The New And Improved

"What the fuck,,,"

Those were the first words that he could say once he stared at the new him, the new pathetic him that was present in the full-body mirror in front of him. Seriously, just by looking at his own appearance, he really couldn't help but scoff at how pathetic he looked.

At first, he was confused as hell as to why and how he had found himself in the body of this dude, but now all that confusion was cleared up after the memories of this guy transferred over to him, and also mainly because that confusion was stomped by his unrestrained disappointment.

His original name was Kaito, but now it seemed that he was now going to be known from here on as Orion. More specifically, Orion Ragora. A simple young man who was born into a moderately rich family, nothing special. However, he was a young man born of pathetic potential and talent to grow stronger.

From the memories that he had been given, this kid was someone who was pretty much at the bottom of the line, he was someone who everyone would laugh and/or ignore entirely. Reasons being that he was fucking weak, simple as that.

This Orion kid wasn't born with any great potential to grow stronger, and neither was he born with an incredible talent for Curai, which was basically the main power system here in this world. If he had to compare it to something, probably those cultivation novels he's seen in the past. Though, not entirely the same.

Honestly, Kai-... no, Orion had to admit that he was impressed the guy that previously held control over this body had parents that still hadn't given up on him. He was apparently someone who didn't even want to at least try, he just gave up right fucking then when he found his horrible fate.

He had to respect this guy's parents, they were truly loving.

While Orion didn't show it, he was honestly pretty damn angry. One of the kinds of people he hated were those who just accepted what they were given in life, and if they drew the short end of the stick, would just give up. Those were the people who he hated.

The previous owner didn't even at least try to improve the best he could, he didn't even fucking try to at least find an alternative solution! He just gave up on the stop, didn't even bother to at the very least reach that supposed limitation of his before giving up.

Honestly, Orion right now was seething.

Taking a deep breath, Orion narrowed his eyes at himself in the mirror. While the guy had some muscles built up, his frame was still pretty weak looking, and he wasn't surprised to find out that these muscles only came from the guy's Curai which would automatically strengthen the body the higher the person would break through different stages.

On the topic of stages, similar to those cultivation novels with their realms, this world separated people's power in stages. It went as follows: Green ➙ Blue ➙ Orange ➙ Red ➙ Silver ➙ Gold. From those stages, each stage had three sub-grades that went like Grade-1 Green, Grade-2 Green, Grade-3 Green, etc.

Moving along, Orion could tell he was going to need to put this body to work for it to be up to his expectations of being physically fit. This guy had this Curai energy, which was basically a cheat where even the Green stages got stronger than humanly possible, yet he knew for a fact that he himself who was previously a normal human was stronger than this dude.

Aside from physical training, Orion needed to fix up his overall appearance as a whole. His hair right now was an absolute mess, and the clothes this guy wore just made him cringe heavily. The one thing he really appreciated was that his eyes had changed.

Unlike how this dude had droopy eyes, after he took over the body, the eyes ended up becoming much sharper, reminiscent as to how his eyes were like when he was back in his original body. He liked his eyes, they were sharp and tended to intimidate people who threatened him.

"Freaking hell, surprised this guy actually even has a brush..." Orion shook his head as he took hold of the brush on his desk before brushing his hair down to tidy it up. He did so for a minute before nodding as his white hair now hung over his right eye, his left eye now visible with its deep pink colour. "I look like an albino emo, but I'm digging it. Now, for clothes..."

Looking down in disgust, Orion immediately stripped himself of the clothes he had on before walking immediately to the closet. When he opened it, he smirked upon seeing a certain set of clothing that really stood out among the others, clothing that suited his new look.

From what he understood, the clothes he was going to wear soon were clothes that the original Orion was thinking of wearing to change himself, but chicken out after saying it was too bothersome. For real, this Orion guy who previously hosted this body was that pathetic.

Anyway, after finishing changing, Orion looked at himself in the mirror and nodded. His clothing now consisted of sleek black long pants and a pair of unused black tall combat boots, and his top consisted of a purple t-shirt and a black open jacket over the top with purple accents. He also saw a matching fur coat in the closet but dismissed it, it was way too hot to wear that shit right now.

