Chapter 57: You have gained 600 EXP

"Where’s my money?"

Jim stared at Liam while the rest of his gang laughed and passed the ball around the court behind him. One of them glanced toward Dylan with a grin before tossing it to the next guy, clearly expecting something entertaining.

Jim didn’t bother looking back at them. He stood with his hand held out, waiting for the money as if there was nothing left to discuss. When Jim spoke, no one disobeyed him.

"Hah! I’ll give you your money... later."

Liam smiled and said it casually, leaving Jim’s outstretched hand empty. Jim stared at him for a second, then looked back at his friends with his eyebrows raised, as if asking whether they had heard the same thing.

One of them caught the basketball and held it against his hip, his grin widening. Jim turned back toward Liam, letting out a short, disbelieving laugh.

"Ahaha! Later? Kid, you think being tall makes you tough?"

Jim stopped laughing and stepped closer to Liam, his eyes narrowing into a threatening glare. But even at six feet five, he still had to tilt his chin up to meet Liam’s eyes, which only made him angrier. Liam hadn’t moved an inch, and the faint smile on his face remained as Jim squared his shoulders and crowded into his space.

"Nope. Never thought that."

Liam stood there calmly while the whole gang grew visibly angry. The grins disappeared from their faces, and the guy holding the basketball lowered it to his side, watching Liam with a hard stare.

Dylan slowly took a few steps back, his guitar shifting against his shoulder as he put some distance between himself and Jim. This wasn’t looking good for him. He was only five feet eight and couldn’t fight either, so he kept his mouth shut and glanced toward the court’s exit.

*BLEUGH*

And it’s started.

Liam smiled as every gang member except Jim suddenly began vomiting. The guy holding the basketball dropped it and doubled over, while another staggered toward the fence, gripping the chain links as his stomach heaved again.

Liam’s passive, [Ultimate Intimidation Aura.], had just triggered, reacting to their hostile intentions. Their angry expressions disappeared beneath watering eyes and pale faces, the sound of retching replacing their laughter.

But Liam was slightly surprised to see Jim still standing without vomiting. He was definitely flinching, his shoulders twitching as he swallowed hard, but nothing came out. Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Jim clench his jaw and try to hold his threatening expression together.

Show me his status.

[Level: 6 (32/700)]

[Name: Jimothy Edward Hubard]

[Age: 34/90]

[Species: Low Tier Mortal]

[Health: 411%/600%] +

[Gender: Male]

[Strength: 299/600] +

[Agility: 123/600] +

[Charisma: 58/600] +

[Speech: 45/600] +

[Skill: Ultra Low Tier Driving Skill, Low Tier Fist Fighting Skill, Low Tier Handgun Skill.]

[Item: Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, Chainsaw.]

[Passives: NULL.]

[Modification: NULL.]

[Divine Points: 6]

[Cannot Use Divine Points Yet. Host Can Use the + Signs to Edit His Attributes and Spend Them for Him.]

No wonder he can keep it together. Screwdriver, time to screw him over.

Liam pointed toward the bikes beyond the fence. A tiny emerald flash slipped out of his sleeve and vanished before anyone could follow it. By the time it reached the motorcycles, the screwdriver had grown as long and thick as a baseball bat.

It slammed sideways into the first bike with a loud metallic crunch, folding the fuel tank inward and knocking the heavy machine onto its side. The mirror snapped against the pavement, scattering pieces beneath the bike beside it.

The screwdriver shot back across the row, leaving brief green streaks between the parked motorcycles. A headlight burst, a handlebar twisted sideways, and one of the bikes lurched off its stand as though someone had kicked it over.

Jim jerked his head toward the noise just as his Harley’s front wheel buckled beneath another hit. Its alarm began screaming, only to break into an uneven whine as the screwdriver struck again. Behind him, one of his friends stopped retching long enough to stare through the fence, spit still hanging from his mouth.

Within seconds, all four bikes lay battered on the pavement, their chrome parts bent and broken plastic scattered around them. Liam felt a faint pressure building behind his eyes and lowered his hand, deciding that was enough.

The screwdriver shrank midair and slipped back beneath his sleeve, settling against his forearm as if it had never left. He glanced from the ruined motorcycles to Jim’s face, the same small smile still on his lips.

*BLEUGH*

Jim grew so angry that he lost control of his emotions and suddenly vomited, almost splashing Liam’s shoes. Liam had already noticed his throat working and hopped back just in time, watching the mess hit the spot where he had been standing. Jim bent forward with his hands on his knees, his whole body trembling as he tried to catch his breath.

There were no cameras around, nothing that could help Jim understand what had happened. All he had seen was their bikes getting smashed by something invisible, and now the boy in front of him was making faces so grotesque that he couldn’t keep himself together.

Liam’s smile seemed to stretch too far across his cheeks, his eyes widening unnaturally before his whole face suddenly twisted. Jim blinked hard, but the moment he looked again, he saw something worse. In reality, Liam hadn’t changed his expression at all. His [Ultimate Intimidation Aura.] was making Jim see things, turning that small, calm smile into something he could barely stand to look at.

[You have gained 600 EXP]

"Let’s go. They don’t want to take the money... for now. We’ll pay them later."

Liam gave Dylan a light tap on the chest with the back of his hand, then took the lead out of the court. He had a class to attend, and it was getting late. He adjusted his backpack as he walked, looking as relaxed as he had when they arrived, while Dylan took a second to realize he was supposed to follow.

Behind them, the thugs were clutching their stomachs, and some were even rubbing their eyes, trying to get rid of what they had just seen. One sat down heavily against the fence, too weak to stay on his feet, while another kept his head lowered rather than risk looking at Liam again.

Dylan, on the other hand, was completely shocked. He didn’t understand what the fuck had happened. The bikes had been destroyed out of nowhere, while the whole gang seemed to have suddenly developed upset stomachs. He hurried after Liam, looking back once at the wreckage before turning toward him with his mouth slightly open, unsure which part to ask about first.

"They’re so scary... Planting bombs and shit."

"What?"

Hearing Dylan suddenly mention bombs, Liam turned toward him, a little shocked. He had been wondering what the boy would make of the whole thing, but bombs hadn’t even crossed his mind. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Dylan to explain.

"I mean, those bikes... Someone planted bombs on them, right? A rival gang or something? Then those guys saw their bikes getting wrecked and got so pissed they started puking."

Dylan made up the whole explanation himself, nodding as if saying it out loud made it more believable. He glanced back toward the court, then picked up his pace, clearly wanting to get farther away from any other imaginary bombs.

Liam barely had to do anything at all. He pressed his lips together to hold back a laugh and let Dylan keep figuring things out.