Akira's eyes narrowed as the red alert flashed across his vision, momentarily overlapping the near-full Flow State Meter.

The sudden shift in focus almost cost him his ankles as the tattooed player performed a crossover, but Akira's enhanced reflexes kicked in just in time.

"Ai, you've got to be kidding me," Akira thought, his lungs burning from the exertion. "A Gamma anomaly? Right now?"

"It seems the veil is getting thinner by the hour, darling," Ai replied with a playful yet cautious edge in her voice. "But look on the bright side. A Gamma grade is relatively low… perfect for a final warm-up. Plus, it's only two blocks away. You could wrap this up and be back before Mia even finishes her protein bar."

Akira looked at the meter: [99/100]. It was screaming for him to release the pressure. The throbbing behind his eyes was intense, a powerful, almost wild urge to burst into action.

"Hey! Kid! You with us?" the tattooed guy shouted, waving a hand in front of Akira's face.

"I need a breather," Akira panted, doubling over and resting his hands on his knees. "Five minutes. I... I think I need some fresh air in my lungs."

Mia was by his side in an instant, her protective instincts flaring. "Akira? You're pale. Is it the sleep? I told you we should have…"

"I'm fine, Mia. Just a quick head-clearer," he interrupted, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

He didn't wait for her to argue. He sprinted up the concrete stairs, his legs feeling surprisingly light despite the fatigue. Once he hit the cool night air of the alley, he checked the system map.

[ANOMALY LOCATION: ABANDONED DRY CLEANERS]

He moved with a speed that would have terrified any normal pedestrian, vaulting over a parked car and cutting through a narrow gap between two buildings.

As he approached the site, the air began to taste like ozone and old static. The "Gamma" signature was small, but it was sharp.

Inside the darkened storefront, the windows were covered in thick grime. Akira pushed the door open, his hand already reaching for the hilt of his dagger.

"Hold on, darling," Ai warned. "Don't kill it immediately. Use the meter."

"The Flow Meter? I was hoping to try it out back there."

"True… But I think this coincidence works out better. I mean, would you prefer going 'god-mode' in front of an audience for the first time with no control?"

Akira thought about it for a second or two and nodded. "Well, true," he said as he returned his focus to the physical world.

In the center of the room, a creature that looked like a tangled mass of wet, black wires and flickering neon lights was frantically tearing through the industrial washing machines. It was a Scavenger Imp… not a heavy hitter, but incredibly fast.

"You're my training dummy," Akira whispered.

He returned his dagger. Instead, he focused on the blue pulsing gauge in his peripheral vision.

[FLOW STATE METER: 100/100 - READY]

"Let's see what 1,000 PP gets me," he thought. "Activate Flow State."

[FLOW STATE ACTIVATED]

[COUNTDOWN STARTED - 10:00]

Akira felt it immediately.

The world didn't just slow down; it turned into a series of still photographs. The sound of the buzzing neon lights dropped an octave, becoming a slow, rhythmic thrum.

Akira could see the individual dust motes suspended in the air. His own heartbeat sounded like a heavy war drum in his ears. But the most jarring part was his body: he felt weightless, as if the law of gravity had become a mere suggestion.

The Imp sensed him and turned, shrieking before launching itself forward. In its own little world, it was moving like a bullet.

But in Akira's world, it was crawling through molasses.

Akira stepped to the side; it wasn't a panicked jump or dodge, just a small, one-inch step.

The creature flew right past him. Akira reached out and simply tapped the creature's back with his fist. The hit was so powerful that the Imp was thrown into a metal dryer, making a huge dent in the steel.

"Whoa," Akira muttered. His voice sounded deep and resonant to his own ears. "Tenfold stats... it's not just speed. It's precision."

He spent the next three minutes testing the limits. He wasn't just fighting; he was practicing his footwork.

He visualized the basketball court, the ball, and Kenji. He moved through the abandoned shop, performing imaginary layups and crossovers at a speed the human eye couldn't track. Every movement was perfect.

The Imp tried to flee, sensing it was no longer the predator, but Akira appeared in front of it instantly. "Sorry, little guy. I need the practice."

With a single, lightning-fast snap of his fingers against the creature's "head," the anomaly disintegrated into black ash.

[ANOMALY NEUTRALIZED]

[REWARD: +150 PP]

[BONUS REWARD FROM FLOW METER: +200 PP]

[REMAINING FLOW TIME: 06:15]

Akira stood in the silence of the dry cleaners, his body humming with a terrifying level of energy. He felt like he could jump over a skyscraper or crush a diamond in his fist.

"Careful, darling," Ai warned. "You still have six minutes left. If you go back into that warehouse and play like this, you won't just beat those guys… you'll reveal yourself as something non-human. You need to dial it back."

"I know," Akira said, taking slow breaths. "But now I know what the ceiling looks like. Tomorrow... Kenji isn't playing against a 'Creep King.' He's playing against a god."

He waited in the alley, watching the timer tick down. He used the remaining time to practice "limiting" his power, trying to move at a "normal" athletic speed while the Flow State was still active.

It was harder than it looked, like trying to drive a Ferrari at five miles per hour.

When the timer hit zero, a wave of exhaustion hit him, but it was manageable. The "auto-repair" function of his upgraded cloak kicked in, smoothing over his ruffled energy signature.

He walked back into the underground court ten minutes after he'd left. He was sweating, and his shirt was stuck to his back, but his eyes were clear.

"You okay?" Mia asked, handing him a bottle of water. She looked him over suspiciously. "You look... different."

"Just got my second wind," Akira said, taking a long drink.

He looked at the tattooed guy and the rest of the players. "Ready for one more game?"

"Kid's a glutton for punishment," the guy laughed, checking the ball. "Let's go. First to eleven."

This time, Akira didn't just hold his own.

Without the Flow State, he used the memory of those perfect movements. He played with a newfound rhythm, a "shadow" of the god-like state he'd just experienced.

He was stealing balls, blocking shots, and sinking three-pointers with a cold, calculated accuracy that left the warehouse silent.

By the time the game ended with Akira scoring the winning basket, the older players were looking at him with genuine respect.

"Whatever you did in that alley, do it tomorrow," the tattooed guy said, shaking Akira's hand. "That Kenji kid? He's in for a very bad day."

[PHYSICAL CONDITIONING: IMPROVED]

[BASKETBALL SKILL: LV 1 -> LV 4]

As Akira and Mia walked back to the train station, the city lights reflecting in the puddles, Akira felt a strange sense of calm. The fear of failure was gone. In its place was a cold anticipation.

"Tomorrow," he thought, glancing at the system interface. "I take everything from him."

—

But deep in the shadows of a nearby skyscraper, a pair of SPIU scanners flickered. A technician in a black van frowned at his monitor.

"Sir? We picked up a small energy, followed by massive energy spike near the old industrial district. It lasted exactly ten minutes before vanishing. It wasn't the Parasite's signature. It was something... cleaner. Something stronger."

A senior officer leaned over the technician's shoulder. "Track the residual trail. If that thing is still in the city, I want it identified before sunrise."

[PP: 1865 + 150 + 200 → 2215 PP]

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