Combat 2 [5]

After telling Suki I'd do it, she made herself scarce, but not without getting me a big hug. Which, I must admit, made the terrifying situation much easier to bear. She was good at giving hugs.

But more importantly, now I had the duty to defeat Mario. Ideally, it would be an easy task. Ideally.

However, in this short reprieve I had before going back into the fray, I had some time to allocate points.

I'd received 35 points from leveling up and it wasn't difficult to figure out where some of them would go.

Intelligence was currently at 25, so I threw thirty of the points into it, confirming and feeling an odd electricity shoot up my spine. No, rather, it wasn't electricity, it was something else. It was mana. I don't know how I knew, but I just… knew.

[Due to Intelligence passing 50, you have received a new skill.]

[Mana Affinity (Passive) Lv. 1 | EXP: 0.0%]

Although called many things, this energy source is universal to the universe. The user of this skill is now one of the rare few with an affinity with this natural energy, increasing sensitivity and control over mana.

10% Increase in Mana Recovery Rate.

5% Increase in total MP.

5% Increase to Magic Attack.

5% Increase to Magic Defense.

30% Increase to MP related skill effects.

Whoa. I mean, sheesh. I get it, the Gamer was a Quirk to not be trifled with, but this… well, this is just insane. Even more than the effects of the skill, the passive change it had on my… perception? My understanding?

Whatever it was, I knew there was mana around, I could sense it. It wasn't like I could see it or anything, but it was like being aware there was oxygen around. You don't have to see something to know it's there.

It was an odd sensation, but it settled in shockingly easily. Another thing was the energy within me. I simply hadn't noticed it ever before, but now it was completely impossible to ignore. It was a current passing through me, and I felt like I could call it to my physical body with sheer focus alone.

With all the chaos and commotion, I expected that focus to be nearly impossible to receive, but it shockingly wasn't. In about a second, I had it, and I drew my mana towards my hands.

Honestly, I had no good idea what I was doing. I was just doing what felt natural.

In my hand, where there was nothing but the sensation of mana gathering, appeared a Pop-Off ball. Instead of being plucked from my head, it seemingly appeared out of thin air.

[Due to the special action of taking what was once passive and changing into something active, a skill has shifted.]

[Pop-Off (Active & Passive) Lv. 34 | EXP: 21.95 % | MP: 1 or HP: 1]

An original Quirk from Minoru Mineta. Through careful mana manipulation, the purple orbs have lost their natural passive nature. However, at the user's choice, this can be easily reversed, turning their hair back into purple, adhesive orbs. These orbs can be pulled off and used for a variety of tasks. The user can pull them off surfaces easily, but others cannot. These orbs can be created in different forms if the user can properly create them. The user can use MP or HP to supply energy for these orbs to form.

The effectiveness of the creations is dependent on the user's state of mind.

Huh, interesting.

But it's not particularly important right now.

I mean, yeah, the idea of not having these purple balls on my head was certainly intriguing, but right now —when Kamui Woods was fighting Mario Kugutsu — was not the right time for it. I kept the balls on my head for now.

I could sense the movement of mana inside of the orb, but I couldn't specifically say how it was moving or anything like that, I just knew there was mana inside. I pulled a disk from my Inventory, and I could tell it was different while holding it.

How it was different, I couldn't say. But it was different.

Logically, that meant squishing an orb down created a shift in its mana. Why that was important, I don't know. Ugh, I felt really in the dark. I could feel frustration building, but it was quickly washed away.

Right, there's an objective at hand, and I didn't need to know everything about mana right now. However, what I did need to know was how to help Kamui Woods out.

Mario was able to break out of my Pop-Off balls with basically sheer strength alone. Maybe the boost in Intelligence would make them stronger, but I had a feeling just trapping his hands wouldn't be enough.

But, then again, maybe it would be. After all, it wasn't about knocking him unconscious, we just needed to take him down, according to my Quest screen. Well, I was also being a bit preemptive, wasn't I?

I pulled out the book, and promptly devoured it. As I did, I felt several large thumps in the distance, but I didn't focus on it as knowledge flowed into me, the book scattering into purple light.

[Mana Manipulation (Passive) Lv. 1 | EXP: 0.0%]

Mana is as natural as any other force of nature, and humanity has naturally become in tune with it, manifesting in Quirks as it combined with their original DNA. This skill allows the user to transcend the automatic manipulation people experience, allowing them to manipulate mana at its basic level.

