Anger simmered below the surface as a cocky malicious grin crept across Flynn Blackwater's face. With each step, he struggled to keep his bellowing killing intent from breaching the carefully constructed mask he was just beginning to don. With each step, he fell further into the masquerade, and by the time he had made it one-fourth of the way to Caden, he was confident in his ability to maintain the act. Well at least long enough to get a good hit in.

Two figures within the crowd moved to stop Flynn, but a hand from the curious gangster prevented them from intervening. Flynn took it as a cue to speak.

"I heard we're giving out free items around here? Mind if I help open the chest?" Flynn flicked his thumb towards the cowering boy, and all hope fell from his tear-filled face. Flynn's tone, words, and even the way he walked mimicked the gangster as he used his memory to recall the man. Flynn had spent weeks with the man and had witnessed others play into the man's ego countless times. In a sense, Flynn knew exactly what made Caden tic, and he'd use every bit of information he had to get even two steps closer if he had to. The back of his mind whispered about how pointless this was, but the anger beckoned.

An equally ruthless smile appeared on Caden's lips as he looked between the boy and Flynn. Caden liked his men vicious and brutal with a little pinch of insanity.

"Sure, sure, have a turn. If the pup pops something out, we might even share." Caden supervised Flynn as he crossed the little space left between them, and a mix of curiosity and distrust filled his eyes. In some way, Flynn had messed up his display of power and showmanship, but in another way, someone crazy enough to walk into this was just what Caden wanted. "The name's Caden." He held out his hand. "It's only fair to exchange names when going into business together." Fylnn smiled as if Caden had handed him the world as he reached out to shake his hand.

"Blackwater, Flynn Blackwater, although I think you have one thing confused, my new friend," Flynn spoke calmly as he looked down at the broken boy. He was shaking his head, his hands outstretched, pleading for mercy. The sight sickened Flynn to his core. Not out of pity, no, it didn't stem from the injustice of the situation that fueled his anger. His disgust instead came from himself. He saw himself in the boy. A scared kid hoping someone would stop the pain, stop the beatings.

"Oh and what might that be?" There was a bit of laughter in Caden's voice, and Flynn could feel Caden's hand tense. It was too late.

A death grip on Caden's hand jerked back, bringing him stumbling towards Flynn. Forehead met forehead as Flynn crashed into Caden with all the strength and force he could muster. The world spun, but Flynn held on, just barely staying on his feet. Flynn's stats were just below Cadens, but luckily, Flynn had two things on his side in this fight.

The first was that the blow came as a surprise. Caden was holy unprepared for the strike; thus, it was a sneak attack and had a higher chance of stunning along with a vieriety of other things. Secondly, unlike Caden, Flynn had actual combat experience in close combat with his life on the line, and Flynn hoped it would be enough.

Flynn only let the spinning world affect him for a moment before he spun, planting another strike on the side of Caden's temple. The world seemed to stop as the crowd's breath caught. Flynn's foot met flesh, and Caden's world went black. Unlike most games seen on earth, critical strikes were not a percent chance. They determined by where the blow landed and whether it had enough force to damage essential parts within the defender's body. And in this instance Flynn's attack had enough force and precision to send the boy crumpling to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut loose. Of course, it didn't kill Caden, and the fight was far from over.

A few brighter thugs stepped out of the crowd, but a roar from the six-foot dunderhead had them step back. Caden's second-hand man had released an ability, unfortunetly in the process, he had scared off his backup. The roar amplified inside Flynn's eardrums as his heartbeat increased rapidly. Flynn's eyes dilated, and he fought the urge to follow the crowd and run for his life. Flynn dug his nails into his palm until blood dripped on the floor as he forced himself in a dead sprint towards the bellowing behemoth.

Each step sent surges of strength through his legs, and he used all his might and mental energy to close the distance between them as fast as possible. By the time Flynn was in the air, the lug was just finishing his roar. Flynn dove forward feet straight out like a javelin throwing his entire body weight and the force of 12 strength points into the chest of the tank.

Pain flared across Flynn's body as he felt the impact of his feet on flesh, and it felt as if he had fallen off a ten-story building. Flynn used every bit of endurance he had to stay conscious as he rolled to the side as literally bounced off the oversized man. As he slowly got his footing up he turned to see the lug worse for wear. The man clutched his chest on the ground, trying desperately to catch his breath as he screamed in pain. It seemed someone wasn't use to the feeling.

A spike of danger in Flynn's mind made him throw himself backwards towards the ground as a flash of steel whizzed by his neck. The sharp jerking movement was just enough to dodge the incoming blade in Caden's hand. Flynn rolled and kicked up onto his feet as yet another strike slashed by him. Quickly the two fell into a dance of deadly precision as Caden struck and Flynn dodged on the type rope that was their stamina bar.

