Chapter 19: A Rough Start.

[Tavish POV]

Needless to say we were treated with a high degree of suspicion at first.

We were quickly escorted into some hero association vans and brought to their HQ. Where we quickly found ourselves sitting in front of a board of people, their eyes watching us carefully for any sudden movements.

Shifting my eyes to a balcony off to the far right I could make out several shadowed figures. One had a set of three eyes glowing out from the dark, while I could make out the shine of a bat on the shoulder of another.

"Geez, you brought in some heavy hitters just for little old us. To think that the committee would bring in two S-class hero's for a simple dimensional crossing." I state offhandedly, causing some of the committee members to start in surprise.

"Yes, well, forgive us for not wanting to take any chances." The man in the center of the table started pushing his glasses further up onto his face.

"No worries mate, your choice surprised me but its kinda neat to see." I comment, relaxing back in my chair.

The woman next to him coughed slightly; "So Mr. Byrne . . . ." She started.

"Call me Tavish!" I supply helpfully.

"What made you decide our dimension was a good place to go?" She continued, ignoring my interruption.

"Ah, well you see, I don't get a choice on where I jump to. So, whenever the mood takes me, I go seeking adventure with some companions." I state cheerfully, prompting an eyeroll from V and a giggle from Eleanor.

"I see, and what was the world like where you came from?" The woman asked carefully.

"High-tech dystopic, ruled by mega corporations and shady business practices." I list off carelessly. I could see that I had grabbed Bofoi's attention with that last statement. Let's see what he would do with it.

"Interesting. Do you have any abilities that could be considered beyond the capabilities of a normal human?" The woman continued her line of questioning.

"Define normal human." V offered, prompting some whispering among the members of the panel.

"A being that looks like a member of the human race without any exceptional abilities thrown in such as super strength, fire breathing, or any other power that is not part of the general gene pool of the populace." One of the panel members established.

"Ah, well in that case, we could all potentially be considered super human. Everyone except B.O.B., he's an Omnic but that's a whole different can of worms." I reply, prompting B.O.B. to tip his hat to the assembled panel."

"Would you care to give a demonstration?" The man asked, causing me to glance at the others and give them a shrug.

The water in front of them on the table jumped out of its container as I prompted it with a gesture, Eleanor turned it to steam with a quick burst of her incinerate plasmid, V demonstrated her hacking skills on the nearby electronics, and B.O.B. unveiled his arm cannons and impressive strength.

After that little display, the board convened in another room for a bit before approving the paperwork to give us a presence in this world.

They had a bit of difficulty taking my picture and fingerprints until I actually remembered to turn off my ghost in the shell perk.

It was definitely odd watching the perk interfering with the tech in this world. The tech looked like it was able to slightly detect me, but only enough to register an error.

I omitted telling the very confused techs as I deactivated the perk.

[One Month Later]

After the initial confusion, the hero association was surprisingly accommodating.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that I had landed in the One-Punch Man universe, So the blatant powers on display enabled for a simple smooth transition.

It was sort of like passing through customs to another country if I was honest. I'm guessing this isn't the first time that this had happened.

But thankfully, we were allowed to purchase some property and get ourselves set up for a life in the city.

I was a little tired of playing a doctor so I decided to take a different route this time around. Which is why I bought a small eatery.

We managed to get a substantial area for cheap thanks to the frequent monster attacks. The area was close to a small park and a river, so it was a bit out of the way, but still a part of the main thoroughfare.

V helped me get the kitchen equipment up to snuff while Eleanor and B.O.B. were left to interior design. Apparently, B.O.B had quite the flair for it as he selected various designs for both the eatery and our home.

After much deliberation, we decided that the restaurant would be named "Fantasia."

It had a small bar area for serving drinks, a modest number of tables, a large pantry, a freezer section, and everything I would need to run a modern eatery. The interior was decorated in a mystical forest-like theme with the lights hanging from a branch-like chandelier extending from one end of the restaurant to the other, providing a bright relaxing atmosphere.

Our living area is somewhat more complicated.

Due to the fact that we were in fact living in Z-City, Monster attacks were quite common, so there was a likely hood that where we lived might be destroyed if a big enough monster came trampling along.

Digging down was my short-term solution so I had minimal production capability, and a proper bunker in case things went south.

I was being exceptionally careful when digging down so I didn't disturb the monster association living deep below the surface.

The exterior and base structure of the building was reinforced to help offset the need for a bunker, so hopefully, that would reduce the number of insurance claims we would need to make.

The hero association had someone stop by once a week while we were getting settled just to make sure we aren't up to anything nefarious. B.O.B. and V found their spots helping out in the eatery while Eleanor got to go to school for the first time.

And I took up the respectable occupation of a chef.

Child Emperor surprised me by showing up on our opening night.

After our initial meeting, he displayed a fascination with the various bits of technology that were a part of our group. Specifically, he was interested in B.O.B. The large, quiet omnic proved a source of interest to the young genius.

His gadgets always stood as a point of interest to me and I was tickled to death about the toy theme they all possessed.

But the real kicker was our opening night.

[Flashback!]

We had been open for a few hours. V was reading a paper, while B.O.B. was polishing a glass at the bar.

I heard the soft tinkle of the bell by the door as a businessman walked in and looked around. He looked to be your average salaried office worker.

"Hello! Welcome to Fantasia." V greeted, setting the paper down on a counter.

