Ryan followed Arthur to the cafeteria, still slightly shaken because of the impact of students words.
Arthur walked casually ahead, hands were buried inside of his oversized hoodie, like he owned every single inch of ground beneath him.
At the tray section, they grabbed the steel trays. Ryan glanced sideways slowly, trying to match Arthur's pace.
Arthur piled his tray with plain rice, some chicken breast, three boiled eggs, and a bit of grilled chicken. A fighter's diet. Ryan tried to copy Arthur's meal as he also picked some juice to go with it.
He was trying not to look like a joke in front of Arthur.
They moved towards the far end of the cafeteria hall, where the tough kids sat—or rather where no one normal dared to sit.
Ryan hesitated a bit as he heard the murmurs.
"Dude, he's still with Arthur?"
"Maybe Arthur's bored and is having a bit of fun."
Arthur sat down, unfazed by his surroundings. He unwrapped an egg and popped it into his mouth without blinking.
Ryan quietly sat across him, eating awkwardly.
'Why do I feel like I'm in some type of a gang's headquarters? One wrong chew and I might lose my life.'
Still, for a moment, there was peace. No bullying, no threats, just food.
After they ate their food, they returned back to the class, and eventually the school bell rang to mark the end of today's classes.
Ryan slowly slung his bag over his shoulder and turned to face Arthur.
"Thanks again for earlier," he said, voice low.
Arthur just gave a small nod, barely looking at him with a side eye. "Hmph, stay outta trouble or you might get beaten up to a pulp when I'm not around."
With that, Arthur just walked off towards the gym building, shoulders hunched, hands still in his pockets.
Ryan began his walk to get back to his home.
The late afternoon air was thick with heat and exhaust fumes. His mind was spinning.
'Maybe this school is not so bad after all… Arthur's scary, a lot scary. But, I feel kinda safe when he's around.'
He passed an alley near the back entrance of a closed-down arcade. That's when he heard the footsteps.
"Oi, fatass."
Ryan turned back.
The same trio of ugly bastards from class stood behind him. Crooked nose, acne, glasses and the buzzcut.
"You think you're untouchable because Arthur protected you in the class, huh?"
"We just let you go earlier 'cause Arthur was there," said the one with the crooked nose.
Glasses guy cracked his knuckles. "But now? It's just you and us, no Arthur and no one to save you now."
Ryan stepped back instinctively, scared a bit.
[DING!]
[Quest Triggered: Beat the living crap out of the trash.]
[Reward: Strength stat upgrade to D. Boxing Jab skill upgrade to D.]
He blinked as he saw a sudden pop up from the system.
'Wait, what? Boxing jab upgrade and also a strength boost if I win this fight!?'
He smirked. 'Alright then, let's fucking go!'
Ryan dashed forward, throwing a straight jab towards the face of the acne-faced guy. But the move was a bit clumsy—too slow.
Buzzcut caught his fist mid-air as he said, "Wow, that was so fucking pathetic, fatass."
Then a fist came flying at him, a punch to the gut, followed by a kick to the shin. Another punch to his ribs, Ryan stumbled back a bit.
Pain started flaming across his body. "Ugh—" Ryan let out a groan.
Arthur stood at the top of the building, arms folded, expression unreadable. He was watching the entire fight take place from above.
'Tsk, another weakling.'
He was about to turn back—'just another kid who talked big and then dropped to the floor like a leaf.'
But then…
Ryan pushed himself back up, blood at the corner of his mouth, sweat mixed with the dirt and tears.
He looked at them, bruised and breathing like his lungs would burst as he murmured with a shaky voice. "Not… yet."
Arthur paused, a faint smirk touched his lips.
Ryan dashed forward again, this time his fists were a bit precise, tighter.
WHAM!
A clean jab slammed into Buzzcut's nose, sending him reeling backwards.
POW!
A jab to the glasses guy's chin, he hit the ground with a loud thud.
Crooked nose tried to run away from him, but Ryan grabbed him by his collar and sent a punch right into his stomach, then another to the face.
Ryan collapsed on top of them, panting like he'd just run a marathon, face battered, body aching all over.
Arthur chuckled softly, clearly amused by the scene which just took place as he turned back and walked away.
'Finally… someone who doesn't stay down. Surely interesting.'
[DING!]
[Strength increased: E → D.]
[Skill upgraded: Boxing Jab (E) → Boxing Jab (D)]