In truth, it wasn't that Sylvia had no way of teaching Fubuki.
Although Sylvia was a 'Strega' and Fubuki was an 'Esper', meaning their powers came from completely different systems, that limitation only applied to ordinary people.
For Sylvia, with her all-purpose abilities, reproducing telekinetic effects through her songs wasn't difficult at all. Since she could use such abilities herself, she naturally had ways to guide Fubuki.
The problem was, she had no intention of doing so.
Just as she had said before, if Fubuki truly wanted to become stronger, the first thing she needed to cast aside was the inferiority complex and obsession buried deep within her heart. Otherwise, if she ever lost her way, she might one day seek power by transforming into a Mysterious Being. That was not impossible.
For that reason, Sylvia didn't want to strengthen Fubuki's psychic powers; she wanted to strengthen Fubuki's heart. Only then could Fubuki become truly strong.
Whether Fubuki actually took those words to heart, no one knew. That very night, she left.
However, Fang Li soon noticed a shift. The leader of the Blizzard Group began dropping by the villa every few days, and before long, she and Sylvia had become close friends. Sometimes they would go shopping together.
Whenever Sylvia attended idol-related events, Fubuki would even accompany her, having her subordinates drive over specifically to pick her up and escort her.
Watching all of this, Fang Li didn't say a word. As time passed, Sylvia and Fubuki's friendship naturally grew stronger. As for Fang Li, Fubuki seemed to feel somewhat awkward around him and rarely dared to face him directly. Fang Li was perfectly happy with that arrangement.
When Fubuki wasn't visiting, he and Sylvia carried out hero activities together. When she did come over, Fang Li simply left the two women alone and went out to eliminate Mysterious Beings on his own. His destination was almost always the area around 'Z-City'.
Compared to the relatively peaceful A-City, disasters occurred frequently in Z-City, and Mysterious Beings appeared there on an almost daily basis. There was no reason for Fang Li not to patrol there.
During this period, he and Sylvia eliminated a considerable number of Mysterious Beings. Most of them were merely Wolf-level and Tiger-level creatures; only a handful reached Demon level.
During that time, Fang Li also received some news.
"Another rookie scored full marks on the Hero Certification Exam and was exceptionally promoted directly to S-Class?"
Strictly speaking, the notice had been sent to Sylvia; Fang Li merely heard about it from her. The moment he learned of it, however, he immediately knew who that "rookie" was.
Sure enough, after opening the Hero Association's official website and checking the latest Hero Certification Exam roster, he quickly found a familiar photograph: a handsome young man with a cold expression and eyes resembling electronic instruments.
Who else could it be besides 'Genos'?
Like Sylvia before him, Genos had earned perfect scores in both the written examination and the physical tests. Combined with the Hero Association's long-standing interest in recruiting him, the committee immediately approved his exceptional promotion to S-Class upon his application.
Afterward, the committee contacted Sylvia. With Sweet Mask's current whereabouts unknown, Sylvia had become the Hero Association's only remaining advisor. Since another exceptional S-Class promotion required the advisor's approval, the committee naturally sought her opinion.
After learning about the matter, Sylvia discussed it with Fang Li. His response was simple: "Approve it."
Following Fang Li's suggestion, Sylvia officially gave her approval. Thus, Genos became the nineteenth S-Class Hero, ranked immediately behind Fang Li.
"But..." Sylvia looked puzzled. "Didn't Genos-kun say he wasn't interested in becoming a hero? Why did he suddenly take the certification exam?"
Fang Li answered without hesitation. "Probably because Saitama took the exam, and Genos simply followed him."
That was, in fact, exactly what had happened.
After learning about the Hero Association from Fang Li, Saitama became interested. After all, the reason he had begun training in the first place, eventually breaking his Limiter and becoming an inhuman existence, was because he had wanted to become a hero. He had always described himself the same way: "I'm just a hero for fun."
Now that he knew there was an official Hero Association, it was only natural that he decided to join. And since Genos followed Saitama in almost everything, he naturally registered as well.
As a result, Genos became the second person in nearly two years, after Sylvia, to receive a perfect score and an exceptional promotion to S-Class.
As for Saitama...
"C-Class?" Seeing Saitama's blank-looking photo listed in the Hero Registry, Fang Li couldn't help curling his lips.
That's right. Genos had become an S-Class Hero. Saitama, on the other hand, had only become a C-Class Hero.
The reason was simple. Although he scored a perfect fifty out of fifty in the physical examination, he managed only twenty-one points on the written test. His total score was seventy-one, just barely above the seventy-point passing mark required to become a hero.
Naturally, his ranking couldn't be very high. He entered the Association as the very last-ranked C-Class Hero. In other words, the strongest person in the entire Hero Association officially held the lowest rank.
"What a ridiculous system..."
Still, Fang Li had no intention of interfering. Whether Saitama ranked first or last had absolutely nothing to do with him, so he simply ignored it and continued carrying out his own mission.
Before long, his Main Quest progress reached approximately '800 Killing Points' out of the required '10,000'.
"So slow..."
It really was. Demon-level Mysterious Beings were extremely rare. Even when they appeared, each only granted one hundred Killing Points. As for Wolf-level and Tiger-level monsters, accumulating points by hunting those was painfully inefficient.
"Won't a Dragon-level Mysterious Being show up already?" Driving toward the disaster-prone Z-City, Fang Li couldn't help sighing. "Though... even if one did appear, Saitama would probably eliminate it before anyone else could."
With that guardian stationed in Z-City, no matter how powerful a Mysterious Being was, it would never have the chance to cause real chaos.
"Maybe I should check another disaster zone instead."
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Fang Li's eyes suddenly narrowed. His 'Enemy Detection Skill' reacted like a blaring alarm.
An enemy was approaching. And not a weak one.
'Whoosh, '
A sharp sound cut through the air. Without the slightest hesitation, Fang Li yanked the steering wheel.
'Screech!'
The luxury sedan spun violently across the road, its tires shrieking against the pavement. Almost simultaneously, a black shadow plummeted from above.
'BOOM!'
It crashed heavily onto the exact spot where the car had been only an instant earlier, and a thunderous explosion erupted.
(End Of This Chapter)
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