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The hall is currently at its peak of excitement.

It is covered in the heat of people. It is to the point that they have driven away the coldness of winter and are sweating.

The mental state of Lanpeach was extremely bad.

The atmosphere turned sour because of the displeased expression of Lanpeach, to the point that they had cold sweat.

Tsuyoshi looked as if he had already won. He was showing a confident smile towards his lackeys, and was walking around in order to show off his strength to the group.

The people that made a circle and surrounded them were speaking ill of Lanpeach, maybe because Lanpeach had raised his Minor Villain level to max.

“Come on, Lanpeach. You are done for now.”

“Get him, Tsuyoshi!”

“Doesn’t he look like a complete weakling, that garbage?”

It is as if Lanpeach had already lost.

Their affection rate is on minus from the beginning, but it increases like normal if you do favorable things, so Lanpeach must have been a terrible boss.

(Well, he is a minor villain after all. It is not like he is a good guy.)

Lanpeach thought ‘this is like a dystopian movie’ as he was being insulted by everyone.

He was excited to be in this place while drooping his shoulders about not liking being hated by others.

“…Hey, Lan, is it okay to ask why you look so composed here?” (Chihiro)

Chihiro was together with Lanpeach even if it was for a short while. And so, she didn’t miss this feeling of something being out of place.

That’s why she could tell that Lanpeach is scared, but doesn’t think for a moment that he might lose.

Lanpeach was impressed, thinking ‘so she noticed’ while moving his face closer to hers with a smile like a lover, and whispered to her ear.

“You have a good eye for people, Chihiro. But keep silent. Not a word for now.”

“Y-Yes, understood.” (Chihiro)

She trembled at the threatening Lanpeach, nodded, and fell silent.

Lanpeach chuckled, seeing this state of hers, and headed to where Tsuyoshi is.

(Sorry, Chihiro. It would be troubling for me if they were to bring out stuff like guns here if they think they might lose.)

He didn’t feel good about scaring a pretty girl, but he justifies it to himself by saying this is necessary, and faced Tsuyoshi.

Tsuyoshi looked down at Lanpeach with confidence, and cracked his fingers to look threatening. Just seeing that appearance of his made him look like fodder that wants to show off.

Lanpeach is a fodder villain for the protagonists, but right now he looks like a weak hoodlum more than anything, which made Lanpeach smile wryly.

But Tsuyoshi must have thought of that wry smile as a show of his confidence, he moved his face closer and growled with his teeth showing like a wild dog.

“Lanpeach, you look awfully composed here. Even though a public execution will be happening now.” (Tsuyoshi)

“I don’t mind postponing the day of your public execution.”

Lanpeach thought about how he has a strong presence and is scary, but also wondered how the past Lanpeach managed to make this guy his subordinate.

He couldn’t imagine a way to win against this guy with the Status of Lanpeach. There must have been some deception involved.

‘He was a level 4 [Minor Villain] after all’ -is what he was thinking and the one doing the job of referee stood between them and crossed his hands.

“The duel between Trashpeach on the verge of death and Tsuyoshi will begin. The winner will be decided when Trashpeach dies or begs for forgiveness. Begin!”

He spit out something truly befitting of a fair referee and moved back.

Tsuyoshi readied his fists and did steps like that of an outboxer.

Lanpeach already readied his fists reluctantly, and opposed him with sliding feet.

Lanpeach is the one who looks most suitable to be an outboxer, but the two of them were unbothered by this and began their fist fight.

◇◇

Lanpeach thought this fight was similar to bullying.

“Ora ora ora, what’s the matter?! Ora!”

“Gu, ouch! Kuh! You…!”

Tsuyoshi unleashed jabs with terrible footwork, and Lanpeach, who is scared of fisticuffs in the first place, continued being punched.

He would at times throw some powerless punches himself, but they would be easily guarded and not have any effect at all.

That figure of theirs was like a bully who learned boxing just yesterday and wanted to test it out on someone who he knows won’t be able to fight back.

It is true that the jabs of Tsuyoshi were terrible, but his bear-like physique made the punches he unleashes pretty painful.

On the other hand, there’s Lanpeach with his Status reverted to his initial state and his proud muscles gone. The punches he is throwing are faltering from fear, and it looked pathetic, as if he were simply waving around his arms.

Tsuyoshi repeated the jab, jab, jab.

(Can he stop already? I can’t win, so can you not torment me? Just deal the finishing blow quickly.)

His cheeks were swollen, his nose was bleeding, his body hurt, and his legs felt groggy.

He looked fed up and coldly at Tsuyoshi, and he finally tightened his right fist and took a big motion.

It was a pretty easy to tell telegraphed punch, but Lanpeach, whose body was stiffened from fear, didn’t move.

“This is the end. Oraa!” (Tsuyoshi)

“Guheh!”

And this is how the straight right of Tsuyoshi wedged into the cheek of Lanpeach, and he ended up rolling on the concrete floor while vomiting blood.

That appearance of his fulfilled perfectly the role of a minor villain and hoodlum.

Even when Lanpeach was groaning from the pain as Tsuyoshi shouted about this being his win and about how he is now the boss, Lanpeach didn’t care at all.

Losing was necessary. It would have been better to win, but he didn’t think for a second that he would be able to win when he has never fought in his life before.

(Please…please… I suffered to this degree. Please, God, Buddha, Libra-sama…)

Lanpeach offered a prayer with his stinging body and…

[Tutorial: You have cleared ‘Your First Battle’. You have obtained 5,000 EXP.]

His prayer reached and the notification he was awaiting showed up.

He made a sly grin at the expected development.

