Despite looking at least three times the size of a normal man, Shiro moved with terrifying precision.
A red layer of mana coated both of his fists like a heated gauntlet in the shadows of the alleyway.
This was clearly a specialised combat technique.
The debt collector did not waste any time talking, launching himself forward with a grunt.
Dodging the initial attack required Kai to throw his entire body sideways.
The red fist completely missed his head and slammed directly into the brick wall behind him, then within a second, the solid stone exploded into multiple sharp pieces, raining debris down onto the dirt.
Shiro immediately pivoted, using the momentum of his missed punch to aim a brutal uppercut right at Kai's chin.
Stepping lightly to the side, Kai let the fist sail past his face.
He used the opening to launch himself into the air, driving the heel of his boot squarely into the debt collector's nose.
"Gah!" Shiro grunted, stumbling backwards a few steps while clutching his face.
Dropping back down to the ground, Kai kept his guard up.
Shiro wiped a smear of dark blood from his mouth and let out a rough laugh.
The hit had barely fazed him.
"Oh, you definitely got some moves, brat," Shiro said, looking genuinely impressed by the counterattack.
"Wanna work for me? I pay a lot better than whoever sent you."
"No talking," Kai replied.
Instead of forming sharp projectiles to throw from a distance, Kai focused the mana entirely around his own knuckles.
He wanted to end this fight quickly.
The temperature in the alley dropped as a biting cold wrapped around his hands, forming dense, protective gauntlets of ice over his skin.
Closing the distance, they both started exchanging blows in the narrow space.
The fight quickly devolved into a brutal street brawl.
Kai managed to land several frozen punches against the bigger man's ribs, but avoiding every single attack was impossible against an opponent with actual combat experience.
A glancing blow from Shiro's red fist caught Kai right in the chest, sending a agonizing ache through his ribs.
Getting into a real, life-or-death physical altercation for the first time rarely ends well without taking some damage.
They kept trading hits, circling each other in the dirt.
Breathing heavily, Kai noticed his stamina draining entirely too fast.
He needed a clean opening.
Stepping forward to throw a straight punch, Kai let his left foot slide out from under him, made clumsy slip on the uneven ground.
Laughing at the apparent mistake, Shiro raised both of his glowing fists high into the air.
He hammered his hands downward, fully intending to end the fight by crushing Kai's skull into the ground.
But a confident smirk had already spread across Kai's face.
The slip was a complete feint.
Right as the fists came crashing down, Kai quickly slid his body backwards, letting Shiro hit nothing but empty dirt.
Using the debt collector's exposed posture, Kai stepped right back into the pocket and channelled every remaining drop of mana into his arm.
Activating Hard Strike, he landed a perfect punch directly onto the centre of Shiro's face.
"Guk," Shiro choked, his eyes rolling back into his head.
The debt collector fell to his knees, completely stunned by the critical hit.
Kai did not hesitate for a single second.
He climbed onto the kneeling man and started punching him in the face nonstop, driving his icy knuckles into the target until the frost melted away and Shiro's features were covered in red.
Panting heavily, Kai stepped back from the ruined man.
He reached down, picking up a metal pipe discarded near the alley wall. Gripping the cold steel tightly, he swung it like a baseball bat and smashed it directly into the side of Shiro's head, ending the problem permanently.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Dropping the bloody pipe into the dirt, Kai let out a long, exhausted sigh.
'This still feels like a game, but I know it is not true.'
The pain in his chest and the warmth on his knuckles were real. He needed to get significantly stronger if he actually wanted to stop the looming calamity.
Building up his stats was the only way to survive the coming war and eventually find his way back to Lyra and Sheila.
'But more importantly,' Kai added with a dry, internal chuckle, 'I really need to find out what kind of stat upgrades I can get after having sex.'
The walk back through the city streets was quiet.
Most of the honest citizens had already locked their doors for the night. Reaching the Hollow Moon Inn, Kai noticed the noisy taproom was empty.
The front door was locked tight. He knocked twice on the heavy oak wood and waited in the cool night air.
A moment later, the door creaked open. Greta stood in the doorway, holding a cleaning rag in one hand.
She looked up and saw Kai standing on her doorstep with his face splashed with fresh blood. Her mouth widened slightly. She stared at him, completely dumbfounded by the sight.
"Did you really do it?" Greta asked, her voice quiet.
"Yeah," Kai answered, leaning casually against the doorframe.
"What for?" she pressed, her eyes searching his face for an answer.
"Information," Kai said, stepping past her into the warm tavern.
"And you."
Closing the door behind him, Kai reached out and grabbed her firmly by the hips.
Pulling her close, he noticed she smelled incredibly good, like wine and expensive soap. The soft blossoms of her ample chest pressed warmly against his chest.
She had taken her hair down from its bun, letting the green strands fall freely around her shoulders, which only made her look significantly hotter in the tavern light.
"You," Greta whispered, her breath catching slightly.
She looked up at him for a few silent seconds, testing the reality of the moment.
Then, wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled his head down and kissed him deeply.
Her lips were soft, parting easily as she used her tongue to deepen the kiss, pulling him entirely into the moment.
Kai waited for a brief second, half expecting the blue screen to pop up.
There was no system alert this time.
This was just a real, human connection in a broken world.
Breaking the kiss, Greta rested her forehead against his chin. "Let's go upstairs," she whispered directly into his ear.