Chapter 17

After marking the register, Ms. Bissette began the lesson. Since they had her period today, she wanted to review their homework. Fortunately for Travis, he wasn't included, being new to the class. As she made her way to the front, he sat back, watching as she moved across the board, her hips swaying slightly with each step as she wrote out the day's lesson.

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Discreetly, he pulled it out and noticed a new message from Mia, along with three others from last night.

"Damn, I got so caught up with my computer that I completely forgot about her," he thought, a pang of guilt hitting him. "I should text back quickly before she thinks I'm ignoring her."

**[Yesterday]**

Mia: Hi Travis, it's Mia.

Mia: Have you done the homework?

**[Today]**

Mia: Heyyy Travis

**Me:** Yo, what's up?

Seeing his response, Mia couldn't help but smile. She raised her head and glanced at him, noticing he was focused on his phone. Assuming he was waiting for her reply, she typed back almost instantly.

Mia: I'm great. How are you?

**Me:** Alright, so you up for studying today?

Mia: Yes, I'm so excited! By the way, I've been thinking about the location. Why not just do it in my room?

**Me:** Let's do that when I achieve sneak 100.

Mia: 🤣 Is that even possible?

"Wow, she understood the joke. Then again, she did have some freedom before, so she might have played games back then," he thought, impressed.

**Me:** Well, I don't know. Okay, let's do this: we'll study in the library this week just to get closer, then next week I'll try sneaking into your room.

Mia: That's alright. By the way, are you and Eve friends or something else? 😏

"You can't hide behind that emoji," he thought, sensing the hint of jealousy.

**Me:** Why? Are you jealous? 🤔

Mia: Absolutely not! Remember, I'm not allowed to date, so even if I did like you, I wouldn't be able to be with you.

"Wow," he thought, surprised by her admission.

Mia reread what she had just sent, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She considered deleting the message but paused when she saw his reply.

**Me:** Why don't we just keep it a secret? I mean, who is your mom to stop our love for each other?

"Wow, I'm such a manipulator."

One of the ways to make a girl obsessed with you is to use the Romeo and Juliet technique. The reason these two loved each other so fiercely was that they were doing something forbidden—loving each other—due to the feud between their families. Now, Travis was trying to employ this strategy to ignite a sense of forbidden love with Mia, knowing her mother was against her seeing any guy except her father. This approach could turn Mia into a Yandere, willing to do anything to be with him.

"What? He likes me? No, he must be joking, right?" she thought in disbelief.

She read the text again and again. Since Travis wasn't deleting it, she assumed he was actually being serious. Yet, still a bit skeptical, she decided to ask.

Mia: Are you serious?

Travis smirked as he read her text, suppressing the urge to laugh like Light Yagami at that moment. He thought carefully about his response before typing it out.

**Me:** Let's talk later. I have something important to tell you.

And just like that, Travis had placed himself firmly in her mind. One effective way to make someone think about you is to leave them in anticipation. Humans hate cliffhangers—like finishing a series that ends without closure, leaving you with a scene that haunts you and prompts you to write a bad review. The frustration sticks with you, weighing on your subconscious. Travis had left Mia hanging on a cliff, and she would only get her answer when they met in the library tonight. Was he smart or what?

**[A/N: I genuinely still wonder why all this knowledge comes to mind when I'm writing a fanfic]**

Mia read the text and was instantly put on pause, her mind racing with thoughts about what Travis might want to say to her. She answered some of her questions internally, but none of her own answers satisfied her. She wanted Travis to explain everything, but all she could do was wait.

Travis leaned back in his chair, staring at the sky outside. He felt unstoppable at that moment—well, unless someone put a gun to his head. He realized he needed to think of a way to address that potential problem; he had to come up with something, or he would lose his mind.

Suddenly, he heard a beep in his head.

**[You have received the "Saitama Template System"]**

Hearing that, Travis smiled.

"Well, it's about damn time. I've been waiting, Author!"

[A/N: I'll deal with you later! First, I have to stop the Ten Tails. Man, I miss Naruto; it's sad that Boruto ruined its legacy. Like, fym mommy Tsunade has no knockers anymore. Maybe I should write a fan fiction about that.]

"Explain how it works, please," he asked, his curiosity piqued.

『In order to get stronger, you need to push your body beyond its limits—exercise like there's no tomorrow until you can't even feel your limbs anymore.』

"That sounds pretty easy. So, will I get as strong as him? I mean, I have no plans on destroying the whole town with a single punch," he said, half-joking but still a little concerned.

『No, we'll set a limit. You'll simply surpass human limitations—but not by too much. You'll be able to survive almost anything, except nuclear power. That's your only boundary.』

"Damn," he muttered, thinking about how extreme that sounded. "Well, that's honestly more than enough. Also, can I change my physique? I'm not trying to stay this flimsy forever," he asked, glancing down at his frame.

『You can choose how you want your physique to be.

List of characters:

1. Goku.』

"Yep, I choose Goku. No one else is better than him anyway," he said, his voice firm, without a second thought.

[Right… well, goodbye. You'll have a small percentage for now, just enough to adapt to the body.]

Suddenly, Travis felt his muscles begin to bulge uncontrollably. His eyes blurred as tears threatened to fall. Panic surged through him—he had no idea what was happening, and his body was completely out of his control. Everything was going haywire. Trying to hide his distress, Travis laid his head down on the table, not wanting anyone to see him like this.

Moments later, the boiling sensation surged through his veins, the pain unbearable. He silently wished for it to end, but there was no way out. After what felt like an eternity, the storm inside him finally began to subside.

"Fuck! I almost died," he thought, his mind still reeling from the intensity.

The bell rang, snapping him back to reality. Grabbing his bag, he stood up, noticing how light his body felt. It was as if he could sprint to the door in the blink of an eye.

"I'm going to enjoy this."