. Inspector Wright and Officer Dole finally stepped off of the staircase and managed to get to the first floor safely without encountering any problems. "This is tiring. Why would they make a 50 floor building when they could just make this hospital horizontally." Officer Dole said. "Shut up. Go back in time and complain to the builder, and stop being funny. You just became a serious and respective man earlier but now you''re being stupid again. We''re in serious trouble if there''s a few more terrorist besides the woman earlier here." Inspector Wright said seriously. "Yeah, yeah. Your words hurt, man." They soon began walking through the silent corridor which was connected to the main hall. A few moments later, the scent of explosion began to go through their nose as they exhale. They immediately became serious and let their guard on by raising the picked-up daggers in both of their hands while sneakily walking forward. Cracked ceiling, burnt floor and walls, broken and disoriented decorations were appearing from a few meters afar from them as they walk. The main hall was obviously in a complete mess. Several seconds later, they stopped their movements and left a puzzled expression on their face. Officer Dole looked down at floor where an unconscious, injured woman lied. "This... This is the lady earlier isn''t it? Derek?" Officer Dole said as his glance turned from the woman on the floor to his partner. "Yes. She fainted and obviously got hurt. A dagger was thrown, pierced inside her leg deeply, making her lose consciousness due to the intense pain or something worse." Inspector Wright said with a straight face as he intensely looked at the woman''s body. "Ah. You''re ability is really good at this stuff, huh." Officer Dole said, surprised by his partner who''s using his ability to the woman, but suddenly his expression turned serious as he opened his mouth again. "Anyways, who in the world could throw a dagger into a dagger throwing expert''s own body part. Surely, it needed another expert to do that, right?" "Hm. I know one and I know you''re thinking of a certain someone that can do it too." The Inspector said calmly as he moved his head and looked at his partner. "Damn right. Of course I know him! Haha~ Yeah... It''s... He is... Uh..." "You... It''s the kid earlier, you airheaded man!" "Huh...?" Officer Dole frowned before eventually recalling that the kid was the one who threw the combat knife at their enemy''s face. "Ah! Yeah, the kid! Now that I think about it. He hit the big guy with thr knife right in the eye! But... It turned out he''s alive. And then he died because the kid''s already here! HAHAHA! I''m a genius right? haha. I think he did all the rest of the terrorist without us backing him up." "Hah... The rest, huh." Inspector Wright paused for a moment after hearing his partner''s realization. "Come on, let''s go. This area is too quiet, he might still be there waiting for us or the other police." Officer Dole immediately agreed then they walked forward together. After a moment of their marching, they soon reached the entrance to the main hall and... !? Inspector Wright and Officer Dole took another few steps forward towards the main hall before suddenly stopping all their movements. "Hu-Huh? What¨C...! Is that¨C!? Am I seeing wrong? Hey... Derek?" Officer Dole stopped mid-sentence and glanced at his partner. "Evan, the one being lifted in the air is the kid" Inspector Dole said then continued, "I know he''s in danger right now but that guy is, no doubt, stronger than us, or even worse, he''s probably one of the Neow-" "Yes, the kid. It''s the kid. He''s being held in his neck! What are we still doing here? Let''s go!" Officer Dole said hurriedly as he immediately ran towards the middle of the hall. "What the¨C! Hey! Evan! Wait!" ©n ©n©n©n©n ©n A few minutes earlier. The wooden barricades in the entrance of the hospital fell off and a tall man came in with both of his hands laying inside his pants'' pocket as the dust dissipates. "Its here, the strong vibe that''s been frequently bothering me." Liam said inwardly the moment he felt the heavy and thick aura spreading behind him. He instinctively turned around and saw a guy wearing a dark-red coat and with a handsome face as good-looking as Rynn, the guy he just fought a minute ago. ''Don''t tell me... they''re somehow related?'' Rynn also turned his head to look at the direction of the entrance as he felt a familiar presence in there, then his eyes suddenly widened. "MASTER! You''re her-" FWOOSH! "You should train more." THWACK! "!" Liam''s body stiffened as he heard an unfamiliar voice behind and not only that, but the guy who was standing in the entrance earlier, was gone.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "H-Huh!?" Liam said inwardly. ''Did he just teleport behind me? No, that''s basically impossible. It must be the [Dash] skill, right? But if it is, I could sense and barely able to see it with my high perception. Did he mastered it?'' Countless thoughts swelled in his mind and soon began to deem his enemy''s strength. ''Ah. A master. He''s that great? He is incredibly powerful then. Even stronger than the terrorist in the VIP Floor. He is... Dangerous. He''s dangerously strong.'' Liam did not move a single bit as he was currently overthinking and analyzing the situation but quickly regained his composure when he heard a footstep. And then... !!! An immense pressure immediately surrounded his entire body. He suddenly remembered the eerie feeling when he was still fighting Rynn earlier. It was the sane, but right now was several times worse that he can''t even move an inch though he was forcefully giving his full strength. "I... I can''t resist! What the hell is this!?" Liam shouted inwardly with only his eyes shivering. AHK! ''Now my chest! And my head hurts!'' "Hm. Impressive. You can survive a mass of my ''Forced Aura'' without losing consciousness. That means, it is you who defeated my disciple." The tall guy said as he pointed the body of Rynn besides him lying on the ground with his finger. UGH! Liam moaned in pain when the guy somehow made the pressure heavier on him as he said his words. "What is this!? I can''t breathe! ''Forced Aura''!? It''s... heavy! It... It just... HURTS!" "WHY... CAN''T I MOVE!!!" The guy wearing a dark-red coat slowly walked towards Liam before stopping besides him. He glanced at Liam''s face from the side as he opened his mouth and said, "You look younger than Rynn but he actually lost to you. It seems that you have great potential in fighting. From strength to skills." The guy gave an earnest look before lowering his body to Liam, who was a head shorter than him, and whispered something. "Would you like to turn yourself stronger and be one of us...?" Liam, who can''t budge an inch, suddenly widened his eyes as heard the guy''s statement, soon after that... He continued. With a centered but serious expression he says, "If you like to come and be my disciple, I shall personally lead you to our organization..." He stopped his words that lit a proud look in his eyes before continuing, "...called ''The Dark Society''." "HNG! KEUK!" Liam once again lost control of his emotions as he recalled the hard time he had to suffer, the instant he heard the words that came from the guy''s mouth. He unconsciously put all his strength to his upper body up to his face and forcefully moved it towards the guy with a grim and murderous look. Rynn''s master was slightly surprised when the kid in front of him moved even though his Forced Aura was still in effect to pressure him. As Liam''s own eyes met with the guy''s eyes, he forcibly opened his mouth and said, "I... WILL NEVER... MAKE MYSELF INTO THE LIKES OF YOU ALL... YOU DIRTY... MOTHERF!!KERS!!!" "Hm. As I thought. You do have a strong will." Rynn''s master moved his hand towards Liam''s neck and clutched it uptight. "I''m afraid I might have to kill you before you became a hinder to us." His aura, that was pressuring Liam, was slowly fading away but Liam was also being lifted up in the air. UGH! Liam immediately tried to get out of the guy''s grasped as soon as the pressure disappeared from his body but the gripped hand on his neck didn''t budge no matter how much struggle he did. His legs flailed as strived to escape. He even tried to kicked his enemy but it was easily blocked. "You''re body is quite trained but it''s still too undeveloped. Its like you just ate something to make it thick then leave it as it is now. How awful." Rynn''s master said just by looking at Liam''s body once while still holding him with his right hand. "Here, let me test it for you." He stretched his arms then moved his torso a bit backwards, then finally released his fist to hit Liam''s stomach. URK! Liam, who was currently struggling, clenched his teeth but a mouthful of blood still burst out from his mouth. "It seems you have a grudge to our organization. Looking at your eyes, you''re determined to annihilate ''us'' all... Yet you''re this weak. How pitiful." As Rynn''s master looked at Liam with a revolted look, Liam also felt the same disgust to the guy who kept saying things in front of him. Liam furiously struggled more and kept moving his head until Rynn''s master gave him yet another blow. He was once again got hurt in the stomach and blood shot up to his mouth but this time, Liam didn''t hold it in, instead he gathered it to his mouth and spit it all out to his enemy''s face. "Big mistake." Rynn''s master looked at Liam with a cold glint in his eyes. He straightened his left hand and made his palm face upwards. He pointed it at Liam''s stomach before folding his arms. His hand somewhat became distorted and turned like a sharp weapon while preparing to stab his target with it, and surely, that weapon was still his own hand. Liam saw what the guy was doing and only had a few thoughts on his mind. By triggering one of his strong point. His ability to analyze anything at any situation. He came up with a clear outcome. ''It''s the Blade Hands skill...!'' No doubt. ''But many times stronger!'' He will kill me right here, right now. While he was still trying to get the clenched hands out of his neck, Liam widened his eyes and immediately became alarmed. TAP! "GET YOUR F!!CKING HANDS OFF THE KID!" Officer Dole ran straight towards Rynn''s master without caring about the bodies lying on the floor thinking they are one with the terrorists, then he held a dagger in both of his hands in a reverse grip. Even though he really wanted to kill the good-looking guy who was currently holding up in the aid, he still let his mind be into a calm state so that he can focus evading in case his enemy make a sudden move. "I''m putting all the training I''ve done in the past out to this guy!" Officer Dole said inwardly. When he was only a few meters away from his target he lowered his center of gravity and leaped towards the guys. As he thought to hit the guy''s leg, somewhat, somehow, everything around him slowed down. It was like the time was purposely slowed for him. Then he realized something in the midst of him moving through air. ''He still didn''t turned around, even though I screamed...'' Ah! In the middle of his realization, the guy in front of him moved. He moved his body to the side really, really fast without losing the kid in his right hand. His sudden movement made the officer lose his only target. While Officer Dole was still in the air and his brain was still processing to analyze his own situation, he felt something similar to what Liam felt earlier. Fear Then comes... Despair. He took a glance at the guy''s face, who was just besides him, and saw his eyes realeasing a cold and deathly glare towards him. "I''m dead." Officer Dole inwardly said even without knowing what will happen to himself, just pure intuition. Just as he thought his own doom coming, his lower body felt a hard press that soon changed his course and made him fall sooner and farther from Rynn''s master. It was Inspector Wright who came running, followed him and pushed him away from the other guy. They both stood up immediately and took a few steps away. "What in the world are you doing, Evan!" Inspector Wright shouted worriedly. "I-I''m sorry. Derek, that guy... He... He was going to kill me... with nothing... I don''t know but it was like¡ª" "I know.That guy is extremely dangerous. And I don''t think that we could win even if the two us fought together..." Inspector Wright took a stance that clearly states he was going to go and fight. "But considering the kid''s life, we should do what he can do to save the him." "Yeah. Let''s do that." "Okay..." Inspector Wright held his daggers high. "In three..." Officer Dole followed. "Two..." Liam who was still being grabbed in the neck, held his enemy''s wrist with both of his hands. "One!" "Arm Strengthening!" Liam said inwardly as the inspector and the officer both started running. Their enemy, Rynn''s master, looked at the two running guys but glanced back at the kid he''s holding when he suddenly felt his wrist being pressed tightly. He saw Liam''s furious face before looking down at his wrist. Liam''s arm became thicker. It was two times stronger than before. The guy looked at Liam with a confused expression when the grip became even more tighter. Then he noticed the two officers were actually closer to him than earlier so he looked back at them. As he did, Liam took the chance and loose the gripped of his right hand and aimed it at his enemy''s face. He tried to hit Rynn''s Master in stomach but it was easilt dodged by him without even looking. But unfortunately for him, it was part of Liam''s intention. As the guy lowered his body to avoid the his kick, Liam clenched his right fist and soon hit his target''s face. It made a crackling sound when it landed, that not just the enemy but the one who landed the punch was also surprised. Liam saw his enemy, who was still shocked as he let loose his gripped on him, with an expression like he just lost his only prey. He took a few steps back before stopping and finally taking a breather. "Kid... Just what did you do..." The guy spoke coldly with his questioning eyes and unyielding aura. "You...?!" The One Who Will Destroy You (2) The two officers released a gasp of surprise when the kid they were trying to rescue, suddenly got out of their enemy''s grasp. Officer Dole even smiled as he witnessed the incredible scene that the kid displayed. But their goal won''t change even if Liam got out and jumped a few meters away. They needed to at least let him out the building to make sure he would be safe and sound, and to do that they have to make a disturbance by battling their tough enemy. "Kid, you better run or shit would get worse!" Said by the running Officer. Their unknown enemy soon came into Officer Dole''s attack range which made him try to stab the guy. And just as expected, their enemy quickly grabbed a dagger from the floor in a blink of an eye. It was troublesome but it was more acceptable. If Liam was still being held by him, he would''ve been used as a meat shield. Officer Dole immediately lowered his body in case he was attacked and went behind the guy as his partner made his way towards the front. Inspector Wright came in front of the guy while his two daggers were quickly moving straight towards his target''s neck but his two consecutive attack was merely blocked with a single swing of his enemy''s dagger. The officer who was behind him put up a stance and moved his dagger to the lower body and the other dagger to the upper back of his enemy but even that was simply depleted with a vertical swing from a slash of the guy''s dagger. Officer Dole and Inspector Wright stopped and took a step back away from their opponent. They glanced at each other before quickly moving as they see the kid they''re trying to save started to move from his position. Then the enemy