A Bonus Quest from the tutorial, [Your First Battle], that gives you EXP no matter if you win or lose. It is normally 1,000, but turned into 5,000 because of the hidden trick.

“That’s enough.”

He swiftly obtained Skills to change the EXP to levels, to change it into his own strength.

(Learn [Supernatural Powers], [Presence Detection], [Concentration], [Physical Combat] Level 1.)

[Acquired. Please choose the specialization of Supernatural Powers and Physical Combat.]

(Telekinesis and Parry.)

[Acquired.]

[Also, because you have acquired [Supernatural Powers], [Presence Detection], [Concentration], and [Physical Combat], you have learned the composite special skill [Instant].]

You can learn several special skills as you obtain skills in Powder of Elements. Lanpeach is used to this and had no hesitation.

The body of Lanpeach grew hot the moment he obtained the skills, and he felt as if his aversion and fear towards fighting had turned into a layer of skin and bathed into a frier.

His mental strength had become stronger with [Concentration]. But that feeling was extremely disgusting, and felt unpleasant. It is as if his enervated heart was being rewritten.

He could naturally tell how to move his body.

The way to hold his fist, the way to punch, footwork, the way to move his body as if he has been training for years. His brain and body changed into that of a 1st rate martial artist as if he were a different person.

‘But this is a dream’ is what he told himself in his mind as he stood up.

He didn’t think one bit that Tsuyoshi is scary or that he is stronger than him. And he also felt sad for some reason at the fact that he changed, but he forgot about it when in the face of combat.

Tsuyoshi was flustered by this and was wailing about something, but it is not like Lanpeach’s body had recovered, so he just answered half-heartedly while still hazy.

“Experience points.”

He just needed the experience points. Tsuyoshi became the sacrifice for this.

If he didn’t fight seriously, the tutorial wouldn’t have been activated.

A gun fight and a magic fight would have been life threatening.

That’s the weak point of this powerful build. There’s an extremely high chance of being killed in the first battle.

That’s why a fist fight where there’s a low chance of dying was the best option.

“A-Are you looking down on me?! Hah?!” (Tsuyoshi)

Tsuyoshi threw jabs with an unskilled stance.

But for Lanpeach who has obtained [Physical Combat] and has gained the power of a martial artist even if in a crooked manner, it was way too easy to see through.

([Parry].)

He activated [Parry], which is a [Physical Combat] Skill. He could have avoided it without activating this, but he wanted to know about the effect of the special skill.

His body shifted at the approaching fist, and his palms moved swimmingly like a flapping butterfly to deflect the attacks of the enemy.

The jabs of Tsuyoshi entered as if they were sucked into his palms, and a snapping sound like slapping a fly rang as he struck them away.

A dry sound was made and the fists of Tsuyoshi went a completely different way. But Tsuyoshi continued throwing more jabs.

[Parry].

Deflected once more.

[Parry].

And again.

[Parry].

Deflecting what’s already a powerless jab.

A smile crept its way.

He chuckled, feeling like he might get drunk from the overwhelming power.

He understood now. The previous Lanpeach managed to deal with Tsuyoshi because of how dull his movements were. That’s why he didn’t lose.

He laughed as if baffled and answered half-heartedly, and Tsuyoshi’s face began to show fear.

He thought this is the best part of dreams as he felt like this is going to be great as a stress reliever. But he felt like it was about time to finish this, so he tightened his fist as if showing it to his opponent.

He whaled on him just a moment ago, so he decided that getting back at him with this much was warranted. He grinned and activated his next special skill.

[Instant].

The world stopped that very moment.

The voices of the gallery and the shout of Tsuyoshi; all of it had stopped and the world became Lanpeach’s alone.

(Face of Tsuyoshi.)

[Face of Tsuyoshi: Accuracy 100%.]

Lanpeach can’t move his body either, but he could still think, and when he thought of it like in the game, the body of Tsuyoshi was emphasized. Moreover, a target even appeared on his face.

(Activate.)

The moment [Instant] was activated, the process was ignored and only the result remained as if time was snipped away.

Lanpeach’s full power straight was nailed onto the face of Tsuyoshi despite not remembering having thrown it.

It is a full power attack even if his stats are low. Moreover, it landed when the opponent was completely defenseless, so even the bear man bent and collapsed.

That’s how Tsuyoshi looked at Lanpeach as if he was a monster, trembled profusely, and acted as if he lost consciousness.

That attack just now must have been that scary.

(Makes sense. [Instant] is a way too overpowered Skill after all.)

He internally apologized, saying ‘sorry for using an overpowered attack’, but he ended up grinning.

Feeling peerless in a dream is the best.

[Instant: Stop time and attack the enemy. The number of attacks depends on the level. Possible to use once per battle.]

It is an overpowered skill that can only be learned after obtaining several set skills. You also need a strict skill composition.

“As expected of Lan! I was a bit nervous there, but I believed in you! But there’s a limit to holding back, you know? Please don’t make me worry!” (Chihiro)

“Thanks.”

Within this space where the gallery was silent at the victory of Lanpeach, Chihiro alone hugged him with a big smile on her face, so he patted her head with a wry smile.

Lanpeach chuckled, thinking this is like the ending of a boxing movie.

He felt like people would boo at finishing a climax with time stopping though.

Also, he felt embarrassed about how warm and soft the girl’s body was.

He had a painful experience, but he felt like he was rewarded with this warmth. He thought this is most likely just him sleeping in reality and hugging the blanket though.

“When am I going to wake up from this dream? I am beginning to get bored here.”

(Every part of my body is hurting to an unbearable degree. Let’s just sleep soundly.)

The next time he wakes up would be a Saturday.

Lanpeach shrugged, thinking he is gonna need to wash his face one more time.

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