Zik, Aiden, and Tobias lay sprawled out on the training ground, completely destroyed.
Every muscle ached. Every breath felt like dragging a boulder up a mountain. Their bodies felt like they had no bones left, just exhaustion packed into a human shape.
Reyes stood over them, arms crossed, not even sweating.
"Alright," he said, nodding approvingly. "Not bad."
Three groans of suffering answered him.
Reyes smirked. "Tobias, your control's improved. You're using precision instead of brute force, which is the whole reason we did this. You can still level a city block if you want to, but at least now you won't do it by accident."
Tobias, face-down in the dirt, made a thumbs-up.
"Aiden," Reyes continued. "You've been coasting on talent, but now? You're building real skill. You're adapting instead of relying on just being faster or stretchier than the other guy."
Aiden let out a wheeze. "Cool. Thanks. Why does my lung feel like it's in my stomach?"
"You'll be fine," Reyes said dismissively before turning to Zik. "And you."
Zik didn't even lift his head. "Just let me die."
Reyes grinned. "You're getting stronger."
Zik made a weak sound of protest.
"Seriously," Reyes said. "You're thinking faster, moving smarter, and you're not running anymore. That's the biggest difference. You faced every nightmare I threw at you, and you kept standing. That's hero material."
Zik cracked one bleary eye open. "We're… doing hero stuff?"
Reyes frowned. "What?"
Aiden, lying next to him, groaned. "Yeah… why are we doing this again?"
Tobias blinked up at the sky. "Yeah, I forgot too."
Reyes stared at them.
For all their progress, for all the blood, sweat, and possibly some internal bleeding they had gone through—
These idiots had forgotten.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We're training," he said slowly, "because you're competing in the national tournament in a few days."
Three blank stares.
Reyes sighed deeply. "The thing. The competition. The reason you've been getting beaten to hell every day this week."
Zik blinked. "Oh yeah."
Aiden coughed. "Right, that."
Tobias exhaled. "Was that really worth it, though?"
Reyes laughed.
Not just chuckled—a full laugh.
It was almost terrifying.
"Oh, definitely," he said. "Because when you step into that arena, you're going to see the difference."
Zik groaned. "I better. If I lose first round after all this, I'm haunting you."
Aiden raised a weak fist. "Yeah. Ghost revenge pact."
Tobias sighed. "I'll haunt you guys if I die first, don't worry."
Reyes shook his head. "You'll be fine. Now get some rest. You're going to need it."
The three of them groaned in unison.
But somewhere, deep in their exhausted, broken bodies, they knew—
They had never been stronger.
Reyes clapped his hands together. "Alright, training's over. Get a good night's sleep—you're going to need it."
Zik groaned, rolling onto his back. "Finally. I think my bones are crying."
Aiden, still wheezing, nodded. "Yeah. My lungs are definitely somewhere they shouldn't be."
Tobias barely moved. "Sleep sounds like a scam, but I'll take it."
Then, Aiden furrowed his brow. "Wait. Why are we sleeping early again?"
Reyes raised an eyebrow. "Because you have a match tomorrow."
Silence.
Zik slowly turned his head toward him. "Tomorrow? As in… tomorrow tomorrow?"
Aiden sat up, eyes narrowing. "Dude. You said the national tournament was in a few days."
Tobias, looking equally concerned, added, "Yeah. What do you mean 'match tomorrow'? That wasn't part of the deal."
Reyes gave them a deadpan stare. "You still have one last round to qualify for nationals, geniuses."
Zik blinked. "Wait. That wasn't the final round?"
"No," Reyes said, crossing his arms. "Tomorrow is the last match. But don't worry, even you are strong enough to win now."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Aiden squinted. "Even me? Why does that sound like an insult?"
Reyes shrugged. "Unless your opponent is trying, or, you know—suddenly awakens some new power out of nowhere." He smirked. "But really, what are the odds of that happening?"
Aiden slowly turned toward Zik.