Range: 1 meter.

Efficiency and Range increase as Stats and Skill rise.

The immediate effect of the skill was an odd sense of awareness exactly a meter around my body. I could sense the mana moving around, and just like how I brought mana to my hand to create a Pop-Off ball, I could move the mana in this space around as well.

It wasn't free, despite what the skill said, but it wasn't the most expensive thing ever either. Just the act of moving mana around was fairly draining on my MP. Regardless, it'd get better as its level rose, so it wasn't the worst thing ever.

Besides, the actual potential of the skill was pretty amazing. It was limited by range for now, but if I just increased that I may be able to rain Pop-Off balls on my enemies without even approaching them, which was pretty cool to think about.

Even with its limited range, I no longer had to throw them on the ground to boost my speed, I could just create them on the ground. It was a small change, but far more convenient.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to sit and test out my new skills' capabilities, but there were more important things at hand. The last five of the points could go to Intelligence to bring it up to 60, or it could go to Dexterity, to bring it to 26.

While I'd originally put points into Dexterity, I doubted that extra speed was what I needed right now. While I may've been able to throw a few extra balls in that time, now I think I could just manipulate a Pop-Off ball into a larger shape so I wouldn't have to throw as many.

It was pretty depressing to think some of my first points didn't mean much now, but I managed to ignore it.

I was pretty sure five points in Vitality wouldn't be enough to help me survive any of Mario's big attacks, and most of my other stats weren't the most helpful right now anyway. Wisdom… maybe, but no, I didn't want to throw points into it if it wouldn't help.

Intelligence it is. I threw the other five points into the stat and took a deep breath before starting to charge back into the fray.

A bit had changed since I was last here, less than a minute prior. Shoto's ice was still there, the buildings were still in decent condition, and Kamui Woods and Mario were still here. However, the bit that changed was… well, maybe a more than a bit.

Another gigantic figure was there, although she was on the outside of the immediate area, while Mario was in the center of the chaos.

She was a Pro-Hero I knew a lot about, and in many other situations, my first thought would've been to get a better perspective of her participation in the event. But this wasn't that, and I felt myself focus instead of becoming distracted by my thoughts.

Unlike Kamui Woods, I could see her level.

[Pro-Hero Mt. Lady]

[Lv. 59]

[Yu Takeyama]

Mount Lady was one of the figures I had in my room, and while I couldn't say I hated the sight of another Pro-Hero, her transformed state was too large to actually help when combatting Mario. She couldn't fit in the alleyways and the risk of getting hurt just to transform right where Mario was wasn't worth it.

Still, she was doing well in assisting Kamui Woods.

I huffed, trying to think how I should use her involvement to my advantage. Nothing came to me immediately, which wasn't my favorite situation ever. Regardless, I pushed forward, Pop-Off balls appearing at my feet to allow me to push forward. As I moved, I replayed the situation in my head in different ways, trying to find a path that'd lead to the best resolution

I approached Mario's shuffling feet. He wasn't moving much because of how small the space was, but it was enough to make the ground shake constantly.

I didn't stop making Pop-Off balls appear. It wasn't a particularly fast process, even when I started pulling the spheres from my Inventory and head to cover the ground, but I made-do.

Kamui Woods saw me as I finished making a sea pf purple around Mario's feet. He hesitated for a second, and it was enough time for Mario to swat at him, hitting him towards the ground. He barely managed to shift the quick descent into a swing, although he still hit the ground hard enough to roll back a fair bit.

On the opposite side, Mt. Lady yelled. "Hey, play with someone your own size, you big baby!"

Mario slowly turned around, his mouth hanging open. A grin grew. "Play? I wanna play!"

As Mario took a step towards Mt. Lady, I barely avoided his massive foot by jumping from my spheres towards Kamui Woods. Seconds after I left the spot, Mario's foot landed, being stuck to the mass of orbs.

I assume he tried to pull his foot up, but I was busy getting to Shinji's side, so I didn't get a good look. It only took me a few bounds to get to the fallen Pro's side, and he didn't look to me in horribly good condition.

It didn't even occur to me until now, but I could see his level now.

