As Mayumi entered the living room, wearing jeans and a hoodie, carrying a few bags, she saw a girl she didn’t know, and Asahi with a flustered face.

Seeing her, Asahi immediately spoke. “Mayumi, this is Fumiko. Fumiko, this is Mayumi."

Fumiko smiled. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’ll just put the bags away and change, I’ll be right back.”

As Mayumi went to her room, Fumiko turned to Asahi.

“Given that you brought me here to play with you alone, I’m assuming the two of you aren’t together, is that correct?”

She had an expression of genuine curiosity, without any ulterior motives.

Asahi scratched his head. “That’s a tough one to answer. If I were to put our relationship into words, it would be that we’re incredibly close friends, in the slow process of adding a physical component to it.”

She raised her right eyebrow. “That’s interesting. No jealousy at all?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“That’s rare. You guys must have a really good thing going then, good for you.”

Asahi smiled. “Yeah, we really do.”

Remembering something, Fumiko snapped her finger. “I almost forgot. Do you guys already know about the annual party?”

Asahi furrowed his brows. “I don’t, but somehow, I already don’t like it.”

She laughed. “It’s not something like a gala or some other pretentious party. It’s just between the students that live here, in order for the newcomers to get to know everyone.”

“Oh, okay. That’s much better than what I had in mind. Who organizes it?”

“The Uni picks the student and gives them a budget. Of course, they can also go above it out of their own pocket. There are two rules, no plus ones, only Tokyo U students that live in the building, and no alcohol.”

“I see, because plus ones would get in the way of us getting to know each other properly. The no alcohol part is to cover their asses.”

“Exactly.”

He nodded. “Good. One of the reasons that I invited you here, was because I wanted to get to know more people.”

As he said that, they heard Mayumi’s voice.

“He means more women.” She was wearing her usual home attire, carrying a biodegradable bag. “I brought Takoyaki for us.”

Asahi got up. “I’ll get some chopsticks. And I don’t just mean more women, as much as my dick would want to disagree with me.”

As Mayumi sat down, putting the bag on the center table, Fumiko chuckled. “There are quite a few single hotties here, so I’m sure your dick will be pleased one way or another.”

Mayumi put her hand on Fumiko’s shoulder. “Oh, don’t worry about that, he already started to plow the fields.”

Fumiko nodded. “Not surprising. Fit dude, good social skills, and with a good personality? Him not getting laid is what would surprise me.”

Asahi sat down, handing them the chopsticks. “For your information, I was a virgin until Friday.”

Fumiko’s eyes widened. “How?”

“Before moving here, I just focused on studying and working, so I never made an effort.”

Fumiko raised her right eyebrow. “Okay, but I don’t think you’d have to, given the qualities I just listed. There should be at least one proactive girl around you, a cougar at your job, something. Statistically speaking, of course.”

Meanwhile Mayumi was giggling.

Fumiko looked at her. “What’s so funny? Am I missing something?”

Mayumi pulled out her phone, and showed her the picture she took of them when Asahi moved in.

“What does this guy have to do with…” Fumiko paused, almost like she had frozen in place. “You gotta be kidding me.”

Mayumi showed her a few more pictures of them over the month, which made the transformation clear. “The first one was taken a little over a month ago.”

Fumiko looked at Asahi in disbelief. “Dude… That’s one hell of a caterpillar to butterfly transformation you did there.”

He nodded. “Before coming here, I didn’t have the passive advertising that I do now, so even the horny ones ignored me.”

As she picked up a takoyaki, Mayumi spoke. “So, what games did you guys play?”

Asahi sighed. “Burning Bout 4, Nitro Speedsters, and Dynamo Party. She destroyed me in all three.”

Mayumi’s face lit up with excitement. “In that case, I need to avenge my disciple.”

Fumiko picked up a controller, equally excited. “Bring it on.”

They played a couple games, with Asahi basically watching the two girls competing, which ended up in an overall tie.

The reason as for why his development regarding playing games was slow, at least compared to other things he was doing, was due to the fact that he didn’t buy boosts for it.

He enjoyed his natural progress while playing with Mayumi way too much, to ever taint it by using specific boosts for it. He wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could.

They invited Fumiko to have dinner with them, since they had more than enough food.

While Asahi cooked, Mayumi talked to Fumiko.

“Alright, I get that you’re really into encryption and all that, but are you into hardware as well?”

Fumiko nodded. “I have a two-pc setup, one serving as a working station, and the other as a server. Built both myself, custom loops and all.”

Mayumi smiled brightly. “Asahi, can I take her to your room and show her your baby?”

“Sure.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t showed her already.”

