Ont pushed up his glasses, making sure the ridge fit directly above his nose. Yelm groaned on the floor. The side of his head suffered a decent size cut and blood dribbled out slowly. He wiped his hand along his face, dabbing his finger on the blood. Looking at his hand, he looked at the blood that was on his fingertips, wondering who or what could have done such a thing.

As for the perpetrator of the cut, he crouched in a fighting stance, preparing to engage in a clash of blows. Oculus showed no signs of fear, instead taking that fear and repurposing it into the courage that drove him.

“So, you wish to die today, kid.” Ont said, pushing up his glasses once again.

“I don’t plan on dying today.”

Oculus made the first move, dashing toward his opponent, fist drawn back for his strongest punch on the guy who took down his father. If he had Moerchknel’s power, then he’d combine it with fire, but sadly that wasn’t the case. He just had to deal with punting this son of a bitch into next week with a normal punch.

Ont raised his hand, and swiped Oculus’ punch away. Strangely enough, Ont’s hand felt incredibly hard. Almost like a metallic surface. Also strangely enough, his stomach got caved in from Ont kneeing him in the gut.

Oculus gasped for air, and his body flew to the same cabin that the other villager landed at. He landed amongst the rubble, and the cabin fell into even more pieces thanks to him crashing into it. Groaning, Oculus tried to stand up, but his back felt like it broke into several pieces, and his legs couldn’t find a good foothold.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed onto his wrist. Oculus yelped, drawing his hand back as the man who was sent flying only moments ago climbed out of the wreckage. His entire face was coated in thick blood that poured from a large cut stretching across his forehead. The redness of his face made him look more like a demon rather than the human he truly was.

“Oculus, get out of here.” The man pleaded. “I’ll fend them off with my life. I can’t just let them go about while my daughter is terrified of what might happen to our serene village. You too, I can’t just let you die.”

The man coughed, blood trailing down his lips. He couldn’t fight any longer, both of them knew that, but he continued to push on despite the state his body’s in. Oculus nodded along as if he were considering the man’s request, but when he patted the man’s back, and gave him a warm smile, the man realized the last thing on Oculus’ mind right now was him abandoning the village.

“You just rest and hide here.” Oculus said as he slid down the rubble. “I’ll take care of this.”

However, they also knew one other thing. Oculus wasn’t enough to defeat them either. Although he’s half giant and one of the strongest people in the village, that’s nothing to what those two Gifted could do. One of them kicked a giant in the eye and stopped his punch. People like that weren’t just going to let some kid walk over them because they feel bad.

Oculus climbed down from the rubble, wood and other accessories sliding along with him. He checked the battleground, a newfound idiotic determination gleaning in his blazing orange eyes. Yelm had gotten back up and he stood side by side with Ont. Both of the fighters were prepared for whatever new thing Oculus could, and will, throw at them.

Oculus spit to the ground, a speck of blood falling with his saliva. He paid it no mind, as he approached the challengers looking for a nice ass kicking. They came here to take that girl back, he knew that already, but he wasn’t going to budge for them. Whoever they are, he hoped they talked with their boss about how they might not be able to fulfill their request, cause now they’re going to have to walk home with empty promises.

“Yelm, you ready?” Ont asked in a mocking tone.

“I am this time. If you don’t mind, I’d like to give the first blow.”

Ont nodded. “It’s all yours.

Yelm stretched his legs as Oculus sprinted at them, bloodlust in his eyes. Yelm didn’t care for it, and he didn’t want to give the kid any respect by taking such an amateurish sneak attack so seriously. If someone was going to teach him a lesson about how the world works, then it would be him.

Ont spread his arms, exposing his chest. Yelm jumped and placed his feet on Ont’s chest. Once they were ready, Yelm jumped off of Ont’s chest, and because of his metallic body, he barely moved an inch. As Yelm soared to Oculus at breakneck speeds, he extended his fist and aimed it at Oculus’ heart.

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As they were about to collide, Oculus stepped just slightly to the right and turned his body. Yelm passed by him, his fist now aiming at nothing. He wasn’t done with just dodging, however. He grabbed Yelm’s outstretched arm, and using all his strength, pulled Yelm over him, and slammed him into the ground.

Dust and dirt spilled into the air. Oculus grunted from him having to use so much energy while in an immeasurable amount of pain. Powering through the pain, he lifted Yelm’s body again, dragging it over him by his arm, and slammed it into the ground. There was no screaming coming from him, which made Oculus sure that Yelm was completely out of it.

Taking a deep breath, Oculus let go of Yelm’s arm and turned to the last opponent. Ont fixed his glasses again, keeping the ridge from falling.

