It started like any other day for Jin Longwei: admiring himself in every reflective surface, loudly complaining about the "poor quality" of the snacks, and strutting through the village square to remind everyone that he, the third son of the Jin clan, was, in fact, alive, wealthy, and very important. But today, something special happened.
He spotted a lone warrior in the square, practicing swordplay with graceful precision.
The warrior looked calm, focused, completely absorbed in his routine, not even noticing the countless pairs of eyes on him. Most of these belonged to pretty young ladies and old cougars. They admired the warrior's well honed physique as trained and sweated profusely.
Jin, feeling that familiar itch to be the center of attention, strolled over.
"Warrior!" Jin bellowed, attempting to sound regal, which mainly meant shouting louder than necessary. "Do you know who I am?"
The warrior barely glanced at him, then turned back to his practice. Who didn't know who the trash of the Jin clan was? He didn't have time to waste on such bastard!
Jin felt greatly offended and he would have thrown hands if not for a strange chime sounding in his mind as a glowing blue screen appeared in front of him.
New Quest: Humiliation Detected!
Objective: Defeat the Arrogant Warrior Who Dared Look Away Without Acknowledging You!
Reward: +10 Stat Points, 1 Real Martial Art Skill
Jin's eyes widened.
This was his chance to grow by using another as a stepping stone.
How could he miss it?
Jin's ego inflated threefold. He turned back to the warrior, eyes alight with an exaggerated sense of purpose. "You there! Yes, you! I, Jin Longwei, the mighty third young master of the illustrious Jin clan, hereby challenge you to a duel!" he announced, adjusting his ridiculously large jade ring, hoping it caught the sunlight just right. And when it did, his confidence was bolstered to a point where he felt like a general accompanied by a thousand galloping war horses, as a result he believed victory was his and he said, "You may as well kneel now and beg for mercy!"
The warrior looked unimpressed, a few villagers stifling giggles nearby, looking forward to seeing Jin make a fool of himself.
A normal person didn't dare offend him as he was from the powerful Jin clan, but the warrior was different with ample backing himself. He would dare beat up Jin if he got on his nerves!
One of Jin's bodyguards leaned over, whispering, "Young Master, maybe we should reconsider—"
"Silence, fool!" Jin snapped. "The enemy quivers at my words!"
He snapped open his fan, awkwardly waving it in a way that probably made sense to no one but him.
With an exaggerated bow, Jin stepped forward, positioning himself in what he believed was an impressive martial stance but looked more like a bizarre stretch.
The warrior sighed, clearly reluctant to beat a kid half his age, and took up his own stance, one hand on his training sword.
"Prepare yourself!" Jin shouted, taking a deep breath as if preparing to unleash some hidden technique. He held the pose for a few tense seconds, looking around to make sure the crowd was watching.
The warrior didn't wait any longer. He lunged forward with a single, clean stroke aimed at Jin's shoulder.
"Ah!" Jin shrieked, attempting to dodge. Unfortunately, his foot slipped on a stray pebble, sending him tumbling backward with all the grace of a flailing chicken. He landed with a thud, his fan flying out of his hand. The crowd burst into laughter, and Jin's face flushed red.
"Unbelievable!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the warrior. "A sneak attack! What a vile move!"
The warrior looked around, baffled. "Young Master, I barely moved—"
"Silence! Clearly, you're too afraid to face me fairly," Jin proclaimed, scrambling to his feet. "Since you refuse to be fare, don't blame me for being unfair."
"Bodyguards! Show him the error of his ways!" He motioned grandly for his bodyguards to step in.
His long-suffering bodyguards sighed simultaneously, stepping forward with a resigned look.
The fight between them commenced as Jin retreated several feet, crossing his arms and watching with a smug grin as his guards clashed with the warrior.
As they exchanged blows, Jin was busy heckling from the sidelines.
"Yes, yes! Show him the Jin clan's unstoppable might! I'd handle him myself, but… I'm conserving my true strength," he explained to a bewildered bystander, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve.
The bystander didn't believe a single word he said.
The same goes for the onlookers.
They knew he was no martial expert.
If he was considering his habit he would have already made it known.
He was just a good for nothing silk pant in their eyes.
Pah! Bam! Blam!
The warrior, highly skilled and clearly unimpressed, swiftly disarmed one of Jin's guards, sending the man sprawling. Another bodyguard lunged but was effortlessly dodged, causing him to tumble headfirst into a market stall of cabbages, sending vegetables flying everywhere.
"Damn, my guards are useless."
The battle wasn't going exactly as Jin expected. His confidence began to wave.
His confidence only stopped wavering when he saw his remaining guard getting a good hit in.
But this angered the warrior into unleashing his martial arts, finishing his opponent off with a flurry of quick strikes. The last remaining guard joined his colleague in laying flat, leaving Jin standing alone against the a 2 meter tall body packed with muscles and grim scars.
The guards looked at him with a predatory gaze and Jin could swear in that moment that his butthole tightened with a force even a thousand titans couldn't muster. His instincts screamed at him to run away, but his baseless pride made the impossible possible, not allowing him to act like a coward.
Retreat wasn't an option now, not with half the town watching. He had to take the warrior down or die struggling to achieve this seemingly unachievable goal!
"You are the only one left."
The warrior said as he began to move towards Jin,
who in a desperate attempt to save face, he struck a pose again.
"Aha! Behold!" He pointed dramatically, hoping to confuse the warrior with sheer theatrics. "I… I shall unleash my ultimate move and end this drawn out battle!"
"Fine. Let's end this." The warrior smirked, thinking that this spoiled brat would be a quick finish.
Jin lunged forward, attempting a sweeping strike with his fan.
Unfortunately, his footing slipped on a stray pebble, sending him into an unplanned spin. His iron fan flew out of his hand in the process, whirling towards the warrior like an oversized, clumsy boomerang.
The warrior, thrown off by the absurdity of the attack, stumbled back—only to trip on the same pebble, losing his balance and falling to the ground just as Jin's fan smacked him square on the head.
With a groan, the warrior collapsed, knocked out cold.
Jin stood there, dumbfounded, blinking at the unconscious opponent and realizing he'd actually won. He couldn't believe it; neither could the gathering crowd, who erupted into disbelieving applause and gasps.
Ding ding ding you have knocked out a rank-3 martial expert!
As the System chimed again with a victorious fanfare, a notification appeared before him:
Quest Complete!
Reward: +10 Stat Points, Skill Unlocked: "Tiger Fist" Martial Art
Jin's chest puffed up again, his smirk broadening as he raised his hands to accept the cheers. "Yes! As expected of the mighty Jin Longwei!" he crowed, glancing down at the warrior sprawled in front of him. "Clearly, he was no match for my… my precision and my flawless technique!"
The villagers watched, some impressed but most stifling giggles knowing it was his dumb luck that let him win as Jin strutted off, basking in the glory of his accidental victory. To him, it had been a perfectly calculated duel—and now, with his stat points and new skill, he was absolutely certain he was destined for greatness.