[Pro-Hero Kamui Woods]

[Lv. 61]

[Shinji Nishiya]

Despite his level advantage on Mario, the colossal villain's attack clearly hurt him. Seeing his level encouraged me to Observe him, and wow, his stats were high. He was more focused on Dexterity and Intelligence, although I didn't know exactly how those stats translated to people who couldn't just put points in them at their free will.

Regardless, he was strong, but he was far from perfect.

His HP wasn't in critical states or anything, but he had a special status I hadn't seen before.

[Status: Dislocated Shoulder.]

So, he wasn't in good condition. The sudden attempt to swing himself back up must've pulled his arm out its socket. In this state, he probably wouldn't be back in the fight. Otherwise, there was a good chance of his condition just getting worse.

He was holding his left shoulder with his right hand, but he was already looking back at the fight. He glanced over at me before staring back at it.

"You're a kid, right? This is vigilantism, it's illegal," he spoke, as if that was the most important part of this situation. "You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous."

A small part of me wanted to be witty with him, mentioning how it didn't look like he was doing too well on his own. But I hushed that part, partially because I could tell what his goal was based off his status screen and partially because one shouldn't mouth off to someone of such a higher level.

Besides, he was trying to keep me, a civilian, safe. He wasn't even worried about his own state, he was just more focused on the situation at hand.

I didn't respond to his question, looking over his shoulder. "It's dislocated. I think at this point you're gonna be out of the running for now. You should —"

I hadn't even finished before wooden tendrils grew out of his hand, wrapping around his arm and abruptly pushing it back into place. The Pro-Hero winced and lightly jerked in place but didn't make a peep otherwise. He cautiously rolled his shoulder, clenching his free hand a few times.

His status changed, the dislocated shoulder disappearing from it. He looked up at me wordlessly, as if waiting for me to continue.

"— well, if it isn't a problem, we should at least coordinate our attacks so we can take down this guy efficiently," I finished, abruptly changing tracks.

I didn't expect him to do something so… intense. Maybe I didn't know what Pro-Heroes had to commonly face. It would be different seeing it face to face, I guess.

"As I said, you're a civilian and you shouldn't be in this dangerous situation. I can't encourage these acts of —"

"Look, scold me after! Mt. Lady clearly can't handle this on her own," I interrupted him, looking back at the situation.

Mario had one foot stuck in my purple balls, but the other foot managed to make it over the space. As such, Mt. Lady was trying to handle his four hands on her own, and two of those hands still made my Pop-Off balls on them, which she was trying to avoid at all costs.

It was a good deduction on her part, but it still didn't leave her much room to fight back at all. However, I could see clearly what we needed to do now. It would only be possible if Kamui Woods worked with me though.

I could see him debate the situation, but he let out a heavy sigh. He rose from his spot, standing tall and looking out at the situation.

"Fine, on my right as a Professional Hero, I legally grant you the permission to use your Quirk in this emer—"

"Good! Now, can you make a huge hammock of wood? I'll handle everything else! Just make it big enough to fit the villain!" I interrupted him again, not caring about all the formalities. I jumped up towards the wall of a building, creating a Pop-Off ball where my hand landed. I did that several times and climbed up the wall, hauling myself up to the building's rooftop.

[Due to the special action of scaling a wall using your Quirk, you have received a new skill!]

[Continuous climbing has created the skill "Climb" to boost the efficiency of climbing!]

Ignoring the notification, I looked over the wooden hammock being created, just as I asked for.

The key point of this Quest was something Pro-Heroes faced all the time.

A villain needed to be defeated, not killed. It seemed easy, but it limited their actions in a lot of different ways. For example, Kamui Woods couldn't just create wooden nooses and strangle his opponents, just like how Mt. Lady couldn't just crush her opponents underneath her heels.

A certain about of finesse was required to handle situations properly. Like, yeah, I could probably just try to clog Mario's mouth and nose with Pop-Off balls until he lost consciousness, but there was also the scary reality that losing his life wouldn't come far after in that case.

How Quirks interacted with one another was always a difficult question to answer, especially for people who couldn't just Observe everything about their opponents and allies.

Alas, that wasn't my biggest issue. My biggest issue was a lack of power.

And gladly, I had two massively high-leveled allies to help me compensate for that. And all I needed to do was make sure Mario wouldn't have an easy time getting up after we knocked him down, and well, my Quirk was fantastic for that. Making a trap was the perfect option, especially with Mt. Lady's help!

