With the shower door now open, Tsukuru looked over towards the cupboard to the direct left of the shower stall.
It had a hinged door on the front, which was filled with Quinn's, Vorden's, and Peter's shower supplies that they had brought from their respective homes. On the top of the cupboard, was a stack of two towels.
Tsukuru stared at it for confusion for a moment, until realization surged through him like electricity.
"Oh, right." He muttered. He flicked his finger again, bringing up the System's UI.
He once again went through the menus until he reached the inventory. In the most recently filled square on the grid, it showed a folded towel.
As he pressed it, a System screen popped up, asking him if he wanted to withdraw it from the System's Inventory.
Tsukuru thought 'yes', and pixels appeared in his hand.
The pixels clustered together into the form of a square. There was a bright flash of light which blinded Tsukuru. When it faded, he was holding a towel.
Tsukuru used the towel to dry off, before laying it on the floor for him to use as a mat.
He opened his Inventory screen again, and clicked on the square showing his socks.
A new grid opened up, showing 15 identical pairs of socks. He touched the first square, and a new System screen appeared.
[Would you like to equip Socks?
[Yes] [No] ]
Tsukuru thought the word 'yes'.
Instantly, Tsukuru's feet became enveloped in translucent, light-blue pixels. The pixels then clustered together, forming his socks.
He then closed that screen, causing it to break down into pixels, before then pressing the square that showed his underwear.
Like with his socks, another grid appeared, showing 15 identical pairs of underwear.
He touched the first square, and a System message appeared in front of him. Just like with his underwear, this message asked him if he wanted to "equip" the underwear.
Tsukuru thought the word 'yes'.
Instantly, Tsukuru's nether region became enveloped in translucent, light-blue pixels.
The pixels clustered together, forming his underwear. Tsukuru dispelled the secondary grid, revealing his System's Inventory screen, and then walked over to the mirror above the sink.
As Tsukuru walked past the trash can, he threw the shower pouf into it. He figured it'd be easier to just make a new one each time he took a shower, rather than him having to worry about washing it.
As he reached the mirror, he turned back to the Inventory.
He touched the square displaying his deodorant. A new System message appeared, asking him if he wanted to take his stick of deodorant out of the Inventory.
He thought the word 'yes', and the stick of deodorant appeared in his hand.
He removed the lid, and applied it to both arms, before he imagined putting it back into the System's Inventory.
Another System message appeared, asking him if he wanted to put the deodorant back in the System's Inventory.
He thought the word 'yes', and the stick of deodorant disappeared, breaking apart into pixels.
Tsukuru then pressed the square in his System's Inventory screen showing his shirts. Like before, a second grid screen appeared, this time showing 30 shirts of different designs.
A right-facing triangle appeared on the edge of the screen, indicating there was a second page, as his System could only fit thirty items on a single page.
A pressed an image in the third row, showing a black shirt with a design that showed a wizard in a purple cloak standing in front of a castle, his arm lifted up high with a staff in his hand. Laying behind the wizard was a dragon with red scales.
As he did, a System message appeared, asking him if he wanted to equip the shirt.
Tsukuru thought 'yes', and pixels began to envelop his whole upper torso. The pixels clustered together, forming the shirt.
As Tsukuru looked in the mirror, he had a sudden realization.
"I forgot to pack a comb, didn't I?" He muttered. He let out a sigh, and activated his Ability again.
A System screen appeared in front of him.
[Skill Video Creation has been activated.]
The sound of electronic interference filled the bathroom again, and translucent, light-blue pixels appeared in his hand again. The pixels clustered together into the shape of a comb. There was a bright flash of light. When it faded, Tsukuru was holding a comb.
Another System message appeared.
[-1 MC. MC: 18/20]
Tsukuru used the comb to fix his hair, and then imagined placing it back in his System's Inventory.
A new System appeared, asking him if he wanted to put the comb back in his System's Inventory. He thought 'Yes', and the comb disappeared, breaking apart into pixels, which then faded away.
Finally, Tsukuru pressed the square in his System's Inventory showing his pants. Like before, a secondary grid appeared, showing ten identical pairs of pants. In the very last square, it showed those same navy blue-and-grey pants he had gotten from the supply store.
Tsukuru was about to press it, but then a thought came to his mind. Why should he have to wear the same lame old uniform as everyone else? As long as it looked like the uniform, no one would be able to tell if he used a…different material.
Tsukuru thought for a minute about what he should make his new uniform out of.
Then, a smile crept across his face.
He remembered reading about a special form of fiber for making clothes. One that had been created in the early 2300's, but had unfortunately been lost in the Dalki War's destruction of old information.
Tsukuru held out his hand, and activated his Ability. The sound of electronic interference filled the room, and the System message telling him that his Video Creation Skill was in use appeared in front of him. Translucent, light-blue pixels began to appear in his hand. The pixels clustered together into the shape of a pair of folded pants. There was a flash of light.
When it faded, Tsukuru was holding a new pair of navy and gray pants.
Tsukuru looked down at it. The pants had a woven texture that made it look like a woven rope.
As he looked at it, his System's "scanner" function automatically activated. The circular "vector" appeared on top of the folded pants. A line extended from its left, leading to a square in the top left of Tsukuru's vision.
Underneath, text was seen.
