Chapter 2: A Two-Sided Beating

I try not to think about it, I'm really trying. But everyone looking at me like I'm expected to lose...

'This is irksome,' I tell myself as I wait for the battle to start. The more and more I think about it, the further my irritation grows.

While I'd like to say people's opinions of me do not at all affect me, that's just impossible. People can call me a loser, bastard, idiot, or insult my God, I really don't care.

What I do care about is people questioning my capabilities. People thinking I can't do something.

It's one of the things I hate most, aside from Giants. I mean, those kinds of comments are the ones which riled me up enough in my past life to spend seven days trying to beat one boss in a videogame. It's one of the only times I become hotblooded.

It just brings up some unbridled desire that I normally don't notice. I've never really known what to call it. Defiance? Pride? Ignorance?

It's just an urge to tell someone to go fuck themselves. This hatred towards someone telling me what I can or can't do makes me want to not only meet their expectations, but to soar pass them.

This damn Author wants me to prove myself? Fine, if you really want me to, I'll prove how shitty your protagonist is.

Honestly, if you think about it, this whole set-up is stupid and inefficient. How the hell is fighting another person suppose to prepare someone to fight hundreds, if not thousands, of feet tall Giants? Some Giants even have four, six, or eight arms.

The point is, that it isn't. This is just the Author's way to show how much above the common rabble the protagonist is. This isn't a shounen at all, just some brainless power fantasy.

It's unfortunate that even in power fantasies, that the protagonist is at his weakest during the start. It's just how these stories work. So, really, there's no way I can lose to him.

*****

"Good. You may begin in..."

"3."

"2."

"1."

"START!"

In an instant, Rai is in front of me. The same grin on his face, yet for some reason looking more ferocious than before. Everything slows to a crawl. But it does not pause. My instincts honed over half a decade of training can't process or even react.

I feel every inch of his knuckles imprinting onto my cheek. My head snaps to the side so fast that I fear it'll snap. It doesn't, and instead, a blaring ache makes it's presence known. The tendons in my neck stretch so hard, nearly snapping. My toes lift off the ground from the force ramming into me, and I'm sent stumbling a few feet back.

In this one exchange I know that he outmatches me. Of course, I expected this. But it's one thing to know it, and a whole 'nother thing to actually experience it.

Rai doesn't let up. Having the advantage of first hit, he naturally decides to monopolize on it.

Still, I'm unable to react as another blow lands on my abdomen. My lungs collapse on themselves as air forcefully expunges from my mouth. I keel over.

My stomach pulses agonizingly, I feel my lunch welling up in my throat. I resist the urge to vomit. My jaw clenches.

I only see a shimmer before a knees strikes my face. The force sends me tumbling backwards onto my rear. I can't see straight, the world looks to be teeter-tottering in my vision. I feel something warm running down my nose. My mouth tastes of pennies.

My back is unable to support me, so I lay down on it. The lights above the arena burn themselves into my vision. I get the urge to turn my head and look to the crowd. Everyone looks at me as if this is the expected result. There's no surprise. This makes blood rush to my head, but they aren't the ones I'm looking for. I see Mr. Apme's unconcerned face. I want to wipe that look off of it, but he's still not the one I'm looking for.

Finally, I see her. Jacklyn's covering her mouth with her hands, clearly worried for me.

'I should give up,' I tell myself. Upon seeing her so disturbed for me, I don't want to worry her further.

'I knew I wouldn't be able to win,' I think. My anger at everyone questioning me fizzles out. I'm just being unreasonable.

I mean, clearly, if I imagine it from their perspectives, there's no way this random guy could win, right? That's just commonsense.

It's sensible to stop. No reason to get more hurt, I still have a day to get through. My eyes drift on over towards Rai.

He stands over me. His figure blocks out the lights, his shadow covering me in it's entirety. He towers, looking down at me with unmistakable disappointment coloring his face.

It. Makes. Me. So. Mad.

'He thinks it's a game.' The bastard just wants to have fun. Fights aren't supposed to be fun.

'I've been training for five years to be beaten by this guy? This guy?' The only reason he's stronger than me is because some wack ass zoophilic blessed him!

Yes, I should give up. It would be the smart thing to do. But that'd be stupid. Because having commonsense in a world that destroys logic makes no sense.

So I do the stupid thing.

I grit my teeth so hard it feels like they're sinking into themselves. I force the last little bit of strength I have left into my arms.

I get to my knees, now on all force. My entire body quivers in protest. I feel my bones creaking as I put force into my legs. I stand up unsteadily.

It looks at me with wide eyes, before a grin once again appears on Its face. I do not see Rai anymore. His image in my mind overlaps with a Giant.

I put all the power in my heels and ankles that I can muster. I open my hands. It doesn't accommodate me any longer.

It rushes at me, and again, I cannot even see It move. So I don't use my eyes. Instead, I feel.

I feel his fist as it distorts my abdomen. I feel my mouth open as I cough, only for me to slam it shut, gritting my teeth even harder than previously. I latch onto the arm pressing into my stomach, and using the force of his own hit I tumble backwards, bringing him with me.

Butterflies twirl with glee in my stomach as I see his shocked face. I don't give him any time to react as I push him and roll myself to the side, quickly straddling him.

I slam my fist into his face. He tries to block himself with his arms, but I continue to wail on him. Over and over and over and over and over.

