Just a punch

It was already night time already in the city showing just how long Dante had spent in the library, the only reason he didn't feel too sad was the fact that he gained an instant level up, a skill upgrade a new skill in total.

His current stats were;

Status Log

Name: Dante Valis

Age: 16 [1.11*10^15 kilo days]

Race: Enhanced Human

Type: S

Level: 3 [0/400EXP]

Variants: Unknown

Strength: 13

Speed: 7

Agility: 7

Endurance: 17

Neva: 10/20

Ability: Mass Manipulation [Level: 1]

Star Points: 5.

"I guess the way my stats are allocated depends the kind of quest carried out" Dante thought, ruffling his white hair and stroking his beardless chin.

For one, he had noticed that after his recent level up, both his endurance and strength stat had gone up by two points leaving the agility and speed unlike last time when it was only endurance that didn't increase.

I guess it's because of the kind of task carried out, he had asked the system about this but it didn't reply.

Thinking about it though, the only way he had levelled up recently had just been wierd, he didn't even know how he was leveling up, which was making him a bit confused.

"Strikx, how do I get more experience points?" He asked a question he never even considered before.

[From the data I have in your world, it's been overrun by monsters, correct?] Strikx asked nonchalantly, Dante could even feel the indifference in Its voice.

"Yh, that's correct" Dante answered still walking along the street.

[Well, also from my data, these beasts seem to possess some kind of powerful gem within them. It is made of pure energy, almost like Neva itself.

Strikx is a system that converts raw energy to physical power, the host will be able to grow stronger if he is able to attain this special stones]

Dante nodded knowing fully well exactly what the system was talking about ' does this mean that the system wanted me to fight beasts in order to level up?'

That was the only thing Dante could think of, he knew about the crystals all to well, back when humans were still figuring out what the beast was.

Somehow, they were able to subdued one of them and able to run a few experiments, it was found that these beasts contained crystals or more like Neva stone, a stone hugly concentrated with unrefined pure energy.

Human also acquired this crystallized energy after cultivation for a long period but theirs wasn't just similar to the ones owned by the beasts.

Unlike the beasts core, theirs were a lot more inferior.

They also found that this stones could help strengthen normal Neva cultivators if used well, this was what high tire families used to turn their children into prodigies including his excep he was a failure.

Aside from strengthening ones neva core, these Neva crystals were also able to create high tire weapons and gear which were used by Raiders to kill beasts.

In all, the Neva crystals was something of luxury, a luxury Dante didn't know if he could afford .

As he was still busy thinking, he heard a loud screech, he could also discern from the scream that it was the voice of a girl.

At first, Dante didn't react.

After all, this city had a way of swallowing screams whole...burying them under neon signs, moving or should I say flying vehicles, and broken systems. Screams weren't rare here. People went missing all the time, at least that what he understood.

But something about this one stuck.

There was rage in it. Raw and personal. Not fear, but fury.

He paused mid-step, his ears twitching slightly as the echo bounced off the nearby buildings. It came from an alley just a block ahead, past a broken-down cyber rail booth. There was a pause. Then...another sound. A grunt. Low. Male. Followed by a heavy thud.

Someone had hit the ground.

Dante paused momentarily "why am I even able to hear this" Dante asked no one. In particular.

[Your overall body activity was improved significantly] Strikx explained.

Shaking his head from side to side,

Dante narrowed his eyes and took a cautious step forward.

Then he heard it— a man was pleading.

"Stop! Okay, okay, we get it! Just chill—!"

Crack!

A sharp smack—flesh against metal followed by another cry.

Dante's brows furrowed. He picked up the pace, his boots clacking against the pavement, shadows dancing beneath his feet from the few working streetlamps. It wasn't until he rounded the corner that he slowed, his back pressing lightly against the steel wall of the alley.

He peeked out.

What he saw made his stomach twist—not in horror, but… confusion.

There were four of them.

Men. Grown. Probably in their early twenties, maybe older. They were dressed like low-tier raiders—faded armor vests, synthetic jackets, and half-masked faces. All of them were bruised, winded, and clearly no longer in control of the situationbat hand.

At the center of the chaos stood a girl.

Tall. Athletic. Wild brown curls tied back in a short ponytail.