moved his left hand behind his back and his right hand in front of him. He moved like he actually waited for them and wanted a real fight. Just like that, with the two officers going on the offensive and the tall guy on defense with his dagger, a cycle of attack and block was made for a few times in a row. That was until one of the officers, Derek Wright, saw Liam went around them and came not into the exit but near the reception area. He stopped and glanced at Liam before shouting. "Kid, what are you still doing ther-!" He was cut off when a fist landed on his stomach. His mind went blank before he knelt with one leg and rubbed his currently agonizing stomach. Officer Dole saw his partner got hit so bad that he even coughed a mouthful of blood. He then tried to go straight to his target without a single defense or focus. He knew he wasn''t supposed to do that but still did it. The guy immediately turned around and dodged the coming dagger. He then punched the other moving arm after also dodging it with his flexible body and his incredible speed. Officer Dole''s left arm lost energy and strength so he backed away for a second. He also looked at the kid in his far left. "Kid, I don''t know what are you gonna do but do it quickly and run away. This guy in front of me is no good, it''ll be hard... Hard for him to beat me, keke." He glanced back at the guy after letting him hear his mocking words. With his lifeless left arm, he was uncomfortable... But he soon move towards with his right hand holding a dagger. The guy who was standing like a statue suddenly let his dagger fall from his hands. Then he emitted a cold glare to the nearing officer. He stretched his right arm and straightened his hands. It released a hue of blue aura. He decided to kill someone today. He made a stance when Officer Dole came close to his range. But then... "?" A hand suddenly clenched his right arm and made him look into it. "You didn''t see that coming... Didn''t you...?" Inspector Wright made a stern face as he said his thoughts before he glanced at the shocked enemy and suddenly made a smile. "ACK!" The guy groaned. Inspector Wright was holding a dagger with his other hand. And he successfully stabbed it through the leg of his target. "You goddamned¡ª!" A sound of a flesh being punctured was heard as he stopped his words. "hehe. You didn''t see that coming didn''t you?" He completely forgot that Officer Dole was in front of him, holding a dagger that might hurt him anytime. After that, the guy releases an aura that depicts doom. "You should have gone for the head." Officer Dole didn''t let go of his dagger that was currently pierced through the shoulder of his enemy even if an overwhelming aura was making him tremble a bit. "This is... Not Enough...! I''ll save him... I''ll save someone!". Officer Dole thought as he vigorously forced his hand to pushed it more deeply inside the shoulder of his target. "Get off me... Insect...!" The guy clenched his fist before he struck it to the officer''s face. His head was pushed back and so his body. It was about to fall but his uniform was held making it stopped. Officer Dole, whose mind was blank and who''s almost unconscious, suddenly felt a strange feeling in his stomach before the feeling turned into an unimaginable pain and a prickly, burning sensation inside his body. "You left your dagger in my shoulder." He said coldly after he pulled the dagger in his shoulder and stabbed it in the officer''s abdomen a moment earlier. He then turned around and looked down at the floor. "FUCK! EVAN! WAKE U¡ª ACK!" Before he could even shout, he was kicked in the face and fainted almost immediately. "I''ll come back for you two." Rynn''s master walked away from them and stopped when the bulky man that helped his disciple for the mission was lying on the floor near him. He crouched and grabbed the rubber bandage which was covered around the other guy''s forearm. He then put it to himself and wrapped it around his left shoulder, cut it in the middle, and wrapped it in his left leg. He stretched his neck back and shook out his arms before he soon walked slowly towards Liam. A few meters away from the middle of the hall, Liam was kneeling with his one leg in front of a body that was leaning at the wide reception desk. It was his friend, Ian. He obviously was in deep thought when his grim face haven''t change for a while since coming there. He didn''t even listen to the voices coming from behind him. Amidst his thinking, footsteps can be heard echoing throughout the hall making the atmosphere heavier. Liam didn''t care at first but he did an immediate side glance when he realized that the noise from the fight just a minute ago was completely gone. "You managed to beat my disciple and his lackeys," The last guy standing from the one minute battle said while still walking slowly towards the kid. "You meddled with their mission or the plan of the organization," He continued talking with his deep, cold voice as he looked at Liam. "You hit me both in my arm, in my face and even managed to escape..." Liam finally stood up. After listening to the words of the guy behind him, he felt disgusted. His mind have so many thoughts. Like ''how did he defeat two experienced officers'' and ''why is he coming for me''. Even a part of him thought a senseless question. Why was his disciple and also himself always become angry when being hurt, are they somehow reverse masochists or sadists? But he soon cleared away all his useless thoughts before slowly turning around. Liam and Rynn''s master, the last two men in the hall, met each other intense and piercing gaze. Then the guy opened his lips and continue to spoke. "By doing all of that, surely, you are ready to die today." Liam trembled as the guy said his words. He looked down and covered his face with the palm of his right hand as if he realized something regretful. He lost his will to live and gave up fighting. He simply accepted death, was the enemy thought. Liam did that not because he accepted his death but he did regret something. He should''ve done it since earlier. The tall guy soon halted his steps a few feet in front of Liam. ''In the end, he is still naive... but...'' But why does Liam''s aura felt different than he thought? It wasn''t anything like despair. He shut his eyes to loosen his mind. "Either way, I''ll still kill him right now." As he spoke inwardly, he straightened his arm as well as his hand t.ill the end of his fingertips. He planned to slice Liam''s neck. If his body isn''t trained and tough then, his head would be split off from his body, if it is then, his neck could get slit only halfway through the flesh. "Prepare your neck." He quickly moved his straightened right arm upwards and as he did, Liam suddenly revealed his face and gave him a fixed gaze. Liam grinned as he whispered, "Discerning Eye1." All of his senses were enhanced immediately as he felt some presence and heartbeats from a few people within five meters radius around him. By activating his Discerning Eye skill, his perception, reflexes, and senses would go up by 50%. His perception currently have 21 so it will increase the attribute by 10.5. Of course, he would not use his skill just to feel the presence of people. Enhancing his senses include his hearing and seeing ability like the skill Crystal Vision, though it''s effect was stronger. For short, he already had a plan in his mind. The enemy paused for a moment with his unmoving arm before he regained his senses and decided to kill the guy in front of him because... He felt something different. Twitch. The moment the enemy moved his arm by even a millimeter, Liam already heard and looked it shifted from its position. He quickly lowered his center of gravity, moved his left arm to beside his head and compressed it tightly. And before the sharp hands of his opponent came in contact with his arm, he put all of his strength into it after activating the skill, Arms Strengthening, once again. Soon after, the knife-like hand hit Liam''s arm leaving a deep wound that only end in the bone. It was painful. A pain no one can explain in words. An agony that no one can imagine. A torment that no one can bear. But Liam held in all of the suffering and moved on with his plan. He removed all the strength in his transferred it to his right arm. "Mesomorphic." Liam mumbled. His enemy''s arm passed him and his body was slightly repositioned making a small chance for Liam. He smirked and muttered, "Fiery Punch.", as he positioned his right arm to a punching formation that he learned or simply performed the technique he stole from his past enemies. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.Liam''s eyes released a fiery glint as the previous smile completely disappeared from his face. "You know why I did all of that..." Liam spoke and clenched his fist while his enemy was still in a confused state. He continued. "They attacked this hospital full of innocent people...!" He trembled in anger and his forehead furrowed as he frowned. "AND THEY ALSO HURT MY FRIEND!!!" Liam, who just became calm and collected with his high Intelligence attribute, exploded by his furious emotion. He then strode his fist towards his target''s face. And when it went halfway to its destination, flame formed and covered his fist. And it eventually became stronger and more chaotic than when he first used it. Liam regretted it because he didn''t use it earlier to escape his enemy''s grasp. He upgraded it for that kind of situation but he simply forgot about it. He upgraded it not only for the cooldown time to decrease but also for the skill to be strong enough to escape from when he was in a tough spot. He was supposed to use it to Rynn but he didn''t realize that he was weaker than him. And now that a stronger enemy appeared, it was the best time to use it. Afterward, the flaming fist went one inch before it landed to but a hand slipped in the middle and covered his face. But the force, strength, power, and speed was enough to make Liam''s enemy''s hand impossible carry a strong impact. The ear- His head flew backwards and his body followed. He was pushed back by a meter or so. A blood left a trail in the air and fell down on the floor. Liam saw the guy tumbled on the floor. His body seems limp. Sigh. Deeming that his enemy was finally unconscious, he soon let down his guard, stared in the air, and heaved a heavy sigh. His enemy finally fell down. Liam turned around and decided to check his friend once again, but before he could move from his spot, a familiar window emerged from thin air. It was the system''s notification. ¡º Your Stamina is below 30%. It will give you a [Fatigue] effect. The [Fatigue] made from the system will not be removed by any skill. ¡» ¡º Your Stamina is below 20%. The [Fatigue] effect has been increased. The overall attributes of the host has been temporarily decreased by 10%. ¡» ¡º The system shall now warn the host that if the stamina goes below 10%, the host will have a difficulty from moving his body, the [Fatigue] effect will dramatically increase and harm the host, and the overall attributes of the host will decrease by 30%. ¡» ACK! "Shit! My vision is deforming besides the windows. Damn, System, why do you have an effect like this?" just like Liam said, his vision was deforming, his head was slightly aching, and he can barely balance his body. An effect that happens when your Stamina status is low. Liam didn''t want it nor can he stop it. "How can I do something when I''m like this." He forcefully moved his limp left arm and put his hand to do a facepalm. Then at that moment, a chill ran down his spine. A presence, an ominous aura, a killing intent. He felt all of that behind him. Gulp. He''s not unconscious? How? Since when? What? He was stunned and perplexed. How can he still stand after getting hit by a strike stronger than an attack which made a man''s face barely describable and almost undefinable? Liam tried to turn around. His vision was still blurry and messy, but from a couple of meters away from him, he can see a face that seems to be stained with a dark red color. Tap. The enemy took one step forward. He moved his fingers towards his mouth and wiped blood pouring from it. He took another step. His nose has also blood dripping out from it. Another step. His eyebrows have a deep and open wound that even his bone can be seen slightly. He continued to walk forward. He can feel that his above-average face have some wounds carved in it. "You use a skill from a certain ancient martial arts technique..." His sinister aura that can make a person froze and shiver was getting stronger and stronger for every second that pass. "Before I kill you, you should answer my questions." He didn''t stop his slow-moving legs and continued speaking. "When did you learned it? Where did you train it? How did you master it...?" Halt. "Who''s the grandmaster who taught you the techniques...?" He looked at Liam with his cold glare while somewhat brushing his right wrist. "Huh?" Liam was extremely confused. What was the guy saying? What ancient technique? Skill? The Fiery Fist? He didn''t comprehend a single word that his enemy rattled. "What are you talking abo¨C" Liam widened his eyes before he could finish because his blurry vision was suddenly enveloped by a fist. He lost his balance from the punch and fell on his butt. He tried to stand up again but he was kicked to his side and once again laid on the ground. He struggled to get up and even coughed blood. Then a window appeared in front of him. ¡º Warning! Your Stamina is below 10%. The [Fatigue] effect has been increased dramatically. The host''s HP will decrease by 1-5 every 10 seconds of being affected. The host already has difficulty moving. The overall attributes of the host has been temporarily decreased by 30%. ¡» ¡º The system shall now warn the host that if the stamina goes 0%, the host won''t be able to move anymore, the [Fatigue] effect will dramatically increase and harm the host. ¡» "Fuck!" Liam cursed inwardly. The system''s words were accurate. He can barely move. He was struggling to get up from his pitiful position on the floor. "I''ll kill you instantly and painlessly if you just answer my questions thoughtfully." "I don''t know!" ACK! The enemy kicked Liam once again. "Answer me." "I said I don''t..." Liam trailed off his sentence. Because a hand which was sharp as a blade, was pointed in his neck. "Now, tell me. Where did you learn that skill." He grinned as he and glanced at the guy in front of him before he opened his mouth. "Oh, are you talking about my volcano hand skin technique. I learned that from the internet." The guy''s face twitched. He can''t understand why the kid in front of him was still spouting nonsense even though death was nearing him. He was clearly pissed off. He poked his sharp hand on Liam''s neck and blood slowly trickled from it. "I will push my hands and make a hole in your neck if you don''t answer me." "Oh. Didn''t you say that you''ll kill me after I answered you? Isn''t it the same if I didn''t?" They both paused for a moment with an opposite reason but Liam was the first to open his mouth. "Okay, fine. You better believe me when I tell you this..." He looked closed his eyes before opening it again, but it comes with a wide smile that even his teeth can be seen. "I will be the one will destroy you...! And your organization!" The guy''s ominous aura didn''t stay long because it was overwhelmed by his own killing intent. He really was angered by Liam. He brushed off his head out of irritation. He then grabbed Liam and put him into a sitting position. He didn''t care anymore. He will kill the kid. "!" Liam''s eyes widened. He was shocked. The guy pulled back his hand and positioned it beside Liam''s neck. He decided to behead him. He could even see Liam''s scared face. But he was wrong, Liam was simply surprised, and also not because of him but what was behind him. ''Police officers? No. The man in the front. His presence seems familiar.'' As Liam can''t see clearly because of the Fatigue effect, he could only felt a person''s presence also with the help of his discerning eye. "Wait a minute. I got a skill to see things super clearly!" As Liam thought that, he completely ignored what was landing on him soon. The guy already moved his blade hand towards Liam''s neck. "Crystal Vision." BANG! ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n Click! "Hey, kid. What really happened to the dangerous guy. I don''t believe the words that the Mr. Hanes guy said in the news saying that he has some strong guards protecting him from the guy as he escapes with the terrorist boss who looks younger than him." Officer Dole placed down a glass on top of a fancy wooden table beside a patient''s bed. "Uh... I don''t really know... Officer, you look good sitting in that wheelchair." Liam was in the VIP patient''s bed. He wasn''t lying but leaning in the upper part of the bed while it was slightly higher. "Oh, really? I mean my wounded belly was covered with thick bandages but I didn''t think that I still look good, hahaha...!" Officer Dole laughed. He was happy for a moment before he stopped and slightly tilted his head. "Hey! Don''t change the topic! I said what was¨C Uh... I forgot what I was asking." "Pfft. Anyways, Officer, where''s Inspector Wright?" They continued their chatter and their question and answer portion inside Liam''s VIP room in the same hospital that he just saved from terrorism. Inspector Wright was assigned by the higher-ups to guard Ian inside the VIP room, just like what Officer Dole is doing in Liam''s room. They were only supposed to keep the patient occupied and chat with them because both of them are injured, while real guards were standing in front of the room''s door to protect them from the people of the media and other potential threats. That was personally requested by the country''s most successful chairman of some large companies and the continent''s one of the biggest contributor, Elon Hanes, to the national police headquarters. The media stated to the world that two police officers named, Evan Dole and Derek Wright, single-handedly defeated six terrorists and only caused them to have a few serious wounds and to lose their consciousness after the fight, but unfortunately, one person managed to wake up first and escaped the hospital with another man. Liam learned all that news from Officer Dole who was currently asleep in his wheelchair. He was slightly surprised when he fell asleep in the middle of his talking but he let it go since it''s already night and they just won a hell-like battle. He soon decided to also rest like the officer in front of him. He shifted the bed to be straight and lied down his back. He looked at the plain, empty ceiling and thought of some things. "I can finally rest in peace and leave those tormenting fight..." He heaved a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes. Hm. Soon, not even a minute passed, he opened his eyes again. "Did all of those fighting and killing that I''ve gone through... From my house to this hospital..." Cold sweat suddenly dripped down from his forehead. "Did all of that happened in just one day!" 1 - For the old readers, I changed the lame-ass name of a skill ''Perceptiveness'' to ''Discerning Eye'', even though it has 60% no connection to the skill so yeah, just saying. The Biggest Threat 11:46 AM BANG! Another gunshot echoed throughout the whole hospital. The bullet shot past the guy in front of Liam, it didn''t do serious damage to him but his cheek got scratched as it was done intentionally and slowly began to bleed. He stood up and turned around. Because he was focused on killing the kid who aggravated him, he didn''t know there was already not one but two individuals behind him. "No ''Put you''re hands down'' order?" He asked in a calm manner as he stood up from his kneeling posture. Two formal-attire-wearing men were standing at the entrance. He then examined them with his questioning-eyes. The guy at the left was the one who shot him earlier. He was wearing a white uniform that suits the cold and focused aura that was surrounding him with a handgun on his resting right hand. While the other man who looked slightly older than him because of his thin beard, have a slightly buffed body compared to the other guy. He also have a completely different aura enveloping him than the guy beside him. The atmosphere around him was heavy that didn''t befit his formal wear. It seemed to him that the guy in the right was experienced and encounter all kinds of worst situations. Realizing that he, himself, can''t take on these two unknown guys, he withdrew his murderous intent and suppressed his ominous aura. "You''re not those police officers who would capture me by doing all these things. Who are y¨C" "I see." "?" The man in the right cut him off like he wasn''t talking in the first place. He noticed that the bearded guy was looking behind him. "So my son isn''t dead. haha. that''s good. I probably should train him tomorrow." Rynn''s master was perplexed after hearing the sentence the man remarked. ''His son? This kid behind me? Or...'' At that exact moment, he realized something. The Nobus Corporation. "Elon Hanes." He spoke in a low voice that only the barely-conscious kid behind him can hear. ''So he''s the chairman of the big companies in the continent... One of our organization''s targets... but,'' He narrowed his eyes while having his thought. "He doesn''t look the same compared to the image given for the mission of the ''Lowers'' including Rynn." He can still tell that he was the same Elon Hanes in the image he recalled because of his body traits. With his amber eye color and his silver hair, the enemy was sure it was him. The body traits that were also contained by his own son, Ian Hanes. Tap. The other guy stepped forward. "Young sire is badly hurt, sir. What should we do?" The young man in the left asked the man beside him in a formal manner, while his gaze was still fixed on the guy with a great stature in the middle of the hall. "Oh, no. I don''t want to kill someone this year due to some maybe not cool reasons..." The man in the right glanced upwards as if he was thinking about something crucial. "So what are you doing here... Ember?" Liam, who was silent since the two men came, gasped and widened his eyes as his heart sank. His body was trembling greatly behind the guy who was about to kill him. Because the guy''s killing intent suddenly and immediately shot up from him and it was far greater and worse than what he had displayed when he was trying to kill Liam. Liam saw an image foreboding his enemy''s body. With the guy''s killing intent and sinister aura overlapping each other, a silhouette of a demon formed while its presence was fermenting like a thunder from time to time. "He could have killed me. He could have torn me into pieces..." If he was this serious. He could have killed Liam in a blink of an eye if he was this serious earlier. Just by looking at the evil shadow surrounding him, the terror and corruption from it could shatter the spirit of a normal human. Elon Hanes. Ian''s father. ''What was the meaning behind his words... That could possibly trigger this man''s true self.'' He looked down as if to think that he was unlucky to encounter this kind of enemy but was lucky enough to be alive. He was a fool to even provoke him. Then suddenly... He felt a sharp gaze piercing him and as he tried to discern the stare by looking up, he saw his before-enemy taking a side-glance at him. As he gasped in surprise, within a mere second, the guy''s body fazed like a stroked cloud, then Liam suddenly heard the wind rippled from his side. Crack! Liam''s head turned into a 90-degree angle by a timely kick with the sound of his bone getting cracked or dislocated. His vision darkened. ''I didn''t see it happen.'' His body slowly fell sidewards. ''How?'' He can''t move anymore. He was paralyzed by the kick. A broken neck only means danger. It could be just a simple break that heals in a weak, a snap that could make the victim into a coma for a few months, or a near-death situation with the nerves of the spinal cord getting damaged then be completely dead in a few minutes after not being able to breathe. Either Liam was unfortunate or it simply was his enemy''s intent, he could perish at any moment. He soon started to lose consciousness. As he felt like it was the last time he could do it, he cursed. "Fuck." Tap. "Now, tell me. How did you know my name? What do you know about our organization." "kek! KEHAHAHAHAHA! This guy is funny. You think anyone can answer your questions..." He heard an incomplete conversation between the two men before he finally fainted. A few moments later, his lungs stopped taking in air of the normal speed, his heart also slowed its beating, his muscles started to get limp. Sooner or later, without the blood pumping and the working lungs to breathe oxygen, he could die in the minimum time of three minutes. A minute passed, some of his brain cells began to die and all of his bodily functions worked poorly. Two minutes passed, his skin went blue and his body started to forcefully take in air. Approximately, two minutes and fifty-five seconds have passed, his entire body, external or internal, were almost ''dead''. Then exactly three minutes came, his breathing halted and his blood stopped moving. But suddenly... ¡º Three minutes have passed with the host sleeping or unconscious. The Regeneration skill activated and will immediately commence its usage to the host. ¡» Half a second later, after the window appeared in his mind, his body suddenly regained a slight vigor and light. The skill started from the smallest wound. The millisecond-dead cells have been healed and ''revived'' just like the process called Anastasis. Then a second later, it started to heal the broken nerves that stops the heart and lungs from working properly. Then after the skill finished all the important parts, it began was hold back its incredible healing speed. But slowly but surely, he was getting healed. It was clearly an understatement to just call it amazing, it should be heaven-defying. It first heals the most important thing, which can kill a person in a mere second if not fixed, with unimaginable speed and astonishing effect, then it will go and heal the next most threatening injury. But it became slower as it goes, until the healing reaches the external injuries that it really becomes so slow, but still super fast for a normal human''s perspective. A few minutes later of his regeneration state, another window popped up while he was still unconscious. ¡º The system''s host slept or fainted while his Stamina is below 20%. The host will be unconscious for a longer time than the normal.¡» Present Time. Liam. Liam... "Liam, hey! Wake up already!" "Huh? Ah. Ian...?" Liam glanced at his friend, Ian, with his half-opened eyes after just waking up from his deep slumber. "It''s good that you woke up now. Anyways, what happened to you and the officers yesterday." ''What the¨C I just woke up. Isn''t he as straightforward as Officer Dole, yesterday?'' And he cared for the officers'' safety... "Uh. I don''t know. I passed out when a big man hit me in the elevator. Then I just woke up in this room." Liam told a half-lie situation of what happened to him without losing his straight face. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Hm. It''s good that you didn''t wake up at that time." Ian sighed and Liam was in thought for a second like he knew something about it before asking why. "Huh. Why?" "They''ll hurt you badly." "They di- Ah, I mean, anyways, why are you here with those injuries?" Liam immediately asked after seeing Ian with bandages like him then tilted his head when he took a short glimpse at the window. "Is it still midnight? I really slept for a short while." "Hah. Short while...!? You''re in the bed for almost an entire day, Liam!" "Huh. Oh, really? But I was unconscious for several hours before I slept again..." Liam scratched his cheek. ''I guess even the system can''t handle the mental exhaustion, huh.'' "Ah, you ask me why I''m here with my injuries but you''re also here with your injuries." A moment of silence pass before Liam made a what-the-fuck-are-you-talking-about face "I''m in my patient''s bed... This is my room, You''re room is on another..." He glanced at Ian again before he continued. "Ian... How is your answer called an ''answer''!?" ©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n In an underground base below a mountain near an abandoned town of a no-name city. A man wearing a white suit jacket which was paired with his white trousers was lumbering inside a fairly lit, wide tunnel which was a few dozens of meters long. He soon ended his walking when he encountered a solid metal wall with a mechanical door in the middle, and a passcode device near it. The door was unlocked after the man put the needed 10 digit keycode. It opened slowly and upwardly before releasing a thick mist which obviously blocks a human''s sight from seeing what was inside. The man continued walking forward without caring about the mist at all, then quantities of green lasers suddenly appeared, pointing at him, when he placed his body on top of a rather circular platform. The platform moved slightly upwards and began spinning as well as the man''s body. White light completely enveloped the room after he stopped spinning and after the laser disappeared. Then a voice of a monotonic yet woman-woman like voice echoed as it said something that clearly was directed to the only man in the room. A holographic window that has the size of a 75-inch tv appeared near the wall in front of him. [Welcome, Mister Dylan Lewis, Age 31, 179 cm tall, 51 kg, Brown Eyes and Black Hair] [Main Weapons: Dagger, Pistol, Sniper Rifle.] [Specialism: Melee Combat, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Assassination.] [Position: 3rd Medium, Main Group: Slashers] [Disciple: Rynn Gale] [Codename: Ember] [You may proceed to move forwards to the underground base of the Dark Society''s Intelligence Agency of this country, A-22.] The steady and solid white wall in front of him suddenly shook before it was opened like a normal elevator. He strode inside an extremely large white room and saw dozens of uniformed-suited men sitting individually in front of their own holographic computer monitors not minding anyone''s business including the people coming from the entrance, like Ember. He also didn''t mind them as he still kept up walking towards the last room. At last, he stopped behind a guy with blue hair and casual clothes sitting comfortably while his eyes were never moving away from the large holographic monitor. "Brain Guy, I got a request." After his long travel without opening his mouth he finally spoke. The blue-haired guy swiveled around with his office chair while fixing his glasses then also spoke. "What exactly does a medium like you want in the agency, uh? Tell me, Embe-" The blue-haired guy widened his eyes in surprise as he saw the face of the man in front of him. "Kaah-! Ember... The quick and the cold, Ember has been..." He trailed off his words with his mouth agape. "Ember has been wounded...!? PFFFFTT! Oh no, no, no, that''s fake, right? kek- I don''t want to laugh..." Ember who was watching the blue-haired guy make a senseless fun of him, released a cold glare. "Stop or I''ll kill you. Just do what I want so I can get off this cave." "hehe. You don''t want to be inside this?" Ember clenched his fist. "Alright, alright. I bet you want to search for the guy who wounded you... I''m curious too. What''s the name." "Hm. Right... I didn''t get the name..." "F**cking damn it!" They went off