I got home that day more furious than ever. This was the first time I'd tasted defeat since my regression, and trust me, I didn't like the feeling. I sent a message to my tutor and called in sick without going into too much detail.
I was in no mood for class as all I had on my mind was revenge, and the rage I felt kept increasing by the minute.
The rest of the day went on as a blur, and nighttime came calling pretty quickly. I lay on my bed, dejected. I tried closing my eyes to sleep, but it didn't work.
I'd practically wasted the day away. I didn't go to class, I did no research on stocks and other money-making prospects, and I also missed my self-defense and martial arts session for that day.
I was mad at myself for letting my bad experience at the gym put a wedge on my goal progression, but I just couldn't help it.
When I finally came to and realized I had wasted the whole day complaining like an angered baby, I chastised myself.
Whenever a problem presents itself, instead of accepting it, you look for a means to procure a solution.
First of all, what did I need to do? The problem I faced now was that the bully at the gym's ego would have skyrocketed, and he would be as confident as ever.
The bullying is definitely not going to stop now, and I wracked my brain for a non-violent means to an end but couldn't seem to come up with any.
If I reported him to the gym officials and they took action, I would end up being called names by everyone in the gym, and it could lead to a confrontation outside the gym which was out of their jurisdiction.
I didn't have any friends in the gym, and most people would rather mind their business and wouldn't want to get involved, as he had a lot of friends and influence in the gym.
As I wrecked my brain for a solution and couldn't come up with any, a thought crossed my mind.
I remembered when the system offered a self-defense option, and wondered what that was about.
'I should start relying on the system more often; I'm still not fully aware of its origin and the possibilities it could produce. Maybe I'll just present this problem I'm facing to the system.' I thought.
"System!" I muttered.
"What is the full extent of your capabilities?"
'The code? What is that? I'm tempted to ask but right now I was more concerned with defeating my foe.' I thought.
"How can I overcome the issue I'm presented with?"
"Yes."
*Downloading Information…..*
*Download Complete*
[Yes] [No]
Yes.
Unlike the first time where I had a huge headache while trying to do an information transfer, I felt no pain this time. It was like a gentle breeze had washed over me, and I felt so relaxed.
*Transfer Complete*
"For now, no," I said, swiping to close the window.
I sat up on my bed and concentrated and was amazed by how many possibilities I could take to resolve the issue. The system really was powerful, and I had failed to maximize its full potential before.
That was a mistake, but now I would spend more time studying it.
After thinking for a while, I settled for an option. Even the system couldn't seem to produce a nonviolent method of resolving the issue, so I gave up on trying to be peaceful.
There was no way I would get out of this without a fight, and I settled on that.
-Purchase an ability with your SP from the SP shop.
This was the option I'd picked.
I didn't exactly know what it meant, but I was about to find out.
"System, open my status window," I said, and it opened.
[Status Window]
Name: Damon Darhk
Age: 18 years
Occupation: Student
Current Status: Healthy/Unemployed
HP: 100/100 (Fully recovered)
SP: 25
{Additional Information}
The host currently faces a problem that he fervently searches for a solution to.
[End Of Information]
'Hmm, just 25 SP, that feels like it's too little,' I thought.
"Open the SP shop," I said.
What I saw next blew my mind away. The SP shop had everything one could dream of for sale. I was in the abilities section and had access to powers, powers that you would only see possessed by characters in comic books.
I scrolled through and couldn't keep my jaw shut. Telekinesis for 5000 SP, Invisibility for 10000 SP, and there were some crazy skills as well like -The Great One and Maelstrom for millions of SP.
I was very mad at myself for not realizing all this until now, and chastised myself for neglecting the system, but all that was going to change.
I would maximize the system to its full potential and gain crazy abilities. 'This regression just got a whole lot crazier,' I thought.
Still in shock by my new discovery, I decided not to neglect the task at hand, and after scrolling for hours, I finally found what I was looking for, a low rank skill called *Foresight.*
Foresight would allow me to see fractions of seconds into the future, whenever the system determined I was in danger, or whenever I chose to activate it.
I opened the details of the skill and read through it.
Duration - 1 minute
C.D - 5 minutes (can only be used thrice per day)
Stamina cost - 20
Price - 25 SP
[Yes] [No]
This skill had a lot of drawbacks and had limited use, which was why I could understand why it was low-ranked and had a low SP cost, but it was exactly what I needed.
If I did happen to get into a fight with the guy at the gym, I could win without breaking a sweat as long as I could get it over with in a minute.
This was enough for me; this was my first of many abilities, and I couldn't help but wonder how far I would go eventually.
"Yes!" I muttered.