Systematic Survival

32 - Revenge

A line of people formed around a random table in a random plaza in the city. At this point, it was a contest to see who could beat this young man in arm wrestling. Some would loop back in line to try again because they didn't want to admit the young, weak-looking man on stronger than them.

Some speculated he was an arm wrestling expert and that somehow strength didn't matter. They guessed that was how he was winning every time.

'I, uh, didn't want to attract attention, but I guess that's over'

Matt set up the table hoping to trick a few arrogant guys who thought they could easily beat him, and make a quick buck or two. But it seemed like not only did people come over to see what was going on, but the people who lost often called their friends to try, so they could get their $10 back and win the $100 Matt was offering.

'It's like they're gambling addicts.'

He thought about how, in the worst-case scenario, he could always make the excuse that he was simply good at arm wrestling. Also, he did have muscles, he just hid them. With the level of strength he was displaying, he wasn't being overly superhuman or suspicious.

Really, the worst possible outcome of this is people thinking he's a scammer, which he didn't really care about. He wouldn't even see any of these people ever again. The city was so big, he wasn't concerned about building a bad reputation.

He swiftly slammed another arm into the table, leaving another tough-looking guy walking away with his head down. Some reacted well, and just laughed or were cool about it when they lost. But some seemed ashamed or embarrassed like a lot of their pride stemmed from their strength.

Some also became angry and shouted. Those were the ones who usually brought their friends to try and beat him.

'It's funny how they care so much about looking strong in public. And when they lose, it matters so much to them. They don't realize that soon, they could just pour points into their strength stat.'

He occasionally looked down at the cash he had made so far and it was a decently thick stack, but the line moved so quickly he didn't have time to count it.

Suddenly he heard a voice that sounded familiar, and it brought him back to reality. When he looked up, a chill went down his spine. It was Chad.

"Look who it is! Matt, what are you doing here?"

He had apparently joined the line and was now his next opponent to arm wrestle. Chad laughed as he saw Matt's expression and spoke again.

"I thought there was gonna be some tough guy at the end of this line, but it was just you! Don't tell me, are you trying to become broke? How many times did you lose $100? Is that why they're all lined up?"

He smiled and used his fake kind sounding voice, but he was just mocking him. Chad had often used this voice when teachers would show up, and for some reason, they would always think he was the good guy.

Matt was wondering if he should just pack up and leave, he didn't want to have anything to do with Chad. The world just felt like a darker place when he was around. But he realized that his fear was coming from a weird place. It wasn't logical, it was emotional.

'I should be so much stronger than Chad now. Why am I scared?'

He started to calm himself down. He still hadn't responded to Chad yet, but that only seemed to fuel Chad. It looked like from the outside that Matt was frozen in fear, which was why he wasn't responding. And it wasn't that far off. Matt responded just like he did with the other people who had come to beat him in arm wrestling.