'But how am I going to earn enough points now?' he thought seriously. Right now, what he needed most was the basic physique and basic combat ability so he could defend himself against the fatty Lonart and his gang.
Lonart was from a wealthy family. If he reported him to the authorities, they might not be able to do anything. After all, he was just a nameless nobody. Besides, now that all his bruises were gone, they might not even believe him.
"I think those two abilities are a must now if I don't want to die a second time," he thought seriously.
There was a disturbance up ahead as a little crowd gathered. In the middle of the crowd, three girls were walking together. The crowd parted for them. The three were very beautiful, but the most eye-catching was the dark-haired girl in the middle.
She stood about 5.2 ft tall, had hazel-colored eyes, and a very stunning body. Her chest area was very generous—Abel's eyes were glued to her huge chest. He swallowed.
The girl's name was Anna, the school belle. The reason why Abel almost died.
That day, Abel and his friend had a wager. His friend Mathew dared him to ask the school belle out on a date. He would receive twenty thousand credits if he succeeded.
Abel was really tempted. His rent of ten thousand credits was already due, and he also had to pay his school fees. He had been doing menial work to cover his rent, his father was mostly drunk most of the time and hardly helps, he will only urge him to work harder as a man.
To him, twenty thousand credits was a huge amount. But to a third-generation nouveau riche like Mathew, it was nothing.
That day, Abel had foolishly waited for her at the gate and asked her out on a date. He was expecting her to lash out at him or even give him a slap. He didn't mind, so long as he was able to win the wager.
Unexpectedly, none of the things he thought would happen actually did. Anna only blushed and told him, "Next time." Abel was confused. He couldn't fathom what the beauty was thinking.
Of course, even if the beauty let him off, there seemed to be others who wouldn't.
Seeing her again, Abel thought she looked even more beautiful than yesterday.
As if she was aware of his gaze, she waved at him to come over.
Abel stood rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do. 'What's the worst that could happen?' he thought. With the system, Abel was now more confident than ever.
He walked toward her. The students who saw this were all shocked. Ding! Ding! The system notifications kept sounding in his head. He ignored them for now and walked to the school belle with a small smile on his face.
Anna scrutinized him. "You look kinda different today," she commented. The other girls were also looking at him curiously.
No matter how thick-skinned he was, Abel couldn't help but blush slightly. He couldn't believe how bold she was.
"Anyway, I've been paying attention to you, Abel, and your results haven't been all that good recently. If you continue like this…"
Abel was surprised. She actually called him over to tell him this? It showed how good of a person she was, considering they barely knew each other. They weren't even in the same class. Although they were both final-year students, she was in Class A while he was in Class B.
"This... okay, I'll pay attention and study harder," he said. Perhaps, with the system, he didn't really need to work that hard, right?
Anna was satisfied with his answer and nodded. After she left with her friends, Abel was left standing alone, and now everybody's eyes were on him. Some were filled with envy and jealousy; others were just awed.
He didn't mind all the looks he was getting, because his points kept increasing, bringing a satisfied smile to his lips as he strolled to class.
All the boys in the class looked excited. He smiled wryly, fully aware of the reason.
Soon, the teacher came in for the morning class. It was one of his compulsory subjects—Computer Science. The teacher looked very young, around twenty years old. Considering that everyone in the class was over seventeen, she could easily be mistaken for a student.
Abel's eyes trailed her body. She was very beautiful and shapely. His eyes especially sparkled as he looked at her ample chest area. She was well-endowed.
All the boys in the class were unusually attentive and well-behaved, causing the girls to be speechless. They looked at the teacher with gazes filled with jealousy. Some even stole a glance at her ample breasts, then looked at their barely developed ones—and just gave up.
Abel was oblivious to all this as he kept staring at the teacher with a funny grin.
"What's with that creepy smile of yours, Abel?" she glared at him, making her appear even more cute.
"You're especially more beautiful today, Miss Alicia."
Alicia was left speechless, seeing the way he flirted so boldly. She simply glared at him and continued her teaching. She didn't think too much of it. It wasn't the first time he had teased her like this.
'Someone that even dared to hit on the school belle... He sure has a death wish. If only he knew her status and the status of her suitors,' Alicia reminisced, not taking any offense.
The other boys snickered but didn't say a word. Some wished they had as much courage as he did. The girls looked at him in disdain—the goose lusting after the swan.
They all felt he was doing too much, especially considering his little scandal with the school belle, Anna...
Morning class was over
During the break period, Abel sat in the cafeteria while perusing his system skills.
'There are lots of good skills and knowledge here, but they're all costly,' he thought, looking at his system points.
"300 system points," Abel laughed, looking at the three skills he had decided to buy: basic combat ability, basic physique, and Mind's Eye. As a first-time gift, the system had tripled the reaction points he earned today, which gave him such a large amount.
Name: Mind's Eye
Type: Passive
Effect: Grants the user perfect eidetic memory, allowing them to recall anything they've ever seen, read, or heard with flawless accuracy. In addition, their brain automatically processes and understands new information at an accelerated rate. Complex languages, magical formulas, battle patterns, and ancient scripts can be deciphered and learned in moments.
Advanced Effects:
Insight Surge: Temporarily boosts comprehension to superhuman levels, allowing instant mastery of anything after a brief exposure.
Archive Manifestation: Allows the user to project a mental image of contents he had seen before into the real world (like a visual hologram).
Reverse Decode: Can see something once (like a broken magical formation, hard mathematics, etc.) and instantly reverse-engineer how it works.
He was satisfied with the description of Mind's Eye. It was an ability he truly needed right now if he was going to pass the national exam. He didn't want to just pass—he wanted to pass with flying colors and shock even his old pa in the village.
His face darkened when he saw the reaction points needed to unlock it: 250 system points for the basic feature alone, without the advanced effects.
'I think I should buy the basic combat ability and basic physique first,' he thought. He still needed to be wary of that fatty and his cronies. He decided to buy it later when he got back to his apartment.
The two abilities would cost 100 points each, leaving him with only 100 points.
This caused him to frown deeply. "How do I earn reaction points now?" he thought seriously. "Yes! Why haven't I thought of this before?" He jumped in excitement.
There was an underground fighting arena in the southern area of Westlake. The southern area was like a different world compared to the main parts of Westlake that people knew. There were lots of illegal activities like gambling, dog fighting, and stealing. 'After I purchase the two abilities, I'll be able to fight there to get reaction points. But I must not reveal my identity.'
He decided.
A few hours later, school was over. He quickly went home. The landlady was outside smoking. She was wearing bumshorts and a crop top.
Abel could see she wasn't wearing anything else under the crop top. He swallowed while stealing glances—especially at her large chest area. He couldn't help but also look at her sexy, long legs. The landlady was so beautiful and hot.
She noticed how he was looking at her and smirked.
"Smelly brat, what are you doing staring at a woman like that? Haven't you seen a beautiful woman like me before?"
Abel immediately retracted his eyes. His face burned hot with shame. He didn't notice he was being rude just now. He had just been amazed by the landlady's hot figure and didn't mean to stare.
He hurried inside. He could hear the landlady's laughter behind him. That woman must be satisfied that she managed to tease him.