With two aspects infused into his body, it was now night, and tomorrow, the competition would start. Going to bed, Daron decided he would infuse the healing power aspect before he left for school. He wasn't going to be going first in the competition, and it didn't start for him until noon. He would have time to restore his energy.
Waking up, he closed the task notification and started the infusion process once more.
He released the healing energy from the inner energy flow and willed it into his muscles.
[Energy being infused into muscles]
[Healing Power temporarily increased]
[-50 Energy/Min]
As soon as he infused the energy into his muscles, he went to infuse it into his bones.
[Energy being infused into bones]
[Healing Power temporarily increased]
[-100 Energy/Min]
With only the organs left, they absorbed the energy, leaving Daron with little.
[Energy being infused into organs]
[Healing Power temporarily increased]
[-150 Energy/Min]
[Progress added in Physique tab]
[Skill unlocked: Aspect Infusion]
At the mention of a skill being unlocked, Daron was pleased as it meant he wouldn't have to focus if he wanted to use it in the future. With the competition just ahead of him in a couple of hours, perhaps it would be useful.
Heading towards school, all the students were in an excited mood for the competition ahead. Even Daron himself was feeling excited, wanting to see if he could truly win the competition. From what he understood of the system, it didn't seem to give quests he would have no chance to achieve. Which meant that even when he had just gained the system, it believed he would be able to win. This thought spurred him on to do his best and change what everyone had decided the outcome would be before the fight even started. He would win this competition and prove that body physiques could be just as good as an ability domain.
Arriving at Mr. Gail's room, Daron found that only Mr. Gail, himself, and the other competitor, Sarah Lussie, were there.
"Ah, Daron, you've arrived." Mr. Gail smiled. "Any more progress in that technique?"
"I can infuse the aspects of my physique into my body without any thought necessary," Daron answered. Of course, he could only do that thanks to his system, but Mr. Gail didn't know that.
Mr. Gail laughed and replied, "Boy, you have a chance of winning this. Do your best."
Daron nodded, and then Mr. Gail addressed them both.
"Now, it'll be a tough battle ahead of you both. Sarah, I'm sorry to say, but you will lose. I think you already know that, though," Mr. Gail said.
Sarah sighed. "Yes. It's bad luck that I was put up against a speed type ability domain. If it was another one, maybe I could've had the slightest chance of winning the first round, but alas. I'll just try to last as long as I can."
Mr. Gail nodded. "Good, good. As for you, Daron. You're going up against Julian Parker. He has the ability domain of Forceful Chains. From his palms, he can shoot out chains that cause immense damage to the opponent. Your physique is quite fitted to go against his ability domain because of your healing power and constitution. But, the real treachery of the ability domain is its effect on the nervous system. When the chains hit, they cause an indescribable pain where they land. Even if you think you can handle pain, trust me, you will not be able to handle it. You must try to focus through the pain and attack him. If you can just get close enough, you can defeat him. His ability domain is useful for offensive, but it's quite difficult to use if for defense. While your physique focuses on both. Now, I know infusing your aspects uses energy, so I encourage you to try not to use it during your first fight. If you can win the first fight without it, then you can move on to the next round with your full power."
"I understand, Mr. Gail," Daron said.
"Wonderful. Now, let's go to the competition area, shall we? We have something to do before the competition," Mr. Gail said.
Heading over to the competition area, a boxing style ring set up in the gymnasium of the school, they found a few people standing there discussing some things.
"Ah, Mr. Gail, welcome. Are these your representatives?" The man said, looking at both Daron and Sarah.
"Yes. This is Sarah Lussie and Daron Finley," Mr. Gail said.
"Alright. You can head on over to the representatives area," the man said.
Leading them over to another area, they entered a side room in the gymnasium. The room looked like a waiting room, and Mr. Gail led them to an assortment of three seats as they all sat down.
After a few minutes, another man came over to talk to them.
"Hello, I'm Mr. Demurre, the interviewer for the school competition. I'll be asking Mr. Gail some questions before moving over to you two," Mr. Demurre said.
Nodding along, Mr. Demurre asked Mr. Gail his first question.
"Do you believe that either one of your students today has a chance of winning the competition?"
Mr. Gail smiled. "I absolutely believe one of them does."
Mr. Demurre raised his eyebrow at Mr. Gail. "Really? The times I've asked you this question before, you have always said otherwise. What's different this time?"
"You know of that bookshelf I keep in my room, yes?" Mr. Gail said.
Nodding, Mr. Demurre said, "The one for students who have reached all they could with the normal curriculum?"
"Precisely. Though they have only just obtained the book, they've learned the first skill of the technique already. In my own estimate, it should take around two weeks to get to that point, and yet, it hasn't even been a few days." Mr. Gail smiled.
Turning to the students, Mr. Demurre sized both of them up. "Which one of you is he speaking of?"
Sarah turned to look at Daron, who had raised his hand a little to indicate it was him.
"What does this skill allow you to do? How far do you think you are into the technique Mr. Gail has given you?" Mr. Demurre asked.
"The skill allows me to infuse the aspects of my physique into my body, temporarily increasing them. As for how far I think I am into the technique, I would say around six percent," Daron said. Of course, this wasn't an estimate. He knew that was how far he was into the technique.
"Would you say that's an accurate percentage, Mr. Gail?"
"It's a perfect estimate." Mr. Gail looked at Daron.
"Well, I think that's enough interviewing. Sorry, little lady, but people only want the interesting things to be reported." Mr. Demurre said, staring at Sarah in the last part before he walked off.
Sarah shook her and sighed. As Mr. Demurre left, the intercom of the school had indicated for all students to report to the gymnasium. It was time for the competition to start.