Chapter 86

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 86

Chapter Title: To the Rochel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kingdom (1)

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Men with massive holes punched through their bodies, skewered like kebabs.

Chomp—slurp—chomp—

S-1 spread its ferocious predation tentacles wide, crunching the men to pieces.

Crack—

Krunch—!

Teeth harder than steel tore bone from flesh, blood streaming from the mangled chunks of their bodies.

It would've turned my stomach back when I was human—hell, I'd have puked my guts out. But now? Nothing. No reaction at all.

As I've grown accustomed to this tentacle monster body, my soul and mind have warped to match—not human anymore, but something else entirely.

'Good work. Return to your post, S-1.'

"Kieeeek—!"

With its meal finished, S-1 obeyed my command and soared back into the sky.

The men's lives had flickered out. Confirming they'd all been devoured, I pulled up my status window.

'Nice.'

Human stacks at 202.

That was enough to spend points and unlock the Human Transformation skill.

The payoff from pounding Hena's pussy and killing those four guys.

Tentacle limbs and special tentacles are like my hands and feet. As I said before, any kills they make count toward my stack points.

'Sex with a woman nets 15 stacks—lucky break. Otherwise, I'd have had to raid a damn village.'

To be precise, it had to be creampie sex, but close enough.

If sex didn't give stacks, I'd be stuck killing for one point a pop—nearly forced me down the demonic butcher route.

I'm still a butcher now, sure.

Thinking about it that way, the goddess's nudge to fuck women for points almost felt benevolent.

Not that I mind—sex is a win-win.

Spend 200 racial stack points to gain a transformation skill for that race. Spend 100 to permanently acquire one positive trait from it.

Positive trait, huh...

'What's humanity's positive trait?'

For Vampiro, I could snag Ultrasonic Detection, Sensitive Sense of Smell, or Low Fear.

All solid perks.

But humans? I racked my brain, and nothing jumped out. Humans have plenty of strengths, but as traits? Hard to say.

Whatever—I'll find out when I get it.

Not the time right now. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The trait intrigues me, but Human Transformation is priority one.

'Finally.'

A little over a month since becoming a tentacle monster.

Now I could become human again.

Well, technically transform, but whatever. Good enough.

My core was still tentacle monster, but a human body would feel more natural.

'Hmm.'

I wanted to transform right away, but the message blocked me.

Like with Vampiro—avatar creation first.

Humans get treated wildly differently based on looks, so I had to be careful with the setup.

Ding—

The moment I thought about setting an avatar, a customizable hologram window popped up in front of me.

Same as the Vampiro transformation. Last time, I'd just scaled it up and randomized.

I was curious what random would spit out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now. Hitting the button showed everything from slick pretty-boy white guys to a mean-mug 2.3-meter black brute.

I skipped them all and modeled it after my Earth self.

'Height first: 192cm.'

Actually 182cm originally, but a little buff wouldn't hurt. Avatars are for projecting your ideal self, right?

My old height was fine, but after lugging around this massive tentacle form for so long, something taller felt comfier.

I built the body frame, then sculpted the face.

'Face based on mine, but hotter...'

Never got called ugly back on Earth. Still, every guy dreams of peak handsomeness.

'Gotta keep it reasonable, though.'

Going full glowing transcendent bishonen would stray too far from my real face. Not feeling that.

I tweaked the features and jawline a bit. That alone made a damn fine face.

'Now the body.'

I packed on solid, attractive muscle—not full bulked-up bodybuilder, but filling out nicely everywhere.

'...Evening already.'

Fussing over the avatar like this ate up time—sun had set by the time I was done.

Took all day, but even in games, avatar editors could burn hours. This was decent.

Finally, my ideal form was born.

'Whoa.'

Perfect.

I grinned at my avatar, satisfied.

Did I go too far on the self-love?

Face was fair, but the body... overly jacked, maybe.

'Eh, whatever.'

Romance over realism—that's how you enjoy life.

Plus, my stats stayed the same post-transformation. Being this strong in a scrawny body would be the real irony.

I saved the avatar. From now on, Human Transformation would default to this look.

Shwoooosh—

Without further ado, I activated Human Transformation.

The sprawling tentacles retracted inward. My bloated mass compressed in an instant.

'Ooh...'

My fluid body churned, reshaping around the core.

Krunch—

Flesh swelled and contracted, molding into the avatar I'd saved. Skin gained human texture, hair sprouted.

Skeleton locked in firm, heart thumped to life.

All in under five seconds.

I opened my mouth.

"Ah, ah."

A voice came out.

Vocal cords formed, just like with Vampiro.

Avatar settings included voice, so it matched exactly what I wanted.

I opened my eyes and flexed my arms.

Fingers moved perfectly, down to the tips.

"Feels good."

Comfortable.

Even after so long as a tentacle monster, this body—lived in for over twenty years—felt like home.

Walking on two legs? A few steps, and it clicked back in.

I'd dragged my bulk everywhere as a monster, so adapted to that. No rehab needed.

I stretched, then strolled through the canyon.

Step, step—

High on the Human Transformation skill, the world looked beautiful.

Thud—thud—thud—

"Grrr! Groooar—!"

Of course, a beautiful world doesn't mean it leaves you be.

Ultinos.

A hideous gorilla-like giant monster.

Stronger than a Giant Eye, on par with top-tier D-Class adventurers.

Any lower than C-Class? Run, don't fight—that's the word on the street.

But...

'You're asking for it.'

Regular monsters? I could take hundreds without breaking a sweat.

Once I claimed the dungeon as tentacle monster lord, nothing dared approach first.

They knew the power gap.

Yet this one charged anyway.

Guess it saw me as 'human,' not monster. Proof the transformation worked perfectly.

"Groooaaar—!"

Thud—thud—thud—thud—

Pounding its chest with a roar, Ultinos leaped at me in a flash. It kicked off the ground like lightning.

Whoooosh—!

Its massive frame loomed like a dark shadow, exuding the pressure of a tumbling tree trunk.

A weak adventurer couldn't react—but I stepped forward silently toward the charging beast.

Slipped inside its guard and threw a punch.

BOOM—!

With an explosive burst, Ultinos's upper body shattered.

Blood, bone shards, muscle, guts—splattered like a busted watermelon. Torso vaporized.

KABOOM—!!

The shockwave hit late, shaking trees and whipping up gale-force winds.

Its blood misted the air like fog. Amid the hot steam, I slowly withdrew my fist.

"..."

Thud—

Hm. Stats unchanged, so monster strength intact even transformed.

Just the lower half left, collapsing to the ground.

I extended a hand toward it. My palm split open slightly.

A 'Predation Tentacle' shot from the gap, devouring the corpse.

Munch—munch—

Not a trace remained.

Human on the outside, tentacle monster within—splitting an arm to unleash a tentacle? No problem. Same as Vampiro form.

'Control's a breeze.'

Satisfied with my human body, I picked my next destination.

'Where to now.'

From my spot in neutral territory, four zones.

Phrygia Alliance, Nation Union, Great Forest, Mystic Realm.

Four options, but Mystic Realm was a pass—too brutal, even for my current stats.

Great Forest too, for the same reason. Elves and beastkin live in tight-knit clans; every village has at least one freakishly strong guardian.

Phrygia Alliance... previous game's protagonist makes it awkward.

One choice left.

'Nation Union.'

Closest nation from Peros Canyon: Rochel Kingdom.

Was heading there before meeting Ariel—got sidetracked stealing magic stones, looped back here.

Perfect chance to forge an identity and snag those stones.

'If there's a fine female, pound her.'

I turned my steps toward Rochel Kingdom.