On the final day of the month, the evaluations for all heroes had concluded.
The official professional hero ranking list was released to the general public at the same time. Among them, there were 6 S-Class heroes, 8 A-Class heroes, 186 B-Class heroes, and 675 C-Class heroes, a total of 875 individuals.
Aside from the S-Class, the remaining heroes would be deployed to various cities to handle local security. Unless special circumstances arose, heroes would rarely be reassigned to assist in other jurisdictions.
Simultaneously, the Disaster Detection System was officially activated. Working in full tandem with security robots, it was designed to provide precise localization of disasters and accurate judgments regarding disaster levels.
The Hero Association was now in full operation.
…
That same morning.
"Whoa, so this is the Hero Association Headquarters? Looks pretty grand."
Saitama looked up at the towering skyscraper before him and remarked with a hint of awe.
Glasses nodded. "I heard they're going to build an even more luxurious and imposing headquarters later. This place will eventually be designated as the A-City Branch Office."
"Oh…"
Taking advantage of his trip to report on his evaluation mission, Glasses had brought Saitama along to sign up for the Hero Association's new round of recruitment.
"Saitama, let's head in."
"Right!"
Upon entering the lobby, the duo was immediately stunned by the sheer volume of people.
"There are so many people."
"Actually, there are far fewer than during the last recruitment drive."
Many familiar faces were scattered through the crowd; likely, they were here to report on their missions just like Glasses was.
Scanning the room, Glasses pulled Saitama toward a bulletin board, walked him through the process listed there, and said, "Just follow the steps and you should be done quickly. I'll head up to report my mission first."
"Go ahead, go ahead. I can handle this on my own."
Saitama watched Glasses leave, gave the bulletin board a few more looks, and headed toward the first registration point.
After receiving his Hero Registration Form, he hit a snag at the very first question.
"Hero Name? Oh man, I never even thought about that."
Spinning his ballpoint pen rapidly between his nimble fingers, Saitama fell into deep thought.
"What should I call myself? Come to think of it, I only know Glasses' hero name. Is everyone's name that casual?"
"No, no, that can't be it. That's probably just Glasses' personal preference. It really is too simple. My hero name can't be too basic; it has to reflect how cool I am."
"Hmm... Supermarket Sale Voucher Man? No, that's not cool at all. Too outdated."
"Masked Superman Saitama? Sounds cool, but I don't wear a mask."
"King of Fire? That doesn't even make sense."
He spent a long time agonizing over it, coming up with several names only to reject them all. In the end, he simply wrote down his own name—"Saitama."
…
Meanwhile, having bid farewell to Saitama, Glasses took the elevator to the top floor and headed for the Chairman's office.
After two light knocks and a "Come in," Glasses took a deep breath, turned the handle, and pushed the door open.
To his surprise, someone incredibly familiar was already in the office with Chairman Aomori.
"Senpai!" Glasses blurted out instinctively.
Mumen Rider returned the greeting with a gentle smile.
Standing side-by-side, it felt as though they had returned to the days when they first received their evaluation missions.
Aomori's authoritative voice pulled them back from their nostalgia. "Your evaluation missions are over. Tell me your thoughts. Do you have any new insights or realizations?"
"I'll go first." Mumen Rider clenched his fist, which was still wrapped in bandages. His eyes grew misty as he reminisced. "To be honest, the moment I heard the mission details, I truly believed I couldn't do it. I thought it was something impossible to achieve in a lifetime."
"Later, under the guidance of Instructors Bang, Superalloy Darkshine, and Flashy Flash, as well as yours, Chairman Aomori, I realized that sometimes things aren't impossible. It just depends on whether you have the courage to risk everything and the backbone to take action."
The mist in his eyes cleared, replaced by a firm resolve. "That night, I threw the most brilliant punch of my life. From now on, I will continue to challenge my limits and become a true hero!"
"Senpai..." Looking at the radiant Mumen Rider, Glasses felt a twinge of self-consciousness.
"I see." Aomori remained noncommittal and turned to Glasses. "And you?"
"Uh," Glasses snapped back to attention and quickly spoke. "I observed the target for over ten days as instructed. I learned a great deal from him."
Recalling the moments spent with Saitama, he continued, "For instance, a qualified hero shouldn't care too much about how others look at them. Wanting to be a hero must first be your own desire. Also, one shouldn't give up on their dreams because of harsh conditions. Dreams are priceless."
