Merchant Crab - Chapter 10: The Goblin

A side story series featuring the girls of Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon.

Noah is a handsome but struggling high school senior burdened by his family's poverty and his father's illness. He finds comfort in his girlfriend, Layla, until one day, a surprise visit to her house reveals her betrayal.Just as Noah is about to confront her, a mysterious robotic voice echoes in his mind:[Ding! Congratulations to the host binding the Ultimate Choice System!]Option 1: Enter the room, she will kick you out with a green hat on your head. [$100 Reward and a green hat]Option 2: Leave like you did not hear anything, and break up with her. [Rolls Royce Phantom and Basic-Driving Skill Reward]Option 3: Marry her Mom. [Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, Intermediate-Driving Skill and 10,000$ Reward]Looking at the options, Noah couldn't help but smirk.

One rule: Survive. Everything else is optional.Reika Kagetsu doesn’t want to be a hero. She just wants to feel—pain, fear, adrenaline—anything to remind her she’s still alive.Tenshiko Academy promised her that.What she got instead? Brutal training. No rest. No second chances. And monsters—inside and out.Now she’s fighting the Shikiban: creatures born from blood, madness, and buried secrets. But the deeper she goes, the more she begins to wonder...What if she’s one of them?Power always comes with a price. And Reika is about to pay it in full.

Way, way, and very way before I was even born, my world was invaded. Actually, not just my world, my entire damn universe was overrun by another, led by a single race that called themselves the Eternals.And they were prepared. Very prepared. Every life we lost in the war against them was used by them. They didn’t just kill people, they captured their souls, forged them into Phantoms, and used the souls to twist beasts into Abominations. Our dead became their army.Three hundred years later, I was born. A guy with way too much energy. Sitting still? Impossible. Taking it slow? Not happening. I was always moving, always ready to burst into action. Then I awakened, and got a talent too.My Talent's Name Was Generator.Because of it I never ran out of energy. Ever. My muscles? Supercharged. My healing? Faster. My stamina? Please, I had no idea what being tired even felt like.So if the universe wanted to throw an endless war at me?Fine. I’d throw everything I had right back.I wasn’t born a hero. Never wanted to be one. But this war? It wasn’t just my universe’s fight anymore. It was mine. The Eternals made sure of that when they took my parents' souls.