Picking Up Girls With My Pickup System-Chapter 14: The Finishing Blow.

Derek’s fist blurred in the air, a cannonball of muscle and rage cutting straight toward Kent’s skull.

The courtyard went dead silent for a split second. Every phone camera zoomed in. Every breath hitched. Every eye locked on that single moment.

The crowd knew what was about to happen. No one could take Derek’s full-strength punch. Not even the football players who trained every day would dare to stand against it.

And Kent Gilbert—bloodied, trembling, barely able to stay upright—was going to take it head-on.

Sam’s scream broke through the frozen air.

"KENT—!"

The next instant, the sound of Derek’s fist rushing through the air roared like a jet engine. The pressure alone whipped Kent’s hair back, his vision narrowing to nothing but the massive arm hurtling toward him.

His chest constricted. His legs refused to move. He was too slow, too broken.

The crowd’s silence shattered into shrieks.

"Oh my God!"

"He’s gonna kill him!"

"Somebody stop it!"

Derek’s grin was feral, teeth flashing like an animal’s.

"This is the end."

The fist descended.

Kent’s mind screamed, but his body was frozen. His last coherent thought was jagged and bitter: So this is how it ends...

The world blurred to nothing but Derek’s fist.

Kent saw every vein on the arm, every ripple of muscle, every bead of sweat flying off the knuckles about to shatter his skull. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t—

DING!

A piercing chime split his mind. A glowing screen exploded in his vision, blinding in its urgency.

[System Alert: Fatal Damage Detected.]

[Emergency Protocol Engaged.]

[Skill Unlocked: Adrenaline Surge (Lv.1).]

[Effect: Heightened reflexes and temporary stat boost triggered under life-threatening conditions.]

Kent’s chest jolted like he’d been hit by lightning. His heart thundered, pumping molten fire through his veins. His muscles, moments ago dead and limp, snapped awake with violent energy.

The world slowed.

Derek’s fist no longer blurred—it crawled through the air, every inch of movement stretched out, like he was moving underwater.

Kent’s eyes widened, his breathing sharp and ragged. He could see it all. The knuckles glistening with sweat. The murderous gleam in Derek’s eyes. The tiny cracks in the stone pillar behind him.

And for the first time since the fight began—he moved.

His body lurched sideways, instinct tearing him off the fist’s path. His bones screamed, muscles shredding as he forced himself just an inch away from the oncoming blow.

The crowd, still mid-scream, hadn’t even registered what was happening.

Derek’s fist cut past Kent’s cheek by a hair.

And the instant it missed—

BOOM!

The stone pillar behind Kent exploded into a spiderweb of cracks, chunks breaking off and crashing to the ground. Dust shot outward in a violent shockwave, spraying over the gasping students.

The courtyard was silent again.

Kent, panting, blood dripping from his lip, stared at the crater Derek had made—his life spared by inches.

His heart slammed against his ribs, every beat echoing the same thought over and over:

I should be dead.

The courtyard looked frozen in time. Dust hung in the air, motes of stone glittering under the lights like ash from a fire.

All eyes snapped to Kent.

He stood there, hunched, blood dripping, his shirt torn and clinging to his sweat-soaked body. His knees buckled under him, but he hadn’t fallen.

More importantly—he was still alive.

The crater in the stone pillar behind him was proof of what should’ve happened. Had he stayed still for even a fraction of a second, his skull would’ve been splattered across the courtyard.

The silence shattered into a flood of voices.

"Did you see that?!"

"He dodged it!"

"No way—there’s no way that wasn’t luck!"

"He... he’s still standing?"

Phones whipped around, catching his every stagger, every ragged breath.

Kent himself could hardly process it. His chest rose and fell like a collapsing engine, but a grin—shaky, delirious—spread across his bloody lips.

"Guess I’m... harder to kill than you thought."

The words slipped out in a rasp, but they carried through the courtyard like a spark in dry grass.

