"Alright, Ben. Don't worry about Ghostfreak or whatever," Ethen said as he sat beside Ben, casually comforting him.
"With your good buddy here, what's there to be afraid of? If he dares mess around, I'll deal with him."
"Well… it's not that I'm scared," Ben said, forcing calm while panic churned inside him.
"I'm just… kind of confused."
The two chatted idly, and Ben's mood slowly stabilized.
Grandpa Max's hearty voice rang out.
"Alright, hurry up and eat breakfast. After that, I'm taking you to visit a prestigious private school so you can experience some academic atmosphere!"
"Okay!"
Aside from Gwen, both boys looked half-dead with sleepiness.
Inside the Omnitrix, cold eyes opened.
A sinister voice echoed.
"Ethen… what do you think you are? Do you really believe a little brute force can defeat me, the King of Darkness? You're naive… and arrogant, human brat!"
Zs'Skayr sneered.
He would make Ethen lose—miserably.
Even though it was summer vacation, the elite private school was still operating normally. Students moved about the campus.
A blue-haired girl, dressed elegantly, walked at the front.
Grandpa Max and the others followed behind.
"To be admitted to our school," the girl explained meticulously, "students must demonstrate both academic excellence and refined conduct—"
Gwen's eyes sparkled with admiration.
Ethen walked with his hands in his pockets, bored out of his mind.
"Hey," Ben nudged him.
"Your grades aren't as good as mine, right? That's why you don't care about this stuff."
"That's not it," Ethen replied flatly.
"My grades are excellent. I just don't need this."
"…Uh, right," Ben said stiffly, forcing an awkward smile.
As they talked, the group entered a dim, deserted corridor.
Their shadows stretched naturally across the wall.
Except for Ben's.
His shadow twisted—
Transforming into a horrifying Ghostfreak silhouette!
"AH!!"
Ben screamed and stumbled back.
Grandpa Max's expression hardened instantly, recalling what had happened earlier.
The blue-haired girl frowned impatiently.
"Please don't play pranks," she said sharply.
"That sort of thing only scares immature children."
"Hehehe…"
A chilling, ghastly voice echoed through the corridor.
Everyone's blood ran cold.
Ben clenched his fists, shaking violently.
Ethen glanced at Grandpa Max and silently mouthed a few words.
Grandpa Max nodded.
"Oh—uh, it's nothing," he said calmly.
"Just Ethen and Ben fooling around. Let's keep moving."
He turned around decisively, leading the girl and Gwen forward.
Their figures slowly disappeared.
The corridor became silent.
Empty.
Only Ethen and Ben remained.
"Ethen…" Ben swallowed hard.
"Shouldn't we follow them? Somewhere with more people?"
Ethen's voice was cold and steady.
"Zs'Skayr. If you want to fight importing your consciousness— I, Ethen, will fight you to the end."
"Hehehe…! And how exactly do you plan to fight to the end?!"
Ghostfreak's shadow twisted violently.
A claw pierced straight through Ethen's shadow—
As if tearing his body apart!
Ben staggered back in terror.
Bang!
Ethen snapped his hand forward.
A prototype tool deployed instantly, forming a heavy gauntlet around his fist.
He punched the wall.
BOOM!
The wall collapsed, sunlight flooding in.
Ghostfreak's shadow screamed and vanished.
"Is that all you've got?" Ethen asked disdainfully.
"…Uh," Ben hesitated.
"Ethen, you just broke the wall. Are we going to have to pay for that?"
Whoosh!!
The Omnitrix suddenly sprouted illusory green tentacles, striking outward!
Ben jumped back.
Ethen didn't even look at them.
His gaze locked directly onto the Omnitrix.
"Is this really all you can do, Ghostfreak…?"
"No. Zs'Skayr."
"…DAMN YOU, KID!!" Zs'Skayr roared.
He wasn't angry just because of Ethen's contempt—
But because Ethen had seen through him completely.
His identity.
His nature.
Everything.
The one who thought he held all the secrets had become the clown instead.
"That's why you piss me off!! You two better not sleep tonight!!"
"Ben," Ethen said bluntly, turning his head.
"Open the Omnitrix. Select Ghostfreak. Transform."
"He—he'll come out!" Ben panicked.
"I know," Ethen replied calmly.
"That's exactly what I want. I want him out—so I can fight him."
Ben hesitated no longer.
Click. Click.
The Omnitrix activated.
At the same time—
Ethen activated the God Watch.
Whoosh!!
Green light and divine starlight erupted together.
"Hahahaha—!! I'M FREE!!"
Zs'Skayr burst forth in green energy!
Bang!
Ben was violently ejected, slamming into the floor.
He stared in shock.
"Ghostfreak… he really escaped!"
"You pathetic brats!" Zs'Skayr snarled.
"Your doomsday has arrived!"
He sneered at Ben—
Then turned forward.
"…What?"
The divine light faded.
Standing there was a towering, four-armed figure.
Massive.
Muscular.
Four eyes blazing.
A Tetramand—
Yet his body was pitch-black, filled with swirling starlight.
A Celestial Four Arms.
A god wearing a warrior's form.
Gulp.
Zs'Skayr instinctively stepped back.
"I'll leave you breathing," the Celestial Four Arms said calmly.
"Ben, I'll still need you later."
Elsewhere, inside the school laboratory—
The blue-haired girl was proudly introducing a display of solid-gold trophies.
"These are all achievements earned by our students—"
CRASH!!
The window shattered.
Thumbskull climbed inside, grinning viciously.
SSSSSS!!
Acid Breath followed, melting the display case with corrosive slime.
Finally, Frightwig slithered in, her living hair of snakes snatching trophies mid-air.
Grandpa Max and Gwen hid to the side, staring in disbelief.
The Circus Freak Trio…
Had returned to the world.
...
Author's Note:
The fanfic Ben 10: Daily Check-In System Activated! Part 1 is now fully completed.
The entire story has been uploaded on Patreon as a dedicated collection:
📚 Ben 10 (Chapters 1–132)
Organized into 14 posts, with multiple chapters per post for easy binge reading.
🔗 patreon.com/Shadow_demon_007
Thank you all for your continuous support and love for this story 💙