Three days had passed since the battle with Takatsuki Sen.
Fushimi Kyo continued his student life as if nothing had happened.
At this moment, he was staring blankly at the virtual panel floating in the empty space before him:
[Host: Fushimi Kyo
Age: 17
Skills: Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu Swordsmanship (Lv4+)
Body: Fourth-stage enhancement completed (Lv4+)
Inventory: Katana (1)
Evolution Points: 445
Upgradeable Paths:
Body Enhancement: Costs 500 evolution points to upgrade to Lv5. Confirm? Yes / No Skill Enhancement: Costs 800 evolution points to upgrade Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu to Lv5. Confirm? Yes / No]
"The cost for each level-up just keeps increasing…"
"Upgrading my body isn't too bad. Even though I've developed strong resistance to S-rank ghouls and below, killing a single A+ ghoul is usually enough to scrape together 500 points."
"But upgrading swordsmanship to Lv5 needs 800 evolution points."
"That's ridiculous. Where the hell am I supposed to get that many?"
Even killing an S-rank ghoul only yielded around 80 to 150 evolution points.
To reach 800 or even 1,000 points, wouldn't that mean killing at least six or seven S-rank ghouls?
And it wasn't like S-rank ghouls were lining up waiting to be slaughtered.
Other than Aogiri Tree, he genuinely had no idea where to find that many high-level targets.
What was he supposed to storm their headquarters and slaughter Takatsuki Sen, Tatara, Noro, and the other SS-rank monsters?
Kyo wanted to.
But wanting and being able were two completely different things.
Aogiri Tree was powerful enough to wrestle head-on with the entire CCG.
Charging into their nest alone to kill people would be no different from suicide.
"Damn it… this is depressing."
Kyo rubbed his forehead, wearing an expression full of frustration.
In this dangerous world, he firmly believed that only absolute strength guaranteed a peaceful life.
Only when he stood at the very top would he no longer need to worry about his own safety.
After all, this was the Tokyo Ghoul world.
The upper limits of ghoul strength were terrifying.
By the later stages of the original story, SS-ranks were everywhere, and even SSS-level beings could be beaten into dogs.
And then there was Dragon
A calamity-level existence.
Once that thing appeared, it was practically the end of the world.
Humanity wiped out.
"What are you sighing about?"
Beside him, Kirishima Touka looked at him in confusion.
He'd sighed countless times throughout the day.
She had no idea what had him so upset.
"Touka," Kyo asked seriously, "don't you think humans are… too insignificant?"
"Huh?" Touka blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"What, did you short-circuit or something?"
"Did you see yesterday's news?" Kyo continued solemnly.
"That monster at Park was terrifying. That size. That pressure."
"Even without seeing it in person, just thinking about it makes my legs go weak."
"Do you really think the CCG can handle something like that?"
If Touka didn't know his true background, she might actually have believed his nonsense.
But remembering how this guy had slaughtered over a hundred ghouls overnight, injured Rize, and killed Yamori
How could someone that ferocious be afraid of anything?
"Nothing appears out of nowhere," Touka said calmly.
"From the news, the CCG clearly knows a lot about that monster."
"That means they've probably faced it before."
"And if they managed to deal with it in the past, they'll find a way again."
"Besides, this kind of problem isn't something ordinary students like us can help with."
"Why worry so much?"
"…Yeah, I guess you're right."
Kyo nodded, then suddenly grinned.
"But that CCG bounty is really tempting."
"Five million yen just for providing clues to catch the 'Ghoul Hunter.'"
"Five million!"
"If I had that much money, I'd die happy."
The CCG had clearly escalated the importance of the Ghoul Hunter case.
The bounty had risen from 36 million to 50 million yen.
Even Kyo, the person in question, had briefly entertained the absurd thought of turning himself in.
Beside him, Touka rolled her eyes.
This guy is seriously bored.
Doesn't he know perfectly well who the Ghoul Hunter is? And he still dares to put on an act in front of me.
After school, Kyo, Kosaka Yoriko, and Touka all appeared at Anteiku.
Kyo had come purely for the coffee.
Honestly speaking, Anteiku's coffee was outstanding.
Especially the brews made personally by Yoshimura Kuzen, they were on another level entirely.
Lately, Kyo had even developed a coffee habit, dropping by whenever he had time.
"Hey, Kaneki, you're discharged already?"
"Why didn't you tell me? I prepared a huge surprise for you."
"…What? You're still not feeling well and will delay returning to school?"
"Oh, got it. I'll visit once you're better."
A familiar voice drifted over.
Only then did Kyo notice that the person sitting at the neighboring table was Nagayoshi Hideyoshi.
But his good "bro" Kaneki was nowhere to be seen.
"Kaneki's discharged already?"
"Coincidence… or has his fate still not changed?"
Kyo didn't yet know that Kaneki had been attacked by Rize.
Just then, Touka walked over with two cups of coffee.
"Kyo, Yoriko, your coffee. The manager made it himself."
Kyo's eyes lit up instantly.
He grabbed the cup, stirred it lightly, and took a careful sip.
"Mmm so good."
"No matter how many times I drink it, it's never enough."
"Touka," Kyo suddenly asked, "let me ask you something."
"What is it?"
"I haven't seen Miss Rize in a long time."
"Ever since our date that night, she just vanished."
"Do you know where she went? I can't even reach her by phone."
He asked casually.
He knew Rize had some connection to Anteiku.
But after coming here so many times without seeing her, he couldn't help but wonder
Was she already dead?
"I don't know," Touka replied flatly.
"She hasn't been here for about a week."
Which was true.
It had been exactly one week since Rize attacked Kaneki.
"Kyo-kun," Yoriko teased, "you're still hung up on that beauty?"
"Of course," Kyo replied matter-of-factly.
"Someone that beautiful and well-read who wouldn't like her?"
"Tch. More like you're interested in her body," Touka muttered internally.
At the same time
On a bustling city street, at a large intersection.
Kaneki Ken stood in the middle of the road, wearing a blue hoodie.
His head was lowered.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
Drool slid continuously from the corner of his mouth.
"Meat… human meat…"
"Men's meat… women's meat… children's meat…"
"It smells so good… I want to eat…"
As a one-eyed ghoul who hadn't eaten for a long time, the hunger was pushing him to the brink of madness.
"Ahhh no!"
"I'm human!"
"How can I think something so horrible?!"
"I'm human, I don't want to eat people!"
"I don't want to!"
His bizarre behavior made passersby think he was mentally unstable.
They all avoided him instinctively.
In the distance, a man wearing a hoodie of his own hid his face beneath the hood.
"Hehehe… can't hold it anymore, can you?"
"Go on. Kill one of the humans passing by."
"If you do, I win the bet."
He was a ghoul.
Hired by a mysterious individual to monitor Kaneki's actions.
And he was having fun with it.
He had even made a bet with other ghouls on whether Kaneki would lose control.
In his eyes, a starving one-eyed ghoul facing humans was bound to snap
That was why he whispered those words with such anticipation.
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