CHAPTER 45
Flinn.
The same Aspirant who bullied Van. Badly injuring him and causing Ray to get into a fight where his mysterious bloodline suddenly awakened.
And now, that same bully was standing in front of him with three of his friends, all of whom were 1.7 ability users.
With Flinn being a 2.5 grader.
Even despite his hardening ability, he had still been hospitalised by Ray.
And now, he decided to show up again—this time with backup.
The same backup who hadn't moved an inch from the crowd of onlookers back then and only watched as he got beaten senseless.
"What guts you have to be casually walking around by this time and eating? After humiliating me?"
Ray just shrugged mid-chew.
"How is it my fault that you were weak enough to get beaten by a human? It's a shame that a decent ability was wasted on a moron like you."
That comment caused Flinn's cheeks to heat up instantly as his teeth ground back and forth in pure, simmering rage.
Seeing the reaction he had elicited, Ray silently gulped, knowing that a clash was inevitable.
And currently, the odds were stacked against him—massively.
He only had a single skill tied to his ability, while the four people standing before him were all enhanced, and most of them clearly possessed combat-oriented abilities.
But was he going to run?
Nope.
These people needed to learn their worth.
Their place in this world.
As if agreeing with his resolve, the system stirred.
DING—!
[Quest Alert]
[Description; Hostility detected! Some morons have decided to challenge you to another fight. Each of them is stronger than you… we know! You have decided to stay and fight, so to prove that you are worthy of this system, you must beat their ass. Show them who's boss.]
[Quest Rewards; +100 EXP, +2 STR stat, +5 stat points to allocate wherever you wish.]
Staring at the quest screen hovering in front of him, Ray forcefully gulped down the cookie still in his mouth as his eyes glistened at the promised rewards.
'A… a hundred EXP? With this, I can actually level up. Beautiful!'
"Let's attack!" Flinn's enraged voice snapped Ray out of his thoughts as the four boys rushed toward him at full speed.
Quickly dropping his bag, Ray took a clumsy stance with his hands raised, eyes locked onto the figures charging his way.
The first to reach him was Flinn.
He wasted no time, swinging his fist forward as his knuckles hardened, glowing with a soft metallic sheen.
Sparks crackled around the soles of Ray's feet.
[-5 MF]
In a split second, Ray dashed sideways, creating a distance of six metres between him and Flinn, causing the punch to crash into empty air with a dull bang.
Ray's ears twitched as he instinctively glanced upward, eyes widening at the sight of an arrow shooting toward him—falling from the sky like a meteor.
'Huh? What kind of ability is this?'
There was no time to think.
He leapt backward just in time, narrowly dodging the attack as it embedded itself into the ground where he had stood.
But then—
Directly behind him, one of Flinn's friends appeared, swinging his fist forward at a decent speed.
The hairs on Ray's neck stood on end as he twisted around, arms lifting instinctively to block.
A second later, a violent gust of wind burst from the Aspirant's knuckles, slamming into Ray with the force of a normal-sized boulder.
He was sent lurching backward as the system registered the impact.
[-2 HP]
He didn't let the pain distract him.
Because Flinn was already there.
The bully appeared in front of him, swinging an uppercut straight toward his chin.
Ray gritted his teeth as sparks arced violently around his feet. Using the momentum, he expeditiously ducked low—so low that his body nearly scraped against the ground.
The uppercut barely missed him.
He was just about to spring forward and counter—
Bam—!
A violent gust of wind crashed into his back, smashing his face and body deep into the earth as cracks spider-webbed outward from the impact point.
Blood oozed from Ray's mouth.
[-2 HP]
Bang—!
Flinn rushed forward, his hardened leg streaking through the air and smashing into Ray's face with brutal, crunching force, causing blood to splatter into the air.
His head flung back—and so did his body—as he was lifted off the ground and hurled straight into a tree.
"Ack…" he coughed, blood spilling from his mouth again as his system screen flashed across his vision.
[-4 HP]
'Shoot! Only two HP left?'
He grimaced in pain as he tried pushing himself up when his skin suddenly crawled, a chilling sensation warning him of an incoming attack from above.
He hastily rolled away with all his remaining strength.
An arrow crashed down from the sky, embedding itself into the spot where his body had been just a moment earlier.
Without wasting a second, Ray sprang to his feet, just in time to see the wind ability user already charging toward him.
'I can't just keep taking damage. They need to feel it too.'
With that thought, his focus sharpened.
His mind cleared as he took a proper stance.
His thoughts flashed back to the aspect class earlier today as he watched the ability meta close the distance within seconds.
Without an ounce of hesitation, sparks crackled around Ray's feet as he bolted forward. At the same time, the other two metas rushed in, closing in on his flanks.
But Ray didn't panic.
He remained calm as his sudden burst of speed caught the wind meta completely off guard.
Instantly capitalising on it, Ray whipped his leg forward, the motion producing a mini bang as it streaked toward the wind meta.
At the same time, the other two Aspirants lashed out, ready to strike the moment his kick connected.
Flinn stood off to the side, grinning.
'What will you do now, punk? If you hit him, you won't be able to dodge, and the others will finally pin you down for me to deal with you mas—'
His thoughts cut off abruptly.
Crack—!
A loud, bone-shaking sound echoed the instant Ray's foot collided with the wind meta's abdomen with crushing force, lifting him off the ground and hurling his body into the distance.
Not missing a beat, Ray twirled sharply on his ankle, swinging the same leg out and smashing it into the chest of one of the remaining Aspirants.
Dropping his leg down, he ducked under a punch from the third guy and drove his fist straight into his gut.
Saliva burst from the Aspirant's mouth as his eyes rolled backward before he collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Ray stood there panting lightly, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
The three Aspirants lay unconscious on the ground from the blows Ray had just dealt them, leaving only Flinn standing—with a deep frown etched on his face.
"Yo—"
Bang—!
[-5 MF]
"Shut up," Ray coldly whispered as he appeared directly in front of Flinn.
Too fast for him to react. Too fast to harden his body.
Ray swung his head forward like a raging bull, ramming it straight into the bully's abdomen.
Flinn gasped violently, eyes widening as blood sprayed from his mouth.
It felt as if a battering ram had collided with his stomach, the air completely knocked out of his lungs as his body was lifted off the ground and slammed into the tree behind him.
He slid down the trunk before hitting the ground with a dull thud.
"Haaa… Haaaa…" Ray panted heavily as he dropped to his knees, pain wracking his body.
A faint smile crept onto his face.
"I… I… I did it! Defeated the four of them while using the kick I practiced in class today, no less. Ouch!" He grimaced, clutching his face as the system flashed before his eyes.
[Congratulations! You really are strong, even with the limitation purposely placed on you by the system to see if you are worthy.]
'Eh? Limi—what now?'
[You have gathered enough EXP for a level up. Do you wish to level up now and take the next step into power?]
"Why yes… of course I want to."
[Congratulations Host; You are now Level 2]
Ray's grin widened at the notification flashing in front of him, momentarily forgetting the pain wracking his body.
[Alert; Host has reached the requirement for an evolution]
"An evolution? What's that?"
[No more time to waste. Evolution would begin in a bit.]
"Wait… wait! Don't I get a choice in this?"
[Nope]
[Evolution beginning in… 3]
[...2…]
[...1…]
Ray stared at the countdown hovering before him, completely unaware of what was about to happen.
[...0…]
[Evolution in Progress…]
Instantly, Ray's vision blurred as pain surged through his entire body.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"