A False Reputation

"Ah, it’s a monster!"

Another disturbance erupted in the city center. A green giant over four meters tall had appeared out of nowhere, wielding an enormous club and swinging it wildly.

Boom!

With a single blow, a storefront was smashed to pieces. Clerks who had not escaped in time were crushed into pulp, and the sight sparked even more fear and screams.

The green giant had only one eye, and it was faintly red now, as though it was growing more frenzied with every kill. It kept wildly swinging that enormous club.

In mere moments, dozens of people had been beaten to death on the spot.

The horrific scene had already left many people’s legs weak. No longer caring about the exorbitant hero assistance fees, they immediately began contacting the most reliable hero agencies they knew.

But after countless calls, no heroes had appeared. Too many hero agencies—and even some fake agencies that only handled business referrals—had monopolized vast amounts of advertising resources.

As a result, the truly capable heroes had been diluted from view.

Elsa, trapped inside her luxury sedan with cars blocking her on all sides, watched in despair as the giant drew closer and closer. At that moment, she deeply regretted spending the past two years helping those "Professional Heroes" promote themselves for money.

She regretted even more slandering the heroes from before.

She was a director at J City Television. She had once taken pride in dragging those lofty great heroes down from their pedestals.

But at this moment, she finally understood when people truly needed heroes.

"Save me…"

She saw that the giant’s single eye had already noticed her. She could clearly make out the flesh and hair stuck to its club, while the stench of death filled her nostrils.

The giant grinned, raised its club, and was about to bring it down.

"Someone, save me!"

She could barely even call for help. It was as if something had clogged her throat. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face, and even beneath her had become wet.

Whoosh!

A shriek of torn air rang out—the sign of something flying in at unimaginable speed. Elsa had once witnessed Tatsumaki the Terror during a rescue operation, and the image of her casually breaking through sonic booms while flying flashed through her mind.

A hero?!

Bang!

A white figure crashed down from the sky.

The next moment, a white cape billowed in the air currents. A man dressed in a blue-and-white skintight hero suit stood before Elsa’s car, raising one hand to catch the club covered in blood and flesh.

Boom!

The shockwave swept through the surroundings. Inside the car, Elsa shook as the vehicle and ground trembled. Her breathing nearly stopped, and her vision darkened from her heart pounding too violently.

The luxury car’s excellent soundproofing prevented her from hearing the impact of the air currents outside. She could not hear whether the hero had said anything either, but at that moment, her vision blurred, and all she could see was him.

"Hero…"

The relief of crawling out of the abyss of death became the deepest reverence.

She rolled down the window and even wanted to open the car door.

Bang!

Then, she saw golden Ripples drifting behind the hero like ribbons. A golden spear pierced through the giant, and as she rolled down the window, a terrifying sonic boom exploded in her ears.

Splurt!

Green blood and flesh sprayed everywhere. The monster that had seemed so terrifying just moments ago had its chest blasted apart and collapsed limply.

"It’s that… Nameless Hero!"

"It’s Hero for Fun! He’s appeared again!"

Cheers suddenly erupted all around them.

The people who emerged from the cars behind Elsa did not even have time to celebrate surviving. They jumped and shouted the word "hero" at the top of their lungs.

Elsa stood there, her legs still soaked in her own urine, tears streaming down her face. Only at this moment did she fully understand the weight carried by the word hero.

"So this is… a hero…"

She stepped forward a few paces, suddenly wanting to produce an in-depth report about him. A true hero like this deserved to be praised by everyone in this post-Great Cataclysm era.

The man merely glanced back at her. Under the sunlight, his face seemed drenched in light, so dazzling that she could not make out his features at all.

Then, with a bang, he shot into the sky. After changing direction several times in midair, he stepped onto a blue-and-white skateboard-like vehicle and vanished.

"Hero for Fun…"

Elsa was moved by the radiance of such a purely idealistic hero. She stood there with her head raised, unable to calm down for a long time.

