Seon-mi locked eyes with the five men standing in the narrow hallway, the urgency of the situation evident in her gaze. She came to the realisation that exchanging words might only put her at a disadvantage, but she had one trump card they didn't, an upper hand in this dire situation, she knew who her enemies were.
Within seconds, Seon-mi summoned the system box, applying the necessary stats
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO INCREASE:
STRENGTH: 10 (+5)
SPEED: 3 (+5)
AGILITY: 3 (+5)
NO - YES
She selected 'yes' and the all too familiar sensation of her nerve-endings on fire encompassed her entire body, supplying her with a temporary adrenaline rush.
Her muscles tensed, bones shook, and all the hairs on her entire body stood to attention.
Driven by instinct and precision, she swiftly repositioned her katana in her hand, and with an unwavering focus, she launched it like a spear through the narrow hallway, aiming directly at the first thug in sight. Time seemed to slow as the blade sliced through the air, leaving the men no time to react.
A collective gasp escaped their lips as they watched the blade pierce their friends stomach and come straight out of his back, sending him flying backwards into two others. With the blade sticking out of his back his body was unable to completely rest on the floor, so there he lay, slightly elevated by the Katana sticking out of him, like a sword waiting to be pulled from its stone.
The other two that were knocked over quickly recovered, but by then it was too late, Seon-mi had already closed the three meter distance in a matter of seconds, the boost in stats evident in her movements. She was no longer moving sluggishly like a civilian, her movements now matched that of a well-trained military combatant.
Seon-mi stood to the left of one of the thugs, due to her height and the man's tall frame it would take him a few more seconds to realise she was standing directly next to him, but Seon-mi had already began her next move.
Seizing the advantage, Seon-mi executed a rapid spin to amplify her strength. Her foot connected with precision, targeting the thug's knee. A sickening crunch reverberated through the hallway as the man dropped to the ground, screaming & writhing in pain while clutching his shattered knee.
"GET THAT FUCKIN BITCH" he screamed as he continued to squirm on the floor.
The man farthest from Seon-mi began to rush towards her, his movements were slow and predictable. Seon-mi wasn't sure if it was because she had increased her speed or Agility, but she could read his attack before he even made it.
Preparing herself for the incoming punch, she crossed both arms in front of her face, but a feeling of dread washed over her when she felt a hand grab her leg and pull her down.
It was the man who's knee she'd shattered, he was still putting up a fight. He pulled Seon-mi down, knocking off her sense of balance and before she knew it the sensation of a fist connecting with her face spread throughout the left side of her cheek.
She fell back onto the floor, her face pulsating with intense pain. The punch had also caught her in the eye, resulting in her vision being partially obstructed.
"Fuck that hurt! That really hurt. My left eye is swollen I can't see a thing." She thought.
As she struggled back to her feet in an attempt to regain control over the situation, a flying foot sunk into her chest, propelling her down the hallway and crashing into the back exit door.
The kick completely winded Seon-mi, she was struggling for a breath but no oxygen was entering her lungs. She gasped for air, coughing and wheezing but still couldn't catch her breath.
Three of the thugs had fully recovered and started to approach her, with the man on the floor now leaning against the wall as he tried to regain his balance.
"I need to get up right now or i'm dead. C'mon Seon-mi, get off your ass!"
As she was about to get back to her feet another foot came rushing towards her, smashing into her face and crushing the back of her head into the wall.
Over and over again the thug kicked and crushed Seon-mi's head, watching as blood gushed from her nose. He did this repeatedly until Seon-mi was unresponsive, only taking his foot away to see the carnage he had inflicted.
Her head hung low as a steady stream of blood flowed from her face onto the floor. Her left eye was completely sealed shut, her nose was broken and a sharp pain in the side of her head threatened to destroy any semblance of sanity she had left, signs of a concussion.
Another thug grabbed her hair and held her head up.
"Who the fuck is this bitch?" he said.
The thug with the shattered knee replied "she killed Sabito, waste that fuckin bitch!"
"You think one of the other houses sent her?" asked another thug.
"Who cares, just kill her right now!" said the thug with the knee.
The man holding Seon-mi's hair struck her in the face, picked her head back up and punched her again. He did this a few more times until his knuckles started to bleed.
"Dammit my hand. You're lucky, if the situation was different you'd be getting a lot worse than a few punches" he said.
The man stood up and reached into his inside jacket pocket, brandishing a switchblade.
He pointed it at Seon-mi.
