Alex struggled to balance himself from the punch he had just received from his sister Scarlett. Holding onto the wall, Alex propped himself against the vertical surface, gripping the spot where the punch had targetted.
'Shit! Why did she have to go ahead and beat the air outta me?!' Alex thought, gritting his teeth. 'Must she always be so impulsive?!!' Bearing through the pain, Alex motioned for Scarlett to calm down, not knowing what else to do in his current situation. This wasn't the first time he had been punched by Scarlett, but no matter how many times the event played out, Alex couldn't find a way to deal with it.
"What the heck do you think you're doing? You think Uncle Jim has enough money to pay for your medical bill wherever you go ahead to injure yourself. If not for his sake, think about me. Do you enjoy making me worry endlessly about your well-being?' Scarlett argued, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
'Don't you dare play the sympathy card on me!!' Alex yelled internally.
"Sigh… fine. From now henceforth, I, Alexander Kilton, shall no longer give you or dearest Uncle Jim any need to worry," Alex mused, placing his right hand against his chest, his head held high.
"And I'm meant to be your little sister. Gosh, with the way you behave, I feel like the older child between us," a shiver ran down her spine as she thought of this, however, her eyes quickly went sharp the next moment.
"What was that noise?" She asked, noticing there was barely a scratch on the latter's body. Still, considering this was someone she had known all her life, she couldn't help but think what sort of crazy stunt Alex might have pulled to conceal his blunder.
"Oh, that? Well, let's just say I was practicing boxing. It all started with me training my fists against my bed, but before I knew it, I heard a loud bang. I think my bed is broken. I don't know. I didn't bother checking," Alex said with a straight face.
He wasn't sure whether Scarlett believed him, but after a moment, the teenage girl glanced at Alex, before exiting his room. Closing the door behind her, Alex let out a sigh of relief, glad he was finally out of that scenario.
Now, there were the system messages he had to deal with. Concentrating on the tab that read [System Bar], Alex quickly shifted his focus to the last messages he had received.
Although he now knew how to receive his title, it wasn't going to be something easily achievable by any means. With his over-protective sister and his adopted father, the young adult would have to be careful in executing his plans.
Since it was only a little past 2:00 pm, the young adult decided to first complete his Daily Quest. Alex had to build his energy for his future fights, and with the incentive of the Daily Quest, he wished not to waste time and head straight to getting it done.
[Participate in the local sparring matches once a day]
Pulling up the system notification, Alex wanted to hype himself up for what he was planning to do. The young adult could feel his blood pumping at the thought of being in the arena once again. Reminiscing on his last street fight, Alex felt something akin to a sugar rush as he exited his room.
Climbing down the same ladder, the young Demon made his way to the spot where most town fights were held. On his way there, he had passed by his best friend's place but chose not to go visit him for now. He had a goal in mind and didn't want anything to distract him.
'This system says I have Demon Energy, whatever that is. Is it like what gives Demons their power? Also, how do I use it?'
While thinking about this, a 'ding' sound suddenly resounded in his head.
[Demon Energy, also referred to as Eros, is the ancient power that makes Demons feared amongst other races]
[To activate your Eros, all you have to do is concentrate. Imagine what you want the energy to do]
Alex was surprised by how straightforward and helpful the system was. Still, doing just as it said, nothing happened. Alex could feel no energy.
Concentrating harder, Alex still couldn't activate the energy. Angry, the Demon kicked aside an old piece of metal. The eighteen-year-old was consumed by rage and paid no heed to the fact he had just kicked a heavy piece of metal.
Clasping his lips tightly, Alex could feel a severe pain shoot through his right foot, spreading quickly up to his ankle. The Demon had been careless once again. However, he wasn't merely just concerned with the thought of drawing unnecessary attention to himself.
[Host has been inflicted with a severe injury]
[Physical Body: 80%]
[Spiritual Body: 20%]
Reading through the system notifications, Alex could feel his body grow lighter as his injury healed at a rapid rate. Once his right foot was good as new, the young adult kept on walking towards the location where street fights in his town were held.
'Fuck! I really gotta be more careful. Man, that hurt. Also, what do those messages mean? Spiritual Body? Physical Body? Is this a Demon thing, or something?' Alex thought, hoping the system would assist once again in clearing his confusion, however, his hopes were dashed, as an entire minute passed, and the Demon System did no such thing.
'Suits the name you have really well,' Alex sneered internally, trying his best to ignore the sudden loss of weight he felt as he neared the town square not too far away. Although Alex was worried about the subtext behind the message, he chose to push his concerns to the back of his mind, wishing to focus on what was in front of him, first of all.
Street fighting was a very common occurrence today, and as a citizen of Nova Dystopia, Alex had grown accustomed to the tradition of street fighting.
Nova Dystopia is the name of the country Alex and his sister reside. Many things had changed after the appearance of the mysterious creatures, and the dysfunction of the world governments was a factor that was severely affected as a result of the phenomenon.
Many countries had been destroyed; crushed. As the typical legend goes, a young man named Saliel Cone emerged, who saved humanity from its predicament, creating not only a new world for humanity but also giving every living person hope; a new reason to live.
Alex was but a mere citizen of Nova Dystopia, however, with the realization of this Demon System, the eighteen-year-old was beginning to think there was more to his life than meets the eyes. Still, he should remain humble. Having barely achieved a single thing with the system, he should, at least, get something done before he begins to gloat.
'The fighting system's pretty simple. Every day, ten fights are held. The town can't have more because the town's mayor is against it. I'd like to find out why, but without knowing his backing, or what sort of firepower he had, it would be foolish for me to offend someone I don't know how to deal with.
'I'll just have to make do with what's available, but this is a big problem for obvious reasons. I just have to make sure I make it there before the tenth fight commences.'
Alex, although a fighter, wasn't someone who enjoyed socializing with many people. As such, the young Demon didn't have a lot of friends in the town. This was a problem because of the monopoly ruling the system. One could only get what they desired through their connections, and since the only influential person Alex was acquainted with was Johnny Hale, his chances of having the fight he wanted were slim to none.
Arriving closer to the town square, loud cheers could already be heard. A large crowd of people had gathered around the area, all watching something in the center of the gathering. Amidst the chairs, muffled blows and grunts could also be heard. This was the place, and it seemed like a match was already underway.
'Guess I'll have to wait till the fight's over. Who knows, maybe I might find another item just as valuable as that dagger,' Alex thought, rubbing his hands together as he got close enough to the crowd. Weaving his way through the crowd, Alex was able to make his way closer to the fight taking place.
Now, Alex had a better view of the fight. Currently, two men, both looking to be in their mid-thirties, were in the heat of battle. Both adorned with the purple-glowing mech accessories, they punched, kicked, and clawed at each other, both fighting for the same thing. The battle was tense, laced with suspense as neither contestant seemed capable of eliminating the other.
'These guys are good, but I'm here for something else, so I should just focus on that,' Alex thought, watching as the fight continued to drag on.