The Roleplayer

Street Fighter

Author's note: Hey, sorry about the shorter chapter this time around. It's because we've been busy trying to get our new cover out! Hope you guys like it!

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"Wow, good job, Riley! I never knew you were a good fighter!"

Riley turned around to face Kyle, smiling as he did so.

"Well, I guess the reason why I never knew you were this strong is because I've never seen you fight. To think that all this while I've been trying to protect you from bullies. It just seems like I've been protecting them from you!"

Riley burst into laughter. He was extremely grateful to learn that Kyle had been protecting him the whole time they had been friends.

The bell started ringing. "Damn it, break's already over! We have to run while eating!" Kyle took his sandwich wrapper and started running off to class. Riley smiled and followed suit.

"By the way, you talked differently while fighting those dead-weights."

"It was just the heat of the moment. And that's just how gamers talk. Got to release the saltiness somehow."

"I see."

"Also, it was a lot of fun."

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Riley spent the rest of school fantasizing about being the hero and saving the princess from the villain.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of school, Kyle and Riley said goodbye and parted ways.

Kyle headed home, whereas Riley eagerly headed to the baseball field for the session he had been looking forward to; baseball training. Entering the locker room, he greeted his teammates.

After getting changed, he went to the field together with the rest of his team. He was confident that [Blunt Weapon Proficiency] would help a lot with his batting.

After practicing a few shots with the pitcher, a window popped up.

"Due to the repetition of a certain action, the skill <Power Swing> has been gained!"

As soon as he saw the window, he called out to the pitcher and asked for a 5 minute break.

As he grabbed his bottle, he opened the "Skills" window to check out his new ability.

"<Power Swing> Active skill. When used, this skill will allow the user to swing an object at an increased speed and power of (20 (+50% of Strength))%. Mana cost 20."

Riley smiled as he read the description. He was ready for more training, to level up both his [Blunt Weapon Proficiency] and his newly obtained <Power Swing>.

By the time training was over, he had managed to increase his [Blunt Weapon Proficiency] from level 3 to level 4, and his <Power Swing> up to level 3.

He had wanted to level up <Power Swing> even more, but his mana regeneration was much too slow for that.

After training, he stuffed his bat into his bag and started walking home. His body stiffly followed his usual path like an automaton. His mind was pondering the ways he could use his abilities to their maximum potential.

As he was walking, he took a turn into an alley, which was his usual shortcut. As he was still pondering, he felt a weird, but oddly familiar feeling going through his gut.