"Hawkeye... Mihawk?"
Fubuki muttered the name, a deeply perplexed expression clouding her exquisite, beautiful face.
Hawkeye Mihawk? Never heard of him!
With that realization, her face dimmed once more, and despair fully reclaimed her.
In truth, she knew her plan to make a final stand with a mere knife was nothing more than a death struggle. The sudden appearance of a strange man had subconsciously sparked a tiny flicker of hope within her. But the moment the man introduced himself, that sliver of hope instantly died.
Since she had never heard the name Hawkeye Mihawk, it meant he wasn't part of the Hero Association. And if he wasn't a registered hero, there was a very high probability that he wasn't strong.
The logic in this world was simple: very few people could quietly train themselves to the pinnacle of power without anyone noticing. Every true powerhouse had survived an immense number of battles against monsters. If this Hawkeye Mihawk were a genuine power, his fame would be widespread even if he hadn't joined the Association.
Since Fubuki had absolutely no recollection of him, she could only assume he was average—or even weak.
Such a man might struggle just to handle a regular monster, let alone face Vaccine Man, whose destructive capabilities easily ranked at the Dragon level.
Remembering her duty as a hero, Fubuki quickly urged, "It's too dangerous here. Get out of here, fast!"
Hearing her plea, Ryuu, who was standing right beside her, secretly chuckled.
Yes, it was Ryuu. The person standing next to Fubuki right now wasn't the actual Hawkeye Mihawk, but Ryuu himself!
As for why he currently looked identical to Hawkeye Mihawk, it all went back to a few moments ago.
Right after learning that the system provided a starter pack, he had opened it without hesitation. To his utter surprise, the Newbie Gift Pack had granted him a shapeshifting ability!
This transformation ability was highly similar to the Clone-Clone Fruit used by Bentham (Mr. 2) in One Piece, but its effects were significantly more potent. Not only could he freely transform into any appearance he desired, but even his clothing and accessories would alter to match perfectly!
As a feature of the Role-Playing System, this starter benefit was practically tailor-made for his success. Consequently, the moment Ryuu received it, he had morphed into Hawkeye Mihawk without a second thought.
Fubuki's frantic warning only served to make him smile inwardly. He hadn't braved the mortal danger of approaching her just to turn around and leave so easily.
With a thought, Ryuu mentally pulled up his personal status page.
[Role-Playing System]
Host: Ryuu
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Spirit: 10
Physique: 10
(Note: 10 is the average attribute score for an ordinary human.)
Current Character Template: Hawkeye Mihawk
Current Role-Playing Completion Rate: 15%
Current Character Power Unlocked: None
Acquired Ability: Shapeshift
This was Ryuu's current status page. Short, sweet, and to the point.
To sum it up: although he flawlessly resembled Hawkeye Mihawk on the outside, he was still fundamentally an ordinary human on the inside.
Utilizing the shapeshifting ability to copy Hawkeye's appearance had instantly boosted his completion rate from 0% to 15%. However, because this percentage still fell short of the minimum 20% threshold, he hadn't actually unlocked any of Hawkeye's true strength yet.
Therefore, Ryuu was here specifically to farm his completion rate!
He had already learned from the system that there were only two ways to increase his completion percentage: one was by killing monsters and absorbing their energy; the other was by acting in front of people to leave a profound impression.
Given his current status as a total weakling, killing monsters—especially a monster like Vaccine Man—was completely out of the question. If he wanted to boost his completion rate right now, he had to rely entirely on his acting chops.
However, simply showing up as Hawkeye and introducing himself to Fubuki clearly wasn't enough to make a significant impact.
Glancing down at the dagger gripped tightly in Fubuki's hand, inspiration struck. Ryuu reached out and smoothly took the weapon from her grasp.
"W-What are you doing?" Fubuki stuttered, caught completely off guard.
Ryuu remained expressionless, maintaining a calm, cold demeanor as he said, "Borrowing your dagger for a moment."
Fubuki stared at him, utterly bewildered.
Borrowing it? To do what?
She didn't need to vocalize her question, because she found her answer a second later.
After delivering his line, Ryuu gripped the dagger tightly, slowly turned his body, and faced Vaccine Man hovering in mid-air.
He actually intended to use that tiny dagger... to fight Vaccine Man?!
Realizing this, Fubuki froze in absolute shock.
While she had just been planning to use a dagger against the monster herself, her execution wouldn't have been simple; her primary weapon was her psychokinesis, using the blade merely as a cutting edge accelerated by her wind control. In short, the dagger itself was secondary.
Yet now, this man was acting like he was going to take a common dagger and challenge Vaccine Man directly? Was he out of his mind?!