Chapter 4: Bet for the Future

"What's the matter? Did you not say that you wanted to destroy sun? Know what? Me too! Everyone does! But we have to accept the facts. The world is no longer what it was. If we want to survive, we have to stop daydreaming and face the problem in front of us. We need to rebuild first. Those ridiculous ideas must be thrown away for now. We already had. What makes you think you're any different? Throw that ridiculous dream of yours now and help us."

Mayor Nark was giving a triumphant speech. The tide of the battle had turned to his favor. Optimistically speaking, it was like a coach was harshly training his boxer using the mitts. Bluntly speaking, it was like a grown man slapping the young man all over until the latter fell down the ground.

"No."

Allen Stryka was lying down but his answer was still as defiant as ever. He was now trying to stand up albeit the shaking knees. This had made the mayor to raise an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I said no."

Allen struggled to rise up. Along his struggles he began explaining himself,

"I do get that we had to focus on the now. There is nothing wrong about that. But we must never lose sight of what we want to do tomorrow. You asked what makes me different? Nothing. To be honest, I am nothing."

He chose to speak the whole truth. Why would he think that he was some kind of a chosen one? He was just a young man with no extraordinary skills or innate talents. He continued,

"But if there is anything that I could think of that is special to me, it is because I was born here in Kinshin. For the last three years I saw my Mom and Dad tackle the daily problems that the apocalypse had caused. What do we eat for today? How could we ensure a supply of clean water? How can we secure our house for the night? Every single day during the lockdown, I had bear witness to those struggles."

Living in the apocalypse was hard. Where should you acquire the utilities to sustain a decent living condition in the first place? Nonetheless one had to make do of whatever they could find during these times. Allen further continued,

"And then I saw you mayor, doing whatever you can to help the residents. I can say that the present can be trusted to you guys. That is why I dared to dream. Because I know that the 'today' is already safe in your capable hands. That is why I can focus my sight for 'tomorrow'. Please let me become Kinshin's bet for the future. Entrust those dreams that you have thrown away to me!"

"Preposterous!"

Mayor Nark finally broke his silence. He had remained standing for a while perhaps to allow the young man to regain his stance. He then added,

"There's no way I can entrust the future to a brat that cannot even get past my 'present'!"

Allen clenched his fists. He might be in a dire situation now. But he was smiling. He understood the message. And he decided to face the challenge head on.

"As you wish!"

Of course giving motivational speeches was good and all. But we must still consider the current status. Allen was still at a disadvantage. These were the excellent points in time where someone could gain a power-up that could help a person steamroll through his opponent.

But this was the apocalypse not some kind of fairy tale.

If Allen wants to prevail here, he must 'git gud' not get strong. And the first step to do this was to not back down against the mayor's onslaught.

Slap!

However that was easier thought than done. Allen was hit by the Water Slap once again. He gritted his teeth and endured the damage. The second step that he had to take was to try his best to retaliate. He has to figure out a way to unleash attacks while maintaining his defenses.

Left Jab! Right Jab!

The solution he tried was to let go of the prospect of throwing heavy straight punches. He focused on using jabs for now. They were quicker and could enable him to parry the slaps from time to time.

Bam!

"W-what?"

Allen could not believe what had happened. He was able to land a right jab on the mayor's face! Too bad it was not a solid hit. But at least it was a start.

"Lucky punch!"

Mayor Nark spat out. He seemed to be more annoyed than hurt. He rushed forward angrily. Perhaps he was eager to prove that the unexpected jab would never happen again.

But that would be wrong. The second step in getting better was already accomplished. Allen was able to land a hit. This proved that the opponent in front of him can be damaged. Although he might not be thinking of it consciously, but the feat had given him a boost in confidence. This had raised his spirit and had enabled him to brave through the next step.

The third step was to optimize his movements. Remove the unnecessary actions he was subconsciously taking and solely focus on actions that would lead him to landing a hit. He already had done this once. Even though he might not remember how to do it exactly, his body does.

