"System, the first and the last time?"
[What?]
"That. I'm not sure how, but if you ever do something like last time again, I'll make sure to sever myself from you somehow," said Yuuji.
Yuuji had already thought of a way to get rid of the system if it ever did that again, since he didn't want his life to be controlled, although he wasn't sure if it would work, since he didn't know everything about the system.
He spent the whole night furious and thinking of ways to get revenge on the system, and surprisingly, once his anger faded and he was able to think more calmly, he realized that what he had come up with wasn't actually that bad.
Far from being a childish tantrum, they seemed like real plans, it might have something to do with Master Management but, as long as it involved planning, his mind always thought logically without being influenced by emotions.
Putting that aside, among the plans he came up with, he chose the one that seemed most viable. Although it still remained to be seen not only if it was possible, but also if it would even be necessary.
After that, another thing he had been thinking about was his abilities. He had too many, and many of them were too weak or too specific.
Honestly, Yuuji wasn't some kind of combat master or anything like that, even though technically he could be if he tried hard enough, he just felt too lazy.
Because of that, knowing when to use an energy punch ability, when to use the one that turned him into a cockroach, or when to use the one that shot sand became annoying.
So, using the greatest guide for ability usage for transmigrators in history, video games, he decided to focus only on a few and strengthen them.
This obviously leaves aside things like martial arts or slime body, which will naturally still be used individually.
And as for why he says individually, it's because, to improve other abilities, he thought of using them together.
Luckily, or maybe not, since Yuuji strongly suspects the gacha is rigged, many abilities have extremely good synergy with each other, which allowed him to develop a few very strong combinations by using them together, even if it wasn't truly fusing them.
The first, and also the most obvious, is one whose abilities are so synergistic that it made Yuuji think the system wasn't even trying to hide it.
The combination of three abilities:
Rough Knuckle, an ability that releases energy from inside the body in a single powerful strike.
Lightning Absorption, an ability that absorbs lightning and turns it into energy inside the body.
And Storm Call, an ability that summons a storm of lightning and controls where it strikes.
So, Yuuji combined the ability that summons lightning, the one that absorbs lightning to convert it into energy, and the one that releases energy through a punch.
He didn't bother naming it, but it was basically an extremely powerful strike.
If he used it together with Widen, whose effect is to expand the area of an ability without weakening it, applied to Storm Call, then it would be even more powerful.
And if he also added Perfect Unknowable, whose effect is to completely erase the user's presence unless they attack, then he would have an incredibly powerful surprise attack.
The second, however, wasn't so much for offense, but more for terrain control.
It involved using Sandstream, which can only create a small amount of sand, together with Widen to create a massive sandstorm.
While it wouldn't deal much damage since it's just sand, it would work as a kind of massive smoke bomb to hide in a group battle.
Not to mention if he also added Perfect Unknowable to the mix.
Although, given the exact conditions required to use it, it's unlikely Yuuji will use it anytime soon.
The third is once again another suspiciously synergistic combination.
It involves Earthbending and Building, since each one compensates for the other's weakness.
Earthbending is an incredible ability, capable of controlling the earth element, massive areas spanning dozens of kilometers could be controlled with it.
The problem is that it requires training, a lot of training, to control and understand how to use it, it's like Yuuji has a massive construction crew full of professionals but no blueprint.
On the other hand, Building is the opposite, it allows Yuuji to create large earth structures, up to the size of a building, with ease, but it takes a long time to do so.
The reason for the delay is that the ability provides very little power, since it focuses more on constructing rather than manipulating earth itself. It's like Yuuji has hundreds of blueprints in his mind, but only a small team of inexperienced workers.
By using them together, Yuuji can build entire structures in seconds, or throw massive chunks of earth into the sky and control them like meteors crashing down on his enemies.
Way too synergistic not to be suspicious.
Lastly, the combination Yuuji likes the most.
Until now, Yuuji didn't have any long range abilities except Sandstream, but it barely launched a bit of sand.
This forced him to get close to his enemies most of the time and prevented him from attacking from a distance.
But now, using Outgun, he can transform any material he touches into any firearm he can imagine.
The first thing that came to mind were the Nichirin ingots from Demon Slayer that he obtained, but after trying it, he realized it wasn't actually the strongest material, it's comparable to a good weapon, sure, but if that's what Yuuji wanted he could just buy one. What he wanted was something lethal, something that looked simple and elegant like a normal weapon but had devastating power.
And Nichirin is only strong in Demon Slayer because of its anti demon properties.
