“The name’s Brovado.” Kevin stood tall, his back open to the dysfunctional bands of would-be captors, playing with his hat before donning it on. He then made a slow and elegant turn, lightly tipping the tip of his hat afterward with a maniacal smirk plastered onto his face. A praiseworthy facial expression that would go unseen because of his short stature and his preposterously large hat. “Jon Brovado.”

“Get the fuck back to jumping around!” An impatient drunkard demanded, receiving a round of applauds from his fellows. He then attempted to throw what he assumed to be an empty can of fresco at the boy. It slipped past his grip and struck the unfortunate young man that stood erect behind him, fracturing his nose.

He, too, received a round of applauds for taking the hit like a champ. Keep in mind that the young Alberto has no control over his actions.

“Hey! Watch it! You almost hit the box, you fucking drunkard!” The can flew nowhere near the box holding their coins.

The drunkard had disregarded Daveed’s sudden burst, favoring to join his fellows in cheering for the man with a fractured nose.

Kevin stood motionless. His gleaming blue eyes, a glowing hue that appeared shortly before his escape, were locked onto the individual amidst the cheering gamblers. “Son of a…” he mumbled beneath his breath as he took off his hat, his raven hair reflecting sunlight like polished coal.

The boy turned around, exposing his back to the wanderers as he played with his hat. “The name’s Brova—” before he could finish he hopped up high into the air, gazing down as a wanderer slid across the pavement. He then tilted himself sideways, pulling his head back and watching an arrow fly past inches away from his eyes.

You have resisted the ‘Frightened’ status effect. You have resisted the ‘Shocked’ status effect. You have resisted the ‘Enraged’ status effect.

Kevin reached for the arrow and caught it with ease, an effortless feat for one with his level of speed. He seemed unfazed after the friction scraped off the skin of his palm, visibly retracing the trajectory the arrow took. His gaze landed upon an elderly man reaching for his quiver. The archer stopped.

You have resisted the ‘Enraged’ status effect. You have resisted the ‘Enraged’ status effect.

Their eyes met. The boy once again wore his maniacal smirk.

It was at that moment the archer noticed that something was off. Something strange was happening. He was experiencing a foreign feeling, a strange new concept. Run His instincts kicked in, and they were urging him to drop his bow and flee Run Years of hunting monsters and years of capturing bandits. Years of hard-fought battles and never once had it ever told him to flee Run And from a child, no less. It was quite obvious that he would choose to ignore the warning.

The archer was not wrong. These feelings were indeed coming from a foreign place. They were coming from the boy himself as he’d manifested a subtle amount of his aura to surround the archer.

The archer reached for his quiver, taking an arrow and drawing his bow. His goal was to cripple the boy by taking away the only thing that made him a nuisance for his team, and that would have to be his ludicrous speed. An excellent idea that would have worked had he considered it half an hour ago.

Run

The archer took the shot and let his arrow fly true to the boy’s knee. As if he expected it, the boy flung his hat into the air, using the throw to stray himself away from the arrow’s trajectory. It also increased the momentum of his descent. The arrow zoomed past the boy, mere inches away from his knee.

The boy was moments away from landing into an encirclement, surrounded by the now semi-functional bands of would-be captors. Their captains had begrudgingly agreed to cooperate, fully aware that they were in a race against the clock. It wouldn’t be long before the truthseeker passed by Heizer. And they knew full well they were better off splitting the reward than incurring her wrath.

And so, the wanderers increased their aggression. Archers drew their bows, warriors readied their weapons, and mages gathered their mana. All were intent on crippling the boy.

Denise had been the first to move, rushing in to strike the boy before he could land on his feet. One could say that she held a grudge against the boy, a grudge fueled by the constant throbbing headache he’d given her a few minutes prior. Beastkins were overly sensitive when it came to their ears and tails, and studies have shown that yanking them was the most common factor that lead to interracial homicides within the empire. She swung her sword at the boy’s feet with a maniacal grin, slashing vertically for what she believed would inflict the most damage and cause him the greatest pain; The thought of crippling him filled her with pure, maddening ecstasy. An excellent idea that would have worked had she considered it half an hour ago.