Asahi spoke, oozing sarcasm. “Hi, person that I just met, whom I can physically overpower. I know we are in the living room, where you have enough room to run from me, and scream for help if necessary, but how about we go to my room? I have something special to show you in that tight space, which may or may not be soundproof. You might as well walk in front of me, I’m a good guy, I swear.”

Fumiko laughed. “You’re not wrong.”

Mayumi got slightly flustered. “Fine, smartass, point taken. Fumiko, come with me.”

Fumiko just followed her, still laughing.

 

As they entered Asahi’s room, Fumiko’s eyes widened.

She approached his desk and looked inside the case. “This is some nice tubing, clean bends and decent routes. I can see a few mistakes, but nothing that will affect functionality.”

“Right? It was his first time doing it too. I helped, but only by giving instructions.”

“That’s quite good for a beginner.”

Fumiko then looked at one of the monitors, displaying a temperature monitoring software, which showed the specific parts used in the build.

‘Holy shit, that’s literally the best PC one can build right now, at least for gaming. How could he afford it?’

She then remembered how scrawny he looked in the picture she saw, and how he told her that he spent his high school years mostly working and studying.

‘He probably saved up everything he could to buy this, even at the expense of his own health. Reckless, but it was probably a goal he set for himself to help him cope with his situation.’

Fumiko just blinked, looking at the screen, with a lot of different emotions swirling inside her.

Looking at her with understanding, Mayumi smiled.

After Mayumi showed Fumiko her own setup, they went back to the kitchen, where they talked all the way through dinner.

Fumiko told them more about the party. It was always held in the weekend that preceded the start of the scholastic year, taking place in their building, in a hall that was used for meetings and small gatherings.

It wasn’t anything particularly fancy, just some catered food and drinks, with the main focus being the students bonding with each other.

Soon after dinner, Fumiko left, but not before helping them tidy everything up, which she insisted in doing.

 

When Asahi and Mayumi went to the couch, for their usual post-dinner relaxation, instead of sitting across each other, he pulled her to him. They cuddled facing each other.

She smiled. “I like this better.”

Seeing her smile, he caressed her face, and gave her a tender kiss.

As their lips touched, they both felt an indescribable warmth, something that neither of them had felt before. It was subtle, yet powerful.

She caressed his face. “That was… wow.”

He smiled. “Yeah, that was quite different from what I was expecting, in a great way.”

After a couple more tender kisses and caresses, he gently grabbed her hand and put it against his chest. His heart was racing.

She smiled and did the same with his hand, showing him that they were very much in synch.

They both let out a little giggle, then shared another light kiss, and stayed like that for a while.

Silent, they just enjoyed each other’s company, and when they started to feel sleepy, they shared a good night kiss.

They didn’t use tongue, even once. Their kisses had a sweet innocence and sense of discovery, which was new to both of them. They didn’t know how to put into words what they meant to each other, nor did they care to label it.

It was theirs, something that they only felt for each other, and they felt it, deep within their beings.

 

Waking up in the next morning, Asahi had the brightest smile on his face. He stayed in bed, thinking about his current life and his future.

He then asked something to the System, something he had been thinking for a while, but dreaded asking

‘If I have a System, that opens up all kinds of possibilities. Are there other powers out there?’

[ There are all kinds of powers out there in this universe. There are planets where everyone is a telepath, and others where magic is commonplace. ]

‘I see that you immediately dodged my question. Is information about Earth locked?’

[ Correct. After my first Evolution, the Basic Guidance feature will be unlocked. ]

‘And why is the information about other planets not locked?’

[ Because the galaxy you live in, is within the bottom tiers, meaning that no one outside of it has any interest in approaching it. Since Humans are the most advanced creatures in your galaxy, it will take many centuries for you to leave it. Assuming that you don’t die, you will have unlocked the Advanced Guidance feature long before then, so there is no point in hiding that type of information. ]

‘I see. For now, I’ll ignore that you low-key just told me that I am or can become immortal. Well, I already have a few assumptions regarding earth. If people out there with powers do exist, either they formed a power of their own to control those like them, or they only have subtle powers, like telepathy. Another possibility, albeit more farfetched, is that a whole world within our world does exist, like one filled with magic and shit like that. There are many other possibilities, but they get more and more unlikely.’

[ Those are indeed all valid possibilities, seeing that all those things have happened out there in the universe. ]

‘How crazy do things get out there?’

[ Think of something. ]

‘Okay… Body similar to a zebra, with the squid-like head of a Mind Flayer, and white bat wings. Their common power is Pyrokinesis.’

[ Planet: Klappochusarik#954785, Species: Cinkyrant, Threat Level: Insurmountable. ]

‘You’re joking, right?’

