Me and My Overpowered Abilities

"I was wondering why we had so much extra space today," the teacher remarked as Adam entered the classroom, his tone laced with subtle mockery. 

Adam didn't respond. He ignored the teacher's words, along with the laughter that rippled through the room. Keeping his expression neutral, he walked to his seat and sat down.

As he settled in, he noticed a few smirks being exchanged among the students. It wasn't hard to guess—someone was planning something.

Still, Adam didn't care. He ignored the stares, the smirks, and the unspoken schemes. He had long since grown used to it all.

Adam had ventured into several dungeons, using them as testing grounds for the jutsu and techniques he wanted to create. While he rarely bothered collecting Mana Stones, he did take the loot dropped by the monsters he killed. Loot—that was a new term he'd grown familiar with.

Loot was typically associated with E-grade dungeons, but you might wonder: hadn't E-grade dungeons yet to officially appear in this world? The truth was, they had—Adam had stumbled into three such dungeons on his own.

He quickly discovered that monsters in E-grade dungeons had a chance to drop loot. These ranged from weapons to gear with unique buffs or abilities, making them highly valuable.

Adam had also collected the Monster Cores from these dungeons, amassing not just dozens, but hundreds of E-rank Monster Cores, along with three D-rank Monster Cores. Despite their rarity and value, they were ultimately useless to him.

The class went by quickly, and before long, it was lunchtime. As expected, everyone rushed to get their food.

In the past, Adam would've skipped this altogether. Back then, he was too poor to afford much. If you were wondering how he managed to survive on his own for so long, the answer was simple. Although his parents had abandoned him at a young age, they were legally obligated to pay for his basic needs—food, housing, and so on.

This arrangement was supposed to end when Adam turned 18. However, the payments were set up as automatic transfers, and his parents had never noticed the $1,500 disappearing from their accounts every month.

"Look, he's here to order the whole menu!"

Laughter erupted throughout the cafeteria, but Adam ignored it. With his headphones on, he paid for his food and walked outside to eat in peace.

He didn't get far, though. A group of people blocked his path, their expressions hostile. Among them was Mark, glaring at Adam with a look of pure hatred.

Adam frowned when he saw Mark up and moving again. When he had acted against Mark, he had intended to ensure that Mark would never bother him again. Was that ruthless? Sure. Did Adam care? Not in the slightest.

He knew the bullying would only escalate as the world continued to change.

For Example. Hundreds of years ago, the loss of thousands of lives would have been breaking news. Before the earthquake, even the death of a single person could dominate headlines. But with the world now plunged into chaos, Adam believed society was transitioning into a harsher era—one where the death of a few dozen people might be seen as commonplace, and only losses in the thousands would be deemed newsworthy.

'He used hatred to heal his leg?' Adam thought blankly, watching Mark closely. 'Looks like his job class evolved thanks to that hatred… he's always had a deep resentment toward the world.'

Adam's thoughts were interrupted as someone slapped the food out of his hands, the tray clattering loudly to the ground. The perpetrator smirked coldly, standing tall as if daring Adam to react.

The cafeteria erupted in noise, the crowd egging Adam on, their voices full of mockery and encouragement for him to lash out. But Adam didn't move. He simply locked eyes with the guy who had knocked his food away, his expression unreadable.

Sensing an opportunity, someone else stepped forward, swinging a backhanded slap toward Adam's face.

But the strike never landed.

A firm hand caught the attacker's wrist mid-swing. The cafeteria went silent as everyone turned to see the young man who had appeared last night to save Jenny. His grip was steady, his expression cold as he stood between Adam and the would-be attacker.

Adam broke eye contact with the smirking instigator and threw an indifferent glance at his unexpected defender. For a moment, their eyes met in silence.

Then, without a word, Adam turned and walked away, his hands resting calmly in his pockets, leaving the room behind him as if nothing had happened.

"Don't think someone's going to protect you," Mark said coldly, stepping into Adam's path and forcing him to stop. His voice dripped with malice, his glare burning with hatred.

Adam met his gaze with calm indifference. "You just healed," he said blankly. "And the first thing you do is come after me instead of entering a dungeon to help your mother?"

Mark's face twisted in fury, Adam's words cutting deeper than he'd expected. Enraged, Mark's body erupted with the power of his wrath, his aura flaring wildly.

With a roar, he lunged toward Adam, his strength rivaling that of someone at level 5. The crowd gasped, stunned by the sheer force Mark unleashed.

But to their greater shock, Adam didn't even flinch.

As Mark closed in, Adam raised his hand and slapped him, hard. Mark was sent flying into the wall, blood dripping from his mouth as a few teeth clattered to the ground. The air grew still, the entire cafeteria falling silent. Everyone stared, too stunned to move, as they processed what they had just witnessed.

"What do you even have to be so angry about?" Adam asked coldly, his voice slicing through the tense silence as he walked toward Mark. "You never met your dad? Yet you have a mother who sacrificed everything for you. Instead of doing everything in your power to repay her, all you care about is me—a nobody."

Mark trembled, his body shaking in fear. The rage and wrath that had fueled him moments ago had completely vanished.

