There was a whole minute of stunned silence that you could hear a proverbial pin drop if it happens.
The one who looked most surprised though was Jake who couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at his fellow class F classmate beat up a class C student without an ability.
"H-He punched him at his throat," Fritz said, mortified by it. He winced from how painful that must have been and a cold shiver ran down his spine as Ian got in a stance.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Edgar asked calmly as he walked towards Ian slowly. His voice was awfully calm, but his eyes showed so much anger that it could have drained the life out of Ian if looks could kill.
"You got in a stance?" he asked. "You had a chance to run away but instead you got in a stance? Is that supposed to mean that you want to fight? You want to challenge me?"
He glanced at Ian's watch again to be sure he wasn't seeing wrong but it still had no light on.
"You're trash. You're stupid trash," he mumbled but his voice got louder by the second. "Trash should stay beneath my feet!"
Ian shuffled backwards to create a little more distance between them but Edgar surprisingly didn't move. Instead, he turned around to look at the other two beside him.
"What are you two standing around like dummies for?" he asked. "What are you looking at?! Get him!"
The two guys moved the second he gave the order, more out of fear than obedience as they charged towards Ian.
"You're fucking dead!" one tried intimidating Ian as they closed in but Ian kept his focus.
"If they're coming closer then it means their abilities are close combat abilities," he thought as he decided to charge at them too before they got the chance to activate it. They were barely faster than him so he saw that as a good sign at least.
The first one threw a punch at his head and as the fist got closer, hardened bone spikes grew out of his skin on his knuckle, injuring him in the process and causing him to wince in pain. Seeing this, Ian ducked avoiding the punch and threw a punch of his at the guy's lower region.
The punch landed squarely on the guy's groin and his face slowly contorted into one of pain and horror, but Ian had no time to relax as the other threw a kick aimed at his head. At the same time, he made an earth spike grow from the ground, still aimed at Ian's head. He was planning to kick Ian's head into the spike and kill him in one blow.
Ian knew this as well but so he quickly lifted his head backwards, making the guy miss as he threw a punch of his own aimed at the guy's nose, breaking it upon contact.
"Muh noze! Muh fukin-," he managed to say before he noticed a hard low kick from Ian which connected with his groin area as well, causing him to pass out immediately.
Ian let out a deep breath as he huffed hard. All of the movement has tired him out even more, but at least he got some reward from it. All that remained was Edgar who looked even angrier than ever as he watched one of his followers passed out and the other writhing in pain from the punch to his groin.
Ian glanced at the guy writhing in pain and just like with Damian, he delivered a devastating kick to his face, knocking him out completely.
"H-He k-k-kicked their precious jewels," Fritz stuttered. He was now gripped completely by fear for this guy. Not because he was strong, but because he was targeting areas that were supposed to be off-limits.
"I see that you can only win by targeting the most sensitive areas of the body," Edgar commented. He was livid with anger, but he was being careful with Ian. Three guys were knocked out in the most painful ways imaginable and he doesn't want to be one of them.
"That's rich coming from someone who ganged up against a class F student," Ian taunted. He needed to provoke him somehow. "What? Are you scared of me now? No more meatshields?"
[Level Up]
[Host is now Level 4]
[All stats have been increased by 1]
[Two stat free points awarded. Would you like to use them?]
"Yes," Ian replied immediately. "Put them in stamina."
[2 stat points added to Stamina.]
[Stamina: 10]
"Yood," Ian thought, but another notification popped up in his vision. The one he feared.]
[Energy: 11/100]
[Host will be forced into hibernation once energy goes lower than 10.]
"Good thing I haven't been hit yet," Ian thought. "The added stamina should buy me some more time with my energy. I need to finish this fast."
He kept his gaze on Edgar who seemed to be doing nothing until suddenly....he disappeared.
Ian barely had any time to process this new development before he felt a hard kick to his side which knocked the air out of his lungs as he quickly rolled away from danger.
[Health: -7]
"Don't get it wrong," Edgar said slowly, his anger rising again. "I don't need meat shields for trash like you!"
"His power is teleportation!" Jake yelled, which earned him a slap from Fritz.
"Shut up!" Fritz yelled.
"That information would have been useful before he used his ability," Ian said as he clutched his side which was hurting a lot.
"He kicks harder than he looks," Ian thought. "I might have gotten myself in a bad situation. I can't even run away from him."
Edgar appeared behind him again and this time aimed a punch at Ian's head which Ian blocked at the nick of time and again created distance between them.
"The distance doesn't matter!" Edgar appeared at his side and aimed a punch at the same place he kicked him earlier but this time Ian grabbed his hand and spun around, delivering an elbow to the side of his head and causing him to stumble.
"I can feel it," Ian thought as he focused on the stumbling Edgar who had teleported a good distance away from him. He wouldn't be fast enough to catch up.
[Energy: 10/100]
"No, no, no!" Ian yelled in his head as he began to feel dizzy. "Not now, please!"
[Host has resisted hibernation. Ten more seconds before hibernation is reinitiated]
"I can't waste then ten seconds," Ian said as Edgar again disappeared and this time appeared in front of Ian, wasting no time to rain punches on Ian, leaving the latter with no option but to go on the defensive.
"You bastard!" he yelled. "How dare you lay your filthy hands on me?! How dare you challenge me?! I'll fucking kill you! I'll kill you!"
[Health: -3]
[Health: -3]
[Health: -3]
"His punches are a lot weaker than I thought," Ian thought as he noticed that he could tank quite a few punches before his health is depleted.
Even still, he was still in a bind as he thought only had 7 points of health left and barely anytime to retaliate.
[Energy: 9/10]
[Forced hibernation is reinitiated.]
"I lost 1 point in ten seconds?" Ian thought as he tried resisting again. This time it was especially harder as he could feel his shoulders slumping and his legs giving out but the punches and Edgar's continued ranting kept him awake somehow.
[Host has resisted hibernation. Ten more seconds before hibernation is reinitiated.]
[Health: -5]
"Shit!" Ian thought as he desperately grabbed Edgar's shoulders, surprising Edgar as well.
"Here goes nothing," he thought as he rammed his forehead into Edgar's nose. Blood spilt out of the broken nose and splattered on his face but he didn't stop there. He rammed his knee into Edgar's groin and Edgar's legs gave way immediately as he dropped to his knees, yelling and holding his crotch and leaving him open for Ian to deliver the finishing blow. A knee to his temple, knocking him out.
"Oh, hell no!" Fritz yelled as he bolted away from Ian. He wasn't going to take his chances with a guy who only aims at the most important part of a man's life. One hit and he might never father a child again.
Ian knew he wasn't gonna be able to give chase so he could only stumble towards Jake who was trying to free his hands which were bound behind his back.
He had barely freed Jake when a few notifications popped up.
[Level Up!]
[Host is now Level 5]
And finally, the notification he was expecting.
[Forced hibernation has been initiated.]
This time he didn't fight it as his vision got hazy and his world turned black.