Daiki barely had any time to react. One moment, the thing was across the chamber, shifting like smoke with a terrifying look on its face. The very next, it was almost on top, claws launching at his face.
His body moved before his mind could catch up.
A sharp jolt fired through his chest, like a surge of static under his skin. Time didn't slow, but everything got clearer. Sound thinned out. His vision locked onto the Yurei's twisted face.
CRACK.
He dodged low and fast, unnaturally fast, barely dodging the fatal slash that would've surely lost him his life. The beast's claws slammed into the wall behind Daiki, imprinting a series of slashes into it. Sweat came from his forehead in the form of bullets. His heart pounded like a war drum.
Up in the darkened observation booth, Instructor Matsuda didn't flinch. He only leaned forward, watching closely, silently.
Down below, Daiki moved away from the beast to make space between the two. His hands were shaking, but it wasn't from fear. Not anymore.
Something was flowing through him.
Reiki.
It wasn't just pooling in his chest or leaking out through his body. It was actively and intensely rushing through his whole body, fueling his limbs, flooding his nerves, setting everything inside him on fire.
The Yurei turned. It came again, even faster this time.
Daiki planted his feet, dropped his hips, and swung.
Not like a martial artist, definitely not like a trained fighter.
Like a kid throwing a wild punch in a street fight.
But when his fist hit—
It hit.
It didn't pass through. It didn't bounce off. His punch carried a weight that shook the air. His punch landed with extreme force, and when it connected with the Yurei's core, it convulsed, howled, and got sent reeling backwards.
Matsuda's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So that's it. His Ketsugojin. It's reinforcing him."
In the center of the chamber, Daiki stumbled, staring at the palm of his hand. It was just like last time. A blue aura shrouded his fist. Faint lines of flaring light shimmered beneath his skin, pulsing with a reddish tint. They flickered in sync with his heartbeat.
"What... is this?" he gasped.
The Yurei shrieked and lunged again, desperate and much more erratic. But Daiki moved even faster now. His legs felt spring-loaded. His arms burned with unnatural strength that felt foreign to him.
He met the Yurei in the middle and struck again, this time with his entire body behind it.
BOOM.
Another explosive impact. A blast of compressed force rippled out from his strike as the Yurei was blasted backward. Symbols around the chamber lit up, filling the room with a bright shine. The creature's form twisted and writhed before disappearing into nothingness.
Silence.
Daiki dropped to one knee, panting. The glow in his veins faded slowly. Every muscle felt tight.
Overused.
It felt like his heart was going to pop out of his chest.
It was like his body had been in overdrive and was now crashing hard.
Instructor Matsuda entered alone, his footsteps slow and even.
Daiki looked up at him, balls of sweat dripping from his forehead.
"The chamber recorded a full-body Reiki acceleration pattern," Matsuda said plainly.
Daiki blinked.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Matsuda crouched slightly, his expression still completely unreadable.
"Your Ketsugojin forcibly converts emotional stress into physical reinforcement. The moment your survival instincts spike, your Reiki floods through your nervous system, musculature, and reflex pathways."
Daiki stared at him.
"...In actual language?"
At an almost scary speed, Matsuda's eyes shifted directly to his.
"It turns your desperation into movement."
The words landed this time.
Daiki looked down at his hand.
The fading blue glow still clung faintly to his knuckles.
Matsuda continued.
"Strength. Speed. Reflexes. Durability. Your body's natural adrenaline response is weaponized and amplified through Reiki."
His gaze sharpened.
"Your Ketsugojin is dangerous if uncontrolled."
Daiki flexed his fingers.
They REALLY hurt.
It felt like power had ripped through him instead of flowing through him.
"So that's why it feels like my body's going to blow up after?"
"Precisely."
Matsuda straightened.
"You are forcing your body beyond its normal physical limits. At your current level, prolonged use will result in muscular tearing, joint strain, nerve overload, and potentially organ stress."
Daiki's face twisted.
"....This power sounds terrible."
"It is not a flaw," Matsuda said flatly. "It's a control issue."
That line made Daiki pause.
Control.
Matsuda turned slightly toward the chamber wall where the symbols were still glowing.
"The Institute requires all newly observed Ketsugojin to be registered into the internal records."
His eyes returned to Daiki.
"It needs a designation."
Daiki frowned.
"A name?"
"Yes."
For a moment, Daiki just sat there, still trying to process the fight.
The moment the Yurei lunged.
The sharp jolt in his chest.
The way his whole body had moved before he could even think.
The violent, desperate rush that forced him forward.
A rush.
A shove.
A violent push past hesitation.
His eyes finally lifted.
"...Surge[1]," he said.
Matsuda was silent.
Daiki looked down at his bruised knuckles, remembering the way the power had exploded through his body.
"When it kicks in, it's like something just surges me forward."
A couple of seconds passed.
"So yeah. Surge."
Matsuda gave a simple nod.
"Appropriate," Matsuda said. "But now it's time you rest. Starting tomorrow, your coursework begins. You'll receive your schedule tomorrow morning."
Daiki blinked. "Wait, coursework? I ACTUALLY take classes here?"
Matsuda turned and began walking to the chamber door. "You survived your first test. That means you're a student now."
The door slid shut behind him.
Daiki let himself fall back against the ground, sweat soaking his sore body.
"That's great," he muttered. "I almost died, and now I've got to take classes."
And homework was probably the least terrifying thing this place would throw at him.
[1] Surge is Daiki's Ketsugojin. It channels his body's natural adrenaline, flight-or-fight response, and survival instincts and amplifies them with Reiki, temporarily enhancing his physical abilities to a superhuman level.