The yellow-haired thug, whose chin had been smashed by Ren Takahashi, had a mouthful of shattered teeth. He lost consciousness on the spot, collapsing onto the ground like a pile of mud.
"You son of a bitch, I'll kill you!"
At that moment, the thug who had taken Ren's first punch struggled to crawl up from the ground. He stared viciously at Ren and pulled a small knife from his pocket.
"Watch out!"
Saeko Busujima shouted a warning, gripping her wooden sword as if ready to rush forward.
"Don't worry."
Ren raised his hand to stop Saeko from acting, then cast a cold, indifferent glance at the knife in the thug's hand.
"Scum, as expected. Looks like I don't need to hold back anymore."
In the world of delinquents, there was an unwritten rule.
Guys who pulled out knives or other weapons were collectively known as "trash" or "scum." They were the lowest of the low, despised by everyone.
Because for most delinquents, the violence they revered was honorable—violence that relied on one's own fists.
And the thug in front of him was obviously that kind of trash.
"Fuck you! You dare ruin my fun? Go to hell, you bastard!"
The thug with the knife cursed as he lunged at Ren.
But his movements had already been completely seen through by Ren.
Ren sidestepped to dodge the blade's edge, then backhanded the thug's right arm, locking it in a grapple.
Then, he snapped it with force.
Crack—
The thug's arm broke with a crisp sound, and the knife fell to the ground with a clang.
"Ahhh!!!"
Seeing his arm bent back at almost a 90-degree angle, the thug let out a miserable scream.
"Don't scream so loud. It's annoying, you know?"
Ren grabbed the thug and smashed a heavy fist into his face.
Then another punch!
And another! And another!
The sound of heavy impacts echoed through the night sky.
One punch after another, each hitting solid flesh, sending blood splattering everywhere.
Watching this scene, Saeko Busujima's eyes flickered.
She didn't know if she was attracted to Ren Takahashi...
Or if she was mesmerized by the violent aesthetic unfolding before her.
She only felt her heart pounding intensely.
[Task "The Girl Walking at Night" Completed]
[Reward: Combat Power Detector (Item) and the Girl's Affection.]
[Tip: The Host can wander around to increase the probability of triggering related tasks.]
Ren Takahashi didn't stop his fists until the popup panel appeared again.
The thug was already beaten beyond recognition, his face covered in blood.
As Ren stopped punching, the man slumped to the ground like a pile of mud, motionless.
Ren shook the blood off his knuckles and looked at the content on the popup panel.
"A Combat Power Detector... it really exists. As expected of a System."
Ren hadn't expected the reward to be exactly what he needed, and he felt a pleasant surprise.
"Right!"
He suddenly remembered there was still a girl present. He turned his head to look at Saeko Busujima. "Are you alright?"
"No..."
Saeko shook her head.
But before she could continue, a bright beam of light suddenly shone upon them.
"Who's there?!"
Behind the light was a police officer holding a flashlight.
"Trouble. Hey, woman... I'll leave the rest to you. I helped you out of the kindness of my heart, so don't sell me out!"
After saying that, Ren immediately sprinted into the darkness.
After all, he had just beaten three thugs to a pulp.
One of them was beaten half to death.
If he got caught, it would be a huge hassle.
"Freeze!"
The officer was about to chase after Ren, but noticing Saeko standing there all alone, he had to stop.
...
Ren didn't know what happened after that.
At the very least, he was sure Saeko Busujima would be fine.
No matter what, the police wouldn't give a young girl a hard time.
At most, they would take her back to give a statement and understand the situation.
After disappearing into the night, Ren circled around a few blocks just to be safe.
Once he was sure he had completely shaken them off and the police weren't following, he returned home and stood in front of the mirror again.
Now, in his hand, there was a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.
This was the reward from the task: the Combat Power Detector.
[Combat Power Detector: Not only can it view the combat power of yourself and others, but wearing it also increases your personal Charm value.]
"It's actually just a pair of ordinary-looking glasses."
Ren looked at the glasses in his hand. He didn't dislike them.
If it had really looked like the scouter from Dragon Ball, people would probably think he was a chuunibyou (delusional weirdo).
"To use it, I assume I just put them on."
Ren muttered to himself as he slowly placed the gold-rimmed glasses on his face.
He looked at himself in the mirror.
In terms of demeanor, he no longer looked as fierce; instead, he looked somewhat refined and scholarly.
Ren was quite satisfied with the appearance.
Now, how do I check combat power?
As Ren focused his attention slightly, a panel appeared on the lens of the glasses.
[Ren Takahashi]
Stamina: 98 (Ordinary grunt delinquent: 40~50)
Punch Force: 90
Leg Force: 95
Endurance: 95
Technique: 101
Recovery: 90
Evasion: 95
Explosive Power: 98
Durability: 90
Intimidation: 100
Comprehensive Combat Power: 952 (A-Rank)
Potential Index: SS-Rank
Skills:
King's Posture (Passive, No Level): You are born with the aptitude to be a king. Effect: Intimidation +20 points.
Street Free Fighting (Comprehensive, A-Rank): A fighting style honed from actual combat on the streets. Current Level: A. Effect: All stats +10 points.
Grappling (Comprehensive, A-Rank): A specialized technique and skill to subdue opponents through joint locks and holds. Current Level: A-. Effect: Evasion and Technique +15 points.
"So it calculates Comprehensive Combat Power based on 10 dimensions? And it displays a Potential Index. That's quite convenient."
Ren found the Potential Index particularly useful.
It allowed him to understand a person's potential instantly.
This would make it much easier to decide whether to recruit someone or not.
"My current Comprehensive Combat Power is A-Rank. As expected... I still have a long way to go."
Ren pondered as he slowly took off the glasses.
After all, there was a massive gap between his SS-Rank Potential and his current A-Rank power.
But Ren didn't feel discouraged.
He was still young, and his body was still developing in all aspects.
Having this level of combat power in the third year of middle school was already considered quite impressive.
It was getting late.
Ren rested for a while, drank some water, and then lay down on his bed to sleep.
For the next few days, he wandered around the neighborhood.
He had roughly figured out how his "Golden Finger" (Cheat System) worked.
It was pretty much like a video game. The process was roughly as follows:
Explore the map or encounter events → Trigger random task → Accept or Reject → Complete Task → Receive Reward.
The tasks were completely random; anything could pop up.
You never knew what kind of task you might encounter 100 meters away.
The rewards obtained from tasks varied widely: money, attribute points, items, skills, and so on.
The quality of the reward was linked to the difficulty and randomness of the task.
Simply put, the harder the task, the better the reward.
But if you were lucky, even a simple task could yield a great reward.
For example, a day ago, he accepted a task to help an old lady cross the street, and the reward was 300,000 Yen.
Aside from the first day, when he encountered the * "The Girl Walking at Night"* task, most of the tasks had been these "Daily Life" types.
Helping an old lady cross the street, helping a kid get a balloon stuck in a tree, rescuing a kitten that couldn't climb down, and so on.