My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

[The Synonym]

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[The Legendary Aura Farming System]

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…

My day was going as usual, just following my daily routine while hoping to win the lottery one day—even though I never bought lottery tickets.

Sleep, shit, eat, go to school, eat, go back home, eat, homework, shit, eat again, and then sleep.

Truly, one of the days of all time… Or at least it was… until I saw him—or rather, it—on my way home.

"The hell?"

I met it just a block away from my house, right after I turned a corner. Since I was listening to music and was a bit lost in my own world, I didn't quite notice it at first.

But when my eyes went up, I saw it.

A truck… No, not only a truck… A driverless truck. One that was parked in the middle of the sidewalk with its front pointed directly at me, funnily enough, like it had been waiting for me.

At first, I thought nothing of it. A truck in the middle of the sidewalk? Weird, sure, but maybe it was just the truck of some idiot who didn't care about blocking the way to other people and parked it there.

-Beep, beep!-

However, the moment it beeped at me, I stopped walking.

'How the hell did it do that?'

It was as I asked myself that question that I realized something.

Right after it beeped at me, everything in my surroundings seemed to have silenced completely.

There was no chirping of birds, no sound of people walking or talking, and no sounds of faraway cars speeding towards work… It was like the entire city had become desolate from one moment to another. Like an apocalypse.

The people I swore I had seen around, or even on the other side of the street, all had disappeared as well.

I was alone.

No.

It was now me… and the truck.

—BROOM!—

The bad feeling I had only intensified when its engine roared into life in a threatening tone, like it was saying, "I've been expecting you...". Making cold sweat roll down my back like a waterfall.

It was as if something within me knew… I wouldn't be making it back home today.

-Gulp-

As the realization settled in, we locked eyes—well, I locked eyes with its headlights.

Both of us stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. My forehead prickled with sweat as I narrowed my gaze.

"..."

It was like a standoff from a Wild West duel. Except in this case, I wasn't a cowboy, and my opponent could squash me flat the moment it decided to charge.

For a moment, I considered all this to be part of my imagination, maybe a sign that I had schizophrenia or something, and tried moving away from its path. After all, it was an inanimate object. If I moved out of the way, it wouldn't hit me.

But the moment I tried moving, the fucker simply adjusted its direction and kept blocking my way, like saying, "Where do you think you're going?".

"Hmph…"

Once I finally realized that this guy wasn't going to give up on me, I snorted and smiled in resignation 'So, this is how it ends, huh?'

It seemed like this was the end of my story, overrun by a fucking supernatural truck that seemed to have picked me over anyone else to fuck with.

As the absurdity of the situation sank in, my mind started to wander. What were the chances this was one of those scenarios? The ones where you die and wake up in another world?

Maybe after this passed, I'd be getting reincarnated as some badass hero destined to defeat the Demon King. Or maybe I'd just get dumped into a random fictional universe.

Or, well, maybe I'd just die, plain and simple.

I had no idea what came next. But one thing was clear:

"I ain't goin' down without a fight, no sir," I muttered, determination flashing in my eyes.

So, I stepped forward, facing the death-made truck without fear.

Maybe these ol 'fists of mine would do nothing but dent its stupid bumper—Maybe not even that—but if there was a thing I knew for sure, it was that I wasn't going down without a fight.

That was the right thing to do—the honorable way to go out.

-Crack, crack!-

So, cracking my neck left and right, I rolled my shoulder and prepared for the fight that'd decide my destiny.

-Bam!-

And so, I kicked the ground, ready to begin with this last danc—

-Slip-

Sadly, as I was charging toward the truck like a hero in an action movie, I suddenly slipped on something.

"Eh?"

Then, as my world turned upside down, I felt my head hit the floor, hearing some kind of crunch not long after.

-Thud!-

-Crack!-

And just like that, it was over.

I lay there, blood pooling around me, my vision swimming around, confused.

My neck? Probably snapped like a twig.

And as my life slipped away, I saw it. The true cause of my demise.

A banana peel.

…

In the distance, the truck's engine roared again, and then, slowly, it turned around and began rolling away, almost like saying, "My work here is done."

'...W-what the fuck?'

But before I could process the fucking absurdity of my end, something new appeared in my vision.

[Due to the lame and pathetic cause of your death, you've been granted the Aura Farming System. May you have lots and lots of Aura in your next life.]

Man, shut the hell u—

…

°

°

°

|Years later, somewhere else…|

…

As I finished recalling the memories of my previous life, I couldn't stop myself from facepalming. Really? That's how I died?

My name was Takahashi Fukumoto, and just a few seconds ago, the floodgates of my past life's memories opened wide.

Why now? No idea. I didn't hit my head, and there was no dramatic moment of revelation. I was just pouring some All Might's Puffs into my breakfast bowl, and bam!—a vivid replay of my death by some random banana peel in the middle of the road, along with the memories of an alternate self.

There was, however, one other revelation that completely overshadowed the rest:

"This world… is from an anime?"

My local ass was utterly baffled by this discovery. I'd lived a completely normal life in this world, unaware that this Earth—or My Hero Academia World, as it was called back there—was supposed to be a fictional creation.

Which kind of annoyed me a bit now.

It was like someone had called Earth in my previous world as… I don't know, Harvard World.

It kinda crammed the world into a single organization.

My foreign ass, on the other hand, was equally stunned.

I had reincarnated into a fictional universe? Did that mean the multiverse was real?

I sat frozen, staring at my breakfast. A storm of emotions churned inside me:

Shock at discovering my new reality.

Sorrow over leaving behind an entire life.

Envy toward the broccoli-haired protagonist for hogging the spotlight in my world.

And, strangely enough, excitement at knowing a bit about what the future might hold now that I possess all this knowledge.

After processing all of that, I eventually let out a single, profound response:

"Damn, that's crazy."

Satisfied with my deep reflection, I picked up my spoon again and resumed eating. After all, you can't have an existential crisis on an empty stomach, right?

<Beep!>

<Host's memory recovery detected.>

<Initiating system…>

And of course this was here… The infamous Golden Finger, or whatever younglings called it these days.

Normally, I'd be over the moon about having a system, but its name killed any enthusiasm I might have had.

<Aura Farming System initiated.>

'The hell is that?' I couldn't help but think.

Still, what kind of manners would I have if I didn't at least greet it?

"Sup." I nodded at the floating text.

<Greetings, Host.>

"So, uh… you're a system, huh?"

<That is indubitably correct.>

"That's crazy…"

After a short silence, I scratched my cheek awkwardly. This moment was way less exciting than I had imagined.

"So… uh, what do you do?"

<Thanks for asking, dear Host. Due to the abysmal amount of Aura you lost at the moment of your death, I was assigned to you to restore balance to your Auratic universal value.>

What kind of word was Auratic?

<Thus, my primary objective is to enhance your ability to farm Aura, allowing you to accumulate as much as possible during your lifetime in this world.>

<To facilitate this, I will provide various functions that will aid you… Here's your status page, for example.>

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 50

▸ Defense: 100

▸ Aura Projection: 0

─────────────
Total Aura: 0
─────────────
Skills: None

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I blinked, a bit confused by what I was seeing. "...So, uh… What am I looking at?"

<These are your current stats, determined after a full-body scan. You will be able to increase them by harnessing Aura and distributing it accordingly. The Strength stat enhances the force behind your movements, while the Defense stat reinforces your body against incoming attacks.>

My eyes widened slightly. "Damn, so it's literally like an invisible Aura cloak around me?"

<Indubitably. Although with certain skills, you may eventually make it visible.>

I nodded, a small smile tugging at my lips. It sounded really good.

But then, my eyes landed on the third stat, making me frown slightly before voicing my confusion.

"What about this 'Aura Projection' stat?"

<Ah, yes, unlike the other two, Aura Projection represents the amount of Aura you can harness externally. Think of it like mana in a fantasy setting—you'll use it for things beyond raw physical enhancement, like magic… Of course, within the constraints of what your Aura can do.>

My smile turned into a full-on grin, it was obvious by now that I was pretty excited about what I was hearing.

<Like previously stated, you'll be able to pour the aura you gain eventually into your stats to increase them. However, as an energy source over which you have absolute control, you'll be able to take away or move the aura between your stats depending on what you feel is better, meaning your stats won't be rigid.>

Now that gave me a lot of ideas. This thing was amazing, wasn't it?

"Haha, you had a stupid name, so I figured you'd be a pretty lame system, but I gotta admit, you are kinda cool."

<I can leave if you want>

I nearly fell off my chair at that. "C-come on, I was joking, man!"

This system sure didn't have a sense of humor, huh?

"Ahem!"

After clearing my throat and regaining my composure, I asked another question that surged as I stared at the status page.

"...Hey, this might sound stupid, but how do I actually gain Aura?"

<[-10 Aura]>

"Oh, come on!"

<That was a joke, Host>

My smile twitched.

I was wrong, it seems this system is quite the comedian.

I kinda wanna punch it.

<Aura is gained by performing awe-inspiring actions in front of others. These actions must elevate the perception others have of you. The greater the shock value and the more spectators present, the more Aura you will gain>

"So I have to act cool to get stronger?" I winced at the thought. The idea of posing like some edgy badass just to power up made me cringe. I had no problem with getting stronger, but being cool? That wasn't exactly my strong suit.

<Do not worry, Host. Over time, I will issue various missions that will grant you skills and unconsciously refine your actions. Eventually, you will farm Aura naturally—without even realizing you are doing so>

I made a prayer gesture. "Lord hears you, system."

-Ding!-

However, a cheerful sound snapped me out of my devoted pose, making me raise an eyebrow as I turned back to the system.

<Now then, let's start with your first mission!>

"Uh, what?"

…

· · ─────── ·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· ─────── · ·

"…Damn." I grimaced at the mission panel. "Isn't splashing some water on my face in the morning enough?"

<Looking good is the first step to making an impression!>

"Alright, alright…" I sighed, leaning back in my chair, looking as enthusiastic as I was when I found out school existed. "I guess I don't have a choice."

For a few moments, I sat in silence, letting it all sink in.

Until—

"But first, I'm gonna go rub one off."

There was no better way to destress, after a—

<[-10 Aura! This time for real.]>

"Oh, come on! There's no one here!"

<I'm here.>

"...Damn it."

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: Here's the first chapter. Originally, this was a setup for another idea I had where the protagonist had to perform various actions in order to stack up boosts. Like eating a bread gave you a 5x in strength, and so on, but I realized it'd be too chaotic and hard to administer, as well as to reach a good power level with just that, so I ended up changing to the idea you have now.)

 

[The Synonym]

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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?!"

<For depending on me like I'm your mother. You're a functional human being, host. Figure it out yourself.>

"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."

<You do look kinda girly with how you're applying them.>

"The heck?! I'm just following the instructions!"

<Instructions mainly written for a female audience.>

"…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—"

<I can't tell you.>

"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.

…

°

°

°

| 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

─────────────
Total Aura: -11 (Currently in debt. Requires 11 points before new allocations can be made.)

─────────────
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: Figuring this site out. It's like a forum but not quite, so it confuses me a bit.)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Challenge]
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…

After returning from school, Taka curiously checked his gains for the day.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 50

▸ Defense: 100

▸ Aura Projection: 0

─────────────

Total Aura: 9

─────────────

Skills: None

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Without overthinking it, he ordered the system to allocate all his Aura into Aura Projection, bringing the stat up to 9 points.

Rummaging through his backpack, he pulled out the same pen he had used earlier to shut up one of his classmates.

"Alright, let's see… 9 should at least be enough to lift it, right?"

Since both of his physical stats were in the 50-100 mark, 9 points were pitiful in comparison, but they should be able to lift a pencil at least, shouldn't they?

He squinted and pointed a finger at the pen—not because it was necessary, but because it helped him focus... and because he thought it made it cooler.

Gotta enter that mindset, you know?

Immediately, the pen lifted into the air, floating above his hand and moving in sync with his finger. Like a director in a band.

The only difference from earlier was that it felt incredibly heavy for a pen.

"At least seven times heavier." Taka snorted before stopping the technique and stuffing the pen back into his bag.

With his little experiment complete, he quickened his pace, eager to get home and rest.

But as he crossed the street, he ran into a huge crowd blocking the sidewalk. Their attention was fixed on the road, where a chaotic fight was unfolding. Several heroes were ganging up on a single massive villain, a guy with bulging muscles and antler-like horns sprouting from his back.

As Taka's eyes landed on the scene, an unexpected chime rang in his ears.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[This evildoer can't get away! Help the heroes, and establish your heroic presence early before officially taking on the path of a true Aura Farmer.

Conditions for completion:

▸Help the heroes capture the villain.

Reward: Gain Aura. The amount increases based on your performance.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taka blinked, then glanced back at the villain.

"GET AWAY OR I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!" the guy roared, flipping cars and cracking the pavement as he charged forward. He swung at a hero, sending him flying straight through the window of a nearby shop.

—CRASH!—

The impact happened barely a meter away from Taka. The hero passed by him like a rag doll before piercing the glass.

Taka smirked and closed his eyes—the image of effortless confidence.

Of course, that wasn't what he was thinking.

"Aw hell naw."

Yeah, he might've gained a Quirk, or a system—whatever this thing was—but he was not about to jump into a fight with this guy and die.

Without hesitation, he turned around and started walking away.

But just as he did, a screen flashed in front of him, blocking his way. Despite being intangible, it felt like a roadblock.

<Don't get discouraged, Host! You don't necessarily need to fight the villain.>

"Hah?" Taka frowned, then glanced at the fight from the corner of his eye.

That's when his eyebrows shot up.

"Oh."

For a moment, he stayed silent, simply spectating the battle from a safe distance, with his eyes squinting as if in great doubt.

Then, his eyes turned to the rewards of the mission, licking his lips almost by instinct—only to shake his head furiously the next second.

'Come on Taka, don't let greed blind you! If you screw this up, you're not ending up in a hospital but in a coffin!'

For a while more, he looked torn between dipping out of there or taking on the challenge.

Ultimately, however, he fell for his primal instincts.

'Alright, let's get that aura baby!'

Leaving those resolute words—more because he wanted to placate the unease in his heart rather than to express his greed—Taka began making his way back to the crowd, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead as he approached the chaotic scene.

Once he returned to the dreaded place, he dived right into the crowd of people, blending in just like an excited teenager wanting to see heroes in action.

Then, when he finally reached the front row, where he had a vast view of the whole battlefield, he began rummaging through his backpack... until he took out what he was looking for.

The pencil.

'Dunno if this will do anything, but I suppose it's worth a shot.' He swallowed hard, then opened his status page, sending the system a command.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 50 → 10

▸ Defense: 100 → 10

▸ Aura Projection: 9 → 139

─────────────

Total Aura: 9

─────────────

Skills: None

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Instantly, he almost fell to his knees, gathering a few looks of concern from the people around him who weren't that focused on the fight.

"You alright, kid?" A woman asked, looking at him with concern.

Taka nodded, trying his best to maintain a straight face as he pushed himself to stand again. "Yeah, I saw a coin and bent to pick it up."

An old man from nearby clicked his tongue. "Lucky kid."

As the attention shifted back to the fight to the death between the heroes and the villain, Taka exhaled exhausted, gritting his teeth as he struggled to stay on his feet.

'So this is what happens when I take away points from my strength stat… I can barely maintain myself on foot.' He swallowed and breathed hard, almost as if he were performing an extremely difficult exercise. 'Not to mention that now I feel like the punch of a little kid would be enough to break one of my bones.'

Shaking his head, at least mentally since he didn't know if he had the strength to perform such an extenuating task, he decided to put his complaints for later and got right into action, releasing his hold on the pencil, and dropping it to the ground.

However, as it fell, it suddenly stopped before it touched the ground. Then, it quickly began moving swiftly through the crowd, circling around the fighting area like a snake waiting to strike.

Taka's gaze darted between the pencil and the villain, gauging the perfect moment to make his move.

Then, his eyes widened.

One of the heroes, a woman with hammers for hands, began sprinting towards the villain, raising her hand in preparation for a powerful blow.

However, the villain caught wind of it pretty quickly and rapidly prepared to intercept the hit—either to block it or to counter it.

'Now!'

However, before he could take his stance, a small blur shot from the crowd, moving like a bullet in his direction.

Right as he prepared to intercept the hit, the villain felt a sharp pain in the back side of his knee, bending it slightly for a moment, and distracting him for a brief moment—one that lasted enough for the hero to make her move.

-Clang!-

"—Uck!"

The woman swung her hammer, and with a nasty hit, snapped the villain's head to the side as some teeth, spit, and blood escaped his mouth.

The blow sent the giant straight to the floor, his head spinning like never before.

"He's down, restrain him!"

"It's our chance!"

"Don't let him move!"

Right away, most of the heroes present moved to restrain the villain while he was down. Putting some high-tech cuffs on his wrists.

"...?"

However, as the heroes restrained the man, one of them noticed a peculiarity.

A pencil, embedded right into the man's back of the knee.

But just as he was kneeling down to inspect it—

-Squelsh!-

—The pencil janked itself free and flew back to the crowd, disappearing from his view in an instant.

Frowning, the hero marched toward the crowd.

"Hey, who used their Quirk to attack unauthorizedly?"

On the other side, Taka smirked faintly as he maneuvered the pencil through the sea of people, letting it weave and dart between them until it reached his side. The hero's suspicion had been successfully misdirected to a group of people away from him, leaving Taka scot-free.

With his work done, he exhaled deeply and immediately restored his stats to their original state. His body nearly jumped as the sudden increase in strength hit him, but he forced himself to remain steady.

Then, quickly yet discreetly, he tossed the pencil back into his backpack, careful not to touch the blood on its tip. The last thing he wanted was to give the angry hero in the distance a clue about his involvement with the criminal pencil.

Just as he secured it, a familiar sound echoed in his mind.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETED!]

[This evildoer can't get away! Help the heroes, and establish your heroic presence early before officially taking on the path of a Hero!]

Conditions for completion:

▸Help the heroes capture the villain.✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+65 Aura!>

<Note: While your procedure and execution were flawless, your hesitation early on allowed some heroes to sustain injuries. Next time, be more decisive, for the true Aura Farmer knows hesitation is defeat.>

Taka scoffed. "Alright, alright, Sekiro."

Despite his grumbling, a grin crept onto his face as he glanced at his reward.

65 additional points of Aura—that was enough to keep him from draining his basic stats too much and nearly collapsing like before.

At least he hoped so.

However, just then, his smile froze as a familiar chime rang in his ears.

<[+5 Aura]>

"Huh? Wha—?"

He turned in confusion, his gaze landing on the old man from earlier. The elderly man was smiling at him, giving him a firm thumbs-up.

Taka blinked before offering a wry smile in return. With a slight bow, he quickly slipped away from the scene, vanishing into the crowd and then quickly running away, taking another way to this house.

The last thing he wanted was for the old guy to snitch on him with the heroes, despite seeming nice.

After a while of running and being out of breath, he finally stood in front of his house.

Without hesitation, he opened the door and entered.

Uncaringly and evidently fed up, Taka didn't even bother to leave his shoes neatly at the entrance. He simply shook them off with a kick and left them sprawled over there.

However, as he made his way inside, ready to go to his room and plummet onto his comfy bed, a figure appeared and blocked his way.

"Oi, Taka… I heard quite the interesting news today while I was working."

Taka's smile twitched, and he glanced at the person who stood before him.

A blonde man, sporting a ridiculous monkey costume like it was the most natural thing in the world, stood proudly in front of him with both hands on his waist.

"Your school called me… What's this about having a Quirk?"

Murata Seiji, a Professional Hero—albeit infamous—called Super Monkey… And Taka's guardian.

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: I was wondering who would fulfill the mentor's role, because it's a fun trope to write, and, voalá, I came across this image. Hence, I had the idea of making a character like that.

->

So yeah, that's Seiji. Inspired by the goat GTO.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Examination]
────────────────────────

…

The doctor in front of them stared at the pair with wide eyes, his glasses almost falling from the shock. "You say young Takahashi here awakened his Quirk? At 15 years old, nonetheless?"

"That's right, tell him, kid!" Seiji—now out of his monkey costume and sporting a simple white t-shirt and black shorts—patted Taka's back, laughing loudly as he did so.

The teenager simply gave the man a look before nodding at the doctor. "Yes, I got it yesterday."

Before the doctor could ask about its function, Taka pointed his hand at an empty coffee mug lying on the doctor's desk, and, in an instant, the mug flew straight into his grasp, making the doctor widen his eyes and lean forward to inspect the mug and Taka's hand more closely.

"So it's true! What an unprecedented case! From the looks of it, it's some kind of magnetism, telekinesis, or cup-attracting Quirk. Do you know what might have triggered it, young Takahashi?"

Taka scratched his cheek, acting clueless. "Not really. It just came to me when I was having breakfast."

Technically, he wasn't lying. The Quirk—if it could be considered one, as he honestly had his doubts about what kind of existence the system truly was—had come along right the instant he awakened his previous life's memories, which had been mid-way through breakfast.

The doctor scratched his chin in wonder. "How strange… Maybe it needed some sort of time requirement… Is controlling cups from afar all it can do, or is it not limited only to cups? If so, how much weight can you control?"

Taka raised an eyebrow.

For a moment, he considered what he was about to say.

Should he reveal the full potential of his new Quirk, or should he just downplay it?

He recalled his previous life's memories about this world. There was supposedly some evil potato-headed guy in a suit out there looking for powerful Quirks to add to his collection.

So, in hindsight… it didn't seem like a good idea.

Still, his Quirk made flexing his source of power, so acting like a weakling would be a wasted opportunity to show off and gain some aura.

'Let's just… show what I can do at the moment. I'll leave its potential out of the talk for now.'

With that plan set in mind, Taka turned to the doctor, his voice cool and his expression impassive.

"Is there somewhere I can show you?"

The doctor instantly perked up. "Ah, yes. We have a room with equipment specialized for this!"

He then proceeded to lead Taka and Seiji to what looked like a mental asylum room… only bigger, and filled with all sorts of tools and devices.

"Over there we have the barbells, they come in different shapes, so pick whichever you like."

Taka nodded, and keeping his mysterious and enigmatic silence, he made his way to the barbells.

Once in front of them, however, he paused.

'Crap…' His eyebrow twitched.

He just realized that he didn't know which one to pick.

He hadn't measured the exact amount of weight each aura point allowed him to lift.

For all he knew, he might pick the 10 kg one, and he'd fold instantly.

He had only used it on a pen, after all.

'It's a gamble…' He mused, his eyes inspecting each barbell with an unsure look, before closing them enigmatically… Only to open them the next second with determination.

'But so is life, I'm going all in bitch!'

Right after, he opened his status page and began moving most of his stats to Aura Projection, boosting the stat from 79 to a whopping 199 points, while leaving both his strength in the 20s and his defense on the 10s, neither on 0, as he didn't want to collapse mid-examination.

As expected, a wave of weakness hit Taka's body right after that, but he dismissed it quickly. He could still stand, after all—and that was all he needed.

The next second, Taka raised his hand with the demeanor of a king commanding his subjects, and pointed it at one of the biggest barbells there.

The one with the big 500 kg imprinted on it. (About 1k pounds)

And so, with his objective locked in, Taka gave the order.

To move.

'LET'S GOOOOOOO...—!!!'

…

'—OOOOooo… ooo… oo… damnit, move!'

Sadly, even after a few seconds had passed, the barbell did not budge.

No matter how much he pressed, it didn't even do as much as twitch.

Seeing he had met his first insurmountable wall, Taka relaxed his grip on the tool and discreetly began moving his hand to a less heavy one.

Hopefully, the two behind him wouldn't notice he had failed pathetically.

And so, he tried with 250 kg.

It twitched, but didn't budge.

'Damnit.'

He moved his hand again and pointed it at the 150 kg one.

It moved a bit more, but ultimately, it still remained glued to the floor.

'Come on... how come 200 points is actually this weak…?'

He eyed the 100 kg one with hesitant eyes and aimed his hand at it.

'This one's moving!'

Taka's eyes brightened in delight as he felt the object finally budging, though he kept his composed face.

Then, he began lifting it more properly into the air… albeit, with still a lot of difficulty—something he didn't show on his face.

As a result, after a few seconds of it rising into the air, the weight began swaying and moving around in the air like a UFO.

"Hoh...!"

Seeing the 100 kg barbell fly through the air with fluidity, the doctor nodded, surprised.

"Amazing, it seems you got a really good Quirk!"

Seiji, by his side, nodded with a grin. "That's at least an adult man he is lifting."

"Can you lift more?" While Taka struggled to keep the weight on the air, the doctor threw such a question as if it was completely natural while he tapped on a notepad, probably writing information about it.

'You want more…?' Taka blinked, and sweatdropped with a troubled expression.

It seemed his stunt hadn't been impressive enough to get him some aura.

This guy was expecting even more than this!

'Damn.' Taka clicked his tongue. Unfortunately, it seemed he'd have to swallow his pride this time and walk home with no gains. This was his limit, after all.

"No, this is as much as I can lift."

The doctor nodded after hearing his words, but he didn't stop with the questions.

"Is there any reason why? Does your Quirk stop responding if you go beyond your limit? Or do you suffer any pain if you do?"

Taka considered for a moment before deciding it didn't matter much if he revealed a bit.

It'd make for a more believable Quirk, having "weaknesses" and all that.

"... Well, the more I push it to its limit, the weaker my body begins to feel."

It wasn't the whole truth, but it was enough truth for the moment.

"Oh? So your Quirk works by consuming physical force? How long does your body take to return to its normal state, then?"

Taka released the weight, causing it to fall to the padded floor. Then, he began closing and opening his fist, as if demonstrating he still had strength in him—of course, he moved all his stats to their normal state for that.

"As soon as I stop using it, or diminish the force I'm applying, the strength returns to my body."

"I see, a very interesting Quirk indeed." The doctor nodded as he wrote on the pad. Next, he signalled Taka and Seiji to follow him. "Come, I'll do you some more tests. After that, you can go back home."

Taka nodded with an uncaring face.

Though…

'Damn, he looks like he sees this stuff daily.' He discreetly glared at the doctor's unimpressed face and heaved a sigh. 'Maybe I overestimated my chances of standing out in a place that reviews all sorts of Quirks daily…'

Then, as the doctor opened the door of the room, leading them somewhere else, Taka reviewed his status page once more.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 50

▸ Defense: 100

▸ Aura Projection: 79

─────────────

Total Aura: 79

─────────────

Skills: None

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'It seems I have a long way to go before I can begin flexing my skills.'

Maybe he'd need about 500 points before thinking about impressing anyone.

…

°

°

°

|An hour later…|

…

-Cling-

Both Seiji and Taka walked out of the clinic, their expressions completely different from each other.

"Who'd have thought you'd get a Quirk one day? Eh, Taka? It seems you can finally stop using the excuse that you don't get girls because you're Quirkless."

"Shut up."

"Hahaha—no, but really, you get your Quirk, and you're already acting all serious and broody. What happened to the little prick that I've been taking care of until now that liked to oogle at my porn magazines when I wasn't looking?"

Taka squinted his eyes, stuffing both hands in his pockets coolly. "You are misremembering. This is how I've always been."

Seiji simply looked at him with skepticism, arching one of his eyebrows to its limit. "Sure… Though your internet history doesn't say the same."

Taka stopped for a moment, turning to him with a blank expression. "Wha—what do you mean?"

The older man grinned. "I'm the one who pays the bills, kid. I can get that information pretty easily."

"..." The young aura farmer seemed a bit lost after receiving that information.

"You have a refined taste if I say so. Big tittied—?"

"Argh, shut up already!" Fortunately, that seemed to have done the job of snapping him out of it.

Seiji laughed out loud with a mocking grin. "Hahaha! Come on, kid, I just wanted to say that I almost can't believe we are not related by blood. We are not so different, you and I. You see, the other day, I almost got a date with a heroine with huge—"

"I don't care!"

Seiji glanced at Taka with suspicion in his gaze. "What, are you in your edgy phase? Maybe your Quirk needed you to enter puberty or something like that to finally kick in."

Taka gritted his teeth. He was trying to stay in character, for god's sake.

Though, that story about the heroine sounded really interesting…

—No!

Fortunately, it seemed Seiji was finally gonna stop fooling around, his tone turning a bit more serious.

"Anyway, kid, since you now have a Quirk, any plans for the future?"

Taka glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I asked if you wanted to be a hero like other kids, you said that as long as you remained Quirkless, that'd be a waste of time."

Taka raised an eyebrow before looking away, reminiscing about those times.

'I was like 7 at that time, this guy sure has a good memory.'

In the end, though, he didn't see any reason to hide his new intentions.

"Sure, I was planning on trying to go to U.A." He replied, keeping his tone casual and calm.

"Damn kid, you're striking high!"

Taka simply nodded.

-Whack!-

"...?!"

Suddenly, he got slapped hard on the back, making him wince slightly and look back at Seiji with dissatisfaction.

A look that the man disregarded without a care. "Hahahaha! It seems you finally decided to follow my steps, huh? Do you want me to contact the hero agency I work at so that they can make you a costume similar to mine? You can try and be Super Monkey Jr!"

"Please don't."

Seiji clicked his tongue. "You don't know what's good, kid."

After the guy's words, black lines appeared on Taka's face, his face turning faintly grim. 'Ain't no way I'm going out on a costume similar to yours, that'd give me like -1,000,000 aura points the instant I get seen or recorded.'

Honestly, he simply couldn't figure out how this guy even had fans. His monkey costume was lame as hell.

It was an outright terrorist attack on decency and dignity.

"Anyway, be sure to clear your schedule for all evenings." Seiji's voice suddenly chimed from the side, snapping Taka out of his thoughts.

He looked at him, confused. "Huh? Why?"

Seiji grinned, though, unlike previous times, this one seemed to hold a hint of savagery on it. "What do you mean, why? You heard the doctor, your Quirk seems to run on your physical force, so if you want to have any chance at U.A., you better start training right now so you don't get whooped like you did today by that 500 kg barbell!"

Taka's face darkened. "So you noticed…"

Seiji patted him on the shoulder. "Yeah, so I'm gonna be personally training you from now on until the exam's time comes, so that you don't screw up when you're at U.A.'s practical exam."

Taka grumbled, annoyed at how abrupt this was.

Sadly, Seiji didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"Be grateful, for I, the great Super Monkey, am gonna be personally mentoring you, kid!"

Taka looked at the endless sky with a vacant expression.

"This sucks…"

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: The conversion rate in terms of lifting capacity is 1 aura point in Strength and Aura Projection is about 1 pound, or 0,5 kg. At least, that's how I get an estimation of what the numbers mean. Don't expect it to be perfectly consistent; it's a bit hard to know what certain amounts of strength are capable of doing and what not when they get too high.

Powerscaling is not my forte, for I am not a physicist.

Also, as you might have noticed, Taka isn't exactly cool material. But that's what the system is there for.

Aura Farmers aren't born, they are built.

Or something like that.)

 

[The Synonym]

(A/N: Just realized I skipped a chapter, this one was supposed to be chapter five, not the one from yesterday)
────────────────────────
[Clean]
────────────────────────

| A week later… |

…

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETE!]

[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.✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+100 Aura!>

<+Skill [Clean]!>

"Huh?"

The notification popped up the moment Taka applied some shady and supposedly hydrating ointment he had bought at a Chinese store to his face.

He immediately dropped the product like it was toxic, before tossing it into the never-to-be-touched-again corner of the bathroom. His usually deadpan expression broke into a bright grin.

He was free.

Sure, his skin did look cleaner than it had ever been… but he couldn't care less. The effort it took was simply not worth it—at least for him. There may be weirdos out there who are willing to put up with it, but not him. He simply wasn't one of them.

Now that the quest was finally over, he could stop wasting his mornings applying weird goop in front of the mirror for hours and instead do—uh, well, anything else.

What exactly? Taka himself had no idea.

But free time was free time.

So, sighing in relief, Taka smirked confidently at his reflection and pulled up the status page, dumping all the newly gained Aura into Aura Projection—or AP for short, since typing the whole thing out is starting to get annoying.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 53

▸ Defense: 106

▸ Aura Projection: 179

─────────────

Total Aura: 179

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taka grinned. His AP was now almost back to what it had been during the Quirk test a week ago. Lacking just 20 points, but that much was negligible.

"If I throw in my other stats as a backup in case I need that extra aura… I should hit over 300 points in AP. Wonder how much I'd be able to lift then?"

He raised a hand, counting on his fingers.

"If 199 points barely let me lift that 100kg dumbbell… that means each kilo needs about 2 Aura (1 Aura = 1 pound). So with 300 AP, I should be able to lift that 150kg (300 pounds) one I could only make twitch before."

Finished with his math, Taka nodded, satisfied.

A 50% strength increase in just one week. That was massive.

Next up: the other reason he endured the whole grooming quest in the first place.

His eyes darted to a specific point on his status page.

The Clean skill.

"I swear, if it's something useless, I'm gonna...—uh, well, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I'll do something, that for sure."

So, with the resolution to do "something" in the case the skill let him down, he tapped on the skill, and a new screen popped up with its description.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Clean] (Passive)

Description: A proper Aura Farmer can't go around dirty and unkept. This skill grants your Aura cleaning and purifying properties, so you can be clean at all times.

▸Automatically keeps all parts of your body clean at all times.

▸Dirtiness does not stick to your body for long.

▸Impurities no longer surge on your skin.

▸Aura Projection can be used to apply this effect to clothes as well.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Hah…?!"

Taka stared, dumbfounded, as he let out a loud exclamation.

He wasn't mad, despite what his earlier tone might've implied. Just… confused. This definitely wasn't what he expected. Though, to be fair, he didn't even know what he had expected from a skill called clean.

But still…

"It looks… useful?" He raised an eyebrow.

Still a bit unsure, he ran a hand through his hair.

"Whoa."

It felt like he had just stepped out of the shower—smooth, light, and grease-free, even though he hadn't bathed since yesterday.

Next, he glanced around the room with squinted eyes to make sure he was alone... despite being in his own bathroom.

When he was sure no one was watching, he raised an eyebrow, cleared his throat, and looked around innocently… while one hand slipped into his pants.

A few seconds later, his hand came out—and went straight to his nose.

"Damn."

With extremely raised eyebrows, Taka washed his hands and left the bathroom like nothing happened—leaving behind a crime scene with no witnesses…

…except for the unfortunate few still reading this.

With a confident stride, he made his way into the living room, where he came across a wild Seiji, sipping morning coffee on the couch while bobbing his head to music only he could hear.

The instant he stepped into the living room, Seiji noticed Taka and shot him a mocking smirk upon seeing the young aura farmer's satisfied look.

"Well, don't you look good? Maybe I should amp up the training?"

Taka deadpanned. "No, please."

Ever since a week ago—after Taka underwent the Quirk test and had both the doctor and Seiji think his "telekinesis" worked by consuming his physical force—Taka had been forced to undergo special training to build up his strength by Seiji.

Naturally, Taka had tried to refuse at first. He wasn't exactly the training type.

He didn't get a rush of dopamine each time he pushed his limits; the only thing that came after each "Plus Ultra" was a wave of nausea.

A light one, but nausea nevertheless.

Unfortunately, like the obedient little system slave he was, all it took to change his mind was a shiny new Quest.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[This is the start of your Aura Farming Path, and as is to be expected of you, you must be prepared for the many hurdles ahead. Endure the brutal training, and ascend—ready to carve your path to glory!]

Conditions for completion:

▸ Do not use your Aura to boost your physique in any way during training.

▸ Complete at least one month of training without missing a single session.

▸ Get your fighting skills acknowledged by Murata Seiji.

▸ Get your physical condition acknowledged by Murata Seiji.

Reward: +200 Aura | Gain the skill: [Trouble Radar]
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

After that damned quest notification popped up, Taka had given in and started training without complaint.

A week had passed since then, and after all of it, his Strength and Defense stats had gone up by 9 points total. Strength 3 points, and defense 6.

He wasn't sure if that was fast or not, but seeing his stats rise without spending a single point of Aura? That was a pleasant surprise. It motivated him to endure the training, as that way, there would be more "emergency use only" aura points to spend.

Of course, that didn't make the training any less brutal.

Taka had never worked out so much in his entire life. Seiji really went all out with the planning of his training.

Not a single muscle was left untouched after each session.

"Hahaha, come on! Seeing your dying face yesterday was amazing!" Seiji chuckled.

Taka grumbled and turned away. "Fuck you."

He grabbed his backpack and made for the door.

But just as he was about to leave, Seiji called out to him.

"Hey, Taka."

"What?"

"Have a nice day."

"...?" Taka raised an eyebrow.

"'Cause I'm increasing the intensity of your training once you get back."

"..."

Black lines appeared on Taka's forehead.

Without saying a word, he simply opened the door and left the house.

…

°

°

°

| Hours later… |

…

'The hell is this…?'

Taka found himself cornered by three of his classmates.

The day had been going smoothly. He was no longer ridiculed for being Quirkless, and after his power move last week, most of the class just ignored him.

But then these three suddenly popped up next to his seat after class ended, and asked(forced) him to follow them to a hidden corner of the school.

Not that it was shocking. These guys weren't exactly model students, and everyone knew they had ties to shady guys. So… yeah, it wasn't exactly a surprise when they pulled something like this out of nowhere.

"Oi oi oi, Takahashi, you've been acting all smug this past week, haven't you?!"

"Yeah, it's already starting to piss us off."

"Just 'cause you got a Quirk now doesn't make you better than us! Wipe that smug look off your face!"

Taka raised an eyebrow, confused.

This was just his normal face.

Unfortunately, it seemed his "normal face" was exactly what pissed them off.

"Hey Takeo, this guy's seriously getting on my nerves."

"Yeah, Toshio, he's still looking smug even after our warning… What should we do, Aniki?"

The biggest of the three, Shoji, sneered. A vicious grin spread across his face. "I think we should show him why he needs to learn to keep his head down."

At that instant, his two minions smirked and moved in to grab Taka by the arms, locking him in place.

With his target restrained, Shoji grinned wider, then slammed his knee into Taka's gut, folding him in half. His cronies chuckled like it was the funniest thing they'd seen all week.

Sadly, their smiles didn't last.

Taka slowly unfolded himself, completely unbothered, and stared at them with an unreadable expression.

"You done?"

The three froze, shocked by the calmness in his voice.

Wasn't he supposed to be gasping for air right now?

Taka, meanwhile, glanced at his status window.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 53

▸ Defense: 106→285

▸ Aura Projection: 179→0

─────────────

Total Aura: 179

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'This thing's seriously convenient.'

Smirking widely at how effective the stat interchanging was, Taka then gave the two still-in-shock delinquents on both sides a look and poured all his Aura into Strength with a savage grin, boosting it up to 232—basically multiplying his raw strength nearly fivefold.

Then, with one casual swing of his arm—

"Woah!"

"Aagh!"

—he sent the two goons grabbing him flying like potato sacks.

"Wha—?!"

Shoji could only gape as his friends hit the ground in crumpled heaps. But his pride wasn't about to let him back down.

"You dare?!"

With a roar, he charged, fists erupting in flames.

"Taste the difference between our Quir—!"

He didn't get to finish that sentence.

Taka raised his hand in the blink of an eye—and Shoji suddenly found himself floating several meters in the air. His so-loved Quirk useless as in the air he was completely at Taka's mercy.

"W-what the?! Put me down!" he screamed, flailing like a brat whose mommy had said no to him for the first time.

Taka just smirked, thoroughly amused.

And then he started spinning Shoji. Fast. Like, blender-on-max fast.

"SsSssTOooOoOp!"

By the time Taka graciously returned him to the ground, Shoji was green in the face—and instantly threw up his lunch.

-Blergh!-

Still smirking, Taka turned to the two goons lying on the ground, who were now staring at him wide-eyed, utterly speechless after witnessing their "leader" get absolutely decimated.

Still, the fire in their eyes hadn't completely gone out.

They got up, rage written all over their faces.

Then—

"Sorry, Aniki!"

They turned and bolted, leaving Shoji alone with Taka.

"..."

"..."

The two stared silently at the fleeing duo.

In the end, Taka gave the still-nauseous Shoji a pat on the shoulder, then turned around and began to walk away.

"Just leave me alone from now on."

Shoji didn't respond. He looked like he might throw up again at any second.

With that, Taka casually walked off.

He paused, however, when a notification popped up in his vision.

<[+30 aura!]>

He raised an eyebrow, confused.

Then, as he turned the corner—

There they were. All of his classmates. Just standing there, awkwardly trying to act nonchalant, pretending they hadn't seen anything.

'These guys were watching…?'

He deadpanned. Seriously, didn't they have anything better to do?

'Well… I was having trouble finding moments to be cool. I guess this works too.'

Pleased with the unexpected bonus, he instantly redirected all his new points into AP—bringing the stat up to 209—and strolled past his classmates, keeping his expression cool and unbothered.

At this rate, by the time U.A.'s entrance exam rolled around in nine months, it'd be a walk in the park.

Or rather…

'A perfect aura farming spot.' Taka smirked deviously.

