At a little past three-thirty in the afternoon, after temporarily saying goodbye to Yukino, Raize asked for leave from the teacher and left school early, heading toward the company his father had left him.
Raize's father, aside from being relatively strict with his children, was also a hardcore game enthusiast. Making games had been his dream when he was young.
After years of struggle, he achieved decent success and owned his own company.
In this world, where entertainment was relatively scarce, his father's company did quite well in online games. Although some other types of games couldn't be called classics, they still had a decent reputation in the gaming industry.
This world didn't have companies like Sony, Nintendo, or Capcom. Raize didn't know if it was because gods and devils existed in this world that caused significant differences from what he remembered.
His father's game company was named after their family name and was called Raiden Game Company.
Raiden Game Company was located in an office building in the city center. The second, third, and fourth floors housed other companies, while the fifth and sixth floors belonged to Raiden Game Company.
The time Raize arrived was still mid-afternoon, and there was still some time before the end of the workday, so there were quite a few people moving around inside the building.
Because of his father's accident, the company had experienced turmoil, and some people had resigned.
However, after Raize recovered and took over the company, he carried out major reforms, and things finally stabilized for the time being.
Raize's father treated employees well and didn't give them excessive pressure. He was good at managing the company and dealing with people. During the funeral, some familiar faces Raize recognized from the company were present.
Taking the elevator, Raize quickly arrived at the fifth floor where Raiden Game Company was located. He then took out the company ID card from his pocket, swiped it at the reader, and with a beep, the door opened. Carrying his briefcase and holding a large box, Raize walked inside.
From the outside, it looked like a very ordinary mid-sized game development company. Even now, there were still staff working. Although many had left, it didn't seriously hinder the company's operations.
"Eh? It's the young boss!"
As soon as Raize walked in with his bag, three familiar people noticed him. The one who spoke was a man with an explosion-like hairstyle, wearing a suit and sporting a bit of beard on his chin.
Raize remembered his name was Motoba Takeshi, sloppy in appearance and an idiot.
He often complained about work, even though the workload wasn't heavy, and his father's company wasn't a sweatshop.
"Address him properly as president or boss. Don't be so rude!"
A man standing next to Honba Takeshi quietly reminded him. He wore a black suit, white shirt, blue tie, and glasses with only a bottom frame. A single cowlick stuck up from his head.
His name was Doma Taihei. Raize's father had often praised him—smart, diligent, and very considerate toward others.
Who wouldn't like an employee like that?
Under his father's influence and through personal interaction, both Raize and his father liked and appreciated someone as capable and personable as Taihei.
"Ah, Raize, you're here…"
A woman with an androgynous appearance, grapefruit-colored short hair tied into a single ponytail, and the essential glasses of a programmer—making it hard to tell her gender—smiled warmly at Raize and greeted him.
"Sister Kanau, Brother Taihei, and Brother Explosion-Head, hello."
Raize greeted the three politely. Takeshi was about to complain about why Kanau and Taihei got proper titles while he was called Explosion-Head Brother, but Taihei covered his mouth with a smile, stopping his complaint-filled mouth.
"Hello, President!"
The other employees also greeted Raize politely and respectfully. Although Raize was young, his ability to manage the company was not weak at all.
His father, had brought Raize to the company before to familiarize him. Even though his father was gone, the company hadn't experienced major upheaval under Raize's leadership.
"Everyone, gather around. I brought some gifts to reward you all…"
As he spoke, Raize set his briefcase aside and opened the flat box he was holding. A soft yet impossible-to-ignore multicolored glow appeared, accompanied by a sweet fragrance that instantly filled everyone's noses.
This was rainbow pudding made from rainbow fruit. Juice still steamed from the pudding, evaporating into a rainbow.
Rainbow fruit was a dreamlike fruit whose flavor changed into seven colors depending on temperature and humidity. It was said that a single drop of its juice could turn a 25-meter swimming pool into rich, fragrant juice. After processing the fruit, Raize specially crafted it into delicious pudding.
When the rainbow-colored pudding was revealed, the irresistible aroma spread through the room, making everyone involuntarily swallow hard. Some even stood there dazed, drooling.
Every cell in their bodies urged them to hurry up and eat that supreme delicacy radiating rainbow colors.
