(Tuesday, May 21, 2024 – 11:47 AM)
Gun straightened slowly with his left hand casually slipping into his pocket while the right rose to scratch his chin thoughtfully. His Reverse Eyes, sharp and calm, closely observed Lil Daniel with newfound curiosity.
Meanwhile, Lil Daniel clenched and unclenched his right fist slowly with his muscles trembling from the intense exertion required to flawlessly mirror Gun's Kyokushin straight punch.
'Hm…' he thought. 'Copying techniques at this level puts way more strain on my body than I expected.'
He knew perfectly well that copying a technique was one thing, but mastering it was entirely different. The limitations of online tutorials and the manhwa techniques were painfully obvious.
Sure, he could copy the techniques from the manhwa in base to his memory, but this wasn't fiction, it was reality, and the real techniques followed this world laws and physics, the techniques demanded authentic and qualified instruction or straight copying them from the source.
He managed to copy Gun flawlessly but he couldn't copy the strength behind it completely, nor the essence behind it.
'Does not matter, all of these problems have a single solution...'
His eyes rose slowly, locking onto Gun's towering figure, who continued inspecting him with keen interest.
'Experience.'
Gun finally broke the silence. "Your body's good. Perfect proportions for fighting, compact and brimming with potential. But copying alone won't make you strong enough. You're missing proper experience."
Lil Daniel nodded without hesitation. "Obviously. I'm not planning to rely on Copycat."
Gun raised an eyebrow. "Good to see you understand, what's your name?"
"Daniel." he answered simply. "My real name's Park Hyungseok, but everyone calls me Lil Daniel."
Gun nodded slowly with a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips. His finger pointed toward Big Daniel in the distance, who had just shamelessly snatched some fried chicken from Mary who, was currently furiously punching and slapping him while yelling curses.
"So, that's your big brother, huh? You two make quite a strange pair." Gun remarked with amusement.
Lil Daniel rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me." he sighed. Then, a challenging smile emerged on his face. "Enough yapping. Let's see if you're actually all that."
Gun's head tilted slightly as he smiled broadly. "You think you're worthy of testing me?"
Without hesitation, Lil Daniel launched forward with a swift roundhouse kick. Gun effortlessly blocked, immediately countering with his own strike. The battle resumed and like before it was fierce and relentless.
Big Daniel, meanwhile, casually strolled toward the Jay with his cheeks puffed with stolen chicken and red marked face by Mary's furious attacks. He wiped his greasy mouth lazily with his sleeve, ignoring Mary's enraged shouting behind him who was being stopped by a sweating Vin.
"Hey!" Zack shouted incredulously, "Are you seriously eating chicken right now?!"
Big Daniel shrugged, unfazed. "Never ignore the call of food."
Zack stared at him in disbelief. "Dude, your brother's literally fighting for his life over there!"
Jay silently handed Big Daniel a napkin with his eyes gleaming with quiet amusement, while Mira and Zoe exchanged exasperated looks, wondering how they ended up in such absurdity.
(11:51 AM)
Big Daniel's expression shifted sharply, his playful demeanor fading into seriousness. Without a word, he calmly removed his upper clothing, folding it neatly and setting it aside, leaving him bare-chested and imposing in the sunlight. He stepped forward deliberately, each footfall heavy with intent as his eyes narrowed sharply on Gun.
Gun stood casually, looking down at Lil Daniel, whose body was now heavily embedded in the cracked concrete beneath him. He turned to face Big Daniel, before an excited laugh escaping him. In one smooth motion, Gun tore off his shirt, revealing his compact muscles as he rushed forward.
His left leg lashed out first, a low Kyokushin kick aimed precisely at Daniel's inner thigh, intending to shatter his stance and cripple his mobility. But Daniel swiftly pivoted, shifting his weight subtly to evade. As Gun's leg passed by harmlessly, Daniel immediately countered with a sharp elbow strike aimed at Gun's temple.
Gun reacted, smoothly transitioning into an Aikido redirection. His hands snatched Daniel's wrist mid-strike, twisting viciously in an attempt to dislocate the joint. Daniel's thoughts raced as pain flashed through his wrist.
'Aikido...'
Ignoring the pain, Daniel relaxed his wrist at the last possible second, sacrificing strength for flexibility. He twisted sharply, slipping out of Gun's grip, immediately snapping a low kick into Gun's knee joint. Gun, however, easily lifted his leg, narrowly avoiding the strike his eyes narrowed as he noticed the fluidity of Daniel's counterattack.
'He's good.' Gun thought, smirking slightly. 'He's analyzing me mid-combat. Let's see how far you can go, Daniel Park.'
