I stood in the middle of my small hallway, hands at my sides, and focused.
A white suit of light. Covering my entire body.
I closed my eyes and pictured it clearly in my mind—a full-body armor made of solid light, encasing me from head to toe. Not too thick. Just enough to protect without restricting movement.
Then I felt it.
The familiar warmth of LightForce spreading across my skin, starting at my fingertips.
I opened my eyes and watched, fascinated, as the white light began to materialize.
It started at the tips of my fingers, forming a thin layer—maybe two centimeters thick—that wrapped around my skin like a second layer. The light crept upward slowly, covering my hands, then my wrists, moving up my forearms in a steady progression.
Where my t-shirt covered my arms, the armor didn't tear through the fabric. Instead, it materialized over the clothes, layering on top rather than replacing them.
Smart. The constructs adapted to what was already there.
I watched it climb higher, reaching my elbows, then my biceps, spreading across my shoulders as it began to branch out toward my chest and back.
The sensation was strange but not unpleasant—like wearing a thin, warm glove that moved with me perfectly.
I grinned, unable to help myself.
"This can be my costume, right?" I muttered aloud, my voice filled with fascination. "Why would I even need the Costume Creation skill when I can just use LightForce to make armor? A knight in shining white armor, cliche but cool."
And just like that—as if the universe wanted to prove me wrong, or the Costume Creation skill's ego had been personally offended by my words—everything went sideways.
The armor on my fingertips started to fade.
I blinked, staring at my hands as the white light dissolved from my fingers, retreating backward even as the armor on my chest and shoulders continued to build forward.
"What the—"
The armor on my back started fading too, peeling away like it was being erased, while the chest piece kept forming.
I tried to hold it, to keep the whole thing intact, but it didn't matter.
The more the armor spread toward my torso, the more it disappeared from my extremities.
It was like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom—no matter how much I poured in, it kept draining out.
Finally, I gave up.
I let go of the construct entirely, and the whole thing dissolved in an instant, the light flickering out and leaving me standing there in just my regular clothes.
"Me and my jinxing mouth," I muttered, irritation bubbling up in my chest.
I tried again.
Same result.
The moment the armor reached a certain coverage area, it started disappearing again—fading from one part of my body to form on another.
I couldn't maintain a full suit.
Not even close.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"So there's either a limit to how much light-based material I can create," I said aloud, working through it, "or a limit to how much of it can cover my body at once. Or maybe neither, and the system just wanted to mess with me."
I shook my head.
"I really need to speak less."
But at least I'd figured out the limitation now and knew what I had to work with.
Partial armor, weapons, shields, and tools.
But not a full Iron Man-type suit. Not yet, anyway.
Maybe that would change if I unlocked higher tiers of LightForce. Maybe LightForce Connection II or III would let me expand the coverage area. And I hope those tiers let me maintain the constructs while not being in physical contact with them.
For now, though, this was what I had.
And honestly? It was still pretty damn useful.
I glanced at the clock on the wall. 9:30 AM.
Still early. Plenty of time left in the day.
I'd tested my constructs. I'd confirmed Regeneration worked.
Now it was time to test something else.
My body's endurance.
The LightForce ability came with those "lesser physiological effects" the system mentioned—enhanced stamina recovery, accelerated metabolic regulation. And Regeneration I boosted my healing.
But how much of a difference did that actually make?
There was only one way to find out.
I changed into a pair of running shorts and an old tank top, laced up my sneakers, and headed out.
Fortunately, there was a public running track about ten minutes from my apartment—a small loop around a park that most people ignored. It wasn't fancy, just a paved path with distance markers, but it was good enough for what I needed.
When I arrived, the place was almost empty. Just an older guy walking his dog on the far side and a woman sitting on a bench scrolling through her phone.
Perfect.'
I stepped onto the track, stretched my legs quickly, and started running.
Not sprinting. Not pushing myself to the limit.
Just a normal, steady pace.
I settled into a rhythm, my feet hitting the pavement in a steady cadence, my breathing even and controlled.
Normally, when I ran, I'd average about six or seven miles per hour—a decent pace, but nothing crazy. And after an hour of that, I'd be winded, legs burning, needing a good few minutes to catch my breath.
But now?
Now I felt good.
My legs moved effortlessly. My lungs didn't strain. My heart beat steadily without the usual spike in effort.
I kept going, lap after lap, watching the distance markers tick by.
By the time an hour had passed, I'd covered ten miles.
I stopped, glancing down at my fitness tracker to confirm.
10.2 miles. One hour.