Zik, half-conscious, was already loosening his tie, preparing to sleep right then and there.
And, of course, he was still wearing his cursed yellow shirt.
Aiden paled. "Dude, please take off the cursed shirt."
Zik yawned. "Too tired. Probably sleeping in it."
Tobias sighed, rubbing his temples. "Welp. You're doomed. Your opponent is 100% unlocking some ridiculous ability tomorrow."
Aiden groaned, covering his face. "Zik. You need to burn that shirt."
Reyes just laughed, walking away. "Good luck tomorrow."
Zik, already half-asleep, muttered, "Luck is for the talented. Bad luck makes me strong."
Aiden and Tobias exchanged looks.
"…He's doomed."
Tobias sighed as he looked down at his two unconscious friends, both sprawled out on the ground like they had completely given up on existence.
Aiden was muttering nonsense in his sleep, something about "never trusting rubber physics again," while Zik, still wearing that cursed yellow shirt, had the audacity to snore like he had just spent a peaceful day at a spa instead of being absolutely obliterated in training.
Tobias shook his head. "You guys are hopeless."
With minimal effort, he lifted them both up—one over each shoulder—and started walking. Zik to his orphanage, Aiden to his house.
Aiden's parents would probably just shake their heads and say, "Again?"
Zik, though… he had nobody waiting for him.
Tobias made a quick stop, buying a lunchbox with something decent to eat and slipping it next to Zik's bed before leaving.
Because tomorrow was match day.
And Zik was going to wake up with nothing but aching muscles and bad luck.
At the very least, Tobias figured, he could start the day with a full stomach.
---
The Next Morning
The second Zik opened his eyes, he regretted everything.
His body felt like it had been hit by a truck.
Then reversed over.
Then hit again for good measure.
"Ugh…" He sat up slowly, rubbing his face—only to freeze when he saw the lunch sitting next to him.
He blinked. "…Tobias, you absolute legend."
Five minutes later, he was inhaling it like a starving animal.
By the time he met up with the others outside, Aiden was still stretching out his sore limbs while Tobias stood there, arms crossed, looking perfectly fine.
Zik frowned. "You don't look half-dead like us. That's suspicious."
Tobias shrugged. "I don't get sore like you guys."
Aiden groaned. "Rub it in, why don't you?"
Tobias smirked. "I just did."
Zik sighed, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, whatever. Let's go. Tobias' match is first, we don't wanna be late."
Then—they ran.
Even sore, even stiff, even after everything, their feet hit the pavement in perfect sync.
Racing against time, racing toward what they knew would be a crazy day.
They reached school just in time to see the announcer calling out Tobias' name.
And then—
A pause.
Zik frowned. "Wait… where's his opponent?"
They all turned to the empty ring.
The announcer cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh… Tobias wins by default. His opponent didn't show up."
A beat of silence.
Then Tobias sighed, shaking his head. "Coward."
Aiden snickered. "Bro saw the bracket and straight up transferred schools."
Zik sighed dramatically. "Well, that was anti-climactic."
Tobias grinned, rolling his shoulders. "Fine by me. More time to watch your match."
Zik froze.
Aiden grinned. "Oh yeah. You're up next."
Zik, remembering the cursed shirt he was still wearing, suddenly felt very, very afraid.
Because knowing his luck… his opponent was about to awaken some ridiculous ability.
As Zik stepped into the ring, he barely had time to roll his shoulders before eyeing his opponent.
The guy looked way too smug for someone who had just awakened their ability yesterday.
Zik sighed. "Alright, let's just get this over with. What's your brand new, completely unfair superpower?"
His opponent froze.
His face twitched. "H-How did you know I just awakened it?!"
Zik rubbed his temples. "Because of course you did. Of course, you awakened some ridiculous ability at the last second. Because that's my luck."
The crowd murmured, confused. Some of them looked at Zik, then at his opponent, then back at Zik's cursed yellow shirt.
