You can try to kill me

"While I distract her, once you see an opening, I want you to get the hell out of here with Lianne." I instructed Fredrick.

"Gotcha." He grinned. "Don't die on me, bud, and make sure to kick, her, ASS!"

"Also, don't make any sound that'll draw her attention in your direction." I warned him again. "I can take care of myself."

"Don't worry, I've got this!" he whispered back, nodding his head before looking down at sleeping Lianne. "I will protect her! It's the least I can do for us."

Xian's eyes narrowed suspiciously at us both, and she muttered, "What are you two planning?"

I watched her warily as she began to walk towards us with a sinister smirk on her face.

Her steps were light and steady as she approached me.

My gaze followed her every move, until finally—

Bam!

One of Xian's steel rods hit my stomach hard, sending me flying back. My body collided with the wall behind me and slid down, landing painfully on the ground.

I groaned loudly in pain.

"Haha… That's not fair; you know that, right?" I tried to stand up, only for my body to refuse.

"Fuck..."

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at how stupid I felt.

Here, I thought some magic shit like in the movies would happen with the supposed skill I had chosen for my system.

Yet it looked like I needed to complete the task before I could access any powerups or skills.

I shook my head in disappointment.

Maybe there was no such thing as a free lunch after all.

A part of me wanted to give up right there.

But I was also confident in my combat skills honed from all those years of training, so I decided to push through it.

I didn't have much time left to decide what I would choose anyway. So, I might as well just keep playing it by ear and see where it takes me.

'You need to buy more time,' I told myself. 'Just hold on a little longer; all you need is to have her drop her guard.'

As much as it pained me, I needed to create enough distance between her and Fredrick. If he or Lianne got involved, I'd be screwed.

So I stood up slowly, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.

'Now wasn't the time to use the dagger,' I reminded myself.

It might be able to take down Xian if I play my cards right and aim for her brain, but I didn't want to risk hurting Fredrick if she resorts to taking him hostage before that happens.

Instead, I used my hand to grab the nearby metal rod next to me and held onto it tightly.

"Heh-heh, you're good. You've managed to survive my initial assault, which means you have the potential to become a strong opponent. But I will still defeat you." Xian laughed lightly, placing her hands together in front of her chest. "I am sorry, but you may not leave this place alive. Good luck, skilled user!"

With that, she launched into action once again.

Whoosh!

She charged towards me without hesitation, her movements graceful and precise. Her fists were fast; her kicks were powerful; and her punches were accurate.

All of them were aimed straight at my face.

The moment I dodged one attack after another, she changed tactics entirely.

Instead of attacking me directly, she moved around me, circling around me like a shark.

It was like she was waiting for me to slip up so she could strike.

And I almost did.

After dodging a kick, I fell backwards and tripped over my own feet. Before I could even react, she kicked me in the gut, sending me crashing to the floor.

I rolled across the ground, barely avoiding her foot's stomp.

"How about this?" She giggled. "You can't dodge my attacks forever, no matter how talented you think you are, without your skill. This is your final warning."

"Not going to happen," I grunted, forcing myself to stand upright.

'Any time now, Fredrick,' I silently urged him. 'That's enough distance you dimwit.'

Fredrick looked nervous. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he waited patiently to make a run for it.

"Are you done yet? Because I still haven't gotten a chance to show off the so-called skill you speak of." I gritted my teeth, making sure to overexaggerate my expressions and sway my movements.

She just smirked, unfazed.

It didn't take her long to realize I wasn't holding a proper stance, which caused her to chuckle darkly.

"Is this all you've got? Pathetic!" She laughed again, looking at me like I was nothing.

I tried my best not to look in Fredrick's direction, as he finally had the balls to sneak out the car door and make his escape toward one of the buildings.

'Go! Go! Go!' I mentally commanded him. 'Get the hell out of here so I can deal with this problem myself!'

The second he and Lianne were out of my sight, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically.

With those two out of my way, I could finally get serious about dealing with Xian.

"Ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

I burst out laughing, unable to stop.

This is too fucking funny.

If anyone else was watching, they would probably assume I was crazy.

I had nearly forgotten the thrill of a good fight.

I hadn't fought since I gave up that lifestyle and worked at Kuji Corp., back when I thought that a proper job would make my life so much better than the void Mia left.

Xian was giving me exactly what I wanted: an opportunity to unleash my pent-up frustration, anger, and sadness.

I threw my head back and laughed uncontrollably, reveling in my freedom.

But there was something else I needed to do before we continued fighting.

As I got closer to Xian, my laughter died down, and a smile replaced it.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw me approaching her.

Then she grinned mischievously. "Oh human, it looks like I'll be getting my wish after all."

"Yeah, yeah," I mocked. "You're so damn cool."

As I approached, I took my time, savoring every step until I was only a few meters away from her.

Once I reached that point, I stopped walking and faced her.

"You know what? You really aren't anything special." I raised both my arms, then brought them down to rest beside me.

"My guess is that when your kind shapeshifts past a certain duration, they lose a great fraction of their destructive power and cannot revert to your original form, or else you would have done so by now. Maybe that's why you were badly injured when we first met, and with each mortal hit, you get weaker."

Xian was silent, looking surprised.

She must have realized I knew something about the flaw in their shapeshifting ability because she scowled.

I took a defensive stance, readying my fists and legs to defend against any attacks.

"Come on, let's end this. It's been fun, but I'm not into the whole one-sided gender equality thing," I told her, trying to sound sincere.

'I still have a child under my care that needs to experience some fun for my benefit as well.'

She stared at me for a moment, seemingly surprised by my sudden change of heart.

Then she shook her head and laughed.

"You really don't understand anything about this, do you? Are you sure you weren't born a puny human woman? If so, I feel sorry for whoever your parents are..." She sighed heavily. "Fine, if that's what you want. I'll give you some fun while you wait for death to come knocking."

"Really?" I asked sarcastically. "Do you mean that, or do you plan to kill me?"

"Tch!" she scoffed. "Just shut up already. I'm going to end this quickly. No need for any more talk."

With that, Xian rushed forward, swinging her fist towards me.

I stepped to the side to avoid her attack, then followed through with another strike against her chest.

I struck her with a straight punch, intending to knock her over. But instead, I caught her full in the face and sent her flying backwards.

She hit the ground hard and groaned in pain, clutching her face.

"Ow, ow, shit," she muttered. "I didn't expect that. I guess I underestimated you. Damn it. My face hurts now. That's twice I've lost nearly my jaw, and it's just not fair. Who knows how many other things will break off before this is over?"

That sounded pretty bad, but I wasn't concerned about her. Not yet, anyway.

Instead, I focused on preparing my next attack.

'Let's see, which should I use? Hmm, hmm. Let's go with something simple. Something easy enough for an alien like her to handle...' I narrowed my eyes, thinking hard.

It didn't take long for me to figure out what I wanted to try.

I tactfully slipped my dagger from its holster and held it in front of my body.

Then, I drew Xian's attention by calling out to her.

"Hey, Xian. How would you like to dance?"