In the middle of Sanya, an area of Tokyo that inhabits more than thousands of unfortunate souls dwells Yura Katsumi. "Back already? I thought you'd take your time. Just hand me the reports for today, and you're free for the day,"
Shortly after a few of her men found her smoking in the back alley, they briefly gave her a summary of their recruit. "The brat is unbelievable. He's been nothing but trouble in the past two weeks since his arrival. We tried lending him a hand, but everyone who entered our turf was crippled,"
'Recently he's been far more distant as another day goes by... And when I tried brushing it off as nothing but a phase, he always seems to surprise me. He beat a lot of thugs on his first day after joining, and he came back all bruised up in his brawl,'
'The second day was the usual, but I noticed that his injuries were a little less and thought nothing more than an increase in his reflexes. I thought his nothing more than a chump who was only good at fighting... That's what I thought as well until he returned for the seventh day,'
'I was reported that a horde of third-party gangs was reported riding bikes and holding all sorts of weapons in their arsenal. They range from broken shards, wooden bats, metal pipe, and a well-made butterfly knife those pricks were asking for a beating. I later heard that brat rushed alone by himself and it made me worry so I rushed by his side, but it wasn't necessary,'
"What should we do boss?"
Her lackeys asked her for her judgment and she only uttered in response. "He said he'll be leaving Sanya once he's finished clearing every thug there is. He may be an honorary member, but he's still one of my many subordinates. Find him. I want to see his face before he leaves,"
Yura's lackeys left as soon as they heard her orders and sets off to find their junior member. Once she smoked a single stick of cigarette, she continues her shift and remains as the guard of the slums. She's no more than a thug, but the thing which differs her from the rest was her caring heart
'Sanya is a place for the unfortunate. Be it orphans, the elderly, or those who are never blessed with a silver spoon in their lives... That brat never acts like a blockhead, but Im confused about what's driving him for doing all of this. He's bound to have an ulterior motive, but I can't prove that to be the case, he doesn't even manipulate me when we're alone...'
Her cold gaze viewed the entirety of the slums whilst she reclines on top of a building overseeing her territory. "There's only a few months left and a war will break down from every side of Sanya. Before that happens I'll have to remove that kid from the gang. But that's the hardest part, I don't know why but he's getting chummy with my crew,"
Sanya, Eastside
[System: You've met an elite Mob!!!
Warning: The player is currently faced with a veteran thug possessing a special trait [Martial Arts] in their arsenal]
It was at this moment, Hikaru's body was hurled from the ground and landed on the rough concrete floor. "Bluargh! Damn, he sure knows how to use those feet,"
[System: The hist has endured a critical hit to his abdomen!
Status: Your body has adapted to the pain? Your [Endurance] has reached a new threshold. Endurance has changed to LBL 4 -> LVL 5! You can now handle middleweight attacks without a hitch]
(Hikaru, I don't want to sound like a bother, but isn't it a good time to allocate your stats? You've already reached level 10, and yet you're stubborn enough to undergo this whole process. Don't tell me you're secretly a masochist?)
'That's not it... Passive abilities such as reaction speed, endurance, stamina, and all kinds of stuff are hard to come by. Believe me, I want to increase my stats, but the only way to increase those passives is to undergo a series of painful events. Don't worry, I still haven't used that once-a-day exclusive effect you applied,'
"Well well well what do we have here? I've heard a lot of stories about you, but I never thought I'd be true until I'd seen them for myself. What a wasted talent, why are you using that talent to be Sanya's guard dog huh!!? It's a shame, I started liking you. But I was ordered to cripple you~"
"You talk too much!!!" Hikaru manages to leap to the vicinity of his target and there he swings his fists that perfectly strike their mark
The thug's nose was shattered and an ounce of his blood splattered whilst his eyes glared with ferocity. "You're courting death!!!"
[System: The elite mob has entered a stance!!!
