CH 11

The sun had been brightly shining down as the roar of the engine of Zel's car sounded out. Good thing there were no cops nearby or he would be pulled over for going so fast.

Zel took his time to register in the unfamiliar feeling he had. The emerging grin on his face couldn't be concealed by the hand he kept over his face as he enjoyed the thrill of the ever-growing power.

'So, leveling up does nothing. The real kicker was putting it in some points in stats. The skills are too vague for now, but I'll be able to get a better understanding of their use later.'

Zel was presently less than an hour away from the surprise birthday party, oh, the 'surprise' birthday party. Living life like he does make things like surprises and jump scares a thing of the past, except the past happened in a timeline only he knows.

Since he was going for a new outcome this time, he had on different clothes. Wearing the most comfortable jogging pants he had and the gym sleeveless shirt he had worn earlier that was now hidden under a jacket that also hides a surprise for his would-be attacker.

'His attacks were mostly melee, which means the range of his movements is pretty small. Low enough that if I had something to close the distance such as this baby right here, I could take him out without having to take a hit myself.'

Zel knew he wasn't at his best at the time he was attacked. The man possessed three advantages before.

First was that he had the element of surprise on his side.

'A hit from the back would have taken me out instantly, though he missed or rather, I dodged him, the unexpectedness of the situation nonetheless made me forgot most of my training.'

The second was he was armed while Zel wasn't.

'Even if he brought out everything he can, he won't expect my secret weapon. After all, I have the advantage in terms of surprise this time.'

The last reason and the biggest reason he lost after thinking long and hard about it.

'He had my family hostage. I lost my cool because of that and even a single moment of distraction has proven fatal from the way I killed him even when he was a ranker.'

He was fortunate for sure, coincidences that made it possible to restrain him within the most minuscule amount of time possible and taking advantage of the fact that his mastery of his body due to his experience with dabbling in martial arts and other sports were able to get him just enough time to get an advantage were things that you only hope for, not plan for.

Zel drove his way to his parent's house while hauling his now favorite bag with him but this time, the weapon inside was nowhere to be seen. He took a look at his new ring and smiled to himself.

He had on a pair of sunglasses that complement him pretty well with how calm he looked since his lower face rarely moved causing him to give off 'chill' vibes. He was still laughing inside but that might convey something away to the man he was dying to meet.

'I hardly won when he was above me.' He couldn't help but feel that even though he was a cheat himself by getting to experience life a few more times... A few tens of times more than the man, the fact that he had access to the system represent an undeniable advantage.

'But now I possess it too!' The skill he got by spending some Mastery points was already making itself useful. His eyes that were hiding beneath the sunglasses proved this, but since it was hidden, only he would know.

No fear was seen on Zel's face, unlike how it was just a few minutes ago. He had something in his sleeves that gave him the confidence to fight and most importantly, win!

Zel was currently just about to cross the bridge connecting to the neighborhood that his parents live in. The familiar trees that surveyed the streets that cast a shadow over his car as it went through the darkness. This only turned out to help Zel when the silhouette of the man he killed when he was in his dream last time was directly visible in the distance.

'That hoodie wearing bastard, I'll show you who's boss this time.'

Zel had never really felt anger like this before, sure he retained some pent up anger towards his parents but it never really fueled him like how he was right now. Perhaps those thoughts of his before he obtained the ability of 'Clairvoyance' were now unleashing itself into a released arrow that is Zel's car.

" Vroom. Vroom. " Zel pushed the pedal of his car so hard that it was now lying parallel to the space behind it. The man seemed to notice something as he turned around and discovered a pair of eyes hidden behind sunglasses glaring at him. He couldn't see it directly, but he knew that those eyes were glaring at him.

" Beep! Beep! " Just before he was about to slam the car into the man, Zel pressed on his horns to further shame the man.

" Bang. Bang. Thud. Thud. " Zel watched as the man got hit by the hood of his car, land on his wind shield, get tossed into the air and land behind the car. Zel went out of the now smoking car that had its windshield patterned like a spiderweb and saw the man was now kneeling while holding on to one knife that glowed red pointed at him.

"Who the fuck are you?" This would have been more threatening if the man wasn't holding on to dear life as his other arm don't even seem to have the ability to move anymore. The plans Zel had in mind were instantly a waste since he expected more from the man who defeated him.

'Alas, it was just a fluke.'

Not even considering that he was cheating when he operated a car to blindside a Level 2 who hasn't even developt a skill to level 3 yet, Zel felt only delight at his plight. No mercy for the man who threatened him with not only death but also wanted to humiliate his family.

"You dared to fuck with me, don't you remember? Oh, you called me an anomaly before, mind telling me how a scrub like you even found out I was an anomaly?"

"I don't even know you! Wait, so were an anomaly? Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! You should just fucking die! You mana sucking bitch!"

"Oh hoho, careful not to scare me away or you won't get a reward. You'd need to kill me for that, though."

"How the hell would an anomaly know that? Are you fucking with me? You're no anomaly. You're a ranker!"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. The one who's going to be asking from now on is gonna be me. You just answer me."

Zel stopped in place while shedding his jacket and revealing the man the things he wore under it. A pair of metal sticks that are connected by a slender chain. He wanted to confront him from a distance while also having enough of a defense if he ever got too close.

Zel walked forwards now while he slightly swayed the nunchucks with one hand and he juggled the metal stick he was holding with one hand rhythmically until it was shifting so fast that it seemed to vanish.

" Ding ." The man's remaining arm was left untouched by the sudden swing, but the knife he held with it instantly disappeared without a trace. This didn't register to the man's head quickly enough as he only just realized that he was now lying face up on the ground.

'What happened?'

Zel was still juggling the nunchuks, but now he was transferring it over to his other hand while keeping the momentum alive. He was shifting it so fast that you wouldn't be able to see where it was just by looking at his arms, like a snake coiling around Zel's body.

"I've had to think so much about what to do with you, I'm a little disappointed with your performance but I guess I was cheating after all. I even got to test out how the system works because of you. Now, time for question number 1. Who are you?"

"Screw yo- Ahh!" Before he even had a chance to complete his sentence, his left ankle was fractured to shards with the momentum Zel's nunchucks had released on it. It briefly repeated the routine and was even achieving speeds that were higher than before.

"Answer and I'll make it painless, make another word that I didn't ask for and you get what's coming to you. Nod if you understand." Zel saw the man hesitate but when he heard the wind breaking noise coming from Zel, he lost all hesitation and nodded vigorously.

"Good, now, answer my first question."

It took some time, but Zel finally got all the answers he wanted, starting from who the man was.

'Ray Garrin, an expelled military student who was given access to the system half a month ago. No kids, no wife, parents don't bother with him. Just a lowlife loser who got too excited during an on-the-job training and ended up getting kicked out before he even got in.'

Zel felt no sympathy for the man who tried to slaughter him.

'Turns out stopping 3 anomalies grants you a title called 'Balance Keeper' that grants the user 5 stat points which was essentially another level up.'

Zel couldn't help but feel tired after all he's done today. He watched as Ray's painful breathing was the only sign he was still alive. Even that only showed how tough the guy was.

Ray was now bleeding from head to toe, his head had split open from the crash he took from the car, the arm got a nasty cut because he was trying to break his fall and his ankle was fractured for being disobedient. There was no more will to resist, only a desire to have it all end immediately.

Zel couldn't be bothered with him. He closed his hand in a manner like he was holding on to something as a gun appeared on his hand and placed the nozzle hanging over his temple.

" Bang. Thud. "