Chapter 8: Beasting System (Part 2 )

[ Quest Received ]

[ Your life is in danger. ]

[ As a young Beat Tamer, your life is your number one priority. ]

[ Escape from this foolish tournament and live to fight another day. ]

[ Quest Rewards: 10 Exp and 2 stats. ]

Reading through the messages, Leo couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. For a moment there he thought he would have to go toe to toe with a powerhouse like Li Yung, the announcer of the Tournament For Power. But it seemed like even the system was smart enough to know where his limits lied.

The reason Leo was holding onto a piece of sharp metal was because he intended to stab Li Yung in the eye, giving him enough time to make a run for it. Unlike most people his age, Leo wasn't someone who shyed away from using violent methods to get his way.

Finally, the man of the honour flung the door open. Not wasting a single moment, Leo jumped and stabbed the man in his left eye, leaving the bloody piece of metal on his face.

Obviously the man screamed in pain. Trying to pull out the strange object out of his eyes, Leo seeing this decided to make ample use of the opportunity.

'If I remember correctly, this system has a skill called Active Charge that allows me to run super fast. It seems to consume a lot of energy but what choice do I have. By the way, why did it say human energy and not just energy?' Leo had a lot of questions to ask, but knew now wasn't the question for that. Pulling up his system tab, he quickly activated Active Charge with a mere thought.

[ Active Charge Activated ]

Not having time to test the skill beforehand, Leo was unprepared for the spike in power that coursed through his body. It was like all the electricity was being channelled to his body at this very moment. He felt like his body was burning, but in a good way.

Looking past the screaming fat man, towards the long hallway, Leo dashed out at an unbelievable speed, not caring whether the man would die or not from the metal in his eyes.

His destination was the small room he was provided by the officials of the Tournament For Power. Now that he had what he came for, there was no reason for him to spend another moment here.

__ __

Meanwhile, standing in the soft green grass with a 2000watts smile on his face was none other than Milo Tseab. His smile had attracted nasty looks from the other nineteen who had lost the tournament, but Milo didn't care. With his prize for winning the tournament on its way, every single one of them including the yellow belts would be scared shitless if him.

"What are you smiling about?!" One of the disappointed boys yelled at Milo, launching a fist which his fellow competitor caught with ease as he twisted it so hard his bones could be heard loudly cracking by the other eighteen present. It was clear that Milo was stronger than his fellow competitor, who was only a mere white belt while Milo was a certified black belt.

Delivering a devastating kick to his side, Milo finally let go of his fellow competitor, allowing him to fall to the floor. The others seeing this were scared shitless of Milo, even the yellow belts. Getting the Beasting system, who knows what crazy things Milo would do with it's great power?

__ __

Flinging his door open, Leo quickly packed whatever stuff he had brought with him. His plan initially was to get the Beasting System as well as find a place to stay for the night. Thankfully, luck was on his side in the form of a certain flier that blew onto his face, allowing him to kill two birds with one stone.

Putting all his stuff in his small bag, Leo ran out and made his way to the glass entrance. While running, Leo seemed full of energy. No matter how fast he ran, he never seemed to show any signs of slowing down.

'I could get used to this system?'

__ __

Meanwhile, in the grand arena, everyone was on edge. It had been more than ten minutes since the announcer had sent Leo to get the Beasting System. What the heck was taking him so long?

Even Milo was beginning to get worried. The white belt whom he had put in his place was currently hidding within the group of well built teenagers, afraid that the black haired teenager would continue to beat him up if he could see him.

Milo on the other hand couldn't care less about the weakling. He was more concerned about his reward taking longer than expected to arrive.

'Hmmm... Didn't that Meson seem familiar?'

__ __

Within the blink if an eye, Leo found himself in front of the large glass door of the building. Thanks to Active Charge, Leo wasn't exausted in the slightest.

"Stop!! Thief!! He has the system!!!" Before Leo could open the door and make a run for it, he heard a loud agonizing voice yell from behind. Not looking back, he already knew who it was.

Not hesitating for a single moment, Leo flung the glass doors open, running with all his might until he was well away of the large building. Leo didn't know where he was going, but just knew that anywhere would be better than here for the time being.

__ __

After running for what felt like a millenia, Leo's body began to slow down on its own. Despite it being a natural thing to happen, Leo still felt like it was weird. One minute he was as fast as light, the next he knew he was as slow as a slug. In order words, his speed had returned back to normal.

