Chapter 4 It shouldn’t have been me

“Watch out!  I’ll break your legs!”

Sam prepared to lunge at Tolly--the short, thin, and nasty boy before him. Tolly instinctively took a few steps backward. At the same time, he stretched out his hand to signal him to stop.

“Are you scared, huh?” Sam sneered, “Looks like you don’t want to lick my shoes. It’s all right then. You can choose to crawl through under my crotch. Anyway, it’s not a bad choice.  Do it now or I’ll beat the living snot out of you. I can promise your snot is going to fly out of your skull. It’ll be awesome!”

Tolly shook his head slowly, saying,

“That’s funny, huh? But I think you are such an idiot! Look, aren’t you afraid that I use my DRAGON GRIP when I get through under your crotch?”

“Dragon grip??!! What is that?”

“If you don’t want to be a eunuch, just let me do it! I can assure you that you’ll soon know the true meaning of DRAGON GRIP.”

With that, Tolly laughed uncontrollably, raising his loose palm into the air and all at once changing it into a tightly-clenched fist.

Sam’s face turned livid with rage in a minute. Why hadn’t it come to his mind earlier? He wondered. He had hesitated for a few moments before his buddies behind suddenly yelled,

“He is teasing you, my big brother Sam! Let him crawl through under your crotch! He has no guts to hurt you!”

“Yep, what are you afraid of, my big brother Sam? He’s bluffing! Don’t you want to humiliate him? You know, it’s the best way to get him to crawl through under your crotch!”

“Don’t hesitate, Sam! Don’t miss the boat! This is a golden opportunity to teach him a lesson! Hurry up and get your legs spread apart as wide as your shoulders. And remember to get your both hands pressed down at the waist! In this way, when he crawls through under your crotch, you can still keep steady!”

Sam frowned, quickly realizing that the risk of making him crawl through was too great to take. It could be a life-long regret if anything bad happened to the vulnerable part under his equator.

‘Anyhow, I can’t take that risk! Why not get Tolly to crawl through under someone else’s crotch? It will take the heat off me and humiliate Tolly at the same time. What a brilliant idea of killing two birds with one stone! I am a genius!” Sam thought to himself.

Then he looked at William beside him with a wicked grin on his face, saying,

“See, William? You were right just now! Don’t miss the boat, and THIS is surely a golden opportunity! And the opportunity is yours now! Jump at it without any hesitation. Please move your legs and spread them apart as wide as your shoulders.” Sam added, “Remember to get your both hands pressed down at the waist!  It can help you stand firm!”

Totally stunned, William was lost for words, his face changing dramatically into a deathly pale. He mumbled,

“M-m-my big brother….no, my boss Sam! Well, uh, this…You are TOO kind to me!”

William blushed awkwardly, but he was quick-witted, adding,

“Thank you for giving me such a good opportunity anyway, but don’t waste it on me, my boss Sam! In my opinion, Geroge is much more in need of this opportunity. How can I be selfish to take it away from him?”

Cunningly, William took several steps backward swiftly and stayed behind Sam.

“I don’t think so, William! Obviously, Leo can take better advantage of this chance. Come on, Leo! Do teach Tolly a big lesson for our big brother Sam!”

George followed suit and went behind William.

Realizing what had happened, Leo scratched his head and then said with a false smile,

“To tell you the truth, my big brother Sam, you’re better off doing it yourself. Only by doing it yourself can you have the wonderful experience in person when Tolly crawls through under your crotch!”

Leo did the same thing as George had done, getting himself behind swiftly, leaving Sam standing at the very front.

“How can you guys drop the ball at the last minute? You’re a bunch of losers! I’m really pissed off!”

Fuming with indignation, Sam even wanted to act on his impulse to beat them up first.

At this, Tolly tossed back his head in a howl of berserk laughter. He then raised his eyes slightly and said to them with contempt,

“By the looks of it, you’re surely a bunch of cowards! A good piece of advice for you, Sam. Please call your team ‘All-Star Losers’. You guys certainly live up to the name!”

Once again, Tolly laughed raucously.

“You’re getting too above yourself, Tolly. You know my dad is the school president. You were so lucky that Mr. Peterson protected you last time, but you won’t be lucky again. I’ll call you dad if I can’t beat you black and blue. “

“Well then, call me dad now. Do you think I’m still afraid of you guys, Sam? To tell you the truth, I don’t care a damn about you now because I’ve got my own secret weapon.”