"Erm, yes is this a place that serves food?" The man asked checking his watch.

"Yes, it is. Would you like a table, or a bar seat?" V asked grabbing a menu.

"Bar is fine." The man stated hopping up onto a stool.

V handed him a menu and set out a glass of water and some utensils.

The man read over the menu and his eyes widened and commented. "You guys have a fairly wide selection here don't you."

"It's the chef's choice. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he told me we could handle it." V commented, smiling.

The man glanced back at the menu before handing the menu back to V. "I'll try the minced meat cutlet and a beer then." He stated.

V smiled and replied; "Alright, we'll have that right out. B.O.B. here will take care of your beer." She started heading back to the kitchen.

The man turned to the large robot behind the bar who tipped his bowler, poured him a beer a passed it to the man.

The man took a sip from the beer savoring the flavor and marveling at the metal figure behind the counter.

The man was distracted once more by a flash out of the corner of his eye. He turned and was surprised by the view into the kitchen.

Knives moved of their own accord, mincing up meat and various ingredients while oil heated itself up in a pan. Breading kneaded itself in a bowl while in the center of the activity stood a tall, redheaded man wearing a chef's uniform. He waved his hands like a conductor, bending the kitchen to his will, directing spices into the pan, shaping the meat into patties, and frying them to a perfect golden brown.

The man sat there in shock, entranced by the display in front of him. The closest he had ever seen to this was a show put on at a Hibachi grill for a company meet once, but even that failed to compare to what he was seen now.

The chef's fingers danced as he directed the finished product onto a plate and garnished it, before handing it off to V.

"Here is your order!" V stated cheerfully, handing the man his plate and bringing him back to reality.

The man breathed in the wonderful smell emanating from his plate as he picked up his knife and fork.

Biting into the cutlet itself, the flavor of the cutlet erupted into his mouth, the beef standing out like a flavor-filled titan.

Speaking of titans, the man felt a surge of energy, like he could do anything! The last time he had this much energy was many years ago when he had first started his corporate lifestyle.

It seemed like before he knew it, the plate was clean, and the mug was empty.

Checking his watch, the man regretfully stood up and paid his bill.

"Thank you for the wonderful meal! I've never felt so full of energy after a meal before!" The man said enthusiastically.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to let the chef know." V said, smiling at the man's excitement.

"There is just one thing I would change . . ." The man stated cautiously.

"Oh? What would that be?" V questioned, ringing up his tab.

"Could you guys put in a window or a viewing area to the kitchen? It was hard to see the chef working back there." The man stated hopefully.

[Flashback End]

It was from this that our notoriety rapidly grew. Fantasia: Where the Chef makes his kitchen dance.

People started gathering to eat and watch their food get prepared with my foodgician skills.

Child Emperor would sometimes stop by for an after-school treat before heading home for the day, while C and B class heroes would often frequent the establishment. They liked the fact that eating here gave them more energy, made them stronger, made them smarter etc. It wasn't something that I publicized but it was something that people picked up on.

I wasn't even doing anything special, those are just the random passive bonuses my food provides. When I actually focus my intent on certain meals is when the stat bonuses really shine through.

[Honey Dijon Chicken] (Epic)

Provides an additional +100 to Dex for 12 hours.

I haven't managed to snag any monster meat yet for cooking purposes, but I've no doubt I will. To my understanding, you need to cook the meat properly in order to not be monstered by the spores the monsters secrete.

I did encounter my first monster the other day, but he was rather disappointing . . .

[Flashback]

I was walking back from the market when a voice shouted. "Surrender and bow before my might! For I am . . . Kidney Man!"

The strange shouting was enough to make me turn around, and I was treated to the strange sight of a man, who appeared to have a kidney in place of his head.

"Well? Are you not quaking in fear at my mere presence? That I might cause your kidneys to fail at any moment?" The ridiculous villain demanded.

I was unsure of how to respond for a moment.

"That's right your speech has been robbed from you due to the terror my presence instills! Now, hand over your wallet an- . . ."

*BOOM*

His head exploded as my fist struck it.

[Flashback End]

While I was aware that there were monsters that could end me in an instant, I have to say I was seriously disappointed in that fight.

He didn't even attempt to make my kidneys fail! At least that would have made the fight interesting.

V found many of the everyday monster attacks to be amusing, seeing as she could easily deal with most basic monsters fairly easily herself. But what she was most fascinated by was the simpler things.

Things such as making our own meals every day, the ability to own actual property, to walk in the rain without an acid-proof umbrella, stuff she could never do in the cyberpunk world. Her nomad soul thrives in the free environments outside the city in the full-fledged forests or plains.

Eleanor was thriving too. From being to interact with people her own age to being able to sit out in the sun and relax. Every day she was off trying to do something different with her newfound freedom.

Apparently, when asked about her parents, she liked to joke; "My daddy is smarter than Einstein, stronger than Hercules, and can light a fire at the snap of his fingers." Her classmates thought her dad was a hero of some sort.

While I wouldn't exactly what Eleanor would call a father, that right probably belonged to Delta, I did serve as a parental figure. Probably the cool uncle or something like that. Regardless, I'd at least try to give her a decent life on the surface. She deserved that much at least.

I had kept the Apex bond with her so if anything was wrong, I would know.

On the topic of Rapture, I finally open that loot chest I had acquired from that world. Inside was a single glowing yellow sphere the size of my head.

