(Ugh, this is the typical scenario…)

Shoot inwardly groaned at being accosted by the blond delinquent. The other delinquents also approached. While they were pretending to chat, they were actually lying in wait for easy targets like Shoot. They intended to extort him.

“Hey, you, middle schooler? What are you doing out this late?”

The blond delinquent familiarly put his arm around Shoot’s shoulders, showing no friendly intent whatsoever; only malice at finding a victim.

“…I was hungry, so I came to buy something.”

“Oh really~~ Hungry, huh? Actually, I was thinking of buying something too because I’m a little hungry~~~”

“…”

Shoot was exasperated by the blond delinquent’s arrogant manner. He was tired from his ordeal in the other world and irritated at being accosted.

“So, give us some money from your wallet. Since you’re a middle schooler, we’ll be nice and only take three bills~~”

“Does a middle schooler even have three bills? We only have one, you know?”

“That's because you’re a spendthrift~”

The delinquents laughed vulgarly. Shoot sighed and refused.

“No, I’m not giving you anything.”

“…What did you say?”

Irritated by Shoot’s response and attitude, the blond delinquent removed his arm and glared.

“Middle schoolers these days have no manners! What kind of answer was that? What’s with that attitude?”

“…”

The delinquent with the piercings and the one in the flashy shirt came from behind the blond, surrounding Shoot.

“Hey, this guy’s annoying. Can I punch him?”

“Let’s do it. If we do it in the corner, the clerk won’t see.”

Grabbing Shoot’s chest, the delinquents dragged him to a corner of the convenience store. Shoot regretted coming outside.

No one else was around. A few people were watching from a distance, but they didn’t want to get involved. The student working at the convenience store saw what was happening but pretended not to notice, wanting to avoid trouble.

(At school and out of school, there are only those who are bullied like me, those scum who unjustly torment people, and bystanders who look the other way.)

Shoot was once again disappointed; people in this world were all scum.

“You little brat, talking back to me! I’ll beat you up!!”

Grabbing Shoot’s chest, the blond delinquent raised his fist to strike. Bracing himself for a beating, Shoot closed his eyes.

THUD… SNAP… “Gyaaa… ! !?”

There was a sound of impact, then something snapping, and finally a scream. Shoot didn’t feel the pain he had expected. Instead, he heard someone else scream, which made him suspicious. He slowly opened his eyes.

The blond delinquent was clutching his fist, groaning in pain.

(…I did get punched, right?)

Just before the attack, Shoot had felt a fist connect with his cheek. However, he hadn’t felt any real pain; it was like a light tap. Remembering the power-up in the other world, it was the same as before, and then…

“Same…?”

Shoot considered a possibility. He wasn’t sure yet.

“Huh?”

“What are you doing?”

“You punched him, so why are you on the ground?”

The delinquents stared at the blond delinquent.

“My fist… my fingers… It hurts so much! I think they’re broken!”

The blond delinquent cried out, showing his fist. Three of his fingers were bent at unnatural angles, the knuckles swollen and bruised.

The other delinquents and even Shoot were shocked. At school, Shoot felt pain every time Nakazato punched or kicked him; the perpetrators never suffered any injury. But this was impossible.

“N… No way, he’s really broken his fingers!?”

“Hey, you little punk! What did you do!?”

“I… I don’t know what happened…”

As Shoot stammered in response to the enraged delinquents, he tried to recall what he had done. Just before the punch, he closed his eyes, tensing his body—

“Tensing… my body…”

Shoot remembered. He had tensed his entire body to lessen the impact. And, just like the skills he'd gained in the other world, something similar happened.

(The skill ‘Tough Body’… right? So this means…?)

He realized the delinquents were still hostile towards him.

“You’re kidding me!”

“I’ll kick you to the ground!”

The delinquent with the piercings and the one in the flashy shirt attacked. The others were ready for a fight. They punched and kicked at him.

“Here we go!” “RAAAH!”

Punches and kicks flew towards Shoot. He dodged them all effortlessly.

(Slow… Compared to the stronger goblins I fought last time, they seem so slow.)

The remaining delinquents joined the attack, but none of their blows landed.

“Huff… huff… Why…?”

“I can’t hit him… What’s going on…?”

“What the hell…?”

The attackers were out of breath. Seeing this, Shoot voiced the thought that had been forming in his mind.

“I’m still strong here…?”

Shoot realized that the power-up he’d achieved in the other world – the significant increase in his physical abilities – had carried over to the real world.

“…”

Shoot looked at his hands. Seeing his moment of vulnerability, a delinquent in a short gakuran jacket recklessly threw a punch. Shoot saw the clumsy attack coming and—

“There”

WHAP! “Gugh… !?”

He lightly tapped the delinquent’s face. The delinquent flew backward, hitting a trash can and falling to the ground, motionless.

“Eh?” “Huh?” “What?”

The other delinquents were stunned, staring back and forth between Shoot and the fallen delinquent.

““““…………””””

While the delinquents were speechless, Shoot repeatedly opened and closed his hand, feeling his power. He was certain that the abilities he had gained in the other world were working in this world.

“…It wasn’t a dream, what happened in that other world. I easily knocked those scumbags out.”

Muttering to himself, Shoot began to smile.

“Who… are you calling scum…?”

One of the delinquents reacted to Shoot’s words, but his voice trembled.

“Who? That’s obvious.

I’m talking about you.”

Shoot glared at the delinquents.

““““~~~~~~~~~~~!””””

The delinquents screamed in terror and tried to run.

“…”

Shoot pondered what to do with the fleeing delinquents. People like them would continue to target weaker people like his former self. They hurt people without considering their feelings, simply for their own amusement.

He questioned whether these scumbags should be allowed to live carefree lives. Seeing Nakazato and his friends in these delinquents, Shoot decided—

“I won’t let them escape.”

He wouldn’t let the delinquents get away. He instantly moved to cut them off, grabbed the blond delinquent’s hair, and slammed his head to the ground.

BAM! “Gah…!”

“I’ll show you. What it’s like to be unjustly hurt.”