Kevin raised his feet and placed one of them on the sword’s edge, balancing himself on one foot before planting the other. This act had caught the woman off guard. He soon manifested his aura, engulfing Denise in an instant.

Run Her ears fell flat as her instincts flared, urging her to drop the sword and flee Run But she, too, chose to ignore its warning.

Run

The boy walked down the sword’s edge with utmost speed and grace, followed by a glowing pair of bluish hues. He walked down to her shoulder as he gazed upon her paling face. He reached for her ear, the same one he’d yanked a few minutes prior, and waited. Once their gazes finally met, he frowned briefly before smiling and yanking it once more.

“AAAIIIIEEE!!” she screamed as the intensity of her headache increased ten folds. Kevin, seemingly unfazed by the thundering screech, used her shoulder as a launchpad to rocket himself up into the sky. He then gazed down, giggling as he witnessed a trio of opportunists tackle down the unfortunate woman.

Individually, the boy’s skills were extraordinary. But what truly made him the menace that he was was due to how synergistic his skills were with one another. His ‘Running A’ increased his basic speed, making him ten times faster than those his age. His ‘Walking A’ increased his stability, making it near impossible for the boy to stumble. His ‘Jumping A’ increased his jumping strength and speed, allowing him to reach heights that many would think impossible for one of his age. These three skills, as well as his ‘Rolling A’, were skills he was never meant to possess.

“Immobilize!”

You have resisted the ‘Immobilize’ spell.

“Sleep!”

You have resisted the ‘Sleep’ spell.

“Restrain!”

You have resisted the ‘Restrain’ spell.

“Slow!”

You have resisted the ‘Slow’ spell.

Many mentomancers fell to their knees in disbelief as they watched a series of notifications appear before them. The boy’s ‘Tenacious S’ skill gave him complete immunity to all forms of status effects regardless of their source, rendering them thoroughly obsolete.

Kevin turned his gaze upwards, visibly scanning his surrounding as he soon began to descend. Arrows were flying towards him from every direction, but the boy remained visibly unfazed. His cold-blue eyes, now with small hints of violet, were glowing as they locked onto the hat flying towards Alberto’s stand. The boy smiled before clenching the arrow he held in his hand, his blood dripping down to its tail. He then twirled, twisted, and turned as a pair of bluish hues followed suit. The boy used an arrow to block the incoming arrows in rapid succession before gracefully landing on his feet.

That ludicrous reaction speed came from the skill ‘Battle Prowess S’. It would continuously multiply his speed and reflexes the longer he remained in combat. With his base speed ten times higher than the average and having spent nearly an hour of what the skill considered combat, it was near impossible for the wanderers to touch him, let alone cripple him.

Witnessing the scene had demoralized the gamblers who placed their bets against the boy, excluding the cheering drunkards that were too inebriated to understand their dilemma.

“You two-timing bastard!” A woman hidden behind a large crimson cloak cried as she walked up, pointing her finger at Daveed. The demoralized gamblers followed suit. “You never told us he had gifts!”

Gifted was a term used on the unique individuals born with special abilities.

“I never knew he was gifted.” That was a lie. “Besides,” Daveed placed his elbows on the stand, leaning forward as he met the woman’s gaze. “After seeing everything he’d done. Why come now?”

“Because I just noticed he was gifted.” That one was also a lie.

“Well, there’s no backing out of the bet.” Daveed told them, using an arm to gesture towards the tomatoes and potatoes. “But do feel free to help yourselves, 3lc each.”

Alberto would have gasped if he could upon hearing that preposterous price, and he would have scoffed at it as well.

The woman in the crimson cloak exchanged three large copper coins for a single tomato without hesitation, turned around to walk up and take aim, and then flung it at Kevin. The others, although more hesitantly, followed her example and exchanged three large copper coins for one of the two before hurling it at the boy.

