Chapter 5

The weak rays of the sun battered helplessly against the streets of Y-City dispersing small amounts of warmth from the partially clouded sky while a mild wind stole that warmth right away. In most aspects this day could be considered a usual day in the busy streets of Y-City with the exception of one single small difference. A small restaurant with varnished wooden walls had opened its screen doors wide open revealing a packed interior from which sounds of talking and eating emitted. Just outside the doors stretched a line over a dozen metres long and yet kept forcibly short by greeters who restricted its length. A combination of delicious smells wafted around the area drawing the eyes and nose of every passerby who looked wistfully into the dining room.

Inside the dining area was just as busy as black dressed waiters dashed from table to table taking orders and returning food of all sorts. Every single dish was ordered in a masterful way giving off delightful smells that enraptured the apertures causing those who didn't have food in front of them to stare wistfully at those who did. The inside of the room was just a fraction of a degree below comfortable but this was offset by the warm lamps scattered around as well as the heated dishes. The theme for this food today seemed to lean heavily towards various cuts of beef with each dish containing a portion of what once was a cow.

Standing at the payment table was a black haired young boy who was dressed in a black and white suit he didn't look entirely comfortable in. Despite his awkwardness he earnestly attempted to make conversation with each guest and it seemed that more than a few found him charming as they often lingered to speak more to him. He just smiled and wished another batch of guest's farewell before he turned around and stepped back into a wooden door that separated the kitchen from the rest of the restaurant.

The cooking area of the restaurant couldn't be more different from the overall aesthetic. Outside the seating area consisted of finely made wooden furniture and decorations in which the prime jewel was artwork with various interesting scenes and paraphernalia collected over a lifetime of fighting monsters that caught the eye and enraptured the imagination. Inside the kitchen there was nothing but steel and metal that gleamed coldly, impossibly clean compared to any other restaurant. Appliances lined up against the wall, each fulfilling their objective.

The sole inhabitant of the kitchen was a blur that moved up and down the length of the expansive kitchen causing items to disappear and reappear as if the whole situation was captured in a time-lapse video. In seconds food was diced, arranged and plated; dishes were washed dried and replaced for the next meal and Toby watched in amazement as his employer moved at speeds exceeding even his eyes.

"Hello, Toby," I said as I sensed my young assistant walk in the door. "How are the customers looking? Have there been any complaints about the food?"

"There hasn't been any Mister King," Toby said. "Everybody looks satisfied and excited. I'm sure this is going to be another five star restaurant day."

"I hope so Toby," I said as I sprinkled a few spices into the sauce before starting to stir. "I've recently acquired a few portions of excellent quality beef and I would be mortified if I messed them up. You can't even buy any more from that herd," I said as I took a second to wink at Tony. "They've all been sold out."

"So when are you opening up for the next day," Tony asked and I waved him off while swiftly doing the dishes.

"There's still five more hours before the restaurant closes," I said as I put the final touches on a crème caramel. "I think I'll look into doing something fish next time. Not this week but maybe the next though."

"I guess it is kind of impressive to be so good at cooking and still lose money," Toby said in a voice that surprisingly sincere. "We hitting just below even for this day. If we just upped the tickets by just a bit…"

"Then people wouldn't be able to come and eat," I said smilingly as I picked up an armful of plates and placed them on the dispatching area. "None of the right people anyway," I continued putting on a faux-posh accent. "This store was never more than an occasional hobby anyway. If you try to get money out of your hobbies then it just becomes work."

"I will endeavour to remember that Sir," Toby said. "But we could just work a few days more and stop changing the menu every time you open or at least accept more of those high profile catering jobs."

"I'm afraid not," I said. Surprisingly Toby was fare more attached to the restaurant than I was, well on the days that it opened at least. The standard procedure that I operated was to announce a day of opening and a theme and then hire out temporary waiters while I operated the kitchen and leaved the bookings and payments to Toby.

"At least you have been working more in the restaurant these last weeks," Toby said as he picked up a few of the plates and placed them in the despatching area and signalling to the waiters to come and pick them up. "Normally you spend much more time training. Are you finally realising you're more than strong enough."

"No. It's because I've brushing against my limit," I said truthfully looking at my status once more.

King

The Gamer

Title - None

Species - Human

Health- 24 999 999/24 999 999

Mana – 24 999 999/24 999 999

Level – 9 999 EXP 9999999999/9999999999

STR – 9 999 999

VIT – 9 999 999

DEX – 9 999 999

INT – 8 868 453

WIS – 9 023 454

LUK – 8 777 563

Points -0

Money 789 456 711¥

Intelligence, wisdom and luck were the only stats that still I was still working to max out and then I would have no further path for improvement. Even my stats were misleading as I could fight those rare few with higher stats such as Blast and Tatsumaki by relying on my Outsider abilities; literal reality altering abilities that didn't belong in this world. Not a single one of my Outsider powers were weak however and Life Fibers and Gourmet Cells were in fact were planet killers in their own series while Shun Shun Rika was akin to baby's first reality warping and Spin was a possible gateway to infinite energy.

