Who Beat You?

In the morning, Joshua, like always, woke up early, took a bath and sat down by his small dining table and opened the T.V. He watched some news while sipping a hot coffee and eating his breakfast.

"Another dead body has been found in an alley at Block 4b this morning. The said body has been identified as Joseph Chu." Said the reporter.

"Damn, I'm eating. What's with this kind of news early in the morning?" Joshua grumbled and changed the channel. But then, he remembered what his friend told him yesterday and also what he heard from his workmates, so he turned back the channel.

"The dead body was found by a passing civilian. The dead body was reported to have missing organs, the same as the other bodies found days before. The Metro Police are saying this case is connected to the serial killing that they are currently looking into."

'Block 4b its close by.' He thought. Joshua lives in Block 4f. Thinking that the serial killer is near his place gave him a chill.

Joshua finished his meal and took off, since his work is on the afternoon, he went to a gym to exercise a bit. After 3 hours, Joshua took a bus to the City gate. The gate was large, he estimated it to be at least 5 meters high. It was guarded by four Geneticists.

He walked closer to them and greeted, "Hello!"

"Yes, hello. What are you doing here, citizen?" The guard with a sharp eye, asked.

"I wanted to go out and hunt." He replied.

"Are you a Geneticist?" The other chubby guard inquired. Joshua rolled his sleeve and shown his badge.

"Oh, an Apprentice. May I see some I.D., please?" the sharp eyed guard said.

Joshua took out his ID and passed it to the guard. The guard scanned his ID and returned it to him when he finished. "Joshua Pimm, 17 years old. Are you going alone? Or do you have companions waiting for you outside?"

"I am hunting alone, sir."

"Oh? That's brave. Anyway, we can let you out, but because of some incidents in the city, we have to tag you, just in case. Is that alright?"

"Is it about the serial killing?" Joshua asked. The guard nodded in confirmation. "I understand, sir."

"OK, great. The tag should not be a bother. It will help us track your whereabouts and also project your vitality. Ain't that good? We can give help if you are in a pinch out there. Just don't go beyond the outer rim."

"Yes sir. Thank you." Joshua said. The other guard told Joshua to follow him for tagging.

The tag was a small Nano chip attached to his badge. After tagging, he bade farewell to the guards and went on his way to the outer rim. The Gene beasts in the outer rim are fairly weak; they only range from 1-star Low servant to 3-star Low servant. There should be a 1-star Mid Servant Hammer-hand Ape lording the outer rim but it rarely shows itself to people. Beyond that, is the inner rim where some strong Gene beasts reside; ranging from 3-star low servant to 1-star High Servant classes. There is even a suspicion of a 1-star low Commander beast in there.

"I should start hunting Wooly Rabbits. They're not too strong for me and their wools can be sold for a good price." Joshua thought a plan.

Wooly rabbits, as the name implies, are rabbits covered in thick wools. They are mostly 1-star low servant and can star-up up to 2-star low servant. There's a slight chance of them evolving into Saber-toothed Rabbits only if the conditions are right. Saber-toothed Rabbits are 1-star Mid servant beasts. Aside from their wools, they were also caught for domestication. Many rich families love them especially those elegant daughters.

"Ok, according to this Gene beast guide, Wooly rabbits love to play in the grass, so if I want to find one, I should go to here." He pointed at the eastern part of the map on his projector watch. "There's vast grassland and small hills for them to make a burrow."

After walking for some time, he finally arrived at the place. It was his first time going out of the city walls. The place was like a paradise. There are patches of beautiful flowers over an ocean of green grass. "Wow!" He said awestruck. After a while of gazing at the beauty of nature, he finally found one Wooly rabbit bouncing over the grasses.

He prompted his Rockhorn Gloves and made a stance. The rabbit was bouncing just a few meters from him. The rabbit did notice the man but didn't thought him a threat, so it just played on the grass and never paid attention to him like he was just wind above the field.

"Damn you!" Joshua was irritated as he kind of got what the rabbit thought of him. "Ah!" He pounced at the rabbit; his fist at the ready. However, the rabbit suddenly turned towards him and puff! The rabbit was gone and the next thing was… "Umph!" Joshua was sent back flying; his face with a bright red footprint.