[Polycarthimine Pants
A pair of pants made out of Polycarthimine Fiber, made in the design of the military uniform. Resistant to ballistic, stab, fire, and shock damage, and repels wind and water.]
Tsukuru brushed his hand against the pants. They had a…strange feel.
They felt like a soft, elastic, almost rubbery rope.
Tsukuru then tried to stretch them, and was amazed. The pants stretched like a stretching bungee chord, NOT a pair of clothes.
Tsukuru then unfolded the pants, and put them on. He then went about making the jacket to match with the pants.
He reactivated the Video Creation Skill. When he was done, he was holding a folded blazer jacket in his hands. It was made of the same material as the pants.
Tsukuru unfolded the jacket, and put it on.
Before he left the bathroom, he had one last thing to do.
He touched the square in the System's Inventory that showed his can of body spray. A new System message appeared, asking Tsukuru if he wanted to withdraw his body spray from the System's Inventory.
Tsukruru thought the word 'yes', and the can appeared in his hand.
He crossed it in a quick "x" formation while spraying. He then thought about putting the can back in the System's Inventory.
Another System prompt appeared. He thought 'yes', and the can disappeared, breaking apart into pixels, which then faded.
He took one last look in the mirror, before walking to the door.
Back in the room, Vorden and Quinn were talking. Suddenly, Tsukuru threw open the door to the bathroom, creating a loud bang.
The three other students in the room turned towards the source of the noise, with Peter even jumping slightly.
They all looked at Tsukuru, who had a look of deep irritation on his face.
"Alright, I'm done." He muttered in a deadpan tone.
Tsukuru walked towards his corner of the room. Tsukuru looked like a man who had zero coffee in his system, and had even less patience for whatever fresh nonsense the universe had decided to throw at him today.
Tsukuru picked his hoodie off of his cupboard, and proceeded to put it on.
As he did, Vorden stared at him.
"Uh, you alright, man?" He asked.
Tsukuru turned to him, that same irritated look on his face.
"I'm not a morning person." He muttered, his head aching from a lack of sleep. He was not used to having to get up this early.
"Ugh…It's tooearly for this shit." He muttered, as he began putting on his shoes.
He turned to Vorden and Quinn.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked. "A written invitation?"
Both Quinn and Vorden glanced at each other, before they both made a mad dash towards the bathroom, trying to get there first.
Tsukuru rolled his eyes at their antics.
Roughly twenty minutes later, all four of them were showered and changed, and they headed down the hall away from the dorm rooms, and towards the canteen for breakfast.
The canteen was filled with tables that could seat three people on each side. There were no seating arrangements in the canteen, meaning that the students were free to sit wherever they wanted.
However, both Quinn and Tsukuru noticed that, just like in school, the students had separated themselves by Ability Levels.
Low levels sat with other low levels, while high levels sat with other high levels.
Seeing it, an annoyed scowl appeared on Tsukuru's face, and he shook his head in irritation.
The school year had just started, and it seemed that the school's social hierarchy had already established itself. Tsukuru decided to pick a seat while the other three stood in line, sitting down in the Level 1 area without even realizing it.
Due to Tsukuru being able to create his own food, he could just skip the line.
And seeing how this was a military school, odds were it would be criminal to call whatever they were offering "food".
Tsukuru laid his arms on the table, far apart with his hands open, forming what was known as the "this big" pose.
He activated his Ability, causing the typical System messaging indicating that his Video Creation Skill was in use to appear.
The sound of electrical interference filled the canteen, causing a lot of students to turn to him.
Very few students were actually present at Tsukuru's showing in the Ability Level Placement Test, so this would be the first time they'd be seeing his Ability in use.
Translucent, light-blue pixels began to appear between his hands. The pixels clustered together into an oval shape with an oval-shaped elevation on top.
There was a bright flash of light, blinding everyone at the table, and catching everybody else's attention.
When it faded, the Level 1s all had their jaws dropped. In front of Tsukuru was a plate with a large, deluxe pizza on it, covered in mushrooms and pepperoni. The pizza was also pre-sliced, like a pizza being delivered.
A System message then appeared in front of Tsukuru, informing him he had lost 1 MC, dropping him down to 9.
The Level 1s all looked down at the slop they had in front of him, and exchanged looks.
Tsukuru looked up, and saw them all glaring at him in bitter jealousy.
He wore a deadpan look, and flashed his watch, displaying his power level of 1.3 to them.
Instantly, they all looked dejected and annoyed. It was obvious Tsukuru had one of, if not the, highest Ability Level among the Level 1s.
As Quinn, Vorden, and Peter stood in line, they saw a student cutting through the line without a care in the world. Due to the line cutter having a high Ability Level, no one said anything.
Quinn grit his teeth in anger. He hated these types of people. But honestly, what was he going to do? He was still just a weak Level 1.
A Level 1 with extraordinary strength and speed due to the System, but a Level 1 none-the-less.
As Quinn and Peter sat down around Tsukuru, Quinn on his left and Peter on his right, the two looked on in shock as Vorden sat down in the seat across from Tsukuru.
The second he sat down, all chatter at the table ceased instantly.
It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
Vorden looked at Peter and Quinn, and saw their shocked looks.
"What?" He asked, a confused look on his face.