Chapter 4

I arrived at the Hero Association Examination Center.

"Whoa!"

It was a massive infrastructure, bigger than a medium-sized arena. People who wished to be heroes continuously poured inside.

As I walked towards the entrance, I couldn't help but admire how thick the wall was. I even started to think that not even atomic bombs could tip off the ceiling.

I walked in line and patiently waited for my turn to register.

After filling out my information on the document, I handed it in and walked towards the staff.

"Power?" she asked, seemingly unimpressed by my looks.

"Uh... Abnormal strength, I guess...?"

Indeed, based on what I've seen of my feats so far, this answer was the closest. I wanted to say Unparalleled Strength, but that felt like an exaggeration, even though I've seen that my strength is quite worthy of that power name.

"Alright, head over there and the staff will measure your 'Abnormal Strength'."

Is she making fun of me?

I frowned but didn't put any more thought into it.

Heroes with Super Strength typically have buff, giant bodies. They earned their strength by pushing their bodies to the limit and evolving along the way.

Some of them even made it to the S-class, like Tank Top Master, the Rank 14 S-class, and especially Superalloy Darkshine, the Rank 11 S-class.

Though there are some heroes naturally gifted with strength, like Sweet Mask, who has still kept his slim body.

I can't blame her for thinking I was joking about my strength. My face looks boring and slightly above average, and while I've gained some muscle, I know people would judge my power based on my appearance. After all, I haven't gained any popularity yet.

I walked over to the area and watched as the staff continued to instruct aspiring heroes.

After a moment, it was my turn...

"Next!"

"Do side-to-side jumps for 30 seconds!"

I did as instructed.

My feet went through the ground as I moved left and right at lightning speed. Time slowed down in my perception, but I could still see the shock on their faces.

Thirty seconds later...

"Tha- that's amazing! I'm sure you'll rise through the rankings fast based on your strength."

The staff complimented me, and I nodded at him.

"Now, head over to the track area over there."

"Do a 1500-meter run!"

I easily completed that within a second and a half.

"Next!"

It was now the weight lifting.

"Pick the weight you can lift and head over there."

The staff pointed.

"What are you doing there?"

I walked in front of the heaviest weight.

"This... I will lift it."

He frowned.

It seemed that he didn't see me break everything in the previous tests.

"Okay, lift that then and head over there."

I easily lifted the giant weight with one hand and started walking.

Tremor----!

The ground shook every time I took a step.

The eyes of the staff from before widened.

"There's... there's no need to lift that anymore, you've already shown you can lift it."

"Okay."

I gently placed the giant dumbbell, weighing tons, on the floor, causing a small earthquake.

After that, I headed over and completed the remaining tests.

I then completed the written test. It was quite easy, but I'm not confident that I perfected it.

"Let's see, what rank did I get..."

I had already received the documents about my rank while changing in the locker room.

I slowly revealed the paper to my eyes.

"What's this?"

I was expecting a letter, but what I got was [Unranked] instead.

Is this normal?

Frowning, I headed outside the locker room to ask for clarification, but as I was about to leave...

-----Mr. Renji, please head to Hall 1.

I heard a woman's voice.

Deciding to find out what was going on, I headed towards the location.

I opened the door of Hall 1 to find a man with blue hair sitting there with an indifferent expression.

"Sweet Mask..."

Noticing me, he stood up and smiled.

"You came."

He stretched out his hand, offering a handshake.

I took it without hesitation.

"Hmm?"

I suddenly felt pressure in my hand. It was weak but noticeable. I didn't counter it, afraid of what might happen to his hand.

He was still smiling at me, but I could see veins popping in his neck.

"You should stop now before you lose a hand..."

"Ah. I see... You're strong. They're right about you."

"Who?"

"Nothing."

Annoyed, I placed my rank documents in front of him.

"What's this? I don't think I failed any of the tests, though?"

"Forgive me, but would you come with me to the Hero Association headquarters? You will get your answers there."

"Hmm. Alright."

This situation is weird, but it's not like they can do anything to me. I will just destroy them if they try something.

After all, the number of people who can fight me can be counted on one hand, and even they don't have a chance of beating me.

The only person who can fight toe to toe with me must be Saitama.

And if the creator of the Ticket is a human, he probably can also remove my power with a snap of his fingers.

I followed Sweet Mask outside, where a menacing helicopter was waiting for us.

One hour later.

We arrived at the Hero Association headquarters. It was taller than I thought, standing tall and giving off the impression that it wouldn't fall even if a nuke hit it.

We soon entered a massive room without windows. There were already people in the room waiting for us.

After we arrived at the center, Sweet Mask left.

I stood there, waiting for them to say something.

Suddenly, a holographic screen appeared above their heads.

The scene on the screen was very familiar to me...

It's the place where I first tested my power.

"Do you know what happened here?"

I see where this is going...

"Yeah. After all..."

I smiled.

"I'm the one who did that."

Their eyes widened.

"I see..."

"As you can see, we ordered the staff to leave you unranked because we wanted to confirm something. The performance you showed is record-breaking, which would automatically promote you to the top of B-class. But with this confirmation, we would promote you to S-class directly."

"...."

While I know that I deserve this because of my current power, it was still a little surprising.

S-class is the pinnacle of strength for all heroes, being there means instant fame and money.

I thought I would have to climb the ladder of the heroes hierarchy, but it looks like I made an opportunity for myself because of that incident.

"We are hoping to see your performance as a hero."

It looked like they believed what I said, but there were still some doubts. Well, I will erase those doubts within days...

I arrived at the entrance and quickly left by jumping into the sky.

They offered me a ride in the helicopter, but I'm faster. And I love this feeling...