Just then, Jiwon's trembling finger pointed at him. Her eyes were wide with fear, her teeth gritting. She stammered, "You... Lee Seung... you are... you are bleeding!"
**Chapter 26**
Blood trickled from his forehead, mingling with sweat, and rolled down his neck. It was her first time encountering gangsters, and her heart raced fast. And now, Lee Seung was injured.
Lee Seung rubbed his neck, his hand coming away smeared with pale crimson.
"Haha, you shouldn't have messed with me if you had known what's best for you. You just have to suffer a bit from your naivety," the man said, his voice dripping with malice.
Seung knew he would one day cross paths with the outlaw metahuman again, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. However, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; he had examined his clones' martial arts moves the previous day, so why not put them to the test?
He glared at the man, smirked, and walked towards the others who were holding Jiwon down.
'This measly guy seems more confident than I expected,' the man thought, though his confidence remained unshaken. He had the Hardening ability to turn his body into metal and was a D-ranker. His opponent was likely an E-ranker, judging by his speed last time, so he already had an upper hand.
The man with the rod smirked at Lee Seung. "What do you wanna do, punk? Perhaps, you want to help..."
"I am the one you guys are after," Seung cut in, "so why don't you let go of her?"
The man couldn't believe the young guy was naive enough to think he could negotiate.
Out of anger, he attempted to strike Seung's head again.
Whack, press!
The rod got buried in Lee Seung's palm while the man struggled to get it off his grasp.
"Yee!!"
Jiwon was dumbfounded seeing that. How could he block that attack? If she didn't know him before, she would have thought he was a gangster too.
Seung swiftly seized the rod and struck the man's leg, sending him sprawling to the ground. Then, he threw the rod to the ground.
"Argh! My leg hurts!" the man cried out. Consequently, the others pushed Jiwon away and launched a fist attack simultaneously.
However, their fists were blocked, and they were sent sprawling to the ground as well.
Did three of them just get defeated in less than thirty seconds?! By a little boy?!
'Ehh... did he get stronger just now?! He has beaten up three men?!' Jiwon's mind raced with questions, her face laced with astonishment.
"Go and hide somewhere. I will let you know when I am done," Lee Seung said to Jiwon, calmly.
"Ehh... I can't just leave you—"
"Didn't you see what I did just now?" Seung cut in boldly. "I will be fine. They can't lay a finger on me."
"That's true," Jiwon mumbled then ran to the shield of a distant tree. She was still panicking, though.
Lee Seung had a feeling that the man's status, or maybe connection, was more than met the eye as he got bail in less than one month when the maximum was supposed to be half a year.
The prudent course of action would be to avoid conflicts with someone like that; however, Seung didn't subscribe to such caution. From confronting monsters head-on to being stabbed in a dungeon by a psycho, none of these experiences were suitable for someone his age.
Lee Seung turned back to the man standing about two meters from him...
'My personality and encounters have begun to change. It's getting obvious that I am already drawing closer to hell. I am crazy enough to face creatures whose hunger is only satisfied by human flesh. I may look young, but my soul isn't anymore.'
Just at that moment, the screen shimmered to life at his eye level.
"Uhh...?"
[Side Quest has been unlocked which has come with an advanced reward.]
[View reward: New skill has been unlocked.]
[Skill: Dread Strike. Damage (10%) Cooldown (10s)]
If he didn't know anything else about the skill, it was obvious one had to have a weapon to use it. A weapon like the rod.
Lee Seung picked up the rod. Consequently, the three men rose from the ground again. They seemed enraged and would not easily give up to a measly boy.
"You could have easily defeated my men, but it's impossible when I am put into consideration! No one has ever survived my Hardening ability!" the man at about two meters from him roared and tore his shirt off.
His pendant aligned along the curved line dividing his muscular chest. Within his perimeters, reddish fumes lighted up, reflecting his imposing stance on the ground. The atmosphere darkened, a palpable tension permeating the air.
Gradually, his skin morphed into silver. A once fleshy human now resembled a living metallic statue.
Lee Seung flinched back a little. 'What the heck is this!'
At that moment, he remembered he had 'Dread Strike' in his possession. Since the skill had a damage of ten and a cooldown of ten seconds as well, he just had to hit the metallic SOB ten times to win the fight.
"Yah!" As Lee Seung heard a yell drawing closer from his back, he somersaulted over whatever was originally charging towards him.
He landed, only to see the three other men with knives in their hands. They must have had those weapons in their pockets.
One of them charged at him, and he struck his head with the thick rod.
"Uwhaaaack!"
Seung sidestepped the knife attack made by another. Before a second attack could be made, he immediately hit the rod against the man's chin.
The man collapsed to the ground, expelling a mouthful of blood. "Cough!!"
The last but not the least raised his knife towards the young guy, but it stopped mid-air, as a heavy blow was delivered to his chest.
He fell flat on his back, gasping for breath.
'This will make them immobile for a while,' Lee Seung thought, stepping over the man before him.
The boss, flexing his metallic muscles, charged toward Seung and raised his fist menacingly.
Lee Seung dodged it, prompting the rocky floor to be shattered into pieces as soon as the blow contacted it.
Shatter, shatter!!
His lips parted in shock at the realization of the pain he would have endured had he not dodged.
'Being made of metal is something too...'
Unbeknownst to him, he had let his guard down — the boss delivered a blow to his abdomen with the other hand.
"Uwhaaaack!!"
Lee Seung was sent flying into the air until his back crashed against the factory's wall.
Jiwon got anxious when she saw that. The faint belief she had in Seung winning the fight just vanished, and the best thing to do was to call for help.
'I should call the police.' She dialed an emergency number, but suddenly, someone seized her phone.
Was that one of the gangsters?!
"The police can't control those people. So, wait for their like to dissolve each other."
It was none other than the woman putting a tail on Lee Seung, with the man standing by her side.
Jiwon, out of anxiety, stepped backward. "Who... who are you people?"
The man responded, sarcastically, "How do we describe ourselves? Is it loyal dogs, or those who have nothing better to do with their lives than keep watch over a mere maggo..."
"Aye, look at this fool. What better thing do you commit yourself to than eat sandwiches all day?" the woman scoffed.
"I have got to ask you this," the man said, seriously. "Why do you like to pick on me?"
"Tsk, tsk, look at this fool—"
"Stop calling me a fool!"
Lee Seung rose to his feet, just getting over the pain from the man's punch. It was only because he let his guard down that the man laid a finger on him.
'Activate Light Speed!'
[Light speed activated]
His body, burning with bluish fumes, flashed to the man's side where he picked the rod back and went back to his original position.
'This is the first thing my clones did: staying put.'
Just as in the sparring room, none of them made a move at first, but being impatient, the man charged towards him.
'This is my chance!'
He dodged his blow again and flashed to his back. Then, he struck him with the rod twice.
Wham, wham!
"Argh!" the man cried out.
Lee Seung flashed to where the man was standing previously.
[Damage made: 10%]
[Wait for the skill to be accessible again before making the next attack.]
'Oh, I forgot. I can't use the skill twice since it has a cooldown.'
.