Chapter 16 - Diner Dash 2: Electric Boogaloo

""

Riley's entire body became pixelated, before dissipating and revealing his new equipment. He started assessing the situation.

He knew that there were a total of five men. As of now, there was one standing behind the counter, three more on the other side, and one more standing guard by the entrance. He knew that the leader of the group — the man sitting at the counter — had a gun, as well as the thug guarding the entrance. The two men who were standing behind the leader both wielded metal bats, and the thug behind the counter had pulled out a switchblade and was playing with it.

Although they seemed like normal thugs, their positioning showed that they knew what they were doing. The man guarding the entrance was on lookout; if trouble came knocking, he would easily be able to alert the rest. There was one thug standing behind the leader on each side, creating a protective formation. From his position, he could see that the leader, along with the two thugs behind him and the thug guarding the entrance, formed a square. This meant that they could easily cover each other's backs, doing away with any blindspots. Finally, the man behind the counter was there to secure an alternative exit through the backdoor if things got hairy. This made him priority number one for Riley to take out.

Riley contemplated his abilities and started strategizing. It was broad daylight, so his mask's and hoodie's [Shadow Blend] wouldn't be very useful. [Quick Draw] and however, would definitely be useful. Riley knew he had to strike quickly, and [Quick Draw]'s weapon materialization coupled with the additional stats granted within the first two seconds of attack would be invaluable.

'And is a literal teleport, so that's obviously going to help.'

Riley took a deep breath before running out of the toilet towards the thugs. As he was charging, one of the thugs noticed him and said, "What the fuck? Who the hell are y-".

His yelling caught the attention of everyone in the diner, customers and thugs alike. Before any of them could draw their weapons or enter a defensive stance, Riley it was already too late. Reaching striking distance, he jumped. Just as he was about to land, he casted , which placed him right in the middle of the two bodyguards and the entrance guard. With a single swift motion, Riley landed, immediately crouched, and casted .

"Where did he g-"

"What the-"

"Wait, he's over he-"

His sudden appearance in the middle of the square caught everyone who saw by surprise, while leaving the thug who had initially spotted him wondering how he had disappeared or where he had gone.

connected with all three men who had been standing, instantly knocking them over. This left the leader, who had been sitting on a stool, and the man who was standing behind the counter.

Upon seeing their associates fall, both the leader and the remaining thug drew their weapons, and pointed them at Riley.

"Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck do you think you're do-"

Without a moment of hesitation, Riley used [Quick Draw] to summon his bat, -ing it upwards, slamming the leader's hand as hard as he could.

Even a regular swing would've been sufficient; baseball bats were made to hit a ball at 80 kilometers per hour. However, the bonuses from and [Quick Draw] meant that every bone in his hand was probably broken.

"ARGHHH!!", the thug screamed in pain as he grasped his broken hand, squeezing his eyes shut with agony.

Riley knew he had little time before the three who were downed got back up. As he was about to act, one of the thugs on the floor grabbed onto his leg tightly and tugged against it in an attempt to trip him. Before the thug could topple him down, Riley slammed his bat against the thug's head, instantly knocking him out.

Suddenly, [Sense Danger] triggered, and Riley [Dodge Step]-ed instinctively. It was just barely too late, and Riley winced as he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his left arm. The man behind the counter had reached across while he was preoccupied and tried to stab him.

"Wait, how did you kno-"

Filled with anger, Riley dropped his bat, grabbing onto the outstretched arm and -ed. It was much easier than usual, as the thug had had to lean very far over the counter just to reach. Applying extra strength into his , Riley coincidentally sent the man flying into the entrance thug that had been trying to get back on his feet.

Just then, Riley felt a sudden force to his side. While he had been busy, the other bodyguard had managed to get back up. Taking advantage of Riley's preoccupation, he had swung his bat at Riley, managing to push him back several steps.

Riley grabbed the side of his arm in pain. In the corner of his eye, he saw his health drop to 210/250.

"Who the hell are you? You dare screw with us?���

The man threw his bat to the side and grabbed Riley's collar lifting him up. Riley struggled and tried to wiggle his way out, but his efforts were halted when the thug landed a punch square in his gut, causing him to cough and wheeze.

"Look, kid. I don't know who you are, but you picked the wrong time and place to play hero. You fucked with the wrong people, and for that, we're going to beat the living hell out of you. You'll wish you were dead."

The thug threw Riley across the room, his body skidding across the hallway from the thug's tremendous strength. Picking up his bat, the thug walked towards Riley.

"Wait no. You wouldn't wish you were dead. Once my boss is done with you, you'd wish you were never born."

