Crios City was like any other urban city. It has its own gleaming towers, markets, malls, tourist spots, great neighborhoods, but also have places with shady dangerous neighborhoods with crumbling alleys and cracked pavements.
Jack was a person who lived in the upper districts where life moved to the rhythy of peace and sometimes even luxury, while down below, the air reeked of rust, smoke, and desperation.
It wasn't anything unusal to be honest, but the reminder was that one usually had to be careful on where they were going,
Jack's eyes went wide at the notification.
his eyes turned serious as he started scanning the empty streets around the base of the stairs and started walking while looking for a way to retun to the upper districts.
Only the fading noise of traffic and the sound of a couple seemingly arguing inside their house entered his ears. Except those, it was silent.
However it was already dark, and the defective streetlights flickering faintly from time to time didn't help.
Jack swallowed hard. 'Now that I think about it, how did I even end up here?'
Jack remembered about the shooting incident his mom had told him, and clicked his tongue.
Such a thing happened in the upper districts and was already a big deal. What happens in the lower districts however usually do not even make the news. The situation down here weren't exactly peaceful, and it has been that way since he was a child.
He turned over the corner and started heading towards a place with people, finding that he had really ran so much he ended up in a somewhat secluded area.
Just then, he couldn't help but flinch when he noticed a black figure looming at the top of the stairs and started walking towards him.
Jack wouldn't call himself a scared-cat. But still, he will get scared in the moment but he kept walking ahead.
Just then, another notification appeared, breaking the silence.
[Recommendation: Evade.]
[Stamina -1.]
"Huh?"
The hooded person was already in front of him and was approaching fast.
"Hello.." Jack greeted with a bright smile and a slight bow of his head, but he was actually praying. The person, however, didn't seem to hear him.
"…"
"Hey." Jack said again, praying, and felt relieved when the hooded person didn't do anything, but he was immediately betrayed right after when they were about to pass each other, Jack frowned as the person suddenly removed his hands from his jacket pocket and without warning punched Jack square in the face, which lifted him inches off the ground.
After that, a follow-up kick connected, sending Jack flying into a wall.
"UGH! Shit!"
Various notifications popped up.
[Start Battle]
[Win against your first opponent]
[Reward: 50 Exp]
[You had been hit!]
[-1 hp]
Jack lifted his head as disbelief flashed across his face. his instinct had been spot-on.
what the hell was happening to him tonight?!
had his luck finally ran out?
Jack started to get up as he caught the sound of footsteps closed on him with aggressive intent.
Swish! Crash!
[HP: 8/10]
The hooded stranger swung his leg towards him and connected. But Jack was able to raise his arms in time. Yet even without the system's prompts, Jack could feel the shock travel from his arms to his shoulders.
'He aimed for my ribs! If I hadn't blocked that, I'd be puking my guts out again,' he thought, a sly grin tugging at his lips despite the ache.
"Oh, you blocked it," the hooded stranger finally spoke, his voice low and sharp, suggesting to Jack that it was a male, "You should at least be able to do that."
"What? Do I know you?" Jack replied in panic trying to buy time, while his eyes looked around the area, figuring which way to escape.
"Surely, you jest. Of course, you don't."
The hooded stranger didn't give time and lunged again, his arm cutting through the air, reaching for Jack's neck. But instead of flesh, his strike sank into a heap of garbage bags that burst under the force.
Jack's eyes narrowed to slits, a grin curling at his lips as he swung down hard with a broken plank clutched in his hands, aiming at the man's head.
'Eat this!'
Yet it didn't land. The wood splintered in his grip, crushed by the man's bare fist!
'What the—?!' Jack's eyes went wide, jaw clenched.
The hooded stranger's leg whipped up another kick from the right. Jack's eyes can follow but his body couldn't. Just like that, the blow connected, hurling him through the air again before he rolled onto the ground.
[HP: 5/10]
'Damn it. Why is a person this good at fighting attacking me…?'
Jack's thoughts burned as he lay sprawled.
His whole life had been like this always failing when it mattered. There were a time he too tried martial arts, but he quit not long after. He used to regularly exercise, but stopped as well.
"Hahaha." He chuckled.
In reality, he knew the reason, too. Lack of effort. Lack of preparation. Lack of discipline. And then, when the stakes were real, when it finally mattered, those wasteful days makes their entrance.
The hooded stranger closed in again and instantly sunk a brutal kick into his jaw. Jack's head snapped sideways, and blood spilled from his mouth.
