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April evening, eight o'clock.
Tokyo, Nerima Ward.
"Can you see me?"
"Hey, you can see me, right?"
"You can see me, can't you?"
That raspy voice buzzed in his ears, like a fly that wouldn't quit. Max forced himself to stay calm.
All he felt now was irritation and a slow-burning anger.
As for fear or panic?He'd had plenty at the start. But now? None.
In his vision stood a hulking, two-meter-tall humanoid shape wreathed in black smoke, muttering non-stop.
It hunched forward, body crooked, limbs thick, arms disturbingly long.
Its fingers ended in pitch-black claws, twenty centimeters long, gleaming like knives.
Four bloodshot eyes stared unblinking at him.
Its mouth was crammed with jagged, white fangs.
But it didn't notice any of the passersby around them. No—its eyes were locked only on Max.
Max's expression didn't change.
He ignored it completely, clutching a bag of convenience store snacks in his left hand, walking steadily toward his apartment.
His body passed straight through the monster, as if they weren't on the same plane of existence at all.
"Can you see me?"
The shadow monster drifted alongside him like some broken record, muttering the same line over and over.
Minutes later, the street lay empty.
Clang~~~
A low, ancient bell tolled in his ears.
The whole world froze.
Time stopped.
Everything—everyone—gone still, except Max.
"What the hell?!"
He halted, stunned, as streams of shifting light appeared before his eyes.
They condensed into a book.
Its cover was ornate, trimmed with golden edges, patterned with beautiful designs.
Within its sheen flickered shifting landscapes—mountains, rivers, the sun and moon—changing and blending like the cycle of the world itself.
[Compendium of All Things]
The words flashed across his mind.
Slowly, Max understood.
Finally—after two and a half years—his cheat ability had arrived.
Ten days ago, he'd had a dream.
A dream of a book filled with gods, monsters, dragons, angels—creatures of myth and fantasy.
The dream repeated for seven nights.
Two and a half days ago, he'd started to feel something strange.
Not so much that the world had changed—but that he had.
His eyes could now glimpse a deeper layer of reality.
Like the monster standing in front of him now.
And not just this one. He'd run into five more over the past two days.
Like stepping in gum, he couldn't shake them off.
Though, every other monster had been torn apart by this one trailing him now.
Max turned his focus back to the Compendium.
The book flipped open on its own.
His eyes widened.
The first entry wasn't some mystical beast or relic.
It was him.
The Compendium's purpose was simple, boiled down to twelve characters:
Record. Illuminate. Reward.
As long as he laid eyes on something with value, the Compendium would record it.
Never expected it would record him, though.
He checked the entry.
It was already lit up.
Name: MaxRank: Transparent (Special)Description: Master of the CompendiumReward: The Authority of the Seven Kings
…
"The Authority of the Seven Kings?"
His brow arched.
He remembered that term.
It came from the world of K.
There, the "Kings" referred to seven beings who stood at the absolute pinnacle of power—far beyond any other ability user.
Each one was practically a walking nuclear weapon.
Well, maybe not as destructive as a nuke.
But their "domains" were strong enough to tank a direct nuclear strike without a scratch.
His eyes flicked to the shadow monster that had stalked him for two and a half days. No time to hesitate.
He needed power—now.
"Compendium, fuse."
With that thought, his vision blurred.
He found himself standing in the middle of a vast, starry cosmos, as if he'd stepped into another world.
Beneath his feet stretched a massive stone disk, etched with runes that looked as if the universe itself had carved them.
The Dresden Slate—the source of the Kings' powers.
Seven streams of colored light rose from the slate, soaring into the sky.
Max looked up.
The streams crystallized into seven great swords of different shapes and hues.
The Damocles Swords—symbols of the Kings.
They rained down light, enveloping him.
First Authority: Silver – Immovable
Second Authority: Gold – Destiny
Third Authority: Red – Violence
Fourth Authority: Blue – Order
Fifth Authority: Green – Revolution
Sixth Authority: Gray – Protection
Seventh Authority: Colorless – Chaos
The seven authorities awoke inside him.
Power surged through his body, overwhelming, intoxicating.
What felt like an eternity passed in just an instant.
Back in reality—
Max opened his eyes. He hadn't even noticed he'd closed them.
For just a moment, seven-colored light flickered across his blue irises.
"Right now… I might be scary strong."
He clenched his fist, savoring the raw energy rushing through him.
His gaze fell back to the Compendium.
The second page had been filled—recording the shadow monster.
But it hadn't lit up yet.
Max closed the book.
While the Compendium's power still held the world frozen, silver light shimmered around him.
The Silver Authority—the power of gravity itself.
His body rose smoothly into the air.
He raised his right hand. Crimson flame flared to life.
The Red Authority.
Pure violence, manifest as fire.
The flames wrapped his palm as he struck down.
All his pent-up rage ignited into one blazing slap across the monster's grotesque face.
Smack!
Fire roared across the creature, spreading in a heartbeat from its twisted head to the rest of its body.
The world resumed.
It didn't even have time to scream.
The monster that had haunted him for days was gone in an instant, burned into nothing but a puff of black smoke.
As the shadow dispersed, the flames vanished too.
Max exhaled, relieved.
That thing had kept him on edge for two and a half days.
He hadn't dared to sleep at night.
Now, with his cheat power finally awakened, he could finally breathe easy.
He checked the street. Nothing unusual.
Satisfied, he turned and headed home.
The rest of the walk was uneventful.
No more monsters appeared.
Near Shakujii Park, Max arrived at his house—
A three-story home with a courtyard, spanning over 360 square meters. Big enough to call "a wealthy household."
In the first-floor living room, he dropped onto the sofa, relaxed. With a thought, he summoned the Compendium again.
The second page glowed now.
Name: Clawed Wraith
Rank: Green
Description: Mid-tier Evil Spirit
Reward: 10 units of medium energy
…
"A mid-tier evil spirit…"
Max narrowed his eyes.
Just as he thought—it really was a ghost.
If his guess was right, the Clawed Wraith came from the world of Mieruko-chan.
He hadn't been totally sure before.
After all, he hadn't seen familiar faces like Miko Yotsuya or Hana Yurikawa yet.
But now, after two and a half years in this world, he was certain.
This wasn't just one story.
This was a crossover world of anime.
"....."