"Role-playing system?"
Ryuu Kumo blinked, a strange, bewildered look crossing his face.
He still couldn't quite wrap his head around it. A simple bout of pneumonia—something he had completely brushed off at first—had actually ended up killing him. But death hadn't brought darkness or nothingness. Instead, he had opened his eyes to find himself breathing again, standing in a completely different world.
To put it plainly, Ryuu had been reincarnated.
And he knew exactly where he was: the brutal, monster-filled world of One Punch Man.
There was no room for doubt because the proof was playing out right in front of him. In the distance, the hero Blizzard of Hell, Fubuki, along with her suited subordinates, were locked in a desperate, losing battle against a massive, purple monster. The creature looked remarkably like King Piccolo, sporting an alien frame and a menacing glare.
It was Vaccine Man—the very first disaster to appear at the start of the original story.
Booming explosions rattled the air, one after another, shaking the ground beneath Ryuu's feet. The hot, destructive shockwaves were pushing farther out with every second, creeping dangerously close to where he stood.
Yet, Ryuu didn't run. He didn't even panic.
As a transmigrator, he had inherited the ultimate web-novel cheat code: a system. It was just that this particular system felt a little unusual.
Curious, Ryuu sent a silent question into his own mind. System, what do you actually do? Give me an introduction. How do I use you?
Right on cue, a smooth, mechanical electronic voice echoed in his head.
[Report to Host: This is a Role-Playing System. By acting and playing the part of a specific character template, you will gain synchronization. The higher your completion rate, the more of that character's power you will unlock.]
Ryuu's eyes lit up. The better I play the part, the stronger I get? Now that's interesting.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Ryuu muttered under his breath, a sudden spark of urgency hitting him. "Hurry up and open the character templates. Let's get started."
He could smell the smoke in the air, and he knew he didn't have time to waste. Vaccine Man's rampage was going to level half of A-City. While his current corner of the street was safe for the moment, it wouldn't stay that way for long. He needed power, and he needed it right now.
But the system's next reply threw him for a loop.
[Report to Host: The character template list is currently empty. Would you like to draw your first character template?]
A gacha system? So it's totally random, Ryuu thought, startled for a split second before shaking it off. "Fine, go ahead. Roll it."
[Ding! Beginning character template extraction...]
Instantly, a dizzying blur of fictional faces flashed through Ryuu's mind like a high-speed roulette wheel. Before he could even recognize a single feature, the wheel locked into place with a sharp click. A tall, sharply dressed man froze in his mind's eye.
Ryuu's eyebrows shot up. "Is that... Hawkeye Mihawk?"
There was no mistaking it. Staring back at him was Dracule Mihawk from One Piece, wearing his signature dark, patterned coat and wide-brimmed hat. The man radiated a cold, heavy pressure that felt almost suffocating. But it was his eyes that drew the attention—sharp, yellow, hawk-like eyes that looked capable of cutting through anything in existence.
The World's Strongest Swordsman.
A wave of pure excitement washed over Ryuu. Even in a completely different universe full of overwhelming monsters, Hawkeye's sheer martial prowess would easily put him in the absolute top tier of the One Punch Man world. With that kind of power, surviving this initial disaster would be effortless. Thriving in this new life would be a breeze.
As he grinned at his good fortune, the system notifications chimed in rapid succession.
[Ding! Your first character template is Hawkeye Mihawk. The host's current role-playing completion rate is 0%.]
[When the completion rate reaches 20%, you will obtain a portion of Hawkeye Mihawk's power. At 40%, you will unlock another portion, and so on. At 80%, you will possess all of his power. If you reach 100%, you will unlock power that transcends the original character!]
[Ding! Since this is the host's first time extracting a template, you have been awarded a Newbie Gift Pack. Would you like to open it?]
Reading the glowing text in his mind, Ryuu's grin only widened.
The mechanics were straightforward enough, but that final detail was staggering. Reaching 100% didn't just mean mastering the character; it meant surpassing them. Mihawk was already the pinnacle of swordsmanship in his own world. What lay beyond that? The destructive level of the Four Emperors? Or something even greater?
This system wasn't just a helpful tool—it was absolutely incredible. And it even threw in a starter pack to get him moving.
"Open it," Ryuu commanded mentally, eager to see what he'd get.
Meanwhile, across the smoke-filled plaza.
While Ryuu was busy dealing with his system, Vaccine Man's patience was wearing thin. The giant purple monster glared down at Hellish Blizzard and the heavily bruised heroes scattered across the shattered pavement.
To the monster, these humans were nothing but pathetic, annoying insects. They were weak, yet they kept buzzing around. The moment it swatted one down, another would just crawl out from the rubble.
Getting tired of the game, Vaccine Man's eyes gleamed with a cruel, murderous light. It was time to just wipe them all out in a single breath.