Reign Of Loner

The world went fuzzy for a few seconds. One moment, I was standing, the next, a thunderclap exploded inside my skull. When my eyes finally fluttered open, it felt like I was trying to lift a car with my eyelids. Every muscle screamed in protest, a symphony of pain playing through my body. The ground felt impossibly hard against my back, each breath a sharp stab.

Through the haze, a figure loomed over me, a dark silhouette against the blurry sky. As my vision sharpened, the face of Charles Patrick, twisted into a sneer, came into focus. And in his hand, a baseball bat. My head throbbed, a drum solo of pain echoing the words he spat.

"Why'd you have to be so arrogant, huh, Mr. Nobody? Where's all that bravado now?" His voice was a venomous hiss, each word a fresh insult. "I'll make you pay for yesterday. How dare you kiss my girl in front of me? How dare you knock me down? How dare you humiliate me? The right hand of the school bully council head! I'll make your life a living hell. You'll pay for all of it!"

Suddenly, it clicked. Revenge. Of course. This wasn't some random beatdown; it was personal. But the old Adam, the one who just took it, was gone. Buried. I wasn't going to be suppressed anymore. No more getting bullied. These thoughts, a furious roar in my mind, tried to ignite a fire in my beaten body. But reality was a cold slap to the face. I was injured, on the ground, and surrounded. Charles, Joey, and a few of Charles's goons formed a tight circle around me, their faces a mix of cruel satisfaction and eager anticipation.

I tried to push myself up, but a kick to my side sent a fresh wave of nausea through me. Joey, his voice a maniacal cackle, leaned in. "How do you feel now, hero? Thanks, Charles."

Charles just grinned, a chilling, predatory smile. "Don't worry, Joey, I've got my own score to settle. Just hit him as much as you want. Hey, Mr. Nobody, wait, I'll give you a horrible death."

I wanted to stand, to fight, but they gave me no quarter. Punches rained down, kicks landed with sickening thuds, and the dull, heavy impact of the bat echoed through my skull. My body was at its limit, every nerve ending screaming. Consciousness was a flickering candle, threatening to extinguish itself.

"I'm going to kill you," Charles snarled, and then, the ultimate humiliation. He pressed his shoe onto my face, grinding it into the dirt. The taste of dust and blood filled my mouth. My vision swam, the faces of his goons blurring into a grotesque mosaic of indifference. No one moved to help. No one even flinched.

"How does it feel to be humiliated?" he taunted, his foot pressing harder, his fist striking my face again and again, mercilessly.

Jack's thought, "My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat of fear. Adam was getting pummeled, and I was frozen. I needed to help him, but how? My legs felt like lead, my throat tight with terror. Run away? The thought flashed, shameful and tempting. But no. Adam was in this mess because of me. I had to help him. I had to. Everything would be fine. It had to be. My eyes darted around, desperate, searching. And then I saw it. A glint of metal. A discarded metal rod, lying half-hidden under a bush. Yes! This was it. I could do this. I grabbed it, my hand surprisingly steady despite the tremor in my arm. Just hit him. Hit him as hard as I can."

With a surge of adrenaline, Jack charged, the metal rod a blur in his hand. He swung with all his might, a desperate, wild blow that connected squarely with Charles's head. A sickening thud, and Charles staggered back, a surprised grunt escaping his lips. Blood immediately bloomed on his temple, a stark red against his pale skin.

In that split second of chaos, I found an opening. The pressure on my face vanished. I scrambled, pushing myself up, my legs wobbly but holding. Charles was clutching his head, a look of pure agony on his face.

"Bro! Run away! Don't waste time!" Jack yelled, his voice strained but firm.

"What about you?" I gasped, still reeling.

"I'll manage, buddy!" he retorted, already bracing himself for the goons who were now turning their attention from Charles to him.

No way. I couldn't leave him to face this pack of hyenas alone. My eyes scanned the ground, and there it was – Charles's baseball bat, lying forgotten. I snatched it up, the familiar weight of it feeling strangely right in my hand.