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Fair warning, most skills Taka will gain will be for Aura Farming, not for increasing his power. This isn't a power fantasy... or maybe it is, but you know, the main focus is flexing as much as possible. Of course, I might always change my mind if I feel like he needs more power.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[What's with these missions?]
────────────────────────

| A month later… |

…

"Come on, Taka, don't tell me you're going down already?" Seiji shot Taka a disdainful look as the kid now lay on the ground, sprawled and beaten. A cigarette flicking at the corner of his lips.

Taka groaned as he pushed himself up, looking at him with an annoyed glare. "Shut up man, it's not my fault a damn Monkey Quirk can be so stupidly overpowered."

"This is called hard work." Seiji scoffed, taking his cigarrete away from his mouth and tapping it twice, letting the cinders fall. "When I was your age, the only thing my Quirk gave me was these big ass hands and a long ass tail to whack people with. So quit your whining and get here, don't tell me this is all you can do after an entire month of training?"

Taka stood up while grumbling under his breath, looking at Seiji with an annoyed gaze.

"You say it like it was a long ass time. It's only four weeks damnit! How the heck am I supposed to master all the shit you taught me, especially when after each session you leave my body aching like hell?!"

"Skill issue, kid. All I am asking is that you fight properly, not excellently. Or don't tell me you think it's fine to try and become a hero with the skills you had in our first class? You tripped yourself after throwing a punch!"

"Kgh!" Taka clicked his tongue like a dragon ball character, and naturally, his eyes drifted to a floating screen beside him.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[This is the start of your Aura Farming Path, and as is to be expected of you, you must be prepared for the many hurdles ahead. Endure the brutal training, and ascend—ready to carve your path to glory!]

Conditions for completion:

▸ Do not use your Aura to boost your physique in any way during training.

▸ Complete at least one month of training without missing a single session.✔

▸ Get your fighting skills acknowledged by Murata Seiji.

▸ Get your physical condition acknowledged by Murata Seiji.

Reward: +200 Aura | Gain the skill: [Trouble Radar]
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

A month had already passed, and as such, he had fulfilled the first two objectives of the mission. Albeit one of them would receive its check mark once the mission was over.

The other two, however, had no time limit to be fulfilled. They all depended on Seiji and his opinion on his progress.

He couldn't even boost his physical stats using his gained aura so far, since the quest specifically told him not to.

He could only do this fair and square.

The horror.

With a scoff, Taka put his hands up once again, ready to begin throwing once again.

And he threw, yessir.

-Bam!-

Less than ten seconds later, he was easily thrown to the ground by Seiji, who simply tripped him. Not even using a lock or throw on him.

"Damn it!"

Seiji knelt beside Taka—who now lay on his back on the ground, staring at the air like questioning his life choices—and threw him a dissatisfied look.

"Look, kid, I don't think you're focusing right now. You're throwing punches just to throw."

Taka groaned, giving him a side eye. "What's that even supposed to mean?"

Seiji sneered, flicking the cigarette on his mouth to the other corner, before tapping into Taka's temple with his feet like a woodpecker bird.

"It means thinking properly about what I'm going to do, and what you should do in response. That's the use of all those flashy moves I've been teaching you so far… They're the responses, you use them when it's time, not when you feel like it."

Taka didn't say anything, watching silently as Seiji let out a sigh and stood up, giving his back to him as he walked away.

"Whatever, kid. Let's do this again tomorrow. Be sure to practice today so you don't suck as bad tomorrow."

"Wait." Taka quickly stood up.

Seiji turned, a sly smile appearing on his face.

"You're not him, kid." He said, smiling mockingly as he shook his head. "Stay on the ground, just cause you got motivated doesn't mean you're gonna do any better."

"That's not it," Taka said, pointing at Seiji's crotch. "You got your zipper down."

Seiji's face instantly fell, and in a hurry, he turned down to fix his improper state.

—only, his zipper was fine.

"This kid—!" Seiji's eyes widened, and he lifted his head back in a hurry, watching as Taka lunged at him with hands open like claws.

In a hurry, he sent a palm strike to Taka, trying to keep him away—only for his attack to get deflected to the side the instant it had been about to make contact.

Then, mid-movement, as his palm was pushed aside, Taka lowered his stance, and with his remaining hand, fingers curled like the nails of a dragon—

—CLANG!

He struck Seiji's nuts.

"Ugh—!"

Seiji's eyes widened like saucers, cold sweat pouring down his back as he glanced into Taka's cold, unyielding eyes. His mouth trembling as he spoke.

"Monkey grabs the peach… You copied my signature move."

"Indeed."

Taka closed his eyes solemnly, retracting his hand as he turned his back on Seiji—who was already dropping to his knees, both hands clutching his crotch, face twisted in agony.

"Now… fall."

Leaving those words behind, Taka walked away, hands coolly stuffed into his pockets.

< [+5 Aura] >

Suddenly, Taka lifted an eyebrow and looked back over his shoulder.

Seiji, despite his scrunched-up face of pain, was giving him a thumbs up.

"That was a cool one, kid. Write that down. It'll make the ladies go crazy."

Taka looked at him weirdly for a second before he gave a faint nod.

"Will do."

Then, for real this time, he walked away—ignoring Seiji as he collapsed fully to the floor and had his soul ascend into heaven.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETED!]

[This is the start of your Aura Farming Path, and as is to be expected of you, you must be prepared for the many hurdles ahead. Endure the brutal training, and ascend—ready to carve your path to glory!]

Conditions for completion:

▸ Do not use your Aura to boost your physique in any way during training.✔

▸ Complete at least one month of training without missing a single session.✔

▸ Get your fighting skills acknowledged by Murata Seiji.✔

▸ Get your physical condition acknowledged by Murata Seiji.✔
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+200 Aura!>

<+Skill [Trouble Radar]!>

<Note: Although an unconventional path to achieve those last two conditions, it was well thought out. Stand proud, for your path as a professional Aura Farming is about to start!>

A small smirk curled on Taka's lips as the notification popped up beside him.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

In his room, Taka now lay sprawled on his bed, checking out his new gains with amusement.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 61

▸ Defense: 122

▸ Aura Projection: 215

─────────────

Total Aura: 215 → 415

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Now this is what I call good progress."

He grinned as he dumped all of his newly gained Aura into AP, making the stat shoot up to 415.

Next, he opened his new skill, already dying to know what it did.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Trouble Radar] (Active)

Description: Real life can often be boring and uncool as heck, making it difficult for an Aura Farmer like you—someone who thrives on attention and shines through impossible odds—to grow smoothly on your path to becoming the ultimate Aura Farmer. With this skill, you'll never miss those rare moments when an Aura Farmer can truly stand out.

▸ Grants you a sixth sense that can be toggled on or off at will. It points you toward the place where trouble is most likely to begin brewing, or to immediate danger coming your way.

▸ Can also faintly gauge the level of incoming trouble—from minor inconvenience to world-ending catastrophe. Fate is unpredictable; tread with caution.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Huh…"

Taka raised an eyebrow.

Another skill he wasn't sure how to feel about.

Sure, it seemed like it'd be useful for powering up until U.A.'s practical exam in nine months. But the idea of actively being on the lookout for trouble… that was something else.

Especially because trouble in this day and age usually meant one thing:

Villains.

Like the skill warned, if he didn't tread with caution—especially now, with his Aura basically in its baby stage—dying wasn't off the table.

In his parallel life, he might've scoffed and jumped into things without thinking. After all, this was a world from an anime, and villains didn't seem that bad when you were just a viewer.

But now? Now that he had a whole second life in this world, and memories of his past one? That illusion had long since faded.

Dealing with villains here was like messing with terrorists back on Earth.

Yeah. Not exactly appealing, huh?

Cold-blooded people with no qualms about killing—at least the serious ones, not the occasional purse-snatcher. That's what villains were.

So yeah, he had every right to eye the skill with a healthy dose of caution.

Still… if he wanted to power up, there was no way around it.

'Though, if the trouble seems too much, I'm just dipping out.' Taka nodded to himself, reassuring his ego. He wouldn't overestimate his ability. If it got too hot, he'd just leave it to the pros.

That's what heroes were there for, weren't they?

With that resolution, he finally let out a breath of relief.

It hadn't really hit him until now, but after a month and a half of non-stop training missions, he was finally free.

He could focus on doing other things—maybe even relax a bit—

<New mission!>

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Now that you're capable of holding your ground—barely—it's time to focus on other aspects of being the perfect Aura Farmer. Not everything in life is about fighting, so sharpen your other skills and avoid becoming a one-trick pony! Aura farming is everywhere in life, so broaden your view.]

Conditions for completion:

▸Practice a type of art for a month.

▸Dominate the basis of said art.

Reward: Gain Aura depending on your performance beyond what is asked of you | Gain the skill: [Connoisseur]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taka blinked at the floating screen, thoroughly unamused.

"What's with these missions, man?"

He flopped back onto the bed, already regretting jinxing himself.

What was even the point of learning art? How was that supposed to help with his aura farming? Sure, people would like what he did—for example, drawing—but would simply liking his drawings grant him aura?

As far as he knew, the feelings of people had to go beyond that for there to be any cashable aura.

So it seemed really unlikely any art would be worth the trouble of learning, considering the time he'd need to master it to a level where aura would just then start being gained.

For that, he could just fight some random ass villain in the street to show off, and get done with it.

He scoffed and glanced at the mission description again.

'Maybe I can just ignore this mission. Even the aura to be gained depending on performance may be a small amount, considering it is not specified.'

For a moment, he looked at it with a tired expression, already fed up with having to go out of his comfort zone purely for the aura points.

But then…

His eyes twitched. A certain thought popping into his head.

"Aura farming is everywhere in life." That line stuck with him. It echoed for a moment, like guiding his train of thought as a certain idea began brewing.

Until it fully formed.

"Say, System," Taka smiled, looking slyly at the screen floating beside him. "...when aura farming… do people necessarily have to be physically near me for me to gain the aura? What if I'm being cool online? Would the aura still reach me, even if they are kilometers away?"

[Analyzing question…]

[Answer: Your Quirk draws in the energy produced by awe and relatively similar feelings from people near you. The system's function is to harness this energy and prevent it from dispersing. If people are too far away, the energy may dissipate before the system can absorb it. However, if the number of people generating such feelings is large enough, the energy may persist long enough to reach you. Note: A significant portion of said energy will likely be lost in transit.]

Taka frowned, looking at the screen, thoroughly confused. "What do you mean by my Quirk? I thought I was Quirkless. Are you referring to yourself?"

[Negative, you have always possessed a Quirk. However, due to its nature being practically indetectable as you could do nothing with the aura you gathered, and you not drawing awe from your peers often at all, there was never a concentration high enough to be noticed by you or anyone around.]

"Ouch."

Taka's eye twitched at the jab. That hit a little too close.

Yeah, since he was a kid, he'd basically given up on getting along with people once he got labeled as Quirkless. Never bothered to put on a good face, and never tried to impress.

He didn't get bullied, but he for sure wasn't especially liked.

So… yeah. The math checked out.

Loner = No Aura.

Still, he couldn't help but feel speechless at the revelation that he was never Quirkless to begin with.

He actually had a quirk!

'Albeit a useless one—if not for the system here.' He deadpanned, though this time, he gave the screen a slightly more appreciative look.

As he slowly came to terms with this new truth—not world-shattering, but still something—his mind circled back to that earlier idea.

A small smirk curled on his lips.

"So I could actually gain Aura online…"

His eyes gleamed with interest, the idea of a video going viral and aura raining from the sky practically making him giddy.

Okay, maybe not giddy. But interested, very.

Though his enthusiasm dipped slightly at that whole part about most of the energy dissipating, it still didn't kill the idea.

This could be another viable method of Aura farming… one that didn't involve nearly dying for the cool factor.

His eyes drifted back to one of the conditions from the mission.

'Practice a type of art for a month…'

If he combined this assignment with his new plan to go viral?

Yeah.

He might be onto something.

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Plans are forming, and gains and growing.

Check that one out. Just thought about it now.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────

[I Need More Power]

────────────────────────

| A month later… |

…

"Well, this idea sucked," Taka muttered, glancing at the laptop in front of him with dissatisfaction.

He had, in fact, not been onto something.

It had already been an entire month since he had received the new mission of learning a type of art, and after very little deliberation, he chose the guitar.

Why? Because if he wanted to aura farm, it was the best instrument. You don't see chicks going crazy for the pianist, drummer, or bassist, right? The one getting attention was always the guitarist.

Of course, singers were also pretty popular, so it was also a choice, but his voice honestly wasn't very melodious.

So, he just chose the guitarist path.

As for where he got a guitar, considering he was out of funds after spending all his savings on skin care?

Well, Seiji seemed to have one taking dust on a corner of the house. When Taka asked him for it, the guy just shot him a disbelieving look before waving him off as he muttered, "So you're at that age, huh?"

And like that, he got a guitar.

A month passed since then, with him practicing with the instrument and learning not to suck.

During it, however, Taka decided to try uploading his process on QuirkTube. Awaiting the moment his videos would explode in popularity, and aura would begin raining like crazy.

Sadly, as may be evident from how he complained earlier, that didn't happen.

Not to mention that he forgot to account for the fact that him just showing his progress on learning it wouldn't generate much aura—if any at all.

To top it off, he also barely received any visits on his videos.

He had gotten, like, 10 subs throughout the span of these four and something weeks.

Truly, a disappointment of a project.

"Who could have thought becoming famous would be such a hassle?" Taka grumbled, turning his laptop off and glancing at the ceiling with a lazy expression.

Of course, his attempt at going viral was secondary. His main concern was the mission, which was going fairly well.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Now that you're capable of holding your ground—barely, it's time to focus on other aspects of the perfect aura farmer. Not all in life is fighting, so be sure to sharpen your other skills so you're not only a one-trick pony! Aura Farming is present in all actions.]

Conditions for completion:

▸Practice a type of art for a month.✔

▸Dominate the basis of said art.

Reward: Gain Aura depending on your performance beyond what is asked of you | Gain the skill: [Connoisseur]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

—If it weren't for that last condition that he had yet to fulfill...

"What does 'the basis' even mean? I'm pretty sure I already learned most of what there's to know." Taka grumbled, squinting his eyes as he glanced at the mission screen.

If he had to say so himself, he already could play fairly well… When not rushed or under pressure.

And he might sometimes make mistakes.

And he might forget the notes from time to time.

But he could play, and that was all that mattered.

So he didn't know what this damn system wanted, but he assumed all that was left for him to do was to keep practicing until he eventually fulfilled that last condition and took that aura and skill with him.

"What does 'connoisseur' even mean anyway?"

With a grumble, he got up and left his room.

He walked into the living room, meeting once again a wild Seiji reading a newspaper with an amused expression.

Noticing him, Seiji smiled and pointed at the newspaper, showing it to him like it was some incredible discovery. "Hey, kid, look at this. Some kids your age just did something crazy!"

Taka raised an eyebrow and took the paper, eyeing it with curiosity—until he saw the cover.

It was an image of Bakugo trapped inside a mud monster, and Midoriya running after him to save him.

His eyes squinted faintly.

The article explained pretty much what had happened in the anime, with All Might helping them at the last minute and saving them from the mud villain.

Besides that, it didn't offer much information. Just a few declarations from All Might, the list of crimes of the mud villain, and the usual spicy stuff to anger someone.

None of that mattered to Taka, however.

His mind was focused on something else.

"That guy is already hogging the spotlight, huh?" He clicked his tongue, eyeing with annoyance the green-haired kid in the image.

Without a word, he returned the paper to Seiji, who looked at him with an odd expression.

"What's wrong, kid?"

"Nothing." Taka ignored him and walked to the door. "I'm going out."

Seiji tilted his head. "What? Where are you going so suddenly?"

"To buy stuff, I'm hungry," Taka replied without looking back.

Seiji scoffed, shooting him a deadpan look. "Already spending your allowance? The month is barely starting, kid. Try to make it last."

"If you gave me more, it'd last longer."

"Hah, you wish."

With a mocking smirk, Seiji lifted the newspaper and proceeded to ignore Taka, who looked at him with an annoyed glare.

"Stingy prick." With a curse under his breath, Taka opened the door and left. Swearing in his mind to one day find something to blackmail Seiji to increase his allowance.

Minutes later, as he walked through the street, Taka let out a quiet grumble, glancing up at the sky with a scowl.

"My time is running out…"

As he mumbled that, he pulled up his status screen with a displeased frown.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 66

▸ Defense: 132

▸ Aura Projection: 430

─────────────

Total Aura: 430

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

There were only ten months left until the U.A. entrance exams—until the anime's main events began unfolding.

Right now, he was way stronger than he'd been two months ago. And by the time the exams came around, he'd probably be even stronger.

With Seiji's training still underway, his physical stats were steadily increasing. So he'd probably be pretty fit by then, even without using his aura to boost his physical stats.

And his AP, well, it was unnecessary to mention it was his favorite stat. Being able to use telekinesis was awesomely convenient.

When he was in bed and needed to stand up to pick something, he could just use his AP to bring it to himself.

—And that was pretty much the only use he was giving it.

But well, regardless of the menial tasks it was being subjected to, its growth was undeniable, and Taka would probably continue pouring his aura on it whenever he got more.

If he had already gained over 400 aura points in around three months since getting his system, how much higher would it get by the time the exam happened?

Would he reach the 2000 points? Maybe even more?

He was awaiting it expectantly.

Suddenly, Taka's look full of anticipation turned slightly more moody, glancing ahead with a squint of eyes.

'But will it be enough?'

Midoriya would enter U.A. practically powerless. Total baby-tier. But within a single year, the guy would shoot up to All Might levels.

Taka would have a head start, sure. He'd be strong right from the beginning if he reached the 2000 aura mark by then. That was a ton in terms of force, after all.

But who was to say he wouldn't be outpaced?

He didn't know how strong All Might was in terms of stats, but judging from his feats, he was sure the guy was pretty far ahead of his current self. Maybe in the hundreds of thousands? in the millions?

So, for Midoriya to reach that guy's level in merely a year—Taka couldn't help but ask himself, would it be possible for him to also have that level of speed in his growth?

Would he really be able to keep up with the protagonist of this world?

Cause if he didn't, then his entire plans of aura farming would come down as Midoriya hogged the spotlight all to himself.

He needed to stay on top—mark the difference clearly from the very beginning.

A difference the guy wouldn't be able to cross, even with that protagonistic luck of his.

Taka narrowed his eyes, then finally closed them.

'In that case... I guess I should start taking this a bit more seriously.'

With that resolution, he commanded the system to activate "that".

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Trouble Radar] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Instantly, Taka felt something, a faint, eerie sensation in the vicinity… not too far—actually, it was just around the corner.

Opening his eyes, he quickly made his way toward the source. Not wanting to miss anything.

When he arrived, though, he saw nothing.

Just the usual bustling street he sometimes passed through.

"Hold up…"

He squinted.

A hero had just stepped into the street, quickly gathering attention as people surrounded him, asking for autographs.

If he recalled correctly, the hero's name was Force Kick, a colleague of Seiji.

However, what truly caught Taka's attention was that despite the crowd surrounding him, the hero's eyes scanned the area intently, as if looking for someone specific.

Taka immediately picked up on what may be happening, and with the quickness of a normal teenager with no vision-enhancing Quirk, he began scanning the crowd himself, eyes sharp.

It took him a while, and nothing seemed out of order.

But then—he saw it.

Someone in the crowd shifted, their appearance warping for a split second. A flash of reptilian features surfaced before the figure morphed into another look entirely.

Taka's eyes widened.

That was it. These two were about to fight!

Maybe he was being mutantphobic, but judging from how the guy looked like he was hiding, and the hero being on the look out for something, plus his trouble radar telling something was about to happen here, Taka immediately came to the conclusion that the reptile-like guy was a villain escaping, and that soon Force Kick would discover him, giving place to a fight.

That, or a car crash would happen. That was also possible.

But for now, he was gonna lead into his first supposition.

"But what should I do…?"

This didn't feel like a high-threat incident. Nothing catastrophic. So there was no need for him to jump in.

But that didn't mean there wasn't an opportunity.

What was the best way to aura farm from this?

Attacking the villain right away was an option—except he wasn't completely sure the guy was a villain.

Plus, Taka would get in trouble later if he attacked with his face and identity exposed. He didn't have a hero license, after all.

So, yeah, for now, that was discarded.

…For now.

'Damn… Aura farming really is troublesome…'

He groaned, rubbing his chin with a deep, thoughtful expression.

Until—

His eyes lit up. A spark of inspiration hit.

"That's it!"

Without another word, he turned on his heel and bolted back home, a wide grin stretching across his face.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

Just like Taka had predicted, the hero eventually spotted the chameleon-quirked guy, and a fight broke out.

Force Kick's Quirk consisted of producing small bursts of energy from his feet, which could be used for both mobility and for combat, enhancing his kicks and his running speed.

The chameleon's Quirk, on the other hand, not only let him copy people's appearances—as it'd be expected of such a Quirk—but also gave him enhanced agility and a long, powerful tongue that he could use to attack.

Both combatants were… fine. Nothing special. Middle-of-the-road power levels.

But that meant the fight lasted a while.

Neither side gained the upper hand. The hero held his own, but the villain wasn't being overwhelmed either. The chameleon's only real threat was that more heroes might arrive and tip the scales.

For now, though, he held his ground.

All he needed was the right chance to slip away—

—CHA-KA-CHAN! —

But then, the sound of an electric guitar strummed sharply across the city block, cutting through the noise of battle.

Both combatants were startled mid-motion, halting just before their next clash. They looked around, confused.

Then they saw him.

Perched atop a building, overlooking the fight with both legs crossed and an electric guitar in his grasp, was a figure dressed in a black hoodie that cast his face in shadow. A dark mouth mask obscured the rest of his features.

The only thing visible were his eyes—sharp, black, and fixed directly on them.

Behind him, a compact kit of amplifiers stood humming softly, making sure every strum of his guitar echoed powerfully across the street below.

Both hero and villain glanced at the newcomer in confusion, darting looks at each other every now and then, as if asking, "Can you believe this?".

The crowd around was just as stunned. What was this guy doing?

Fortunately, they would get their answers right away.

Without a word, the figure tightened the grasp on his guitar and…

Began to play.

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: I don't know how to play music, so don't expect perfect realism... and while at it, I also don't know how to do many things Taka will do, so the same applies for that.

Whatever unrealistic part, let's simply attribute it to the great System.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Success]
────────────────────────

Song Taka is playing: Future in my hands - Devil May Cry (Instrumental only in his case, but hear the full song either way)

The entire avenue was dumbstruck as the unknown guy began playing a catchy song out of nowhere, still sitting on the edge of a rooftop, casually strumming while the villain and hero stared at him in disbelief.

The blatant disrespect was staggering.

What the hell was this guy doing in the middle of a battle?!

Still—

'He's kinda good…' That thought echoed in more than a few heads, some people in the crowd instinctively bobbing along to the rhythm of the guitar solo.

However, not everyone was entranced by the music.

The chameleon villain—though momentarily confused—soon smirked, clearly thinking this was the perfect distraction to slip away.

Force Kick was still staring at the black-clad figure above, trying to make sense of what was even happening, making this the perfect moment to get away.

'Kukuku… I don't know who this weirdo is, but thank you very mu—huh?'

However, just as the villain tried to dart off, using both speed and stealth to vanish unnoticed, something shoved him back at the last second, making him stumble and land on his butt.

He quickly scrambled up again, narrowing his eyes at the air in front of him.

'What the heck was that?'

He took another step forward—

Only to be pushed back again.

"Kgh—!"

This time, he caught himself before falling, glaring at the path that should've been his clean getaway with disbelief.

"W-what the hell?" he muttered, scanning the open space in front of him like it had just betrayed him.

It felt like… gravity itself was changing directions just to not let him pass.

His gaze suddenly snapped to Force Kick—was this his doing?

'No. His Quirk doesn't work like that. And he's still distracted by—wait…'

His eyes locked onto the figure in black.

Still up there. Still playing a song like this was none of his business.

And in that moment, when their eyes met—

He saw it.

Contempt.

The guy was looking at him with contempt!

"It's you!" he snarled.

The culprit was the guy in black!

Without thinking twice, he shot his tongue toward the rooftop—intent on teaching this random a lesson.

"Dynamic Kick!"

–BAM!–

"Ugh—!"

Sadly, before it could reach, a powerful blow slammed into his side.

He tumbled across the street, rolling like a kicked can, before catching himself mid-spin and landing on all fours.

Furious, he turned to his attacker.

"You fucker!"

Force Kick.

Apparently, the moment the villain had tried to lash out at the masked guitarist, Force Kick had finally snapped out of his confusion—and launched a high-powered kick to his ribs.

He had planned on using the guitarist as a distraction, but ended up being distracted himself!

"Damn it," the villain cursed, glancing up at the rooftop again.

He wanted to attack him—but with the hero meddling, it didn't seem like he could for now.

Still… it seemed the guy in black didn't plan to interfere beyond stopping his escape.

Otherwise, he'd have done more already.

For now, he just kept playing—watching them with cold eyes from above… Like he wanted them to fight, all while playing his music.

Using them as entertainment.

'Sick bastard.'

Unfortunately, as much as he didn't like it, with Force Kick meddling he didn't have much option but to fight as the masked guy wanted.

Force Kick seemed to come to a similar conclusion.

Annoying as this interruption was—whatever law this fell under—the real threat was still in front of him.

So, he had to focus on that first.

'As for the guy with the guitar… I'll deal with him later!' The two thought the same thing, unknowingly in sync.

And with that, the fight resumed.

Only now—with a sick soundtrack on the back.

Blow after blow, hero and villain clashed without pause.

Sometimes, Force Kick landed devastating kicks, sending his opponent flying down the street—only for him to spring back to his feet like nothing happened.

Other times, the chameleon villain caught Force Kick by the ankle with his tongue, spinning him like a ragdoll before hurling him across the intersection—only for the hero to stabilize mid-air with a burst of energy and shoot back in like a missile.

Meanwhile, someone else was banking on this whole fight.

'HAHAHAHA, YES, YES, LET IT RAIN!!!'

<[+13 Aura]>

<[+15 Aura]>

<[+11 Aura]>

<[+14 Aura]>

<[+9 Aura]>

Taka was grinning like an idiot behind his face mask as he continued playing, soaking in the beautiful sound of system notifications popping up erratically every once in a while through the song.

This had been a genius idea!

He'd already collected around 60 Aura since the start of the song, and there were still two minutes left.

If it kept up like this, he'd earn a full 100 points in a single day.
A massive-ass gain!

And all thanks to a piece of music pulled straight from his past life's memories.

Thankfully, just before he got permanently KO'd by that banana, he'd been watching that obscure Devil May Cry anime from the 2000s. This song had made it onto his playlist, so it was still relatively fresh in his head.

Well… most of it.

There were a few parts he'd had to make up during the past month or so since he couldn't recall them, but it had turned out pretty damn good regardless.

His technique was still that of a total noob, though. The only reason this "concert" was going well was because the song was unknown, so people couldn't really tell when he missed notes or completely butchered a section.

Plus, it was the only song he'd practiced since picking up the guitar.

It made sense that he could play it decently. If he tried anything else?

He'd probably suck three times as much.

But hey—

It was doing its job.

<[+5 Aura]>

<[+7 Aura]>

<[+7 Aura]>

Taka's playing sped up in response to the notifications, a wide grin spreading under his mask. Though his expression twitched slightly when he noticed the numbers were starting to dip.

'Hmm… the gains are diminishing a bit. Guess the surprise factor can only carry me so far.'

His eyes flicked toward the two still going at it in the street below.

That reminded him—he had another problem he hadn't quite figured out yet.

What the hell was he gonna do when the fight ended?

Just casually walk away?

Yeah no, he had the feeling it wouldn't be that easy.

The last thing he needed was to get arrested for interfering with a public arrest or some other nonsense.

That would wipe all his Aura.

Then again… maybe if he played it right, he could spin this into some kind of "mysterious bad boy vigilante with a sick riff" image.

Surely someone out there would get flustered and toss him a few bonus aura points.

Still, jail time wasn't exactly a good look when you were aiming to get into U.A.

'That might leave a mark on my file.' he mused, discarding the idea right away.

As Taka mulled it over—or as much as he could, given half his brain was focused on not screwing up the guitar—he eventually just shrugged.

That's Future Taka's problem.

Right now?

He had to focus.

The climax of the song was approaching fast.

And just like the song, the battle down below was also reaching its peak.

–BANG!–

"Galactic Kick!"

Force Kick slammed his boot right into the chameleon villain's face, releasing a burst of energy that blasted the villain backwards.

–Crash!–

The impact launched him several meters, straight into the side of a nearby building—shattering glass as he crashed through a window.

"Huff…"

With his opponent seemingly down and his foot having a bit of smoke coming out of his sole, Force Kick heaved a weary sigh. This fight had left him utterly drained.

Who would've guessed that someone with a chameleon Quirk could fight that well?

But that last kick… It had to be enough, right? It was his strongest move—

–Whip!–

"What?!"

His thoughts were cut short as, suddenly, a tongue lashed out from the broken window where the villain had crashed—shooting toward him like a bullet.

Tired and worn out, the hero had no chance to dodge.

In the blink of an eye, his wrist was caught.

There was a moment of eerie stillness as he glanced at it… Then, the realization hit him.

"Oh no."

And then—the tongue pulled.

"Aaargh!"

-Bam!-

-Crack!-

-Slam!-

-Crash!-

Force Kick was flung like a ragdoll.

He crashed against cars, bounced off buildings, got dragged along the asphalt and smashed through the ground like a plaything at the mercy of that unnaturally powerful tongue.

Then, just when it looked like he couldn't take any more, the tongue snapped upward one final time, launching him high into the air before letting go.

Up he soared, like a beautiful bird.

Then—gravity kicked in. He began falling helplessly, his eyes rolling back.

As he plummeted, the villain leapt out of the ruined building on all fours like a beast, quickly beginning to gather momentum as he dashed towards the falling hero with an enraged face.

And just as Force Kick was about to hit the ground—

–BAM!–

The chamaleon tackled Force Kick mid-air like a meteor, slamming into him with terrifying speed.

–CRASH!–

The hero's limp body was sent hurtling into another building—piercing through another window and ending up stuck halfway in, his legs dangling limply outside.

He didn't move.

He was out.

"Haaah… haaah… haaah… That's what you get," the chameleon villain panted, grinning triumphantly as victory washed over him.

The crowd was stunned... They had expected the hero to win. That's how it always went.

And yet… now their hero lay limply on a shattered window, unmoving and unresponsive.

He was knocked out cold.

Dozens of wide, fearful eyes locked onto the villain, who glanced back at them with a chilling expression.

'I'd kill all of you right here… but I guess you're safe this time.'

As much as he wanted to take out his rage on these onlookers—the same people who had just cheered his beatdown moments ago—he couldn't afford to stick around.

Another hero could show up any second. And this time, he was spent and barely had any strength left in him.

So, without wasting another breath, he dropped to all fours and began to run, preparing to make his grand escape—

"Gah!"

Only to end up letting out a surprised cry as he was once again thrown backwards by a mysterious force.

"Kgh—what?!"

Catching himself, his eyes widened—the masked guy was still blocking his way!

Angrily, he turned to the figure in black above.

That's when he noticed it.

"...!"

The song was still not over.

The guy in black hadn't stopped playing, even when the hero lost.

And he had stopped him from leaving yet again.

That meant…

"You…"

The chameleon's eyes burned red with fury as his teeth clenched.

This freak was still treating him like part of the show. Still making him look like a fool!

He was planning to keep him here until the song ended!

Was he gonna fight him next, so the show didn't end like that?

Or was he planning on keeping him here until reinforcements came?

Whatever the answer was, he wasn't going to sit and take it.

If he thought he'd be an easy opponent, then he was gonna show this fool who he was messing with!

His tongue curled in preparation, tension building like a spring.

"If you won't let me leave… then don't blame me for what's about to happen to you!"

And with those words—

The tongue shot out like a bullet.

"Watch out!" someone yelled from the crowd, worried as even when being attacked, the figure in black continued playing the song unbothered.

Fortunately, their worries were unfounded, as the next second—

"Nani?!" The villain's eyes widened.

His tongue stopped midair, like it had been stuck on something invisible.

He immediately tried pulling it back, using all his strength—yet, it refused to move. Whatever was grabbing it was stronger than him and his tongue.

'This—can't be!'

Back to Taka, he heaved a sigh as he watched everything unfold.

'I didn't expect that herp to lose so suddenly. I didn't even have the time to cushion that last hit he took.' He glanced with pity at the still-fallen hero not too far away, before turning back to the villain, his troubled face slowly turning into a grin. 'Still, it's not all that bad… The fight ended before the song's final part, so I was worried it'd look a bit stupid for me to continue playing with nothing going on in front.'

His fingers picked up speed, finally entering the last part of the song.

'But it seems I got myself the entertainment I wanted.' A twisted grin appeared on his face, hidden by the mask.

With those thoughts, the song intensified, and at the same time, the villain's tongue began being pulled.

'Time for the grand finale.'

"Aaaaargh!"

Just like the hero had been earlier, the villain was swung around without mercy, using his tongue as the focal point of the swing

-Crash!-

-Bang!-

-Thud!-

-Slam!-

A building, a car, the street, even the nearby trees—Taka didn't hold back in the slightest, slamming the villain against anything in view.

His AP was now nearing 500 points—basically enough strength to lift two really heavy men.

So tossing this chameleon guy around was no problem for him—if anything, it was trivially easy.

And as he focused on thoroughly beating the guy, he also made sure to play the final part of the song as best as he could, pouring in every drop of sweat he had spent the past month practicing for this one moment.

And that showed.

His concentration reached its peak. The poor chameleon was now being swung to the rhythm of the song, drawing every onlooker into the melody again, hypnotized by the strange harmony of violence and music.

And they weren't the only ones.

For a brief moment, Taka immersed himself fully in the show—fusing both the beating and the song into a single, seamless act. There was no longer a distinction between them.

The villain was no longer an enemy, but more like an unwilling orchestral conductor, dictating the tempo of the piece—by being flung around.

Then, as the guitar's chords sped up, the melody began to signal that the end was near—just like the villain's fate.

The notes grew sharper. The melody built tension. All leading up to the grand finale.

As the music reached its most intense moment, the villain was sent flying—just like the hero had been earlier.

And, with the final note—

—CHAN!—

—he was slammed into the ground, cracking the asphalt beneath him.

His downfall timed perfectly with the song's ending, a single powerful guitar chord cutting through the air.

Then silence.

The crowd stood frozen, staring in awe as both the impromptu concert and battle reached their dramatic end.

<[+50 Aura]>

That's when a final burst of aura followed—generated from the awe of seeing a villain, one who had overwhelmed a hero, defeated with such bizarre flair.

And with that, this entire thing was done!

Taka heaved a satisfied sigh and eyed his gains.

158 Aura, all in just a few minutes.

He almost let out a loud laugh out of disbelief at his insane gains, when something even more surprising popped up.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETED!]

[Now that you're capable of holding your ground—barely, it's time to focus on other aspects of the perfect aura farmer. Not all in life is fighting, so be sure to sharpen your other skills so you're not only a one-trick pony! Aura Farming is present in all actions.]

Conditions for completion:

▸Practice a type of art for a month.✔

▸Dominate the basis of said art. ✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+150 Aura!>

<+Skill [Connoseur]>

<Note: While your performance during your practice and learning of the guitar was average at best, that last stunt you pulled by shamelessly butting into a fight between a hero and a villain for the sake of clout was worthy of a master Aura Farmer. Due to that, your gains in aura in this mission have been greatly boosted.

Remember, aura favors the brave!>

"Hah…"

If it weren't because he didn't want to lose aura by looking like a lunatic, Taka might have burst out laughing maniacally right then and there.

A gain of 298 aura points in one day. He had almost doubled his aura since the morning.

He hurriedly opened his status screen.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 66

▸ Defense: 132

▸ Aura Projection: 430

─────────────

Total Aura: 430→728

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸ Connoisseur (New!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Nice…"

He eyed the new numbers with delight, then his attention shifted to the new skill, and he quickly opened its description.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Connoisseur] (Passive)

Description: Since you've already shown others that you can be capable in this area too, it's only natural that your talent and skill are not merely average. You've got to show the whole world that you shine in more than one way, for you are the shiniest gem of all.

▸Increases your learning capabilities and talent in all types of art.

▸Augments your creative thinking.

▸Increases chances of entering a state of absorption on the type of art you're doing.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Huh…"

Yet another skill that didn't exactly make him jump in excitement, but definitely didn't look bad either.

Especially because he had now seen how good aura farming through art could be. If he improved further, then there was no telling how much he'd be able to gain in the future.

Plus, his goal of getting famous online might now be even more feasible.

"This day just gets better and better."

As Taka was admiring his gains with a satisfied face, the sound of police sirens approaching startled him.

"Oh shit!"

Without hesitating, he enveloped his instruments in aura and began making them float.

Then, with all the aura he could spare, he boosted his physical stat and made a run for it.

He wasn't about to get caught.

Of course, he first made sure to do a bow to the still-watching crowd before dipping out of there.

<[+10 Aura]>

"Nice."

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued-

────────────────────────

(A/N: How was it? I'd have liked the chapter to progress along the song, but it ended up a bit too long. Either way, I think it did its job.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Step into Fame]
────────────────────────

| The next day |

…

Inside a room filled with all sorts of music-themed decorations—including a few guitars and a drum set—a certain black-haired girl with earlobes strangely resembling earphone jacks sat at her desk, yawning lazily as she closed her notebook.

"That's enough studying for now. My brain's gonna fry."

Tossing the notebook onto her bed without looking, she picked up her laptop and plugged it in. The device let out a small chime before coming to life.

For the next few minutes, the girl stared at the screen with a bored expression, scrolling through random videos online. Sometimes she darted to other pages to check various things before returning for more doomscrolling.

That was, until she came across it.

{"What's that guy doing?!"}

The video began with someone filming themselves, their face twisted in shock, before they turned the phone around and tried to capture the bizarre scene unfolding in front of them—despite the shaky camera and poor video quality.

But from what the girl could make out, it seemed that—just above the typical skirmish between a hero and a villain—some weirdo was sitting on top of a building with… a guitar?

That caught her attention.

Was he about to—?

—CHA-KA-CHAN!—

The thunderous sound of the electric guitar confirmed her suspicion.

'He's actually going to play at a place like that.'

A slight smile crept onto her face. The sheer boldness of using a hero-villain battle as a stage for your own performance was pretty impressive, she had to admit.

But would he actually be good enough to make it worth it?

She leaned back in her seat, arms crossed, giving the video a smirk and an expectant look.

He had the guts, now all that was left was to see if he had the skills.

...

After that, she proceeded to binge nearly three minutes of the four-minute video.

'It's good…' she thought, sweatdropping slightly.

The song was actually good. And after a while, the hero and the villain resumed their fight, which only made the song sync better with the action below.

But…

"It sounds like it's incomplete…" she muttered, squinting and leaning in closer.

For some reason, it felt like a song meant to support other instruments. But since the guy was doing a solo, that was probably why it felt that way.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder… how would it sound completed?

The video went on. It was about four minutes long, so she figured there was just a minute left before the song ended—or before the guy got interrupted.

Either way, she kept watching, wanting to see the performance to the end.

But then something happened that pulled her attention away from the music.

The villain won.

About thirty seconds from the end, the hero received a devastating blow and was knocked out cold.

The sight sent a chill down her spine. Like many others, she wasn't used to seeing heroes lose. Justice was supposed to always win.

So what now?

With the hero down and no reinforcements in sight, the villain was free to do whatever he pleased.

What would happen to the people?

"Hold on…"

That's when she noticed—the music hadn't stopped. The guy on top of the building was still playing like nothing had happened.

Did he not see the chaos going down there? Was he blind?

If he kept playing—

Sure enough, after a strange stumble, the villain turned his attention to the guitarist, lashing out his tongue at him, while the masked guy just kept playing.

Her pupils shrank.

What was he doing? He had to dodge!

The one recording was just as shocked. People watching from afar seemed to panic, too.

{"Watch out!"}

Someone even tried to warn him. But the masked guy didn't flinch, entranced by his own performance—even as the villain's attack closed in.

However, just when it looked like things were about to end horribly—the result was the exact opposite.

The villain's tongue was suddenly caught midair by an invisible force, making her and the crowd gasp.

That's when it hit everyone.

From that point on, it wasn't a battle anymore, but a beating.

Soon, the chameleon-like villain was being swung around like a rag doll, all to the rhythm of the song.

A full minute of relentless chaos played out as the music reached its climax. The villain was slammed into buildings, cars, the ground. It was a bit pitiful.

And then, the finale arrived.

The song ended with one final, powerful note—and so did the fight.

The villain was slammed into the ground with one last mighty swing.

—CHAN!—

-BAM!-

Vexingly, that's where the video ended, snapping the girl out of her daze. She bit her lip in frustration.

"What's with that ending? What happened after that?!"

Annoyed, she dove into the comments.

Most were rambling about the music, the guy's Quirk, or arguing about whether interfering in a hero fight was illegal—none of which she cared about.

Until finally, she saw something that mattered.

[I found his channel, he made one after the incident where he's uploading his videos!]

She opened the link without hesitation—and sure enough, there it was: a channel full of videos apparently from the same guy.

Allegedly.

He was wearing a dark hoodie and a black mask, so it was hard to be sure.

