Riiing…
Click!
7:30 AM!
After shutting off the alarm, Sato rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock.
The next moment, he slipped out of his warm bed and opened the window. A cool morning breeze rushed in from the clear world outside.
"Brrr!"
He shivered from the sudden chill, waking up completely. Looking up, he couldn't help but exclaim,
"Nice weather today."
The sky was high and cloudless, a deep and peaceful blue that put the mind at ease.
After changing clothes in his bedroom, Sato headed to the bathroom to wash up.
The mirror beside the sink reflected his face. Handsome, without a doubt. His fair skin and gentle features gave off a friendly aura. His jet-black eyes were deep and reserved, making him seem approachable.
In short, anyone would think of him as an easygoing and likable guy.
Once he finished washing up, Sato went to the kitchen to prepare his lunch.
He'd set the rice cooker the night before, so it had started cooking half an hour before he woke up. Now, hot, fluffy rice was ready.
He quickly made a few rice balls and simple side dishes, today's bento was done.
"Hm?"
Just as he was putting the bento into his commute bag, Sato frowned and turned toward the window, eyes narrowing.
WHOOOSH!
A sudden gust of wind blasted through, sending the curtains flying. A strange, oppressive presence seemed to ride the breeze.
Terror. Violence. Danger…
Sato's expression sharpened. Just now, something had fallen nearby.
A sense of unease prickled at his skin. It came out of nowhere, but the instinct was too real to ignore.
He tensed up and muttered lowly:
"System."
Ding! [SkyNet System] at your service!
There was no sound in the room, this cold mechanical voice echoed only in his mind.
In front of him appeared a translucent interface visible only to him.
[User: Nohara Sato]
[Age: 16]
[Current Strength: D]
[Max Combat Power: S]
[Energy Reserves: 128 days]
[Talent: Instinct]
[Capturing…]
[Loaded Module: Martial Arts Master]
[Inventory: Pirate Module, Hero Module, Martial Arts Knowledge Pack, Alchemy Pack, Soldier's Ration Pill, Black Dragon Immortal Gold, Senzu Bean…]
Without hesitation, Sato commanded:
"Activate Pirate Module!"
Ding! Pirate Module activated!
Ding! Advanced Observation Haki activated! Advanced Armament Haki activated! Advanced Conqueror's Haki activated! Rokushiki activated!
Please select a Devil Fruit!
"Glint-Glint Fruit!"
Fruit activated! Power boosted! Combat strength increased from D to S-rank!
"Whew…"
Feeling the surge of power within, Sato finally relaxed. He was ready now.
This [SkyNet System] was his golden cheat, an existence that didn't belong in the ordinary world.
The system could cast a "Net" across infinite dimensions to capture knowledge, items, or cultivation systems, which it could then convert into fully integrated combat modules.
For some reason, maybe the nature of this world or a system limitation, it had never captured a local cultivation system. That meant Sato couldn't train himself. His energy could only be gathered slowly from ambient sources.
Because of this, Sato always suspected this system was some defective prototype tossed down by a careless god. A glitchy hand-me-down.
Worse, for over a decade, his life had been entirely peaceful. At most, with the occasional supernatural oddity.
A brutal combat system like this felt completely out of place here. Honestly, he would've preferred a slice-of-life entertainment system…
And indeed, for years it was never needed. Until now.
Sato rubbed his forehead, his expression gradually settling into calm focus.
Observation Haki: Activated.
Though he couldn't train, his stored energy allowed him to use full power for over 100 days. More than enough.
Soon, Sato narrowed his eyes and vanished from his room.
Aoyama Apartments—Rooftop
As Sato landed on the rooftop, he was met by the sight of a massive green dragon crouched with its back to them.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At the same moment, two more figures appeared beside him. One tall, one short.
The dragon turned to face them. Her body was like a hill of emerald scales, jaw full of vicious teeth, crimson eyes burning with murderous rage.
The three of them immediately tensed up.
What a terrifying dragon!
But soon, they glanced toward each other.
"Eh? Sato? And… Gabriel?!"
Saitama, still in his pajamas, stared dumbfounded at the two people next to him.
Gabriel, hair messy and wrapped in a tracksuit like a true shut-in, blinked at both Saitama and Sato.
"Sato? Mr. Saitama?"
Aside from Sato, who already knew they weren't ordinary people, the other two looked absolutely stunned.
What the hell?!
You're not normal?!
They both mentally shouted at each other.
"You damned bird freak!"
The dragon suddenly lifted its head, snarling with murderous fury. It locked eyes on Gabriel, nostrils flaring with fiery breath.
Bird freak?
Sato, unfazed, glanced sideways at Gabriel.
Could it be... the dragon was reacting to Gabriel's divine aura?
Angels and dragons... Natural enemies, maybe?
"Bird freak?! You scaly green lizard, who are you calling a bird freak?!"
Gabriel's eyes burned with fury. A soft, golden light glowed around her like warm sunshine, but her muttering "Die, lizard!" was anything but holy.
But the most frightening thing wasn't Gabriel herself.
Thanks to his Instinct talent, Sato could sense things others couldn't. Gabriel's energy wasn't strong but what was terrifying was the golden horn that suddenly appeared in her hand.
Sato stared at it, a chill running through him.
Wait a minute!
Is that… the Trumpet of the Apocalype from the end-of-the-world myths?!
The rooftop was thick with tension.
"Um… excuse me…"
Just then, a flustered figure suddenly peeked out from behind the dragon.
Sato didn't even get to react before Saitama's eyes went wide.
"Despicable dragon! You took Kobayashi-san hostage?!"
"Take this, NORMAL PUNCH!"
BOOM!
The rooftop shook from the sonic blast. Wind roared like a typhoon.
The other three stood frozen in the gale. When the dust settled, both Saitama and the dragon had vanished from the rooftop.
Far above, in the sky, two black silhouettes. A massive one and a small one flew into the distance.
(P.S. This novel's world isn't purely slice-of-life. Characters like Gabriel exist, so superpowers do appear, but they won't dominate the story. This is still a daily life comedy, meaning those powers will mostly fade into the background later on.)