[The Father's Life Sphere] (Unknown)

The life sphere of the father, the origin from which all Maykr's are spawned. Originated from a divine entity responsible for the creation of Urdak and the maykr race as well as hundreds of thousands of realities.

The fuck?

. . . . . .

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

Why the hell was this thing in rapture?! Who thought it was a good idea to put this down there?! More importantly, why was its item classification unknown?! This item should probably be classified as nothing less than a God-tier item!

I took a closer look and observed the sphere more closely. This thing didn't really have any instructions or clues on how to use it. Honestly, it was just a very pretty night light at the moment. Probably wouldn't even be able to activate it without extensive study on my part.

From my hazy memory, the only thing I could remember the father doing was creating maykr's and some other stuff. How far did his actual powers extend? The world may never know.

[Nano Hive would like to integrate unknown artifact.]

I heard my nanobots gently request.

"Can it even fit without destroying it?" I ask.

[Modifications can be made.]

"Suit yourselves?"

My chest slides open unexpectedly and the nano hive extends out around the sphere before compacting down to the previous size.

The "Bigger on the inside" concept is total bullshit.

Still, that served to remove one problem.

I also managed to get a glance of Saitama, if only briefly.

He came in, got some food, and left without much fanfare, but I could recognize that distinctive bald head anywhere.

While V did think his face was ridiculous, I did caution her against offending the strongest person in the world. I knew that he was fairly mellow, but there was no sense in "poking the sleeping dragon" as it were.

Still, I was looking forward to an actual encounter with him at a later date.

[Time Skip]

I was walking home from the market one day holding a couple of bags of groceries when I saw a burst of fire over the buildings off to my right.

Getting curious, I stash the groceries in my inventory and hop up onto a nearby roof and free-run across the rooftops towards the explosion.

As I got closer I noticed a distinct lack of people. Did they all run away already?

I heard an annoying buzzing noise by my ear, prompting a sudden realization.

Ah.

People were in hiding.

I crushed the mosquito by my ear as I leaped and landed in the middle of a warzone. Deep chunks and divots were torn out of the asphalt.

In the center of the carnage was a flying woman surrounded by what had to be millions of mosquitoes, fighting Genos.

The woman was quick to notice me; "Looks like another meal has wandered into our grasp. Get him boys!" she ordered causing the swarm to surge towards me.

"No! Get back!" The Cyborg yelled at me as the swarm zoomed closer.

[Nano Armor]

The mosquitoes whipped around me trying to find a vulnerability but finding no purchase in the suit. I took the time to analyze the situation. Genos was missing an arm at this point and it looked like the mosquito lady had reached her final form already, but where was Saitama? He should be hanging out somewhere nearby but I couldn't actually sense him at the moment.

Refocusing on the swarm itself, I decided that I would probably never find a larger number of enemies, so I activated my rage perks

Rage Multiplier

X 100,978,000

Temporary Stats

Str- 77,394,900,000,000

Dex- 69,927,265,000,000

End- 82,801,960,000,000

What the hell?!

How are there that many mosquitoes?!

My strength surged to new heights as the perks take effect, lightning crackling around my form. The bolts of electricity jumped from bug to bug like a chain lightning effect, causing the swarm to retreat rapidly to reveal the wide eyes of the mosquito girl and Genos's surprised expression.

I gave him a thumbs-up, before launching myself at the woman. Mosquitoes fell in little piles of ash as the lighting arced off of me as the swarm tried to stop me. I zapped my way through the swarm revealing the surprised woman as I swung my foot in an axe kick towards her head.

And I vastly miscalculated my speed, my brain could not even process how fast I was moving, so I'm fairly certain that instead of the graceful axe kick I was going for, I ripped off her left shoulder in an instant carving a massive trench through the street and punching holes through several buildings.

Whoopsie.

I was surprised when her regeneration kicked it and she darted away, quick as lightning as she now eyed me warily.

I landed on the ground as she observed me and Genos, before extending the needle-like horn on her head and attempting to pierce my armor.

Leaning out of the way and grabbing her by the horn as she zoomed past, I extended my nano blade and electrified it, jamming it through her back, ripping her open, and spilling her blood sack out into the street in the progress.

She screeched in pain, tearing herself out of my grip allowing the regeneration to kick in once more, the mosquitoes around us going into a frenzy trying to supply her with more blood.

I give her no room to maneuver as I fire a grapple into her and fling her into the ground, breaking her body against the remains of the asphalt.

She escaped once more and threw a wave of needles at me, prompting me to raise a wall of earth in defense.

Dropping the wall, I springboard a nearby building and charge lighting through my hands. I grab ahold of her by the scruff, discharging the lightning through her body, causing the smell of burning mosquito to permeate the air as I drive her face-first through the concrete below, causing her corpse to blow apart in a splash of blood.

The mosquitoes disperse as they realize their leader is dead, leaving behind the many animals and human corpses sucked dry of all of their blood.

I stood up and looked around the newly formed crater around the point of impact, the remains of the mosquito girl crumbling to ash around me.

"That's kinda cool" A bland voice comments at my shoulder causing me to start.

Glancing back, Saitama is standing right at my shoulder observing everything.

"High praise from the strongest being in the world." I return, allowing my armor to deactivate.

I hit him with a quick observation to see what I can spot

Saitama

One-Punch Man

Lvl - ?

Thoughts – You're a strong fighter.

"Hmm, we should fight sometime." Saitama comments.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. My strength is situational and it pales in comparison to yours." I reply.

