Staring at the virtual panel floating before him, Fushimi Kyo fell into deep thought.
[Host: Fushimi Kyo
Age: 17
Skills: None
Inventory: Locked (Unable to Open)
Evolution Points: 15
Available Enhancement Paths:
Physical Body + (Consumes 5 Evolution Points. Proceed? Yes / No) Skills (No skills available. Enhancement unavailable)]
"So this is my cheat ability…?"
"By consuming Evolution Points, I can enhance my body and skills."
"And as for how Evolution Points are obtained…"
At that thought, Kyo's gaze drifted toward the ghoul's corpse in his memory, his face instantly turning pale.
"Evolution Points are gained by devouring a ghoul's Kakuhou…"
"Ghouls can grow stronger by eating each other. But what about me?"
"What am I supposed to be… a human? Or a ghoul?"
Just like Kaneki Ken, Kyo now found himself lost in confusion over his own identity.
"Forget it. First, I need to get out of there. If I run into the White Doves or another ghoul, I'll be completely screwed."
Fifteen minutes after Kyo left the alley, two CCG investigators arrived at the scene.
"Tch. That piece of trash actually died here."
"Amon, looks like our lead is dead. We'll have to rethink our approach."
The man who spoke had long silver-gray hair and a gaunt, terrifying face. He was none other than Kureo Mado, a Senior Investigator of the CCG.
Standing beside him was his partner, First-Class Investigator Kotaro Amon.
"Mado-san, look here. His Kakuhou seems to have been removed."
Amon crouched down and examined the body carefully before speaking.
"Well observed, Amon,"
Mado said in the approving tone of a veteran praising a junior.
"Sharp eyes."
"Mado-san, the 20th Ward is relatively stable. At the moment, we're the only ones patrolling this area."
"There's no way this Kakuhou was removed by one of our investigators, right?"
"Heh."
Mado let out a slow chuckle.
"A B-rank ghoul's Kakuhou isn't worth much. It can't even be used to make a Quinque. Aside from ghouls devouring their own kind like animals, I can't think of any other possibility."
"Besides Binge Eater, Jason, and the Gourmet…"
Amon's expression darkened.
"Could there be other ghouls entering the 20th Ward?"
"Who knows?" Mado replied casually.
"We'll find out if we investigate."
"Come on, Amon. Let's check elsewhere."
"Trash like this… it's everywhere."
Back at home, Kyo threw himself onto his bed, rolled over, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Today… I ate ghoul flesh."
When he recalled the sensation of devouring the Kakuhou, Kyo was horrified to realize
He missed that taste.
"Damn it… am I turning into a ghoul?"
"The news says that ghouls have a different tongue structure from humans. When they eat normal human food, it tastes unbearably rancid and they can't swallow it at all."
To verify whether he had become a ghoul, Kyo jumped out of bed and walked to the fridge, pulling out a carton of milk.
He tore it open and gulped it down.
"Gulp gulp."
"Huh? No discomfort at all."
"So… I'm still a normal human. Not a ghoul."
"Then my attraction to the ghoul's Kakuhou… must be because of the system."
The next second, he summoned the virtual panel again, staring blankly at the 15 Evolution Points.
"I have 15 points. Right now, the only enhancement available is physical body."
"Then I'll enhance my body."
"This world is far too dangerous. Without strength, I could become ghoul food at any moment."
Since arriving in this world, Kyo had been plagued by an intense sense of insecurity.
After making up his mind, he tapped 'Yes' under Physical Body.
Instantly, a strange energy surged into his body.
In a flash, Kyo's face flushed red, his entire body burning hot as his blood flow accelerated severalfold.
He felt his muscles writhing and swelling, every muscle fiber being reforged denser, tougher, stronger under the baptism of that energy.
At the same time, his bones emitted a series of crack crack crack sounds.
If one could see inside his body, they would notice his skeleton slowly thickening, faint white light radiating from it.
During this process, thick black sludge seeped out from his pores. In no time at all, Kyo looked as though he had just crawled out of a barrel of ink.
After more than ten minutes
"Ding. Consumed 5 Evolution Points. Initial Physical Enhancement complete."
"Haaah !"
"Finally… it's done."
Letting out a long breath, Kyo glanced at his pitch-black, sticky body with utter disgust and rushed into the bathroom.
Five minutes later, he stood before the mirror, staring at his reflection in disbelief.
"Is… this really me?"
A tall, upright posture.
A powerful, well-built physique.
Smooth, defined muscle lines covering his entire body especially his sculpted chest and abs, which radiated strength at first glance.
He flexed his arm slightly. His biceps bulged instantly, packed with explosive power.
Throwing a casual punch, Kyo realized his punching speed was over ten times faster than before.
If he fought an ordinary person now, he could easily take down more than a dozen grown adults by himself.
"With this initial body enhancement, I finally have a bit of self-defense ability."
"But this is still far from enough."
He knew all too well how terrifying ghouls were.
With a swing of their Kagune, they could shatter massive rocks or send cars flying.
Concrete walls meant nothing to them no different from tofu.
Facing monsters like that, trying to tank their attacks with raw flesh alone would be suicide.
That was why mastering combat techniques was absolutely necessary to fully convert raw strength into real fighting power.
"But…"
"How exactly am I supposed to improve my combat skills?"