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Didn’t she recall Eight saying it was a gene extracted from her own body? If that were true, then the strength she gained from consuming it should logically be weaker than what she originally had… Yet surprisingly, the power granted by this genetic sphere surpassed her original capabilities.

Is it really possible for a byproduct to outshine the original? Levitan glanced at Eight, her expression a mix of confusion and curiosity.

“Eh-Eight? I definitely don’t recall shooting beams from my eyes before… How did this happen?”

“I mentioned I made a few modifications, didn’t I?”

“Modifications?”

“Yes! The gene you had—basically, Leviathan’s gene—can be summarized as ‘the ultimate beastperson you imagined!’”

Is that how it works…? Levitan couldn’t quite resonate with that idea, but she nodded along anyway. It wasn’t uncommon for the sensibilities of scientists to be vastly different from hers.

Seeing her nod, the scientist continued to chatter excitedly.

“This is merely a maximized implementation of that concept. In other words, it manifests the strongest version of yourself as you envision it. The reason Galm could fire beams was because I guided him that direction… And the reason why scales sprouted from your body instead of beams is probably that the strongest version of yourself you imagine is a being with scales, right?”

“…The strongest version of me?”

Well, well.

Levitan could comprehend why scales had erupted from her body. Back when she was undergoing the L series experiments, she had witnessed firsthand the beastpeople and monsters being implanted into her.

Among the creatures she encountered, one beast that didn’t seem to belong to this world still haunted her as a trauma.

Perhaps the scales appearing on her body were an imitation of that monster she had seen.

“And while you’re fascinated by the idea of shooting beams from your eyes, you’d be surprised to know there are actually quite a few creatures in the world that emit light from their bodies, right? From the well-known fireflies to certain fish in the deep sea, even tiny bacteria…”

The scientist began explaining that it’s not that unusual for organisms to emit light and that concentrating it into a beam wasn’t that tough either.

Of course, Levitan couldn’t grasp the entirety of what he was saying. After all, she was a test subject who hadn’t even received basic education. The fact that she would have flunked even the police written exam—one anyone with decent physical abilities could pass—without Regalia’s recommendation made it clear.

So, it was expected that she couldn’t understand the scientist’s words, but she noted that he was gleefully babbling about these biological oddities. Watching his excitement made Levitan smile as well.

“In any case— with this genetic sphere, Levitan, you could recover your former strength… So, are you considering returning to the police force?”

“The police?”

“Yes.”

Hearing that, Levitan paused, letting out a thoughtful hum before shaking her head firmly. It was true that there was a time when she wanted to save people.

But that was merely to prove she wasn’t just a beast and to prove to everyone that she was a necessity for humans.

Now that she was fully human and no longer needed to prove anything, thoughts of becoming a police officer didn’t appeal to her. Not that she had some grand sense of duty motivating her either.

“Actually, instead of the police…”

She stealthily glanced at Eight.

It felt far more important to save the one person standing in front of her than to rescue a faceless multitude.

The satisfaction from saving a life seemed almost trivial compared to the significance of earning the approval of this one person.

Levitan understood that she could never go back to being a police officer again. After all, a person who prioritized specific individuals over the masses can’t just be a cop, right?

“Hmm—Yeah, I think I’m good. No more police work for me.”

“Wait, you’re quitting the police?!”

“Yep. Without the serum, I’m just an ordinary person, right? I can’t go around saving people with powers that could vanish at any moment…”

I only need you.

You matter more to me.

Levitan swallowed the words that threatened to spill out and gave a light smile.

“Besides, the boss wouldn’t kick Levitan out just because I quit the police force!”

“Well… I suppose that makes sense?”

As she said that and smiled back at the scientist, Levitan could feel her body temperature rising again. Ah—truly, she was still a beast. An undeniable beast.

*

On the day Galm shot beams from his eyes and clobbered those heroes, he boldly uploaded a video of himself defeating them to the internet.

The Hero Association and various government organizations were left in shock after watching the video.

—A beastkin using superpowers?

—And a beastkin with top-tier physical abilities, no less?

Historically, beastkin were a breed born from animals that acquired superpowers long ago, reproducing with other beasts or humans. The beastkin’s superior physical abilities were widely recognized as a form of superpower according to modern academia.

The reason beastkin couldn’t possess superpowers went hand in hand with this logic. Just like there weren’t people with multiple superpowers, there wasn’t a way the beasts that already had the superpower of humanization could gain new superpowers.

However, Galm’s display of near-superpowers shattered that academic consensus. This act was a direct challenge to the evolutionary theories developed by the academic community over the years. Naturally, this caused quite the uproar.

“What’s going on?”

“Could that beastkin be a type of octopus? Shooting beams from his eyes like an octopus squirting ink…”

“Do you genuinely think that makes sense? Just look! It’s clearly a tiger beastkin!”

While scientists scrambled to reconfirm their theories and several organizations initiated human experimentation on beastkin, one person knocked on the door of Evilus Corporation.

It was the Superpower Research Society.

“They said they wanted to collaborate on researching your latest creation?”

—That’s what they said.

Eight let out a light grunt upon receiving Regalia’s message. Superpowers. Though several months had passed since he had fallen into this world, it still felt like an unexplored frontier.

Of course, Eight had been scouring papers and the internet each day to gather knowledge on superpowers, but the extent of what he could learn was barely on par with what an undergrad would acquire.

The true ‘knowledge’ he sought was meticulously censored and kept hidden.

“A Society for Researching Superpowers, huh…”

As the name suggested, it was an organization dedicated to studying superpowers. A quick internet search revealed that its prestige was certainly non-negligible. The fact that Regalia, trying to conceal her identity, endeavored to forge a link with this society was a clear indicator.

She believed that establishing a connection with the society was worth more than the risk of her identity being discovered.

Regalia’s intuition was mostly spot on. Despite her youth, her insight from managing a major company for several years rivaled that of other CEOs.

If there was one problem…

‘…What I did isn’t related to superpowers; it’s science, isn’t it?’

All he had done was slightly modify the Leviathan gene created by Omega Industries (a task simple enough that anyone could do it at home).

This was purely the power of scientific technology, devoid of any superpower influences. If they wanted to collaborate on superpower research after that…

‘Hmm, wait a minute.’

Lost in thought, Eight realized that unless he said otherwise, nobody would be able to distinguish whether this was pure science or the outcome of superpowers. Advanced science could very well resemble superpowers.

And that meant if he played his cards right, he could siphon off all the superpower research knowledge from the society while skillfully deceiving them.

‘Is it a jackpot, perhaps?’

Once his thoughts were settled, Eight immediately contacted Regalia to express his willingness to participate in joint research with the Superpower Research Society. Regalia, in turn, sent a response to the society.

The next day.

A vehicle dispatched by the Superpower Research Society pulled up in front of the Evilus Corporation.

*

“—Nice to meet you. I’m Swallon, the president of the Superpower Research Society.”

“I’m Eight.”

After exchanging pleasantries with a handshake, I gave a light wave of my hand. The president, looking rather pressed for time, ushered me inside the building.

Just like other organizations, the interior was bustling with researchers who probably reeked of ink. Such a high population density wouldn’t be a daily occurrence; they seemed to have specially gathered to meet me.

“There are a lot of people here.”

“Superpower studies are popular, you know. Now, let’s go on.”

The president led me into the heart of the crowd and promptly began introducing me.

“Everyone. You’re likely aware of the recent discovery of a beastkin exhibiting superpowers. I have the honor to present the scholar who achieved this breakthrough. Please welcome Dr. Eight.”

“…Nice to meet you. I’m Eight. Unfortunately, I’m not a doctor—I don’t hold a doctorate.”

I could sense a wave of murmurs spreading among the scientists gathered. But that was unavoidable. The fake identity Regalia had provided aimed to remain inconspicuous, and there was no reason to flaunt distinguishing features like a doctoral degree.

Well, if necessary, I could just publish a paper later and acquire one at some point. With how the scientific standards of this world are, there would be no shortage of material to publish.

Having quickly introduced myself, I noticed the eager eyes of the scholars turn skeptical at the realization that I lacked any doctoral title. Well, frankly, I would feel the same way as them!

“—Are you truly the one who made it possible for a beastkin to manifest superpowers?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And did you manage this with no doctoral degree?”

“It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. It just required a shift in perspective.”

I shot a wink at the scholars and then pulled out a tiny flask from my pocket. A tightly sealed flask.

Inside it resided the specially modified genetic sphere. A downgraded version of what Levitan and Galm had consumed, allowing me to select the genes to be manifested by the consumer.

“Well, I don’t want to take too much of the scholars’ time, as I know you’re all quite busy, right? The important stuff isn’t the convoluted theories; it’s whether it can be practically applied, wouldn’t you agree?”

“…Wait, are you saying that flask you’re holding…”

“Yes, indeed. This is the elixir that allows a beastkin to manifest superpowers. —Not to mention, it works on humans as well.”

The murmuring among the scholars started to rise. It was unbelievable. In a world where the origin of superpowers wasn’t fully unveiled, could one truly artificially create superpowers?

It was hard to believe that this wasn’t a superpower either.

“I suspect some of you won’t believe me until you see it for yourselves… So, I’ll need a volunteer to be the test subject. Who’s willing to give it a go?”

“…I’ll try it.”

“Oh—Mr. President, are you sure about this?”

“I happen to possess a superpower granting me immunity to toxins. Even if this is radioactive material, I’ll digest it just fine.”

“…That’s quite impressive.”

I was curious about how toxin immunity could also confer radiation immunity, but I let that thought slide—

The president carefully reached for the genetic sphere from the flask I handed him. With a slightly jittery expression, he peered at the sphere before swallowing it down in one go.

For a moment, nothing happened, and he stared blankly, tilting his head in confusion.

“…Nothing is happening—Oh, oh—!?”

And at that moment—

The president’s body began to morph into that of a dragon.

Horns sprouted, wings unfurled. Scales emerged all over his form, while flames erupted from his mouth, transforming him into a dragon.

Of course, he didn’t grow to the size of a full dragon, so he appeared more akin to a two-legged demon than a true dragon, but regardless…

The dragon-like president gazed down at his transformed body in disbelief.

“—While it’s not a beam, you can indeed spew fire from your mouth.”

“Let’s see….”

Woosh—!

The president unleashed fire from his mouth, looking at me as if utterly captivated. The other researchers surrounding him had similarly enthralled expressions.

I smiled back at the now adoring scholars.

It was time to soak up all the knowledge they had to offer.