.

『New Mission Acquired』

Objective: Pass the Valor Academy physical entrance examination [◇]

Optional Objective: Force your opponent to surrender pathetically, show everyone you're not someone to be messed with anymore [◇]

Rewards:

● Spiritual Sapling

● Skill Book [Optional Objective]

.

'What the? A mission system.' Orion thought to himself in surprise upon seeing the sudden notification appear to him. It as strange though, he couldn't physically see the details of the mission, more like it was an image being displayed in his mind. "This is good, that just means extra rewards on top of just doing whatever..."

From his memories, the original Orion was apparently going to be taking his physical examination test to see if he could get into the academy, which was apparently being held in around two hours from now. Thank god for the transfer of memories too, otherwise he wouldn't know any of the necessary basic information.

That included what Curai was, and other basic information that anyone should know in this world. If there was one thing the previous Orion did right, then it was that he at least studied properly and had common sense. Otherwise, he'd be freaking screwed.

Anyway, back to the rewards, a Spiritual Sapling was basically quite a rare item that could be purchased for the user to absorb to help increase their power. It was something that even some of the richer families can't even buy, so getting it would be a big step. For the other reward, it could be good or disappointing.

Skills were a necessity in this world to survive, so he hoped he'd end up getting something good from it if he completed that objective. Though, strangely enough, students and such would either have to buy skills themselves or earn them from school events and such when they enter high school.

"Orion, come down and have breakfast! You'll be late to the exam if you don't hurry!"

"I'm coming!" Orion quickly snapped out of his thoughts before responding to the voice that sounded from downstairs. That voice belonged to none other than his mother, well, Orion's mother, who was his mother as well now. "Well, might as well mentally prepare myself."

Orion then went downstairs to have breakfast, and once it was time to head off, that's when shit hits the fan.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Orion had to admit, the food that his mother Eleanor made was truly delicious. It was a simple yet delicious breakfast, Once again, he had to envy this Orion guy for having such good parents. He hadn't met his father in person yet since the guy was apparently off already at work.

Of course, just like any mother with her terrifying instincts, Orion's mother had immediately noticed a change in him, more specifically, Orion. She had noticed immediately how he walked with a stronger and straighter form, along with the obvious changes in the nature of his eyes.

Anyway, Orion was staring out the window of the car with an unreadable expression on his face. The truth was that Orion was more concerned about whether or not the person or people he'd be fighting against in this examination would be challenge, from what he knew, most who enter high school are either in Grade-3 Green, or somewhere in Blue.

The difference between Green and Blue were apparently not too insane, though there was still quite a bit of a gap. The major jumps in power though are from Blue to Orange, Orange to Red, then so forth. Green, Blue and Orange were apparently the 'baby' stages or training, anything beyond were usually very gifted ones and/or adults.

For a student who wasn't at least in their second or third year of high school to reach Orange level was considered an unbelievable achievement, seeing as the power gap between a Blue and Orange was the first incredible leap in power within the scale.

"Alright, here we are." Eleanor spoke as she stopped the car, Orion's eyes blinking as he looked up at the massive stadium-like building. Just like the buildings he had seen, it looked pretty damn futuristic. This world seemed to be quite technologically advanced. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Orion replied simply as he undid his seatbelt. He could hear the worry in his mother's voice, she obviously knew how limited Orion was. Compared to the other kids from his middle school, he was definitely one of the weaker ones. "Let's get this over with."

Eleanor looked worried at her son, and while she did somewhat try to stop her son from trying to participate, nothing seemed to budge him. He truly wanted to go through with participating in this physical examination, which kind of surprised her since she assumed he would have had given up before it even started.

But. something was just different about him today, and she wasn't completely certain what it was.

As she walked alongside Orion towards the building, Eleanor looked down to see the expression on her son's face. What surprised her was that she didn't see any nervousness nor signs of fear, all she saw was complete nonchalance mixed in with boredom.

