Encounter at the Barn

'We have your friend. Come to the Harseph building or else we'll break his leg. You have 2 hours.'

Klay stared fixated on the text he had received. It was sent to him from Simon's number, but the two rarely texted and when they did, it was normal texting without the threatening tone. 

Who is texting from Simon's phone? I can guess that they are connected to Alp in some way, since I seem to have gloriously pissed him off. But do they actually have Simon captive? I have no way to check since I don't know where he lives, so I need to assume that they do.

"Damn it! I'm too tired for this," he spoke angrily as he quickly started pulling on his shoes and jacket. He glanced at the time, seeing he had around two hours before midnight, before dashing out of his house. "I need to deal with something, Dad!" Klay yelled to his father as he left, before quickly running down the road.

It's too late for me to get on to any of the public buses, so I can only run as fast as I can. If I'm lucky, I'll make it.

The Harseph building was an old barn turned warehouse that was abandoned as no one had been willing to maintain it. The building sat far away from the edge of the southern and western quarters of Roseland City, near the bridge connecting the western farmlands to the major warehouses and factories in the North. Klay was currently sprinting down the streets of the suburb of Southern Roseland.

I don't think I have enough stamina to sprint all the way there, but if I distract myself I'll manage somehow. I'm sure I can make it in time if I keep up this kind of pace.

With a simple thought, the screen of the system appeared in Klay's vision.

[Name: Klay Wynne (Martial Student)

Rank: Drudge (Low tier)

Exp: Level 3, 0/8

Stat Points: 1

Stats: 

[Strength: 12 (11.7)

Dexterity: 15 (15.4)

Flexibility: 13 (12.5)

Senses: 10 (10)

Intellect: 17 (16.9)

Stability: 14 (14)

Regeneration: 2.8]

Abilities: [Observation Level 2], [Regen Focus (Passive) Level 3], [Strike Level 1]

Additional Pages: Titles]

That's right, I have a stat point to use. Depending on how tonight goes, I'll probably have another. But wait, if there are multiple people waiting at the barn, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle them all.

He forcefully shook his head to clear his mind of that thought, stumbling slightly in the process.

No, I can't think like that! System, add the stat point to my regeneration!

[Adding 1 free stat point to Regeneration stat. 2.8 → 3.8]

Unexpectedly, the system's monotone voice also began to sound off in Klay's mind. 

"[Congratulations! You have completed the necessary accomplishments to increase your rank from [Drudge] to [Peasant]! Your tier has also increased, granting you an even greater boost. Along with this change, your stats gain a boost of 20% to your primary stat and 10% to all secondary stats! Your hidden stats also increase by 10%!]"

"[With the tier improvement, you've also gained an additional ability, Contortion!]"

[Name: Klay Wynne (Martial Student)

Rank: Peasant (Base tier)

Exp: Level 3, 0/8

Stat Points: 0

Stats: 

[Strength: 13 (12.9)

Dexterity: 17 (16.9)

Flexibility: 14 (13.8)

Senses: 11 (11)

Intellect: 20 (20.3)

Stability: 15 (15.4)

Regeneration: 4.2]

Abilities: [Observation Level 2], [Regen Focus (Passive) Level 3], [Strike Level 1], [Contortion Level 1]

Additional Pages: Titles]

The several panels all caught Klay off guard, but he managed to avoid the shock and continue running as he focused on his system. 

I need to focus more. Firstly, why did I get another rank advancement, and what makes this one a higher tier than the previous three?

"[The advancement was caused by your most recent actions, and how you have decided to focus on attempting to save your friend instead of just obeying them because you were told to. The reason for the division between tiers is unknown, as of this moment.]"

I see, so it was another confusing idea around independence then. I'm glad that this pattern has kept up well. Anyways, what's this new ability I received?

"[Contortion is an active ability that improves your knowledge of the body and your flexibility, allowing you to move your body in more relatively unique ways. The scaling stat for this ability is Flexibility.]"

Understood. Is there any chance you want to explain more about those hidden stats to me?

