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[Chain Reaction]
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| Taka's POV, after the battle: |
…
I arrived home completely demolished.
My whole body hurt like hell, and when I say my entire body, I'm not being metaphorical or exaggerating. I could feel pain from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
There wasn't a single inch that didn't hurt.
—well, maybe a part was safe, but I won't talk about it. Doubt you want to hear about it either.
'Is this the price of abusing Innamovible Object?' I mused, staring annoyedly up at the sky.
Sure, it kept me from being skewered by Rocky McHorn-For-A-Head, but in exchange, every ounce of force behind his attacks got redistributed straight through my whole body.
And even with my defense stat soaking up most of the damage, I still took plenty of hits—enough that it eventually piled up to an annoying degree.
I really wondered what kind of disaster my insides looked like right now. It hurt a lot, but I don't think anything had collapsed... maybe.
Still, with the help of Pain Resistance and my very professional acting skills, I straightened up, fixed my expression, and opened the door with my keys.
I had to look like nothing happened.
-Click-
"Well, well, well. Look who it is."
"...?"
But to my surprise, Seiji was right behind the door, arms planted on his waist like he'd just caught a criminal in the act.
My eyebrow twitched faintly. This guy probably already knew of my little adventure.
Sadly for him, I wasn't about to be caught lacking.
So, I narrowed my eyes, refusing to fold.
"What's up, bitch?"
He raised one eyebrow and began looking me over.
Of course, I'd already changed clothes. The outfit I'd worn to fight the villains—the one I usually used when taking on the Rockinesis persona—was at the abandoned school. I decided to keep it there to avoid getting this dumbass stumble upon it on the washing machine or something and make the connection.
That way, I could go outside, change at that school, and then go save the world as Rockinesis.
Or had a clone do it for me. That worked too.
Honestly, that place had kind of become my secret base. It was where I sent clones to train in whatever skill my system asked me to master, where I kept the equipment and instruments I'd bought with my channel's money so Seiji wouldn't ask, and, as mentioned, where I kept my Rockinesis fit.
I might as well just start calling it the Rockibase.
…
'Is that name lame? I've been called that for so long that I can't tell anymore…' My thoughts drifted.
Meanwhile, Seiji kept inspecting me, frowning slightly when he didn't find a single visible injury.
Which was a relief. I was half-worried I would be looking like an eggplant thanks to bleeding internally all over without even knowing it.
It didn't seem like that was the case, luckily.
It still hurt like hell, though.
By the time I refocused, Seiji stepped back and scoffed, a faintly amused look on his face. "Seriously… what the hell," he muttered, moving aside so I could enter.
'Finally… I can't wait to drop dead on my bed.' I let out a soft breath and stepped forward—
Only for a big hand to clamp down on my shoulder.
"What now?" I shot him an annoyed glare.
"So," he said casually, "where were you? It's pretty late."
I shrugged, putting on my most innocent face. "You know, jogging, exploring the city a bit, the usual."
He hummed like he totally believed that.
"I see, I see… Did you know that Rockinesis guy fought three A-class villains an hour or so ago? It was all over the news."
I raised an eyebrow. 'The press was watching? Ah—right. The helicopter. I was so focused on beating the hell out of the villains that I tuned it out.'
My gaze drifted to my hands.
'Then I guess that is out of the bag too.' I thought, remembering the glow that came from them earlier.
"And apparently—" Seiji continued, "—the guy even revealed another new power he'd never shown before. Laser rays and everything."
'Yup, busted.' I groaned internally.
Externally though…
"Heh... what a shock," I exclaimed in mock awe.
"Yeah… what a shock indeed." His smile tightened.
We fell silent for a moment, eyes clashing like trying the other to crack first.
But eventually, I closed my eyes and scoffed.
Then, assuming that the silence had meant the interrogation or whatever this had been was over, I began walking toward my room, ready to collapse face-first onto my bed.
"Hey, kid."
Of course, it wasn't over just yet.
"What?" I turned back, irritation finally slipping through.
"I don't care what hobbies you might have," he said quietly, "But just consider that everything has consequences. Don't fool yourself into thinking secrets last forever, or that you'll never have to face what comes after." He said, his expression unusually serious for him.
"..." I blinked, a tad surprised with his directness.
Once he said that, however, his smile returned to being as goofy as ever. "That's all the advice I can give you. Think it through. Now go, I can see that you're dying to go bust one at your room."
"You... I…—whatever." I was about to tell him my mind, but found it not worth the effort.
So, with black lines on my face, I turned around and walked to my room.
