Chapter 2: The Unseen Flex is the Deadliest
"Am I going to die?"
king stared intently at the minotaur before him, his entire body rigid. His heart pounded like a car engine, and he no longer had the mental capacity to dwell on the idiotic fact that someone was still concerned about a supermarket sale at such a critical moment.
The minotaur's rage reached its peak. It no longer paid any mind to the strange pounding sound. Lowering its head, it charged, its sharp, slender, spiraling horns, shimmering with a blue light, arriving before his eyes in an instant.
It's over...
Despair flashed through king's mind. An intense unwillingness to accept his fate made him widen his eyes to take one last, lingering look at the world. He had only been in this world for a few days, and he never imagined he'd have to be "reforged in the furnace" all over again.
I wonder if I'll get another chance to transmigrate this time?
It was almost laughable. He was originally a fine young man from 21st-century Earth. It was just his bad luck that while out for a cool stroll at night, he passed by a KFC right at the stroke of midnight. He suddenly remembered that he could claim Stamina in the new mobile game he had downloaded after the clock struck twelve.
And what is a KFC? Everyone knows—a public restroom with free Wi-Fi!
So, on a whim, he pulled out his phone, preparing to leech off the Wi-Fi outside the store to log into his newly downloaded game and claim his Stamina. But who would have known? A gust of treacherous wind blew past, and KFC's massive sign suddenly came crashing down, striking him dead center...
He figured he had died, because when he woke up, he found himself in a strange new world, having possessed an unfamiliar body...
If I can transmigrate again, I hope it's to a safer world! Naruto? One Piece? Dragon Ball... Sigh, why are all these different dimensions so dangerous? Earth is still safer.
He clung to this beautiful hope in his heart...
A figure suddenly flashed past his eyes, followed by the resounding boom of an impact. The last things he saw were a shiny bald head and a flyer fluttering wildly in the air.
His eyes were sharp, and he caught the text on the flyer—"M-City New World Supermarket Limited-Time Sale! Don't Miss Out!"
BOOM—
The minotaur that appeared before him once more had already lost all signs of life. Its proud horns were shattered, and a massive fist imprint was branded on the forehead of its locomotive-sized head.
Taken out in just one hit? And why is there a sense of familiarity? I think I know this person.
Huh? Could it be... Saitama?
king's eyes shot wide open.
In the world of One Punch Man, Saitama is without a doubt the absolute protagonist. His strength is so immense it's impossible to measure. It is said that no matter how strong the enemy, he can blow them away with a single punch, living up to the name "One Punch Man."
Saitama's fighting style includes the Normal Punch series and the Serious Punch series, as well as his ultimate secret technique: Special Sale Punch!
That punch just now must have been the legendary... Godly Technique: Special Sale Punch!
king stared in the direction Saitama had left, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight smile. He couldn't be mistaken. It was him, it had to be him—the future world-famous hero who would make countless monsters tremble in fear... the Caped Baldy—Saitama!
"Heh heh..."
He let out a low chuckle. A powerful gust of wind suddenly rushed towards him, blowing off the hat he used to conceal his face and revealing his resolute and calm features.
"Ah! It's the S-Class powerhouse, King!"
"Everyone, you can stop running! Mr. King has already taken care of the monster."
"King, can I have your autograph? ...Just sign it... on my chest..."
"...As expected of... the strongest..."
And so, once again, came the cheers and praise. The bystanders had once again inexplicably credited him with the achievement.
That's right. The person he had transmigrated into and possessed was the man who would come to be known as the Strongest Man on Earth, the S-Class hero, rank 7—King!
However, at present, King had not yet risen to rank 7 among the S-Class heroes. He was still languishing at the bottom of the S-Class rankings!
King's ranking was so low among the S-Class heroes because hero rankings were determined by a comprehensive evaluation of combat power, contributions, and other factors. King's method of eliminating monsters was entirely passive—summoning the bald guy (Saitama) in times of danger. His initiative and proactiveness were poor, resulting in a lower contribution score, hence his bottom-tier rank.
The reason he later managed to climb to rank 7 was that the frequency of monster appearances increased. His passive ability (summoning the bald guy) to kill monsters became more and more frequent, gradually raising his rank.