"I-I'll be going to the spectator area now, good luck! Mother wishes you the best of luck, Orion! Your father might also be watching on the TV as well, even if he's not, I'm sure he's rooting for you to try your best as well!"

"Right, thanks for the support." Orion gave a simple nod as he watched his mother walk away to the spectator entrance. It still boggled his mind a bit that a school entrance exam was being put on live TV, though considering the incredible reputation Valor Academy has, he shouldn't be too surprised they want to show off their future students. 'Better get going...'

"Hm? Is that you, Orion?" Just as he was walking past someone, that same person seemed to notice him and spoke. Orion recognised the guy from his memories to be one of the main people who insulted the original Orion in the past during his middle school life. "The hell is a weakling like you doing here? This is an exam for the gifted, not trash like you!"

"Fuck off."

"Wh-What'd you say?!" Just as Orion was walking past the person, he said those two simple words without even sparing a glance as he continued walking. The person seemed taken back by the unexpected retort. "Hey, get the hell back here you son of a bitch!"

"..."

"Did you hear me?!" Enraged, the male rushed up towards Orion before forcefully grabbing his shoulder. "Listen here, just because you changed your look, don't think for a second you can have such an attitud-!"

"Don't fucking touch me." Orion turned his head and sent a glare towards the male who pulled against his shoulder. Orion knew full well what he was doing, hiding and forcing out your bloodlust was a necessary skill in his old family. While they weren't assassins, his old family was an infamous mafia group. "If you don't want my fist rammed down your throat, then piss off."

With a push, Orion sent the frozen student stumbling back before tripping and falling onto his behind. Orion scoffed at the pathetic sight before turning and continuing his way into the building, the student still frozen and shaking on the ground as he recalled that cold dead gaze.

With that problem left behind, Orion entered the building as the rush of cold air of the air conditioners smashed into his face. He embraced the cold feeling for a second before opening his eyes and walking over towards where he was supposed to register himself as present.

As he walked towards the currently empty registration table and began signing himself in, he did take notice of the whispers around him. They were mostly from the other potential students who seemed to recognise him, and most began mocking him silently, while others seemed to question his rather drastic change in dress and overall style.

"I-Is that Orion...?"

"The hell is that loser doing here?"

"Does he actually think he'll be able to make it in?"

"That new look is pretty cool though..."

Ignoring any of the whispers, compliments or not, Orion continued his way towards the specific booth area he was supposed to be waiting at for his match. From what he learnt from that receptionist, his match was scheduled to start in the next hour.

She also explained the simple things to him regarding how everything worked, mainly about how the students just needed to show off their skills as a fighter in the one match they are assigned to fight in. While winning wasn't necessary, it would boost your chances of getting into the academy.

'Hmph, so whoever is grading us to see if we're eligible isn't just looking for who wins, but also probably potential and current ability. That means even if someone loses their match, they can still be accepted. Doesn't matter though, I don't intend on losing.'

As Orion thought all of that over, he couldn't help but scoff at the fact that the original Orion was actually intending on just skipping out. Even if he lost, he could at least have somewhat of a chance of getting in to better his strength, even if that chance was close to impossible for a guy of that mindset.

Orion continued walking towards his booth, completely ignoring as he walked past someone who seemed to blink their eyes in surprise before turning to look back at him. The person watched as Orion continued walking, not even sparing them a glance.

'Interesting...'

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

There were two booths that the potential students waited in, they were split up between the two sections to make it easier for the functionality of this examination. Each booth was just a waiting area for each student on either side of the examination arena to watch and wait.

The booths were located high up at either side of the stadium, allowing them to overlook the entire arena where two potential students would have their match. In each booth was a teleporter, which once stepped on, would teleport the person to their side of the fighting arena.

Just like back at the entrance, Orion was getting mocking gazes and comments as he sat down on the far end by himself. He couldn't care less about what these people were saying about him, he'd shut them up with his actions when it was his turn, so yelling back at them was just a waste of breath.

He had one thing to say about the matches thus far.

'What the fuck are these guys doing?'

