Klay quietly followed behind the student as he was led through the hallway.
This is weird, why would I be called out of class? Should I use Observation and see if I can figure it out?
"[Would you like to activate the Observation skill?]"
Mulling it over for a moment, Klay decided to hold off in case he was as disoriented as he was when he used it earlier in the day.
If there is another thing out of place, then I'll use Observation.
Keeping aware as they walked, Klay slowly noticed that the student wasn't leading Klay towards the office, but instead towards the more quiet location of the school.
Damn it, this could be really bad. I don't want to, but I'll use Observation now, and see if anything comes to mind.
[Activating Level 1 Observation]
Trying to focus his attention on the student named Elias while bracing himself, Klay's mind was filled with information of his surroundings.
Several teachers speaking about various topics. Lots of people writing. A few kids laughing quietly while chatting with each other in one of the classrooms. Elias Botterhill walking ahead. Average build, teacher's pet, bully. Excited. He is thinking about something. Hands clenching, back flexing in preparation. Aggressive behavior, heavy steps.
Feeling a sharp pang of a headache stab through his mind, Klay stumbled slightly as he walked, accidently bumping into Elias' back. Raising his hand to rub his temple to try and soothe his sudden headache, Elias turned around to look at Klay with an annoyed expression.
"What was that for?" He asked, before seeing Klay holding his head. Elias smirked and turned back to continue leading Klay around.
"Sorry, I tripped…" Klay answered with an apologetic tone. He waited a moment to gather his thoughts before following once more, further behind this time.
So, he is a bully. Why does he want me? Maybe Alp really sent someone after me. What should I do? Can I fight him at all? Sure I have a weird power now, but can that give me a chance to win?
Caught in his thoughts, he took extra long to register that Elias had stopped next to a bathroom and was signaling for Klay to walk in first.
Sweating nervously, Klay obeyed him and shuffled into the empty bathroom, quickly turning around so that he was able to watch Elias as he stepped in after Klay and shut the door, turning the lock and looking at Klay predatorily.
"Aren't you weak? You didn't even try to run when you saw where I led you. This will probably be the easiest thing Alp has asked of me yet." Elias cracked his knuckles while walking up to Klay slowly, pressuring him to put his back to the wall.
"Wait wait wait, isn't this just unreasonable? I didn't even see or hear what happened with Alp and his girlfriend! Why do I have to get beat up?" Klay spoke quickly and nervously, raising his hands up in an awkward shield between him and Elias.
Shaking his head, Elias responded while standing in place. "Why should I know, or even care? Alp asked me to deal with you, so I'm gonna do just that, no questions asked." He stated matter-of-factly, resuming his walk over to Klay once again.
Giving up on his attempt to pacify him with words, Klay scrambled to find a way out of the fight through the system.
Can I make him stop somehow? Even with this system, is there a way for me to win? What do I do?!
"[The Regeneration System strongly suggests you fight back. That would be the simplest way to become stronger in the future, as you'll get a boost to your stats when you level up.]" The voice told Klay, despite Klay's high level of desire to not fight.
I can't even beat him with superpowers, what would fighting back do?!?!
Inadvertently caught in his panicked thoughts, Elias stood in front of Klay before swinging his hand out and punching Klay squarely in the nose.
BANG!
CRACK!
Feeling a sharp pain in place of his nose, Klay realized he had just gotten hit and cried out in pain. Suddenly, an image appeared before Klay that changed his thoughts on the situation.
[Broken bone detected. Activating Level 1 Regen Focus]
With a soft buzzing feeling in his face, the rapid bleeding of Klay's nose ceased and the pain slowly faded away as he smiled slightly.
That's right, I can heal from injuries. I don't have to worry about getting hurt. How could I forget that?
Seeing the smile on Klay's face, Elias looked at him oddly before bringing his fist up once more, punching into Klay's stomach and causing Klay to bend forward, grabbing onto Elias' arm despite the pain.
I can do this, I'm a Wynne. My family is full of masters of martial arts, and I even have a super power! If I lose to a normal student, what does that say about me? I have to win!