Some students laughed in disbelief. Some clapped their hands to their mouths. A few—just a few—actually cheered.

Derek’s head turned slowly toward the cracked pillar. His jaw flexed. His hand shook. He couldn’t believe it.

He dodged me?

Sam clutched the railing of the stairs, knuckles white. His voice cracked with awe. "He’s... he’s actually fighting back."

Kent staggered forward a single step, forcing himself upright though every muscle screamed. His vision spun, his ears rang, but his eyes locked on Derek’s.

"I’m not done yet."

The crowd erupted again—some in disbelief, some in excitement, some in outright support.

For the first time, Kent wasn’t just the weak kid being beaten down.

He was a survivor.

The courtyard was no longer a one-sided spectacle. It was a storm.

Every corner pulsed with voices—whispers, shouts, laughter, disbelief.

"Wait, wait... did he really dodge that?"

"I swear he moved! I caught it on video—look!"

"No way. That was just dumb luck. Derek missed."

"Missed? Derek doesn’t miss."

Phones replayed the moment on shaky screens. Students crowded together, watching the instant Kent had sidestepped certain death. Every replay only made the miracle look sharper.

In the back, a cluster of girls who had once giggled at Kent’s humiliation now looked on with wide eyes.

"Is that... Gilbert?"

"He was supposed to be a loser."

"Then how’s he still standing?"

Sam pressed his forehead to the railing, torn between fear for his friend’s life and an unwilling awe. He whispered to himself, voice trembling.

"Come on, Kent... don’t stop now..."

Kent, meanwhile, could feel the shift.

The stares weren’t just mocking anymore. They were watching. Waiting.

The System’s cold chime rang in his ear, cutting through the haze.

[Crowd Perception: -10 → -4.]

[Achievement: Against All Odds. You have changed the minds of a few onlookers.]

Kent coughed blood into his palm, but a grin twisted on his face. Even they’re starting to see it...

Derek’s glare burned holes into him. The giant’s fists clenched so tightly that veins popped up his forearms. His humiliation radiated through the courtyard like a storm about to break.

He stepped forward, each stomp echoing like a drumbeat of rage.

"You think they respect you now?" Derek’s voice was low, venomous. "You think dodging one punch makes you a man?"

Kent wiped his bloody mouth with the back of his hand. His voice cracked, but it carried.

"No. It makes me better than you think I am."

The crowd exploded again, some cheering, some gasping at the audacity.

Derek’s nostrils flared. His pride was crumbling—in front of everyone.

And Kent’s defiance only stoked the fire. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Derek’s chest heaved, each breath louder than the murmurs around them. His jaw clenched so hard it looked like his teeth might snap.

The crowd’s voices cut into him like knives.

"He dodged it..."

"Derek actually missed."

"No way Kent Gilbert is standing up to him like this."

Every word was poison. Every whisper, every chuckle carved at Derek’s reputation—the one thing he couldn’t allow to be stained.

His fists curled so tight that his knuckles cracked audibly. He snarled, his voice carrying across the courtyard.

"You little rat. You think this is funny?"

Kent leaned against the shattered pillar, body trembling but grin still plastered across his bloody face.

"No... but watching you lose your cool? Kinda is."

A ripple of laughter broke out in the crowd—short, sharp, and cruel, directed not at Kent, but at Derek.

That was the last straw.

Derek roared, spittle flying from his lips. His body blurred forward with terrifying speed, every muscle exploding into motion. The ground itself seemed to quake under his rush.

Students screamed, stumbling back, phones shaking as they struggled to keep up with the blur of violence charging at Kent.

Kent’s eyes widened, his system interface flickering faintly before his vision.

[Warning: Opponent entering Berserk state.]

[Caution advised.]

He had no time to plan. No time to think.

Derek’s shadow fell over him, massive and overwhelming, fists cocked back to crush him into the dirt.

The Chapter ends with Derek’s roar splitting the air as his next attack comes crashing down—Kent locking eyes with him, battered but unbroken, bracing for the impossible.