KEY :
'look' : Zach's thoughts
"look" dialogue
[look] system
{look} author speaking (me!)
'System...' Zach speaking to system
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"Ugh," Feeling my consciousness returning, I grunted. Suddenly, I could hear a variety of noises. 'Where am I? Oh yeah, I remember now! Still, where am I?' I pondered before investigating. The ground felt hard and rough, for some reason. Opening my eyes, I proceeded to scan the area I woke up at.
Currently, I was in what seemed to be an alleyway (if the abundant graffiti on the walls were anything to tell) with concrete as the pavement. On my right was the typical green dumpster to the brim with garbage, and what I assume to be a locked wooden door next to it.
Standing up proved to be incredibly difficult. Apparently, transmigrating into a new body makes you learn all your senses again, and makes your body feel unfamiliar. Looking around for any objects to leverage on, my eyes landed on the side of the dumpster. Gripping the dumpster's side, I used it as leverage and staggered onto my feet.
Being able to see my surroundings more clearly now, I proceeded to view where I was once more. Looking around, I could see that the alley I'm in expands horizontally for about 10 feet, before separating into the sidewalk. On the sidewalk to my left was a bustling crowd, cheering on for Go- Quinn knows what. On the right, there wasn't really anything happening over there, but I spotted a mirror.
Staggering over there with mild difficulty, I observed my appearance in the mirror. I stood at around 5'8", and had a lean figure. Looking at my face, I had magenta eyes, which had an odd void residing in the very center of my them, and white hair. Other than those two oddities, I had an otherwise average-looking face. Shifting my focus to my attire, I was currently wearing a gray hoodie, black sweatpants, and a pair of blue nikes.
Staggering over to the crowd, I attempted to get through them. With some difficulty, I made it past the crowd and was able to view the scene playing out. To my right, a fair-toned male teenager with a fit physique, measuring at around 5 feet, 8 inches, and wearing a tight, black long sleeve shirt and loose fitting white pants stood parallel to the person on my left. He appeared to be heavily injured, and had multiple bruises. 'That must be Garou, especially with his gray V-shaped hair! Though, why is he injured?' I deduced before setting my sights on the person facing Garou.
He appeared to be an elderly man, with a slight hunch in his posture and slightly tan skin. He had light blue eyes that displayed disappointment, along with spiky white hair. Above his eyes were thick, white eyebrows, whilst below his nose rested a thick, white mustache. He was currently gazing at Garou. 'Huh, so this guy must be Bang! Though, what is he doing here with Garou? Hopefully their conversation adds some context! Wait, can I even understand this language? Meh, I guess I'll just figure it out,' I concluded before listening to the conversation.
"Do not ever come back to my dojo, Garou!" Bang concluded from what I assume to be his lesson to Garou, before Garou proceeded to run away. Bang turned around at the sight of this, before sighing and mumbling something incoherent under his breath. Seeing him walk away, I decided that this altercation was done, and looked around me.
Surrounding me was a plethora of stores, restaurants, and people. In addition to that, there were many ads on billboards. Cars passed by, and the yelling of an angry driver or two could be heard. In the distance, I could see Bang's dojo resting on top of the mountain, behind all of the stores and roads. 'It appears I'm in City-Z, judging from Bang's dojo being close by. I haven't got a clue as to how long I have before the events of One Punch Man take place, though. The biggest issue to deal with, however, is Saitama himself. If he is indeed in this timeline, it's going to be difficult to deal with him. Though, that guy-Quinn, said that this was going to be a slightly different world. I should still go check out the "Ghost Town" part of City Z, though. It should be to the east from where Bang's dojo is,' I start making my way to Saitama's apartment. 'Whilst I'm making my way there, I'll check out my system. System, are you there?' I inquired, before a blue GUI with golden text quickly made itself present in my peripheral.
[Yes, host]
'Ah, that's wonderful! System, what are your features?' I question enthusiastically, my anticipation at its climax. In response, the blue GUI expanded, with the golden letters morphing.
[System Currently Has These Features :
-Status
-Gacha
-Shop
What Feature Does The Host Wish To Explore?]
'Ah, well seeing my stats would surely help me the most! I wish to explore the Status feature' I responded, and resulted in the blue GUI changing into a golden GUI with platinum letters. After taking a left turn, I read the contents of the GUI.
[ (Simplified) Status :
Name : Zach Afton (Formerly) ??? (Present)
Titles : None
Age : 18 (Present)
Strength : 1
Speed : 1
Durability : 1
Endurance : 1 (Locked)
Stamina : 1 (Locked)
Intelligence : 1.2 (Locked)
[The average of his Wisdom, Knowledge, IQ, EQ, and Cognitive Ability]
Senses : 1
Talent : 1,000
Luck : 10
Potential : 1,000
Skill : 1 (Locked)
Soul : 0 (Locked - Special Attribute)
Note - 'Locked' attributes have to be manually gained through practice or experience. The Soul attribute is the user's control of their soul.
(1 AP=Average Adult)
Attribute Points (AP)=0
Equipment :
None
Skills :
Viewer of Phenomena (Special) : The User Is Extraordinarily Talented In The Detection, Analysis, And Usage Of Ordinary Phenomena.
