However, Gabriel's version was different—despite appearing identical to Leo's Gigan.
The fundamental difference lay in the source of its power. These eyes were granted directly by the System, not by Riga El Menuhyut.
Because of that, Gabriel would not suffer the same fate as Leonardo.
He did not require a ten-day adaptation period, and—most importantly—there was no contract or consequence that demanded someone close to him to lose their sight.
The ability All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods had already been explained in its core description:
its bearer can perceive the "Truth" of the world.
But for Gabriel, the meaning of Truth encompassed almost anything—and with the intervention of the Infinity Room, that scope seemed even broader than the original version.
Gabriel did not yet fully understand everything his eyes were capable of, but he intended to learn through experience over time.
In addition, the eyes granted him several crucial advantages:
Extreme visual acuity, allowing Gabriel to perceive ultra-high-speed movements that normal human eyes could never follow, and to observe even the smallest details with absolute clarity.
He could clearly perceive a target's past, allowing him to gather information with precision, and even accurately foresee the future.
He was also capable of tearing apart illusions and false realities, as if every visual deception were laid bare before his eyes.
Another function was the revelation of a being's "True Name," as long as that being still possessed a "heart" or a core essence of life. In worlds where power is determined by names, it would be extremely difficult to escape the gaze of the Gigan.
This ability is especially crucial in name-based power systems.
In Bleach, the true name of a Zanpakutō determines access to its real power.
To achieve Shikai, the wielder must call the Zanpakutō's name.
To achieve Bankai, the wielder must know and fully master the sword spirit's true name.
With the Gigan, Gabriel can:
See the true name of a Zanpakutō without forming a long-term bond.
Instantly comprehend the form, abilities, and even the potential Bankai of a sword spirit.
Distinguish between a false name and a true name in cases of spiritual deception.
Example: If Gabriel were to look at Zangetsu, he would immediately perceive its true name and realize that Ichigo's blade possesses two distinct spiritual aspects rather than one.
The bearer of these eyes is also capable of altering and controlling the visual perception of those around him.
He can divert the focus of multiple people, induce nauseating hallucinations, project what he sees directly into another person's mind, and even manipulate visual illusions on a comprehensive level.
The eyes also allow their owner to see through the eyes of others, including replaying past events that those individuals once witnessed.
In addition, Gabriel can track body parts that have been stolen or severed from someone—something impossible to achieve through aura reading alone.
The eyes possess a regenerative function as well, allowing them to heal themselves from damage over time.
However, the eyes are not without limits.
Excessive use can cause them to overheat, burning the user from within.
If the damage becomes severe, the eyes will crack, rendering their powers unusable until recovery is complete.
If the damage reaches an irreparable point, the eyes will explode—and that explosion will kill their owner.
For Gabriel personally, all of these abilities suit him perfectly, risks included.
Gabriel closed his Skill Status Screen. With a slow, deliberate motion, the display dimmed and vanished, as if dissolving into the darkness itself.
Under his breath, he murmured softly, his voice thick with satisfaction:
"At last… these eyes have returned to their rightful owner. Ash."
There was an unmistakable air of unfounded self-assertion in his words, yet he spoke them as though they were an undeniable cosmic truth.
The blue light of his new eyes still pulsed faintly within his pupils, reflecting off his skin like fragments of another dimension.
He took a calm breath and straightened his posture.
"All right," he muttered, his tone turning more practical—though still unmistakably dramatic. "Next comes preparation."
Memories of the system's features surfaced immediately. If he had a Status, then naturally, he should also have a System Shop.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, as if triggered by a mental command, a new interface appeared before him.
A translucent, blue-glowing panel unfolded from the right side, displaying a neatly arranged list of items—like a catalog of artifacts from countless other worlds.
Gabriel smiled faintly.
"Good. Let's see… what Ash can use to take his first step."
After five minutes of browsing through items that were still within his budget, Gabriel finally purchased a White Multifunction Tactical Shovel for 200 system points.
He bestowed upon it the name Silver Grave Keeper, and in his dramatic conviction, it was the most powerful artifact ever created by humankind.
Unfortunately, the Gigan detected absolutely no special aura, cursed energy, or reality distortion coming from the shovel.
To be honest, Gabriel was slightly disappointed at this point.
To him, this proved—or rather, he firmly believed—that even the Gigan had its flaws: its inability to perceive the hidden grandeur of Silver Grave Keeper.
(Author's Note: This exists solely within the MC's highly imaginative mind, of course.) (lol)
However, Gabriel quickly set that feeling aside, as he proceeded to purchase several other essential items:
Mid-Grade Healing Potion for 500 points
Military Biscuit Rations for 5 points
One Bottle of Mineral Water for 5 points
Total expenditure: 710 system points, leaving 380 points remaining in his balance.
After that, Gabriel quickly assembled the shovel's handle, secured its storage sheath to his waist beneath the raincoat, and packed the mineral water, potion, and rations.
Before he realized it, the twenty minutes granted by the System had completely run out. A holographic notification announcing his first mission appeared before him.