But it seemed like him.

She dove into one of the videos, and sure enough, he was playing the same song from the original clip.

However, she was quick to notice a difference.

For some reason, he seemed more skilled with the guitar than before.

Not only that, but the song itself had changed slightly—it felt more polished, more refined. Still lacking other instruments, sure, but closer to completion than it was in the video she had just watched.

The channel was fairly new, so there weren't that many videos uploaded yet.

But without much thought, she went straight to the follow button.

"I wonder what weird thing this guy's gonna do next?"

…

°

°

°

...

"I wonder what I'm gonna do next?" Taka muttered as he stared blankly at the ceiling of his room.

A day had passed since his crazy stunt with the chameleon guy, and it had definitely been worth the risk.

His aura had shot up from around 400 to 700.

A gain of nearly 300 aura.

He'd also gotten a new skill—and while it didn't boost his power directly, it definitely helped with farming aura online.

But that was not all.

Yesterday, he ended up with 738 points.

Today? 744.

And how?

<[+1 Aura]>

Exactly like that. The count had just gone up to 744 now.

These kinds of notifications had been popping up every so often since yesterday, probably because people at the scene had recorded and uploaded footage of his mini concert. Add to that the new channel he created, using his masked persona as the face—and sure enough, it worked.

Aura began falling from the sky like the system had said.

In small droplets, spaced hours apart… but it was falling from the sky nonetheless.

It might seem like a tiny amount, but 5 points a day would mean 150 by the end of the month.

And with ten months left before he applied to U.A., that could mean 1,500 aura gained passively by then.

Of course, that was assuming people didn't forget about him in a week.

Which… they probably would.

So he had to come up with something new before his fifteen minutes of fame were up.

"But what would it be?"

Ideally, something that wouldn't put him on the police's radar.

So far, it didn't seem like he was wanted for anything—probably because he hadn't really interfered with the fight until the villain had already won and directly attacked him.

Still, he had a feeling he was already walking on thin ice, and that if he pulled another public stunt, the police might come knocking on his door.

Then again, playing the badass anti-hero vigilante could earn him a ton of aura…

But for now, he preferred to avoid that path.

His eyes drifted to the guitar leaning against the wall.

'I could always try uploading new songs,' he thought, grabbing his chin. 'It may have been hard for the me from two days ago, but with the Connoisseur skill now, it won't be half as bad.'

His gaze shifted to his pc.

'I've also already racked up a decent number of subscribers. 3,000… Not massive, but definitely something. Way better than my old channel ever managed. If I upload more songs, I could probably milk some decent aura from them.'

Yeah, that seemed like a solid plan.

'But… I need more power.'

He couldn't just coast on music videos for the rest of the year. There was still a huge power gap waiting to be made between him and the crybaby protagonist.

When U.A.'s exam arrived, he needed to have absolute power. Thus, he needed tons of aura and more skills too.

And that meant heading out, risking his hide, and grinding like hell.

The online aura farming would just be supplementary.

If he wanted the good gains, he'd have to crash a few more hero-villain fights over the course of the year.

…

But that could wait. Just a little.

'I don't want to end up a hunted vigilante or something.'

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Don't know what to say, so... 67.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[The Beating]
────────────────────────

| A month later… |

…

-Sip-

"Hah~… Life sure is great."

<[+1 Aura]>

"Hahaha. There goes another one."

Taka lounged on a beach chair in his garden, sipping a cool lemonade while shades shielded his eyes from the harsh UV rays—truly embodying the image of success.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and opened YouTube, scrolling through a saved list of videos—all of them featuring him crashing villain and hero battles, putting on his usual performance in the middle of the action.

Opening one, he watched it from start to finish, a small smirk tugging at his lips. When it ended, his gaze fell on the text below. He squinted, pleased.

[Views: 80,000]

With a satisfied sigh, he turned off his phone and slid it back into his pocket, running a hand through his hair.

"It truly seems I've ascended to stardom."

<[+1 Aura]>

"Hahahaha! Let it rain, let it rain!"

Another notification popped up. He laughed aloud, raising his lemonade in celebration and spilling a bit without caring.

It wasn't quite at the level of being called "rain" yet, but his passive aura income had increased noticeably compared to a month ago, back when he first performed his stunt at Force Kick's battle with the chameleon villain.

The boost was thanks to everything else he'd been doing in the past month.

After his initial success, he had decided to reuse the same formula. The arrest of a gang, dangerous villains on the run, petty thieves—Taka took advantage of every heroic incident nearby to set up impromptu concerts, playing the same DMC song every time. Mostly because he hadn't had the time to learn another one.

Recomposing songs from memory was a nightmare, even with his enhanced talent. He hadn't been deeply involved in music in his past life beyond being a listener... so no, he didn't magically remember a music sheet for every song he knew, nor could he recreate them perfectly with some photographic memory he didn't have.

Still, it wasn't impossible. With effort—and thanks to his new skill—he had been working on recreating another song from his old world. Sometimes it didn't sound exactly like the original, but those flaws were easy enough to fix with time.

Once perfected, he could either upload it or, better yet, save it for another hero-versus-villain event to ride the wave of action and fame again, boosting both his aura and passive income—which, by the way, had doubled. From around 5 per day to roughly 10.

That meant about 2,700 aura by the end of the remaining nine months.

"Hehehe…" Taka chuckled, smirking at the math. "Why was I so worried about being left behind? At this rate, I'll be invincible by the time U.A.'s exam arrives."

With a satisfied grin, he opened his status window, ready to bask in the results of his month-long grind.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 75

▸ Defense: 150

▸ Aura Projection: 1104

─────────────

Total Aura: 1104

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸ Connoisseur

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Nearly 400 aura gained in a month.

It was the combined result of his passive income and his stunts—though none had matched the ridiculous gains of his first big performance, they still brought in plenty.

Satisfied with the numbers and his bright prospects, he stood up, stretched, and headed inside, planning to go straight to his room.

He needed to practice the new song so that when the next opportunity arose, he could give his best performance yet—and cash in as much aura as possible.

"Sounds like a plan," he muttered as he walked, a sly grin creeping onto his otherwise dull face.

-Shaaa-

However, just as he slid the glass window open to step inside the house, a figure blocked his path.

Taka raised an eyebrow, recognizing the person in front of him, and deadpanned.

It was Seiji—who returned Taka's deadpan with one of his own.

"Hey, kid, shouldn't you be heading to school right now?"

"Hah? Oh, right… Tsk."

Taka clicked his tongue as the realization hit him. He'd been so engrossed in admiring his gains that he'd completely forgotten there was school today.

With a heavy sigh, he shook his head in lament.

'I guess I'm still not famous enough to skip school.'

…

°

°

°

| Hours later… |

…

Taka leaned on his palm, boredom written all over his face as his teacher droned on with the lesson. A yawn escaped him for what must have been the tenth time, making his feelings on the class crystal clear.

-Ring!-

The second the bell rang, his posture shifted instantly. In one smooth motion, he stood up, gathered his things, and made for the exit, obviously unwilling to spend a second longer here than necessary.

His teacher shot him a baffled look. Couldn't the kid at least pretend to care about his feelings?

But in the end, he let it go. It wasn't like Taka was doing badly in class anyway.

So, with no one to stop him, Taka left the classroom, his bag slung casually over one shoulder. He headed for the lockers to swap his shoes and grab the rest of his things before heading home.

After a brief stop to change, he finally stepped out of the school building, a faint smile forming as he looked at the setting sun in the distance.

But just as he was about to cross through the school gates into the outside world, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Hey, we wanted to have a little chat with you…"

Taka turned his head—and his eyebrow twitched faintly when he saw who it was.

A trio of thugs with ridiculous hairstyles. He knew them well. They were infamous around here—high-ranking members of a gang of delinquents that had sprung up between this school and several others nearby.

Teenagers with superpowers tended to go on massive ego trips in this era. Of course, when actual heroes stepped in, their bravado tended to vanish. Sadly, no hero had stepped in for this gang yet; they hadn't caused enough trouble to warrant official attention, which explained why Taka was in this situation.

The group from his class that had tried to mess with him months ago had been part of this gang. After he'd casually swung them around like ragdolls, he'd basically put a target on his back.

Not that he cared. His current stats were enough to take on small-time villains, so a few delusional teenagers didn't exactly worry him.

'Besides, if someone sees me beating them up, I might gain some aura… Sure, why not?'

Suppressing the grin tugging at his lips, Taka gave a simple nod, not uttering a single word.

The trio blinked, clearly not expecting him to accept so easily.

Still, they shrugged it off with a snort and motioned for him to follow, which Taka did gladly.

They led him to a secluded spot behind the school where no one ever went. With no one around to interrupt, they shoved him against a wall and closed in with smug expressions.

"Oi, I heard you roughed up our juniors pretty bad a while ago. We can't just let that slide, can we?"

"Yeah, haven't you heard of us—the Apocalypse Gang? Or did you just not care about the consequences of provoking us?"

"I believe he thinks he's better than us… We ought to teach him his place, brothers."

""Agreed.""

Taka gave them a calm gaze. Holding back a mocking sneer from escaping his nose as he heard their supposedly intimidating chat.

'I'll make sure to put you three to good use… Maybe I'll even make you do acrobatics in the air, that'll yield some aura for sure... given that someone's watching, of course.' His eyes darted around, looking for anyone peeking or similar.

Unfortunately, they seemed to be truly alone.

'Well, whatever. I guess you can't always gain aura.' Taka sighed, shaking his head helplessly. 'I suppose I'll deal with this quickly then...'

However, just as the trio was about to get on the move, and Taka was about to do so as well, a window popped up on Taka's peripheral vision.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Seeing someone beat up their opponents with overwhelming power is amazing—but you know what is even more jaw-dropping? Having someone tank their attacks unaffected, until they make them realize the difference between powers! Show these punks that they're not even at the level of making you lift a finger.]

Conditions for completion:

▸ Take all their hits without fighting back, and don't wince, groan, or curse.

▸ Do not enhance your defense to reduce the damage.

▸ Do so until they give up or the beating stops.

Reward: +100 Aura | Gain the skills [Pain is just a feeling] and [Innamovible object] | Gain a Mysterious Reward!

(Note: Host may be exempted from continuing with the mission if the conflict escalates to causing potentially dangerous injuries.)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'Huh?' Taka eyed the screen with wide eyes. 'You've got to be kidding me—'

-Bam!-

A sucker punch connected right with his face the instant that thought went through his mind.

His face was thrown back, saliva coming out of his mouth, and he stumbled a bit backwards, his back hitting the wall where he had been encircled earlier.

Seeing the attack connect, the two at the back snickered, glancing between their companion who had swung and the struck Taka with an amused face.

Their joyful faces froze the next second.

Just an instant after being struck, Taka's face turned back to face them, eyes squinted in evident anger, and a trail of saliva on his mouth from the punch.

Without turning his defiant gaze away, Taka swept the saliva off.

Seeing no fear or hesitation in those eyes, the one who had struck grinned savagely, preparing another punch. "Oh, so you're feeling brave?!"

And then, he swung again.

-Bam!-

The fist connected right with Taka's solar plexus, bending Taka in half for a few seconds.

However, despite the strike, not a sound escaped him. He went as far as biting his inner cheek to hold the groan from leaving.

Shaky and in undeniable pain, Taka still forced himself up, meeting eyes with the main punk who had been punching him so far.

-Whack!-

Right away, another fist hit his face, snapping it to the side, along with his body, making him almost stumble.

And yet, Taka stood back up again, his eyes never leaving the three teenagers.

This time, the amused gaze from the main guy faltered a bit, and even his two goons behind him looked a bit confused.

"What's with you? Are you masochistic or something?"

Taka snorted and lifted both, beckoning them to come at him by smugly waving his hands.

The three didn't leave him hanging.

Soon, the main punk threw a kick and folded Taka in half, this time throwing him to the ground.

Following that, the other two dashed to beat him up while he lay on the ground.

Soon enough, Taka began receiving many kicks while down. His body is curling a bit due to the pain.

'These fuckers…!' Taka gritted his teeth as he felt several kicks connect with his body. 'I could beat them up so easily, and yet I'm here pathetically receiving kicks on the dirt… How is this aura farming?!'

As Taka questioned the veracity of the mission from the supposed Aura Farming System, the kicks suddenly stopped.

His eyes opened for a moment in confusion. What had happened?

But then, he felt one of the guys pull his clothes and him along with them up, before slamming him against the wall, almost making him let out a groan out of instinct.

He held it in, somehow.

As Taka caught his breath, the main punk glanced at him with disdain, smirking at Taka's sorry visage. "We had considered inviting you to join our gang, considering you were capable of beating our juniors alone… but what's this? You're so pathetic, not doing anything despite us beating you up!"

Taka didn't say anything.

-Bam!-

"...!"

But then, he almost let out the best profanity he knew as he felt a fist sink right in his stomach, taking him by surprise.

That's when pain and frustration piled up.

'That's it, I'm tearing you fuckers down! Mission or not, I'm turning you bunch into meat powder today!'

Taka's eyes widened from the anger, and he lifted his hand, preparing to begin the beating.

The aura began moving, wrapping around the trio, who looked oblivious to their approaching fates.

But just as Taka was about to move… he stopped, his hand falling, and his eyes closing depotently for a moment... before opening back again.

-Slap!-

Suddenly, he slapped away the guy's hand gripping his shirt and took a step forward, coming face to face with him.

The sudden action took the three by surprise. They prepared, thinking he was about to use his Quirk. But instead—

"Hit me."

"Huh?"

Taka pointed at himself.

"I said, hit me."

The trio looked at each other before turning back to Taka.

"Well, if you say so—!"

With no hesitation, one of them threw a punch directly at Taka's face.

-Whack!-

This time, blood was drawn, having been hit enough to tear his lip.

But just a second later, Taka turned to face the guy who had punched him again, taking another step forward, and meeting his gaze just a few centimeters away.

"Hit me."

"Y-you…"

The guy stepped back, startled by the sudden, non-hesitant attitude of what was supposed to be their victim, but Taka followed after him.

"Come on, hit me!"

The runt threw another punch.

-Whack!-

It hit Taka, but it barely moved his head before he turned back with the same unshaken gaze.

"Come on, hit me, you fuck! Isn't that why you're here?!"

"If it's a beating you want so much, take it!"

Then another of the guys joined in, punching his face again from the side.

But unlike before, Taka's head didn't move; his cheek sank from the impact, but that was all. Slowly, he turned to face the newly joined participant. His beyond-angry, murderous eyes locked with the startled punk's.

"I told you to hit me! Is that all you lame fucks can do?!"

The trio looked at each other, clearly baffled by Taka's attitude. From his gaze alone, they could tell he wanted nothing more than to tear them apart, and yet, he was asking them to hit him more?

They hesitated. Something was clearly wrong with the guy in front of them.

But could they call themselves proper delinquents if they backed down just because some guy was messed up in the head?

"Let's see if you like this then!"

"Yeah, you fucker!"

"See if this is enough for you!"

Soon, punches began raining on Taka, who folded a bit under the storm of strikes. But even then, no sound came out of him. He simply closed his eyes tightly throughout the whole beating.

All—until the three became tired.

"Damn, why is he still on his feet?"

"Didn't they say his Quirk was some telekinetic shit? How does that equal taking a beating this long?"

"My hand hurts already."

"Should we use our Quirks? This guy doesn't look like he is going down any time soon otherwise."

The three took a few steps back when they saw Taka still standing tall, despite the bruises on his face.

A wave of hesitation passed between them as they faced the still unwavering eyes of their opponent.

Eventually, one decided to give up. "Tsk. This is getting boring… Hey, let's dip out of he—"

But just as he was about to propose leaving, a voice called out to them.

"Hey, you three, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

A girl came running at them angrily.

The group turned to look at her, Taka included, baffled.

She had short black hair and two long earlobes resembling earphone jacks.

For a moment, Taka felt a faint familiarity with her appearance, but given the current situation, he didn't pay it any mind for now.

As the girl arrived in front of them, she placed herself between Taka and the group, almost like trying to shield the aura farmer. "Enough of beating him up, can't you see he's not even defending himself?!"

The trio sweatdropped.

"I mean, he was kinda asking for it."

"We were just leaving anywa—"

"Move aside."

"H-hey!"

The trio froze when they saw Taka push the girl aside and step forward.

For a moment, they thought he'd ask for more like earlier, but then, they all felt a chill when they saw his wicked smile.

"If you stopped hitting me, then I'll assume you're done with your turn."

In the corner of Taka's vision, a certain screen could be seen.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Seeing someone beat up their opponents with overwhelming power is amazing—but you know what is even more jaw-dropping? Having someone tank their attacks unaffected, until they make them realize the difference between powers! Show these punks that they're not even at the level of making you lift a finger.]

Conditions for completion:

▸ Take all their hits without fighting back, and don't wince, groan, or curse.✔

▸ Do not enhance your defense to reduce the damage.✔

▸ Do so until they give up or the beating stops.✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+100 Aura>

<+Skill: [Pain is just a feeling]>

<+Skill: [Innamovible object]>

<+Mysterious Reward: [Harness of Perfection]>

<Note: You took that beating like a champ, host.>

If Taka had already been feeling angry, the system note at the end certainly didn't help.

Right now, he didn't know if he'd be able to continue on the path of heroism, or if he'd have to live a life on the run from now on, charged with triple homicide.

But he didn't care.

Right now, he'd return the beating he took—tenfold!

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

Taka let out a satisfied sigh as he admired his work of art.

The three punks, who'd been so cocky earlier, now hung beaten and humiliated—swollen eyes, bruises everywhere, broken noses, and dangling from a school flagpole by their underwear. The old but classic wedgie never failed when it came to humiliation.

He could have left them naked for everyone to see, but the girl was still there. He decided to spare her the view. Besides, after the beating he'd given them, he was already feeling plenty satisfied.

Although when the pain from his own earlier beating flared up again, the thought of doing it regardless was tempting.

In the end, though, and for the sake of maintaining his facade, he held back. The matter was over.

With the annoying mission finally complete—and the strong urge to just collapse into bed—he turned to head straight hom—

"Hey, you're not just gonna leave like that, are you?"

Never mind.

Taka turned to the girl, deadpanning.

Honestly, he wasn't in the mood for conversation, not with his body aching all over, so—

"What?" He cut straight to the point.

The girl sweatdropped at his bluntness but spoke up anyway.

"Well, if you could've done that from the start, why didn't you? I thought you were about to die or something."

Taka stayed silent for a moment, trying to come up with an answer.

He couldn't exactly say he was a slave to some system and couldn't resist the temptation of racking up aura and new skills.

So he went with the quickest excuse that came to mind.

"I was making a point."

The girl frowned. "Huh? What point?"

A beat of silence passed before Taka replied.

"That they're not even worth defending myself against."

With that, he turned and started walking away, leaving the girl glancing between his retreating figure and the knocked-out trio.

"What's with that…?"

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: This chapter had quite the bad reception in another platform, so I'm not having much expectations here.

Just to say, my vision for this arc of the series before getting to UA is for Taka to grow as an aura farmer, rather than to just jump straight into it for good. In this chapter in particular, I wanted him to push forward through pain and to showcase willpower even while taking a beating from three guys in his most vulnerable state. Basically, so he wouldn't be a guy who is only able to be cool because he has overwhelming strength.

I don't know if I was clear with that, but whatever.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Masochistic System]
────────────────────────

…

Taka walked back home, limping a little, and his face betraying any intent to hide the pain in his body, not that the bruises and dirt all over him helped with that. He looked totally wrecked.

As he walked, he let out a long sigh, one mixed with disappointment and disgust.

"I'm a fucking slave, to let myself get beaten up this much just for some aura and skills… what am I doing with my life?"

He stopped walking and glanced at the bruises on his arms with a scowl.

"I really should stop following blindly the system's missions."

But then, his eyes darted to the screen, his annoyed gaze flickering just slightly.

"But well, I did get beaten up a lot for this, so let's see if it was really worth it or not."

He tapped the air where the screen was and checked the three rewards he had gotten.

A hundred points of aura, making his total reach 1170.

Two new skills, which he planned to check out in a second.

And lastly, a mysterious reward that turned out to be something called "Vest of Perfection". An object-type reward, something he hadn't seen so far from the missions' rewards, and that he was especially thrilled to check out.

But since he preferred to leave the most important things for last, he checked the skills first.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Pain is Just a Feeling] (Passive)

Description: Pain, like any other feeling, is essential to our own survival. Without it, we wouldn't even notice the damage to our bodies, nor the limits that we have. However, sometimes there are more important things than our body, and the need to transcend our suffering becomes essential.

Never again shall you become a slave of pain, for pain is an alert, not a wall.

▸Greatly enhances pain resistance.

Note: Pain resistance is not the same as pain negation. The pain you'll feel is the same, but how you respond to it is the key.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"No comment on that one…" Taka deadpanned, another skill that didn't boost his combat power.

'Or maybe it does.' Taka mused, grabbing his chin with a pensive face.

If he ever was in too much danger, at least now he had the assurance he wouldn't get paralyzed from pain or something similar.

'Plus, now I can aura farm by being able to act like I can't feel pain—regardless of whether I might be crying my heart out inside.' Taka nodded with his eyes closed as that thought crossed his mind. 'Once again, another skill focused on aura farming… Maybe all skills will be like that?'

He blinked, then let out a wry laugh.

'Well, I suppose it's called Aura Farming System for a reason.'

His eyes turned to the next skill.

And sure enough…

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Innamovible Object] (active)

Description: The enemy launches their best attack, one that shatters earth and ignites the air… and yet, as it strikes their foe, he stays there, unmoving, his body unaffected, and his gaze unwavering. All that power, all that energy, they were nothing before a man who was like a mountain.

▸Grants your aura the ability to negate all knockback or recoil from an attack. Making you unaffected by it… at least on the outside.

▸Due to the energy behind attacks having to go somewhere, all the energy behind attacks will be redirected and distributed throughout your entire body.

Note: The energy distribution takes into account the energy that is lost on the air, ground, and anywhere else, so you're more likely to take more damage while using this ability.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Come on, man…" Taka deadpanned at the utterly useless skill, if not for the aura farming use.

Because that was all it was good for. It basically made him more vulnerable, in exchange for not being knocked back from attacks.

'I guess only the first skill had some real use, huh?' He rubbed his temples, already feeling like getting beaten up hadn't been worth it at all.

So, his attention went to the last reward on the list. Hopefully, it'd be what he needed for his mood to improve—

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Vest of Perfection] (Item)

Description: What is perfection, but an unattainable goal—for anyone but the true aura farmer, that is.

Aura Farming is not only present in battle, but the very reality that surrounds us. The way we breathe, the way we walk, the way we talk, the way we act as a whole. They all shape the true Aura Farmer, and differentiate them from a fake one.

So, what path will you take?

One of deception?

Or one of perfection?

▽

Do you want to take the item out?

[Yes] [No]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"... And what the hell is this?" Taka eyed the item with a dumbfounded gaze.

Whoever wrote that description had a knack for saying a lot but not really saying anything. So, still confused as heck about what the hell the item really was, Taka clicked on the "yes", and soon after, a very simple vest dropped in front of him.

"...?"

Taka picked it up with a deadpan.

The thing looked… lame.

It was just a very plain vest made out of what looked like leather. But besides that, it had no design at all.

But just as Taka was beginning to think he had been scammed and beaten up for nothing—

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[So you've gotten a hold of the Vest of Perfection! Then better put it to good use and start right away with your evolution!]

Conditions for completion:

▸Put on the vest, and wear it for an entire week.

▸Do not take it off until the end of the mission.

▸Do not support your own body by using Aura Projection.

Reward: +50 Aura | Gain the skills [True Walking], [True Breathing], and [True Speaking].

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taka's eyes widened like plates the moment he saw the reward of three whole skills for completing a mere week-long mission.

Though his awestruck expression dissapeared pretty quickly once he gave the skills' names a look over.

"Talk about lame sounding names…"

He squinted his eyes at the reward's description and then turned to glance at the Vest in his hands hesitantly.

"Still, it's three skills for only a week. Compared to most missions so far, which have taken me a month each, a single week seems pretty simple…"

He inspected the vest from closer, looking at it with a suspicious gaze.

"But this system wouldn't just give me that many skills for such a simple job, so what's the catch with this thing then?"

Taka stood silent in the middle of the street, inspecting the seemingly normal-looking piece of leather for a few seconds, his eyes never losing the distrust in them.

But ultimately, he shrugged it all off.

"Well, whatever. How bad can it be?"

And so, without much worry, he began putting on the vest.

And then… nothing happened.

He gave himself a look, raising an eyebrow.

He looked ridiculous. Like some poorly made cowboy costume.

'Is that the challenge? To keep a straight face despite wearing this during an entire week? If that's it, then I think I can manag—Uooogh?!'

Taka almost let out a strange cry the next second, not because of pain, but rather because…

"W-w-wha-what i-is thi....sss?!!"

A huge pressure suddenly fell upon his throat… No, not only his throat, but on all the muscles that allowed him to speak. His mandible was heavy, and he barely felt able to let out air, even less able to control it to speak.

What had been a simple task he'd been doing since he was a brat now felt like torture!

But why?!

His eyes immediately shot to the vest.

'It's this thing's fault!' Taka scowled, his hand gripping tightly his throat. 'But how? It's not even touching my neck, how is it even—Hold on.'

Taka's eyes widened as a thought reached him.

And sure enough, soon he felt it.

The true culprit behind everything… had been his own aura.

And what was worse… the aura… was moving!

The pressure that had only been difficulting him to speak soon began affecting other areas as well. Taka's eyes widened in horror as his own aura betrayed him and acted on its own.

After the throat, the pressure fell on the lungs and all muscles responsible for allowing him to breathe.

Suddenly, breathing felt like the most excruciating exercise ever. Every intake felt for his lungs like trying to take in solid rock instead of smooth air.

Not only that, but muscles that helped with taking the air in, like his back and a bit of his abdomen, also felt incredibly tight.

Much like talking, breathing had become almost impossible.

But even then, the aura still wasn't done.

Lastly, the pressure extended to his lower zone.

No, not that lower zone, fortunately.

His waist, legs, knees, heel, and even toes began suffering from a jarring pressure, along with the muscles that supported them.

Eventually, his legs buckled, and he fell on his knees, unable to stand under the strain.

But even on the floor, living wasn't easy.

"Haah...….haah…"

His breathing was close to sounding like that of a dying person, both because he could barely let out a sound and because he barely had any air to produce a sound. It took most of his effort just to be able to intake enough air not to die, and yet, he still felt like he was asphyxiating.

'What the hell is with these missions?!' Taka's fist clenched as he glared at the floor like it was his worst enemy. 'First it was getting beat up without fighting back, now it's this shit…!'

He tried to stand up, but his knees were barely able to push him up for a moment before he lost control of himself and fell to the floor either way.

-Thud!-

As his face hit the pavement, he let out a pained groan… or at least something akin to that.

'Aura Farming System? Don't make me laugh, it's more like a Masochistic System… I refuse to do this shit!'

With his patience at its limit, Taka reached for the vest, planning to take it off.

A week?! He could barely hold it together a minute after putting it on!

But just as he was about to reach it—

"Hey, are you okay?"

Someone picked him up and lifted him, placing one of his arms over their shoulder for support.

When he turned to look—

"It's—you…?" Taka's eyebrows furrowed lightly, though the question that came out of his mouth sounded more like it came from a zombie than a person.

There, supporting him with a complicated gaze, was the same girl from before.

Taka gave her a confused look. Where had she even popped out from?

"I'd been worried you might have been acting tough and actually needed medical attention from the beating you got, so I came to check quickly on you… Turns out I was right, huh?" She gave him a funny look, though a faint worry was visible in her eyes.

Taka shook his head, cold sweat dropping from his forehead. Then, he pointed a finger at himself. "M-my Quirk's side effect."

The girl blinked, then let out a hiss, giving him a look over. "What kind of horrible side effect leaves you like that?"

"... This one."

She shot him a deadpan. "That's not very helpful."

Taka closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "... Don't—need help."

The girl stared at him in silence, then gave him a quick look from head to toe, only to raise an eyebrow, thoroughly unconvinced. "Are you sure about that?"

Taka nodded, not wanting to bother trying to speak.

The girl fell silent for a moment, seemingly in thought.

In the end, she sighed.

"Can you stand on your own then?"

Taka simply nodded. Though a faint uncertainty could be seen in his eyes.

She noticed it, but decided to continue regardless. "Then, I'm going to let you go—slowly."

Another nod from Taka.

"Okay." She said, before slowly beginning to take his arm off her shoulder.

As the weight of his body began falling on himself again, Taka's teeth gritted beyond measure.

'Brace for the pain, brace for the pain, brace for the pain—!'

And sure enough, as his body became forced to sustain itself, all of his weight fell upon his legs.

Taka's eyes widened, and he bit his lips.

'I'm a superior human being, a once in a trillion birth, even All Might sucks ass before me, he is my errand boy, and I'm a motherfucking GOOOOOOOOD!!!'

With strange thoughts giving him power, Taka pushed as much as he could, all to simply not buckle and fall.

Soon, pain followed. Not sharp pain like he had a broken bone or something similar, but the kind of pain that comes from being on your limits. The kind of pain that is your body telling you to stop, or soon there'll be consequences.

And sure enough, this wasn't an anime where willpower could do it all, so there would probably be consequences, alright.

A torn muscle, or something similar.

But as he felt himself between the decision of continuing and tearing something, or falling and losing Aura in front of the newly arrived girl, Taka realized what the true answer was.

Neither.

Somehow, in a moment of clarity born from desperation, he found strength.

Strength in muscles he hadn't noticed were there, or he hadn't noticed that they could be used for this.

So, he pushed.

And this time… he didn't fall.

Soon, he stood upright, his stance tall, and his face—though sweating like crazy—was victorious.

'I win.'

Fresh air met his visage, and for a moment, he almost laughed—except he couldn't. Though a small smirk did appear on his face.

Through relentless effort and a lot of pain, he had done it.

He had stood.

"..."

Meanwhile, the girl could only stare dumbfounded.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

Turns out, Taka still needed help walking.

With the girl's help, they walked to a nearby park and sat down on a bench to rest.

"Haah...haah....haah…" Taka's low, but rather noticeable, shallow breathing filled the silence between the two.

After a bit of hearing it, the girl gave him a dubious gaze.

"Seriously, are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"

"... I'm sure."

Look at that, he managed to say that clearly, despite the tightness around his throat. Maybe he was finally getting the hang of this!

Taka felt triumphant at that small win.

As for the girl's question, well, he felt like shit, but controlled shit, not impending death shit. So he probably didn't need to go there.

Unless he tore a muscle or something.

But if he was ever really about to reach that point, he could just take the vest off.

—Although, now that he thought about it… Why hadn't he done so already?

He had been about to do it—but then this girl appeared.

Since then, he unconsciously forbade himself from taking it off. Like trying to prove something.

'Must be the aura farmer inside me… fucking hell, I already got brainwashed.'

As he cursed the system, sulking over his own weakness of mind, the girl gave him a curious look.

"Your Quirk was something like Telekinesis, right? You used it on those guys… but how the hell does it result in such a side effect?"

Taka didn't say anything. He couldn't come up with any excuse.

Thankfully, his difficulty when breathing and talking was enough excuse not to say anything.

"Well, you don't need to speak. That was just me mulling it over." The girl smiled wryly and turned to look at the front. "I just thought it had looked like a pretty powerful Quirk. It's a shame it has such consequences. You might have even been able to postulate to U.A."

Taka continued with his haggard breathing, but gave her a look.

'... Well, a little talk can't hurt.'

With his newfound mastery of forcing his voice out despite the struggle, Taka began talking.

"... I'm going to."

She gave him an incredulous look. "Eh? Seriously? But this side-effect—"

"It's a one-time thing."

She raised an eyebrow.

A Quirk that had a side effect—but it was something that happened only once?

That sounded weird.

Then, something clicked in her head.

"Ah, like a caterpillar?"

Taka turned to her slowly, giving her a dumbfounded gaze.

She quickly began explaining herself. "You know, uh, because of the evolving process when they get into a cocoon and become a butterfly… Is it something like that, or did I completely miss the mark?"

Taka raised an eyebrow at the clarification.

He glanced to the front in thought… Actually, that sounded fit.

The vest was the cocoon—a rather painful one... And the butterfly would be the skills.

"... Something like that."

"So I was right."

"Something like that."

"What's with that?"

The girl chuckled and soon held a hand in front of Taka, offering a handshake.

"Well, if you're going to U.A., then we might be classmates next year since I'm going there too. I'm Kyoka Jiro, by the way. I forgot to introduce myself earlier… but you left too fast, so it wasn't all my fault."

Taka took the hand, gathering some air and speaking.

"Takahashi Fukumoto… Nice to meet you."

And with that last introduction, another small silence settled between the two. This time, a little less awkward.

During it, Taka leaned forward and closed his eyes, resting after such a lengthy conversation.

He honestly felt like he had just run a marathon and couldn't even catch his breath since even doing that was hard.

So he spent quite a few minutes resting.

At least until his eyes suddenly snapped open.

'Hold on, Kyoka Jiro?!'

-Swish!-

"...?"

His head turned faster than a bullet to the girl, who was startled by the sudden look.

'Fuck, how did I even miss something like this when she has been next to me for over thirty minutes?!'

Taka felt the need to slap his forehead, but he was too tired to do so, so he didn't.

His eyes went directly to her earlobes, and sure enough, they looked like earphone jacks, the same ones the Kyoka Jiro from the anime had.

'Damn, I'm a dumbass!'

The girl—or rather, Jiro—picked up on his gaze rather quickly and furrowed her eyebrows faintly.

"What, haven't you seen a mutant type Quirk before?"

Realizing he might have come off as shocked by the long earlobes, Taka averted his gaze quickly.

"I just saw a cat."

She deadpanned. "On my ear?"

"... Something like that."

The girl just stared at him, dumbfounded.

But before she could say anything, Taka stood up with surprising speed.

"Anyway, I'm leaving."

And with that, he took off.

Somehow, he picked up on a similar trick to the one from when he tried to stand up, and did it. He walked.

Using muscles he didn't know he had, controlling his balance more thoroughly to not put too much pressure on one leg, using every single centimeter of his leg, from his toe to his ass. It was like he had gotten enlightenment on how to properly walk despite his disability… all just to avoid having to come up with more excuses.

And so, he began walking away—with difficulty, but he was walking.

Jiro could only look at his departing back with a strange look. "What a weird guy."

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Poor old Taka still has a lot to learn in the art of Aura Farming. But don't worry, from here on, Taka's path and coolness will only go uphill. A little warning to those that don't know me, though, I'm pretty, uh, extravagant when coming up with names.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon for more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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────────────────────────
[Evolution]
────────────────────────

| Taka's classroom, a week later… |

…

"Takahashi, come answer this question."

-Sigh…-

In response to his teacher's demand, Taka stood up with a sigh and calmly walked towards the board, snatching the chalk from the teacher's hand once he got close enough.

Then, with it in his grasp, he quickly began scribbling the answer.

-Tack, tack, tack-

The class and the teacher calmly watched him scribble all sorts of calculus on the board, a few eyebrows furrowing, while others raised in confusion.

Once he was finally done, he returned the chalk to the teacher, who took it while glancing at the board with a slight squint of his eyes. Then, having done his job, Taka began walking back to his seat with both hands in his pockets.

All while holding back a grin.

Yet again, another problem flawlessly solved. His classmates must have been gawking at how effortlessly he had made it look—

"It's wrong." His teacher's voice interrupted Taka's thoughts.

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to his teacher, keeping on the poker face.

"... You sure?"

The teacher felt an eyebrow twitch.

"Hah?! Of course I'm sure! You wrote X equals 9, yet the answer should be X equals 11!"

"I wrote X = 11."

"Don't screw with—huh?" The teacher blinked as he saw that, on the board, was indeed the correct answer.

He glanced back at Taka, seeing the stoic student blink while staring blankly at the air, as if his head was somewhere else.

He scratched the back of his head and let out a frustrated sigh, not sure how to interpret this.

'Is my sight getting bad or something?'

"Can I go back to my seat now?"

"Yeah, sure, sure."

With the dismissal, Taka left his teacher to question his eyesight alone and returned to his seat, ignoring the muffled giggles from his classmates around as he sat down.

Unlike their teacher, who had been at an angle where he hadn't been able to see the board while he looked at Taka, they had seen clearly how a magical chalk suddenly began floating in the air and corrected the mistake in a flash.

Their poor teacher had been played.

<[+5 Aura]>

Despite the sudden gain popping up at the corner of his vision, Taka's face remained expressionless. The only thing he did was close his eyes for a moment as if enjoying the sound of the notification, before opening them back again as if nothing had happened.

After the teacher finally shook the matter of his vision off for a moment, the class continued from then on like normal. Questions flew towards other students, and other times, they were told by their teacher to read a certain part of the school textbook.

-Riiing-

Eventually, the school bell rang, declaring an end to classes.

Without hesitation, Taka stood up, picked up his things, and walked out of the classroom.

However, he didn't leave school right away. Instead, he passed by the bathroom first.

Then, as he opened a stall and took a seat at the toilet, he let out a long and exhausted breath.

"Holy fuck."

As if those words had been some kind of trigger, the next instant his back slouched forward and his until then calm and collected face turned weary and completely exhausted all of a sudden. His eyes trembling slightly.

And how could he not? He's been in pain for the entire week, all thanks to the vest currently hidden under his clothes, making the three basic human skills torture for him to do.

Walking, breathing, speaking. All necessary to be a functional human being, and all of them being actions that made Taka regret being born at the moment.

Luckily, his pain was significantly less than on the first day. Compared to then, at least he wasn't crawling through the ground while breathing like he had ten holes in his lungs anymore.

In his meeting with Jiro, he managed to come up with other ways of performing these actions without looking like a zombie out of sheer desperation. From then on, he continued making small improvements in these changes so that the pain and burden would lessen as much as possible.

Using muscles he didn't know were there, changing the rhythm at which he walked or breathed, applying force on different places during each action. All of those changes ultimately evolved in him managing to act completely normal on the outside, despite being in agony inside.

The pain resistance skill also helped a lot to put up a good act. Although sometimes he still had to get to somewhere devoid of people so he could take a breather from keeping up the act. Hence why he was now in a bathroom stall.

And right now, he had finally gotten to the supposed last day he had to keep up with this.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[So you've gotten a hold of the Vest of Perfection! Then, better put it to good use, and start right away with your evolution!]

Conditions for completion:

▸Put on the vest, and wear it for an entire week.

▸Do not take it off until the end of the mission.

▸Do not support your own body by using Aura Projection.

Reward: +50 Aura | Gain the skills [True Walking], [True Breathing], and [True Speaking].

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Neither of the conditions were completed, but he supposed that was because the mission had yet to end.

When would it, though? A week had already passed, and he was still having to put up with this torture.

Maybe the week would end when the day reached the same hour as it was when he got the mission?

Taka could only hope. He hadn't been paying close attention back then to what hour it was, but it shouldn't be too long from now on since he was leaving school right now, much like he had been back then before he got stopped by the annoying delinquents.

All he wanted was for this to end.

"Huuuh~…" He let out a short breath, sweeping the sweat on his forehead, exhausted already. "... I swear to god, if someone tries to stop me at the exit, I'm snapping their head…"

Right now, any kind of composure he had in him was going to keep up his act. If someone else tried to get funny with him like last week with the delinquents, then he didn't think he'd be able to spare them enough mental power to keep them alive when he crashed out.

"Though that might actually help me relieve some stress…"

With that ominous comment, Taka stood up from the bathroom seat and left the stall. His previously exhausted and defeated appearance shifted instantly to a more composed and normal one as he stepped out.

Keeping that look up, he resumed his plan to leave the school.

After quickly changing shoes and taking his stuff out of the locker at the entrance, he began walking towards the exit, ready to go straight home as soon as he reached the outside world

"Come on…"

Only, yet again, someone was waiting for him there.

'What's this, the new tradition of the school?' Taka deadpanned, but didn't slow down in the slightest.

There, leaning against a wall, was Jiro, checking her phone with a bored expression.

Taka glanced at her, squinting his eyes slightly.

'She must be waiting for someone of her class, right? She better be. I'm fine with being talked to, but not when I'm in constant agony. All I want right now is to go back home and lie on my bed until this mission is over.'

With fear inside him, he quickened his pace as he neared her, not wanting to be seen, regardless of her intentions.

He even began looking away, fearing she would sense his gaze or something.

Sadly, it didn't seem like things were going his way today.

"Ah, it's you… uhm, Takahashi, right?"

He had no choice but to stop.

Then, he gave her a look, one that barely hid his annoyance.

The twitching eyebrow also didn't help.

"... What do you want?"

She flinched and raised an eyebrow. "What's with that look? I thought we were cool from our last meeting."

Taka huffed and closed his eyes.

"I'm not in the mood for talking right now."

"What, you got beat up again?"

"..."

"Sorry." She laughed wryly, scratching the back of her head. Then, her eyes widened slightly as Taka began walking away. "Oi, wait up."

She quickly caught up to him, eyeing him from head to toe.

"You out of the cocoon already?"

"Hah?" Taka looked at her in disbelief.

