"How do I get out of this?" Cole's mind began racing, searching for a means of escape or anything that could save him.
While he was lost in his mind, the steps grew closer and louder, as if they were right at the door.
Cole refused to give up and lay there like a sitting duck, so he did the only thing he could do at the moment.
He began to roll like a log towards a dark corner of the room. His actions looked absolutely comedic, but he didn't care, as he was trying his best to get away.
His efforts weren't wasted, as he was finally able to reach the corner before anyone actually entered.
In the corner Cole felt a cold metallic object by his legs, and when he paid extra attention to it, he realized it was a knife.
"Who magically left this here? I can't complain though; this is a lifesaver." Cole smiled as he tried to pick up the knife and free himself.
At that moment, the owners of the footsteps finally entered the room. Cole looked towards the door to see two people that were dressed in hooded cloaks like those searching for him.
Thankfully he made the smart decision of going to the corner, hiding him from the sight of the two people.
"Are you sure you heard someone screaming from over here, Mathias?" One of the guys said to the other.
"Yes, I did; now shut up and search," the other responded.
Cole quietly listened to their conversation while still trying his best to get out of his bindings, and it didn't take too long for him to get them off.
The one called Mathias began looking through the room while the other one stood guard by the door.
Mathias searched around the room first, leaving the corners for last, then moved towards the first one and found it empty. He moved towards the second too and found it empty too.
The next corner he chose then turned out to be the spot Cole was hiding.
Cole squatted in the corner, waiting for the right opportunity to spring out and escape.
Step by step, Mathias approached Cole's location.
"The perfect time is now," Cole thought.
"Swoosshh!" Cole sprang out heavily, throwing a punch straight at Mathias's head.
Mathias, being an experienced guard, immediately sensed the attack and dodged slightly to the left before countering with a punch of his own.
Hearing the commotion, Mathias's partner immediately rushed into the room.
"Found him, uhhh," he said with a faint smirk on his face.
Seeing his failed attempt at a sneak attack, Cole didn't falter, but he instead stood his ground, staring straight at the two guys.
"You guys will now pay for those days," Cole thought.
****Not Far away****
A familiar figure was standing at the top of another building looking towards where Cole currently was.
"I hope those guys will be enough for you to vent for now, kid," the previous man said while smiling.
****Cole's Location****
Though Cole hadn't formally trained in any form of combat, living alone for so long in the slums had taught him a little about fighting.
The guys that stood across from him also appeared to not have any formal training.
"Yaaahhh!" Cole screamed out as he rushed towards one of his opponents.
"Leave this kid to me, Mathias," the other guy said before rushing towards Cole too.
They arrived in front of each other, and both threw a punch towards one another.
Cole missed while the opponent's punch connected straight to Cole's stomach as a result of a miscalculation on Cole's side.
The effect left Cole scurrying back before he rushed back again, but this time he moved with a plan.
He threw a punch straight at the head, but this time the punch was just a feint, and instead the real attack was actually a kick straight to the stomach.
The intent was successful as Cole's kick hit squarely. The two of them continued their exchanges, with Cole slowly getting the upper hand.
Mathias couldn't take anymore, so he decided to interfere and assist his buddy.
Seeing Mathias ready to join the battle Cole's face immediately scrunched up, and desperation seeped into him.
Mathias' intrusion into the battle finally tipped the scale back towards them as Cole was soon overwhelmed.
They kept working in perfect tandem, landing heavy punches on Cole quite often.
Cole finally decided to try something he had never actually tried, causing his eyes to take on a golden glow.
"Eyes of Scrutiny."
After utilizing the Eyes of Scrutiny, the secret of everything became clearer to Cole, as he could read the patterns in their attack.
Cole gained the upper hand again this time because he could almost completely see the trajectory of their attack, but it didn't come without a cost, as a dizziness hit Cole heavily.
He was able to withstand the attacks because of the crudeness of the opponent's technique, making it very easy to read.
The two guys soon noticed that dominance was slowly slipping away from their grip.
The three of them slowly grew tired as their breath grew heavier.
"Time to get serious." The both of them shouted at the same time.
As soon as the words left their mouths, life energy slowly converged, and two new things appeared behind both of them.
It was the innate spirit, one being a ball of flame and the other being a fish-like spirit.
Their spirits seem to have some sort of duality, allowing the both of them to work well in sync.
Innate Spirits usually come in different forms and shapes, and they grant a myriad of abilities.
The displayed strength of the Innate spirit is also highly dependent on the level of the spiriter.
Spiriters are usually divided into Dormant, Awakened, Resona, etc. based on the strength of body and closeness to their spirit.
Both Cole and his two opponents were obviously still dormant-level spiriters, as the presence of the spirit didn't bring a change to the environment.
"You are dead, kid," Mathias screamed as he rushed towards Cole with fire blazing on his fist.