Pochi excitedly shook its massive head, wagging its tail even harder in agreement.
The cost of that little display?
The walls on both sides of the passage cracked open in several places, rubble raining down like a storm!
Having received Pochi's clear approval, Hans finally loosened the tension that had been strangling his heart.
A flood of exhaustion and relief washed over his already weakened body, nearly knocking him to the ground.
'I actually survived!'
'For now, at least.'
Then, another emotion replaced the fear, pure, bubbling excitement.
After all, he was now the exclusive chef of a Dragon-class cadre!
"I got it! The next dish will definitely satisfy you!"
Radiation Fish: "???"
One-Ear: "???"
As Hans's eyes glowed with dangerous red light, the two remaining Wolf-class monsters, one fish, one rat, went pale with terror.
Cold sweat poured down their backs like waterfalls, their bodies trembling like leaves in a storm.
"D-Don't come any closer!!!" ×2
…
…
[Killed Wolf-class monster "Radiation Fish." Gained Source Points ×1!]
[Killed Wolf-class monster "One-Ear." Gained Source Points ×1!]
Perhaps because it was Pochi's first time having a buffet of cooked food, the enormous dog wagged its tail even more happily.
After eating its fill, Pochi lowered its head and sniffed Hans with its huge nose, then stretched out its soft, warm tongue and licked him.
Hans's heart nearly stopped.
Thankfully, Pochi wasn't trying to have another snack; it was just marking him with its scent, declaring ownership.
"Awooo! Awoo-wooo!" ("I'm going to sleep! Tomorrow, make the snacks a little crispier~~")
Hans wiped the sticky dog saliva off his face and grinned beneath his dark carapace.
"Got it! No problem!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom…
The heavy footsteps gradually faded away, and the mountain-sized silhouette disappeared into the darkness at the end of the passage.
"Phew!"
Hans exhaled deeply, finally letting his nerves relax.
He was alive!
And better yet, he'd profited from the ordeal!
If he hadn't been unlucky enough to be sent on that death-wish delivery mission to Pochi, there's no way he'd have gotten close to a Dragon-class monster, let alone copied four broken SSR abilities in one go!
He looked down at his hands, now covered in dark, jagged armor plates, and felt the molten torrent of energy roaring inside his veins.
Every movement brimmed with explosive power.
It felt like he could crush steel between his fingers!
Tiger-class (Upper)!
In just a few moments, his disaster level had skyrocketed, from mid-Wolf straight to upper-Tiger!
The intoxicating thrill of such rapid power growth nearly overwhelmed him.
Sure, in the One Punch Man world, some monsters powered up even faster, but Hans was more than satisfied.
He'd not only survived but had also been marked by Pochi itself.
From a hellish start to a heavenly turnaround, talk about a plot twist!
Suppressing the near-bursting excitement in his chest, Hans took a deep breath.
"No. Now's not the time to get cocky!"
"There are already Dragon-class monsters crawling all over the Association. Demon-class ranks lower than dogs! This is just the beginning!"
He calmed himself and summoned the system interface.
[No Longer Human System]
Host: Hans
Current Species: Monster (Unknown Insect Mutation)
Disaster Level: Tiger (Upper)
[Ability List ]
Innate Ability:
Hardened Carapace (N) Lv3
Ability Slots: 5 / 10
Overgrowth (SSR) Lv1
Scorch Bomb (SSR) Lv1
Beast's Body (SSR) Lv1
Primal Instinct (SSR) Lv1
Basic Regeneration (N) Lv1
Source Points: 4]
Looking at the four dazzling golden icons, Hans's heartbeat quickened.
Overgrowth flooded him with boundless vitality and power.
Scorch Bomb granted devastating long-range destruction.
Beast's Body gave him an ultra-durable physique far beyond normal Tiger-class defense.
Primal Instinct massively boosted his battle sense and reflexes, plus a rage buff for sudden bursts of power.
Each ability was monstrous on its own, but together, they formed a perfect synergy!
Even though they were only Lv1 and nowhere near Pochi's original might, the potential was terrifying.
Truly endgame material!
The only odd one out was the white-tier ability he'd copied from the mutant cockroach:
Basic Regeneration (N).
