Karma

[Name: Kiernan Hunter]

[System Level: Beginner]

[Martial Rank: Low Stage Martial Recruit]

[Age: 16]

[Level: 1]

[SP: 0]

[Gold: 0]

[XP: 15/100]

[Strength: 3]

[Agility: 4]

[Stamina: 3]

[Vitality: 10]

[Charm: 6]

[Quests]

[Shop]

[Inventory]

[Lottery]

*** 

'What is this?' Kiernan touched the floating interface and it felt like he was touching a cold glass window. The interface responded with a soft glow, displaying various options in front of him.

'Can others see this?'

Kiernan wondered, and when he turned to look at Jonathan, he saw his angry face after seeing his friend bleeding on the ground. No one else seemed to be able to see the interface.

'Does everyone else also have a system in this world, or just me?' 

Kiernan wondered, but then shook his head. 

'The former Kiernan didn't have one, and from his memories, there was no recollection of such things.

'This means, I am the only with system. It must've come because of my reincarnation; I can't think of another reason for it.

'Level 1. This is like a game. I already have 5 experience points. It must've come from when I defeated Kai. So, to level up, I'll have to defeat others…'

"You bastard!" Jonathan cried out and dropped his bag on the dirty ground. "I'll make you pay."

"…" Kiernan looked at him silently and then looked at his broken hand. 'I wish I could use Bone Harmony to fix my broken bones. I don't think I can do it, and it would only worsen my injuries.

'Bone Harmony needs strong bones and great control of the body, which I lack because I am still unfamiliar with this body and its limits.'

Kiernan moved his broken hand behind his back and moved his left hand in front of him. He couldn't use his dominant hand in its current state.

Jonathan cried out in anger and rushed forward. He had his arms wide open in front of him as he was going for a tackle.

'From my memory, Jonathan uses powerful throws and locks to quickly overpower his opponents.' Kiernan calmly went through his memories.

Jonathan shot his hand forward, aiming to grab Kiernan by his jacket. He could tell the difference in Kiernan after his sudden awakening, but he didn't care.

While Kai was only at the middle stage of Martial Recruit, Jonathan had ascended to another level—Martial Soldier.

Meaning he had unlocked the second layer of Martial Soul, making him even more powerful and faster.

Now, his throws were lethal, and his locks unbreakable.

At that moment, Kiernan grabbed Jonathan's hand and squeezed it hard. Their hands were locked together, both hands squeezing for supremacy.

Kiernan's broken fingers were squeezing hard against Jonathan's hand. It caused agonizing pain to Kiernan, but still, he didn't show a single look of pain.

'This fool!' Jonathan thought with a scoff. 'I am stronger, and this is perfectly in my field. Locks are my specialty!'

However, in that moment, Jonathan felt his center of gravity shift suddenly. Kiernan moved his hand down, and Jonathan immediately fell down on one knee.

"W-what?" Jonathan's eyes widened in shock.

Jonathan was squeezing the hand much harder. So hard that he would've been able to break Kiernan's hand. However, for some reason, as soon as Kiernan slightly moved his hand, he perfectly controlled Jonathan's center of gravity and forced him down.

Kiernan used absolutely zero strength. He simply controlled Jonathan's center of gravity to control him like a puppet.

'I-I can't move!' Jonathan panicked, sweat rolling down his face.

Kiernan formed a fist with his left hand. Then, his middle finger moved forward from the clenched fist. His middle finger curled up, looking like a hook.

At that moment, Kiernan punched Jonathan in the forehead, nose, and jaw with the hook-like middle finger. It caused three sharp points of pain to shoot through Jonathan's face.

"Iron Style, Triple Point Strike." Kiernan calmly said.

Jonathan's eyes rolled up to his skull, and he slowly fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, unconscious.

[You have defeated a Low Stage Martial Soldier!]

[15 XP Acquired!]

"Eek!" Jonathan's friends gasped in horror and ran out of the alleyway with their tails tucked between their legs. They didn't even bother to try to help their friends. who lay motionless on the ground.

"Oh…" Kiernan watched as they ran away and sighed. "I would want to defeat them for experience points, but…"

He turned to look at his left hand. His middle finger was entirely purple. It was heavily bruised and broken.

"Sigh…" Kiernan shook his head and then looked at an unconscious Jonathan. "I wonder if killing gives more experience points…"

That thought floated inside his mind before he shook his left and started to walk out of the alleyway.

"I am not that interested in killing the weak…" Kiernan said out loud. "I'd rather find a worthy opponent to test my skills against."

He then touched his pocket, found his phone, and checked that he had received a message from his father.

He was asking how the tournament went.

"Hmm…" Kiernan pocketed his phone. "I suppose I'll go meet my father. I'll need to get my thoughts sorted anyway."

…

Irio, 24 Cloudy Street.

The wind blew heavily, making the grassblades in the yard dance in unison.

At that moment, a young man with a bandaged head entered the yard, walking down a short stone path until he reached the front steps. Then he inserted a key in the key hole, opened the door, and entered the house.

Kiernan slowly removed his shoes and hung his bag on the coat rack by the door.

As he looked inside the house, it looked familiar but also unfamiliar. It was such a disorientating feeling because he felt like he had lived there for his entire life, but also like this was his first time being there.

He then heard footsteps, and suddenly a messy-haired man with well-toned muscles appeared from the living room, looking towards the front door. A tired smile appeared on his face.

"Kiernan, you're back." Karma Hunter felt a wave of relief wash over him.

He looked like a tired-looking office man, but based on his powerful-looking muscles, he was also a martial arts practitioner.

"Father…" Kiernan said, and for some reason, he felt heavy emotions wash over him. 'I sure had a lot of pressure, as I didn't want to disappoint him.'

"Are you alright?" Karma asked as he saw his son's bandaged head and the broken fingers, even though he tried to hide them as best as he could.

"Yup…" Kiernan slowly removed the bandage and showed that his injuries were healed. "I also went and purchased some bone healing pills. It is supposed to take around five hours for my fingers to heal completely."

He was very surprised at how advanced medicine was in this world. However, it also made a lot of sense. In this world, people get injured all the time because of martial arts.

"Mm, good." Karma nodded roughly and asked, "How did the tournament go?"

"I lost in the first round," Kiernan said with a long sigh.

"I see…" Karma nodded and smiled with fatigue. "Keep working hard."

Kiernan nodded and watched as his father returned to the living room to watch a martial arts tournament that was happening on television.

'Something is odd with him.' Kiernan thought as he saw his father sit on the reclining chair. 'I can tell that he is supposed to be immensely strong, but for some reason, he is seemingly tired and weak.'

Kiernan tried to dig up his memories about whether his father had any diseases or anything like that. He couldn't find anything that could explain his father's sudden weakness.

'I am lacking a lot of knowledge. Kiernan wasn't a very good student, as he spent all his time practicing martial arts to try to catch up on the geniuses. There is so much he doesn't know.

'This world also has the the world wide web. The greatest source of information.'