Note - 'Special' Type skills are skills that are comprised of 2 or more skills that fit well together.
Adaptive Fighter (Innate) : The User's Physical Capabilities (Strength, Speed, Senses, Stamina, Durability) Increases As He Fights Or Goes Through Any Form Of Stress, And Scales To His Current Physical Capabilities. The More Stress The User Accumulates, The Higher The Reward.
Lucky (Rare) : The User Is Slightly Favored By Fate, And Is Surprisingly Lucky]
'[Viewer of Phenomena] and [Adaptive Fighter] must be Garou's powers, though it must also consist of a bit of Cosmic Garou's abilities, as Garou was only an expert in Martial Arts. Or perhaps, it is talking about Martial Arts when it mentions "ordinary" phenomena,' I pondered, before suddenly remembering a detail I forgot earlier. 'Though, I recall that most webnovels about systems usually had a starter package. Hey, System. Was Quinn gracious enough to give me a starter package?' I question, with anticipation of the system's answer.
[Yes, Host. Do You Wish To Open a 1x Starter Package? Y/N]
'Yes, system!' I answered enthusiastically, and was curious as to what it contained.
[1x Starter Package Consumed. Host Has Gained Following Items :
-10x Normal Anime Gacha Tickets
-10 Attributes Points
-100 Shop Coins
-Mana Attribute]
'Well, that was A LOT more than I expected! I guess I'll check out the Gacha feature next, then! Though, not before I place 4 of my points into luck,' I thought before going back to the Status feature and placing 4 points into luck {There is a +/- sign next to them now}. 'System, show me the Gacha feature now!' I commanded, and was excited for what the Gacha feature had in store. A golden GUI with a giant spinner wheel with an astronomical amount of options on it, each varying in size, in the middle and some bold, platinum text on the side.
[The Gacha Currently Has These Options :
Normal ; Anime : 10
Do You Wish To Use Your Gacha Tickets? Y/N]
'Yes! Use all ten!' I answered, both curious and excited at what I will get. 'To be honest, I hate gacha games, as they're a scam and not worth it at all. But now I have the odds in my favor, and the things I get from the Gacha are actually real! I'll make sure to take a look at the rates after this, though,' I concluded, before the wheel duplicated 9 times, each beginning to spin at unparalleled speeds, with an immeasurable amount of options flying by the pointy part of the wheel at the top every second. However, all of them abruptly stopped on an option and disappeared. What remained was a list of what I obtained, with two out of the ten names shining purple.
[You Have Obtained The Following :
-Guide To Training Your Soul (Rare)
-Dual Nichirin Blades (DS Rare)
-Thought Acceleration (Tensura Epic)
-Set of Knives (JJBA Normal)
-Psychokinesis (OPM Epic)
-Beginner's Guide To Martial Arts (OPM Normal)
-Shock Absorption (MHA Uncommon)
-Minor Poison Resistance (DS Common)
-Revolver (JJBA Normal)
-Titanium-Reinforced Steel Bat (OPM Rare)]
'HUH? This is way too overpowered! There has to be some catch to this, right?' I thought, before the system answered my question without me having to ask. A blue GUI appeared.
[Rewards From The Gacha Are Assorted Into Three Categories :
-Skills : Abilities/Powers That Have Infinite Potential For Growth
-Character Skills: Abilities/Powers From A Fictional Character That Is Limited To The Character's Capabilities With Them
-Packages : The Equipment And Skills of Specified Character
-Equipment : A Physical/Metaphysical Object
Packages And Character Skills Require Time To Assimilate Into The Host's Body, Mind, or/and Soul]
'Huh, neat. So what's the rankings for skills and items, System?' I ask curiously, before the blue GUI expands to fit a large array of text.
[Skill Rankings :
Common : 60%
Uncommon : 30%
Rare : 7%
Epic : 2%
Legendary : 0.75%
Mythical : 0.24%
Divine : 0.001%
Nothing : 0.009%
Equipment Rankings :
Normal : 50%
Rare : 40%
Unique : 5%
Super Rare : 4%
Legendary : 0.5%
Mythical : 0.3%
Grand : 0.02%
Nothing : 0.18%]
'I'm nearing my destination it seems. Hopefully, Saitama is here. Though, he could be absent. With what Quinn said, my suspicions could actually be correct,' I decided. Turning a corner, I looked up to what I expected to be an apartment complex. Instead of an intact apartment complex, however, there was a huge hole through it. I could only stare at the sight with a mix of confusion and fright.
'What could've happened here, and to cause such damage? The only enemy that could've caused such damage at this point, before the show starts, is the 170,000 Year-Old Cicada Larva. Ah, nevermind, I'll go investigate that after I try out these new powers!' I decided to ignore the difference in the timeline for now, and instead opted to check out my new powers.