The system didn't respond for several seconds, leaving Klay to pay more attention to the noise of him continuing to sprint through the street. Eventually, the voice appeared once more.

"[No.]"

With a groan, Klay pulled his mind away from the system. His lungs burned as he kept running, and his legs were extremely tired. The sound of his panting breaths filled the street as he sprinted and pushed himself to keep going. Soon, fifteen minutes had passed by. His surroundings had drastically changed, as he was approaching the edge of Roseland City's western quarter. The array of neighborhood-style housing gave way to more isolating fields and stretches of road, both paved and unpaved.

As Klay stopped, he took a few minutes to gather his breath and stamina once more, feeling a desperate wish to have brought water. Looking out into the field, he could just make out the rundown shape of the Harseph Barn.

I'll walk for a few minutes more before continuing to run.

He walked along the flattened dirt road, keeping his eyes down the road to see if anyone was looking out for him to arrive. Having recovered from his all out sprint to the dirt road, Klay began jogging towards the barn. After jogging for nearly 30 minutes, in order to pace himself and save energy, Klay arrived in front of the barn.

System, activate Observation so I can look out for anything I need to notice.

The familiar rush of various senses overtook Klay's mind, and he let the thoughts flow through him entirely as he gathered as much information about the area as he could.

Large building, with several holes in the walls and roof. Mostly constructed with metal plates, several sheets on the ground nearby. Likely broke and fell off the building. Lots of tall grass and weeds, no trees. Door to the barn is rusty, tough to slide open and closed. Door left slightly cracked, caught on the mechanism. Little wind nearby, four voices are talking. Laughing inside the barn. Wind has picked up, faint smell of smoke. Cigarette smoke.

The many thoughts from using Observation rushed in and out of Klay's mind, giving him a good idea of the situation. 

The things I sensed seemed a lot more coherent than when I had used Observation before. This must be the effect of leveling it up. From what I could tell, there are four people inside and they seem to be smoking? I didn't notice anyone watching me, so this means they've probably let their guard down. At least, I hope so. Four people is a lot to fight. System, I can use Contortion to move differently, right? Would I be able to dodge better while using it?

"[You likely would, although this can only be confirmed through experimentation. Would you like to activate the Contortion ability?]"

After thinking for a few seconds, Klay nodded his head in confirmation. As he sat a distance away from the barn, his mind flooded with information once more, but instead of things about his environment it was on his own body. His muscles instinctually tensed as if mimicking his thoughts, but Klay managed to keep control of his body and casually walked up to the door of the barn.

The crack in the door was large enough that he could see through it, but he didn't think he'd be capable of fitting through the gap. Looking inside, he saw five people's silhouettes, four of whom were holding cigarettes in their hands as they chatted mindlessly.

I think I recognize… two of them? The big one with the cigarette looks kind of like Alp, and the smaller guy in the group looks similar to that one kid from the before. Thomas, I think?

Watching the group for a few seconds more, Klay began walking around the building in search of a hole to crawl through. He found one and quickly slipped inside, aided by the active Contortion skill that seemed to be trying to pull his mind and body into different stretches.

Now that he was closer, Klay could hear the voices of the five bullies inside easier. He could also see them much clearer due to a beam of moonlight granted from one of the holes in the roof, which confirmed that the two unusual forms were indeed Thomas and Alp.

Looking around, Klay couldn't see any hint of Simon being held here. Confirming that his fears weren't true, he breathed a sigh of relief as the invisible weight was lifted from his shoulders. In its place, he began to feel the exhaustion and fatigue from the long day once more. 

"Hey, didn't you guys hear that?!" The voice of Thomas spoke out, clearly panicked.

Crap, he must have heard me sigh!

"Oh calm down freshie, it's nothing to worry about. Even if it's that red headed punk, it's not like he's anything special. Just look at his stick arms, I'm shocked you managed to get your ass beat by him!" The rancorous voice of Alp filled the barn as he laughed cruelly at his own joke, the other three bullies besides Thomas joining in.