During any of the matches, he had noticed immediately that none of these guys knew how to properly fight. They had some power thanks to them having Curai, but their actual ability when it came to combat was a zero. Even if they had weapons, most didn't even know how to properly wield them yet.

Speaking of weapons, the original Orion never bothered to make himself or try and buy himself a weapon since he had already given up, though that wasn't much of a problem for him. He was always trained mostly in hand-to-hand combat, you can't always believe you'll have a weapon on you at all times.

『Orion Ragora, please proceed into the teleporter. Your match will begin shortly』

Upon hearing the announcement go through the speakers in the booth, Orion calmly stood up from his seat before walking over towards the teleporter. He ignored the gazes and laughs from the other potential students as he stood on teleporter pad.

After a few second, he was instantly teleported down onto the teleporter pad located on his side of the arena. The arena itself wasn't insanely massive, but it was definitely big enough for you to fight comfortably without needing to worry about falling off and such.

"If it isn't the little pathetic weakling, I'm surprised to see you here." An arrogant voice sounded from the other side of the arena. Walking onto the arena, the person was revealed to be a male Orion's age, that being fifteen, was confidently standing with his arms crossed. "How pathetic, to think someone like you thinks they have a chance at Valor Academy. It's hilarious!"

'I wonder where mom is...'

"Hey, are you listening?!"

"Hm?" Orion turned his attention back towards the arena where he saw his opponent staring angrily at him. Orion didn't give reaction to the anger being direction at him, he just blinked. "Oh, Tyger Barius, what a pleasure to see you again."

This male was Tyger Barius, also one of Orion's middle school peers. Tyger was a relatively tall male for his age, along with a strong looking build with some bulging muscles. In school, the guy was known for being one of the most powerful students in the middle school he went to, being the strongest one in regards to physical strength.

Interestingly enough, this guy was also a fist fighter just like himself. One without proper technique, but still a fist fighter nonetheless. One that was a Grade-1 Blue from what he could tell, shouldn't be too much of a problem for him though.

'Guess I don't need to hesitate with the optional objective after all, this guy deserves a beat down.' Orion mentally scoffed as he looked at the arrogant figure. Tyger was someone who apparently bullied the original Orion, treating him as a punching bag quite a number of times.

Previously, Orion was kind of on the edge of completing the optional objective for the mission. While he was someone who was born into a mafia family, he wasn't one who enjoyed humiliating or simply killing people who have done him no wrong. Unless they piss him off, then he would have no reason to do anything drastic against them.

This guy, however, he could already feel his blood boiling to rip him a new one.

『The match between Orion Ragora and Tyger Barius will now be under way』

『3』

『2』

『1』

『Battle Start』

"Let's go, weakling!" Tyger immediately charged in towards Orion, who stood calmly in a fighting position. Narrowing his eyes, Orion watched as Tyger sent a Curai infused punch towards him with a vicious grin on his face. "Take this, Omega Punch!"

"Bro, that's so fucking cringe." Orion scoffed after hearing the shout. Tyger was someone who shouted moves even though they weren't Skills or actual techniques, it was cringe just getting that memory of him transferred to him. 'This is going to be easier than I thought...'

When the punch was about to him Orion, the white-haired male raised left arm and seemingly deflected the punch elsewhere, greatly reducing the power. Orion knew that this guy was physically stronger than him, especially since he was in this untrained body, but that didn't mean he was going to lose.

If Orion couldn't beat this guy through using just pure power, then the best alternative was to just adapt and use the skills he's learnt from the past to win. He was trained extensively in martial arts, and one of those arts involved being able to fight back against those more physical advantaged compared to you.

"Wh-Wha?"

"Don't be so surprised." Tyger had widened his eyes when he saw that Orion deflect his punch with ease, though couldn't say much else before the male sent a powerful uppercut up that struck right underneath his jaw. "Power isn't everything!"

Orion immediately grabbed Tyger's head with both hands after his initial attack, he then pulled Tyger's head down into his knee that he kicked up. The force from the move made Tyger's body recoil back, allowing Orion to spin kick him away, causing the male to slide across the floor.