Flynn had expended much in the fight and was nearing empty even before Caden's assault, but the knife-wielding delinquent was much better. He staggered, and his movements were sluggish, no doubt from the head trauma he had only received moments before.

Before long, the two found themselves a few feet apart, panting and sizing each other up. Caden hadn't managed to hit him once, and Flynn's adrenaline was pumping. Despite his shallow breath and lack of stamina, he decided to taunt the young man anyway in lieu of catching his breath.

"The pointy end goes towards your enemy." Flynn used the system's sarcasm against his enemy, resulting in the desired effect. Caden manically lunged the blade towards Flynn to land at least one blow. The boy was prideful, something Flynn took full advantage of during their duel. Flynn weaved in and out of deadly steel as Caden's moves became increasingly erratic until he made a mistake.

"I'm gonna fucking gut you." Caden's voice was guttural as he lunged forward, his balance off center. By this time, both their stamina bars were reaching low, and Flynn could feel his lungs burn and his bones rattle as health started to drain instead of an empty stamina bar. Despite this, Flynn moved, sweeping his leg under the boy and grabbing his arm. Flynn twisted, leveraging the blade out of his hand and pushing the arm upwards behind his back. He finished the move by slamming the boy to the ground, face crunching against the grey stone brick.

By this point, the giant of a man had regained his composure, but after seeing the scene play out, he was hesitant to attack even if he was backed by a dozen goons. That and the blade Flynn held against his friend's neck was one hell of a deterrent against violence. Flynn may know that no one can die, but that didn't mean everyone did.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, how about dispensing those free items I heard so much about?" Flynn made his point by pressing the blade tip against Caden's adam's apple. The boy's gulp dragged the knife across his skin, drawing blood.

"Fine. Keep the dagger, and Joseph will give you his armor." Caden's words sounded like he was pulling teeth.

"But Joseph need armor!" Joseph started to protest, but a 'are you fucking serious' look from Caden kept him from continuing. Flynn decided to make sure the man understood.

"And Caden needs life." Flynn rebutted idly, wondering just how low the Joseph intelligence stat was. He felt a bit bad, but not too much. After all, they were heartless thugs, even if the big guy didn't really understand just what he was doing.

"Finnne" the large man conceded, dropping the item on the ground and stepping away from it. Flynn pocketed the dagger, letting it vanish into the inventory before grabbing the leather duster on the floor. It was black leather and resembled a racing jacket with light blue, almost cyan accents.

| Enchanted Leather Race Jacket

| Rank: Common [C]

| Durability: 130/130

| + 15 Armour

| + 1 Dexterity

| Movement speed is increased by 5%

| Desc: A jacket worn by hover bike riders in Azarion Deserts. It's enchanted to reduce wind resistance for easier movement.

| Dark Steel Dagger

| Rank: Common [B]

| Durability: 74/74

| 9 Physical Damage

| Increased Critical Strike Chance

| Desc: a dagger forged from a dark deep gray metal known as dark steel, favored by assassins and cutthroats due to its lack of metallic shine in the light.

With a mental flourish, the jacket vanished into his spatial storage. The coat flashed onto his body a second later as he equipped it. It fit perfectly, and he felt lighter as if floating. The stat boosts alone were enough to make him feel this way, but the speed boost on top of it gave a much-needed improvement to his mobility. Flynn felt if he had to fight Caden again, he would win in seconds. The average human held stats between 5-15 for each attribute, so his now-boosted 14 in dexterity made him a force to be reckoned with when it came to speed and control.

Flynn started to leave, and the crowd parted to let him through, but a tug on the back of his newly acquired jacket had him stopping before he got too far. He turned to see the bruised and bloodied boy. The boy had forced himself up and clutched onto the jacket with all his strength. It took all the boy's effort just to get out two words before he fell back down, catching his breath. His health points must have been below the 5% mark. He probably felt like death was knocking at his door.

"T- thank you." The words came out as more of a wheezed whisper. Flynn paused once again, seeing himself in the boy. He had often wanted someone to save him. The closest thing to that had been when a girl stepped in only to save his life in return for him becoming a pack mule for the two idiots.

"Don't thank me, I stepped in for selfish reasons." Flynn hardened his gaze and turned away. "The world has changed, but the rules haven't. The strong eat, and the weak get used." He turned, giving the boy one last glance. "So get stronger no one's going to save you a second time." He left the boy with the exact words his own savior had given him. Words that had gotten him through the tutorial. Words, even now, he took to heart.

I have to get stronger.