Half a day later, J City Television began extensively reporting on topics such as the Nameless Hero and Hero for Fun. They collected a large amount of video footage from the public and began pushing it out on a massive scale.

For a time, topics such as idealistic heroes and true heroes sparked widespread discussion.

This move drew complaints from many hero agencies, but several television stations, including J City Television, ignored the protests and chose to continue reporting.

Their actions also won the support of many ordinary people.

Asuka’s face was pale as he stood atop a building, watching Mercenary Tao kill the Giant Goblin his team had spent a fortune capturing with a single punch. He had no time to feel heartbroken over the loss; all he felt was fear.

He had considered running, but Mercenary Tao clearly possessed some means of locking onto them. Earlier, after his cursed spirit had been eliminated by Mercenary Tao, he, who had been hiding inside a mall, and Li Mo, who had been hiding on a rooftop, had both been located and captured.

A short while later, another team member drove Asuka away and brought him back to their temporary camp in the suburbs. Mercenary Tao, who had now become a "classical hero" in the eyes of the world, had changed back into his signature pink robe and was standing before them.

"You did well. As long as you continue cooperating with my actions like this, I will naturally grant you your freedom."

Li Mo lowered his head and mumbled a few words under his breath. Contract beasts were an important resource for their team, yet now, just to cooperate with Mercenary Tao’s so-called hero activities, one had been casually killed by him. It pained Li Mo deeply.

But he did not dare argue at all. Golden Flash, who had merely spoken up in objection, had had his arm torn off by Mercenary Tao with a casual tug. Mercenary Tao’s strength was simply too terrifying for him to resist rashly.

Lilith stood behind Mercenary Tao. For some reason, as she watched this team, which was probably around the same strength tier as the team she had originally belonged to, she could not help feeling a faint sense of superiority.

At the very least, Mercenary Tao had not treated her so brutally.

She had merely assisted Mercenary Tao in accurately locating the television producer named Elsa. A Plot Character with no power at all was not difficult to find, and she had earned Mercenary Tao’s praise because of it.

Meanwhile, the people who had sacrificed a fairly good contract beast were still trembling with fear.

Lilith studied them and suddenly understood that she was not cowardly. She was simply weak. In this space, as long as one had strength, one could do anything one wanted.

Just like Mercenary Tao. He was clearly a heinous villain who committed every kind of evil, yet he had packaged himself as an unimaginable great hero. He searched everywhere for monsters and evil spirits to kill. When there were no monsters to be found, he had the reincarnators create "monsters" for him to kill…

Lilith took a deep breath. Hearing footsteps, she turned and saw the reincarnator who had also received Mercenary Tao’s praise returning.

His codename was Asuka, a reincarnator who controlled many cursed spirits.

When Asuka saw the severed arm on the ground and Golden Flash’s pale face wrapped in bandages, he instantly understood what had happened. He immediately lowered his head and did not dare say a word.

Bai Cangshu, however, raised a hand and patted the timid reincarnator on the shoulder. Asuka was a reincarnator without talent, and likewise an incompetent Jujutsu Sorcerer. Even though he possessed Cursed Spirit Manipulation, with such a cowardly personality, he would never be able to obtain powerful cursed energy.

"Don’t be afraid, Asuka. I’m not some demon…"

"You carried out your task beautifully. Not only will I not kill you, I may even give you a reward…"

Asuka watched his Killer Seed milestone approach completion, yet he felt no joy.

He was no different from those Plot Characters—just a pawn and puppet in the hands of someone stronger…

"Teacher, did you see the news?"

A young man wearing a jacket and baseball cap entered a convenience store. Inside, a bald man wearing a red-and-white employee uniform was organizing the shelves with dead fish eyes.

Seeing that Teacher Saitama had no reaction, Genos walked straight over, took out a newspaper, and showed it to him. On the front page was a tall man wearing a white cape, standing beneath the sunlight as everyone around him raised their hands with excited expressions.

The newspaper headline read: Hero for Fun—A True Hero