I Really Don’t Want a Girlfriend Anymore

Haruno stood nearby, clearly observing how Yuu took a deep breath and focused.

Her gaze unconsciously fixed on his exposed arm—broad shoulders, defined and taut muscles despite not yet exerting force, comparable to Kouichirou's.

Perhaps because of his fair skin, Yuu didn't look bulky but gave off an impression of solid, healthy strength, more pleasing to the eye than the overly muscular men seen elsewhere.

Just his right arm alone could spark a woman's urge to strip off his shirt and see the rest of his body's muscles.

Then, as Yuu took a breath, he visibly began to exert force.

"Huh?"

Haruno couldn't help but open her mouth slightly, whispering in shock.

As Yuu exerted himself, his entire body suddenly radiated an aura of pressure. The muscles in his right arm twitched, like a machine starting to operate after its key was turned.

Under the reflection of the electronic lights nearby, the texture of his muscles even gave the illusion of glimmering.

The veins in his neck bulged, hot blood coursing through them, granting unimaginable strength to his right fist.

"This…"

Not just Haruno, the others beside her were stunned, mouths agape, speechless.

With some effort, Yuu slowly pulled his right fist back, placing it at his waist, and steadied his stance.

It was a simple movement, yet it felt like a cannon being loaded, sparks igniting behind it, ready to explode at any moment.

"100%…"

Haruno could hear Yuu's murmur, along with a chuckle for some reason.

"Serious Punch."

The wind from the punch whipped past, lifting Haruno's bangs.

His gloved right fist, like a meteor, struck the punching bag with tremendous force.

*THWACK!*

A sound more earth-shaking than the previous punches exploded before everyone's eyes.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

"Ha… ha…"

To supply oxygen to his muscles and provide the necessary boost, his heart pounded rapidly, blood flowing ceaselessly.

Yuu panted heavily, his right arm limp and numb, hanging at his side, feeling paralyzed, unable to lift it at all.

Though it was just a test, his usual maximum strength was only 20%. A punch thrown at 100% strength naturally came with corresponding side effects.

And as Sir Newton once said, the law of action-reaction tells you how much you weigh.

So Yuu knew his body weight couldn't withstand the 100% action-reaction force—thankfully, perhaps because the system had enhanced his punch endurance, he might only lose the use of his right arm temporarily without injuring muscles or bones.

However, the back of his hand seemed scraped from friction inside the glove, faintly stinging.

After calming his breathing, he ignored his physical condition for the moment and looked up at the screen.

His 100% serious punch had exceeded his expectations. Based on his own feeling, forget Kouichirou—he might have broken the punching machine's record.

If he hadn't worn the glove, he might have punched right through the bag.

As he saw the score, Yuu also prepared to activate Instant Recovery to return to normal—

984.

"…"

The moment he saw that number, Yuu immediately canceled his plan to activate the ability. His right hand, still in the glove, clenched again, and the corners of his lips slowly curved into a cold smile.

"One try wasn't enough, so a second time, huh…"

Not yet in that state, he already felt a burning anger from his attempt to look cool ending in vain, pushing him to do something impulsive.

The others noticed the score too. Daisuke and the three girls exclaimed in disbelief—impossible, amazing, too strong—but Haruno and Kouichirou, like him, realized something was off.

"How could it only be 984 points… when it almost broke the machine…"

Seeing the punching bag rise for the second time, clearly much slower than when they used it earlier, Kouichirou slowly narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting to the counter inside the game center.

After a brief pause, a dangerous cold glint flashed in Haruno's eyes as she chimed in with a smile:

"Yeah, how strange~ Why is it exactly one point short of the record? This punching machine's record is too hard to break, isn't it?"

After speaking, she turned abruptly, a terrifying smile on her face.

"I'll go ask the counter if there's something weird with this record setting."

As Haruno took a step, Yuu's voice suddenly rang out.

"No, wait. Maybe my strength was just too weak to meet the record's standard."

"Too weak?" Haruno turned back, laughing as if amused. "If Yuuki-kun took that punch, he'd die on the spot, right? And you call that weak?"

"Yeah… Wait, why am I the example?!"

Before he could respond, Kouichirou pointed at himself with a pained expression, though he had to admit it.

In any case, he couldn't throw a punch that strong, nor did he want to take one.

The two beside him ignored him completely, instead locking eyes with calm, cold gazes.

"You're defending me? That's unusual."

"You're my 'coach.' Isn't it normal to do this?"

"So, you really want to go to the counter and argue for me?"

"If not? Don't you feel angry?" Crossing her arms, Haruno frowned, looking at him in confusion.

"Cheating orchestrated by the organizers like this—anyone would feel upset."

"Or are you planning to just swallow it, as long as you can beat Yuuki-kun, making a big deal small and a small deal nothing?"

Yuu shook his head, slowly exhaling, his gaze returning forward.

He said softly: "This game session still has two more chances…"

Only one score was up there, meaning he could still punch twice more.

"So?" After asking reflexively, Haruno quickly found the answer. "You're not seriously still trying to break this record, are you?"

She looked at him in disbelief, at his faintly trembling right arm. "A punch that strong, and you can still throw a second one?"

Kouichirou also stood silent, staring at Yuu as if he were a monster.

Yuu paused briefly, not answering.

Lowering his head, his skin suddenly turned bright red, as if his blood was breaking through his veins, trying to seep out of his skin.

But Haruno blinked and realized it was just an illusion—his skin was still fair, only his veins bulging again, looking somewhat frightening.

"Yeah, I can."

Yuu answered with absolute certainty.

"Besides, someone in a state of extreme anger can do anything."

"Huh?"

Ignoring their reactions, Yuu placed his fist at his waist, preparing to punch.

The electronic light from the side illuminated his arm, like light refracting off a diamond's edge, even giving the impression it was slowly growing larger.

This time, Yuu didn't hold back for long.

Because he felt his arm was about to explode.

Every tendon, ligament, and nerve groaned, begging him to stop the force and not torment them further.

Intense soreness and pain stabbed his head, so excruciating he nearly gasped, relying only on his Acting Ability (Expert Level) to suppress the pain and the angry expression that should've appeared in extreme anger. He faced the punching bag with a calm expression.

Yuu didn't care about the reactions of the students beside him. With the system, he'd inevitably do even more shocking things sooner or later.

He only thought… 200% action-reaction force—Instant Recovery should handle it, right?

If it couldn't, he'd just have to ask Haruno to drag him to the hospital.

Yuu knew he was being carried away by emotion right now.

But what could he do? He activated Extreme Anger out of rage, and under its influence, he became even more impulsive. Now, aside from throwing a devastating punch at the bag and machine in front of him, he couldn't think of anything else.

In short…

Punching bag, the fist is ready.

It can't be stopped!

"200%…"

His right fist slowly pulled back, like a bullet about to fire from a cannon's barrel.

The tense atmosphere gathered around his fist as the center. As everyone held their breath, Yuu suddenly asked:

"By the way, if this breaks… I won't have to pay for it, right?"

Haruno couldn't help but chuckle softly, turning away, covering her small mouth with a smile in her eyes, and gesturing to Kouichirou.

Kouichirou froze for a moment, then reflexively answered: "It's fine. If it breaks, I can—"

"Good."

Without waiting for him to finish, Yuu no longer restrained the force gathered at his waist, the corners of his lips slightly curling in satisfaction.

"Double Serious Punch."

His neat, handsome hair lifted backward.

A dark red meteor, as if sucking in all the surrounding air, spiraled with airflow, slamming hard into the punching bag in front of him.

The next second—

*CRASH!*

A sound like something shattering into pieces echoed through the air.