"What kind of dessert is this? It smells so… so good!!"
Takeshi flashed in front of Raize, his eyes blazing like lasers as he stared at the rainbow pudding in Raize's hands, drool unconsciously flowing from the corner of his mouth.
Kanau and Taihei also swallowed and stepped forward, staring at the pudding emitting enchanting fragrance and rainbow steam.
They had never smelled or eaten pudding like this, let alone seen one that released such mesmerizing rainbow colors.
Seeing others already crowding around, the rest of the employees hurried over as well. The aroma was simply too tempting.
The young boss actually brought out something this good to reward them!?
"P-President, what kind of pudding is this? The rainbow appearance and fragrance are too tempting."
Raize took out the prepared disposable plates and utensils, plated the rainbow pudding one by one, and handed them to the eager employees. Taihei, resisting the overwhelming urge to eat, asked Raize while looking at the pudding on his plate.
He had never seen such enticing pudding, and it looked as beautiful as a rainbow.
"This is a special rainbow pudding I made. Everyone, please dig in. This is my thanks to you all for this period of time."
After distributing all the rainbow puddings, everyone still waited for a signal to start eating. Raize urged them to try it. For the employees who had stayed with the company through his family's troubles, he knew how to be grateful and repay loyalty.
"Thank you, President. I'm digging in!"
"I'm starting! I really can't hold back!!"
"Wow, it's so soft, like marshmallow, and the portion is huge!"
"It's so delicious! I'm tasting more than one kind of sweetness!?"
"Even after swallowing it, I can still feel that explosive presence, and my whole body feels warm!!"
"Compared to this, the rainbow pudding I ate before was garbage. This is way too delicious, sob sob sob~~"
"Hey, hey! Why are you crying!?"
"Can't I cry because it's too delicious? I can't express this supreme flavor with any other emotion!"
Everyone chewed the incredibly delicious pudding with moved expressions. The explosive flavor flowed through their mouths. After savoring it carefully, they reluctantly swallowed, and that explosive taste transformed into a warm current that instantly spread through their entire bodies.
Then they eagerly put the next bite of rainbow pudding into their mouths, continuing to savor the unforgettable flavor.
Everyone was absolutely certain that this was the best dessert they had ever eaten in their lives.
Some of the plant-type fantasy foods that Raize had materialized through the system's Fantasy Gourmet Tablecloth were all being cultivated on the farm. These fantasy ingredients were similar to natural spiritual herbs from fantasy worlds and were beneficial to the body.
For the employees who chose not to leave, Raize was very generous and used rainbow fruit to make rainbow pudding for everyone. During the preparation process, he even used the sunlight from Plants vs. Zombies as an auxiliary ingredient and mixed it into the pudding.
Anyone who ate the rainbow pudding would gradually see improvements if their body was in a sub-healthy condition.
After some time, everyone unknowingly finished the pudding on their plates while immersed in bliss. The energy and nutrients contained in the pudding perfectly replenished what each person's body needed.
The rainbow pudding contained a tremendous amount of nutrients and energy. Raize had also used certain methods to process the rainbow fruit, adjusting it to a level that ordinary people could properly absorb.
"Recently, some unfortunate things happened in my family, and the company also went through some turbulence during this period. Here, I want to thank everyone for standing by Raiden Game Company."
After everyone finished the unforgettable rainbow pudding, Raize suddenly offered his sincere thanks to all those still savoring the lingering taste.
When you take something from others, especially something like this, you feel the weight of it. This pudding was clearly no ordinary dessert. The fact that Raize was willing to use something of this level to reward them made everyone truly feel his gratitude, both in words and in action.
After coming back to their senses, everyone responded to Raize one after another.
"President, what are you saying? When your father was still around, he always took good care of us. We're not the kind of people who run away as soon as things go bad."
"Exactly. Our Raiden Company did go through some turbulence, but we still have you, young boss," Takeshi said as well.
"Besides, after the president carried out decisive reforms, the company has been thriving. The latest game project is definitely going to sell big."
"..."
This was exactly the attitude Raize wanted. Those who stayed were all solid elites, especially people like Taihei and Kanau.
Raize calmly handled everyone's responses and then took out the game designs and plans he had prepared.