with a moment of casual chatter before Ember suddenly recalled something. He told the blue-haired guy to find the same man who killed one of the man on his group. Artyom Sorlov. "Hm. So Ian Hanes'' friend... Wait, that kid''s friend? Don''t tell me he''s the one who put a small injury on your face. They''re just some younglings, how?" The blue-haired guy tilted his head in confusion while Ember took another office chair in the blink of an eye. "I let my guard down." "Like an attack like that can hurt you. You''re wound isn''t caused by a dagger or other sharp things it''s from a blow." "I know... I''m trying to uncover things about him not from revenge like you''re probably thinking of, but because..." "He knows a strike skill from a certain Ancient Martial Arts Technique." "No... No way." "The skill he used. I definitely saw it before..." They both paused for a second. "...It was the same skill that has been used by the highest monarch of the DS branch in the country, A-3." The blue-haired guy didn''t move for a short while and a cold sweat materialized from his forehead before quickly turning around to his computer and typed incredibly fast with his semi-holographic keyboard. The face of Liam appeared in the hologram, then tons of details followed with it. "Twenty years old... That''s simply impossible! Ancient Techniques can''t be learned within two decades! He''s also just a random and normal kid...!" "Then that makes him abnormal. Either it''s an unimaginable talent or an unbelievably planted-knowledge, he''s going to be the biggest threat to us in the future if this continues." Ember stood up from his seat and turned around. He put his hands in his pocket and took a side glance to the blue-haired guy. "Report all of it to our highest monarch after the meeting of high monarchs in the North American Continent." He soon stepped out of the room and went for the base''s exit. "In three weeks..." Ember mumbled as he walked. He opened the exit door and pace forward to the end of the corridor while he was still in his thought. ''In three weeks, I''ll train my disciple and let him kill that kid...'' ...That mysterious kid... ©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n In a certain police station. A police officer held his phone and dialed someone. The other side picked up and spoke first. [What''s the problem.] The officer revealed a faint smile and gently put the phone near his right ear. "There''s no problem, sir, but there''s good news." He said with a slightly proud tone. [Hm. Speak, what is it?] "heh. Sir, we found an individual from a group, which the main headquarters mostly needed to capture." [Group...? What group exactly?] "Uh, I''ll tell the details, sir. A guy who has a faint light glowing from his chest and a random numbers tattooed on their wrist." On the other side of the call. The commissioned officer who was on a break slightly trembled after hearing the description that the officer on the call gave. "Ne-Neowights..." He muttered as the phone slightly went far from his mouth because he was troubled for some reason. [What, sir? Ah, sorry. I didn''t hear you earlier, sir.] "You... You should have called a backup up before capturing the guy!" [Ah, but sir, we were successful. He''s currently in the temporary holding cell.] "No! They should be in the headquarter''s prison...!" At that moment, the other side of the call suddenly had another voice. [Ah, partner, the guy suddenly started shouting weird things. Maybe we should¨C] "Fuck!" [BOOOOOOM!] ¡ã A man with ripped clothes and torn pants was standing in a ruin. The place where he was covered with fire that seemed to be caused by an explosion. He looked around his surroundings randomly as he smiled like a freak. "Kuwa... KUWAHAHAHA¨C! This is my power!" He immediately stopped when his head hurt once again. "Hng. I... I''ll kill the guy... I''ll kill this guy with my power... And stop him from appearing in my head...! I''ll kill him!" Cough. "Ge-Get down on the ground! This is the police! Don''t move or I''ll shoot you." Behind the crazy guy was a police officer with his slightly burnt uniform. The guy turned around to look. His eyes widened and he smiled to the point that his teeth were revealed. "You... You''re the one who captured me! Ka¨C!" He crouched on the ground before he leaped towards the police officer. The officer was taken aback and forgot to remove his handgun''s safety. He soon removed it and tried to shoot his target but the guy was already in front of him. The police officer''s vision was enveloped by a faint light that was coming from the nearing palm of the crazy guy. Then the hand soon landed on his face and the guy clenched it tightly. The faint yellow light earlier glowed brightly... And suddenly... BOOOM! The Training Begins Monday, 9:00 AM Liam was sleeping with a saliva dripping down from his mouth. He was in a familiar bedroom with some common decorations around. A high pitched sound suddenly reverberated throughout the room every time half a second pass. Liam moved his torso upwards with his still closed eyes and shifted his head away from the loud and annoying sound but it still didn''t go away. He then tried to smack the thing that was producing the never-ending sound. And as the annoying sound went away, a small machine being smashed resounded. Liam opened his eyes after that and looked to his left. He saw the broken pieces of the once properly working alarm clock. "I... I broke it." Liam just remembered that he was already in his house. And he also remembered that he was already strong enough to break small stuffs like the alarm clock. Making him dissatisfied with his morning awakening. Liam soon went downstairs for him to cook and eat his breakfast. After eating, he felt bored and went on the couch to watch the TV. He noticed that his house was already clean, leaving no traces of his fight with the thieves two days ago. The TV was still doing its job properly, but Liam wasn''t watching properly. He was so bored that he even thought his body was merging with the couch. Perhaps because of so many fights he experienced in just a day, he wanted to do something. But what was that something... His overthinking started at the same time as his emotions dwindled. He wanted to remember something. Liam was happy after remembering that he successfully got Ian agreed to let the doctors let him rest in his house instead of staying in the hospital by using his father''s name. But he was disappointed after he remembered that he didn''t hear the conversation between the dangerous enemy and Ian''s father. But then he was pleased when he remembered that he didn''t need to go to his university for a week or two after knowing that his professors learned about his pitiful state which was now healed because of his godly skill. But then again he was upset as he remembered that every time a student like him didn''t attend the lectures, his schoolwork will also pile up. Whew. Liam breathed out a heavy sigh. He really wanted to do something. No, he needed to do something. At that moment, he remembered something again. But it was not a useless thought this time. He recalled his fight between him and the master of Rynn. At that time, he didn''t realize that he was concealing his true strength, making him feel fear yet somehow it also gave Liam motivation. The motivation that he also gets from his promise. He promised himself and also his parents, that he will break down that entire organization to its remaining piece. A sudden urge of aroused inside him. "Stronger... I need to get stronger." Liam stood up from his seat. He wanted and needed to be powerful enough to kill that guy who made him tremble in fear. Then his organization, the dark society, is next. By feeling all sorts of hatred towards the filthy organization. He soon arrived at the backyard. This... This is the place that I will train myself. Looking at the meadowy yard with over half the size of a basketball court, he thought it was a good place for him to do the physical labor. He wandered around it before stopping at a large rock that has almost the same height with his hips and about three times his width. It also have a dense texture that made it look really heavy. Despite that, Liam have a thought of lifting it. And he actually did it. But he wasn''t successful. He dug a bit of some soil until he saw the other end of the rock there. He placed both of his hands below it and quickly tried to lift it, but it only moved by a centimeter. ''It didn''t work...?'' He expected it to be heavy that his body will immediately get numb after holding it for only a few seconds, but he didn''t know that he won''t even be able to lift it. Is he lacking strength? But he defeated a few strong guys just two days ago. Is it also because of his dexterity and endurance that have no use for lifting some weights? Or did he really just beat them by luck? In any case, his thinking only made him want to get even more stronger so it was somehow a good thing. ''So is it true? What that masochist guy, or rather, Ember, said to me?'' [Your body seemed strong but it''s still too untrained and undeveloped. It''s like you just ate something to make it contain power then leave it as it is now.] Liam thought of the ''thing he ate to have power'' was like the strength stat he increased with by using the system''s points. [If you didn''t continue enforcing the wall that blocks the power from leaking outside, the wall will break. And it will be awful.] ''My body wasn''t changing in appearance although I''ve become strong enough to beat down a man who has a buffer body than mine.'' He took a step, while in deep thought. ''Is it why I lose my stamina quickly, my muscles ache immediately, and being asleep for a long time?'' So many thoughts went into him as he recalled the guy''s words. But all of it went away when one idea emerged. The basic training... "I need to do the basic training that even I, in the past, after my parents died, didn''t do...." Liam spoke his mind with his eyes burning from incitement. "And I won''t use any skills from the system. He hurried under the tree and suddenly went down on the floor. Only his hands and the end of his feet were touching the floor. He was about to do some push-ups. ''I''ll go until I reached my limit...'' After doing a deep breath he started counting in his mind. ''One... Two... Three... Four...'' And so his training began... At his 20th count, his body began to feel numb and his breathing wasn''t as smooth anymore. As he realized that himself, he was somewhat a bit disappointed but still continued. Three minutes later, Liam counting to 50 passed. His limbs started to move unsteadily, his muscles ached, he breathed heavily, and his sweat trickled down his body like a tap water. Fuu... ''I need more...!'' Though his body was giving up, Liam continued. Until the 80th count... He halted in the middle of his activity. His arms were still stretched, while his entire body was trembling. He started to lose breath and his skin was red from either the sweat or the pain. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. He gulped as he took his breath... Thud! And soon collapsed on the ground. He forcefully tilted his body to see the tree and the sky. Before he eventually fainted on the spot. While he was unconscious a chime echoed through his mind... As a window appeared... ¡º The host''s training has finally concluded. ¡» ¡º Commencing the calculation of the number of attributes that the host obtained from the hard work he took before completing his training. ¡» ¡º The host received 1 point of Strength and 2 points of Endurance. ¡» Thirty minutes later, Liam finally opened his eyes. He woke up thinking that he suddenly gained more vitality in his body but didn''t care much about it when his body slightly ached after moving just a little. ''The Regeneration skill didn''t work completely?'' At that random moment, he somehow understood the skill''s process. ''I see. So it heals the most life-threatening injury with an incredible speed but it becomes more sluggish at healing when it wasn''t important, just like muscle pains.'' He stood up and wandered around but it comes with a slight muscle pain every time he took a step. kuu... "This Regeneration skill is a bit... Stupid? No, it''s fair enough." Liam spoke before he decided to hydrate himself and rest a bit more. He went inside his house with his body swaying left and right caused by his weakened legs. After drinking a large amount of water and resting by watching the TV for over an hour, he soon chose to continue his training. And so it began once again, with him doing the sit-ups. The countdown he made was shorter than when he did from the push-ups earlier, apparently, because of the backlash from pushing his body to the limits. He only made 60 sit-ups. Then once again collapsed and fainted on the floor of grass. Then the system''s window appeared once again. Portraying the same exact contents that it said earlier with the exception of the rewards. It only gave Liam 1 point for the Strength and the Endurance attributes. After opening his eyes again, everything that he did was just the same as earlier. Waking up with a slight muscle pain and feeling a little bit of vitality but simply ignoring it. He went off inside his house to rest for over an hour. Then going back to the yard, he did another one of his ''basic trainings''. He went for squats, but only managed to achieve 50 counts. He laid on the floor. And fainted. Then the system showed up again. But this time it only gave him 1 Endurance point. Waking up, then the process repeat. The last one he will do for the day was running. He planned to run 25 laps around his yard but only managed to barely make it into 15 laps before he tripped and fell on the floor. He slammed the ground in anger. Then Liam eventually fell unconscious. The system gave him 1 dexterity. And he woke up later than usual. He slept for almost two hours lying on the ground. "Huh...? Ah. It''s just a dream." Liam stretched his body while still lying on the ground before he stood up back again and strode towards his house. Because he slept for 2 hours, obviously, all the pain was gone. Instead... ''I feel slightly better than before. Do sleeping on the ground works that well?'' Liam already did five hours worth of training and decided to sleep and continue tomorrow. He went into the bath after resting for a while and soon went to his bed. Thinking about what he did today, 80 push-ups, 60 sit-ups, 50 squats, and 15 laps of running. He smiled. Before he finally closed his eyes and slept. Three days later. He have been doing the same training he did since the first day but it definitely got some quite improvements. After sleeping for 8-10 hours he woke up consuming fruits that he found in the fridge. Did some stretching for a warm-up before his training. Then finally did his push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and running. On the second day, he achieved 90 push-ups, 70 sit-ups, 55 squats, and 20 laps of running. On the third day, he was happy when he achieved 100 push-ups, 80 sit-ups, 65 squats, and 23 laps of running. Today, on the fourth day, he remembered something just as he woke up. Liam rushed in the backyard and walked towards the corner. He stood in front of the large rock that he tried to lift three days ago. Right now, he wanted to test his strength, he wasn''t expecting much like holding it while running as only the overpowered main characters could do something absurd like that. And so he placed his hands below the rock and tried to lift it. With his full strength, he can move it upwards and push it onto the other side. While when he put more strength into his arms and his back, he can lift it for only three inches high and stayed with it for just several seconds. It ain''t much but it''s an honest work. After heaving a