"Is this cheat really so overpowered? Can I actually handle it?" The young man named Li Yu had delicate features and wore casual clothes. He stared at the room before him, panic written all over his face.
Half an hour ago, he had been transported here from his home, and he'd already learned what a hellhole this place was.
In short, this world was one giant cesspit, full of all kinds of bizarre things. Apparently, they had started appearing within the past ten years.
Spiritual energy had returned, monsters and demons ran rampant, and even creatures from other worlds and aliens had appeared. Beings like Goblins and slimes kept emerging from spatial rifts.
The appearance of these things had turned the entire world into a complete mess.
Still, it wasn't all bad. Humanity had gained plenty of technology and special powers from these beings.
This world had once been an ordinary technological society, but with the appearance of the spatial rifts, it had started down a different path.
The entire world had begun heading in a new direction. Beyond advances in technology, people were gradually gaining powers that humanity had once only possessed in its fantasies.
From what Li Yu knew, there were several ways for people to gain power, but the most common approach was to undergo systematic training through the government.
Some people with exceptional talent awakened certain abilities from birth—superpowers, so to speak. Those who couldn't awaken anything had to grow stronger through their own studies.
Another way was to obtain power from an Otherworldly Rift. These powers were gifts from other worlds.
Li Yu sorted through the information in his mind. If nothing unexpected had happened, then the power he'd gained must have come from another world.
"The Eye of Keigeko, the ultimate eye that can see through all things. See something once, and you can copy it. See it twice, and you'll know it by heart." Li Yu couldn't help murmuring the words.
Thinking back to the other version of himself he'd seen when he first crossed over, Li Yu fell into thought again.
When he'd first appeared in this world, some jerk who looked exactly like him had summoned him. Before he could even react, the guy had fused with him.
Then he'd fused with him, handing over all his memories and identity.
It was as if he'd finally been freed... After sorting through the memories the other guy had left behind, Li Yu more or less understood why he'd felt that way.
Because this world was simply too awful, and the power he'd awakened could only be used once: it summoned another version of himself from a parallel world to take his place...
"What a damn mess! What is this supposed to be, dragging someone else in to suffer?" Li Yu grumbled as he took out an ID card.
It contained his identity in this world: a high school student about to be assigned to a class. He was eighteen this year!
According to the memories, his parallel-world counterpart had suffered from severe depression and had long since lost the will to live. Then he'd awakened that ability...
"You're off the hook, but now I'm the one who's going to suffer. At least you were a loner with no friends. Otherwise, this would've been a real headache." Li Yu looked at the ID card and couldn't help complaining.
At least he'd crossed over in his own body. He wouldn't have to become a mecha pilot or end up without legal status.
With the other version of his memories, living in this world shouldn't be a problem. The original was an orphan with no friends and hardly any social life.
So all Li Yu had to do was take things slowly and change little by little. That way, he could take over the original's identity.
After gathering up the original's ID card, wallet, and other belongings, Li Yu looked around.
According to the memories, he was in the place the original had rented: a small studio of only a few dozen square meters, furnished with a few basic necessities.
Li Yu frowned at the household items. They might have belonged to another version of himself, but he didn't like them. He'd have to replace everything!
He glanced outside. It was already light out, so Li Yu decided to go downstairs and buy some things before thinking about anything else.
Taking his wallet and keys, Li Yu left the apartment and headed downstairs. Then, following the directions in his memories, he found the convenience store he was looking for.
Aside from the monsters that appeared, a lot of things in this world were much the same as in Li Yu's old one.
Even a quick trip to a little corner shop gave Li Yu a lot of useful information.
After buying what he needed, Li Yu went home, washed up, then grabbed the original's backpack and headed downstairs again.
The other guy was still a high school student, and one who was due to be assigned to a class this year.
According to the memories he'd received, today was the day he had to report his awakened ability.
Afterward, the school would assign students to classes based on their abilities. The original had awakened such a strange ability, which was precisely why he'd chosen to give up.
Honestly, the original's ability to sacrifice himself and summon another version of himself from a parallel world was bizarre as hell.
After all, who would want another version of themselves to take over their entire life?
It made him feel like he was nothing but a sacrifice. The appearance of this ability had completely negated everything he was.
On top of that, he already suffered from depression, so he'd simply given up. The moment he learned what his ability was, he'd activated it without hesitation.
An ability you could only use once, one that would free you once you used it—he'd gone ahead and used it.
And then he'd dragged Li Yu from a parallel world into this one, and... Li Yu had successfully awakened his own ability, too.
"The other me really had it rough." Li Yu sighed, then stopped dwelling on it.
What mattered now was that Li Yu lived well in this world in his place.
Li Yu bought breakfast from a roadside stall, then set off toward the school, following the directions in his memories.
Just like in his previous life, plenty of older folks liked to train outside in the mornings. But the punches they threw weren't just for show.
They were genuine fighting techniques with real stopping power. Li Yu took one look, and the moves of one older man appeared in his mind.
That made Li Yu stop and watch for a few more moments. His ability was already starting to work.
With just one glance, he mastered the technique. After a few more, he could feel his body changing.
His physique was growing stronger, and the moves in his mind were becoming muscle memory. In just a few seconds, Li Yu felt as though he'd been practicing martial arts for decades.
He glanced at the older man, who was throwing punches with impressive force, and his expression turned strange. This cheat of his was terrifying!
After briefly testing his strength, Li Yu felt that he could kill the version of himself from a few seconds earlier with a single slap.
In high spirits, Li Yu looked toward the other people exercising in the park. He naturally wanted to learn as much as he could while he had the chance.
There were plenty of older men and women practicing with swords and spears in the morning park. Perhaps they'd all retired from some line of work.
The techniques they knew were all practical, battle-tested moves, which made them incredibly useful to Li Yu.
In just a few minutes, Li Yu had mastered several martial arts techniques through his ability, and his physical fitness had improved by several levels!
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