After explaining the company's future development direction, those assigned to corresponding positions took the materials with excited expressions.
With Raize's restructuring and optimization, how could the games not sell well? When that happened, their performance metrics would rise as well.
"The games I prepared earlier, Sekiro, Devil May Cry, and a few others, may require everyone to be a bit busier. After my revisions, the games can be completed in at most two weeks. I'll personally oversee quality control. If the games sell well, bonuses are guaranteed for everyone."
"And when that time comes, I'll treat you all to food no worse than the rainbow pudding you just ate."
After Raize's encouragement, Raiden Game Company was officially back on track, and his own journey had truly set sail.
Everyone, including veteran employees, lit up when they heard his words. Their breathing even grew a little faster.
Although the company had gone through turbulence recently, Raize, who had ample funds, had never delayed their salaries. He treated especially well those employees who stayed through hard times.
And now, their young president even promised food no worse than the rainbow pudding once things succeeded.
The games personally planned by the president were already being worked on, and he had personally stepped in to refine them, clearly showing how much he valued these projects.
They had already witnessed the new president's abilities, which were no weaker than his father's. All employees were fired up, determined to speed up their work.
Even Takeshi, who always complained about work, was no exception—though judging by his expression, he was probably still savoring the rainbow pudding.
Still, dangling rewards in front of that guy to make him work harder wasn't a bad thing.
---
By the time the company got off work, it was already past eight-thirty in the evening. Although everyone felt full of energy after eating the rainbow pudding and could continue working overtime, today's tasks were already completed.
Moreover, Raize didn't want his employees going home too late, as that increased the risk of encountering ghouls on night roads. Having personally experienced such an attack, he wasn't the kind of person who would disregard his employees' lives.
Haste makes waste, so Raize directly let his energetic employees leave work.
Game development needed stability, not speed. Most of the optimization and restructuring work was handled by the employees, while Raize himself took charge of fine adjustments.
"One step at a time. The game side is already on track. Next will be novels and manga."
After work, Raize bought a few things at a convenience store and murmured to himself on the way home, weaving through the bustling streets.
As Raize passed by several young men and women, their noses and throats twitched. They immediately turned their heads and locked onto Raize's back, their eyes flashing with burning, greedy hunger. Seeing that Raize was just a young man, they followed him without hesitation.
While recovering at home, Raize had swallowed a Great Restoration Pill and practiced the Eightfold Thunder Annihilation. All impurities were expelled from his body, and he had consumed quite a bit of fantasy food, leaving him with a faint fragrance.
Humans couldn't smell this strange scent, but for ghouls that fed on humans, whose senses differed greatly from humans, it was irresistible.
The scent on Raize's body was intoxicating to them.
There were eight ghouls following Raize. They exchanged glances, ruthlessness flashing in their eyes. Clearly, they didn't want to share such a delicious prey with other ghouls.
Crackle…
A ferocious bolt of lightning flashed through Raize's pale blue eyes. He continued walking calmly, his back to the ghouls behind him, while a cruel, violent smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Like a predator watching its prey step into a trap.
An excellent hunter often appears in the form of prey.
Raize turned a corner, put the items he had bought into his spatial backpack, and released several faint arcs of lightning to destroy all nearby surveillance cameras.
Then, right before the ghouls' delighted eyes as they tried to take a shortcut, he walked into a sparsely populated alley.
"He's mine!"
A middle-aged man erupted with terrifying pressure. In an instant, his eyes turned black with crimson pupils, and high-density metallic Rc cells burst from beneath his shoulder blades, condensing into a sharp blade that beheaded a nearby young ghoul.
No longer bothering to hide, he charged straight at Raize, leaping high and lunging toward him with a drooling mouth.
"Damn it!"
The other ghouls hadn't expected him to suddenly make a move. They all unleashed their kagune and rushed forward.
Don't misunderstand—those kagune were aimed at their own kind. They didn't think hunting a young kid required using kagune.
The middle-aged ghoul lunged at Raize, his mouth biting toward the back of Raize's neck. He was about to taste that intoxicatingly fragrant flesh, convinced the sweet blood would be even more delicious than coffee.