The shape was becoming more intricate as time passed, gaining structural soundness. It needed to be strong enough to hold Mario's weight, and I could see Shinji was accounting for that.

I created a Pop-Off disk, gathering the energy in a slightly more compressed form. I didn't throw that, however, I focused on the mana inside the orb and compressed it more and more. Mana Manipulation was beyond fantastic for things like this.

The mana was a bit difficult to move, and it drained my MP, but it was fine. I hadn't used much yet anyway.

Soon enough the disk was completely flat and looked a lot like a frisbee. It was good enough for my goal, and it was apparently good enough craftsmanship that Manufacturing accepted it as a blueprint. I Flung it towards the hammock's wood base, and it landed dead on.

I summoned more and kept on Flinging them, not stopping for anything more than a quick breath.

As I continued, I could see Kamui Woods put the pieces together. He swung from one side of the area to the other, landing on the edge of the building that Mario had torn the roof from.

I rushed, pushing myself and taking from my HP to ensure I had enough MP left for Flinging.

I could hear Kamui Woods from over here, as I threw one of the last plates needed. I barely managed to throw the last frisbee before I saw some of the Pro-Hero's wood stretch over to me. "Here!"

The wooden base of the hammock was completely purple now, covered in my Pop-Off frisbees. I huffed and huffed but couldn't stop now. I grabbed the wood and stood my ground. Kamui jumped from one building to another, using one of Mario's arms as a bridging point. He then swung back to a building across the way from me.

The result was wood being wrapped around the front of Mario's throat, although he was too focused on Mt. Lady to properly notice.

We just had to pull.

"Mt. Lady, push!" I yelled, and then Kamui Woods and I pulled with all our strength.

I knew my physical strength alone wouldn't make much of a difference here, but I didn't let that bother me. I pushed anyways, and in a completely unconscious gesture, my mana covered my entire body. I could feel unusual strength coursing through me.

[Due to the special action of enhancing the body with mana, you have received a new skill!]

[Continuous mana enhancement has created the skill "Mana Empowerment" to empower your body with mana!]

Kamui Woods and I hauled backwards, the wood catching Mario's throat. The giant villain grabbed at the wood and pulled it out, and I'm nearly positive I would've been sent flying if I hadn't enhanced my body with mana.

Instead, I was simply yanked from the ground, almost going over the edge. I barely kept myself on the building by summoning a wall of Pop-Off balls, bouncing myself back.

Kamui Woods wasn't doing much better, although I'm pretty sure he was less worried about hitting the ground than I was.

However, despite our conditions, Mario's attention leaving Mt. Lady was just what we wanted.

With a large, adhesive hammock just behind him, all he'd need is one good push and he'd be trapped, no matter how strong he was or how many arms he had.

My comment seemed to suddenly make sense to Mt. Lady, and she took a step forward. She let out a mighty roar and pushed Mario back. With only one leg to hold himself up with, he buckled, and fell directly back into the hammock.

He writhed around a bit, but after a moment, he stilled, and then began to slowly shrink.

Observation told me that his Trigger was fairly light stuff, meaning it would've have lasted for much longer anyway.

I laughed and fell backwards, landing on the rooftop a bit harder than I cared for. However, that was almost entirely unimportant when compared to the situation in front of me.

[Quest "Suki's Request" completed!]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

The combined experience of taking down a level 50 opponent and the Quest gave me six new levels, bringing me up to Level Twenty.

And to think, I was just Level Two this morning.

For a moment, I just sat there, breathing heavily. It only took a second until the pain faded, leaving me with the reality of the situation. I didn't know how Shinji or Yu were doing. I got up and looked over the edge of the building, seeing the two walking towards one another, Mt. Lady no longer gigantified.

I threw a disk at the ground and hopped off the roof, landing softly and racing towards them.

Then, I suddenly realized I had no idea what to say. Good job didn't seem right, but it also didn't seem right to just… up and leave. Besides, if I was completely honest, the danger was over, and now there was a chance to talk with Mt. Lady, there was no way I was gonna miss that. I caught a bit of their conversation as I approached.

"Thanks for the save, Takeyama," Shinji sighed. "There haven't been any big, sudden villain attacks like this since the Sludge Villain. I don't think anyone was expecting this today."