"But what impacted me the most was the realization that when faced with an emergency, you shouldn't overthink things, or they might become irreversible. How to maintain the balance between thought and impulse is the challenge I must face next." Glasses remembered the encounter with the Mud Monster; it was the closest he had ever been to death, making the memory particularly vivid.
"Good. It seems you got along quite well with the target."
"Yes, he is a very pure person. I think he possesses the true spirit of a hero, so I brought him here today to register."
"Is that so?" Aomori nodded. "Very well. It seems both of you have improved through these missions, which was exactly my intention. The results of the evaluation aren't what matters most; what matters is whether you can benefit from them and go further on the path of a hero."
He flashed a smile. "Therefore, congratulations. You have both passed the evaluation."
"Phew…" Mumen Rider and Glasses both breathed a sigh of relief and spoke in unison, "Thank you for your guidance, Chairman!"
"No need to thank me; you earned this. Moving forward, you will be promoted to B-Class heroes and participate in upcoming hero activities."
"B-Class!"
The two looked at each other, both wearing excited grins. With the successful promotion to B-Class, the next goal was A-Class!
"Thank you, Chairman!"
"Mm. Keep it up!"
"Yes, sir!"
Once they left the office and entered the elevator, they could no longer suppress their joy and let out a cheer.
"This is great. We both kept our promise."
"Yeah."
"By the way, Glasses, what's your mission target's name? I'd really like to meet him."
"His name is Saitama. I think you two would get along very well."
"Saitama? That name sounds a bit familiar." Mumen Rider thought for a moment. "Probably just someone with the same name."
"Let's go wait for him in the first-floor lobby."
"Yeah, okay!"
…
Back in the office, Aomori suddenly began to laugh.
"I didn't expect Glasses to actually scout Saitama-sensei and bring him here."
Previously, he had been conflicted about how to deal with Saitama. On one hand, he worried that over-interfering might cause Saitama to lose his "invincible" power, which would be a massive loss for the side of justice. On the other hand, Aomori was intensely curious about the living, breathing Saitama, both regarding the truth behind his strength and his personal psyche.
After all, in his previous life, he had admired Saitama immensely. During the apocalypse, he had imagined countless times a "Caped Baldy" descending from the sky to save everyone.
It was because of this internal conflict that he had sent Glasses to observe him and let things develop naturally.
"Now that Saitama-sensei is set to become a member of the Hero Association, it's only logical and perfectly reasonable for me, as the Chairman, to want to show him some concern."
Best to bring one more person in, he thought.
Aomori looked at the registration forms that had just been delivered. Flipping through them, he spotted another familiar figure and mused, "These two really do share a certain fate."
He then called Ms. Fujiwara and instructed her to arrange for these two individuals to have a one-on-one interview with him after their written exam.
"That should be perfect."
…
At that moment, Saitama had just finished his physical exam and was heading to the second floor for the physical fitness test.
There were four others in his group. Saitama's gaze, or rather, the gaze of everyone present, was immediately drawn to one person in particular.
Because they were truly massive.
According to the law of universal gravitation, the larger an object is, the more attractive force it exerts. This was perfectly logical.
The woman was tall, wearing a dark green dress with shoulder-length forest-green hair. Her neck was fair and slender, her lips like cherries, and she had a high-bridged nose. Her green eyes were bright and clear, yet held a sharp, cold edge.
"Incredible. To think such a beautiful girl wants to be a hero too." Saitama, not yet the emotionally detached man he would become three years later, naturally had an eye for beauty.
"Onee-chan, you're so pretty!" Also in the group was a young girl with a small ponytail and a lily-shaped hair ornament. She looked petite and cute, but she was utterly eclipsed by those "mountains" beside her.
"My name is Lily. What's yours, onee-chan?"
"My name is Fubuki." The corners of Fubuki's mouth curved slightly, a momentary thaw that revealed a gentle expression, once again capturing everyone's attention.
She lowered her head to pat Lily's head and said with a smile, "Lily, you're coming to be a hero at such a young age?"
"I'm already fourteen! I'm not small!" Lily puffed out her cheeks. "And I've been studying martial arts since I was a kid. I'm strong!"
"Is that so? That's wonderful."
One tall and cold, the other small and cute. Their intimate conversation made everyone feel that this trip had been well worth it.
