THE ABILITY

Noah was diligent in studies and tech. But he was never good at hand-to-hand combat. He never had such a necessity before. He would ignore any such remarks or taunts pointed at him and avoid conflict.

But this was a circumstance, where though helpless he wanted to fight. Fight to get Melv out of this situation. Melv was almost beaten senseless.

Noah threw his bag at the gang, to attract their attention. This way at least they would leave Melv. But what now as the gang started approaching him. He can't even take on a single person and there are five. He was out of wits.

In desperation, he screamed like hell. If only he had some ability. If only he could fight back. Why was he so powerless he kept on thinking. Suddenly he saw one of the gang members rush towards him. He punched Noah hard. Noah had closed his eyes in fear.

He opened his eyes slightly and found that the punch did not land on him. He had blocked it. Both his hands were up in front of his face.

In boxing, it is essential to know how to defend against a straight jab. Keeping both hands up in front of your face to defend yourself, so that your forearms absorb the impact of the punch. This is the basics of defending in boxing. But this is not something Noah should've known. One could basically say Noah has zero knowledge in boxing or any kind of martial art.

His body moved on its own. A sudden loud thunder was heard. It was as if the heavens applauded him for that perfect block.

The next punch, he could feel it pointed at his abdomen. He knew what he had to do.

While keeping both hands guarding the face, he brought his elbows together, slightly bent forward to meet the strike. It was as if a pro boxer was blocking all the jabs thrown at him.

The gang member got frustrated as he could not land a single punch till now. He focussed all his energy on the next hit. Noah could feel the strength in that jab aiming at his head.

Anticipating the power, he thought it to be hard to block with his hand, so instead, he took the blow on his left shoulder. He then quickly shifted his weight to the back foot, slightly rotated the body and executed a counter punch.

A clap of thunder was heard.

The punch landed perfectly and knocked him out. The gang member fell unconscious.

The others who were cluelessly watching their fellow comrade being beaten now approached Noah from all 3 sides.

The one at the center was the first to act. He tried to land a straight jab, thinking Noah would block while others would use this opportunity to hit him from the sides.

The plan was good, only that Noah didn't block this time. He ducked at the jab by dropping a bit low and followed it with a straight right-handed uppercut.

The one at the right, as planned, approached to land a punch on his right kidney.

By turning his hips slightly in time with the oncoming punch, the punch slipped by. In a flash, Noah moved forward towards the guy's body and landed a side elbow strike on his jaw with the momentum he gained.

But it was not yet over. There was another guy on the left that had attacked from his back with a bear hug. This guy was stronger than the other two and a lot bigger in size compared to Noah. It was tough getting out of the hold.

But Noah knew what needed to be done. With his left ankle, he hit the left foot of the guy. The guy limped a bit and Noah moved a bit forward. Noah hit him again in the shin of his left leg. Considering his lost balance, Noah landed a head-butt. The hold was broken as the guy leaned back.

Noah immediately turned around, used both hands to twist the guy's right arm and picked him up under his right shoulder. He dropped his body and rolled his opponent in for a throw. The guy landed hard on his back.

In a matter of moments, Noah had displayed an unimaginable amount of skills. From boxing blocks and uppercuts to Muay Thai elbow strike to a Judo shoulder throw. Something he never saw or even heard of, taking down 4 opponents in a moment of time.

The boss of the gang, Loco, was watching his men beaten one after another till now. He did not expect Noah to bounce back with such skills. He was the strongest of the gang and he was powerful enough. "So you got some skills. It will be fun then", he said while changing into an attacking stance.

Noah knew that blocking attacks or fighting by normal means won't work against Loco. Things were coming to him naturally. So he took the initiative and attacked first.

Loco did not expect it but he was prepared with a front jab. Noah did a feint with his right leg as he pushed his body towards the left, avoided the punch by ducking his body low and landed a power jab at Loco's right kidney.

Loco immediately turned around rotating his hand. But Noah bent low and avoided it again. Instinctively he moved back to maintain a safe distance.

Though it did not hurt much, Loco did get angry. He rushed towards Noah with a left hook. Noah evaded it somehow, but it was only a feint. The actual blow was a follow-up power jab with the right. But again Noah seemed to know it was coming and he ducked it. He swiftly moved to Loco's back and landed a side elbow to his right kidney.

This time it affected Loco. He was feeling a bit uneasy now. Both of them moved a few steps back. Noah was breathing heavily.

A few more hits and he might take down Loco.

But Loco was an experienced gangster. He had fought many street fights. Though a DREG, his power was somewhat equal to an EQ 15 or below.

He composed himself as he realized that Noah's target was his right kidney.

So he left an opening for Noah to attack his right side. As Noah approached, he hit him with a knee strike. It would have cracked some ribs but Noah countered it with his hands and moved back. The move was something like a Pinning hand of Wing Chun. The backward momentum helped him minimize the blow, though his hands were hurting and shaking from the blow.

He shook his hands and took a stance. He cannot take such a blow from Loco head-on. So he has to finish him quickly with specific strikes. "Precision beats power and timing beats speed", as said by a great martial artist. So now he needed more power in his fists.

He changed his stance to a different form. He closed in fast to Loco's blind spot but did not attack his right kidney. He waited for Loco to turn and hit him. In a flash he grabbed Loco's arm and hit a finger jab to Loco's throat, followed by a stomp to the right knee and a smack to the skull with his left elbow.

Finger Jab or Bill Gee is a deadly strike in Wing Chun that hits a major pres­sure point on the throat. It can cause suffoca­tion and affect the central energy flow of the body.

It was too fast for Loco to react. A series of combination blows left Loco in pain, gasping for oxygen.

But Noah had to finish his opponent fast.

In Wing Chun, the attack is done in a centerline. It affects the opponent's structure and balance, which when compromised, affects the ability to block and counterattack. With those abilities nullified, it creates a chain punch opportunity. Rapid Fire Chain Punch is believed to be one of the most lethal attacks.

He changed the position of the striking hands to vertical. As he no longer needed blocking from a weakened enemy, it was a full-frontal assault. He moved swiftly and positioned him near Loco's right kidney and started throwing an array of punches. Loco tried to throw random punches, which he avoided easily. He moved his body flexibly, adjusting his position to the centerline. It was a sight to watch, the beautiful Rapid Fire Chain Punch as if it was a Gatling machine gun firing at its full capacity.

Finally, rain poured down associated with the lightning and thunderstorms. It seemed like some heavenly force was cheering and roaring with joy at Noah's fight.

Loco was down at his knees holding his right side, panting and weakened.

"Let's finish it", said Noah as he rushed towards Loco from a distance, bent on his right knee and delivered an uppercut with full force. The momentum had thrust Loco's head upwards and he fell back unconscious.

The fight had ended. Noah won.

He picked up Melv and carried him home. He put Melv on his bed, then went and sat on one corner of the room with his head buried in his knees. He still could not believe what had happened. He racked his brain all night for an answer. Such fighting skills are beyond comparison. No one in his class or even grade might be able to execute such moves. He checked his holo gear, the stats still showed EQ11. If not this, what changed he wondered.

"Things started happening since that dream. Is this something that gotta do with the dream?"

"What is happening with me?"

All sorts of questions came flocked in. The next morning he left for a quiet place to think. He sat at the seashore for an entire day thinking about it. But he could not wrap his head around the fact that he has received certain skills from a dream.

"The analysis is done." Alerted ORCO to a half-awake Noah.

"Time to get some answers then."

...