Ding!
[Herald serial number 95.111 has used up the twenty minutes granted by the System.]
[Loading an appropriate mission…]
________________
Mission Title: Highschool of the Dead
Difficulty Level: Easy
Number of Participants: 1
Number of Main Missions: 3
Main Mission 1: Kill 500 Zombies. The number of zombies killed will affect the System Evaluation.
Main Mission 2: Form a survivor group with characters from that world, with a maximum of 5 members. The number of members gathered will affect the System Evaluation.
Main Mission 3: Obtain 5,000 System Points. The amount of system points collected will affect the System Evaluation.
Time Limit: 3 Months
Penalty: 1,000 system points will be deducted for each main mission that is not completed.
Reward: To be determined after all main missions are completed.
________________
Reading the destination world estimate—Highschool of the Dead—along with its details, including the number of zombies he was required to kill, Gabriel suddenly choked on air.
"Cough—cough!" His chuunibyou mask collapsed instantly. "Hah...!? Five hundred zombies!? Are you kidding me!?"
The very next second, Gabriel vanished like sand scattered by the wind, leaving the room behind as if someone had just pressed ALT + F4 on his very existence.
***
The sky was a brilliant blue, almost completely cloudless. The heat was oppressive, and the leaves on the trees had begun to turn yellow—the first signs of autumn's arrival.
Yet beneath that clear sky stood Fujimi Academy, presenting a scene that was anything but normal, peaceful, or calm.
Screams echoed across the school grounds. Students ran in blind panic, crashing into doors, desks, and even one another. Some were trampled underfoot.
Bags, shoes, exam papers, and textbooks lay scattered across the ground like fragments of an ordinary life that had just been shattered.
Near the school gate, a fallen male student desperately tried to crawl away from a P.E. teacher who had already changed—ashen skin, hollow eyes, and a jaw hanging at an unnatural angle.
"Get away… get away…"
The teacher leaned down… then bit into the student's back with a horrifying tearing sound.
"Graaaa…!!!"
Blood sprayed across the courtyard.
The student's scream ripped through the air.
On the other side of the courtyard, two female students ran while crying—but one of them was suddenly grabbed by the hand of a classmate who had just changed.
The girl screamed as her friend—who had been joking with her only minutes ago—brutally sank her teeth into her neck.
"It hurts, it hurts… stop it, Hinata-chan…!"
Not far from there, a group of students hiding on the stairway watched in horror as one of them began to convulse, his body shaking violently.
They called his name, begged for help—but within mere seconds…
The student's movements stopped. His body went limp. His neck slowly twisted as he began to stand back up—eyes empty, devoid of life.
"R-run… run!!" one of them screamed before everything dissolved into chaos.
A classroom window shattered from the inside as a student leapt out, chased by two zombified math teachers.
The sounds of breaking bones, frantic footsteps, and hysterical screams merged into one, forming a symphony of chaos that swallowed the entire school.
Fujimi Academy was no longer a school. It had become a hunting ground, and the students were nothing more than prey who had only just realized that the end of the world had begun.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of one of the school buildings, Gabriel knelt down, his head lowered, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Gigan's magic circles manifested before him, radiating a brilliant blue light that nearly swallowed his vision whole.
A liquid like a cascading rainbow waterfall poured continuously from his mouth, as if his body were expelling its own insides.
In truth, this was not a single bout of vomiting—it was the second time, occurring back to back: once immediately after being transported to this world, and again after using the Gigan to gather information by forcibly hacking into the eyes of every surrounding existence.
Gabriel's sickness was not without reason.
The Gigan had unintentionally accessed the deepest memories of everything it perceived—including the final moments of the students who had now become zombies.
What did Gabriel see?
A male student being dragged down a corridor by zombies, choking as his life was crushed out of him—his face turning deathly pale before his body was torn apart.
A teacher bitten in the neck, eyes wide with panic, blood dripping from his mouth as his body shut down on the staircase.
A female student running across the courtyard, tripping and being crushed by zombies—her right arm torn from her body, blood splattering against the wall.
The moments when newly turned students struggled against their final instincts—staring at friends who were still alive before finally sinking into the urge to hunt—made Gabriel's stomach churn.
Worse still, he briefly saw the world from the perspective of a zombie devouring a human—as if he himself had become that creature.
Even if his vomiting looked almost comical, the horror it represented was undeniable.
Gabriel now understood that this world was far more terrifying than any chuunibyou fantasy he had ever imagined.
Before long, Gabriel stopped vomiting and forced himself to steady his breathing.
"…ugh… how disgraceful for Ash to be throwing up like this," he muttered, his face still pale.
Inside his mind, Gabriel kept reassuring himself to remain calm and strong, even though both his body and thoughts were still violently shaken.
At last, he let out a long breath. The activation of the Gigan that had been hacking into every eye around him ceased, and the magic circles surrounding him faded away at the same time.
Gabriel straightened up, gripping the Multifunction Tactical Shovel—the one he had bestowed with the name Grave Keeper—in his right hand, ready to face the chaos unfolding below.