As Jake wandered through the bustling streets of Northwater, he took notice of something. The clothes that the people around him seemed to be a mix of modern fashion and more fantastical designs. People in hoodies and denim jackets stood next to those wearing cloaks and suits of armor. However, all of it had some amount of practicality to it, with nothing seeming to be there just for aesthetic or no reason. 

Everything had a purpose.

That feeling of underlying practicality could even be seen in the buildings. Everything had a rather simplistic, but effective design, with only a few things having a slightly more fancy design. As he walked through the streets, something gave him pause. Murderous intent seemed to permeate the nearby area, albeit being rather faint. 

‘Might as well check it out,’ he thought before walking towards the source. There might be something useful he can scavenge from the dead.

As he got closer to the source of the murderous intent, he could feel that the air suddenly got…tenser. As the feeling got more and more intense, he eventually saw the source.

Three groups with over a dozen people in each, all armed with weapons ranging from knives to baseball bats, stood in front of each other, seemingly staring daggers into each other.

‘A gang war, huh,’ he thought as he watched the tension rise between the groups. He had seen a few of these before and even fought in some, so they weren’t anything new to him. Once you've seen one large brawl, you’ve pretty much seen them all. However, he couldn’t help but notice a sort of…off-ness about this fight. It was similar to when he was in the gym, but also different. Mainly, it had a sort of smell to it. He couldn’t exactly pin down what it was, but it was sorta like a mix of gunpowder, smoke, and fresh blood.

Odd.

Suddenly, he heard a loud shout, grabbing his attention. Turning his head back to the fight, what he was met with could only be described as pure savagery. Everyone swung their weapons at each other, seemingly itching to kill each other. It was like watching a bunch of starving wolves rip into each other.

However, one of them stood out to him. Seemingly one of the gang’s leaders, Jake watched as the weapon they were holding seemed to get covered by a light glow before they cleaved a few people in half.

‘I wonder if I could do that,’ he thought idly. However, he doesn’t really have a weapon to try it out with at the moment.

Eh, he could probably just grab one from the corpses.

Walking over to the nearest corpse, he saw that it was holding what seemed to be a dagger. Yanking the blade out its hand, he noticed that it seemed to be surprisingly balanced, despite its design being rather basic. With a steel blade and leather handle, it pretty much looked like a dagger that could be seen pretty much anywhere.

Eh, if it works, it works.

Closing his eyes, he felt a sensation similar to before. However, it was a much more chilling feeling, as if frost seemed to cover his body.

Focus.

Guiding the chill through his body and down his arm, he suddenly felt as if he was holding a piece of hardened snow. Opening his eyes, he looked down to see that the dagger in his hand changed. A sort of black frost coated the edges of the blade, almost like it was glass in the middle of winter. Giving it a few light swings, he saw it leave a faint trail as he swung it. 

He now had his other skill.

Time to test it out.

First, he needed to grab their attention.

Picking up a nearby stone, he gave it a few tosses into the air as he waited for the fight to die down. As it did, he let out a small breath before throwing the stone, hitting one of them in the back of the head.

Now.

Dashing forward, Jake slammed his shoulder into the thug’s back, knocking them onto their front and grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Oi, who the hell are you?!” one of them shouted at him. However, he didn’t answer, simply giving them a quiet stare. 

Best to keep his mouth shut.

Upon seeing his silence, one of the goons signaled to the others, who all got their weapons ready. After a beat of silence, one of them ran towards him before letting off a swing with their hatchet.

Ducking under the swing, he let out a swipe at the goon’s side before jumping back , dodging another swing for his neck. Almost immediately, he saw results as the side the thug he just cut seemed to rapidly turn a shade of purple. As he ducked and dogged numerous swings, he saw that the thug's body was seemingly collapsing in on itself. Muscles were atrophying into nothing but sinew, eyes were turning gaunt and bloodshot, skin turning old and leathery. 

They were essentially turning into a corpse in real time.

‘Interesting,’  he thought as he ducked under a swing. So it was essentially a damage-over-time effect, almost like poison.

That’ll be useful.

Side-stepping another swing, Jake slammed his fist into the goon’s jaw, causing a loud snap and the body to crumple like a puppet. One down, a few more to go. Turning his gaze towards the others, he saw a mix of fear and unease on their faces, their feet seemingly glued to the ground.

He couldn't really say he blamed them. Anybody would be unnerved if one of their allies was fast-tracked into becoming a rotting corpse.

If they won't come to him, he'll just go to them. 

Flipping the blade in his hand, he threw at one of the goons, catching them off guard.

Focus and Destroy.

As the world slowed down, Jake dashed towards a nearby goon before slamming his fist into their face, knocking them into the ground with a loud crack. Twisting his body, he let out a jab into the side of another goon, causing a sickening crack and them to drop their handaxe. Grabbing it out of the air, he slammed the ax into their skull, splitting it open. Yanking it out of their skull, he threw it towards one of the surviving bosses, only for it to be deflected.

Now.

Dashing forward, he slammed his fist into a thug's stomach, causing them to keel over. Taking the opportunity, he brought his hands together before slamming them down onto the back of their head, painting the ground a bloody crimson. 

Feeling something fly towards, he plucked a hatchet out of the air before chucking it back, embedding it into a goon's skull. Rushing forward, he ducked under a swing before striking their chest, causing them to stumble back. Grabbing their hair, he slammed their face into his knee, creating a loud crack. Throwing them to the side, he then side-stepped another attack before letting off a strike at their jaw, causing them to crumple like a ragdoll.

‘Now then. One left,’ he thought. Just as he was turning his head, he suddenly felt something fly towards his face. Side-stepping the projectile, he took a quick glance back to see a large piece of ice embedded into the ground behind him.

“You…what the hell are you?” the survivor growled, hatred clear in their voice.

He wondered that himself.

Eh, not like it matters at the moment.

Dashing forward, Jake dodged a barrage of ice as he quickly covered ground. Once he was close, he grabbed their face before slamming into the ground, covering both the floor and his face in blood.

Wiping the blood off of his face, he took a quick glance at the scene behind him. It wasn’t exactly his best work, with twisted bodies and bloody viscera covering the ground.

Still, he learned something, so net positive.

However, as he looked over the bodies, he noticed a pattern. Most of them seemed to have some type of hardened leather for armor.

‘Would be a good idea,’ he thought before walking off. There’s probably a shop nearby.

As he walked through the streets, he stopped in front of a clothing shop. With numerous mannequins dressed in various outfits, from a tracksuit to basic armor, lined on display, he knew that he’d get something effective.

Walking into the store, he was met with a place stocked to the brim with clothing. From aisles of hung-up clothes to various boxes lining the shelves, it seemed like it had everything that someone could need.

As he walked through the aisles, his eyes looked through the various articles, with nothing really noteworthy standing out to him. However, he paused as his eyes landed on something. Grabbing it, he pulled it from its spot before giving a once-over. It looked similar to a motorcycle jacket, with the only notable difference being the areas padded with hardened leather. However, he couldn’t help but feel a warmth as he held it. In fact, he felt that warmth…everywhere, just a lot fainter than the one in front of him.

‘There’s probably some more like this,’ he thought as he threw the leather armor over his shoulder. Might as well look around for similar spots. As he walked throughout the store, he picked out various items that carried the same heat as the jacket. 

‘That’s all of them,’ he thought as he picked out the last item. Grabbing a nearby tote bag, he threw all of his items into it before walking out. Non-existence has its uses, even in the mundane sense.

Now then, time to go home and change.