The System's Hold Over Me

The masked man swung his machete, aiming for Frizz's shoulder, but Frizz managed to dodge at the last second, taking several steps back. Another swing came immediately after, this time from the other masked man; Frizz barely avoided the attack again.

Both masked men paused, checking if there were anyone but could only spot three of their members reeling on the ground. They were confused by the whole ordeal but didn't let it affect them. They refocused on their task: to maim and kill.

Frizz ran, putting some distance between himself and the two men. They followed, though they lagged slightly. (I could run away right now, but they'll just come back for me.)

After gaining a bit more ground, Frizz stopped and turned to face them. "Let's see if this idea works." He held out both hands, mentally picturing a gust of wind to telekinetically push them back.

*Fwoom!* Frizz heard the air howl as the telekinetic force propelled towards them. The two men were hit head-on, the impact feeling like a powerful shove, causing them to stumble and fall.

"It worked! It works!" Frizz exclaimed as he laughed and sent another telekinetic push towards them.

"What the hell!?" One of them shouted as they fell on the asphalt road. *Thud!* The other one landed on his bottom. They tried to stand back up, but the continuous force prevented them; they rolled and were pushed back in each consecutive force.

Both men were in fear; they didn't know what was happening; all they knew was that their target was responsible.

"Stop!" The masked men pleaded while covered in dirt and soot as they rolled on the road. Frizz didn't listen and just kept applying the telekinetic push. 

(If I were in your position, begging you to stop, you'd torture me even more, and one of you would probably record the whole ordeal too.)

"I'm not going to stop; who knows how many pleads or begs you have mocked and ignored?"

Frizz's eyes landed on the slope just off the road. He had noticed it earlier; it wasn't a huge fall. An idea formed in his mind.

(The fall won't kill them, but it's enough to incapacitate them.) Frizz maintained the push, guiding them towards the edge. However, a sudden ache pulsed through his head and chest, forcing him to stop for a moment.

"The hell?" Frizz muttered as he clutched his head. The pain wasn't severe, but it was enough to make him stop.

As soon as the pushes paused, the two men scrambled to their feet. They glanced at their target, who was clutching his head, seemingly disoriented. "It's a chance," they declared. "You're right," the other agreed.

"Let's bail." "Let's fight." They both said in unison, they had different ideas of the opportunity in front of them.

"What the fuck do you mean by 'fight', Anton?" The other masked man argued. "Don't you see? If he can do that, what else can he do?"

"True, but whatever it was, he can't keep doing it forever." They pointed at their target, who seemed disoriented. "Look behind us; the other three are slowly getting back up."

The masked man turned. "Back up is coming. Let's push on while we have the advantage then."

Both of them charged, picking up their machetes as they ran past them. Frizz's confidence waned; they were approaching fast. He held out both of his hands and tried to deliver another telekinetic push but nothing came out.

"WAIT!" Frizz cried as the two swung their machetes, one aimed at the head and one aimed at his right abdomen.

*Thack!* Their strikes connected but they could feel something strange; for them, it felt like hitting a hard rubber tire. Frizz's force field managed to block the attacks, but he still recoiled from the force. He fell to the floor and held out his right hand. "No! Wait!"

Ignoring their previous strikes, they swung their machetes again. This time, one aimed at the head and another aimed at the leg. *Thack!*

"AGH!" Frizz cried out; the image of being hacked to death terrified him; tears were welling up in his eyes. "STOP!" "HELP!" He yelled as loud as he could, hoping for someone to intervene.

"What the fuck? Why isn't he bleeding?" One of them shouted in frustration as he swung another blow and aimed for the head, but this time putting his full force into it.

"STOP!" Frizz cried out.

*Thack!* The machete bounced off from the force. "Ah shit."

Frizz saw an opening from the corner of his eye and tackled the man to the floor.

"Anton!" The other masked man cried out. "TAG!" Frizz shouted as he straddled the masked man. Not wasting time, he delivered a double axe handle strike to their face, making them lose vision for a moment.

Then delivered another one; the second blow was enough to make him bleed from the nose. Frizz was about to deliver another one until he felt a sudden pain in his back. "AGH!" He cried out from the sharp pain.

"I felt that! It hit him!" The other masked man yelled. Frizz could feel the force field break, but not without blocking the most of the force. Frizz whacked the machete away from the masked man's hands and then launched himself onto the man.

"Piece of shit!" The masked man cursed as he delivered a punch straight to the right temple, but Frizz barely flinched.

Frizz scratched the man's face, causing them to recoil. He delivered a kick straight to the groin, causing them to fall to the ground. However, he wasn't done with his blows. Frizz stomped the man's chest, right arm, stomach, abdomen, and lastly the groin.

Each strike had the intent to incapacitate, but subconsciously Frizz slightly held back.

Frizz was about to deliver another strike, but the masked man clutched their head and instinctively went into a fetal position.

Frizz glanced back at the other masked man he had tackled, who was slowly getting back up.

Frizz charged at them and delivered a kick straight into their heads, effectively knocking them out. He looked around; two of his attackers were on the ground and down for the count. He took several steps back and fell to his bottom; he never felt this kind of fear and adrenaline. His whole body quaked; he thought he was going to die today.

Frizz glanced at the distance and could spot the three masked men coming. (They've recovered.) He noted. The three men closed in on Frizz and ignored their fallen comrades.

"Kill him. Now," the masked man who had lagged behind barked. "NOW! Before someone arrives."

One of them stepped forward, and just as they were about to finish their exhausted target, sitting on the ground. A sudden pain from the back of their left thigh stopped them. "AHHHHH!" The masked man cried in pain.

For him, the pain was sudden and unexpected. However, for the two behind him, it was a different story. The machete suddenly levitated and shot straight to the thigh of the person in front of them.

The two of them stepped back in fear, clearly shocked about what had happened. The man who was stabbed dropped their own machete and held their left thigh as they fell to the ground.

Frizz held out his right hand and made the dropped machete float and aimed it at the right thigh of the masked man on the left. The machete hurled and stabbed their right thigh, causing them to drop their machete as they clutched their thigh.

The man on the right couldn't believe what he was seeing, so he turned around and made a run for it. Frizz made another dropped machete float and aimed it at the bottom of the man. He was about to hurl it, but he stopped himself.

"No, not the ones who gave up. No." Frizz muttered to himself; he let the last masked man flee. He dropped the floating machete and looked around; four of the five people who tried to kill him were defeated.

[System]

Objective Complete.

New Name is now level 8.

Select a perk: [Hardened Exterior] [Efficient Experience] [Fast Healer] [Restful Sleeper]

"Fast healer, now," Frizz declared, not bothering to read the other perks due to the pain on his back.

[System]

New Name received [Fast Healer].

Displaying descriptions: The perk-user passively heals wounds, injuries, and afflictions at an improved rate. Serious lacerations and fractures may need medical attention but heal slightly better and faster.

"God, I hope this heals my injury," Frizz muttered as he tried to ignore the stinging pain on his back.

[System]

New Perk Acquired: [Pain Suppression] via Milestone

Achievement: It really hurts.

[Pain Suppression] Description: The perk-user has a moderately increased tolerance to pain. While the user still feels pain, its intensity is drastically reduced.

"Milestone? I'll take it. I need it now." Frizz muttered as he continued to slowly limp away from the battle.

"Please, no more encounters. I can't take it anymore," Frizz begged.