[HP: 3/10]
'Who are you? Why is…omeone like you attacking me?!"
However, the man didn't reply.
All of a sudden, however, he stopped his assault as if he changed his mind.
' No matter how I look at it, this guy didn't seem to belong in our world. Why is he about to cry?' he thought and then removed his hood, which revealed a man in his thirties with blonde hair and a straight small scar that ran across his right eye.
"Please give me a moment." The blonde stranger then said, with furrowed eyebrows, as if he wasn't just beating the other party earlier. His hand went to his ear to activate some tiny electronic gadget inside.
"We think we got the wrong person. I should have gone to search for the other POIs. This one is just a civilian!" he complained, very annoyed.
Noticing Jack pivot his feet, the hooded stranger's frowned and his boot crashed down on Jack's back—twice—shaving another of Jack's hp, while he kept one hand free, chatting into his earpiece like this was nothing.
"Is that so?" the mysterious person on the other side muttered, baffled, but he could hear what was happening from the other side of the phone.
"You wasted my precious time!" the stranger said.
"Go back for now," the clipped voice replied.
The stranger hesitated. "And this guy? Can I kill him?"
In the earpiece, there was a beat of static and snapped a reply, "Wait—did he see you? Did he see your—"
The stranger heaved heavily while keeping a casual posture.
He glanced up at Jack, eyes narrowing. "This is your fault for sending inaccurate information. You made me think this is the guy." Then unable to talk no more, the blonde stranger cut of the communication.
Just then though, he heard something in the air and saw a drone with a flickering lamp roaming the area. He clicked his tongue, and stared at Jack with cold eyes, preparing to kill him.
But all of a sudden, he felt a sudden change in the area. No, in Jack.
[Certain conditions have been met.]
[Skill: Last Surge have been obtained.]
[Type: Passive / Triggered Ability]
[Condition: ..
This activates automatically when the character's HP drops to 10%]
[Effect:
This skill temporarily maxmimizes and doubles all stats, restores HP over time, and boosts reflexes for critical strikes and counters for 1 minute at the cost of overwhelming pain afterward.]
"I…"
Jack gritted his teeth.
"…cannot go out like this."
Jack wanted to change. He always did, just that he was usually too late. Yet there was one thing that never broke inside him. No matter how crushed, no matter how hopeless—Jack never gave up completely!
[Would you like to use Last Surge?]
[Yes] [No]
'Yes.' Jack laughed wryly inside. At this point, he would clung to any hope. So, with a thought saying yes, a bunch of panels started to appear.
[Skill Last Surge has been activated.]
[+1 HP]
[+1 HP]
[+1 HP]
[All stats have been doubled …]
"Fine." Jack grumbled looking at the blonde man as his HP began to climb back up, pixel by pixel.
[Speed (2x)]
The blonde stranger's eyes widened. Jack's increased stats allowed him to deliver a sweeping kick from the ground, kicking the stranger's legs, and making him lose his equilibrium.
"!!!"
Due to his quick senses however, the blonde stranger immediately regained his balance. But before he could completely do so, Jack's knee suddenly shot upward, smashing into his face, and making his nose bleed like a faucet.
"Fck!"
Snarling, the blonde clenched his fist and drove an uppercut upward. However, it was too slow!
'I clearly became faster.'
With Jack's increased speed, Jack disappeared from his opponent's sight again.
In the next moment, Jack's right fist quickly went straight into the man's stomach, followed by a straight kick in the same spot, forcing the latter back a step.
[Str x2]
The stranger glared, but his face instantly turned ashy, as the power behind the attacks were greater than he had expected, making him kneel and bawl.
The shock on the stranger's face showed that he could not believe it.
'Was he just pretending to be weak? But why?' he thought and grew angry at the thought.
He charged too, and started swinging his fist one after another, but Jack disappeared again. No, he just dodged and blocked most of them. Then, he sidestepped, and delivered three effective jabs to the stranger's ribs.
"Uagh!!"
The blonde stranger spat blood, before he pivoted, and delivered a combination of kicks and punches of his own, but then, Jack suddenly spun, and threw a kick himself.
[Critical hit!]
Pang! The sound of bones cracking was heard.
Jack could see it, feel it.
he was in control. He was the one driving the fight.
His lips curled into a wild grin.
The hooded stranger couldn't believe it. He was losing his consciousness. Everything happened too quickly.
[Victory!]
[Your first battle has been completed.]
[50 EXP Received.]
[50/100 Exp]