Bam!

His left jab had hit the mayor in the solar plexus. The punch this time had more force behind it than the previous one. This was then that Allen realized something.

"Body Blow!"

This was a technique in fighting where the attacker targets the abdominal area of his opponent. This was usually done in order to whittle down the stamina of the foe which more often times than not was stronger than the person.

Allen wanted to slap his forehead for his stupidity. He had kept on targeting the face of the mayor. No wonder his attacks were easily being parried. In addition, the abdomen had a larger area than the face. This would have offered better chances of landing a hit.

Nonetheless, he chose not to slap his forehead. He had been hit by those a couple of times already.

"Hoho, I'm not done yet!"

Mayor Nark rushed forward once again.

Slap!

Allen was hit by the Water Slap. Of course just because he could reach the third step of getting better does not mean that he could no longer be hit. Despite that he was no longer shaken by the slap. Because all he needed to do was to repeat from step 1 again.

This time, both sides rushed forward. They collided halfway and began their combat. The slaps were being parried by the jabs which would then be countered by slaps that would be answered by another round of jabs.

"Enough!"

Mayor Nark exclaimed. He pushed away the incoming jab which was targeting his abdomen. He then leaped backwards to gain some distance. He said,

"Young Allen, you have proven to be capable of learning exponentially during battles. I may not allow you to leave the town but I can offer you a position to become a town guard."

"A Town guard?"

"Yes, they are select residents that would be tasked in defending the Town during beast attacks. They would be protecting the fences and would definitely be subjected to harsh battles. Their safety might not be assured but in exchange they would experience life-and-death situations."

"…"

"You wanted to leave the Town to become stronger right? What I'm offering instead is a chance for you to grow stronger without leaving Kinshin. How about it? You don't have to throw your dreams away. Just dedicate your strengths in protecting our Town for now. Until you become stronger to do what you want someday."

Allen was actually tempted to accept the offer. Getting stronger while staying in the town would have been the smart choice. That was like working from home. You might struggle to finish your tasks but at least you're at home.

He weighed his options and then gave his answer.

"Thank you for the offer but I have to say no."

"What? Why?"

"I want to destroy the Sun. That dream, as you mentioned before, is something that could affect the whole world. I love Kinshin but in order for me to fulfill my dream I have to see the world. That way, my bet for the future will not only carry that of our town's but of the entire planet!"

"Ho, I see…"

Mayor Nark closed his eyes upon hearing the explanation. He seemed to be in contemplation. He then opened them with a firm resolve. He declared,

"I need to beat you fiercer then. That way, you have no other choice but to stay!"

[Water Whip]!

The water element covering the hands of the mayor then extended. They became tendrils that has a length of around a meter. One of the whips then lashed towards the young man.

Allen took a side step immediately. Whether it was due to instinct or because he had now grown familiar of the attack pattern of the mayor, he was able to react quickly.

But he was still grazed by the whip in his cheek. It was not a direct hit but Allen had estimated that if it did so, it would deal a lot more damage than the slaps he had taken thus far. The young man narrowed his eyes.

"This is a technique that I have been developing to battle against the mutated beasts. The attacks are fierce and unforgiving. Certainly not something that you should use against your fellow humans."

Mayor Nark explained. Although what he said seemed like bragging, there were no sense of pride in his voice. Rather, it sounded like he was giving an apology of some sort.

"It's fine, mayor. Let's decide the outcome in this last clash."

"As you wish. Come! Show me your resolve!"

Allen clenched his fist. He did not waver upon the challenge in front of him. The range might have changed but he was still fighting the same man. His attack preferences and combat choices were still the same as what the young man had adapted to a while ago.

Allen rushed forward to meet the mayor. He was also trying to develop a special technique to be used against the mutated beasts. And the experience he gained from this fight had enabled him to solidify the base to such move.

It was still on the experimental stage but he had to use it now. In order to bet towards the future, he had to go all in right at this moment.

[Fire Fist: Raging Smash]!