Alphonse opened his eyes to an endless swarm of people. Enormous steel sculptures rose into the sky. Glass covered the entirety of them, huge hulking screens displayed moving images.

Commercials? Where the hell am I?

Someone looked right at him, but walked straight at him, anyway. His shoulder slammed into Alphonse, the man recoiled back. Alphonse didn’t budge an inch despite the difference in height.

The man’s eyes widened. “Fuck you.” He spat.

He was about to walk away when Alphonse clutched at his neck like a chicken and raised him into the air. The man’s legs kicked at Alphonse’s body, but it was like a toddler attempted to fight. It was meaningless. Alphonse’s eyes turned cold. His grasp tightened.

Then he stopped. Everyone was looking at him. A crowd gathered around him.

“Let him go, you creep!” someone in the crowd shouted.

“Ah fine, stop barking at me.” Alphonse let go as the man crashed to the concrete ground.

Alphonse slinked his way into the crowd and started wandering around the streets. He wasn’t sure what his mission wanted him to do. Technically, it had already started, but it didn’t look like anything bad was happening. He walked into a clothing shop. Clothes of all different lined the walls. It looked just like it did back on the ship. It was like they had moulded each building to be identical.

He looked down at his tattered clothes. They emitted a foul stench of acrid sweat. People around the shop were giving him glances as if he was an animal. Alphonse scowled as he took some clothes off the wall and retreated into the changing room. He walked out looking like a new man… If you ignored all the dirt and scars covering his face and hands.

He was about to walk out when he heard someone shout at him.

“Hey, you need to pay for that!”

“Put it on my tab.” Alphonse chuckled and left the building.

His eyes wandered around until a thought popped into his mind. He was bored. Aghh, what can I do?

Blood-curdling screams filled the streets, people started running like a tide. People fell, and like a stampede with no consciousness, they tread on anyone under their feet.

Alphonse sighed and looked up at the sky. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Soon the people vanished into the distance as Alphonse just stood there, waiting for whatever it was. He was curious what it would be.

Large humanoid men with dark-grey skin appeared, they all held curved katanas that were stained in a dark colour. Large horns matched their intercrossing teeth. Then, a hole lethargically opened up on their forehead. An eye?

Their eyes wandered. Oh, I see. So they’ve been brought here as well? I wonder if it’s the system’s doing? Or… another of the seven evil monarchs? Ah, whatever it is, I’m fucking starving.

Let’s experiment. A grin formed as his body began changing. Armour of a Titan-beetle, thick fur grew from the dark-blue scales. A large spade-like horn emerged and grew from his forehead. Mandibles sprouted from the side of his mouth. His forearms grew and expanded like a gorilla fused with an ant. His spine grew stronger and thicker than before as the bone protruded from his exoskeleton. Finally, scarlet scales emerged.

Alphonse disappeared from the spot in a puff of smoke as he hurtled towards the three demon-like figures. His beastly instincts screamed at him as he ducked a slashing strike from the demon.

Alphonse’s palm planted against the demon as sparks seeped out. He planted his feet into the concrete ground. “Boom.”

An explosion rocked the entire street, the glass from the surrounding buildings all shattered at the force.

Alphonse didn’t bother to look at whatever was left of the corpse as his hand latched onto the wrist of the other demon. His knee snapped forward, colliding with the demon’s groyne.

Then, he lurched his head as it slammed into the monster. Grabbing hold of its dazed head, black shadows engulfed his mouth, and it projected forward like a bite from hell. He devoured the demon’s neck as he held the head’s hair in his hand and looked into its dead eyes.

| 17.8 Dexterity added

| 8.5 Intelligence added

| 5.3 Strength added

“Ah, you’re an Oni. I remember you can give me one of three skills. I already have one. Will you give the others?” Alphonse said. “Ah, I should talk to you. My bad, where’s my manners?” His eyes shifted to the last Oni left alive. His gaze made the dedicated swordsman retreat a step.

Alphonse sliced his hand as blood spilled, an icicle formed in his palm as it extended into a spear. With all of his strength plus the extra velocity from Brutal Sword Slash, he threw it at the Oni. It tore through the air.

The Oni’s eyes flashed as it got into a sword stance, its sword sliced into the icicle and deflected it to the side.

Alphonse flicker stepped forward. His cleaver swiped, but the efficient sword technique of the demon deflected it. Just when the demon thought he was going to attack again, a dark green bile shot out of his mouth without warning as it seeped over and cascaded down its muscle-bound body. Its sword dropped to the floor, soon, its screams halted.

Any more? He looked around, but the coast was clear. With his beast-like hearing, he wasn’t able to hear anything in the nearby vicinity. Now to cook you all, you better give me a damned skill. His vision stopped at a restaurant. He knew it was one because of the massive cow with a fork and knife on the other side of it. Excellent.

Alphonse dragged the bodies into the restaurant. To his surprise, three trembling women stared at him with a monster-like visage. “Uh, do you mind if I use the cooker?” At his words, the women released a banshee’s scream that he swore almost ruptured his ears. They shot out of the restaurant. It was the fastest they had ever moved. “I guess that’s a yes?” Alphonse chuckled.

Ah shit, how do I use these things? Alphonse scratched his head as he turned the dials of the cooker, then in frustration yanked it. Pulling the dial off. Shit. Alphonse clicked his fingers as a flame spouted out of his palm, lighting up the gas from the cooker. There we go. Alphonse nodded in satisfaction.

He cut up the Oni into pieces with his cleaver. He remembered the hints and tips from Markus, as he used some techniques he had learned. With meat, he had learned the less you flip it, the better. He gathered some vegetables in the kitchen and soon the tantalising smell of cooked meat wafted throughout the shop.

Alphonse heard the door open as he leaned backwards, peering his eyes around the wall. Six Oni walked in, their eyes fell on the head of one of their brethren. Its tongue hung out in its mouth like a dog panting.

“Ah guys, can you let me finish first?”

They instantly unsheathed their weapons, bloodlust shone within their eyes like a raging beast.

“Guess not then.” Alphonse flicked his cleaver over the counter as it sliced past the cheek of the Oni. “Well, I doubt two of you guys would even fill me up, anyway. There wasn’t much left of the third.”

Alphonse leapt over the counter, ice brandished in one hand, fire in the other.