"Hoo hoo hoo—"
Rover's throat rumbled with delighted purrs, his six burning eyes shifting from the five post-meal snacks to the massive, blood-soaked corpse behind them.
Even after evolving from a stray dog into a Dragon-level monster, Rover's mind remained simple.
Compared to tiny morsels not worth a single tooth, he preferred to enjoy a proper meal first.
After all, what bad intentions.
A torrent of drool—enough to drown a grown man—cascaded from his enormous fangs, splattering against the stone floor.
The sound echoed obscenely in the dead silence.
Jack's frayed nerves were the first to snap free from the paralysis of terror. His brain kicked into overdrive, processing at inhuman speed.
Wait to die?
Like hell.
Rover took a step forward. His massive paw descended casually, almost lazily.
SQUELCH.
The Iron Rooster—Wolf-level, worthless—vanished beneath it. Reduced to a wet smear of pulp and bone fragments. No scream. No chance. Just gone.
Rover didn't even notice.
The beast lowered its massive head, tearing into the mountain of monster corpse with enthusiasm. The crunch of splintering bones echoed through the corridor, grinding against Jack's eardrums.
Jack's gaze locked onto Rover's front paw. Inches away. Covered in rock-like black fur, radiating heat like a furnace.
A insane thought ignited in his mind.
The system said contact enables replication.
No risk, no reward.
If I don't gamble, I die anyway. So gamble.
The other three Monsters remained frozen, paralyzed with fear, not daring to twitch.
Jack moved.
Slowly. Deliberately. His hand rose.
The surviving Wolf-level Monsters stared in disbelief. Pure horror in their eyes.
Even Rover, engrossed in his meal, seemed to sense something. One burning eye swiveled downward, fixing on the tiny snack that dared to move beneath him.
Jack's eyes were bloodshot. He ignored the crushing Dragon-level pressure bearing down on him. His right hand—black carapace gleaming—pressed firmly against Rover's explosive foreleg.
"Woof—?"
A searing, abrasive heat shot through his palm. Like pressing his hand into an open forge.
His carapace melted. Pain beyond description lanced through him.
Then—
The system's chime rang like salvation.
[ Monster: Overgrown Rover ]
[ Threat Level: Dragon (Peak) ]
[ Ability 1: 「Overgrowth (SSR)」: Limit-breaking growth that transcends species restrictions. Enables colossal size while maintaining superhuman strength and speed. Vast energy reserves. Near-infinite vitality. ]
[ Ability 2: 「Scorching Heat Bullet (SSR)」: High-density energy cannon fired from the mouth. Can be charged or rapid-fired. Single shot penetrates multiple layers of underground structures, causing earthquake-level impact. ]
[ Ability 3: 「Fierce Beast Body (SSR)」: Absolute defense physique. Withstands at least Dragon-level peak physical and energy attacks without injury. Survived Saitama's weakened "Normal Punch"—only knocked unconscious. ]
[ Ability 4: 「Beast Instinct (SSR)」: Pure instinctual combat. Deadly battle awareness and crisis perception. In rage state, strength and speed double. ]
Hiss—!
Four abilities. All SSR. All shimmering gold in Jack's vision.
Terrifying beyond measure.
[ Ding! Contact successful. Replication initiated. ]
[ SSR abilities replicated: 「Overgrowth」 Lv1, 「Scorching Heat Bullet」 Lv1, 「Fierce Beast Body」 Lv1, 「Beast Instinct」 Lv1! ]
[ Current ability slots: 4/5. ]
[ Ability manifestation beginning… Adaptive modification in progress… ]
[ Threat Level increasing! ]
[ Ability slot limit +5! ]
[ Current Threat Level: Tiger (Upper). ]
The instant the prompt faded, Jack felt it.
Shattering.
Crushing.
Rebirth.
His heart clenched—squeezed by an invisible giant hand—then flooded with scorching magma.
BOOM.
An indescribable torrent of heat erupted from his core, detonating through every limb, every bone, every cell.
Something deep within him shattered. And from the ruins, limitless potential exploded forth.
At the same time, violent energy—capable of incinerating all things—ignited within him. A dormant volcano, suddenly awake.
Power.
Unparalleled power.
Agony beyond words intertwined with explosive growth, tearing through every nerve.
Jack's dark monster body expanded. Bones groaned—crack, crack, crack—muscle fibers ripped apart and reassembled at impossible speed.
In a single breath, he grew.
From 1.7 meters to 1.95. From slender to formidable.
The ferocious black carapace covering his body transformed—fiery red patterns emerged, flowing like magma beneath his skin. His body temperature skyrocketed, radiating palpable heat.
Blood vessels. Organs. Bones. Muscles.
Every part of his inhuman form was being destroyed and remade.
Energy—vast, wild, far beyond his previous limits—surged and roared within his newborn body.
And then—
Rover noticed.
The strange sensation on his paw. The sudden eruption of power from the tiny snack beneath him.
His meal paused.