A bit later, I finally fell onto my bed, letting out a groan as I was finally able to let my very manly muscles rest.
'Consequences, huh?' I closed my eyes, thinking about it.
As much as I hated to admit it, he wasn't wrong.
Leaving aside whatever he meant by that—probably getting caught by police or heroes raiding this place—the fact was that I was showing way too many abilities with no clear relation to each other was obviously gonna become a problem in the long run. I was basically painting a giant target on my back for the real monsters of this world to see.
And not only had I shown a bunch of different powers, but I had also defeated three A-class villains, according to Seiji.
That meant anyone who had dismissed me as some random vigilante with a bit of power and a curious Quirk had definitely reconsidered.
Honestly, I'd be quite lucky if I hadn't caught Potato-Head's attention by now.
Although… maybe I'm overestimating my fame.
While in this city I'm kind of well-known, I'm not sure how wide that fame actually spreads.
Maybe in all of Japan, I'm nothing more than a curious fact in a Quirktuber's video about the tourist attractions of this city. Or someone people just heard on the news one time and then became forgotten.
And as for the rest of the world? I bet barely anyone knows I exist.
Then again… maybe I'm downplaying how urgent this situation really is.
'But honestly, I'm not in the state to think about it right now.' I groaned. As much as I wanted to take this seriously, the pain I was feeling was no joke.
I needed to take a nap and recover, now.
So, as a final ritual before sleep, I opened my status panel.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 119
▸ Defense: 238
▸ Aura Projection: 5765
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Total Aura: 5765
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Skills:
▸Clean
▸Trouble Radar
▸Connoisseur
▸Pain is Just a Feeling
▸Innamovible Object
▸True Speaking
▸True Breathing
▸True Walking
▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!
▸Efficient Body
▸Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
An hour had passed already, so the aura my clones had used was back. On top of that, I gained a bunch of aura throughout the fight thanks to all that nonchalant attack-tanking I did, bumping my total up by four hundred-something.
<[+1 Aura]>
<[+2 Aura]>
Not only that, but my passive income had shot up even more. I wasn't sure by how much—since the increase only happened after the fight and I haven't had time to measure—but it was noticeably faster.
Last time I'd checked, it was about 35–40 a day. Now? It felt like a 30–50% boost.
So maybe around 60 a day?
'I'll just check later. It'll probably go down once the news about me beating those villains gets old,' I thought, deciding it wasn't worth dealing with now.
So my eyes moved to the next important thing: My new skill—or rather, the new application of Aura Projection.
Sure, shooting lasers from my palms was cool, but that wasn't why this mattered so much to me right now.
The real importance was the confirmation of the stat's potential.
It actually wasn't—and had never been—just telekinesis by another name. It could have more uses, more abilities, more depth than I had considered initially.
'And I probably haven't even scratched the surface,' I thought, eyes glinting with interest as I imagined just what other uses my aura could have, my hand automatically going to my chin in contemplation.
But right then, the movement sent a jolt of pain through me, making me wince.
-Hiss…-
'Shit… I wonder if it can heal injuries too.'
"Huh?"
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[As an Aura Farmer, it is in our nature to overwhelm and oppress our rivals in the most disrespectful ways, and to flex our awesomeness no matter the cost. However, the path of the Aura Farmer does not end there, for one can destroy as well as protect.
You have discovered the destructive potential of Aura Projection, but have yet to tap into its opposite: its protective and healing potential.
Plus, you're injured as hell, so this will come in handy.]
Conditions for completion:
▸ Tap into your Aura's other potential.
▸ Heal someone. (Not counting yourself)
Reward: +100 auraYou'll have acquired the [Aura Projection – There, There Mode]
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
"..."
I fell silent at how conveniently that appeared.
But I guess this was just the system's way of confirming my theory and giving me something else to work on.
'Whatever.' I frowned.
Mostly because part of me was annoyed that yet another task had been added to my already busy enough schedule.
But don't think I wasn't happy about the news.
Healing in the real world was, after all, pretty broken. And now, it was within my grasp.
Only, the conditions don't really tell me much about how to "tap" into this potential of my aura... So I suppose I'll have to figure it out on my own.
Good thing I have clones, eh? I'll be sure to put those bastards to work on it as soon as I can.
Does that count as child labour, considering I'm a teenager?
Who knows.
But for now—
—Snore—
I'm going to sleep.
Tomorrow-me can deal with all of this, and whatever else pops up.
How worse can it be than now?
