How good is a third rate martial artist? I've got no damn clue. Since, to be fair, it mostly relies on build. Just like that puppet or shadow; it lost because I'm far stronger.

So, following this logic, do I have a better chance at winning this mess? Yes.

But did I have a chance in the first place? No.

Adding zero to zero only amounts to zero. I did add something, but this something does not matter in the grand scheme of things.

Basically?

I'm fucked.

Clenched and ready, my fists dangle to my sides. My eyes dart back and forth while my legs tense and relax. Each step closer these two take, the more changes happening inside my body. Such attention to minute details. Despite not being well versed into traditional martial arts, I'm not dumb enough to not realize it.

Paying care to minute details is often the mark of boundless experience.

Something overlooked by an amateur won't be missed by an expert. Yet this isn't something that can be done just by knowing about it. Otherwise everyone would be an expert.

These four pills...

How much experience did these pills give me? This is absurd! Is that my hand? No wonder I'm doubting myself. The sensation of what appears to my mind as perfection, does not match the memories less than a minute ago.

This contrast only grows the more I get used to this change.

Seconds wasted to the outside world, the bald man reaches me first. Even though the tanned man dwarfs him, this man right in front of me still stands a head taller. But my eyes are too focused, it's like they can only give his cold eyes and stiff face a mere fraction of my vision.

The middle of my field of view is stuck to his core, trying to hold within his entire body. But with how close we are, I can barely see the shoulders and some of his thighs.

"We said hands up. Are you deaf?"

My brain isn't functioning properly, I can't say why, but my instincts direct me. Therefore, I comply.

As my hands yearn for the now clouded sky, droplets of rain befall us all.

"Tsk! Why is it raining now?" The bald man complains, taking out a microfiber wipe, cleaning his glasses. "I've got laundry out on the balcony..." Apparent to both of us, wiping his glasses without taking them off first is proving to be a pain, especially the inside.

About to remove them, my instincts do not miss this. My right arm blurs, taking the shortest route to his face. With his own hands in the way, the man doesn't react until it's too late. Being unexpected only helped more.

The fingertips of my spear hand touch with the glass shielding his widening left eye. My own do not blink, gazing deeply into his.

A glaring contest ensues, hiding away a move I never learned before as it is executed. Perhaps because it's not truly a technique, but an understanding instead.

The fingertips do not retract, yet the pressure does. A burst of energy is transmitted as the glass collides with my phalanges. Surprisingly, it only cracks. However, the structural integrity can only fail when the phalanges turn into a full blown fist. The frames bend, the glass shatters, and its shards dig into the man's left eye.

To be honest, I wasn't even aware that a one-inch punch could be executed at an angle. It was awkward to say the least. Maybe its intended use was against opponents of similar heights?

"AHHH! FUCK!" I'm shocked. Did my body know? It's only after witnessing the glass resist my phalanges that I understood them to be unordinary. In retrospect, it should have been obvious.

A hunter cannot wear glasses too weak.

Meaning, the glass shards and sharp thin metal bits digging into his reinforced eye aren't going to break so easily. Though it shouldn't be resilient enough to blind it, it should be more than enough to scratch it.

"YOU BITCH!!" Crying, the bald man covers his left eye with both hands. His right one is squinting, while he bends his body backward. Still directed around, my body does not stop. I barely have time to notice my right hand bleeding.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The scenery full of this man changes. My field of view wiggles around, my left arm retreating further behind.

Soon, my gaze locks onto his sweater, my entire weight pulling my left arm, before the palm collides with his solar plexus. I don't need to ask why a palm, as my right hand follows and smashes into the back of my other hand.

The bald man widens his only viable eye for a moment before being flung back a couple meters, falling on his back.

He is obviously unhurt, despite some temporary pain. Pushing with his hands to get his torso a little higher, he then tries to adjust his glasses. "Huh?" Now left with a bare right eye and closed left eye, his tears blur his remaining vision.

The tanned man seems surprised, meanwhile my indifferent expression puts up a front.

Tightly held in my right hand is a pair of shattered glasses. Moments later, the man gets back onto his feet, taking a stance. "No monster or man ever reached my eyes before. Well played you bitch fuck... Seems like I'll need to beat you like I beat your mom."

The taller man shakes his head with a facepalm, meanwhile I don't let the petty, unoriginal insult change a thing on my face. What's next? A mom weight joke? Wasn't this sort of thing done... Oh I see!

He's indeed a bit older than me. Maybe the past trends stuck with him?

