Manga World: Extracting Superman's Power

Should he go?

Yeah, he should.

Azuma Shoyo hesitated for only a moment before deciding to join Sonoko and the others tomorrow to watch the match.

In his memory, Ran Mouri won the tournament—apparently because Shinichi Kudo ditched her midway through, sending her anger through the roof. That fury triggered a power-up, like she'd gone Super Saiyan, and she crushed her opponent.

…

At noon, Azuma headed to the school cafeteria for lunch.

Teitan High wasn't some fancy private elite school, but that didn't mean it was subpar.

In fact…

Teitan was a comprehensive institution, covering everything from kindergarten to university, and it had produced countless famous alumni.

Many high-ranking government officials had graduated from Teitan University.

Then there were people like Yukiko Kudo, an international superstar who'd once made waves worldwide, and Eri Kisaki, the queen of the legal world—both Teitan alumnae.

As a result…

With rare exceptions, most Teitan University graduates did pretty well in society.

For one, the university's education was top-notch—its graduates were rarely half-baked; they were the elite. On top of that, the Teitan Alumni Association played a big role.

Seniors who'd already made it big were often eager to lend a hand to the younger generation. A single word from them could shave decades off someone's struggle.

Because of this, families with a bit of money but no connections would go all out—even selling everything they owned—to get their kids into the Teitan system.

Of course…

Attending Teitan High didn't guarantee a spot in Teitan University. It just lowered the admission bar and gave you priority. There were still standards to meet.

Otherwise, Teitan University's reputation wouldn't be as stellar as it was.

In the cafeteria…

Azuma grabbed some of his favorite dishes and a bowl of rice, then found an empty table to sit at.

He'd barely taken two bites when someone sat down across from him.

"Sorry, is this seat taken?"

Azuma looked up, his pupils shrinking slightly, before shaking his head.

"Nope. Yorita-san, Yurikawa-san, feel free to sit."

The two who'd joined him were none other than Miko Yotsuya and Hana Yurikawa, whom he'd met just yesterday.

"Azuma-kun, sorry to bother you!"

Hana flashed a sweet smile as she greeted him.

"No worries, I'm here alone anyway," Azuma replied.

Hana Yurikawa was a cheerful, slightly airheaded girl—a personality Azuma genuinely liked. Plus, her… assets were hard to ignore, making it tough to feel anything negative toward her.

But compared to her, Azuma was more curious about why Miko Yotsuya had sought him out.

Yes, he was pretty sure Miko had deliberately chosen to sit with him. It wasn't narcissism—there were plenty of empty tables in the cafeteria. She didn't need to share.

Plus…

He still remembered the look on Miko's face when she saw him yesterday.

Was that thing still following him?

A chill crept up the back of his neck at the thought.

No way…

Was he still a ghost magnet?

"Azuma-kun, are you feeling okay?"

Miko, now settled in, took a couple bites of her food before suddenly asking.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Azuma replied, looking at her.

"Well, when I saw you yesterday, you seemed kinda out of it," Miko said, tossing out a casual excuse.

The real reason she'd approached him was that, after two days of observation, she'd noticed something: out of everyone in Teitan High's second-year section, Azuma was the only one with that thing hanging around him.

She couldn't help but wonder if there was something special about him.

Like… maybe he could see them too?

"I had some insomnia the night before, but I'm good now," Azuma explained.

Meanwhile, he was silently trying to figure out Miko's motives.

First, he ruled out her having a crush on him. Miko wasn't the lovestruck type.

So… was it about the thing near him?

"I see," Miko nodded, then added offhandedly, "Speaking of insomnia, they say if you see something unclean, it can keep you up at night. Ever heard that?"

Bingo.

Azuma's suspicions were confirmed.

"Maybe, but stuff like that doesn't exist, right? We should trust science," he said with a shrug.

"Yeah, you're right, Azuma-kun. Science is the way to go," Miko replied with a smile.

Though that smile looked a little forced.

She wanted to believe in science, but the things she saw? They made science feel like a stretch.

Completely unscientific, honestly!

Beside them, Hana was busy wolfing down her food, oblivious to the conversation. Her best friend and Azuma could talk about whatever—they didn't interest her. Only the meal in front of her mattered.

After lunch, Azuma said goodbye to Miko and Hana and returned to the Class B, Year 2 classroom.

The afternoon classes flew by.

Soon enough…

It was time to head home.

"Azuma-kun, don't forget tomorrow! See you there!"

Sonoko winked at him with a grin, then dragged Ran off with her.

"Girls are such a hassle," muttered Shinichi Kudo, who'd appeared out of nowhere. He glanced at Azuma. "You agree, right, Azuma?"

"They can be a bit much, but they're kinda cute sometimes, don't you think?" Azuma said with a chuckle, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he stood.

"See ya tomorrow, Kudo."

As Azuma walked off, Shinichi scoffed.

"Cute? They're just a pain."

But then something crossed his mind, and he broke into a goofy grin for no apparent reason.

His classmates shot him weird looks.

Coughing awkwardly, Shinichi mumbled something about the nice weather and bolted out of the room.

…

That night…

Azuma lay in bed and closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, he drifted off.

When he woke up, he was back in the motel room in the Man of Steel world. The clock read 6:00 AM—perfect timing.

"Might as well explore a bit. Get a feel for this foreign place," he muttered.

He got out of bed, dressed, washed up, and stepped outside.

All day, Azuma wandered around Smallville. He even checked out the high school Clark used to attend.

Before he knew it…

The day was over, and he was back in his motel room.

"Time to sleep. Hopefully, I'll run into Clark tomorrow."

Lying down, Azuma closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.