[ Quest Completed ]

[ Quest Rewards: 10 Exp and two stats. ]

[ Exp: 10/100 ]

[ Human Energy: 0 ]

[ HP:100 ]

[ Human Energy had been used to the max. ]

[ Active Charge has been cancelled. ]

[ Warning: Your hunger grows. ]

Looking around, Leo found himself in what could only be described as a dark alley. The sound of rats scurrying around trash bins resonated in the young teenager's ears, something he wasn't used to, and hoped he would never have to get used to.

"Gross, doesn't anyway care about cleaning this dumb?!! Ugh...I think I'm gonna barf..." The young teenager covered his mouth, afraid he would loose his lunch, which was nothing but a mere three slices of break and a cup of chocolate milk. Life as a Meson wasn't easy for Leo, considering he let the other Mesons there treat him like shit.

"If only they weren't so...big." Alas there was no point in dwelling in the past. The young teenager knew that the past was the past, and that nothing he did could change that. So instead he decided to focus on what he could control.

At that moment, Leo felt a sharp pang in his stomach, something he had never experienced before. It was so painful he swore he could feel his intestines twisting and turning inside him.

[ Warning: Your hunger grows!!! ]

A message which had appeared before did so again. This time with a clear indication that shit was real. The pang in Leo's abdomen got harder and harder. Thick lines began to form where his ribs were supposed to be, and veins began to appear all over his body. The pain of being set on fire was a far cry to the pain he was currently experiencing.

Eventually, an unusual message suddenly appeared, blinding Leo's vision. He didn't know whether it was the excruciating pain, or the A.I. playing tricks with him, but he swore he could read what the system said clearly.

[ Warning: Due to your lack of energy, your body has been forced into a Deal. In order to sustain yourself, you have to sacrifice something or someone whom is dear to you. ]

Whatever pain Leo was experiencing due to his energy deficiency suddenly paled in comparison to gat the system was demanding of him.

If only Leo had been more careful when using Active Charge, he wouldn't have ended up in this sort of dilema. Still, he felt it wasn't his fault completely, remembering a certain A.I. who had been quiet eversince formal introductions were out of the way.

Gritting his teeth, Leo let out a low curse, but yet the system didn't reply. Leo wasn't sure whether the system was angry at him for something he said or did, from what he knew, he never did such a thing. Which led him to believe that the system was just plain petty. But even pettiness had it's limit!

The agonizing pain didn't allow him to think straight. He knew what had to be done, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Heck, he wished the system said someone who he most hated instead. Leo already had someone in mind who he would have sacrificed for his life with no remorse whatsoever. Even though he was still in the arena with the other older teenagers...

Leo didn't want to submit to the system's demands, but at the same time couldn't let go of someone or something he valued, but feeling the steering pain get sharper by the second, he eventually relented, his eyes dead from the otherworldly pain.

[ Things/People dear to you ]

[ The Beasting System. ]

[ Your Mother ]

[ Your Brother ]

[ Your freedom ]

A list of messages suddenly blocked Leo's vision. Reading the messages, Leo couldn't help but laugh out loud. Of all the people in the world, why would he cared about his mother, much less his brother after all they had done to him. Sure he would voluntarily help her carry groceries and do other small chores, but that was out of the goodness of his heart, not because he considered her dear to him. While his brother was a different case entirely. The young teenager wouldn't spare a second glance at him unless he was threatened to or Milo was generous enough to give him money. That was their relationship. Violence and business. Leo thought that the system might be drunk or something for thinking he actually cared for that heartless bastard.

Although this indeed proved to be a good thing. Since Leo 'cared' about his brother, he could easily sacrifice him to save his own skin. His twisted, agonizing skin.

Not thinking much about it, Leo went on to select Milo.

[ Milo Tseab ]

[ Would you like to sacrifice him? ]

[ Yes ] or [ No ]

Leo hesitated. He didn't know why, but he felt a strong force pushing him from selecting yes on the system. Surprisingly, a part of Leo didn't want to sacrifice his brother.

"Gaah... What's wrong with you?! He treats you like shit all the time and even turned mum against you!! Why the hell do you still want him alive?!!!" Leo was having an internal struggle with himself while the steering pain continued to ravage his body. A normal human being wouldn't have thought twice before sacrificing his manhood for the sake of his survival, but yet here was Leo, hesitating to send that bastard to hell because a small part of him still considered him his brother...

Why did Leo have such a big heart?!

Alas, he didn't have the luxury of time to think this decision true, as he began to notice his flesh ripping open at a slow but steady pace.