Tolly was thinking of the tattoo of Hidden Dragon on his arm. If it was shown to them, he knew it would prove that he was not the weak person he used to be and that Hidden Dragon would definitely act as a deterrent to them.

After all, it was not his typical style to resort to force. When wisdom was still able to be employed to get him out of trouble, why turn to violence?

Wasn’t it said in the book of Art of War that it was good to subdue the enemy without fighting? A true wise warrior had no well-known victories.

“Secret weapon?! You mean you’re going to become a dragon knight that can summon a powerful dragon, don’t you? You are insane!” Sam mocked.  

“Send him to a mental asylum, Sam!  Ha-ha…”

They gave him a hoot of laughter.

“Bingo, Sam! My chance of becoming a dragon knight is good. if I bring out my dragon, I’m afraid you guys are going to be scared to death!” Tolly said smugly, “Listen up, Sam! There are two options for you now. Lick your friend George’s shoes or crawl through under his crotch! I know you just can’t get rid of your habit of licking shit, so you can thank me for providing you with such a good opportunity.”

Sam widened his eyes and stared at him furiously.

“Do you know why I make you lick George’s shoes instead of mine?”

Sam did not respond, but William and Leo asked in unison, staring at Tolly with a big surprise.

“Why???”

“Well, Sam has got a smelly mouth, so it is surely going to contaminate my shoes. Even my shoes have a better smell than his mouth.”

Sam’s friends wanted to laugh, but they did not dare to do so. They had to contain themselves.

“As for letting you crawl through under Geroge’s crotch, I’m sure you are not going to give him a Dragon Grip, are you？“

Another fit of berserk laughter burst out.

Sam was so furious that he felt a bit dizzy, all his hair standing up on end. He looked like a hedgehog ready to sting anyone at any moment.

Was it true that the little guy before him had some sort of secret weapon?

“Don’t be fooled, Sam! He’s bluffing! Go get him!”

“Look at him, my big brother Sam! It’s impossible for such a skinny guy to be able to summon a dragon! And do we have dragons in this world?”

“Ha-ha… he thinks we’re illiterate and have no idea of science. I figure he must have read too many fantasy web novels. He’s now living in his fantastic dream. Ignore what he has just said, let’s go get him and kick his ass!”

It was easier said than done. Though George, William, and Leo spoke loudly and fiercely, their bodies were honest, unwilling to move. Instead, they involuntarily stepped backward.

Tolly pretended that he was mumbling some spell or something that could help summon a dragon, but nothing happened.

“Do you see, Sam?  I’ve told you he’s bluffing!”

Sam nodded his head and sneered,

“Show me your weapon now, you little bastard!”

Tolly stepped his left foot forward and began to walk around them. When he did this with a fixed gaze at them for a few moments, he shifted his posture by stepping his right foot forward. He circled around them once more. He grinned, showing his white teeth.

“Don’t show me your white teeth! Why don’t you show off your secret weapon? What are you waiting for? You know, we’re scared to death!”

Seeing Tolly take too long to initiate his strike, they let their guards down and couldn’t help but tease him.

“Look out!” Tolly suddenly shouted.

Sam and his friends were taken aback, but nothing happened again.

“He’s kidding us, Sam! Let’s go get him now!”

They pushed forwards and decided to give him a violent attack.

Eventually, Tolly quickly rolled up his sleeves and demonstrated his secret weapon before them—Hidden Dragon.

“Here comes my secret weapon!” Tolly shouted again, “Hidden Dragon, Hidden Dragon, give me your power and let me be one with you! Show these guys what I can do now!”

Nothing happened once again.

Looking at the dragon on Tolly’s arm, Sam and his friends couldn’t help but explode into maniacal laughter.

“He calls such a thing a dragon!! Is he blind, Sam?”

“He’s not blind, he’s going bananas. Get him to eat bananas in a mental hospital!”

“He’s not going bananas. He’s a fool. Apparently, it’s just a tiny snake—a snake with nine holes on its body, but he’s taken it as a powerful dragon. If he’s not a fool, who is?!”

Tolly grunted and said with a poker face, " Don't underestimate it! It’s called Hidden Dragon. You know, it cost me four hundred and fifty dollars to have had it tattooed on my arm. With the tattoo, I can summon magical powers. If you don't believe it, try me!"