Yu looked up, at the wooden sky above her. It was purple and brown, giving complete shade for the Pro-Heroes. Then, she looked at me, smiling.

"It's fine, it's only a shame because there weren't any cameras for this one. I would've gotten so many fans from that angle," she sighed dreamily. She winked at me. "Well, I can at least count on you, right? With a Quirk like yours, we would be great together! How do you feel about partnering up?"

I laughed lightly, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit. "Er, yeah, I'm a —"

Kamui Woods interrupted, "He's not a Pro, Mt. Lady."

I noted the shift in how he called her. Makes sense, civilians should be as far away from Heroes as possible, to encourage a Protector-Protected relationship. Well, it didn't matter to me, since I saw both of their names above their heads anyway.

Yu's eyes widened, and she blinked at me. "Are you a Hero-In-Training then? Going to Yuuei?"

I must admit, I hadn't thought about what I should say beforehand. I mean, the truth was that I'd failed my entrance exam, but damn, that was not only lame to admit, but it was also depressing. I didn't want to ruin the good vibes created by bringing that up.

Her question caught Shinji's attention as well. I could see on both their status screens that they were interested. Was it because I was pretty strong despite my age? No, that didn't make much sense.

There were plenty of up-and-coming newbies that were strong. I wasn't particularly special in that department. And yet, I can tell Yu had some hidden expectations. I couldn't say what they were for, but if she had expectations, I'd hate to prove her wrong.

"Well, right now I'm still waiting to see if I'm accepted or not, but yeah, I'll be a Hero-In-Training eventually," I… sorta lied.

I mean, I wanted to be a Pro-Hero, I think. To be honest, it was more of a means to an end than something I truly wanted to do. Unlike most kids, I never had grandiose dreams of being like All Might and saving people's lives.

Risking your own life to save another is genuinely a really brave thing to do. It makes sense that such brave people were likeable, thus, often being in relationships. People are attracted to their bravery and selflessness.

So, being a Pro-Hero was a way to become — or at least seem, in my case — braver. Thus, eventually getting a girlfriend.

But now I had a Quirk that could probably make me better at flirting, talking, and having general etiquette. Which could also get me a girlfriend, with no everyday risk to my livelihood.

Which, y'know, seemed like a better idea overall.

And yet, my words weren't a complete lie either.

After all, I was clearly here, wasn't I?

I went out of my way to save Suki, even if it wasn't convenient. And I did it because….

Well, I didn't know why I did it. I hadn't given it much thought when I ran out to help. Did that mean I was being brave, or heroic, or just stupid, I don't know. However, what I do know is that I was here, and that Mario was down, partially because of me.

So maybe, just maybe, I wanted to be a Hero to prove something. Maybe I just wanted it to save Suki to continue her Quest line, I don't know.

Maybe I'd never know.

I stifled a sigh, trying to ignore the thoughts. Additional Intelligence must've made me more thoughtful, blegh, I didn't like it.

Mt. Lady's eyes shimmered, making me feel a bit worse for myself. She extended a hand to me, and I nervously took it. As she shook my hand, she continued. "With skills like those, you'll be a great Hero one day!"

She bent down, whispering to me, "And more importantly, if we work together and I get stuck in your balls, it'll give people plenty photo opportunities, boosting both of our representations, you get me?"

I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, Shinji cleared his throat. Mt. Lady slowly craned her head back to him, as if annoyed. Actually, scratch that, she was annoyed, Observing her confirmed it.

"Young man, what you did was reckless, and I cannot encourage anymore vigilantism, for your safety and the safety of others," Shinji said, but I only shrugged.

I understood where he was coming from, but I didn't regret what I'd done. If I could jump into the fray to help someone I knew, I'd easily do it again, illegal or not.

Huh.

Wasn't it earlier today that Suki said something like that?

Some things were worth breaking the law, I felt somewhat inclined to agree.

"Well, I'll try to stay out of trouble in the future," I let go of Mt. Lady's hand and turned away, walking away before anymore questions about my personal life could arise. Avoiding lies outright was a more satisfactory result than more lying.

And I wasn't trying to level this up anymore.

[Due to the special action of lying, you have received a new skill!]

[Continuous lying has created the new skill "Lying" to help you tell more falsities!]

[Lying has leveled up.]

Ugh, I didn't like the feeling that Lying would level up at a fairly good pace.

