Ch 3: I'd Adapt

[ Kazuya's Pov ]

The soft hum of the classroom around me barely caught my attention as I stared outside the window. Chatter of classmates and the sound of the teacher's voice faded into the background, as I landed in my bubble of introspection.

I barely dodged helping out with the student council work after school and it's credit goes to my exceptional convincing skills, which is rather an exaggeration, I promised her it won't repeat after promising a chess match she was trying to have with me. Well it's better to lose some self-respect for apologizing repeatedly

Honestly, I expected some level of strictness from her but this was too much. If her sister was the one in same age as Rias instead of her, this anime would have peaked in this genre. Anyways, it's time for me to spin some luck to see if I still got it or the first one was just me being lucky. Giving the command, the familiar blue panel showed up with a new spin to spin and without a further ado, I dived into next rush of dopamine.

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You've received [ Heightened Senses ]

It enhances the user's sensory perception to extraordinary levels, allowing them to experience the world in ways that are beyond normal human capacity.

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This is much better than I thought it would be! Not only I can use it for offensive but also for the defensive. With this, my combat skills will rise to the heights in no time, giving me an edge over my lack of physical strength and endurance. Gradually I could feel the new changes in me and the world turned into a new one.

The air in the room grew more vivid. I could feel every shift of temperature, each subtle movement of the air conditioning system, as if the air itself has become a tangible presence. The rustle of papers, once a vague blur of sound, becomes as clear and precise as if I was standing right next to the person flipping through their notes. I could hear a faint click of a pen cap being twisted, the rhythmic tapping of a shoe against the floor. Even the small scratch of a pencil against paper comes into focus like a brushstroke on a canvas.

My vision sharpened too. Colours became more vibrant, each detail in the room more pronounced. I could see the minute flutter of a classmate's eyelash, the slight shift in the texture of the teacher's suit fabric, and the dust particles lazily drifting through the sunbeam coming from the window. Everything has taken on a surreal clarity.

Then, a smell—subtle but undeniable—rose up from the floor. It's a mix of paper, the faint scent of a dry-erase marker, and the staleness of the classroom air that has been trapped in this space for too long. I could smell the lingering traces of coffee on the teacher's breath as she talked, and the faint sweetness of a student's perfume beside me.

I blinked as the new awareness overwhelmed me for a moment, as if the world has suddenly unfolded in high definition. My steady heartbeat, senses now tuned like an instrument to the world around me, every small detail becoming perfectly clear. Despite the rapid onslaught of heightened perception, a strange calm washed over me—almost as if I was in control of this new reality.

Phew!

It's like a whole new experience for me all of a sudden as if stars are finally aligned making sense of everything around me. I could shift from normal senses to super one with focus on it but this was far from being powerful enough.

It's time for grind.

...

As the final bell rings, the clatter of books and backpacks filled the air, a signal that the school day has come to an end. The classroom, once filled with the low hum of quiet conversation and the rustle of paper, slowly emptied, with students rushing to leave for their homes.

Meanwhile I was preparing for what waited for me next, slipping into a quiet focus as my thoughts drifted toward the woods on the outskirts of town. I remember it clearly, a perfect spot for training, a place away from prying eyes, where I can push my powers to their limits. A place where control over his abilities could be tested without fear of being interrupted.

The last few students trickle out of the classroom, and I finally stood up. Grabbing my bag, slinging it over shoulder, and walking out of the room, the familiar echo of my footsteps in the empty hall as I moved toward the exit. The school grounds were quiet now, with only a few students making their way out. The wind picked up, ruffling hair as I stepped outside into the cool afternoon air.

My heartbeats quickened as I reached outside woods to train. The familiar scent of pine and damp earth. The faintest crunch of leaves, the rustling of distant birds in the trees, even the scent of the wind carrying the distant smell of water—it all came to me as if the world has suddenly sharpened.

The sounds of the town faded away, replaced by the deep quiet of nature. The trees loomed over me, the branches stretching toward the sky, and the forest floor, soft with moss and fallen leaves. As I walk deeper into the woods, I found a small clearing, the perfect place for me to focus, where the world couldn't reach me, and my concentration is undisturbed.

Putting down my bag and I took a moment to stand still, breathing deeply, letting the calm of the forest wash over me. The air was cool, the rustling leaves whispering around me, felt my senses heightening, the world becoming clearer with every passing second. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig—echoing in my mind. I could smell the dampness of the earth, the fresh pine needles, the scent of the distant river.

Closing my eyes for a moment, focusing inward, I summoned the chill that rested deep inside. I could feel the cold pulse of ice at the edge of consciousness, the same icy force that I learned to harness, but only in fragments. It's a power that I still struggle to control, but one I am desperate to master. Slowly, deliberately, reaching out with my mind, calling the ice to hand, willing it to appear.

A shiver ran up on my arm as the temperature around me dropped, the air growing colder. My breath came out in a small puff of vapor. Hands tingled, then chills, and soon, frost begins to form on fingertips, spreading across the palm. The cold feels familiar, comforting almost, as if it was an extension of myself.

I concentrated to will the ice to form a more solid shape, to expand outward. Slowly, the frost creeped on my forearm, as it solidified into sharp, jagged shapes—spikes of ice that shimmer in the dim light filtering through the trees. It's not perfect, not yet, but it's progress.

The power of Demon Extract was still unpredictable, sometimes wild, but in this moment, I felt a small measure of control, it's better to have something than nothing at all.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes, shifting focus to the surroundings. The world was clearer than ever before. I could hear the faintest snap of a twig far in the distance, the rustling of the wind through the treetops, and even the thudding of my own heartbeat. I could pick out every detail in the forest, from the individual leaves swaying in the wind to the tiny creatures darting between the trees. The faintest movements stood out to me, and felt more attuned.

Now, it's time to test my newly acquired abilities.

Raising my hand with a flicker of concentration, the ice on my palm crackled as I directed it outward, shaping the ice into multiple shards. In the next moment, I watched it slice through the air with pinpoint accuracy before they embedded itself deep into the trunk of trees.

Taking few slow breaths, I gazed at the ice slowly fading away, its coldness lingering in the air. The world around him feels alive with possibilities, and for the first time, I felt like I was truly in control—of my powers, of my senses, of myself.

But this was just the beginning. 

I'd Adapt.