A roar of explosions shook the area.
The ground split and cratered as if struck by a meteorite.
At the center, Ben Shaw stood in his coat, swinging his fists with a sound like tearing air.
From his strike's impact point, cracks spread in a spiderweb pattern. The earth within a hundred meters sank, a violent shockwave sweeping away gravel and dust.
Even the old repair shop nearby couldn't withstand it—its walls buckled, collapsing into a heap of ruins.
The quake lasted ten seconds. As the dust settled, silence returned. Ben straightened and pulled his fist free from the half‑meter‑deep pit, eyes widening at the result.
He'd expected magic to multiply his strength—but not to this degree.
If he'd unleashed this with just his physical power, the blow would still have been devastating. Yet he knew the strike he'd just thrown used barely one‑third of his raw strength.
And with only a fraction of his magic… the effect was already more than he'd imagined.
He couldn't help but wonder—what would happen if he combined **all** his magic with **all** his might?
The word that came to him was simple: **city‑killer**.
A real one.
Forget "nuke‑level Superman." Right now, he was: *One punch, one nuclear bomb*.
***
He tested his speed next. Without magic, his max calculation was around 100 meters per second. With magic boosting his legs, he could break through 150—possibly even 200.
Then, experimenting, he captured two rats. He broke the first one's bones, and severed the other's forelimbs. Channeling mana through them with precise control, he stimulated regeneration. The first rat's bones knit together flawlessly; the second regrew missing limbs entirely.
Even he was surprised. Destruction, amplification, **and** healing—his magic seemed almost like a universal remedy.
Chakra? The thought slipped into his mind.
And with it, one name: **Tsunade**—the fictional medic‑ninja. Strange strength, Yin Seal, Creation Rebirth regeneration… the core ideas were the same.
Power amplifies as control refines. And Ben could already sense that his mana was stored within his very cells—like Superman's cells storing solar radiation.
The difference? Superman could constantly recharge in sunlight, while Ben's cellular mana regenerated automatically, but very slowly.
If he burned through all of it in a fight, recovery wasn't fast enough. That was a flaw. In a prolonged, high‑intensity battle, it could cost him.
Solution? **The Yin Seal.**
Store surplus mana daily; when depleted, release the stored reserve to continue fighting—or, when facing overwhelming enemies, detonate the seal for a short‑term MAX boost, multiplying his power several times—maybe dozens.
The problem: Tsunade's seal was based on ninja sealing techniques. Ben had no such runes or formulas in his arsenal.
So… he thought of another place.
**Kamar‑Taj.**
When magic leaves you puzzled, sometimes the solution is *more magic*.
Their libraries overflowed with spells and grimoires. The technique there was to channel dimensional energy through spells and sigils. He didn't want the flaws—borrowed power meant paying it back, often at a price.
He didn't *need* their power—he had his own. What he wanted was **their knowledge**, so he could design his **own** magical system, custom‑made for his abilities.
The Yin Seal was just one of several MAX‑mode concepts he needed knowledge to build.
***
Ben stood frowning, deep in thought.
He was under no illusion—he couldn't beat the Ancient One. Not now.
The Ancient One was a Heavenly Father–level entity. She had repelled countless beings from other dimensions. Even Hell‑Lords like Mephisto were forced to sign pacts that kept them from directly ravaging Earth.
That meant something.
And Ben knew—right now, he couldn't afford to make an enemy of a being like that.
He didn't want to be at anyone's mercy, but he'd eventually have to deal with her. Should he approach sooner or later?
Rationality gave him the answer quickly—**later**.
She hadn't moved against him, which meant, at the very least, she tolerated his existence. If she was watching, then he needed to show her *exactly* the side he wanted her to see.
The side that protected Earth.
Because in truth, all his killings tied back to that. Every target—a blight on the world. Gangsters, vampires, werewolves… demons to come.
From her perspective, that made him a punisher of evil.
She might not care about whether he "promoted good," only that he struck down those who threatened the planet. Such a figure could be seen as a natural ally in Earth's defense.
And if she'd spotted the timeline shifts from the moment he arrived and chose not to erase him… after all this time, that meant the condition was already set.