"Saitama?"
"Oh? You know me? It seems I'm somewhat famous." Saitama's eyes lit up, and a joyful smile appeared on his face.
At this time, Saitama had not yet met Genos, nor had he joined the Hero Association. He was acting as a hero out of pure hobby.
"I'm probably the only one who knows you. Would you like to join the Hero Association when you have time?" King coaxed.
Before Saitama could answer, a huge shadow loomed over him.
"Oh no!"
Seeing Super Mouse launching a sneak attack on Saitama, King felt a sense of foreboding.
Boom!
Super Mouse's body turned into a mist of blood, left without even a trace after being punched by Saitama.
'My Talent Points!'
King felt his heart bleeding. The duration of the trial card had expired, and this trip had yielded nothing.
"The benefits at the Hero Association are quite good. You should go take the association's test when you have time."
King shook his head helplessly, though he thought it wouldn't be bad to introduce Saitama to the Hero Association earlier. After all, his current status and strength were all obtained by stealing his credit.
"Do I have to take a test to be a hero?"
Saitama tilted his head in confusion.
"Yes, otherwise, if you just act as a hero based on pure passion, no one will ever know." King said.
"I see. I was wondering, logically speaking, having killed so many monsters, I should at least have some kind of fan club or something." Saitama suddenly realized.
He often saw reports about heroes on TV, and he often saw figures of other heroes in stores, feeling very envious.
"What is your name?"
"My name is... Kotaro. Like you, I also work as a hero out of interest."
King paused for a moment and decided to introduce himself to Saitama with a new identity. After all, King was just too famous, and he didn't want to reveal his true identity until he could truly stand on his own with his strength.
"So that's how it is. I didn't expect you to be an amateur hero too. In that case, let's go to the Hero Association for certification together."
Saitama was overjoyed. It turned out there were people in this world like him who were heroes out of interest. His favorability towards King increased instantly, and he immediately extended an invitation.
"Sure. I live in M-City. There happens to be a Hero Association ranking test in two days, I'll let you know then."
Although a Talent Trial Card was wasted on this trip, being able to befriend Saitama made it all worth it.
The two exchanged phone numbers and parted ways happily.
'Monster Association, just you wait. Sooner or later, I will wipe you all out as a hero, leaving none behind.' A cold glint flashed in King's eyes.
The Monster Association was just a beginning for him. There were even more powerful enemies like God waiting ahead.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for assisting in killing a Peak Demon-level monster. Obtained 500 Talent Points and one Talent Trial Card.]
'Great! I didn't expect to get a reward this way.' King was overjoyed.
He had thought that he could only get rewards by killing monsters alone. He didn't expect assists to count too, which would make obtaining Talent Points much easier in the future.
'As expected of the Monster Association, any monster that comes out is at peak Demon-level.'
King realized the power of the Monster Association at this moment. If it weren't for him possessing multiple S-Class talents, other lower-ranked S-Class Heroes might not necessarily be a match for Super Mouse.
'What talent does this Talent Trial Card have?'
King checked the card, full of anticipation. As long as it wasn't Puri-Puri Prisoner again, he could happily accept it. Right now, other than his mask, he only had his underwear left, tightly guarding his last bit of dignity.
[Ding! Obtained one B-Class Rank 1 Fubuki Talent Trial Card. Duration: 30 Minutes. Validity: 1 week.]
Talent: Psychokinesis (Wind Control)
Skill: Hell Storm
Talent Growth Value: 50%
'Awesome, it's actually Fubuki's Psychokinesis!' King's eyes lit up.
Fubuki and Tatsumaki are the famous sister duo of the Hero Association. Although Fubuki's Psychokinesis level is naturally inferior to her sister's, its power is not to be underestimated.
'Talent Growth Value 50%?'
King keenly observed that this Talent Trial Card seemed different. Previously, Puri-Puri Prisoner's talent relied on the degree of nudity to measure combat power, but this time, Fubuki's talent actually came with a certain amount of talent growth points.
'Tch, how stingy. If you're going to give it, why not give the full amount? Only 50%? Who are you looking down on?' King thought with dissatisfaction.
After all, in the original series, Blizzard's performance wasn't very impressive, and compared to other heroes, she was even a bit of a burden, but her popularity wasn't low due to her impressive figure.
[According to rank classification, Fubuki's Psychokinesis talent has about 10% Talent Growth Value.]
'So that's why even though both are Psychokinesis, her strength is so much worse than Tatsumaki's.'
King was now quite looking forward to the Talent Trial Card in his hand.
Fubuki's strength always hovered between Demon-level and Dragon-level monsters and her combat power relied entirely on wind-controlling Psychokinesis. Now that the Talent Trial Card came with 50%, the power was fully five times that of her own. This level was probably enough to go head-to-head with a Dragon-level monster.
King returned home happily, took off his mask, and looked at the face with three terrifying scars in the mirror.
"Just wait. It won't be long before I appear before the world as the truly strongest on Earth, head held high."
—
Two days later.
King packed his gear, put on his mask, and set off for A-City, the Hero Association headquarters.
He had already spoken with Saitama on the phone and the two had decided to meet in A-City.
"The weather today is really nice."
King pedaled his bicycle leisurely towards the center of A-City, but the roaring sounds coming from the city at this moment caught his attention.
Above A-City, a purple humanoid monster gathered dozens of energy balls in its hands, bombarding the buildings, causing huge explosions everywhere.
"Run! It's a monster!"
"Damn it, isn't the Hero Association headquarters in A-City? What are they eating? Heroes! Where are the heroes?!"
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz...
Alarms kept blaring from the Hero Association headquarters.
Jess and the others were extremely anxious.
"Have you notified the heroes to rush over?"
"We have already notified Lightning Max and Smile Man to rush over, and we are confirming the monster's level."
"I hope it's not too late." Jess frowned.
A-City was the location of the Hero Association headquarters. If the monster caused large-scale destruction, it would have a huge impact on the association's reputation.
Unfortunately, what they didn't know was that at this moment, A-Class Rank 19 Lightning Max and A-Class Rank 27 Smile Man were already lying in the ruins, unconscious.