"You know, out of your Quirk's side-effect or whatever. You said it was something like that."

"Oh." Taka rolled his eyes, recalling what he had told her. "No."

"Then the side-effect weakened?"

"No."

She blinked.

"But you seem fine."

"I'm in suffering," Taka said, keeping his deadpan. "But I've adapted enough to look normal on the outside."

She almost tripped at that, glaring at him with a sweatdrop. "And you've been going through whatever that was when we met… for an entire week?"

"Yes."

"You sure you're not just dying or something?"

"Fairly sure."

"Damn… any idea when it will end, then?"

Taka sighed, "... Hopefully, today."

"Seems specific." Jiro gave him a curious glance.

"It was kind of a decision of mine to start with it in the first place, and to keep it going for an entire week as well. If I wanted, I could have ended it at any moment."

She gave him a wry look. "Is that 'evolution' of yours really so worth it?"

Taka simply heaved a sigh and shot her a more annoyed look. "Did you want something?"

He might have found a life hack for talking without sounding like a zombie, but that didn't change the fact that it was one hell of a task to do so.

So, better go straight to the point.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, just…" She scratched her cheek, looking a bit sheepish. "You know, since we are both going to U.A., I thought we could chat for a bit…"

Taka raised an eyebrow, letting the silence stretch for a bit before replying.

"Maybe tomorrow. I don't exactly feel like it right no—"

He was cut short as suddenly a screen popped up in front of him.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETED!]

[So you've gotten a hold of the Vest of Perfection! Then, better put it to good use, and start right away with your evolution!]

Conditions for completion:

▸Put on the vest, and wear it for an entire week.✔

▸Do not take it off until the end of the mission.✔

▸Do not support your own body by using Aura Projection.✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+50 Aura>

<+Skill [True Speaking]>

<+Skill [True Breathing]>

<+Skill [True Walking]>

Right as the rewards began being listed by the system, Taka felt something change.

It was as if his very body structure was changing. His muscles, his tendons, his bones… They weren't growing or becoming stronger, but moving.

The change was minimal. He could feel it. Most of them were moving mere millimeters, and just a few passed the centimeter mark. But the shift in all of them at the same time inevitably caused a great deal of pain.

Taka's legs almost buckled in front of the sudden influx of agony.

But the suffering only lasted about five seconds before it all ended. Leaving as soon as it came.

For a moment, Taka was only able to focus on the relief of it finally ending, but as his mind calmed down, his eyes widened in realization.

Something was different.

At first, he didn't know exactly why. He simply stood there, baffled as he tried to find something different inside of him.

But then, as he took a breath—

"Haaah~"

The pain was gone.

It still felt somewhat obstructed, but he could now breathe relatively easily, despite the pressure still being there.

Not only that, but as he tried shifting his weight around, he noticed something different too.

What had previously been a hellish task, having to focus constantly on using the right muscles on his legs and back to not suddenly collapse in the middle of the street, was now an almost effortless task. Like breathing, the pressure was still there, but now it barely seemed to affect him.

As for talking.

"Ahem… aaah, aaaah, oooh."

Well, he couldn't exactly find much of a difference… but just like the other actions, speaking was also much smoother, and the pressure barely affected him anymore.

Taka looked around at himself, raising an eyebrow as he saw no change in his appearance.

His muscles had been moving, that was for sure, but it appeared they hadn't caused that much of a change outside.

And yet, he felt so different.

"...!" Suddenly, his eyes shone as if he had realized something.

Without warning, he took off his school sweater. Then, he grabbed the vest under it and quickly took it off, leaving only his T-shirt on.

The next instant, he felt it.

"This...!" His eyes widened, his mouth curling up slightly.

It wasn't like he had become stronger or anything. This hadn't been gravity training… but in a way, it had been similar.

Taking the vest off had freed him from the pressure his own aura applied to him, and without it, he could now feel it even more clearly.

He was breathing differently, but not in a bad way. It felt like, no matter how much he forced himself, how much he ran or exercised, he would never get out of breath again.

The same went for walking. Even though he was currently standing in place, he could still feel a great difference. His balance while standing was perfect. That slight awkwardness he felt sometimes, wondering if he was doing something as simple as standing correctly, was gone. He could tell the same went for walking. There was no longer any uncertainty in anything that regarded using his lower body to move or stand.

If he gave a step forward right now, he knew it'd be in the most perfect way possible.

"Why did you suddenly begin stripping down?" Suddenly, Jiro's voice snapped Taka from his daze.

'Right, I forgot she was there.' Taka sweatdropped.

Not only had he stopped talking mid-walk, but then began making strange noises, and then began taking his sweater off.

"Uh, sorry about that."

The moment those words came out, Jiro flinched, her eyebrow furrowing slightly.

"You…" She paused. "... Can you repeat that?"

"Sorry about that?"

"You sound… different." She commented, suddenly looking a bit shy.

Taka raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He cleared his throat and hummed a bit, trying to feel something different, but other than feeling a bit more in control of his volume and pitch, there wasn't much difference.

No, actually, that was it.

Since he got the system, he'd been putting on a bit of an act in front of everyone. Along with it, he'd made his voice a tad deeper. So far, he hadn't had a voice crack or made it overly deep, but like all conscious acts, there had been times his control over it had slipped faintly.

Now, though, that was no longer the case. Suddenly, he felt in total control over his voice. The deepening of his voice, which had been part of the act to sound cooler, no longer felt like an act, but simply another range his voice could take.

It all felt much more natural.

Jiro scratched her cheek, looking a bit confused herself. "I don't know… It's just different."

Taka smiled faintly.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

Satisfied with all the changes that he had gone through in an instant, his attention shifted to his newly acquired rewards.

Quickly, he opened the three skills' descriptions and gave them a quick overview.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[True Speaking] (Passive)

Description: Talking is a basic human skill; it represents the main way to communicate and convey more complex ideas to others. Yet, only a few have the true gift of swaying and igniting the spirits of those around them with only their voice. For the true Aura Farmer makes hearts shake, no matter what stupidity comes out of their mouth.

▸Enhances the control over your voice.

▸Enhances talent in speaking.

▸Boosts singing-related skills.

▸Boosts capacity to imitate others.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[True Breathing] (Passive)

Description: Oxygen intake, a bodily necessity for most living beings. Yet, it's also something that represents the limits of the body, often being the reason for exhaustion, passing out, or outright dying. An Aura Farmer masters the need of his body for this resource, and manages it perfectly, for the True Aura Farmer must flex until their last breath.

▸Perfects the body's motion for breathing, allowing for much larger oxygen reserves.

▸Makes it harder for the body to get exhausted.

▸Reduces strain during air intake.

▸You sound badass, even when breathing.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[True Walking] (Passive)

Description: Anyone can walk, for that is how human beings move. However, Aura Farmers are different. To silence a room when you stride in, to stand out from those around you by simply moving, to make a crowd make way for you simply with the aura you emanate… all of that represents a true Aura Farmer.

▸Eliminates all awkward movements performed accidentally or intentionally during walking.

▸Prevents long-term damage to the articulations.

▸Reduces leg strain during physically heavy activities.

▸Improved Leg strength.

▸More control over the noise you make, making it dependent on you and what you decide is best for each situation.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Three passive skills, not a strange sight amidst all he had gotten so far.

… Actually, was there nothing but passive skills in his status?

'Do I even have active skills?—right, there's the Unmovable Object skill and the Trouble Radar skill.'

<Innamovible Object, host.>

'Uh, whatever you say.'

Regardless, a skill was a skill, passive, active, or trash, he'd always welcome more, regardless of how much he complained about them in the moment. Those harsh comments were just his frustrations at not receiving a planet-busting ability.

The new three, though,… were the real deal.

If he had only read their names, he might have assumed they were lame, or that they wouldn't be worth much… but now that he was actually experiencing the change in his own flesh, he accepted his mistake.

He was wrong.

It was like he had ascended to a higher plane of existence. Like the way he'd been living before had been plainly wrong.

Having checked his newly acquired skills, albeit very swiftly since there was someone beside him right now and he didn't want to appear more schizophrenic than he already had, he then opened his status page and gave his aura a quick look.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 77

▸ Defense: 154

▸ Aura Projection: 1213

─────────────

Total Aura: 1263

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'It's growing steadily.' He let out a satisfied sigh.

Taka dared to say, in a month or two, it was possible he'd reach the two-thousand aura.

Which, in terms of power, would be enough to lift around a ton.

Nothing too groundbreaking in a world filled with people who had superpowers, but it would practically be on the level of a really high-strength-enhancing Quirk.

And when using that much aura in Aura Projection, it was like having really long hands that he could use to fly, to lift multiple things at the same time, and to reach things from afar. So it was practically even better than just some plain enhancement.

He only needed to stack 800 aura points until then.

"Anyway, where were we?" Taka turned back to Jiro, who was looking a bit weirded out by his behavior.

"You were explaining why you were suddenly stripping down."

"..."

Suddenly, Taka didn't feel like talking anymore.

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Now, Taka has become immune to scoliosis, asthma, and, uh, stuttering? Sadly, he won't be able to dududududuel anymore.

I don't know what I'm saying, ignore me.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[New song]
────────────────────────

| A month later… |

…

It was Saturday morning, and life in the city went on as usual.

People strolled with friends or family for outings, heroes patrolled the streets while signing autographs, and some poor souls trudged to their jobs despite it being the weekend.

Such was the cycle of life in the asphalt jungle. Just another day in the city of Shizuoka.

And just like any other day in a society filled with superpowered individuals, evil ran rampant.

"Stay away, you bastards, or I'll leave you with so many holes that your fans will mistake you for strainers!" a man covered in spikes—like a walking porcupine—snarled as he found himself surrounded by heroes.

One stepped forward, his suit entirely white except for the helmet, which resembled a robotic bird. His most striking detail, however, lay in the massive pair of angelic wings spread wide behind him, like an angel.

He was the hero Pidgael, number 257 in the hero ranking.

"Surrender now, foolish villain Edgehog! Your days of evil are numbered!" He said as he pointed a finger with solemn elegance.

"What's with that cringy-ass line!" Edgehog bellowed. Then, he curled inward, spikes aiming in every direction like a sea urchin. "Fine… if you won't leave me alone… then die!"

The heroes' eyes widened.

Before they could act, Edgehog let out a guttural roar:

"Omniversal Perforation!"

An instant later, his spikes shot outward in every direction, creating an expansive wave of piercing projectiles while new ones sprouted immediately to replace them.

"Watch out!"

"Protect the civilians!"

"Quick!"

The heroes reacted quickly and scrambled.

A woman's nails grew into a massive wall of gleaming steel, blocking the volley of spikes from hitting the crowd.

Hand Breakable, number 213 in the hero ranking.

Another slammed his palms together, generating a shimmering bubble of energy that expanded to shield a group of kids. The spikes hammered it, the barrier trembling violently before shattering once the last projectile hit—just in time to leave them unharmed.

Plasma Pop, number 344 in the hero ranking.

Pidgael, however, wasn't so lucky. Spotting a group of students watching from too close to the approaching wave, he leapt forward, spreading his wings as a shield.

But unlike another, more famous winged hero, his feathers weren't weapons nor as hard as metal—they were just wings.

"Argh!"

The spikes pierced with ease, some lodging in his back despite his suit's protection, though, fortunately, it did help prevent them from getting too deep.

"Damn you…!" he growled, blood dripping from his feathers. As civilians were pushed back to safety, he and the other heroes regrouped back in front of Edgehog, glaring at him in anger.

The villain laughed manically. "Hahaha! Now you see the difference? Your pathetic little Quirks can't—"

-CHAKACHAN!-

Suddenly, the sound of a roaring electric guitar split the air, silencing everything.

Heads whipped toward its source, eyes wide.

"There!"

"Who's that?!"

"Could it be…?"

A figure stood imposingly atop a streetlight.

Arms crossed, perfectly balanced despite the narrow footing, and a black hoodie that hid the figure's features completely, giving it a mysterious air.

Beside him floated a guitar and a pair of speakers, humming with power.

The instant they all saw him, the crowd erupted.

"Is that—?"

"Yeah, the mysterious guitarist!"

"He showed up again!"

"Hell yeah, this was getting boring!"

"That guy knows how to make a good show!"

The heroes exchanged puzzled looks at the sudden outburst.

"Mysterious guitarist?" Pidgael asked, baffled.

"Oh, I know about him," Plasma Pop replied with a snort, eyeing the person in the lightpost disdainfully. "Some nobody who shows up during our fights to play his songs in the background. He's been getting a bit popular lately, but the guy's nothing more than a dirty vigilante, using his Quirk without a license and even participating directly in villain take-downs."

"So, a smart-ass, huh?" Hand Breakable cracked her knuckles before slamming a fist into her palm, itching to knock him down. "Well, he's not meddling with our arrest, that's for sure. I don't want the hero commission paying us less because some vigilante butted in without asking."

Right away, she began walking toward the mysterious guitarist.

"Hold on, Hand Breakable !" Plasma Pop grabbed her shoulder, yanking her back. "While he has sometimes butted in, it was most of the time when the heroes were at a disadvantage. He seems to care more about his show than about actually taking the villain down!"

"So? He still needs a beating."

Pidgael walked up to them, calming her.

"Leave it, Hand Breakable. He may be someone we need to arrest later, but there's an actual villain in front of us right now. Let's deal with the bigger threat and then see how we deal with that one later."

"Tsk!"

While the heroes debated, the porcupine villain ground his teeth.

"Who are you?!" he roared, turning his fury toward the stranger who dared to interrupt.

The guitarist gave no reply. He stood tall on the streetlight, arms still crossed, radiating elegance as if answering would only cheapen his presence.

That silence only made Edgehog angrier.

"So you're just gonna stand there, huh?!"

He raised his arm, spikes bristling and locking onto the figure above.

"In that case… BEGONE!"

With a shout, a dozen needles fired—fast as bullets—straight for the guitarist.

The heroes flinched, some ready to leap forward to save the fool chasing clout.

But they froze when the impossible happened.

The spikes stopped midair. Every bit of momentum vanished as though time itself had frozen for them.

"...What?!" Gasps rippled through the crowd. Heroes, civilians, even Edgehog stared in disbelief at the guitarist, who now had one arm calmly extended forward.

It didn't stop there, however.

The instant the stranger clenched his fist—

CRACK!—

All the frozen needles shattered in unison, crumbling into harmless fragments that rained down onto the street.

Edgehog's jaw dropped. His sweat shone under the sun. "I–Impossible! My spikes are hard as stone! How could they—"

"Enough, Edgehog, your vile crimes end here!"

"Surrender now, or face the beatdown of your life!"

He was cut short as suddenly the trio of superheroes dashed at him, forcing him to focus back on them.

"You fools, even though you saw the difference between us, you still think you stand a chance?! Very well, I'll skewer all of you as you wish so much!"

And like that, the battle began.

Back on his lightpost, the guitarist lowered his arm, unbothered by the fact that he'd just been attacked, and instead simply glaring at the battle below in silence for a few seconds, until suddenly—

-Bzzz!-

The speakers at his side powered on, letting out a low but prominent hum, returning the attention of the masses to him, some even looking expectant.

With all eyes back on him, he tapped the lightpost twice with his feet, and as if on cue, suddenly a heavy bassline rumbled out, slow at first, but growing, building momentum.

In that instant, everyone understood.

The performance had begun.

—{Playing: Animal I Have Become}—

Excitement surged through the crowd. Fans started bobbing their heads, phones shot up to record, and the atmosphere thickened with anticipation.

The guitar floated into the man's hands like a weapon returning to its master. A sharp riff cut through the bass, the sound raw and powerful, adding fuel to the rising storm, coupled with powerful battery beats that only filled the song with more power.

Feet stomped. Shouts of hype rippled through the bystanders.

And then—

{"I can't escape this hell."}

A distorted voice poured from the speakers, deep and static-laced, transformed by a voice changer, but instead of breaking the immersion, it enhanced it—electric, mechanical, perfect for the song's mood.

{"So many times I've tried."}

Some people reacted, looking at each other, surprised, before glancing back at the lone figure of the guitarist high above, their smiles rising.

{"But I'm still caged inside."}

The sound swelled, instruments building momentum. Everyone could feel the peak approaching.

{"Somebody get me through this nightmare—"}

The air vibrated, the whole street holding its breath.

{"I can't control myself."}

The drop was here. The battle had turned into a stage.

{"SO WHAT IF YOU CAN SEE—"}

…

°

°

°

| Taka's POV: |

…

'Hell yeah, my aura is shooting up tonight!'

Watching the crowd move in unison as the drop hit, I grinned behind my mask.

I already had another angle recording, my aura projection keeping the camera steady in the best spot, while also helping me balance on the lightpost, and also stopping my speakers from plummeting to the ground.

Once I uploaded this, not only would I rake in a huge bonus in aura, but my passive income would spike back up—maybe even higher than before. If all went well, I'd hit 2000 aura by the end of the month.

Totally worth the prep.

Truth was, I'd had this song ready almost a month ago. The only reason I'd held off was because of the skill I'd unlocked back then—

True Speaking.

That skill cranked up my singing talent and voice control. Combine that with Connoisseur, and it would've been a crime not to add the lyrics and some of the instruments—those were literally this song's strongest weapons when put together right.

So I spent the last month grinding—learning to sing, learning to play the other instruments nicely enough so I could record at least one good try, and then use it as playback while I did the guitar.

At first, I doubted it was worth the time. My earnings had been dropping day by day, the longer I stayed out of the spotlight. Honestly, I thought I'd screwed up.

But looking now—seeing people jumping, dancing, losing themselves in the music—

I knew I'd made the right call.

No—this was the best call.

{"So what if you can see the darkest side of me?"}

So this is what it felt like to be a rockstar, huh?

It wasn't too bad!

Feeling my hands flow along with the song, hitting each note like thunder, the sweat dropping through my eyebrows, the sound of people vibing, it was amazing.

That, coupled with the epic battle between the team of heroes against the villain going down there, only made this greater.

For a moment, I thought: Should I dedicate myself to this instead of being a hero?

Honestly, this was great, seeing the people enjoy what I was playing, seeing masses dancing and jumping in unison to a song that I personally liked a lot, and that I was playing, it was addicting.

But that was the problem.

This wasn't my song.

My smile faltered a bit.

'Well, does it matter? They are liking it, and I'm raking aura like crazy.'

As long as my power grew, it didn't really matter if this was cheating or not.

I couldn't bother to worry about honesty, not when UA was some months from now on. I needed to gather as much power as I could before I had to begin fighting the big bads.

Yeah, what am I thinking?

I should just continue playing.

{"I can't escape this heeeeell"}

{"This animal…"}

{"This animal…"}

…

The people loved it, sure, but now that I thought about it, should I really be proud of achieving this?

The only thing I had done was reconstruct the song from memory, and then recorded most of the other instruments to play in the background while I took care of the guitar.

This wasn't mine.

I was just copying what existed, or what exists somewhere else.

It felt a bit empty, now that I thought about it.

My fingers faltered slightly.

Was all this aura I was gaining really mine?

Don't misunderstand me, I loved power. Right now, I am incomparable to a few months ago when I unlocked my system.

But, a part inside of me… maybe the part that had been brainwashed… that part, couldn't help but think... Is this power earned through copying others, really the type of power I want to earn?

I had the skills, the talent, and the power to do it on my own.

So why couldn't I?

Yeah. Why couldn't I?

My fingers increased in speed, feeling something akin to anger sprout inside me.

Then, a notification popped up.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[You've taken a step forward in your path to true aura farming, for the True Aura Farmer does not steal. The Aura farmer creates, shows, and inspires.]

Conditions for completion:

▸Develop your own song.

▸Once done, present it in a place with more than a thousand people.

▸Have people enjoy your song.

Reward: +1000 Aura | Gain the skill [Imaginary technique: My Theme]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'A song of my own?'

That thought quietly crossed my mind as I read the mission, while my fingers started nearing the end of the song.

Soon, my voice began dimming in the background, and the notes I was playing became weaker.

The crowd began calming down, enjoying the end of the song.

And, as I looked down, seeing the heroes still busy with the villain despite being three against one, I sighed.

Then, the next second—

-Bam!-

I used my aura projection to slam him right into the ground, immobilizing him.

I couldn't have him continue fighting when the song had ended, right?

While I was at it, I also crushed all his spikes, not entirely, but just the tips, so he couldn't use them like weapons nor regenerate them like earlier.

But with him unconscious, I don't know whether he'd do something like that.

Well, not like it mattered.

As the heroes rushed him, I heaved a sigh, and finally, I put an end to the song.

"Huff…"

That sure had been exhausting.

As the hum of the guitar faded away, I cleaned the sweat on my forehead with my forearm before glancing at the people below, who were watching me with wide eyes.

'I suppose I gotta end this properly.'

I let go of my guitar, letting it float beside the speakers, and bowed in one fluid, practiced motion.

The crowd cheered, and a small smile appeared on my face.

'Next time, it'll be something that's truly mine you're cheering for.'

With that, I turned around, preparing to leave once again.

But just as I was about to jump away, using my aura to fly away, a technique that I had picked up not long ago, and that hadn't been that hard to figure out—

-Wheee-oooooh-wheeee-ooooh-

Police cars swarmed the street below. Faster than I had been expecting.

'All this for one villain?' I sneered, amused at their quick reaction to what was not that big deal of a villain.

Regardless, I floated my hidden camera into my pocket and prepared to fly off—

"Mysterious Guitarist, stop where you are! You are charged with illegal Quirk usage! Come down without resistance!"

'Huh?' I paused, then snapped my head to them. 'Hold on, they are after me?!'

I blinked, too stunned to do anything.

Then, a taser flew my way, making me dodge.

It wasn't hard, but it allowed me to snap out of it.

And the worst came right after.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Sometimes those who shine too bright draw jealousy—and the desire to bring them down. Now, you face your first hurdle with society. Your moments of pure aura have displeased some people, and you've landed on their wanted list. Time for a tactical retreat!]

Conditions for completion:

▸Run away.

▸ Farm aura while avoiding capture.

▸ Evade the police's detection for at least 10 minutes.

Reward: Aura gain (amount varies depending on how cool you look while escaping) | Skill gained: [Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Shit!"
...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Shit just hit the fan, and it made a mess. I liked this part of the story a lot, it was quite fun to write, so I hope it's also fun to read.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Escape]
────────────────────────

| Minutes later… |

…

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, they're here... The consequences of my actions are here!!!"

"Stop right there, Mysterious Guitarist, or you'll be charged with fleeing the scene!" a voice crackled over a patrol radio as officers pursued a figure streaking through the sky.

I flipped them the middle finger as I flew away, all my equipment floating behind me.

[+15 Points in style]

"There's style points now?!" I blurted when the notification popped up.

[No, I was just kidding.]

"You flip between being a comedian and an emotionless system whenever you like, huh?"

[Better focus on getting away, eh, host?]

"Shut up. Everything is under contro—"

-Ratatatatata-

The sound of a helicopter closing in cut off my comment. I craned my neck and sure enough—a police chopper was hovering overhead.

"Oh, come on, man. The sky now too?!"

[Seems like you are not in control, eh, host?]

"You're not helping."

[The true aura farmer keeps his cool, even when annoyed by the voices in his head. I'm merely helping you train.]

"Can I turn you off?"

[No.]

"You suck."

"Stop, you vigilante—time to put an end to your delinquent-ish tendencies!"

While I was busy bickering in my own head, a figure flashed across my path: Pidgael, the pigeon hero, flapping his wings majestically.

God, what an awful name.

"Stop, or I'll be forced to—ACK!"

I just swatted him down with a push of aura, splatting him against the pavement below.

I cushioned the fall, of course—didn't want to be charged with serious assault on an actual hero. That would only make things worse.

[+35 style points!]

'You're still on that…?'

-Ratatatata-

Another helicopter screamed in. This one wasn't just monitoring.

"Damn you, vigilante! You actually struck a hero! Time to put you in your place!"

Hand Breakable peeked from the chopper hatch, Plasma Pop standing at her side. The chopper streaked, and they touched down on a nearby building, gearing up to intercept.

'They're actually turning on me now that the villain's down, huh?'

I clicked my tongue, changed direction, and flew away from that roof.

"Hey, where are you going? Come back here!"

I left them watching as I vanished into the distance. They couldn't fly like Pidgael or me, so they would need to wait for the helicopter to pick them up again if they wanted to resume the chase.

'Too bad so sad.' I snorted.

Slamming one hero against the ground was enough criminal record in my resume for today. So I wanted no more fights with heroes for now, regardless of whether I could win or not.

—at least that was the plan. Then I heard strange noises coming from my back, and froze.

I spun, and my eyes widened. "The hell...?!"

Hand Breakable was launching herself at me, one nail extending and thus propelling her off the building—then every other nail in her hand morphed and combined into a giant steel hammer swinging my way.

"Oh shit—!"

I tried to slow the hammer with aura.

"Kgh—!"

Sadly, its momentum and weight won. I was battened away.

—CLANG!!!—

-Bam!-

Moments later, I slammed through a building and landed in someone's living room. The family looked up from dinner as I collapsed across their sofa, winded and sore.

"That shit hurt…" I muttered and checked my status.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 82

▸ Defense: 164→992

▸ Aura Projection: 1328→500

─────────────

Total Aura: 1328

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Good thing I'd swapped aura in time—otherwise I'd be already out and probably in the hospital. That had been quite a blow, after all.

I was sore, maybe a bit hurt, but still capable of moving. Still, I didn't want to think about what would have happened if I had taken the blow without my defenses boosted.

'Alright, now it's personal.'

From my sprawled posture on the couch I was laying on, I made a come gesture. My guitar and the speakers floated back toward me the next second.

I'd managed to grab onto them with the last sliver of aura projection I'd kept, despite being swatted away like a fly.

With my gear secured, I let the guitar and speakers float onto the couch where I lay and dropped them there. Why? Because I needed every ounce of aura to teach this bitch a lesson.

Instruments safe, I floated up and exited the apartment through the hole I'd made on the way in.

"Heh."

Standing on the opposite building, arms crossed and smirking, was Hand Breakable.

A vein popped at my temple.

'Alright. She asked for it. I'm gonna humiliate her publicly.'

Decision made, I beckoned to her with a hand. Her smirk froze.

"You little—!...Very well, if that's what you want… THEN HERE YOU HAVE IT!" she screamed.

She pushed off the building with one hand's nails and formed the giant steel hammer with the other, swinging it down at me and the apartment behind me.

'So much for heroes avoiding property damage.' I scoffed, my eyes going to the apartment behind me for an instant before returning to the incoming hammer.

But just before it could reach me—

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 82

▸ Defense: 992→1492

▸ Aura Projection: 500→0

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[Innamovible Object] (ACTIVATED)
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

—CLANG!!!—

The metal hammer struck heavily, letting out a deafening ring that echoed for a few seconds before it ceased.

"...?"

Hand Breakable blinked, stunned that her attack had suddenly stopped, then her eyes fell on what her hammer had struck.

—only to find it stopped dead by a single finger of mine.

"Im-impossible!" she stammered, eyes trembling.

-Ratatatatata-

A helicopter drifted closer, carrying Plasma Pop and Pidgael, who looked roughed up but mildly fine, thanks to my cushioning. Soon, the chopper touched down on a nearby roof.

"Hand Breakable, stop! You're causing property damage!" a voice shouted.

"If you're going to fight, bring him down to the street; we've cleared the area!" another barked.

Hand Breakable snapped out of her daze and finally noticed the apartment hole behind me. Before she could react—

"Begone." I flicked my finger.

-Bang!-

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 82

▸ Defense: 1492→164

▸ Aura Projection: 0→1328

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

With my aura back again, I sent her straight to a market full of stalls. She crashed into the tents, sending fruit and wood flying.

That didn't make it any less humiliating, though. Sent flying with a flick—that had to sting.

But that's what she gets for getting rough.

Next, I turned my attention to the helicopter and, without even the slightest hesitation, aimed my hand at it.

"Hey, what the hell are you—?!"

The heroes became startled as I began shoving it towards the building below with my AP, making land against the machine's will.

It resisted, of course. The propellers spun wildly and let out a weird sound as they fought to rise in the air again, but before it had the chance to—

-Crrkk!-

I closed my fist and crushed the propellers for good with the aura, basically trapping the heroes and pilot in the roof I'd made them land.

Pidgael still looked like he might move, though, since he had wings and all.

So before he had the chance, I flicked him too.

Where, you ask?

"Hahaha, did you really think one mere flick would be enough to defea—ACK!"

I sent him barreling straight into Hand Breakable, who was already coming back.

Both heroes collided and tumbled down to the street, leaving Plasma Pop stuck and looking dumbfounded between them and me in the nearest building, not knowing what to do or how to get out of there.

'Guess that's all from these heroes, huh?'

I sneered and waved a hand. My instruments floated back to me. With that, I rose in the air and began to drift away.

Sorry to the family whose wall I'd ruined, but that was on Hand Breakable's tab.

Time to go for good.

…

°

°

°

| Half an hour later… |

…

'Ugh, these guys are persistent…!' I muttered, staring at the cordon of police cars down below.

Why were they going this hard for a guy who just played a song and smacked a villain? Chill out!

With how relentless they are, how the hell am I supposed to stay hidden for ten minutes?

I sighed. Right now, I was tucked behind a car in a three-story parking garage, out of sight from the helicopters circling above.

As for my stuff, I had left all of it behind another car two or three parking spots away from where I was, hoping that, if they found it, that would delay them long enough from finding me.

I'd shaken most of the heat earlier and slipped in here during that opportunity—so even if they had a rough idea of the area, they didn't know I was in this building yet. That gave me a sliver of time.

I opened the mission window.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Sometimes those who shine too bright draw jealousy—and the desire to bring them down. Now, you face your first hurdle with society. Your moments of pure aura have displeased some people, and you've landed on their wanted list. Time for a tactical retreat!]

Conditions for completion:

▸Run away.

▸Farm aura while avoiding capture.

▸Evade the police's detection for at least 10 minutes. (2 minutes 39 seconds remaining.)

Reward: Aura gain (amount varies depending on how cool you look while escaping) | Skill gained: [Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Hiss.

"Can you hurry up?!" I muttered, annoyed that 10 minutes could be this slow.

My worry only intensified when I began hearing some officers sweeping the lower floors now.

"Already?!"

If they reached the one I was on, I was toast. They'd make sure to look at every single corner, including the one I was in.

"Please let them take their time…" I prayed, waving my two clamped hands up and down. "At least two—"

I forced my voice to a halt as I heard a bunch of cars coming up.

Slowly, I peeked from behind the car, squinting at what I saw.

A few cruisers were arriving at this level, lights from the cars cutting through dust as a bunch of cops stepped out and started turning on their flashlights while they began their search. I hugged the wheel well and hoped they'd just give a quick look and dismiss this place.

They didn't. The cars were parked, and I began hearing them look by foot carefully through each parking spot.

'You've got to be kidding me.'

I checked the timer.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

▸Evade the police's detection for at least 10 minutes. (1 minute 52 seconds remaining.)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Nearly two minutes.

Things weren't looking too bright. At the speed they were going, and judging by their numbers, I had around 30 seconds before they reached my spot.

Once they found me, the timer would reset, and I'd have to begin running away all over again.

'Damn it.' Panic flickered in me. 'What am I gonna—hold on.'

At that moment, a plan flickered, and a small grin adorned my face.

Using aura projection, I ghosted a walkie-talkie out of an officer's pocket without him noticing and guided it to me without anyone seeing.

Once in my power, I flipped it on.

"He's here, second floor—come quick!" I did my best impression of a panicked officer and fed it to the device. True Speaking coming in clutch for the impression.

"What?!" replies crackled. "You heard him, go go go!"

Officers scrambled back to their cars—most of them, at least. Two stayed. One of them realized his radio was missing.

"Hey, where did my walkie go?!" he barked.

"Crap, gotta tell the others it's a decoy!" the backup shouted, reaching for his own radio.

I couldn't have that. So, before he could reach it, I snatched the second walkie with my aura and sent it sailing against a wall.

-Crack!-

Next, it broke into many parts.

"That fucker…! Hey, come out wherever you are! That thing was expensive!" the cop shouted.

"Yeah, come out now, you're trapped!"

They were angry. Sorry, not sorry.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

▸Evade the police's detection for at least 10 minutes. (48 seconds remaining.)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Forty-eight seconds. The finish line was finally in sight.

"Hey, I think I heard a voice overlapping with the voice from the walkie-talkie earlier in that direction—come on!" one officer shouted, suddenly heading toward my corner.

"We got you now!" The other followed immediately.

Wha—why now?!

My teeth ground. Forty seconds. How do I make them ignore this stretch for forty more seconds? I could shove them away with aura, but that risked revealing my location, and I don't know if that counted as being detected. I'd already gambled on the stolen walkie.

I couldn't afford more luck tests. I had to find another way.

Footsteps came closer. They were heading straight for the car I was hiding behind, about to reach it.

'Oh!'

Then, another idea sparked.

Slowly, carefully, I lifted myself with aura, floating just enough not to touch the floor. Then, I slid along the side of the car, keeping its bulk between me and the officers. Silent as air, thanks to levitation.

But then—they split. One circled left, the other right.

Cutting off my escape.

'Shit!'

Desperate, I pulled my last card.

—Tack!—

I tapped the car opposite, just hard enough to make a noise, but not to make it obvious it was a diversion.

Did it fool them? Maybe not. But it made them pause, heads snapping toward the sound.

And that pause… was all I needed.

[Mission Complete!]

[Sometimes those who shine too bright draw jealousy—and the desire to bring them down. Now, you face your first hurdle with society. Your moments of pure aura have displeased some people, and you've landed on their wanted list. Time for a tactical retreat!]

Conditions for completion:

▸Run away. ✔

▸Farm aura while avoiding capture. ✔

▸Evade the police's detection for at least 10 minutes. ✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<For flexing awesomely during your escape: +450 Aura!>

<+Skill [Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!]>

Without wasting a second, I opened the skill description. If it was what I thought it was, it'd be exactly what I needed right now.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!] (Active)

Description: A battle worthy of gods erupts—punches decimate buildings, kicks ravage streets, and the weak can only watch from afar as titans clash. Minutes pass. Hours. The battlefield becomes a wasteland by then.

At last, your rival lands a clean blow. You buckle, falling to one knee. His victory is certain.

But then… your body dissolves. A booming laugh echoes from above, freezing him in shock.

"Good job beating me… but that was merely a clone!"

▸ Spend a portion of your stats to create a perfect aura clone.

▸ Clones mirror you completely, personality and knowledge-wise, being fragments of your aura, and hence, of you.

▸Clones do not receive any of your stats, only your aura, so they have to make up for their lack of stats with it. So, have in mind they might need to spend a bit of the aura you give them to build their corporeal body.

▸ Once a clone is defeated/dissolved, you regain half the stats spent instantly; the rest return within an hour.

▸Clones can choose to dissolve if they deem it the correct choice.

▸You can dissolve clones on command.

▸Clones can only last up to a day.

▸Clones can receive only up to 50% of your stats, not more, for a clone cannot surpass the original.

▸You receive the clone's memories upon its cessation.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Huh… well, good enough," I smirked.

Time to escape for good.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!] (ACTIVATED)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The next instant, part of my aura split off and condensed beside me, slowly materializing into a literal me—same costume, same mask. He was standing there, calm.

"Freeze!"

The two police officers' heads snapped to him immediately. I sucked in a breath and glanced at my clone. He smiled faintly, then turned his back and ran.

"Oi, we told you to freeze!"

"The taser—use the taser!"

"Ah, crap!"

One of them fired a taser at my running clone, but with it using aura projection to block it, it stalled midair and clattered harmlessly to the ground.

The officers watched helplessly as my clone slipped out toward the edge of the parking floor, dove off the railing, and flew up toward a circling helicopter, flicking them the middle finger as he passed.

Meanwhile, the two cops bolted down the stairwell—probably to warn the others. Exactly what I needed.

-Phew...-

As they left, I eased out from behind the car, gestured for my instruments and camera, and had them float back to my side.

I opened my status out of habit.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 82

▸ Defense: 164

▸ Aura Projection: 1328

─────────────

Total Aura: 1778→1422 (80%)

1st Clone's aura: 355 (20%)

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I raised an eyebrow at the percentages on what used to be my total aura, before upping my aura projection with the aura I had just gained, thanks to the mission.

Then, with that done, I crept to the edge of the parking level and peered out.

In the distance, my clone was already leading a convoy of helicopters and police cars away. He moved slower than I would have—no surprise, he only had 20% of my aura—so his capabilities were limited.

'Hopefully that's enough to keep them busy for a while.' I prayed inwardly.

Then, after a sigh of relief once everything seemed to come to an end, I turned and floated off in the opposite direction, soon diving off the railing just like my clone and flying away into the distance.

It was time to go home.

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: How was this chapter? A lot of tension, although not that many stakes. Expect a pov from mr. clone in the next chapter.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[A Clone's Life]
────────────────────────

| Clone's POV: |

…

'Haha, so easy!' I thought, a wide grin hidden behind my mask.

I turned and saw a huge cavalry of cops tailing me, two or three helicopters overhead, and a convoy of cruisers below, sirens wailing. Normally, I'd be panicking, knowing escape was pretty unlikely, and especially so at the speed I was going right now... But I was a clone, and I could return to the original whenever I wanted.

There were no stakes here, no worries at all.

Right now, I felt invincible!

'—Although I hardly am.' I thought, giving my clony status a look.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE] (CLONE)

▸ Strength: 40

▸ Defense: 40

▸ Aura Projection: 275

─────────────

Total Aura (20% of the original): 355

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I still had my skills, but my stats sucked. I could barely keep myself afloat right now with those two hundred aura points.

But, well, it didn't matter. All I needed was to distract the police long enough so the original could bail. Thus, escaping wasn't necessary.

I just needed to keep them on my trail.

'Hahaha, yeah, keep following, you bastards!' I smirked as I observed the army following behind from the corner of my eye, hands in my pockets like I was cool. Nothing said I couldn't aura farm while acting as a decoy, right?

I grinned behind the mask and turned back ahead, worried that since I wasn't looking to the front, I might crash into a building.

Then my grin died.

"Huh?"

A figure stood on a tall building up ahead, arms crossed as if waiting for me.

For a moment, I wondered if it might have been someone who wanted to see the show from close. But as I got closer, I was able to discern his appearance better.

That ridiculous costume, that cocky smirk, that blonde hair… it all had a tinge of familiarity that I—Hold on, why is that guy here?!

My eyes widened as panic hit. I skidded mid-flight, ready to change direction and bolt, but I'd already screwed up. I should've reacted the instant my eyes settled on him.

Before I could get away, the figure leapt from the roof, did a mutherfucking flip, and latched with his tail onto one of the helicopters following me, hanging just a few meters away from me.

"Why in such a hurry?" the bastard called.

I poured most of the stats I had into aura projection and tried to speed up, wanting nothing to do with this fucker… but it was too late.

Trouble Radar flared, warning me of incoming danger, but with this weakened body, I just didn't have the speed to respond.

By the time my head snapped up to lock onto the threat—he was already dropping on me with a kick aimed straight at my back.

'Damn.'

In one last desperate move, I moved my stats from AP to defense.

"Let's talk down at street level." It's what he said. Moments later, I felt his foot connect with my poor back.

-Bam!-

"Argh—!"

Sadly, with the amount of aura I had as a clone, it merely stopped my bones from breaking on impact. But I was still sent like a bullet to the ground.

-CRASH!-

Seconds later, I hit the pavement like a meteorite.

I tried to cushion the blow by moving half of my aura to AP again at the last second, but I still ended up taking a nasty hit despite my efforts.

The bastard, on the other hand, had used his kick on me to launch himself off my back and not fall along with me.

"Ugh…" I groaned as I rubbed my ribs and forced myself up. The asphalt had cracked slightly where I'd landed, proof of the hell of a force I had been slammed onto the street.

'This guy doesn't hold back at all.'

I pushed to my feet and turned around. Soon, I was able to see the bastard as he slid down a gutter from a nearby building and landed on the street, still looking cocky as hell.

As he hit the asphalt, he slammed his fist onto his palm, looking at me with a grin.

"You made quite the mess today, 'Mysterious Guitarist'. They even called me—the best hero in this city—to handle you, and I was enjoying a peaceful rest!" he crowed.

I said nothing, so he just kept talking.

"You've been causing a hell of a lot of trouble lately—attacking a villain, hitting heroes, wrecking private property… what were you thinking?"

"The damage to private property is on the hero who sent me flying with a giant hammer," I answered, warping my voice with my newfound talent thanks to True Speaking. This guy had sharp ears, so I didn't want to risk him recognizing me.

Though on hindsight… Maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all.

"Hmm?"

'Urgh… why is he staring at me like that? Did I actually screw up?' I winced when he tilted his head and gave me an interested look.

He didn't call me out, though. He just smiled slyly.

"Yes… You're right on that. She'll get chewed out by the brass later… But for now, I think you should focus on yourself."

I swallowed hard, sweat beading down my cheek. "Yeah. I suppose I will."