'So, how exactly would I activate my powers? Is there a pool I draw from for my psychokinesis to activate? Maybe I need to concentrate really, really hard? I'll try the first option, as it's most likely the correct method,' I decide, before exploring within my soul. After a minute or two of concentration, I could dimly feel a reservoir of psychic energy. It appeared to be a cube that was 2 meters in height, width, and length . Concentrating on it for a few minutes, I absorbed the small reservoir of energy into me. I suddenly heard a "Ding!" sound, with a blue GUI subsequently appearing.
[Host Has Acquired The Title "Rookie Psychic"! Skills "Psychokinesis" And "Thought Acceleration" Have Increased By 1 Level!]
Following that message, I felt a decent increase in the amount of psychic energy in my soul. Dragging a portion of my dormant energy outside of my body, I focused it around one of the debris on the ground. I concentrated on the rock, and floated it up a meter or two with ease. I decided to drag the rest of my dormant energy outside of my body, and encase a few other pieces of debris with it. Levitating them all a few meters above the ground, the shock hit me like a truck.
'Is.. is this really happening? Is this reality? I guess I'm experiencing shock after everything was said and done, but still, how did I remain so calm? If this is actually reality, then what happened to my family? Am I ever gonna see them again? Or even Tiffany? Will I be able to go back to my original world, or see them again?. Now that I think about it, it's very plausible that I'll get D4C [D4C allows for world-hopping] or something similar to it in the future'
Resolving my inner shock at my circumstance, I decided to take a look at the bat and nichirin blades I had obtained. 'Hey System, what are the descriptions of the bat and cleavers that I got from gacha?' A golden GUI with platinum letters made itself into my vision, listing two items.
[Titanium-Reinforced Steel Bat - A Gray Steel Bat With A Black Handle, And Has Had Its Durability Increased Dramatically Via Titanium Reinforcement.
Dual Nichirin Cleavers : A Pair of Gigantic, And Equally Heavy, Amber Nichirin Cleavers, Which Were Forged With Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore. These Two Cleavers Are Held Together With A Metal Chain, And Have A Notch In The Middle]
'Oh, I forgot about the immense strength that the monsters in this world have. I'll have to train for sure, especially if I want to survive. However, I should definitely get out these weapons, as they are my only way to defend myself for now. System,' However, before I could ask the System for anything, a notification made itself present in the form of a red GUI with golden letters.
[Notification received from Quinn :
I forgot to tell you something back there. Basically, if you don't entertain me, I'll take your powers away. But, I understand that you can't make everything entertaining, so make sure to make your fights interesting at the very least!]
I felt a slight chill at this notification, but I felt slightly relieved when I read that I didn't need to always entertain him. 'However, I shouldn't worry about that for now. Instead, getting stronger is my main priority- then, of course, entertaining him by fighting monsters, which should be easy to find around here. Wait, now that I think about it, there were very few mentions of the monsters that Saitama had fought whilst training. Perhaps one of them was able to do this to the apartment complex. I don't think he was only talking about the absence of Saitama when he mentioned that this world would be different from the original one, either. Most likely, there are much stronger monsters now, as to give him more entertainment and more of a challenge for me. That, however, just means that I'll have to train even harder to counter these threats!!'
I decided to take out the Nichirin Cleavers first, as I remember someone in Demon Slayer having them- Tenget if I am correct. Suddenly, a set of huge amber Cleavers appeared in my hand, with the weight forcing my hands to the ground. 'Damn, the description did NOT overstate how heavy these cleavers were!' I thought before, with some difficulty, lifting the cleavers up from the ground and stabbing them into the ground.
Positioning my hands in front of me in preparation this time, a silver bat with a black handle appears in my hands. However, it was much lighter than the cleavers, and did not take nearly as much effort to hold. "This is much better!" I accidentally exclaim out loud, causing me to look around to see if any monsters heard me. Seeing that nothing noticed, I wipe a non-existent sweat drop off my face and sigh in relief.
Getting into a proper stance, with both of my hands gripping the handle, I swing multiple times with a second or so between each full swing. 'Not bad, though not very good either. A tiger-class monster could easily attack me between swings, so it's decent at best. Training is definitely a necessity, especially since I'm an amateur with little to no experience in combat. I'll practice with the monsters once my training arc is over and done with,' I assessed, before I suddenly received a quest from the System in the form of a new purple GUI with platinum text.
['Quests' Feature Unlocked! Daily Quest Assigned!
To Become A Hero! :
500 Push-Ups : 0/500
500 Sit Ups : 0/500
500 Squats : 0/500
50 Kilometer Run : 0/5000 Meters
Reward : 1 Gacha Spin And 2 Attribute Points]
'This'll be my first step to becoming a hero! In order to progress and rise to the top, I must first start by building my foundation!' I dropped to the ground in a push-up position, setting my bat aside. I suddenly adopted a 'serious' face, and started doing the push-ups. However, by the 50th push-up, I was greatly exhausted and breathing heavily
"I didn't think, Huff, It'd be this, Huff, difficult, damn it," I panted, being extremely exhausted by the workout. 'BUT! I have to strive forward! I must uncover the secrets of this world, and protect it!' With my rekindled determination, I felt a sense of vigor that I had never experienced before entering my body. All exhaustion seemingly vanished, as I continued my workout.