First Mission [4]

Evan began her recount, "Well...if I correctly remember after he defeats any person after the fight...He calls himself Ricky. And he's from Opal Ward he says. He is mostly a brawler type who only punches people and he's fast. Oh! And he got meany eyes and a huge body. He wears a black coat with some spikes on top of it and he becomes very aggressive the more he continues to fight...Well, that's all I can tell you..." 

"..." Artis was stunned by the level of knowledge the girl provided and asked, "Kid. How old are you?" 

"Me? I am 9 years old. I am about to turn 10 in just the next 3 months." 

'9 years? I thought she was 12! Sounding all mature and all! So she's about to unlock her Unique Skill in the next 3 months...Well, Good luck to her. Hope she gets a good skill. But still, her describing that Ricky guy gave me enough information. I suppose he's a brawler type. Sure, some information is still missing but I think I am strong enough to handle it." 

Artis nodded in satisfaction and thanked her for providing the information by patting her head and standing up to complete his mission. 

"Well, Evan. Take me to wherever that Ricky guy is. He has the money that I am going to earn tonight. Might just make it quick and finish this off." 

Evan asked, concerned, "Are you sure you want to fight now? I have no problem even if you fight tomorrow. I don't want any more people to get hurt by that guy...So, you can take more time if you want to." 

Artis looked at her for a few moments and let out a soft chuckle, "Sorry about that. But I'll be fine. I have a plan ready for the fight and how I plan to win. You don't have to worry about it." 

'And besides...I have to hurry up and get stronger. Time won't wait for me to get stronger. Only I can rely on myself and nobody else...' 

...

East Ferrous City, Oak Street 

Artis followed Evan to where Ricky usually stayed and said, "Usually, that guy guards that bridge and waits for people to cross it and ask for money. People who don't want to fight him or are afraid of him give him the money he asks for and let them pass. But if he doesn't get the money, he beats them up. This has been a problem for a few weeks now and it will only get worse if no one does anything. So please, help up..." 

Artis nodded and replied looking at the empty bridge where people avoided going by, instead they took the other road to go wherever they needed to go. 

"How do folks go to the Central Library them? Isn't this the way to go there?" 

"Uhm...They took the long way to get there. It's not pretty far but you have to walk a full circle to get to the library..." 

"Alright. Got it. Wish me luck." 

Artis slowly approached the bridge and began scanning the area but acted as if he did not know what was going on. His first plan of action was just to pretend that he had no idea what was happening currently being a newcomer and all just so he can catch Ricky off-guard. 

After that, when the inevitable fight happens, he will rile him up before so that he can make mistakes during the fight and he can take advantage of that. 

As he got closer, he saw a large figure emerge from the shadows at the far end of the bridge. Ricky matched Evan's description perfectly: a hulking man with sharp eyes, wearing a black coat adorned with spikes. His arms were muscular and had a lot of scars on them as his short brown hair gave a punk feeling to him. He looked menacing and exuded an aura of aggression that was just made to fight. 

"Hey! You there!" Ricky's voice boomed across the bridge. "You gotta pay the toll if you want to cross. No exceptions."

"Oh? Is that so?" asked Artis, displaying confusion, "I am sorry. I had absolutely no idea. How much do I have to pay to cross this bridge?" 

Ricky showed confusion seeing Artis's behavior and replied, "75 Grande. Give it or leave." 

'75 Grande!? This bastard is pulling a scam on people!' 

"I'm sorry mister...But I don't have money you see. I have very little money that I have to use for my food. So please, cut me some slack. Hehe." 

"Is that so? Well, you do seem like a fresh face here. So for that, I will cut you some slack." replied Ricky, smiling a little as he moved his hand forward and said in a simple tone, "Hand whatever money you have. This is the first and last time I'll be doing it. I am being generous too y'know. I understand the need to have money." 

"I see. Thank you for showing your generosity, but I really have no money. I have 0 Grande you see," 

"0? Then how are you going to buy your food? Going to donation centers?" 

"It's very simple." replied Artis as he threw the first punch at Ricky that surprised him, "I just have to finish my mission of defeating you. That will pay me some money to buy today's dinner." 

Ricky's eyes widened in surprise as Artis's punch connected, but his shock quickly turned into a grin of excitement. "You think you can take me down, kid? You're in for a world of hurt!"

He recovered quickly from that attack, "It seems that little bitch Evan roped you into this mess! I can see her hiding there. Multiple people have tried fighting me and I have hospitalized them all. You think you are strong enough to take me down!? Oh, you are in for a world of hurt!" 

As he said that, his large body moved at a surprising speed as he swung a powerful punch towards Artis. Artis barely managed to dodge that, feeling the rush of air as the fist whizzed past his face.

'He's fast...And as I expected, he mostly uses swings and punches taking advantage of his huge body. I need to be agile enough to dodge his attacks. If I want to stay alive and not get hospitalized again, I'll win it.' 

Ricky swung his arm again and Artis dodged again kicking him in the face at the process. But to his surprise, his kick did not even flinch him as Ricky smirked at him. 

"Heh! You call these kicks an attack? They wouldn't even hurt a fly. Forget beating me, you won't be able to beat Little Timmy with those attacks!" 

Artis quickly realized that he is as durable as he looks and that brute force alone would not be enough to take down Ricky. He needed to outsmart him and use his skills strategically.

"Alright. Big guy," Artis said, backing up slightly to gain some distance and let out a slight grin. "Let's see how you handle this."

"Oh?" said Ricky in a mocking tone and let out a feral grin, "Bring it on then. Don't disappoint me, newcomer. I hope you last more than a minute in this fight!" 

Artis took his position and quickly decided to use [Magician], summoning a smokescreen that quickly enveloped the entire bridge to blind his sight. He then, promptly ducked down and aimed for his jaws and nose. 

He delivered a precise uppercut to Ricky's jaw, followed by a quick jab to his nose. The strikes, while not enough to bring Ricky down, disoriented him and caused him to stagger back.

"You little—" Ricky began, but Artis didn't give him a chance to recover. He darted around, using his agility and the smokescreen to stay out of Ricky's reach while landing rapid, targeted strikes.

'He's tough, But everybody has a breaking point. Aim at those parts where it hurts the most. The smokescreen is blinding him for a moment. I'll weaken him now!' thought Artis, clearing his head as he kept his focus sharp. 

As he moved forward for his next attack, a sudden punch enveloped in a white light came towards him that connected with his stomach causing him to be pushed back. 

Artis at the last second managed to block that with his arms, but he felt that his arms were a little sore now as the smokescreen cleared and Ricky was looking pissed and serious. 

"So, you've got some tricks up your sleeve," Ricky growled, his voice low and menacing. "Unfortunately, I got some tricks on my sleeve as well. So, the real fight begins now." 

Artis remained calm as he quickly analyzed the situation and let out a shaky laugh. 

"Oh yeah...I need to be very careful. He is serious now. Time for Plan B." 

Ricky let out a barking laugh as he charged forward attacking a barrage of punches hurling towards Artis which he wasn't able to avoid on time. 

On his knees and breathing heavily, Artis stood up taking position to fight again. 

'Well, wish me luck, Captain. I'll be using [Dominating Aura] for the first time now.'