Chapter 28: Newcomer

[Bullet Time] . . . Just the name of this technique made it sound like a godly ability .

Filled with expectation, Seiji opened up a more detailed description of the ability .

[Limit break technique—Bullet Time]... According to the system, after he had exchanged for this card, his body would awaken an ability that could reach the limits of human potential .

Specifically, in dangerous situations, such as when he was threatened by gunfire or about to be run over by a car, all the limiters on his body's physical ability would be removed, and he'd enter an adrenaline rush mode . This would slow down his perception of time, which would enable him to make ultra-fast reactions in order to avoid imminent danger .

A godly technique! This was definitely a god-level technique, and most importantly, it was a life-saving ability!

Seiji wanted it more than anything .

Even though he had the cheat-like ability to save and load, he was greatly concerned about what might occur if he died before he had a chance to load!

What would happen if he suddenly died before he could load? Would he automatically load the newest save file, or would he truly die? He didn't know, nor did he wish to experience the truth . After all, what if he died for real?

So, it could be said that this was currently his only weakness .

Due to this, when he had noticed that the scarred man intended to take out a gun, he instantly decided to load . He had managed to time it perfectly, so that he was able to knock the gun away before the scarred man could react and fire!

But what if he didn't see it coming? For example, if an enemy was sniping at him from a long range . . .

Also, what about getting poisoned? Or being ambushed while he was asleep? If he thought about it carefully, there were actually numerous situations that were difficult to deal with .

After he had considered all the possibilities, this [Bullet Time] ability seemed even more valuable .

Even though it wasn't powerful enough to guarantee complete safety, it was probably adequate for dealing with many dangerous situations that he wouldn't be able to deal with otherwise .

It was time to buy! He absolutely must exchange for it!

The price for it was... 75 points! And this was after the system gave it a "one week only" discount! The original price... was an incredible 150 points!

As expected of a [limit break technique] . . . It seemed that being able to push a human body to the utmost limits wasn't cheap at all .

"I just received 15 points, and with a bonus of 10 points, that's 25 . So I need to earn 50 more points in a week in order to buy it while it's on discount . " Seiji murmured to himself .

For 50 points, he could obtain 28 points from grinding [sing] and [dance] for seven days . Was it possible to earn 22 more points by working?

"Working gives me 4 points each time, so I can get enough after 6 days' work . It should be possible . " Seiji felt confident about it after doing some simple math .

"But it's still cutting it close... These points... if something happens, I won't have enough . Hmm... I need to devise a method to obtain more points . "

...

It was currently Saturday morning . This Saturday morning marked Hoshi Amami's first day at work .

He was working at his aunt's confectionery store, Divine Taste, where she was both the store manager and owner .

In reality, Hoshi had some reservations about working for his own family, but because his older sisters were strongly opposed to the idea of him working—even though he wanted to—the only place they agreed to compromise on and allow him to work at was his aunt's shop . Even this compromise required desperate arguments on his part .

In reality, Hoshi had some reservations about working for his own family, but because his older sisters were strongly opposed to the idea of him working—even though he wanted to—the only place they agreed to compromise on and allow him to work at was his aunt's shop . Even this compromise required desperate arguments on his part .

Hoshi couldn't help but sigh as his thoughts turned towards his older sisters .

Even though they had their individual problems, generally speaking, they were all quite nice to him .

However, he was already in ninth grade, and like many teenage boys, he desired a certain degree of independence . Unfortunately, his older sisters were too "nice" to him!

Hoshi was grateful to them for taking care of him ever since he was a baby . But he was already a third-year middle school student, and his sisters were still "spoiling" him every way possible—it was to the extent that it seemed rather strange to him!

Even though he was "spoiled," he also had to obey many of his sisters' limits, and he possessed zero privacy . Not only did his sisters know about his favorite type of girl as well as where his porn stash was hidden, they even knew about how many times he did it a week with his hand... It was just too much for him!

Not long ago, he had finally worked up the courage to confess to a girl that he'd been interested in for a long time, but he had been rejected with the sentence: "I prefer a manlier type—Amami-kun, you're a little..."

Hoshi had suffered a huge blow due to the nature of this rejection . After being depressed for a whole week, he had finally decided to change himself!

He wanted to improve his manliness as well as independent spirit, and he felt like working was an excellent way to begin . It would also enable him to earn some pocket money . After all, as a mild otaku, his hobbies required some money .

However, sisters were strongly opposed to the notion of him working, and it took desperate resistance on his part in order for them to finally agree to this compromise .

In the store's changing room, Hoshi changed into the store uniform while silently encouraging himself to be confident .

'My aunt said I can do a good job, and all my seniors are nice people... It's no problem; I can do it!' He stood in front of a mirror and repeatedly chanted words of encouragement mentally .

The mirror reflected a skinny boy with thin, long eyelashes, soft and gentle cyan eyes, and dark reddish-brown hair that was shiny and sleek . His full lips were a light shade of red... He was so beautiful that didn't appear to be a boy at all!

When he was younger, Hoshi felt like he had no problems with his face . However, as he grew older, he gradually realized that his own appearance had a critical flaw—he looked too much like a girl!

After realizing this, he slowly became cognizant that some situations he was already accustomed to—such boys who would blush when seeing him, a large commotion whenever he walked into the men's restroom, all the other boys avoiding looking in his direction when changing clothes for P . E . class, and even receiving the occasional love letter from boys he didn't know... All of those were actually abnormal occurrences!

With such a beautiful face and skinny body shape, it was only natural for him to be seen as feminine .

But that was of little importance .

From today onwards, he was going to work hard to change himself!

Hoshi neatly adjusted his uniform .

At this moment, the changing room's door opened .

"Morning... oh? A newcomer?"

"Y... yes!"

Hoshi turned around and looked at who it was . His eyes instantly became like round saucers .

So handsome!

The person who came in was a tall, handsome boy, whose muscles were bulging beneath his jacket . He had a gentle smile on his face, and his entire person seemed bright and sunny .

Hoshi was stunned... he had never seen such a handsome boy before .

Hoshi was stunned... he had never seen such a handsome boy before .

Even though it may sound narcissistic, apart from on TV and in magazines, he had never seen a prettier boy than himself before! And this was the first time in his entire life that he had admitted defeat in the looks department . Plus... the other boy seemed so manly!

That was right—not only was this boy prettier than him, the other boy didn't seem feminine at all—only handsome .

He... had... basically Hoshi's ideal appearance!

"Hm... you must be the newcomer that the store manager mentioned; you're her nephew, right?" The handsome boy strode over to his own locker and began changing as he watched Hoshi with a hint of amusement: "She described your appearance perfectly—you really do look like a girl . "

Hoshi felt like he had just been stabbed .

Did... even his aunt view him that way? He could only smile bitterly .

"Oh? You seem to really mind?" The handsome boy seemed to detect Hoshi's disappointment and arched his eyebrows while also taking off his T-shirt and jeans, revealing his strong muscles all over his body .

"My apologies... but since it's something you are also aware of, then you just need to work hard and face it . Stand tall and be spirited! If you're distressed about it and get depressed all the time, people will think you're even more similar to a girl . "

The handsome boy smoothly put on his work uniform as he talked and organized his appearance neatly in a practiced manner before he flashed a brilliant smile at Hoshi .

"Let's begin working, newcomer!"

"Oh... yes! Senior!"

Hoshi reflexively answered him loudly and followed his handsome senior out of the changing room .

It wouldn't be long until Hoshi learned that this handsome boy's name was Seigo Harano, and that he was the number one most popular employee at the Divine Taste confectionary store!