My blood is pumping so hard the drumming of my heart in my ears. They sound like an anthem along with the thumps of my every hit.

A flash of light momentarily blinds me. My body stops following my commands. My muscles twitch and spasm as needle like arcs of electricity stab into every part of me. They don't affect him.

I'm paralyzed. A grin reappears on the slightly beat up face.

'No.' I think.

'Shit!' I curse.

'No! NO!' I refuse to lose just as a chance of winning peeked it's head. So I ignore the lightning coursing through my body. I ignore my uncontrollable muscles.

And I slam my head into his. And I slam it again. And again. And again. And a-

My headbutts are cut off as Its fists enlarge and throw me off Itself. I'm thrown a few meters into the air, before my body splats onto the cement arena.

My head hurts, my hair is matted with a viscid liquid. It's painful to even breathe. If there's any time to give up, it's now. I've shown them all already, haven't I?

My eyes lids slowly fall shut. 'No, this isn't good enough!' I tell myself. My eyes snap open. My nails dig into the cement so hard that they begin to bleed as I force my quaking arms to push me up.

I can't even stand. I watch It struggling to get up as well, though It having a hell of a lot easier time than me. With one knee touching the ground, I lean forward into a runners pose.

My legs burst with momentary strength. I use forward momentum to keep my going. If I stopped I would just fall flat, unable to even stand.

So I don't.

I tackle the unsuspecting Giant, and we fall off the arena. It bangs on my back, making me groan.

"What's wrong with you!?" I hear it shout. Wrapping my arms desperately around Its back, my head now next to Its shoulder, I get even more desperate to win.

I open my mouth. But it's not to respond. No, instead, I bite down onto his shoulder, using all the strength my jaw has. A good chunk of Its flesh being torn off, now in my mouth.

I push myself a bit up, gazing into Its face. I acknowledge that it's actually Rai, but I really don't care. His face that was once handsome and cute, is now distorted, tears in his eyes.

I spit out his flesh, and a loose tooth that I lost when I bit him, into his eyes. He screams, and I still don't care.

I sit up, shift a bit backwards, and using my arms I pound on his chest as he struggles to wipe his eyes clean. I only have one thing to say to the Protagonist.

"Is this fun for you?" Because it certainly isn't fun for me. Everything becomes hazy. My vision blackens.

*****

My eyes don't want to open. I just want to fall back to sleep as I feel all the aches my body is covered in.

"Emery, you're awake!" Unfortunately, someone doesn't let me. I open my eyes and see Jacklyn.

"Have you... been here this entire time?" I ask, confusion assailing me.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" She sincerely responds. I don't have any words to say to that. All I know is that it feels nice to see someone worry about me. It's been a while since the last time I've experienced that.

I try to move my limbs. They're tightly bound by casts and bandages.

"I feel like a mummy," I say.

"You look like one too," Jackyln offhandedly comments.

"Is this really all necessary? I don't think I got injured that badly..." She looks at me incredulously.

"You have 76 fractures! The doctor was amazed you didn't have any broken bones. Well, aside from your skull which was cracked open like a walnut... his words, not mine dude."

"..."

"Anyways, that Rai guy is such an asshole! Why did he feel the need to beat you that badly?" She growls, the way her face scrunches up being pretty cute. Though her words remind me of something.

"Who won?" I ask, her rant about Rai stops in it's tracks.

"What?"

"Who won? Me or Rai?" I ask again.

"Uhm... Rai did but that's mostly on account of him being conscious. Neither of you really seemed to be in a state to continue fighting. So... a draw?" Jacklyn declares uncertainly.

"Who looked worse?" As if being reminded of something, her face lights up like a Christmas light.

"You totally ruined his pretty face! Here, I even took pictures!" Jacklyn informs eagerly, quickly pulling out her phone.

"I'm not pretty?" I utter in my most pitiful voice.

"What?! Uhm, yes, I mean, no. You're, uh not pretty, but you're not bad looking!" She sputters adorably.

'I'm going to have a fun time teasing her,' I think.

"So... I'm handsome?" I've never really been curious about my looks. I mean, I can't kill a Giant with a handsome face. I don't think anyone aside from those blessed by Aphrodite could do that.

"Ehh..." She makes the, "kinda sorta," hand gesture.

"Anyways... Right, the picture! Show me how much I messed up Rai!"

She shows me the picture with unhidden excitement. I examine it closely. His face is bloody, swollen, bruised, and cut up. He's also covered in some green chunky liquid.

"What's that stuff?"

"You vomited on him. It was hilarious! Everyone gasped, it was like something out of a movie," she tells me with an evil smirk.

"I don't remember doing that. I must've done it after I blacked out," I mutter.

Jacklyn and I talk a bit more before she leaves me to rest. Finally, not being distracted by my only friend, I can take my time to look around the place.

I seem to be in the nurses office. In all honesty, I don't really feel that much pain.

Okay, that's a lie. It hurts like hell. But bearable considering I'm suppose to have 76 fractures and 1 cracked skull.

A screen pops up in front of my face.

{Chapter 6: Spar(2) - End}

[+3 Power, +1 Grit]

[Tier-Up! You're now a 2nd Tier Character. You can gain 4 stats instead of 2 per every chapter!]

[You can now curse.]

I blink as I process all this information. A sleepy grin makes it's way onto my face.

"Get fucked!"

""You're crazy."" Unfortunately, my moment of glorious victory is stolen from me by the unwanted voice inside my head.