Task Name: Establishing Your Dominance
Tier: 1
NPC or PC: PC
Location: Briss Kingdom
Crew, Team, or Personal: Personal
Description: Upon his arrival to the kingdom, Malik could see some of the inhabitants being cold towards him due to him being from another island. However, he also sees others looking at him as if he is a walking mystery. Unfortunately, matters became worse when thugs, who do not know any better, decided to pick a fight with him. At this moment, Malik decides to establish who is stronger, who dominates.
Enemy Details: 3 Tier 0 Thugs, 1 Tier 1 Thug
Boss: No Boss

In the bright of the clear blue skies of daytime, the sun shown it's brilliance upon both land and sea. The waters shifted back and forth, carried by the gentle yet strong breezes of the fresh atmospheric bliss. Traversing over these waters was a certain small boat, a vessel, which suited the needs of two to three people. It sailed gently across the open sea, steadily approaching a single destination. One individual blissfully resting within the the small confines of the wooden vessel, his expression calm and peaceful. It showed he wasn't in any particular hurry, despite his excitement to start his life as a pirate. He relaxed while sitting up cross-legged with his back leaning onto the sail of his small boat as it shifted through the flowing currents of the air. A blue backpack sat neatly between his currently crossed legs as he continued to stare aimlessly outward towards the ocean, hoping to see his preferred location where he can begin his journey. Not too long ago, he had left his home town on Karate Island. He had always dreamed of going on adventures with a pirate crew who's members he could call his comrades, his friends.

While typical pirates were cold, cruel, and lived to pillage towns, Malik was completely different for what many individuals depicted them as. He loathed evil, is polite, and is always willing to help others. The boys own definition of a pirate was that of an adventurer or a fighter for the freedom of others. He knows not all pirates are evil, he believes some are good at heart and during his journey, he hopes to one day make a crew with those he can call his friends. As he continued to sit patiently while the prevailing winds guided his vessel toward his determined destination, Malik's thoughts started to shift to past times of him with his family happily enjoying themselves at his home town. He remembered his father making the biggest effort to come and spend as well as slowly savor the time with him. This, of course, included his younger brother and sister, whom he fondly recalled multiple humorously exciting adventures with. His little sister looked up to him. At his current age as of now, she was probably thirteen. His brother was one year younger than he was, making him fifteen. He especially remembered his loving mother. She was beautiful, caring, strong, independent; All wonderful trait a strong man such as his father desired within a woman.

"Hmm? Ah, finally, I am here. Now I can begin my life of adventure." The young novice pirate thought as his momentary trip through the passage of his memories was replaced by the sight of an island within the distance. His was most certainly excited to start his incredible adventures at the growing landscape. As his vessel lessen the distance between him and the land mass, he came to recognize it as not an island, but the Briss Kingdom. He has heard and learned much of this kingdom. A fact to be noted it that many of the inhabitants are not too fond of outsiders or anyone else not of the this country. He must be cautious of that as there are possibly not many people willing to help him get supplies along his journey. The Briss Kingdom progressed in growth at his sight the more his closed the distance. As he neared the bustling land mass, despite the decrease in population, a small smile began to form on his facial features. Immediately, he saw a dock for him to station his small boat at. He waited for it to flow closer and closer. When it was approximately the appropriate distance, he took his blue backpack and swung it over both of his arms. He reached for his vessel's anchor sitting on the right side of the boat, taking it and flinging the heavy chunk of metal into the water. Within time, the anchor will sink as far as it can go. It will serve to keep his only mode of transportation in place while he was exploring the kingdom he was now in.

Standing up, he soon hopped with little effort onto the wooden surface of the docks. While sticking his hands into the his hoodie's pockets, he turned his attention to the pathway, which lead many to a certain town. He soon started to traversed towards the assortment of buildings, short and tall alike. It is not long before he entered the town. His gaze shifted to different angle, trying to examine the exterior of each building standing before him. As he took each step through the location he was currently in, he could already see a sum of individuals looking at him coldly as well as with anxiety or even fear. He was not sure on why the people around him were acting this way, but he wondered, if they have had a tragic experience with other outsiders. For now, the mystery remains an unsolved one, something he will probably get into later, if his adventure takes him through here. While walking through the town, Malik simply ignore their glares. They have their reasons for staring at him the way he does, so he will just leave it be until it becomes a serious problem.

Walking through the town, Malik continued to ignore the stares of hate and fear directed at him. He has no reason whatsoever to get involve in the reason why the look at him as he suspects it to be something of tragedy and pain. Still, despite it no concerning him, it is not like the boy to refuse s chance to help someone out. Admittedly, he was curious as to why a multitude of individuals from the kingdom acted this way towards outsiders. He has a feeling he will find out soon enough, but for now, he will just continue to progress on. To see what this kingdom has in store for the novice pirate other than the glares of indignance directed at his being. With each step he examined his surroundings cautiously until he has come upon a certain pathway that could lead someone deeper into the city. He momentarily stopped in front of this pathway to assess the situation and the probabilities that could take place.

