Outside of the pub, John stood across from the stranger. The dim light from the light crystals cast a shadow across both of their faces. Unlike what John expected, no crowd followed them outside. The only onlookers were Rainer and a few strangers who happened to be passing by or standing outside smoking a pipe.

The man, slightly swaying, yelled out to John.

“What are you stupid? Challenging an intermediate level adventurer as an initial! You might as well give up and beg to lick my boots clean. Maybe I’ll forgive you for being so brazenly disrespectful.”

John's face remained calm. He thought back to when Arther explained that spirit beast often showed strength beyond what their core implied due to their absorption of battle instincts. While he now knew he wasn’t technically a spirit beast, his physiology was the same. Remembering the strength he wielded in the dungeon, he felt confident in handling this cannon fodder posing as a big shot. John was a god's Apostle after all!

Rainer crossed her arms and called out with a displeased tone. “What the fuck are you doing! Why do men always feel like they have to impress girls by throwing their weight around? It’s preposterous for you to think you can beat an intermediate level adventurer after training with your friends for a bit.”

He replied, “Listen. You’re gorgeous and all but I'm not trying to fight for you to show off or anything, I'm sure you can defend yourself just fine without me and have a sharp enough tongue to chase this bastard off.

I have no memories of my family or friends. No connections and no roots here. If I’m going to create a life here... I can’t let assholes like this walk all over me like I did in my last life. Also, I’m pretty confident I can kick this drunkard's ass!”

The aforementioned drunkard smirked at John's last remark and replied in kind by charging at him. Slowly. John was unimpressed by the obtuse frontal attack and easily sidestepped it. The man however didn’t stop but immediately turned on his heel and kept running at John who continued to easily avoid the sluggish charge.

What the hell he thought to himself. He might as well just be slowly jogging at me! Or maybe...

Slowly he began to realize that the man’s speed was slowly but surely increasing as. Each time John was charged by the man and dodged, it became slightly more difficult to avoid. When he reached a pace close to a sprint John wondered if this preposterous fighting style could even be effective in a dungeon. John tried to throw out an arm bar at the man when he passed in order to stop him in his tracks.

John’s forearm met the man’s throat and what should have caused the man to clutch his throat gasping for breath instead forced John to take a few steps back. At John’s confusion the man began to laugh sinisterly. He was running fast enough now that he had become almost a blur.

“Hahah!! Now you realize how much you’re outclassed here. My power allows me to keep building my momentum and as it raises, so does my weight and defense. At this point, you won't be able to deal me any damage with your pitiful initial level strength and as my speed increases... soon you won’t be able to continue avoiding my attacks!”

John glanced over at Rainer who’s face showed a hint of worry, but when she noticed him watching her, she adopted an ambivalent expression and looked away.

“So that’s how it is,” John called out. “I thought villains only explained their plans in movies, but I guess it happens here too!”

As if to punctuate his sentence, John wrapped his fist in hardened shadow and slammed it into the face of the blur that was passing by him. John felt no recoil in his arm as the man’s face met his fist and crumpled to the ground. He looked up at John in surprise with a bloodied nose and missing front tooth. Quickly he backed away.

“I guess you do have some strength. It’ll take too long to build up momentum again, so I’ll use my newly awakened second power. Feel honored that you get to witness this mighty one’s trump card!!”

The man’s skin suddenly turned gray like stone and protruded spikes. He snickered before summersaulted at John. As he did so, the spikes protruding from him shot out like bullets. His eyes lit up with glee. How could an initial level fighter, who clearly had an ability specializing in attack, defend against his shooting spikes?! The moment of joy were he was certain of his triumph over this trash greenhorn quickly faded as John nonchalantly created a barrier made of shadow tendrils.

John sighed. Wasn’t this really too easy? He waved his hand and the fifth tendril shot out from his own shadow and wrapped around the rude bastard and lifted him into the air hanging by his ankle. The man’s face grew red and sweat dripped from his brow as John pulled the man close enough so that they could be face to face.

“How dare you attack a superior! Once I inform the adventurers guild that you provoked me I’ll have my friends in administration make it so you can never work again!!” the drunkard taunted in an attempt to frighten John.

“I'm not even registered as an adventurer yet so your threat means nothing to me... and if your friends are the kind of people who run the guild, then I don't think I’d want to work with them in the first place.”

John simply waved his hand and the man was thrown upwards into the air. He hit the ground with a spectacular slam and remained there motionless.

“Well that was a rather surprising conclusion. He honestly just gets more and more interesting.” Rainer said quietly to herself.

John nodded to her before saying “Well I think that's a good end to the night. Anyways, it was nice meeting your Rainer. Take care.”

With that John dipped his head and walked back to the inn his friends were renting. Rainer watched him walk away into the night until his figure was lost amongst a passing crowd.

“Huh” she said. “He didn’t ask to meet up again, or even for my Jewel Contact... again, interesting.”