"I... my name is Eyelashes. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Tanktop Tiger of the Tank Topper Army. Ladies, since we're in the same group, how about we exchange contact info and be friends?"
"No thank you," Fubuki rejected him coldly.
"Uh, I'm Saitama." Since everyone was introducing themselves, Saitama gave his name simply, though no one paid him much mind.
As the five entered the testing area, they immediately noticed a large electronic screen hanging on the wall.
"That's the ranking for the physical test," Tanktop Tiger bragged, using info he'd heard from his older brother, Tanktop Black Hole. "They say whoever takes first place in each session gets scouted by the Association and enjoys benefits ordinary people don't get."
"Rankings?" Fubuki's eyes narrowed, and the atmosphere suddenly felt oppressive.
"Benefits?" Saitama wondered if there was a cash prize. His fighting spirit began to burn as he took point at a door, waiting for the person inside to finish.
"The current number one is Great Philosopher with 7,328 points," Eyelashes noted.
"Wow, I wonder how many points Lily can get."
"Hehe, just watch me perform." Tanktop Tiger knew the specific contents of the test and had practiced hard for this very day, hoping to stun the world.
"First place is mine!" Fubuki stopped watching and turned to wait at another door.
The five entered their respective rooms at roughly the same time. The first to emerge was the previously confident Tanktop Tiger.
He looked absolutely devastated. "Why... why did the content change?"
Next out were Lily and Eyelashes.
"Lily only got 411 points." The little girl was dejected.
"I only got 635. This is so hard," Eyelashes added, equally downcast.
Tanktop Tiger, with his 250 points, covered his face and remained silent.
After waiting for nearly ten more minutes, Fubuki emerged with a darkened expression. "Dammit, I made a mistake just now. Otherwise, I could have gone higher."
"Fubuki-san, you're in first place!" Lily, who had been glued to the screen, screamed and hopped over to Fubuki's side with eyes full of worship.
"That's amazing!"
"8,868 points!" Eyelashes and Tanktop Tiger looked shocked.
"That was to be expected," Fubuki said, her mood shifting from gloom to triumph as she looked at her name at the very top: Hellish Blizzard.
Soaking in the gazes of admiration and adoration, the shadows in her heart seemed to dissipate slightly. Sister, do you see? I can take first place too!
However, within two minutes, the name "Hellish Blizzard" at the top was bumped down to second.
The crowd erupted.
"Impossible!" Fubuki turned pale. Biting her lip, she read the new top entry: "9,669 points... Saitama?"
"That name sounds familiar."
"Lily knows! He was in our group!"
"Eh? Was there someone like that?"
"Saitama? Saitama!" The first place she thought was in the bag had vanished. Fubuki was so angry her chest ached.
"These games were actually pretty fun. Hmm?" As soon as Saitama stepped out of the room, he saw two "mountains" blocking his path. It took considerable effort for him to avert his eyes.
"You're Saitama, aren't you?" Fubuki stood in front of the door, asking petulantly.
He looked plain, unremarkable, and was wearing a tracksuit. Completely gauche. She couldn't believe she had been surpassed by this man.
"Ah, yeah." Saitama nodded. I introduced myself earlier, didn't I? Listen when people talk, hey.
"Listen well. I'm letting you hold onto first place for now. One day, I'll take it back! Hmph!" Fubuki let out an angry huff, tossed her hair, and turned to leave.
Eyelashes and Lily, now clearly her lackeys, shot Saitama a glare before following after her.
"?" Saitama was still confused. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Bizarre. She's pretty enough, but a bit brainless. I guess all the nutrients went to the wrong places."
Tanktop Tiger didn't want to lose any more face and had long since slipped away.
And so, Saitama was once again alone as he made his way to the written exam area.
After racking his brain and exhausting himself to finish the written portion, Saitama was on the verge of collapse.
"I'd rather run 20 kilometers than take another test. What kind of questions were those?"
Just as he was about to go find a place to rest, a staff member approached him.
"Excuse me, are you Saitama-san?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Understood. Your interview will be handled personally by Chairman Aomori. Please proceed to Room 404 on the fourth floor and wait."
"Oh, okay."
Come to think of it, the Chairman must be a big shot. Why would he handle my interview?
A spark lit up in Saitama's eyes. "That's it. He's definitely going to give me those benefits."
Should I ask for a house or cash?