sigh of relief, he spoke. "Hah. It wasn''t that much, but I sure made quite a progress." He smiled, did a warm-up after, and soon started training. Then the sixth day came. Exactly five days have passed since he started his training. He just finished running and was already lying flat on the ground. Though he was tired, his smile didn''t go away. Because he made 100 counts from two of his basic training. He attained 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 85 squats, and 28 laps of running. "What great progress I''ve made..." He didn''t faint nor sleep on the ground like what he did normally, but went straight to his kitchen instead. Exhausted, he immediately grabbed and drank lots of water. As he was putting back the water jug inside the fridge, he noticed that there''s nothing left inside besides the water jug and water bottles. ''There''s no fruits left?'' When he realized that, he remembered that he''s also short in money. And as he remembered that he needed to make money, he recalled his part-time job. "The gym." Liam worked at a gym as a gym assistant. He helped patrons as they work out. Like assisting customers with equipment, ensuring gym cleanliness, enforcing the gym''s rules, and maintaining daily logs. Because he was already working there for a few years back, he can surely convince the manager to let him borrow the gym equipments. And his late realization made him quite satisfied with himself. "Making money while getting stronger." He stood up, showered, and so went to his bed, without losing his smile. A Sparring Match (1) Saturday, in the upper part of the town. A young man walked up in front of a second-floor building that have some large glass windows beside the walls, making a part of the interior to be seen outside. It was a gym that contains almost all of the training equipments. The young man, Liam, who was standing outside and carefully observing the building, grinned as if he found himself in front of a fortune-making building. "I''ll test the result of my basic training here." While his appearance was calm and composed, his eyes were burning with motivation. Liam soon hurried inside the gym and headed straight to the management room. Before he went in, he saw all the types of equipment that he was seeing almost every day, mainly because it was his job to check them. From machines and free weights, training benches, treadmills, some punching bags, exercise balls, and some accessories. The second floor also contained the same things that were down where he was. Creak. Liam opened the door and saw an old man, who was sitting in a comfy office chair in front of a wooden table, that also have office stuffs. He soon stepped in and tried to close the door. "Manager, It''s me, Liam. I''m ready to do my job for toda¨C" Just as he was about to turn around, a few books were already flying towards his face. But he managed to dodge it all easily. "You dare to come back here even after making me clean the gym myself for a few days!" The old man stood up while shouting at Liam with anger that showed in his face. "Sir? Why didn''t you let the helper do the work." Liam asked in return. "The other guy has a more important reason to do a break than yours!" "What? I was injured, sir. What even is his reason...?" "To think that you can even lie to me right now. How are you standing here if you''re injured! That guy said his girlfriend broke up with him and he needed some space... How pitiful..." "..." Liam was speechless. How can the manager of such a good gym be this stupid? "Ah, sir. Sorry, but didn''t you hear that my leg can''t be moved for almost a week? Though, I even hurried here as soon as it healed." Liam made a barely conceivable excuse but the manager seemed to believe it. He even breathed out a heavy sigh to sum it up. The old man soon sat down back again. Although Liam didn''t remove his straight face that can make his excuse to be obviously fake, the manager thought of his expression as dejection. "Hm... I didn''t know you''re injury was that bad. I feel sorry." He paused for a moment and thought before letting Liam do his rest. "Okay, you can rest here for an hour if you want until you can finally clean and fix some things." Liam tilted his head and didn''t expect the old man to believe him completely. Either way, it was a good thing. "Our manager is really thoughtful. I don''t need a break and will immediately continue my job..." Liam said before opening the door behind him. The old man smiled thinking that his kid changed somehow. "One last thing, sir. Can I use some of the gym equipments?" Liam spoke, not reading the atmosphere. "Y-You..." "Ah? Did I say something wrong, sir?" "You son of a...!" Some time passed before Liam finally been able to convince his boss to let him use some of the gym equipment. Although, it cost him half of his paycheck, he was satisfied. After assisting some of the customers and fixing some stuffs, he finally got his break. He went to the second floor were people barely come to every weekend. He strolled in front of the free weights and grabbed two dumbells. He lifted it high without difficulty and was once again pleased. That is the result of his training. "Alright. I''ll do the twenty kilograms as a warm-up." After doing the dumbells for god knows how many, he went towards the area where barbells were placed. He grabbed the 50 kilograms weight and soon started lifting it. Pushing it up high and slowly bringing it back down. Huff. He did over again it for a little over thirty minutes. After doing some weights, he soon went for the cardio training area. He eventually went to the treadmill. Then after it was the exercise ball for stretching one''s body and strengthen its flexibility. In just over an hour, he already used like four to five gym equipments. He was about to do the free weights again until two guys went up the second floor. He stopped doing his kind of training because it was simply absurd for his body in other people''s eyes. Even though he already have quite a strength to lift some weight that was even heavier than himself, it was only because of the system''s stats that he increased by using also the system''s points. His body was nothing more than 55 kilograms of weight as of now, like the ideal body weight of a male. Otherwise, he can still improve his outer physique by using the normal means of training. That''s why he went for the training mat and can only do some push-ups and sit-ups as he looked at the two guys wandering around the area. "Hey, Kel. Who''s that guy?" The man, who seemed to be a boxer due to his ripped muscles, asked his friend beside him as he took a side glimpse at the random guy doing push-ups in the corner of the room. "Huh? Ah, he''s a gym assistant here." The friend said. He was a regular customer of the gym and already knew what Liam''s job inside it. "Hm. He''s easily doing push-ups with his average body and without losing his breath... I heard there''s an underground ring here for some sparring and betting matches." "Ah, yes, there is. It''s an open-secret though. Why do you ask?" "I want to spar with him." "What?! I said he''s just an assistant, Enma. Don''t joke now. Hold back your competitive self." The other man, or Enma, once again glanced at Liam. "I''m not joking. He seems different... The aura he''s giving off is different..." He narrowed his eyes. "Although, I started to learn boxing a few months ago, it''s my first seeing something like this. heh. I really want to try him now." "What aura are you even talking about? Tsk. It looks like I can''t stop you. But if they knew you beat up a mere assistant..." Stolen novel; please report."hehe. You''re crazy. I said sparring not a real fight." "It''s not the first time you said that. Alright, let''s ask the manager." Enma nodded as he finally freed his gaze away from Liam. They soon left and went downstairs towards the management room. Liam, who was on his 60th count of doing push-ups, smiled as he saw the two guys left the second floor. Clearly, he heard the conversation between the two while he was training. With his enhanced perception, and by getting it to level 20 in the system''s stats, his senses were strengthened. That includes his hearing and accidentally he heard them talking about him. "So I''ll be sparring, huh. I forgot to train my limbs so it''s a good idea. Besides running, I definitely need to punch some things." He stood up after getting into the 100th mark and stretched his body some more. "Ah, this is also my first time going underground the building... I''m really lucky today. Oh, here it is." Liam placed the towel in his shoulder and glanced at the old man coming from the stairs. "Ah, sir. What are you doing here?" The old man glanced back with his intently-looking eyes. "Hmm...? Is your body always like that? Anyways, do you want to go to the underground floor? Although, you''ll be sparring with someone." "Ah. I always wanted to go down there, sir. And I also don''t hate sparring so it''s fine for me." Liam grinned as he spoke. "Hoho. You''re interested, huh. But I heard the guy was a boxer so be careful. And he also gave me 400 dollars for it so make a good fight." Liam looked at the manager stupidly. "In the end, you only like money..." "Huh? What was that?" "It''s nothing. It''s nothing..." Soon, both of them went down to the second floor and walked inside the elevator hidden behind a door that only the gym staff can get in. The entrance opened and the underground floor can be seen by the two people coming from the elevator. The place was filled with dozens of people encircling one of the four matching rings. "We are here." The old man spoke as he stepped out of the elevator. Liam followed and was a bit amazed that the place they''re in was better than he expected. He imagined the room to have a fainter light than normal because it was ''underground''. But the lightings were the same as the ordinary floors of the gym, making the place bright as it reflected on the white walls and the polished floor. The old man gave a light cough after Liam who seemed to be surprised by his surroundings. "As you can see there are four matching rings here. The two rings are for the sparring matches while the other two are for the betting." Liam slightly tilted his head as he heard the old man''s words for him. "Betting?" "Yes. That is why this is a secret place. Gambling is illegal, but here are the two rings were people fight each other while the watcher bets. Of course, the winner will also receive a payment from the loser." Liam nodded. "Ah, right. The two guys are waiting for us at the back let''s go." "Okay." Liam and his boss arrived in front of a ring which the two guys from earlier were standing. It seemed that the boxer was already prepared since his torso was already unclothed and the gloves were already put in his fist. The boxer glanced at Liam and gave him a strange stare. He kept thinking that there''s really something odd about him. Liam and the boxer eventually met each other''s gaze. "Ah, nice to meet you. I''m Liam." "Hm. I''m Enma Lee. Call me Enma. Are you ready for our match?" "Ah, yes. I''m prepared." "Good. You can come up now." Liam nodded, wore off his shirt, and got on the ring. Breathing out a sigh and stretching his body first, Liam was eager to go a fight. Though it''s just a sparring match, he was somehow excited but didn''t let it show out to others. The two guys, Liam and Enma, walked in the middle of the ring before making their own stance. With the friend of Enma making the starting signal with his hands in the middle of the two... It soon started. Hmph. As soon as a snort came out, Enma shot up a straight punch towards Liam. It was a fast happening. Already a straight punch? He wanted to test Liam in that way. The hard way. So he immediately did a straight punch. And also towards the face. With the sound of the rippling air, the strike was obviously strong and not hasty like an unexperienced boxer would do. Though he did it in the first few seconds since the fight, he did it with brains, and let his fist contained the force of his body. The watchers can also see what he did. The owner of the gym and Enma''s friend was surprised. They didn''t expect to already try hitting his opponent in the face. And there''s also Liam. Although he wasn''t surprise, but... Confused...? ''This is wrong...'' Liam frowned. "isn''t this a bit?" He spoke inwardly. He easily dodged the fist that was about to land on his face and brushed to his left. ''Why is he throwing a kid''s punch. Is he testing me?" To Liam''s perspective, the punch was like an expected pat to his head from a friend that can be easily dodged if he felt uncomfortable. It really was like a child''s punch. ''I''m still yet to be heated up. I''ll dodge for now.'' With his two fists on the front of his chest, Liam carefully and effortlessly dodged all the strike that was given by his opponent. His opponent, Enma, was slightly surprised. He expected Liam to dodge a few punches, but he didn''t expect that he would also not throw a punch. ''Is he not trying because he knows that he can''t hit me? Is he really just a normal assistant?'' A few more punches were thrown and were also avoided. Until Liam''s face began to twitch. ''This... This is boring.'' Did his opponent still assumed that he was weak? If that is true, then I need to throw a punch. Liam thought seriously. But it was just an excuse. He just wanted to strike after only dodging for quite a while. Soon, as Liam dodged a left hook by lowering his center of gravity, his face turned serious. He took one step back, folded his arms, stretched it backward, and in a blink of an eye, shot it towards his opponent''s face. THWACK! A Sparring Match (2) Three hours before Liam went to the gym. Liam just got out of his bed and he already felt something odd within his body. "This... This is weird." The sudden vitality that he was feeling from the early days of his training to became stronger. Maybe because he was in pain yesterday after running and have only rest for a few minutes, but he just noticed the strange feeling right now. "I''ve felt something like this before." While eating some fruits that he bought with the rest of his money, he kept thinking that the feeling surging inside his body wasn''t that new to him. After a while, he recalled something. "Ah. The attributes...!" He remembered the moment several days ago while he was still in the hospital. At that time, he absorbed a part of the warrior-like terrorist''s attributes and made his Strength shot up from 16 to 22. The feeling he was getting now was quite similar to the feeling in the hospital. Later after increasing his strength at that time, he subconsciously shifted his strength to his limbs that he soon use to beat the other terrorists. And he got used to moving his strength since then. ''Did I get another strength moving ability like that time?'' Liam looked at both of his hands while in contemplation. He tried to feel it inside him and accidentally repressed his strength while he was just attempting to shift it from one part of his body. He was surprised. That was, no doubt, an incredible effect. Looking back, him moving his strength several days ago wasn''t considered a skill by the system. "Does that mean every time that I will overcome a bottleneck, I''ll get a self-contained ability that isn''t a part of the system?" As if to answer his question right away, the system notification appeared in front of him. ¡º After overcoming a certain bottleneck, the host successfully obtained a passive skill which is placed in the Technique subcategory. ¡» ¡º The skill called [Strength Control] lets the user to be able to control strength briefly with his will. Whether smoothly shifting the pure energy of strength to some part of the user''s body or efficiently suppressing the user''s own strength to a certain