“You are tougher than everyone else here, fire haired kid.” Ont said. “What is your name?”

Oculus smirked, returning to his fighting stance. “Oculus Yearn. The giant you just knocked out was my father.”

“Half giant, huh.” Ont said, sounding rather impressed. “I don’t even know how that’s possible, but it’s not like it’s impossible.” Ont opened his briefcase and the shield popped out once again. “Why don’t you prove to me you have the strength of giants.”

Standing his ground, Ont waited for Oculus to approach. Not wanting to let this go on for much longer, Oculus charged toward the metal man. The two crashing together, the son of a giant and a body made of incredibly resilient material. Overpowering strength versus overpowering toughness. Who’s the winner? Figure that out, right now.

Oculus kicked Ont’s shield, and did no damage. Ont moved the shield out of the way, and countered with a punch, landing squarely on his cheek. Oculus flew back, his back hitting the ground, but he entered the air again, flipping completely around. He dug the toes of his shoes into the ground and steadied himself by grabbing a few blades of tough grass. Immediately standing up, he charged once again.

Ont slammed his shield into the ground, waiting for the kid to strike. Once Oculus hit the shield, Ont raised it above him and punched again. However, there was no one there this time. Suddenly, a pair of legs dangled off his shield and locked around his extended arm.

Screaming and shouting, Oculus grabbed Ont’s hand and unlocked his legs from Ont’s arm. He flipped around, slamming his feet into the ground, and using all the muscles he has, pulled at the metal man’s arm. Ont punched Oculus in the back, but he ignored it and kept pulling. Soon, Ont’s body lifted off the ground and flew over Oculus’ head.

For the first time since he had arrived, Ont had been moved. The villagers watched in shock as Oculus did the impossible, and moved a wall that all were too scared to push.

With all his might, Oculus slammed Ont to the ground. A wide array of dust and dirt littered the air, getting into his mouth and eyes. Breathing a sigh of relief, he backed away from the collapsed body and screamed at the sky. He defeated not just one, but two people with extremely powerful gifts. If he told this to Moerchknel, then there’d be no way he could refuse to give him his power afterward.

The villagers cheered and threw their fists into the air, cheering their champion. Oculus raised his own hands in the air, smiling from the victory granted onto him. He was about to collapse as well, but suddenly all the cheers from the villagers turned into warning shouts.

Ont slowly stood back up, not a single scratch on him. He stood straight, his glasses crooked enough so that Oculus could see his eyes. They looked like normal pale blue eyes, but there didn’t seem to be any life residing in them. Ont repositioned his glasses, hiding his eyes from the world, and he dusted himself off.

“You are full of surprises kid.” Ont said, kicking his shield away. “With your small body, and with the power of giants residing in you, your muscles are a lot more advanced than that of a normal human. Human muscles are built in a way to not waste energy, so they apply strength in minimal amounts. Unlike giants and apes, where their muscles are built to unleash a waterfall level of power in an instant.

“But, you can do both because of that lineage. Not only do you have the grace of humans, but also the raw power of giants letting you perform such complicated acts of strength that a giant nor human could ever dream of.”

Ont spread his arms, gazing at Oculus. A menacing aura wafted from his form, staggering Oculus once he felt the tenacity of this man.

“In other words, you’re going to do some interesting things in the future. I want to see what you can do. I’ll give you thirty seconds. Unleash everything you have at me. See what happens.”

Oculus knew something was up here, but he couldn’t just let such an opportunity slide. He ran Ont, slamming his fist into his chest. Ont barely moved, but he didn’t let the onslaught stop there. He punched his face, his stomach. He kneed him in the groin, but that unflinching face stood strong no matter how much he hit him.

As one last ditch effort before time ran up, Oculus grabbed Ont’s extended hand, and proceeded to flip him overhead and slam him to the ground again. However, try as he might, no matter how much power he put into his muscles, Ont went unmoved. Ont hadn’t been fighting seriously this entire time.

“Your thirty seconds are up.” Ont raised his arm, taking Oculus off the ground. “I’m not going to kill you. I want to see what you can accomplish. But, I will have to knock you out for now.”

Oculus let go of Ont’s hand, but Ont grabbed Oculus’ wrist before he fell. Rearing his fist back, Ont grunted before punching Oculus in the stomach. Oculus shouted, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Ont let go of him, and he fell to the ground completely unconscious.

Ont looked at the villagers, daring any of them to step forward to rescue him, but no one took the bait. At least all but one, but the one that stepped out of the forest wasn’t even a villager. Instead, it was a purple haired girl with stones swirling around her head.

“Leave them alone!”