"The mage is incredible—those Pro Heroes couldn't handle the villain, but he took it down like nothing!"
"I didn't believe it at first either. How could a teenager who hasn't even reached adulthood pass the Pro Hero License Exam? …But after seeing this, he absolutely deserves the title."
"He's not just a Pro Hero—he runs his own agency! I'm so jealous…"
With the sludge villain defeated, cheers and excited chatter erupted from the crowd.
Firefighters and police finally arrived to handle the cleanup.
Pro Heroes from Lock's agency helped gather the scattered pieces of sludge into containment bottles.
Meanwhile, police officers began taking statements from the witnesses, documenting everything.
Lock also learned why All Might had been hunting down the sludge villain—Number M's Invisible Raincoat form.
The Evolution stronghold he'd destroyed earlier had sent out a researcher carrying hundreds of Quirk-enhancement potions.
They'd split up to distribute the potions and gather intel.
Iron Shark was among them—but while searching for M's invisible cloak, he had been ambushed and swallowed whole by the villain's Quirk.
After surrendering, Arashi Okora confessed everything.
The police needed the captured sludge villain as a sample to study the Evolution organization's enhancement drugs.
Thus, All Might had personally taken the Hero Commission to capture Number M's invisible raincoat variant.
This villain had been hiding ever since—until today.
As for the Quirk-enhancement potions, everything now depended on what the police could extract through interrogation.
And Arashi Okora—thanks to turning himself in and displaying remorse—was sentenced to only three years.
At that moment, the cold mechanical voice of the system echoed in Lock's mind:
[Congratulations to the Host for completing the side mission.
Reward: One B-Rank Lottery Draw.]
With the B-rank lottery secured and the villain subdued, Lock decided it was time to leave.
Midoriya Izuku would be fine.
He would surely be approached by All Might and inherit One For All as the ninth successor.
Reporters soon swarmed in to conduct interviews.
Lock disliked interviews, so he let Mt. Lady deal with it.
She happily posed for cameras—despite having contributed absolutely nothing.
Bakugo, meanwhile, was undergoing a medical check—but he didn't say a word.
He only stared silently in the direction where Lock had left.
He'd been overwhelmed…
and rescued…
by the same person.
His pride took a direct hit, leaving him tangled in stubborn, complicated emotions.
Eventually, the sun began to set.
Pro Heroes from Lock's agency returned to their patrol commissions.
Employees still had shifts to finish.
Unlike them, their boss headed straight home.
On the way, he met Jiro Kyoka and Baruch.
The three stopped by the mall, bought rice and vegetables, then returned home together.
"Stay for dinner too," Lock said casually, gesturing toward Baruch, who went straight to the kitchen to begin cooking as soon as they arrived.
"O-Okay."
Kyoka hesitated, then emailed her mother for permission, and finally nodded.
"Then let's continue our topic from this morning—your strength. It's dusk already, but that doesn't matter."
Lock entered his room, grabbed paper and a pen, and began writing.
The methods of cultivating magic power were engraved in his mind; he simply wrote them out.
"Magic…?"
Kyoka leaned over curiously, reading the words aloud.
"That's right. I'm actually still Quirkless. All my power comes from this."
"Ehh!?"
Kyoka's eyes flew open in shock.
As Lock continued writing, he demonstrated the same magic he once used in front of All For One at the League of Villains' bar.
And only then… did Kyoka finally understand—
—or rather, fail to understand anything at all.
Even with Lock's suspenseful hints, magic was still too surreal for her brain to process.
Kyoka inhaled deeply.
The amount of information was overwhelming.
But she still asked, voice trembling just a little:
"I… I can really learn this?"
"No problem. As long as you work hard and stay focused, you'll definitely feel magic."
Lock gently placed a hand on her head as reassurance, then handed her the written training method.
Kyoka bit her lip.
She was still nervous—anyone would be when confronted with something unknown.
But then she thought of Lock—her childhood friend—already a Pro Hero, already building a bright future.
Even if she entered U.A., the age regulations meant she couldn't work as early as he did.
His path was undoubtedly filled with greatness.
And if she continued taking slow, hesitant steps…
She would never catch up.
She would only watch his back from afar.
"I want to learn magic!"
Kyoka clenched her fists, her eyes bright with determination.
She followed the written instructions carefully while Lock guided her verbally—beginning her very first steps into basic magical training.
Lock simultaneously tested Kyoka's magic attribute—and discovered she possessed Thunder.
Thunder magic.
After obtaining Rumbling Thunder and Thunderous Wrath, Lock could deduce basic thunder-element spells. Experienced mages could infer many spells through analogy.
He pictured Kyoka using thunder magic in combination with her Earphone Jack Quirk:
Her heartbeat-boosted soundwaves blasting a villain—
followed by thunder magic channeling through her extended jacks—
Double attack. Double impact.
An insanely powerful combination.
"System—enter."
With Kyoka now exploring her magic flow on her own, Lock—having nothing to do—opened the system to use his newly earned B-rank draw.
"Use B-Rank lottery."
[Beginning B-Rank Lottery…]
[Congratulations!
You have obtained the magic "Breath of Death" (Joseph Pola). ]
In the next instant, the knowledge and battle experience of Joseph Pola—the master who wielded this magic—poured into Lock's mind.
[Breath of Death — Dark Magic.
Generates thick black miasma within a set range to induce fear.]
Joseph Pola, Guild Master of Phantom Lord, and one of the Ten Wizard Saints.
His dark magic radiated such oppressive evil that weak mages would fall sick just standing before him.
During the Phantom Lord arc, he battled Makarov of Fairy Tail—
a clash where Fairy Tail's legendary "Big Three" first appeared.
Makarov ultimately defeated him using Fairy Law.
Joseph lost both his guild's status and his Wizard Saint title.
A powerful early-series villain of Fairy Tail.
This magic, too, was predominantly supplementary—
a skill meant to intimidate and overwhelm.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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