"So with that level of strength, I can't even beat a single monster?" Ryan groaned.
System 001's explanation had crushed his mood.
A young Ultraman stage was already bad enough.
But a normal young Ultraman?
That meant his combat power was barely worth mentioning.
Ryan rubbed his forehead.
"Can't you boost my strength somehow?" he asked. "This world is full of monsters. At the very least I need to fight like a normal Ultraman."
"Host must improve independently."
Ryan stared into the empty space.
"…Great."
He shook his head.
Clearly, the system wasn't something he could rely on right now.
Maybe he needed to follow Leo's original path and train like crazy.
But there was a problem.
Leo had started out strong.
Even before training, he had managed to rescue Ultraman Seven from the Alien Magma attack.
And Leo himself had been a prince and a master martial artist.
Ryan?
Ryan was just a regular guy.
According to the system, transforming into Ultraman only meant enlarging his own body.
If that was true, trying to fight monsters would be suicide.
Ryan looked toward the glowing statues again.
"Can the system fight for me like it did earlier?"
"No."
System 001 answered calmly.
"The host possesses limited light particles. Therefore the number of transformations is limited."
Ryan frowned.
"Limited?"
"The earlier protection mode consumed future transformation capacity. Protection mode will not activate again unless absolutely necessary."
Ryan's stomach sank.
"So if I run out of light particles…"
"You will lose the ability to transform."
Ryan fell silent.
The excitement he felt earlier when seeing the Ultraman statues slowly faded.
The system existed.
But it wasn't a miracle solution.
Ryan opened his mouth.
"So what should I—"
"Host stay duration has ended."
Ryan blinked.
"What?"
Before he could react, the world around him began changing.
The platform dissolved.
The glowing pillars faded.
Everything turned back into a sea of light.
"Hey! What's going on?" Ryan shouted. "There's a time limit too?"
"Exit countdown initiated."
"You will return to Earth in five seconds."
"Five…"
Ryan panicked.
"Wait! I still have a lot of questions!"
"Four…"
"Three…"
Ryan noticed his body becoming surrounded by white light.
"Hey! Hold on!"
"Two…"
"You can't just throw me out like this!"
"One."
Blinding light exploded around him.
Ryan raised his arm to shield his eyes.
A strange sound filled his ears.
It reminded him of the noise Ultraman made when firing a beam.
Or maybe a spacecraft flying at extreme speed.
The sound only lasted a moment.
Then everything went silent.
Ryan slowly lowered his arm.
He blinked.
He was standing on the edge of a skyscraper.
"…What?"
Ryan looked down.
The ground was unbelievably far away.
People below looked smaller than ants.
He stumbled backward quickly.
"How did I end up here?!"
The rooftop had no guardrails.
Strong wind whipped across the open space.
One careless step and he would fall.
Ryan carefully moved away from the edge.
His heart raced.
At least I didn't appear in midair…
After calming down, Ryan looked around.
From the rooftop, he could see Tokyo Bay.
The monsters had retreated.
The sea had pulled back.
But the damage was enormous.
Water pooled among piles of debris. Rescue teams gathered around the flooded streets, searching for survivors.
Ryan's chest tightened.
When disasters struck, humans looked so fragile.
In the original story, the destruction hadn't been this severe.
Something about this world had changed.
The story was still following the same events.
But the monsters were different.
Stronger.
Just looking at the ruins made that clear.
Ryan clenched his fists.
"If this keeps happening, the future's going to be even worse."
There was no running from it.
If he didn't become stronger, he would eventually die.
Ryan looked up at the sky.
Beyond the clouds, the endless stars waited.
Of course he was scared.
But that fear pushed him forward.
If danger came again, he didn't want to stand there helpless.
Ryan thought about the next monster from the original timeline.
The Alien Zuruk.
A brutal warrior with blade-like arms.
Even Ultraman Leo had struggled against it.
And if monsters in this world were stronger than before…
Ryan shivered.
Still, it probably wouldn't happen immediately.
Looking at the ruined city below, it would take weeks to recover.
If another monster attacked right now, humanity wouldn't stand a chance.
"No matter what…"
Ryan stared ahead.
Cold wind whipped his hair and jacket.
"I don't have much time."
He took a deep breath.
"Training starts now."
He needed enough strength to at least fight back.
But then another problem hit him.
Ryan looked around the rooftop.
"…How do I get down?"
