Chapter 149 Gilanbo

Kumamoto City. An abandoned training ground on the outskirts of town.

After dealing with the Kyrieloid threat, Daigo had requested a two-day leave from Captain Iruma to undergo Vane’s special training.

Vane didn’t pull any punches. He dragged Daigo out to the dirt lot and immediately kicked off the hellish jeep training.

“Hey, what are you dodging for?!”

“Daigo, you need to charge at the car! Stop running away!”

“A real man faces his fears head-on!”

“…”

Like hell Daigo was going to listen to Vane. He scrambled frantically, desperately dodging the speeding jeep.

But human stamina has a limit, while a jeep’s combustion engine pretty much doesn’t. Once Daigo was too exhausted to dodge, Vane plowed the truck right into him. Daigo was sent flying over forty feet, breaking multiple bones, and laid in the dirt groaning in agony.

“You really are way too weak.” Vane hopped out of the driver’s seat, walked over to the crumpled Daigo, and pulled out a Golden Apple. “Starting right now, you need to man up and get stronger fast.”

Daigo choked down the Golden Apple. His horribly broken body healed instantly, good as new, and he could actually feel himself getting physically stronger.

Vane climbed right back into the jeep. “Keep going, Daigo. Training continues.”

Without waiting for a response, Vane slammed on the gas and aimed the grill right at Daigo.

“You’re going to have to beat the jeep with your bare hands if you want this to end!”

Keigo Masaki, who was watching from a safe distance, was absolutely horrified.

Is this the terrifying price you have to pay to get stronger?!

Over the next couple of days, Vane subjected Daigo to a relentlessly brutal boot camp. Daigo would get his bones shattered until he literally couldn’t crawl, Vane would feed him a Golden Apple, and the moment he healed, the cycle repeated. Run over, bones shattered, reset.

This demonic regimen forced Daigo through an insane physical metamorphosis in just a few days. He developed a completely shredded six-pack, his arms and legs packing dense, bulging muscle.

It all culminated in the middle of a torrential downpour.

Daigo stood his ground, staring down the jeep barreling toward him at top speed. Using nothing but raw physical strength, he braced himself, caught the front bumper of the speeding vehicle, and with a violent heave, flipped the entire damn truck overhead.

Vane kicked his way out of the overturned jeep. Seeing Daigo completely unharmed, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

“Perfect. With this kind of power, Daigo, you’re ready to handle any threat that comes your way.”

Hearing that, Daigo was so overwhelmed with emotion he dropped to his knees in the mud. He threw his arms wide open to the rain, pulling a full-on Shawshank Redemption pose. It had been pure hell. He had legitimately lost count of how many times he’d been run over and crippled.

“I’ll never forget the grace of your teachings. I swear I’ll repay this debt in the future,” Daigo said, his tone incredibly sincere.

He knew Vane genuinely had his best interests at heart. All the brutal, punishing torture was just a way to force him to grow stronger, faster.

Vane waved him off. “Let’s not get mushy about life debts. Just do me a favor—if you ever get your ass kicked by an alien in the future, just don’t tell anyone I’m your teacher.”

Daigo: “…”

Alright then. Master’s brain operates on a completely different wavelength, as always.

Daigo changed into a fresh set of clothes and headed back to report in at GUTS headquarters.

On Vane’s end, the quest completion notification chimed in.

[Quest: Special Training for Daigo (Completed). Rewards: Bamboo Copter x20, Skill “Bullet Time”, Cegorach’s Deceitful Mask, Lucky Block x1, EMC Points +1000, Ring of Dragon’s Breath x1, Ring of Destruction x1, Progression +1%, Title: “Ultraman Tiga’s Strict Father”.]

A whole pile of new items magically populated his inventory.

[Item: Bamboo Copter (100/100). A bizarre flying gadget. Just stick it on your head, and you can take flight. Evaluation: “There is absolutely no doubt this is a total rip-off of a certain fat blue robot cat’s gadget.”]

