"According to what you're saying, I need to frequently appear in front of both the good guys and the bad guys, huh?" asked the youth—no, Ling Luo, as he should now be called—in a slightly troubled voice.
"Yes, Host," replied the system in its calm, mechanical tone.
After all, whether it was completing missions or farming emotional value, principal characters were indispensable; that much made sense.
"But I'm just an ordinary person, you know," Ling Luo said with a hint of helplessness.
"The good guys are one thing; those Ultra Warriors and their hosts are all warm-hearted souls. As long as I show up in front of them more often and build up a presence, missions and the like should be easy enough to handle."
Ling Luo scratched his head and continued, "Bad guys and the like, though, are super dangerous, aren't they? Did you see that giant monster from earlier? It could step on me once and finish me off effortlessly. Even human-sized aliens aren't anything a combat-strength-of-five weakling like me can compare to. I have a very clear idea of my own limitations."
"Right," Ling Luo said, suddenly thinking of something. "Xiaoyou, there should be a beginner's gift pack, right?"
"There is, Master Host, and it's right in your system inventory. You can check it at any time."
Ling Luo's thoughts stirred as he found the inventory section, where a golden beginner's gift box sat.
"Awesome~" Ling Luo rubbed his hands together with some excitement. "I hope the newbie protection period is still active and it drops some good stuff."
He had just taken a look at the items in the mall, and—well, let's just say there were plenty of good things, but every single one of them was outrageously expensive. Did he see that long string of zeros at the end? That was a level of unaffordable.
Right now, even self-preservation was difficult, so he just prayed he could unbox something good to make the days ahead a little easier.
"Ding~ Congratulations, Host: acquired Level 1 Telekinesis, one Smart Combat Robot, Level 1 Hand-to-Hand Combat, 300 points, Level 1 Culinary Mastery."
Ling Luo touched his chin. "That actually sounds pretty decent. Xiaoyou~ can you introduce them? Like this combat robot, for instance."
"Smart Combat Robot—Eris (capable of transforming into giant size). It doesn't require the Host to pilot it, only to issue commands. As for its strength, use an ordinary TV Ultra Warrior as a baseline."
"That's seriously impressive, and it even has smart AI~ Does that mean I don't have to do anything myself?" Ling Luo was overjoyed. An intelligent robot that didn't require any physical effort on his part—how considerate!
Let's check the rest~ The others he more or less understood, but he had a single question about...
"As for telekinesis, what kind of level can Level 1 reach?" Ling Luo asked out of curiosity, since this one looked exceptionally powerful.
"Level 1 telekinesis can control the movement of some small objects, including but not limited to ordinary people. However, if the target's willpower is very strong, they may still break free."
Xiaoyou offered an explanation. To ensure the aforementioned Host wasn't clueless about this ability, it deliberately emphasized, "Even with Level 1 telekinesis, if the Host's own willpower is strong enough, it can produce unexpected effects."
Ling Luo understood. "Mhm, so basically, the extent to which this ability works isn't fixed; it leans a bit idealistic?"
"You could understand it that way." What else could Xiaoyou do? It was the Host it had chosen, so it just had to pamper him even if he didn't seem all that bright.
"That's pretty much it for now. As for these points..." Ling Luo decided that points were meant to be spent.
After exchanging some currency to guarantee his daily living expenses, Ling Luo arrived in front of a villa.
That's right—a house provided out of the kindness of the system's heart! Moreover, to prevent Ling Luo from getting lost, within a certain range he could teleport directly back inside.
Regarding this, Ling Luo remarked, "How thoughtful~ And it even comes with ID papers, though they're about as simple as they get."
"Can't you add a little something extra?"
"Not a chance~" Xiaoyou refused ruthlessly.
"Hey! Fine, fine, whatever." Ling Luo declared that he was exhausted. After taking a quick shower and eating some of the food he'd bought on the way, he finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.
...
While things were peaceful over here, what about the other side? Well, peaceful too, one could say?
Inside the Ultra Warriors' secret base on Earth—
"X, what do you think is up with Dan? He's just been sitting there spacing out ever since he got back."
A young man wearing a blue T-shirt sat on the sofa, looking at the white-haired youth not far away and asking his companion with some puzzlement.
