Ryan sat in his seat quietly, still completely soaked in sweat, eyes locked on the blue flickering light in front of his eyes.
[New Skill Acquired: Boxing Jab – E Rank (Upgradable)]
[Type: Combat Skill]
[Description: A precise, momentum-driven punch. Gains strength with user conditioning.]
[Upgradable through mastery.]
"A boxing jab, huh?" He muttered under his breath.
'So… it's a fight type skill?'
His lips curled into a small smile. 'I can definitely use this the next time when they try to mess with me. Maybe I'll be able to punch them in their gut like in movies.'
But his smile didn't last so long.
'No… if I rush into this, I'll just get beat down again. I need to master the skill first. Learn the timing, the weight transfer and the most important… the form.'
The classroom door slowly creaked open. Ryan's eyes flicked up, Josh and Amit strolled in like they owned the room.
Same shit-eating grins of them, same confident. But today, when they saw Ryan, their expressions changed a bit.
Josh raised an eyebrow and made a throat slitting movement with his thumb, mouthing. "You're dead, lil bro."
Amit snickered and nudged one of the desks with his foot. "Look who's sitting like nothing ever happened."
A low murmur spread across the room.
"Damn… Ryan's gonna get his ass handed to him again."
"He's seriously not skipping school today? Bold or stupid lol."
"You think he's gonna cry again, like he does every single time? I bet fifty bucks that he surely will."
Even some of the girls were whispering and giggling among themselves. Not one of them looked like they cared what he'd been going through.
Ryan's throat closed up, his pulse started to beat like a war drum.
'They're going to jump at me again, and no one will stop them.'
He looked down at his trembling hands, clenched fists that still didn't feel like they belonged to someone who could fight and throw an actual punch.
He could already feel it—the feeling which was slowly crawling up his spine. His body tensed a bit, back straightened.
[DING!]
[New Quest Generated: Fight Back Those Bullies]
[Objective: Land a hit using Boxing Jab]
[Rewards:]
[-4 kg fat burned]
[+1 Strength Pill]
His head rose a bit up. 'A strength pill?'
He blinked at this notification of the quest, trying to process. 'It's like the one in those fantasy books? Where the guy screams in pain, veins start bulging, bones cracking—and then changes into a complete beast?'
[Correct, Host. That exact kind. The pain will be excruciating. The benefits, substantial. But don't get excited. You won't be getting these often. This one's charity.]
[Frankly? I pity you. That's why I'm throwing you this bone. Don't expect kindness again. Power isn't given. It's earned.]
Ryan gulped, he peeked up and caught Josh looking at him.
The smug bastard stuck out his tongue and ran his thumb over his knuckles, mocking Ryan up—that he'll beat him.
Amit gave Ryan a sarcastic wink and cracked his knuckles so loud that it made a few students flinch.
One of the guys at the back of the class leaned towards his friend and whispered.
"They're definitely gonna beat his ass in front of everyone again. Dude should just transfer at this point." He chuckled as he said that.
Ryan hunched a bit in his seat.
His legs wouldn't stop shaking because of anxiety. His palms were so wet he wiped them twice on his pants, but it didn't help with it at all.
His entire body was screaming for him to get up and run from here.
'I should just run away, maybe I can say that I forgot something in the washroom or something…'
[Host.]
He froze as he heard the sudden echo in his brain.
[You can run if you want. You've done it your whole life. Run, cry, beg, hide. That's your brand, isn't it?]
Ryan clenched his jaw.
[But if you're even a little tired of being that guy. The joke, the target, the trash they kick when they're bored, then stand up. Throw one punch. Just one.]
His heart started pounding, palms getting covered with sweat.
'What if I lose the fight? What if I swing the punch at him and then miss? They'll mock me even worse than ever…'
[True. But the first time you punch back, you stop being prey. Even if you lose.]
Ryan stared at the quest which was in front of his eyes.
He could feel eyes of everyone in the class, some were laughing at him, some just wanted to enjoy the show.
No one was on his side, not even the teachers—who, more often than not, ignored the bullying.
He was truly alone in all this. But then…
'Maybe that's not a bad thing… I have nothing to lose in this you know.'
The memories flooded in his brain, the confession gone wrong, the laughter of bullies, the kicks in his stomach.
His face being shoved into the mud, the blood and all those tears.
He closed his eyes, and exhaled softly.
When he opened them again, they held something deeper, it was not courage, not even fury. It was Conviction.
He slowly stood up from his seat.
The whispers in the classroom went quiet.
Even Josh and Amit paused their mockery to look.
'Interesting…' Ryan thought, flexing his fingers slowly. 'Let's see how it feels to throw these punches.'