“He’s playing his old trick!” George said to Sam.

“You guys have no idea what you are doing. Hidden Dragon, Hidden Dragon, show your power!”

Tolly started mouthing some words again as if he was chanting some kind of incantation. He knew very well that Hidden Dragon was simply a tattoo-- only a symbol of courage and strength. 

He felt more confident and braver than before. From this point of view, Hidden Dragon gave me some magical power, but it was nowhere near what he had said. Actually, he could not summon bona fide magical power with it.

All he had done was stall for time, waiting for a savior to appear.

“Damn it, where are you, Mr. Peterson?”

His eyes half-opened, Tolly continued to mutter something, waiting for his best time to attack and escape. Not before long, Tolly suddenly lunged forward at his legs the moment Sam let his guard down. Before they could react, Tolly had already taken his best strategy—run for his life! He ran as fast as he could.

“Stop that bastard!” Sam fumed, gritting his teeth as if he was going to eat him alive.

 Tolly told himself that he should run towards the place where there are a lot of people. Undoubtedly, the school building would be the best place for him to go now.

He was running into the school building like crazy. Without looking back, he could only hear the yelling behind him. Yet, when he had entered the building, he discovered to his dismay that he had made a big mistake.

There weren’t many people in the school building at the time of the day. He did not come across any teachers or students in the building. It was still too early. most of them were still in the cafeteria for breakfast.

‘Holy shit! No one is coming to my rescue!’ Tolly thought.

Hence, he had to run upstairs, all the way to the top of the building. He was fast, but Sam and his friends faster. It was just like a game of cat and mouse.

“He’s going to be a dead boy, my big brother Sam! He’s running for the top of the school building. How silly!” George said, panting for breath.

“There’s no way for him to escape. Let’s beat the shit out of him!” Sam took a deep breath, his lips curving up into an excited smile.

It was true that there was no way for Tolly to run when he finally reached the flat roof of the building. Standing there quietly, he was at a loss.

‘Well, it looks like I have to take a shower of beatings. I have to curl up on the ground and put my hands on my head. I can’t let them hit me on my handsome face!” Tolly thought to himself.

“Run…run away, brat, or summon your dragon if you can！ Let it fly you to the roof of the opposite building!” Sam sneered.

Just as Sam was getting pleased, the sky, which had been cloudless, was suddenly filled with dark clouds. As a gust of wind picked up, a storm was brewing.

“See? I’ve told you my dragon is coming, haven’t I? Watch out, guys! It’s behind the dark clouds!” Tolly said with a mysterious smile.

“Save your crap!” Sam said.

“Show them a strike of lightning, my Hidden Dragon!” Tolly pretended to chant the incantation.

Strange enough, it looked like Hidden Dragon behind the dark clouds had received his command. A bolt of lightning went across the sky.

Sam and his friends were left dumbstruck, their faces deathly pale.

“It’s simply a coincidence, my big brother Sam!” George comforted Sam, his mouth wide open.

“Coincidence?! You guys have probably done so many terrible things.  It’s the heavens that are going to exact divine retribution on all of you. My Hidden Dragon, please give them a shower and clean their filthy souls!”

With that, a few big raindrops fell from the sky.

“This IS a coincidence, Sam! Don’t fall for it! You know, if he can use magical power, how could he escape from us up to the roof of this building?”

Sam and his followers moved forwards and cornered him.

“Looks like you guys won’t shed tears until you see your coffins. It seems a little rain won’t be able to clean your evil souls. All right! Hidden Dragon, Hidden Dragon, one more bolt of lightning!”

In an instant, a big bolt of lightning appeared in the sky and crashed down to the ground near Sam and his fair-weather friends.

They jumped back quickly and then looked at one another, totally startled. Tolly showed off the tattoo on his arm proudly, saying,

“I’m not talking big, am I? Let’s see who is going to die, Sam! Hidden Dragon, lightning once more!”

Another bolt of lightning flashed quickly and lit up the sky, turning the raindrops into shining, beautiful crystals.

The bolt of lightning, however, fell straight on Tolly unexpectedly.

When the powerful electricity passed through his whole body, he felt numb at first and a sharp pain crept up all over.

It was Tolly that had been struck by lightning.

‘Don't they say that good people get good karma? I've never done anything horrible in my life, so why me? Why do I have to die in this way?’

These were Tolly Harmsworth's last thoughts before he died.