Oh no, some of them thought. He's wearing it again.
Zik took a deep breath. Every time he thought about taking off the shirt, he just couldn't.
I'd be a hypocrite.
He had been preaching about bad luck making him stronger this whole time. If he took it off now, it'd be like admitting he never believed it.
Even though right now, he really, really wanted to believe in good luck instead.
His opponent suddenly grinned and spread his arms wide.
"Alright then, since you're so curious…" He activated his ability.
And the arena fell into silence.
Because he grew.
Not a little. Not just a few inches taller.
He grew to the size of a truck.
His limbs bulged, his body expanded, and his entire presence became overwhelming.
Aiden and Tobias, watching from the stands, had polar opposite reactions.
Aiden: "Ohhhh, that's bad."
Tobias: "Zik's doomed."
Zik, feeling the shadow of a walking skyscraper looming over him, slowly exhaled.
"…Of course it's giantization."
And then, just as he was processing that terrible fact, he saw the worst possible thing.
Because his opponent wasn't just some random dude with a lucky new ability.
His original abilities were: Tough Skin, Regeneration, Super Jump, and Muscle Enhancement.
Each of them.
Each and every one of them.
Was a perfect match for Giantization.
He had increased size, which meant more muscle mass and more impact power.
His Super Jump, which used to be useless, was now a terrifying offensive weapon.
If he jumped and came crashing down—Zik would be paste.
And to make it all worse?
Every one of his abilities was Grade A.
Zik closed his eyes.
Breathed in.
Breathed out.
Then turned slightly to Tobias and Aiden.
"Hey, guys?" he called out.
They both leaned forward.
Zik stared at them, completely serious.
"I'm dead."
Aiden nodded solemnly. "Yeah, you are."
Tobias sighed. "Should've taken off the shirt, man."
Zik rubbed his face.
He really should have.
Zik stared at his opponent—no, his walking nightmare—as the ground rumbled beneath the giant's every step.
The guy was huge, but…
He's slow.
Zik took a deep breath, calculating as fast as his super intelligence would let him.
Except for Super Jump, every one of his abilities makes him bulkier, heavier, and harder to move quickly.
His Tough Skin meant his body was dense.
His Muscle Enhancement made him strong, but it didn't boost his agility.
His Regeneration wouldn't help him dodge anything.
Zik's only advantage?
Speed.
I can outrun him.
Zik narrowed his eyes, watching the way the guy moved.
And because I'm faster, the way he can use Jump is limited too.
If the guy tried to leap into the air and land on him, Zik could just move out of the way.
If he used his size and weight to crush him, then Zik would just have to make sure he never lands a clean hit.
Still… something felt off.
Zik flexed his fingers, feeling the empty ability slot in his mind.
In case of emergency…
He didn't know what kind of ability he should get. Something defensive? Another speed-based power?
His opponent had core abilities—the kind of skills that defined a person's entire combat style.
Maybe I need something like that.
Something adaptable.
Something that could boost any of his powers.
And then an idea hit him.
"Aura."
An energy-based ability that, depending on how it was used, could boost his speed, enhance his strikes, or even give him an extra layer of defense.
It was perfect.
But before he could think any further—
BOOM.
A massive fist swung at him, tearing through the air like a wrecking ball.
Zik's eyes widened—he barely had time to dodge.
The impact shattered the ground where he had been standing, sending chunks of debris flying.
The sheer shockwave of the attack knocked Zik off balance, forcing him to stumble backward.
And standing off to the side, watching this disaster unfold, Reyes could only stare.
His hands were in his pockets, his face expressionless—but internally?
…All that training. For what?
The kid barely survived Hell Domain.
He worked himself to the bone for an entire week.
And now this happens.
Reyes sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Who has this kind of bad luck?"
He had laughed at the cursed yellow shirt before. Thought it was just a joke.
But now?
Now he was seriously wondering.
Was that BS about the cursed yellow shirt actually true?