Thwack!
A big bulky leg landed on a young man's stomach who looked like he was just a bag of skin and bones.
"Did I or did I not ask you to bring more lunch money today? Do you expect me to starve, bitch?" A short and healthy youngster wearing a school uniform spat out as he landed another kick on the skinny figure.
This made him buckle down and collapse, coughing up more blood on the ground.
"Aish… Be careful, dude. Don't kill him or something." Another student standing near chimed in.
"Nah… this bitch might be spineless but he is pretty durable. Isn't that right, Liam? Aren't you the best punching bag in the entire school?"
The healthier student raised his leg to land another kick on the seemingly almost dead and curled-up boy lying on the ground, but luckily for him, the school bell loudly rang the very next second, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Alright. Let's go. It's that nasty old woman's class. I don't want to spend my evening in detention staring at that ugly ass face again."
The group of tall and sturdy high school students chatted amongst themselves and casually strolled out of the small alleyway, where the so-called punching bag was left behind without any care or concern.
Liam laid still, completely silent and frozen, afraid to even take another breath, but it was not because he feared the bunch of high school bullies who had just thrashed him. Rather it was because of something entirely different…
Just a few seconds ago, he had been battling for his life, fighting for an elixir that was one of the heavenly treasures.
But how could he compare to the other monsters who were also competing with him for the same treasure? After all, he was just a small fry.
So in the end, an attack landed and he was killed without any sweat but somehow instead of dying, he had instead returned to the past, to 3 years ago when everything began.
As seconds slowly ticked by, Liam became more and more sure that everything that was happening was in fact real and not just a twisted wishful dream.
There was no doubt! He had somehow miraculously returned back to the days when he was younger… when he was still in high school… when everything was yet to happen.
It was as real as his loudly pounding heart and as real as his burning injuries, giving him stabs of pain everywhere on his body.
Liam was not someone who was new to this sort of pain. In fact, he was quite used to this feeling. The thing that he was not used to was… luck!
That's right! Somehow he ended up lucky enough to get such an unbelievable second chance!
Liam's lips curled upwards as he slowly picked himself up from the ground, his body unsteadily wobbling as if he would fall down again any second now.
However, contrary to his trembling body, his eyes were sharp and cold. There was unfathomable darkness that swirled within them which would probably scare the kids who were just seconds ago pummeling him down.
"I am back." Liam grinned, as he banged his bleeding hand made into a fist on the shabby vandalized wall near him. A loud thud echoed and the shock wave which as a result traveled through his body revitalized him.
He slowly and steadily limped out of the alleyway and from there, he directly started walking back to his house, not even bothering to take a look at the school where he was currently supposed to be sitting.
Liam dragged his bruised body all the way to his cramped apartment which was about ten blocks away from the school. Though it hurt like hell, his face only wore an obscene wide grin.
As he neared his apartment, a familiar figure peeked her head out, instantly making the big smile disappear from Liam's face.
He had been far too focused on other things and he had completely forgotten about her!
"Mei Mei!" His words came out in a whisper as his voice got stuck in his throat and he lunged forward to pull and hug his little sister.
She is still alive! Liam trembled as he held her slender figure in his arms.
"Brother…? What happened? Are you crying? Did they hurt you badly today as well?" The little girl lifted her head up and pitifully looked at Liam's face that was swollen here and there, covered with cuts and scraps.
Seeing his bad state, she immediately started tearing up and sobbing, rivers streaming out of her eyes.
"Ah…! Ummm…!" Liam was immediately speechless. For as long as he could remember, he had always been bad at this, at consoling girls.
Unsure of how to console the little girl who was almost four years younger than him, he ruffled her head and awkwardly. "Let's go inside and talk."
The two siblings then went inside and Liam closed the dull rusted door behind him. It was only the two of them living in the small cramped apartment.
Their parents had died a couple of years ago from a construction accident, leaving these two siblings all alone with no one else.
But Liam had a good head on his shoulder and he somehow managed everything and made sure that they got the settlement money that they deserved.
He was like a scrappy dog that didn't let go of his bone. Though he was ultimately cheated in the end, he still got something out of it, enough to get them through for a few years.
With that money, he rented this cramped apartment in a building in the slum district that clearly needed renovating.
But all that didn't matter now. Nothing mattered now because, in just a couple of days, everything was going to completely change.
Liam looked around to see the place which was both familiar and unfamiliar to him. Anger and pain surfaced in his eyes as he remembered everything that had happened or rather was yet to happen.
Clenching his fist, he collapsed on the ground and let out a burst of loud maniacal laughter.
"Brother… Are you really alright?" The little girl blinked and stared at her brother who had seemingly gone completely bat-shit crazy!
"Heh. I am fine, Mei Mei. Don't worry, everything will be fine now." Liam stood up and heated up a pail of water first to clean all his injuries.
His hands moved swiftly as if he was extremely familiar with what he was doing and he finished the first aid within minutes, properly bandaging everything that was bleeding and broken.
He also popped in a couple of painkillers which reduced his pain a lot, helping him think better. First things first. He needed to go and purchase that item as soon as possible.
Liam took another look to make sure his injuries were alright and he then threw on a pair of clean pants and a shirt.
"Brother, are you heading out to school again? It won't be late now?" Meilin worriedly asked.
"No kiddo. I am going out somewhere else."
Huh? Meilin was surprised. "Grocery shop? But it's not Sunday today?" The two siblings had a routine that they followed so she was surprised about this new change.
Liam ruffled her head again, making the little girl pout cutely. "I am heading out to the game store. I will be back soon. Be good."
"Eh? Ehhhhh? Ehhhhhhhh?" Chang Meilin stood at the doorstep in a daze, watching her brother's disappearing figure.
"Game store? Since when does brother play games…?"