The Next day~
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The next morning, Ryu found himself walking toward school once again, his pace considerably more relaxed than it had been during his first few days in this world.
His body was still recovering from the fight with Kisame, but the soreness had become much more manageable, allowing him to move without too much trouble…
He had barely made it through the school gates when he heard a familiar voice behind him: “Oi, Ryu!!!”
Ryu turned around, immediately spotting Hiroki approaching him with his usual group.
Hiroki’s eyes quickly went toward Ryu’s face before his expression changed slightly: “What’s wrong with your…?”
He paused, looking at Ryu’s lower chin before sighing: “Never mind.
I think I know what that’s from.”
Ryu’s expression twitched: “Piss off dude.
It’s because of you that I even got this injury to begin with!”
Hiroki raised a brow, clearly confused by that response: “How the hell is that my fault?”
“Because someone apparently spread a rumor that I’m on the same level as you.” Ryu sighed, explaining what had happened: “Someone challenged me because they thought that if they could beat me, they’d basically prove they could beat you too.
We made sure nobody was around when we fought, though.”
Hiroki’s expression became a little more serious as he listened, before eventually nodding: “Well…
the rumor isn’t exactly wrong.
I don’t know how you managed to do it, but you’re pretty much on my level now.”
Ryu shook his head: “Actually…
Not anymore.”
That immediately caught Hiroki’s attention: “Huh?
What do you mean by that?”
“…The guy I fought thought he could beat you if he beat me.
At least, that’s what I understood from what he implied.”
Ryu then rubbed his chin, remembering the fight: “So I fought him, and I’m telling you right now, that guy is ridiculously strong.
Fast as hell too.”
Hiroki’s expression slowly changed as Ryu continued: “I couldn’t land a single clean hit on him.
Not one.
And honestly, I don’t even think I saw everything he had.
He pretty much knocked me out before I could even realize what happened.”
‘Someone actually beat Ryu that badly?’ Hiroki thought, his interest growing.But not inherently for good reasons…
Ryu then continued: “But I did get something out of it.
I’m way better at fighting now, and I even figured out how to throw kicks.
They’re still pretty rough, though.”
He then shrugged: “The guy only used kicks the entire time, so I don’t even know what style he was using.
Didn’t matter much when I was getting my ass kicked.”
Hiroki couldn’t help but chuckle at that: “Sounds like you had fun.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Ryu sighed before looking directly at him: “Anyway, right now, I’m stronger than you.”
Hiroki’s smile disappeared…
“Physically.” Ryu quickly clarrifed: “At least, that’s how it feels.”
Hiroki stared at him for several seconds before scoffing: “I doubt it.”
“Then test it.” Ryu rebuted.
Hiroki then looked at Ryu’s still-healing body and immediately shook his head: “Not against someone who’s injured.”
Ryu frowned: “I’ll beat you even while injured.”
That clearly irritated Hiroki, his expression tightening as he looked at Ryu: “You’re really getting on my nerves, you know that?”
Ryu shrugged: “I’m just telling you what I think.”
Hiroki eventually sighed before holding out his arm: “Fine.
Arm wrestle me.”
Ryu blinked: “Seriously?”
“Unless you’re scared.” Hiroki shot back.
Ryu rolled his eyes at the obvious provocation, before sitting down with him.
For a moment, neither moved, both applying increasing pressure as they tested each other’s strength.
Then Ryu pushed.
Hiroki’s arm immediately slammed against the table.
…
The surrounding conversation stopped.
Ryu stared at their hands for a moment before looking back at Hiroki, who was staring at his own arm in disbelief.
“That was quick.” Ryu muttered.
Hiroki slowly looked up at him: “T-That’s ridiculous…!!!
How the hell did you manage to do this!?”
Ryu raised a brow: “Such is life brother…”
“How the hell did you get this strong?” Hiroki asked, clearly upset.
Ryu thought about it for a moment before answering honestly: “By fighting that guy.”
