7 Death Match

After his chat with Mr. Klaus, Adam headed straight to the principal's office to talk to him about leaving school.

Now that he awakened an ability, he no longer needed a high school diploma. The goals Adam could aspire to accomplish were endless with his newfound power, and a desk job was not an option.

*Knock*

*Knock*

"Come in. " An adenoidal voice invited the young man in.

"Hello, principal Malone. " Adam opened the door and greeted the principal with a forced smile. This was the same man who knew about Adam's suffering and hardship, but ignored it all because of appearances.

'For someone who cares so much about appearances, it sure doesn't show on him... ' Adam thought as he met the principal's greedy eyes. Jerry Malone was on the short side, very obese, with a head void of any hair cuticles.

"Adam, it's you! Please have a seat. " The man greeted Adam as if greeting his own son, "I heard you have awakened your abilities recently. "

'He's getting right to it... ' Adam's disgust with the man reached a new level as he grabbed a seat.

"Yes, I have. It's only physical strength enhancement, though. " He chose not to disclose any information about the system to anyone and answered the principal while sitting on the chair across from him.

"Oh, that's okay, you're still a High Human and it would delight our school to support you. " Jerry said while rubbing his hands together, "now, you just need to talk with your advisors so they can help you with your registration. "

"About that. I came here today to submit my withdrawal. I'm quitting school. " Adam said while taking a form out of his bag and handing it to the principal, "I need you to sign this. "

"A-are you insane?! Leaving school will do you no good! What can an orphan like you do alone in this harsh world?! " Jerry lost his composure at Adam's words and hurriedly grabbed the form before shredding it to pieces.

"You can't legally do that, sir. If the police know about this, you will be in big trouble. " Adam calmly threatened the man while looking at the shredded pieces.

"Huh?! N-no, I-I can put it together again, s-see? " Jerry's face got drenched in a cold sweat as he plopped down to collect the pieces.

"Don't worry, sir, I have another one prepared. You just need to sign it. " Adam struggled to hold back his laughter as he handed out a second form. The revenge he got here satisfied him enough.

"Thank god, you're a smart boy, hehe. I'll sign it right now, have a wonderful future. " Jerry quickly snatched the form and signed it before handing it back to Adam.

"Thank you, sir, goodbye. " Adam pretended to put the form in his bag while actually storing it in his inventory before leaving the office.

'That little sh*t just cost me a lot of money... ' Jerry looked at the young man's departing back with an enraged expression.

*Sigh! *

'Thank god, he was stupid enough to believe that lie... ' Adam let out a sigh of relief as he walked out of the office and towards the infirmary. He wanted to say his last goodbye to his only ally.

"Hello! Recognize me? " Adam said while entering the room without permission, but there was no one inside, "Did he leave already? " Adam looked around and couldn't find Henry.

'I guess I should visit again later... ' He thought as he left the infirmary with a slightly disappointed expression and walked towards the school exit. Before spotting James and Darius outside the school gates.

"Hey there, Adam, you did not forget our previous agreement, did you~? " Darius said in a mocking tone while James stood beside him silently with his arms crossed, looking at Adam with bloodshot eyes.

"Of course not. Do you have a place in mind? " Adam calmly walked towards his former bullies with slow and steady steps while a calm smile hung over his handsome face.

"Just cut the crap and follow us! " James finally opened his mouth and started walking.

_________

After a few minutes of walking through Brooklyn, the trio finally arrived at a deserted construction site on the other side of the borough. It was around 5 when they arrived and the sun was setting, hence the empty space.

'Seems like they planned this thoroughly. ' Adam thought as he scanned the area to see if there were any people around, and just as he expected, there were none.

James wordlessly walked to the middle of the abandoned area and pulled out two golden gauntlets from his bag.

"You should get ready, too. " Darius urged Adam to take out his weapon before moving to the side. "If you don't protect yourself properly, you might just die. " He said with a sarcastic smile on his face.

'So that's how it's going to be... ' Adam understood their intentions and kept watching James silently while taking out his silver sword from the inventory.

'Is he a magical swordsman? ' Darius questioned in his mind when he saw Adam conjure a sword out of thin air. 'I don't feel a magician's magic power from him though... ' He put the matter on hold for now. It didn't matter because James would never lose, anyway.

Although all High Humans awaken to magical powers, they were not equally strong. Rankings existed to show the difference in strength, and they ranged from F to S which showed the weakest to strongest, respectively.

James is currently a B rank High Human with an incredible ability that could boost his capabilities to the higher levels of B rank, which put him fairly high on the food chain.

While Darius is a C rank water magician, which wasn't particularly strong, but enabled him to deal with normal monsters easily.

It is also incredibly difficult for a High Human to increase their rank once they awaken, so rich families make sure they train their children from an early age, allowing them to receive higher ranks when they awaken.

Once a High Human receives a rank, they can register for a license, which helps them trade monster materials and buy magical weapons.

After fixing up his gauntlets, James immediately jumped towards Adam, not giving him any chance to poise himself.

*CLANG! *

Adam reacted just in time to block the blow with his sword, illuminating the area with sparks upon collision.

'I'm faster, but he's slightly stronger... ' Adam thought, quickly analyzing the difference between them and creating some distance. 'I still have 6 additional stat points. I'll increase my strength. '

[STR: 39]

James leaped at the young man once more with an enraged expression. He knew Adam was a High Human now, but did not expect him to block his blow.

'He can't be stronger than a C rank High Human. ' James thought as he approached Adam.

*BOOM! *

Adam dodged the explosive blow by a hair's breadth. Even though their physical strength was equal, Adam did not plan on receiving any blows.

'He still hasn't used his lightning magic. I need to be careful. ' Adam thought while looking at the giant crater James created with his powerful blow. He swiftly wielded his sword to perform a slash directed at James' back.

*Slash! *

"Aaah! " James screamed in pain as Adam's sword left a big wound across his back, "I WILL KILL YOUUU!!! " He turned around and his body exuded enormous magic power.

Streaks of lightning surrounded his body, his eyes glowed with a sinister light, and his muscles grew larger. This was James' special ability [Lightning God].

'James is getting serious?! ' Darius looked at the scene with a shocked expression. He never thought that James would need to get serious against Adam.

'Sh*t! I won't be able to beat him now... ' Adam thought as he felt James' terrifying amount of magic power. 'I need to think of a way to avoid death... '

"HAAAAH! " James roared before approaching Adam with incredible speed. Not only did his ability allow him to use lightning, but it also increased his physical capabilities by leaps and bounds, making him closer to an A-rank High Human.

"ARGH! " Adam coughed blood at James' lightning strike.

*BOOM*

Before slamming into one of the construction vehicles and creating chaos.

"Say your last prayers, b*tch! " James said as he walked towards Adam with lightning covering his fists.

[Danger: HP is rapidly decreasing.]

[HP: 160/250]

[HP: 130/250]

'I need to fight. I need to show this f*cker that I have changed. ' Adam grit his teeth and stood up in the middle of the mess while gripping his sword with both hands.

'I can't go back to who I was. I need to change myself if I want to change my life... ' Adam kept repeating his bitter thoughts in his head while looking at James through a veil of blood.

"Stop it, James! Don't kill him. " Darius tried to talk some sense into his crazed friend's mind, but to no avail. James could no longer hear anyone, and the only thing on his mind was to kill Adam King...