11 Practical Demonstration #11

Gotham City

East End

"So... what are we doing here, exactly?" I asked while keeping a mindful distance from the dark alley behind me. I inspected the area, trying and failing to figure out why the homeless man had led me here.

And oh my god! I just realized I followed a homeless stranger into the shadiest part of Gotham. Sorry, mom. You taught me better.

"You see that there?" the homeless man asked with a cryptic smile. I turned to where he was pointing and saw three very suspicious gaudily dressed men standing at the street's corner, chatting and snickering.

Why do I find them suspicious you might ask? Well, they're standing in a corner in a dingy street while chatting and having a fun time. In Gotham. If that isn't suspicious then I don't even know what is!

I nodded and turned to the homeless man despite having a terrible feeling.

"Those three are members of a drug trafficking gang, the Penitente Cartel," the homeless man said. I nodded again while sending him a confused look.

"They're the type to cut off a man's genitals just to make a point and send a message," he added, patting my shoulder. And I felt the bad feeling inside me get more intense with every word he spoke.

"I want you to go and pick a fight with them..." the homeless man casually remarked, giving my shoulder an assuring squeeze.

I turned to face him, unblinkingly staring into his eyes with the blankest expression possible. "I refuse," I said as I vehemently and slowly shook my head.

"I need to know what you're capable of if I'm gonna train you," the homeless man said with a chuckle. "It's not like you're afraid of them, I can tell, so stop complaining and show me what you can do," he added, crossing his arms.

[New Quest Initiated: Enter The Dragon]

...

Enter The Dragon:

The mysterious homeless man is a martial artist capable of rivaling the most competent fighters on the planet, such as Lady Shiva, Black Canary, and the friggen Batman himself.

He's powerful, mysterious, and capable of turning your sorry behind into a bona fide bad-ass martial artist. Enough said.

Primary Objective: impress the mysterious homeless man.

Bonus Objective 1: defeat all thugs.

Bonus Objective 2: don't get hit.

Rewards:

Primary Objective: your first mentor (hard is its own reward?)

Bonus objective 1: ??

Bonus objective 2: ??

...

[Accept quest? Yes/No]

"Fine," I grudgingly said as I accepted the new quest and selected Fighter as my new class. If I'm going to do this, I might as well do it properly.

I haven't chosen a class yet but now is the right time.

[Quest acepted]

[New class obtained: Fighter]

[+1 class level to the Fighter class, held back due to former class reaching maximum level]

[New skill obtained: Brawling]

[+1 skill level to the Brawling skill, added due to the host's experience]

[Brawling (level 2)]

[Fighter (level 3)]

[+9 stat points]

I took a deep breath as I started walking towards the thugs, turning to my stat points.

'The homeless man might notice if I raise my Body attribute too much, but three points shouldn't be too obvious...'

I allocated 3 points to my Body, raising it to 16. I closed my eyes with a wince of disgust when my muscles tightened, a sensation of strength coursing in my veins. And just like that, I was more physically fit than a top competitive athlete.

Although raising my Body attribute too much might make the homeless man notice, but my Mind Attribute was entirely different.

Firming my resolve, I allocated 10 points to my Mind attribute, raising it to 24. I felt a slight headache that quickly dissipated, and my eyes widened. I felt like I was seeing the world for the first time.

It was almost like the fog covering my brain dissolved suddenly.

The feather gently floating down towards the ground, how fast it was going, and how long it would take to hit the ground.

I calculated all of that and then some with a single passing look.

'So that's how geniuses see the world...'

I mused, taking a deep breath to compose myself. It wasn't like new information began flooding my brain, like when my crime skill increased. Raising my Mind stat enhanced my brain, allowing me to see such details for myself.

It was just as sudden as my increase in strength but different, exhilarating. I couldn't get myself to dislike the feeling.

'I could definitely get used to the feeling...'

I exhaled the breath I was holding back as I reached the thugs, my newly enhanced brain already formulating a plan of action. I said nothing as I stopped behind the nearest thug who had his back against me while chatting with his buddies.

I raised my foot and kicked the thug between the legs hard enough to lift him off the sidewalk.

I almost felt bad for the man when I heard his anguished scream, visibly shivering in pain. Almost. But his anguish didn't stop me from pushing the thug towards his buddy standing on the right as I tackled the third.

"What the fuck-" the thug I tackled started, but I quickly cut him off with a punch. He tried to resist, but I climbed over him, pushing him down with my weight as I punched him a second and a third time until the second thug pushed me away, making me roll on the ground.

Luckily the third thug was already out of the fight, and now I only had to worry about the second one who pushed me away.

"No one messes with the Penitente Cartel, pendejo, no one!" thug number three exclaimed and reached into his inner pocket, his expression twisted into a sneer.

I didn't panic. I calmly stepped back, raised my hand, and threw the rock I'd picked up while rolling on the ground, aiming at thug number 3's mouth. I winced at the sickening sound of shattering teeth as white shards and blood spurted out of his mouth.

'Now I really feel bad...'

I grimaced but tackled the thug to the ground and punched him until he was unconscious. Then I stood up and froze at the sound of a metallic click.

[+1 skill level to the Brawling skill]

I slowly turned around and raised my hands as I saw the man whose balls I'd sent to mars, one hand holding the gun he pointed at me, the other nursing his package.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you, puta," the thug hatefully spat, glaring at me like I'd just killed his son, which I technically did and in more than one way.

"Let's not get reckless here, buddy. How about you kick me in the nuts and call it even?" I nervously remarked with a hollow laugh, feeling my balls shrink at the very idea.

Did I mention how much I hated guns? They're basically my worst enemy at this point.

"Oh, it'll take more than that to call it even..." the thug replied with a dark chuckle, seemingly satisfied by my reaction. "I'll take my pound of flesh, and the other two will take there's..." he added, gesturing towards his downed buddies.

"And if there's anything left of you by then... maybe we'll call it even-" he added, likely intending to start a typical megalomaniacal speech. Luckily the homeless man showed up and shut him up with a well place karate chop to the back of the neck. Huh, so that actually works in this world?

[quest complete: Enter the Dragon]

[Bonus objective 1: fail]

[Bonus objective 2: fail]

"Thank god, I thought I'd have to listen to the guy talk forever," I said, sighing in mock relief as I lowered my hands. I knew the homeless man would come to my rescue if needed, but I still had to do my best to impress him.

He chuckled and crouched to inspect the downed thug's vitals.

"Not bad," the homeless man said as he turned to me with an approving nod. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings, but you did decently for someone with no formal training," he added, to which I had to resist the urge to fist pump.

"We'll call it a day here. Come find tomorrow early in the morning," the homeless man instructed as he stood up and gestured for me to take my leave, which I didn't.

"Sure, but before I leave, do you mind if I...?" I said while gesturing towards the unconscious thugs. "It would be a waste to leave just like that, you know?" I added, awkwardly clearing my throat. I was pushing my luck, and I knew it, but I definitely couldn't leave without trying.

The homeless man sighed and shook his head in exasperation, catching on to what I said.

"Suit yourself," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. I immediately lunged at the thugs and started rummaging through their pockets. "But don't touch the guns," he added, causing me to sigh as I retracted my hand from a gun I'd been eyeing.

Knowing better than to push my luck, I quickly took all the money while leaving the guns.

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning then-" I said, stopping halfway through as I stood up and sighed in annoyance as I found no trace of the homeless man.

"Yeah, sure, up and leave, why don't you? It's not like I was talking or anything..." I muttered, my eyes twitching as I turned to leave, kicking the nearest thug out of frustration.

...

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