Boom!
Gakki-chan isn't some delicate flower—the impact from her fall was no joke.
If it were an ordinary guy, his arms might've snapped under the force, leaving the rest of his body to absorb the shock.
But Luke, with his master-level force-dissipation skills, caught the girl in his arms, spinning a few times to bleed off most of the impact.
The remaining force? His superhuman physique could handle it no problem.
After the jarring impact, both of them steadied.
Luke's arm slid around Gakki-chan's waist, holding her soft, warm body close.
The force of the fall pressed them tightly together, her damp sweat soaking into his clothes.
Once the impact was fully absorbed, Luke let go of Gakki-chan and grinned. "Landed safely. Didn't let you down, did I?"
The adorable, slightly clueless girl was about to speak when she noticed the sweat stains on Luke's white T-shirt. Her face flushed, and she looked down, embarrassed.
"I got all sweaty climbing that tree and made a mess of your shirt. I'm so sorry!"
"It's not like it smells bad. It's just your scent—I don't mind." Luke chuckled, reaching out to pat her head.
He meant it, too. A beautiful girl's sweat? That's practically…
"I did it! I tied the prayer ribbon at the highest spot!" Gakki-chan suddenly remembered her big achievement, her eyes lighting up.
"Yup, you claimed the top spot. No one's beating that," Luke said.
"With the ribbon that high, the gods will definitely bless you first!" she cheered, practically bouncing with excitement.
Looking at the girl blooming like a flower in front of him, Luke thought to himself:
I don't know if the gods will prioritize me, but every visitor from now on will see that red ribbon tied at the highest point.
They'll admire the brave girl who put it there and envy the lucky guy she did it for.
Maybe this is what youth looks like at its most beautiful.
[The host has received the purest, most sincere blessing from a beautiful girl. Skill reward unlocked: Aquatic Sports (Master Level).]
Seeing the golden system text, Luke's first thought was: Your sincerity might not have swayed the gods yet, but it sure got the system's attention.
"Your job sounds so dangerous. One god's blessing might not be enough. Next time you're back in Japan, let's visit the other temples to pray together, okay?" Gakki-chan suggested.
"The other ones?"
"Yup! There are four super-sacred prayer spots. We hit one today, so there are three left. Next time, I'll take you to them!"
Truth be told, Luke didn't put much stock in gods. He had the system's protection, and that was plenty.
But he couldn't bring himself to turn down a girl with a heart of gold, so he nodded. "Sounds good!"
"We've got a deal. No backing out!" she said with a grin.
[The host has made a promise with Yui Aragaki to visit the four great temples.]
[Please visit the remaining three temples during the summer, fall, and winter seasons.]
[Upon completion, the host will receive a mysterious reward!]
System, you're killing it! Luke thought. Not only did it hand out rewards, but it even planned the itinerary down to the season.
He figured the other three temples were probably Senso-ji in Tokyo, Todai-ji in Nara, and Hase-dera in Kamakura.
Not bad—cute girl as a travel buddy and awesome rewards? That's the kind of stuff you don't even see in novels.
"You're heading back to New York soon. Wanna swap phone numbers?" Gakki-chan asked, suddenly remembering.
Luke had been using a phone provided by JNTO during his Japan trip, but it wouldn't work once he was back in New York.
So, he smiled, jotted down Gakki-chan's number first, then gave her his.
She carefully saved it in her phone, adding an "A" before his name in her contacts.
Seeing that, Luke chuckled and patted her head again. Man, her hair feels nice. Great head!
"No clue when we'll see each other again, but I'm really looking forward to it," Gakki-chan said with a smile.
"I've got a lot of important business in Japan, so I'll be back often," Luke replied.
"Really?"
"Yep. Tomorrow, I'm actually meeting Akira Toriyama to talk about a potential collaboration."
"Master Toriyama?! I love his manga! I grew up on Arale and Dragon Ball," Gakki-chan gasped.
"Same here. I'm pumped for tomorrow's meeting."
…
…
Back at the hotel, Luke dove into checking out his new skill.
As expected, the familiar flood of knowledge poured in. Aquatic Sports covered everything from swimming and diving to surfing and more.
All his previous skills—combat, athletics—were land-based.
In water, aside from his superior physical stats, he didn't have much of an edge.
It was a gap in his abilities. Whether shooting underwater action scenes or fighting enemies in water someday, he needed to fill that gap.
Now, with Master-Level Aquatic Sports, that problem was solved.
When he filmed Pirates of the Caribbean, he swam plenty, but he wasn't exactly a standout.
Now? With this skill, he might even give Ian Thorpe—the Australian "Flying Fish" who broke world records three times in 48 hours and was the only Olympian to medal in the 100m, 200m, and 400m freestyle in one Games—a run for his money.
Swimming's the foundation of all water sports, like walking or running on land.
With swimming as his base, his breath-holding ability would be a game-changer underwater. With pure oxygen, he could probably hold his breath for over 15 minutes.
That meant he could pull off complex underwater fight scenes with ease.
As for surfing? That was a goldmine for action movies.
Every spy or action flick has that cool scene of the hero shredding waves.
Luke was thrilled with his new skill. The system never handed out junk—every skill was a perfect fit.
Satisfied and exhausted from the day, he drifted into a deep sleep.
…
…
The next day, Luke drove to Kiyosu City in Aichi Prefecture, glancing at the address scribbled on a piece of paper with some confusion.
Japan's right-hand-drive, left-side traffic already threw him off, but finding an address was a whole other beast.
This was part of the Nagoya metropolitan area, one of Japan's three major urban clusters, where cities blend together in a dense sprawl.
Back in the Sengoku period, Nagoya was known as Nagono Castle, the birthplace of Oda Nobunaga, the first of Japan's three great unifiers.
Akira Toriyama was born here, too, and now lived in Kiyosu City, just a stone's throw from Nagoya. The two cities had practically merged.
Fun fact: Kiyosu City was home to Kiyosu Castle, the Oda clan's stronghold. After Oda Nobunaga's death at Honno-ji, the Kiyosu Conference—where his legacy was divvied up—was held here.
Without smartphone GPS, relying on a paper map and an address made finding the place a challenge.
Finally, a weirdly shaped orange house came into view.