Request [6]

My training schedule had changed, but it hadn't changed much. Pop-Off was still at the head of my operations, but I didn't just stop there. I Flung disks that I'd manufacture until I ran out of MP, then I'd exercise until I got tired.

My Strength, Vitality rose a few points because of my training.

I didn't even stop until I'd noticed the sun coming up. I hadn't even noticed my mom coming back from her job in Naruhata, but when I checked, she was back.

When I was sure of that, I just threw myself deeper into training. Of course, I couldn't work out endlessly, but about ten minutes was enough for my MP to refill and my body started to feel fine after about half an hour.

So, I felt like I was moving at a decent pace. Not fast enough after failing the Yuuei entrance exam, but decent.

And I'd gotten some time to get used to my Adhesive Quality. It wasn't anything incredibly new, but it made something clear to me. There was normal mana, then there was my adhesive mana.

Before, it was pretty random which one I'd call for, but now it was pretty easy to distinguish between them.

For example, Mana Empowerment — an active skill that made my body stronger — was normal mana. While Pop-Off in all its variations was adhesive mana.

The clear distinction helped my progress quite a bit. Gathering adhesive mana created various forms of Pop-Off, and not much else. However, gathering normal mana….

I gathered it in my palm, just like how I'd gather a Pop-Off ball. I held my hand towards the cushion of Pop-Off balls I'd created over the last dozen hours.

The energy built before I held it in my hand, just Observing it. It was a perfectly spherical ball of mana which I think was closest to plasma, as far as states of matter went. It wasn't restricted by gravity or weight, and when I let go of my control it definitely didn't react like my original Quirk did.

I let go of the energy, and it hit my Pop-Off balls, burning through some of them, but mostly just exploding into a cloud of dispersed energy.

[Mana Bolt (Active) Lv. 2 | EXP: 19.23% | MP: 5]

A blast of unfocused mana, exploding once it hits any surface.

Power increases with Intelligence.

Range: 10m.

Compared to my Adhesive Quality creations, normal mana held a lot more opportunities to be dangerous. I'd created a few other skills in my time, one that I was trying to have active for as long as possible.

[Mana Empowerment (Active) Lv. 7 | EXP: 12.69% | MP: 38]

A skill that coats a body in mana, empowering the physical form.

Increases Strength by 42%.

Increases Dexterity by 42%.

Additional 38 MP a minute.

The skill was expensive, but it was growing at a rate I couldn't truly complain about. If I could get it to a point where I could always have it active, it would be great. That was the final goal. However, on Sunday night, I realized I had some work to do that I hadn't done yet.

I'd gotten down to it after procrastinating and a new notification appeared right as I finished,

[Due to rigorous studying, INT has risen by one.]

So, even studying was something I'd have to account for. I hadn't thought of doing it earlier, but it was enough for me to shift my schedule. In the times I wasn't exercising because my body was hurting, or when I wasn't using Mana Empowerment, Pop-Off, or really any of my skills, I'd be studying.

If I wasn't doing that, I'd make time and go play chess with Rikko. Generally, I'd try prioritizing Quests over training, because Quests were normally limited by some sort of time limit.

And so, my next week roughly fell into the same rhythm. It felt nice, because even if I was doing the exact same things, the change I was experiencing was notable. My physical stats all passed 20 in my hard work, and Intelligence rose to 61. Wisdom or Luck were unmoving, and I was considering putting points into them, however, I didn't do anything too hastily.

I was preparing to head out to meet Rikko when I stopped, just looking into the full-length mirror in our living room.

I didn't spend much time looking at myself on a day-to-day basis. It just wasn't one of those things I did.

And because I equipped my school's uniform, I hadn't noticed any physical changes I was experiencing. But now, standing here, I realized, I definitely had changed.

I wasn't as short anymore, although I was far from what I'd call tall. Still shorter than my Mom, but I wasn't so short absolutely everyone had to look down to maintain a conversation with me. And my hair, I found it more convenient to let flow without the Pop-Off balls, so I let those go too.

The result was a guy who… didn't quite look like me. He actually looked kinda attractive, if you squinted hard enough. The lines on my face were more appealing too, sharper than before.

I heard my mother laugh from behind me, she wrapped her arm around my neck and noogied me. "What are you looking at, huh? Trust me, all those good looks came from my side of the family!"

I clicked my tongue, smirking, "Uhuh?"

She stopped twisting her knuckle but didn't let me completely go. "And where have you been going out to lately? It seems like every day you've gone out."

Her expression became serious. Not angry or disappointed or anything, she just dropped her normal jokey tone. "You haven't been hanging out with the wrong crowd or anything, have you?"

