Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1510 How can a hero slack off!
It looks the most "normal," with no particularly outstanding advantages or particularly fatal flaws.

Easy to use, good balance... this seems to be the most suitable choice for his current situation.

He doesn't need a glamorous start; he just needs a tool that will allow him to struggle to survive in the next crisis.

A sword, at least, can stab, slash, and parry (although its effectiveness is certainly not as good as a shield), making it a compromise and a "jack-of-all-trades" choice.

and……

"Fine, this will do. At least it looks like something a proper 'hero' should have... even if it's just for an apprentice."

With a hint of self-mockery and resigned helplessness, Hachiman Hikigaya used his mind to lock onto the icon of the [Steel Knight Longsword] and selected [Claim].

The moment the selection was completed, the row of weapon icons disappeared along with the email window.

On the main interface, a small red "1" appears next to the [Mail] icon, indicating that there is a new email (receive confirmation).

Hachiman Hikigaya immediately sensed that an extra item had appeared in his "inventory"—a grid-like space that could be perceived by thought.

He couldn't "see" it clearly, but he could clearly sense its presence: cold, heavy, and with the unique texture of metal.

That's a sword.

[Item: Steel Knight's Longsword (Apprentice) has been stored in the Hero's Space. It can be summoned to the real world through mental power (requires a small amount of mental energy). Note: Summoning items to the real world may attract unnecessary attention.]

"A space for heroes? Summoning with thoughts? And it consumes mental energy... This setting is starting to make sense."

Hachiman Hikigaya lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

The city lights outside the window shone through the thin curtains, casting blurry, shimmering spots of light on the ceiling.

Physical fatigue surged like a tide, but mental excitement continued.

Everything I experienced today felt like a bizarre nightmare, but the presence of that cold longsword in my inventory felt incredibly real.

Apprentice Hero... System... Monster... "He"...

"It seems that my peaceful high school life in pursuit of 'real things'... is completely over."

He muttered something under his breath, turned over, and buried his face in the pillow that smelled faintly of laundry detergent.

With my eyes closed, the shadows of the abandoned factory, the distorted outlines of monsters, the cold system interface, and the longsword hanging in my inventory spun through my mind like a revolving lantern.

Fear, relief, confusion, and a hint of curiosity about the unknown forces... all these emotions intertwined.

Trouble. Huge trouble. This is a hundred or a thousand times more troublesome than any part-time job or any interpersonal relationship.

but……

Komachi's worried face reappeared in his mind, as did the warmth that greeted him when he opened the door.

"...Fine, whatever trouble it may be."

In the darkness, Hachiman Hikigaya muttered to his pillow, "At least, I can still see Komachi's face tomorrow... and I can still eat her slightly salty miso soup."

This is the most precious "real thing" that he, as the "apprentice hero" Hachiman Hikigaya, can grasp at this moment.

As for what the future holds, how to use that sword, and what pitfalls the system still holds... he can leave these troubles for tomorrow.

The combined physical and mental strain finally overwhelmed the excitement, and his heavy eyelids slowly closed.

Just before drifting off to sleep, a vague thought flashed through my mind: Tomorrow... I need to figure out how to earn money to repair the car.

Being a "hero" doesn't seem to come with a meal.

The pressures of reality were not lessened in the slightest by the supernatural encounter.

Consciousness, like an anchor sunk in the deep sea, was forcibly dragged out by a violent force.

Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly opened his eyes, only to be greeted not by the gradually brightening morning light, but by a sharp pain that seemed to tear his nerves apart.

The pain did not come from a specific wound, but rather felt like countless tiny, scorching steel needles piercing through his bones and muscles in an instant, exploding at every nerve ending.

It ruthlessly crushed his drowsy sleepiness, roughly throwing him back to reality from his brief refuge of forgetfulness.

His body convulsed uncontrollably, and short, hoarse gasps escaped his throat, like a fish thrown ashore struggling in vain.

Cold sweat broke out almost simultaneously, soaking through my hair and the thin nightgown on my back, bringing waves of chills.

“Ugh…Ah—!”

A blurry white light filled my vision, and a burning mark remained on my retina.

A few seconds later, the inhuman electric shock slowly subsided like the receding tide, leaving behind a numb, dull pain throughout the body and an empty echo of the heart pounding like a drum.

He lay sprawled on the bed, panting heavily, his pajamas clinging to his sweat-soaked back, bringing waves of icy discomfort.

Outside the window, the unique morning air of Yuigahama Ward in Chiba City, Tokyo, mixed with sea breeze and city dust, seeped in quietly through the gaps in the curtains, carrying an irritating calm.

Just as he was still in shock, trying to understand where the torment that defied the laws of physics came from, a cold blue light suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Without warning or sound, a semi-transparent interface floated in mid-air less than thirty centimeters from his nose.

The edges are a deep, almost light-absorbing black, while the main body is a deep blue with a cold, inorganic glow.

A few lines of text, concise to the point of being almost cruel, are silently imprinted in the center of the interface, like a judge's verdict:

As a warrior, how can you slack off? Begin honing your physique and combat skills now!

[Sword Swings: 0/1000]

[Long-distance running: 0/1000m]

Pull-ups: 0/1000

Push-ups: 0/1000

Hachiman Hikigaya's breathing completely stopped.

He blinked hard and shook his head violently, trying to dispel the absurd hallucination.

However, the cold, unchanging interface remained perfectly still, as clear as if it were etched onto the retina.

A thousand sword swings? A thousand-meter run? A thousand pull-ups? A thousand push-ups? Each number was like a heavy hammer blow, slamming into his fragile nerves, which had just been subjected to an electric shock.

"Are you...are you kidding me?!"

A hoarse voice squeezed out from his dry throat, filled with disbelief and anger, "You want me, an ordinary high school student, to do this? Is this system trying to kill me? Suicide requests should be handled by professionals, okay?!"

He sat up abruptly in bed, the movement aggravating the muscles ravaged by the electric shock, causing a sharp, grimacing pain.

Anger and a deep sense of powerlessness churned in my chest.

The shadows of last night, the low growls of the twisted monster, the longsword floating in the inventory, and "His" indescribable gaze... all these bizarre fragments of nightmares are now brutally materialized by the naked, inhuman task indicators before my eyes.

(End of this chapter)