York Peppermint Patty

[Daniel's Apartment – 11:00 AM]

"BAM! BAM! BAM!" The loud knocks echo throughout the apartment, reverberating off the walls and filling the air with tension. "BAM! BAM!" The impacts are relentless, accompanied by Daniel's groans, which mix with sounds that could resemble squeaks... well, if you don't understand the language of a mantis shrimp."

"Beaten in an alley by some punks!" Aegis yells, his voice filled with fury.

When Daniel returned to the apartment after his "meeting" with Neo, he hadn't even been inside for five minutes when Aegis interrogated him, asking about the bruises covering his body. Daniel, of course, tried to lie. Aegis wasn't an idiot and hounded him until he spilled the truth. A painful truth: he had been beaten by some punks in an alley. He tried to soften it, saying he had fought like a champion, the best fight of his life, that he had taken down most of them, but in the end, he slipped that Neo had saved him.

Unfortunately for Daniel, failure is not something Aegis takes lightly.

"You embarrass me!" Aegis screams from the top of his head. "So much effort put into you for you to make me look bad! Losing in a 1 vs 5 fight! And you didn't even have the decency to die to redeem your failure."

Daniel, struggling to breathe between gasps, barely manages to reply: "There were six."

"That doesn't make it better!" Aegis retorts, annoyed. The tone of his voice cuts like a knife. "Do you know what you say when you lose?"

BAM! BAM! BAM! Daniel's fists continue pounding the punching bag. "That I'm not a good trainer! That my methods are useless!" BAM! BAM! BAM! "Is that it? You want to make me look bad?" Aegis doesn't take failure well. The blows intensify. Daniel feels his hands going numb to the point of not feeling them anymore. BAM! BAM!

"But maybe… maybe you're right," Aegis says, his tone low and dry. Daniel stops dead, halting his strikes. "Maybe it was my fault. I was too soft with you. I saw you and thought, 'This pathetic human needs to be hand-held.' I was stupid. I even gave you breaks. Breaks! But that's over. It won't happen again!"

"BAM." A single blow, more powerful than the previous ones, strikes the bag and splits it in half. Daniel can only watch attentively as the bag disintegrates before him while the pain in his fists intensifies. Unable to control his movements, his body involuntarily moves toward the closet where they keep the spare bag.

"From now on, your training doubles. You're going to learn to throw a real punch. Whether you learn it or I burn it into your flesh from so much practice."

Hours pass slowly, each minute feels like torture, but finally, Aegis ends his brutal training. The little creature leaps off Daniel's head with an exaggerated flip. "You have thirty minutes," he says as he scurries away quickly with his tiny feet. As soon as he detaches, Daniel's body collapses like a rag doll, his stamina completely drained.

"Help?" Daniel whispers, with the little strength he has left, almost on the verge of unconsciousness. But before he passes out completely, something hits his head. Struggling, he looks up. His blurry eyes see a bottle of berry juice that Aegis has thrown in his direction. His hands tremble as he grabs the bottle and starts to drink. Each sip is a struggle, as if his throat resists, but the more he drinks, the more he feels his body beginning to respond again. The stiffness in his muscles slowly eases, and his breathing becomes steadier.

After finishing the bottle completely, he lets out a sigh of relief. "Ahhh…" he moans, feeling sensation return to his body. He feels pain, but at least he can move a bit now. "Mixing painkillers with berry juice was the best decision of my life," Daniel says, as he starts kissing the empty bottle. "I should sell this to the hunters... they'd surely appreciate it."

With that said, Daniel lays back on the sweet floor. He forces himself not to fall asleep; his training isn't over yet, this is just halftime.

"Ahhh…" Daniel sighs. The training is killing him, and he's suffering more than in the alley, but he won't refuse to train. This effort only benefits him, and after what happened, he's more determined than ever to gain power and skills. The memory of the beating haunts him, and of course, the first life he took in two worlds remains fresh in his mind. During training, he's had enough time to reflect on it. He doesn't regret it; it doesn't make him happy, but it doesn't torment him either.

"It was a mistake," Daniel says to himself. Not just for being in that area, thinking nothing bad would happen, but also because he wasn't prepared at all. Daniel is sure that if he had brought Aegis or at least one of the Pikachu gummies, he would have gotten out of that situation easily. That thought annoys him and makes him reflect on his decisions.

Trying to keep his mind occupied, Daniel decides it's time to review all the rewards he didn't have time to analyze. With a mental command, he tells the system to show him his rewards.

"Let's see what I have," murmurs Daniel as the rewards panel appears before him.

[You've Cheated on Your Girlfriend!]

