The first thing I'm greeted with once I wake up is another blue holographic window, slowly glowing. Confused on what the hell is going on, I rub my eyes and stare.

[Survivor of the (Near) Impossible]

You have succeeded in overcoming a feat which has a >0.1% chance of surviving!

+1 "Item"

Item= Tidonceroga A2 Pencil

Wai- what? I read the message over again, and then find a new pricking sense in my clenched right hand. I slowly open my fingers to find an orange pencil, balanced on my palm.

"No, wait. My luck can't be THIS shiity, can it? It could have given me anything, and it gives me a Tidonceroga Pencil? No, there must be a special ability. There must be some sort of special ability. There's no way that my luck can be... "

My flashbacks go to a time in middle school, where I spun a wheel, and somehow got the "Unlucky" 4 times consecutively. The candy shop lady just gave in and handed me the lollipop in the en-. Nonononono. There MUST be a special ability. It probably has something to do with writing?

I sat down, and started to write on a blank sheet of scratch paper laying around. 30 minutes later, I can safely conclude that there is NO special ability on this fucking pencil. I drew, wrote, and even wrote a haiku. Disgusted, I threw the pencil in the trash before I was met with a barrage of messages.

[Hidden Potential(Upgraded)]

By finding the hidden potential of an item, you have unlocked a previously locked title (1/3). Once an item with its hidden potential is also found, this title will unlock it's hidden potential.

(Upgraded Bonus) Will have a low chance of adding potential unrelated to the item's hidden potential. These items will be labelled with "True Potential Found"

Unlocked (Passive)Skill Hidden Potential

[Hidden Potential Found!]

Tidonceroga A2 Pencil -> Trash Tidonceroga A2 Pencil

Will automatically find trash for you once placed on a hard surface.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The pencil became dark grey, and it started to give an ominous feeling. I felt shivers down my spine, and was fairly certain that the Joker created this item.

Well, this was an interesting outcome. The pencil was still... trash, but I had unlocked a new title which I used to the fullest in my half life. Later on, this would help me in improving every aspect of my lacking self. I set the pencil on the desk, ready to test the new pencil out. Once it was set down, the pencil started to move, and the lead tip pointed straight through me.

"Interesting, I thought I kept this room fairly clean. Maybe not.", I exclaimed as I turned around, and set the pencil behind me on the cold floor. Again, the lead turned towards myself, and I realized what this cocky bastard of a pencil was implying. The Joker most definitely did create this item.

"... I'll fucking crush you into lead and wood chips."

It turns out, a Hidden-Potential unlocked Tidonceroga A2 Pencil isn't as easy to break as ZI thought it was. A few minutes later, it still stood proudly with its black sheen while I sat, cursing at the pencil. Already tired, I trudged out the door to meet another young man sitting on a chair, lightheartedly chatting with Jacob. Once he heard me walk into the room he turned around, and smiled brightly.

"Hello! My name is Min, but you can call me "Demon Min" or "Teacher From Hell Min" or "Aah Please Don't Hit Me Min". It's what my students call me, so you can call me those too!", he introduced, still smiling.

"Ehh, hello... Min? What business do you have with Jacob?", I questioned

"Ah! Jacob gave me a call about a new student to teach! He said something about not knowing manners, and needing to put back in place yada yada. Anyways, I'm here to train you!", Min explained.

Shooting an evil glare at Jacob, I could see his eyes escaping from mine, staring at the ceiling.

"Don't worry! The training's not too hard! We can start now if you want!"

"Alright..."

I followed Min out of the door and into the field. There, he explained what our first regime would be.

"First, just the basics! Give me a thousand Push-ups and Sit-ups and we'll be done with the warm up!"

Wait. What. The. Fuck. Did. He. Just. Say. I fully understand how he got those nicknames now. Groaning, I put my arms under my chest and started.

It wasn't even 200 before my arms gave out. I pleaded to Min that I couldn't do any more, and he reluctantly agreed, slightly frowning.

"Alright, then the next step is to scale that tree"

"Once?" The tree looked tall and sturdy, but it would only take me around 30 minutes to travel a full round.

"Once? Pfft. You gotta be joking. 18!"

Wait. 18? Did I hear that correctly? Eight fucking teen? Min was either a training master, or he was a demon sent from Satan to come and kill me a second time.

"I made it 18 because every time they would finish 10, which used to be the exercise, they would shout out something like''18” ! There, I assumed they just wanted 8 more, so in total, 18 reps of scaling a tall tree!"

Reluctantly, I planted my hands on the trunk and hoisted myself up. Halfway up, I heard a rustling sound, and my hands slipped. After tumbling down a set of 19 branches, I laid down on the grass, exhausted and embarrassed as hell. I could see Min standing, peering at me.

"Well, let's just count that one! 17 more to go!"