He nods thoughtfully before turning and heading back towards his house.

I turn to head back home when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Turning back, I discover Genos had stopped me.

"Thank you for your help. But what do you mean when you address him as one of the strongest beings in the world? Also, who are you?" He questioned.

I gesture at the retreating Saitama; "He's a man who can kill literally anything with a single punch. As for me, the names Tavish Byrne." I offer to shake his good hand.

"Tavish Byrne huh? Can I visit you later?" He asked.

I shrug my shoulders; "Sure, why not. You may have to wait for a less busy period though, my restaurant gets rather full at times." I comment heading back towards Fantasia.

[Time Skip]

He came by knocking within fifteen minutes of me showing up at the restaurant, his arm properly replaced.

His way of speaking came off as overly formal at times as he hunted for the reason why I was so strong.

I showed off a couple of random augments but he didn't seem satisfied by my explanation for my strength.

Eventually, he left after resolving to learn how I got so strong.

As I turned to start cleaning up and restock the kitchen, I heard a massive explosion in the distance.

Sounds like the house of evolution decided to go mess with Saitama.

Today's incident did bring an option ahead today. Hero's were a common thing here, did I want to be a hero? Did I want to stay independent? Might be a fun pastime, but it may bring some unwanted attention to my person.

Plus, It seemed like a bunch of unneeded infighting and pressure that I didn't feel like dealing with.

Maybe I'll ask V and get her opinion on it.

On the topic of the house of evolution, it did take up an entire episode of the anime, what were the chances a loot crate was hidden there?

Setting the last bag in the fridge, I go to grab my armor.

I always wanted to explore their hideout, no better time like the present.

[Time Skip]

It didn't take me long to actually track Saitama as he ran towards the hideout. I was showing up a tad late to the party so hopefully, I could explore the secret lab in relative peace.

This place would also serve as an excellent place of operations away from the city if Saitama didn't destroy it completely.

I think he only blew up a couple of walls so I think I'll start moving infrastructure in once everything is settled.

These plans were swiftly dashed against the rocks when I came into view of the smoking crater Genos had left of the facility.

Crap, I forgot that happened.

I could feel vibrations beneath my feet as the denizens beneath the earth continued their various activities and fights.

Quickly locating the subterranean entrance, I start searching through the catacombs of the facility. I would occasionally run across a room that would pique my interest for a few minutes before I would move on to the next.

The research lying about was something that I quickly absconded with for my own "light" reading. Who knows? I might get into genetic manipulation in the future. Would make a fun weekend project anyways.

One of the rooms I came across contained a series of growing vats containing genetic monstrosities possessing various attributes. Many of them possessed based human-like characteristics with something else spliced in. One of the rooms contained a series of bug/ human hybrids similar to mosquito girl.

Most of them turned out to be horribly disfigured crossbreeds marked as failed projects, but some look as if they might have been successful had they been allowed to continue to fruition.

One of the bug/ human hybrids looked dang near identical to a baseline human but had a set of ant eyes. The man had "ant strength" and was capable of carrying roughly seventy-five times his own mass. He was deemed a failure because of his tendency to wander and get distracted very easily.

I glanced over the hybrid remains in sympathy. He was probably just curious about the wider world and wanted to explore, but got punished for it instead.

Continuing deeper into the facility, I finally managed to find a loot crate within a broom closet of all places. It was being used to prop up a shelf full of cleaning products when I discovered it.

Carefully sliding it out and replacing it with a bucket, I finally observe the chest.

Easter Egg Discovered!

Loot Chest (Rare)

Chests discovered:

One Punch Man (1/35)

Cracking open this loot chest, the first thing that I pulled out was a little Armored Gorilla Funko figure. Looks like I would have to put up a shelf for these, I'm starting to build a small collection.

The other items I pulled out of the chest were fairly interesting as well.

Medi Gun (Rare)

Windup Mouse (Common)

CQC RPG (Rare)

The Medi Gun.

The Iconic power that is Uber Charge is now within my grasp. I was actually curious about some of the practical applications I could use the gun for. I already spent a short stint as a doctor, maybe it would help expand my understanding further?

Time will tell.

The room I was in suddenly shook as a massive explosion rocked the structure, causing bits and pieces of the ceiling to crumble down.

I eyed the bits of debris warily. While I was getting better with earth manipulation, I didn't want to test my luck by hanging around in the collapsing building. It would definitely put a damper on my day if I had to spend the rest of it digging myself out.

Bagging up the remainder of my goodies, I scampered for the nearest exit, occasionally sidestepping a piece of the ceiling as it drops to the floor.

I finally jump out of a massive hole in the wall and start running back towards town.

[Time Skip]

I heft yet another crate of beer into our pantry.

I was honestly surprised at how much alcohol we went through in the space of a week. This is the third time I've had to increase our order since we opened Fantasia.

I was lucky to have any business at all with the constant explosions signifying the next monster attack. It was absolutely ridiculous how often buildings exploded around here.

It made setting up a Cauldron an absolute nightmare.

I traveled almost fifty miles away from the main city before it felt safe enough to actually establish one.

The troop numbers were gradually building as I started getting more infrastructure setup in the cauldron. Mineral excavation was a bit of a pain to setup, but between the Bosco units and a few "mineral" tree's, I was able to finally establish a steady production and establish an R&D department.

