In the space between worlds, Louis stood in a gray-white void.
In front of him floated the transparent system screen, shining with a faint blue light.
After he finished reading the different system notifications, he paused for a moment and thought:
"Alright… time for the important part."
He raised his finger and tapped a new option that appeared in the corner of the interface:
[Summoning Interface]
The screen in front of him changed immediately.
A new interface appeared, more elegant and organized.
At the top, a name was written in clear letters:
[World: One Punch]
Right under the name, rows of small images appeared — characters and monsters from that world, arranged in long lists, each with numbers and short descriptions beside it.
On the right side, there was a clear power ranking, with the price next to each rank:
[Normal person]: 100 World Points
[Total Power Rank E]: 250 World Points
[Total Power Rank D]: 500 World Points
[Total Power Rank C]: 1,000 World Points
[Total Power Rank B]: 2,000 World Points
[Total Power Rank A]: 4,000 World Points
[Total Power Rank AA]: 6,000 World Points
[Total Power Rank S]: 9,000 World Points
[Any character above Rank S]: 20,000 World Points
In small text below the rankings, system notes appeared:
[This power ranking applies to all stages inside the Multiverse Tower.]
[All characters you summon will have absolute loyalty to you and will never betray you.]
Louis read the last line slowly, then narrowed his eyes.
"Absolute loyalty, huh… that's only natural."
He scrolled down, checking the lists.
Soon he noticed something strange.
"…Hmm."
Most of the S-Class heroes from the Hero Association were ranked only as A-Rank in the system, and some barely reached AA.
Real S-Rank power, according to the system… was very rare.
Louis smiled with slight sarcasm.
"The Hero Association's ranking is really random, it seems."
He lifted his gaze to the top of the list.
There, in the first row, only three portraits appeared, framed in gold, with a line under them:
[Total Power: Above Rank S]
Blast
Boros
Orochi – King of Monsters
When he slid his finger over each one, a side window opened showing a detailed description of their abilities, strengths and weaknesses, fighting style, and even their potential talent level in the future.
"As expected…" Louis murmured.
Blast – Earth's number one hero, with several space-type skills, the ability to move between dimensions, and mysterious techniques that still had many "unknown" parts even to the system.
Boros – a universal conqueror, with terrifying life energy, a regenerating body, and a very high upper limit if pushed to his extremes.
Orochi – King of Monsters, with constant evolution, a changing body, and frightening talent in controlling power.
Below this golden row…
The list of "Total Power: Rank S" started to appear.
At the very top of it, he saw a very familiar face:
Tatsumaki.
Short green hair floating, a proud expression, and a psychic aura around her.
More images appeared under her — different heroes and monsters, each with a brief evaluation.
Louis slowly laced his fingers together and started thinking.
"Use my World Points to strengthen myself… or invest them in summons?"
He looked again at a small line at the top of the screen:
[Available World Points: 33,000]
He remembered where they came from:
26,000 from the One Punch world, and 7,000 left from his Death Note world reward.
He shook his head lightly.
"If I spend the points to power myself up now… I'll get a direct boost, but it's short-term."
But summoned characters…
They weren't just extra power.
They were followers, hidden cards, long-term investments.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them with a firm look.
"So… we'll delay strengthening myself for later."
"For now, the best investment… is summoning."
"First, time to use the system's gift."
A small icon appeared at the top of the interface:
[Free Summon Ticket ×1]
Louis tapped it.
[Choose one free character to summon from this world.]
The whole list appeared again in front of him, but this time, characters above Rank S were highlighted specially.
Louis stayed silent for a while, moving between Blast, Boros, and Orochi.
"Blast has multiple space-type skills, and flexible offense and defense…"
"But pure, raw power… is the better choice for me right now, and I'll also need some villains for missions that don't suit righteous types…"
He opened Boros's profile again and quickly read through his stats.
A faint light flashed in Louis's eyes.
"Raw power can be refined. And if I push him further, he might surpass even the version I saw in his own world."
He smiled.
"Alright then…"
He pressed firmly on Boros's image.
[Target chosen: Boros]
[Do you want to use the Free Summon Ticket?]
[Yes / No]
"Yes."
A soft light passed through the screen, and the free ticket icon disappeared.
"One of this world's giants… is now on my side."
After that, it was time for serious planning.
Louis glanced again at his remaining points:
[World Points: 33,000]
Since Boros was summoned for free, all those points were still his.
He opened the rankings again and started calculating.
"I need people I can invest in long-term… not just instant power, but talent too."
His finger stopped on one name.
Garou.
[Total Power Rank: Peak A]
[Potential: Unlimited evolution under certain conditions.]
Louis raised an eyebrow.
"His power right now isn't the highest, but according to the system… his talent can be considered second only to Saitama."
"This kind of raw material… if polished correctly…"
He didn't hesitate much.
[Summon: Garou – 4,000 World Points]
[Confirm?]
"Yes."
After Garou, Louis switched to another section of the interface, where a few female faces he knew very well from this world appeared.
Tatsumaki.
Fubuki.
Psykos.
He opened Tatsumaki's profile first.
[Total Power Rank: S]
[Summon: Tatsumaki – 9,000 World Points]
"Confirm."
Then he moved to Psykos.
[Total Power Rank: AA]
[Summon: Psykos – 6,000 World Points]
"Confirm."
Then Fubuki.
[Total Power Rank: C]
[Summon: Fubuki – 1,000 World Points]
"Confirm."
Here, Louis paused for a second, then showed a slightly strange smile.
"Hmm… if we talk only about power, maybe they're not all top priority…"
He closed one eye playfully, looking at the female characters he had just summoned — Tatsumaki's small body, and the… impressive curves of Fubuki and Psykos.
In a slightly awkward inner voice:
"By the way…"
"I'm currently exiled to a cold, stormy sea, with no company, no anyone…"
"Having a few beauties around to ease my loneliness is acceptable… right?"
"And I'm a traveler between worlds, a man with a great mission on his shoulders… gathering all those dreamlike beauties from the different multiverse worlds… you could say it's a duty, not a personal desire."
When he thought that…
"…Hmm."
The next moment, a thin line of blood started to drip from his nose.
"Seriously…" He wiped it quickly, forcing a cold expression: "This system is corrupting my principles."
Even so, he calmly extended his finger, closed the interface for a moment, then opened it again to confirm the names.
Boros.
Tatsumaki.
Psykos.
Garou.
Fubuki.
Five main pieces…
"Great power, talents that can grow… and some pleasant company in this cold hell."
A small, calm smile appeared on his face, hiding many calculations behind it.
"Now… let's see how this lineup will change the balance in the next stage of my life."