Ethan was walking through the hallways, heading to Aiko's room without really knowing what to expect. It was almost 10 p.m. on a Saturday night.
There were only a few minutes left before curfew kicked in, and yet he wasn't going to his own room… He was about to meet Aiko alone with the sole purpose of completing his mission, which was to absorb DNA.
Using the video he had and taking advantage of the moment, he could do everything he had imagined.
Even a couple of kisses would be enough!
The exchange of saliva—it was almost certain that would work to complete his goal, but it was the bare minimum he wanted out of the situation.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice when, from the other direction, someone else—just as distracted as he was—collided with him. Their shoulders bumped, and both fell to the side from the unexpected force.
They both lifted their heads, frowning as they looked forward to see who had crashed into them.
Ethan and Hiashi, face to face...
"Watch where you're going, you worthless piece of shit!" Hiashi shouted, standing up to face Ethan, who had also gotten to his feet. Ethan was taller, but the fact that Hiashi had a Quirk—and a pretty good one—gave him the confidence to stand his ground without a trace of doubt.
"Where I'm going? You ran into me..." Ethan shot back, frowning. Hiashi didn't take the Quirkless boy's words well at all, clenching his teeth in irritation.
He was already stressed out, trying to figure out who the hell had recorded his encounter with Aiko, which had made him extremely irritable. All day he had been causing scenes over small things as a way of venting the frustration from the previous night.
And now Ethan had crashed directly into him, stood up to him, and was facing him head-on—something that pissed him off even more.
It felt like God himself was telling him to use this as a stress release... or at least, that's how it felt to him.
"Tsk, fucking Quirkless. Don't try to piss me off..." he warned Ethan, grabbing the collar of the brown-haired boy's shirt so they were face to face, thinking it would intimidate him enough to make him run.
The hallway was empty; they were the only ones there, meaning they had free rein to act—as long as they didn't get caught.
"Let me go, Hiashi. I don't want trouble today," Ethan said calmly, placing his hand over Hiashi's, trying to push it down and make him back off... but it was useless. The difference in strength was obvious.
This was directly caused by the presence of a Quirk—or more precisely, a Quirk factor, which stored the Gift. It didn't just give your body a special trait, it also made your body capable of withstanding it, and as a result, naturally stronger than a Quirkless like Ethan.
Which meant Hiashi was twice as strong as Ethan—maybe even more.
One of the reasons Ethan hadn't tried to change his fate or go wild in this world using only his knowledge was because his starting point was just so damn low. With daily training, he might one day surpass Hiashi in strength, but that could take months or years—and Hiashi still had his Quirk to fall back on.
Not to mention people who had great strength or truly powerful abilities—he stood no chance relying solely on his physical body. All he had was his knowledge. And he wasn't a genius; he had just gotten lucky and been reincarnated.
"Haha, do you really think your opinion matters to me?" Hiashi mocked, gripping even harder and pulling Ethan closer, choking him slightly.
"Why so rough? Trying to hide your little peanut with that big ego?" Ethan replied with a mocking smile. Hiashi flinched for a split second, the words reminding him of last night's situation. He gritted his teeth and punched Ethan hard in the face, knocking him to the side with enough force to send him flying two meters away.
The pain in his jaw was immense. Ethan's eyes widened, and he spat out some blood—his lip was split, and he had a gash on his cheek.
He could hardly believe it.
One single punch had taken him out completely!
Fighting wasn't an option to get DNA. He wouldn't be able to land a single hit before getting destroyed.
At least, not against someone with a Quirk coming at him head-on.
Even so, he clenched his fists and stood up quickly, trying to land a desperate punch on Hiashi's face. But Hiashi dodged it easily and landed another hit square on Ethan's face, sending him crashing back to the floor.
"You're a pathetic Quirkless. Don't mess with me..." Hiashi said angrily, kicking Ethan in the ribs and making him writhe in pain on the ground.
His mouth filled with saliva mixed with blood. He spit it out and turned to look at Hiashi again. Ethan's eyes didn't show fear—just anger from the blows.
He wanted to get up again and try to hit him, but he held himself back. If he did it again, the result would just be the same—or worse.
Hiashi walked up to the injured Ethan, crouched down, and grabbed his shirt again to force him up. Their faces were inches apart. They stared at each other with hatred. They didn't need to speak—they already knew exactly how the other felt.
"You're nothing but a loser. You're definitely not better than me at anything!" he shouted again, shaking Ethan like that would make him agree.
Ethan just stared at him—and spat in his face. He wasn't going to stoop to this idiot's level.
Hiashi stared at him in shock. That emotion quickly turned to rage. He clenched his teeth and raised his fist, ready to punch Ethan in the face again.
The brown-haired boy lifted his hand in a vain attempt to block the hit, but it was useless, and the punch landed squarely on his face.
"Understand your damn place—or die already!" Hiashi shouted, ready to hit Ethan again. Ethan just watched the fist coming and braced himself as much as he could, his face already aching from the previous hits—a third punch would be fatal...
"Enough!" someone else's voice rang through the hallway—much to Ethan's luck.
Both of them turned to look and found Aiko standing in the middle of the hallway with a furious expression. Ethan let out a sigh of relief—someone else being there meant Hiashi would have to stop...
"Ugh..." Ethan groaned as Hiashi shoved him hard to the ground, finally letting him go. His back took the full impact, adding to the rest of the pain in his face.
"What the hell do you want?!" Hiashi shouted, pointing at Aiko furiously. From his earlier rant, it was clear he was still mad about the things she had said.
"Leave him alone, Hiashi. He didn't do anything wrong," Aiko said, clearly upset as she approached them.
"You think this is about that?"
"Then what is it? Stop acting like a damn child."
"You bit—!" Hiashi couldn't finish the sentence, because Ethan, still on the floor, punched him in the jaw. He knew it was his only chance to get back at him.
Hiashi fell onto his back, hitting the floor.
"Idiot..."
"Ethan, what the hell are you doing?!" Aiko said as she got to them. Hiashi stood up in a flash, ready to keep fighting, but Aiko stepped in between them.
Hitting Ethan was one thing—but hitting Aiko would get him in serious trouble. That made him tense up and stop himself.
"Just leveling the playing field..." Ethan muttered angrily, looking at his knuckles... There was Hiashi's blood on them! Ethan could barely contain his excitement—this was exactly what he needed. He had no doubt that blood would work for completing his mission.
[DNA sample recognized]
[Gene absorbed: [Quirk: Solid Air (+2%)], +1 Strength]
Ethan smiled at the system notification. Not only had he gotten Hiashi's Quirk—he'd also gained a point of Strength.
And all that from just a few drops of blood!
It wasn't much, sure—but considering the DNA amount, it was a great reward, and Ethan knew it.
[Mission completed]
[Reward: Purification increased by 10%]
Aiko turned to look at Ethan and saw his face swollen from the beating. Her delicate fingers touched his cheek, turning his jaw slightly to examine his injuries.
"Ugh," Ethan groaned from the pain.
Her eyes showed a hint of guilt—it had all been a result of Hiashi's anger from the words she had said.
"Look what he did to you... Come to my room. I have a first-aid kit."
Ethan hesitated for a moment, thinking it was pretty late for that—but instantly regretted the thought.
Was he really going to pass up this opportunity? Of course not!
Besides, this had all happened because he wanted to go to Aiko's room in the first place. Even though his mission was already complete, that didn't mean he'd stop now. If there was a chance to collect more DNA, he just had to keep taking advantage of it.
"Thank you so much, Aiko-chan," he said with a smile, playing along. She took his hand and started guiding him.
Ethan had just hit the jackpot...
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