Later that same day~
“Talk about a bruising…
Still, it’s not as bad as it looks…” He muttered to himself, slowly stepping through the entrance.
‘I thought those passives might have been some kind of fluke.
Though, weirdly enough, despite me being in all this pain, it felt a little bearable…’ He noted, taking his shoes off before carefully stepping inside.
There was definitely something different about him.
He could feel it.
The pain was still there, and his body was still aching from the beating he’d received, but it didn’t feel as overwhelming as it probably should have.
More importantly, he didn’t feel nearly as nerve-wracked as he had that morning.
He was still nervous, obviously.
Anyone would be after being thrown into an entirely unfamiliar world, but that nervousness seemed ever so slightly muted now…
‘It’s like I’m becoming more accustomed to this…’
Ryu wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, or not.
For now, he decided not to think too deeply about it.
He continued inside, placing his school bag onto the rack beside the entrance before slowly making his way further into the house…
He hadn’t gotten very far when-
Grrrmmm…
Ryu stopped.
He looked down at his stomach.
“Yeah…
I’m hungry.”
It wasn’t surprising.
He had technically thrown up his entire lunch earlier, so he hadn’t exactly gotten much to eat during the day: “Come to think of it…”
Ryu hadn’t eaten much since breakfast either.
‘No wonder I’m starving.
He carefully made his way toward the kitchen, opening the cupboards and searching for something that wouldn’t require too much effort to prepare.
After a moment, he found exactly what he was looking for: “Noodles.”
He pulled a packet out: ‘Perfect.’
Considering his current condition, he wasn’t exactly interested in preparing anything complicated.
Ryu followed the instructions as best he could, preparing the noodles before sitting down at the kitchen table.
The first bite immediately made him realize just how hungry he’d been: “…Oh.” He took another bite.
Then another…
Before long, he was eating much faster than he’d intended: “Mm~”
He paused briefly, looking down at the bowl: ‘Oh yeah…
This is actually pretty good.’ It wasn’t anything fancy, but after spending the day getting beaten up and barely eating anything, it tasted almost amazing.
Ryu eventually finished the entire bowl, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied sigh: “Phew~ That hit the spot.”
He rubbed his stomach before remembering something…
‘RIght…
Status.’
[Ding!]
The familiar translucent screen appeared before him.
Ryu leaned forward slightly…
________
[Name: Ryu Takane
Age: 17
Height: 171.3 cm
Weight: 62.5 kg
Health: 17%
Stamina: 25%
Condition: Badly injured and extremely fatigued
Abilities;
-Overcome – Lvl MAX: ??????
-Pain Tolerance – Lvl 1: Increases the user’s ability to endure and remain functional while experiencing pain.
-Willpower – Lvl 1: Strengthens the user’s mental determination, allowing them to continue acting despite physical or mental strain.
-Enhanced Stamina – Lvl 1: Improves the user’s ability to sustain physical activity and resist fatigue.]
________
…
Ryu looked at his new abilities once more, somewhat fascinated by them just being there…
‘Also…
Did I get, heavier?’
…
It was the next day, and Ryu was already awake.
He sat on the edge of his bed, looking at the translucent screen floating in front of him.
His eyes immediately went toward the health section.
[Health: 26%…]
Ryu stared at it for a few seconds: ”…That guy really almost killed me.’
The realization came a little later than it probably should have…
He’d known he was badly injured, obviously, but seeing his health sitting at barely a quarter of its maximum made the situation feel considerably more serious;
‘I’m only a quarter of the way to a full recovery…’
Ryu sighed, leaning back slightly: “Man…”
His gaze lingered on the number: ‘What kind of monster was that kid?’
That thought eventually led him back to the same question he’d been thinking about since yesterday.
His ability.
Ryu folded his arms, his expression becoming more thoughtful: ‘How exactly does this damned Overcome work?’
He had no description to go off of.
No explanation.
No convenient instruction manual from ROB.
All he had was a name and a series of strange events that happened as soon as he was pushed beyond what his body could normally handle.
He closed his eyes, trying to recall the fight as clearly as possible.
He remembered being knocked down.
The pain.
The exhaustion…
The overwhelming urge to stay down because his body simply didn’t want to move anymore.
And yet…
‘Something pulled me back up.’
Ryu opened his eyes.
It wasn’t simply motivation.
He remembered the sensation clearly now.
It had felt like something inside him was forcing him to continue.
Like his body and mind had both reached their limit, yet something within him had refused to accept that limit…
‘To keep going.’
That was what it had felt like: ‘To push myself.’
Ryu looked down at his hands…
Then, those three abilities appeared;
Pain Tolerance.
