In a World of Nightmares, I Keep Awakening Stronger Talents

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

2035!

“Come quick! It has already started!”

A man in tattered clothes that had worn thin, likely from years of rough use, waved urgently at two others as he pushed his way through the rowdy crowd.

The street of a rundown subdistrict was abuzz with activity. Windows and doors had long been replaced with scrap metal, even basic necessities like electricity and the internet were distant memories.

Yet, none of that seemed to matter now, as the street fight unfolding before them had become the sole source of entertainment.

“Who did you bet your money on? The high school kid, Levi, or Scarface, Xu Kai?”

An elderly, balding man with a slightly hunched back asked a young spectator as he twirled a golden coin between his fingers, its gleam enticing as it reflected the light of the bright sun high up in the sky.

A little gleam flashed through the eyes of the young man, but as tempting as the money was, the young man had no intention of missing a second of this fight.

“Just place your bet, old man,” he muttered nonchalantly, waving his hand as if

telling the man to go away and quit disturbing him while his eyes never left the scene before him.

While the crowd around was being rowdy, in the heart of the chaos, two fighters faced each other, locked in a silent standoff their arms were raised and fists clenched, ready to land punches.

A boy with a head full of lustrous, raven black hair exhaled softly his cheeks inflating as he did so.

A gray-coloured plaster was on his right cheek, but the fresh, bleeding cut on his forehead suggested that he would need another soon!

His hands were wrapped in worn, dirt-stained wrappings that went around his fist and his back was slightly hunched as he raised his arms up to his eye level in a defensive stance.

Across from him stood a hulking man with a scar running across his eye, partially shadowed by a snug beanie. His broad, muscular frame was a testament to his years of hard-earned strength.

Yet, despite facing such a formidable opponent, Levi, just an eighteen-year-old boy who was facing a fellow street fighter on the very day he was supposed to be graduating from high school, smiled.

His lips, once soft and pink, were now dry and chapped, so much that it seemed as if a white layer of dead skin was clinging to them, still, that didn’t stop him from stretching them into a wide, fearless grin.

“Aren't you supposed to be in school, little boy?” Xu Kai taunted cockily, flexing his muscles before throwing a powerful punch.

Levi leaned to his right, dodging the blow effortlessly.

Feeling irritated that Levi wasn't planning to respond, Xu Kai threw another punch, followed by another and another but no matter how many punches he threw, each one missed as Levi dodged them all.

“Light on his feet as always,” someone in the crowd murmured. “This Li brat has been fighting since he was fourteen…99 streaks of winning with only one loss since this year.”

Xu Kai roared, his frustration boiling over. “Die!”

Spit flew from his mouth as he lunged with an aggressive leap.

Levi's sharp, slanted eyes tracked his every move like a hawk.

If there was something fighting on the streets for 4 years had taught him …

One—avoid blows if possible.

Two—strike decisively when you've found your enemy’s weakness and so, without deliberations, Levi borrowed force from his right foot, transferred it to his fist and struck a brutal punch into Xu Kai's rib!

The impact sent the hulking man stumbling to his side after letting out a grunt of pain.

Unfortunately, before Xu Kai could recover, another heavy blow, much more powerful than what one would expect from a 5 '11 foot, smashed into his jaw. The blow sent the towering 6 ‘2 feet man reeling in shock as his head snapped sideways at a staggering speed.

“Argh!”

Roaring in anger, he clamped down on Levi's shoulders before smashing his forehead into the boy's skull.

The scene made the spectators flinch.

Bam!

A fist slammed into Xu Kai's abdomen.

The towering man staggered and retreated in shock, but that was all the opportunity Levi needed to act aggressively.

He leaped, locked his legs around Xu Kai’s neck and used the momentum of the swing to slam the man to the ground.

Onto the hard, broken asphalt!

The crowd went silent.

Even though blood trickled down Levi’s torn flesh and bruises were already forming along his arms, he pushed himself up, standing over his unconscious opponent.

“He did it. This kid is truly a fighting beast.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“Sometimes I think Levi is one of those people with strange abilities, those ones who survived their trials,” someone whispered.

“Tsk! Lu Bu didn't survive that death sentence of a dream, and he was the strongest street fighter we had, though the kid is strong, there's no way he can survive a trial.” A man with folded arms scoffed. Then as he studied Levi, his eyes suddenly changed.

“I still can't believe he's the son of that beautiful woma…!”

His words died in his throat as Levi's ice-cold glare pierced him, he was terrified.

Just then, a fat man dressed far better than the rest walked up to Levi, stepping over the unconscious Xu Kai like he was a piece of garbage.

“Levi, my boy.” He tossed a small pitch of golden coins into the boy’s hands. “Here are a hundred coins, keep winning, and you'll surely get rich enough to get there.” He patted Levi's shoulder before pointing at the towering wall looming over the district entirely out of metal. It looked like something made from stacked sea containers, welded together like a fortress.

Beyond that wall lay paradise!

According to Levi’s school teacher, that wall was built to protect humanity from the nightmarish monsters, these monsters were those with inhuman powers who had died in their dreams.

But if that were true …

Why was he still here?

Wasn't he a human, too?

The citadel was nothing like the slump town Levi called home.

Here, the stench of death lingered, thick and endless.

Here, even taking a bath was a privilege, here, three square meals a day was nothing short of a legend.

How had it all changed?

For a brief moment, Levi remembered his life before 2028, the year of cataclysm! Back then, he had a family, a complete one, a mother who was healthy, and great friends at school.

However     

Now?

His gaze swept around the wasteland that had once been a bustling district of Beijing, one of China's great municipalities!

Now, it was nothing more than a rotting shell of its former self.

A sneer of discontent rippled through the crowd.

“Before he gets that rich, he will be in his eighties!” someone scowled.

Levi ignored the remark and silently took his pay before turning on his heel and walking away. The crowd parted swiftly as he made his way through them.

“Levi Li has scored his 100th win streak!” the fat man bellowed.

Levi barely acknowledged the declaration while he walked away through the streets, lowering his head to count the money, he made a swift turn to the right.

 After a short walk, he arrived at a store, the only store in this slump town.

His metallic floor clanked as his worn-out boots pressed against it, the place looked like a chaotic blend of medieval and modern ruins, but that was almost the view almost everywhere now.

Resting his hands on the counter a salvaged piece stolen from one of the once-nicely furnished houses that had been abandoned after the cataclysm like the rest of the world he asked.

“Gao Lei, I want painkillers, have you run out, or do you still have any?”