By the lakeshore, the giant water monster glared with blood-red eyes, like a wounded beast consumed by rage. It stomped forward on its massive limbs, charging straight toward the shore.
Its gaze burned with killing intent, its fanged jaws clenched in hatred—it despised humanity itself. Each time its sharp claws struck the ground, they carved deep scars into the earth.
XLR8 turned his head. "Grandpa, take Ben and Gwen and get out of here. Drive the Rustbucket as far away as you can."
Grandpa Max nodded immediately. He knew he'd only slow Lucian down if he stayed.
"Alright, but be careful. That thing doesn't look easy to handle."
Without another word, he grabbed Ben and Gwen, hauling them into the Rustbucket before speeding off.
As the vehicle disappeared into the distance, XLR8 pulled down his visor. The wheels on his feet spun rapidly, and with a sharp whoosh, he shot forward like a blue streak.
On land, the monster's movements were sluggish, but instead of retreating back into the lake, it continued its rampage, thrashing about wildly.
Lucian remembered there was a small village not far from here—a quiet, peaceful place. If the monster made it there, the consequences would be disastrous.
[Ding~ Triggered Alien Hacker Mission]
[The enraged lake monster is about to reach the village, rampaging and slaughtering indiscriminately. Countless lives will be lost.]
[Stop the lake monster before it reaches the village and drive it back into the lake!]
[Mission completion reward: Random Enhancement]
In a flash, Lucian charged toward the creature, looking up at the towering mass before him.
Its mouth was lined with rows of jagged yellow teeth. Its body was as solid as steel, massive beyond belief. Two huge tentacles writhed beside it like chains of death, strong enough to snap a tree trunk in an instant.
The pressure radiating from it was suffocating—an instinctive terror that only those facing it could truly feel.
"ROAR!"
The lake monster lashed out with one of its tentacles, smashing it down toward XLR8.
"Too slow!"
XLR8 blurred into motion, dodging the brutal strike with ease. To him, the attack moved in slow motion—like a film played at a crawl—unable even to graze a hair on him.
CRASH!
The tentacle slammed into the ground, shaking the earth. Dirt and debris flew everywhere as the forest shuddered violently, branches and leaves raining down.
Lucian let out a cold snort and vanished into another blur of blue light. Racing up along the creature's massive leg, he sprinted all the way to its head.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
XLR8 unleashed a barrage of lightning-fast kicks, pounding the monster's skull. The rapid strikes made it bellow in agony.
Roaring in pain, the beast staggered backward, then swung both tentacles up, slamming them toward its attacker in a simultaneous strike—trying to crush XLR8 into paste.
Whoosh!
Moving like a gust of wind, XLR8 dodged, leaping off the monster's body just as the tentacles crashed down where he'd been.
"ROAR!" The monster's furious bellow shook the air.
"Get back!" XLR8 raised his claws, voice low and sharp. "Take one more step, and I won't hold back!"
He couldn't let the creature advance—no matter what. It wasn't just the nearby village at risk. If Grandpa's Rustbucket broke down somewhere along the road and the monster caught up... the thought alone was unacceptable.
"ROAR!!"
The creature lifted its massive claws again, its killing intent surging as it brought them crashing down where XLR8 stood—
—but in the next instant, he was gone, reappearing on the other side in a blur of blue light.
"Stubborn as a mule!"
Lucian darted under the lake monster's belly, his claws striking in a relentless barrage like a raging storm, each blow landing with a thunderous crack.
The monster let out an ear-piercing shriek, slamming its claws together before pounding them hard against the ground, forcing XLR8 to retreat. Then, twisting its enormous body, it began crawling back toward the deep blue lake.
It knew it couldn't defeat XLR8. Staying any longer would only mean taking more punishment—and its real target was the humans.
The ground behind it was torn open, leaving a deep trench carved into the wet, black soil, glistening with murky lake water.
Watching the creature's retreating form, XLR8 shook his head slightly. Such rage couldn't come from nowhere—something had driven this monster into madness.
Still, that mystery would have to wait. For now, he needed to regroup with Ben and the others before anything else went wrong.
