I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Was it just something he shouted out randomly? Or was it something he deliberately imitated to gain invincible power?

"Hey~ Little Youyou, are you listening to me?"

Just as Yuki Koichiro was preparing his second punch, Yukinoshita Haruno's voice reached his ears again.

With her mind elsewhere, Yuu Tenkuji replied somewhat impatiently, "Yes, so what now?"

"Would you want to hit me?"

"...Huh?" Startled, Yuu Tenkuji looked over, completely bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

A slight upturn at the corners of her lips, unlike the utterly wicked smirk from before, was replaced by a soft twirl of her ponytail with her fingers, as if mocking herself, yet also sighing, as she spoke in a low voice:

"So, you mean, I dragged you into this game with Yuuki-kun, and then used that attitude to force you to agree to it... Would you be so angry that you want to use me as a punching bag?"

As he spoke, Yuki Koichiro threw a second punch.

"Muda!"

Diverted by Yukinoshita, Yuu Tenkuji didn't see what happened, only knowing that the score was an astonishing 943, and that this guy had indeed watched JoJo.

After securing that point, Koichiro Yuki clearly appeared quite relaxed, warming up for his final punch.

Not wasting the opportunity, Yuu Tenkuji entered the "Learning (Proficient)" skill state, carefully observing every tiny movement Yuu made at that moment, while casually answering Yukinoshita Haruno's question.

"Yukino Yukinoshita, do I look like such a volatile and thoughtless person?"

"Oh? I'd like to hear more." Yukinoshita Haruno said with great interest, "Also, you dare to call your senior by his first name? You're quite bold~"

Even if she changes the subject, she still makes fun of people's personalities, which Tenkuji Yu is already used to.

His tone was as calm as ice as he began to explain:

"Putting aside the fact that this matter wasn't serious enough to warrant physical violence against a woman, even if I did dislike you at the time, I wouldn't forget to consider why you did it and what your purpose was..."

After all, making me angry does you no good at all. You paid to experience the feeling of 'free love,' why go looking for trouble?

Furthermore, what Yukinoshita Haruno should do is separate the existence of her "rented boyfriend" from her "reality," and she should try her best to prevent him from stealing the spotlight.

Given this, her current actions present a clear contradiction.

"You're just like me in this respect, little Youyou." She clapped her hands happily, but her voice was low and meaningful.

"You're always calculating and thinking things through. Don't you get tired of living like that?"

Feeling as if she considered herself one of their own, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but chuckle.

"Of course I'm not tired, because I have someone who can stay with me forever even if I don't do this... I'm not living for you, but for her."

"..."

After a long silence, Yukino Yukinoshita pursed her lips and lowered her eyes, as if she was carefully savoring that word.

"she……"

"Alright, please don't bother me anymore." Tenkuji Yu waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away flies, without any politeness. "I'm determined to get this helmet, and I don't want any accidents to happen."

Her thoughtful expression vanished, and Yukinoshita Haruno said with a hint of amusement, "You really like that virtual reality headset that much?"

"My sister likes it."

"...Really? That's great."

Perhaps it's just an illusion.

He always felt that this murmur seemed to reveal Yukinoshita's true feelings.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Let's start with a 100% test.

Eliminate skills that are not useful at the moment.

Yuu Tenkuji currently possesses the skills "Extreme Rage (Status) (once)," "Muscle Mastery (Status)," "Learning (Proficient Level)," and "Instant Recovery (Minor Injury) (once)," which he can use in the upcoming punching power test.

First and foremost, the most crucial element is, of course, "muscle mastery," which allows him to unleash his full potential and even push his limits.

Yuu Tenkuji had never specifically trained, so even though he had received many physical fitness rewards, he estimated that his strength was only within the range of an average adult male, at most the level of someone who regularly goes to the gym.

But that was clearly not enough—Yuki Koichiro's first two punches were hard and powerful, and his physical strength was stronger than his own just by looking at it. Not to mention that his opponent had professional punching skills and ways of applying force. The power he exerted from the soles of his feet, waist, shoulders, elbows, and wrists was all connected, which is why he was able to get a score of over 900 with each punch.

In a normal match, I would never be able to beat my opponent.

That's why we need cheats.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the "muscle mastery" state will allow him to unleash power beyond his full strength.

According to research, without the influence of adrenaline, the average person's maximum exertion is about 20% to 30% of their muscle mass, while for athletes it is 40% to 60%, and for world-class strongmen it is over 80%.

The brain limits the neurons on muscle fibers to control the exertion of muscle strength; so when the body exerts too much force, the brain will sound a pain alarm, and muscle soreness will make people consciously give up continuing to exert force, that is, reach the limit. If this limit is exceeded, while gaining greater strength, one will also face dangerous situations such as muscle tissue tearing, ligament sprains, tendon and bone fractures.

