After my blow, I looked at those behind him. They clearly didn’t expect that from a schoolboy; they weren’t ready for me to fight back. And what about me? I’m great, and I’m not going to tolerate this. I’ll punish these thugs. But my gloating didn’t last long. I didn’t understand how, but the other thug, the one who initially spoke to me first, was in front of me. Or rather, not him, but his fist, which successfully landed right on my cheek. I can’t call the blow strong; on the contrary, I didn’t even budge. Looking at him and seeing his frightened gaze, I struck him with the bag containing the soda cans. And then the brawl began, if you can call it that.

After the blow, I dropped my grocery bag, and then everyone except the girl attacked me. I tried to exchange blows, but there were simply more of them. I endured and hit back, but as I took more and more blows, I felt worse, until finally, I was hit hard on the head with something heavy. Not heavy enough to kill, but it definitely wasn’t a light object.

— Wha… Assh… Fu…

I heard nothing; my ears were ringing, and my eyes were filled with darkness. I felt someone hitting me in the face, but I couldn’t regain consciousness yet. Instinctively, I lunged into the darkness, away from them. I needed a breather; I had to regroup, and then I would win. I also heard muffled shouts behind me, but nevertheless, I continued to run, not knowing where.

“Call for help? No, I’m great, and I’ll handle these bastards myself. I’ll win, I’ll beat them up,if I have to.

I didn’t run for long. My sight and hearing returned after a while. I could already clearly hear them running after me, and it worked to my advantage. I also ran into another alley, not much different from the one I’d already been in, but it didn’t matter; the main thing was that the one who was so eager to catch me was still running after me. Turning around, I hit him in the face with all my might—he fell with a deafening thud. Then his buddies appeared.

— What, you bastards, you decided to kill me? Ha-ha-ha, come at me one by one, you assholes!

Their words and the sight of their incapacitated friend on the ground enraged the gang even further, and they attacked me with renewed force. Everyone except the girl, who had also remained motionless until now. Seeing them all now, I felt a hundred times more comfortable, assuming a boxer’s stance. I landed a jab on the nearest one—don’t get me wrong, I’m far from a boxer, not even close, I just copied what I’d seen on YouTube, and it paid off.

Blow after blow, they tried to grapple me, but nothing worked! It was a clumsy attempt. Then I started gouging their eyes, trying to throw them over my shoulder, hitting them in the neck, in the groin—anything to win. Because the result is what matters! And after three minutes, I stood over them all: exhausted, beaten, with a swollen and bloody face. Blood was flowing from my nose, but I didn’t care; I won! I’m the greatest! But there was still the girl. Remembering her, I was about to turn towards her when I felt a sharp, stinging pain in my shoulder.

— AAAA!

I screamed—it was unbearable pain. The girl, who had been standing AFK the whole time, had just stabbed me in the shoulder with a knife. Overcoming myself and enduring the pain, I kicked her, pushing her away. Then I grabbed the knife: my body ached, but my head was still trying to think clearly. Even after what happened, understanding that if I pulled out the knife now, heavy bleeding might start, I still did it. It’s stupid, but I don’t care. Holding the knife, I bared my teeth at the girl. Frightened, she fell to the ground; she trembled, apparently not understanding what she had done. I tried not to waste time; maybe she still had more tricks up her sleeve—I couldn’t know. Approaching her and grabbing her by her clothes, I pressed the knife to her face, then screamed:

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— I’ll kill you! Do you hear me? I’ll kill you and I won’t care that you’re a stupid girl!

— Enough!

At that moment, someone called out to me, but I wasn’t in a hurry to turn around. Maybe it’s another enemy I have to fight. Releasing the girl, she collapsed again onto the floor. She had neither the strength nor the spirit to move. Then, turning my head towards the voice, I saw the following. Not far from me stood a girl with black and white hair. She was wearing something like a knight’s “female” uniform; it wasn’t armor, but something more aristocratic, yet she had two swords hanging at her waist. I can’t say exactly how old she is, maybe over twenty, if that even matters.

—What? Did you come to kill me too?”

— …

Her eyes showed how serious she was, but at the same time, there was sympathy in them. I can’t explain it; it’s the first time I’ve encountered this; it’s unusual, and most importantly, disgusting. That horrible disgusting feeling mixed with adrenaline and the remnants of blood on my lips.

— Listen, it’s over, put down the knife, and we can talk.

— Do you think I’m stupid? They tried to kill me, do you hear me? They attacked me in a group and tried to overwhelm me with numbers, and I won! -I yelled.

Talk? What is she even talking about? Maybe I’m wounded, but I haven’t gone insane yet to do something like that!

— I understand, but still, drop the weapon, or I’ll have to do it myself. I don’t want to, but you’re leaving me no choice. I saw what you were about to do to that girl. If I hadn’t interfered, I don’t know how far you would have gone.

What is this idiot saying? They tried to kill me! I’m the victim here… No, I’m not a victim, I’m a winner! With this thought, I threw the knife, and it fell to the blood-soaked ground. Then I looked back at her.

— Okay, now that we’ve heard each other out, I promise I’ll make sure they go to jail, and I’ll also help…

— SHUT UP!

— !?

“I won’t tolerate this.”

— I don’t need your help! I’m not going down this quest line; I don’t need a storyline and an ending with you! I’ll achieve everything myself without help, because I’m grea-cough… – I coughed up blood.

— You need help, otherwise you’ll die. It’s my duty as a knigh…

— SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I don’t care! Just get away from me!

I turned away from her. I don’t want to see her. I said I’d do everything myself; I can handle it. I already said that, what else is needed? I’ll go through this “game” myself, without help, to my own ending, with my own choices; it’s my path. Just all of you, get away from me!

— At least tell me your name before you go.

Name? In this world, is it something like a prologue? Now I need to come up with a nickname? What should I answer? Should I tell her my real name? Or make one up? No, I’ve never set nicknames. I always used Cyrillic so the nickname wouldn’t show up in the game; it’s there, but it’s not. I’ve always played by my own rules, and this will be no exception.

— Does it matter? -With these words, I slowly started walking away from her, holding my shoulder.

— Savannah Becker—that’s my name. If you need help, just call me, and I’ll come.

What does “just call me” mean? Does she have a listening device or something? Although I don’t care. I didn’t even turn towards her. I moved on, not knowing where, just forward.