"Tell me," Adam continued, his voice steady and cutting. "Between you and me, who has more reason to be angry?"

The aura of wrath that Mark had wielded only moments ago now surrounded Adam, growing darker and more suffocating with every step he took. Mark collapsed to the floor, curling into a ball, paralyzed with terror.

"Did your dad sense you were such trash that he disappeared ahead of time?" Adam said coldly, his words like knives. "I bet your mother regrets not swallowing you."

Mark blinked in confusion, fear, and shock overtaking him as he suddenly found himself standing exactly where he'd been when he had blocked Adam. His body was unharmed, his teeth intact, and there was no blood. Adam was already behind him, walking away as though nothing had happened.

Everything Mark had experienced, the pain, the aura, the crushing humiliation—was nothing more than an illusion. But it had felt far too real.

Everyone else in the cafeteria was left baffled, their eyes darting between Adam and Mark. To them, it looked like Mark had stepped forward, blocked Adam's path, said a few words—and then suddenly froze in fear, while Adam walked by him without a care.

"..."

Not everyone was confused, though. One person had pieced it together. He realized that Mark had just experienced an illusion—an incredibly powerful one. His gaze lingered on Mark for a moment before shifting back to Adam, his mind racing.

'Why is someone so powerful letting everyone bully him like that?'

The young man who had stepped in earlier to "help" Adam felt a pang of unease. He hadn't intervened out of kindness—he was disgusted by Adam's indifference. His intention had been to protect the other students, fearing Adam might snap and kill them if pushed too far. But what he didn't expect was for Adam to simply walk away, using a calculated illusion to subdue Mark instead.

His thoughts drifted back to when he had looked into Adam's eyes. They were strange, lifeless, detached. The eyes of someone who had no connection to the world.

They weren't the eyes of someone truly living. They were the eyes of someone who had long lost their reason to live, yet hadn't completely given up. Someone who was desperately searching for a purpose, a reason to hold on.

He glanced around the cafeteria, observing the reactions of the students. Adam wasn't just a target for Mark or a small group. Everyone seemed to single him out. Even the outcasts, those shunned by others, didn't consider Adam one of their own.

The sheer level of loneliness surrounding him was suffocating.

The young man's unease deepened as realization struck. It wasn't surprising Adam hadn't stepped in to help Jenny last night, he'd been abandoned too often to feel obligated to protect anyone. But that made Adam dangerous.

Someone like him, desperate for love and belonging, could easily fall into the hands of an evil organization. That kind of hunger for connection, combined with Adam's immense power, could lead to catastrophe.

After a moment of thought, he made his decision. He went after Adam.

Adam might not want help, but he needed it. If someone didn't step in, he might never find the reason to live he was searching for, and that would only make him a greater threat to the world.

Meanwhile, Adam wandered to the back of the college, where a serene pond had been built. The clear water teemed with fish and other small creatures, its gentle ripples fed by a river that stretched off to destinations unknown. Adam didn't care enough to wonder where it led.

He moved toward a bench near the pond, his footsteps steady, but paused when his eyes caught sight of a girl standing at the water's edge.

Her hands were clasped tightly together, as if in prayer, and tears glistened in her eyes. The weight of despair hung over her, palpable even from where Adam stood.

Then, just as she finished her silent prayer, she stepped closer to the water, her intentions clear—she was about to jump in. But her movements stopped abruptly when she noticed him standing there.

Adam didn't say a word. He met her gaze for a brief moment before turning away, uninterested in whatever drama had brought her to this point.

He walked to the bench, sat down, and pulled out a cigarette. He was about to light it when he remembered the school's no-smoking rule. Sighing, he tucked it back into his pocket and instead pulled out his phone.

He began searching for a place to eat. As a Saiyan, his appetite had grown exponentially. While his Gate of Babylon contained plenty of food, he preferred not to rely on it unless absolutely necessary... after all, those foods were treasures. Ordering something fresh from a store seemed like the better option.

"...You're not going to stop me?"

The girl's trembling voice broke the silence, her question carrying across the pond. She couldn't believe how utterly indifferent Adam seemed, as though her presence, and her pain, meant nothing.

Adam stopped for a moment, meeting her tearful gaze with his calm, detached eyes. Then, with a sigh, he stood up and began walking away.

"If you want to die, go into a dungeon. At least your family would get some money that way," he said, his tone flat and emotionless.

His words left her stunned, her mind struggling to process the cold, pragmatic suggestion.

If he helped her, she would feel thankful, grateful, even. She might start clinging to him, dragging him into her life. But if he left her alone, things would stay the same, untouched and distant.

All Adam wanted was to be ignored, to live without anyone intruding on his solitude. But that seemed to be a request too difficult for the world to honor.

So, if helping her die meant regaining his peace, then so be it. Plus, he was doing her a favor by telling her a better way to take her own life.

Unbeknownst to Adam, the young man who had followed him was watching the scene unfold. Disgust twisted his features as he saw Adam's complete lack of compassion. He couldn't fathom how someone could witness such despair and simply walk away.

As Adam left, the young man stepped forward, approaching the girl with a softer demeanor to help her. Meanwhile, Adam exited the school grounds, walking toward a nearby store, his thoughts already elsewhere.