'This talent is simply tailor-made for me.'
A gleam of excitement flashed in King's eyes.
He remembered that in the original series, Zombieman had truly achieved immortality. As long as his body wasn't reduced to ashes, he could recover after some time. However, to reach the level of Zombieman, the talent growth value would likely need to reach one hundred percent. At the current level, he could probably only heal some minor wounds.
'System, max out the talent growth value for Undying Body.'
King gritted his teeth and used all one hundred thousand talent growth points.
What could be more important than his life?
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for fusing with the talent Undying Body. Talent growth value is 100% (maxed).]
King felt a warm current surge through his entire body, and his physical strength instantly increased tenfold.
'It seems Undying Body brings more than just recovery.'
King clenched his fists and felt his body filled with explosive power. With his current strength alone, he could probably rival some C-Class Heroes.
Squelch!
A sharp blade slashed across, leaving a deep, bone-visible wound on King's arm, but it recovered to normal in just a moment.
"Hiss.... This recovery ability is terrifying." King was overjoyed.
The recovery ability of his Undying Body was now likely even greater than Zombieman's. This was the effect of maxing out the talent growth value.
S-Class Rank 3 Hero, 'Silver Fang' Bang, Talent: Martial Arts Master, Skills: Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, Cross Fang Dragon Slayer Fist.
S-Class Rank 4 Hero, Atomic Samurai, Talent: Swordmaster.
S-Class Rank 7 Hero, King, Talent: Strongest Summoning Technique.
"Huh?"
King's expression became strange. He hadn't expected his personal talent to actually be a summoning technique.
However, in the original series, Saitama appeared just in time at the most critical moments to help him resolve crises. Even his position as the S-Class Rank 7 Hero, the strongest man on Earth, was achieved by stealing credit from Saitama.
'System, I don't need to redeem this talent of my own, right?'
King was a bit speechless. The system had promised to give him an S-Class talent for free. If it were used for his own talent, it would be a huge loss.
[Ding! Strongest Summoning Technique is an S-Class talent carried by the host, and the talent growth value is already maxed out. Talents already possessed will not be redeemed repeatedly, it will only increase the talent growth value.]
"Whew... That's good." King breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that he already possessed Undying Body, he wondered what the next S-Class talent would be.
However, the talents of S-Class Heroes were all quite monstrous. Except for the talent of Puri-Puri Prisoner, which required being naked to unleash the strongest combat power—something that an introvert like him couldn't accept.
'System, draw the talent.'
As the interface began to spin, King's heart raced, and finally, the screen slowly came to a stop.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the S-Class talent, Fighting Spirit.]
S-Class Rank 16 Hero, 'Metal Bat' Bad, Talent: Fighting Spirit (infinite stacking), Skill: Savage Tornado
"Wonderful!"
King was beaming with joy when he saw the talent. Although Metal Bat was ranked sixteenth, he was a special existence in his own right. In the original series, he even nearly took down Garou by relying on his continuously stacking Fighting Spirit. Many even believed that as long as Metal Bat didn't die and his Fighting Spirit stacked infinitely, the resulting power would likely be no less than Saitama's Normal Punch, enough to instantly kill a Dragon-level monster.
'Undying Body combined with Fighting Spirit—it seems I can go challenge some high-level monsters.'
King contemplated his path forward. The two years of bitter waiting hadn't been in vain. He now possessed three S-Class talents simultaneously, two of which had maxed-out talent growth values.
[Host: King]
[Talents: Undying Body (maxed), Strongest Summoning Technique (maxed), Fighting Spirit (0%)]
[Skills: Savage Tornado]
[Physical Strength: B-Class]
"With B-Class physical strength, I shouldn't have any problems dealing with Tiger-level monsters now." King muttered to himself.
Just then, a piercing siren sounded outside the house.
"Monster alert! Signs of large-scale monster activity have appeared in M-City! All citizens, please hurry to the shelters! The Hero Association has dispatched heroes to handle the situation!"
Rumble!
A roar like an earthquake came from underground. Numerous cracks appeared on the ground, and one figure after another leaped out from them.
"Ah! It's monsters! Run!"
"Heroes! Where are the heroes? Help!"
The people on the streets were panicked, crowding and pushing each other as they fled toward the shelters. Cries for help and weeping could be heard everywhere.
"Waaah! Mommy!"
A boy had been separated from his family. Surrounded by a panicked, fleeing crowd, his eyes were filled with fear and helplessness. He could only stand in place, crying while calling out for his family.
"Hahaha, foolish humans, come and welcome your king!"
A cockroach-like monster leaped out from a crack in the ground and laughed loudly while looking at the humans fleeing in all directions. However, it soon noticed the boy standing all alone.
"Conquering the surface dwellers will start with you!"
A blade slashed across, but there was no blood splatter.
"Hmm?"
The space in front of the monster was empty, the little boy had reappeared several meters away.
"Little one, you have to go find your mom on your own now."
"Mister, are you a hero?"
The little boy looked at the person in front of him wearing a black mask, a glimmer of hope appearing in his eyes.
"I suppose so. This is the first time I am officially acting as a hero."
After the boy left, King turned to face the monster. With three S-Class talents, he wouldn't run away from monsters again.
"Heroes? In front of us Subterraneans, you are all ants."
Swish... Swish...
The two blades in the Subterraneans' hands danced. King did not dodge at all and slammed a punch into the monster's body.
Pfft!
Several deep wounds appeared on King's body, but the monster was also sent flying by the punch.
"Hahaha, foolish hero, just die from blood loss like that..."
King's strength had exceeded the monster's expectations, but seeing him bleeding profusely, the monster wore a smug smile.
However, a moment later, it could no longer laugh. King's wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and within just a few moments, they had fully recovered.
"You... what kind of monster are you?"
The monster's expression was mixed with shock and fear, but King's figure lunged forward again.
Boom... Boom...
Countless punches slammed into the monster's body, and the power grew stronger with each strike. Finally, after King's last punch, the monster's body could no longer withstand it and was shattered into pieces.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Low Wolf-level monster. Reward: 5 talent points!]