"Haha… *cough* he'd wish he could *cough* beat me up with that hand of his. He'll be lucky if he'll even be able to hold a pencil after this. Not that any of you losers *cough* have ever used a pencil in your life."

A few system menus popped up.

"[Trash Talk] triggered."

"Thug 3's status is now 'Tilted'"

Hearing his reply, the thug angrily threw his bat down and grabbed Riley again.

"You think I was talking about the chief? No, no, no. Remember the last name you'll ever hear in your life."

The thug pulled Riley closer to him, and leaned into his ear.

"George Lombardi."

Leaning back, the thug reeled his fist back and said, "Don't worry, you won't live much longer to tell anyone what I just said."

Riley gritted his teeth as the thug punched him directly in the face. Before he could recover, another punch came again.

'[Trash Talk]-ing him was not a good idea at all.'

The thug had a vile smile on his face. He was obviously enjoying the entire thing.

"Where's. Your. Speed. Now? Hahaha, dodge this! And this! And this! I can't wait to peel your mask off. After beating you, Like. A. Piñata!"

As the thug prepared another punch, however, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He stopped his punch and instinctively gripped the area that hurt. He felt something protruding from his body. Looking down, he noticed his hand was covered in red. Blood red.

While the thug was preoccupied with Riley's cries of pain and the agonised look on his face, Riley had been busy spamming [Quick Draw]. The moment it came off cooldown, Riley had drawn out one of the many trophy knives he had stored in his inventory and, utilising the buff from [Quick Draw], stabbed as hard as he could.

The sudden realisation that he was bleeding, caused the thug to back off. With the Wisdom and Intelligence debuff from [Trash Talk], the thug pulled the blade out and soon realised it was a bad idea when more blood started pouring out. He started thrashing around as he looked for something to stop the bleeding.

On the other hand, Riley leaned back on the floor as he slowly caught his breath. His face and body hurt a lot, and he just sat there panting, as the pain prevented him from doing anything. Any sudden movement would bring the pain back, and Riley was close to losing his consciousness.

'Fuck… that was harder than I thought… I guess I've been relying on [Sense Danger] so much that when it doesn't trigger, I get caught so easily, and once I get overpowered I can't do anything… I need a nap…'

As Riley shut his eyes, [Roleplayer's Mind] triggered, and his eyes shot open. He knew falling asleep was bad, and despite the pain, his mental overpowered his physical needs. He quickly looked around, taking in as much information as possible. Some of the patrons were looking at him, and others at the bleeding thug. One person was crouching under their booth and speaking to their phone.

'Definitely calling the police.'

The other thugs were on the floor, seemingly knocked out, barring the leader, which Riley could no longer see. Fearing another surprise attack, he jumped to his feet and scanned around. He noticed one of the cars was gone.

'Tsk. Gone for good.'

"[Physical Endurance] has leveled up to 3!"

'Wow, I haven't taken a serious hit in so long that I completely forgot about this skill. I probably wouldn't have lasted so long without it either.'

"Battle ended. Experience gained: 200."

"Congratulations, you have gained a new level! You are now level 11."

'Alright, I guess that means they're all incapacitated. Time for me to escape, in case the cops arrest me too!'

Riley activated and sprinted out. He utilised in between running for maximum distance coverage. After running for around 15 minutes, Riley unequipped his mask, and continued jogging around aimlessly for 10 minutes before heading back home.

'Alright, hopefully I threw off anyone who is following me. Time to head home and check the damage."

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Patch 14.0

- Regular weekly update

Name: Riley Petesgeralt

Age: 16

Job: The Roleplayer

Class: Vigilante

Level: 11

HP: 250

MP: 220

EXP: 14/269

Strength: 27

Dexterity: 23

Vitality: 25

Intelligence: 29

Wisdom: 22

Charisma: 26

Luck: 20

Skills:

Roleplayer's Mind

Virtual Body

Analyze (Level 5)

Blunt Weapon Proficiency (Level 4)

Physical Endurance (Level 3) (+2)

The Cinderella Effect (Level 1)

Dodge Step (Level 2)

Counter Flip (Level 1)

Leg Sweep (Level 2)

Power Punch (Level 2)

Extreme Agility (Level 2)

Sense Danger (Level 2)

Trash Talk (Level 1)

Power Swing (Level 4)

Quick Draw (Level 1)

Minimap (Level 1)

Incognito (Level 2)

Equipment:

Vigilante's Mask (Level 1/5)

Vigilante's Cloak (Level 1/5)

Vigilante's Pants (Level 1/5)