"Monster————!!"
"There's a demon!! A monster!!!"
"Help————!!"
Mu Xiaoxiao stood dazed under a tree, shivering as the cold wind brushed past.
He saw groups of male and female students, Japanese school uniforms and ultra-short skirts, long slender legs brimming with youthful charm. A girl's beautiful face twisted in horror, her fear so consuming she didn't even care about the glimpse beneath her skirt as she turned and fled in panic.
Screams became clearer. Mu Xiaoxiao saw, in the distance, zombie-like monsters. He gasped, forgetting entirely about his situation—about having transmigrated—and bolted after the students.
No way, there really are monsters?!
What kind of insane film set have I landed on?
Just as he caught up to a girl ahead of him and tried to strike up a conversation, she seemed to sense something behind her. She glanced back—and her expression twisted like she'd seen a ghost, her face paling, eyes rolling back.
"Eek————!!"
Thud.
She fainted.
"..."
Mu Xiaoxiao: ???
That was rude, you know?
"How impolite. Are all Japanese students this rude? Even if I look a little scary... wait, huh?"
He raised his hand—and a wiggling, slippery tentacle uncoiled from it. His mouth gaped open. Looking down, he finally saw what he'd become.
This wasn't about being scary… He was a grotesque, freakish tentacle monster!
Holy crap—Cthulhu vibes?!
What the hell is going on here?!
As Mu Xiaoxiao unleashed a storm of silent curses in his mind, he realized he couldn't speak—only think. The tentacles moving like fingers, utterly precise and responsive, only deepened his despair.
"What the hell, transmigration is one thing—but why a tentacle monster?! Even in Saya no Uta, at least Saya looked like a cute girl to everyone else… Couldn't you leave me some kind of human appearance at least?!"
Oof.That one hurt—cut deep.
[Mu Xiaoxiao](Tentacle Monster)
Strength: DEndurance: CAgility: EMagic: F
Skills: [Rapid Regeneration][Lustful Breath]Evolution Points: 0/100
A translucent game-like interface appeared before him, cutting his internal rant short. Mu Xiaoxiao's alluring tentacles wiggled in midair.
"This is my cheat code? Wait—evolution points?"
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh———!!"
His thoughts were interrupted again. It was dusk now, the sky dark and gloomy. The chaos on campus was spreading—screams, panic, crying—layer upon layer of noise made him frown as he surveyed the area.
He saw other tentacle monsters—not like himself, though. They had human shapes but moved like zombies. Eyes turned black, pupils blood-red, grotesque faces. Tentacles burst from their backs, ripping through their clothing. They looked more like ghouls than anything else.
And the students killed by these ghouls—err, tentacle monsters—seemed to turn into one themselves…
This infection rate...
"Even if I'm just some side-character villain, at least those guys look human. Why the hell am I the alien freak here?" Mu Xiaoxiao flailed around, tortured by the injustice. No sane human would want to turn into a damn tentacle monster!
If it weren't for his cheat system, he might have broken down already.
"A Japanese high school? Tentacle monsters? Did I transmigrate into some kind of eroge world and become the token blonde punk villain?" Looking at his distinctly grotesque monster form—it screamed "Demon General" or "One of the Four Heavenly Kings" from some villain faction.
Totally different from those disposable goons.
Mu Xiaoxiao tried to console himself. Even though he had no interest in being some kind of Demon King, he sighed in resignation.
"No helping it. If I can't change it, I'll have to accept it."
"Besides, I've got my cheat. Maybe I can evolve back into a human. Evolution points, huh…"
While muttering, he caught sight of a zombie-like humanoid tentacle monster lurching toward him. Its back tentacles were coiled around a struggling girl.
"Uhh—"
The girl was crying silently, barely able to struggle. Her eyes full of tears made Mu Xiaoxiao frown. Things had clearly gone off the rails—this was just the tip of the iceberg, and it already made him uncomfortable.
Even if he was a tentacle monster now, and could join in tormenting girls like the others...
FWIP————!
Tentacles gathered in front of him, transforming into sharp spikes that shot forward. In an instant, the zombie-tentacle monster was decapitated and shredded, its body carved into pieces like tofu.
Splorch!!!
That was way too easy.
The blood and gore didn't faze Mu Xiaoxiao in the slightest. The girl it had held tumbled to the ground, scrambled up in panic, and ran away without even pausing to question why a monster had saved her.
Mu Xiaoxiao ignored her. His eyes were on the interface only he could see.
[1/100]
"Just as I thought. Like a video game—killing monsters gives me experience?" He grinned. "Way more fun than chasing girls."
Let's see what kind of evolution I get at 100 points.
Mu Xiaoxiao had a rough idea of how his cheat worked now. In terms of stats, the previous tentacle monster had been easily crushed.
Standing over the piles of gore, he scoffed, "We might both be tentacle monsters, but there's no way I'm the same as this trash. Shape-shifting, extending… tsk. Such powerful tentacles, wasted on harassing women? What a disgrace."
Spit!
Tentacle monsters: ???
Are you sure you're not the weirdo here?!
But after taking that first kill, the nearby monsters who had previously ignored him began to turn, their bloodshot eyes locking onto Mu Xiaoxiao. With howls of fury, they charged.
Their tentacles transformed into weapons mid-attack, slicing through the air. Mu Xiaoxiao's own tentacles responded immediately, as agile as limbs. He leapt five meters back, then met them head-on.
CRACK——!!!
Collision.
Within a minute, Mu Xiaoxiao strolled calmly down the garden path, now littered with corpses, heading toward the central courtyard. More students over there, which meant more tentacle monsters to kill.
"Sigh, I've become a monster—and yet I'm committing mass murder on my 'own kind.'" Not that he truly saw them as his kind.
He still clung to his human morals.
Besides, if he wasn't human anymore, then at the very least he ought to be something on the level of Cthulhu. Grouping himself with this bottom-tier trash? That'd just be insulting.
[10/100]
One tentacle-zombie monster was worth a single evolution point. But Mu Xiaoxiao noticed: while he vastly outclassed them in strength and endurance, his tentacles could still be injured. He wasn't invincible.
"This [Rapid Regeneration] skill is decent—it speeds up my healing. As for [Lustful Breath]... sounds like some kind of aphrodisiac? Tch. Useless skill."
Clack clack clack——
Suddenly, rapid footsteps echoed from around the corner. Someone was running fast—approaching quickly. Mu Xiaoxiao's tentacles shimmered crimson in the sunset, ready to strike.
"Huff... Huff… What the hell are these things? Why are there so many monsters in the school!?" A girl with blue hair in a high ponytail ran while glancing behind her. Her lips bit tight in determination, but fear showed through her clenched teeth and panicked breath.
Even if the school hadn't fully fallen, it was close. The monsters had surrounded them. There was no way out.
Sakurakami Natsumi's ponytail swayed behind her. She pressed her lips into a tight line. During her escape, she had seen countless students killed—or worse. If she got caught...
No! She shook the thought away, forcing herself to stay strong. She darted around the building's corner—
And froze.
A tentacle gleamed inches from her brow, its tip sharp and menacing. Her face went completely pale.
I'm done for!!
Behind her, the zombie tentacle monsters had closed in. With nowhere to run, Sakurakami Natsumi fell into despair. Her nose burned, and despite everything, tears welled in her eyes.
Is this where it ends?
"Uhh…"