"I dunno who sent you, but they really are stupid if they thought some little ass girl would be enough. We'll send you back in pieces"
He grabbed her hair once again, pulled back the knife ready to plunge it into Seon-mi's neck, and....
*LETS GO BACK A FEW MINUTES*
<<
As Seon-mi was struck with the initial punch in the eye that caught her off guard a system message appeared
YOU HAVE FOUND YOURSELF IN A DIRE SITUATION
DUE TO YOUR LEVEL BEING TOO LOW FOR THIS MISSION, A HANDICAP WILL BE GRANTED FOR THE DURATION OF THIS ALTERCATION
- SKILL: LAST MAN STANDING Lv 1 (INCREASE ALL STATS BY 30)
HANDICAPS REMAINING: 2
ATTRIBUTES
STRENGTH: 15 (+30)
SPEED: 10 (+30)
CHARISMA: 6 (+30)
DEXTERITY: 5 (+30)
AGILITY: 8 (+30)
IQ: 20 (+30)
SKILL: 7 (+30)
ENDURANCE: 16 (+30)
LUCK: 2 (+30)
HUMANITY: 1001 (+30)
SKILLS
- LAST MAN STANDING LV 1 (TEMP)
AVAILABLE COINS: 0
As Seon-mi sat on the floor getting pounded, she bided her time, waiting for the perfect opportunity, for when all three would let their guards down at the same time.
*BACK TO THE PRESENT*
>>
With the knife now inches away from her neck Seon-mi had to think fast. She leaned forward, head-butting the thug and dodging the blade simultaneously, causing the him to release her hair and fall back.
He grabbed his face and screamed in muffled pain, it was clear she had broken his nose. One of the two standing in front of her swung for a kick but Seon-mi read him like a book, catching his leg just moments before it her her head, and she squeezed, hard. The thug let out a harrowing scream.
The sound of bones being crushed resonated into Seon-mi's ear, his ankle was being squeezed so hard she could practically close her fist. She released his foot and the man fell to the floor immediately, his cries filled the entire hallway.
"I'm gonna pass out, I need to move fast." Seon-mi thought to herself.
She finally got to her feet, her face a swollen, bloodied mess and looked at the two men remaining.
One leaning against the wall, unable to stand, the other practically trembling now that he'd witnessed what Seon-mi was capable of.
She adjusted herself, and took an orthodox boxing stance. Her weak hand guarding her battered face and her dominant hand tucked into her side ready to deliver a blow at a moments notice. Her fathers training was etched into her very being, so even at moments of life and death, she never forgot what he taught her.
The next words that left her lips would send shivers into the spine of any who heard it.
"I can do this all day..." the words struggling to leave her swollen lips.
"Naoki what are you waiting for? She's practically dead already, finish her!"
Naoki was frozen in place, he had just witnessed a small fragile girl kill & incapacitate all of his friends within a few minutes, he knew attempting to fight this stranger would result in his demise, but he also knew running away was as good as a death sentence.
So as Naoki stood there, Seon-mi simply walked past him, limping slightly as she approached the thug with the shattered knee.
Despite her shorter height, Seon-mi now loomed over the thug, a commanding presence exuding strength and determination. The tables had turned, and the once towering adversary found himself at the mercy of a force he hadn't anticipated.
"You fucking brat! Do you know who you're fucking with? We're the-"
"You talk to much..." she said.
Seon-mi's swift backhand struck the man with lethal force, and his head immediately rotated 360 degrees, spinning around then coming to a halt. His lifeless eyes stared into space without so much as a blink before he collapsed, his mouth still open from his unfinished sentence.
Seon-mi staggered and limped to the lifeless body of the first thug, his vacant eyes staring into oblivion. She pressed her foot onto his face, reclaiming her katana with a visceral pull that sent blood splattering onto the ceiling.
Seon-mi approached Naoki, who stood paralyzed, and positioned herself behind him.
"P-p-please, I won't tell an-" without even letting him finish his sentence Seon-mi's swift swing severed him in half.
The hallway fell into an eerie silence and she watched as a man that was once whole, parted into two, the top half of his body sliding away from the bottom half as he splattered onto the floor like a wet rag.
As Seon-mi looked down at her feet, two of the thugs still breathed. However, before she could deliver the final blow, her entire body succumbed to fatigue, causing her to fall backward. Consciousness waned, and just before hitting the floor, she felt someone catch her, lifting her up with their head under her arm.
The last thing she heard before passing out was "Oh my goodness you're covered in blood, and your face... We need to get out of here right now" the voice continued to ramble, the echo's reaching the furthest recesses of her mind until she passed out.