"Hmm, now I wonder where this road will take me. I can't just go blindly rushing into any alleyway, oblivious to what is around me. I have to be careful, if I want to survive in a kingdom filled with multiple hostile individuals. If I am going down this path, I have at least have to be cautious of my surroundings. One might not realize what dangers lurk in the shadows of every corner." He thought thoroughly as his gaze squinted, making his expression more serious. Danger and malevolence hides within the darkest of place. Not many know what lies in store for them as they take life too lightly, leaving one vulnerable to pain and tragedy. Before he could go on further, his ears began to pick up certain sounds. The noise was that of foot steps. He calmly turned to see what or who was behind him and found it to be a group of men walking towards him. From their attire and smug expression on their faces, they appeared to be hooligan or thugs. They soon surround Malik, smirks of arrogance evident. They were looking to fight the boy. From what he could guess, it was for no other reason than to cause pain. One delinquent stood out from the others. For one, he was bigger than the rest. His clothes and the style of his beard gave him a more rugged look. He along with his so-called posse stepped around Malik, surrounding him with the leader in front of the novice pirate. His expression remained unchanged as he blankly stared at the hooligan before him. His eyes gave hints to one that he is quite bored. His mouth was in a straight line, serving only to enhance his nonchalant look.

"Hey kid, you seem new, so let me fill ya in a few rules. 1. Outsiders hand over all their stuff to us; 2. We beat 'em down to show how better we are and 3., we throw them into the sea. So little man, you ready to know your place." The delinquent explained, think as if he is superior. This may have been a way to intentionally harm innocent individuals unlike himself. Malik always disliked bullies, cowardly jerks who would pick on others whom are unable to defend themselves. This was an effort just to feel good about themselves. It was low and dirty to him. It irritated him to no end. The leader of these annoying thugs recently told him was he ready to know his place, before they would beat him into the ground, which was highly doubtful. His gaze shifted downward with the shadows of his bangs covering his eyes. His mouth twisted into a frown of annoyance at the way the hooligan spoke to him, all because he was from another land.

"Allow me to tell you as well as you other delinquents my response to your self-proclaimed rules. 1. I am not handing over my belongings to any of you, especially my hoodie. 2. Just because your are bigger or have more guys with you, doesn't make you better, in fact you are lowly. 3. You push me farther, you are the one who are going into the sea instead of me. If all of you want a fight, you can come at me anytime, well?" He said with a small smile etching it's way onto his face. The thugs stood there dumbfounded by Malik's reaction to their words. Their face quickly contorted with anger at his insult at calling them "lowly". He was right as a matter of fact, they just didn't want to accept it. One of the thugs behind him ran at the boy blinded by fury. On pulled back his right hand and thrust, try to land a punch. The attack was sloppy, an indication of his lack of martial arts. Noticing the tactic, Malik quickly turned on his feet, dodging the blow easily with the thug falling to the ground flat on his face.

"You brat!" Exclaimed another one of the thugs, whom was to the right of Malik's position. He blindly rushed in, hoping to wiped that look of the young pirate's face. He turned to stare down the approaching hooligan, quickly getting into a combat stance. His opponent was the first to attack, launching his kick with his left leg. He anticipated it very well and dodged the attack. He then, countered with his own. He swiftly pulled back his left hand and launched a blow, which connected with the right side of the thug's face. The other three delinquents just stood there watching the whole scene with surprise. Malik's opponent stumbled back a few feet, shock evident on his face as he cupped his left check. The young martial artist quick ran towards the hooligan and thrusted his right fist into his stomach. His opponent, unable to react in time, took the full brunt of it. He then, slowly fell to his knee, gripping his gut in pain.

Malik stood over the thug, who was still on the ground clutching his stomach in agony from where he was struck. The young novice pirate was still in a combative stance, still prepared for any attack the remaining opponents who stared on in shock. Still they will not back down because the boy was able to score one blow on one of their allies. To them, it was like he just got a fortunate opening. To them, he just got lucky. However, it was more than just luck. He has been well-versed in the art of combat during his growth on Karate Island and was a well-adept martial artist, even as a child. He was well confident in his skill with martial arts, but didn't let this turned to arrogance as he kept a stern, serious expression on his face. These thugs he was face didn't seem like they were even finished yet. The leader seemed the least stunned by the boy performance. While his minions, excluding the one in pain on his knees in front of Malik, remain shocked by the boy's prowess, the leader gave a smirk of interest.