…
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°
°
| U.A.'s principal office |
…
"... Well, isn't this interesting?" Nezu muttered to himself as he watched the most recent news on the notepad on his paws, his eyes scanning the footage of an incident in the coastal city of Shizuoka.
On the screen, a dark-clad figure was fighting three villains at once, taking blow after blow without so much as flinching.
'Impressive resistance to attacks… possibly shock absorption, or something similar.'
Then came an unexpected shift. Thanks to one villain's mistake, the vigilante managed to bring her down using swift, telekinetic-like movements. Thus, reducing their numbers and hence all the attacks he had to react to.
'The capability to affect objects from afar with considerable force, telekinesis, or at least something really similar.'
Moments later, he shot into the air and began raining down lasers from his hands onto the long-range villain. The beams showed remarkable firepower—enough to incapacitate if they hit properly, as shown when they hit a building's ceiling and burned a hole through it.
But when one finally reached the villain, the man emerged unharmed somehow.
'Energy manifestation… either it only damages inanimate targets—as it did when it tore through a building's ceiling but not on the villain—or he somehow lowered the lasers' energy output not to hurt the villain.'
After that, the vigilante dealt with said villain less lethally and then dove down to face the last villain for once and for all.
The battle concluded as both clashed, the sheer difference in size making it a ridiculous but amazing spectacle.
But, eventually, the vigilante overwhelmed the villain through sheer physical prowess, breaking through his rock-like armour and bringing him to his knees in the end.
'Immense strength, speed, and a faint grasp of martial arts from what I can see.'
The video ended with the figure raising a fist in victory before flying away—too fast for the camera to follow.
As the footage cut off, Nezu set down his notepad with a cheerful smile.
'Truly interesting.'
He already had a solid idea of who the villains were; his memory was good like that, and in the past, he had made sure to get to know most of the individuals who could potentially present threats in the future.
In this case, the three were dangerous A-class villains with powerful or extremely tricky Quirks, which made them require multiple standard heroes to subdue, each, unless they sent top-tier powerhouses like All Might, Endeavor, or others.
And yet, now, before his eyes, a single person had handled them.
A vigilante, no less, not a trained hero.
And so now came the matter of the vigilante himself.
Nezu had become aware of him months ago, thanks to his rising reputation and steadily growing list of feats. He even had to admit, the two melodies the vigilante had composed were pleasantly catchy.
But what truly stood out to the public were his Quirk—or Quirks.
What had first seemed like simple telekinesis slowly turned into a complete enigma. Cloning, super strength, enormous durability, an ability akin to shock absorption, and now pure energy projection—be it thermal, luminous… or both.
The more time passed, the more abilities this individual displayed.
And the more time passed, the more he went from "petty criminal charged with vigilantism" to a full-fledged powerhouse with multiple abilities.
Why and how did he have such abilities? Nezu had several theories—some not so good—but neither of them was something concrete. Not yet.
However, unlike the public, Nezu's interest lay in something more peculiar about the vigilante than in the multiple abilities he possessed. Something that would be far more common and unimportant in the eyes of others—but that, for him, the principal of a hero school, it was but the most interesting thing about this walking mystery.
Something only he, with his sharp mind and attention to detail, could have possibly noticed from the footage.
The vigilante's physique.
He looked… young. Or at least, that's what his contexture suggested.
Nezu's eyes gleamed with mischievous delight.
And he had a channel on YouTube, on top of that.
He had been looking into it earlier due to pure curiosity, and he'd noticed the vigilante had taken some precautions to avoid being tracked. Uploading most stuff through cyber cafes, and probably using pendrives or other devices to transport the videos.
Unfortunately, that was clearly not enough to stop him.
With an amused and almost childish chuckle, Nezu hopped onto his desk and began using his computer.
No more than thirty minutes later—
'Takahashi Fukumoto, huh? Ward of Super Monkey, the 69th hero in the rankings, and a child previously documented as Quirkless until recently, where he unlocked his Quirk "Muscle To Mind", which allowed him to convert his physical strength into telekinetic abilities.'
Nezu's small, beady eyes glistened as he went through the information. Of course, he made sure not to touch the more private information about the kid. He just wanted to get a grasp of who the person behind the vigilante was.
But then, he read something that he couldn't ignore, his eyebrows shooting up for a moment.
Desired career plan: Hero course at U.A.
He chuckled like a joyful kid.
"This incoming year suddenly became even more interesting!"
...
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-To be Continued…-
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(A/N: The consequences have arrived. How will they unfold, even I don't know. I suppose I gotta think now.
…
I'm doing it, I'm thinking!
AUGHHH, my head!)