Ascension Online: I Grow Stronger By Streaming-Chapter 30: A good beating

Kai looked at the darkness. He hesitated, worried that he would get beat if he walked in there. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

’I need to be sure.’ He said in his mind as he took the first step toward the darkness. After entering the alley, his footsteps reached the ears of the people that were beating someone there.

They stopped, then looked over at Kai, their eyes shining in the dark.

"Hey, who are you?" one of the men barked, his voice loud and threatening.

Kai didn’t stop. He stepped ahead, balling his fist tighter as he tried to ensure he was calm. His heart raced. He wasn’t a fighter, he wasn’t someone that engaged in any conflict, but now he was walking right into a fight.

"Hey, seems like you want to die." one of the men said in anger, then he rushed at Kai, his heavy boots slammed against the hard ground.

He came into view, tall, bulky, dressed in full black, his skin covered in tattoos.

"You freaking brat!" he barked, throwing a straight punch at Kai.

Kai looked at the fist, and for some reason that fist seemed quite slow. Kai could see it coming at him, there was no panic anymore, the fear seemed to fade away.

Kai stretched his hands, and then grabbed the arm. He leaned in, using his body for the turn, and then spun the man over his shoulder, slamming him down into the ground so hard that he bounced off the floor, and then lay on the ground unmoving.

Kai looked at the man. He froze, he wasn’t moving. Kai stepped back, panic forming. "Did I kill him?" he muttered, fear warping his mind, but then he noticed the chest of the man heaving up and down slowly, he was alive.

Kai heaved a sigh of relief.

"Hey, what the hell did you do?" one of the men barked, rushing ahead. The second had the victim in his hands, he looked over at Kai, wondering if he should attack as well. Finally, he tossed the man to the side and charged at Kai.

Kai saw both men coming at him, and rather than fear, a certain confidence filled him. The second man approached, throwing a punch, a complete haymaker. Kai stepped back, evading the attack easily, before leaning in, and punching for his guts.

BAM

The fist collided with the stomach, the man arched backwards, he flew through the air and slammed into the ground, rolling for a few meters before coming to a stop.

The second was stunned, he looked at the man that had stopped at his feet, and then looked up at Kai, but Kai was already rushing at him.

The man was taken unaware, the fist was already close to him.

BAM

The collision shattered the man’s nose, throwing him back in pain.

"Ahhhhhh" the man screamed as he hit the floor.

Kai stood there. He looked at his fist, this power, it was definitely not who he was before, he was far stronger, faster, his power was real.

"Urghhhhhhh" the man that was getting beat up before groaned, he rolled on the ground.

Kai looked over there, that man was the reason why he had come here, so he approached, his footsteps echoed. He bent down beside the man who was in agony.

He had short black hair and eyes, his face was bruised and bloodied. Kai wasn’t worried about his state though, he didn’t come here to save, he simply came to confirm something.

He grabbed the man’s arm, and then lifted it, and then he saw what he was looking for, the mark, the tattoo, the very same one that had been on the arm of that girl. It glowed with a low faint red color.

Kai stared at it, how did the same tattoo of an NPC show up here? What were the odds of that happening, on the same day, on the same arm?

Kai looked at it, his mind churning as he tried to find out what was happening. The man’s eyes slowly opened, he looked at Kai.

His lips quivered as he managed to talk, "Tha-ank you." he stammered.

Kai looked at the man, then lifted the hand, showing it to him, "Hey, where did you get this from?" Kai asked.

The man was stunned, his eyes moved to the arm, he saw the tattoo, was that what Kai was speaking of?

"Where did you get it?" Kai asked again.

The man finally composed himself and spoke, "Uhm, I got it from a tattoo shop, a lady I met there recommended it to me two days ago, she said it would serve a good purpose in my life soon." the man said, "I figured it was a good luck thing, so I simply did it." the man stated.

Kai listened and then frowned, he could tell the man wasn’t lying. He let go of the arm and got up.

"I’ve taken care of the guys, you should get up and leave before they wake up." Kai said. He walked off, leaving the alley. He looked at the road ahead, wondering if he should keep walking, but he had enough tonight already, so he turned around and walked back home, hand in his pocket.

What the man said rang in his mind, someone had just told him to get the tattoo? That meant it had nothing to do with the lady in the restaurant.

"Someone probably saw it in-game and decided to use it in real life, that’s the best explanation." Kai muttered to himself, he knew that bothering himself about it was pointless.

He arrived back at his home, he entered the apartment building, and then walked in, closing his door the moment he stepped inside.

But outside in the darkness, a figure walked past his house, cloaked in black from head to toe, a heavy jacket and a hat. He didn’t stop at all, but turned his head and glanced at the building, as if marking it, and then walked off.