[ Replace the white in the stripes and wings with blood-red, and it is what you described. ]

‘Okay, I’ll stop here, otherwise it won’t end.’

[ A wise choice. ]

He got up, brushed his teeth and headed to the kitchen, where he made himself a cup of coffee, and got breakfast started.

Less than ten minutes later, Mayumi walked in, and hugged him from behind. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

She gave his neck a little peck, and went to make herself a cup of coffee.

They both had a different smile than usual on their faces, brighter, but at the same time, more serene.

The day passed by with him mostly writing and working out. By the end of it, his writing was at a level that he felt comfortable starting a proper novel, instead of just practicing. It wasn’t spectacular, but not too shabby either.

His typing speed was at almost at a consistent 170 words per minute, and his creativity was flowing, so he could easily write a couple dozen chapters in a day.

Obviously, he hadn’t become a great writer or anything of the sort, just felt that he was at a level where he could write something that people would like.

During the night, he played video games with Mayumi and Fumiko from his computer.

The next morning, he wrote several chapters for his first novel idea. It was about a schizophrenic warlock detective in a fantasy world. The MC heard voices from objects, which was the way his mind processed his own deductive reasoning and observational capabilities.

However, he didn’t publish it. ‘I’ll do it after I get some advice from Trish tomorrow, revise and edit it.’

 

Prior day, inside a laboratory, somewhere in Tokyo.

Trish, wearing casual clothes, holding a black motorcycle helmet, was talking to a 1.6m-tall Indian man in his sixties, who wore a lab coat, with the name-tag Dhawan.

“Doctor Dhawan, are you absolutely sure it’s negative?”

“Miss Maruyama, I ran the test three times. This individual is not a Transcendent.”

“Doctor, I hope you understand my skepticism, such a level of talent wouldn’t go unnoticed. That combined with his background, and how his body changed, can only point to a transcendent. And yes, I know that there are other powers out there besides Transcendents. However, he can’t be a Mystic, and the other powers are always gradual, not something like this.”

The man shook his head. “A simple background check can’t even begin to explore the depths and capabilities one might have. There is a myriad of reasons that could lead one to be a late bloomer. There is a lot to unpack here, but let me start by asking you this; do you think that we are truly capable of accurately measuring one’s capabilities?”

“With all due respect Doctor, there are tools developed for just that, and even though they’re not completely accurate, they can give us a pretty good idea of what one is capable of, at least from a skillset standpoint. That specially applies to Transcendents. I get that we shouldn’t underestimate people, but I hardly think that this is the case of a late bloomer.”

The man sighed. “Miss Maruyama, do you know who Richard Feynman was?”

“The name is familiar, but no.”

The man nodded. “Feynman was a Physicist with an estimated IQ of 125, what do you think about that number?”

“Above average, but nothing really special. However, with effort, one could achieve significant results in a field they have aptitude for.”

The man smiled. “At the age of 15, Feynman taught himself Advanced Algebra, Infinite series, Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus and more. During his high school years, he experimented with mathematical topics using notations that he himself made, even changing what some formulas looked like. During his senior year, still in high school, he won the NYU Math Championship. And this was just before becoming a Physicist.”

The more he spoke, the more her eyes widened.

“His work regarding Subatomic Particles was nothing short of awe-inspiring. He also not only pioneered the field of Quantum Computing, but he also introduced the concept of Nanotechnology. Keep in mind that he died in 1988, and wasn’t a Transcendent. I’d say that what he achieved was far more than merely significant.”

He sighed. “Miss Maruyama, true brilliance can’t be measured by humans, be it intellectual, physical or otherwise, and it knows no bounds. His name most likely sounded familiar because you heard of him in school, due to him being part of the Manhattan Project. If we, as a species, gloss over such an outstanding individual, how many do you think were forgotten in history? The fact that we, as a species, don’t even understand the value of true brilliance, how can we possibly even attempt to measure it?”

He extended his hand, and made blue sparks of electricity swirl around it. “This is a tool at most, simply being able to do it doesn’t make me special. The Transcendent Society is for sure necessary, just like the Police, and several other institutions. However, we are not special because we have powers, the same way that Police Officers are not special for carrying a gun.”

“Sorry for the long rant, I went on a tangent there, losing track of the point of this conversation. This person is not a transcendent, but I never said that he doesn’t have powers, they could be something new within the Quasi-Transcendents. Those pop up much more often than you think.”

She sighed. “I get what you’re trying to say Doctor, but his learning speed seems to be even above the most remarkable Savant types out there, by a huge margin.”