But in his vision, Raize suddenly stopped and slightly turned his head back. Darkness deeper than the night shrouded the upper half of his handsome face. His pale blue eyes crackled with lightning, filled with savage, violent killing intent, and his demonic smile seemed to stretch to his ears.
Seeing that terrifying smile just as he was about to reach Raize, the middle-aged ghoul felt a bone-chilling fear rise in his heart, reminding him of when he was weak and almost killed by his own kind.
Could it be the CCG's setting a trap!?
In that instant, this thought flashed through his mind—but it was also his last.
His vision was suddenly filled with blue-white lightning. With annihilating force, thunder erupted outward from Raize's body.
"Thunder Strike!"
Energy surged rapidly within him, resonating with the free lightning elements between heaven and earth. Even the current in nearby power lines was drawn out.
Raize moved at a speed invisible to the naked eye, raised his palm, and in an instant, thunder was born in midair as countless bolts violently collided.
That lightning-wrapped palm slammed down on the middle-aged ghoul's head. The thunder instantly destroyed his brain, then raced through his entire body.
Boom!!
Blinding lightning flashed alongside deafening thunder, followed by a violent explosion.
The ghoul lunging at Raize was completely destroyed, his body blown apart and reduced to charred fragments by the thunder.
"What!?"
The remaining ghouls were stunned by the sudden turn of events, but merciless lightning gave them no time to think.
They looked up to see a ferocious net of lightning rushing toward them.
"Eightfold Thunder Annihilation—Rending Thunder!"
Savage thunder tore through space itself, striking the remaining ghouls with heaven-splitting force.
Boom—
"Ah…"
A violent thunderclap rang out amid screams. White lightning crashed down and brutally pierced their sturdier-than-human bodies, instantly charring them before tearing them apart like they were being drawn and quartered.
Even the solid concrete ground was blasted into a small crater, dust and blood splashing everywhere.
"Hmph…"
Raize coldly reined in the lightning around his body, glanced at the charred remains on the ground, and snorted.
At the same time, he felt something leave the remains and flow into his body.
For a moment, Raize vaguely seemed to hear the shrill wails of the ghouls, as if they were suffering something even more painful than being struck by lightning.
[ …As expected, just a bunch of trash that only eats humans. The quality of their souls isn't impressive at all. Their energy efficiency is worse than low-grade diesel. Raize, when you get the chance, go kill some devils instead. ]
After absorbing the ghouls' souls, the system spirit spoke with extreme disdain. Compared to ordinary humans, ghoul souls weren't much better, and as an energy source, they were inferior even to wish power and faith.
Whoosh!
Several bone-chilling freezing waves shot out from Raize, completely shattering the ghoul remains into ice fragments.
"Any clues from these ghouls?"
Raize clapped his hands and transformed into a blue-white streak of light, vanishing from the area. Sonic-level supersonic movement gave him great convenience, and as he grew stronger, his speed would only continue to increase.
After reaching a bustling street, he stopped. His calm expression gave no hint that he had just annihilated several ghouls with thunder.
[ No useful memories. The ghouls who attacked your parents were likely organized. These ones weren't very knowledgeable. ]
Raize wasn't surprised by the answer. If killing one ghoul yielded no information, then he would keep killing.
If Raize ever found the ghouls who attacked his parents and sister, he would repay them in kind. However many family members they had, he would wipe them out. Every ghoul connected to them would be exterminated.
"Just wait. One day, I'll make sure creatures like ghouls that disgust me disappear from this world—every last one."
Don't say Raize was too extreme. If you had even a shred of conscience and cared about your family, how would you feel if your loved ones were killed and eaten?
Or try living the Attack on Titan version of Eren's life and see how it feels to watch someone important get devoured.
Of course, heartless people who don't care about family probably wouldn't feel much even after experiencing something like that.
Don't judge others from a god's-eye view. Experiencing someone else's suffering doesn't make you kinder than them.
After what Raize went through, you could call him extreme if you want. He simply had no goodwill toward the ghoul race.
If you want him to be rational and restrained, go through what he went through first, then talk.
I've already transmigrated, and you still want me to restrain myself? Screw that.
I, Raize, just hate ghouls. I want to kill every last one of them.
If you can tolerate something like this, I'm willing to call you the greatest ninja turtle.