He immediately stood up and wiped the blood trickling form his nose. He pounced on the rabbit again. As was before, the rabbit suddenly pounced towards him at a speed he can't follow. This time the rabbit delivered three consecutive kicks to his face. Pop! He was down again. The rabbit was looking at him from a bit of a distance brushing its nose with its front hinds. "Fuck!" it was the last thing he thought as he lost consciousness.

When he woke up, the sun was high on top of him. "Damn, I was knocked out by a mere rabbit!" He sat up. When he turned to look at his surrounding, he was surprised to see the rabbit still there.

"What? You waiting for me to wake up and brag about your win?" He scolded the rabbit. It stared at him as if saying, you got a problem with that punk? Wanna taste my kick again?

"Alright, round 2! Let's go!" He stood up and ran towards the rabbit. The rabbit stared at him for a bit and then bam! He was kicked in the face again. "Oppfffuck! That hurt! You shit!" He cursed and then pounced at the rabbit again. This time his guard was up covering his face.

The rabbit jumped towards him again. Joshua readied to receive the kick but was confused as he did not feel the kick on his guard. But it was a short relief when he felt a sharp pain on his abdomen. He flew back again. "You're cheating!" He stood up again and ran to the rabbit again, this time he was paying all his attention to the rabbit.

When the rabbit moved, Joshua noticed it and suddenly stopped on his track and dodged the incoming kick of the rabbit. "Ha! You misse-" He was not finished when he was kicked in the face. "Damn! How the hell did that rabbit followed up a kick so fast?" He thought as he twirled in the air and fell on the grass.

The rabbit bounced in place staring at him; its eyes saying, "You wanna try again punk?" Joshua pushed his body up again. He wobbled a bit, as he felt dizzy from that kick. "Ah!" He tried to pounce on the rabbit again but the rabbit landed a kick on him first.

An hour passed, Joshua's face was so swollen that even his mama could hardly recognize him. "Damn rabbit! I'll be back!" He yelled running away from the grassland.

When he arrived at the gates, "What happened to you?" The guards asked. "Nothing, I just fell on large pot hole and got this." He said. "Anyways, I have to go now."

"Haha! Yeah, it's good that you only got that and nothing else serious. Take care kid." The sharp eyed guard laughed out.

He went home, and washed for a bit then went to work. He bought some anti-inflammatory pads on the way and covered the swollen parts of his face. "Hey Josh!" his friend greeted him at work. "Oh shit! Man what happened to you?" Bj shouted a surprise.

Mr. Booze also came and when he saw Joshua's face, "Tell me, boy, who beat you?"

"…" Joshua was speechless.

"Come on, who beat you? We'll get them back for you." Mr. Booze said seriously.

"Hold your horses, old man. Damn, seriously, what were you doing earlier? How'd you end up like that?" Bj inspected his friend's pad-covered swollen face.

"Nothing much. I was practicing. Nothing serious, man. And no one beat me, Mr. booze, thank you for your concern."

"You're really going to push through that plan of yours?" Bj asked.

"Yeah. And don't convince me otherwise. I'm serious about this." He said.

"Yeah, yeah, this horndog friend of yours told me about it. You really serious in becoming a Gene collector? That's a terrible, terrifying job, kid. Best to think away from that." Mr. Booze joined in.

"I am totally all out on becoming a Gene collector. No one can convince me out of it, not even God."

"It's a dangerous job, kid. You might lose your life. Think about it, you are only practicing some shit and this happened to you. What do you think will happen when you go out there collecting some gene crap? You're gonna die!" Mr. Booze said pessimistically.

"Yeah, what he said." Bj nodded his head in agreement.

"That's why I'm practicing. I can't stop without even trying. And besides, whatever happens, this is my life and I've got nothing to lose." Joshua said and then went to get his robo-suit.

"Ha~" The old man sighed, "Suit yourself, kid."

"You have to understand him, old man. That kid's a virgin. Got no girl to wait for him nor a family." Bj said while looking at his friend.

"Well, he's got you." The old man said.

"Fuckin' hell, I'm not gay!" Bj blurted out.

"What the hell are you guys talking about? Come on, it's time to work." Joshua called out.