Part-99

  The leader, dazed and disoriented, scrambled to his feet. But before he could react, James on him. He used the teiques he'd learned – the knee o restraint, the precise finger jabs to pressure points, and the thundercp strikes – with a ferocity he didn't reize in himself. Each move, calcuted and precise, chipped away at the leader's resistance.

  It wasn't a brutal dispy, but a trolled one, desigo subdue rather than inflinecessary harm. The leader, overwhelmed by the rapid succession of attacks, struggled in vain. His initial rage gave way to fusion, then finally, to unsciousness.

  With a sigh of exertion, James deactivated the Semi-Auto Battle Mode. He'd discovered, amidst the chaos, a small, hidden button within the System's interface – an off switch for the bat assistanbsp; Relief washed over him, tinged with a hint of apprehension. Using the System in public carried risks, and he knew he'd have to be more careful iure.

  He gnced around, taking iunned faces of the market crowd. The young woman, her initial anger repced by wide-eyed surprise, looked at him with a mixture of fear. The old woman, winded but unharmed, offered him a shaky smile.

  "Thank you, young man," she rasped, her voice filled with gratitude. "You were very brave."

  James, still catg his breath, simply nodded, uo form a coherent response. He'd e to the market froceries, but instead, he'd found himself in the middle of a fight, a hero to some, a potential vilin to others. The i had shaken him, but it had also ignited a fire within him. He wouldn't tolerate bullies, and with the System as his guide, he was no longer powerless to stop them.

  The young woman, still flushed with anger, cast a critical eye at James. "Don't let him fool you, Grandma," she said, her voice ced with distrust. "Those who fight are thugs too. There's nothing to thank him for." Her words, though harsh, held a sliver of truth. James, relying on violence albeit trolled violence, had blurred the lines in her eyes.

  Without another word, she grabbed her grandmother's arm, her grip tight with protectiveness, and ushered her away from the crowd. James watched them go, a helpless feeliling in his stomabsp; He'd acted to protect them, yet here he was, being judged for his methods.

  The market, however, seemed split on the young woman's outburst. A few onlookers, particurly the ones who had withe leader's initial aggression, muttered amongst themselves about the girl's ingratitude. "She should be thanking him," one woman whispered, her voice ced with disapproval. "He stopped that awful bully."

  Others, however, remained silent, their faces etched with . James, caught in the middle of the social entary, felt a wave of self-doubt wash over him. Had he dohe right thing? Was there a better way to hahe situation without res to violence, even with the System's assistance?

  A gruff voice broke through his introspe. "You alright there, son?" An elderly mahered and kind-eyed, stood beside him, his gaze gentle.

  James, startled, looked up. "Yeah, I… I think so," he stammered, unsure how to articute the jumble of emotions swirling within him.

  The old man chuckled softly. "Don't be so hard on yourself, son. You did what you thought was right. Sometimes, a little force is o stop bullies."

  The pliment from the kind-eyed man offered a mueeded salve to James' sbsp; With a grateful nod, James responded, "Thanks, mister. I appreciate that."