Ignoring his lack of air, Klay stepped forward and pushed into Elias' waist before bringing his leg behind Elias' and tripping him, pushing him onto his back.
Breathing softly, Klay grinned as he saw Elias' annoyed face staring up at him. His nose still slowly healing, Klay tackled Elias and began swinging his fists haphazardly into Elias' face, bruising him slightly before he received a sudden shock to his side.
Rolling over, Klay scrambled to stand back up at the same time as Elias. Elias got to his feet first and ran over to Klay's spot on the ground, kicked out at Klay's face, sending his head flying back to the floor.
BANG!
[Notable facial injuries detected. Activating Level 1 Regen Focus]
The soft buzzing and shifting feeling activated across Klay's face as the rush of pain dulled and Klay managed to move out of the way of another kick, standing up to run to the other side of the bathroom.
Panting heavily, Klay leaned against one of the stalls as Elias gathered himself, staring at Klay with an enraged expression. Soon, a minute passed before Elias decided he had enough rest and ran over to Klay, who barely managed to duck out of the way of an obvious punch as he ran to another corner away from Elias.
"Stop running!" Elias yelled out angrily, charging at Klay once more before landing a heavy kick to Klay's side.
Coughing out heavily, Klay was unable to dodge because of how winded he already was and ended up taking the full weight of the kick, crumpling against the wall. Another message appeared in Klay's vision, but he ignored it and instead focused on the healing buzz activated in his side.
Tackling him once more, Klay swung aggressively at Elias and trusted his regeneration to keep him safe. His fists landed against Elias' sides and chest, doing little damage to him and only serving to piss him off more.
Raising his hands up, Elias brought down several heavy blows to Klay's back and managed to knock Klay to the ground in front of him. He brought his foot down onto Klay a few times as Klay groaned out and curled up on the ground.
"Let that be a lesson, skinny little punk." Elias spat the words out at Klay and panted softly before turning around to leave the bathroom. However, he stopped when he felt an impact against his back and turned around to see Klay standing with only one shoe on.
My entire body is buzzing, and I can't tell whether it's me regenerating, me shaking, or the adrenaline rushing through my body. I'm not in too much pain if I don't breathe though, so I can keep fighting! I want to win against this bastard!
Klay had thrown his shoe at Elias' back, doing little damage but managing to get his attention back to Klay, who looked at Elias with a seemingly suicidal gaze, making him feel far more nervous than their individual states should.
Klay's face was heavily bruised and bloodied, and his uniform and hoodie were dirty and messy as his body hunched awkwardly. His breathing sounded quite labored, with his body shaking unevenly.
Comparatively, Elias' eye was slightly bruised and his lips were cut, but his breathing was far softer than Klay's.
"Come on, let's keep going. Are you scared or something?" Klay mocked Elias despite the ridiculous differences between the two, enraging Elias as he ran back up to Klay and tackled him against the wall. Klay's gaze remained on Elias entirely as he smiled wider and wrapped his arm around Elias' neck, choking him despite being rammed into the wall over and over.
A voice rang out in Klay's mind, which only widened his smile.
"[Congratulations! You have completed the necessary accomplishments to increase your rank from [Peon] to [Serf]! Along with this change, your stats gain a boost of 10% to your primary stat and 5% to all secondary stats!]"
[Name: Klay Wynne (No title)
Rank: Serf (Low tier)
Exp: 1/5
Stat Points: 0
Stats:
[Strength: 4 (4.2)
Dexterity: 6 (6.3)
Flexibility: 5 (5.3)
Senses: 8 (8.4)
Intellect: 15 (15.4)
Stability: 6 (6.3)
Regeneration: 0.7]
Abilities: [Observation Level 1], [Regen Focus(Passive) Level 1]
Additional Pages: None]
Despite the fairly small change, Klay could feel the improvement through the buzzing of the regeneration as he began raining blows down on Elias' head and back, causing him to yell out in annoyance and pain from the many impacts.