Chapter 12 - Life Starts But Villain Attacks
I walked back toward the gym to retrieve my bike.
Today had been strange.
This morning, Mira had quietly left for Nexus Academy without saying goodbye.
Now Fatty Fu was apparently returning to the Dragon Empire to fulfill whatever suspicious life he’d been hiding from me all these years.
Like, probably to get married.
"..."
I suddenly felt a little out of place.
Then another realization hit me.
"I am not the fucking main character."
I looked up at the sky before cursing the heavens.
"Fuck you, Fatty Fu!"
The name Fatty Fu carried far more weight than I’d ever admitted.
Turns out he wasn’t my loyal sidekick after all.
He had his own homeland.
His own responsibilities.
His own life.
For some reason, I felt slightly betrayed.
Not because he’d done anything wrong, but because I’d somehow gotten used to the idiot always being around.
After all, wasn’t Fatty Fu supposed to be the legendary comic-relief companion who followed the protagonist everywhere?
I sighed before shaking my head.
’Let’s not think about that.’
There was no point drowning in unnecessary negativity.
"There are still one and a half months before the Nexus entrance examination."
That was my priority.
During that time, I needed to become stronger.
Or, I could begin searching for the hidden treasures mentioned in the novel.
Although my memories were incomplete, I still remembered several opportunities that hadn’t appeared yet.
Besides that, I also needed to organize everything I knew.
Future events, important characters, dangerous organizations, powerful enemies.
The more information I sorted out now, the fewer surprises I’d have later.
Hopefully.
"Speaking of surprises."
I frowned.
"What the hell is happening?"
Screams suddenly echoed down the street.
When I looked toward the gym, my eyes widened.
The front windows of The Fitness Club had shattered.
Smoke poured out from inside the building while people rushed away from the entrance in panic.
And parked peacefully beside the curb, was my bicycle.
That too, completely unharmed... for now.
"Why do villains show up when my life is about to get a reboot?!"
I immediately broke into a sprint.
That bicycle wasn’t some expensive luxury.
It was something I’d bought after working part-time jobs.
Every scratch on it had a story.
It was literally built from my sweat, tears and minimum wage.
Sure, it wasn’t worth much money.
But there are times when sentimental value completely surpasses market value.
"There is no way I’m letting some random incident decide the fate of my bike!"
Ignoring the chaos around me, I charged straight toward it.
Several people shouted for me to stop.
One even tried grabbing my arm.
I slipped past them without slowing down.
Then a furious roar erupted from inside the gym.
"OLD MATER! THIS IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF YOUR ACTIONS!"
BOOM!
Another explosion thundered through the building.
The remaining windows burst outward, sending glass and dust flying across the street.
The cloud of smoke rapidly expanded, swallowing the entire entrance.
’Now’s my chance.’
The smoke hid me from anyone still inside.
From their perspective, I had vanished.
’Perfect.’
I reached my bicycle, grabbed the handlebars with both hands, and quickly pulled out my key.
"Come on."
Just as I was about to unlock it.
DOOM!
The outer wall exploded.
Chunks of concrete blasted outward as two figures burst through the collapsing wall and landed only a few meters away from me.
I instinctively skidded to a stop.
One of them was the young man who had received the sword from the gym owner earlier.
The polished black blade was already out of its scabbard, its edge gleaming beneath the sun.
Opposite him stood another young man around our age, dressed entirely in black.
His face was hidden behind a crude skin-colored mask that gave him an unsettling, expressionless appearance.
The two exchanged another violent clash before separating.
Clang!
Sparks scattered across the pavement.
My gaze instinctively shifted toward the smoking gym.
’Is Old Mater fighting too?’ Though his name was weird, he was a retired hero.
From inside came another deafening crash, followed by several overlapping shouts.
The battle clearly wasn’t over.
’No wonder they still go to the gym.’
Even Heroes who relied on supernatural energy still trained their bodies.
Apparently, enough to punch through walls.
I tightened my grip on the handlebars and continued running with my bicycle instead of riding it.
Trying to mount it in the middle of this chaos was practically asking to become roadkill.
Besides, Heroes still hadn’t arrived.
That alone told me something.
This attack had probably been planned.
Still, with this much smoke rising into the sky, someone would notice eventually.
Passing Heroes weren’t blind.
’Just a little farther.’
I glanced back one last time toward the gym.
That was my mistake.
Thud.
I walked straight into someone.
"Ah."
A third masked man had somehow appeared directly in front of me.
Unlike the other attacker, this one wasn’t holding a weapon.
He simply stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking down at me through the eerie mask.
"Whoa." He tilted his head.
"We’ve got a strange one here."
He glanced between me and my bicycle.
"Everyone else is running for their lives, but you’re running toward a bicycle."
He let out a low laugh.
"What kind of idiot are you?"
I immediately raised both hands.
"No hard feelings, brother."
I gave him my most harmless smile.
"I’m just here to retrieve my bicycle, this is a gift from my grandma."
"..."
The masked man blinked.
For a second, I genuinely thought I’d confused him.
’Perfect.’
He’d definitely assume I was some harmless lunatic.
No one pays attention to the village idiot.
But I was proved wrong.
WHAM!
Something slammed into my stomach before my brain even registered the movement.
"Ugh!"
Pain exploded through my abdomen as his kick struck me through the bicycle frame, launching both me and the bike backward.
I crashing shoulder-first into the curb.
’What the hell?!’
I clutched my stomach.
’His flexibility is ridiculous!’
That kick had come from an angle that shouldn’t have been physically possible.
The masked man hadn’t shown the slightest hesitation.
Not even against someone who looked like an ordinary civilian.
I forced myself back onto my feet.
’Run.’
There was no shame in tactical retreat.
I grabbed my bicycle and sprinted.
Three steps and that was all I managed.
THUD!
Another kick crashed into my back.
I was sent sprawling face-first onto the asphalt, my bicycle tumbling beside me with a metallic clang.
"Son of a..."
I pushed myself onto one knee, forcing myself to stay calm despite the pain radiating through my ribs.
’Peak Bronze Rank’
Maybe even stronger.
And he was definitely above me.
The masked man slowly walked closer, almost leisurely, as if he were enjoying himself.
"Interesting."
He crouched slightly until we were nearly eye level.
"You’re not an ordinary civilian."
His masked face tilted.
"A recently Awakened brat?"
A low chuckle escaped him.
"Hehe, crushing hope is always more entertaining."