I'm A Great Villain So The Author Hates Me

Chapter 8 - Exploring the neighborhood with a brick in my pocket (4)

James Clerr couldn't help but glance in terror at the young man sitting across from him carelessly tearing his way through another breakfast platter. He glanced in disbelief at the mountain of plates piled on the tables before glancing back at the young man.

"What are you looking at? Should I hit you one more time?" The boy glanced up at him with a disinterested expression, his golden eyes glowing.

"No sir." James Clerrr responded in a garbled voice. He immediately averted his gaze as quickly as he could, his swollen face, the back of his head, and arms pulsing with pain as he remembered the thud of that strange black object knocking him out.

Asani Martin.

He thought he knew this scrawny orphan who lived in a shabby apartment in an even shabbier neighborhood. The kid had suddenly appeared one day 4 years ago after being dropped off by a government worker. As was usual, he had proceeded to collect protection fees as he did with everyone who wasn't part of the gang. Even though the kid was scrawny, he remembered how the boy stared at him with vicious eyes. As If he would kill him if he could.

Of course, he had immediately beaten the kid. Not enough to kill or permanently disable him since he had to attend school, but enough to remind him who was in charge. Yet those vicious eyes had never gone away as the kid regularly challenged him while spouting nonsense so he continually beat him. If he couldn't do it, he would have one of the youths in the neighborhood beat him up.

Still, the boy never fought back or reported them to the government worker who occasionally checked on him. He just glared as if memorizing each and every face and continued on with his life of going to school, studying, and coming back home. Everything had been proceeding as normal until two weeks ago when things had suddenly become quiet.

Word from the street was that Asani had awakened and gained acceptance to First Magic High. Although he himself didn't believe the rumor since the kid was so young, he had gone over to check but Asani was nowhere to be found. Almost as if he were in hiding, nobody had seen him in days.

The usual collections were missed and James had to make up for the difference with his own funds which pissed him off. He thought that Asani had run off until he saw him casually strolling the street as if he owned the place. Seeing that indifferent face as he whistled while confidently strolling around, James had felt his anger bubble up. This was a frequent occurrence with people who had just awakened. The rush they received from getting gifts and unlocking their abilities quickly had them feeling as if they were the king of the hill.

He had planned to teach Asani a lesson he wouldn't forget. Even if he was a genius who awakened young or made it into a prestigious academy, he was still gutter trash from the street who would live and die by his whims. There was a difference between someone newly awakened and an adult like him who had his gifts for years. After all, it wasn't as if he was someone from the 9 families. Everything had been going as usual and he could see Asani shaking in fear.

Then his nightmare had begun.

Hit after hit after. He had been battered into unconsciousness repeatedly. Even when he tried to use his wind abilities, it had been easily avoided and he had been hit by an unbearably hard object. Although he knew his stats were on the lower side for an awakened individual, with his wind he could avoid most hits and he was stronger than the average adult male. It shouldn't be possible for a newly awakened individual to fight back much less a kid. And yet, even though he was bigger and older, he felt like a child trying to attack a full-grown adult.