Without hesitation, I shifted all my aura into my physical stats.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE] (CLONE)

▸ Strength: 40→177

▸ Defense: 40→178

▸ Aura Projection: 275→0

─────────────

Total Aura (20%): 355

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

With the little amount of aura I had, keeping it on AP was useless. He was too damn fast and strong for me to do anything with it properly. My aura projection would be nothing more than a small inconvenience for him.

Like he had said, he was indeed the strongest hero of this city. I didn't stand a chance as I was right now. Maybe the original would, but not me.

So, since I was going down for sure, I thought I might as well make this defeat of mine as epic as possible, and actually go down by throwing hands with the strongest hero of this city.

After all, clone or not, I was still an aura farmer at my core, was I not?

So, having made up my mind, I raised my fists and took my stance.

But to my surprise, instead of jumping me, the bastard blinked, then laughed.

"HAHAHA, you're not even hiding it anymore, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, keeping my voice warped by True Speaking.

He snorted. "You don't, huh? It's nothing much… I just thought that stance looked similar to one I taught my ward. Excuse me for laughing."

… Yeah, this guy knew.

"If I may ask, 'Mysterious Guitarist,' why are you suddenly eager to engage in combat when you mostly use telekinesis?" he taunted.

"Because I want to smash that face of yours with my fist," I snapped.

"Truly, what an odd resemblance." He took his stance. "Then I suppose I'll give you the pleasure of fighting me when I go serious."

"Just come already."

"Very well." He lunged. "You fared fairly well against those three heroes earlier, so let's see how long you last against the SUPER MONKEY!"

Seiji—my guardian—and the hero Super Monkey, number 69 in the rankings by decision, had arrived.

'This is gonna be hard,' I thought, and without further ado, lunged too.

Right now, I, the clone, had better physical stats than the original usually showed in training. The original favored aura projection, so his body normally stayed average—though he could swap stats whenever he wanted.

Still, this was more strength and sturdiness than Seiji had seen me use in practice.

And I was gonna make the best of it.

—Bang!—

Our fists connected with each other's faces as we both snapped back a few steps.

However, unlike me, who clenched my teeth as my face snapped to the side from the force, Seiji laughed like he had enjoyed it, still facing me.

"Hahaha! When did you get this strong, kid?!" he jeered.

"I don't know you," I continued with the gaslighting.

"Right, right." He muttered, obviously not believing me, and resumed the fight as if my strike from earlier had barely affected him. "Ora!"

—Bam!—

"Ack—!"

Another fist slammed into my face. This time, I wasn't able to give one in return.

What's worse is that it didn't end there.

—Smack!—

Right after the punch, he buried a nasty knee into my solar plexus.

"Ugh—!"

I staggered back, air escaping me as I almost buckled.

Ultimately, I managed to stay on my feet, knowing that if I fell, that would have left me even more open to any kind of attack.

Sadly, despite my achievement, it didn't seem Seiji was planning on celebrating it.

The instant I lifted my gaze back up, I saw him lunging at me like a tiger.

I tried to fend him off, but my combat skills were still too lacking compared to his.

By the time I realized what had happened, he already had me on the ground, locked in a chokehold, cutting off my air.

"Ugh—" I struggled to breathe, trying to hit him in any way possible so he would let go.

-Thud-

-Thud-

-Thud-

Sadly, my meager attacks barely seemed to faze him—actually, he even seemed disappointed, shaking his head as I continued to strike him.

"Still too slow, still too predictable… What have we been doing the past few months? I thought you improved."

That line pissed me off.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE] (CLONE)

▸ Strength: 177 → 315

▸ Defense: 178 → 40

▸ Aura Projection: 0

─────────────

Total Aura (20%): 355

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Reacting on instinct, I pumped most of my stats into strength and, without hesitation—

—Whack!—

"Argh, you brat—!"

I rammed the back of my head into his nose while he kept the lock.

I felt my skull crack, but ignored it.

With that blow, I managed to make him let go immediately, and I quickly popped up

But of course, I was far from done with this fucker.

While he clutched his nose in pain, I slammed my foot on the ground and, using my momentarily enhanced strength—

—Bam!—

Blasted myself like a missile toward him. Switching my stats while at it.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE] (CLONE)

▸ Strength: 345→10

▸ Defense: 10→345

▸ Aura Projection: 0

─────────────

Total Aura (20%): 355

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

With endurance boosted and momentum built from that burst of strength, I slammed my head into his gut, folding him in half.

"Urgh—!"

After connecting, I crashed to the ground while he skidded back several meters, still on his feet but definitely having gotten his air knocked.

Then, as he recovered from the blow, I rebalanced my stats to the 170s each and quickly scrambled back to my feet. Ready for him to launch his counterattack.

"How's that?! Eh?" Seeing his pained look, a faint smirk popped up behind my mask.

He stayed quiet for a moment, rubbing the spot I'd hit. Then he said, "Yeah, you've gotten strong, brat… I guess I don't need to hold back then."

"Hold ba—?"

My question died as he vanished from view, and I felt myself being lifted, suplexed into the air.

'Oh shit.'

-Bam!-

My head slammed into the pavement crudely, and the instant he let go of the suplex, I plummeted to the ground.

This time, without a comeback, nor a way out of this.

Just like that, I was out.

I lay there, dizzy, watching Seiji stand over me with that shit-eating grin. "I made sure not to give you cerebral damage, so be grateful, brat."

Sirens and the roar of helicopters filled the air. Police cars swarmed in and choppers hovered low. I was boxed in.

Seiji glanced toward the arriving officers, then back at me, his expression sharpening. "I don't know why you did this, kid." He muttered so only I could hear. "I'm your guardian, so I'll help as much as I can… but I'm also a hero. I can't stop the law from taking its course, so be prepared to face the consequences of your actions."

I stared at him, amusedly, without saying anything.

Then, only when he seemed to be about to tell the police to come closer, I sneered mockingly, catching his attention back.

"Like I've been saying so far, you're mistaking me for someone else."

"Enough, kid. You're busted." His voice turned serious.

I laughed. "Busted? Guess you're right. This is as far as I get."

"...?"

As cops sprinted closer, I decided to end the show.

"Time to go home," I muttered.

Then—

"Kid?!" Seiji knelt beside me, eyes wide as I began to vanish, growing transparent.

I used that moment. With a last effort, I threw a punch.

-Thud!-

It landed square on his cheek, making his head snap to the side for a second.

"Take that, sucker."

Then, I slumped back to the pavement, this time truly unable to move—but still not fully out.

As Seiji stared, baffled, I grinned with what little strength I had and let out a short laugh. "I don't know who this kid you keep mistaking me with is, but I'm sure he's at home right now, being a model student."

"Huh?"

And with that, I vani—

…

°

°

°

| At home, Taka's POV: |

…

Suddenly, the memories of my clone hit me.

It was weird—confusing, disorienting. But after a minute or so, my head cleared and I managed to assimilate the flood of new knowledge.

"That damn Seiji… so that's why he wasn't home when I arrived." I smiled wryly.

I was already back at my place after today's wild adventure, having stashed all the gear from my little "show" and even having changed my clothes just in case.

Now I was reviewing the recordings I'd gotten while sheltering in my room, outside of anyone's eye.

It was good. Too good. This would be gold once I uploaded it to my channel.

Not only was the audio impressive, but I also put on a little show while playing the guitar without noticing, so the video was dynamic as well.

Add the battle of the heroes against Edgehog in the lower part of the video, and that made it even crazier!

"Hehehe, my passive earnings are gonna flare up again!" I leaned back on my chair and threw my hands in the air in celebration.

The song was new, the stunt chaotic, and considering I'd managed to piss off half the city's police force, the views were bound to blow up more than ever.

'How much am I gonna get daily now? Fifteen, twenty aura per day? Hahaha, I can't wait to see my gains skyrocket!' I grinned brightly as I imagined my future prosperity.

But of course, for that, I had to upload the video first.

So, having had enough of being lost in my fantasies, I turned on the editing program and began putting my hands to work.

After that, quite a few minutes probably passed. Ten, twenty? Maybe even thirty, I don't know really. I hadn't checked the hour when I began, so checking it now wouldn't help get the answer.

The sound of clicks, and me tapping multiple keys on my keyboard filled my otherwise silent room.

I was about halfway done by then, having edited parts where the sound weirded out a bit, and adding a few effects so it wouldn't be just a raw video of me singing.

I was just about to add a skull emoji, because that's what all edits did—but as I looked for a proper image online—

-SLAM!-

The door to my room burst open.

I closed the video faster than someone caught watching porn right away.

'Phew… that was pretty close.'

Having hidden the evidence of my crime, I turned around, keeping my face as normal as possible and slouching one arm over my chair cooly.

"Hey, what's up bitch?"

Standing in the doorway was Seiji. He looked a bit roughed up, breathing hard as if he'd just finished running a marathon.

Heh, it seemed my clone had given him some trouble.

On second thought, how did he get home so quickly?

Did he run all the way back here…?

What a psycho. There were at least five kilometers between the place my clone fought him and the house.

"Huff… huff… you…"

As he saw me sitting cooly on my chair like the proper and decent person I am, he squinted his eyes, glaring at me suspiciously.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow, as if daring him to accuse me of anything.

"..."

Right away, he went quiet, scanning me up and down like he was searching for something.

I just met his gaze unwaveringly, not wanting to lose the battle of gaslighting.

"Hah."

In the end, he huffed and gave up, grinning as he threw his hands up in defeat.

"Nothing. Just try not to watch too much porn just because I'm not home, kid."

With that, he closed the door and left.

"Son of a bitch." I scowled, feeling my mood had soured.

-Click-

But with his defeat, I could finally go back to editing the video—huh?!

Damn it, I closed the editing program without saving!

'SEIJI, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!'

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: How was this one? There wasn't that much progress in the story, but it was really fun to make the POV of a clone and how he perished epically before returning to the original. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite aura farm since Taka is in his baby stage of growth, and thus his clones are too. But that'll be different once his power increases; even his clones will be powerhouses compared to everyone else.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[The Infamous Rockinesis]
────────────────────────

| Days later… |

…

Taka and Jiro sat together at a table during lunch period, chatting casually as they ate from their lunch boxes.

"So, have you studied for U.A.'s written exam?" She asked, looking up from her food. "I'm not feeling very confident, to be honest. It's the top school in Japan, you know? No matter how much you study, they always find you lacking at something."

Taka didn't react much. He merely looked up from his food for a moment before continuing to eat normally as he answered. "I'm studying, but in case things don't work out, I'll just score the top spot in the practical exam. That way, even if I screw up on the written one, they won't be able to refuse me."

"You're seriously declaring you'll take the top spot?" Jiro pointed her chopsticks at him, her eyes skeptical. "I mean, your Quirk seems strong, but come on, it's U.A.—there's bound to be people with all sorts of crazy Quirks. How can you be so sure you can outshine them?"

Taka let out a calm huff, eyes closed, unfazed by Jiro's words. "Just because All Might graduated from there doesn't mean everyone's at his level."

He popped a bite of food into his mouth, chewed, then grew a little more serious.

"And even if there are strong people there… I'll just be stronger."

"That's some hell of a confidence." Jiro gave a wry laugh, idly rubbing one of her earlobes. "I have my Quirk in high regard, but even I'm not that confident in getting in."

"You overestimate them too much," Taka snorted. Then his tone softened. "But if you're that worried, just prepare the best you can."

"How?"

"Training, obviously."

Jiro winced, looking at Taka oddly. "Using our Quirks in public is illegal, you know?"

Taka raised an eyebrow. "… No one would see if you practiced at home."

"Still feels a bit illegal." She mumbled under her breath.

He huffed, annoyance slipping into his tone. "Well, either prepare and face the exam knowing you gave it your all, or accept whatever result you get, knowing you could've done more."

Jiro froze, chopsticks hovering halfway to her mouth. Moments later, she pulled them back and seemed to think Taka's words over.

But just as the silence stretched, another of Taka's comments came, "But I don't know what you're really fussing about. Your Quirk's solid. It'd be strange if you failed."

'Even more so when you passed in the original show.' He thought inwardly.

"Really? Well, if you say so…" she muttered, sheepish from the sudden vote of confidence.

Luckily, before things turned awkward—at least for Jiro—a group of girls approached.

"Jiro-chan, there you are!"

"We were waiting to have lunch together!"

"This is?" One of them squinted at Taka suspiciously.

"I think I've seen him around. Same year but different class."

"Could it be... Jiro-chan! You've got a—"

-SLAM!-

Jiro shot up, slamming her hands on the table, face faintly tinged red with frustration and embarrassment.

"He's a friend I made recently!"

The girls blinked at her outburst, then turned to glare at Taka. He just blinked back at them calmly and kept eating.

Suspicion lingered in them.

"Hmm~ why so suddenly? I don't think I've ever seen Jiro-chan hanging with anyone from the other classes." The girl in front smirked, glancing between the two of them.

Jiro's voice shot defensive. "Ugh... That's 'cause this guy's going to U.A. too! Come on, Takahashi, say something."

"Hey."

"Say something more than 'hey'!"

"What's up?"

"This guy—!" Jiro groaned.

Meanwhile, the girls exchanged confused looks.

"You're going to U.A.? The hero course?!"

Taka nodded.

"Cool!"

"Someone who's actually aiming for U.A.! I thought Jiro-chan would be the only one at our school."

"What's your Quirk? Just so you know, Jiro-chan's Quirk is amazing. She might give you a hard time if you face each other."

Jiro rubbed the side of her cheek, mumbling, "It's not that amazing…"

Instead of answering, Taka let go of his chopsticks mid-way through his mouth.

Normally, they would have fallen and sent the food stuck between them flying everywhere.

But to everyone's surprise, they remained stuck in place, as if frozen in time, floating in the air.

Then, to top it off, they began feeding Taka off his bento, as if they had a life of their own. Earning gasps from everyone save Jiro, who simply smiled faintly.

"Telekinesis?" one girl asked.

Taka nodded.

"How strong is it? Can you lift me in the air?"

Taka nodded.

"That's an amazing Quirk!"

Taka nodded.

"That's like Rockinesis' power!"

Taka was about to nod again, but blinked in confusion as a stranger's name popped up.

"Who?"

Jiro's smiling face turned shocked as her head snapped at him. "You don't know him?!"

Taka shook his head, tilting it faintly.

Quickly, she pulled out her phone, scrolled, then shoved the screen in his face.

His eyes twitched faintly at what he saw.

{"So what if you can see the dark inside of me!"}

It was him—playing his new song at the incident a few days ago.

However, already a master of his act, he managed to keep his poker face despite the little eye twitch.

"A singer?" he asked, acting clueless.

"So you really don't know?!" Jiro said, taking her phone back. "He's a vigilante who's been hitting it lately online! He raids hero and villain fights just to play his songs!"

Taka stayed silent with his usual poker face, as if prompting Jiro to continue explaining.

She did, eagerly at that. "Well, I suppose it's not that crazy you don't know him. He wasn't that well known until a few days ago, when he actually took down a villain, then proceeded to defeat a team of heroes and run away from an entire batch of police officers as they tried to arrest him!"

"Yeah, it was all over the news!" One of the girls commented, sounding almost offended.

Taka averted his gaze, looking a bit disinterested. "I don't usually watch the news."

However, he was forced to look back when Jiro shoved her phone in his face again. This time, she showed the news footage of him flying away from dozens of vehicles, along with sporadic short clips of him handling the three heroes, like slamming Pidgael into the ground, flicking Hand Breakable, or leaving Plasma Pop stranded in a building once he crushed the helicopter's propellers.

Taka had to suppress his smirk as he saw himself on screen, beating down the heroes with ease.

'Damn I'm cool.'

While Taka struggled to hide the arrogance bubbling up in his chest, Jiro went on with her explanation. "He's been shown lifting all his instruments without touching them, and stopping attacks midway from afar, so it's been speculated he has a Telekinesis Quirk like you do, hence the nickname Rockinesis, since he also plays rock songs at his shows."

Taka nodded.

'It's not a bad name… I think.'

"Honestly, for a moment I thought your Quirk was kind of similar, since both are literally lifting things from afar," Jiro suddenly said, chuckling wryly. "But after the incident he was involved in days ago, it became clear his Quirk is not quite Telekinesis."

"Oh, yeah, I know what you mean. It was crazy!" One of the girls chimed in.

"I felt my mouth drop when I saw it live." Another said, looking excited as she recalled it.

Taka was a tad confused.

He'd been worried they would figure out his identity as Rockinesis for a moment, but it turns out they had already discarded him as a candidate.

Why though?

Fortunately, Jiro was quick to explain.

"You see, during the last part of the pursuit, Rockinesis ended up being confronted by a pretty strong hero, Super Monkey, you know him?"

Taka did his best to hide his sour expression.

"Yes."

Jiro nodded, continuing. "That guy, even though his costume is ridiculous and he stupidly seeks to rank 69th in the hero rankings on purpose when he could very easily rank higher, he's quite strong. Even Rockinesis ended up being thrashed once he clashed with that guy, despite having dealt with three heroes himself earlier."

'I wouldn't say thrashed.' Taka complained inwardly.

"But then, just as it seemed they were about to arrest him for good… he goes and disappears! Just like that, no explanation, no warning, he suddenly began vanishing, as if he was ceasing to exist."

"He died?" Taka asked, feigning confusion.

"No no, that's the thing. His channel uploaded a recording of him doing his show not too many hours after he seemingly vanished, so he's hardly dead. Thanks to that, there's talk online that says he has a cloning Quirk, or something with similar properties. Some speculate that's why his flight speed suddenly slowed down so much after entering a parking lot during the pursuit and disappearing for a few minutes. Because he'd been a clone, one with a fraction of the power of the original, who calmly slipped away as the police chased after a decoy!"

Jiro finally finished explaining, looking exhausted but otherwise a bit too excited.

"You sure know a lot, huh?" Taka commented, a bit speechless.

The group of girls giggled in response to his comment.

"Jiro-chan is quite the fangirl of that guy. She's been pestering us about him from day one, when he made his appearance."

"Yeah, she's the one who keeps us up to date with whatever crazy thing that guy has done."

"Shut up, all of you! I'm not a fangirl, he's just… you know, he's like a rockstar while also being a hero at the same time. He's practically the vivid image of what I'd like to do with my life!"

"He's a vigilante, you know?" one of them said.

She snapped her head toward her, looking frustrated. "Yeah, but he hasn't injured anyone, and even during the fight a few days ago, he made sure not to hurt the heroes too badly, even though one of them almost destroyed a whole apartment just because she lost her cool!"

The group of girls looked at each other before sneering and pointing at Jiro with their thumbs. "Like we said, fangirl."

Taka just ate silently, giving Jiro a pitiful gaze.

"Oi, what's with that look?!"

"It's fine, everyone has their likes and dislikes. I don't judge."

"Takahashi, you—!"

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |
…

Having finished their lunch, Taka parted ways with Jiro as she went off with her classmates.

He, on the other hand, was casually walking through the hall, passing by countless students without any clear aim. His focus was elsewhere.

'Rockinesis, huh? Maybe I should change the name of my channel to that.'

After all, "the mysterious guitarist" was a bit boring. If he wanted a clear identity that made him more recognizable—and thus let him gain aura more easily—then Rockinesis didn't sound too bad.

Just a bit dumb.

Or was it very dumb?

'Rockinesis... Rooockinesis... Rockinesiis... Rockinesissss... Alright, it lost all meaning now.'

Rolling his eyes, Taka opened his status.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 83

▸ Defense: 166

▸ Aura Projection: 1897

─────────────

Total Aura: 1897

─────────────
Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'About a hundred and a half aura gained in just three days, both from passive gains and a few incidents.' He caressed his chin, looking at the number with satisfied eyes.

His passive gains had spiked again, jumping from the 10 per day they had been a month ago to around 25 per day. That meant 5000 aura by the time U.A. started in seven and something months.

And it was no wonder. The clip from his concert a few days ago had already reached 100k views—and it had only been three days.

Albeit, obviously, the views would decline as the days passed, but even then, it was a surprising feat.

But would it really decline?

Right now, he had enough infamy that anything he did would get the media's attention. If he stayed consistent and kept getting involved in things, public awareness wouldn't just hold steady... it might grow even bigger.

Maybe using clones was a good idea too. If he sent them to handle things, not only would he avoid getting tangled or linked to vigilante activity, he'd also maintain a proper level of consistency by not having to overexert himself.

The only problem was the weird feeling that hit once the clones dispersed. He didn't like it, but if it meant farming more aura, he supposed he could deal with it for a while.

Seven months, 5000 aura promised just from passive gains—and even more if his fame grew.

'Well, seems like I've got work to do ahead.' Taka smiled helplessly, already picturing the months ahead filled with countless villain battles, police chases, and concerts in the middle of the street.

But when the moment came to crush everyone at U.A. and finally step into the big game, it would all be worth it.

Taka smirked.

<[+5 Aura]!>

His smile widened a little as another batch of passive earnings came knocking.

His smile froze, however, when the system chimed in again.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Your Aura has reached the nineteen hundreds! Good work, it must have been one hell of a road. However, you must know by now, the path of the Aura Farmer never ends, and even bigger numbers are awaiting you. For that, it's important to template the body properly to be able to handle it, and for that, being able to make the most efficient use of the energy your body intakes is fundamental!]

Conditions for completion:

▸Consume at least 4000 kcal each day, for an entire week.

▸Drink at least 3 liters of water a day for an entire week.

▸Run at least 1 hour straight daily, for an entire week, and without augmenting your physique using aura.

Reward: +350 aura | Skill gained: [Efficient Body]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taka blinked perplexedly as he read the conditions of the mission.

"The fuck is this…?"

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: And so, another mission pops up. Like I said earlier, most skills won't be focused straight on amping Taka's power, but on giving different effects and helping with the aura farming. All sorts of miscellaneous skills are ahead.

Also, I know what you're going to say. What kind of stupid name is Rockinesis?

Well, my friend, you have just been introduced to my most powerful skill. Making shit names. That's, like, my thing.

So you'll have to bear with me.

)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Time Skip]
────────────────────────

| Three months later... |

…

"Again?"

A middle-aged man muttered, raising an eyebrow at the newspaper in his hands. His baffled expression only deepened as he scanned the lines of text.

"What's up?" another man asked, seated beside him on the same bench, feeding the pigeons.

"It says here that the Rockinesis guy got away again." (A/N: Too bad for you guys, I'm sticking with the name because I'm evil.)

"…Again? How many times has it been now?"

"Six or seven since the first time. Honestly, I don't even get why they bother—it's always just a clone they catch. The real one's probably still out there, laughing his ass off."

"At this point, the police are simply making a joke of themselves. And it's not like the punk's doing anything that bad, is he? Sure, he's beaten a few heroes, but it always looks like self-defense."

"True. And besides, he's finally putting our city on the map along with Tokyo. Honestly, besides that weird guy Super Monkey, none of our heroes stand out… which is pretty sad."

"Why the hell did that clown have to be the strongest hero in our city?"

"He's kind of funny though."

"…Yeah, I suppose he is. At least he's not some weirdo like Midnight. If he started perverting our kids, that'd be the last straw!"

"Didn't he just get caught in a scandal last month, though? They say someone spotted him kissing another heroine in an alleyway."

"Forget it."

Both men sighed in unison.

At the same time, a youth jogged past them, sparing only a quick glance before a small smile curved his otherwise calm face.

Clad in a black tracksuit and white sneakers, his figure stood out against the greenery of the park. Black hair swayed with his steady rhythm, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead—though his breathing remained smooth, showing how far he still was from real exhaustion.

He continued jogging along the park, and as he passed by other people, he couldn't help but overhear snippets of conversations.

"Yo, what are you listening to?"

"Animal I Have Become. Rockinesis uploaded an official video on his channel a while back."

"What? When? Damn it, what's wrong with my algorithm?!"

The youth's smile deepened.

"Yo, I heard there's a villain getting jumped a few streets away!"

"That's sick!"

"Think Rockinesis will show up?"

"Hell yeah."

"Let's go then!"

His smile widened further.

"Mommy, do you know who Rockinesis is?"

"I don't know, but with that kind name, it's probably nobody important."

"Okay."

This time, the youth's smile faltered—just a little. But the slip hardly mattered. The smirk that was already spread across his face was impossible to wipe away just from that little setback.

'So this is what it feels like to be a celebrity, huh? Not bad.' He sneered, shaking his head helplessly. 'It seems I, Takahashi, have become someone of renown.'

Indeed, although you might not believe it, and as incredible as it might be, that youth was none other than Taka—now taller, leaner, and more fit than before.

The past few months had been wild. For starters, one of the missions he had gotten months ago had made him go through quite a hectic week. Eating like never before, drinking like never before, and running for an entire hour at full speed... To say he almost puked a few times would be an understatement. The feeling of bloating also wasn't nice.

The running part was also hard in its own right. Sure, it was hard for him to run out of breath nowadays thanks to his True Breathing skill, but things like friction still affected him, so by the time he was done running, he was always sweating like crazy.

But after going through it for the entire week, Taka finally unlocked the skill "Efficient Body"—a passive that let him eat as much as he wanted without gaining fat or suffering from health issues.

Basically, he could binge Mukbangs and be fine.

It was actually a bit more complicated than that, but that was the gist of it, and what mattered the most to him.

Although he had struggled at first, by the end of the week, his body had somewhat acclimated, so it was only bad for the first half.

Unfortunately, that mission had only been a prelude for what his system had in store.

As soon as Efficient Body unlocked, a new section appeared: the Daily Quests. It tasked him with training his body for a few minutes each day in exchange for a little aura.

It varied depending on how much he exerted his body, but usually it was not much. Usually only 5 points.

Still, like any kind of aura gained daily, it was a nice addition to his passive earnings, which meant more Aura by the time U.A. started. So he happily did them. This jumped his passive earnings from the 25 aura gained per day three months ago, to a whopping 35.

During the three months, he'd also been pushing his cloning ability to the max. Sometimes, he sent clones infused with chunks of aura to farm more outside, putting them to do his usual shows while he himself stayed home, safe from trouble.

At other times, he had them practice with other instruments—steadily working toward his mission of creating his own song. He couldn't just let it be a guitar solo, after all.

The Connoisseur skill also sped up the progress a lot.

Thanks to that, everything was as smooth and efficient as he could have wished. The clones were a great way to multitask, since as soon as they dispersed, their memories came back to him.

Of course, if he had properly spammed his cloning ability, he probably would've been done with that already. But as convenient as it was that memory perk, receiving all the memories of a clone—and sometimes from multiple clones crashing into his mind at the same time—was overwhelming.

It left him feeling weird and kind of split for a bit, as if his mind tried to understand which of the memories had been the real ones.

And having otherworldly memories also occupying part of his mind also didn't help.

So, he avoided using it recklessly, sticking to when it was worth the annoyance. Hence, for farming aura, and practicing every now and then.

Though there was one time he tried using it just to skip school… only to realize that without anything to actually do while his clones handled class, he felt like a complete bum.

And he didn't enjoy being a bum.

So, in the end, he decided it was better to go himself. Leaving all the heavy lifting to the clones was nice, but feeling useless wasn't.

Plus, having his friends talk to a clone instead of him felt kind of cheap…

Friends—as in Jiro alone.

'The path of an Aura Farmer is a lonely one.' He shook his head helplessly.

<Stop making excuses for your lack of friends, host.>

'...'

And so, that's how the three months had passed.

The song was nearly complete.

His aura had skyrocketed compared to before.

He had gotten a new skill and a new section of daily quests.

Truly a productive time skip.

Smirking, Taka opened up his system panel to admire his growth.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 118

▸ Defense: 236

▸ Aura Projection: 5221

─────────────

Total Aura: 5221

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Aura up by nearly 3,300 in just three months. It felt pretty good to look at what his efforts—and those of his clones—had yielded.

Most of that had come from passive earnings, a bit from the daily quests, and the rest from his concerts and other aura-farming stuff he did every now and then.

And his physical stats weren't bad either. With all the training he'd done—both his own and Seiji's usual torture sessions—he'd finally broken past the 100-point mark on his strength, and the 200-mark on his defense. He was basically twice as strong as he'd been when the system first arrived.

It wasn't much compared to what he could reach by pumping aura directly into his body, but it felt satisfying to have reached that point by mere effort alone.

All in all, his growth had been great.

And at this pace, by the time U.A. started, he'd be even more amazing—maybe even pushing 10,000 aura.

'I still remember when I thought 3,000 by U.A. would be a dream goal. Look at me now, huh?' Taka sneered proudly at his numbers.

Of course, this was only the beginning.

When U.A. began, so would the show events... the kind that shook society to its core.

Recognition would follow when he got involved, not merely city-level as it was right now, but the kind that encompassed all of Japan.

No, things had gotten crazy in the later arcs… maybe even global-level crazy.

How much aura would that bring in?

He wasn't near All Might's level yet. But if he ever reached that global level of fame… then maybe… All Might would be a thing of the past.

But for now, there was still farming to do.

Aura Farming.

'Speaking of farming… wonder how I look from the crowd's perspective?' Taka scratched his chin. 'Since I'm nearby, might as well check. Could help me polish my act for when I drop the big song.'

With that quick decision, he jogged out of the park and into the busy streets, weaving through people until he reached his destination.

{"Somebody get me through this nightmare, I can't control myself!"}

And there he was. Or rather, one of his clones.

Up on a rooftop, in his usual black hoodie and mask, playing passionately on his guitar while a chaotic battle raged below, where several irritated heroes clashed with a villain wearing a similar type of expression.

Blending into the crowd, Taka, with his hands in his pockets, watched with an analytical eye.

'I should move more. That looks too stiff. Luckily, the fight below pulls most of the focus.' He rubbed his chin, mulling over the performance. 'But what else could I do?... Maybe I could try flying around the battlefield instead of just staying in the same spot… but holding my instruments with AP while also playing a song is already troublesome enough.'

Notifications kept pinging in the corner of his vision as aura trickled in from the crowd, but he ignored them. By now, he was used to it. Maybe even a little sick of the constant ringing.

Eventually, though, he grew bored of watching and turned on his heel to jog away.

He had already watched enough. He could always think about what to do while being in the comfort of his home.

Besides, loitering at the crime scene was the kind of thing that got serial killers caught. This wasn't murder, and neither was he a serial killer, but… close enough.

Ten minutes later, he was back home.

-Click...-

Closing the door behind him, the first thing Taka saw was Seiji lounging on the couch, arm draped lazily across the backrest while the TV flickered in front of him.

At first, Taka was just going to head straight to his room—until he noticed what was playing on the screen.

It was himself again, doing his concert.

Right on cue, Seiji turned his head lazily toward him.

"Yo, Taka. How was your run?"

"Run-ish."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Seiji snorted and glanced back at the TV, where the image of his clone rocking could be seen. "This guy's been playing the same damn song like six times now. Doesn't he know anything else?"

Taka's eyebrow twitched.

"Composing is hard, you know."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be showing up this often without something new. At this point, that guy's just chasing fame, recycling content."

Taka's teeth ground together, but he managed to keep his face straight. With a sigh, he muttered,

"I suppose. If only the heroes in this city were competent enough to catch him… Whatever. Guess he'll just keep getting away."

He couldn't see it, but he knew Seiji's eyebrow twitched too.

"Hey, Taka, you up for a spar? I'm feeling rusty."

Taka smirked. "Why should I deal with that? Go bother your girlfriend."

"Tsk. You too, huh? Inappropriate this, unprofessional that… Everyone's just jealous of my peerless charm. Since they can't pull a pro hero baddie, they gotta drag me down."

"More like peerless dumbness. With that costume of yours, I don't even know how you got her to kiss you. If it were me, I'd have run for my life."

"Jealous, aren't you, little Taka? That's right, already entering puberty and still no girlfriend. Don't worry, since I'm your guardian, it's my responsibility to instruct you in the arts of awesomery and baddie-pulling."

"Shove it."

Before Seiji could answer, Taka walked to his room and shut the door.

Now in the safety of his sanctuary, Taka rubbed his temples in frustration. "What an annoying guy."

Flopping onto his bed, he grabbed his phone. As usual, he went straight to checking clips of himself—a habit he'd developed due to watching views in videos where he appeared skyrocket, which got him the dopamine he always needed.

He scrolled and scrolled, skimming past dozens of videos, until one caught his ear.

It was his first performance, the Devil May Cry track.

But it wasn't his own clip. Instead, it was someone breakdancing wildly to the rhythm.

Taka couldn't help but watch, fully drawn in by the insane moves. By the time the video ended, his thumb had already hit Like. Something he almost never bothered doing, even when he enjoyed something.

"That was sick," he muttered.

Then a thought struck him.

He'd noticed earlier how stiff his performances looked.

If he could move like that… wouldn't it make his shows way better?

And it seemed he wasn't the only one who thought the same.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[You have finally taken notice of the mesmerizing art of dance. But you have yet to realize its true potential! Let the Aura Farmer within you bloom further as you open your mind to the wonders of corporeal expression.]

Quest Conditions:

▸ Learn a dance style to a skillful degree.

▸ Reach a new level in martial skill by enduring a fight with a serious Seiji for one full minute.

▸ No enhancing yourself or using aura projection during spars.

Reward: +500 Aura | Gain the skill [Let's Dance!]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taka's mouth twisted. "Seriously, what's up with these missions?"

Still, since it was asking him for an improvement in martial arts… that meant this skill was probably something good, right?

His eyes slowly turned toward the door, hesitant.

Then, with a sigh, he stood up, pulled it open, and yelled:

"Oi, Seiji! About that spar—"

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: And we have skipped time by a greater margin this time. Now, only three to four months remain for U.A.

Also, since it's a time skip, here's a referential image of how I imagine Taka.

It just looks as edgy as Taka would want to look on the outside. So it was the perfect appearance. Like, look at that face, you'd probably think he's a cold emo teenager like Todoroki. Then you realize he's probably thinking of going to take a dump.

I might draw an actual picture myself, but you never know with me.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Further improvement]
────────────────────────

| Some days later… |

…

-Thud!-

Taka hit the ground hard, a small cloud of dust rising as his back slammed against the earth.

"Shit…" he muttered, staring helplessly at the blue sky above—then his gaze dropped to his most hated nemesis.

Seiji.

The monkey hero knelt beside him, tilting his head slightly. "Not that I don't enjoy these spars where I don't have to hold back, kid. I've been under a lot of stress lately… but what's got you so motivated all of a sudden? Not long ago you looked like you dreaded even hearing the word spar, and now you're begging me to go all out."

Taka rolled his eyes, breathing heavily.

There was a brief pause, determination settling in his gaze as he stared at the sky resolutely.

Then, he spoke.

"I need to become stronger."

This time, it was Seiji who rolled his eyes. "Tsk. Got anything more cliché than that?"

"No."

"Well, whatever." Seiji stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes. "Still, if you're being serious, I can tell you it's gonna take a while. You've improved a lot—your control over your balance, movement, breathing… even your voice, strangely, has become weirdly refined and measured—but you're still lacking up here." He tapped his temple.

Taka lifted an eyebrow. "I need a thicker skull?"

"Look at you, still cracking jokes, huh?" Seiji's mouth twitched. "I meant that while you've got the moves ingrained, you still lack foresight, just like when we started all of this training stuff. You don't predict or anticipate, you just throw things out and hope they work. If you could fight like that one time you copied my signature move and caught me off guard, then you'd improve a lot in one go."

"You don't let me land that hit anymore, though."

"Well, I don't like getting hit in the balls."

"… Fair enough."

"Listen, Taka—fights are like a dance."

"Huh?"

"It's a constant back-and-forth of learned moves. Depending on what your opponent does, you pick from your arsenal the move that counters it. Of course, your opponent does the same, so you have to anticipate his anticipation… but he probably anticipates your anticipation, so you have to anticipate even that. Though, it's likely he also antici—"

A small pebble hit Seiji's clothes, making him stop and glare at Taka with a deadpan.

"I get it, jeez."

"You get the meaning, but you haven't ingrained it yet." Seiji leaned in and flicked Taka's forehead lightly.

"Ack!"

Taka groaned and rubbed the spot where he had just received domestic abuse.

Meanwhile, Seiji stared at him amusedly.

After a bit of letting him catch his breath, however, he helped him get up. The earth wasn't a good place to lie down, after all—at least not for the poor clothes.

With Taka back on his feet, Seiji went back into the house, leaving Taka sitting on the wooden porch to his own devices. Whether to continue resting, muse on his shortcomings, or imagine weird things, it was up to Taka.

"Fights are like a dance, huh?" he muttered, rubbing the sore spots where he'd been hit.

He opened his mission panel.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[You have finally taken notice of the mesmerizing art of dance. But you have yet to realize its true potential! Let the Aura Farmer within you bloom further as you open your mind to the wonders of corporeal expression.]

Quest Conditions:

▸ Learn a dance style to a skillful degree.

▸ Reach a new level in martial skill by enduring a fight with a serious Seiji for one full minute—without enhancing yourself or using aura projection.

Reward: +500 Aura | Gain the skill [Let's Dance!]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Maybe that was the trick.

Through dancing, he could learn that rhythm, that flow of back-and-forth Seiji talked about.

Or something like that.

Maybe.

…

On second thought, wouldn't he need a dance partner for that?

The mission only said to learn dancing styles, not practice with a partner.

But dancing often required a partner, so maybe it was implied.

'Not the style I picked, though?' Taka raised an eyebrow.

Had the system overlooked the style, or did it really not matter that a partner wasn't exactly required?

…

Nevermind—he still couldn't figure out what the mission even wanted from him.

'Still, talking about dancing, I should go check on them.'

As he had that thought, he stood up.

Moments later, and under Seiji's watchful and almost suspicious eyes, he left the house and began jogging down the road.

'Might as well make progress on the daily quest while I'm at it.'

With that thought, he made his way through the city.

His Trouble Radar skill went off a few times—there ain't no rest for the wicked, after all—but none of them were apocalypse-level alerts, just the usual hero vs. average villain stuff.

So, he didn't bother to stop to farm aura.

As for why—

"Finally here…" he sighed, coming to a stop.

The reason was right in front of him.

A huge, abandoned building. Apparently, it used to be a school in the past, but now it was nothing more than a perfect setting for ghost stories.

Only… there was something else inside besides the ghosts.

After making sure no one was watching by looking around carefully, Taka floated up and slipped in through a broken window, landing inside a wrecked classroom.

Scattered chairs, a half-collapsed board, holes in the ceiling—true decadence, exactly what you'd expect from a long-forgotten school.

But this wasn't his destination.

Closing the class door behind him, he moved down the desolate hallways until he reached a room labeled "Music Club."

Shaaa—

Without hesitation, he slid the door open.

And what greeted him was a strange sight.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in."

"Fresh meat!"

"Don't you know you have to bring offerings when showing up unannounced?!"

His clones—multiple of them—sat around the room like wannabe gangsters, each one striking a ridiculous pose, trying their best to look intimidating.

Taka sighed. "Stop it. I just came to check on you guys."

"We can see that."

"But why, though? Got bored being alone?"

"As expected of the loneliest Aura Farmer in history."

Taka sweatdropped. "Hey now, why the hell are you all being so sassy? You do realize that once you're done with your task, you'll come back to being me, right?"

"Well, you make us work our asses off while you stay home and chill, so I think we've earned the right to sass you."

"What do you mean by take it easy? I just got my face kicked in by Seiji."

"Right, right, I forgot about that… Did you at least land a hit this time?"

"No."

"That mission's gonna take a while, huh?"

"Well, I've got some thoughts about that. That's actually why I came to check on you bunch."

"'Hmm?'" The clones tilted their heads in unison.

Taka focused on one in particular. "You. How's the breakdance learning going?"

The clone sighed, massaging his neck and back.

"It's been a pain—literally. My whole body feels sore. The amount of movement this requires is insane. You should remake me and give me a bigger chunk of your aura. With what I've got, I can barely move right."

"I'm pretty sure you have enough aura to match my normal physical stats. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"Well, you're not exactly the most athletic person around, you know?" the clone deadpanned.

Taka deadpanned right back. "Again, I'm you, and you're me. Stop sassing me."

The clone rolled his eyes. "Consider it the healthy amount of self-deprecation you never give yourself. Besides, it's funny."

"Even though you'll come back and realize you were mocking yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Whatever." Taka sighed. "How long do you think it'll take before you master breakdancing?"

"Hmm… I dunno. A week or two, maybe? This stuff's hard."

"A week, huh?" Taka groaned. "Alright, continue as you were."

With that, he waved the clone off and turned toward the others.

They were sitting right beside a group of other instruments, including a drum set, a bass, and even a piano.

It was quite a collection, considering Taka was a teenager who, until not long ago, barely had enough to buy simple skin care products. But fortunately, his Quirktube Channel had amassed quite an audience, so he got enough money to afford the instruments.

Barely.

But being a teenager living under the care of someone else, he could afford to spend that much.

Thus, that's how and why he had begun using these instruments in the first place.

"How about you guys? How's the practice going?" Taka asked, raising an eyebrow as the clones remained in their delinquent-like pose.

The clones grinned proudly. "We've got everything in the bag! Just a bit more practice, and our aura reserves will skyrocket once we perform the show."

Taka nodded, smiling faintly. Then, he turned and glanced at the last clone in the room, who was sitting nearby but wasn't doing anything in particular.

"What about you? What do you think?"

"From what I'm hearing? It's pretty good." The clone gave him a thumbs-up.