It's always important for my tech to keep moving forward, not only to plan for future threats but to also respond to them.

This world happened to be chalk full of massive threats and obstacles to my overall well-being, and it would be prudent to have solutions to various threats. I'm fairly sure that if I happened to fight the Sea King as I am now, I would get absolutely merc'ed within a few minutes.

I also started compiling a list of hero's along with their current abilities to see if their was any way to improve their combat potential while on the battlefield.

They were so stupidly sporadic with their powers that I was going to need more data before making any headway with that.

My earth affinity finally maxed out allowing for me to start working on my plant affinity. More than anything, I just wanted to accelerate the growth of my experimental trees to see their final end product.

The raw material produced by some of these trees was becoming too big a resource to ignore with my advancements into precious metal trees.

The production of materials such as gold and silver from the trees hallmarked the base from which to advance even further into other materials.

Like mithril.

I was so close to completing my first mithril-producing tree, but I was still missing a key ingredient for it to be a finished product. This tree would be essential for me to continue further into artificing.

Recently, I discovered that by utilizing mithril instead of other materials, my magical devices became much more potent, and vastly expanded the capabilities of the device I was trying to create. I theorized that since mithril was magic conducting metal if substituted into most artificing devices, it would remove many points of failure.

Specifically, the points where it could blow up.

Testing this on radio, something that blew up previously, I was astounded by the sheer clarity of the sound emitting from the radio.

This neatly leads back to my need for a mithril tree. The sheer amount of mithril I would need for simple experimentation was staggering, thus a steady supply was required.

I left the tree to gestate in the Cauldron while I took care of some restocking back at the eatery.

[Luck Event Triggered]

I hear the door open and a deep voice asks; "Excuse me, are you guys open today?"

Turning around, I laid eyes on the "supposed" strongest hero.

King

Lvl – 23

Thoughts – curiosity, nervousness

Special attribute: Luckier than a Leprechaun

[Luckier than a Leprechaun]

The owner of this perk has the uncanny ability to get themselves into trouble, but manage to always get themselves out of trouble through their own cunning, lucky happenstance, and divine intervention.

I smile at the nervous hero; "We're supposed to be closed today, but if you don't mind waiting, I could whip something up and we could chat a bit." I offer, setting a case on a nearby counter.

He quietly nods, and I flick my fingers prompting a few lights to flick on and for some of the pans to start organizing themselves.

"Got a preference? Or should I just surprise you?" I offer the silent man.

"Anything is fine." He states simply.

I snapped my fingers and the kitchen sprung to life behind me as he sat down at a table.

"Want something to drink?" I ask

"Beer please." He replied, his stoic demeanor standing firm.

I go behind the bar and grab two beers out of the fridge. Popping them both open on the counter, I bring them back to the table and hand one to him before sitting down myself.

"So, what's bothering you?" I state taking a drink of my beer.

He took a sip before replying; "What makes you think somethings bothering me?" He asked slowly.

"You look like somethings weighing on you, plus, it looks like you got caught up in that explosion earlier." I returned, gesturing to his ruffled look.

He stayed silent as I continued enjoying my beer, the soft noises of the kitchen going on behind me.

I could sense the wheels turning in his mind as he was trying to figure out what all I knew, and what all he could say.

"What would you do, if you accidentally took credit for someone else's work, but nobody believes you didn't do it." He questioned slowly after taking a long sip of beer.

"Well I'd bring it up with the man in question. Your talking about One-Punch Man correct?" I ask, standing up and retrieving the finished food.

"Is that his hero name?" He asked, stunned at my awareness of the situation.

"No, it's the one I gave him because it is more apt. At the rate he is going, he'll probably join the hero association with a name like Captain Baldy or something equally awful." I return setting a plate of fried chicken in front of him.

"Yeah, the hero association isn't exactly known for its naming sense." He replied, digging into the plate of food.

We ate in silence for a moment before I spoke up once more. "I would recommend talking to Saitama about the situation, but I would also look inwards for improvement."

He refocused on me as I continued; "The fact that you've managed to intimidate most of your enemies thus far and Saitama manages to interfere unintentionally against any enemy threatening you, you have more luck than most leprechauns. Who knows how long your luck will hold out, but make yourself stronger so it doesn't matter how long your luck holds out. You have yourself a brilliant and clever mind, put it to use thinking of other ways to get stronger."

He sat there contemplating as I cleared away the plates.

"You're welcome to come by if you want to chat as well, sometimes, you need to chat with someone in order to get your thoughts straight." I comment as he pays for his meal.

"I will think about it, Thank you." He stated, turning around and walking out the door, closing it behind him.

[King's POV]

When I went in for lunch today, I didn't expect to have my secret revealed to a complete stranger.

It was strange, and a little frightening how quickly the chef was able to ascertain the exact nature of the situation, along with all of the parties involved.

But what was more, he saw past the façade of King!

The strongest man on earth was revealed to be a shut-in gamer.

And while he appeared to be uninterested what sort of intentions did the mysterious chef have?

I vaguely remember the file concerning the man who landed in the intersection, but next to nothing was listed about him and his compatriots. Where were the others today? If I remember correctly, four people stepped out of the portal. What sort of diabolical schemes could they be up to?!

[3rd person Eleanor]

Eleanor was standing at the front of the classroom scribbling down the solution on the board.

[3rd person B.O.B.]

The large Omnic was sitting reclined in a chair on the beach. A large sunhat shaded his head from the sun as he read a book.

