Yuki Asahi’s steady breathing was the only sound in the room.
The wound on his arm was healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
He stood there, his Golden Eyes sweeping over Ryota Ando and Kenichi Matsumoto lying on the ground, before finally settling on Tsubasa Kubo in the shadows.
A pressure originating from the purest form of power itself permeated the air, heavy enough to be suffocating.
Ryota Ando lay flat on the ground, staring at the rapidly closing wound on Yuki Asahi’s arm and those cold, Golden Eyes.
He recalled the terrifying strength that had nearly crushed his wrist just moments ago and the miserable sight of Matsumoto being sent flying by a single punch.
The arrogance and disdain on his face had completely vanished, replaced only by deep-seated fear and lingering dread.
He had no doubt that if Yuki Asahi had wanted to kill him just now, he wouldn’t have even had the chance to react.
“I… I surrender!”
Ryota Ando’s voice trembled as he struggled to speak.
He no longer dared to look Yuki Asahi in the eye.
Kenichi Matsumoto struggled to sit up, clutching his agonizing chest.
He looked at the metal spheres scattered across the floor and then at Yuki Asahi, his gaze filled with extreme complexity.
He finally understood that the other man hadn’t been weak last time; he had truly been holding back.
This terrifying strength and regenerative power…
Was he really human?
“The Captain’s strength… I accept it,” Kenichi Matsumoto said, lowering his head and forcing the words out.
The golden light in Yuki Asahi’s eyes slowly receded, and the oppressive pressure dissipated along with it.
He walked up to Matsumoto and reached out a hand.
“Can you get up?”
Kenichi Matsumoto froze for a moment, looking at Yuki Asahi’s extended hand and the calm concern that had returned to his eyes.
After a moment of silence, he took the hand and pulled himself up.
“Thank… thank you, Captain.”
His voice was low, but the previous hostility was gone.
Yuki Asahi then turned his gaze toward Ryota Ando.
Ando flinched and quickly scrambled to his feet on his own, keeping his head down, not daring to speak.
“Go and tend to your injuries,” Yuki Asahi said softly.
“Understood.”
Only Reina Hayami and the ever-silent Tsubasa Kubo remained on the field.
“I never once doubted your strength, Yuki.”
Reina Hayami approached Yuki Asahi, a slight smile appearing on her face.
“Those two haven’t experienced the GPRI Hunter Incident.”
Reina Hayami was part of the original batch of the Superpower Awakening, so she naturally didn’t look down on Yuki Asahi’s status as a High School Student.
“Uh… thanks.”
Yuki Asahi pulled away awkwardly — Reina Hayami was leaning in so close she was almost pressed against him.
“Let’s continue.”
***
Inside the observation window above, Kotaro Mizuki and Mark, who had just finished their warm-up, were watching the situation below.
Kotaro Mizuki wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and whispered, “Mr. Yuki is indeed the Young Lady’s man. So powerful.”
As a DRG employee, he had naturally heard the “rumor.”
Though, by now, the rumor was no longer a rumor.
“Alright, that’s it for daytime training,”
Mark said, clapping his hands.
“Time to go to ‘work,’ Miss Mizuki Hoshi.”
Kotaro Mizuki felt an immediate sense of relief — he didn’t want to spend another second in this body.
Whirrr —
The faint sound of bones shrinking, the strange tugging sensation of fat converting into muscle fiber, and a familiar, light floral scent replaced the smell of sweat.
The heavy burden vanished instantly, and a sense of lightness returned.
Kotaro Mizuki — no, she was now Mizuki Hoshi — slowly opened those pale blue eyes.
They were filled with exhaustion, yet she strove to maintain the radiance belonging to an idol.
She stood up, her slender frame looking somewhat lost inside the oversized training Uniform.
“Good work, Miss Hoshi.”
Mark handed her an exquisite makeup bag and a neatly folded idol stage outfit.
“Today you’re going to the GSAC Ability Certification Center for a live promotion and fan interaction. Your assistant is already waiting outside.”
Mizuki Hoshi took the items and replied in a low voice, “Yes, I understand.”
She quickly entered the dressing room, changed into the cute stage outfit adorned with stars, and carefully touched up her makeup in a small mirror to hide the dark circles under her eyes.
The face in the Mirror, perfectly beautiful to an unrealistic degree, was the armor she relied on to survive — and also the Sword of Damocles hanging over her head.
***
The air in the low-rent Shinjuku Ward apartment still carried the lingering scent of instant curry.
Cuiyue looked at the few crumpled ten thousand yen notes Mr. Sato had stuffed into her hand, her heart filled with a mixture of emotions.
“Just take it.”
Sato scratched his thinning hair, looking a bit embarrassed.
“Go buy some necessities… You need a Mobile Phone, right? You can’t get anywhere these days without one.”
He paused and added, “Consider it… payment for helping me clean this pigsty.”
Cuiyue looked at this stranger whose back was bent by the weight of life and finally nodded.
“Thank you, Mr. Sato. I will keep it clean.”
She used the money to buy the cheapest smartphone at a second-hand electronics store and set up an anonymous prepaid card.
Passing by a Convenience Store, she bought some bread, water, and basic toiletries.
Returning to Sato’s cluttered little Apartment, she rolled up her sleeves and began to fulfill her “payment.”
She mopped the dust-covered floor until it shone, cleared away the mountains of empty beer cans and instant food packaging, and even wiped the windows until they were crystal clear.
When Sato returned from work, he almost thought he had walked into the wrong door.
“This… this is too clean!”