You've cheated on Ruby Rose with the lesser-known criminal Neopolitan.

Rating: C

Penalty: None

[Assimilated Stats from Neo: 2.50% (MAX 25%)]

[Copy of Neopolitan's Profile: Overactive Imagination].

[Overactive Imagination features unlocked: 10%]

10% - Appearance Alteration

[+ 1 gacha roll]

"Only 10% and a single gacha roll? Well, better than nothing," Daniel murmurs to himself. Although he doesn't feel completely discouraged, he had already anticipated that the percentage would be low. "A 10% isn't that bad, actually."

"System, show me the stats," he commands, keeping his voice firm and clear.

[Loading stats… ….]

Name: Daniel Hawk

Age: 16

Race: Human

HP: 540 (+109.1)

MP: 0

AP: 10,000 (+2316.2)

STR: 76 (+17.7)

VIT: 63 (+11.88)

DEX: 75 (+19.5)

INT: 74

Daniel scans the stats and realizes that the assimilated figures have mixed with Neo's. After a moment of analyzing the data, he gives up. "Ahh… I'm way too tired to do the calculations right now," he says, gesturing for the window to disappear. "But it looks pretty good, or at least I think so," he adds, using Yang's strength as a reference—a person who has trained since she was young to become a Huntress. "She has 124 strength points, while I'm at 93, almost 94. Only about a 30-point difference. Not bad."

Setting that aside, he wonders, "What's next?" After thinking for a moment, he decides, "Let's go for the gacha. Better to use it now." With that decision, he gives the command: "System, start the gacha."

[Starting gacha]

[Item: York Peppermint Patty]

When you bite into a York Peppermint Patty, you will experience the sensation of being on top of an icy mountain. Get ready to feel the chill and tranquility of the heights!

Daniel watches as a cookie materializes in front of him. "Nope," he says, unsure of what might happen if he eats it, so using his best judgment, he decides that the best course of action is to find a guinea pig. With effort, he gets up from the floor, places the cookie in a plastic bag, and puts it in the refrigerator among some mutilated parts, promising to take it out later when he finds someone to take a bite.

Back in the living room, he collapses onto the couch, which turns out to be much more comfortable than the floor. As he settles in, he starts reading again, reaching the part that really interests him: the new profile "Overactive Imagination" and its ability for appearance change. Focusing intensely, he tries to activate his new semblance. It takes him a while, but to his surprise, as if by miracle, his hand begins to be covered in intensely glowing crystals.

Daniel watches in wonder, but soon realizes he won't be able to do much more than that. Even so, he concentrates on changing his hand. It takes him a few minutes, but he finally manages to make his hand take on a bright blue hue. "Aha! It works!" he shouts, filled with enthusiasm. However, as he moves it slightly, the illusion bursts into an explosion of crystals, returning his hand to normal.

"Ahhhh!" he exclaims sadly, letting his hand drop. However, not everything is negative. He is sure that the semblance isn't useless; he just needs a bit of training. Maybe, with practice, he could change his appearance easily. "Should I talk to Neo, pretend ignorance, and ask her to show me her semblance?" he questions himself.

"Changing my appearance whenever I want... That would be a magnificent skill to escape problems. It would also be a brilliant escape plan; in emergencies, I could start my life anew in another realm," he says, laughing at the idea. "Hahaha... mmm."

He says it as a joke, but the more he thinks about it, the more it seems like a reasonable option. "I won't do it now," he tells himself, "but in case of emergency, I could escape. And if I master this ability, no one would be able to find me." The idea intrigues him, and he begins to sketch an emergency plan. He thinks about finding a way to open a separate bank account from his, where he could stash money. That way, if he ever needs to run away, he'll have financial backup.

"Aha!" Daniel laughs as he thinks of all the possibilities opening up before him. But suddenly, he feels a pressure in his head. Before he realizes it, his body lifts involuntarily. "If you have time to laugh, it means you're not trying hard enough," says Aegis from within his mind. "No, wait! I wasn't laughing about that!" Daniel pleads, but it's too late; Aegis has started the training again.

[Day 55]

[Daniel's Apartment - 1:00 PM]

Daniel is deep into his semblance training. He sits in a meditation position in front of a mirror with his eyes closed, sweat dripping from his forehead. Concentrated, his body begins to envelop in a radiant glow. Daniel's intentions are simple: he wants a change of appearance. He desires black hair, a blue shirt, and, if possible, a hat.

Sensing that a change has occurred and maintaining all his focus, he opens his eyes to see the result of his effort.