[3rd person V]

V wiped the sweat from her forehead as she finished assembling a suburban.

[King POV]

I shuddered once more internally as my mind ran the gamut of possibilities. It might be a good idea to inform the hero association of his possible intelligence level. Definitely, something to watch out for.

On the other hand, he was also a person he could properly sit down and talk with without the façade of King interfering. Plus, the food there was good. I wonder if he plays any games?

[Time Skip]

[Tavish POV]

I finally got the chance to analyze some of the technical data Genos, and it would be a lie to say I wasn't impressed.

Powered by a dedicated nuclear reactor, Genos was a full chrome conversion, effectively reaching the combat pinnacle of cyberware in Night city. While nowhere near his peak yet, Dr. Kuseno did some truly marvelous work in his modular design for Genos, even going as far as to have a mostly flesh and blood backup for Genos if necessary.

The ease at which Genos could swap out parts was a point I marveled at as well. Normally when swapping to a different piece of cyberware, the user would have to go through an adjustment period, but Genos was able to bypass it completely thanks to his programming running in the background. It was thanks to this that swapping parts was as simple as breathing.

Dr. Kuseno allowed me a brief glance at the code, and I could tell it was a true masterpiece of code. A clean work of art that I doubt anyone else could come close to replicating.

However, Genos's design isn't without flaws. He can only take a scant number of hits before being rendered inoperable. His ease at swapping out parts becomes his undoing when it comes to staying power in combat.

I suggested implementing impact dampeners to Genos only to discover why they weren't already installed. There simply wasn't any more room to work with.

Kuseno was very conservative with the space within Genos, ultimately this led to sacrificing defense for speed and power. While I had two simple solutions to the problem, I wasn't willing to part with any of my Gallifreyan techs to enable it. While I knew Genos was a pretty good guy, he got destroyed a lot, and I didn't want to risk any of the tech falling into the wrong hands.

Off the top of my head, the easiest way to increase his durability would be to interlace Vibranium into his core body structure. The problem resided in the fact that like mithril, I had a very limited supply, so it would have to wait until I had proper production of the material setup.

This meeting with the doctor was very informative and prompted me to look inward at some of my cybernetic design and make a leap that I had put off for a while now.

Flight.

For this test, I had climbed up to the top of a nearby skyscraper wearing my nano suit.

[Flight Core Activated]

I felt my body shifting as it accommodated the new cyberware, my legs adjusting into an internal thruster format, their engines glowing blue as they ignited for the first time. The plates on my back folded and shifted into a single gyroscopic thruster, dialing and expanding as it adjusts to its new mount.

The thrusters activate for the first time gently lifting me off the ground allowing me to hover.

New Skill Added

[Flight] (1/100)

The ability to fly through the air with the greatest of ease. Denotes your overall maneuverability in the air and how well you can move.

I gently drift from side to side slowly increasing my speed until I was gracefully able to glide across the roof. I shifted back and forth a few times to make sure I could transform seamlessly in an instant.

Next up, the real test.

Metal wings unfolded either side of the thruster on my back and ignited with sentinel energy.

With that, I leaped off the roof.

[3rd person POV]

Passers-by looked up at the flash of something as it came down from the top of the tower.

Wings unfolded from the figure as its thrusters roared with power and it caught the wind, launching itself skyward. Mere seconds after it took off, a sonic boom echoed around the city.

[Tavish POV]

New Skill Added

[Afterburner] (1/100)

Cost: 200 MP per Second

By burning your mana, your capable of increasing your speed beyond the norm. You can increase the speed them more mana you burn.

Dex*20 Mph base bonus.

I have never felt so free.

Once upon a time, I flew through the air with the assistance of an ODM. Now? I've got no strings to hold me down.

I channel more mana and my wings develop a lower profile as I hit march three, the wind rippling around me as the wind resistance is removed from my person, allowing me to swiftly surpass several machs.

The sentinel energy incorporation in the design enabled me to lighten the loadout significantly and provide the power required to match and surpass all conventional flight speeds. I could sense the nanomachines carefully monitoring the cybernetics as I throttled the speed back to more reasonable levels as I approached City-Z.

A crater suddenly formed on the east side of the city in a massive explosion.

Alarms start blaring out across the city and I receive a new quest.

New Quest Added

[Big Problems in little Z]

Objective 1: Investigate the cause of the explosion

Objective 2: ?

Bonus Objective: ?

Reward:?

I guess I better investigate a bit then? I'm always down for more loot.

Turning in the direction of the explosion, I fly over and spot the center of the disturbance.

Right in the center of the crater, was a metal pod, heat pouring off the outside of it. Some of the local people were starting to move closer to investigate when it emitted a jet of steam and started shifting.

A pair of arms folded out from the side, the front plates collapsing to reveal a huge robot, its single optic glowing a sinister red as its legs extend from its frame.

Standing at its full height, its massive arms hang by its sides as it scans its surroundings. I take the time to initiate my own base scans, detecting the plethora of weapons hidden within the frame. Its arms appeared to be containing the bulk of the weapons while coated in an extremely durable shell.

[Warning!]

[Weapons powering up!]

My nanobots start alerting me as an arm cannon is unveiled from the machine, targeting a nearby person.

I throw Stormfront, causing it to embed in the ground in front of the man.

The laser fires, impacting the shield causing it to flair out a burst of sentinel energy as the shield absorbs the damage.

