Reality Quest: Lookism

I groaned as I pushed myself up from the cracked wall, shaking the dust off my shoulders. My body ached like hell, but I wasn't done yet.

'Let's see the damage.' I thought, opening my Stats Panel.

---

[Stats Panel]

HP: 450/1600

MP: 310/330

Credits: 250

---

I clicked my tongue. 'That bastard knocked off nearly three-quarters of my HP with one throw. And I can't afford to run out of MP now.'

Gun stood a few meters away, casually wearing again and adjusting his glasses, looking entirely unbothered. That smug look on his face pissed me off even more.

'If I don't boost my stamina, this fight's over before it even begins.' I thought, pulling up the upgrade options.

[Upgrade Options]

Increase Max HP by 100: 10 Credits

Increase Max MP by 10: 10 Credits

Without hesitation, I spent 240 credits, splitting them evenly between HP and MP.

---

[Upgrade Successful.]

HP Increased by 1200.

MP Increased by 120.

---

My panel flickered, and I immediately felt the surge in my stamina.

---

[Updated Stats]

HP: 1650/2800

MP: 430/450

Credits: 10

---

I rolled my shoulders, feeling a newfound energy coursing through my veins. "Alright." I muttered, cracking my knuckles as I locked eyes with Gun.

Gun raised a brow, clearly noticing the change in my demeanor. "Done wasting time?" he asked, his tone calm but mocking.

I smirked, taking a step forward. "Let's find out how are you gonna clap me."

Gun's grin widened, and he adjusted his stance slightly. "Interesting." he said, his voice laced with amusement. "You have no shame."

....

The fight against Gun was a tragic comedy of errors, but to the three fools involved, Daniel, Vasco, and Ji, it was a life-or-death brawl.

Gun stood in the center, an immovable force of nature, adjusting his glasses for the umpteenth time as if his opponents weren't even worth dirtying them for.

Daniel charged first, his perfect body moving with grace and speed that would make an Olympic athlete jealous. He ducked low, feinted a punch, and then twisted mid-air into a flawless spinning kick.

"Not bad." Gun said, catching Daniel's leg mid-kick with one hand. "But predictable."

With a flick of his wrist, he sent Daniel flying into a parked car. Daniel groaned, his perfect face now marred with a bloody nose. "I-I can still fight!" Daniel yelled, standing up shakily before clutching his side.

Jin, watching from the side, rolled his eyes. "Sure, buddy. You're a real warrior."

Meanwhile, Vasco took his turn. With fire in his eyes and juice stains on his lips, he stomped toward Gun. "You're a bad guy!" he declared with conviction.

Gun tilted his head. "Bad guy?" he repeated, genuinely confused.

Before Vasco could elaborate, he lunged with a wild right hook. Gun didn't even bother dodging. Instead, he blocked the punch with his forearm and replied with a clean jab to Vasco's chest that sent him skidding backward.

Vasco stumbled but didn't fall. His chest heaved as he raised a trembling fist. "I'm not done yet!"

"You're persistent. I'll give you that." Gun said, cracking his knuckles.

Then there was Jin. The dark horse.

Clutching his bruised ribs, Jin stepped forward, ignoring the burning pain in his body. His clothes were already torn, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Yo, you done monologuing yet?" Jin asked with a sharp tone.

Gun raised a brow, impressed by the audacity. "You're not as skilled as Daniel, but you're interesting-"

"Yeah, yeah, less yapping." Jin shot back, cutting him off mid-sentence. "I'm not hearing all that."

With that, Jin dashed forward, twisting his body into a Brazilian Kick.

---

[Skill Progression: Brazilian Kick 0.1% → 1%]

---

The kick was slightly better this time. It even 'forced' Gun to block with his forearm rather than simply ignoring it.

"Improvement." Gun noted. "But still not enough."

"Shut up!" Jin yelled, immediately spinning into another Brazilian Kick.