Yesterday, I'd bought the [Weapon Expertise] skill from the system store. I hadn't really thought about when I'd use it, but now, it might come in handy. It wasn't just a skill; it was like my body had a mind of its own, moving with an instinctive grace I didn't know I possessed. It was the system's help, guiding me, turning my clumsy movements into precise, efficient strikes.

The goons, distracted by Jack, didn't see me coming. I moved, a blur of motion, the bat a deadly extension of my arm. One by one, they went down. I didn't aim to kill, just to incapacitate, to injure enough to knock them out. Each swing was brutal, calculated. The sharp, metallic clang of the bat colliding with their weapons, the sickening thuds as they hit the ground – it was a symphony of controlled chaos.

One hundred swings, ten home runs. The battle was a whirlwind of motion, a dance of destruction. When it was over, Charles, Joey, and their goons lay sprawled on the ground, cold as logs.

Just before Joey went completely limp, I leaned over him, my voice low and menacing. "Don't you ever touch my friend again, you filthy scum." I spat on his face, a final act of contempt. His eyes blazed with fury, but he couldn't move, couldn't even twitch. I'd hit him hard.

Then, I turned my gaze to Charles. A venomous smile stretched across my face, a dark, triumphant grin. I started to laugh, a low, mocking chuckle that sent shivers down my own spine. "You're literally beyond help, Charles. Yesterday, I kissed your girlfriend and humiliated you. And to get your revenge, which, by the way, no one cares about, you sneakily attacked me. Then you ganged up on me. And still, you lost." My voice rose, dripping with scorn. "You know what you are? A total disgrace in the name of masculinity. You should just go hide yourself. I kissed your girlfriend. You can't even beat me. Utterly helpless. Beyond helpless. I pity you."

His eyes, glazed with pain and rage, glared at me, as if he could kill me with a look. But his body wouldn't obey. He was done.

"You're a shame to the name of man!" I roared, my voice echoing in the sudden silence of the schoolyard. "If anyone has a green hat, just give it to our school's boxing champ! Hahaha!"

With that final humiliation, I delivered the finishing blow, knocking him out cold.

I internally knew that this wasn't over yet. They wouldn't let this go. But I didn't give a damn. I am loving it. Loving playing the villain. The rush, the power, the sheer audacity of it all. It felt… right."

Jack helped me up, his arm slung around my shoulder. We hobbled away from the battlefield, leaving the unconscious bullies in our wake. We found a secluded, peaceful corner of the school, a small patch of grass hidden behind the old gymnasium. We collapsed there, our bodies aching, our adrenaline slowly fading.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

Jack let out a weak chuckle. "I think that should be my line, don't you think? Yeah, I'm okay."

"We somehow managed it," I said, a faint smile playing on my lips. Both of us were utterly in pain, a testament to our action-packed morning.

We rested for a while, the quiet calm a stark contrast to the earlier chaos. Just as we were about to leave, a figure emerged from seemingly nowhere. A random boy, around 5'7", with straight black hair that reached his shoulders, suddenly dropped to his knees in front of me, grabbing my feet. His face was pressed against my shoe, a clear act of kowtowing.

"Oh, my majesty!" he shouted, his voice ringing with an almost theatrical respect. "Please accept the respect from your subject!"

I stared at him, then at Jack, my eyebrows raised in utter confusion. "Do you understand what the hell he's saying?"

Jack looked equally bewildered. "Like, he's saying really cringey stuff. I'm totally out of context, bro."

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded, pulling my foot away. "What cringey stuff are you saying?"

The boy looked up, his eyes wide with earnestness, completely unfazed by my outburst. "Oh, my majesty, I am nothing but a humble servant, a mere speck of dust in your glorious presence! I have witnessed your magnificent power, your unparalleled strength, your divine wrath! The way you vanquished those ruffians, those mere mortals who dared to challenge your supremacy! It was truly a sight to behold!"

Just hearing this Jack and I are totally lost.