There was no stair door.
No ladder.
Nothing.
Ryan groaned.
"Leo!"
"Do I just transform again?"
"…Wait."
"I don't even have a transformation device!"
"Damn you, system!"
Ryan leaned over the edge again.
"…Help!"
Luckily, rescue teams were already searching the area.
It didn't take long before someone spotted him.
Soon firefighters helped Ryan down from the building.
"How did that kid even get up there?" one rescuer asked.
Ryan wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
If people started thinking he was an alien, things would get complicated.
He quickly made an excuse and slipped away.
Ryan originally planned to find Ultraman Seven and ask for training.
But he stopped himself.
How was he supposed to explain everything?
And honestly…
He didn't want Dan to know he could become Ultraman.
Ryan pictured the brutal training Dan had forced on Gen Ootori in the original story.
Yeah… my body would break in half.
So Ryan changed his plan.
Instead, he decided to find Takeshi Nomura.
Learning karate from him would still help.
Even if the system claimed his Ultraman form was weak, Ryan wasn't convinced.
In plenty of Ultraman stories, the hosts were ordinary people.
Yet they still defeated monsters after transforming.
Maybe the system was exaggerating.
Ryan walked through the streets.
The situation looked better than expected.
Since the monsters had been driven away quickly, northern Tokyo hadn't suffered much damage.
Only some shaking and scattered debris.
But the areas near Tokyo Bay were devastated.
Ryan had seen that destruction clearly from the rooftop.
Entire blocks had been flattened.
Ryan finally arrived at the sports club.
As he stepped inside, he heard Takeshi talking urgently with a middle-aged man.
"What? They're in the hospital?" Takeshi asked. "Which one? Are they okay?"
Ryan frowned.
"What happened, Takeshi?"
The middle-aged man turned.
Ryan recognized him immediately.
Ayumi's father.
"Ryu!"
Takeshi rushed over and hugged him.
"You're alive! That's great!"
Ryan awkwardly pushed him away.
"Of course I'm alive. Where's everyone else?"
Takeshi's expression turned serious.
"Ayumi and Momoko are injured. They're at Jonan Hospital."
Ryan froze.
"What?"
"I came back to ask the rescue teams to look for you," Takeshi said. "But you showed up on your own."
He grabbed Ryan's arm.
"Come on. Ayumi got hurt because of you. If that giant hadn't appeared, she might not have survived."
Ryan blinked.
"…Because of me?"
What kind of logic was that?
Ayumi's father stepped forward.
His face was stiff.
"Since you're safe, I'll say this now."
"If anything had happened to my daughter, I would have held you responsible."
Ryan's mouth twitched.
What was going on today?
Still, if Ayumi was seriously hurt, arguing wasn't the right move.
"Let's go," Ryan said.
The three of them hurried to the hospital.
They soon reached Jonan Hospital.
Ryan walked into the room.
Then he stopped.
Ayumi lay comfortably on the bed.
She was reading a magazine.
Eating fruit.
Aside from a bandage on her forehead, she looked perfectly fine.
Ryan stared.
"This is the person who 'almost died'?"
Takeshi coughed awkwardly.
"Well… she's okay now, so that's what matters."
Ayumi glanced at Ryan.
"What? Disappointed that I'm fine?"
She took another bite of her apple.
"You survived. Why wouldn't I?"
"Tch…"
Ryan ignored her.
Instead, he looked toward the next bed.
Momoko lay there sleeping.
Her injuries looked a bit more serious.
"President," Ryan asked quietly, "how is Momoko?"
Omura nodded.
"She's resting. The doctor said she'll recover after some time."
Then he turned back to Ryan.
"Honestly, Ryu, it's incredible you survived."
"I saw the wave swallow you."
Ryan scratched the back of his head.
"Well… the giant saved me."
Omura sighed with relief.
"That giant saved all of us."
He looked toward the window.
"If we ever meet him, we should thank him properly."
Ryan laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah… definitely."
"Hmm?" Omura glanced at him.
"I mean—yeah. We should thank him."
Ryan looked back at Momoko.
She slept peacefully.
In the original story, her condition had been much worse.
It seemed the timeline had changed slightly.
Ryan felt relieved.
If things continued like this…
Maybe the tragic events from the original story could be avoided.
Ryan stood there thinking.
Ayumi suddenly coughed loudly beside him.
Then she muttered under her breath.
"Pervert."