He rubbed his hands together awkwardly.
“You… you didn’t have to do all this…”
“It was the agreed payment.”
Cuiyue needed this temporary shelter, and she also needed the peace of mind brought by this small “Trade.”
She took out her new phone and clumsily searched for “GSAC” and “Ability Certification locations.”
***
The lobby of the certification center was teeming with people, the atmosphere buzzing with excitement.
Huge electronic screens scrolled through videos showcasing various cool superpowers and GSAC promotional films.
The promotional booth for the Southern Cross was so crowded with fans it was practically impassable.
Mizuki Hoshi stood on a small, temporary stage, a sweet smile she had practiced countless times plastered on her face as she conducted a simple Q&A session.
The spotlights made her cheeks feel hot.
“Hoshi! Look over here!”
“Hoshi is so cute today, too!”
The screams of the fans and the flashing lights made her feel a bit dazed.
Just then, her gaze unintentionally swept over a young girl passing through the crowd.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Ash-gray hair was tied loosely behind the girl’s head, and she wore a large black mask, revealing only a pair of calm, blood-colored eyes.
‘Lady Jiang Jian?’
Mizuki Hoshi’s heart skipped a beat, and she almost blurted out “Lady Jiang Jian.”
But in the next second, her gaze subconsciously fell to the girl’s chest — there were full, obvious feminine curves, filling out the ordinary gray hoodie into an alluring arc.
‘Oh, it’s definitely not Lady Jiang Jian…’
Mizuki Hoshi immediately dismissed her absurd thought.
‘Lady Jiang Jian… is flat.’
This person, although her temperament was somewhat cold and her eyes held an indescribable sense of familiarity… that overly impressive bust size completely ruled out the possibility of her being Jiang Jian Yue.
‘Probably just a coincidence. Or maybe a similar Ability?’
Mizuki Hoshi forced herself to look away and refocused her attention on the stage interaction.
Cuiyue walked with her hands in her pockets, hurrying past the groups of idol fans who smelled of sweat, her brow slightly furrowed.
She had just finished registering her information and was idly observing this futuristic certification center.
Her gaze was also drawn to the lively scene over at the booth.
The beautiful girl with long black hair, dressed in a gorgeous performance outfit and called “Hoshi,” was indeed very pretty — the type of person one would remember at a single glance.
Cuiyue couldn’t help but look twice, marveling at how dazzling the idols of this World were.
But that was all.
She had no interest in idol culture; to her, the girl was merely a beautiful stranger.
“Next, Miss Cuiyue,” an electronic voice announced.
Cuiyue retracted her gaze and walked to the center of the designated circular certification platform.
The platform was surrounded by precision sensors and recording equipment.
A staff member in a GSAC Uniform stood behind a console.
“Please demonstrate and describe your Ability, Miss Cuiyue. Don’t be nervous; this is just basic information entry,”
the staff member said in a routine tone.
Cuiyue took a deep breath and slowly raised her right hand, spreading her five fingers.
There were no earth-shattering light effects or the scorching heat of rising flames.
An extremely faint, pale gray flame, like a Ghost, quietly emerged about ten centimeters above her palm.
It lacked the temperature of a physical flame; even the surrounding air didn’t ripple in the slightest.
“Uh… what is the limit of this flame?”
Whoosh —
The pale gray flame shot upward, and a few sparks even landed on the staff member.
“Ugh!”
The staff member closest to the certification platform suddenly groaned.
His face turned as pale as paper in an instant, and large beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He suddenly clutched his heart, his legs going weak as he nearly collapsed to his knees.
His eyes were filled with an indescribable fear and pain, as if something had taken a vicious bite out of the depths of his soul.
Hiss…
Several other staff members standing nearby also gasped and involuntarily took a few steps back, their faces filled with shock and suspicion.
Cuiyue, still on the platform, seemed stunned for a moment.
A flash of shock crossed her Blood Pupils before she immediately closed her hand.
The eerie, pale gray flame dissipated soundlessly into the air.
The bone-chilling cold that had made their souls tremble vanished along with it.
“Sorry… I’m sorry!”
Cuiyue’s voice came through her mask, tinged with panic.
“I… I didn’t mean to. I didn’t think it would be like that…”
She looked at the staff member who was leaning against the console, gasping for air with a face that still looked terrible, her gaze complicated.
The staff member behind the console endured the discomfort and quickly recorded the data into the system, his voice trembling slightly.
“Name of the Ability?”
“Wan… Wanhua.”
Cuiyue hesitated for a moment before giving the name she had used for registration — one she had just made up.
“Effect?”
“…Burning… the soul?”
Cuiyue wasn’t entirely sure herself.
She had simply followed her inner instinct, but it had caused an effect far beyond her expectations.
The staff member tapped the keyboard rapidly.
He hesitated for a moment on the risk assessment column before finally typing: “Initial Assessment: Special effect, strong spiritual aggression, requires further observation. Danger Level: Pending (B-rank?)”
He pressed the confirm key and handed her an electronic card with Cuiyue’s temporary photo and certification number.
“Alright, Miss Cuiyue, your initial certification is complete.”
“Please keep an eye on the GSAC official website or your email for follow-up arrangements. Please… please use your Ability carefully.”
Cuiyue took the card and looked at the photo of the gray-haired, red-eyed girl wearing a mask.
“Is it okay to wear a mask?” she asked.
“It’s fine. Someone even came in wearing a KFC paper bag on their head once.”
You go in to tournament to test your skills and make some dough only to have your existence erased without even the chance for reincarnation