So, while thinking about what to use the ability on, he noticed the description says "any" material, so he decided to try something, transmuting other existing items.
To his surprise, it worked.
Among all his items, Yuuji immediately used it on the strongest one he had, Kamish's Wrath.
The effect was exactly what Yuuji wanted.
A small and elegant weapon, with energetic red and dark black colors, but with devastating power.
After testing it, Yuuji was sure he could kill mid level demons with a single shot, and a few shots would be enough for high level ones.
As for accuracy, Yuuji already had a clone practicing shooting twenty four hours a day at a shooting range he had completely rented out.
Thus, these are Yuuji's current combinations if we include only the full version with all variables of each one.
[Perfect Unknowable] + [Widen] + [Storm Call] + [Lightning Absorption] + [Rough Knuckle]
[Perfect Unknowable] + [Widen] + [Sandstream]
[Earthbending] + [Widen] + [Building]
[Outgun] + [Kamish's Wrath]
"By the way, where do these things even come from?" After finishing with that, Yuuji asked the system something he had wondered for a long time.
The system replied while Yuuji got ready for high school.
[They all come from the Chaos Gacha]
"Yeah, but what is the Chaos Gacha? How is it possible that it has everything that exists in the multiverse?"
[No one knows what the Chaos Gacha is, the most accepted theory says there is an ancient being capable of recording everything that happens in the omniverse and that a crack in its records lets things fall out, but it is only a theory, another says it is a backdoor to the Akashic Records]
"A being more powerful than you systems and those behind you?" Yuuji asked with curiosity.
[Of course]
"How is that possible? You control something more powerful than yourselves?"
[We do not control the Chaos Gacha, we only use it]
"Isn't that dangerous? What if something so powerful comes out that even you can't control it, or someone tries to use it against you?"
[If that is what chaos wills, then so be it]
"You sound like a fanatic cultist" Yuuji said mockingly before walking through the black door that led him to high school.
But as soon as he crossed it, his expression immediately changed to confusion.
"What is this?" he said as he looked at the lively scene in front of him.
What should have been a normal high school, with students dressed the same and entering in an almost orderly manner, was now filled with people running around and far too many strangers for Yuuji's liking.
It was only when he saw the banner above the school entrance that Yuuji understood what was happening.
"'Welcome everyone to Sainan High School's Sports Festival'" Yuuji murmured as he read the colorful sign with drawings of people running.
"Yuuji? Why are you just standing there?"
When Yuuji approached, stopping in front of the entrance, Yui, who was at the entrance as always, questioned his strange behavior.
"Kotegawa, why is the sports festival today?"
"Hm? What do you mean why? It's late May, this is the normal time for most high schools" Yui replied.
"Then why am I only finding out now?"
"Well, it might have something to do with the fact that you were absent for an entire month until last week?" even though it should have been a guess, Yuuji could feel the reproach in Yui's gaze and tone, along with a bit of "you deserve this" and "this will teach you."
Knowing he had no real way to argue back, since it was true, Yuuji simply nodded and entered the school reluctantly.
After pushing through quite a crowd, which slowed him down, Yuuji finally reached the classroom, where he found a sign written on a sheet of paper and taped to the door.
[If you arrive late, change into your gym uniform and go to...]
"I really hope they didn't write this just for me" Yuuji muttered before entering.
Although, given that it looked handwritten at the last minute and hastily put up rather than prepared in advance, Yuuji had plenty of reasons to assume it was.
Three minutes later, he came out of the classroom again. He was no longer wearing his usual uniform, instead he now had on a white shirt and dark gray shorts, the gym uniform.
Ignoring the looks of some students around him who were running in a hurry and glanced at him like a fellow participant as they passed by, Yuuji headed toward the school field.
In a tent near the corner, he found his class.
"Yuuji! I knew you'd be late"
"Yay! I knew we'd need that sign"
Risa and Mío smiled as if they had predicted everything that would happen and high fived each other as soon as he arrived.
"It's not exactly hard to guess that Yuuji wouldn't come early" said Saruyama from the side while moving some boxes, downplaying their achievement and earning an annoyed look from both of them.
"Looks like you know me well, huh?" Yuuji smiled as he greeted everyone before contradicting them. "However, I didn't come late on purpose"
"Yuuji probably didn't even know today was the sports festival, right?" said a voice behind him, accurately guessing his thoughts.
Hearing it, Yuuji cursed in his mind, 'I wish I were the one practicing shooting right now'
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)