Chapter 2 Hero 

[Ding! Congratulations to the player Aomori for successfully defeating the Potato Monster (Tiger Level), earning 1100 experience points and 100 points.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the player Aomori for completing the daily task of subduing monsters (1/1), earning 550 experience points and 50 points.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the player Aomori for reaching level 5, earning +1 Constitution, +1 Energy, +1 Spirit, and 100 points.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the player Aomori for unlocking a new feature—dungeons. Would you like to enter the dungeon immediately?]

"No."

The sense of satisfaction from leveling up alleviated the soreness in Aomori's muscles. He put away the "Best Sword in the Village" in his hand, stretched his limbs, and then saw Miss Fujiwara rushing over in a hurry.

"It's too dangerous, Aomori. You're a big star, how can you engage in battles like this? Look, the new suit I prepared for you is all wrinkled." Miss Fujiwara used her hand to lightly stroke Aomori's chest, her tone filled with admiration and devoid of blame.

"Alright, let's hurry, we can't keep Director Edwards waiting."

"Wait for me for a moment."

"?"

In the puzzled gaze of Miss Fujiwara, Aomori walked over to a badly injured delinquent youth, lifted his arm, and a beam of holy light descended from the void, covering the wounds that had been pierced by gravel.

The bloody wounds visibly healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Are... are you a messenger sent by the gods?" The people who witnessed this scene were all shocked, and many of the older ones even knelt down.

The delinquent youth who had been saved was even more grateful, tears streaming down his face. "I can't believe someone like me would receive help from a divine messenger... I... I'll change my ways from now on!"

On the sidelines, Miss Fujiwara was dumbfounded. "Aomori, you never told me you weren't human..."

Surrounded by an increasing crowd, Aomori's face showed a mix of helplessness, joy, and pride. He helped the delinquent youth to his feet and was about to explain when someone in the crowd said, "Mr. Aomori is not a divine messenger, he's obviously a hero, a real hero!"

Aomori looked at the person who spoke in surprise and nodded in agreement, "That's right, I prefer the title of hero over that of a divine messenger. Healing wounds is just one of my superpowers, no need to be too surprised."

In a world where monsters roamed, humans with extraordinary powers were not uncommon, and most people had become accustomed to it. This was also the reason why Aomori didn't hide his abilities. There were many beings with even more bizarre powers than him, so people generally accepted his explanation.

"Anyway, you are our savior, and we will always support you!"

"Same here!"

"You're the best hero in my heart!"

"Same here!"

"Aomori, I'm your fan, sob..."

"Same here!"

In a corner, a young man wearing a helmet and goggles silently helped bandage the wounds of the injured. He looked at Aomori in the crowd with envy and admiration. "A hero, huh? Maybe I can be one too..."

After finally treating all the wounded, Miss Fujiwara dragged Aomori back into the car.

As soon as the car door closed, Aomori's warm smile from a moment ago disappeared, and he leaned back against the soft back seat, no longer concealing his tiredness. Frequent use of the Minor Healing Art had taken a toll on his mental state.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I always said you're a born actor. Your transitions between expressions are seamless," Miss Fujiwara started the car and glanced at Aomori through the rearview mirror.

"Your acting skills are far more exaggerated, Miss Fujiwara."

"Come on, that's just a way to break the ice, not acting!"

"Can you speak normally? It's so strange."

"...So, how did you find out?" Miss Fujiwara changed her flirtatious tone and became more authoritative, like a queen.

"Last month's gossip magazine mentioned that Miss Fujiwara has a penchant for playing with newcomers."

Miss Fujiwara pouted, "Who reads gossip magazines among decent people?"

"Sorry, I accidentally saw it."

Whenever she brought in a new talent, Miss Fujiwara would typically start by acting sweet and clueless. She would only reveal her true nature when she had the upper hand, making it easy for the newcomers to cooperate obediently in the future.

However, this mysterious Aomori was not fooled and easily saw through her facade. This made Miss Fujiwara, who was used to being in control, quite uncomfortable.

Well, Aomori was incredibly handsome, had a great singing voice, and a strong physique. He didn't look like your typical clueless newcomer, so she decided to cooperate with him instead.

Feeling relieved, Miss Fujiwara joked, "Aomori, you're really no fun. But who told you that you're a money tree? I forgive you. But can we be more open and honest with each other?"