She wore a black combat jacket with a gold trim—expensive, Dante noted—and her fists were laced with glimmering Neva-thread gloves, pulsing faintly with dull silver light.

She looked completely unharmed.

In fact, she looked… excited.

One of the men crawled backward, coughing blood. Another lay completely still, twitching occasionally. The third was pinned against the wall by his collar, held up effortlessly with one hand.

"Did you really think," she said, voice calm but venom-laced, "that I wouldn't fight back?" as she said this, her fist smacked into the mans ribs knocking the wind out of him.

"W-We didn't mean nothin'! We just thought you were—"

She slammed him into the wall.

"You thought I was easy, right?" Her eyes narrowed. "Or maybe just alone?" A smirk tugged at her lips. " Some random defenseless girl, well...wrong twice."

Dante blinked, watching the scene with a mix of surprise and… irritation.

They had tried to harass her. That much was obvious.

But what rubbed him wrong wasn't what she was doing.

It was how she was doing it.

Effortlessly. Cockily. With the kind of strength that only came from privilege—access to Neva tech, expensive gear, and formal training. A rich girl walking the slums for sport? It almost felt like she did this for her leisure.

He clenched his fists.

Sure, the guys deserved what they got. No doubt about that.

But something about this rubbed Dante the wrong way.

He hated bullies.

Even when they came dressed like heroes.

And as she finally let the last man drop, turning her back and walking away like she hadn't just folded a whole crew, Dante stepped out from the shadows.

"Hey," he called out, his voice low but sharp.

She paused.

Turned her head just slightly, her eyes looking cool and overly unreadable.

"That was a bit excessive, wasn't it?" he added, crossing his arms.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, the girl tilted her head, her smirk returning.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"Just a guy who's about to teach you some manners" Dante scoffed 'wait, did I just say that?'

Dante almost screamed inwardly,

[That was stupid Dante, very stupid of you to say that] Strikx even added to his turmoil.

"Are you one of them?" The girl asked indifferently, already flexing her arms.

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Dante smirked, even if she looked all cute and nice, he had seen her just taken down four grown up men. If this fight was really happening, he wasn't going to pull any of his punches.

[Appraisal activated]

[Name: Rin marell]

[Type: A]

[Ability: Kinetic reversal]

[The system advices you to be careful, she is able to redirect kinetic energy which means that the greater your attacks, the more powerful her counter.]

'No wonder she was able to completely plummel four grown men, they didn't know what hit them ' Dante almost chuckled, for some reason, he felt happy.

Also in sync, the system had given him another notification:

[New quest received: First fight with a real enemy. Prove to the system that you can use the power given to you well]

Objective: Do not lose]

Reward: 120 exp]

And once again, The system was giving him a chance to grow even stronger and he wasn't going to miss that opportunity.

"Well than, I can only assume that you're with them" Rin said sternly, already assuming her fighting posture.

Dante didn't wait.

He moved first—not recklessly, but measured. His foot dug into the pavement and propelled him forward in a burst. He closed the gap between them in seconds, his fists up, aiming low.

Rin didn't flinch.

She sidestepped with the grace of someone who'd been in dozens of fights—and won most of them. Dante's fist only brushed against her jacket. That was all. She leaned back and swung an elbow toward his face, but he ducked under it and brought his knee up.

It hit.

But not how he wanted.

Her body barely shifted, and instead of staggering back, she twisted with his momentum. Her palm met his shoulder—barely a tap—and he felt the recoil hit his chest like a hammer.

He flew back a full meter before landing awkwardly on one knee.

"Kinetic reversal," he muttered under his breath, coughing once. "Of course."

Rin rolled her neck and advanced slowly, her boots clicking with each deliberate step. "You're fast. I'll give you that. But picking a fight without knowing what someone can do? That's rookie behavior."

Dante stood up, wiping his chin with the back of his hand. "Didn't think I'd win," he admitted. "Just wanted to see if the rumors about slum princesses were true."

Her eyes narrowed. "Cute. Got any more jokes?"

"Depends." He cracked his knuckles. "You done pretending this is over?"

"Cos as far as I'm concerned? Things would only get better from here on out"

A/N: My book just passed the webnovels vetting process and is now qualified for the readers vote, pls support my novel by donating your power stones.

From now on, two chapters will be uploaded on daily basis, pls do well to have a good read.