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[Goals]
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| Next day's morning… |
…
"Damn."
Takahashi sighed as he stepped out of the barbershop, running a hand through his newly trimmed hair. It wasn't anything drastic, just a neater cut—less of a jungle than before.
He never really cared about his hair, but apparently, the system did. So here he was, looking slightly more presentable.
"At least I can finally see in front of me," he muttered, a wry smile forming on his face. Then, his gaze shifted to the bag in his left hand.
Inside, a variety of skincare and hygiene products lay neatly packed.
A single tear rolled down his cheek as his expression twisted in despair.
"Goddamn it… all my savings, gone just like that."
He quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, suppressing the overwhelming sorrow of his financial loss.
"Never mind that. It's an investment, Takahashi. It'll be worth it… I think."
With that feeble attempt at self-comfort, he shook his head and resumed his walk home.
The trip didn't take long. The mall wasn't too far from his place, just a few minutes away.
As soon as he stepped inside, he kicked off his shoes carelessly, and while he did that, his eyes scanned the entrance, noticing something.
"Home alone again, huh?"
Rolling his eyes, he carried the shopping bag to the bathroom and started unloading the products one by one.
Before long, the sink counter was cluttered with dozens of bottles, tubes, and containers—most of which he had no idea how to use.
"Alright… system, how the heck do I even use all this?"
<[-1 Aura]>
"Wha—why?!"
"What are you, my mo—ugh, forget it."
Clicking his tongue, Takahashi picked up one of the bottles and turned it around, scanning the label for instructions.
It didn't take long to find them, so he followed along, applying the products one after another.
…
As he did that, a brief silence hung in the air.
Takahashi squinted at his reflection in the mirror, suddenly aware of how he looked.
"I feel kinda girly, system."
"The heck?! I'm just following the instructions!"
"…Goddamn it."
Takahashi resisted the urge to drop to his knees and contemplate his life choices.
"All this just for a damn mission… What does the 'Clean' skill even do?! I swear, if I'm doing this for nothing—"
"Ah, whatever."
He clicked his tongue in frustration. Then, staring at the remaining products with growing resentment, he resumed applying them—though this time, with much less finesse.
Rather than carefully dabbing and rubbing them in, he practically smacked the creams onto his face.
At least that made him feel a little better.
…
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| The next day, at school… |
…
Takahashi sat at his desk, staring bleakly at his teacher as he entered the classroom. His shoulders slumped, and his expression tired.
'Taking care of one's skin is exhausting… And I'm supposed to do this for a whole week? Ugh, I hate this. Should I just give up on the mission?'
As if responding to his thoughts, the system's mission panel popped open.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[Change that horrible appearance of yours and make yourself presentable for your next day of school!]
Conditions for completion:
▸Learn proper hygiene and skincare techniques.✔
▸Style your hair appropriately.✔
▸Present your improved self to your classmates.✔
▸Maintain this lifestyle for at least one week.
Reward: +100 Aura | Gain the skill [Clean]
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
'I could get 100 Aura points, though…' Takahashi grimaced. 'That's basically tripling my strength if I put it all into that stat, or doubling my defense in the other case…'
-Thud-
Realizing the reward far outweighed the suffering, he sighed heavily before slamming his head onto his desk. He'd just have to endure this torture for the next week.
While Takahashi—or rather, Taka for short—continued sulking, the teacher finally made it to his podium, his expression serious.
"I've already reviewed your printouts regarding your desired career paths… and I have to say, it's about time you all started taking this seriously."
The class immediately fell silent.
The teacher's gaze swept over the students like a hawk, his expression stern—until, suddenly, a goofy grin spread across his face.
"Come on, kids. You all want to be heroes? Are you crazy?"
Laughter erupted throughout the room. Some students excitedly activated their Quirks, showing off as if proving their potential.
In an instant, the serious atmosphere had shifted into one of excitement.
At least, until the teacher's gaze landed on Taka, whose face was still glued to his desk.
"Well, everyone except Takahashi."
The teacher sighed before sending a scolding look his way.
"Hey, Takahashi! Snap out of it and write a serious answer!"
Taka barely lifted his head, just enough to respond while keeping his forehead pressed to the desk.
"What's wrong with my answer?"
The teacher snapped a finger at him. "What's wrong?! You wrote that your life goal is to win the lottery and make love to thousands of women!"
Taka raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"You know what's wrong! Write a proper career goal, or I'll inform your guardian."
Groaning, Taka reluctantly took the paper back.
'I was serious when I wrote this… Though I suppose I could choose something different now.'
Without hesitation, he scribbled something down and handed it back.
The teacher gave him a long, skeptical look. "You didn't even think about it for a second. Just what kind of nonsense did you write now?"
Still frowning, he glanced at the paper—and his eyebrows shot up.
"UA? You want to go to UA and become a hero?"
Taka didn't say a word. He simply leaned back in his chair, hands in his pockets, exuding an air of indifference.
Laughter erupted across the classroom.
"Hahahaha! Did you hear that? Takahashi actually wrote UA!"
"I know he's kind of a joke, but isn't that a bit much?!"
"For a Quirkless guy, he sure has a great sense of humo—"
-CRACK!-
A sharp sound echoed through the room.
A pen had shot across the classroom like a dart, embedding itself right into the center of the desk of the student who had been talking just now with unnatural precision.
The whole classroom froze.
Eyes widened in shock.
No one in class had a Quirk capable of something like that. Which meant…
Slowly, all heads turned toward Taka.
He was still sitting back in his chair, one hand in his pocket. However, the other one was pointing directly at the embedded pen, like a king commanding his subject. His gaze was cold, unreadable.
"Think again."
A heavy silence fell over the room at his words.
Taka allowed himself a small glance at the status page floating beside him.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 50
▸ Defense: 100→30
▸ Aura Projection: 0→70
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Total Aura: -11 (Currently in debt. Requires 11 points before new allocations can be made.)
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Skills: None
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
'Thank god that worked… I wasn't sure if I could control the Aura right away, but it seems like I'm a natural.'
Next, his eyes moved to the changes in his stats, ones he had caused himself.
'Since the system said I could move points between stats without them being permanent, I wondered if base stats were included in that too… Apparently, yes.'
Letting out a huff, he flicked his finger, and as if responding to his command, the pencil unembedded itself from the desk and flew back into his hand.
Taka stared at it for a second, lost in thought.
'So this is aura projection, huh? I can't physically feel anything changing, but with just a mental command, the aura envelops whatever I want and lets me control it with ease... It's almost like telekinesis.'
With that thought, he put the pen down and sighed.
'The stat is cool... but I should revert my stats to normal, I'm feeling weak as hell... Is this the side effect of taking points from my physical stats?'
Feeling like he would crumble onto his desk at any moment, but maintaining a tough front, Taka quickly ordered the system to revert his stats. In an instant, his body returned to peak condition—at least by his standards. He wasn't exactly an athlete, after all.
After shifting his stats back and losing all points on Aura Projection, his control over Aura disappeared, but at least he wouldn't be knocked over by a strong breeze anytime now.
'Phew…'
<[+20 Aura]>
A goofy grin almost broke through when he heard the notification, but he suppressed it before it could show. He had an image to maintain, after all.
'Good thing I was never a social guy. These idiots don't know me well enough to tell when I'm acting.' He snorted, closing his eyes for dramatic effect like some brooding anime protagonist. 'Perks of being ex-Quirkless, I guess.'
Since Taka had his eyes closed, he didn't notice the teacher walking toward him. It was only when a loud slam hit his desk that he snapped them open—slowly, as if he didn't care.
…Not that the sudden noise had startled him or anything.
"Takahashi, you have a Quirk?!" the teacher blurted out, echoing the question on everyone's mind.
"I awakened it yesterday," Taka replied nonchalantly. He paused for a second before adding, "Apparently, I was a late bloomer, not Quirkless."
"Hah…" The teacher ran a hand through his hair, clearly in disbelief. His gaze drifted down to Taka's career form.
"UA, huh? Well… good luck, I suppose."
Taka snorted, his eyes glinting with amusement. "I don't need luck."
Silence filled the classroom.
Taka almost raised an eyebrow, expecting to hear the sweet sound of another Aura gain notification.
But nothing came.
'Maybe that was a little too much. I should tone down the edge—just a bit.'
…
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-To be Continued…-
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(A/N: Second chapter, and Taka finally tries out his aura projection stat. I had quite a few ideas about this stat, but I ended up selecting the one that let him use it like telekinesis. Only, in this case, it's the aura around him that moves things around, not his cerebral power.
I may add more uses for this stat later, though. There's one in particular I'm excited to make Taka develop.)