(Passive) Inhuman reflexes: When the host's physical and mental condition are near their breaking point you'll gain a temporary boost]
From that moment, he never once predicted the moves of his foe and yet he manages to avoid such a speeding strike. Hikaru's reflexes tingled with every passing second and when he came into this state of awareness or felt surreal. Everything that occurred in a millisecond was quickly processed by his brain and every other movement felt like an eternity
[System: The host entered what's labeled the [Processing zone]
Processing zone: With the aid of the system your brain was able to endure all these details without frying your mind. Every detail collected near the small range of the host will be examined and implemented with the fastest route of succession. Once you fully grasp the situation and their rightful answers the zone will dissipate]
"Short term invincibility? So this is what I-frames will look like if they're implemented in the real world. This is too broken as it is! I can't believe something like this exists," When the calculation was finished, Hikaru finally made his move and closest in on his target
Instead of avoiding the kick by jumping to his sides, he leaps forward and blocks with both of his arms. In such a short time he manages to shift and bend his arms to grab ahold of the leg of his adversary. From breath, minor movement, and the attention of the eyes of his enemy. Hikaru manages to predict all of his moves, and there he prepares for a counter within his side
"You're not gonna like this," He bent the thug's leg till he couldn't resist and followed through with its movement
Hikaru chose that instance of absence from their match to the concerns about his body part by kicking the remains of his leg. His enemy foot was afloat in the air along with the upper half descending to the ground, instead of gaining a light conclusion, he was met with his end. Hikaru's palms grip themselves tightly to the face of his target and with his strength added force to the impact
"Ooof!!! That's a little messy. I couldn't believe he actually did that. Ugh, now it reeks of shit on this side, learn some manners you asshole." Hikaru carried the fate of his life in his grasp and he simply gave the thug a shock which results in his defecation
(You took it too far!!!)
"I did no such thing. I had everything under control. Didn't you see how I perfectly executed my plan? I lured those idiots like their a bunch of desperate rats," Hikaru's successful subjugation earned him the last experience points he needed until he finally heard of that jingle
[Ding!]
[System: The host has defeated an Elite threat mob!!!
Outcome: You've earned 124 experience points! Your level has risen from 6 -> 7]
[LVL 7 Hikaru Aoi
Experience: 43/800
Health: 34
Power: 22
Speed: 29
Stamina: 31
Defense: 45
Charisma: 16
Stealth: 8
Evasion: 15
Luck: 7
Divine aura: 0.000001
Allocatable points: 70]
When he gazes upon the system for the second time, Hikaru notices a strange stat that's different from everything else. "Divine aura?"
(Oh that? It's a special stat you've gained from our journey and so on. Don't tell me you didn't realize that you're spending your life with the divine. Even just a leakage of my power can easily affect anything. That's the reason why you healed incredibly well with no such worries)
"Special you say? What do I need to do to increase it? Who's there!!? Show yourself right this instant!!!" Before he could point his hostility, he realizes their identity with the message he received from the panel
[System: Multiple marked characters are approaching your way!!!]
These towering individuals surrounded him and only uttered the words of their leader. "The boss wants to see you. Today's your last day in Sanya, right? She said to give you a proper departure from one of our highest contributing members,"
It wasn't long after that he arrived back at their base and there he met this different figure of a monstrous boss. "I heard from the guys that you need to see me. Did I do something wrong? I promise that I wouldn't do it again~"
Before he could finish his sentence, Hikaru was taken aback after gazing upon a beauty who'd smoke with no care on the balcony. "How's life in the slums? Did you finally reach your breaking point? Is that why you've stayed for three whole weeks?"
Their eyes met in this earliest of days when the sun hadn't yet risen for them to bask in its warmth. "Not exactly what you meant, but I have my reasons to leave. Sanya isn't that great... At least it's better than being orphaned anywhere else. This place showed me a glimmer of hope that I lost in my childhood,"
Yura stood there surprised which later invokes shock upon hearing such bittersweet words from a child. "Y-You're an orphan? Well... That explains a lot. I just called you here because I want to see you one last time. The rest are waiting for your departure,"
Hikaru gave a bow before he left and in turn, Yura watches from afar as her men joyfully send their juniors away. "Sigh... Why did he have to tell me about his past? It only made it difficult to kick him out of our group... Those eyes didn't lie. Those eyes were the same as mine. An eye with pure determination,"
'I only hope that you wouldn't be caught up in our brawl... No matter what I'll do everything I can so that news wouldn't reach your ears. I've already seen a lot of people dying as the days went on and on. If I can't even leave you in the dark then I couldn't call myself a leader of hundreds of thousands of people. May this day be our last encounter, Hikaru Aoi,'