Chapter 3: The Fighting

"As I thought, you did manifest an ability."

Mayor Nark nodded. He seemed to be contemplating onto something as he paused for a few seconds. He then added,

"Very well! Come!"

"Rargh!"

Allen Stryka did not stand in ceremony any further. He rushed forward. He threw a straight punch with his flaming right hand.

As mentioned, the next step that humanity had to take to survive the apocalypse was to adapt some sort of defensive mechanism. Humanity's answer to this crisis was to develop an ability.

A year after the lockdown, humans were in dire need to produce a vaccine to counter the radiation exposure. But the World Government had different plans than merely helping the people become immune. They began synthesizing vaccines that could help humans to manifest an ability.

A few months after, five vaccine brands were distributed throughout the population. Each vaccine would grant its recipient with an affinity to a certain element.

The Town of Kinshin belonged to a country that had lesser resources. This caused the vaccination program to reach their town much later compared to the first-world countries. And the efficacy rating of the vaccines they received were lower as well.

This caused the recipients to have lower chances of elemental manifestation. Nonetheless Allen availed the vaccination program once his schedule had arrived.

He received the vaccine brand named Asutra. The feeling he had once injected was warm, relentless and strong. This was because the brand offers an affinity towards the Fire element.

Bam!

Allen's fist made contact with the mayor's right hand. This happened because the later had tried to catch the flaming punch. This should have burned the target upon impact.

However,

"I-it was not effective?"

Allen was surprised with what he felt. He had been practicing with his [Fire Fist] for five months now. He should be familiar with the sensation that he should have received upon dealing damage. But that did not happen this time.

A probable explanation had quickly emerged in his mind. He immediately looked at the mayor with his shock-filled eyes.

Mayor Nark smiled,

"Hohoho. Of course you're not the only one who had developed an ability."

He raised right hand that was now covered by a certain element. He added while brimming with confidence,

"You received you're Asutra vaccine during the fifth batch of vaccinations, right? I had mine on the first batch. Guess what brand it was? Of course it was Xino!"

Xino.

This brand of vaccine offers a serene feeling on its recipient. And it offers an element that would put the Fire element into a disadvantage. It was none other than the Water element.

[Water Gloves]!

"Come! I have yet to beat some sense out of you."

"Raaargh!"

Allen rushed forward once more. He might have been shaken by learning about the mayor's ability. But he had to push through somehow. He had no other choice but to do so. If he really wants to accomplish even half of what he claims to do, he cannot afford to falter here.

He threw a right punch with his flaming fist once again. But this time he expecting the interception of the water-covered hand. So he was planning to lessen the force behind his punch then use the remaining momentum to throw a follow-up punch.

Bam! Bam! Slap!

However, Mayor Nark seemed to have anticipated this plan. He was able to parry the two punches and then he threw a right slap as a counterattack. His right had landed on the young man's cheek. It was a direct hit.

Allen stumbled a little and had to retreat a few steps backward.

The mayor saw this pitiful display and harrumphed. He then gestured at the young to continue his attacks.

Allen gritted his teeth and rushed forward once again. He was still not done in his struggles. He was now planning a different approach than before.

Bam! Bam! Slap!

Bam! Bam! Slap! Slap!

Bam! Slap! Slap! Slap!

"Is that all you've got?"

Mayor Nark spat. His eyes were now filled with disdain. No matter what approach the young man tried, he seemed to be able to anticipate it and could respond immediately. Yet he still taunted the person stumbling in front of him to continue.

Allen was not feeling good. A normal slap from a grown man would actually hurt a lot. Now add the water covering the hand into the equation. The mass of the water alone could increase the total force the slap upon contact. That is not even accounting the enhanced strength that the vaccine would offer to its recipient.

In other words, Allen could not afford to be hit by those empowered anymore. Or else his neck would be twisting at a weird angle. Furthermore, the internal shockwaves his brain was receiving upon those slaps' impact would cause unprecedented injuries.

