The following day, Jaehyun rolled through his usual morning checklist without thinking.
Wake up. Hot shower. Uniform. Breakfast.
It all felt automatic, like muscle memory wired into his bones.
Everything was normal… except for the one thing he didn't do.
He didn't open a webtoon on the way out.
Normally he'd be walking down the street, eyes glued to his screen, rereading his favorite panels for the twentieth time. But today his phone stayed in his pocket, heavy with the memory of yesterday's system window.
As he stepped out of the villa gate and walked maybe fifty meters, he froze.
He heard laughter.
That specific kind of laughter — the high-pitched, mocking, fake-tough-guy laughter that made your skin crawl before you even turned around.
It hit him like a bucket of ice.
"…No way," Jaehyun muttered under his breath.
Because that laughter was way, way too familiar.
Jihoon and his goons were waiting for him.
Fewer than yesterday, sure, but six wannabe thugs were still six too many.
They stood there blocking the sidewalk like they owned the whole district. Jaehyun barely had time to blink before the system chimed right in front of his face.
[Ding.]!
[Ques initiated.]!
[Quest#2: Destroy your foes.]!
[Reward: Red Scroll.]!
Jaehyun sucked in a sharp breath. It felt like someone had slapped the air out of his lungs.
"You've got to be kidding me… why in the morning?" he muttered, half-whining and half-panicking.
Out of every possible moment, the system really chose before school, before breakfast had even settled, to tell him to beat up Jihoon and his idiots.
He could feel his soul leaving his body.
"And the reward… a red scroll? There are more scrolls?" he muttered. The thought barely formed before he tried to piece together a plan.
But Jihoon cut him off.
"Yo!! Jaehyun! You thought running away yesterday would save you, huh?"
Jihoon's grin stretched wider. "Today I'm gonna make sure you don't run away while I beat you senseless."
He then ran toward Jaehyun with surprising speed, and as he closed the distance, Jaehyun acted on pure instinct.
He brought his arms up, guarding his stomach, because that was exactly where Jihoon's punch was aimed.
But of course, a human has two hands, and neither suddenly becomes useless just because one is busy.
Especially when the person using them knows how to make the most out of both.
Jihoon's left hand shot straight for Jaehyun's head, faster than Jaehyun expected, and the hit connected.
BAAM!
Jaehyun's vision jolted sideways as he staggered back, his fingers automatically scratching the spot where he'd been struck, trying to numb the sting.
He barely had a second to breathe.
A shadow shifted in front of him.
A foot rose.
A kick came crashing into his stomach with brutal force, folding him like paper.
The air blasted out of his lungs, a strangled sound escaping before he could stop it. The world tilted for a moment, and he tasted iron on his tongue.
And through it all, the quest window hovered behind Jihoon's shoulder, bright and merciless.
[Quest: Destroy your foes.]
[Reward: Red Scroll.]
It mocked him, as if telling him:
Get up. Or die here.
'Shit,' Jaehyun thought.
'I'm getting beat up like a sandbag.
Get up and do something, damnit!'
But his body wasn't listening. Everything hurt, everything rang, and Jihoon was still right there like a grinning demon who'd had his morning coffee.
Jihoon grabbed a handful of Jaehyun's purple hair, yanking his head up.
"Man… you disgust me."
Before Jaehyun could breathe, a kick slammed into his nose.
CRACK!!
A spray of blood painted the air and dripped down his lips. His eyes watered from the shock more than the pain.
Jihoon clicked his tongue and crouched slightly, watching the blood drip like it was entertainment.
"Look at that," he said, smiling wide. "Our little otaku freak is having a nosebleed. How about I give him a knuckle tissue?"
He flexed his knuckles, and the goon squad behind him cackled like a pack of hyenas high on stupidity.
Jaehyun tried to steady his breathing, the world wobbling around him.
His system window pulsed faintly in the corner of his vision, as if whispering:
You either move now… or you stay down forever.
But then Jaehyun wasn't having it, as the group was laughing, Jaehyun pushed back jihoon with all he could muster, and jihoon stumbled back but was still on his feet.
But then Jaehyun wasn't having it.
While the group was howling with laughter like it was some comedy special, Jaehyun suddenly shoved Jihoon back with everything he had left. Jihoon stumbled, caught off-balance for a beat, though he managed to stay on his feet.
Jaehyun dragged himself upright, spine bent forward, breath shaky. He wiped the blood from his mouth and nose, wincing because even that tiny movement burned like fire.
I won't get beat up again like before. I got a system now, so how can I let myself be beaten like a ragdoll?
He clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles trembled. Then he charged.
Jihoon's grin faltered.
Jaehyun yelled from deep in his chest, voice cracking but fierce.
"Stellar Punch!"
For an instant, a faint purple glow burst around him, flickering like a dying star trying to flare back to life.
BWAM!!
His fist slammed into Jihoon's stomach, and a sharp thud carried through the air, almost like a tiny shockwave rippling out.
But… that kind of technique.
With a body this weak…
Jaehyun felt it immediately. The recoil bit into his arm viciously, nerves screaming. His whole forearm shook, threatening to give out.
Jihoon staggered back a step, clutching his stomach with a surprised grunt with blood dripping from his mouth.
And Jaehyun… his fist was throbbing and his lungs burning, but he stood his ground. Even if his body felt like it was about to collapse, he didn't back down.
This signified his first stand against the bullies that bullied him.