extent, strength can be completely controlled by the user himself. ¡» "What...?" Liam was in confusion after that. The system didn''t make a direct response, but it was an answer to Liam''s question earlier. And it was out of his expectation. Now that the strength shifting ability was considered a part of the system, his apprehension of the system became a mess once again. "So I can now completely control my strength and even restrain it. That''s nice. And it''s a technique so it can be upgraded. hah. That''s even better. But..." He trailed off his words and his expression changed from satisfaction to depression. "My system is becoming even harder to understand..." Breathing out a heavy sigh, he then moved his low-spirited body to sat on the couch and continued to think more and more. After a long while of his deep understanding, he finally got a gist of the system''s procession of skill. When he got some Strength points and made the attribute go past 20, the reward, or more precisely the change, after he overcame the bottleneck, was him being able to divert his ''pure energy of strength'' from some parts of his body. That kind of effect wasn''t normal for humans so Liam can obviously consider it as an ability or some sort. That ability was a fruit of using the system, but it wasn''t recognized as a skill by the system itself. Or it wasn''t... yet. Liam can only assume it as an insufficient ability that needs another strength-stimulating ability and it was later confirmed to be true. Yesterday, the moment he surpassed another bottleneck upon surpassing 30 attribute points, another ability affecting one''s strength was once again obtained by Liam, but there''s still no reaction from the system. Then when Liam luckily used his new ability, the system considered it a skill, combining the shifting and suppressing of one''s pure energy of strength. As he finally thought that he got it right, he let out a sigh of relief. "My endurance attributes went passed 20 level of points but I didn''t feel a change. But after my training, I always feel an unusual vitality slowly growing inside my body, is it the effect? Or is it normal every time I level it up...?" A moment later, he came into realization. ''Ah. It also passed the 30 level. I will have to try it.'' Liam put his feet on top of the couch and sat cross-legged. ''If I do this, I should be able to find and handle it inside me.'' Breathing deeply, he then started... His meditation, that he actually learned from the internet. Liam first calmed his mind and tried to enhance the senses within his body. When he was doing meditations in the past, it was only to calm himself, but now was different. He was trying to find the essence or energy of his strength inside his body. Just thinking about it, it seemed like that cultivation in some novels... But no need to get sidetrack. It was not easy, but because he already knew how to shift his strength, it was only normal for him to find it within a few minutes. Just as he finally felt it, he pictured the energy inside his mind, and tried to move it and suppress it to understand what will be its reaction. Then he eventually learned it. It seemed fluid base on how it felt and moved but it looked like a conceivable gas of blue energy every time Liam envisioned it. Now that he was over finding his ''strength'', he decided to search for his own ''endurance''. He determined that the new effect of the endurance was the same as the strength-shifting ability, but he didn''t even notice that he have it the first time. He discovered that ability subconsciously and accidentally, so he won''t entirely know how to search for the essence of endurance nor did he know how does it look or feel. 10 minutes. 30 minutes. An hour already passed. But Liam still can''t perceive the gist of his endurance. He even suppressed almost all of his strength because he thought it was overlapping with the other, but it didn''t do a thing. He soon stopped his meditation because he was starting to doubt and be skeptical. ''Does it truly not exist?'' Breathing out a heavy sigh, he continued to think deeply. Liam can''t stay in one position while his mind was being filled by hows and whys. "Why can''t I see it...?" While comforting himself by melting with the couch and looking at the empty air, he recalled something. "I only feel the vitality when my endurance attribute goes up by a... few...?" A small wind of change blew across his house. One of his bad traits, late realization came into effect. "Huh? Ah... Ah! Ah, ah, ah!" He suddenly jumped out of the couch. "An idea!" He looked left and right before tilting his head. ''Why am I standing again?'' He sat back to the couch. "Whew, okay. Stat Window." Looking at his own stats, his complexion brightened. ''Hm. I still have three distribution points.'' ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Stat Window Name: Liam Keene Level: 12 [72 / 140] Job: none HP: 33 (¡ü2) MP: 20 (Replenish 2 pt every 1 min and 20 sec.) Stamina: 39% [Stats] Strength: 30 Dexterity: 23 Intelligence: 20 Endurance: 31 The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.Perception: 21 ATR Distribution Points: 3 ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n "Hm. I should check the notification to see if there are any more rewards." As Liam checked it, one window appeared. ¡º You managed to survive several hits from an enemy with 10 levels or more higher than you. You gained 50 EXP Points, 5 ATR Points, and 2 Skill Points. ¡» He widened his eyes in shock. "Ten... Ten levels or more higher than me... He really just held back that time, huh." Liam shook his heads and cleared the useless thoughts. He arranged the five distribution points to all the attributes besides the Endurance. Then he eventually put the rest to it. ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n [Stats] Strength: 31 ¡ú 32 Dexterity: 23 ¡ú 24 Intelligence: 20 ¡ú 22 Endurance: 31 ¡ú 34 Perception: 21 ¡ú 22 ATR Distribution Points: 8¡ú0 ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Liam suddenly stopped his movements. "This is it... The vigorous energy in my body!" He quickly went back to his meditation posture and calm himself. He suppressed his strength and tried to find something. A few seconds later, Liam''s straight face twitched. ''This... Is this it?'' As soon as he felt something inside him, he put his entire focus on it. Then a faint image appeared, pictured by Liam''s perception and imagination. "It''s... a ball?" Liam spoke inwardly. What he felt inside himself was a sphere-shaped energy which have a greenish hue. It was different from the energy of strength where it covers the entire body with its essence. It has the size of a marble. It was placed in the middle of his body, just behind his solar plexus. It was strange. Liam can''t help but to question it. ''How does it work?'' Of course, he knew no one but himself could resolve it, unless the system talked which he highly doubt it will. So tried to inspect it a little more to find an answer. ''Before this feeling disappears, I need to familiarize myself with it. Then I can evaluate it somehow.'' After several minutes of his ''familiarizing'', the feeling didn''t fade away which was entirely good. But after that, the process didn''t get easy. Liam focused on it further, tried to move it, felt it, he already did all the possible aspects to alter it but nothing seemed to be happening. He even named it ''Endurance Orb'' a while ago because he was tired of calling it longer. He was about to give up completely. But it was then that something changed. The orb expanded, unknowingly becoming the size of a child''s fist. A dreary-colored twig suddenly appeared on top of the orb. Then another one below. Before the two twigs sprouted like a maturing root everywhere at an unbelievable pace. It was almost like a scattered spider web as it kept growing inside Liam''s body. It continued until it reached every end of the body. The orb abruptly shone, at the same time, the roots gained vitality as it also have the color similar to the orb. "This is... This even more confusing to comprehend..." Several more minutes passed before Liam gave up finding the answer to what the ''endurance roots'' can do. ©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n Present Time THWACK! "Ah. Oh, he blocked it?" Liam said inwardly. He was a bit surprised when his opponent successfully blocked his attack, but it was not out of his expectation since he restrain a bit of his strength. ''He even looked fine. He''s stronger than I thought.'' Liam was right, his opponent, Enma, didn''t seem affected by the attack. But although he was looking fine on the outside, he still felt troubled. ''I knew it. This guy isn''t normal.'' Enma thought as the arm he used to block the punch was feeling numb. A second after getting hit, he averted his defense, and shot a fist directly to Liam''s chest. Unfortunately, for Enma, his opponent have quicker reflexes than normal people and also have an above-average speed. With a basic footwork, Liam slightly bend from the waist up to the side, slipping out of the way of the jab. After his jab didn''t land on its target, Enma took one step forward, and hook his left fist towards Liam''s face. ''He can''t possibly dodge this.'' While his enemy was cheaply figuring the outcome, Liam already move his forearms to block the incoming strike. ''Oh. He has good strength too.'' Thinking that, it gave him an idea. Maybe he''s on the same level of power as the warrior terrorist he fought with difficulty. Just by assuming about it made him pleased inside. Perhaps he could even use this guy to test his strength between him and the past him. Although the warrior terrorist was deadly mostly because of his several dangerous skills, he also have the superiority of attributes which made Liam had a hard time fighting with him. ''I see that his major potency is resilience which made him attack almost immediately even after getting a hit himself.'' Another decent fighter was facing Liam. That fact made him quite satisfied while thinking, This is gonna be a long fight. After a profound breath, Enma made quite a good footwork that made him in an advantageous position to hit his opponent with continuous strikes. He easily did five moves. Two straight punch, Two jabs, and one hook. All of it didn''t land on Liam''s vital spots by either him blocking or dodging it. But his posture got messy when they were almost at the corner of the ring, making Enma took the slight chance and hit him between the shoulder and the chest. ''I finally hit him. Most speedy guys don''t have quite the endurance... Is he one of them?'' Another assumption of Liam being weak. He have the thought that he will have a hard time recovering if he''s body was frail enough. But what his opponent did made him a bit confused. ''Is it just me... Or did he smile?'' Without asking any further, he tried to strike him with a right hook due to believing his target was already cornered. And it was a mistake. Liam ducked and successfully dodged the punch and without a second passing, he took a step forward and strode towards Enma''s side, with his fist already stretching towards his face. Tak! It was a clean hit. Now both of them have a hit to each other. Enma barely withstood the impact that caused his vision to slightly darkened for a few seconds. After that, he immediately fixed his position and fronted his opponent once again. whew. "I don''t want to admit this myself but... I don''t think this ordinary sparring with a gym assistant will last long." He spoke to himself inwardly. While he was recovering his smooth breathing and prepared his fist, Liam was thinking the exact same thing. ''I''m assuming this fight will somehow turn serious.'' It began. Liam was the first one to move as he shortened their distance. Enma slowly moved forward and did a spiritless jab to test Liam. A crazy decision was made on Liam''s mind. He won''t conceal his strength and test his opponent''s endurance. ''He has quite a buffed body nothing could go wrong...'' Clenching his fist, he folded his right arm. He was about to stretch it. But then. Ding! Ding! "Hey! The quick match is over. You both hit each other once so you can get down here now." The manager announced as he glanced at the two guys who were making such a serious expression while on the ring. "Ah. Oh, it''s over." Liam glanced back at his manager. He was feeling regretful inside. ''It was just a sparring match after all.'' While Liam already accepted the conclusion and cleared his lamenting, the other guy on the ring was unusually still raring to fight. "Manager... Eight hundred dollars. A betting match." Enma reclaimed. A Serious Match 12:42, Underground floor of a gym. Huh? Besides Enma himself, his friend, the manager, and even Liam was surprised by his exclamation. Enma''s friend was stupefied, the manager was fascinated, Liam was interested. "Ah. Young one, can you repeat that again?" The manager asked with his narrowed eyes. "I want a real match with him for 800 dollars." As soon as the old manager heard the word ''dollars'', his eyes shone with a dollar sign. "Ah, yes, of course. Haha. Eight hundred dollars... Sure..." He trailed off his sentence when his eyes stumbled into Liam. "Uh... But... Hm... L-Let''s hear that kid''s consent first..." Liam smiled as he heard his manager''s care for him. ''Did he just say ''damn it'' in the end...?'' Believing he just heard it wrong, he shook his head and glanced at his manager. "I don''t mind, manager. I also would like to be acquainted with him after this." Liam said. "Aha. What a good kid. Alright, Enma is it? He already agreed so we''re fine." The manager said. "And also, a serious match here means people betting for you two like you said, are you fine with that?" The manager''s glared at him with his serious eyes. Enma agreed without any complaints. He really just wanted to fight Liam. In any case, the two fighters soon went on to a different boxing ring just right near the entrance. A long moment of some preparations came by before they went in the middle and took their stance. In just a few minutes, the match between them will start. A moment later, the betting match on the other side concluded, making half of the people delighted while the rest were regretful. Most of them already decided to go home while the others still want more money. And they saw Liam and Enma on the other ring. "Hey, look. Another match is going to start. We''re in luck today." A guy said as he saw two unclothed men standing on the ring. "Ah, you''re right. Wait. Look at that guy. His body is way more ripped, he''s going to be the favored fighter, and it''s obvious that he''s gonna win." Another guy said as he took a close look at Enma. Then more people became interested in the new upcoming match. As the crowd finally stopped increasing, the manager went in the middle of the ring. After taking a look at both of the fighter, he nodded, and started explaining things. Then he announced their statistical records. The manager first told their body measures which include their height and weight. Just by that information, one could clearly tell that Enma was stronger than Liam. Then what he said next was that they are obviously new in the underground match and were only able to have a sparring match. He said both of them have a useful and incredible ability. Enma have a quick recovery against attacks and Liam have a great speed and flexibility. Both of them hit each other in the vital spots only once with different techniques. "...Although Liam Keene has an inferior body compared to his opponent, it gave him the advantage to move quickly, and it made him not getting hit for almost two minutes," The manager stared at all the people who were listening to him obediently before he continued, "Not until Enma immediately took the slightest chance he could