2 Chapter 2: Sewer

"Since you will die today anyway, let me tell you something. 10 years ago…" - Shunji.

//Flashback End//

'So I overestimated my power and almost died, huh. At least I was able to kill two of those geezers. Who would have thought that Flashy Flash have such a childhood story.'

'Surprisingly, my wounds are all healed up after that long nap. But, is it just me or did I get stronger? Hmm, we were originally 500 in our batch and one of the most effective ways to increase our capabilities that showed explosive growth was the one-on-one death matches every end of the year… I guess that's just how it is.' - Shunji recalled his past.

These death matches are held in their largest training ground of 5km radius. The two participants will start at both ends of the battlefield and they will battle with no time limit until one of them dies. To make it more challenging, there are traps everywhere that can easily decapitate a trained ninja like them if they become careless.

Even though Jikko Village is in the middle of a forest, its size is comparable to that of a city in Shunji's old world. They only accept new members that undergo careful evaluation every 3 years, 500 applicants at most. Meaning that at maximum, they will only have a population of 1500 since the alumni always leave after they finished their training, assuming no one died that is.

The number is extremely low for a village that large but considering how they train, the size of 40 square kilometres is just enough to accommodate everyone.

But in these past 7 years, not even a single soul had passed the evaluation. In this village, once you enter and don't pass the evaluation test, you won't be able to come out alive because you will be beheaded on the spot.

At a time like this where monster appearances increase day by day, it should be the perfect time for the world to produce superior individuals with enough potential to pass but it's the exact opposite. Those people with potential probably became full of themselves, tried to confront monsters like a hero and died.

What's more, this village is surrounded by monsters who are hiding in the forest. Before you can step foot inside you need to overcome that and take the test. The number of monsters also increased and became more powerful so no one probably survived.

Shunji tucked his hair upward and a thin layer of sweat slid down the side of his forehead.

'Shît. This world is very dangerous. What's more, I've only watched season 1 of the anime. I have no idea what powerful villains I will be facing in the future except for Boros, who will probably die in Saitama's hand.'

'Well at least I have the power of an S-class hero… Speaking of heroes and villains, I don't remember killing Sonic. He probably left the village the moment the graduation ended, just before I challenged everyone. Even though he's from my batch, we haven't really talked. He's lucky we weren't paired during one of the death matches.'

The village he came from is very secretive to the outside world. But they still use technology to know what's happening in the outside world like radios and speakers, albeit very limited so as to avoid its members from losing focus on the training.

According to the news, monsters have increased exponentially over the past years. Even the police force is having a hard time and already losing their hair.

Some people even thought that it's the end of the world. It became really chaotic outside.

'I don't know how far I am from the beginning of the storyline. The Hero Association hasn't been established yet. That will be my reference.'

Shunji stood up and felt the power in his body. He picked up his sword and sheathed it.

"Looks like I will be hunting down monsters before they have the opportunity to hunt me down."

After saying that, he disappeared without a trace.

//One month later//

In an underground sewer.

Several monsters are gathered here. Some are playing poker, some are fighting in an octagon arena, some are playing darts, some are eating flesh, while some are pounding the women tied on the wall.

All of them have ugly and hideous appearances that will scare anyone who sees them.

Although there are no heroes in this time yet, these monsters are afraid to go outside. Even though they are more powerful than the average human, a single bullet can still kill them. Especially that the government has provided more advanced weaponry on the arm forces.

Every city is on high alert because of the increase of monsters, some are even under lockdown.

But unlike before, now, an individual has decided to eliminate these hideous creatures who eat and kill humans for their satisfaction.

Because of this, the monster's appearances have somewhat dwindled down a little in certain cities. If someone were to see him, they would definitely think of him as a hero delivering justice for the society.

But that's far from the truth.

He couldn't care any less about doing good deeds for the society. He's just a coward who's afraid to be killed so he set upon himself to do just that to those who might threaten his life. All those lives that have been unintentionally saved are just the byproduct of that action.

10 meters away from the group, a hooded figure is hiding behind the wall of the sewer.

He crouched down, placed his left palm on the ground while his other hand gripped the handle of his sword. He then closed his eyes to increase his focus.

'From these vibrations, there are 28 of them. I've been observing them from afar since a minute ago. From the screams earlier and their aura; 3 of them are human, probably women that were captured. That leaves 25 monsters…'

'From their heartbeats and breathing; it's estimated that they can move up to 60-105 km/h. Quite fast for a normal human to handle… but I'm not normal.' - Shunji thought as he analysed his next targets using his skills and experience.

He disappeared for a second and came back to his spot later.