A few minutes ago.

Jake had attempted to escape, but the masked men sighted him.

The situation became serious for Jake as he didn't want to tango with the masked men.

His years of experience had made him understand that the masked men were most likely dangerous, or else, they wouldn't have the confidence to infiltrate the guest house.

Also, judging by their conversations, they had the confidence to also infiltrating other buildings. They weren't amateurs!

So, quickly, he had changed his thinking.

Knowing that they would want to be professional and not cause any disturbance, he decided to act the part of an ignorant teenager.

It was easy to do that.

He just had to act without a brain. Most main characters in novels he read back in his previous were like that, just plain dumb so sad as they always believed they were smart.

It became worse when he read a few characters with the same archetypes as him. Jake got so livid. For the first time in his life, he felt wronged.

The characters were so wrong! At least, most of them.

This caused Jake to commit one of his most evil acts, he kidnapped the authors and forced them to rewrite the characters.

Well, it ended up being a good act as the authors thanked him later due to their novels' increased popularity....all is well that ends well.

Back to the topic, due to his experience, he was able to impersonate the part of an ignorant young lad.

He changed his speech pattern and glowed up like the sun.

He even tried to hint at the masked men to let him go, discreetly informing them not to try to kill him, that he was harmless and it would be unwise to eliminate him.

Everything was going as planned until the masked men suddenly changed their expression. It was expected as professionals wouldn't want to leave a clue, no matter how small it is.

Jake, himself, had, on multiple occasions, cleaned up a building, so as not to leave any clue.

As the saying goes, "Dead men tell no tales!"

So, Jake had caught on the glimpse of killing intent they displayed when looking at him.

That was why when they turned around, he knew that they were discussing. So, with a classic bad guy move, he gave them the slip.

He took too long to get to the start of the tunnel as he had to be silent about it.

By the time he got to the ladder, the masked men had already noticed him and chased after him.

Still, he thought it was okay, but he couldn't see in the dark and the ladders are hard to climb in the f*cking dark!

Carefully, Jake climbed the rungs. When he got to the last rung, the masked men had already gotten to him and used their tall stature to pull him down.

......….

Current time.

Jake cursed at the masked men, who had yanked him down.

With the corner of his eyes, he glanced behind him, weighing if he could get out of the hole, in time, before the masked men catch him.

Ultimately, he decided it was futile. There was definitely no chance for that!

Jake could see from the masked men's determination to silence him that the only acceptable outcome was a fight.

The worst part of all, he was not ready for a fight!

"Hehe, where are you going?" smiled one of the masked men.

He did not get his reply as Jake ignored him.

Jake's mask peeled off like a watered paint, as his eyes became increasingly cold as he stared at the masked men.

It became clear to the masked men that Jake was not a normal teenager.

"Finally shedding your skin, huh?" mused the older masked man.

He had already had his suspicion when he saw Jake way back. His appearance and excuse were too convenient.

Thank the Heaven he had followed his professional mind and tried to tie all loose ends!

Who knows what the young man might have done if they let him escape? Or worse, if the young man was actually a spy?

Taking a deep breath, Jake negotiated, "Can't we go separate ways? I don't care about your cause!"

He knew that if he came off too soft and childish, the men might not take him seriously. So, he became serious and acted as a threat.

"It doesn't matter what brought you here. There is only one outcome, but it seems you already knew that" teased the older man.

The more composed and experienced Jake became, the more determined he was to eliminate him.

Upon hearing his words, Jake sighed. He had expected this.

He was just stalling!

With a sudden motion, after he had built up enough [Spirit Essence], he catapulted himself to one of the masked men, the younger one.

Getting close to the man, he took a jab at his abdomen, but the man had already predicted it.

He wasn't blind. He had sensed the disturbance of [Spirit Essence] in the air. Hence, he dodged the attack.

The man, with his superior body attribute, caught the hand of Jake and flung him to his partner, who used his large palm, grabbed Jake's young face, and slammed him on the tunnel floor.

*Thud!*

"Drag him back to the end of the tunnel. We don't want to attract attention," instructed the older man.

Despite them being underground, they could still alert the guest house if they were too loud.

Obeying his instruction, the younger man lifted Jake and bear-hugged, so as not to give him space to counter-attack.

Jake found himself locked in the arms of the young man.

He tried to resist himself but the arms of the man were too strong.

He struggled, all the way, till the man had carried him to the end of the tunnel.

Suddenly, Jake had an idea!

He remembered instruction from his master in his previous world.

Jake slipped his right hand into the lock of the young man. He placed the hand on the interlocked fingers of the young man and used his other hand to hammer on it, breaking free from it.

Once he had broken free, he knew it was only temporarily, so, he sealed the deal by swinging his energy-powered legs at the nether region of the young man.

He smiled as his leg fully contacts with it, and he felt an egg cracking there.

However, his smile was short-lived as when he turned his back, he was punched in the face by the older man.

"That was some nice trick you did there," smiled the older man while cracking his fingers.

Jake's blood dripped from his fingers as he shook them off. It was already clear the amount of force he put behind his punch.

Looking at the older man, Jake spat out blood as he analyzed him, 'From that punch, I know that he is stronger than me!'

He looked to the side and discovered that the younger man was already recovering from his gruesome attack.

Wanting to thin down the numbers, Jake uses his speed to move closer to the younger but the older man intercepted, "I won't let you!"

This time, Jake had predicted the intervention. He used the principles of his techniques to curve around the older man while at full speed and threw a kick to the face with the remaining momentum.

Yet, Jake didn't stop!

He ran for the younger one and battered his face just as he was about to straighten his body.

Suddenly, he felt a harsh pain on his back as he was sent flying.

*Boom*

He found himself planted in the wall of the tunnel.

Almost immediately, Jake opened his eyes, however, he didn't make any sudden movement.

'I can't it will be one of those days,' internally sighed Jake.

He slowly brought out his body from the wall and faced the masked men, who also made no movement.

It was a clear agreement between both sides. In gaming terms, it was the end of round one.

To warm up, Jake subtlety vibrated his body.

He glanced at the masked men again, 'They are far stronger than me. Minimum, they should be at [Realm-2]. Not just that, they should be quite experienced with their strength.'

He once again sighed, touching his bloody face, 'What a sad life?! They just had to touch my beautiful face! All the more reason to kill them.'

'I have no weapons, can't use my technique to its full potential without one. It seems it is going to be hand-to-hand for me,' analyzed Jake.

He tore off his shirt, ripped it into two, and wrapped it around his two hands. While the clothes couldn't compare to unarmed weapons, it was better than nothing, wasn't it?

After tying the cloth around his hands, Jake closed his eyes, trying to tug at his full strength.

In the next instant, a large amount of [Spirit Essence] kept flowing into him. It was a skill he thought of when he was fighting yesterday.

He would lock himself in his cultivation state, the state of absorption, and still fight his opponent, while in that state.

That was why he hasn't talked in a while.

He was trying to get a feel of this state!

And now that he had finally achieved it, despite being a little bit rough, he was ready!

The flow of [Spirit Essence] got attracted to his legs and like a bird, he took a dive at the masked men!

[A/N: *in a deep voice* ROUND 2: FIGHT!]