Without pause, Gun lunged forward, executing a three-punch combo that the others only saw three small shockwaves piercing Daniel after images. A fierce jab, a powerful cross and followed by a devastating uppercut. Each punch was delivered with lethal precision, backed by his monstrous strength.
Daniel, moving purely on technique and his deep understanding of anatomy, ducked the jab, sidestepped the cross, and finally tilted his head backward mere centimeters from Gun's uppercut. The powerful gust of air brushed Daniel's face with his hair wildly tossed by the violent wind of the blow.
Gasps erupted from the crowd, shock spreading like wildfire through their ranks.
"Holy shit!"
"They're monsters!"
"Who even fights like this in real life?!"
"I saw two Daniels!"
Before Gun could move from his missed uppercut, Daniel's eyes gleamed deeply, his left hand flashed out with his palm slamming into Gun's exposed ribs in a precisely timed strike, rattling his organs and forcing the air out from Gun's lungs in a sharp hiss.
Gun staggered half a step backward, genuinely stunned by Daniel's pinpoint accuracy and raw power. 'His knowledge of vital points... He's fighting like a surgeon, flawless precision and timing.'
Not allowing Gun to regain his footing, Daniel pressed forward aggressively. His fists flew, mirroring Gun's earlier three-punch combo perfectly, jab, cross, uppercut, but executed with even greater speed and power.
Gun blocked the jab and cross instinctively, but Daniel's uppercut slipped under his guard, smashing into his chin causing Gun's head to snap upward violently with his body lifting slightly off the ground from the sheer impact leaving a shockwave that moved the wind upwards.
---
Name: Daniel Park
Strength: |-{XXX} → {EX}
---
For the first time, Gun genuinely felt the weight behind Daniel's blows.
The crowd exploded into cheers mixed with disbelief.
"He hit him!"
"No way, Daniel actually landed a clean punch on that Guy?!"
Gun with his adrenaline surging, smirked wildly as he landed on his feet again with blood dripping from his split lip.
"You've gotten stronger!" he exclaimed with exhilaration and Immediately charged again, deflecting Daniel's punch and with a wave of his hand, he flipped him upside down before unleashing a strong downwards straight punch.
But Daniel anticipated it, He crossed his arms blocking completely the blow leaving smoke on them before hitting the ground with his back leaving cracks on the concrete.
He immediately placed his hand in the ground and pushed himself up, using the momentum, Daniel shot upward, landing a brutal, rising strike directly into Gun's chest with his foot.
A thunderous crack echoed as Gun's ribs absorbed the monstrous force, sending him stumbling backward, skidding across the broken pavement, leaving deep grooves in the concrete.
Gasps of astonishment rippled through the crowd.
"Did you feel that shockwave?!"
"They're destroying the ground with each hit!"
Gun straightened slowly with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth but his smile widened to a manic grin having lost himself completely in the excitement. He wiped his mouth slowly with his hand, genuinely happy.
'He's matching me Move-for-move. Who would have known i would find a strong guy here...'
Big Daniel stood tall, breathing calmly with his muscles taut with anticipation meeting Gun's eyes.
'Every move, every technique, I'll memorize them all and make them mine. Show me everything you've got, Gun.'
Without another word, both fighters charged forward again, throwing hands with passion.
Meanwhile, Lil Daniel struggled back onto his feet, coughing violently with blood dripping from his mouth. His ribcage was visibly damaged from Gun's merciless slam, but determination burned in his eyes.
Before he could collapse again, strong arms reached out, firmly supporting him. He glanced sideways, surprised to see Vasco holding him upright with concern evident on his rugged face.
"Why are you fighting that madman?" Vasco asked urgently, worry lacing his usually strong voice. "You know you're weaker."
Lil Daniel smiled, catching his breath through the pain before greeting him warmly. "Thanks, man. What's your name?"
"Euntae Lee." Vasco replied in a softer tone. "But everyone calls me Vasco, I'm a friend of your Brother."
Lil Daniel nodded, before answering. "I'm fighting him because only by facing stronger opponents can I grow stronger myself." He slowly straightened his battered frame, standing tall once more. "That's how I'll gain the power to fight evil in the future."
Vasco, standing taller physically, suddenly felt small and humbled by the burning conviction radiating from Lil Daniel. He swallowed hard but a genuine and powerful respect begun to build up inside of him. Daniel slowly turned, locking eyes with Vasco.
"So Vasco." he asked firmly and steadily despite the blood staining his lips, "do you desire to stop evil from ruining lives?"
----
WAhhh i actually didn't know how to finish this chapter during the fight of Gun and Big Dan, as you saw how i expanded the battle, but at the end i decided to open the way for Vasco to actually experience what a high tier battle is as well how there are other people who fight against evil.
As well introducing the lil body to Vasco in a natural way.