The former can be overcome as long as Yuu Tenkuji can endure the pain and force his muscles to continue to strengthen; the latter is when another skill comes into play.

"Instant recovery (minor damage) (one time)".

Based on the intuition that led him to acquire the skill, Yuu Tenkuji knew that this minor injury was limited to cuts, muscle strains, dislocations, and fractures. As long as it did not exceed this range, it could be healed instantly without leaving any sequelae.

As for fractures and internal bleeding... they should be classified as minor injuries, right?

This is the guarantee that he dared to make this attempt; otherwise, it would be too much of a loss to injure his body for a small victory or defeat.

As for "Learning (Proficient Level)," its function is very simple: it allows you to learn Yuki Koichiro's punching posture more quickly and in greater detail.

Combined with his dynamic vision, which he unknowingly gains after using shooting skills, these two skills together are almost equivalent to a Sharingan with a tomoe—of course, that's just an exaggeration.

He could only perfectly memorize Yuki Koichiro's punching movements; he couldn't yet understand how the opponent exerted force, let alone learn it and make it his own.

That would probably require expert-level "learning" to achieve, and as for the perfect level... well, I can't even imagine how awesome that would be.

Anyway, he could get some technical improvement, plus a breakthrough in strength, and then there was the guarantee of recovery afterward—a formula had already formed in Tenkuji Yu's mind, which would allow him to win against Yuuki Koichiro in the next punching power test and finish perfectly without any aftereffects.

While he couldn't achieve the "perfection" of the cautious hero, at least he considered every aspect he could think of.

If this still doesn't work, then we'll have to reveal our final trump card—

Legend has it that if a human were to fall into that state, even Godzilla could kill them with a single kick.

Forget about punching bags, he could probably knock the whole boxing machine away with one punch.

Of course, this idea is too unrealistic, and Yuu Tenkuji doesn't want to make it that exaggerated.

When the system gave him this skill, all he knew was that in a state of "extreme anger," everything about him would be comprehensively enhanced.

Therefore, it can only be used as a last resort, as there are too many variables in the plan.

"call……"

After mentally reviewing what he needed to do later, Yuu Tenkuji let out a soft breath and clenched his fist at his side.

Muscle control starts from the beginning, gradually getting used to the feeling of exertion.

Meanwhile, in front of the boxing machine, Koichiro Yuuki, after preparing for more than ten seconds, was finally about to throw his last punch, which was also his most serious punch.

His whole body was like a taut bowstring, with his left hand standing at his side, his right fist tucked into his waist, and his toes firmly planted on the ground.

"Beep!"

Accompanied by a strange shout that no one except Tenkuji Yu could understand, Yuuki Koichiro hardened his gentle and handsome face and threw a punch hard at the sandbag.

boom!

The punches weren't fast, but the sandbag fell so fast that it was impossible to see.

After an even heavier sound, the third number appeared on the screen.

——960!

"Ah—it's true that the higher the score, the harder it is to break the record." Yuki Koichiro smiled regretfully, took off his gloves and shook his wrist. "I used too much force, it hurts a bit."

Daisuke Yamada clutched his head and wailed, "You bastard, don't say things like that on purpose—every punch you're scoring over 900 points, are you some kind of monster?"

The other two girls also praised him admiringly, while Yuki Koichiro just scratched his head and laughed with a complicated expression.

"There's no other way. Back then, I thought that building muscle would allow me to become a stunt double, so I've kept training until now..."

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"No, it's nothing."

Koichiro Yuuki quickly brushed it off and handed the gloves to Yuu Tenkuji.

Whether out of sympathy or encouragement, he patted Tenkuji Yu's shoulder twice and looked at him with an approving smile.

"Go for it! You can only beat me, and I'll gladly hand over the virtual reality headset, I mean it!"

"..." Yuu Tenkuji glanced at him strangely, said nothing, took the gloves and walked to the boxing machine.

The girl with the headband was cheering him on loudly, while the rest of the people were watching him with curious eyes, seemingly wondering how many points he could score at most.

600? 700? 800?

"So, are you confident?"

Yukino followed, blinking her big eyes with a charming smile.

Following Yuki Koichiro's movements, Tenkuji Yu jumped twice in place and shook his right fist, which was covered by a boxing glove.

"Well, it's just so-so."

"I thought you really knew everything."

"I don't know everything, I only know what I'm supposed to know," he replied calmly. "Besides, you're clearly the one among everyone here who believes I can beat him the most, so why are you deliberately talking like this?"

"Oops, we've been spotted?"

With a smile, she helped him insert coins to start the machine, then stepped aside.

"Then, good luck in the final 'trial,' Tenkuji-kun."

"It's not for that trial... never mind."

Tenkuji Yu sighed, rolled up his sleeves, and looked directly at the sandbag that was slowly rising in front of him.

...First, let's test the waters with a 100% test.

He took a deep breath, activated his muscle control, and began to exert force.