I responded by shaking my head.

I hadn't thought about it, but my actions must've looked odd from my mother's perspective.

I failed the Yuuei entrance exam, and instead of holing up in my room and scrolling through the internet, I was getting out more than usual. It wouldn't be too hard to imagine I was hanging out with the wrong crowd.

I shook my head, "No, no, nothing like that. I've just been trying to help people around town. I'm not in Yuuei, but I wanna try and make this city a bit nicer, picking up trash and helping old ladies across the street, that sorta thing."

My mother's eyes widened before she relaxed and smiled. "Wow, my son, such an honorable citizen! I'm proud of you." She kissed me on my forehead.

I didn't shy away from it, knowing she'd just push more if I tried to. "Thanks, Mom. Now can I go, there's someone waiting on me."

My mother's eyebrows flew up. "'Waiting on you?' Is this someone a girl?"

I opened my mouth, but then closed it, but that was enough for her.

"Aha! You've got a girlfriend; you've got a girlfriend!" My mother teased, and I felt my face go a bit red.

"It's not like that, I promise. She's pretty and fun to talk to, but we just play chess together and enjoy ourselves," I refuted her, almost surprised by the words coming out of mouth. "Although, it does —"

"— sound a lot like dating, mhm!" My mother agreed, letting me go. "But okay, okay, I'll let you go free, I won't hold you back."

I let out a sigh of relief, glad to be free from my captivity. "Thank you. Now, I'm gonna go. I'll be back before it gets dark."

My mother nodded, but as I opened the door, she spoke. "Oh, I'm gonna be heading up with Midnight, I'm pretty sure you know her. I may not be back until later, possibly after you get back. I'll send you some money, so you can eat what's here or eat out, your choice."

I gave her a thumbs-up before closing the door behind myself and starting to jog towards the park.

Rikko was attractive, nice, and pretty smart. She wasn't planning on becoming a Pro-Hero or anything, but she it's not like that was specifically a bad thing. I didn't really see a reason to not be interested in her.

She wasn't some supervillain in disguise either, based on her status screen. She wasn't even particularly high-leveled.

She'd be nice to date.

Oh my God, what if I actually somehow manage to date her? Not in a friendly chess way but in a proper romantic way? Whoa, that'd be insane.

I didn't expect anything like that to develop now, because she was still pretty quiet and closed-off, but in the future… I could imagine it.

If I got that, what would I even do after? I mean, sure, it was a bit early to be thinking about after a relationship that hadn't even begun, but like… if I somehow get a girlfriend, what's next?

Huh. I hadn't thought about it before.

I mean, the preferred path forward would be… what, kissing and stuff? I hadn't thought about any of that in anything more than a distant sense, and even then, I'd never really considered that maintaining a full relationship would probably interfere with my day-to-day life.

Not like I had much of a day-to-day life anyway. All I did before the past week or so was scroll through forums discussing hot Heroes. Between that and maintaining a relationship, the latter was definitely more desirable.

The real question was whether or not having a relationship or training was more desirable. I'm inclined to say a relationship, since that was kinda the whole reason why I was working so hard.

I mean, unlike before, I think I could actually do it.

I didn't overthink every conversation with a girl, Etiquette Mastery was actively assisting me with the right things to say and what times, and I genuinely think I look more attractive than ever before. And hey, I was even getting stronger by the day.

With looks, kindness, strength, etiquette, and possibly more, I couldn't see how I'd get screwed much more.

I'd get a girlfriend, eventually. It was less like a dream and more like an eventuality, I just hadn't known what would be next.

I sighed as I approached Rikko's place, covered in shade from a nearby tree. I gave her a small nod and the most energized smile I could manage, pushing the thoughts aside. After I increased my Intelligence so far above my other stats, I found myself thinking about the future more. I wasn't the biggest fan of it.

Regardless, Rikko and I started our game, one move after another. I'd gotten fairly good at the game lately, although I hadn't received a Chess Mastery game or anything. Maybe that was because —

Rikko set me in checkmate about ten minutes after we began. She let out a sigh, extending her arms far over her head as she stretched. If I was her, I would've been gloating.

For her, she just sat there with a small smile on her face, seeming satisfied.

This was my… eighth or ninth loss now. Regardless, I'd yet to win against her. It made sense, her Wisdom was higher on her than I'd seen on most people combined. It was even more impressive that she wasn't using her Quirk at all.

I wondered if I actually had to win to get a Chess Mastery skill, or maybe the skill just didn't exist? Either way, Rikko was far better than I was in the game.

I let out a sigh and leaned back, "Jeez, Rikko, you win again. I just really can't understand it. You have less pieces than me every time we play, but you always manage to use what you have to your advantage."

