Chapter 1
The noisy beach was instantly captivated by three stunningly beautiful women.
The two girls trailing behind appeared slightly younger, yet their fiery bikinis displayed their breathtaking figures without mercy.
One of them, a blonde, clearly felt shy; her pretty face flushed a soft pink under the crowd's intense stares.
The other, a bespectacled beauty, walked forward with an indifferent expression, completely ignoring the surrounding whispers and leers.
But it was the mature woman leading them who truly stole every gaze.
Golden hair, sapphire-blue eyes, flawless fair skin, and a single, perfectly placed beauty mark beneath the corner of her eye.
The gentle, affectionate smile on her lips left onlookers utterly entranced.
"Where did such a goddess come from? She's too beautiful… I want to go talk to her so badly!"
"Those two behind her have to be twins, right? Oh god, I think I'm in love… Whose daughters are they? Today is my lucky day!"
"Her eyes are pulling my soul out. My heart is about to explode!"
Behind her, one of the girls muttered in quiet complaint.
"Mom, their stares are so gross… I don't want to stay here anymore."
"Alright, Yuna, we agreed to come out today to relax, remember? Be good and enjoy the blue sky and white clouds~"
The gorgeous mature woman turned back, playfully winking at her daughter.
Just as Yuna pouted, a sudden commotion erupted nearby.
The three of them curiously looked toward the source—
A gigantic octopus monster had appeared right in their field of vision!
The joy in Mira's eyes instantly turned to terror.
"Yuna! Rena! Run! There's a monster!"
But before she could finish, she felt something strange beneath her feet—like something was about to burst out of the sand.
Looking down, she saw a massive red shape rapidly swelling beneath her.
In moments, her body was lifted high into the air.
With a scream, she collapsed helplessly onto the back of the creature.
Only then did Yuna and Rena finally see it clearly:
A monstrous crab nearly six meters tall. Each of its huge claws gripped an enormous hammer made of some unknown metal.
Its eyes spun mechanically, like surveillance cameras.
From its mouth came a stiff, mechanical voice:
"Humans… exterminate."
One hammer swung down toward the crowd that had just been ogling the women.
BOOM!
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Some unfortunate souls were instantly reduced to pulp; others were sent flying, their fates unknown.
Mira almost fainted at the sight, but she forced herself to shout down at her frozen daughters.
"Yuna! Rena! Run! Get away from here right now!"
The crab monster's massive eye swiveled upward, finally noticing the human still clinging to its back.
"Humans… exterminate."
With a casual flick of its head, Mira was hurled skyward by tremendous force.
As an ordinary person, she had no way to resist.
She tumbled through the air.
The monster's eyes glowed red. It raised its hammer, aiming straight for the falling woman—
The death-dealing weapon drew closer and closer.
Unable to move in freefall, only one word echoed in her mind:
Death.
Just when despair swallowed her whole—
A flash of silver light streaked across her vision.
For an instant, she thought she saw a silver dragon soaring through the heavens.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The crab's hammer-wielding claw was severed clean off!
In the next breath, the colossal monster's body simply detonated.
Green blood erupted like a geyser.
And then she was falling—until she landed safely in a pair of warm, strong arms.
Looking up, she met the gaze of an extremely handsome man smiling gently down at her.
"You're safe now, ma'am."
Mira's heart pounded wildly.
Jet-black short hair, fair skin, one eye as deep and dark as obsidian, the other glowing with an eerie, demonic red light.
Behind them, the terrifying monster had already been reduced to a mountain of shredded meat.
"Th-thank you… May I know your name?"
Blushing, Mira thanked him softly.
The man set her down gently. At that moment, a mechanical chime rang in his ear:
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully defeated an E-Class Crab Monster. Reward: 100 Achievement Points.]
"My name is Night Rain. I'm a hero."
With those words, Night Rain drew his longsword and charged toward the remaining monsters rampaging across the beach.
One month earlier, Night Rain had been an ordinary overworked office drone on Blue Star, living the classic 996 grind.
Then one day he woke up in this world—
A world of heroes and monsters.
After witnessing a human transform into a monster, he briefly thought he had arrived in the One Punch Man universe.
But the news reports that followed shattered that illusion:
S-Class Rank 3: King of Knights Artoria – One sword cleaves the Sea Demon, saving SH City! S-Class Rank 10: Empress Boa Hancock – Petrifies an entire flock of Black Hawk Monsters, domineering as ever! S-Class Rank 18: Railgun Mikoto Misaka – One-shots the Mutant Gorilla King, climbs one rank! B-Class Rank 21: Flash Asuna – Stellar performance in V City defense battle, rises two ranks!
Seeing one familiar anime character after another, Night Rain realized he had landed in a grand anime multiverse.
Just as he began to worry about surviving in such a dangerous place, he awakened the Anime Achievement System.
Defeating monsters grants Achievement Points.
Points can be exchanged for items and abilities from various anime worlds.
The system even gave him a generous newbie gift pack:
Beginner Body Reinforcement (×1) Kusanagi Sword (Itachi-style) GEASS
The body reinforcement instantly boosted his ordinary human speed and strength more than tenfold.
The Kusanagi Sword was the legendary blade of the Uchiha clan.
And his GEASS—the Power of the King—was the same as the First Knight's: the ability to foresee the future three seconds ahead.
The system also issued him a main storyline quest:
Become the Strongest Hero.
His first sub-quest: Join the Hero Association.
After easily passing the physical and written exams, he became an official F-Class hero.
As a reward, he received a new skill: Six Light Consecutive Slash.
Just now, he had used that very technique to cut down the crab monster.
After a month of hard work, his current rank was E-Class #13.
The Kusanagi Sword flashed once more.
Six Light Consecutive Slash!
Six devastating cuts converged into one, smashing into the shell of a giant turtle monster.
Bang…
With the final monster collapsing, Night Rain smiled in satisfaction.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Sand Beach Extermination Mission completed. Reward: Beginner Swordsmanship.]
This should boost my rank quite a bit, he thought.
He pulled out his phone and contacted the Hero Association support line.
"This is E-Class Hero Night Rain. All monsters at Wuhu Beach have been eliminated. Please send cleanup immediately."
As he finished the call, he noticed the beautiful mature woman he had just rescued had quietly walked up beside him.
Trailing right behind her were the two golden-haired twin girls.