When you're creating something, you tend to see every little detail—so much that you stop seeing it like others do. That's why Taka had made a clone uninvolved in the song's creation: to get the reaction of someone hearing it for the first time.

Of course, it wasn't as effective as he would have liked. Every day, his clones disappeared and their memories returned to him, meaning his new clones from the next day already had those memories baked in. So he couldn't just create a clone to react to the whole song from scratch, but had to settle for simply making him react to whatever progress the other team of clones made. It gave him a fresh perspective each day, even if not a fully detached and unaware one.

"So, what's your wisdom after today's progress?" Taka asked.

The clone rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… I'd say it lacks a bit of intensity."

"Is that so?" Taka turned toward the clones practicing their instruments. "Well, you heard him—though I guess it'll be tomorrow's batch who has to worry about that…"

Scratching his hair in mild frustration, he sighed.

And with that, he turned around and walked toward the door.

"Well, you guys keep at it. I'll do my best to punch Seiji, but I'm not making any promises."

"Power!"

"Poweeer!"

"Poweer!"

His clones let out a strange war cry as he slid the door shut behind him.

"..." By the time he found himself alone in the hallway, Taka sweatdropped. "Am I really that weird inside?"

Maybe their technically short lives had made them bring out the true weirdo he feigned he wasn't.

Shaking his head with a sigh, he turned and made his way out—this time, leaving the school for good.

…

Once he was back on the street, he began running through a mental checklist of how things were going.

Like his clone had said, there was only a week or two before he eventually mastered Breakdancing.

Maybe "mastered" was too strong a word, though.

But by then, he felt confident he'd be able to do it with proficiency. Maybe not the best, but he'd at least know how to breakdance to a "skillful" degree as the mission asked.

Once that was done, all that'd be left would be to last one full minute in a spar against a serious Seiji to complete the mission.

He wasn't worried about that. While he may be getting beaten to the ground right now, he would eventually find the trick to tabling the turns.

For now, though, he would have to continue having his face shoved in.

'Almost like a Dark Souls boss.' Taka sneered, recalling otherworldly memories.

Then there was the matter of his song.

As much as he wanted to release it right now, and relish in the tons of aura it would bring—even more so if he planned properly the time, place, and circumstance under which he presented it—he had to grit his teeth and endure it for now.

This was his own project, not another plagiarism like the earlier ones. And because of that, he couldn't help but be a perfectionist about it. It wasn't like before, where he didn't bother with learning other instruments for the DMC song, or when he did some playback for the 'Animal I Have Become' song so he could focus on playing the guitar and nothing else.

Now, he wanted none of that.

No cutting corners, and no sparing effort in creating it.

He wanted his creation to succeed. No, not just succeed—he wanted it to shock everyone.

He wanted it to be the best song, even better than any of the ones he'd stolen before.

It was a test for himself. Proof that he could be great without relying on others or on sad things like plagiarism.

The system had given him the tools. All he needed was to prove he had the drive and determination to go through with it.

'This Aura Farming thing sure is brainwashing me, huh?' Taka thought with a wry smile.

If it were his old self—the one from before he got the system—he wouldn't have cared about plagiarism as long as it made him stronger. But now? The very idea made him feel cheap. Like, he could be better than that.

'But I guess that's what it means to be an Aura Farmer, huh?'

With an amused scoff, Taka's walk home continued for a while more.

It would have been great if that's where it ended—but…

"...?!"

Suddenly, his Trouble Radar went off. Making his body go stiff, and his eyes widen like platters.

Normally, when the skill was activated, it didn't warrant such a reaction… but this time, it was different.

There was trouble incoming, yes. There wasn't a change in that function of the skill.

But the level of danger he felt coming from it… It was unprecedented.

On a scale of 1 to 10 on the danger level, the previous villain attacks were his skill had warned him about had been between 2 to 4. Nothing too grand.

But this?

This was a solid 7.

It may not seem like that big of a difference using the scale, but the difference between the feelings given by both was like heaven and earth.

One was a small sense of dread, like entering somewhere you shouldn't, hence doing something illegal. It felt slightly wrong.

This alarm, however, felt like watching everything go to shit without being able to do anything. Staring helplessly as everything crumbles around.

They were not even close.

Startled, his eyes darted around, scanning his surroundings.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

And yet… that only made it more unsettling.

'Should I leave? I have a feeling this might be more than I can chew.'

Taka swallowed nervously, taking a step back.

Sure, he was strong right now—but in a world where Quirks of every kind and shape existed, thinking you were invincible was the dumbest thing you could do.

Besides, he hadn't brought his usual Rockinesis gear, so if he stuck around, his identity would be at risk.

"Yeah, this is stupid," Taka muttered, sneering to himself as he started turning back.

In the original series, there had never been any mention of an event like this, so it was probably something that got resolved on its own.

Even if he wasn't here, everything would most likely go fine.

...Right?

Well, now that he thought about it, it wouldn't have been strange if there had been a few casualties, but not enough to make it a society-shaking event, hence not worth appearing in the show.

Or maybe he was wrong for thinking of both this reality and the show as the same.

Regardless of what may have happened in the show... this was real life.

And things never went as expected in real life.

Taka stopped mid-step.

His eyes shifted to the side, scanning his surroundings—almost as if expecting something.

No, he was searching for something.

Something like… a mission.

...

And yet, nothing came.

"Do you... have nothing to say about this, system?" he asked.

[Do you really need a mission for this, host? I think you know what you should do]

Taka blinked.

Then, a wry smile spread across his face as he let out a scoff.

"Yeah... I suppose I do, huh?"

As the words left his mouth, his gaze sharpened.

He took a deep breath and swept his hair back—his usual leisure and bored attitude shifting to a more serious one.

Then stepped forward.

To where?

Directly toward where the alarms were ringing.

As for the reason?

"For I am an Aura Farmer."

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Now, the base of operations has been revealed, along with some of the process Taka goes through to improve.

And now, another hurdle appears before Taka. Will he triumph, or will he suck?

Also, was that last part tuff? Or did it make you cringe?)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Real Battle]
────────────────────────

…

Sitting around a round table in a dark, damp room, three people faced each other while one of them pointed at a screen on the wall. The screen displayed a map of what seemed to be a bank, and many notes regarding guards' movements and shifts, cameras, etc…

"...And that's pretty much the plan. Questions?" said the one presenting—a broad, tall bald man in a leather jacket and jeans—his glare sharp and commanding.

The person to his right, a woman with spiky, static-charged hair, lazily raised her hand. Dressed in a tank top and military pants, she spoke with a drawl. "Yeah, why this city? I had to endure a three-hour drive just to attend this little meeting of yours. Couldn't we just have done it in Tokyo?"

The man snorted. "We are here because the heroes in this city suck. A few might be trouble, but the rest are just fodder we'll crush easily if it comes to that. With such weak resistance, our little plan has a much better chance of working."

"Neat." The woman nodded, satisfied.

His gaze shifted to the third member—a man whose entire body seemed to be made of jagged stone, some pieces smooth, others sharp, like a golem come to life. "Any questions, rocky?"

"Yeah," the rocky man rumbled. "What do we do with the heroes that get in the way?"

"Why are you even asking that?" the leader scoffed. "We kill them, obviously."

The stone man grunted, accepting the answer.

"Phew~" The woman stretched with a crooked grin, cracking her neck. "Man, knowing the big-league heroes won't be around makes me feel way more at ease! We're finally in a pond where we're the big fish, huh?"

The man sneered, fishing a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. "Now that you're mentioning it… Yeah, it's been a while since I've been on top of the food chain. Reminds me of my school days—no kid could match my Quirk, and they were all terrified. Teachers too. The whole school was practically my playground."

The golem man frowned—not angry, but clearly skeptical. "Still, are you sure the heroes here are that pathetic? From what I've heard, this place does have a few aces who could give us trouble. It might not be Tokyo, but it's still a big city."

"Ah, right." The leader smirked. "Forgot to include that in the presentation. There are a few, but I've already handled them. I sent some of our guys to act as diversions once we start. They'll stir up chaos near those heroes' patrol zones, keeping them busy while we get the job done."

"This'll be easy peasy." The woman smirked.

"Though," he added, narrowing his eyes, "there are a couple of pests I couldn't account for."

"Who?" the stone man asked.

"The first's supposed to be the strongest hero in the city. Calls himself Super Monkey. Ranked sixty-ninth in the charts."

The two others looked unimpressed.

"His patrol patterns are a mess—random, chaotic, he just seems to go wherever he pleases. Sometimes he doesn't even show up. Because of that, I couldn't pin down where he'll be, so he's a wild card. We might run into him, or we might never see him at all."

"He doesn't sound like much with that name," the woman said.

"Yeah, but you never know," the man shrugged, then his tone hardened. "The other one who might cause trouble… isn't a hero."

That got their attention. Both looked up, confused.

"It's some kind of local vigilante," the man continued, puffing some smoke from the cigarrete. "He's been gaining popularity lately. Apparently, he shows up during hero and villain fights, plays a song, and knocks out the villains if the heroes can't finish the job before the song ends."

"Again, doesn't sound like much," the woman said.

"And I'll say it again—you never know. An acquaintance of mine with a pretty decent Quirk got taken down by him."

"How decent are we talking?" asked the rocky man.

"Fairly good. Of course, nothing compared to ours," the leader replied with a smirk. "We are high-ranked villains, after all. It wouldn't be fair to judge him by our level."

The woman laughed. "Yeah, that'd be unfair."

The rocky man didn't laugh; instead, he squinted. "Any info on their Quirks?"

"Super Monkey's got a Mutant-type Quirk that gives him the characteristics of a monkey, like a tail, big hands, or a stupid face. As for the vigilante, I think it's something akin to telekinesis, but not exactly. He's a mystery to everyone these days. Couldn't dig up much."

The woman snorted. "Well, neither of them sounds like a problem. With the three of us on one team, even the heroes in Tokyo would have their hands full."

And it was no wonder she thought that.

The three were A-class villains, infamous ones at that.

The bald man was Reaper Sight. A villain charged with multiple assassinations of influential people and heroes, robbery at gunpoint, dozens of homicides, arson, etc…

His Quirk, Zapping, lets him teleport rapidly to places within his eyesight with a nonexistent cooldown, something that made him a target difficult to catch, and that the villain used along with guns to secure quick assassinations or hero murders.

The woman was Electraction. Known for multiple successful robberies at jewelry stores or similar places of luxury, and was also charged with multiple homicides left behind during her delictual activities. Her Quirk, Electro-Charge, lets her transform her entire body to electricity momentarily, and also charge her own body with electricity, so any kind of attack she launches can discharge up to 20,000 volts. (Is this correctly described, chat? I'm no electrician)

And finally, the man filled with stones was none other than Titaniphite. An ex-prisoner who had been charged with dozens of millions of yen in destruction of private property, multiple homicide, and the hospitalization of heroes and officers alike.

His Quirk, Stone Shell, gives him an outer armor of hard and sturdy rocks that he can mold, limitedly to his desire, sharpening them or thickening them slightly.

A trio of powerful villains—something not seen in a long time, since villains rarely worked together.

"With this team, even if both those guys show up, I doubt they'll be able to do much!" she laughed loudly, her confidence absolute.

"That Super Monkey guy isn't needed," said suddenly a calm voice from behind them. "I alone am enough to deal with the three of you."

Instantly, their eyes widened. They spun around, shocked to find someone had entered the room without them noticing—a lone figure leaning casually against the wall, staring at them with cold, indifferent eyes.

"Who are you?!" Electraction shouted, her spiky hair crackling as a small current of electricity surged through it.

Titaniphite scowled as the rocks covering his body expanded, making him larger and more imposing.

Reaper Sight narrowed his eyes, studying the intruder before a smirk spread across his face.

"I see… so it's you. Rockinesis, right?"

"Who?" the other two asked in unison.

"The vigilante," Reaper said. "I've believe that's his nickname."

Rockinesis closed his eyes, his voice calm and steady. "That's what I'm called these days."

"Why are you here?" Reaper frowned, his smirk fading. "I thought you only showed up during hero-villain fights. We haven't done anything yet, have we?"

Rockinesis uncrossed his arms, his stance tightening. Hands flexing, as if ready to fight.

"I was just passing by."

"I see…" Reaper nodded slowly.

Then—

"Kill him."

…

°

°

°

| The street |

…

Pedestrians bustled along the sidewalks. People darted in and out of restaurants or stopped at food stalls to grab snacks for the road.

Traffic was awful—a line of cars stretched down the street, the blaring of horns filling the air like a chaotic symphony.

And yet, despite the noise and confusion, it was everyday life. Ordinary. Predictable.

What wasn't ordinary, however, was the massive explosion that suddenly tore through a nearby building.

—BOOOOM!—

A deafening blast rocked the street. Debris rained down, dust billowed into the air, and the screams came almost instantly—high-pitched, panicked, echoing through the chaos.

"What's happening?!"

"Is it a villain?!"

The crowd erupted in panic, scattering in every direction while staring wide-eyed at the rising cloud of smoke.

Then, as the dust began to settle and silence tried to return—

-Swoosh!-

The cloud exploded outward as a figure was launched through it, soaring high before crashing down onto the street near the retreating crowd.

He skidded backward for several meters before finally coming to a halt.

Black hoodie. Black joggers. Masked face.

Everyone knew who he was.

"Rockinesis?!"

"No way! The real one?!"

"He's here!"

Terror turned into excitement—

"AAAAARGH, DIEEE!"

—only to twist back into terror again.

An enormous figure burst from the smoke behind him—Titaniphite. A towering, rock-covered monster that looked more like a walking mountain than a man.

Despite his size, his speed was terrifying, each step shaking the ground. The sheer force of his charge made everyone nearby stumble back in fear.

"Urgh." A low grunt escaped Rockinesis as he steadied himself after being hurled away.

But there was no time to breathe.

Titaniphite was already upon him.

Rockinesis raised his hand, aiming it at the giant. For a moment, Titaniphite's momentum faltered—slowed—his massive body enveloped in a faint aura.

Yet it wasn't enough.

"You think you can stop me, runt?!"

"Ugh—!" Rockinesis grunted, unable to hold him completely.

Titaniphite's massive fist came swinging down.

With no other choice, Rockinesis released his grip and leapt back, dodging the strike by mere centimeters.

Before the giant could strike again, Rockinesis propelled himself upward, soaring into the air—out of reach.

He looked ready to attack again. But just as his aura began to gather around the giant—

—Bang!—

A distant explosion, sharp like a gunshot, rang out. Rockinesis barely had time to widen his eyes before a projectile struck his shoulder.

His hoodie sizzled, smoke curling from the hole burned through the fabric—but his skin only showed a bruise.

—Bang!—

Another shot.

This time, Rockinesis' aura flared around him like a shimmering force field before the bullet could reach. As a result, the bullet slowed enormously, and when it hit him, it barely bumped onto him lightly before falling powerlessly to the ground far below.

With the danger gone, Rockinesis scanned the surroundings until his eyes caught Reaper Sight perched atop a distant building.

He shot forward, intent on taking him down first. Aura already shooting in the villain's direction—

"...?!"

—but before he could reach him, the man vanished, like he had just become air.

—Bang!—

And then, another shot rang out from behind. The bullet slowed at the last second again, failing to deal any damage by the time it hit him.

"This guy…"

But before Rockinesis could locate the shooter again—

A giant shadow fell over him.

Titaniphite.

"WAAARGH!"

The massive villain came crashing down from above, fist swinging with brutal momentum. Rockinesis' hand shot out, moving his aura to block the impact.

The punch slowed midair—yes—but still landed.

—BAM!!!—

Instants later, Rockinesis slammed into the ground like a meteor, concrete shattering beneath him. Dust erupted, swallowing the street.

He staggered to his feet a moment later, unsteady but still standing.

Then, the giant began falling upon him.

But as the giant's shadow grew around him, a flicker of pleasedness passed by Rockinesis' eyes.

Now that the villain was in the air, he didn't have the ground anymore to exert any leverage and overpower his aura.

In the air, he was vulnerable.

He focused his aura on the monster, and soon, energy began to wrap around him—

—Bang!—

Another shot struck Rockinesis in the back, making him stumble and breaking his concentration.

"That fucker…!" Rockinesis muttered, eyes widening faintly before a frown took over.

He looked ready to turn around and look for Reaper again, but before he could recover, a flash of electricity crackled beside him.

"Hell yeah!"

Electraction appeared from a burst of lightning, her charged fist swinging straight at him.

Rockinesis reacted instantly, his aura flaring to immobilize her—

—Bang!—

—but another shot came.

This one hit his lower back, just enough to make his control falter. Titaniphite broke free, finally getting to touch the ground, and Electraction's punch connected.

—Bam!—

—Crackle!—

Electricity burst across Rockinesis' body, lighting him up in a violent flash. Smoke billowed from his clothes, parts of them charred and blackened.

But even then—

"Ah?!"

He moved—faster than she expected. His aura flared again, wrapping around Electraction as he prepared to slam her into the ground.

Yet before he could, Titaniphite came charging in once more, roaring as he swung.

Rockinesis switched tactics. He threw Electraction at the charging giant, forcing Titaniphite to halt to catch her.

Using that split-second distraction, Rockinesis leapt back, putting distance between them. His breathing was ragged now, and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

—Bang!—

Another bullet whizzed toward him, but his aura barrier was up again—it struck and bounced off harmlessly.

Rockinesis exhaled, eyes narrowing.

Then, he let out a nervous laugh amidst mutters.

"This might have been more than I could chew…"

…

°

°

°

| Taka's POV: |

…

"This might have been more than I could chew…"

I hadn't thought much about fighting these three villains at once. After all, with how much aura I'd racked up these past months, I didn't think they'd be able to do much against my now greater aura projection. After all, no villain had been able to get out of my grasp once my aura enveloped them.

But in hindsight, I should have been more careful and considered the numerical advantage more.

Trouble Radar had warned me they meant trouble, after all.

Turns out, I was slightly wrong in my assessment. These guys were stronger than they looked.

And worse, they knew how to gang up on someone. These bastards were coordinated. I barely had time to focus on one before another popped up and hit me.

Not to mention that this fight wasn't seeming to be very favorable for me so far, judging from their abilities, at least.

First, there was the bald guy in the leather jacket. He had what seemed like a teleportation Quirk and used a sniper rifle with it—basically a pest that hit and ran. Or more like shot and ran.

It wasn't much of a problem since with my increased defense stat, bullets could barely bruise me, and even less the more aura I poured into the stat.

I could also use aura projection to form a shield around me that slowed the bullet down. Lessening the damage even further, and allowing me to not need to pour every single aura into defense.

Why slow the bullet down and not block it completely like a literal shield, you ask?

Because my aura worked like a hand, an omnidirectional, not physical, and multipresent hand, that I could manifest all around me to grab things, pull, or push.

But the aura wasn't solid. So I could only use it to push things away from me when using it as a shield, like just now.

So yeah, slowing down the bullets, no problem. Blocking them completely? I could, but that'd require me to actually see the bullet incoming, and use my aura to try and catch it instead of pushing away.

The main problem wasn't the bullets, though; the problem was that he stayed far away, and when I went after him, he went somewhere else.

I couldn't catch him, so he was a constant annoyance while I dealt with the other two.

Then there was the matter of the female villain. So far from what I'd seen, she could turn into electricity—or something close to it—and move at super high speed in that state, while also using the energy to charge her attacks like she had done with that earlier punch. Even with increased defense, electricity was great at bypassing protections, so yeah, it had hurt.

Not to mention that with how fast she was, it'd be hard to react on time if I got too distracted with the other two. If I were taken by surprise, it might be dangerous.

Besides that, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to grab her with my aura when she was in that electric state, but as far as concerned, when she looked like a person, it hadn't seemed like there was a problem, at least she didn't seem capable of escaping when I grabbed her earlier.

So, I just needed to find the time to catch her and take her down in one go.

And finally, there was the rock guy. At first, I thought he was just super durable with all those rocks around him, but no—he had insane strength, speed, and durability. So much that even with all my aura—around two tons of force—the bastard could still muscle through it, even when slowed.

My only chance at having aura work on him would be in the air, like earlier, where he wouldn't have anything to apply force to, and where he'd be at my complete mercy.

But it was a wonder if I'd be able to get him to jump again.

So, in summary, these guys were rather bad news for the way I've fought until now.

The woman was too fast for me to react properly, the mountain guy was too powerful and overpowered my current aura projection, and the sniper guy was too far away for me to do anything about him, making him a constant annoyance.

So, the question was: what the hell do I do now?

My eyes darted to my status, a nervous sweat drop running down my temple.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119

▸ Defense: 238→1038

▸ Aura Projection: 3059

─────────────

Total Aura: 5309→3859 (73%)

1st Clone's aura: 350 (6,5%)

2nd Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)

3rd Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)

4th Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)

5th Clone's aura: 200 (3,7%)

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The first answer was clear: I had to dispel my clones. That'd give me back half of the aura I'd spent, and the rest would recover over time.

That would give me a decent power boost, from around 70% to 85%, while the rest of the aura recovered over time—but even then, I wasn't sure it'd be enough to take on all three of these jumpers.

I could deal with them one-on-one, sure. But together? Not a chance.

So… what else could I do?

I glared at the screen with a deadpan expression.

'What, no conveniently timed mission with a new skill this time, system?'

[There's no need. You already have what you need to beat them, host.]

If we're talking in more murderous terms, maybe I could take out the woman, but the other two? Too slippery or too damn tough, even if I went all out. Not to mention that I don't want to cross that line yet. Not when the police are already after me. That'd just be giving them more reasons to take me seriously.

[That's not what I meant.]

Then what?

[All I can say is… your thinking has been too uncreative until now.]

The hell's that supposed to mean?

I looked back at my status window.

Uncreative? In what way? My skills?

Most of them are just simple buffs or "look cool while doing it" types.

Maybe Inmovable Object? No—what use would taking more damage just for not being knocked back have?

Unless… maybe it's telling me to combine it with a defense boost—to catch them off guard? But that's too obvious, isn't it? It must be talking about something else.

"What's wrong? Getting tired?!"

Sadly, not the best time for deep thinking.

The woman and the rock guy were walking toward me now. Slowly. She wore that smug, arrogant grin, and he had that same scowl plastered across his face.

'I'll figure it out later…'

For now, though—first things first.

[You have dissolved your clones]

[Total aura used: 27%]

[You have recovered 13,5% of the used aura. (725)]

[The rest will recover naturally during the next hour.]

Instantly, I felt power usher back to me, along with the annoying memory influx.

I grit my teeth at the dizzy sensation.

But then, as it cleared up, my eyes shone with newfound determination.

Right away, I poured the aura I had recovered into aura projection.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119

▸ Defense: 1038

▸ Aura Projection: 3059 → 3784

─────────────

Total Aura: 3859 → 4584 (86,5%)

Recovering: 13,5% (59 minutes, 56 seconds left)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I took a deep breath and cracked my neck, humming in satisfaction as my bones creaked slightly.

"Alright, round two, bitches."

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Time for Taka to begin getting more skills, hehehe)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[New Move]
────────────────────────

…

The battle, which seemed to have come to a momentary stop, resumed abruptly, with both parties clashing fiercely.

Electraction dashed in first, using her electric-enhanced speed to get to Taka first in but an instant, her charged punch swinging savagely towards him as a wild grin spread across her face.

"Die!!!"

-CRACKLE!-

Before it could connect, however, Taka simply raised a hand.

"...?!"

Then, in the blink of an eye, his aura expanded and engulfed Electraction, immobilizing her mid-air.

"L-let me go!" She demanded as she struggled, releasing electricity to try and shake herself off.

To her surprise, however—

"As you wish."

"Agh…?!"

Taka proceeded to wave his hand with dismissal, as if batting a fly. That alone was enough to send her hurling back in the direction of the still approaching Titaniphite.

The rocky villain's charge was forced to a halt once he noticed his companion flying in his direction, catching her before she flew past, and glaring at her with annoyance.

"What the hell are you doing? If you're not going to be useful, get out of the—"

"Don't get distracted."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119 → 2221

▸ Defense: 1038 → 2.221

▸ Aura Projection: 3784 → 499

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

What Titaniphite didn't expect was for Taka to appear in front of him with just a moment of distraction, fist winding up a punch.

"...!"

Without a chance to react, and with both hands occupied carrying Electraction, all Titaniphite could do was receive the punch head-on.

A fraction of a second later, the impact came.

—CLANG!—

A metallic ring drowned the vicinity after that, and to the surprise of everyone watching the fight, the one who was sent hurling several meters away after the impact, despite his humongous size, was Titaniphite. He left a trail of broken concrete as his feet dug into the ground to halt himself.

What was more surprising, however, was the huge crack on Titaniphite's stony chest, exposing his inner skin.

After recovering his balance, the villain inspected the crack with shocked yet angry eyes, passing a hand through it in disbelief.

"How… you… What did you do?"

Taka simply raised his fist, showing his slightly reddened knuckles.

"I hit you."

Titaniphite's breath became more labored, and the look in his eyes sharpened.

"You hit me, you say?"

His fist clenched, and he dropped the already recuperating Electraction onto the floor, who barely caught herself and sent Titaniphite a venomous look.

But the villain simply ignored her.

Then, he began to walk again towards Taka, the rocks surrounding his body growing larger and sharper with each step, almost like a terrifying and enormous stone hedgehog.

Only for his slow walk to quickly turn into a full-on sprint, like a bull charging at its prey.

"THEN—HOW ABOUT I HIT YOU BACK?!"

The villain's eyes reddened, and suddenly, what had been a stone fist began sharpening into an eerie spike, making the nearby spectators gasp.

Taka, however, remained still. His figure relaxed and composed before the incoming threat.

And soon, the dangerous weaponized arm began falling upon him with a weight and speed that would impale a human being with terrifying ease.

And yet, just as it was about to reach Taka…

One finger.

That's all he lifted to block the attack.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 2.221 → 200

▸ Defense: 2.221 → 4.741

▸ Aura Projection: 499 → 0

─────────────

[Innamovible object] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The ominous spike, which had painted a picture of blood and skewering, came to a stop just like that, letting out a sharp metal ring as it struck.

—CLANG!—

And Taka, who had simply used one finger to block the spike's tip, remained unmoved and unshaken, his posture still tall and relaxed.

Furthermore…

"Is that all?" He asked, his tone equally unimpressed and teasing.

That was enough to break Titaniphite.

"What…?! No, how does that make… It's impossible!" Titaniphite snapped his arm away, stumbling back in shock.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 200 → 2.221

▸ Defense: 4.741 → 2.221

▸ Aura Projection: 0 → 499

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Sadly, he wasn't about to get away that easily.

Before he could fully escape, Taka's other hand—the opposite of the one that still had its finger raised mockingly—clenched into a fist and followed after Titaniphite, who, seeing he couldn't dodge it, decided to block it with his rocky and spiky forearms.

—CLANG!—

The same metallic echo from before filled the area; however, this time it didn't come alone.

-Crack!-

The sound of rock cracking apart and crumbling came right after. Making everyone, including Titaniphite, stare at his arms in shock.

"N-no… this can't be…!"

The powerful guard of rock crumbled and fell to the ground uselessly, showing the reddened and bruised human skin beneath.

"No, no, no, my invincible armor… how could you, someone who was barely able to hold me back earlier, shatter it?!"

Taka didn't answer, but simply studied the rupture with a satisfied grin beneath his mask.

'Turns out, I was right about changing stats for this one.'

Although he evidently favored AP over his other stats, always pouring his gains onto it right away, in this case, it was hard countered due to its low offensive nature.

After all, AP worked only like a pseudo-telekinesis that used aura instead of cerebral power. It could grab, hold, pull, or push, like some sort of ethereal force under his absolute control.

However, against someone as durable, strong, and heavy as Titaniphite, all these uses were rendered useless or ineffective. He couldn't push him as his strength and weight overwhelmed the aura's force output; he couldn't pull him either, not even mention grabbing and holding him back.

The amount of aura points in it might have been high, but the type of attacks it could enforce was not ideal.

Hence why he shifted to a more physical approach.

With his strength increased by his 2000 aura, which was around a ton in strength, and all that blunt power focused into the single point that was his fists, which were comparatively small to Titaniphite's body, it was understandable why it had become a lot easier to pierce through the man's armor.

Of course, if he had placed all his aura into strength, then he could have probably dealt even more easily with the guy. However, with the other two villains around, he didn't dare take too much aura from defense, and AP was still useful in case he needed some long-range mid-fight.

So he settled for 2000 aura in strength, which, as seen now, worked wonders.

All that rested now was…

'To beat him to the ground…' Taka's eyes narrowed, and he took a step towards Titaniphite, who backed off instantly. His earlier intimidating and stoic attitude completely cracking.

"S-stay away!"

His opponent was utterly panicked.

'Which makes it even easier.' Taka smiled, and, without warning, kicked off. Winding another fist.

But just as he was about to reach him—

-Crackle!-

A lightning bolt shot at him.

In the next instant, said bolt transformed into a human form and revealed Electraction, whipping a powerful and electrically charged kick in his direction.

While Taka's body may have been too slow to respond, his mind wasn't.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 2221 → 200

▸ Defense: 2221 → 4242

▸ Aura Projection: 499

─────────────

[Innamovible object] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The kick connected cleanly, an explosion of electricity going off on his body the next second, almost as if lightning had descended on him.

Smoke burst from Taka, his costume clearly more charred now.

But as the smoke cleared, his unaffected eyes showed to everyone.

"What the heck?!" Electraction groaned as she jumped away to make distance.

Taka was about to lift his hand to command his aura, but then—

-Bang!-

The distant sound of a gun echoed, and soon, another bullet struck him on the head.

The impact sounded clean, but the bullet still ended up bouncing off harmlessly.

By then, however, Electraction had returned to Titaniphite's side, looking vexed at the now ominous figure standing before them.

A man in tatters, surrounded by the smoke of his own clothes, but that no matter what, never received any damage.

Just what kind of monster was this vigilante?!

'No,'

She shook her head, refusing to believe that someone could just be invulnerable.

"Oi, snap out of it." She punched Titaniphite, who looked the most shaken between the two, snapping him out of his trance. "Don't let him trick you retard, there's nothing invincible in this world. I'm sure damage must be accumulating, even if he doesn't show it!"

"He blocked a sharpened strike of mine with his finger, and it doesn't even have a droplet of blood in it after that. How can you say we are inflicting damage?" Titaniphite snapped at her, growling.

"I don't know, but this ain't the time to be crying like a bitch." She gritted her teeth, eyes darting back to Taka, who stood impassively before them. "We might be getting bodied one-on-one, but we can overwhelm him working together. He can't hold you with your strength, and he can't react to my attacks. If we continue, we should be able to breach his defenses eventually!"

"And if we don't?" Titaniphite asked, looking unsure at the man in the dark in front.

Electraction snorted, electricity already flaring around her again. "Then this was a lost cause from the beginning. But we won't know that unless we try."

Titaniphite frowned at her words and glanced at the cracks in the stones around his chest and forearm.

"Very well." Then, with a dissatisfied huff, the rocks around him sharpened again, giving him that dangerous appearance from earlier, and he prepared to charge.

Taka, on the other hand, opened his arms welcomingly.

"Come."

And so, the two jumped into action.

"Oryaaaaa!" Electraction was the first to reach Taka, performing an elbow strike that sent yet another discharge on the youth's body.

But Taka didn't seem to care and simply lifted his hand, shooting a burst of aura to capture her.

But before it could get her fully, a huge shadow descended on him.

"RAAAAH!"

-Swish!-

-Swish!-

-Swish!-

-Swish!-

Titaniphite, now with both hands turned into spikes, stabbed at Taka multiple times. Like a Gatling gun of piercing jabs.

Taka blocked the first barrage with his forearm, but soon they became too fast and too many to block, making him receive the full barrage on his chest.

While that happened, Electraction circled around him before delivering a swift kick to Taka's back, discharging some more electricity.

He tried to grab her, but she then turned into a lightning bolt and circled him yet again, appearing above and hitting a knee strike right onto Taka's face.

-Bang!-

At the same time, a bullet hit his ribs.

-Bang!-

-Bang!-

-Bang!-

No, not one, many bullets began raining on him. All while Titaniphite's onslaught continued, and Electraction hit and ran constantly.

Ultimately, though, their stamina wasn't endless.

After a while, the two in the front line ran out of fumes, and Reaper Sight must have run out of bullets, or was recharging, because the attack barrage came to a halt, and both villains in the front retreated, catching their breath.

"Did you have enough, freak?!" Electraction yelled, frustrated, amidst gasps.

But then—much to their growing vexation—

-Pat, pat, pat-

Taka simply patted his clothes, as if brushing off dust.

Then, his eyes glared at them with disdain.

"Is that all?"

"...!"

"...!"

In an instant, the exhaustion that was beginning to dull their fury reignited. Their eyes sharpened, blazing with renewed rage.

And so, the fight resumed.

—Thud, thud, thud, thud!—

Titaniphite's charge shook the earth, each step cracking the concrete further.

CRACKLE!—

Electricity erupted around Electraction, escalating from the level of a faulty power line's spark to the chaotic overload of a collapsing city grid, and then, she shot forward like a lightning bolt.

Then came the bullets.

-Bang, Bang, Bang!-

Electraction and the hail of shots reached him simultaneously.

-Kachiiin!-

-Cling!-

"Go down already!"

—CRACKLE!—

Bullets ricocheted violently off Taka's body, and Electraction's electric discharge detonated against him—only for him to stand there, unbothered.

Electraction's teeth ground against each other, but her frustration was interrupted when she saw Taka lifting his hand to capture her once again.

But yet again, before he could do so, Titaniphite forced his attention away from her.

"Wraaaah!"

With a thunderous roar, another barrage of heavy, stabbing blows crashed toward Taka. He blocked what he could with his palms, but several still hammered into him.

Meanwhile, Electraction had already turned into a lightning bolt, spiraling around him in search of an opening.

And then, to her delight, Taka finally shifted from defense—pulling back a fist to strike Titaniphite.

She quickly transformed back into her human form and sent a swift kick into Taka's ribs.

Or that's what should have happened.

"What?!"

Before her charged kick could connect, her whole body froze mid-air, the feeling too familiar to mistake.

Taka had captured her.

"Impossible! You didn't even point your hand at me like earlier!" she shouted, struggling—and failing spectacularly—to move.

Titaniphite noticed her predicament and immediately intensified his barrage, hoping to knock Taka off balance and free her.

But he didn't.

Taka's eyes narrowed, his gaze cold as it locked onto Electraction.

"That was just me playing around."

Even as Titaniphite's onslaught continued, Electraction began to rise—slowly at first, then steadily floating higher.

-Bang!-

-Bang!-

-Bang!-

Bullets rained down along with Titaniphite's stabbing strikes, but none of it stopped her ascent.

She only kept rising… until she reached the top height.

"L-let me go!"

"No can do," Taka muttered, closing his eyes.

Then—

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 200

▸ Defense: 4242 → 3242

▸ Aura Projection: 499 → 1499

─────────────

[Innamovible object] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

She plummeted.

—BAM!—

Her body slammed into the street, back arched, eyes rolling back instantly.

"...!" Titaniphite's eyes widened, his assault faltering for a moment.

Then, seeing his partner's limp form fly past him as Taka flung her away from the area, he cursed under his breath and broke off to catch her before she hit anything else.

With Titaniphite momentarily out of the fight, Taka summoned a field of aura around himself. The bullets slowed drastically the moment they hit their boundary, losing all momentum.

Thus, finally earning himself a moment of respite.

Taka closed his eyes.

'Fuck…'

His body was aching like hell.

The villainess had been right. He might be looking fine outside, but he was not really.

With all three villains cooperating, he'd been forced into an entirely defensive stance. If he moved even a sliver of his aura away from defense, he risked getting seriously injured. So he couldn't hit back and couldn't use Aura Projection for anything meaningful.

And with his defense pumped to absurd levels, the damage was still stacking.

He'd activated Innamovible Object because he realized its effect—spreading incoming damage throughout his whole body—helped soften certain attacks. Like Titaniphite's piercing blows. Under normal circumstances, those strikes would pierce straight through. But by distributing the force evenly, the piercing effect was lost… at the cost of taking a bit more overall damage, but which could also be reduced more easily with his defense stat than a piercing attack would. Same with the bullets.

And with his defense on such great heights, he'd been tanking everything like a champ.

But tanking isn't nullifying.

The damage kept piling up; what started as mild discomfort had become sharp, jarring pain radiating across his entire body.

Good thing he had that pain-resisting skill.

And honestly, it would've been far worse if he hadn't managed to bait Electraction into overcommitting so he could use his AP on her and finally land a solid blow.

Her electricity damaged his whole body regardless of Inmovable Object being activated or not, which meant the damage could only be reduced by his defense stat.

But with her gone, his job had gotten way easier.

Now, only two villains remained—unless she woke up, which Taka hoped she wouldn't.

'The rocky guy can be dealt with strength, but as for the other…' Taka frowned, glaring around, unsure of Reaper Sight's location.

The bullets weren't the main threat—annoying, sure, but manageable. The real problem was the guy's Quirk. The bastard could teleport away the moment Taka got close, meaning he'd stay an annoyance for the entire fight, until he dealt with the rocky villain.

So, what could he do?

A clone, maybe? If one could keep the sniper busy, that'd solve it.

But thinking it through, Taka grimaced. Wasting aura on a clone right now was a terrible idea.

He needed every aura point at his disposal. He couldn't afford to make a clone, at least not one with enough power to make a difference in this fight.

'So what the heck do I do?'

How was he supposed to get rid of that guy?

You're uncreative host… uncreative… uncreative…

The system's words earlier in the fight echoed in his mind. Whether it was an actual memory or just the system replaying it for him, he wasn't sure.

Whatever it was, he focused on finding the answer to what they meant.

Where was he lacking creativity, exactly?

He'd already been pretty creative with Inmovable Object.

His other skills? They were practically built for aura farming, not combat utility. None functioned like a long-range attack either.

So what the hell did the system want him to be creative with?

His stats?

Taka frowned.

Strength? Defense? How would getting "creative" with either help him deal with a guy who could teleport around constantly?

So that left Aura Projection.

But what could it do? The sniper was too far for him to drag in, and even if he got close, the guy would just teleport again. His range wasn't wide enough to catch him pre- or post-teleport.

What was he supposed to do against that with just a pseudo-telekinesis, exactly?

Hold on…

Pseudo-telekinesis?

Taka's eyebrows lifted.

… That didn't sound quite right.

Aura Projection… The name didn't suggest "telekinesis" at all. It suggested using his aura—turning it from a simple stat booster into something that could interact with the world. Thus, projecting his aura, duh.

So why did he automatically assume it was just Telekinesis?

And if it really wasn't just that… was there something else he could do with it?

His closed eyes furrowed.

What was aura, really?

According to the system, it was energy generated from other people's awe toward him.

Energy.

Aura was energy. One with multiple purposes.

It could boost his physique.

It gained odd functions through skills like Clean or his cloning ability.

It could move things around him.

So why couldn't it do more than push and pull?

It was energy. And when you talked about energy…

'Hah… could it be?'

A small smirk curved under his mask as his eyes opened with newfound resolve.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 200

▸ Defense: 3242 → 2242

▸ Aura Projection: 1499 → 2499

─────────────

[Innamovible object] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

His body lifted off the ground, floating higher and higher until he had a clear vantage point over every rooftop where the sniper could be hiding. Titaniphite remained below, choosing not to jump—he wasn't about to enter a situation where he was vulnerable to Taka's "telekinesis".

With the ground threat effectively stalled, Taka waited—eyes closing as he focused.

Soon, the sound he'd been anticipating arrived.

-Bang!-

Another shot. The bullet pinged off harmlessly a moment later.

But that was all Taka needed.

His eyes snapped open, locking onto the source.

'There you are.'

He raised a hand—

-Bzzzz!-

With a buzzing noise, a sphere of pure light was generated on his palm. Heat radiating from it, growing hotter and hotter until–

-Woooosh!-

The light erupted into a blazing ray, shooting toward the sniper at blistering speed.

"...!"

Having seen Taka gathering energy in his palm from the beginning, Reaper's instincts flared, and he managed to teleport away at the last possible second.

As for the spot he'd been standing—

-Tssss…-

A clean, molten hole burned through the rooftop, and concrete liquefied around the edges.

Taka stared at it in stunned silence.

Then, to his satisfaction—

<New skill gained!>

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode]

Description: Through sheer creativity, you realized your aura's potential is far from limited.
And let's be honest—what's cooler than shooting lasers from your hands? Nothing.

Is there anything else to be said?

▸You can now condense AP points into pure destructive energy. The more AP spent, the stronger the blast.

▸Spent AP deducts from your total AP and regenerates over time.

▸The more you fire, the longer it takes to recover (50 aura per second).

▸You are now authorized to shout Kamehamehaaaaa!

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taka blinked.

So this was it? Huh.

Thinking back… yeah, he had definitely been uncreative.

"Hahaha…" He laughed under his mask, smirk widening. "Now, this is good."

Now he could finally end this fight.

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: I hope I was clear on why Innamovible object reduces the damage Taka receives in some cases.

I'll explain it here just in case.

