Chapter 8: This is a Tsundere System
Kaito Haruno woke up early, possibly due to his daily training in Observation Haki. It wasn't even dawn yet, and his phone displayed 4 a.m. But at this moment, Kaito felt wide awake, with no hint of sleepiness.
"Wow, host! You're actually up this early? That's rare," the snarky system chimed in as soon as Kaito woke up.
"Hey, you're not messing with me again, are you?" Kaito replied suspiciously.
"I don't have the time for that! This is all your doing. Observation Haki is a skill that enhances your perception range and helps predict your opponent's attacks. It also has mental benefits for the practitioner. You've been using Observation Haki almost nonstop for half a month, so your mental strength has improved. That's why you don't need long hours of sleep to recover your energy," the system explained.
Kaito was stunned. He hadn't realized Observation Haki had this effect. Did this mean he couldn't sleep in anymore?
"Can you be a little more ambitious, host? Shouldn't you be excited that you have more time and opportunities to grow stronger?" As a system residing in Kaito's mind, the knight system was well aware of his thoughts and couldn't help but voice its annoyance.
"But I already have a system! Why do I need to put in the effort? If hard work was effective, what's the point of having this 'golden finger'?"
The system was momentarily left speechless by Kaito's retort. After a brief pause, it sent him a notification. **[Due to the host's honesty, you are awarded a D-grade Death Armor and a virtual mask (fake).]**
"Whoa, are you being this generous? Why don't you just throw in a zanpakuto while you're at it?" Kaito exclaimed, taken aback by the sudden reward.
**[Heh, you have to be able to use it! It depends on your spiritual pressure, which you don't have enough of. Besides, this system is a knight system; giving you these items is already pushing the limits. What more do you want?]**
The system shot back at Kaito's dissatisfaction without holding back. However, Kaito shrugged off the system's sarcasm. His only redeeming qualities were his thick skin and a big heart. No matter how he was teased, he'd still respond with a nonchalant shrug, thinking, "What's the worst that could happen?" So, he accepted the system's reward.
As a bright light enveloped him, Kaito noticed his pajamas had transformed into a sleek, black robe. The top clung tightly to his skin, while the lower part extended into a flowing robe, complemented by a dark red belt and trousers. Looking in the mirror, he saw a mask with a ghostly pattern tightly fitted to his face, leaving no gaps, as if it were a part of him.
**[Since the host's G3 armor has a 5-minute usage limit, this outfit can be donned when the host removes the G3 armor. It can be randomly summoned and provides some bullet, knife, water, fire, and friction resistance. The virtual mask (fake) serves to conceal the host's identity and voice, while also instilling fear in cowardly criminals.]**
Kaito was no longer interested in the system's additional notifications. This outfit met all his needs for both appearance and functionality. Originally, he had worried that his G3 armor could only be used for five minutes. If he encountered a super-powered criminal and didn't defeat them in time, he could end up being seen and left to face the consequences.
Now, he didn't have to worry about his identity being exposed. He had even considered customizing a Spider-Man suit to hide his identity. After all, this was DC—no one could touch him here. Feeling the comfort of the Death Armor, Kaito recalled what the system had said earlier and asked, "System, didn't you mention that the items from the three major manhua worlds, like those from Death and Naruto, would be useless to me? I thought Death Armor was the manifestation of a Soul Reaper's spiritual pressure?"
"There are artificially manufactured Death Armors too. What you're wearing now is one of them. Do you think you could exchange for a Death Armor that manifests your own spiritual pressure?"
The system, reverting to its sharp-tongued demeanor, left Kaito at a loss for words. He realized that thinking of the system as a tsundere was definitely a misunderstanding! But since he was lucky enough to receive a hero's outfit, Kaito decided to use his reward from completing his first task.
"System, please use my lottery reward. Let's see if I can get something else good."
"Understood."
Three spinning wheels representing the lottery began to rotate in Kaito's mind. They spun quickly before coming to a halt, and then he heard the system's prompt. **[Acquired Swordsmanship Mastery Skill.]**
Instantly, a flood of complex information rushed into Kaito's mind. Having experienced this before, he didn't faint but paused for two seconds before lowly growling, "At least give me a sword!"
"You can always go buy a machete yourself," the system retorted, leaving Kaito speechless.
After claiming his rewards, Kaito stood in front of the dressing mirror, repeatedly changing into the Death Armor. Seeing items from anime materialize into reality excited him. He played around with the outfit until dawn, finally preparing to head to school. Perhaps because of his earlier uncharacteristic behavior in front of Kara, she, who initially wanted to chat with him, lost interest after hearing his sister Emil's explanation.
Kaito was quite pleased with this outcome. With Kara not seeking him out, the safety of his life increased significantly. As for the system's tasks, once he bought a machete and set out, equipped with the Death Armor, dual Haki, and the 5-minute G3 armor, Kaito felt confident enough to take on a gang.
In North Nashinor City, at the Hellfire Bar. This bar operated 24/7 and, in the crime-ridden North district, had never suffered any damage. This was because the bar was owned by the Hellfire Gang, a prominent criminal organization in the area. A quarter of the crimes in North Nashinor City were associated with the Hellfire Gang, so no one dared to stir up trouble.
On the contrary, many criminals preferred to come to Hellfire Bar to dispose of their stolen goods—exchanging cash for items and vice versa. The bar also provided enough private rooms for gamblers, addicts, and sex workers to enjoy themselves.
Today, the gang's leader, John Middle, wore a furious expression as he looked at a group of injured members lying on stretchers.
"Can someone tell me how ten armed men were beaten into this state by a guy whose identity we can't even confirm? We lost 600,000 worth of pure heroin! More importantly, there's no footage of this guy on the security cameras—only your vague descriptions! If it weren't for the fact that you've been with me for so long, and now you're all in this condition, I'd have you all cemented in place!"
Middle raged in his office! Losing 600,000 wasn't a big deal; the Hellfire Gang earned ten times that amount annually from their cut of disposed goods. However, having a group of people beaten and not knowing their opponent's identity was unacceptable—one said it was a person, another claimed it was a robot, and some even insisted it was Superman!
If it truly were Superman, Middle wouldn't have bothered cursing; he'd just pack up and run. But until now, asking ten people yielded ten different descriptions.
"Boss, the focus right now shouldn't be on this mysterious troublemaker but on the business deal with Cobblepot in Gotham in three days. If we don't keep things under wraps, we'll be in trouble if the police start investigating. We might be fine, but if Cobblepot's business is disturbed, that's a huge disaster."
Listening to his subordinate's reminder, Middle understood the gravity of the situation. He snorted coldly, stopping his venting.
"Spread the word. Find out when a vigilante arrived in Nashinor City! Compile the descriptions given by all ten of them and send them out. I refuse to believe he can just vanish without a trace."
Kaito had no idea that his random act of fighting crime would mark the beginning of his rising fame in Nashinor City, while also inadvertently accelerating Kara's transformation into Supergirl by five years!
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(End of Chapter)
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