Not that it was useless, healing was always a lifesaver, but compared to the four golden SSRs, it looked rather plain, and it still took up a precious slot.
Thankfully, his ability limit had increased to ten with the disaster-level upgrade, easing the pressure for now.
Next, Hans's eyes dropped to the Source Points section.
Killing the 3 wolf level monster only gave him 4 points total.
"These rates suck."
He shrugged.
'Still, even mosquito legs are meat. Better than nothing.'
His gaze returned to the list, and he tapped on Pochi's core ability, Overgrowth.
[Upgrade "Overgrowth (SSR)" Lv1 → Lv2 requires 1000 Source Points.]
"…"
Hans's mouth twitched violently.
'One thousand points?!'
That meant he'd have to kill a thousand weak Wolf-class monsters just to level it up once?!
'That was insane!'
…But thinking again, it made sense.
These were Dragon-class abilities, he shouldn't even have them yet.
With such high-tier rarity, an absurd cost was only natural.
Which meant no shortcut for now.
He'd have to grind or wait for a lucky break.
Sighing, he turned his attention to his innate skill.
[Upgrade "Hardened Carapace (N)" Lv3 → Lv4 requires 4 Source Points.]
That lined up perfectly.
The ability wasn't flashy, but as his natural mutation, it was essentially his "core skill."
Upgrading it would directly toughen his own body.
Still, Hans didn't spend the points immediately.
Instead, he looked at his "bonus" ability, Basic Regeneration.
[Upgrade "Basic Regeneration (N)" Lv1 → Lv2 requires 1 Source Point.]
'As expected, higher rarity, higher cost.'
Having roughly figured out the system's mechanics, Hans weighed his options.
Thanks to Overgrowth and Beast's Body, his HP and defense already exceeded his current rank.
Among Tiger-class monsters, he was probably top tier now.
Between a little more armor and faster recovery, regeneration clearly had more value.
"System, add point!"
[Consumed 1 Source Point. "Basic Regeneration" Lv1 → Lv2!]
A soft warmth spread through his body, like a gentle stream flowing through every cell.
He could feel his recovery speeding up, the fatigue and micro-damage from using Scorch Bomb earlier quickly fading away.
Not a huge improvement, but definitely noticeable.
"Not bad," Hans muttered, pleased.
Three Source Points left.
He checked the interface again, enough for another upgrade.
"Let's keep going."
[Consumed 2 Source Points. "Basic Regeneration" Lv2 → Lv3!]
This time, the warmth grew stronger, almost like his cells were cheering.
He could feel both his HP and energy recovery speeding up significantly.
[Remaining Source Points: 1]
One point wasn't enough for anything else, so he set it aside.
Still, feeling the tangible strength within him, Hans's confidence surged.
Even small boosts that stacked immediately felt incredibly satisfying.
After stretching a bit to adjust to his new strength and abilities, he closed the system panel and organized his thoughts.
First things first: get out of this saliva-soaked, barbeque-smelling hellhole and return to the task zone.
According to his faint memories, completing missions earned rewards, the very thing that had mutated him into a monster in the first place:
"Monster Cells."
These were collected from the flesh of the Association's supreme being, Monster King Orochi, and cultured into pulsating, heart-like lumps of living tissue.
Eating one could trigger unpredictable secondary or even multiple evolutions.
If lucky, you'd grow stronger.
If unlucky, you'd explode on the spot.
But monsters, Monsters no longer feared death.
They were twisted beings who had forsaken humanity.
Hans didn't want to die, but his hunger for power was no less than theirs.
He made up his mind.
No matter what, he'd claim those Monster Cells!
He had a system; maybe it could help him survive the process or even turn it to his advantage.
Besides, he needed intel.
Living in the Monster Association blind was asking for death.
In the manga, the Association's structure and lower ranks were barely explored.
He needed to know where and when he was.
Especially with one particular man possibly already active, the hero-hating fanatic…
Garou.
If that guy had started his rampage or even begun his monsterization, this underground stronghold might soon become the front line of the Hero Association's siege!
And if that happened, it might attract him, the bald demon, or her, the flat-chested green gremlin.
Both are capable of rewriting reality just by showing up.
Saitama & Tatsumaki: Achoo! ×2
"Ugh, who's talking trash about me?!" ×2