However, having inherited King's memories and read about half of the *One Punch Man* manga in his previous life, he was keenly aware of King's true situation. The "King" moniker was earned through a series of encounters with monsters. Although he was never the one to defeat them, he always happened to be near the dead monster's body. Bystanders, completely misinterpreting the situation, began to see him as a mighty hero who could defeat any monster with a single blow. They started to spontaneously offer him tributes, and the public eventually recognized King as the Strongest Man on Earth.
"It's really King!"
"Oh my god, I can't believe I ran into King here."
"So King was here all along. Oh no, King must have seen how pathetic we were just now. How embarrassing."
The three C-Class heroes supported each other, their eyes wide as they stared at king, who was surrounded by the crowd. Their faces were filled with excitement and adoration, as if they were looking at their own idol.
"You guys are heroes?"
king squeezed out of the crowd and breathed a sigh of relief. His gaze shifted, landing on the three heroes in their bizarre outfits.
"C-Class hero, Water Gun, at your service."
"C-Class hero, Big Bone, serving the people."
"C-Class hero, Iron Armored Man, will charge bravely at all monsters!"
The three oddball heroes actually struck a pose, seriously introducing their hero ranks.
The Hero Association divides heroes into ranks based on their strength and contributions: S-Class, A-Class, B-Class, and C-Class. In other words, the three heroes before him were at the very bottom of the hero world.
The Hero Association is an organization dedicated to managing heroes, founded over two years ago by the multi-millionaire Agoni with the goal of exterminating monsters. It is funded by public donations, and heroes affiliated with the Association receive a monthly salary based on their performance.
"Oh, I'll leave this monster for you to deal with. I have something to do, so I'm leaving."
king put his peaked cap back on to hide his face and prepared to leave.
"What? Is King giving us the credit for eliminating the monster?"
"Defeating a monster increases your hero activity points, raises your rank, and increases your monthly salary. King is giving that up?"
"Would King care about a few hero activity points? He's already an S-Class hero. Slaying a Tiger-level monster can't raise his rank at all. To improve his ranking, he'd have to kill at least a Demon-level monster or higher."
The three C-Class heroes chattered amongst themselves. According to the Hero Association's regulations, once a hero's elimination of a monster is verified, they receive a certain number of hero activity points. The Hero Association's ranking list is updated in real-time, changing the hero rankings based on the activity points they earn.
The Hero Association distributes a corresponding monthly salary based on a hero's rank.
"I guess I really don't lack for money."
king chuckled softly. Because he was King, the S-Class hero who stood at the pinnacle of the hero world, praised as the Strongest Man on Earth. He was like an emperor, high above the rest. The Association gave him a monthly salary of nearly one hundred thousand, enough for him to live a comfortable life.
From the moment he inexplicably became a hero, he had never once worried about money.
"[A Monster Card is available for conversion nearby. Please proceed to convert!]"
"[A Monster Card is available for conversion nearby. Please proceed to convert!]"
"[A Monster Card is available for conversion nearby. Please proceed to convert!]"
...
Just then, a mechanical notification sound began to ring incessantly in his mind.
"Card conversion?"
king was slightly stunned. Back when he watched One Punch Man, he had been excited by its hot-blooded battles and moved to tears by the stories of heroes like Mumen Rider. However, putting all that aside, the world of One Punch Man was actually an incredibly dangerous place, where cities were destroyed at the drop of a hat, leaving you with no time to even run.
Sometimes he thought that maybe he should just "coincidentally" meet and get to know Saitama, and then stick by his side to stay safe.
Fortunately, however, he had brought something a little different with him when he came to this world.
Perhaps because he had been leeching Wi-Fi to play a mobile game at the exact moment of his transmigration, king discovered that the game had been imprinted on his soul and had crossed over into this world with him.
It was some random, hodgepodge mobile game he had downloaded on a whim—a card game. After creating a character, the player's main task was to collect monster cards. After collecting a monster card, the player could summon it to possess their body, gaining the monster's strength and abilities to become stronger. For example, if a monster could breathe fire, after the player summoned it for possession, their character could also breathe fire with no reduction in power.
Back then, he had downloaded it to try simply because he found the game's concept to be novel and creative. He never thought it would become the golden finger he now relied on to survive.
He walked over to the dead minotaur, placed his palm on its body, and silently recited, "Convert card!"
"[Ding! Card conversion successful. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the two-star Monster Card—Minotaur!]"
king didn't check the card immediately. Instead, he waved his hand and quickly departed under the admiring gazes of the crowd.
(end of chapter)