Vane remembered this item. It was a flight tool from some post-apocalyptic mod, bearing a striking resemblance to Doraemon’s signature gadget.

After checking that out, Vane moved on to the other loot.

[Item: Cegorach’s Deceitful Mask. The mask of the Aeldari Laughing God from the Warhammer universe. It allows the user to assume the form of anyone. Cegorach once used this very mask to trick the C’tan Outsider and Slaanesh. Evaluation: “It seems as though a mask has been put on, but in truth, a mask has been taken off.”]

[Item: Ring of Dragon’s Breath. Once equipped, allows the user to unleash a dragon’s breath attack. Evaluation: “Human potential has its limits. I reject my humanity!”]

[Item: Ring of Destruction. Once equipped, generates an aura of destruction that shatters all illusions and mental attacks. Evaluation: “With this ring, mom never has to worry about me getting scammed again!!”]

“Nothing but top-tier loot. Doing quests is way too good. If I had to grind for this stuff manually, it’d take me until the end of time!” Vane grinned. “It’s barely been a few days, and I’m already rolling in heavy-duty gear.”

If Daigo gets a training quest, why can’t Keigo Masaki trigger one too? Vane muttered in his head, actually feeling a little disappointed.

Meanwhile, Keigo Masaki, who was busy running experiments in his lab, suddenly let out a massive sneeze.

“Who the hell is talking behind my back?”

—

TPC Headquarters.

Daigo, fresh off his return, was called into the command room along with the rest of the GUTS squad.

“We’re detecting an abnormal magnetic field in sector KM209. This isn’t your standard weather anomaly; it’s highly likely a kaiju is behind this. Get down there and see what’s going on,” Captain Iruma ordered.

“Also, today is Halloween, and the streets are packed with people celebrating. Swap out your uniforms for costumes so you blend in with the crowd. We don’t want to cause a panic.”

Daigo and the rest of the team changed into their costumes and headed out to investigate.

Upon arriving in sector KM209, Daigo and Rena were paired up for patrol. Daigo’s playful side completely took over, and he ended up running around with a bunch of kids trick-or-treating for candy. Rena just watched him, her expression a mix of helpless exasperation and sheer fondness.

Spotting two kids happily licking colorful lollipops, Daigo ran over to the vendor dressed as an old witch to ask for one. But as he got close, he accidentally noticed her reflection—or rather, the total lack of one—in a nearby mirror.

Daigo instantly realized she wasn’t human. Realizing her cover was blown, the old witch shoved her cart and bolted, letting out a bizarre, cackling laugh as she ran.

Daigo sprinted after her, trailing her all the way to a creepy, dilapidated house. After searching the eerie interior, he pushed open a random door and found himself stepping into a completely different dimension.

Inside was a large group of pale-faced kids, shambling around mindlessly like zombies.

“What happened to you guys?” Daigo asked, looking at the children. “Why are you all here?”

None of the kids answered. They just stared at him with dead, empty eyes.

“This is the graveyard of dreams. And it shall be your grave, too.”

A wicked voice echoed from the shadows. Daigo spun around and found the old witch from earlier.

Amidst a fit of manic cackling, the witch shed her disguise, transforming into the dimensional alien, Gilanbo. It lunged straight at Daigo.

Daigo raised his fists, blocking the alien’s strike before immediately going on the offensive. He cracked a vicious left hook against the side of its head, following up with a brutal uppercut right under its jaw.

Thanks to Vane’s hellish training, Daigo was basically packing heavy artillery in his left fist and a damn nuke in his right. Gilanbo, who originally planned on using its superior alien strength to easily overpower the human, was instantly rocked and saw stars.

Since when did humans hit this damn hard?!

“Monster! Your punches are weak as hell! You really think you have what it takes to challenge me, Daigo Madoka?!”

After knocking the dimensional alien back with a heavy straight punch, Daigo let out a thunderous roar. He flexed so violently that his Halloween costume literally exploded off his body, revealing an insanely jacked, impossibly muscular physique.