[Image]

Daniel moves his hands toward his face, and the simple movement causes the illusion to shatter. "Maybe I should start with something easier," he tells himself as he gets up, noticing that his aura is running low. He has been trying to create illusions for quite some time and has come to several conclusions. The main one: semblances consume aura, who would've thought? His aura reserves are average, or at least that's what he concluded by comparing himself to others. Creating an illusion consumes more aura than maintaining it. Although, based on what little he could gather, as he improves his control over his semblance, his control over aura also improves, which reduces consumption.

As he heads to the kitchen to refill his berry juice bottle, he remembers something important: he mustn't forget to message Ruby from time to time. "I won't neglect the relationship," Daniel says. "It's important for my survival." He grabs his phone, takes a sweaty selfie, and sends it with the message: "Tired after a hard day of exercise 😋." After sending it, he mutters, "Who doesn't love a flirty photo?"

He thinks for a moment and realizes he has to write to someone else. He takes off his shirt, snaps another photo, and sends it to Yang: "Let me know if it's enough ,Ruby ✌️." As soon as he sends it, he waits a minute and quickly texts Yang: "SORRY, THAT MESSAGE WAS FOR RUBY, PLEASE DELETE IT!" "And there we go, this will keep things hot," he says as he puts his phone away.

As Daniel heads to the kitchen to grab some berry juice, the doorbell of his apartment interrupts him. "Ding Dong!"

He approaches the door and opens it, finding a delivery woman standing there. "Special delivery for Daniel Hawn," she says, quickly handing him a bouquet of flowers, a jar of ice cream, and... a pack of condoms. The delivery woman, clearly embarrassed, avoids eye contact as she hands everything over and murmurs in a low tone, "It's just my job."

Daniel signs for the delivery and closes the door, looking at the flowers and the package. He notices a card in the flowers, picks it up, and reads:

From: Neopolitan

🦳 + 🍦 = 💋👉🍆💦🍑

Several days have passed since the last time he saw Neo. He didn't forget to call her; he was just reconsidering whether keeping in touch with her was the best option. The image of how she killed five people in the alley that night won't leave his mind. However, the tempting offer of obtaining more of her statistics and her semblance draws him in.

Daniel walks to his closet, grabs the journal, and opens the section that says Neopolitan.

Name: Neopolitan

Race: Human

HP: 980

MP: 0

AP: 19000

STR: 125

VIT: 110

DEX: 160

He had no trouble calculating Neo's stats; he did it the same way he did with Yang. After getting her data, he realizes that Neo is very strong, or maybe Yang wasn't as powerful as he thought. The differences are clear: more life, more endurance, more aura, more dexterity; Neo is superior in everything except strength, where she only surpasses Yang by one point.

The idea of cutting off contact with Neo seems to have come to an end. He looks at the gifts and thinks, "I guess this is her way of saying 'I know where you live.'" Daniel can only sigh. "Ahhh... whatever, I'll send her a message to meet up next week."

He picks up the ice cream and heads to the freezer, but realizes it's too full. He wonders if he should toss the ice cream. Then an idea strikes him. Aegis, who has been watching him, asks, "Why are you storing ice cream in the mutilated parts freezer?"

Without looking back, Daniel replies, "I ran out of space in the food freezer." As he says this, he makes some room by moving a few eyeballs and puts the ice cream away. "Maybe it's not so bad to meet up with Neo. She kills people and I store ice cream in a freezer full of eyeballs. We all have our flaws. And maybe the next part he unlocks from his semblance will improve my control over illusions. Not everything is bad," he tells himself.

[Day 58]

[Vale Alley – 1:00 am]

In the middle of the night, in one of the alleys of the worst area of Vale, a crime is happening. A punk, probably in her 30s and with the typical image of a delinquent, aims her gun at an unfortunate victim.

"Give me the money!" she demands, twisting the gun a bit for added flair.

"No... don't shoot!" pleads the woman, raising her hands in the air.

"I said the money!" the punk responds with frustration, finishing her words with a hit of the gun against the woman's face.

The blow makes the woman, trembling, pull out everything she has, dropping her belongings to the ground as she backs away. "This is all I have!" she screams, stepping back with tears in her eyes. The punk gestures for her to get lost, and the woman, still terrified, begins to slowly retreat. Suddenly, a shot fired into the air makes her run as fast as she can.

"Hahaha," laughs the punk as she picks up the money and a scroll from the ground, humming a tune without paying much attention. But something feels off. Suddenly, the silence in the alley becomes unsettling. The punk quickly stands, pulling out her weapon, alert.

