After many hits, Elias backed off from Klay and let him get off the wall before swinging his fists out wildly.
Klay managed to avoid the wide swings and sent a straight punch into Elias' stomach. Taking the window that opened up after Elias bent over in pain, Klay slipped past and ran over to the other end of the bathroom where he leaned against the sinks to catch his breath.
With both of them bruised and battered, they were relying on adrenaline and the need to stay standing to keep fighting.
I can barely breath, I need to win this fast. How can I finish this decisively?
Klay spent the short reprieve he had thinking of how to win when Elias had just managed to stand back up fully, his breath now hitched from the solid hit to his gut.
Klay squared his stance once more, ready to react to any attacks from Elias. Stomping over, Elias kicked forward in an obvious manner, giving the tired Klay a chance to avoid it as he hit out at Elias' hip. This all led to Elias awkwardly falling against the counter, cursing loudly as he stumbled back up.
I can do this, I just need one good blow. Maybe I can use Observation to figure out what hurts the most for him?
"[Would you like to active the Observation skill?]" The system rang out in Klay's mind, the calm monotone contrasting greatly with the heavy panting and angry cursing filling the bathroom.
Yes.
Klay's senses filled the room. He noticed the scuff marks on his and Elias' uniforms, and the droplets of blood that fell onto the ground throughout the bathroom. Focusing on Elias' figure, more specific thoughts filled his head rapidly.
Protecting his stomach. Winded. Eyes are bruised, swelling slightly. Enraged. Left eye is swelling more than the right. Nose and lips bloody, heavy breathing through the mouth. Knuckles bruised, right leg limping slightly.
Handling the mental recoil better than the previous uses, Klay shook his head and focused his thoughts as he prepared to knock Elias out.
If I get a chance, I should hit his stomach again. But until then, I need to stick to his left and target his legs slowly until I get an opportunity to knock him out.
Klay stepped forward and feinted a swing at his stomach, causing Elias to flinch and attempt to protect his torso. Klay quickly threw himself down and crashed his body against Elias' legs, making him fall to the ground as Klay scrambled to stand up, backing up until his back hit a stall door.
Crying out as he fell to the ground, Elias barely managed to catch himself before crashing onto the bathroom floor. As he stood back up, he glared hatefully at Klay and held his wrist in pain before running straight at Klay, attempting to ram him into the stall door behind him.
Feeling relatively fine compared to the injured condition of Elias, Klay just managed to avoid the all-out sprint Elias attempted by throwing himself to the side once more.
BANG!
With a resounding crash, Elias charged through the stall door much to Klay's astonishment. He quickly fell down against the wall and toilet.
Holy shit that was loud!
Waiting for several long seconds, Klay didn't see any movement coming from Elias. Standing up and holding his various bruises and injuries, Klay hobbled closer warily as the voice of the system began to speak out.
"[Congratulations! Your opponent has been knocked unconscious. Rewards for defeating Student Elias Botterhill: +5 Exp. You have leveled up to level 1!
"[Additional rewards from actions throughout the fight: Level 2 Regen Focus (Passive).]"
I won?
Klay continued to cautiously approach, only to see the unconscious Elias with his head slumped against the wall next to the toilet and the stall wall.
I actually won. I did it!
Klay smiled widely as he silently celebrated, before he slowly came to realize the full situation.
I'm covered in blood and I think I have a broken nose? I can't just leave and act normal.
"[That's correct, you currently have a broken nose and bruised ribs, which are in the process of healing. The speed they are healing at has sped up with the improvement of the Regen Focus ability. You also have a free stat point to spend, if you would like.]"
A free stat point? What do you mean?
Klay's system window appeared before him silently.
[Name: Klay Wynne (No title)
Rank: Serf (Low tier)
Exp: Level 1, 1/6
Stat Points: 1
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]
I'm level 1 now? So each level I get a free stat point to use?
"[That's correct.]"
Thinking back to his earlier talk with Simon, Klay thought over Simon's explanation of how to use regeneration best and agreed.
Put the point into my Regeneration stat.
[Adding 1 free stat point to Regeneration hidden stat. 0.7 → 1.7]
Quickly, Klay felt the injuries around his body repairing faster as the buzzing became more intense. After several long minutes of watching his broken nose shift back into place in disgust and macabre curiosity, Klay washed the blood off his face, hoodie, and uniform as best he could before quickly leaving the bathroom scene behind.
I'm far too beat up to just return to class, and the Regen Focus ability is wearing off slowly so I need to find somewhere else to wait until the bruises fade away more. With my regeneration now around twice that of a normal person's, I should be fine to just wait until class is over as it should all look healed up by then.
Klay quickly shuffled out of the corridor Elias led him to and moved back to the second floor, where his classroom was currently held. Slipping into the bathroom unnoticed, Klay stayed inside one of the stalls quietly, keeping his ears open for any signs of Elias having found him again.
So system, I ranked up during that fight, right? Why, can I know what happened to cause that?
"[You completed the requirement of finding a sense of indepence, which led to the rank up from Peon to Serf and the subsequent bonus to your stats.]"
"Finding a sense of independence? I would've thought I had one before." Klay spoke to himself quietly, confused at the answer given to him from the system.
Is that going to be a pattern with these ranks? And now that I'm thinking about it, I get that you can read my mind and thoughts and such, but how do you have the answers to my questions?
"[The Regeneration System is inherently connected to both your conscious and subconscious mind, and merely fills in the gaps of information that you know without realizing it. Nothing the Regeneration System has explained to you is something you'd be incapable of concluding on your own, the Regeneration System simply makes the process more efficient.]"
After reading through the system's message, Klay nodded slightly and continued to patiently wait for the bell to ring.
After nearly an hour of resting, Klay felt much better than he had before, and as he looked over himself in the mirror he realized most of the bruises had gone away. As a precaution, he rinsed his face once more before leaving the bathroom and heading towards his class.
Upon arrival, Klay saw Simon standing outside of the classroom with Klay's bag in one hand a book in the other, which he was fully absorbed in reading.
"Uhh, thanks for grabbing my stuff, Simon." Klay said just loud enough to be heard over the other students in the hallway.
Simon didn't say anything and simply nodded as he continued reading, but when he peeked his head up to walk towards his next class he quickly stopped and tilted his head while looking at Klay.
"Are you alright? You look like you were bruised or something. What happened after you left?" Simon spoke in his signature excessively loud voice, which spread throughout the hallway despite the chatting crowd.
Looking around, Klay sighed thankfully as no one cared to pay attention to the words. Shaking his head at Simon, Klay responded. "Nothing happened, the office just wanted me to explain why I was late and what happened at the door with Alp." Despite thinking his lie was impressive and smooth, Simon still looked at Klay disbelievingly.
"Alright then, if you say so." Simon stated before he walked past Klay, heading to his next class.
Klay too walked off after the exchange, and patiently sat through his few other classes while attempting to pay attention. Eventually, the day ended and Klay was released from the confines of the classroom.
Stopping by his house, Klay dropped off his schoolbag and grabbed the duffel bag he carried the Wynne Dojo uniform and other items in, before hopping on a public bus and traveling into town. He quickly headed for his Uncle's dojo with a smile and expectations of the day far greater than any days before.