"Heh, not bad kid, I didn't think you could take down one of ma guys like that. Heck, I didn't think ya know how ta fight. Hehe, This just makes more fun. Alrighty boys, let's show 'em what we've got." The large brute of a man said, commanding his allies to take the pirate down before his eyes. To start, the hooligan, Malik had previously brought to his knees, had risen up once more to fight him. He had an angry expression on his facial features, evidence of the rage he feels at how easily he was brought to the ground in such a manner. He was no longer clutching his stomach in pain, but rather clutching his fists in anger. With a battle cry, he rush the boy in a similar manner the first thug who attacked him did. However, this rage of his was from the boy's opponent being frustrated at how quickly he was brought down. This caused the thug to momentarily become sloppy. With a right thrust, he blindly launched his fist at him. Taking the evasive, Malik decided to dodge it and counter again. This time, he released a barrage of punches on both his chest and face. He finished it up with a side-way kick to his head with his right leg. When it made contact, the thug was flung off of his feet to the young pirate's left. The three watched on in shock as their teammate landed on the ground, slightly skidding as he did.

"Y-You little punk, y-you think you can take one of our pals down and get away with it." The third of the leader's flunkies exclaimed in a stunned, if not frightened, tone of voice. He immediate rushed to Malik and thrusted his right fist, hoping to land a blow. The boy quickly turned to him, but didn't had enough time to dodge. Instead, he held his forearms up to his face to block it. The blow was successfully guarded against, but he didn't expect more than one of the thugs to go at him. It was to say unfair, then again, he should have expected that when they ganged up on him. There was always a first time for everything, unfortunately, this was his first gang fight and was a little rusty on what to do. Immediately after Malik had blocked the attack, the first thug that had went to try and hit him, tried it again. These hooligans were very naive. It hardly matters how many guys of their class there are, they would need more skill to land at least one hit on him. Their leader would have a better time at fighting him. Speaking of whom, he was still observing the fight from a fair distance. However, he was not the only one, the inhabitants Malik had previously passed before started to gather around, wanting to see the outcome of this match. Most were hoping the boy would teach the thugs a lesson and make sure that they never show their sorry faces around here again. The rest just came to see a good fight.

As they continued to watch on, anticipating the next move of any competitor, the first of the delinquents thrusted a blow at Malik with his left hand. Thinking on his toes, he quickly lifted his right leg and firm planted it in the chest of the thug he was guarding against, repelling him a distance of 2 feet. Turned his gaze, he raised his right hand and caught the punch in his hand, surprising the third of the leader's minions. Malik then thrusted his left knee into his current opponent's stomach with a impact to such an extent it knock the air out of his lungs. He followed up with a right punch to the left side of his face and an uppercut with his left hand. This as a result knocked him up in the air a few inches off the ground before falling to the ground unconscious along with the other thug he side kicked down.  Now only one minion of the gang's leader remain. Malik quickly turned to see the said person rushing at him and carefully anticipated his attack. He was probably going to thrust forth another regular punch of no specialty. He immediate rushed towards him to a speed he couldn't, showing an expression of fright. The young martial artist firmly launched his right fist into the thug's chest. Soon after, he used his elbow to jab him in the back of his neck, quickly knocking him out. The delinquent soon hit the ground, stunning the surrounding crowd with awe of the boy's random performance. With all three minions unconscious, he soon turned to the leader who was trembling with rage. He lifted both his hands up and began to crack his knuckles. The sound of snapping bone filled his ears as well as everyone else behind him with a sickening tone.

"You gonna pay for that little man, big time!" The large brute stated in a loud voice. The pirate said nothing and retained his same bored expression as before. Instead, he got within his combative stance, preparing for a more formidable opponent.

[3 Tier 0 Thugs Defeated]

Both fighters stared each other down, waiting for the right moment to strike the minute they gave an opponent. The young novice pirate remained cautious towards the leader of the gang that had previously ambush, or at least try to ambush, him. His three minions currently remained laid out on the solid earth unconscious from the physical blows he connected to to their bodies. Those hooligan were basically amateurs, but by looking at their leader, Malik could tell he was tough by size alone. However, despite his sheer size and attempt at intimidation, the boy retained a solemn expression as he is not at all impressed by the brute's so-called performance. In fact, he was admittedly annoyed at how he pushed around innocent people just because he was bigger, from his own opinion. He suspects he had been doing this to others who had come here before him from other islands of their own. He will not tolerate such behavior. he will make sure he doesn't do this to anyone else again by displaying his own strength. He will show who was truly dominant here, who had more power, strength, and heart.

