Chapter 16: Chapter 16: The Wolf King.
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For a brief moment, I felt a rush of freedom as my full psychic power surged back into me. But before I could savor it, the world around me exploded into white-hot flames. I instinctively launched myself upward, using my psychokinesis to grab every rock and shard from the volcanic eruption below, and hurled them toward the smoky crater where the building once stood.
Instead of landing gracefully, I crashed through a window into an office filled with screaming people. Damn, I'd forgotten that deactivating Power Sealing also meant losing some control over my muscles. Brushing glass off my clothes, I moved toward the shattered window, glancing down at the chaos below. Car alarms blared, and traffic was at a standstill. Realizing I was in a law firm, I hesitated briefly before my conscience won out.
"You should probably run," I advised the panicked office workers, my voice raised above the noise. Then, with a powerful crouch, I launched myself toward the crater like a meteor.
The smoke cleared, revealing something that made my heart skip a beat—six scarlet eyes glaring at me from the massive, pitch-black head of the most terrifying dog I'd ever seen. The beast's maw opened wide, unleashing balls of blazing energy at me.
Spin was useless in this situation; it was too delicate, too precise. Instead, I summoned Shun Shun Rika, infusing it with every ounce of my desire to avoid becoming roadkill. My cufflinks transformed into an orange shield, but cracks began forming almost immediately as I descended toward the oversized hound. One energy ball hit, then another, then more, until the shield shattered just ten meters from the creature. I had no choice but to meet its massive paw head-on, pouring all my strength into the punch.
The impact was catastrophic. The shockwave shattered every pane of glass within miles, and an unearthly boom sent me flying uncontrollably into the street below. I hit the ground with such force that I crashed through the street, into the sewers, and even deeper into the earth, finally coming to a stop hundreds of meters underground, embedded in solid bedrock.
I'd never been hit this hard before, and it took me a moment to regain my bearings. I immediately checked my stats:
**King**
**The Gamer**
**Title**: None
**Species**: Human
**Health**: 8,954,012/9,544,830 (HP Regen: 190,897 per minute)
**Mana**: 4,229,280/4,232,380 (MP Regen: 84,647 per minute)
**Level**: 1,869 (EXP 12,050,369/120,762,401)
**STR**: 743,291
**VIT**: 945,123
**DEX**: 721,348
**INT**: 413,878
**WIS**: 399,447
**LUK**: 525,777
**Points**: 0
**Money**: 7,777,777,777¥
In a single swipe, I'd lost over five percent of my health, even with my physical resistance and the momentum I'd managed to offset. I was lucky that I hadn't ended up in its jaws—otherwise, I'd be dog food by now. Unfortunately, my stats were still out of control, forcing me to rely on brute strength rather than the precise martial arts I usually favored.
With a sigh of resignation, but a surge of anticipation, I activated the Life Fibers concealed within my body. I'd long since discarded the idea of wearing their original, ridiculous outfit. After hours of experimenting, I discovered how to use them without donning that hideous suit. The trick was simple: Life Fibers were most effective when they weren't worn.
Microorganisms tore into my flesh, burrowing into nerves and muscles, draining my life force, and devouring my bioelectricity. My HP began to plummet even as my stats soared. My body began to wither, despite the protection of Gamer's Body.
But just as my vitality reached its lowest point, my heart cells went into overdrive, sending waves of pure life force throughout my body. My withered state was restored, and I could feel my muscles crackling with excess energy. My entire body was now covered in thick, blonde fur.
"Wolf King Mode," I murmured, though no one was around to hear. With a gentle push, I propelled myself upward, breaking through the layers of earth and sewer, and burst out of the ground, soaring a mile into the air.
For a brief moment, I floated in the sky, but my instincts (Supreme Awareness over the Natural World) kicked in, and I dodged to the right just before a ball of heat and light shot past me, exploding in a flash that rivaled the sun.
"How in the nine hells did those mechanical mooks manage to steal an egg from that thing's mother?" I muttered to myself, as I descended rapidly, bouncing off psychic platforms to avoid the fiery flak the beast hurled at me. I landed a hundred meters away, the road cracking and melting under the force of my impact.
The streets were now deserted, the only sound being the distant wail of sirens. I noticed a chunk of rubble hurtling toward a child in a cheap mask and punched it into vapor, but the force of my punch tore the roof off a nearby skyscraper. I hoped no one had been enjoying a romantic lunch up there. But even that minor distraction didn't stop me from focusing on the beast as it prepared another attack.