Alberto would have gasped if he could as he finally realized what was happening These idiots are getting conned and they don’t even know it! He was far from the truth.

Kevin continued to approach Alberto’s stand, occasionally sparing glances as he followed his hat. Sweeping blades, piercing spears, storms of arrows, raging flames, bursting spikes, and waves of potatoes and tomatoes. He danced, and he weaved, through the constant barrage, twirling his arrow as he left behind nothing more than a vibrant pair of violet hues with small hints of blue.

"Wohooo! Yeah! This is what we’ve been waiting for.” The drunkard gleefully cried, quickly joined by his fellows. This was indeed all he wanted, for he’d long forgotten the bet he placed against him. He flung his mug towards the pavement, shattering it into pieces. “Woohoo!” He gleefully cried once more with two fists raised towards the sky. The aura manifested and, much like the others, engulfed him.

Run the drunkard’s fight-or-flight response flared in an instant Run It screamed and demanded he flees Run But he, too, ignored its warning and continued to cheer with his fellows; He’d been too inebriated to understand his dilemma.

Kevin stood motionless, narrowing his eyes as he glared at the individual that stood amidst the cheering gamblers. He then took off in a sprint, leaving behind a trail of violets hues as he made his way to the group. He jumped and planted his feet on the drunkard's chest, causing the man to lose his footing.

As they fell, their gazes met. The man flinched as he stared at the boy’s lifeless eyes, gleaming with a sinister violet hue. Kevin frowned, unleashing the full might of the aura upon the drunkard.

The man... ahh... uhm... "EEEEYAAAAARRGH!” Ugh… much like the two before him that were exposed to the full might of the boy’s aura, his experience was an incomprehensible mess. Absolutely wonderful.

Kevin's frown grew as he glared at the screeching man. He then turned around, visibly scanning the area before locking onto the archer. Their gazes met once again, replacing the boy’s frown with a wide and manical smile.

Run

Using the sole of feet, Kevin dug into the screeching man’s chest, shattering his sternum and hurling him towards the crowd as he rocketed himself away.

Run

“Hypercast: Restrain!” Daveed had cast the spell in haste, stopping the man before he could collide with the crowd. “Audrey! Take to him a healer, now!” The woman nodded her head, grabbing the floating man and placing him on her shoulder before fading away.

Run

The boy zoomed past his hat without sparing it a single glance and landed amidst the now nervous band of would-be captors, all demoralized by what they'd just witnessed at the stand. He slit the wrist of a nearby wanderer, discarding the arrow he held and snatching himself a dagger.

Run

The archer, finally choosing to obey his instincts, discarded his bow and turned around to flee. Unfortunately for him, there would be no escape.

In mere moments, the boy was atop the elderly man, his foot firmly planted on his back as he fell face flat on his face. He grasped the man’s hair, pulling his head up and gazing into his eyes. The boy’s gleaming violet eyes and his maddeningly white smile made the man to quiver and shriek.

Kevin raised the dagger high into the sky. “Run.” He commanded, giggling as he thrust it down towards the man’s throat.

"Hypercast: Barrier!"

The boy frowned when he witnessed the dagger’s blade shatter into pieces.

You successfully repelled the World Ender’s lust status effect.

Wait… what?

...

Ahem… The violet hue in Kevin’s eyes dissipated as the original bluish glow claimed back its rightful place. His aura had dissipated as well. The boy wore a baffled look as he glanced down to the quivering man below, laying on the floor in a puddle of his own excrement. He then glanced at the broken dagger he held in his hand, wearing the same baffled expression. He visibly scanned his surroundings, his jaws dropping as he locked onto the hat that had somehow remained in the air.

Daveed used one of his leather sleeves to wipe away the blood dripping from his nose. He narrowed his eyes and glared daggers at the boy, deeply troubled by what had occurred. Blocking that strike consumed more than half his mana pool and had given him quite the throbbing headache. “What the fuck is that kid?”

Indeed, as the man had just said. What the fuck was that kid.