A new day dawned over a mist-shrouded forest trail. The Rustbucket sat parked near a sprawling lake, where small boats glided across the water, carrying tourists soaking in the serene mountain views.
Open Personal Status Panel.
Host: Cian Age: 11 Template: Glitch Watch [Transformation Duration: 10 mins] [Cooldown: 10 mins] [Killer Mode: Unlocked] Progress: 7/100 Aliens: The Original Ten, Snare-oh, Frankenstrike, Blitzwolfer, Roaring Devil (Cannonbolt), Glitch Eye Guy, Wildvine, Ditto. Physical Stats: Peak Adult Human Strength.
Cian studied the panel, a thought occurring to him. I noticed a detail. Ben pointed it out earlier—the names. The system defaults to the original species names unless they are specifically dubbed by a user. "Roaring Devil" was Ben's contribution. The others remained as raw, unnamed data files.
Whoosh.
Beside him, a tall figure wreathed in roaring flames stood proudly facing the lake. A thin pillar of fire rose from beneath his feet.
"Ben... next time you turn into Heatblast, remember to use the bathroom before you transform."
Cian looked at the "Fire Man" with a deadpan expression, closing his mental status screen.
"Ah! Sorry! I really had to go!" Ben replied sheepishly. He took off, a streak of fire flying toward a secluded, uninhabited stretch of the shoreline to finish his business.
Meanwhile, Gwen was in the shallows, engaged in a playful splash-fight with Cian.
"You guys were up earlier than me today," Max said, leaning out of the RV window. "Kids really do love the water."
The plan was to go fishing, but the kids had beat him to it, already swimming in the lake's crisp morning waters.
A short while later, Max joined them on the shore. Ben landed nearby, timing out of his transformation.
"I saw something when I was flying," Ben muttered, drying off. "A massive dark shadow underwater... it was weird."
A shadow? Is it the Kraken from the original story? Cian sharpened his focus, his internal alarm bells ringing.
After drying off and dressing, Max led them to a local guide known as Captain Shaw. They boarded his boat and headed into the center of the mist-covered lake. As they motored along, Shaw spun tall tales of the legendary sea monster, the Kraken.
Before he could finish his story, he slammed the boat into a hard reverse. The sudden stop nearly sent Cian and the others overboard.
Blocking their path was a massive industrial vessel, cutting them off from the center of the lake.
"Why the hell are you blocking us? You looking for a fight?!" Captain Shaw leaned over the rail, immediately shifting into "aggro" mode.
"Apologies! We're with the Friends of Fish Association," a man with a red buzzcut shouted from the larger ship. He looked friendly enough, dressed in a sky-blue protective suit. "We're conducting environmental research in the center of the lake. This area is temporarily closed."
Captain Shaw opened his mouth to argue, but he stopped. Behind the "friendly" man, several silent figures in helmets and tactical gear stepped into view. They didn't radiate the vibe of researchers; they felt like mercenaries.
"You won't let us through because of that giant sea monster, right?" Ben stood up, pointing toward the middle of the lake.
"What? A monster!"
Everyone turned. A gargantuan shape broke the surface of the water—a blue-green nightmare, at least twenty meters long, resembling a prehistoric plesiosaur. The Kraken.
"Cian, this guy's been stalking me. Let me handle it!"
Ben decisively dialed in Ripjaws and slammed the watch. A muscular, steel-toothed merman leaped from the boat and vanished into the depths.
"Ben..." Cian called out. "I hope you don't have to go again. Don't leave a trail of 'fish-man' waste in the water!"
"Shut up, Cian! And call me Steel Jaws!!" Ben's tail whipped the water into a froth as he sped toward the beast.
As Ben engaged the Kraken in a underwater brawl, Cian turned his attention to the men on the industrial ship. He saw them quietly uncovering harpoon guns, submachine guns, and grenades.
Friends of Fish? Yeah, right.
On the deck of the large ship, Jonah raised a hand, pointing excitedly. "Wait! Don't shoot yet! Look at that!"
"Is that... another merman?" "There's more than one monster in this lake!!" "Haha, we're going to be rich!!"
The poachers lowered their guns for a moment, laughing greedily as they watched Ben fight the Kraken. Jonah picked up a tranquilizer sniper rifle, aiming at Ben's silhouette in the water. "Wait for them to tire each other out. We bag the little one first, then we take the big one."
"Great idea, Boss!" one of the men said. "What about the kids and the old guy watching us behind?"
"Idiots," Jonah sneered. "Just a few brats and two old men. Even if they talk, who's going to believe them? Let them watch."
Meanwhile, Max lowered his phone. "Cian, I just checked with an old contact. These guys aren't researchers. They're high-tier poachers with enough heavy weaponry to start a small war."
"Grandpa, I don't think they're 'good' people anyway. They're definitely planning something for Ben."
Cian slowly raised his wrist. He dialed the Glitch Watch to the silhouette of the eye-covered alien.
BOOM!
A flash of blood-red light filled the boat.
Captain Shaw squinted through the glare. "Who's lighting fireworks in the middle of the—"
His voice died. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted onto the deck instantly.
"What... what kind of monster is this..."
Gwen recoiled, her skin crawling with goosebumps. Even Max felt a cold sweat break out.
Standing before them was a mustard-yellow, muscular alien. But it wasn't the "Eye Guy" they might have expected. This creature's shoulders, chest, and limbs were covered in jagged, open lacerations—raw, flayed wounds of exposed muscle. And inside those bloody gashes, individual wet eyeballs writhed and rolled, searching the horizon.
Glitch Eye Guy.
Cian took a deep breath, looking down at his own reflection in the lake water. "Oh... my... god."
Frankly, in all the time he'd been transforming, this was the first time he'd seen his own face clearly in this form.
I even scared myself! It was beyond horrific.
Cian threw his head back and lunged, leaping toward the poachers' ship. "If I'm this terrifying... then the nightmare for these villains has just begun!!"