The Robot looks up at me only to meet a massive bolt of lightning. The air temperature dropping rapidly in the surrounding air, caused frozen water particles to develop amplifying the power of the bolt.

"Lightning dispersal countermeasures." The big machine uttered, a grounding spike stabbing into the ground beneath him prompting me to use observe on him.

B-13

Lvl- 275

Traits: Mechanical, adaptive, emotionless

Thoughts: Unknown hero encountered, commence collecting data.

My armor plating configured into the "Spartan" loadout as the machine lunged at me, knocking me back through a building.

-43,250 HP

I groan pulling myself out of the crater. I activate my rage perks and launch myself out of the building commencing a counterattack.

Lighting crackled across my armor as the temperature continued to drop. My fist impacted and rocked the machine back, causing the metal to creak.

As our battle continued to escalate, I realized a very important fact when he was attempting to run me through with a blade.

My Ghost in a Shell perk had no effect on him whatsoever.

I grab on to his arm and jam my doom blade into the electronics and overloading it with electricity, rendering the arm temporarily useless.

He immediately grabbed me by the back of the armor and slammed me into the ground.

-150,387 HP

I felt my ribs break as he continued to slam me again into the ground.

The temperature continued to drop further as he finally released me to take aim at another passerby, a small child.

A hand of earth surged up and diverted the laser shot into the sky. The robot smashed the pillar in irritation as I grab his leg and pull it out from under him.

Wrapping my legs around the collapsed robot's torso, I start delivering haymaker after haymaker into B-13's head, denting the helm repeatedly.

Deploying a Nanoblade, I jam it into his chest and force more lightning into his system.

Lightning Affinity has Leveled up! (Max)

Storm Affinity unlocked! (15/100)

Finally!

Storm clouds started gathering overhead as the robot threw me into a nearby car. The temperature in the area had dropped well below freezing at this point as I continue dropping the temperature, hoping to see some effect on the machine.

It's movements looked a little jerky before it leaped and landed on my chest.

-75,490 HP

As I struggled with forcing the surprisingly heavy robot off, it reached down and ripped my left leg off.

-357,734 HP

Warning!

Bleeding out for

(2:58)

-3000 HP per Second

"RAH!" I roar in pain at its actions as it tosses my leg off to the side. Ozone was thick throughout the air as its movements continued to slow in the increasingly cold temperatures, ice starting to cake its chassis and freezing the internals of the robot.

My remaining leg thruster ignited, breaking its grounding spike and launching me out from under the murderous machine, blood pouring out onto the ground from my stump.

The storm clouds overhead have turned pure black as lightning flashes supercharge throughout the cloud.

Rain starts pouring from the sky, becoming icy spikes as the wind freezes them and directs them into the machine piercing through its armor.

Ice spikes pierce through the metal legs of the ice-encrusted machine holding it in place as I directed the charging electricity into a single point.

New Spell Discovered

[Advent of the Thunderbird]

Cost: 500 MP per second

You are one with the storm. Summon and control a tempest like the legendary birds of Myth.

The Machine is enveloped in a pillar of lightning as the tempest deploys its entire payload into the robot.

Lightning continued to pour down from the sky for another thirty seconds before it petered off, revealing the machine sparking and sputtering.

Taking advantage of its weakness, I fly over towards my leg.

Grabbing it, the nanobots break it down and start regenerating it. I deploy Stormreaver in its lance form and use it as a brace to hobble over and gather up Stormfront.

My leg finishes regenerating the bone when I finally turn back to the machine.

Its singular optic was cracked as it stared me down. I level the lance at the robot, sentinel energy intermixing with the storm wreathing the length.

The robot's arms opened revealing rack upon rack of missiles, prompting my immediate action, impaling its head with the lance

-3000 HP

Pain shot up my demolished leg as I tried to keep moving, causing me to stumble.

I grasped my lance for support, propping myself against the robot, as I feel my nerves regenerating.

"Unit unable to continue. Commencing secondary countermeasures." B-13 stated, the arms suddenly grasping ahold of me.

"Initiating Self-destruct" The robot monologed starting to glow.

Shit!

Firing off my thrusters once more, I launch myself skyward the machine grasped firmly onto me. I pour every ounce of my remaining mana into afterburn as I climb faster and faster.

[Warning!]

[Speed reduced by ½ due to crippling injury!]

Ten-thousand feet.

Twenty-thousand feet.

Thirty-thousand.

The nanomachines were detecting massive radiation build up from this guy's power core. I needed to get him out into space.

Breaking out of the bots hold, I feel the seals on my suit modify for my leg loss as I continue climbing, the thruster on my back working overtime to compensate for the leg thruster.

The temperature jumps massively as I hit the Thermosphere, and I start cooking alive in my armor.

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

-50 HP

Interfacing with the bot using technomancy I rip the data core out of the machine as I throw it as hard as I can off into space

[Ancient Art of Throwing Shit]

The bot explodes in a flash of light enveloping my vision.

[Hero Association Dispatch Center]

[3rd Person POV]

"Sir! We have impact on the east side of city Z!" A technician reports, pulling a map up onto the big screen in the call center.

"What do we know so far?" The man asked, gesturing for the tech to continue.

"Something that appears to be mechanical impacted, causing a relatively low number of casualties. On closer investigation, it unveiled itself to be a combat bot of some variety." The first tech stated in a clipped manner.