I stared at the number, genuinely surprised.
That was fast. Way faster than I'd ever managed before.
And I wasn't even breathing hard.
There was a slight soreness in my legs—just a faint ache in my calves and thighs—but even that was fading as I stood there.
Either way, I felt fine. Better than fine, actually.
I felt like I could keep going.
"Let's see how far I can push it," I muttered.
I took a deep breath, reset my tracker, and launched into a full sprint.
Thirty minutes later, I finally stopped, doubling over with my hands on my knees as I gasped for air.
My lungs burned. My legs trembled slightly. Sweat dripped from my forehead onto the pavement.
But I'd done it.
I checked my tracker.
9.1 miles. Thirty minutes.
That was insane.
I'd never come close to that kind of speed before. Not even when I was training regularly.
And yeah, I was breathless now—my chest heaving as I sucked in oxygen—but it wasn't the kind of bone-deep exhaustion I'd expected.
After a couple of minutes, my breathing evened out.
The burn in my lungs faded.
And the soreness in my legs? Already starting to disappear.
I lay down on the grass beside the track, staring up at the sky as I processed what I'd just learned.
"It's either the effect of LightForce on my body," I said aloud, thinking it through. "Didn't give me extra strength, but it gave me stamina and endurance. So, that's why I was able to go at it with Yelena and MJ without feeling tired."
That made sense.
Two rounds with Yelena. An hour-long session with MJ. And I'd barely felt winded afterward.
It was the system.
"Or it could be from Regeneration," I added, turning the thought over. "Faster recovery means my body bounces back quicker from exertion. Could go hand-in-hand with stamina."
I couldn't be sure which skill was responsible—maybe it was both, working together—but honestly, it didn't matter.
As long as it was beneficial for me, I'd take it.
Over the next hour, I put myself through a series of exercises.
Push-ups. Sit-ups. Squats. Burpees.
I wanted to test my strength, see if that had improved at all alongside the stamina boost.
It hadn't.
I could do more reps than before—way more—but that was stamina, not strength. The weight I could lift, the force I could exert, all of that was still the same as it had been before the system.
Which meant if I wanted to hit harder, I'd need to rely on weapons. On constructs.
LightForce gave me offensive options. Regeneration kept me in the fight longer.
But raw physical power? That wasn't on the table yet.
Good to know.
By the time I finished testing, it was past noon, and I was drenched in sweat but not exhausted.
I jogged back to my apartment, took a quick shower, and collapsed onto my bed, staring at the ceiling as my mind worked through everything I'd learned.
"So I need to be able to fight to earn money," I said aloud, piecing together my next steps.
The vague plan I'd had earlier was starting to take shape.
The thing I was about to do was something that paid cash and didn't ask too many questions.
But I couldn't just walk into that world unprepared.
I muttered, "I did do MMA for a couple of years back home, but I didn't achieve much. The basic fighting skills I have won't be enough."
I'd trained at a small gym in my hometown, learning the fundamentals—striking, grappling, ground game.
But I'd never competed seriously. Never pushed myself to the level where I could take on trained fighters and win consistently.
And now, in a world where superhumans existed, "basic" wasn't going to cut it.
"I need to learn a proper fighting style," I continued, thinking it through. "And swordplay, too. If I'm going to use LightForce weapons, I need to know how to wield them properly."
A sword made of light was useless if I didn't know how to swing it.
Same with knives, spears, shields—any construct I made.
I needed training. Real training.
I sat up, grabbed my phone from the nightstand, and opened the browser.
'Time to find somewhere that could teach me.'
I started typing.
Martial arts dojos near me.
Swordsmanship classes in Queens.
The search results loaded, and I scrolled through them, looking for something that fit what I needed.
Something legitimate. Somewhere I could actually learn without wasting time or money.
And then I started looking for dojos nearby.
.....
A.N: Sorry, dear readers. Someone from my extended family passed away. Was busy with the rituals, back on track now.
Another thing, I am planning to write some new fics too, side by side with this one. Their update schedule might be three chapters a week or two chapters a week.
I want you to give me suggestions of your favorite characters you would like to see in a harem from those verses, or maybe casual hook-ups, or anything.
You can even suggest any characters you would like to see getting beaten up, by the MC.
The verses are:
Marvel
DC
Ben 10
AOT
Invincible
Naruoto
JJK
DBZ
ATG(Against the Gods, yes, the author loves cultivation brain rot too)
Multiverse(A multiverse fic, write the name of your universe, and the characters and what you want from them)
....
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