A young man reincarnated into reality quest world. The lookism world is integrated.
The world was quiet. Too quiet.
Kang Chan eyes fluttered open, only to be greeted by a vast expanse of stars twinkling in the infinite void. He was lying on something, or perhaps nothing at all. The sensation of weightlessness overtook him, and he simply stared upward, emotionless.
"So, this is how it ends." He thought. Not a question, not regret, just a simple observation. There was no pain, no fear, just an empty calm. He tried to recall how he got here, but his memories blurred together, fragments of a mundane high school life, sitting in class, walking home, the occasional monotony broken by whispers of gossip or meaningless arguments. And yet, something felt missing. Something important.
"Kang Chan."
The voice was deep and resonant, snapping him out of his daze. He sat up slowly, his dark eyes narrowing as he scanned his surroundings. A figure emerged from the void, cloaked in a flowing mantle of stars. Their face was obscured, save for a pair of radiant golden eyes that seemed to pierce through his very being.
"You've died." The figure stated plainly, as if reading a line from a script.
Kang Chan remained silent, his gaze unwavering. He neither confirmed nor denied the statement. If this was death, it wasn't much different from life, quiet and detached.
The figure's lips curved into a faint smile, though it felt more like a formality than genuine emotion. "Not one for words, I see. No matter. Allow me to explain." Gesturing to the stars, and the void around them rippled like water, forming scenes of a bustling city. Streets teeming with people, students clad in school uniforms, and shadowy figures lurking in dark alleyways.
"What you see here is a world where strength determines everything." The figure continued. "Where ambition drives the strong to rise and the weak to fall. But it is also a world of opportunity, of second chances."
Kang Chan's expression didn't change, but he watched the scenes unfold with quiet interest. He recognized the chaotic energy of a school environment, though it felt amplified here, fights breaking out in the hallways, alliances forming and crumbling in the blink of an eye. It was a world he didn't fully understand but could see the allure of.
"I am offering you a choice." The figure said. "Reincarnate in this world, a mix of two realms you are familiar with, known as Reality Quest and Lookism. With it, I will grant you a system, a guide of sorts. It will provide tasks, rewards, and tools to help you thrive and survive."
"Why me?" Kang Chan finally spoke, his voice low and monotone. He wasn't curious, just practical. Though, he knew the two worlds that were mentioned, but it wasn't something that could get a reaction out of him.
"Because you are… different." The figure replied. "Detached. Apathetic. In a world driven by emotions and ambition, you are an anomaly. That makes you… intriguing."
Kang Chan considered this, his face unreadable. The offer was tempting, not because he sought power or redemption, but because it was something to do. Existence without purpose was dull, and if this could provide some semblance of direction, so be it.
"Fine." He said simply.
The figure chuckled. "Good. Then let us begin." Waving their hand, and a translucent interface appeared before Kang Chan, glowing faintly in the dark.
[Welcome, Kang Chan. System Initialization: 0%]
"From here on, your life will no longer be ordinary. Rise, Kang Chan, and step into your new reality. Become the catalyst that shakes this world to its core."
The stars around them began to swirl, forming a vortex of light that pulled Knag Chan forward. As his body dissolved into the brightness, his expression remained unchanged, his mind already calculating his next move. This was no grand rebirth for him, just another chapter in an otherwise uneventful existence.
And yet, as the light consumed him, one thought lingered in his mind:
'This time, I'll do what needs to be done. Nothing more, nothing less.'
[System Initialization: 100%]
[System Activated]
The mechanical sound of the system echoed.
Kang Chan, who heard it, felt himself return to his body. He opened his eyes only to find himself inside a classroom, seemingly seated at the back seat.
The classroom was empty, but a strange scene was unfolding in front of him. A student ahead was seated, a bunch of gaming stands holding up phones in front of him as he fiddled with each one at blurring speed.
"That must be Dowan Ha." Kang Chan thought, looking at the student he recognized. It seemed he was going to attend the same school as Dowan, the original protagonist of the Reality Quest world.
He concluded that this should be the start of the timeline in both Reality Quest and Lookism. Right now, this world's strength level should align with the Lookism verse if he wasn't mistaken. Not just that, but there should also be, perhaps, relations between characters from both Lookism and Reality Quest.