"When it attempted to open fire, Tavish, the dimension hopper, interfered. Apparently, our initial analysis of his capabilities was a bit off the mark on what all he could do as he was flying through the area." The second tech reported dutifully causing the man to nearly drop his tablet.

"He can fly?! Why on earth did we not pick that up sooner?!" The man sputtered.

"The agents we have monitoring him reported that fact in roughly two hours ago when they witnessed what appeared to be his initial test flight. After that he was able to reach speeds exceeding Mach 4 at which point the agents lost track of him. They picked up his trail once more when he reentered the airspace just outside of City – Z." Another Tech replied pulling up said report on her screen.

The Man leaned back in his chair and sighed; "Alright then, continue."

"Tavish had an armor appear on his body when he engaged the machine with a massive lightning bolt. So far we have spotted him wielding a variety of elements and sporting massive strength and speed when combating the machine, as well as moderate mastery of some bladed weapons and his fists." The first tech read off, scrolling past various bits of footage.

"The machine went as far as to rip the man's leg off but he continued to turn up the heat as he caused a full-on storm to start brewing, his control over ice made itself known at that point –." The second tech started before the building shook from a massive boom of thunder outside.

It was silent in the dispatch center for a moment when another tech hesitantly spoke up; "Sir. That was Tavish bringing the fight to a conclusion. Geez! Look at how fast his leg is repair-." The sentence was cut off as klaxon alarms start blaring out, a symbol with a warning flashed across the big screen.

[Nuclear Explosion Imminent!]

[Location: City – Z!]

[Fallout Imminent!]

"Sir, the machine is about to go off! It must have a nuclear payload as a countermeasure!" Another tech panicked.

"Sir! Live feed coming through!" The second tech informed.

"Put it up on the big screen." The man ordered and watched as an image of Tavish and the bot was displayed on the screen.

He watched as the machine grabbed the armored figure, and how he suddenly launched up into the sky, his two remaining thrusters burning bright and his skeletal leg trailing uselessly behind as he continued to increase his speed.

The drone watching was struggling to keep up as Tavish continued to climb faster and faster, his armor covering his injured leg, the man realizes what Tavish is trying to do.

"Come on, climb you bastard." The man mumbled as Tavish broke out of the machine's grip.

Tavish's arm reared back as he entered the edge of the atmosphere, throwing the machine out into space.

The rest of the feed was cut off as a blinding flash of light occurred taking down the surveillance drone, leaving the operations center in dead silence as they sat watching the big screen.

[V's POV]

I was watching Tv when an emergency bulletin came through for City – Z. A fairly common occurrence due to the high monster population density.

What was shocking was who was involved.

I was considering doing some part time hero work after observing some of the ridiculous hero's running around the various cities. They did receive compensation for their work after all.

Plus, I had to be better than some of the hero's that they are taking in. I mean, Saturn man? A man dressed like the planet? Seriously?!

I'm fairly certain that without Tavish's help I could make at least a B-class hero, possibly low A-class. If Tavish wanted to get involved, I could easily do high A-class, maybe even low tier S-class if I truly dedicated my time.

That was at least, until I saw Tavish's fight against the machine.

The speed at which the fight occurred was mindboggling in how the slow capture camera could barely keep up as the two titans clashed.

Tavish threw lightning around like confetti as his fists impacted the machine in a flurry of shots powerful enough to dent the metal plating of the bot, while the bot slammed Tavish into the ground with earth-shattering force.

More and more elemental powers joined the fight causing the now raging storm to agitate up above, and it looked like an even fight, until it tore Tavish's leg off.

Before, the most injured I had ever seen Tavish was when he was getting bullets removed at Vik's. To see him in such a state was honestly terrifying.

Power continued to course around him as he fought gamely on, the bone now regenerating from his damaged stump, Tavish finally unleashed the sheer power building up overhead, the lightning strike impacting the machine with a tremendous amount of force.

Not able to tell if the bot was finished, I ran to the garage and called for Bear and Wolfe, I grab some of the weapons that I was working on and hop onto Wolfe's back.

Bear and Wolfe were a pleasant surprise to find one morning upon waking up. I have no idea where Tavish was hiding them all this time, but these guys were true marvels of engineering. I enjoyed tinkering with them and playing with them in my spare time.

"Come on Wolfe! Find Tavish!" I urge the giant beast towards the East side of town, Bear charging after us as cars and trucks quickly moved to get out of the way.

The Panzerhund's speed increased as they neared the crash site, damage becoming quickly evident as we got closer to the fight.

Glancing back at Bear, I saw his head snap to the side and crush a smaller machine in between his jaws. It dropped the phial it was carrying and a red substance poured out onto the ground causing me to go cold.

Was that Tavish's blood? Was their more than the single rouge machine at work here? Either way . . . .

She gestured to Wolfe and he launched a gout of fire from his jaws obliterating the sample.

"Good boy!" I praise, and we continue to the warzone Tavish left in his wake, Wolfe and Bear removing any traces of Tavish's blood from the surroundings.

Its definitely something I need to bring up to him later. Maybe put those nanobots to work destroying any possible DNA samples lying around.

I've watched those sci-fi horror shows, I know what happens when the bad guy gets the chance to clone you.

We finally arrive at the edge of the crater when I saw Tavish in the grasp of the robot as he flew skyward until he was out of sight.

After about a minute of waiting for something to happen the sky flashes in a brilliant white explosion as something explodes outside of the atmosphere.