Crossing my arms, kept foremost, the bones in each forearm cross as well. A strange calmness appease me constantly. The whole fight has been an eye opener and a bore all at once. I can tell this man to be inept in martial arts, yet my long term memories claim otherwise.

I really can't believe this level to only be third rate. There's no way for the scaling to be accurate. Maybe I'm getting cocky, but I wouldn't be surprised for my current skills to be martial master worthy.

Not that I have fought with masters before... Maybe Dave? He mined silently back there, I don't have many memories of him speaking. But I did hear him talk about being a third dan black belt in... Was it judo? Apparently he was promoted in the Asian Complex directly, which he claimed to be much more difficult.

My thoughts suddenly vanish, gazing back up to an enlarging dark fist. It's his right arm, his entire weight behind it. This clean move seems pathetic to me now though, catching it with my open left palm with clear ease. Obviously, just catching it straight on would obliterate my hand at the very least, but it cannot when I follow his momentum, only letting his fist trail behind as my fingers secure his path as best they can.

My torso bends backward, rotating slightly to my right. He does the same, his weight and velocity forcing a forward lean, a bit to his right. My knees bend alongside before exploding into a right uppercut. His fist is already too far ahead, while his left arm isn't being put to use yet. Not only so, but I'm directly into his blind spot.

His face looks shocked as the uppercut connects onto his mouth. His lips are enough to block everything, even the broken pair of glasses. Before long, my right hand flickers and the glasses end up smashed onto his throat.

A moment later, I realize my left hand to have been broken. Despite this so called B-Rank being so slow both physically and mentally, I still can't outrun him it seems.

It's my loss...

Never mind the harsh truth, I'm happy. A little bug E-Rank like me managed to piss off this B-Rank guy. That's a feat I didn't know was achievable in the first place.

"Samuel, stop playing around will you? You're embarrassing everyone..." The tanned man spoke, and in the next instant I feel a set of heavy impacts on my stomach, chest and face, all at once.

Okay maybe I wasn't- Sent flying, I crash back first into the pavement a dozen meters away.

Guess he was the one playing around... Or he puts up a front after embarrassing himself... Fucking hell this shit hurts.

I can't see, the impact on my face forcing my poor little eyes shut. Some gastric acid is surging up my throat and my ribs are probably broken.

"Little bitch fuck, you thought didn't you? There's no way for a weakling like you to actually beat me. Don't underestimate a B-Ranker!" I hear his knuckles crack from far away, forcing my squinting eyes open. The sky is still a little clouded, while the rain has long since withered to a few drops.

The humid air doesn't help the paralysis I'm experiencing. And through the slit my eyes are, I notice the bald man to be intact. His eyes are a bit moist though.

Just before losing consciousness, I see a shred of light. I recognize it... it's a prompt.

.

.

.

Opening my eyes, no longer stands the sky and fresh, humid air. I'm surrounded by grey walls and metal bars. My skin covered in fresh new prison clothes, a familiar sensation courses through my body. A feeling of weakness.

It doesn't take me long to notice the chains at my hands and feet, glowing with eerie purple lights. Is it a new model? Looks better than what I had in the mines.

Memories jolt back into my head, clearing up the mess. I'm in jail? There's... one... two... three others? All cells are visible from anywhere, as the room is quite big. There's only three other people all around me, all separated into different cells. I touch the bench I'm now sitting on, yawning a little. Oh right, wasn't there a prompt?

Going through my status, I use one of the features and roll back, reading the prompt history. After some scrolling to make sure, I read them in order.

[You have fully unlocked the Quest Feature.]

[Immortality can only be the correct choice. A mortal's greatest fear is the unknown, apprehending death with a shaken heart. An Immortal's goal is eternality, omnipotence and omniscience. To exist forever and ever, before and after, above and below, within and beyond.]

[In this vast Universe, Earth is only the beginning. But prior to a mortal's blossoming, a first step must be taken. So does an Immortal's.]

[Qi, a miraculous energy, lies in every place one can imagine. However, some here may call it by another name.]

[Dark Energy.]

[You have received a new quest : Aspirations (1)]

Main Quest - Aspirations (1)

First Step - 00

>Objective : Fathom Qi, also known as Dark Energy. Attain the Qi Sensing Realm.

>Difficulty : Fated

>Mission Difficulty : Fated

>Mission Failure Penalty : None.

"..."

I mean, it's cool and all... but maybe tell me how? No? Is there more information if I press on... nope... what about... nope. Okay then. Cool. I shrug, impressed by the dramatic wording, but since I can't find anything useful I really have nothing to do. There doesn't even seem to be a timer, so might as well wait for another piece of knowledge.