"Well, I don't have to waste my energy thinking about those things." Kang Chan thought as he stretched out in his seat. There was no point in overthinking. Whatever connections exist between the two stories, he'll deal with them later, he'd just wait and see how the future plays out. For now, he needed to check something.
"System, you there?" Kang Chan muttered.
[Yes, Host.]
"Show me my stats," he continued.
==========
(Level 1: Kang Chan)
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 5
Luck: 5
Thresholds: None
=============
Points Available: 10
=============
"This low, huh?" Kang Chan thought, looking at his stats, which seemed to be lower than he expected. "It shouldn't be strange, though." He muttered, assessing his physique.
One could say, from his physique alone, that even the wind could blow him away.
He was skinny, with no muscles at all, probably weighing around 50 kg or less. Still, it wasn't a big problem. He just needed to train and eat to gain some mass.
There was one particular thing that caught his attention.
"Thresholds." Kang Chan noted as he looked at the familiar term. That was a concept used in Lookism.
In the Lookism verse, there were four key elements in the fighting system, speed, strength, toughness, and technique thresholds. These weren't easy to achieve. One had to possess an enormous amount of willpower, enabling them to endure immense physical exercises or battles to break through levels and attain them.
The levels being....
First, the Stage, where you need to exceed your limits and enter the Path to Mastery, after you enter the path to mastery, as the name suggests, you need to carve your path to reach Mastery, and when you reach Mastery and hit it's limit, you need to transcend that limit to achieve the Threshold Mastery, which is True Mastery.
How strong the thresholds were depended entirely on the individual. Beyond True Mastery, it was uncertain if anything existed.
"Looks like I'll have to put some effort into attaining Threshold Mastery." Kang Chan thought.
"Dowan Ha, you fucker."
A loud shout echoed through the empty classroom, drawing Kang Chan's attention to the front, where he saw someone slam Dowan's face onto the table.
"This must be Chulwoo Min." Kang Chan thought, eyeing the figure with silver hair and eyes, wearing a white dress shirt with its front open, and pants.
This guy was someone who made Dowan a gaming shuttle.
"Oh, wait a minute." Kang Chan frowned, considering something. Ignoring what was happening in the front, he reached into his right pocket, grabbed his phone, and brought it in front of his face, opening the selfie camera.
"So this is what I look like." He thought, staring at himself. His appearance wasn't the same as his previous life. It now looked more unnerving, if he could describe it.
Suddenly, his attention was drawn again to the front as a loud movement sounded.
He looked ahead to see Chulwoo Min punching and kicking Dowan, pushing him to the front of the class.
"Boring." Kang Chan thought, resting his head on his palm while watching the scene and stifling a yawn. Bullying wasn't uncommon in his previous life. It was always the same: someone picking on another who wouldn't fight back.
'Why couldn't he just go for the kill?' Kang Chan thought, looking at Chulwoo's back.
"Or maybe not." He reevaluated. That could get him arrested, so probably not the best idea.
"Maybe crippling him would be better." Kang Chan thought in a daze. Bullies were people who messed with the right ones until they crossed paths with the wrong ones. That was when their luck ended.
"Dowan, I'll just take my phone bac-"
The door to the classroom slid open as a girl with long black hair wrapped in a ponytail, blue eyes, and a short skirt school uniform entered, only to freeze in her tracks upon seeing Dowan, who was bruised up.
"Ahrin?" Dowan looked at the girl with a stunned expression. "Why did she come back…"
Dowan didn't finish his thoughts as a punch slammed into his face, hurling him back onto the floor and crashing into the teacher's desk, knocking it down.
"Dowan!" Ahrin shouted, seeing Dowan hit like that.
"Don't play weak and stand up, you fucker." Chulwoo said as he grabbed Dowan by his tie, punching him repeatedly.
"Hey, Chulwoo Min!" Ahrin called as she approached. "What are you doing? Stop!" she continued. Seeing Chulwoo ignoring her, she went further, grabbing his wrist. "I said stop."
"Ah, fuck, you're hella squeaky in my ears." Chulwoo said, letting Dowan go, causing him to slump back onto the ground.
"You bitch." Chulwoo turned his attention to Ahrin, grabbing her by the hair and making her groan in pain. "Have you gone crazy because boys flatter you, saying you're pretty?"