Piercing attacks like Titaniphite's spiked jabs deal higher damage through Taka's defenses thanks to the smaller focus points. Think of it like an attack with armor penetration. Taka's defense stat doesn't block as much as it would with a blunt attack, for example.

But with Innamovible Object, the piercing in Titaniphite's jabs is nullified as the energy behind the attack is spread through Taka's whole body instead of focusing on one point and piercing. Hence, taking away the attack's armor penetration effect and making it a normal attack that Taka's defense stat can reduce normally, even if the attack's damage value goes a bit higher, thanks to the skill's effect of increasing incoming damage.

In LOL terms, the skill makes true damage become physical damage, which allows for armor to reduce it.

Maybe I just made it overly complicated. But either way, I hope you understood.

And I hope you liked the chapter.

Eitherway, until the next chapter.

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[The Guardian]
────────────────────────

…

"Boring," Seiji grumbled as he flipped channels, sprawled lazily across the sofa.

One channel. Two. Four. Nine.

His rapid-fire channel surfing continued without pause, his bored expression never shifting.

As he did, his eyes drifted toward the front door, one eyebrow creeping up.

"That kid… It's getting late. Why is he still out? Don't tell me he went to do another one of his shows." He frowned, thumb shifting over the remote. "Better check the local news and see if that brat is at it again."

He punched in the channel number. After a moment, the familiar intro of ShizuokaNews came up.

However, instead of anything exciting, they were covering the usual fluff. Small-time villains getting arrested, comedic clips, city events or celebrations—nothing out of the ordinary.

It seemed Taka was actually not out there committing crimes; otherwise, there was no way a channel focused only on the city would ignore him.

'That kid, I wonder why I'm even allowing him to do such things? Every time he beats a villain, he lengthens his possible sentence if he gets caught… I'm such a shitty guardian, aren't I?'

Seiji's memories went back to the day he fought Rockinesis… or, as discovered and theorized later, a clone of him.

Until then, all he'd had were mere suspicions about the vigilante's identity being Taka.

The vigilante used a suspiciously similar guitar to the one he'd given Taka, wore identical clothes to the now edgy kid, and one appeared whenever the other was gone... at least until the clone matter, but that was after his fight, not before.

The only reason he hadn't been sure of it was because the guitar he had given the kid had quite a common design amongst other guitars, and because he'd never seen Taka outright using the same outfit of the vigilante when appearing in front of him. Always wearing a piece less or different.

Albeit nothing said that Taka didn't just change outside the house to fool him. He tended to go out with a backpack most of the time, so he could easily have carried extra clothes inside there.

But after that fight, his suspicions were basically confirmed.

Similar voice—even if sounding a bit off,—pretty much the same height and contexture, same fighting stance he taught him, same edginess and sassiness.

The vigilante was indeed Taka.

Which came with quite a shock.

He'd believed Taka's Quirk converted his physical force into some telekinesis.

But Rockinesis' display of power was enormously higher than what Taka had shown at the examination months ago.

Unless the exchange was exponential, there was no way the growth Taka had undergone in their training would have made him so strong.

Not to mention the fact that now Rockinesis had a cloning ability, which literally had zero connection with Taka's supposed Quirk.

So, either he was being paranoid and Rockinesis was actually not Taka… or Taka had lied about his Quirk.

But given all the coincidences and Taka's rather bad acting skills, it seemed that he had indeed lied about his Quirk.

So what the hell was it even?

'Too troublesome.' Seiji shook his head, not feeling like bothering with it. For now, the two things he had shown, Telekinesis and cloning abilities, seemed a bit too far apart to reach a conclusion. All that was left was to wait for internet addicts to make their theories and do the job for him.

But talking about jobs, and going back to what he had asked himself earlier—

'Why the heck do I let him do all that?' Seiji wondered, staring at the TV with a puzzled expression.

He was Taka's guardian. His job was to protect the kid—to keep him from doing reckless, dangerous things.

And yet… he never stopped him.

Of course, he had tried at first. When he was deployed to deal with Rockinesis and realized mid-fight that the vigilante was actually his ward, he'd tried to suppress him before the boy could get himself into even deeper trouble.

But everything changed after he discovered Taka could clone himself. Whatever his Quirk was, it was clearly far more complex than simple telekinesis.

That had given Seiji enough justification to look the other way, even though the kid was breaking the law by fighting villains. If Taka could just send clones to do the dirty work, then there wasn't any real danger… right?

Sure, the legality was another matter, but if Seiji was honest…

He liked seeing the kid like that.

Taka had been ostracized for being Quirkless. He'd given up on becoming a hero earlier than most kids even learn what a Quirk is supposed to do. That left him with little to talk about, few friends, and fewer dreams.

As his guardian, it had been a painful sight—one Seiji never really found the right fix for. Without a Quirk, the kid had just grown hopeless. All he could do was cheer him up when possible.

But now? Now he was out there, fighting villains with a confidence and ease that even surprised him.

Seiji would bet anything the kid was grinning like an idiot behind that mask whenever he appeared.

It was a good look for him—far better than the hopelessness he'd carried for years.

Maybe that's why Seiji let him keep doing this. Maybe that's why he kept pretending he didn't notice. And honestly? The kid really was strong. Way stronger than he let on during their training sessions, judging by how he handled his fights against villains.

And yet, in their spars, the kid always lost. Never using his telekinesis or whatever that quirk was, even though he could very well beat Seiji with it.

Was he trying to defeat him with nothing but skill?

That… was actually kind of cool.

Seiji snorted at the thought and casually glanced at his wristwatch.

"Still, that doesn't explain why the heck he's out so late." His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Don't tell me that kid finally got a—"

-Chan chan CHAN!-

"...?"

His speculation was cut off by an ominous chime. The words Breaking News! flashed across the screen.

A deadpan spread across Seiji's face. "Don't tell me—"

{"We are getting word that, right at this moment, Rockinesis is engaged in a fearsome fight with three villains!"}

"Of course he is—wait, WHAT?!"

Seiji shot to his feet so fast the sofa bounced. He leaned close to the screen, eyes widening.

Three villains?! That was too much! He'd fought three heroes at once before, sure—but heroes never went for the kill.

Villains were different. They had no such qualms.

'Shit… well, Taka's pretty strong as Rockinesis. He should be able to hold out against some no-name villains until a hero arrives… or until I get there myself.' He calmed himself, rubbing his temple and wondering if she should go grab his suit.

The TV's next words left him speechless, however.

{"The conflict is currently taking place in the western district. We don't yet know what triggered this clash between the infamous vigilante and the three villains. However, police have reported minor crimes erupting all over the city—an operation previously identified in an investigation as a coordinated diversion, allowing these three confirmed A-class villains free rein to carry out their plans."}

"A-class villains?!" Seiji's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

A-class villains—those were the kind of criminals whose very existence endangered entire city blocks. The kind normal heroes struggled with. The kind that usually required multiple high-ranking heroes working together just to take down.

He'd fought a few in his active years. None of those battles had been easy.

And Taka was fighting three of them at once?

He didn't even want to imagine the outcome.

He grabbed his phone and dialed immediately.

After several rings, someone finally picked up.

{"What do you want, Super Monkey? Isn't today your off day? I'm extremely busy, don't you see the news?"}

"Oi! What the hell are the other heroes doing?! Tak—I mean, that vigilante guy is fighting three damn A-class villains by himself! Why hasn't anyone been deployed?!"

{"We're aware of the situation. We were aware of the villains even before this escalated. But all our preparations were for intercepting them at the bank they planned to hit. Since the vigilante exposed them early, we're scrambling to mobilize as fast as possible."}

"Shit. And why hasn't any hero nearby stepped in?!"

{"There are none. The entire city has fallen into small-scale pandemonium. Minor crimes are breaking out everywhere, and they've pulled all available heroes away."}

Seiji ran a hand through his hair in frustration, eyes flicking back to the TV.

There, the screen showed Taka being hammered by dozens of attacks from the trio of villains.

"Crap." He clicked his tongue and brought the phone back to his ear. "I'm going personally."

{"Sigh… Alright. I'll notify the higher-ups."}

-Click.-

With that done, he hung up.

Seiji immediately began searching for his suit—only to end up taking way longer than he expected.

"Where is my super SUIT?!"

He tore through every corner of the house, frustration growing by the second—until suddenly, he froze.

"…It's in the washing machine. Shit!"

Cursing under his breath, Seiji sprinted to his room and threw on a simple tracksuit, one that conveniently had a hole in the back for his tail.

"I'll just go like this," he muttered, grabbing for his keys in a hurry—

{"What's this? Rockinesis is showing a new power!"}

"Huh?" Only to stop dead when the TV's narrator suddenly raised his voice.

Seiji's head snapped toward the screen, confusion plastered across his face.

On the TV, Taka floated high into the sky.

'What? He's just flying. How's that a new—'

His thought cut off abruptly as Taka lifted his arm—

"...?!"

—And a beam of pure, blinding light blasted from his palm, streaking straight toward one of the villains, who only avoided being vaporized by teleporting at the last second.

The beam ended up simply hitting the ceiling of the building, but even then, it melted a hole into the concrete, like it was mere butter.

After that, a brief pause came, where Taka himself seemed briefly surprised by the new ability he'd unleashed.

But once the surprise was gone, the villain's break ended.

A barrage of beams rained down on the villain.

One after another, light shot from Taka's palm like divine artillery.

The sniper teleported desperately, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, narrowly avoiding each beam by a hair's breadth. His eyes didn't have time to look for distant places; the lights were coming at such speed that he had to teleport to the first place that was in sight.

And so far, he was managing to avoid being turned into ashes like that... But it was clear he was weakening with each teleport. His posture sagged more with every jump. His landings grew sloppy, sweat poured from him like a cascade, and his legs trembled harder each time he reappeared somewhere else.

Until, finally, after the thirtieth beam—he couldn't keep up.

A beam struck him.

"...!" Seiji's eyes widened. "Crap!"

Had Taka actually crossed the line? With an attack like that, there was no way—

But before he could finish that thought, the camera zoomed in, revealing the villain alive, panting on his knees, inspecting himself as if shocked to still exist. Not a scratch on him.

Seiji exhaled.

It was a fake?

That's when Taka descended, arms crossed and legs floating leisurely beneath him, backlit by a beam of sunlight as he stared down at the defeated villain.

The next instant, the gun the villain had been using to shoot crumpled like paper before being tossed away like trash, far from the villain's reach.

It was an imposing scene.

Even the villain seemed to have thought so, as soon he shut his eyes and slumped his head in surrender while still on his knees.

He had given up on escaping.

But then, the camera suddenly jerked.

A shadow streaked from below, rising like a rocket.

Right away, it became clear who it was. Titaniphite, one of the three villains who had been fighting Taka earlier.

He launched himself like a missile toward Taka—his rocky form reconfiguring midair, sharpening into a massive spear-like horn twice his size. The intent was clear: impale the teenager straight through.

But Taka was no unaware target.

Before the giant could even blink, Taka turned lazily and pointed a hand at him.

Instantly, Titaniphite's incredible momentum bled away—slowing… slowing… until he hung suspended in midair, helpless.

And with a single, effortless motion—

Taka slammed the two villains together.

Reaper Sight, being a normal human physically, took the brunt of it and went limp instantly.

Taka flicked a hand, sending the unconscious body plummeting to the ground below.

Only Titaniphite remained—struggling, twitching, frozen in place.

Taka floated toward him, the two facing each other in midair.

Then—with one decisive downward gesture—

Titaniphite was hurled earthward like a meteor.

The camera shook violently as the villain crashed into the street. A massive dust cloud erupted, swallowing the scene.

Through the haze, Taka began descending calmly, hands tucked casually in his pockets.

When the dust cleared, Titaniphite was forcing himself up—glaring daggers at his opponent.

His breathing was ragged, but his fury burned bright.

Then, he noticed not his companions lying just a few steps away from him, one to the right, and the other to the left—even though they shouldn't have been there, having been defeated in completely different places earlier...

So why were they there?

It instantly clicked in his mind.

The man in black was preparing a scene in which the three lay defeated on the ground orderly, while he stood victorious before them.

He was using them to look cool.

With a feral scowl, the giant took another fighting stance, his rocky armor sharpening to its absolute limit.

As he did, Taka finally landed, hitting the street, and then, seeing Titaniphite's readiness, he too readied himself.

He rolled up his sleeves and waved his hand as if beckoning Titaniphite to come.

That was enough to spark the droplet of conflict into a full-on blaze.

Titaniphite launched into his strongest—and likely final—charge of the fight, his massive frame thundering forward like an unstoppable train. The ground split beneath each step, cracks spiderwebbing outward.

Taka moved as well. No telekinesis this time and no flating. Just a full sprint, fists clenched and muscles ready.

And then… they collided.

The clash was brief.

With ruthless precision, Taka punched straight through Titaniphite's rock armor using nothing but raw, unrestrained strength—strength far beyond anything he'd shown earlier. Titaniphite clearly possessed the higher physical power on paper, yet Taka's sheer resilience ignored it entirely. Blow after blow, the only one taking real damage… was the villain.

Within minutes, Titaniphite's armor shattered completely, every rocky plate on his front obliterated. His body finally gave out, collapsing backward with his eyes rolling up, landing right between the already-unconscious Electraction and Reaper Sight.

Just like that, the trio of A-class villains… fell.

And Taka, realizing his victory, raised a fist to the sky.

The helicopter camera caught him perfectly—sunlight breaking through the clouds at that precise moment, casting a radiant beam over his form. The image was nothing short of dazzling.

And then, in an instant, Taka took flight, faster than the camera could follow, disappearing into the sky.

Like that, Seiji collapsed on his couch once again, his mouth twitching. "Haha… That kid… he's even more of a monster than I thought, huh?"

He ran a hand through his hair, letting the unease from before disperse, and even laughing humorously at the unbelievable situation.

"I might be the guardian of a future number one hero."

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: There, I was wondering about whether to do another chapter of Taka's fight with the villains, but honestly, I felt like I could just cover it from a spectator's point of view as it's more epic that way.

And since I was lacking a chapter delving into Seiji's mind, here it is.

What did you think? Was it good? Or did I screw up the guy?)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Chain Reaction]
────────────────────────

| Taka's POV, after the battle: |

…

I arrived home completely demolished.

My whole body hurt like hell, and when I say my entire body, I'm not being metaphorical or exaggerating. I could feel pain from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

There wasn't a single inch that didn't hurt.

—well, maybe a part was safe, but I won't talk about it. Doubt you want to hear about it either.

'Is this the price of abusing Innamovible Object?' I mused, staring annoyedly up at the sky.

Sure, it kept me from being skewered by Rocky McHorn-For-A-Head, but in exchange, every ounce of force behind his attacks got redistributed straight through my whole body.

And even with my defense stat soaking up most of the damage, I still took plenty of hits—enough that it eventually piled up to an annoying degree.

I really wondered what kind of disaster my insides looked like right now. It hurt a lot, but I don't think anything had collapsed... maybe.

Still, with the help of Pain Resistance and my very professional acting skills, I straightened up, fixed my expression, and opened the door with my keys.

I had to look like nothing happened.

-Click-

"Well, well, well. Look who it is."

"...?"

But to my surprise, Seiji was right behind the door, arms planted on his waist like he'd just caught a criminal in the act.

My eyebrow twitched faintly. This guy probably already knew of my little adventure.

Sadly for him, I wasn't about to be caught lacking.

So, I narrowed my eyes, refusing to fold.

"What's up, bitch?"

He raised one eyebrow and began looking me over.

Of course, I'd already changed clothes. The outfit I'd worn to fight the villains—the one I usually used when taking on the Rockinesis persona—was at the abandoned school. I decided to keep it there to avoid getting this dumbass stumble upon it on the washing machine or something and make the connection.

That way, I could go outside, change at that school, and then go save the world as Rockinesis.

Or had a clone do it for me. That worked too.

Honestly, that place had kind of become my secret base. It was where I sent clones to train in whatever skill my system asked me to master, where I kept the equipment and instruments I'd bought with my channel's money so Seiji wouldn't ask, and, as mentioned, where I kept my Rockinesis fit.

I might as well just start calling it the Rockibase.

…

'Is that name lame? I've been called that for so long that I can't tell anymore…' My thoughts drifted.

Meanwhile, Seiji kept inspecting me, frowning slightly when he didn't find a single visible injury.

Which was a relief. I was half-worried I would be looking like an eggplant thanks to bleeding internally all over without even knowing it.

It didn't seem like that was the case, luckily.

It still hurt like hell, though.

By the time I refocused, Seiji stepped back and scoffed, a faintly amused look on his face. "Seriously… what the hell," he muttered, moving aside so I could enter.

'Finally… I can't wait to drop dead on my bed.' I let out a soft breath and stepped forward—

Only for a big hand to clamp down on my shoulder.

"What now?" I shot him an annoyed glare.

"So," he said casually, "where were you? It's pretty late."

I shrugged, putting on my most innocent face. "You know, jogging, exploring the city a bit, the usual."

He hummed like he totally believed that.

"I see, I see… Did you know that Rockinesis guy fought three A-class villains an hour or so ago? It was all over the news."

I raised an eyebrow. 'The press was watching? Ah—right. The helicopter. I was so focused on beating the hell out of the villains that I tuned it out.'

My gaze drifted to my hands.

'Then I guess that is out of the bag too.' I thought, remembering the glow that came from them earlier.

"And apparently—" Seiji continued, "—the guy even revealed another new power he'd never shown before. Laser rays and everything."

'Yup, busted.' I groaned internally.

Externally though…

"Heh... what a shock," I exclaimed in mock awe.

"Yeah… what a shock indeed." His smile tightened.

We fell silent for a moment, eyes clashing like trying the other to crack first.

But eventually, I closed my eyes and scoffed.

Then, assuming that the silence had meant the interrogation or whatever this had been was over, I began walking toward my room, ready to collapse face-first onto my bed.

"Hey, kid."

Of course, it wasn't over just yet.

"What?" I turned back, irritation finally slipping through.

"I don't care what hobbies you might have," he said quietly, "But just consider that everything has consequences. Don't fool yourself into thinking secrets last forever, or that you'll never have to face what comes after." He said, his expression unusually serious for him.

"..." I blinked, a tad surprised with his directness.

Once he said that, however, his smile returned to being as goofy as ever. "That's all the advice I can give you. Think it through. Now go, I can see that you're dying to go bust one at your room."

"You... I…—whatever." I was about to tell him my mind, but found it not worth the effort.

So, with black lines on my face, I turned around and walked to my room.

A bit later, I finally fell onto my bed, letting out a groan as I was finally able to let my very manly muscles rest.

'Consequences, huh?' I closed my eyes, thinking about it.

As much as I hated to admit it, he wasn't wrong.

Leaving aside whatever he meant by that—probably getting caught by police or heroes raiding this place—the fact was that I was showing way too many abilities with no clear relation to each other was obviously gonna become a problem in the long run. I was basically painting a giant target on my back for the real monsters of this world to see.

And not only had I shown a bunch of different powers, but I had also defeated three A-class villains, according to Seiji.

That meant anyone who had dismissed me as some random vigilante with a bit of power and a curious Quirk had definitely reconsidered.

Honestly, I'd be quite lucky if I hadn't caught Potato-Head's attention by now.

Although… maybe I'm overestimating my fame.

While in this city I'm kind of well-known, I'm not sure how wide that fame actually spreads.

Maybe in all of Japan, I'm nothing more than a curious fact in a Quirktuber's video about the tourist attractions of this city. Or someone people just heard on the news one time and then became forgotten.

And as for the rest of the world? I bet barely anyone knows I exist.

Then again… maybe I'm downplaying how urgent this situation really is.

'But honestly, I'm not in the state to think about it right now.' I groaned. As much as I wanted to take this seriously, the pain I was feeling was no joke.

I needed to take a nap and recover, now.

So, as a final ritual before sleep, I opened my status panel.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119

▸ Defense: 238

▸ Aura Projection: 5765

─────────────

Total Aura: 5765

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

▸Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

An hour had passed already, so the aura my clones had used was back. On top of that, I gained a bunch of aura throughout the fight thanks to all that nonchalant attack-tanking I did, bumping my total up by four hundred-something.

<[+1 Aura]>

<[+2 Aura]>

Not only that, but my passive income had shot up even more. I wasn't sure by how much—since the increase only happened after the fight and I haven't had time to measure—but it was noticeably faster.

Last time I'd checked, it was about 35–40 a day. Now? It felt like a 30–50% boost.

So maybe around 60 a day?

'I'll just check later. It'll probably go down once the news about me beating those villains gets old,' I thought, deciding it wasn't worth dealing with now.

So my eyes moved to the next important thing: My new skill—or rather, the new application of Aura Projection.

Sure, shooting lasers from my palms was cool, but that wasn't why this mattered so much to me right now.

The real importance was the confirmation of the stat's potential.

It actually wasn't—and had never been—just telekinesis by another name. It could have more uses, more abilities, more depth than I had considered initially.

'And I probably haven't even scratched the surface,' I thought, eyes glinting with interest as I imagined just what other uses my aura could have, my hand automatically going to my chin in contemplation.

But right then, the movement sent a jolt of pain through me, making me wince.

-Hiss…-

'Shit… I wonder if it can heal injuries too.'

<New mission available!>

"Huh?"

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[As an Aura Farmer, it is in our nature to overwhelm and oppress our rivals in the most disrespectful ways, and to flex our awesomeness no matter the cost. However, the path of the Aura Farmer does not end there, for one can destroy as well as protect.

You have discovered the destructive potential of Aura Projection, but have yet to tap into its opposite: its protective and healing potential.

Plus, you're injured as hell, so this will come in handy.]

Conditions for completion:

▸ Tap into your Aura's other potential.

▸ Heal someone. (Not counting yourself)

Reward: +100 aura | You'll have acquired the [Aura Projection – There, There Mode]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"..."

I fell silent at how conveniently that appeared.

But I guess this was just the system's way of confirming my theory and giving me something else to work on.

'Whatever.' I frowned.

Mostly because part of me was annoyed that yet another task had been added to my already busy enough schedule.

But don't think I wasn't happy about the news.

Healing in the real world was, after all, pretty broken. And now, it was within my grasp.

Only, the conditions don't really tell me much about how to "tap" into this potential of my aura... So I suppose I'll have to figure it out on my own.

Good thing I have clones, eh? I'll be sure to put those bastards to work on it as soon as I can.

Does that count as child labour, considering I'm a teenager?

Who knows.

But for now—

—Snore—

I'm going to sleep.

Tomorrow-me can deal with all of this, and whatever else pops up.

How worse can it be than now?

…

°

°

°

| U.A.'s principal office |

…

"... Well, isn't this interesting?" Nezu muttered to himself as he watched the most recent news on the notepad on his paws, his eyes scanning the footage of an incident in the coastal city of Shizuoka.

On the screen, a dark-clad figure was fighting three villains at once, taking blow after blow without so much as flinching.

'Impressive resistance to attacks… possibly shock absorption, or something similar.'

Then came an unexpected shift. Thanks to one villain's mistake, the vigilante managed to bring her down using swift, telekinetic-like movements. Thus, reducing their numbers and hence all the attacks he had to react to.

'The capability to affect objects from afar with considerable force, telekinesis, or at least something really similar.'

Moments later, he shot into the air and began raining down lasers from his hands onto the long-range villain. The beams showed remarkable firepower—enough to incapacitate if they hit properly, as shown when they hit a building's ceiling and burned a hole through it.

But when one finally reached the villain, the man emerged unharmed somehow.

'Energy manifestation… either it only damages inanimate targets—as it did when it tore through a building's ceiling but not on the villain—or he somehow lowered the lasers' energy output not to hurt the villain.'

After that, the vigilante dealt with said villain less lethally and then dove down to face the last villain for once and for all.

The battle concluded as both clashed, the sheer difference in size making it a ridiculous but amazing spectacle.

But, eventually, the vigilante overwhelmed the villain through sheer physical prowess, breaking through his rock-like armour and bringing him to his knees in the end.

'Immense strength, speed, and a faint grasp of martial arts from what I can see.'

The video ended with the figure raising a fist in victory before flying away—too fast for the camera to follow.

As the footage cut off, Nezu set down his notepad with a cheerful smile.

'Truly interesting.'

He already had a solid idea of who the villains were; his memory was good like that, and in the past, he had made sure to get to know most of the individuals who could potentially present threats in the future.

In this case, the three were dangerous A-class villains with powerful or extremely tricky Quirks, which made them require multiple standard heroes to subdue, each, unless they sent top-tier powerhouses like All Might, Endeavor, or others.

And yet, now, before his eyes, a single person had handled them.

A vigilante, no less, not a trained hero.

And so now came the matter of the vigilante himself.

Nezu had become aware of him months ago, thanks to his rising reputation and steadily growing list of feats. He even had to admit, the two melodies the vigilante had composed were pleasantly catchy.

But what truly stood out to the public were his Quirk—or Quirks.

What had first seemed like simple telekinesis slowly turned into a complete enigma. Cloning, super strength, enormous durability, an ability akin to shock absorption, and now pure energy projection—be it thermal, luminous… or both.

The more time passed, the more abilities this individual displayed.

And the more time passed, the more he went from "petty criminal charged with vigilantism" to a full-fledged powerhouse with multiple abilities.

Why and how did he have such abilities? Nezu had several theories—some not so good—but neither of them was something concrete. Not yet.

However, unlike the public, Nezu's interest lay in something more peculiar about the vigilante than in the multiple abilities he possessed. Something that would be far more common and unimportant in the eyes of others—but that, for him, the principal of a hero school, it was but the most interesting thing about this walking mystery.

Something only he, with his sharp mind and attention to detail, could have possibly noticed from the footage.

The vigilante's physique.

He looked… young. Or at least, that's what his contexture suggested.

Nezu's eyes gleamed with mischievous delight.

And he had a channel on YouTube, on top of that.

He had been looking into it earlier due to pure curiosity, and he'd noticed the vigilante had taken some precautions to avoid being tracked. Uploading most stuff through cyber cafes, and probably using pendrives or other devices to transport the videos.

Unfortunately, that was clearly not enough to stop him.

With an amused and almost childish chuckle, Nezu hopped onto his desk and began using his computer.

No more than thirty minutes later—

'Takahashi Fukumoto, huh? Ward of Super Monkey, the 69th hero in the rankings, and a child previously documented as Quirkless until recently, where he unlocked his Quirk "Muscle To Mind", which allowed him to convert his physical strength into telekinetic abilities.'

Nezu's small, beady eyes glistened as he went through the information. Of course, he made sure not to touch the more private information about the kid. He just wanted to get a grasp of who the person behind the vigilante was.

But then, he read something that he couldn't ignore, his eyebrows shooting up for a moment.

Desired career plan: Hero course at U.A.

He chuckled like a joyful kid.

"This incoming year suddenly became even more interesting!"

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: The consequences have arrived. How will they unfold, even I don't know. I suppose I gotta think now.

…

I'm doing it, I'm thinking!

AUGHHH, my head!)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[All Out]
────────────────────────

| Rockibase, at the music classroom, a week later… |

…

Taka sat on a worn-out chair, his back slumping as his foot's heel tapped constantly on the floor, his eyes unusually interested in the floor.

"Phew… So the time has finally come," he muttered, pulling out his phone and checking on the date with squinty eyes. Then, he checked the hour.

It was evening already, the darkness of the night already creeping in.

Having checked that fact, Taka put his phone down and sighed dejectedly.

However, just a second later, his gaze turned back forward, determination flashing from it.

"Tonight's the night." He said, this time louder. Whether to look cool or to encourage himself, it was unknown.

As to why he would be encouraging himself?

The answer was that today was the day he showed his song to the world. Today was the day his constant grinding and effort finally culminated in one result… Success, or failure.

Would the song he had taken three months preparing and refining be good enough?

Would his attempt at leaving the art of plagiarizing work?

Or would he realize that he should've never walked out of it?

His eyes darted to the side, where all the instruments he had been using for practice these past few months were.

A bass, a drumset, even an electric board.

All of them represented weeks of effort and constant grinding that, while he himself did not go through, the memories of his clones basically made it as if he had done so.

And it wasn't only practicing. Composing had been just as hard. He ended up modifying the entire song several times, fixing mistakes, improving parts, or simply changing his mind from time to time about certain parts, even while already being at the band-practicing stage.

That was why it had taken three months for this day to come. Otherwise, he would have been done a month or so ago.

Albeit, with what would probably be a much inferior version of what his creation had become nowadays… At least, that's what Taka thought.

Who knew how the masses would react, after all?

If this actually flopped… then forget the aura loss he'd have to bear, the shit feeling he'd get would last for the entire next year, and would probably make him bury his Rockinesis persona ten kilometers below the earth, never to mention it again.

… If it did not, however, today's gains of aura would be immaculate.

Especially because of the special preparations he had taken in advance. He had made sure that today's gains would be maximized to the limit.

While his excessive perfectionism may have had a lot to do with why the song's creation took three months, there was another factor that had led to today being the date when he struck.

And that was the existence of a concert—or, actually, a bunch of them, in Tokyo.

A musical festival, basically.

No hero or villain shit involved this time.

Yes. He was actually crashing a festival's show to present his song.

—Illegally, if it wasn't clear enough.

After all, he was currently a wanted vigilante. Attempting to inscribe legally would probably only get the police to come knocking, regardless of whether the organizers would allow him in there or not.

This was a rather bold move, since it moved from morally ambiguous vigilantism, to outright intruding forcefully in a festival and taking the scenery hostage to play his song before dipping.

This time, he was actually stepping into the path of a criminal—or a villain, in the words of the media.

But if that's what it had to happen for him to present, then so be it.

Today, he was going all out.

Cringe or epic… The line blurred today.

While he may feel a little sorry for causing trouble for the producers and organizers of this event, there was simply no better place he could think of where the presentation could be done.

No other place had everything needed to make this song's debut the best it could be. Equipment, audience, acoustics, vibe… Everything was perfect.

Of course, he wasn't planning on just landing on the scenery and then rocking plainly. That'd be like serving a gourmet meal on a cardboard plate.

He had actually meticulously planned this.

Throughout the past month, he sent clones several times to the place to investigate and learn how to use the scenery's implements and lights, along with learning the place's schematics, so he could plan properly where and how to make his entrance. He also checked some tutorials online to complement.

And since he was still feeling a bit sorry for just intruding like that, he also learned to some extent the schedule of all the bands and other events, so that he could make his entrance at the moment where he'd make the least problems for those involved.

All in all, his plans were as thorough as he could have done them. The only way this would go wrong was if his song actually turned out to be shit… Or if All Might appeared and punched him to oblivion.

He wouldn't be there, would he?

He could deal with the heroes that may be there as security; he had planned to station some of his clones as guards to hold them off while the song played… but if anyone like All Might stepped in, he was going to prison for certain.

Of course, to avoid that, he could simply have his clones do the entire show while he stood amidst the crowd, safe and sound from any powerful hero that might be there.

He could do that… But it didn't feel right.

It had to be him who stood there.

He was showing the results of his own effort to the world. Leaving it all to the clones while he stood aside, that didn't sound very aura farmer-like.

Even if it was unnecessary, and maybe dumb… Sometimes showing off was that.

Sometimes, Aura Farming was like that.

"Probably…" Taka snorted wryly before glancing around. "You agree with me, right, system?"

But even after several seconds had passed, no answer came.

Taka raised an eyebrow, glancing around with an odd look.

After a bit, though, he let out a snort and shook his head helplessly. "Yeah, I suppose having doubts isn't very aura farmer-like."

Heaving a sigh, Taka stretched for a bit his arms and back, and then stood up, his gaze now gaining a resolution unseen until then.

Without further ado, he went to a nearby locker and took out his Rockinesis outfit.

Black hoodie, black mask, and black pants. Edginess to the limit.

A cape would have been good to have, but changing his street-like outfit to having a cape would have been too brusque a change.

Maybe once he entered U.A., he'd ask for a cape for his hero suit.

But that was for the future.

Having changed his clothes, Taka let out a nervous breath and walked to the center of the room.

From his aura, suddenly several clones began materializing next to him, all of them wearing the same Rockinesis outfit.

And then, out of nowhere, all of his clones took dramatic poses beside him, making him the only one standing normally.

Taka sweatdropped, turning to look at them, flabbergasted.

Why were his clones like this?

'No matter.' He sighed and shook his head wryly, already somewhat accustomed to his clones' antics.

A neck crack and a shoulder-loosening later, he glared ahead with determination.

"Alright, let's fucking do this!"

"Swearing doesn't make you cool." One of his clones chimed in.

The rest nodded in unison.

Taka sighed.

"I know, just nervous."

Another clone spoke, tilting his head slightly. "By the way, why did you summon us? It's a three-hour trip to Tokyo. Moving in tandem like this doesn't seem very efficient."

Taka snorted.

"It was for the dramatic effect."

""..."" His clones looked at him weirdly.

And then, they disappeared.

"Ahem." Taka cleared his throat.

It was time to move.

…

°

°

°

| Hours later… |

…

A huge crowd stood before a stage, at least one thousand people jumping, bobbing their heads, and singing along with the main band standing at the center of the show. The air around was thick and hot, but even then, it did not lessen the spirit of those enthusiasts of music, who rather than dislike it, seemed to revel in it along with the music.

Their hearts drummed, and goosebumps flowed through their body, forcing them to move to release such energy. Their eyes getting teary as they stared at the people in the middle of the stage.

But just like all in life, the song being played eventually began reaching its end, and in unison, the emotions of the crowd began dimming as well.

A minute or so later, the song came to an end, and the band performing it gave the audience a deep bow before stepping off the stage while the crowd called for them and clapped feverishly.

Simultaneously, the announcer stepped in and walked towards the mic, waving at the crowd.

{"That was epic, wasn't it, everyone?! Let's give the band 'I Just Ate a Banana' a big round applause!"}

Cheers and applause from the crowd intensified, with some whistles adding onto them, flooding the entire place.

The announcer nodded satisfiedly, laughing heartily.

{"Hahaha, I can feel the love you guys have for this band in the air! Hopefully, this won't be the only time we are honored with their presence!"}

The crowd cheered.

After laughing a bit more, the announcer glanced fakely at his wrist as if he had a watch there, and turned back to the crowd.

{"Anyway, folks. We'll be taking a small break. Go buy something or go take a break from all that jumping around so you can be fully recovered for when we come back with the next band, 'My Shirt is Itchy', in ten minutes!"}

Another cheer came.

And with that, the announcer got off the stage.

The crowd also started to disperse, with some people rubbing their bellies, wondering what they should eat, and others planning to go to the edges of the festival to lie down for a bit and recover.

But just as they were beginning to leave for good—

-Bang!-

Everyone got startled as all the lights in the area went off, summing the entire place into darkness.

"What's happening?"

"A blackout? You've got to be kidding me!"

"They better not cancel this. I spent more than half my salary on this!"

Confusion soon took over the entire mass of people, with many looking around to see if there was any staff that could tell them what the hell was happening, and some others already getting angry.

But then, just as some of the crowd were starting to wonder if something bad might actually be happening—

-Bang!-

A single light turned on, aiming at an empty spot on the stage.

Everyone turned confusedly to the scenery. The confirmation that a blackout had actually not happened created more questions than answers. Even more oddly, something seemed to be happening at the stage, judging from how a sole light had fallen at the center, as if highlighting someone—who wasn't there.

Was there a special event or something? Was someone important coming?

The crowd only grew more restless as nothing happened.

But then, the sole light on the stage began moving upwards, until it landed on the top of the stage, where half of the light was lost in the night sky, while the other half illuminated the beams that gave the scenery form.

For a moment, everyone tilted their head.

Was something actually malfunctioning? Nothing was there.

But all confusion was turned to shock once, from high above in the sky, a figure descended, landing cleanly and elegantly on the beams with his arms crossed.

"What the hell?"

"Who's that?"

"Wasn't this a break? Why is the show restarting?"

"Hold on—I know that guy."

Soon, some of the crowd began noticing a certain familiarity in the figure.

Black hoodie hiding the hair, black mask hiding the mouth, and black pants that only added to the edginess… There was only one person with a fit like that!

"Rockinesis?! Why is that guy here?!"

"Rockinesis? That guy? In this place?!"

"Why would he…?"

"Don't tell me…!"

Every single gaze centered around the same person, some annoyed, others excited. The emotions of the until-then relaxed crowd began surging again, turning the entire place noisy again.

But just when the chatter and noise seemed to be stabilizing, something happened that threw the entire vicinity into pure chaos.

"W-what's that?!" A man pointed to where Rockinesis was.

"Holy." A woman went agape.

"So it was true!" A teenager beamed.

Suddenly, several more figures began descending from the sky and landed next to Rockinesis.

Same clothes, same stature, same constitution…

What had been a single Rockinesis had turned into Rockinesises! (idk man)

Then, to everyone's surprise, the group jumped down in tandem, a loud bang echoing as the group landed in the middle of the stage while the light followed after them.

—Only for them to, right as all eyes settled on them, pose dramatically.

—save for the Rockinesis who had arrived first, and who stood at the front of the group now with his arms crossed.

At least that was the case until all of them raised their hands into the air simultaneously.

Instants later, instruments of all kinds flew in from all around. Landing perfectly on their palms, or in the case of those heavier instruments, landing right in front of them.

Thus, making it quite clear what was about to happen.

"Holy shit, a Rockinesis concert?!"

"I don't know why they didn't advertise this, but I'm all in!"

"Wonder which song he'll play?"

"Must be Animal I've Become."

"Nah, appearing at a concert like this, what else would it be but the first song he composed? It's gotta be Future In My Hands. Now improved and with more instruments!"

"Why not both?"

The crowd went wild as the realization of what was about to happen dawned on them. Constant chatter, cheers, and whistles filled the vicinity.

Meanwhile, the Rockinesis group remained at the center of the stage, unmoving, like statues, illuminated by a single light, until suddenly—

—BANG!—

All the lights turned on at the same time, blinding the crowd and making them cover their eyes.

But as their sight became negated, their other senses heightened.

—CHA-KA-CHAN—

Soon, the familiar riff of guitar that announced Rockinesis' arrival reached their ears, turning frowns into disbelieving smiles.

And then, as their eyes regained their sight, they saw it.

The group of Rockinesis, standing with the blinding lights hitting their back, their fronts shrouded in black,

An image that would imprint in the minds of many that day.

And so, as the hearts of the crowd began beating as one…

—The music began.

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: I'll be straightforward with you, I'm no musician, so I ain't going to write lyrics for a song that doesn't exist. That'd be corny beyond my limits.

So, let's do it like this.

You can imagine whatever song you like and think would be appropriate for the character to be playing, and lorewise that song won't exist in Taka's old world, hence being his original creation.

And in case you don't feel like it, I also chose a song on my own. Which?

It's a very SPECIAL song.

So you can just imagine Taka playing that.)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[The Song]
────────────────────────

(A/N: Ready your songs readers... or don't.

Anyway, your author's choice was SPECIALZ, in case you feel like hearing it too.)

…

As Taka's voice fell, the crowd—silent but brimming with anticipation—erupted all at once.

The melody struck them instantly. The rhythm, the vocals, the arrangement, everything burrowed deep into the audience's chest in a single beat, dragging their emotions along with it.

The visuals were not falling behind either.

Red and blue lasers sliced through the air, sweeping across the stage and illuminating the silhouettes of the many Rockinesises, while a thick veil of theatrical smoke spread over the floor, giving the identical figures an almost otherworldly presence.

Cheers and whistles came from the excited crowd, but the song overpowered all of them, and the audience didn't seem to mind in the slightest. They jumped, screamed, and even cried as their emotions overflowed.

—There were always those emotional ones who cried at concerts.

The entire place was submerged in the performance so deeply that almost no one noticed what was happening at the sides of the stage.

Hidden beneath the thunder of the music, frustrated shouts struggled to be heard.

"Dammit, has anyone made it up there to stop that guy?!" a hero in a blue-and-white suit yelled into his radio, trying not to be swallowed by the deafening song.

A reply crackled back through the static.

{"East side here. The path is completely blocked by a clone. We can't get through!"}

"Shit! How the hell can clones be enough to hold all of us back?!"

A hero beside him groaned. "This is getting depressing…"

Unwilling to give up, the first hero shoved the radio into his pocket and marched toward the stairs leading up to the stage.

But before he could reach them, a figure silently appeared in his path.

Rockinesis—a clone, presumedly—floated calmly in midair, arms crossed, and legs dangling. It appeared in front of him, blocking his path completely.

The hero clenched his teeth.

"Rockinesis, y-you don't have permission to perform here! Actually, forget that—you're a wanted fugitive! Get out of the way and put an end to this farce!"

"..."

A second of silence passed, both of them clashing gazes, in a contest of will—until the black-clad figure suddenly lifted a hand…

"...!"

…and wagged a single finger left and right. The hero's request, denied.

"Enough!" The hero snapped, thrusting his hands upward.

Pebbles—sharp, dense, and accelerated—shot up like a hailstorm toward the vigilante.

Sadly, they all crumbled into dust before even reaching him.

"Wha—?!"

Then, in the blink of an eye, the hero was yanked off his feet, hoisted into the air like a misbehaving child by the telekinesis, and flown straight back to the cluster of other heroes before being unceremoniously dropped onto the ground.