Six burning eyes fixed on Jack. The air itself seemed to solidify.
Rover's six blazing eyes locked onto Jack, curiosity mingling with something else—recognition? Confusion? The massive beast's meal sat forgotten as it studied the tiny creature that had just... changed.
Jack's transformed body steamed in the cold corridor air, the magma-like patterns along his carapace pulsing with each thunderous heartbeat. Power he couldn't yet control crackled beneath his surface, begging for release.
The other Monsters stared in utter disbelief.
What... what IS that?!
But Jack barely registered them. His focus was absolute—locked on the titan before him, on the system prompts still flooding his vision, on the impossible reality that he was still alive.
Still breathing.
Still existing in the shadow of a Dragon-level god of destruction.
Rover's massive head tilted slightly. A gesture almost... dog-like.
Then—
"Woof."
Not a threat. Not a challenge.
Just... acknowledgment.
And Jack, heart pounding with borrowed power and sheer survival instinct, understood:
The gamble wasn't over.
It had only just begun.
A low growl rumbled from Rover's throat—deep, threatening, primal. His Dragon-level killing intent erupted like a tangible tsunami, flooding the corridor with crushing pressure.
His massive head snapped toward Jack. Six burning eyes locked onto the tiny creature beneath his paw.
The chill of imminent death stabbed into Jack's brain like ice needles.
But Jack didn't flinch.
Instead, crimson madness flickered in his eyes.
Enduring the agonizing body modification and the wild surge of unfamiliar power, he moved—
Lightning fast. He grabbed the Mutated Cockroach beside him, still paralyzed with terror.
CRACK—!
The Cockroach's thick, greasy arm snapped like rotten wood. Comminuted fracture. Foul green hemolymph splattered across the stone floor.
"What are you—?! Let go—!"
The Mutated Cockroach's fury lasted exactly one second.
Then it felt it.
Energy. Terrifying. Soul-shaking. Converging in Jack's open maw.
The dim corridor ignited—scorching light flooding every corner, turning darkness to blinding daylight.
Violent energy condensed before Jack's mouth. The air itself warped, screaming under extreme heat. Faint electrical discharges crackled around the growing sphere of annihilation.
Rover's signature move.
「Scorching Heat Bullet」.
Rover: ???
Mutated Cockroach: !!!
Rover's raised paw—mid-swipe—froze.
His massive head tilted. Six eyes blinked in unison.
The killing intent that had filled the corridor moments ago? Gone. Vanished. Replaced by... confusion. Curiosity.
Because somehow, impossibly, that moving appetizer smelled familiar.
Like himself. But smaller. Like a newborn cub of his own kind.
Comforting.
Milky.
"Awoo... Awoo?" (What... the heck?)
The Mutated Cockroach felt no curiosity. Only terror.
The pain from its shattered arm was nothing compared to the sphere of annihilation inches from its face.
Death. Hanging right there. Inevitable.
"NO—!"
"MERCY—!"
"YA—YAMETE—!!!"
BOOM—!!!
The scream cut off.
The Mutated Cockroach's ugly head—along with most of its upper body—vanished. Swallowed by the scorching white blast that expanded to the size of a grown man.
The 「Scorching Heat Bullet」 slammed into the stone wall behind it.
Lv1. Weaker than the original. Unable to breach the Monster Association's reinforced foundations.
But still devastating.
The shockwave rattled the corridor. Loose stones rained down. The impact crater—several meters deep—glowed red-hot, its edges vitrified into black glass.
[ Killed Wolf-level Monster 「Mutated Cockroach」. Origin Points +2. ]
The system chimed.
Peacefully passed away. No pain. No struggle.
A mercy, really.
The explosion's aftermath faded. The air filled with the stench of burnt chitin and scorched protein.
Only the Mutated Cockroach's lower half remained, twitching faintly. The severed upper cross-section? Instantly carbonized. Still smoking. Sizzling.
Rover watched the entire scene.
His massive tail began to wag.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Each swing slammed against the corridor walls, cracking stone, shaking dust from the ceiling.
His six eyes narrowed in obvious pleasure.
Pre-meal entertainment. Good.
Jack's knees nearly buckled.
One 「Scorching Heat Bullet」 had drained almost everything. The newborn power within him—vast but untamed—was nearly spent. Exhaustion crashed over him like a wave.
But he couldn't stop. Not yet.
Gritting his teeth, he shoved the half-charred, still-steaming monster corpse toward Rover.
Then carefully retreated. Held his breath. Watched.
Rover lowered his massive head. Sniffed deeply at the cooked snack.
Then—SLURP.
Gone.
"Awooo—"
A low bark. Satisfied. But...
Rover looked at Jack. Expectantly.
Jack blinked.
And somehow—maybe because of 「Beast Instinct」, maybe because the universe had a sick sense of humor—he understood.
"You're saying..." Jack tested, voice rough, "...it's well-roasted, but could use a little more char?"
"Awoo! Awoo—!"
(That's right! That's right—!)
Rover's tail wagged harder.