I didn't really have a reason to head home, but I didn't have much of a reason to be out either. I couldn't find Suki on my Map, and honestly, I kinda wanted to speak to her more. I could call her, but after everything that happened there was a good chance she was just resting in the hospital or something after her injuries.

It had barely passed noon, and with so much time left in the day, I didn't feel like just heading home.

So, I went around and did some of the remaining Girl Finder Quests. In comparison to Suki's Quests, they were incredibly simplistic and straightforward.

I gave a woman some directions towards a bookstore, I helped an older woman with her grocery shopping, and played a game of Chess with Rikko. She was a nice girl, kinda pretty, but I didn't really have a lot in common with her. She'd apparently be there every other day around the same time, so I kept that in mind.

It was like a daily Quest, so it wouldn't be too hard to get back to, unless I got pretty busy or something.

When I got back home, Mom was still out, as… mostly expected. On the news was just the exact problem I'd been a part of solving, so I quickly turned that off and just… continued my training.

In just one day, I'd received a lot of new options.

Mana Affinity allowed me to sense… Mana? The Common Energy Source? Something else? Either way, it allowed me to sense something that was apparently always there.

And with how everything was developing, I hadn't gotten anytime to actually think about what this skill meant. For one, it showed I'd probably get skilled for my other stats passing 50.

However, that was almost poultry compared to the second thing it proved. It proved the Common Energy Source Theory, proved it. Maybe I couldn't show that information in an official way or anything, but… it shifted how I'd look at that theory in the future.

I wondered what that said about the other two theories, the Mind Over Matter Theory and the Quirk Growth Theory. I couldn't say much now without jumping the gun, but I wondered what I could do with proof of those theories.

Could I use those theories to get stronger? I don't know, but it was something I considered interesting either way.

Going back to my skills, Mana Affinity almost entirely shifted my path forward. My MP would recharge faster, and now I could even sense mana.

Mana Manipulation even let me directly interact with mana, creating my Pop-Off balls out of seemingly nothing at all. It had already managed to massively increase my efficiency in battle, from creating a wall of Pop-Off Balls to bounce me back to creating a path underneath my feet to increase my speed.

It added a new layer to my fighting style, but it wasn't something I had to take very long getting used to. Maybe that was my increased Intelligence at play, maybe it was just a result of the Gamer as a whole. Either way, I didn't mind too much.

By the way, I didn't quite understand why I hadn't received any new skills for making Pop-Off Disks or Pop-Off Frisbees. I got new skills fairly easily, but they hadn't appeared just yet. I spent a moment pondering that, pulling up the skill's description.

[Pop-Off (Active & Passive) Lv. 35 | EXP: 11.23 % | MP: 1 or HP: 1]

An original Quirk from Minoru Mineta. Through careful mana manipulation, the purple orbs have lost their natural passive nature. However, through the user's choice, this can be easily reversed, turning their hair back into purple, adhesive orbs. These orbs can be pulled off and used for a variety of tasks. The user can pull them off surfaces easily, but others cannot. These orbs can be created in different forms if the user can properly create them. The user can use MP or HP to supply energy for these orbs to form.

The effectiveness of the creations is dependent on the user's state of mind.

I just stared at it for a few minutes, reading over it. However, it suddenly hit me how bizarre the Quirk's description was.

I pulled one of the balls from my Inventory, Observing it.

[Pop-Off Ball]

[An orb created of adhesive mana created by the Quirk, Pop-Off. Although it's the natural state Pop-Off is created in, it's far from the only way for the adhesive mana to be expressed.]

"Created of adhesive mana, huh?" I mused, clicking my tongue. "If I think about Pop-Off like I've shifted it through my thoughts of it, Observe isn't anywhere near as biased."

I held both of my hands up, breathing slowly. I closed my eyes, just focusing on my thoughts.

Pop-Off wasn't the orbs I created; it was the adhesive mana the orbs were created from. That means there were probably hundreds of things I could do with energy that was only limited by my imagination.

I just felt the energy flow over me, syncing with me in a way I hadn't ever experienced before. It was like my body truly represented the adhesive of Pop-Off. Despite never experiencing it before, I knew what'd happened.

I opened my eyes and let out a satisfied sigh, "This is a good step forward."

[New Status, "Adhesive Quality" has been created.]