From that succession of quick yet fluent moves, the entire stadium erupt into cheers of both disbelief and excitement. While they knew that a Green and Blue's power gap wasn't too big, it was still very impressive for a Green to be able to fight back against a Grade-1 Blue, especially one only a Grade-2 Green.

"I-Is that really Orion?"

"No way!"

"I swear he didn't know how to fight before..."

From both of the booths, students that went to his middle school and knew who he was were throwing around their own comments to the scene they saw as well. To them, seeing a scene like this was just unbelievable, they always saw him as the weak and wimpy kid of the school.

"H-How the hell..?" Tyger groaned as he stumbled back onto his feet, the guy was obviously still a bit disoriented from the previous hits. Everyone could see thanks to the cameras that Tyger had some blood running does from his nose. "J-Just because you can throw your fists around now, don't think for a second you can win against me...!"

"As a wise man once said 'It'll be fine. After all... you're weak'."

"Wh-Wha?!" Tyger was honestly not sure how to react to that infuriating sentence. He wasn't sure what he was angrier about, the fact that Orion even called him weak, or the way that he did so as if he were stating a fact. "Y-You're courting death!"

"Fuck off with your cultivation quotes." Orion deadpanned before Tyger charged at him like a furious tiger, ironic as the dude's name was Tyger. Soon enough, Orion gave a cold chuckle before glaring at Tyger. "Don't worry, I'm sure you know actions speak louder than words! I'll help you better understand!"

Orion smirked as he watched Tyger approach, stepping slightly to the side before tripping him with one foot, then taking hold of his legs and tossing him upwards. Orion then performed a bicycle kick onto the guy once he descended close enough.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Orion smirked as Tyger roared even angrier than before, the male once again charging at him before swinging his Curai infused fists continuously in a struggle to land a single hit, with Orion either easily deflecting them or judge dodging. "How does it feel, Tyger? To feel so fucking powerless? To feel so pathetic?"

"Shut up! Shut UP! SHUT UP!"

"It's truly been fun messing with you, especially after everything you've put me through. Seeing this expression is just that much more satisfying." Orion grinned viciously as he saw Tyger's eyes become bloodshot from pure anger. "However, good things must come to an end. After all, you don't look like you can last playing with me for much longer. A toy like you that breaks so easily isn't worth my time."

Orion's grin immediately changed back into a frown as his eyes became void of emotion, unblinking as he flipped Tyger over his shoulder by grabbing his arm. Then slamming the large male into the ground with a loud crash, they honestly wouldn't be surprised if the tiles under Tyger were a bit cracked.

"Y-You little shit...!"

"Huh? Still conscious, huh? Good, at least I can still get that reward." Orion said those words, though not at all changing his cold expression. Tyger looked up at him, freezing in fear upon seeing those dead eyes boring into him. "So, do you give up?"

"L-L-Like hell!"

"Come on now, let's just end this little game of ours so we can all go home." Orion voiced as he planted his foot onto the side of Tyger's head, putting pressure down as Tyger felt incredible pain surging into his head. "You just need to throw that arrogant pride of yours and give up, the pain will stop then."

"F-Fuck... you!"

"I didn't quite hear that, let me get closer so I can hear better." Orion then proceeded to lean down towards Tyger, resting his arm against on the knee of the leg that was crushing Tyger's head. The pain seemed to almost double as Tyger cried out in pain. "Speak up, what did you say?"

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Tyger suddenly started shouting as tears started running down his face uncontrollably. He seriously felt like his head was going to explode if Orion put any more pressure down onto him. "I give up! I fucking give up...!"

"Good, now you can rest."

Orion scoffed before stomping on Tyger's face, immediately knocking him unconscious. The entire stadium fell into silence as they saw the scene in front of them, no one dared utter a single word as they stared at Orion's emotionless face on the holographic screens.

『O-Orion Ragora wins!』

.

『Mission Complete』

Objective: Pass the Valor Academy physical entrance examination [◈]

Optional Objective: Force your opponent to surrender pathetically, show everyone you're not someone to be messed with anymore [◈]

Rewards:

● Spiritual Sapling

● Skill Book [Optional Objective]