Seconds later, he scrambled back to his feet and groaned, rubbing his temples. "Why is my Quirk so pathetic…?"

Before he could fully wallow, his radio buzzed again in his pocket.

{"All heroes, be advised—you are not to stop Rockinesis."}

The hero snatched it up instantly. "But Mr. Takeda, he—!"

{"He is sending the crowd wild. Sure, he may have butted in forcefully on the stage and messed with the schedule, but this is incredible publicity for the event."}

"You're kidding me."

{"Besides… he's completely overwhelming all of you, isn't he? Just let him be. It's not like you could do anything anyway."}

The hero's posture slumped forward in defeat, looking on the verge of tears.

Back on the stage, the many Rockinesises kept playing in perfect coordination, each clone hitting their part with almost supernatural precision.

But they didn't stop just at that.

Before long, some of the clones started breakdancing while still playing, flexing so hard it bordered on showboating.

But judging by the public's excited reaction, they sure didn't give a damn about the obvious flexing.

Taka, meanwhile, sweatdropped from his spot at the front, standing normally while playing his part.

'You bunch are doing too much.' He sent his clones a look.

His clones looked back at him. 'We are doing everything!'

'…Fair enough.' Taka sighed inwardly, eyes darting away.

He had to admit… watching someone shred a piano, bass, or a drumset while spinning on their head was objectively impressive.

"Whatever…" he muttered aloud.

Then, in one smooth motion, he dropped down, braced his palms, and began spinning on his head too, guitar in hand, holding it with Aura while his fingers continued playing. The rhythm he played surged in intensity, taking over the melody as his legs kicked and swung wildly in the air.

And then pumped the show up.

He floated—all while still spinning, his guitar riffs blazed through the song, momentarily drowning out the clones, who slowed to let the main act take the spotlight.

The crowd froze. Their frenzy died mid-jump, the sheer awe enough to bring everything to a still.

And there was more.

As the song approached its climax and Taka landed back on the stage, every Rockinesis lifted a single finger.

And then—

A barrage of lights blasted into the sky, rapid and relentless, like Gatling guns firing fireworks that never exploded.

The audience's eyes sparkled. The emotional ones were already foaming at the mouth. Even the heroes who'd been trying to shut everything down earlier could only stare, entranced by the spectacle.

Taka's eyes gleamed beneath the mask, an excited smirk tugging at his lips.

This was it.

This was what he'd spent months preparing for.

This was the culmination of all his efforts.

The proof of what he could create with his own hands—with his own mind.

The waves of aura notifications ringing in his ears were ignored entirely. All he cared about was the stunned faces before him and the sound of his own song filling the night.

The heat, the sweat, the deafening volume—any other day, it would've driven him insane. But tonight, every sensation fueled him, sharpened him, pushed his performance further.

Tonight, he wasn't the Taka he was every day. Tonight, he was at the peak… Even if it was temporary, even if it was only in his own head—

Tonight, he shone brighter than anyone.

"Haha…" Taka laughed, eyes gaining a glow.

Another system alert rang in his ears, but once again, it was tuned out. Taka's smirk behind the mask widened into a full-on toothy smile.

Once again, he rose into the air, floating higher and higher, the guitar cable stretching taut behind him as the speakers followed.

Soon, the song reached its final stretch, and with it came the climax—an overwhelming surge that sent the crowd into emotions most had never even grazed before. Inspiration, excitement, raw motivation. Their throats tightened, their bodies trembled, their hearts thundered in sync with Taka's.

For a moment, every single person in the venue felt it.

No—they saw it.

His presence, his existence, his very essence blazed brighter than anything they'd witnessed. Like a new star had erupted across the night sky, drowning out the rest. They felt it ripple through them, every cell shivering as if awakened.

His Aura.

…

As the climax faded, Taka slowly drifted back toward the stage. The blinding light around him receded, and the crowd's emotions began stabilizing—though not fading.

Eventually, the frantic beat slowed, and the melody softened.

And finally, with a last resonant chord, the song ended—leaving behind a satisfying, almost cruelly tempting sense of wanting more.

A full minute of absolute silence fell over the entire festival.

Not a whisper or a breath from the public. Instead, everyone just stared ahead with blank gazes.

For an instant, Taka's smile wavered behind his mask.

But that had simply been the crowd snapping back from the trance.

Once they all returned to reality—

-Clap-

One single applaud broke the silence.

And then another.

And another.

Until the entire venue erupted into applause, not a single person stayed still. Even the heroes, who'd been scrambling to stop him minutes earlier, couldn't help but clap.

Taka let out a long, satisfied sigh, sweat rolling down his face beneath the heat of the lights and the stuffiness of the mask and hoodie.

He snorted lightly, closing his eyes as he soaked in the crowd's frenzy and awe.

His heartbeat and the intense state he had been in earlier cooled down as the crowd's cheering reached his ears.

His clones did another batch of ridiculous poses behind him, but he didn't care. All that entered his mind at that moment was the people's acclaim.

—at least, until the blaring wail of police sirens cut straight through the cheers.

His eyes snapped open, and his until then relaxed face turned to a deadpan in one go.

"…Ah, shit."

Immediately, he snapped his fingers, and every clone on stage puffed out of existence at once.

A single wave of his hand disconnected all the instruments from whatever setup he'd jury-rigged.

And then, after a short bow to the audience—

—BAM!—

Taka shot into the sky, soaring upward as every piece of equipment trailed behind him like a floating tail of metal.

…

°

°

°

| Taka's POV, minutes later, through the sky: |

…

It's finally done.

Three whole months of work finally paid off.

"Phew…" I exhaled, trying to calm my still beating like crazy heart.

That had been amazing. Even now I felt… elevated. Like I'd ascended or something.

Maybe I'd fall back to mediocrity once I collapsed on my bed tonight, but for now, I felt like the whole world was in the palm of my hand.

Instantly, my mind went back to the concert. Would I ever feel like that again? That sensation of standing at the top?

My fist clenched, a small mocking smirk tugging at my lips.

'What the hell, I'm acting like an overly excited kid.' I shook my head. Whatever that was down there, it had shaken me more than necessary.

For now, I should focus on outrunning the police—

<Reminder that you have unchecked gains.>

'Huh? Ah, right, I forgot you existed for a second.'

It was partially the system's mission that pushed me into doing all this, wasn't it? Crazy how I completely forgot.

"Well, whatever. Hit me with it," I said, waving a hand beckoningly.

And hit me it did.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETE!]

[You've taken a step forward in your path to true aura farming, for the True Aura Farmer does not steal. The Aura farmer creates, shows, and inspires.]

Conditions for completion:

▸Develop your own song.✔

▸Once done, present it in a place with more than a thousand people.✔

▸Have people enjoy your song.✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+1000 Aura!>

<+Skill [Imaginary Technique: My Theme]!>

"That's a lot of Aura…" I muttered, eyes sparkling at the reward.

Naturally, I opened my status to see how ridiculous my numbers had become—

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119

▸ Defense: 238

▸ Aura Projection: 6062

─────────────

Total Aura: 9052

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

▸Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode

▸Imaginary Technique: My Theme

▸Sperm Eye

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Whoa—what the hell?!" I gawked at the number.

It was… it was…

OVER 9000!!!

How the heck had that even happened?!

My AP had barely been in the six-thousands this morning.

It jumped by 3000 in a single night… that's crazy.

A thousand was from the mission, so the other two thousand must've come from the audience?

"Haha…" I let out a wry laugh. This—this was beyond anything I expected.

My prediction of hitting ten thousand by the time U.A. started suddenly felt way too conservative.

Three months remained. With stats like these now, who knows how broken I'll be then?

<New skill unlocked!>

"Yeah, I know, the 'my theme' skill, right?"

<No, another one.>

"Huh? Just now?"

<No, it happened during the show. You were simply too caught up in it to notice.>

"Oh… so what is it?"

<Showing…>

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Sperm Eye] (Active)

Description: The eyes are the window of the soul, and they too can reflect the sheer aura you exude.

You just gotta make them glow a little. 'Cause glowing eyes means you're locking in.

▸You can change your eye color to your choice.

▸You can make your eyes glow.

▸You can add a small non-burning flame to your eyes to give yourself that classic sperm eye.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Huh… Well, I guess it makes sense something like this would show up," I muttered, looking the skill up and down, before deadpanning a bit. "But did that have to be its name? Couldn't you just have called it the edgy eyes or something?"

<No.>

Whatever. You do you, buddy.

Still, as amusing a skill as it was, it wasn't the one I was looking forward to at the moment.

So, having given it a look over one final time, I closed the notification and opened my newly gained skill, eager to see what it could do.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Imaginary Technique: My Theme] (Active)

Description: Everything seems lost. The heroes are beaten, the world is a disaster, and only doom stains the horizon.

Now, the weak simply stand powerless for a fate they are unable to change.

Evil has triumphed… There is no hope left.

—Or so they thought.

As the survivors cry in defeat, something sharp cuts through their despair.

A melody. One they all know too well.

Heads rise, and tears of hope fall.

And all eyes are centered on one point.

There he is—bathed in the sunset, accompanied by a song engraved in the world's memory.

The Aura Farmer.

▸Play a song of your choice in the minds of the people around you whenever you desire.

▸The song chosen won't manifest as a literal song playing in their heads like a speaker had been put in their brain. Instead, it will be created by the unconscious of the person, making them imagine said song, even if it's not actually playing. Pretty much like Schizophrenia, but cooler.

▸You too can hear the song if you desire.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

…

"Zamn."

Yeah… that's…

Ahem.

It's not like I'm already dying to try it out or anything.

Sighing, I closed the screen and focused back on flying—though I kept glancing at the empty space where the window had been more times than I want to admit.

"Well, that's gonna be one hella fun skill to use in the future," I muttered and smirked faintly.

But then, my phone buzzed.

I raised an eyebrow and took it out. Someone had sent a message.

Had Seiji seen the stuff I was up to and finally decided to hold me accountable for my actions?

Curious, I opened the app.

And my eyebrow twitched upon what I saw.

{Jiro: Yo Takahashi guess what??? I was at this music festival in Tokyo, and suddenly Rockinesis popped up! Can you believe it?}

[Image of Jiro making a peace sign with the Rockinesis gang in the background, rocking hella hard.]

I massaged my face in something akin to confusion or frustration, I don't know.

'Of course she was there.'

Then, sighing, I tapped a response.

{You: Stop fangirling}

{Jiro: ???}

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Since I was feeling benevolent today, I shall give the continuation on the same day. Be grateful, peasants.

And well, and that was the song chapter. From here on, just a few more preparations are in order before Taka finally makes his debut at the U.A.

There's still one skill I want him to acquire. I'm sure you guys will like it. It's very… uh, to make you take a seat from the awe?

I don't know how to describe it without spoiling the surprise, but it's for sure a skill an aura farmer should have. So look forward to it.)

 

[The Synonym]

(A/N: This is a POVs chapter, filled with characters' reactions, so if you don't feel like reading it, skip to the last part, which is Taka's POV.)

────────────────────────
[Viralization]
────────────────────────

| Chiba Prefecture, at a certain house… |

…

In an, uh, "extravagantly" decorated room, a girl with both pink skin and hair—complete with small hook-shaped horns and black eyes with yellow irises—let out a loud sigh as she dropped her school bag beside the bed and threw herself face-first onto it, groaning.

She was none other than Mina Ashido, one of the future 1-A students.

"Final exams, final exams… what a pain. Can't they just make my last year easier? Why do they have to make it hard until the end?!"

She kicked and thrashed like a child in the middle of a tantrum.

Eventually, though, she ran out of energy and exhaled one last dramatic sigh.

Then she grabbed her phone, diving into the usual scrolling session to decompress for a bit.

Videos of all kinds passed before her eyes—fashion, dance collabs, random health and training tips, a few memes. The usual.

Minutes passed, but then, just as she reached what she decided would be the last short of the day before finally getting up to do something productive, a very peculiar video appeared.

It looked like a concert, or maybe a festival. It was hard to tell.

The footage was filmed from the crowd, so the angle wasn't exactly clear, and neither was the quality.

Mina paused on it for a moment. The show happening onstage was surprisingly eye-catching. Whoever was in charge of the lighting and special effects had gone all out.

'And the song is oddly catchy, too.' She thought, bobbing her head faintly at the rhythm. However, the distance of the one recording video lowered the quality a bit.

But aside from that, it wasn't anything special. So after a few seconds, she hovered her thumb over the screen, ready to close the app and then turn off her phone.

But then, something caught her eye.

The band onstage—despite their pretty plain outfits—suddenly started breakdancing.

Her thumb froze mid-movement. Breakdancing was her territory, after all, and she was quite good at it—in her very humble opinion, at least.

So, feeling her curiosity flourishing all over again, her gaze sharpened as she watched over their movements more carefully. Analyzing the performance with a critical eye.

'They are good.' She hummed, massaging her chin like an old master.

Of course, not mind-blowing good, just pretty good. She had seen amazing performances online that could have only been accomplished by Breakdancing Gods who had descended on Earth to shock the world.

This one, on the other hand, remained at the level of mere mortals. That didn't take away the skill the band had. They looked like they had been doing it for a year already, and it showed in their movements.

But of course, if that had been all there was to see, the video's destiny was to be left unfinished anyway.

However, as soon as she had been about to close the app again, the band's qualification shot from "pretty good" to "what the heck?!" levels.

They began playing their instruments while breakdancing. Mina's eyes bulged like platters at the sight.

'How the heck are they pulling that off?' She screamed internally.

After a bit, though, she guessed it must have been thanks to one of the members' Quirks.

But just as the novelty was starting to fade—impressive as it still was—the band member at the front, who had until then simply been playing normally, suddenly stepped up his game.

"Oh?... OH?!"

He began to float.

No, not only that.

Float, and move, spin, and kick around in ways she could hardly believe—all while the guitar in his hands surged into a fierce solo that took over the entire song.

Without realising it, she found herself completely absorbed.

And, after a few seconds, curiosity got the better of her.

She dove into the comments to figure out who this performer was.

And it didn't take long.

"Rockinesis—what kind of name is that…?"

…

°

°

°

| In the same city, somewhere else… |

…

—Bam!—

—Thud!—

—Whack!—

A long black-haired boy with red eyes hammered his fists against a sandbag, each strike fueled by exhaustion and pain.

This was none other than Kirishima—future manliness-seeking member of U.A.'s Class 1-A.

After about five minutes, he finally stopped. Drenched in sweat and panting heavily, he stared down at his fists with a wry expression.

"Becoming a hero… will I really be able to do it with just this Quirk?"

He clenched his fist, frustration twisting his face.

But then he shook his head, stepped back, and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off. Once dry, he sat on his bed with a dejected sigh and picked up his phone, scrolling through social media to relax for a moment before returning to training or studying.

He didn't plan on resting long, as it was just a breather.

Maybe he'd see one or two at most, before going back into action.

But coincidentally, the first video that popped up startled him.

It was a concert—several guys with the exact same appearance performing a song while pulling off insane breakdance moves that defied logic.

He wasn't very familiar with nor particularly interested in music. He was just a casual consumer who enjoyed whatever sounded good, but who never committed to any band. So, besides some surprise at the surreal choreography and the slight nod he gave at the muffled song, the video didn't strike him as anything too special.

At least, not until the main guy at the front began floating while dancing in the air, the song intensifying along with his rise.

There was something about the music… something about the way he moved… something about the confidence he radiated…

It was… It was—

"SO MANLY."

…

°

°

°

| At Tokyo, home of the hero Ingenium |

…

"Yo, Tenya, come see this."

Tensei Ida—better known as the hero Ingenium—called out from the living room couch, eyes glued to the TV.

"What is it, Tensei-niisan?" Tenya Ida stood up from the dining table, where several textbooks were spread out, probably from a studying spree. He walked over while adjusting his glasses, glancing between his brother and the television.

"I was wondering why some of my colleagues were so hectic yesterday. Turns out something big happened at Tokyo's musical festival last night. Look!"

Tenya turned to the screen, squinting as he read the headline:

{Festival taken hostage! Vigilante crashes show, seizes the stage, and forces multiple heroes back while performing an original song.}

Clips of Rockinesis performing and the crowd reacting from multiple angles played across the screen, making the younger Ida's eyebrows sink into a deep frown.

The reporter began explaining the vigilante's identity in detail—listing his previous feats and crimes—and then showed testimonies from the crowd… which were surprisingly positive for people who had technically been victims.

Tenya's glasses shone with intellectualism as he adjusted them and said sharply. "Vigilantism is a dangerous and irresponsible activity. I hope they catch him quickly,"

Tensei let out a wry smile. "You're always so serious. I actually liked the song."

"Niisan, we must not encourage that kind of behaviour!"

"Yeah, yeah."

…

°

°

°

| Mie Prefecture |

…

Ochako Uraraka gripped her head in frustration, groaning loudly as she sat at her desk. A bunch of notebooks lay sprawled open in front of her.

"Aaah! I'll become a hero for sure. Just you wait, U.A. I'm just getting started!"

With that newfound determination, she tightened her grip on her pencil and prepared to keep studying.

"Ochako, dinner is ready!"

—Slam!—

Only for her face to collapse onto the desk the next second.

"Yesss…"

Ultimately, however, she lifted her head back up and stood, leaving her room not long after.

A few minutes later, she sat with her parents at the dining table, eating some very traditional Japanese dishes.

Rice with… something, idk.

As they ate, their eyes occasionally drifted to the TV in the corner of the room, which was playing the latest news: hero scandals—including the most recent one about some "Super Monkey" guy caught going on dates with another heroine during work hours—crime reports, weather forecasts, and whatever else counted as important nowadays.

And among them—

"A festival was taken hostage by a vigilante? That's no longer a vigilante, that's a villain!" Uraraka's father muttered with a frown as he brought more rice into his mouth with his chopsticks.

"Oh my. I hope those people were okay," her mother added, worry in her voice.

Ochako didn't say anything. She simply watched in silence… until the interviews with the "victims" began playing.

"…They… seem to be having fun?"

…

°

°

°

| Saitama Prefecture, in a room that was a bit of a mess… |

…

"This guy did what now?!" A teenager with blond, sharp hair marked by a thunder symbol in black, shouted as he stared at his phone in shock, gaping at the images of a very familiar vigilante delivering the performance of the century.

He was entranced for the whole song, his head bobbing without him noticing.

By the time the song ended, he wiped the single tear rolling down his cheek.

"That was damn beautiful…" Only for his emotion to shift into excited anger the next second. "Damn, this guy never misses! How can someone be this good?! I swear if I ever come across him, I'm risking getting killed to get his autograph!"

-Knock, knock-

Someone knocked at the door.

"Denki, have you studied?"

"Ah?! Uhm, yes—I mean, yeah, of course I have!"

…

°

°

°

| Endeavor's home |

…

Shoto Todoroki sat on his living room's couch, checking his phone with a bored expression—being yet another victim of doomscrolling.

Of course, being the disciplined guy he was, he wasn't exactly enjoying it. He was only scrolling because there was nothing else to do. He had already studied a respectable amount, trained in the morning, and had another session scheduled for the evening.

So for now, he was simply killing time while waiting for his sister to finish making lunch.

Then, the video you already know about appeared.

{"Rockine—"}

Sadly, he scrolled down almost immediately.

If it wasn't interesting at first glance, he wasn't gonna waste time watching it.

And so, while the minutes passed, many videos fell victim to Todoroki's lack of interest. He only stayed in for informative videos about hero life, or scientific shorts that talked about temperature or similar stuff.

His spree of doomscrolling came to an end, however, when his sister's voice called out to him.

"Shoto, food is ready!"

He tossed his phone aside and quickly went to eat.

Today, his favourite dish was being served, cold Soba.

As soon as he sat at their table, he eyed the plates covered in food with hungry eyes.

But as he glanced at his sister, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

She had stopped mid-serving while glancing at her phone, music coming from it.

"What is it, Fuyumi?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing." She was quick to snap out of it, shoving her phone back in her pocket, before sitting down with Shoto.

Shoto blinked, then dismissed it easily. Whatever it was, it didn't seem important.

But as he was about to sit as well and begin eating—

"That one's going to the playlist." His sister muttered something.

Shoto could only raise an eyebrow in confusion.

…

°

°

°

| Yaoyorozu Household |

…

Momo was deeply absorbed in her studies. A carefully organised pile of books sat beside her—each one containing advanced chemistry materials. On her other side was a plate piled with assorted sweets.

As the minutes passed, she alternated between reading, eating a sweet, and creating small cubic samples of different materials—each perfectly shaped—while remaining engrossed in the book in her hands.

Eventually, she let out a weary sigh and rubbed her temple with a tired expression.

"Some tea would be nice," she murmured, placing the book down and standing up.

She left her room and headed toward the kitchen. There, she saw the maid in charge of cooking scrolling through her phone with one hand while wiping down the counter with the other.

"Yuka-san, could I bother you with—"

Her words stopped when a melody reached her ears—the sound coming from the maid's phone.

Although Momo wasn't particularly fond of that genre, for some reason, she found herself unexpectedly drawn in.

She approached, leaning slightly to peek over Yuka's shoulder.

"Yuka-san?"

"Ah!" The maid jumped out of her trance, spinning around in a hurry. "I'm so sorry, Momo-sama! I got distracted!"

"It's fine," Momo assured with a gentle smile, though her eyes drifted curiously toward the phone. "What was that music?"

"Eh? This?" Yuka blinked, then turned her phone back on.

The video resumed immediately.

Yuka explained, "It's the song a vigilante played yesterday at the musical festival in Tokyo. Apparently, he crashed the event and took over the stage before leaving once he finished."

Momo's expression tightened with concern. "Did anyone end up hurt?"

"Eh?" Yuka blinked rapidly, sweating slightly. "Ah—no, no! Actually, from what I've seen, the crowd looked like they enjoyed being hostages… a lot."

Momo sweatdropped lightly.

But before either could comment further, the song intensified. The footage showed Taka floating high above the stage as his guitar solo completely overtook the music, making both their eyes widen.

By the time the song ended, it took them a full ten seconds to snap out of their trance.

"R-right! What can I serve you, Momo-sama?" Yuka asked quickly.

"Ah—tea, please. I'm a bit stuffed from the sweets."

"Right away!"

As the maid began preparing it, Momo spoke again.

"By the way, what is the name of that vigilante?"

…

°

°

°

| Takoba Municipal Beach |

…

"Haaah… hah… hah…" A green-haired teenager breathed heavily as he sat on a malfunctioning refrigerator, the top of his tracksuit resting beside him while his upper body dripped with sweat.

His gaze swept across the massive stretch of trash left for him to clear—nearly a kilometer of it.

His body might have been taking a breather, but his mind was still running nonstop.

'I should prioritize cleaning that area first. That'll make it easier to carry the scraps on this side, since they're pretty big and cumbersome.'

His analytical eyes scanned the mess, planning a better approach to the task he'd been given.

But then he snapped out of his thoughts and turned toward a certain person nearby.

A skeletal blond man wearing an oversized T-shirt—none other than the Number One Hero, All Might.

Midoriya had long since grown accustomed to his mentor's presence.

Instead, what caught his attention was the fact that All Might was staring intensely at his phone… and music was coming from it?

"All Might?" Midoriya stood and approached him.

The hero paused the video he was watching and looked up. "Ah, sorry, young Midoriya. I was checking some footage from an incident that happened a few stations from here last night. I had been asleep, so I didn't get called in."

"An incident?" Midoriya tilted his head.

"Nothing too major. Something happened at the musical festival, you know, the one that's done every year."

Midoriya looked a bit embarrassed. "Uhm… sorry, I don't..."

All Might waved him off. "It's fine. I don't know much myself either."

"What happened?" Midoriya asked, curious about what kind of situation would catch the Number One Hero's interest.

"Someone intruded into the event and took over the stage for a bit—played their song, and then left."

"Oh." Midoriya nodded, though he looked a little lost.

It didn't sound like something big enough for a hero of All Might's caliber to care about.

All Might laughed. "Hahaha, no need to think too hard. I was just checking the footage, and I liked the music, so I kept replaying it."

"Oh." Midoriya nodded again, still clearly confused.

He wasn't into music, so he didn't really get the appeal.

But then, when All Might showed him the video, Midoriya's eyes widened.

"That's Rockinesis!"

"Oh? You know him?" All Might smiled.

"Of course! He's been trending a lot these days. Mostly because of the mystery around him—showing multiple abilities when he was originally assumed to just have Telekinesis. Ranging from creating clones, allegedly, shooting lasers, super strength, super speed, and who knows what more! I actually have a theory that all his powers come from a single—"

"Ahem!"

All Might cut him off before he went on with another of his rants with a forced cough. "Enough chit-chat, young Midoriya. There's still plenty of scrap to move, and plenty of daylight left."

"A-ah… yes!"

And with that, Midoriya went right back to work.

…

°

°

°

| Not too far away, in the same city… |

…

A spiky, explosive blond grinned cockily as he finished answering several questions on a worksheet on his desk.

"Hah, that written exam will be a piece of cake," he snorted. "Now I won't need to worry about some extra overstepping even in this."

Although at the mention of extra, memories of what happened months ago with the sludge villain resurfaced.

That bastard… Deku, he had jumped in to save him. And after that, he'd said he'd try to enter U.A. too.

That guy… he was going too far with his delusions.

"…"

Bakugo's eyes narrowed. Then he scoffed proudly. "Hah, as if that damn Deku could actually enter the hero course being Quirkle—"

"Katsuki, go throw the trash, please!" Bakugo's mom called from outside his room.

"Argh, you damn hag, why can't you do it?! I'm busy over here!"

"What did you say, you brat?! You better move this instant, or I'm beating your ass to a pulp!"

Bakugo scoffed.

"Whatever."

Minutes later, he stepped outside carrying several trash bags.

He tossed them into the container and turned to leave.

But just as he was about to walk off—

"Hey, did you see the vigilante thing from yesterday?"

"Yeah, it was awesome!"

"My dad says our uncle was there. Apparently, he almost had a heart attack from the hype."

"Really? The song in the clip is good, but was it that epic?"

"Dunno, wasn't there."

The group of kids walked away, leaving a slightly puzzled Bakugo behind.

"Hah? A vigilante?"

…

°

°

°

| Kanagawa prefecture, In a room full of posters of sexy heroines in swimsuits… |

…

"Hngh…! That guy—I'm so damn envious. He must have dozens of chicks digging him right now!" A short, purple, ball-haired teenager bit his nails as he stared at the Rockinesis video you already know, a vein pulsing on his forehead.

But then, he closed the video, tossing the phone aside as a determined expression appeared on his face.

"That'll be me once I get into U.A… And nothing and no one will stop me!!!"

Sadly for him, the world is full of disappointments.

…

°

°

°

| Taka's room, two days later… |

…

The sun seeped in through the window's blinds, hitting Taka's face and stirring him awake.

-Yawn…-

"What, it's morning already?"

Taka pushed himself up from bed, scratching one eye—albeit unnecessarily, since his Clean skill prevented things like gunk from forming in the first place.

Groaning and stretching, he slipped out of bed and went straight to his laptop.

"Alright, let's see how the song is doing."

The evening after his stunt at the musical festival—meaning yesterday—Taka had gone back to the Rockibase and performed the whole song again, this time to upload it as an official music video on his channel.

He finished editing it at home, passed by a cyber café to upload it, then returned home and knocked out instantly.

Which brought him to now.

His anxiety level was high enough that checking his gains was the first thing he did upon waking up.

So he opened his non-criminally-attached account and clicked on the video.

"Alright, about eight hours have passed since I uploaded it. A few dozen thousand views would be—huh?"

He blinked. Then blinked again. Then rubbed his eyes, wondering if his Clean skill had malfunctioned and let something blurry slip through.

But when he stared back at the screen, he realized it wasn't his vision.

It was real.

"A million views?!" Taka almost fell from his chair.

Immediately, he pulled up his status.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 126

▸ Defense: 252

▸ Aura Projection: 9463

─────────────

Total Aura: 10802

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Holy shit," Taka gawked at the number.

Just two days ago, he'd barely reached the nine-thousands.

After that, his passive gains had jumped from 60 to around 200 in one go, netting him roughly 400 points in just two days.

And now, after uploading the song—in just eight hours—He had gained 1,400 aura?

"Haha…" Taka laughed, half-shocked, half-overjoyed.

And that was just over the night, more aura would probably be coming during the week, until it eventually slowed down.

But even then, he could just do something else to keep his fame ignited.

And if he continued like this for the three months that were left…

"I'm gonna be stacking aura like crazy from now on…" Taka laughed, making the calculations in his mind.

And, as he reached exorbitant numbers, he couldn't help but wonder…

'Just what kind of monster will I be by the time canon arrives?'

His future was bright, that was for sure.

From now on, it would all go uphi—

"Oi, Taka! I heard you waking up! Stop jerking off and come downstairs to spar. Some idiot photographed me while I was on a date yesterday, so I'm feeling extra rusty!" Seiji's shout from outside the door snapped him out of his power trip, black lines appearing on Taka's face.

Despite all his "almighty power," he was still getting knocked around by that guy.

"I hate this," Taka gritted his teeth.

Today—today was the day he beat the shit out of him, that was for sure.

With determined eyes, Taka stood up.

"Prepare to get humiliated by a kid fifteen years younger than you fucker!"

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: Hey, how was the multiple character showcase? I tried to portray everyone's personality nicely, and while at it, show some funny situations. But I don't know if I screwed up. I think it went well, but you never know.

Also, you know, it's kind of funny. In my notes where I plan some things of this story, I have the objective of making Taka reach 5000 aura by the time U.A. begins.

...

I guess I lacked vision at the time.

Also, penultimate chapter until we're caught up)

 

[The Synonym]

We're finally caught up to the chapters I had in stock... and now, I reveal my true nature.

You thought it was a passionate author who did this for the love of the game, but it was I, a greedy goblin who has a Patreon, and with chapters in advance -wink-.

patreon.com/TheSynonym

────────────────────────
[Style]
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…

-Insert old west duel music-

"Seiji."

"Taka."

Both contestants stood meters apart, gazes narrowed, and faces scrunched in hostility.

Their fingers twitched as if itching to draw, despite having no pistols.

A lone cloud of dust drifted by between them, like something straight out of a desert showdown.

Then, Taka took his stance, and Seiji did the same.

"Your luck's up, old man," the edgy teenager declared, fingers curling like claws.

"Hah. Didn't you say the same thing yesterday? I recall you ended up on the floor after that." The blond man mocked, one hand on top of his head, the other on his butt, knees bent faintly, and tail wiggling enthusiastically. An immaculate imitation of the classic monkey scratching pose.

"How does that stance even work…?" Taka muttered, sweatdropping.

"By confusing amateurs like you, kid."

"I'm not confused, I just made you think I was, so YOU get confused."

"And I'm confusing you by making you believe I was confused by your confusion."

"SEIJI!"

"TAKA!"

With that bizarre exchange, the stand-off and the building tension ended—and soon, the two lunged at each other like hungry beasts.

Taka struck first, claw turning into a full-on fist, and aiming directly at Seiji's face.

—Swish!—

Unfortunately, his punch was fast, but Seiji was faster.

Moments before impact, Seiji spun mid-charge, dodging by centimeters, and then casually fixing his hair as he passed by the charging Taka.

The teenager stumbled forward after his fist met no target, clicking his tongue—

-Slap!-

—only to receive a smug tail-whack to the back of his head right the next instant.

Annoyed, he spun with a backfist.

Seiji ducked effortlessly, then used his tail to hook Taka's legs out from under him, slamming the kid to the ground.

—Thud!—

The fall did little physical damage, but it sure caused Taka a lot of emotional damage.

'This guy is aura farming an aura farmer…' Taka groaned inwardly, shooting Seiji a glare.

Then, he scrambled back up in no time and lunged again—this time opening with something new.

A flurry of blows, punches, and kicks combined, but switching unpredictably, hoping to overwhelm Seiji.

Sadly, without any stat-boosting, Taka was still far too slow.

Seiji merely hopped back, dodging each strike by making distance. Turning the duel into a chase in which Taka threw his attacks, and Seiji continued going reverse.

-Tack!-

"Ah?!"

Sadly, it all came to an end when, during one of Taka's attacks, Seiji grabbed his wrist, pulled Taka towards him, and then slammed a palm strike into his chin.

—Thud!—

The kid staggered back, his chin reddening, before collapsing onto his knees and falling flat with a groan.

"Dammit…"

Seiji snorted, hands in his pockets. "What did I tell you about chin strikes?"

"Never let them hit. Yeah, yeah, I know…" Taka clicked his tongue.

"At this rate, you'll barely qualify by the time U.A. starts," Seiji muttered, massaging his chin with a troubled expression.

Taka's eyebrow twitched.

Then, to top it off, Seiji waved at him dismissively before turning away. "Forget it, kid. I'm not feeling rusty anymore."

And like that, he began walking away.

'Shit,' Taka cursed inwardly.

He glanced at his status. His stats were fine—more than fine. He was over twice as strong as when they started training, and that was without aura boosting him.

So why the hell was he still getting clowned on by this guy?

Was it really just a stat issue?

No. That wasn't it—or maybe just partly.

He recalled the mission that had sparked this obsession of his with winning, how it had asked him to learn to dance, and to beat a more serious Seiji in combat.

He reminisced about Seiji's words.

'Fights are like a dance,' Taka repeated in his mind, his eyes narrowing in thought. 'It's a constant back-and-forth of predicting the other's movements until one side falls behind.'

With that definition in mind, Taka's mind went back to the fight they had just had. His face scrunching in distaste as he recalled how quickly they ended.

'In my case, there's a "back" but no "forth." I attack, he counters, but I never respond... I just end up on the floor.'

He thought about the tail sweep and the chin strike from earlier. Frown deepening.

'Like he said… predict the prediction of the prediction. But I'm not predicting anything, and I find it hard to do so when that guy moves so wildly... Meanwhile, he's predicting everything I'll do.'

With a frustrated slap to both cheeks, Taka snapped himself awake—earning a curious glance from Seiji.

'Focus, you dumbass. Remember what you said once? "I'm a God, and All Might is my errand boy." If I don't end this crap today, who the hell am I to say that?!'

Then, Taka did something that made Seiji pause.

He placed his palms on the ground—spun wildly—and pushed himself up into a clean landing, stance rising anew.

'Predicting him may still be a bit too much for now, but that doesn't mean I'm helpless. If I can't predict him, then all I gotta do is even the field.'

Right away, his stance began shifting; this time, no more martial artist-ish, instead, it seemed way more relaxed, but ready to snap at any minute.

'Hah… Now that I think about it, the mission itself made it pretty clear as to what the answer was. If the movements he's taught me are obviously easy for him to predict, then all I gotta do is use movements he hasn't taught me.'

He took a deep breath.

'Let's just hope all this practice was worth something.'

And so, with that resolve burning in him, Taka lifted a hand and beckoned.

"Come on, you son of a chimp. One last time."

Seiji's eye twitched.

"Haha, I was wondering what you were up to… Alright. I suppose there's still a little rust left to brush off."

Cracking his neck and knuckles, Seiji retook his stance, smirking confidently.

"Alright, come at me, little Taka."

Taka snorted, a confident grin tugging at his lips.

"No, you come at me."

Seiji raised an eyebrow but didn't move. "No, you come."

"Nah, you come."

Seiji shrugged. "Little kids first."

Taka shrugged back. "Elderly first."

Silence. Neither moved.

"What's wrong, Taka? Scared?" Seiji teased.

"You're the adult guy with twice my body weight and a supposedly successful hero career. You tell me."

"Oh-ho-ho… alright... alright..." Seiji chuckled.

—then snapped his eyes open and lunged forward without a shred of warning, his speed vertiginous.

"As you please!"

Taka barely had time to react before a punch shot toward him.

But instead of simply raising his guard like every other day—

"…?"

—he suddenly dropped to his knees at the last second, the punch cutting through empty air.

In slow motion, Seiji's eyes widened, following Taka down in disbelief.

Not just because it was unexpected—but because Taka had left himself horribly open for a follow-up. A knee strike from this angle would end the fight instantly.

'What is this kid doing?'

He already had Taka's torso in view; if the kid tried something frog-punch-like, he'd see it coming instantly.

But he didn't think the kid was so stupid to attempt something like that.

So then—what was—

"...?!"

His confusion only deepened as Taka's kneeling posture collapsed even lower—one leg threading between Seiji's, his back nearly brushing the ground, and palms planted firmly.

Then—

–THUD!–

Taka spun, his legs hooking around one of Seiji's in a tight clamp.

The monkey man yanked himself free with a sharp pirouette, escaping the entanglement by a hair.

But by the time he regained his footing and lifted his gaze—

Taka was already there, fist cocked and flying.

Seiji readied himself to sneak by his attack and reach Taka's weak point—

"Huh?"

—but once again, contrary to every expectation, Taka's punch vanished as he suddenly dropped mid-charge, sliding across the rough dirt.

No seasoned fighter would let someone slide between their legs, so Seiji lashed out with a kick to intercept—

—but Taka's hands slammed the ground, twisting his whole body in a wild, acrobatic spin.

–WHACK!–

A powerful heel smashed into Seiji's face, snapping his head sideways.

The counterkick he'd thrown missed by a breath.

With one last push of his arms, Taka launched himself backward, landing cleanly on his feet.

He exhaled a long, steady breath—then smirked.

"Still think I won't qualify?"

Seiji turned back toward him, rubbing the forming bruise on his cheek.

"That shit hurt," he hissed—then chuckled, eyes gleaming with new respect. "Looks like you finally figured something out, huh, kid?"

"Yeah. How about I show you a few more times?" Taka taunted, jumping in his spot, all fired up after that hit.

"Hahaha…"

Seiji laughed again. This time, though, his laugh carried something more than amusement.

"... You're seriously asking for a beating, kid."

Taka beckoned him with a cocky wave. "Let me help you confront reality. The future's now, old man."

Seiji shook his head. "Alright."

Then he charged again.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

Taka lay flat on the ground, bruises blooming across his face, dirt smeared over his clothes.

Seiji stood over him—tall, victorious, and grinning wide.

If only that grin wasn't framed by swollen cheeks and a fresh purple eye, he might have looked infinitely cooler.

"You're still a few decacillion years short of beating me, kid."

"Shut up."

Laughing, Seiji took out a cigarette and lit it up, puffing up a big one.

"Good spar, kid. Good spar."

With that, he turned and started walking off—occasionally letting out small, pained groans that betrayed his attempt at acting tough.

Taka watched him go, then let his gaze fall back to the sky with a defeated sigh.

"So I still lost, huh? What bullshit Quirk he has…"

Seriously—how did a monkey Quirk turn someone into that kind of monster? Taka would never understand.

He pushed himself up from the dirt, shaky but determined, and managed to get to his feet. The instant he stood, the dust coating his clothes vanished, as did the blood on his face and knuckles—Clean skill doing its job.

'I guess this is all I can do without using my aura against a guy with a Quirk like that.'

<You have a mission's reward you haven't checked, host.>

"Wha—? Oh. Right, that." He chuckled and opened the notification.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETE!]

[You have finally taken notice of the mesmerizing art of dance. But you have yet to realize its true potential! Let the Aura Farmer within you bloom further as you open your mind to the wonders of corporeal expression.]

Quest Conditions:

▸ Learn a dance style to a skillful degree. ✔

▸ Reach a new level in martial skill by enduring a fight with a serious Seiji for one full minute—without enhancing yourself or using aura projection. ✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+500 Aura!>

<+Skill: [Let's dance!]>

<Note: The request was for you to last a minute, as the physical difference between you and Seiji was too wide. Yet you went beyond that—contesting the hero for several minutes and even dealing solid damage! Truly worthy of an Aura Farmer. Keep up the good job, host.>

"Right… it was a minute." Taka scratched his head, annoyed. He'd gotten so into the fight that he forgot that part of the requirement. And he must've tuned out the notification entirely.

"Well, all that ends well ends well."

He opened the new skill.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Let's Dance!] (Passive)

Description: The Aura Farmer is unmatched, peerless, and unreachable. When conflict arises, he overwhelms opponents and shows them the true gap between their powers. Brute force is one way to establish superiority.

Style is the other.

Because if you beat someone up while still being stylish, what better way is there to prove the difference between you?

▸ Boosts battle IQ.

▸ Improves overall control over your body.

▸ Enhances improvisation, reflexes, and thinking speed when mixing dance with martial arts mid-combat.

▸ Pairs well with [My Theme].

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"... Dancing mid-fight sounds kinda cringe, but I guess if I fight as I did against Seiji, it'll work," Taka muttered, before his eyes focused on the battle IQ boost and enhanced control over his body benefits, glistening with satisfaction. "And even without that… it is a nice boost eitherway."

Would this be enough to close the gap that there was this time, for the next spar that the two had?

Maybe.

Would it be enough to win?

'No idea.' Taka Shrugged.

Eitherway, that was future Taka's problem.

"I'm gonna go try unlocking my healing abilities now… ouch."

Still grumbling and sore, Taka shuffled toward the house, planning on practicing a lot. He didn't want to stay hurting, after all.

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: The final mission Taka had in store is done—save for unlocking healing, but that'll be covered in the next and last arc before U.A., which will be the last hurdle Taka will have to surpass before being fully ready to aura farm the heck out of the main cast.)