Strike

Klay quickly geared up and awaited instructions from Uncle Phoenix, along with the other students of the dojo. After around a minute of waiting, Uncle Phoenix's voice rang out loudly within the dojo and caused all of the students to tense up.

"KLAY!" His voice yelled out, making the faint-hearted Klay's face pale. Uncle Phoenix's voice was quite annoyed, and Klay dared not to test him, keeping his words as clear and simple as possible.

"Y-yes, sir?" Klay asked, his hands fidgeting behind his back from nervousness.

Uncle Phoenix walked over and stood menacingly in front of Klay. His muscular figure leaned down as he very deliberately intimidated his nephew. "What made you think not practicing here yesterday was a good idea?" His voice crawled out deeply.

Klay gulped slightly as he felt his brow become covered in cold sweat. In a stuttering voice, he explained, "I-I did practice y-yesterd-day, I just d-did it o-on my own…?" Klay responded slowly, his voice trailing out into a question as he avoided his uncle's gaze by staring at the ground. His shoulders drooped as he was bored into by Uncle Phoenix, the seconds dragging out lengthily as everyone in the dojo awaited their teacher's response.

"So you decided that you no longer needed to listen to my teachings, then, is that it? You are a student of this dojo, along with everyone else here. You should all learn to put up with each other, no matter your differences." Uncle Phoenix reprimanded Klay while also managing to call out all of his students, causing several others to match Klay in looking at the floor. "As punishment, you will spar with all the other students within this dojo today. Understood, Student Klay?" 

"S-spar?!" Klay asked instinctively as he was shocked from the command of his uncle. He looked up and saw the eyes of the devil staring at him, which made Klay rapidly lower his head again as he yelled out, "Yes Teacher!" 

"Good! Everyone else, sit down around the mat. Hopefully this will teach everyone here not to forsake the good name of this dojo!" Uncle Phoenix yelled as he walked off, standing off of the mat to the side where he could easily monitor the students. Quickly, Klay balled his fists to stop them from shaking as he stood in the middle, surrounded by the near dozen students. The rest of the students scrambled to sit down around the map as most of them were quite frightened by Phoenix's outburst.

Didn't I just recently decide not to end up in multiple fights in a single day? What the hell, Uncle Phoenix?! You aren't helping me at all! 

"Each spar will continue until someone is knocked down, understood? Jared, stand up! You're first," Uncle Phoenix easily commanded the students and got everyone into the proper position before the sparring gauntlet began.

The student named Jared quickly shot up and moved onto the mat, standing across from Klay. He was an average student of the dojo, and moved into the normal position Uncle Phoenix had taught them all.

"BEGIN!" 

Damn it, I'll just do what I can then! I just have to knock him down!

Jared stepped forward at Klay and tried to sweep his legs, but Klay quickly backed away while activating Observation.

Just kicked, his stance is unsteady. Front leg slightly overextended, body is twisted for a large punch.

[Level 1 Observation ability has improved to Level 2]

Klay ignored the notification screen and burst forward, sending his fist out at his opponent's chest as a feint while kicking down and hitting the side of his leg. Jared groaned out before leaning over and falling down onto the mat, just managing to awkwardly catch himself before faceplanting. 

"Stop! Jared, sit back down. Cassius! You're next, stand up and bow." Uncle Phoenix cleared the mat, moving Klay back to his starting position. Spacing out slightly, Klay was focused on the invisible screens in front of him. 

"[Congratulations! You have met the requirements to unlock the Strike ability. Use it well!]"

[Level 1 Strike. Unlocked after completing your first 5 fights. A basic movement of the arm, allowing you to damage your target. Scales with Strength stat.]

This is… Do I have an offensive ability now?

"[Indeed, the Strike ability is primarily used for attacking. It should serve you well in your current predicament.]"

Haha! Yes! Finally, something great today! I'll be able to… No. I need to control myself and not get ahead of anything.

Klay's thoughts were in turmoil as he focused on the new ability and his surroundings, bowing both to Uncle Phoenix and his opponent as Student Cassius did the same. Uncle Phoenix's call to start came, and Klay continued to stand there in a loose stance, only just coming out of his reverie.

Crap, I need to focus now!

Snapping back from his thoughts, Klay moved to the side to dodge a side kick from Cassius. Turning his body towards his opponent, Klay's gaze turned sharp.

Might as well try out this new ability. Strike!

BANG!

His jolted suddenly, all the muscles growing taut in rapid succession. First Klay's shoulder, then his elbow as his arm raised higher. His forearm tensed as his tight fist clenched before colliding with Cassius' jaw. All the students watched silently in a state of awe as their fellow student Cassius was hit before his body loosened and crumpled to the ground in a heap. 

"[Congratulations! Your opponent has been knocked unconscious. Rewards for defeating Martial Student: +7 Exp. You have leveled up to level 3!]"

Klay stood still on the mat while looking down at Cassius who had fallen. His arm panged from the stress of using the new ability, but he hadn't noticed it because of the astonishment he felt after managing to knock out a student of the dojo, one of whom he'd never felt on par with.

I… did it. I'm actually getting stronger. 

Uncle Phoenix stepped into Klay's vision, knocking him out of his personal reverie. "Klay, help me carry him over to the side before the gauntlet continues," he told Klay. The two lifted Cassius off to the side, laying him on the ground as comfortably as they could before Klay stepped back into the center of the mat.

***

 Klay stepped inside of his house and immediately dropped his bag and stumbled over to the dining room where his father was eating food. He glanced over Klay's bruised and exhausted body as he slumped into one of the seats before rhetorically asking, "Tough training? Phoenix told me you managed to knock out one of the other students. Nice work."

His father stood over and quickly prepared a plate of food for Klay. Setting it down in front of him, there was hardly a second before Klay practically tore into the food, eating as though he had been starving. 

After a few minutes of stuffing his mouth with calories, Klay finally spoke. "I only missed one day and I had to fight with all the other students. I barely managed to walk back home without stopping to rest from the injuries." 

Klay complained, but was not worried as many of the injuries he received quickly healed and the ones that didn't were mostly ignorable while walking back as the buzzing of his regeneration took away the pain. During the matches, Klay had only managed to knock out Cassius, but knocked down two more of the other students before he was too exhausted to put up enough of a fight in the other matches, leading to a plethora of injuries as he absorbed hits and slowed down to the point of being incapable of dodging. 

Ultimately, Klay finished the gauntlet and obtained an additional Regen Focus level, pulling it up to level 3. He had also used Observation several times during the matches, leading to the pulsing of a headache in his skull as he thought about anything. 

"I'm getting a second plate of food," Klay told his dad as he semi-dramatically hobbled over the extra food and prepared his plate once more. 

The two ate in silence, having finished their conversation, and Klay quickly filled his stomach with food before cleaning his plate and climbing up the stairs with his bag into his room. He tossed his bag in, taking a short shower to help alleviate some of the injuries and soothe his headache. As he tossed on some random clothing for sleeping in, he looked at himself in the mirror. 

Nothing much different, although I look quite tired. I need to sleep.

He yawned before speaking to himself quietly. "I'll just deal with the system tomorrow when I'm awake and healthy," he told himself as he flicked his light off and rolled under his covers. It was dark outside, making it seem far later than it actually was. That, coupled with the cold temperatures of winter, caused Klay to feel incomparably comfortable within his bed.

Seemingly no sooner than he closed his eyes did several buzzes ring off from his phone.