Rikko looked up, her black hair hanging over her face. She spoke quietly, as if worried about disturbing her surroundings. However, this wasn't new or anything, she always spoke like this. "One of chess's most vital concepts is promotions. A single pawn can change the course of a game when it makes it to an opponent's base. A pawn becoming a queen, or knight could change everything."

"Well, when they're such slow and kinda useless pieces, how am I not supposed to use them when they're slaughtered so easily? No matter what they do, they'll always be in danger," I shrugged, sighing.

Rikko was quiet for a moment, and I felt a little bad about my response. She was quite shy, and I didn't want to burst her bubble or anything. I almost backtracked a bit, but she spoke up before I could.

"Divert your opponent's attention. Make them look somewhere else, make the pawns seem indispensable. All the while, keep the possibility of your pawns' potential in your mind. Splitting your attention is a necessary part of life, it just so happens that stands well in chess too," Rikko explained, picking up a pawn and observing it.

Huh. I hadn't ever thought about it like that.

I opened my mouth, but a screen I'd never seen before appeared.

[Confidant Rank One with Rikko Ikoma Achieved!]

[A skill has been created through a special action!]

[By drawing from the experience of a budding chess master, the skill "Promotion" was created.]

As the knowledge of Promotion started settling in, I stared at the screen.

So, in addition to skill books and passing certain milestones in stats, I could also gain skills through my bonds with people? Did that mean my bond with Suki was too low, despite having a "Massive Increase" according to her last Quest? Or did I have to speak to her for the skill to actually be created?

What about my mother? I mean, I guess I hadn't hung out with her since… well, even before the Gamer came into the picture.

Would it only work on girls like my Girl Finder Quest, or would it work with anyone? Did I just need a certain level of points with them?

Hm, I'd just have to wait and find out, I guess. It really was inconvenient that my Quirk didn't come with an instruction manual.

I dismissed the screens as the completed Quest screen appeared, and I quickly dismissed that too.

"I hadn't thought about it like that before," I nodded to her, noticing a glancing look behind me. It was very minute, but Rikko spoke quietly and deliberately.

"There's a woman sitting on a park bench behind you. She probably wanted to approach us now, but I think she only wants one of us. I've never met her before," she noted, keeping herself calm and collected.

At first, I was just confused, and then worried, but I abruptly calmed down. God, I felt like I was doing that a lot lately.

There weren't many people who knew me, but I could think of one.

"Does she have really vibrant white hair?" I asked, feeling a little pit of dread settle in my stomach.

Rikko didn't move, but spoke clearly, her dark-colored eyes shining with interest. "Yes, do you know her?"

It was Suki Kagaku then. I barely held in a sigh.

To be honest, I'd been avoiding Suki like the plague. Yes, she was hot. Yes, she was smart. Yes, she even owed me a favor, according to her Quest.

And yet, the last time I'd spoken to her, I'd learned a lot, and it was awesome. However, I was also wrapped into a situation far larger than myself. I mean, yeah, it was my decision to go out of my way to help her when Mario attacked, and it was my decision to accept her Quest when she asked me to help Kamui Woods….

Okay, to be honest, I was just nervous.

Last time I'd encountered her, there was an extremely dramatic progression in my strength. To an extent, I enjoyed it. Now I was growing even faster than before. On the other side, I wasn't too excited to throw myself into another situation like Mario's.

Maybe I was just overthinking though. I was assuming that she was instantly gonna drag me into a bad situation. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe.

"Yeah, I know her. I…. We'll hopefully talk tomorrow," I sighed, rising from my spot and nodding towards Rikko. Before I turned away though, she spoke up. She sat her hand on the edge of the table, for some reason.

"...Okay."

And with that, I left, trusting Rikko to handle the portable board on her own. I turned around and began walking like nothing had happened.

Suki was sitting on a park bench, reading a book.

Observation told me it was a book about Quirks, which made sense, for her expertise. Above her head was a change I hadn't seen in many people.

[Vice President of Faustian Inc.]

[Lv. 42]

[Suki Kagaku]

She leveled up. Now, considering I hadn't seen anyone else do that, I assumed it wasn't the easiest task in the world. How she'd done it, I don't know. However, she had done it. That was impressive enough for me.

I considered walking past her and finding a better location to speak at, but I ignored the thought.

Right here, in an extremely low-populated park, there was basically no one around to hear us. And even Rikko was beginning to pack her stuff up, so it really only left us there.

I sat next to her, and she didn't look up from her book for the next minute. In the corner of my eye, I Observed her and read over her status. She was feeling anxious, desperate, and… something else that didn't translate well to Observation.