Aomori ignored the flirtatious look Miss Fujiwara threw at him and casually said, "I'm just someone who's working hard to change my cold and distant self for my fans and striving to show a warm smile. Besides, aren't we on the same team?"

"Hahaha! You're right. I'm starting to like you more and more, Aomori. How about we..."

"Sorry, that's not possible. Women only slow down my sword-drawing speed."

With that, Aomori disregarded the sulking Miss Fujiwara and looked out the window, remaining silent.

In his eyes, weakness was the root cause of all tragedies, and he had experienced it firsthand in his previous life during the apocalypse.

So, in this life, Aomori couldn't tolerate his own weakness any longer. Becoming stronger was his top priority. Once, he had no opportunity or talent, but now that he had the system, he aimed to become the strongest!

As expected, Director Edwards "coincidentally" discovered the video of him saving people, and he immediately announced that Aomori would be the male lead. It was then that everyone learned that Director Edwards' new work depicted the love, hatred, and romance of heroes.

Afterwards, there were a series of arrangements and activities, and when Aomori returned to his home in the outskirts of Z City, it was already nighttime.

After taking a shower and fully recovering his energy, Aomori placed a pillow in his bed and then opened the secret door in his bedroom, leading to the hidden basement.

The basement was not large, measuring only about 20 square meters. In the center, there was a chair and a square table. The table was cluttered with metal pieces, a semi-finished chestplate, and tools like pliers and welding equipment.

Photos of the same person were hung on the walls all around. Aomori knew that person was the hero who had been active for many years, known as the "Explosive Hero."

In the photos, he wore a high-tech suit of armor and a cloak similar to the second-generation bike, and his smile on his face was sincere and warm.

All of this was the work of Aomori's original self. According to the memories he had received, his parents had died in a monster attack, which had led his original self to aspire to become a hero and idolize the Explosive Hero as an icon. However, during the process of making his own hero equipment, he had accidentally been electrocuted and died, which had led to Aomori's transmigration.

Having assimilated the memories, Aomori understood that he was now in the world of One Punch Man, in a period when the Hero Association had not yet been established, and the Explosive Hero was still active.

After searching for some information, he deduced that it was currently about three to four years away from the official start of the plot, and the Hero Association had been established for less than a year.

Time was of the essence.

After silently paying his respects to his original self for a moment, Aomori sat down on the chair, picked up his tools, and began to work on the semi-finished chestplate.

In his previous life, Aomori's world had faced an invasion of mutated beasts, and humans could only survive by creating mechanical armor. Aomori had transformed from a mechanical enthusiast into a skilled engineer.

Building a usable suit of armor based on his previous experience was supposed to be easy. However, due to the lack of equipment and materials, progress had been slow. It had taken him nearly three months to complete ninety percent of it.

There was an old saying that went, "Poor people rely on mutations, while rich people rely on technology."

Building the armor was merely a hobby for the current financially-strapped Aomori, but it might hold greater potential in the future. In the world of One Punch Man, technological advancements had tremendous potential as the story progressed.

After working for a long time, Aomori finally put down the armor and rubbed his sore eyes.

That's right, he had unlocked the dungeon feature in the morning, and he hadn't had a chance to look at it yet.

Aomori focused his mind, and in his consciousness, a screen appeared, much like the interface of a pay-to-win mobile game he had played in his previous life. In the center was a 3D model of himself, and surrounding it were five options: Character, Skills, Items, Dungeons, and Chests. The Dungeon option was currently flashing.

Aomori's gaze passed over the Dungeon option and turned to his current points displayed there.

[Points : 4040]

Points were mainly used to buy chest keys to open point chests, which were divided into three tiers: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. Basic chest keys cost 200 points each and guaranteed at least blue-quality items in a ten-pull. Intermediate chest keys cost 2000 points each and guaranteed at least purple-quality items in a ten-pull. Advanced chest keys cost 20,000 points each and guaranteed at least orange-quality items in a ten-pull.

The items obtained from the chests were ranked by rarity and value, represented by five colors: white, blue, purple, orange, and gold.

Aomori had done two ten-pulls with Basic chest keys before, obtaining useful skills and items like the Thunder Breathing Technique. Unfortunately, he hadn't pulled the Gundam model kit he had been longing for.

Feeling that his points were rather unlucky, Aomori decided to go for a Basic Chest ten-pull to try his luck.

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