"Who's there?!" she shouts, aiming her gun into the darkness. In a moment of distraction, she feels a strange itch in her eyes and closes them for a moment. The instant she closes them, she feels a precise blow to the hand holding the gun, causing her to drop it immediately. When she opens her eyes, she sees a figure, likely a man, whose face is covered by a mask and whose body is concealed under a cloak.

"Don't move," he repeats in the same firm voice.

Ignoring the warning, the punk swiftly pulls out a knife, her weapon of choice. She lunges at him, desperately trying to stab him. However, the hooded figure easily dodges, responding with a series of strikes. One hits her forearm, another her leg, both with such force that she hears the crack of bones breaking.

"AHHH!" The punk's scream echoes in the alley, but like so many times before in this place, no one will come to help her. As she falls to the ground, her mind races: "Does he have aura? It can't be!" she thinks, staring at the hooded figure in horror. He doesn't have the characteristic glow of hunters. "If he doesn't have aura, how the hell is he so strong?"

Desperate, she crawls to the wall, the pain consuming her. "What do you want? Money?" she asks in a trembling voice, dropping the stolen loot in front of him with her good hand, hoping the hooded figure will pick it up and leave.

But he doesn't even look at the money. Instead, he pulls out a small brown cookie from his pocket, breaks off a piece, and holds it out in front of the punk.

"Eat it," he orders, aiming the gun he picked up from the ground at her.

The punk looks at him suspiciously. "What is that thing?" she asks, not taking her eyes off the cookie.

The hooded figure doesn't repeat the explanation; he just presses the gun a bit firmer against her. "Eat it."

Resigned, knowing that if he wanted to kill her, he already would have, the punk takes the piece of cookie. She sighs, closes her eyes, and chews.

And in the blink of an eye, she disappears, as if she had never been there. The alley remains empty, silent once again, as if the crime had never occurred.

…

…

"I told you not to eat that thing," Aegis says from beneath the hood, his tone sarcastic.

"And how was I supposed to know that thing teleports you God knows where?" Daniel replies, irritated, while adjusting his hood.

"The description clearly says: 'you will experience the feeling of being on top of an icy mountain,'" Aegis responds, as if it were obvious.

"Well, I was hoping you'd cool off or something... maybe heat resistance?" Daniel says, raising his arms in a gesture of frustration.

Aegis laughs. "Hahaha. I assure you, that human female is feeling a bit... chilly, I guarantee it."

"Will she be okay?" Daniel asks, feeling a slight twinge of remorse. While he doesn't lose sleep over whether a criminal is okay or not, he still has feelings of guilt, however minimal.

"No, she's definitely dead. She has an arm and a leg broken; if she's on an icy mountain, she'll die in minutes."

"Ahh... whatever, forget it," Daniel says, already annoyed. He puts the rest of the cookie in a bag. "I'll think of what to do with this." He also takes the opportunity to collect the money and the gun; you never know when they might come in handy. Once he finishes collecting, Daniel speaks to Aegis.

"Let's go home," Daniel says as his body turns completely black, like the night. Daniel isn't invisible; he just has a dark color that blends well with the darkness.

Meanwhile, Aegis takes control of the body, starting to move with agility. With two jumps between walls and a somersault, he lands on a rooftop, beginning the journey back. In the meantime, Daniel focuses on maintaining the illusion. Although he is unable to create a new appearance, he can now keep his body a single color, something useful as long as he doesn't do anything else but focus on that.

The journey back to the apartment is magnificent; eight-meter jumps, acrobatic flips, the entire route is a demonstration of agility. Aegis is clearly having fun while Daniel sweats from the effort, both mental and physical.

[Extra – Day 55]

[Xia Long Cabin – 1:00 PM]

"Enough already, Yang!" Ruby tells her, clearly annoyed, with her arms crossed and a frustrated expression on her face.

"Okay, okay," Yang replies, raising her hands in a sign of surrender. She goes quiet for a second but can't help but speak again. "I'm just saying you might not want to rush into this relationship. I mean, yeah, the guy's really attractive, I'll admit that, but... maybe you should meet more people, expand your options. You know what I mean, Ruby?"

"No, Yang, I don't know what you mean!" Ruby snaps back, glaring at her sister with irritated eyes.

"Ruby, you can't just settle for the first guy you meet. He might not be what you think. You don't know him that well. Look, what if we go out, and I introduce you to some guys? What do you think? Wouldn't you like to meet others just to compare?" Yang suggests, lightly tapping Ruby on the shoulder in an attempt to be friendly.

"No, Yang, I don't want to go out with other guys! Why do you keep insisting on this?!" Ruby responds, raising her voice, her frustration boiling over.

"What's going on here?" Summer asks, drawn by the shouting, entering the room with a concerned expression.

