Quinn and Fex stood apart, the tension between them sharp as a blade. This was supposed to be just a spar, but for Quinn, it was the first time facing a vampire this close.
Then, out of nowhere, a translucent screen blinked to life before his eyes:
[Quest: Defeat the opponent for instant 2 level ups]
Quinn froze. A level-up quest? In all the Powerfighter games he'd ever played, quests had been about winning fights, completing tasks, survival. But never this. Wait—does this mean he's that strong?
His thought barely finished before Fex moved—fast. Too fast. Quinn tilted his body at the last second, narrowly avoiding a clean strike.
Shit, he's fast.
Taking a defensive stance, Quinn braced himself. He didn't dare swing first.
Fex blurred forward again, his movements fluid, almost casual. A barrage of punches and kicks rained down on Quinn, each one forcing him back, each one barely avoided by instinct alone. Another kick came high—Quinn raised his gauntlet, catching it, only to feel his arm rattle under the sheer force.
Fex wasn't even using half his strength. That much was obvious. And still, he was overwhelming.
Another strike flew toward Quinn's head. Desperate, Quinn threw a punch with everything he had, colliding fist to foot. Pain shot up his arm—it was like punching solid stone. His knuckles screamed, his arm went numb.
Before the next blow could land, Quinn thrust his hand up in surrender. "Okay! I give up!" he shouted.
He hated the words, but it was the truth. Elemental powers or not, his body simply couldn't keep up. It gave him the same feeling while fighting Vicky blade, she too had held back while sparring with him.There was nothing to gain here but bruises and broken bones.
But Quinn wasn't completely out of options.There was still one thing he could do.
He had received a single stat upgrade after hitting level 2.
"Use the stat upgrade," he murmured.
At once, the system screen flickered into view.
[Stat upgrade in effect]
Status Screen:
EXP: [5/200]
HP: [13/15]
Strength: 16
Agility: 16
Stamina: 16
Quinn's eyes widened. He had expected a small boost, but the reward had upgraded all of his stats. In an instant, a surge of raw energy coursed through him. His body felt lighter, faster—his muscles tighter with strength he didn't know he had.
Fex charged again, but this time Quinn moved differently. His reflexes sharpened, and he slipped past the first strike with ease. His counters carried weight now, enough to make even Fex's expression shift in mild surprise.
Not bad, Quinn thought, feeling a thrill for the first time in the fight.
But Fex was far from impressed. Instead of going all out, he simply adjusted—adding a little more strength, a touch more speed. That was all it took to put Quinn back in his place.
The gap opened once more, wider than ever.
Before Quinn could brace, Fex's kick slammed into his abdomen like a hammer. Air rushed from his lungs as his body crashed onto the ground. Pain bloomed across his ribs, and before another strike could come, he threw his hand up desperately.
"Okay, you win!" Quinn yelled.
Fex stopped at once, lowering his stance, calm and composed. To him, this hadn't even been a fight—barely a warm-up. He glanced down at Quinn, and gave him a hand, i told you so," he chuckled.
******
Time moved quickly for Quinn—before he realized it, a full week had passed. The training had only grown more intense, with combat lessons led by Sergeants Faye and Leo pushing the students to their limits.
The entire batch was caught up in the grind—training, sparring, and scrambling to buy better gear. Credits had become more important than ever, and with that came the rise of shady, unfair ways to earn them.
For Quinn, the spar with Fex had been a rude awakening. He now understood just how far he still had to go.
what Quinn wanted to do more than anything, was learn how to fight.
"I wish there was someone who could teach me," Quinn said as he sighed.
Request of Combat lesson activated
A suitable weapon is currently in use
Hand to hand combat Lv. 1 Will now be shown
Just then as Quinn said those words, he seemed to have activated something within the system. In front of his eyes, a video started to play.
Quinn quickly looked around him to see if anyone else could see what he was seeing but he seemed to be the only one.
In the video stood a single tall long-haired blonde man, in a large empty room. On his both of hand's he wore two gauntlets similar to Quinn's but looked a lot more powerful and his beauty was unmatched. Something Quinn had never said about a boy before.
There was one other thing that Quinn noticed and it was his piercing red eyes.
"Hello and welcome to hand to hand combat classes for beginners," The blonde man said in a cheery voice. "I don't know how much time has passed but if you have come across this video, that means you're one of us. And I hope that the information that is being provided isn't useless in your day and age."
The appearance of the man and the man's words made Quinn think about who exactly the man was in a video and he had good reason to believe that he was a vampire.