It released a white orb in my direction, and I met it with a punch of my own. The two forces collided in mid-air, and for a moment, the world went silent before the explosion rocked the city, engulfing us both in heat and light. I hastily summoned Shun Shun Rika behind me to shield myself from the worst of the blast, then charged at the hound.
In this form, I felt like a hammer, and the city was glass. But the creature before me was an anvil. I crashed into its chest with my shoulder, lifting it off the ground and toppling it over. It swiped at me with a paw, and I retaliated with a punch that sent shockwaves through the air. The force sent me skidding back just in time to avoid its snapping jaws. I responded by shattering its teeth with another punch, though it still managed to rip a chunk out of my arm.
Using my psychokinesis, I retrieved the scraps of flesh and reattached them, my boosted healing quickly restoring my arm to its original state. I launched myself at the wolf again, my punches clumsy but powerful, until finally, I saw an opening. I spun my life force and shattered every bone in its paw with a single, precise blow.
"Finally done," I muttered, deactivating Wolf King Mode. Exhaustion hit me like a wave, but Gamer's Mind kept me on my feet. Regaining full control over my stats felt like a relief.
I casually snapped my fingers, and all the loose hair on my body flew off, straight into the giant dog's face. It stumbled, caught between rage and confusion, and I stepped forward, landing a punch infused with Spin. The collision sent the beast reeling, but it still managed to generate another ball of light. I waited for the perfect moment to use my psychokinesis to slam its jaws shut, causing the orb to detonate inside its mouth.
"The World Turns," I whispered, as I prepared for the final move. Spinning my life force and psychic energy together, I stepped forward, unleashing the full force of my power. The world shattered around us, creating a zone of death that engulfed the beast, tearing it apart.
I retracted my fist, waving it in the air to dissipate the heat. The move was still imperfect, but the backlash was far less severe than before. Satisfied, I scanned the smoke and dust for any sign of movement. Suddenly, a sound reached my ears, unfamiliar and overwhelming.
People were cheering for me.
They stood in the streets and peered out from buildings, celebrating my victory. I was being hailed as a hero, more so than Saitama ever was. But the attention made me uncomfortable. I'd never enjoyed being the focus of a crowd, especially when I was so bone-tired. Under the gaze of at least a hundred people, I gave a thumbs-up before heading home.
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1 Month Later
"This is a bit unusual for me," I mused, sitting at the edge of a pier. "I usually avoid situations that could end up like this."
It had been a stressful month. The day after the battle, I returned to the restaurant, minus the money I'd taken from the mafia, only to be confronted by an army of reporters. Somehow, they'd tracked me down, and even while I performed my usual services, I was constantly hounded for quotes. At least they left positive reviews for the restaurant—well, my former restaurant. I sold CooKing Grates the previous week after enduring endless hassles. Even my family had become a problem, my parents scolding me for being reckless while awkwardly expressing their pride.
"I hope you weren't expecting me to forgive my enemies easily," I continued, addressing my silent companion. "I really dislike people who throw forgiveness around so carelessly. Forgiveness should be the domain of the divine. Humans shouldn't invade the gods' territory so easily. Forgiving people willy-nilly can really hurt in the long run."
I stored my shoes in my inventory, dipping my feet into the pleasantly warm water. Gazing out at the horizon, I couldn't even see a speck of land.
Long ago, humans thrived on islands and smaller continents that surrounded a vast supercontinent. But wars and other cataclysmic events rendered those outlying lands uninhabitable. Some were ravaged by extreme weather, others sank beneath the sea, and a few were overtaken by Mysterious Beings. It turns out that the creature I fought came from one such place, a region once known as the Archipelago. The desire to see it for myself has become a fire in my chest, burning brighter every day.
"I guess the reason I didn't kill you is because I actually really like dogs," I said, staring down at the black hound, barely reaching my shin, wagging its tail furiously at me. Despite the force of my last punch, which should have been lethal, the hound had somehow survived. Two weeks later, our paths crossed again. This time, I didn't let him escape. I was torn—unwilling to let a dangerous beast roam free but equally unwilling to kill a creature that so closely resembled man's best friend. "But don't get comfortable. If you try to slip away, I might just be having Chinese for dinner," I warned, my glare meeting his unblinking eyes.
The hound didn't respond to my taunts, so I turned my attention back to the ocean. I checked my inventory one last time, ensuring all essentials were packed. Satisfied, I hoisted the unresisting hound onto my shoulder. I took one final look at the supercontinent where I had spent the last twenty years of my life. Then, without hesitation, I leaped into the ocean, skimming over the waves toward the old lands where humanity once reigned.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone