Chapter Nineteen: The Ruthless System

“System, can I transform into Next again?” Tetsuya asked, full of hope. The system replied with ruthless brevity: “No!”

The bluntness left Tetsuya speechless. Every time he reached out for the Light, it was fraught with danger, and now, stripped of the qualification to become Next once more, it felt as if he’d been cast back to square one overnight. In the silvery expanse, Tetsuya gazed at the colossal Ultraman Next, now crystallized as a giant stone statue. His eyes held a trace of nostalgia—this was the first Ultraman he had encountered, whose form he had once fought with all his might, defending a promise and safeguarding a world.

“Can I return to the world of Next?” he asked after a moment, raising his head with anticipation. In that world, someone was waiting for him. Though Tetsuya had never given a clear promise, he was certain she would wait for his return.

Yet, facing his longing gaze, the system remained cold, utterly indifferent to his feelings.

“No!”

Tetsuya fell silent, a pang of bitterness rising in his chest. He didn’t know what to say, his mouth filled with the taste of disappointment.

“But the host may enter the world of Nexus!”

At those words, Tetsuya’s head snapped up, joy lighting his face. “That’s wonderful!” he exclaimed.

“Ultraman Nexus” continued the worldview established by its predecessor “Ultraman,” with the story set in the near future, about five years after Next. Humanity’s world appeared unchanged on the surface, but reports of “Space Beasts” causing havoc kept surfacing worldwide. To address the crisis in secret, a global defense organization called TLT was formed, with its RB branch known as TLT-J. Under TLT-J operated the Night Raider squad, their mission to eliminate the Space Beasts covertly. Yet when a giant Space Beast appeared before the battle-hardened Night Raiders, they found themselves struggling. In that moment, the giant of light, Ultraman Nexus, made his entrance.

Nexus was unlike any other Ultraman world; its themes ran deeper, and a somber, melancholic atmosphere pervaded the story. Its most distinctive feature was the continuous succession of hosts for Nexus. If he entered this world, perhaps he too would be chosen to transform into Nexus. After all, Nexus was the evolved form of the Light left behind by Next’s departure, and Tetsuya had already been Next’s chosen host. With the same genetic affinity, surely he would be able to accept the Light of Nexus!

Five years—neither long nor short—yet Tetsuya believed that Sara Mizuhara would be waiting for him, waiting for the moment he returned!

After a pause, Tetsuya’s expression turned odd, his tone tinged with displeasure. “System, were you just messing with me? You dug a pit for me to fall into.”

“You asked about the world of Next, and I provided information about the world of Nexus.”

Tetsuya shrugged helplessly. “You sly thing, just keep making excuses...”

After another pause, Tetsuya asked, “You once said there was a great war in the Milky Way, which left it a ‘desolate galaxy,’ and because of its aftermath, mankind possesses a powerful energy they can’t naturally tap into. What’s that all about?”

“Please explore and discover for yourself!” came the voice, and Tetsuya, in irritation, flipped the system off with a middle finger gesture.

The system, perhaps having noticed the insult, ignored him completely and instead proceeded to display the information it had gathered.

“The system is now settling the host’s achievements in the world of Next. Settlement complete.”

Without waiting for Tetsuya’s response, a silvery screen unfolded in the space, gradually revealing the data.

The summary was simple, listing only two items: the points he had earned.
Defeated: The One
Spirit Points Earned: 10,000
Light Points Earned: 1,000,000

“Because the host chose to protect, it is assumed you chose the Light faction. No Dark Points or Evil Spirit Points will be awarded in the world of Next.”

Seeing the enormous Light Points figure, Tetsuya was pleased for a moment. But then he glanced into the shop’s skill section: C-rank skills started at 10,000 points, B-rank at 100,000, A-rank at a million… A+ was ten million, S-rank and above were in the hundreds of millions!

So after risking his life, he could barely afford an A-rank skill—what a rip-off!

In the vast silver space, Tetsuya couldn’t suppress his fury any longer and began railing against the unscrupulous system, crying out against its leech-like exploitation of its host...

After half an hour of ranting, Tetsuya finally shouted, “Do you admit your mistake?!”

The system replied: “Because the host’s body collapsed in the world of Next, this system is required to maintain the host’s consciousness. Fee: 100,000 Light Points.”

Tetsuya stared in utter shock as his points plummeted, his million Light Points dwindling to nine hundred thousand. His heart was in shambles.

“You...”

“Now commencing parallel world traversal for the host. Because of the host’s death, transfer will be passive. The system will charge a fee...”

“Wait, wait, wait...” Tetsuya cried in panic, dropping to his knees before the system. His previous bravado vanished instantly.

“I was wrong... Please, big brother... Have mercy!”

“As this is your first time using the system, there will be no additional charge for time-space traversal.”

“Um... could you also not deduct my Light Points...?”

“The host can only passively traverse parallel worlds. The system will choose the destination.”

The system ignored Tetsuya’s protests entirely, refusing to reply, leaving Tetsuya on the verge of tears, heartbroken over his hard-earned Light Points.

A prismatic crystal descended from above, landing in Tetsuya’s palm, and a familiar pull emanated from within. Tetsuya opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter another word, his form vanished in a burst of light from the silver space.

His last, silent words: “You black-hearted system...”