'Ahrin Joo.' Kang Chan thought, looking at the scene apathetically. He observed the girl being grabbed by the hair. It was to be expected. This girl was… peculiar, to say the least. Kindness, and innocence of a child, a funny combination.
"It's time to leave." Kang Chan thought, deciding not to dwell further on the girl. He was about to stand when something popped up in front of him.
[Task Initiated]
[Defeat the class monster, Chulwoo Min]
[Time limit: 5 minutes]
[Complete the task and receive a reward. Fail the task and receive no reward.]
"A task, huh?" Kang Chan thought, looking at the sudden system prompt. The penalty didn't seem like much, so he could just leave. However, his curiosity about what the system could offer left him with no choice.
"Ugh… Let go! I'll call the teacher!" Ahrin said, wincing in pain as Chulwoo pulled her hair.
"Stop squeaking, you bitch." Chulwoo retorted, raising his free hand to slap Ahrin. But before he could…
"Put that hand of yours down, idiot."
A voice halted everyone, including Dowan, who was about to act.
They all turned toward the back of the classroom, where the voice had come from, and saw someone walking toward them.
The person wasn't very tall, around 170 cm. He was extremely skinny, with his school uniform looking baggy on him. However, what drew the most attention was his face. There was nothing too unusual about it, medium-length black hair that fell in front of his eyes but left just enough gap to see them. And his eyes weren't ordinary. They were completely pitch black, with both the pupils and irises blending into what looked like a black hole, one that seemed to pull you into an abyss. Ahrin and Dowan flinched for some reason as they looked into them.
"Huh?" Chulwoo, on the other hand, was just surprised.
"Who the fuck are you?" His surprise quickly turned to anger as he glared at the person walking toward them, stopping at a distance. "You twig, do you have a problem with me?" Chulwoo said as he let go of Ahrin's hair. She sighed in relief, quickly looking back at the figure now standing in front of them.
'Who is he?' Ahrin thought. She could tell he was a student from this class, but she couldn't recall seeing him here or anywhere in the school. Now, she was worried about what Chulwoo might do to him. She needed to act.
'That guy?' Dowan thought differently. He seemed to recognize him, albeit faintly, and only by accident. Because of that, he knew this person was in their class, though he didn't know his name. 'But what is he doing?' He wondered as he noticed something odd. The person had his left hand tucked in his pocket while holding a thick book in his right, a dictionary of some sort. Dowan questioned if this guy was insane. After all, his frail appearance made it look like a gust of wind could blow him away.
"It's Kang Chan." He introduced himself, tilting his head slightly upward to meet Chulwoo's furious gaze. "Laying a hand on a woman..." He continued calmly. "How much of a bitch can you get?"
Silence filled the room as Kang Chan's words hit everyone's ears.
'He's crazy!' Dowan was stunned. He never imagined anyone would step up to Chulwoo, let alone say something like that. It was a first.
Even Ahrin was taken aback. She hadn't expected such words from the person named Kang Chan, and it only made her worry more about the situation escalating. She prepared herself, if Chulwoo attacked Kang Chan, she would immediately run for a teacher.
"You fucking bitch." Chulwoo growled through gritted teeth, veins bulging on his face. First Dowan had disrespected him with that glare, and now this twig, who looked like a sneeze could blow him away, dared to mouth off.
"I'll fucking kill you!" Chulwoo roared, his rage completely blinding him. He had to teach this guy a lesson he'd never forget.
Following his outburst, Chulwoo dashed at Kang Chan. Kang Chan's face remained expressionless. As Chulwoo neared, he pulled back his fist, ready to strike Kang Chan in the face.
"Idiot." Kang Chan muttered as he simply swiped his right leg at Chulwoo's that was the one that was abou to touch the ground, disrupting his balance.
"Huh?" Chulwoo felt himself tipping forward. "YOU-" he started to yell, but Kang Chan cut him off by slamming the edge of the book he was holding upward, meeting the falling Chulwoo, smashing it into his face. The blow sent Chulwoo slightly tilted back, making him groan in pain as blood trickled from his mouth and nose.
But it didn't stop there. Kang Chan followed up swiftly. Twisting his body to the right, he planted his left leg forward, completing the motion by slamming the book into Chulwoo's face once more, this time driving him into the ground.