[Ding~ Successfully prevented the lake monster from destroying the village]
[Enhanced XLR8's speed by 5%]
Whoosh!
A flash of white light surrounded him. XLR8 suddenly felt lighter, his body more agile, his reflexes sharper and his vision clearer than before.
Even so, Lucian couldn't help but hope for something more—an alien gene scan, maybe, to unlock a stronger form. Heroes like Way Big, Humungousaur, or Big Chill would be incredible additions.
But for now, finding Ben and the others came first. Some things couldn't be rushed.
With that, XLR8 pivoted on his heels, skates flaring to life, and shot toward the direction of the Rustbucket.
The wind howled past his ears as the landscape blurred into streaks of color. In no time, he spotted them.
Grandpa Max had parked the Rustbucket by the edge of the village. Standing nearby, Ben and Gwen were anxiously staring into the distance.
"Grandpa, do you think my cousin's okay?" Gwen's face was pale; she'd seen the monster herself, and it looked like something out of a nightmare.
Grandpa shook his head, his tone steady but his eyes filled with worry. "Don't worry. Your cousin's strong. He'll make it back just fine."
Even as he spoke, though, the concern in his heart refused to settle. He wanted nothing more than to know how Lucian was faring.
"Relax!" Ben grinned, patting Gwen's shoulder. "We're talking about XLR8 here! He's lightning fast—taking down some slow, oversized lake monster should be easy!"
"But…" Gwen hesitated.
"But what?" came a familiar voice from behind.
Gwen froze, then turned, her face lighting up with joy.
"Cousin!" she cried, running forward and throwing her arms around Lucian.
Lucian, now nearly six feet tall, barely moved as she clung to him, her head only reaching his chest.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Gwen said, wiping at her eyes.
Lucian smiled faintly. "You think something like that could take me down? Don't worry—I've got more than enough tricks up my sleeve."
Ben and Grandpa exchanged a look and smiled warmly.
In that moment, Lucian felt it—the warmth of family, spreading through him like a quiet fire.
"Alright, Gwen," Grandpa chuckled, "let your cousin go. We need to head into the village and alert the local guards about the lake monster."
"Yeah! Before anyone else gets eaten!" Ben added quickly, still shivering at the memory of the creature's gaping jaws.
"But… do you think anyone will believe us?" Lucian asked calmly.
"We have to try," Grandpa sighed.
And honestly, if someone had come to him claiming there was a man-eating monster in the lake, he probably wouldn't have believed it either.
After regrouping, they went straight to the local defense bureau to report the incident and warn them to prepare.
But, as Lucian expected, things didn't go well. The officers laughed at them, mocked their story, and eventually kicked them out into the street.
A cold gust swept past. Ben shivered, crossing his arms tightly.
"Oh, come on! Those guys are the worst! Why won't they just believe us?" he complained angrily.
"Forget it. We've done all we can," Lucian said, shaking his head. "Grandpa, let's just leave this place."
They had gone out of their way to warn the authorities, only to be ridiculed for it. There was nothing more they could do.
Lucian wasn't the type to waste kindness on people who didn't want it.
Grandpa frowned deeply, lost in thought. His instincts wouldn't let him walk away from the situation so easily. If that monster wasn't dealt with, it would only bring more trouble later.
Lucian sighed, already guessing what was on his mind. "I knew it."
Grandpa wasn't leaving until the lake monster problem was solved.
Just then, Grandpa's gaze shifted. Not far off, a small fishing boat floated on the lake, a lone figure standing on its deck.
His eyes lit up. "Let's go fishing. Maybe we can ask the locals about the monster—see if they know anything useful."
[Ding~ Triggered Alien Hacker Mission]
[Investigate the cause of the lake monster's rampage and eliminate the source to restore it to a peaceful state]
[Mission Reward: Grimoire of Water Magic *1]
"Grimoire of Water Magic?" Lucian's eyes narrowed slightly.
That hadn't been in the original story—but judging by the name, it was clearly something magical.
Magic wasn't really his thing. The Omnitrix was more than enough for him.
But… if he didn't use it, someone else could.
A faint smile tugged at Lucian's lips as he glanced toward Gwen, who was still looking at him with a completely bewildered expression...