Eric barely had time to brace himself before Henry tackled him to the ground, raining down punches. He didn’t fight back—not with so many cameras recording. If he used his skills here, it wouldn’t just be a lawsuit he’d face—it would be a life sentence.
So all he could do was curl up, shielding his head as the blows landed.
The doctors who had just stepped out of the ambulance exchanged uneasy glances. It didn’t take long to put the pieces together.
Before they had arrived, this young man… beggar—Eric—had performed acupuncture on the patient.
The lead doctor stepped forward, grabbing Henry and pulling him off Eric. Then, crouching down, he stared at the bruised and battered “beggar-doctor” with piercing intensity.
“Did you perform acupuncture on the patient?”
Eric, knowing he couldn’t deny it, swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes.”
The doctor’s expression darkened. “Do you have a medical license?”
“I…” Eric’s mouth opened, but the words wouldn’t come.
“Which medical university did you graduate from?”
Silence. The air grew thick with darkness presence. The crowd held its breath. Every trained medical professional knew the golden rule—never intervene unless you are absolutely certain you can help.
Yet here Eric stood, silent. Every unanswered question dug his grave deeper. The doctors’ gazes turned cold.
“You have no medical license, no formal training, yet you… you perform an acupuncture on a critical patient?”
Another doctor pulled out his phone. “You’re coming with us. The police have already been notified.”
[The protagonist, Eric Vaughn, has suffered a total mental breakdown. Congratulations! You have gained 2,000 Critical Points.]
Eric wanted to run. But he couldn’t.
Just yesterday, the Dawson family had bailed him out of detention. He had barely spent a day breathing fresh air.
And now, he was going back in. His fingers tightened around his head as a crushing weight pressed down on his chest.
‘How did everything spiral so fast? I had only wanted to save a life. So why did my every attempt to help turn into a disaster?’
Ever since he left the mountain, nothing had gone right. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
….
As Eric was dragged away by hospital staff—soon to be handed over to the authorities—Alex stood back, arms crossed, watching the spectacle unfold with barely contained amusement.
His system panel was practically on fire. Critical Points incoming. It was like hitting the jackpot. He had never seen numbers climb this fast. Today was shaping up to be a very good day.
And then—
[ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!]
Alex’s entire body tensed.
‘What the hell?!’ His fingers flew to his system panel.
[User Status: Poisoned (Detoxification in Progress)]
His stomach dropped. “Poisoned?! When?!”
A response flashed across his screen.
[While Eric Vaughn was being taken away, he secretly poisoned you with a five-toxin blend. However, your ‘Immunity to All Poisons’ skill has completely neutralized the effects. Full detoxification will be complete in approximately 30 minutes.]
Alex let out a slow breath.
Hiss—
‘Damn. Five poisons at once?’
Eric hadn’t just tried to kill him—he had gone all in. ‘The guy had barely been standing, beaten half to death, yet he was still managed to pull this off?’
That took some serious nerve. Alex’s gaze locked onto Vaughn, who was being shoved into the ambulance, his head hanging low.
But now Alex knew better. That wasn’t defeat. That was a man who still had cards left to play.
Slowly, Alex’s fingers curled around the Overpowered Recovery Pill hidden in his pocket.
At that moment, a wave of relief washed over him. He was incredibly fortunate to have exchanged for this skill in time—otherwise, he might not have made it out alive.
Eric’s poison technique was terrifying. It could silently seep into someone’s body without them even realizing it. If the system hadn’t warned him, he would have remained oblivious until it was too late… of course he wouldn’t have died as he already had a skill… but still…!
“I’m still too careless…” Alex clenched his fists, frustration flickering in his eyes.
‘And the worst part? This was only one of Eric’s skills. The man had been trained by three masters, one in medicine, another in poison, and the third, an internationally renowned assassin, had taught him the art of killing.’
“If I want to survive, I need to sharpen my real combat skills.” His gaze flickered to his collapse points. Thanks to Eric Vaughn, he had raked in a massive amount—over 60,000 critical points in total.
“System, do you have any combat skill options?”
Just as he asked, lists of combat related skills popped up in feont of him.
[Basic Mixed Martial Arts: Includes judo, wrestling, sanda, boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai etc…. Price: 60,000 collapse points.]
[Intermediate Mixed Martial Arts: Includes judo, wrestling, sanda, boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai etc…. Price: 100,000 collapse points.]
Alex stared at the numbers, then at his balance.
“Oh, come on. Did you seriously price it based on what I have?” He narrowed his eyes, half convinced the system was just toying with him.
The price was expensive but he expected it, but there was no other choice even if didn’t have expected. If he wanted to keep up, he had to invest in himself. The collapse points he spent now? He’d just have to earn them back—preferably from the main character or lead heroines.
“Exchange for Basic Mixed Martial Arts.”
[Congratulations! You’ve obtained ‘Basic Mixed Martial Arts.’]
The moment the notification appeared, a torrent of knowledge surged into his mind. Techniques, movements, and battle strategies from various fighting styles wove together, embedding themselves into his consciousness.
“Damn… I actually feel smarter.” But the changes didn’t stop there. His body also received a subtle enhancement, his reflexes sharpened, his stance steadied, and his muscles felt more responsive.
However, something was off.
As he instinctively tried executing some of the more advanced techniques, he realized his body wasn’t quite keeping up. He had the knowledge, but his physical condition wasn’t at the level needed to fully utilize it.
“So, I need to improve my physique too?” He muttered and exhaled, already suspecting the system’s next move. “System, don’t tell me you just happen to have something for physical fitness?”
[Yes, we do.]
“Of course you do.”