Izumi
[Ding!
Consuming 100 Justice Points, drawn item: [Digestion Pills] x10.]
[Ding!
Consuming 100 Justice Points, drawn: Free Attribute Points x2.]
[Ding!
Consuming 100 Justice Points, drawn item: [Premium Canned Beef] x5.]
[Ding!
Consuming 100 Justice Points, drawn item: [Instant Cold Relief] x3.]
[Ding!
Consuming 100 Justice Points, drawn: Justice Points x50.]
[Ding!
Consuming 100 Justice Points, drawn item: [Healing Band-Aids] x20.]
[Ding!
Consuming 100 Justice Points, drawn item: [Fragrant Wok] x1.]
After the seven consecutive draws, Minoru’s lips twitched violently.
Aside from two attribute points and a cash-back of 50 Justice Points, the rest were completely trivial lifestyle items.
“Wow, the ceiling for this Standard Draw is incredibly low.”
Minoru massaged his temples, somewhat speechless.
But on second thought, it made sense; the probabilities were what they were.
Getting something as good as the muscle memory on the very first single draw was already a flying start.
“Whatever, count your blessings,” Minoru comforted himself.
He first allocated the two attribute points into his Physique.
[Current Physique: 22.]
Next, he retrieved [Fitness Master’s Muscle Memory] from the system inventory, crushing it to activate the item.
In an instant, a massive tidal wave of combat techniques and athletic experience flooded into his mind.
Boxing, Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Capoeira…
all kinds of moves and power-delivery techniques felt as if he had practiced them thousands of times, deeply engraved into his very bones.
Closing his eyes, Minoru unconsciously threw out a fluid combination of punches.
Each strike was lightning-fast, carrying a sharp cracking sound as it tore through the air.
“Whoa, this is actually pretty fierce.”
Minoru opened his eyes.
Ever since he was a kid, Minoru had always admired the action sequences and choreography of the Riders fighting in Kamen Rider.
Unfortunately, after growing up, he had always suffered from having nowhere to actually learn martial arts.
Acquiring this skill now perfectly fulfilled his childhood wish!
After finishing his stance, Minoru felt his stomach rumble.
“Perfect timing.
Let’s try out this Fragrant Wok and the Premium Canned Beef.”
Minoru walked into the kitchen and found that the system had thoughtfully stocked the refrigerator with ingredients as well.
Although he wasn’t much of a chef and only knew how to make basic home-cooked meals, once he used the [Fragrant Wok].
Even completely ordinary ingredients could produce a nose-twitching fragrance.
Even though he was a bit rusty and failed to manage the heat perfectly—charring the meat slightly—the wok’s enhancement transformed it into a delightful, savory crispness.
Very quickly, a plate of aromatic stir-fried beef was ready.
smells amazing.”
Minoru carried the plate over, just about to dig in.
*Thud, thud, thud!*
A rapid and panicked pounding on a door suddenly drifted over from next door.
Right after that came a female voice laced with tears and terror.
“Pl-please stop coming here!
I really don’t know you!”
“I beg you, please just leave!”
Minoru frowned.
Next door?
Relying on the superhuman hearing brought by his Physique stat of 22, he instantly determined that the sound was coming from the house right adjacent to his.
That woman’s voice was filled with utter helplessness and dread.
And outside of that female voice, there was also a deep male voice mixed in, muttering something in a language Minoru couldn’t understand.
Even though the system didn’t trigger an alarm, Minoru still set his chopsticks down.
“Is there trouble?”
He strode out the front door, following the sound to the house next door.
Outside the entrance of the neighboring house, a tall Black man was blocking the doorway.
The man looked like a street thug, wearing only a plain white T-shirt.
His features were blurred and indistinct in the gathering twilight, a silhouette wrapped in darkness.
Coupled with the white T-shirt on his upper body, the contrasting glare made it even harder to see his face clearly.
The man kept one hand braced against the doorframe while the other hand was attempting to forcefully pull open the security door.
He was speaking in heavily accented, broken Japanese: “Hey, beautiful lady, don’t be so cold.
I just want to go in and have a glass of water…”
On the other side of the door crack, holding the security door shut with everything she had, was a young woman with long silver hair and delicate, beautiful features, though her face was deathly pale from terror.
Ms.
Izumi was currently filled with despair and helplessness.
She knew the security chain wouldn’t hold for long, and it was entirely her fault for being too careless, opening the door the moment she heard someone knock.
And now she was dragging Sagiri into this…
Ms.
Izumi glanced at the terrified silver-haired little girl, straining her body against the door panel as tears of anxiety welled in her eyes.
Sagiri was an orphan she had adopted after her older sister passed away.
She didn’t care much about what happened to herself, but if Sagiri also fell victim to this brute, she really wouldn’t know how to face her late sister!
As for the foreigner’s claim about wanting a glass of water, she wouldn’t believe a single word of it!
Right then.
“Hey, you.”
A calm voice rang out from behind the man.
“Didn’t you hear her tell you to beat it?
If you want water, go drink from a park fountain!”
The man froze, turning around to glare at Minoru.
The man cursed, thrusting his hand out immediately in an attempt to shove Minoru aside.
However, the instant his hand was about to make contact with Minoru’s shoulder.
Minoru moved.
His body merely tilted slightly sideways, effortlessly evading the shove.
Immediately after, he shot his right hand out like lightning, locking down hard on the man’s thick wrist!
“Hmm?!”
Minoru’s brow knitted imperceptibly.
The moment they made contact, he instantly detected something wrong.
This man’s wrist was so hard it barely felt human!
Furthermore, the counter-force resisting him was astonishingly massive!
If he hadn’t just acquired the power-delivery methods of a combat master, he might have actually let the guy wrench himself free!
*This guy…
isn’t a normal human!* Minoru’s internal alarms blared.
Meanwhile, a flash of astonishment also crossed the man’s eyes.
He clearly hadn’t expected this seemingly thin high schooler to possess strength capable of rivaling his own!
Deep within the man’s pupils, a bizarre, grayish-white light faintly flickered.
But the light vanished in a flash.
He quietly stared at Minoru for a moment, seemingly assessing the situation.
He had only come out tonight to hunt for some fun and pleasure; he didn’t want to expose his identity as an Orphnoch at this time and draw unwanted attention.
“Tch…
what a buzzkill.”
Taking advantage of the moment Minoru was momentarily distracted, the man violently snapped his hand back.
“We’ll see about this.”
The man spat out, then patted the wrinkles on his T-shirt before turning around and blending into the nighttime darkness of the street, vanishing from sight very quickly.
Watching the receding back of the departing figure, Minoru’s gaze gradually turned icy.
White eyes?
Was that…
an Orphnoch?
Or an Angel from Agito?
Minoru leaned heavily toward the former.
“Um…”
Only after confirming that it was safe outside did Ms.
Izumi behind the door finally let out a long breath.
Her legs went soft, and she nearly slumped to the floor.
She cautiously pulled the security door open a bit further, leaning half her body out to look at Minoru with a face full of gratitude and lingering fear.
“Thank you…
thank you so much!
If it weren’t for you, I…
I wouldn’t have known what to do.”
Aided by the entryway light, Minoru finally got a clear look at his neighbor.
She was wearing casual, light-colored knitwear, and her long silver hair was slightly disheveled.
With traces of unshed tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, her thoroughly pitiable appearance was indeed highly likely to provoke a scumbag’s destructive desires.