"Yang wants me to cheat on my boyfriend!" Ruby yells, arms crossed and clearly angry.

Summer, shocked by what she just heard, widens her eyes in disbelief. "YANG XIAO LONG, IS THAT TRUE?!" she shouts, glaring at Yang.

"That's not exactly what I said..." Yang murmurs, looking down, trying to avoid eye contact with her mother.

"Yang, why are you putting those thoughts in your sister's head? I didn't raise you to have those values!" Summer is visibly upset, her tone firm and authoritative, each word heavy with disappointment.

"I'm not saying she should cheat!" Yang defends herself, raising her hands in an attempt to calm the situation. "I'm just saying she might not know what he's really like. What if he's secretly a criminal? You really don't know him, Ruby!"

"I know him well enough!" Ruby shouts, confidence in her voice.

"Oh, really? And what do you know about him?" Yang asks, crossing her arms and looking at her sister skeptically.

"He likes cookies, capes, weapons, comics, and hunters," Ruby says, raising a finger for each thing as she lists them. Yang raises an eyebrow, doubtful.

"Doesn't it seem a little weird that he likes exactly the same things you do?"

"Maybe we're soulmates," Ruby responds, smiling defiantly.

"Or maybe he's a psychopath who keeps ice cream next to his victims' eyes," Yang throws out sarcastically.

"Now you're just being ridiculous!" Ruby stands up from the table, turning to go to her room. Just as she is about to leave, a familiar sound interrupts the moment. Her scroll vibrates with the unmistakable tone of a message.

Curious, Ruby pulls out her scroll and unlocks it, seeing that it's a message from Daniel. She opens it, and to her surprise, it's a photo. She didn't expect something like this. Daniel appears with a sweaty shirt, showing more than she anticipated. How bold... Ruby thinks, her face turning a deep shade of red, feeling a mix of nerves and... something else.

Before she can process what she's seeing, her mother appears behind her. Silent as a cat, she slides in to look over Ruby's shoulder.

"Ohhh~! Ruby, I didn't know you two were in that kind of relationship~," her mother says in a clearly mocking tone. "Now you're sending racy photos? My daughter, a real heartbreaker."

Ruby, completely embarrassed, tries to hide the scroll immediately. "DON'T LOOK!" she screams as she rushes to her room. "THIS IS PRIVATE!" she shouts again, slamming the door behind her, her face completely flushed.

Ruby's mother just chuckles a bit, enjoying the show, while Yang watches the whole scene with a whirlwind of thoughts in her head. Ever since she slept with Daniel, she feels uncomfortable looking her sister in the face. The first time was practically an accident; Yang wasn't in her right mind. But the second time... she has no idea why she did it, and she doesn't understand why Daniel didn't refuse. Since that day, Yang's guilt has skyrocketed.

Yang thought about introducing Ruby to another guy. "If I help her get someone else, maybe I won't be such a bad person," those were the thoughts that tormented her. However, after seeing how determined Ruby was to continue her relationship, she wondered if she was really doing the right thing. Maybe she shouldn't interfere in Ruby's life more than she already had. "Maybe I should just let things happen between them and forget what I did." Yang shrinks in her seat, feeling smaller under the weight of her actions.

As she sinks into her confusion, Yang receives a message. Without checking who it's from, she opens the scroll and, instantly, her heart stops. It's a photo of Daniel, shirtless. The surprise catches in her throat with the drink she was sipping. "Cough, cough, cough," she sounds as she struggles to swallow and close the scroll.

Unfortunately, her mother catches a glimpse of the image before Yang has a chance to hide it.

"YANG XIAO LONG! What kind of guy is sending you nudes? We need to talk about the direction your life is taking!"

Without thinking twice, Yang runs to her room. "YANG! Don't leave your mother talking to herself!" her mother shouts, but Yang ignores everything and locks herself in her room.

Once inside, she opens the message again, staring at the photo in disbelief. What the hell...? At that moment, another message comes in, saying it's for Ruby and to delete it. It can't be, Yang thinks, clearly frustrated. "He obviously did it on purpose." With a gesture of frustration, Yang throws the scroll onto the bed, questioning what kind of situation she has just gotten into.

Author's note: I would like to rewrite the first chapters. When I said it was the first thing I ever wrote, I wasn't lying, and it shows... it still shows, although now a little less. However, I want to redo them, but I don't want to lose all those commen

Author's Note 2: The protagonist should have an alter ego for when he has to sell the blueprints; a different appearance and new roles. I mean, I already have planned for him to have another identity, I won't say for what, but that is necessary. Ah, what the hell! Here's a spoiler image, but I won't say what it's for. Guess!