Kouta Hosoi was walking down the street, simply talking to Akemi Andou (whom he has a crush on).
"Kouta, is something wrong? You're quieter than usual," Akemi asked with a gentle smile.
"It's nothing... It's just... Well, I like walking with you," he replied, a little nervously.
Akemi smiled, but before he could answer, a couple of guys got in his way.
And suddenly, some kids tried to mug them.
"Oh, my... What do we have here?" one of them said with a wicked grin. "You better give us everything you've got."
Kouta felt fear run through his body, but he couldn't let anything happen to Akemi. Without thinking, he threw a clumsy punch at one of the assailants, but the assailant easily dodged and counterattacked. Kouta felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and when he looked down, he saw the blade of a knife stuck in it.
"Kouta!" Akemi cried in horror.
Kouta fell to his knees, blood soaking his clothes. With what little strength he had left, he spoke to Akemi.
"Run... Akemi, please... Run away..." he whispered before collapsing completely.
The last thing he saw was Akemi's figure walking away as his vision blurred. Then, everything went black.
When Kouta opened his eyes, everything was different. His body was enveloped in a faint purple light. He looked around and noticed that the houses that had once seemed old and abandoned now looked newer, shinier. Some he remembered were no longer there.
"What is this...?" he murmured. He tried to touch a wall, but suddenly, he felt a tug. The structure was trying to absorb his glow.
"No...!" he cried, struggling until, suddenly, the house stopped sucking him in and was also covered in the same purple light.
He fell to his knees, exhausted. "What the hell happened?..."
"Wow, that was impressive!" a female voice interrupted his confusion.
Kouta turned around and saw a dark-haired girl with a kind expression.
"I'm Yui Takashima. You seem to be new here," she said with a smile.
"Y-yes..." Kouta replied. "Where am I?"
"Welcome to the other world," Yui replied matter-of-factly. "I'll explain everything, but first... Are you up for a fight?"
"A fight?" he repeated, surprised.
"You see, I want to get stronger to join the Spectral Defense Agency, and you seem like a strong one. I need to test my level," she explained enthusiastically.
Kouta, still confused, agreed. The fight was intense, but Yui emerged victorious.
After a somewhat long fight, Yui emerged victorious, but was left badly injured.
"You're good, but you lack stamina," she said, panting slightly. "Come, I'll take you to the SRT."
Yui asked Kouta to follow her, and led him to a guard guarding what looked like a large City Hall, which displayed the acronym SRT (Soul Records Tribunal), and asked him to analyze her power. The guard, using a device similar to a video camera, would analyze her first. He would tell her that she was 21 years old, had a power of 40, and a DRAS of 175 (Defense: 50, Stamina: 35, Attack: 30, and Speed: 60), just as her records indicated. While Kouta's power was unknown, since being new, his power could not be measured due to not having his records.
The guard invited them in, and with their authorization badge, they were allowed to enter the Spectral Registry. The secretary, who looked quite imposing, welcomed them warmly, a contrast with her toned body and the scar covering half her face, making her look menacing.
"Name and age at death," the sweet secretary asked.
"Kōta Hosoi, 18 years old..." Kota replied.
After a few minutes of basic questions like his age at death (18 years old) and physical condition (thin build, below-average lung capacity), they registered him, and as soon as they measured his power...
"Power of 100... He's a prodigy!" the guard exclaimed.
After analyzing it, the room filled with murmurs.
Kouta blinked. "Is that good?"
"Incredibly good," Yui said.
It turns out he's a prodigious warrior, with a power of 100! Everyone was amazed by this news. Kouta didn't know how he had that power, since it was new. The guard would ask him to tell him everything he'd done in the ghost world.
Yui and Kouta would explain everything. After this, the guard would understand and explain that having exerted so much effort, his power would increase. Normally, it would only increase slightly, but Kouta's power would increase to approximately double his current level. However...
"But let's see your DRAS..." Yui continued.
The guard reviewed the results and his expression changed. "Defense: 25, Stamina: 5, Attack: 15, Speed: 15."
"What...?" Kouta frowned. "Is that bad?"
Yui let out a nervous laugh. "Let's just say if you launch an attack, you'll be knocked out."
Kouta sighed. "Great..."
Much to everyone's amusement, his DRAS was only 60... (Defense: 25, Resistance: a disappointing 5 points, Attack: 15, and Speed: 15), which compared to his power made him somewhat useless. No matter how strong any of his power bursts were, they would collapse after launching just one (the same thing that happened at the beginning when converting objects). Both Yui and Kouta realized that they would have to work hard to be part of the SDA (Spectral Defense Agency).
But before leaving, Kouta asked the guard if he could teach them both how to heal wounds with their own Aura, and how to sense power (this is the only trait someone can sense or measure without the aid of a measuring device). The guard agreed, and thanking him, they both went off to train in the countryside not far from the village, following the guard's instructions until they learned the basics.
After intense training, Yui increased her power to 90, but Kouta surprised Yui by reaching an astonishing 160.
"That's crazy!" Yui exclaimed. "But your stamina is still a problem."
"I know," Kouta said.
After finishing the training, Yui would learn new attacks, while Kouta focused more on increasing his DRAS with a few Circling around and fighting alongside Yui, after such a great and hard training, they both decided in going to Yui's house to rest, while Kouta, out of respect, would rest on a large rock nearby.
"I'll sleep outside tonight to strengthen my body," Kouta said, determined.
Once Yui went to sleep, Kouta was about to head to the rock, but suddenly, in the middle of the night...
TO BE CONTINUED...
Current Powers:
Kouta: 160
Yui: 90