"I was not really planning on using this here. But mayor have forced me."

Allen bumped his fist together in front of him. He began to gather energy to manifest his ability further.

[Fire Fist: Pugilism]!

Flames were now erupting on both fists.

Five months ago, when Allen first developed his ability, he considered the possibility that a single fist would not be enough to fulfill his dream of destroying the Sun. Thus he began training his body immediately. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and jogging along their backyard. Under the intense radiation levels of the mutated sunlight.

Muscle training was hard. It was tiring, exhausting even. And it was excruciatingly painful. Exercise for one day and you might still feel fine. Do it for a week and you might think that perhaps you could keep this up. Do it for an entire month and you would begin to wonder if your life choices had been wrong all along.

The bodily improvements were extremely minimal and you would begin to suspect if all the trouble was worth these miniscule results.

Nonetheless Allen persevered. He pushed through with what he believed. Then after three months, he grew strong enough to wield two Fire Fists at the same time. He spent the remaining months familiarizing and maintaining his double-wielding afterwards.

"Interesting."

Mayor Nark said. He readied his stance and placed his water-covered right hand forward. He gestured the young man to resume his attacks.

"Let's try this now shall we."

Allen declared. He then complied to the invitation. He rushed forward. This time around though both of his fist were ready to strike.

What does having two fists ready for attack means exactly? Would this enable the person to attack with twice the number of punches he could usually do with only one?

The answer here is no.

Having two fists does not mean that you could punch twice as much. Because it enables you to throw attacks with much more number than just double.

For this instance,

Bam!

Allen threw a left jab. And although the mayor was able to parry this, the young man had no longer have to worry about being slapped back. This was because jabs were faster than a straight punch. Not just on the attack but also on the recovery of stance. One could retract his fist quickly after throwing a jab.

The force behind a jab might be weaker. But this is fine since one of the main uses of a jab was to probe the defenses of the opponent. Even if it was intercepted, the right fist was still poised to throw a straight punch as a retaliation.

Allen clenched his fists. He took a step forward to close the distance.

Jab! Jab! Bam! Jab!

He threw two left jabs to test the water-covered right hand. He then threw a right straight towards the mayor. Although it was parried by the Water Glove, the young man was able to intercept the incoming slap with another left jab.

Allen grew confident when he saw the results. He no longer hesitated and began throwing combination punches. He might yet to land a solid hit but he was slowly adjusting to the mayor's defenses. It was only a matter of time before his fists would find their target.

"Say, if you could actually use both fists, why did you not use this stance from the very beginning? You could have avoided getting slapped over and over if you did."

Mayor Nark asked while parrying the incoming punches. He sounded curious. As if he was unconcerned of his impending defeat.

"To be honest the first punch was because I was underestimating you."

Allen admitted. He did think that he could end this fight with only one punch. Who did not want to have such kind of power fantasy in their life? Unfortunately, reality was harsher than that. He continued his assault as he added,

"But then I saw that you only used your right hand. So I wanted to fight with my right fist as well."

If the first mistake was about overconfidence, the succeeding ones were due hard-headedness. His opponent was only using one hand thus he wanted to win with only a single fist. Allen was quite a stubborn person all in all. He needed to be hurt a few times before he could let go of his ego.

"As I thought…"

Mayor Nark nodded knowingly. He then took a few steps back and paused for a few seconds. He continued,

"I should have hit you harder from the very start!"

The mayor rushed forward with increased vigor. His eyes were sharp and intimidating. He then attacked with a right slap.

Allen responded by throwing a left jab to intercept the attack. He was able to parry the incoming attack. He was now ready to throw a right counter.

However,

Slap!

"T-that was a left slap!"

Allen stumbled. He took a few steps back to gain distance. He could not believe what he was seeing. How much sweat, tears, and curses did he give just so he could double wield his [Fire Fist]? But now he was encountering someone who could do the same.

Mayor Nark grinned. He raised both of his hands. They were both covered by the Water element. He mockingly said,

"Let's try this now shall we."