This one had a bit more finesse, and Jin grinned as he saw Gun's eyes widen, just a fraction.

---

[Skill Progression: Brazilian Kick 1% → 5%]

---

Gun caught Jin's leg mid-kick, lifting him off the ground like a ragdoll. "You've got spunk, I'll give you that."

Jin smirked. "Spunk's all I've got."

Without warning, he swung his free leg into Gun's side, using Blind Spot Strike with a surge of mana.

---

[Blind Spot Strike Activated: -20 MP]

[Skill Progression: Brazilian Kick 5% → 10%]

---

The hit connected, but Gun barely flinched. "Interesting.." Gun mused, gripping Jin's leg tighter before hurling him across the lot.

Jin smashed into the same wall he'd hit earlier, sliding down like a poorly drawn cartoon character.

From the ground, Jin groaned. "You...could've at least thrown me somewhere new."

Meanwhile, Daniel tried to capitalize on the moment, launching a flying kick. Gun sidestepped casually, leaving Daniel to crash headfirst into Vasco, who had just recovered.

"You idiots!" Jin barked as he shakily stood up again. "Can you two stop playing footsie and fight him properly?"

Vasco dusted himself off, shouting, "I'm doing this for justice!"

"Yeah, yeah, juice boy. Just don't die!" Jin retorted, taking off his bloody shirt and pants and tossing them aside.

Crystal, who had been watching the entire debacle from a safe distance, wrinkled her nose. "What are you doing?!"

Jin turned to her, now wearing only his underwear. He grinned creepily and sprinted toward her with a lecherous expression.

Crystal screamed, "Pervert!" and took a step back ready to run.

Gun, unimpressed, grabbed Jin by the head mid-sprint, lifting him clean off the ground. "You're all insane." he muttered, shaking his head.

Jin, however, smirked again. "Thanks for the lift."

Before Gun could speak again, Jin twisted his body and delivered another Brazilian Kick, this time infused with Blind Spot Strike.

---

[Blind Spot Strike Activated: -20 MP]

[Skill Progression: Brazilian Kick 10% → 17%]

---

The kick connected with Gun's temple, but all it managed to do was ruffle his hair slightly.

"That's enough." Gun said, his tone dropping as he grabbed Jin by the ankle and slammed him into the ground.

The impact shook the lot, leaving a crater where Jin once stood.

Daniel and Vasco, seeing their chance, both charged at once.

"FOR JUSTICE!" Vasco screamed.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Daniel added, tears in his eyes.

Gun smirked, pulling off his glasses and pocketing them. "You two are next."

What followed was a blur of violence.

Gun's fists moved like pistons, pummeling both Daniel and Vasco into submission. His final move, a devastating Destruction Slam, sent Vasco crashing into the ground while Daniel flew backward, hitting a wall and slumping over unconscious.

Jin, meanwhile, got thrown towards the same wall.

Again.

---

[HP: 3/2800]

[MP: 1/450]

---

As Gun adjusted his suit, preparing to leave, he froze. Slowly, he turned to look at his left shoulder.

A small tear in his yellow suit.

He touched it, his expression unreadable, before turning to see Jin coughing with an open bloody eye looking at him, his bloody smile and broken teeth eerily ugly.

"I got you, bastard." Jin rasped, coughing up blood.

Gun's eyes narrowed, his tone softer than before. "You're reckless...but not bad."

Before Jin could respond, the system spoke:

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[Quest Failed: Host did not reach 100% Brazilian Kick mastery. Host's condition too low to continue.]

---

Gun smirked, turning away as he adjusted his glasses. "You three should be grateful I didn't kill you."

With that, he escorted a terrified Crystal to her car, leaving the three would-be heroes in various states of unconsciousness.

As Jin's vision faded, the system delivered one final message:

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[Hidden Quest Complete: Earn Gun's Respect.]

---

Jin chuckled weakly before the world went dark.

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1274 words.

Stones, comments and reviews please!