Willpower.
Enhanced Stamina…
Three abilities that seemed almost perfectly suited to what had happened to him;
‘It’s just way too specific to be a random coincidence…’
He leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees.
The abilities hadn’t appeared randomly.
They had appeared after he was pushed to his absolute limit.
Pain Tolerance made sense after everything he’d endured.
Willpower seemed connected to the moment he’d forced himself back onto his feet.
Enhanced Stamina could explain why he’d continued moving despite his body being exhausted…
But that raised another question: ‘Why those abilities as well?’ He pondered.
Ryu stared blankly at the floor, thinking: ‘Why didn’t I get something like Enhanced Strength?
Or Enhanced Speed?’
His thoughts slowly connected.
Maybe…
“Could it be…”
He paused: ‘Could it be that Overcome was compensating for what I lacked?’
Ryu’s eyes narrowed…
It was only a theory, but it made a strange amount of sense to him when he thought more about it…
He had started with virtually nothing.
His combat rating was pathetic, his body was relatively weak, and he didn’t possess any obvious superhuman traits.
Yet when he was placed in a situation where those weaknesses became a problem, something changed.
He developed abilities that helped him deal with them: ‘If that’s really how it works…’
Ryu’s expression became more serious;
‘Then could overcoming really be making me stronger…?’ If it was, it could be an incredibly powerful skill.
However, he still didn’t know where it’s limits where
Helping him develop whatever he needed to survive.
The idea was both fascinating and slightly terrifying.
Because if that was true…
‘What happens when I keep pushing myself…?’
Ryu, of course, didn’t have an answer.
And honestly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out by repeating yesterday’s experience.
He rubbed the back of his neck before another thought came to him.
The red-haired kid…
Ryu’s expression immediately soured: “That bastard…”
He remembered the first attack.
The speed…
It clearly hadn’t been normal.
Ryu wasn’t stupid enough to make a mistake like that either.
Not even close.
Ryu had barely registered the guy moving before he was already in front of him.
‘That wasn’t something an ordinary person should be able to do.’
Ryu had been an adult before his transmigration.
He knew what normal human movement looked like.
Even if he’d never been an athlete, he understood the basic limits of the human body.
What that guy had done wasn’t within those limits.
And the worst part?
He hadn’t seemed surprised by it.
Neither had his friends.
Nobody had called for help.
Nobody had reacted as though something extraordinary had happened.
Ryu slowly frowned: ‘Which means…’
He looked toward the window: ‘That kind of thing might actually be normal here.’
The possibility settled heavily in his mind.
Maybe this world wasn’t simply a parallel version of the one he’d come from.
Maybe the people here were stronger, faster…?
‘If a random high school student can move like that without anyone finding it even a little strange…’ He partially began to worry.
Ryu’s expression became increasingly serious: ‘Then…
This world might have superhumans.’ Or people with actual superpowers…
He sat quietly for several seconds.
It explained too much.
The absurd speed…
The strength behind his attacks.
The complete lack of surprise from everyone else.
Even the fact that the youth had been able to beat him so easily.
Ryu looked down at his own thin arms: “…And I’m probably at the very bottom of the food chain.”
That wasn’t a particularly pleasant thought…
He wasn’t interested in getting beaten up again.
More importantly, he didn’t want to rely entirely on Overcome to save him every time something happened.
If the ability really did compensate for his weaknesses, then it might eventually make him stronger.
But there was no real guarantee…
And waiting until he was nearly beaten unconscious every time he wanted to improve sounded like a terrible strategy.
Ryu slowly clenched his fists: ‘Then, I’ll just have to train…’ Furthermore, Eyu had doubts that the beating from last time would be his last.
Chances are that little stunt he pulled earlier had put a target on his back…
‘Still, where do I even start…?’ He had no idea what kind of training would work in this world yet.
He didn’t even know what the limits of his own body were.
But he had to start somewhere…
If there really were people capable of doing what that red-haired bastard had done, then remaining weak wasn’t an option.
Ryu looked toward the status screen again.
His health was only at twenty-six percent.
His body was still recovering…
He couldn’t exactly start throwing punches around right now.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t prepare: ‘I’ll recover first.’
His eyes narrowed slightly: ‘Then I’ll start training.’
For the first time since arriving in this world, Ryu felt like he had a clear objective.
He didn’t know what Overcome truly was.
He didn’t know why ROB had given this particular ability to him either, and he certainly didn’t know what kind of world he’d been really thrown into.
But, if this world really was filled with people beyond ordinary human limits.
Then he needed to make sure he wasn’t going to be left behind in the dust…
‘Especially not like in my last one…’
.
.
.
End