Although Gary was already Level 4, he had only ever assigned one of the three stat points he had received from his Level Ups. He had considered what stat he might use them for, but had decided that it might make more sense to increase them via his gym trying until he hit some kind of wall.

However, seeing Gil attack the old man who could hardly defend himself, something snapped in Gary’s head. It was similar to what had happened when Steven had ‘threatened’ him by telling him he would go out with Amy. The high schooler imagined Tom lying on the ground, getting bullied by Gil.

Unable to wait for his ‘perfect opportunity’ the high schooler dived right in, running past the other members, while placing his stat points into Strength. The broom snapped after connecting with Gil’s face and Gary still held one half of it in his hand, his head slightly facing down so the others wouldn’t be able to see his face clearly.

“What the hell? I thought the new guy had some strength, but it turns out his muscles are all hot air. Oi, aren’t you embarrassed getting taken out by such a scrawny kid? ” One of the grey colour gang members turned around to make fun of Gil, not having grasped the seriousness of the situation yet.

However, the same could not be said about their leader. Unlike the other three, he had watched Gil fight, so he had seen his strength. His body didn’t just look the part, and there weren’t many that could make someone fall easily like that. What’s more, that ‘scrawny kid’ had managed to make the broom snap with one attack.

“What are you guys doing? He might just be the new kid, but since when do we allow anyone to just hurt one of our members? Stop gawking and bring him in!” The leader shouted.

Seeing the other three charge in, Gary was thankful for one thing. None of them seemed to be using weapons. One of the traits of the grey colour group was that they relied on brute strength.

Still, Gary went to the injured Gil and lifted him by the scruff of his uniform.

“Don’t think this is over, I’m not done with you yet.”

Blood was dripping from the rugby player’s mouth, and he was possibly in a worse state than Steven, but Gary had no sympathy for him, not after what he had seen him do. Making use of Charging Heart’s duration he lifted Gil above his head with both hands.

Even with an effective total of 15 points of Strength the weight seemed to be a bit much for Gary but his frustration allowed him to power through. He managed to throw his schoolmate towards the grey colour gang members, crashing into two of them.

The third one, as the only one unaffected, turned around to check on his teammates, disbelieving what he had seen. This turned out to be a big mistake, as by the time he turned back to Gary, the other was already in the midst of a punch, aimed straight at the gang member’s face.

“You guys are just as bad!” Gary shouted.

He could only imagine what the grey colour gang members must have been doing in this area for so long. All the chaos and trouble they had caused. The truth was, Gary wasn’t the only one who wanted them gone, yet nobody ever did anything because they were afraid of those behind the colour gangs.

In the past, if Gary had seen such a scene, would he have been brave enough to help out? The truth was, the answer was no.

[New quest received]

[An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth.]

Your anger has finally led you to this.

Deal with the one you’re after as well as everyone protecting him!]

[Quest reward: 50 Exp per defeated person]

[Your opponent has been knocked out]

[50 Exp gained]

[Exp 280/460]

Receiving this message, it made Gary realise something, that Gil still had some room for a beating. Walking over, the two that were trapped under this heavy body, soon pushed him off, and got up from the ground.

“Don’t just stand there, Bowden, give us a hand!” One of the members complained. Since they still had the number advantage he was confident they could win.

“No real names, you idiot!” The leader shouted at him, slapping him from behind, while he waited and watched Gary.

The three of them stayed back, and with the leader taking a step back, so did the other two. That's when he noticed that their attacker wasn’t looking at them. Instead he only seemed to have eyes for Gil who was on the floor.

After being hit by the broom, Gil’s head was spinning slightly. He wasn’t knocked out yet and he could hear the chaos around him, though he was unable to react to it. He tried to stand back up, but his legs felt like jelly.

Recovering a little, he soon felt someone above him, and the next second he experienced a slap against his face.

“Oh no, you don't just get out of the situation by losing consciousness. You still have plenty of teeth left in your mouth.” Gary said.

Gil was still struggling to open his eyes, yet before he could, his head was slammed into the concrete ground once more. It was soon lifted from the ground again. His forehead had been cut, and blood was dripping down from the top now covering his vision even more.

It was then that the grey leader was sure that his hunch was right.

“Let's just get out of here boys, that person isn’t here for us.”

The three left Gil behind, including the other member. The leader thought it was safe to leave him behind, since he should wake up soon, and he was more concerned about what would happen if they tried approaching the person in front of them again.

‘That person…is another beast, let the two of them deal with each other.’ The leader thought as he left.

Holding up Gil, Gary could tell he was still conscious. It seemed to have been the right call to cancel Charging Heart, instead of using his full strength.

“Tell me, how does it feel? Not so great when you’re on the receiving end, now is it? You still like to hurt people? I don’t get how you can enjoy this so much!” Gary shouted at him, before getting ready whack his head against the concrete ground once more.

Gil, in his desperate situation, used his hands to cover his head hitting the ground, but the impact was still strong.

“Who….are you?!” Gil blurted out, his mouth filled with blood, while his entire body still hurt from being used as a projectile. He hadn’t even realised yet that the side of his face had swollen up from getting hit with the broomstick.

Gary, still wasn’t done yet, and he wouldn’t be until the system gave him the exp for knocking Gil out. Grabbing his head once more, he was ready to slam it in the ground again, but it was then that he felt someone grab his wrist.

“Stop! If you keep doing that, you’ll end up killing him.” A male voice cautioned him.

Looking up, at what could possibly have the strength to hold Gary. He could see a man in a large black trench coat, and a scruffy beard, while also wearing a large hat to cover most of his head.

“I’ve been watching you. You managed to knock out a gang member all by yourself and you even managed to lift up this kid over your head despite the size difference, are you sure you are human?” The man asked, as he reached down his pocket to grab what looked like a baton.

“You know, there have already been a couple of killings in this area and it seems the wounds inflicted aren’t done by normal humans.” The man pressed the button and the baton lit up. Blue sparks started to buzz around the weapon.

Once upon a time they used to be self-defense weapons, yet under the ‘No Lethal Weapons Act’ they were still considered taboo. There was only one group who still used them despite this, the Altered Hunters.

*****

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