Upgrades

Ren's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he felt was a stinging pain at the back of his head. Slowly, he was getting used to waking up in strange places, and it wasn't a good thing.

Fucking hell… what happened?

He groaned as he reached for his head, only to stop midway as a dull pain spread through his entire body. His muscles felt heavier, yet oddly powerful, like he had just woken up from an intense workout.

But something was different. No… a lot was different.

Just then, a familiar screen appeared before him.

+++

Your stats have increased!

Basic Stats:

• Strength: D (↑)

• Agility: D+ (↑)

• Endurance: D++ (↑)

• Intuition: C

• Intelligence: B

• Charisma: B

Corruption States:

• Initiation (2 marked targets: Osprey, Chronostasis)

• Submission (1 marked target: Mirko)

+++

Ren blinked, staring at the screen in disbelief. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the screen remained unchanged.

His stats had actually increased.

He clenched his fists, feeling the newfound strength surging through his veins. A normal human had F-grade stats, but every level-up increased one's abilities fivefold.

That meant his current strength, agility, and endurance were now at least twenty-five times greater than those of an average person.

He couldn't believe it. He had expected an improvement from going under the procedure, but this? This was insane.

He slowly pushed himself up from the bed, and began flexing his fingers, rolling his shoulders. There was a stark difference from before. Despite gaining muscles, his body felt lighter and more responsive.

In the world of superhumans, his stats were still below average, but for a bottom-dweller like him, it was more than enough.

More importantly, having more endurance would save him a ton of time while corrupting the females.

"Hell yeah..." he muttered under his breath.

For the first time in his, Ren felt strong. No, he felt unstoppable.

Before he could fully take in his transformation, the doors to the room swung open. Ren immediately turned his head, his body tensing out of habit, but relaxed when he saw Hari enter.

Behind him, two young women followed, carrying trays of food, juice, and a neatly folded set of clothes. They walked in silence, placing everything on a nearby table before bowing slightly and leaving without a word.

It was a strange sight since Ren didn't know the Chisaki recruited females among his ranks. Unbeknownst to him, someone was looking at him with mischief in his eyes.

"You can have them if you want. Although I don't think your girlfriend would like it," Hari smirked, leaning against the doorway. "That aside, how are you feeling?"

Ren clenched his fists, feeling his enhanced strength flow through him once again.

"I've never felt better."

Hari chuckled and nodded. He knew the feeling, after all, he too had undergone the same procedure countless times to stand at the top of the mountain.

"Good. Garaki told me he did what he could with your physique," Hari informed. "Any more enhancements at your level might cause irreversible damage. So… you gotta get strong on your own for a while."

"It's fine," Ren said, waving his hand dismissively. "This is way better than before. Although it won't be enough to fight Aizawa, it should be enough for now."

Hari gave him an amused look but didn't argue. He knew Aizawa was untouchable for the moment. But Ren didn't need to know that. Once he officially joined them, they'd find a way to corrupt UA as they did with the hero association.

But that dream would take a while to come true.

"Eat up. You'll need your energy. Once you're ready, we're heading out. Lord Chisaki wants to meet you."

Ren froze.

Chisaki.

Just hearing that name sent a shiver down his spine. Given the state of their world, he was probably the final boss of the game. Someone he shouldn't meet unless you were fully prepared. And Ren? He wasn't planning on meeting him at all.

However, if he wanted to meet him, then there was nothing Ren could do about it.

"He wants to see me?" Ren asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Yeah. He knows about your past with Aizawa. He's also a pain in the ass for us," Hari nodded. "So I figured you'd be interested."

Ren's fingers twitched slightly. He knew nothing about his past with Aizawa. If he made one wrong statement, all his planning would go straight to the dumpster.

No, panicking now won't help.

Ren took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He was already too deep in this mess to back out now.

He had witnessed firsthand what the Shie Hassaikai was capable of and knew their secrets, well, some of it. Chisaki won't let go of him so easily and Ren had no intention of getting on his bad side… at least, not yet.

Besides… it wasn't all bad.

The sooner he met Chisaki, the sooner he could start corrupting him.

"It would be wrong of me to not thank my benefactor," Ren smiled. "Alright. I'll meet him if he's willing to waste his time on someone insignificant like me."

"Don't sell yourself short. Everyone has their uses, and you must too," Hari grinned. "Enough talking for now. Eat up quickly. Lord Chisaki doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Ren nodded as he reached for the food. Meeting Chisaki was dangerous, but this was also an opportunity. If he played his cards right, he could turn the entire Shie Hassaikai into his private army.

He just had to be careful.

Because in this game, the strongest didn't always win.

The smartest did.