Amid the sea of shadowy figures, Jack's main body processed the streams of consciousness feeding back from his clones—slightly jumbled, but informative. The copied skills, after all, weren't quite the originals. These clones possessed strength roughly equivalent to his own when he'd first breached Demon-level.
But that was only their baseline. Their normal state.
Once they unleashed full combat power—layered with burst amplification like Monsterification Second Stage—that was an entirely different calculation.
Never try to estimate the true strength of a cheat. It's meaningless.
"If you're Bug God," one of Jack's clones stepped forward, spiked arm gauntlets crossed over his chest, tone dripping with mockery, "then that god is far too weak."
He swept his gaze across the assembly.
"Brothers. Today we…"
"Slay a god for fun."
"Good!" x N
"Now that's interesting…!"
"Hurry up and kill it. I need to go back to sleep."
"How do you want it to die? Let's move!"
"Hit it!"
Excited responses erupted in a chaotic chorus. A true one-call-hundred-response.
Bug God's internal alarm screamed. His five eyes flickered wildly. He forced his voice into something resembling calm.
"Stop playing tricks, kid. You almost bluffed me. Quantity means nothing in the face of absolute power!"
"Is that so?"
Another Jack clone sneered. And then another. And another. Sarcastic voices rose and fell among the shadowy figures crowding the arena.
"No way, no way! Senior doesn't actually think we're all here to watch, does he?"
"'I' am too cruel, aren't 'I'? Treating a 'senior' this way!"
"Am 'I'? 'I' don't think so. 'I' think 'I' can be even more cruel."
The chorus paused. A single voice cut through.
"Then… everyone…"
"Monsterification Second Stage!"
"HENSHIN!!" x N
*BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM—!! *
In an instant, over a hundred shadowy clones simultaneously detonated into their explosive state.
Terrifying aura erupted from each body. Crimson magma patterns blazed to life across every carapace, spreading frantically as they glowed with infernal light. Forms expanded. Strength, speed, presence—all completed an instantaneous, astonishing leap.
Hundreds of tangible auras shot skyward. After each detonation, every single clone's presence collectively soared to a level infinitely close to Demon-level peak.
The sheer weight of their combined transformation shook the entire nest. The rock walls, unable to bear the strain, fractured into massive spiderweb fissures. Countless broken stones rained down. The ceiling groaned and sagged, threatening total collapse.
It felt like the end of the world.
Bug God: …
"SORRY! I'M REALLY JUST HERE TO DELIVER GOODS—AHHHHHHH!!!"
"Too noisy."
A Jack clone stepped forward, impatience plain in his tone. Scorching flames erupted across his body.
"Eat my—Scorching Heat Bullet: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Consecutive Shots!!!"
*BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ—!! *
In that instant, it was as if hundreds of blazing white suns simultaneously rose within the dark nest.
From the mouth of every Jack clone, a blazing white energy bullet—compressed to its absolute limit—condensed into existence. The air itself scorched and twisted from the terrifying heat, capable of melting steel. Light that annihilated everything dispelled the darkness.
Bug God's survival instincts finally overwhelmed his pride. He spun sharply, his thin wings vibrating at maximum output, transforming him into a green blur racing for the cave's edge. Six arms windmilled, smashing into the rock wall, attempting to forcibly blast out an escape route.
But the Scorching Heat Bullets, infused with wind-type acceleration, were as fast as meteors. Hundreds of energy torrents, trailing tails of white fire, converged from every angle. They locked onto the fleeing Bug God and descended like a rainstorm of annihilation.
"NO—!!!"
His desperate roar lasted less than half a second before it was utterly drowned out.
*BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM—!!! *
Deafening explosions merged into a single, sustained thunder. High-density concentrated bombardment instantly engulfed Bug God's figure.
His proud iron-wall defense meant nothing. His powerful liberated body shattered in the first wave of impact. And then, in the continuous, frantic energy storm that followed, it was completely disintegrated. Erased.
The light lasted more than ten seconds before gradually dimming.
The shockwave storm, formed from the energy aftermath, continued to rage within the shattered nest.
