Taunted

Just wait until you get knocked out as well, you fatass!

Klay, easily annoyed in his exhausted state, was quickly enraged at Alp's comment and reacted as such.

Strike!

[Activating Level 1 Strike]

Out of the shadows, a figure jumped into the group of bullies with little alert. Klay took advantage of their momentary shock and turned towards Alp, before his arm whipped out and hit him in the cheek.

With a slight yelp of surprise, Alp's head was pushed back slightly from where he was sitting, but just as quickly, he turned back to glare at Klay angrily.

Damn it, Strike didn't work! I'll just use it again!

[Activating Level 1 Strike]

Alp began to open his mouth and speak a mere moment after being hit, but was quickly punched once more, this time causing his lip to open and leave him with a slight taste of blood. However, he stayed fully conscious and only became more pissed.

"Get him! Asshole!" Alp yelled out, breaking the other four out of their shock from the interruption. Alp reached his hand out to grab Klay, but with an unusual twist of his body, Klay managed to drop to the ground before jumping away from the group he was circled by.

I need to go!

Klay swiveled on his feet and ran to the wall where he had entered, managing to step through the broken sheets of metal swiftly thanks to his Contortion ability. He ran around the barn and started back down the road he followed to arrive at the barn.

For a moment, he turned back to see if they were following him. Alp, clearly fed up, slid open the barn door so harshly that the handle snapped off. 

"Go after him, don't let him run off again!" Alp yelled angrily, commanding the three other bullies to run after Klay down the road. Thomas however, stayed next to Alp for a moment before being glared at. Thomas frowned and looked away, but quickly began to chase after Klay along with the others.

Two of the bullies were much faster than the others and rapidly caught up to Klay. They ran alongside him for a few seconds before one swung his arm at Klay, managing to knock him off balance and veer into the grass alongside the road. 

"Shit!" Klay yelled out instinctively, but managed to catch himself and stand up properly without issue thanks to Contortion. The two bullies ignored Klay's impressive maneuver and stepped closer, herding him back towards the barn slowly.

I need to do something! This is bad… shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Observation!

His senses filled his mind as he tried his best to filter information about the bullies in front of him and how to deal with them.

Cornering you and pushing you back, both have practiced reactions. Relying on their numbers to control you. Stances are balanced, not anticipating much fighting.

Cutting his thoughts off, Klay had an idea on what to do. Suddenly, he dragged his foot on the ground and kicked a load of dirt at the bully on his right. Relying on the two being distracted, he side kicked into the other bully, landing a hit on his side. 

PA!

"Gah!" The bully called out as the kick rippled through him. He had taken the entire blow without managing to block it, causing him to hunch over from pain. As he hunched over, Klay's other leg had moved, kicking up and landing a strong hit on the bully's face.

CRUNCH!!

With a loud sound, Klay's kick sent the bully's head shooting backwards as he fell back, unconscious. The familiar panel appeared in his vision, signaling the defeat of one of his opponents.

"[Congratulations! Your opponent has been knocked unconscious. Rewards for defeating Student Bully: +5 Exp.]"

[Title unlocked: Street Fighter! Foolish and chaotic, students all over fall into this category. +3 to Strength, +2 to Senses]

Not now, System! I need to survive before reading all of that!

Klay ignored the screens while quickly turning his attention back to the second bully, who was far more worried than before now that his friend had been knocked out. Klay lunged forward, using his Strike ability to hit his opponent in the stomach powerfully.

Strike!

PA!

Again, Strike!

PA!

Klay's arm flung out in a jab rapidly, punching the bully in the stomach twice as he heaved and fell over while gasping for breath after having the air knocked out of him. With no hesitation, Klay jumped on top of him and punched him heavily in the face.

Before he could land any more hits, Klay was kicked to the side as the third bully finally caught up, with Thomas not much farther behind. 

I should have knocked him out with that, why didn't he get knocked out?