possibly get and hit him in the chest, then the unbelievable moment started there," He smiled as he talked, obviously being proud by his lackey''s achievement. "Liam ducked and dodged a hook, took a sidestepped, came back, instantly made a clean stance, and did a perfect hit to his opponent''s face." The manager turned around. "By normal means and facts, Enma Lee is stronger than Liam Keene here so... Should we start the round and the gamble?" The crowd became a bit noisy before they all nodded in agreement. "No kicking, biting, or shots below the belt. Sixteen-ounce gloves are provided. Because there are only three three-minute rounds, we all know that..." Every hit landed on a fighter''s body, equals to a point that ranges from 1 to 5 depending on how effective the strike, which was caused by the attacker. Whoever has the most points will apparently win the match. And there''s these two judges who would assess everything. -300 for Enma Lee, -260 Liam Keene Enma Lee, the favored fighter, went up to -100 money line. This means that a player who likes the favorite to win must put up $300 for a chance to win $100. While the ones who bet on Liam, the underdog, will have to pay $100 to win $260. But as the manager expected, only a few people played for Liam. A third of the crowd bet on Enma and the rest bet on Liam. "The match will now start!" As the match commenced, the two immediately concentrated on each other. Although they felt slightly uncomfortable about people betting on them, they didn''t care much because they have a much bigger reason to continue fighting. They were both intrigued by each other''s strengths and immersed by each other''s capabilities. Not wanting a few seconds to pass any further, Enma took the initiative. He took a step forward and jab Liam with his left fist and another one with his right. Liam easily blocked the first strike and dodged the second one by slipping and made it pass through him. He moved slightly forward while a stance that indicates a straight was made. He shot it towards his opponent''s chest. Enma turned his body to Liam, stepped back, and moved his arms upwards, and successfully protected himself from the attack. Then came a seemingly heavy hook which he dodged by bending his body downwards. While Liam was still pulling his right fist, Enma, whose center of gravity was still lowered, moved his right foot farther behind the other, then he shoved his right fist aiming at his opponent''s face. Thwack! A direct hit! A blow landing on Liam''s face, or more precisely, his jaw, made quite a commotion amongst the crowd. Not just because of the outstanding attack hat Enma made, but also by the intense actions that they showed within those fifteen seconds. They were filled with excitement that they actually forgot about their bets for a moment. Someone could even say that they''re not so far from the level of the professional boxers judging by their skills, and no one would object. Going back to the ring, the two fighters were still in their usual calm and serious state. Liam dealt with the impact of the blow in only a few seconds and brought his composure back. He smiled inwardly as he thought, ''He''s good, alright.'' On the other hand, Enma wasn''t surprise by the outcome of his attack. His opponent wasn''t affected that much, but somehow, he was a bit delighted. ''A fighter who don''t lack endurance, speed, and strength. Hm, I shall gladly end this fight by beating you...'' ...One shall have a deep respect for those who are born with considerable talent. They were now starting to move again. Liam moved forward, Enma moved left after deciding to encircle his opponent. At that moment, Liam suddenly took a few steps towards Enma, signifying an incoming attack that was unexpected for the spectators. They just started to regain their natural state and he was already pushing again? However, Enma didn''t lose his composure as he himself have a great recovery. He won''t need a long rest to attack once again. As he was seeing Liam coming towards him in a straight line he slightly lowered his body and folded his right arm. He was planning to strike before his opponent could. But suddenly, he felt unsettled. ''Still in a straight line?'' As he thought that, Liam''s body blurred in his vision. ''Huh?'' Then the clear image of his body abruptly appeared slightly left of him and even lower than him. As he looked down, he saw a rippling fist. He immediately clenched his teeth. Tak! Another commotion occurred. Because Liam just did an uppercut. ...Within the first 30 seconds of the match! Liam didn''t move at his spot and kindly wait for his opponent to regain his senses, and Enma saw him do it after recovering. That five-second interval was enough chance was enough for a person to deal with two or three blows. For the people in the professional boxing competitions, it was called naivete. Perhaps it really was like that, but for the two fighters standing in the ring, it was a form of respect. Some of the spectators also noticed what he did, but they didn''t dare to just shout it out. Then a small part of Enma''s consciousness have an entirely different thought. ''Is he starting to humiliate me?'' A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. But he just brushed the unuseful thought off by stepping forwards. Another moment of their exchanging will soon commence. This time it took 30 seconds of their lifeless attacks before Enma carried out three continuous heavy attacks that Liam could only block. Then Liam made one step and brought his situation better. He stepped outside his opponent''s range. While Enma was moving slightly forwards, a quick shot of a fist flew towards his face but he managed to dodge it by slipping through. As soon as he came back to his standard stance, he stretched his arm and made a straight punch towards Liam''s chest, then after immediately pulling his fist, he did another one, jabbing his target''s shoulder. Those are two successful and decent hits. For the first time since coming into the ring, Liam''s face twitched, but he didn''t let his focus flow out and instantly made quite a posture. Just as Enma was about to slightly loosen up, his opponent moved his torso towards him and made their distance so much closer. He was surprised and engaged by Liam''s sudden movement that he didn''t even notice a fist coming directly to his abdomen. The sound it made it obvious that it was painful, but it only took a few steps back for him to recover. Unfortunately, it didn''t end there. Liam already knew that recovery was his best ability so he wouldn''t hold back anymore. He tried to hit Enma with a hook and a jab which he barely blocked, and another jab which scarcely hit him. Liam finally stopped after his straight punch, which was his fifth attack within the recent series of his strikes, was a dodge. He also began to sweat heavily and thought while he and his opponent, Enma, was standing still. ''This guy is amazing... and definitely scary.'' To think that he can still stand firmly and still looked composed after being hit three times continuously. It was just incredible even for Liam. Both of them have thick beads of sweat, pouring down from their body, and their body was also beginning to get reddish, either because of tiredness or the pain. Soon, Enma stepped forward just after several seconds passed, Liam put his guard on, and the spectators began to tense up once again. The continuous sound of flesh getting hit echoed throughout their area. It was obviously made by the two persons exchanging blows to each other. Until the bell rang. Liam and Enma lightly glanced at each other before taking down a seat to the chair that was brought up by the underground assistant. The crowd became noisy as they began to talk, giving each other''s opinion. Their impression on Liam greatly changed, and of course, also on Enma. It was always like that in every people''s first match. The ones who bet on their favored fighters were quite pleased, a few even want to bet on Liam but they can''t do anything anymore. But all of them have the thought that this was quite a nice matchup and no one could possibly tell who would win. It was mostly all up to their luck. Ding! Ding! Ding! The starting bell rang again and both of the fighters soon went in the middle of the ring. Both of them have a renewed gaze which wasn''t looking down on each other''s strength. The match this time would be like a second phase of fighting an RPG dungeon''s boss where you would need to get serious and even more focused. They already clashed earlier so obviously, now, they knew each other''s fighting style and technique which brought them to think, analyze, and make a timely strategy for themselves. Like for example, Enma was the first one to move, while he did a straight punch, he was just waiting for Liam to dodge or block, then he would do what he planned after. He dodged that was not out of Enma''s expectations. A second after his straight was dodged, he made a hasty footwork, pulled his fist, turned sidewards fronting Liam, and did a successful hook that hit his vital spot, the neck. Now, what would come after would clearly be not part of his plan as he already did his. Liam regained his balance after receiving the impact of being hit in the neck. He took a closed look and saw his opponent still making his defense. He stepped forwards and folded his left arm. Enma first moved his right arm thinking his opponent would hit him there, but he learned that he made a wrong move when Liam took another step forward which was not going to go well if he continued striking with his left fist. ''A decoy?! I''m too late...!'' Just as he realized it himself, a fist was already targeting his head. The swift blow landed just behind his ear. "Urk!" Enma''s vision went blank once again. ''He also knew these vital spots! This is illegal but not in underground fights. I could lose my consciousness...'' He began to lose his balance quickly as his feet were going out of place. ''But I can''t do that right now... I won''t fall!'' He was about to trip while continuously stepping backward, but he managed to move his one leg and let his body stand firmly again. ''Ku- I should''ve done this earlier if I knew that he also understands the vital spots...'' Enma thought as he also retrieved his clear vision and saw his opponent two meters away from him. Liam easily caught his breath for a few seconds while he watched Enma who almost immediately recover and regain his balance. ''Within those ten seconds, a normal person would lose consciousness, a normal fighter would already fall, but he actually managed to pull it off and just stand there...'' Amazing. Liam just decided to bring a use to his assassination techniques, which was the knowledge of vital spots in a human''s body. It was effective against a person without a counter ability, but he wasn''t 100% if it was the same with his current opponent who has one. Soon after, they began to move, with their guard against vital hits not loosening out one bit. But sooner or later would they be able to do so. Liam move first, tried to hit Enma with a straight, but he was the one to get hit, two consecutive times, in his left shoulder and in his abdomen. He backed down and rest a few seconds before immediately moving forwards again. Enma strike three times but it was all dodged by his target. It seems like his opponent''s composure shot up to a great extent. He tried a few more strikes but it was still dodged. He didn''t give up and made another hook, but this time he blocked it. Then Liam was the one to attack now. He did three successful jabs, one straight, and one hook. It was incredible, but it made him tired out. He took a few steps back and relax, but just a few seconds after, Enma began to retaliate. Just like that, the exchange of attacks began once again. The crowd wasn''t losing on their cheering too. The excitement in them wasn''t even falling a single bit. Every punch they heard or they saw inside the ring, was only making them to tense up more and more. This was more intense than most of the fights they saw in their life, even compared to the professional competitions. But the commotion soon relaxed when the bells finally rang again. Enma panted heavily, while you can''t say the same with Liam who have a great endurance, he was also sweating at an awful rate. But both of them were tired and gulped a lot of bottled water. Their last fight would soon start in just a half a minute, but Enma was also only half prepared. His whole body was beginning to feel numb and muscle aches started to aroused. But what could he do... DING! DING! DING! But to continue. This would be the last fight. The last phase where they would be dragged to push forwards with their own fighting will. At some point, this could turn into a fight full of brawns or a fight full of brains. After a minute of another intense combat, their fight turned from using strategies to just-hit-when-there-was-a-chance battle. Liam managed to hit his opponent two times before taking a hit himself. Enma made a series of dodge and hit two times and also made his opponent back away. Liam was cornered but he got away by blocking and striking his opponent two times. It doesn''t even feel like a boxing anymore. Another minute passed before the two stopped exchanging their blows. This was the last minute so they started to use their brains to fight once again. But they still ended up doing a fight of strength and within the last 30 seconds, both of them received a hit in their chin, their abdomen, their chest, and so on. Until the bell finally rang when they let their body rested by just standing and halting all of their movements. They soon laid on their seats. Compare to Them You Are Nothing 1:04 PM The crowd finally calm down, but it was because they were all quite tense. The result of the fight was already prepared. They were only waiting for the manager''s voice to call throughout the room. The manager stood firmly in the middle of the ring and cleared his throat. "I shall now announce the winner of the match!" With a deep and loud voice he exclaimed. "With 313 points, just two points higher than the other, the winner for today is...!" ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n ©n©n©n©n©n ©n©n "If I have actually increased my strength back there, maybe I won''t lose..." Liam was wandering around in a certain street while thinking about the result of the match earlier. ''Well, it''s too late for regrets.'' The manager said that he should take a break and go home, believing that he was already very exhausted from the fight he just have. But Liam wasn''t really that much tired enough, he just accepted the request since it would be suspicious if he said he wasn''t that much exhausted. Because his endurance was much higher than before it also decrease the depletion of his stamina. Liam still could He walked for a bit before he found himself near a small restaurant. He decided to rest there and simply fill his stomach. ''Hm... About that, I still can''t think of a method about how to properly use the essence of my endurance...'' He took a spoonful of fried rice in his mouth... ''But anyway, what skill should I level up? I recalled that I still have 10 skill points.'' ...And another spoon... ''Oh, yeah. Dull Time is the most valuable skill out of all the ones I have, but Stealth is also useful, and Blade Hands is quite strong...'' ...And one last swallow of the food before he was completely full. "I''ll just have to use this free time to gather my thoughts." Skill Menu. ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Skills Passive Skills: > Health Recovery > Firmness {CD 10 min} > Regeneration > Immunity > Hyperthymesia > Warrior''s Will Techniques: > Hand Fighting Techniques Lv. 1 > Assassination Techniques Lv. 1 > Strength Control Lv. 1 Active Skills: > Mesomorphic Lv. 3 - {5 MP, 1 mins CD} > Crystal Vision Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 30 sec CD} > Accurate Throw Lv. 2 - {1 MP, 1 sec CD} > Appraisal Lv. 2 - {0 MP} > Mental Boost Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 30 sec CD} > Discerning Eye Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 30 sec CD} > Absorption Lv. 2 - {0 MP, 20 mins CD} > Stealth Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 1 mins CD} > Dull Time Lv. 1 - {10 MP, 25% STA, 9 hrs CD} > Blade Hands Lv. 1 - {5 MP, 10% STA, 15 mins CD} > Fiery Punch Lv. 2 - {9 MP, 5% STA, 30 mins CD} > Arm Strengthening Lv. 1 - {3 MP, 1 mins CD} Skill Distribution Points: 10 ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ''It''s been a while since I last saw my skills.'' And it still puts a smile on his face. A moment of his evaluation, he went into conclusion. "If I were to level up the Stealth, I don''t know how useful it can be..." Perhaps the duration of its use would be longer adding an enhanced concealment of his presence, his shadow vanishing, or just making his moves swifter. Unlike the other two, he didn''t know exactly how much better the skill could get useful after leveling it up. Only two skills left for him to decide. The Blade Hands was easy to predict since it''s a physical attack skill. As always, the conditions will decrease like the cooldown or the needed stamina, the duration will increase, and it would get more stronger, faster, and deadlier. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. And the last one, the Dull Time. Slowing down time was possibly one of the most needed things in one''s life. Liam believed that it won''t go anymore slower and the most possible case it would be after getting leveled up was the same as the others - the decrease of the cooldown and the increase of the skill duration. While it was simple to say in words, its use after that would be fruitful. "Presumably, it could increase the duration by ten seconds and decrease the cooldown by two or three hours at most..." The Blade Hands was an offensive skill that would easily subdue a group of enemies. At worst case, he could also kill if he focused it at one man. On the flip side, the Dull Time could mainly be considered as a defensive skill since he could escape a life-threatening attack with it. For example, avoiding a bullet, or escaping after getting cornered as he did in the hospital. Just by thinking all the things he could do with the skill made his heart flutter a bit. "I have decided. Killing someone is still uncomfortable and somehow disturbing... Even if it''s those filthy people..." ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n Dull Time Lv. 1 ¡ú Dull Time Lv. 2 Skill Distribution Points: 10 ¡ú 0 ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ©n ''Accept.'' Ding! ¡º Dull Time leveled up by 1. ¡» ¡º Dull Time''s condition has been revised. ¡» ¡º Dull Time - 30 seconds duration, 7 hours cooldown time.¡» ''As expected...'' Liam formed a faint smile before he tried to grab some money, which he got from his manager who gave him his advance payment. He left it at the table as he stood up. But then... "KIYAAAA-!!!" A shriek so loud that it pierced through one''s ear although it obviously came from afar. Liam, who was just about to walk and leave the restaurant, hear the cry of a lady and instantly felt troubled. While he thought that he should go there and check, the atmosphere inside the small restaurant changed. It was suspicious because... There''s not one reaction from the people in here...? All of the customers were silent. Not the reaction of them worrying about the shriek like normal people would expect. Liam had an urge to question about their unusual reaction, but he stopped himself when he finally have an idea about the cause of it. ''I just realized that...'' ...This part of the town was a place where thugs usually resides, making it their base, or a battleground when other gangs wanted to take over. "If that''s the case, then I really have to go there..." Without having any more second thoughts, he left the restaurant and went towards the direction of the shriek. With his Hyperthymesia skill to vividly remember the location, his high perception that enhanced his senses and made him conceive the presence of others, and last was his dexterity which made him easily go from place to place if he went at full speed... ...In only a dozen seconds, he arrived at his destination. In the middle of a narrow alleyway, Liam saw a group of three guys encircling a lady who seemed to stumble forcefully on the ground. His eyes twitched and released a cold glint. He lowered his head before he coughed slightly. The thugs turned their heads towards Liam and made a confused expression. "Who the fuck is this guy?" One of the thugs questioned as he threw his cigarette away. Liam raised his head, glanced at the thug, and in a calm manner, he spoke. "I''m sorry, it seems I was lost... But..." He averted his gaze towards the helpless who was also looking at him. She seemed to be quite hurt as she kept mumbling something. "I saw you guys doing some shady things." "Huh?! So what? You''re gonna come here and beat us? You know it will be the opposite, right?" Another one of the thugs talked, he seemed to be pissed off by Liam''s way of talking. "I mean, you guys doing all that made me remember something that I don''t want to remember." Liam took a step. "And it''s a bad thing for you I guess..." "Don''t come here, bitch!" "You know, if I compare you three to some guys which I''ll never forget..." At that moment, a cold aura shot up from his body as he continued to step forward. "You''re nothing but just some school bullies in the form of your limp gangster-like bodies." "W-What...!?" "Should I call you street bullies? Or street bully gang honorable member?" With a habit-driven intention to piss off the guys, Liam succeeded. One of the thugs ran towards him and immediately attacked with his fist but it was dodged. He made two more attacks but it was also avoided so he decided to give it his full strength. After that, he almost tripped and fell after striking the empty air. He''s enemy was already gone in front of him. Pak! He looked back just to see the other thugs in their beat up state. "Keurk! P-Put me down!! Ack!" The other guy was already kneeling on the floor with saliva continuously flowing down from his mouth as he held his stomach, while the last guy was being held in the neck leaning on the wall. The guy who saw all this trembled in fear. "M-Monster... Y-You monster...!" Soon, his eyes met with Liam''s intense and cold glare, making him step back and fall on the ground. Liam then released the guy from his gripped after seeing him unconscious before he turned his body towards the only thug who haven''t lost his senses. He once again shot his fearful aura as he opened his mouth. "Run." Hearing that, the last thug eyes quivered. He zoned out for a moment before he forcefully moved his body to stand up and ran away while intensely catching his breath. Liam saw the guy''s body disappear from his sight, he decided to leave as well. Putting his hands in his pocket, he began to walk towards the direction where he last came from. "T-Thank you!" The Entire Gang "T-Thank you!!" Liam furrowed his brows. ''Right... She''s the main purpose of why I came here...'' He turned around and saw the woman standing while her head was bowed towards him. "I... I''m indebted to you, mister. I''ll repay you back!" Liam tilted his head by the woman''s sudden exclamation. "You don''t need to do that." The woman raised his head after hearing that. Her expression seemed determined. "No! I... I will do it... I will definitely-" "Okay." "W-What?" The woman glanced at him once more. Liam stared back and smiled before he spoke again. "I''ll look forward to it." He looked at her slightly surprised expression. Taking a closer look, she was a bit more attractive than Liam thought. She had large pale-gold eyes, rosy lips, and her silky black hair flowed down just above her waist. She seemed to be at the same age as Liam or younger. "Yes..." Liam turned around and spoke. "Come with me." The woman heard him and was a bit shocked. "What?" "I''ll take you to the town''s terminal." "Ah..." It took a moment before the woman followed with Liam''s steps. "Ah, m-mister... What''s your name?" "Hm?" Liam stared at the woman with her fluttered look for a moment before he spoke. "Don''t call me mister. Our age difference is probably not that big." ''In the hospital, they called me a kid. Now, I''m called a mister by a girl who seemed to be of the same age as me...'' His gaze met with the woman as he faintly smiled and opened his mouth. "It''s Liam. Liam Keene." "Yes..." As they finally stepped out on the alleyway, Liam saw a familiar face after glancing at his side. It was his previous opponent, Enma Lee. "Ah, was it Liam Keene?" He greeted Liam after also noticing him. He was walking with his friend earlier. And they came from the direction of the gym. It looked like he did something before leaving. ''Like giving that old man his money...'' Judging by his calm demeanor, given by his movements and the way talked, he seemed to not care about their fight. Just like Liam. "Yes. Enma Lee...?" He replied. "Right. Is this the way to your house? If so, then let us go together. Although I might ask why did you hold back in our match." Liam was a bit surprised. He knew? Liam paused for a moment before he made a brief smile. He also seemed a bit friendly towards him. "I don''t know what you''re talking about..." Hearing it, Enma Lee chuckled. "Look at this guy. Acting like... Hm?" He noticed a woman behind Liam and trailed off his words. "Aha. So that''s why..."This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "What?" "You got to see your girlfriend, huh." Liam tilted his head. He looked behind to see what Enma Lee was glancing at, but he only saw the woman that he said he''ll accompany to. ''Why is her face kind of red?'' He looked back at Enma Lee again... ''Ah.'' ...Then came his late realization. "Oh, you''re mistaken. I just met her today." "Hm? Really?" Enma Lee seemed a bit skeptical about it. "Yes. Three thugs tried to harass her so I helped her out of it." He said and looked at his side, trying to point out something. In the middle of the alleyway, Enma Lee saw two guys lying on the ground. "Oh. As I thought, you''re a good man indeed." They chattered in the middle of the street for a few seconds until Enma Lee''s friend suddenly spoke. "A-Ah, sorry to interrupt you but..." He seemed like he saw something bad and it made Liam and Enma confused. "But, by any chance, are... Are those the thugs you are talking about...?" Liam frowned. After immediately realizing the meaning of his words, he immediately turned around. The woman beside him twitched as she also saw it. 10, no, 30 or so group of men appeared a dozens of meters away from them. Some of them held weapons like a steel bar or a baseball bat. In the middle of the group, was a man with a lot of piercings in his face. He looked at Liam''s group while smoking a cigarette. He was obviously the leader of them all. ''Thugs...'' Liam already expected the guy who ran away from him to bring some thugs, but he didn''t imagine that it will be this many. Heck, he could even say it was the entire gang. On the other side, the guy who Liam let to escape walked up to their leader and spoke. "Ah, b-boss... Our enemy is just one guy, why bring all of us...?" He was clearly confused since he said earlier that he only needed five or more people to go with him. "Oh, I thought you said, one gang. It''s good tho, he looked strong. I might let five or more guys handle him... Hm?" The leader said as he breathed out the smoke from his cigarette. He then narrowed his eyes as if he chose his target. "And you also brought us a good woman. I can''t wait." Beside him, another man step in and spoke. "Yes, boss, I can''t wait..." The guy smiled disgustingly as he kept glancing at the beautiful woman on the other group. "Hah? Who said she was going to be yours?" "No, boss, you''ve misheard. I said she''s ours. Kehahaha-" "You a communist or something...?" Back on Liam''s side, Enma Lee started to move. He looked at his friend and spoke. "Hey, take the girl and hide somewhere, alright?" "Huh?! What are you gonna do?" "Just do as I tell, but don''t go too far just hide behind the wall. They might have put some other guys there..." "Alright." The woman also heard them as she turned around and willingly went near them before the two walked towards the alley. Enma Lee stepped beside Liam and glanced at him. ''He is still smiling in this situation?'' Liam, who was wondering if he could test his strength towards these thugs, noticed Enma Lee near him. ''Is he already treating me as a friend...?'' "Why did you stay?" "What you''re gonna take them all." Liam wanted to say that he was about to but decided against it, instead, he asked a question. "Aren''t you tired from our fight earlier?" "So are you." "Okay. If that''s what you want." After agreeing with each other, they walled slowly towards the thugs. "HAHAHA-! Well, here, they come." The boss laughed at their courageous act. "Okay, ten guys for each of them, alright? You just need to beat them, tie them up, and let them watch us do our feast." "Yes, boss!" As he ordered, twenty guys began to move and split up into two groups. "Eh? You really think either one of them could escape from that many of our people. I still want to fight you know." "God damn it. Why are you so noisy. Just watch will you?" "Tch. Yes, boss." Liam saw the twenty thugs moving towards them. He glanced at Enma who also glanced back before they continued their pace to walk forward. "If they''re still standing by then. I''m also gonna go." "Oh? Our unmovable boss is going to go!? Interesting..." THWACK! Enma was already hit by either a baseball bat, a steel bar, or just a fist, so many times, but he didn''t step back from his position and also kept striking back. By now, he already beat up 7 thugs. On the other side, Liam, who just got warmed up, started firing on after only dodging dozens of attacks coming from all of his 10 opponents. In just 20 seconds, he already had beat up all the thugs without even having to exceed three blows. They all just fainted and collapsed in one or two attacks. A few moments later, with Enma grabbing a steel bar to hit the rest of his opponent, the fight between them and the thugs ended. After catching his breath, he glanced at Liam who tilted his head after seeing him. Liam gave him a look that clearly said ''you''re late''. Enma smirked and spoke. "You''re ready for round two?" Liam fixed his posture and replied. "Since I saw that guy..." He looked at the gang''s leader. Since earlier, he''s been sensing that the boss was a lot stronger than most of the thugs. "Oh. Then I''ll go to the guy beside him." "Sure." Just like that, the second round of their fight commenced. Liam walked straight without taking his eyes off the gang''s leader. And the leader also noticed that. "Oh? You''re approaching me?" He chuckled as he finally threw off his cigarette. "Aren''t you tired? Instead of running away, you''re coming right to me?" Liam glanced back with a hint of coldness in his eyes. "I can''t beat you without getting closer." "HAHAHA-! I like your attitude! Hey, perv, you go lead the rest of the guys towards the other guy. I''ll go with this dude." "Eh?! Did you just call me a perv? Fine, as long as you let me fight I think I can forgive you." The two of the gang also began to move as the other group. Soon after, the two groups faced each other. The gang leader''s smiling face and Liam''s cold demeanor, and Enma Lee''s fight-hungry face and the other guy''s expression that seemed to look down at him. A game of strength was bound to start!