The man chuckled. “That is just a common misconception. Savant types aren’t about raw learning speed. This individual you met, you sparred with them, correct?”

She nodded.

“After you taught them the basics, how did they fight?”

“He didn’t make many unnecessary movements, to a scary degree, but still fought like a beginner, easily falling for a feint.”

The man smiled. “The true strength of Savant types is rapid passive simulation of experiences, and lack of ceiling to the field to which their power applies. Of course, this aspect varies from Savant to Savant. Just think about your own power, how do you compare with the other Super Soldier types out there? Aren’t you the complete package of your type? There are also different echelons for the other types. Instead of worrying about the power itself, look at what they can do with it. Look at their brilliance, not their tool.”

She took a deep breath, then started laughing. “Thank you, Doctor. I was so excited that I found my first person who had recently awakened their powers, that I tunnel-visioned way too hard. I also realized that I don’t know nearly as much about powers in general as I probably should, probably because training and writing take most of my time. Also, thank you for the tangent, it was enlightening.”

He just nodded and smiled.

 

On that Friday afternoon, during her session with Asahi, she did what she decided to do after thinking about what the Doctor said.  

She properly trained him, to see how far he could get, while closely paying attention to Asahi himself, not his power.

Not only she taught him basic kicks like she promised, but also elbow and knee strikes, and how to deal with everything she had taught him so far.

Obviously, he didn’t become a master in two sessions. The moves he learned matched that of a fairly trained fighter, but he still lacked the experience, knowledge and overall skillset of one.

Unaware of all that was going through Trish’s mind, Asahi left very satisfied with his training.

 

That night, Asahi and Mayumi had Fumiko over for dinner once again.

Both of them got along quite well with her. Although it wasn’t the same as it was between them, it was probably the next best thing.

Later that night, while lying in bed after a good masturbation session, he received a text from Trish.

(T)- Still up?
(A)- Yeah, what’s up?
(T)- We forgot to set up where to meet tomorrow.
(A)- Well, that would be awkward. Training went so well that I completely forgot.
(T)- We can meet at a coffee shop or at your place, if your roommate doesn’t mind.
(A)- Are you sure? I know that you can kick my ass without breaking a sweat, but we’d still be alone in my room.
(T)- Full disclosure, my Dad has military connections and a comprehensive background check was done
       on you. I think I’ll be safe. ?
(A)- That will save us a lot of talking. My place it is then. I assume you have my address.
(T)- That’s it? I just told you a comprehensive background check was done on you and you’re fine
       with it?
(A)- If you wanted to do me harm, I’d be dead by now. Since I’m not, I’ll just roll with it, so be gentle
       with me. ?
(T)- Sorry, but I’m not familiar with that concept. ?

Asahi laughed.

The simple act of exchanging mundane messages was a joyous occasion for him.

So many things that most people took for granted, he was experiencing for the first time since moving into that building, and thoroughly enjoying them.

As for why he wasn’t bothered by what she told him, it was simple, she was upfront about it. Although a bit naïve, if not reckless, he was willing to look past a lot of things if people were upfront with him.

 

Next morning, right after breakfast.

Asahi and Mayumi were lying on the couch, after trading some light kisses.

As Asahi stroked Mayumi’s hair, he spoke. “Remember that I told you about meeting my instructor today? Turns out that she’ll be coming here this afternoon.”

Mayumi displayed her usual mischievous smile. “Oh, really? Just the two of you in your room, I wonder what could possibly come out of it.”

He chuckled. “Okay, if you must know, yeah, I’m very attracted to her. She never showed it, but I get a wild vibe coming from her, like there is something sleeping underneath the surface. I can’t explain it properly.”

Her smile turned into a face of genuine curiosity. “And how about Fumiko?”

“Yeah, I’m attracted to her, but it’s different. I feel like I could actually be intimate with her. Not like I am with you though, at least I don’t think so.”

She smiled. “I really like Fumiko too; I might even make a move myself.”

He gave her a light slap on the butt and smiled. “Go for it.”

Through teases and jokes, his smile started to fade away.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

He shook his head, like he was trying to disperse some thoughts. “I’m still struggling to accept how well things are going for me, and I hate it. The feeling that all of it will just vanish refuses to leave me.”

She caressed his face and smiled. “That’s okay, take your time with it. I’ll always be here to listen if you need to talk, but I don’t think I’m equipped with the tools to completely help you. How about we find a pro-bono therapist for you? I can’t promise that it’ll help, but it worked for my mom.”

He nodded. “I was always afraid of talking to one before, because it requires a certain degree of trust on my part, but I can’t keep hoping for the problems to go away. Will you look for one with me?”

She gave him a light kiss. “That’s why I said we.”

---