'What?' Dowan stood wide-eyed, unable to process what had just happened. He had expected Chulwoo to destroy Kang Chan, but the opposite had happened. Kang Chan had overpowered him decisively, using nothing but a book. The image of Kang Chan slamming the book into Chulwoo's face replayed in his mind.
Ahrin, too, was in shock. She had been ready to call for help, but it seemed unnecessary. She stared at Kang Chan in a daze. His frail appearance made him seem incapable of such a feat. For some reason, she felt pity for him, maybe because of his frail appearance.
Kang Chan didn't stop here. He moved again, standing over Chulwoo's bloodied face before crouching down and sitting on top of him.
"Let me ask you something. Kang Chan said, looking at Chulwoo, who groaned on the floor.
"Y-you bastard." Chulwoo growled through gritted teeth, trying to move.
"What's 1000 minus 7?" Kang Chan asked, raising the book so its hard edge faced downward.
"Wha-" Chulwoo started, but he didn't get to finish. Kang Chan slammed the book into his face, making him groan in pain as teeth and blood flew out.
"What's 1000 minus 7?" Kang Chan asked again, lifting the book once more.
"You-" Chulwoo tried to reply, but Kang Chan drove the book back into his face, muffling his words with another strike.
"What's 1000 minus 7?" Kang Chan asked once more, his expression unchanged.
"Sto-" Chulwoo tried again, but Kang Chan cut him off, the book's edge smashing into his face yet again. Chulwoo's nose was completely shattered now, his face bruised and swollen.
The classroom was silent except for the sound of blows landing. Ahrin and Dowan stood frozen, unable to act as Kang Chan continued to beat Chulwoo. The question confused them, but the ruthlessness of the scene left them even more stunned. Dowan was drenched in cold sweat, and Ahrin covered her mouth with her hand, watching Kang Chan mercilessly strike Chulwoo.
"Pweheese..."
"sswoowy..."
Muffled cries finally came from Chulwoo, whose face was now a swollen, bloodied mess. Tears streamed from his eyes, that was filled with fear.
"Wrong answer." Kang Chan said, ignoring the pleas as he struck one last time, rendering Chulwoo unconscious.
'That seems to be the end of it.' Kang Chan thought, looking at Chulwoo's limp form.
"Phew." He exhaled heavily, wiping the sweat off his face with his forearm's sleeve. His stamina was almost drained, if he continued, he might pass out.
[Congratulations for completing the task]
[Defeat the class monster Chulwoo Min.]
[Reward: 1 bronze key, 10 points]
Kang Chan glanced at the sudden message that appeared before him but dismissed it almost immediately.
He stood up, but not before wiping the fresh blood off the book onto Chulwoo's blazer.
"Problem solved. No need to thank me." Kang Chan said, looking at Ahrin and briefly glancing at Dowan, both of whom stood frozen.
Without wasting a second, he returned to his seat, placed the book back into his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out of the classroom. He left Ahrin and Dowan standing there, lost in their thoughts.
"That was tiring." Kang Chan muttered as he walked down the school hallway. He hadn't intended to stay at school and decided to call it a day.
"Stats."
==========
(Level 1: Kang Chan)
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 15
Luck: 5
Thresholds: None
==========
Points Available: 10
==========
He had previously used his 10 free points at the start on his intelligence trait. After all, defeating Chulwoo had been because of it.
How?
Well, he was smart enough not to engage Chulwoo physically. Even if he had used the first ten points on strength, speed, or endurance, it wouldn't have been enough to beat Chulwoo Min. He knew that.
On top of that, he didn't know how to fight. Sure, he could manage a basic punch, but even if he landed one, it wouldn't damage Chulwoo. Worse, his wrist would probably break.
So, he had chosen one style, the Gray Yeon style.
(From weak hero.)
Playing it smart and strategic was the way to go. By adding those points to intelligence, he felt he could think faster and visualize better, predicting his opponent's moves.
All he had to do was provoke Chulwoo with words, driving him into a rage. Once Chulwoo charged blindly, Kang Chan exploited the opening by putting him off balance.
In the end, he didn't lose anything. His strength, speed, and endurance could be trained.
"I just want to have a good sleep." Kang Chan thought as he made his way out of the school gates. He couldn't wait to get home and slump onto his bed.