Nakiri Erina watched Akira fight with wide eyes.
He started with ice—small, precise needles that struck nerve clusters and dropped Troll Kongs one after another.
Then he switched to lightning.
Crackling bolts danced from his fingertips, knocking out several more, but some of the apes twitched violently from the damage.
Erina couldn't stop herself from asking,
"Will he be okay?"
Erika stood beside her, calm as ever.
"Don't worry. If he wasn't busy testing something, he might have already wiped them all out."
Selena's voice echoed telepathically, sounding mildly exasperated.
"Yeah. He even wanted me to play BGM for dramatic effect. I refused. Who plays loud background music while trespassing in a restricted zone?"
Erina blinked.
"BGM?"
Erika gave a small, fond smile.
"Well… he's just like that."
Erina's gaze stayed locked on Akira.
"What exactly is he testing?"
Erika explained patiently.
"He's trying to develop new knocking techniques—something he can patent and earn royalties from whenever other Gourmet Hunters use them. Look, the lightning damaged them too much, so he's switching again."
As she spoke, Akira changed tactics.
A sudden burst of flashing lights exploded in front of a group of Troll Kongs.
The beasts stiffened, movements disoriented, but they didn't fully stop.
Erina asked sharply,
"What was that?"
Erika answered,
"Light-induced epilepsy. He used the same thing years ago when we were kids and got attacked by a werewolf pack."
Erina turned to her in shock.
"What werewolf pack?"
Erika waved it off casually.
"Oh, Akira's parents wiped them out. Don't worry about it."
Erina had no idea what to say to that.
She turned back to the fight, feeling increasingly dizzy.
Akira frowned at the result of the lights and tried something new.
A magic circle formed in his palm.
Nothing visible happened—
But a Troll Kong suddenly collapsed as if its strings had been cut.
Erina's voice rose.
"What did he do? It just fell down!"
Selena chimed in again.
"He's using an ultra-high-frequency ultrasonic burst to paralyze them. Of course, you can't hear or see it."
Erina asked, genuinely stunned.
"Can sound even be used to paralyze?"
Selena explained.
"Some whales hunt like this. He's just doing it on a much higher level."
Erina's mind raced.
"How is he going to patent these? How can normal people even use them?"
Erika answered smoothly.
"Knowing him, he'll probably build a device that can imitate the effect."
Erina stared.
"He can do that?"
Erika nodded without hesitation.
"Of course. He's a genius."
Erina turned her eyes back to Akira.
Everything felt ridiculous.
Just yesterday, she had been thinking about cooking menus, schoolwork, and her next Shokugeki.
Then she learned she suddenly had a fiancé.
Then she met him—the same boy from years ago who had destroyed her pride with that absurd dish and made her run away in humiliation.
Then she learned he already had a girlfriend.
A part-vampire girlfriend.
Then she was dragged into this insane world, discovered he was some kind of super mage with multiple fiancées, met ridiculous monsters and even more ridiculous food, and now…
Now she was watching him casually fight an army of five-meter-tall, four-armed gorillas using techniques that broke every law of reality she had ever known.
"Seriously… why is any of this happening?"
And yet, she couldn't look away.
Magic was supposed to belong to stories.
Fantasy was supposed to stay fictional.
But here it was—
Real, loud, dangerous, and impossible to ignore.
If an ordinary person were suddenly shown a world like this…
Who would return to normal life so easily?
Erina bit her lip, her heartbeat faster than she wanted to admit.
No one could resist wanting to know what happens next…
…Could they?
Akira continued testing technique after technique.
Ice needles, lightning bursts, flashing lights, ultrasonic waves—
One after another, Troll Kongs fell unconscious to the ground.
By now, nearly half the pack lay sprawled across the rocky ground.
The remaining Troll Kongs had stopped roaring.
Instead, they looked… afraid.
Akira tilted his head, smirking.
"What? Don't tell me you guys are scared now?"
Just then, the Troll Kongs moved as if the sea itself were parting.
They split apart, revealing a new figure—
A massive white-furred Troll Kong, nearly three times larger than the others.
It looked like an elder of their species, powerful and imposing, its eyes fixed on Akira.
Akira smiled.
"Oh… the Silverback. You finally showed up."
Erika asked quickly,
"What is that?"
Selena's voice answered telepathically for all of them.
"That's a Silverback. It's the leader of this group. They're more intelligent than the younger Troll Kongs and have far more experience, making them excellent leaders."
Erina's voice carried a hint of nervousness.
"Are they strong?"
Selena replied lightly,
"Don't worry. My brother is stronger than you think. Just watch."
As if on cue, the Silverback took one look at Akira, let out a terrified scream, and turned to flee.
Akira blinked.
"…Eh?"
The rest of the Troll Kongs immediately followed, scattering in every direction like panicked children.
Akira raised a hand toward their retreating backs.
"Hey! Wait! I still need more test data!"
The Troll Kongs only ran faster.
Akira sighed dramatically.
"That's rude. Where's your pride as Troll Kongs? Well… don't think you can run away that easily."
A massive magic circle bloomed in his palm.
"Heaven Piercing Ice Wall!"
With a sharp motion, towering walls of ice erupted across the valley like skyscrapers, sealing off every escape route in an instant.
The fleeing beasts skidded to a halt, trapped between glittering frozen barriers.
Some desperately slammed against the ice, trying to break through.
Akira smiled.
"Alright. Now we can play a bit more."
Thunder rolled overhead.
The air grew colder because of the ice walls, and the already dark sky began to pour rain.
Akira looked up.
"Ah… rain…"
He turned toward Erika and Erina, only to see Erika calmly holding up a barrier above both of them, keeping them perfectly dry.