If one looked closely, it was possible to spot a chibi Gomora printed on the young man's T-shirt.
"Daichi, no abnormal fluctuations have been detected. It shouldn't be the influence of a monster," replied a more magnetic voice. "Could something have happened today?"
Ah, Ozora Daichi and X, who had spent the entire day focused on experiments and stuck inside the base, completely unaware of the full story!
"Oh my, didn't you guys know? Dan ran into something really interesting today~ And he even got all shy."
Kurenai Gai, still wearing his leather jacket and thoroughly enjoying the show, eagerly recounted today's events to his juniors, conveniently pulling out the photo he had "accidentally" snapped at the time.
Seriously though, don't you feel hot? It's the middle of summer, you know.
"Wow, Zeiss is looking exceptionally handsome today too!" This came from Zett, who had materialized out of nowhere, possessed a pair of thick fandom goggles for his master, and successfully hijacked control of his own host while sparkling brilliantly!
"Pfft, hahaha! A rabbit? That's so accurate~ Those two crests on his head really are like rabbit ears, hahaha... Don't you think so, Sho?"
This was Riku, who couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing all at once.
"Ahem, how can you say that? Light, could it be that Zero-san usually fights his enemies by grabbing them by the ears?"
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This was Sho, who attempted to salvage some dignity for his senior while his attention wandered off entirely to who-knows-where.
These two had been out on missions and only returned to the base after the battle ended today, so it was completely normal that they didn't know.
"Come to think of it, that kid was pretty formidable. It's rare to see Dan genuinely cornered," Ozora Daichi mused. "After all, in front of us, Dan has always maintained a suave and reliable senior image."
Hm? Reliable? Riku and Sho expressed that this was a dark history they never wished to bring up again, and both shook their heads in unison.
Since Kurenai Gai had been a bit too far away at the time, he hadn't seen the youth's appearance clearly. To be honest, Gai had originally planned to go rescue him; after all, that spot was rather dangerous, and who knew why he had been standing there anyway.
It was just that Zero's efficiency was simply too high, resolving the situation in two or three moves. Seeing that the youth was in no danger, Gai hadn't bothered to go over—who could have imagined he would miss out on witnessing such an entertaining scene?
A chorus of laughter and joy filled the air—no wait, there was probably one person who was distinctly unhappy.
Riku, reacting first, tugged on Sho's sleeve, trying to stop his good partner from continuing to dig his own grave.
Alas, his good partner failed to pick up on the cue and instead gave him a strange look, as if asking, "Why aren't you laughing anymore? Is it not funny?"
Riku fell silent. Riku sighed. Riku decided they were entirely on their own.
"You guys—do you think I don't exist?!" Zero's voice rang out, practically grinding with teeth. "I see you all want some extra training!"
The few who had been laughing loudly out of sheer triumph suddenly recalled the terror of being dominated. They looked at each other, hurriedly trying to think of something to say to defuse the disastrous atmosphere.
And someone completely out of the loop—yes, I am talking about you, Sho, whom Riku had completely failed to hold back!
"Hey, look! The rabbit's fur is standing on end."
Ignoring the youth's increasingly darkened complexion and the trembling of everyone else around him, Sho remained blissfully oblivious. Your reaction time is really slow, you know.
"NO!!!"
Disregarding everyone's objections, Dan dragged them off to the training room, beat them up one by one, and returned to his room in high spirits, humming a little tune, leaving behind a floor littered with New Generation heroes.
Dan had vented his anger; Dan walked away happy. The New Generation heroes could only conclude that they couldn't beat him—they genuinely could not beat him.
Come to think of it, our friend Shacchan—Hajime Haruki—didn't seem to participate in the earlier discussion, or perhaps he couldn't get a word in, yet he still ended up getting beaten anyway~
Always sabotaging his own host, aren't you, Zett?
Ah, what a peaceful day indeed~
(To add a quick note here: Zero's human disguise is named Moroboshi Dan. He's a youth with white hair featuring subtle blue highlights, and he loves wearing all sorts of flashy stud earrings, looking about sixteen or seventeen years old.)
(Henceforth, he'll mostly be addressed by his disguise name, since he doesn't transform every single day.)