Hiroki remained silent;
‘So the difference between Ryu, and that guy might be massive too…’ Hiroki realized, his expression becoming increasingly complicated.
There was something deeply frustrating about it.
He’d spent years training to become stronger, yet this guy had somehow caught up to him in a matter of weeks.
Worse, Ryu had apparently fought someone even stronger than him and come out of it stronger again.
Hiroki clenched his fist: “I want to spar with you.”
Ryu immediately shook his head: “Give me a week.”
“What?”
“I just got injured.
I’m not fighting you, or anyone until I’m properly recovered.” Ryu then stood up, grabbing his bag: “After that, we can think about sparring.”
Hiroki stared at him for a moment before eventually nodding: “Fine.
I’ll wait.”
As Ryu walked away, Hiroki remained where he was, watching him disappear into the hallway…
‘I’d be frustrated too…’ Ryu had essentially eclipsed him in only a few weeks.
And Hiroki…
He wasn’t sure whether that thought pissed him off more than it excited him…
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A week later~
…
Ryu’s recovery had gone smoothly, and by the following Monday, he finally felt like his body had returned to normal.
The soreness had disappeared completely, and his stamina felt considerably better, and most importantly, he hadn’t gotten into another fight…
He’d deliberately avoided checking his status during the entire week: ‘Time to check…
I’ve been putting this off for long enough.’
Ryu quickly sat on the edge of his bed that morning, staring at the empty space in front of him before finally speaking: ‘Status.’
Ryu’s eyes immediately went toward the physicality section.
His eyebrows slowly rose…
…
____
[Name: Ryu Takane
Age: 17
Height: 175.2
Weight: 65.4 kg » 66.3 kg
Health: 100%
Stamina: 98%
Condition: Healthy
Abilities:
-Overcome – Lvl (MAX): ??????
-Pain Tolerance – Lvl 27
-Willpower – Lvl 28
-Enhanced Stamina – Lvl 29
-Bone Toughness – Lvl 27
-Muscle Quality – Lvl 27
-Blunt Force Resistance – Lvl 26
-Recovery – Lvl 6
-Combat Instincts – Lvl 25
-Enhanced Perception – Lvl 8
-Enhanced Dynamic Vision – Lvl 8
-Enhanced Reflexes – Lvl 9
-Enhanced Dexterity – Lvl 6
-Incomplete MMA – Lvl 8]
____
…
Ryu stared at the number: ‘13.2…’
He couldn’t help but smile: ‘So I was right!’
His skills hadn’t changed at all, yet his physicality had increased dramatically after spending that week recovering.
That meant the two-week recovery period hadn’t been some random coincidence: ‘It seems like Overcome isn’t just making me stronger during fights…’
Ryu leaned back slightly, staring at the panel with renewed interest: ‘Could it be using the experience afterward to actually change my body…?’
The thought only gave him more questions…
‘Or…
If I push myself far enough…
survive the process…
and then give my body enough time to recover…’ His eyes narrowed as he considered the implications;
‘Its clear I don’t just return to normal…
Chances are my body is playing some kind of catch-up game with the rest of my skills….’
He then looked at the 13.2 displayed before him: ‘I come back far stronger from recovering, than I do while fighting…’
Ryu slowly clenched his fist, feeling the strength within it: ‘I can’t even fathom how powerful I really am…
Not just that.
Even my body’s changin’ too.
I’m actually gaining some muscle mass.
What someone would consider decent athletic build.’
However behind this build was a deceiving amount of strength…
Curious, Ryu decided he could test it.
No harm in doing so.
He then looked at his bed, realizing it must way at least a hundred or so pounds…
‘Here goes nothin…’ With a slight heave, he realized that he hardly felt any kind of resistance.
In fact.
He continued realizing he could lift it fairly easily…
‘Yeah…
That 13.2 is definitely NOT for show…’ Ryu felt quite excited at his physical strength being this high.
He was likely very much into the superhuman tier in terms of physical capabilities alone…
He then placed it back down, knowing what the rest of the day had entailed…
A little spar with Hiroki…
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End