Chapter 174: Too Lazy to Speak, You Are Not Worthy to Listen
On the other side, the Deep Sea King incident had drawn the attention of many interested parties over the past three days.
The first among them was naturally the Hero Association.
Inside the dressing room of a variety show, an Association executive in a suit stood with a tablet in his hands.
Seated in front of him was a popular celebrity.
At the same time, he was also the Rank 1 A Class Hero.
Amai Mask.
He rested his chin on one hand, his expression carrying obvious displeasure.
"Promoted to B Class?"
His tone was flat.
"I'm filming a drama series right now. I thought you came to me for something important. There's no need to look for me over this kind of thing."
The Association executive quickly explained, "This is the intention of the higher-ups."
That only made Amai Mask more displeased.
He brushed back his shoulder length blue hair and spoke without hiding his impatience.
"If you want me to step in, then it should be over something with massive social impact. It should involve heroes above A Class at the very least."
As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the newspaper nearby.
His expression immediately turned ugly.
The headline was written clearly.
S Class Hero Defeated!
"This is beyond disastrous."
The Association executive then opened a video on the tablet.
"Please take a look at the hero who defeated the Deep Sea King first."
Both of them turned their attention toward the screen.
In the footage, Asuramaru controlled Mumen Rider's body.
He stood with the sword gripped in both hands. Thunder erupted around him, turning his figure into something like a roaring dragon.
In the next instant, the Deep Sea King's head was severed.
Even when the video was paused, it was difficult to clearly capture the full motion.
This time, Amai Mask's expression finally changed.
Other thoughts began to surface in his mind.
And they were not the only ones.
Other hidden organizations had also turned their eyes toward Mumen Rider.
They were curious about the secret behind him.
Had he been deliberately hiding his strength all along?
Or had he obtained power through some special method?
The next morning, after a checkup confirmed that there were no problems with his body, Satoru Suzuki returned to his home in City Z.
But not long afterward, he received a summons from the Hero Association.
He went alone to the City Z branch of the Hero Association.
On the top floor, inside a conference room, four Association executives sat facing him.
One of the women was the first to speak.
"Mumen Rider, do you wish to be promoted to B Class now?"
The other executives quietly waited for his answer.
In the past, Satoru Suzuki might have refused.
Back then, he did not believe he had the strength to protect others as a B Class Hero.
But now things were different.
Because of Asuramaru, he had seen hope.
Hope that he could become stronger.
This time, his answer was steady.
"I am willing."
The Association executives all breathed a sigh of relief.
A potbellied middle aged man among them then asked, "Then, Mumen Rider, may I ask whether you had been hiding your strength all this time?"
Satoru Suzuki knew this was a probe.
But he was not foolish.
So he answered directly.
"Yes. I was hiding my strength before."
Hearing this, the Association executives did not continue pressing the matter.
Both sides tacitly took a step back.
After all, certain things were not so easily investigated.
"Then congratulations, Mumen Rider."
The female executive handed him a certificate.
"From today onward, you are officially promoted to B Class Hero. Your current ranking is Rank 2."
Satoru accepted the promotion certificate.
"I will continue to work hard."
After saying that, he turned and left the Association.
He returned home alone.
From that day onward, he began familiarizing himself with his current power while devoting himself completely to the training method that had appeared in his mind.
Total Concentration.
Thunder Breathing.
On the other side.
City Z, Ghost Town.
On a deserted, ruined street, Sonic stood in place with a cold expression.
Ahead of him stood a humanoid Monster.
Its skin looked as though it had been turned inside out. Obvious stitches ran across its entire body. It held two sharp swords, and its face carried a greedy, sinister grin.
"You're the guy who's been hunting Monsters in the Ghost Town lately, aren't you?"
The Monster stared at Sonic's face.
"You don't look bad. Let me peel your face off and add it to my collection."
"Oh?"
Sonic's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So I've become famous?"
Instead of fear, there was only interest in his voice.
"In that case, there must be many more Monsters here that I haven't found yet."
At this moment, Sonic was completely immersed in the explosive growth of his own power.
His current strength had already increased several times over.
Correspondingly, he had killed many powerful Monsters in the Ghost Town.
Even the Monster Association had noticed him, which was why they had specially sent someone to investigate and eliminate him.
"Hahahaha!"
The Monster raised its twin swords and spun them rapidly in its hands like propellers.
"Watch me peel off your face!"
Its momentum looked intimidating.
But Sonic only revealed a contemptuous smile.
"If it were the old me, this might have been a little troublesome."
His hand rested on the hilt of the sword behind his back.
In the next instant, his figure flashed past.
One slash.
The Monster's head separated from its body.
Sonic slowly turned around and finished his sentence.
"But now, killing you only takes one strike."
Inside the sword, Asuramaru heard the system notification in his mind.
[Ding! Intense negative emotions detected from Demon level Monster Red Demon before death. Gained 40,000 emotion points!]
[This kill obtained 20,000 Demon Power. Fifty percent will be fed back to the Sword Master.]
As the system notification ended, the corners of Asuramaru's mouth curved slightly.
No joke.
In less than two weeks, Sonic had already killed no fewer than twenty Demon level Monsters.
As for Monsters below Demon level, the number was even harder to count.
In emotion points alone, Sonic had earned him hundreds of thousands.
Correspondingly, Sonic's strength had started soaring like a rocket.
If categorized by this world's disaster levels, Sonic had already stepped into Dragon level.
He was even approaching mid Dragon level.
Before Asuramaru could enjoy that thought for long, his perception caught something even more pleasing.
A Monster was approaching.
He immediately warned, "Sonic, a Monster is coming from the north."
Hearing Asuramaru's warning, Sonic's mouth curved uncontrollably.
"Another Monster delivering itself to me?"
He turned his head toward the north.
"That saves me the trouble of searching for them one by one."
A moment later, a humanoid cockroach appeared on the street.
When it saw Red Demon's decapitated corpse lying on the ground, its expression shifted slightly, but its tone remained casual.
"So you're the so-called Monster killer lately."
The cockroach Monster looked Sonic up and down.
"I didn't expect even Red Demon to die at your hands."
It grinned.
"What kind of guy are you? Do you hate cockroaches? And why are you killing Monsters?"
Facing that continuous chatter, veins appeared on Sonic's forehead.
His killing intent rose.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're very noisy?"
His hand tightened around the hilt behind his back.
"I'm too lazy to speak."
His eyes sharpened.
"And you are not worthy to listen."
"Are you angry?"
Awakened Cockroach smirked, his face full of confidence.
"Then come at me. Just warning you first, I'm very strong."
He was exactly like the old Sonic.
Facing that attitude, Sonic could not help remembering the pain and humiliation Saitama had brought him.
His grip on the sword hilt tightened.
His knuckles gradually turned white.
Then his figure vanished.
Silent.
Soundless.
A single slash went straight for the throat.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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