Seeing they were safe, he turned back to the remaining Troll Kongs.
But in that brief moment of distraction, thunder crackled violently.
A bolt struck one of the already damaged ice walls, shattering its tip.
Unfortunately, that section was right next to the Rainbow Fruit tree.
When Akira noticed, the broken ice shard was already falling straight toward the ancient tree and its precious glowing fruits.
"…Oh no."
"Wait!" Akira shouted as he rushed forward.
He could already tell he wouldn't reach the tree in time to stop the falling ice shard.
So he made a split-second decision—
Save the fruits first.
He thrust his hand forward.
A magic circle flared to life.
A powerful gust of wind blasted outward like a gentle cyclone, reaching the tree just as the ice shard struck.
The wind carefully gathered every glowing Rainbow Fruit and carried them safely toward him.
He only managed to save the fruits.
The ice shard still slammed into the ancient tree, cracking the trunk and branches.
The tree wasn't completely destroyed, but it was badly damaged.
Akira quickly stored the fruits in his inventory to preserve their perfect freshness, then looked up at the wounded tree with a complicated expression.
It's really damaged. Probably won't survive if left alone.
He sighed.
"Oops. My bad."
He looked at the rainy sky, and a big magic circle appeared.
With a wave of his hand, he cleared the sky, stopping the rain and turning it sunny.
The remaining Troll Kongs kept their distance, watching warily.
Erika and Erina hurried over.
Erika asked with a complicated expression,
"What are we going to do?"
Akira thought for a moment.
"Well… I can use healing magic to fix it."
Erika tilted her head.
"Healing magic can fix trees?"
"Of course," Akira said, "but… then we won't get the fruits back. Guess I just have to use my evolution ability."
He turned to them.
"Stay back."
Then he called out clearly,
"Answer me, Eclipse!"
Jet-black armor materialized around him in an instant.
Erina stared.
"What is that…?"
Erika placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll explain later. Don't disturb him."
Akira crouched down and placed his palm against the damaged trunk.
His noble art activated.
"Rewrite."
Magic poured into the tree.
The broken wood fused back together.
Roots dug deeper into the earth.
Branches expanded outward.
The entire tree surged upward—
Higher, wider, brighter.
When the light faded, everyone stared in stunned silence.
The Rainbow Fruit tree was now twice its original size, its branches heavy with twice as many glowing, rainbow-colored fruits.
Erika's eyes widened.
"What happened?"
Akira coughed awkwardly.
"Huh… Well, the Gourmet Cells interacted with my powers kind of weirdly, sooo… it's not entirely my fault. Probably."
Erika gave him an exasperated look.
Erina finally found her voice.
"What should we do now?"
Akira stood up, armor dissolving.
"Well, we got the fruits, and I tested the new knocking techniques. Next, we need to fix this and head back to Toriko Harbor. I want to buy a house."
Erika blinked.
"Why a house here?"
Akira grinned.
"Told you, right? I want to explore this world more, so I need a base of operations."
He suddenly paused and looked toward the direction of the entrance of Biotope 8.
"Oh. Someone's coming."
Erika asked,
"What?"
"It's Toriko," Akira said. "I'd rather not face him right now… Let's leave."
Erika glanced at the massive ice walls still sealing the area.
"What about the ice walls?"
"No time."
Akira quickly created a large, floating sign with magic and planted it near the now enhanced tree.
It read:
"Sorry about the ice walls and the tree too."
Then, with a flash of magic, he teleported the three of them away.
Just as they vanished, Toriko—with Komatsu riding on his back—rushed through the gate at full speed.
Toriko and Komatsu arrived at the scene moments later, Komatsu still clinging to Toriko's back.
The moment they entered the clearing, both of them stopped dead in their tracks.
Huge, towering ice walls—some as tall as skyscrapers—sealed off the entire area like a frozen fortress.
Dozens of Troll Kongs lay unconscious across the rocky ground, completely knocked out but unharmed.
And in the center…
The Rainbow Fruit tree stood twice its original size, its branches heavy with far more glowing, rainbow-colored fruits than should have been possible.
Komatsu's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"W-What happened here?! The tree is huge! And… and all these Troll Kongs are just lying there!"
Toriko crossed his arms, staring at the scene with a mix of surprise and amusement.
His sharp senses picked up the lingering traces of something powerful or someone, the precise nerve strikes, and the unnatural growth of the tree.
"Heh… Someone beat us to it. And they did a pretty flashy job."
From a hidden spot nearby, reporter Tina—who had sneaked in hoping for a big scoop—stared with sparkling eyes, camera already rolling.
"This is incredible! Massive ice walls, knocked-out Troll Kongs, and the Rainbow Fruit tree suddenly doubled in size?! This is the scoop of the century! What kind of Gourmet Hunter could do something like this?!"
Before she could get more footage, a group of IGO officers in black suits burst in and swiftly surrounded her.
"Reporter Tina, you are trespassing in a restricted biotope," one of them said sternly, confiscating her camera. "All footage is confiscated. You're coming with us."
Tina protested loudly as they escorted her away.
"Wait! Just one more shot! This is big news! The public has a right to know—!"
Toriko watched the whole thing unfold, then let out a deep, hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! Looks like we missed quite the party. Whoever did this left quite a mess… but they even left a sign saying 'sorry about the ice walls and the tree too.' Bold."
Komatsu scratched his head, still stunned.
"Toriko-san… do you think it was another Gourmet Hunter? The tree looks even better than before! And I'm not sure if they even took the fruit."
Toriko grinned, eyes gleaming with interest.
"Who knows? But one thing's for sure—this world's getting more interesting every day."
He patted Komatsu's shoulder.
"Come on, Komatsu. Let's grab one and head back. I'm getting hungry."