In fact, it was just called, "Unidentified Emotion."

Her background hadn't changed at all, which made sense. After all, a week doesn't necessarily change what built up to make you who you are.

Eventually, she put her bookmark in her book, letting out a little sigh.

"How have you been, after that villain attack?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"What doesn't put me down normally makes me stronger, I feel pretty much all better now," I answered honestly. "How about you?"

Suki looked out at the stone walkway at her feet. "I've been well. A few aching pains here and there, but nothing too bad."

We were quiet for a second. As far as small talk goes, we could've continued, but I think we both knew getting to the point would be more appreciated.

Suki began without any large motions, just continuing to look at the ground. "Before, you asked me why I'd be willing to break the laws surrounding Trigger."

I glanced at her. Her expression was pretty hard to read, but she looked pretty nervous. I nodded, "Yeah. You don't seem like the… Trigger Junkie Type. And Instant Heroes is a nice idea in practice but…."

Suki nodded, "Yes, if a new Trigger type allowed Quirks to get stronger without much backlash, it could be even more dangerous in the hands of villains. I understand the risks but…."

I couldn't help but wonder, was this the part of her background that mentioned worrying about more than work?

I didn't push, letting her continue.

"It's not very public, but I have a daughter," Suki began. My attention suddenly perked up. Just like she said, I'd never heard of anything regarding any children, or a spouse. I was no detective or anything, but it was my first-time hearing of it. "I didn't want her in the limelight, so I tried to keep her as far away from everything as I could. It wasn't easy though, because she stayed with me. Her father hasn't been in the picture."

"Past tense?" I spoke. I could've been reading in-between the lines too much, but that felt notable to me.

Suki's expression darkened, "It turns out, keeping her out of the light may've been a poor decision. A few months ago, she was kidnapped by villains."

I didn't speak, wondering where she was going with this. Why would she be telling me?

As if she'd read my thoughts, she replied, "They've got the police headquarters watched, and several Pro-Hero agencies too. They said they'd kill my little girl if I went for help. I just… I didn't want to risk it."

My eyes widened, the pieces clicking together. "You… you were trying to create Instant Heroes to get your daughter back."

Suki glanced over to me, a small, sad smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Yeah."

I nodded, accepting that. Still, that didn't quite match up with why she was telling me this. "So, why tell me? If you think I was gonna rat you out, I wasn't going to. It's not really my business."

I understood her words. What happened to her daughter is horrific, and I could only hope she was able to get some sort of — wait….

I looked up, my eyes widening. "Wait, don't tell me…."

Suki was quiet for a moment before handing me her book. I was confused, but I grabbed it, and a notification appeared.

[You have picked up the skill book "Falsified Reality: The Power of Illusion Quirks." Would you like to learn this skill?]

My eyes flickered over the notification before looking back to Suki. I was interested in the book, and in another circumstance, I'd just outright learn the skill, but this seemed a little odd.

When I looked back to Suki, I'd noticed her staring at me. Before I could ask why, she said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe your Quirk stimulates your growth."

I squinted, and she continued. "When we'd first met, your purple spheres were on your head, but now, they've entirely disappeared. A mutant-type has suddenly just… disappeared. Beyond the rarity of that, it would also be a dangerous process. You'd be in the hospital instead of here, like nothing's wrong."

I sensed she had more to say, so I remained quiet.

"However, if your Quirk allowed you to grow and offset the negative effects, that would seem believable."

Sheesh, she was pretty smart. She picked up a fair amount of information from… essentially nothing. I hadn't told anyone about my Quirk yet, but she'd pieces a fair bit of it together.

I nodded, "Yeah, my Quirk's a little odd, but it's something like that."

Then it was her turn to nod, "Is that why you look in the air like you do? Does your Quirk let you learn quickly and you zone-out as a side-effect?"

Ah, so that's what she thought me reading the notification was. That's why she handed me the book, so she could see how I'd reactively respond.

I shrugged. "Not quite, but it's a bit complicated to explain."

Suki shook her head. "Your ability to learn fast may be…."

She trailed off before letting out a sigh. "Before, I was content to be patient. My daughter is still alive, I know that. I don't know why they need her, but they need her alive. However, in order to keep me in check, they've been sending more and more proof of her worsening state. They've said she wouldn't survive another month at this rate."

I felt my stomach drop. It was sickening and terrifying to hear that.

Suki looked away, "I'm sorry, you don't deserve to be dragged into this. I'll be clear, I have a request, Mineta."

She looked at me with her big, watery eyes. Saying no would've been impossible.

Damn.

"Please, help save my daughter."