The spectators who had showed themselves earlier, continued to observe the confrontation between the boy and the large man in front of them. Many of them had already seen how easily the adolescent have dealt with the brutes lackeys, their motionless bodies littering the ground around them. Malik and his enemy started to circled one another, their gazes never leaving them. One look of anger and vengeance while another was of seriousness and virtue. The large man grew tired of waiting when barely any time has passed by and decided to rush the boy. This is evidence he was impatient, meaning he was quick to anger. The young pirate could utilize this to an advantage. For now, he had to avoid his attacks. By he speed, he was much faster that the previous three thugs. The large brute quickly swung his right arm, which was balled into a fist, at Malik. It was fast, but he managed to evade it with minimal effort. However, that didn't stop there. The leader proceeded to launch a punch with his left arm. The boy lifted his right arm to block it. It successfully worked, but the thug was a quick thinker himself as he raised his right knee and slammed it into the boy's gut. His mouth released a barely audible grunt that only his opponent could hear. While he was off his guard, the boy was left open for another attack. The leader followed up with a left punch to the right side of his face, which landed. This caused his body to be pushed back 2 feet with his head facing downward. Some of the spectators looked on in shock. Malik slowly raised his face, seemingly no damage done to him excluding  a small brush on his left cheek that will soon fade away.

"Hah, looks like I got ya, didn't I. That'll show ya, little punk. Don't mess with me or ma boys. Ya shoulda just listen ta our rules. At least ya wouldn't get beaten to a pulp. So, what'cha gonna do now, kid. You gonna bow down and respect me." The brute arrogantly spouted, supposedly claiming he had already won. He may have gotten in a couple blows on Malik, but that doesn't mean he was through showing what he is capable of. He stood up straight from his position, the shadows of his bangs hanging over his golden brown orbs while enough color remained for one to get a clear look of his expression. He held his head up to the large man before him and to his surprise, he was smirk. Of course, since he was shy and hardly showed strangers how he felt at times, it was just a small one. Still, it was enough to give his opponent a tick mark. Malik was actually enjoying this fight. Not from how his opponent act, but because he was strong enough for him to exert his real strength. At this moment, he has decided to utilize some technique of his fighting style.

"Well, this is certain unexpected. You are very strong and I commend you for your prowess. I can tell from how you fight that you are of a higher level compared to your followers. From that speculation, I will show you how strong I am." Malik said finishing with a statement of roving his own strength towards the brute of a hooligan. He switch into his battle stance again, eyeing his opponent cautiously. He then, in a flash, rushed at him with speeds the man had never seen before. Clenching his right fist, the novice pirate focuses his strength into it. When he was close enough to his enemy, he makes a sharp thrust towards his chest. When the blow made contact, the brute felt the full brunt of the impact. The force of the attack was enough to make him bend over with an audible grunt as his face was angled towards the ground.

"Ryuutakashi" He said simply, implying the name of his technique. One could guess it was no ordinary punch as it was more powerful and delivered more damage to a person than a man's fist could. Take this moment of his opponent's vulnerability to an advantage, Malik raised his left hand, which was clenched. This punch was ordinary, so it won't do as much damage on his opponent, like his previous attack.  With a straight-forward motion, Malik launched his fist towards his enemy's face. When the man lifted himself up, he  was just in time to see the boy's attack successfully connect. With a small pop, the brute flung himself back and gripped at his nose with both of his hands. He wailed in pained as the momentarily wound continued to sting.

"Augh, you brat, ya broke ma nose!" He screamed in agony at the damage of his opponent's last blow. This also resulted in an immediately nosebleed. The searing pain burned throughout his nostrils with such force, he felt like he could pass out from the pain. At that moment he could hear loud foot steps, signalling that someone was coming for him. He looked from behind his hands, which covered his face out of curiosity. That simply curiosity soon turned to dread as he saw the young martial artists rushing towards him, ready to land a decisive blow, which will end this match. He took a step back out of slight fear as he could see the boy rearing back his right fist and focusing his strength within it. When he was close enough he was ready to launch the finishing move. The thug cowardly raised his hands.

"H-Hold up, c-can we talk this ou-guh!" He tried to say, but was too late as Malik's "Ryuutakashi" connected with his left jaw. The impact sent him spiraling toward the ground. When he landed, it was followed with a slow skid. The big brute finally fell limp, unconscious from the impact. The novice pirate stood tall and soon began to neat dust himself of grime and dirt he had sustained in his confrontation with the now unconscious hooligans. He then, adjusted his glassed and turned to the path he way heading towards earlier, his mind now set on going deeper into the city. He casually walked off into the said direction while those who observed his skill were in shock and awe. They simply kept their distance as not to anger him. Thankfully, he was a kind, merciful boy. He would never hurt an innocent person out of irritation or because they bothered him. He did have his breaking point, however. With each step he took, he slowly disappeared in the distance of the road he took to travel further into the kingdom.

[Techniques Used: Ryuutakashi 2x: -15 x 1.5 = -22.5 Stamina]

[Word Count: 4266 Words]