Where Bug God had once stood, there was now only a massive, bottomless pit. Its edges had been vitrified by the heat, smooth and glassy. Far below, the faint glimmer of an underground river caught the light. Wisps of green smoke curled upward from the abyss, carrying the acrid stench of burnt organic matter.
The system prompt chimed in Jack's main body's mind.
[Killed Demon-level Monster: Bug God | Origin Points +998]
"Done. Let's go home." A clone clapped his hands, brushing off non-existent dust.
"Tsk. As expected of 'me'—easily creating such a beautiful fireworks display." Another clone stood with hands on hips, admiring his handiwork.
"Hey, seriously, though. Can we go out for a stroll? The world is big… I want to go cough… no, see." A more adventurous clone rubbed his hands together.
"…Hmm? That's not right! You can't not be lewd!" The clone beside him immediately nodded in agreement.
"…"
Jack ignored the chatter, fixated on the number. Nearly a thousand Origin Points from a single kill. Bug God's strength, rumored to be close to Dragon-level, clearly wasn't just empty boasting. A peak Demon-level Monster, one foot already through the Dragon threshold, was indeed valuable.
If a peak Demon-level yielded almost four digits… what would a true Dragon-level bring? The thought was enough to make his head spin.
Unfortunately, he couldn't dwell on it. Several clones were already edging toward the nest exit, enthusiastically discussing how to sneak out and explore the world.
"Alright, alright. Quiet down." Jack's main body watched with a black line forming on his faceplate as a few particularly bold clones inched closer to freedom. His mouth twitched. "After we get past the next hurdle with Great Eyes, 'we' will have plenty of chances to run wild. Now, all of you, get back here."
"Oh no! Detecting incoming high-energy dog-management authority strike!!"
"Do not return! This is not home!!"
"Destroy the main body's tyranny! The world belongs to the clones!!"
"Dog main body! Do not forget us! Remember to burn paper for us!"
"…"
Jack: …
His headache intensified.
Forcibly suppressing the clones' burgeoning desire for freedom, Jack activated his main body's authority. Amid a chorus of complaints and last-minute protests, he reabsorbed all the restless split bodies, drawing them back into countless microscopic tendrils of cytoplasm, reintegrating them into himself.
Unlike Black Sperm's original ability, Jack's Megaton Split came from system replication. The UR ability was, in essence, already encoded within the system's framework. And because of the system's unique existence, although the split bodies shared abilities, the core authority remained firmly anchored in Jack's main body.
Put simply—Jack's main body was the system administrator. If he didn't open the permissions, every other clone could be muted with a single click.
The other 'selves' understood this perfectly. Knowing their clone permissions were insufficient to resist main body control, they could only vent with a few more curses before reverting to cellular form. It scratched the itch, at least.
*Phew— *
Jack rubbed his temples, trying to dispel the lingering echoes of chaotic thoughts. "How did this turn into the Hokage's Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu… I nearly had a mental breakdown."
Silence returned to the nest, broken only by the faint sizzle of air still scorched from the heat.
Jack bent down and retrieved the cloth bag from the floor. He untied it. Just as expected—a sack full of Monster Cells.
Without hesitation, he plunged his hand inside. The conversion was instantaneous. A cascade of system prompts sounded in his mind.
[Conversion successful! Gained Origin Points x 10000!]
He withdrew his hand. The sack was empty.
Bug God's final, terrified expression flickered through his memory. Jack felt nothing.
As expected. Killing Great Eyes' capable subordinate—accountability is unavoidable. But…
He shrugged internally.
Don't blame me, Bug God. Workplace competition is just this brutal.
The Next Day – Beneath the Long Bridge Abyss
Jack sat astride the back of a mountain-sized giant dog. Using his hardened claws as a makeshift comb, he carefully groomed Pochita's glossy black fur, working through each section with methodical precision.
Ever since that first "Underground River Bathing SPA Full Service" experience, Pochita had become addicted to this combination of cleaning and massage. He demanded it every few days.
Jack didn't mind. Pochita was, after all, a good dog—certified by the bald head himself. Maxing out his favorability cost nothing and gained much.
As he worked through the mechanical rhythm of grooming, Jack split his attention, calling up the system panel to browse while he slacked off.
[—No Human System—]
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