"[The Contortion ability amplifies your ability to move, but draws attention away from your power, making your hits weaker. The hit you landed could have also failed to create enough force to knock out your opponent, along with a vast number of things.]"

The System's voice spoke into Klay's mind as he let his body move based on his instincts, managing to dodge a few attacks from the bully who kicked him along with the bully Klay had previously knocked down.

Contortion is making me weaker? Then deactivate it!

A sudden rush of soreness tore through Klay's body and caught him off guard, giving the two bullies a chance to hit him. As a kick landed on Klay's chest, he felt the buzz of his regeneration start up and smirked as the pain flowed out of him.

Move, body, move!

With as much force as he could muster, Klay whipped his leg along the ground, tripping the bully he had hurt before back onto the ground, where he saw Klay smiling widely. The image became less clear quickly, as Klay moved to pin him down again and easily overpowered him. Klay's fists were hammered into the bullies face, quickly blurring his vision. Instead of just watching this exchange, the standing bully yelled something out that Klay couldn't decipher before kicking at Klay again, trying but struggling to dislodge him.

"[Congratulations! Your opponent has been knocked unconscious. Rewards for defeating Student Bully: +5 Exp. You have leveled up to level 4!]"

After several seconds, Klay awkwardly pushed himself back into a standing position, but was hunched over from injuries he hadn't realized were there. Needing to center himself slightly, Klay activated Observation momentarily.

Loud, raspy breathing. Your breathing. Bully standing in front of you, wants to leave. Looks scared. Another person is near him. Thomas Lam. Bully. Third person, walking. Looks angry. Abnormally strong build, dangerous. Slow but powerful. No breeze. Smell of iron, blood.

With a deep gasp, Klay brought himself out of his trance. He could feel a small pain in his head, likely from overusing Observation throughout the day. He deliberately pushed the extra thoughts from his head, stepping forward before dashing at and passed the closest bully. Klay made a beeline at Thomas, the smallest bully who was slowly approaching and upon seeing Klay running at him wore a deep look of fear on his face.

Klay rammed into Thomas and tackled him to the dirt. Thomas yelped out and tried to push Klay off of him, but couldn't get him to move at all from their drastic differences in strength.

He was using his arms to hold Thomas down, so Klay wound his neck and head back before slamming them down in a powerful headbutt.

BANG!

"[Congratulations! Your opponent has been knocked unconscious. Rewards for defeating Student Bully: +3 Exp. You have defeated this opponent before, reward diminished.]"

[Cranial injury detected. Activating Level 3 Regen Focus]

The buzzing faded from Klay's body and gathered on his forehead, relaxing any pain he had felt before. He gave a brutal smile once more, standing back up in his clearly painful position of being hunched over as he stared down the last bully. "Come on, asshole…" he taunted the bully, but his words had little effect as his voice trailed off from the severe exhaustion he was experiencing. 

"Damn it, why are you still standing!" The bully yelled out a cry as he charged at Klay, swinging wildly at him. Fatigued, Klay was only able to step out of the way a few seconds later and was hit thrice by the bully.

Another screen appeared before Klay, but he sent it away just as fast while striking out at the unbalanced bully. 

Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!

Klay's mind was screaming as he continuously spammed his ability, his muscles burning as though each individual strand were on fire. 

PA! PA! CRUNCH!

Klay's fist collided painfully against the bully's face as his hands filled with the signature buzz his regeneration carried, telling him that he had injured his hands while punching. Despite the steadily increasing pain in his body, Klay continued violently thrashing his arms into the bully as hard as he could until the voice of the system rang out in his mind. 

"[Congratulations! Your opponent has been knocked unconscious. Rewards for defeating Student Bully: +5 Exp. You have leveled up to level 5! For reaching a benchmark level, you gain an extra free stat point!]"

Breathing heavily, Klay stood among the crumpled bodies of the four bullies that had ganged up against him. His fists were dripping blood on the ground and his purple eyes seemed extra hazy as they reflected the moonlight.