I was already in the process of trying to increase my mastery over my Gourmet Cells and Spin and combine them to achieve my next power up. It was about the only process of my training that was making any strides at the current time. I sighed as I continued to cook up a few more dishes that were conveyed to me but I felt my enthusiasm waning all the while as I thought back to my dilemma. There were very few people in the world that could challenge me anyway which made improving an absolute hellacious endeavour. Even my dungeons difficulty had capped and there were no more true challenges.

Dungeons were miniature dimensions after all and only the most energy rich could form and maintain proper opponents. The majority of dungeons created nowadays could be passed by fourteen year old me. It was the greatest disappointment of my year when I had fought a copy of Sun Wukong before both dimension had him collapsed due to lack of energy. Thankfully I had a good reading off of him by that point, because there was only one way these days that I can face a truly good challenge.

Well two, I suppose. At this point it was one and a half years before canon and Saitama's progress was coming along nicely. Not that I had closely observed of course. My goal was to surpass him at only after he had lost his hair and attained ultimate power. If I were to do it now then it would be kind of cheap. I wasn't ready for all my efforts to be rendered pointless anyway.

Just as I turned back I heard a lot of screaming and the sound of shattering glass coming from somewhere outside the restaurant. Toby heard it as well, his werewolf hearing far superior to that of any normal human. Slipping off my apron and chucking it onto the nearby counter I strode out of the restaurant towards the front door noticing as I did that people were running inside my restaurant and huddling against the far side of the room. I gave a reassuring smile as I did so and was 'rewarded' by a round of cheering as looks of relief seemed to manifest on the dozens of humans that saw me.

As I stepped through the door I was confronted by a Mysterious Being about three dozen stories tall, although this looked less like a monster and more like a walking building. One thousand two hundred and twenty-six hands emerged from various windows doors and other apertures and I whistled at the amusing sight before me. From each of the windows a collection of what looked to be like moving food flew out from the windows and I was vaguely reminded of that movie from… Dreamworks? I can't really remember the producer; it didn't really leave an impact. Still they were attacking nearby humans and so I only took a quick look at the status before I decided to remove them.

Tomarrow

Former Three Star Chef

Title: Former Greatest Chef in Y-City

Species – Monster

Health- 2 100 000/2 100 000

Mana – 0/0

STR – 458 693

VIT – 692 103

DEX – 21 360

INT – 28 698

WIS – 423

LUK – 1 2003

Special Ability: One Knife One Fork Culinary

"Red Miles," I said stating the name of my newest attack; a reference nobody was ever going to get in this world or the previous. As I spoke thousands of red strings emerged from my right hand. The original aim of Life Fibers was to eat the biological energy of other beings and they didn't skimp as lines of red shot into the sky before splitting and dividing targeting each and every meal and devouring them within seconds causing their drained corpses to fall from the sky.

"KKKKKIIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGGGG!" the massive building sized monster screamed my name and I watched as its hands extended before the lashed down towards me with force that I easily deflected leaving not one piece of the road damaged. For a brief moment I sensed human life within the building begin to panic and my expression hardened before I deliberately relaxed.

"That is my name," I said casually. "I'm going to take a guess and say you're not the guy who is bringing my package at 4. I don't know where that guy is?" I shook my head with the resignation of a guy who had picked the wrong courier company.

"You took everything from me King!" the walking building said as he didn't relent in his futile attacks. More and more punches landed which I easily blocked before I threw one of my own punches, infusing Spin and causing over half of the arms to be shredded in an instant. More and more of those flying meals emerged from their windows but they were immediately shot down by the camping Life Fibers.

"This must just be a misunderstanding," I said calmly as I raised my hands in an accommodating gesture. "Why don't you come inside and have the best chef in Y-City cook you a meal?" He lost it at that and I held in my chuckles as his attacks became more and more fierce. The crowd beguns scattering and panicking when he started his assault, but after twenty seconds of attacks and not a single injury they returned and resumed cheering all the louder.

"Easy, easy," I said to the low Demon level monster. "Why don't we settle this like chefs instead of hero and monster? I challenge you to a cook-off?" I said smiling watching as the monster froze and the crowds went silent. Sure I could defeat the Mysterious Being in one blow but there were civilians still inside the building that I would have to rescue meaning that I would have to rescue them as I defeated him. The whole process felt a bit stressful and wasn't very fun anyway and so I decided to just beat him in a cook off while I waited for my planned reinforcements.

"You think you are a better chef than me KKKIINNG!" the guy said. "I will prove to you that you are nothing compared to Tomarrow! I, the head chef of the One Knife Three Plate restaurant will mete doom unto you KKKIIIINNGG!"

"Get my secret stash," I said turning towards my assistant ignoring the overly large ham before me. Toby had swiftly dressed in the battle uniform I had provided for him; a dark green greatcoat with lighter green pants and a WW2 officers cap. The entire suit was constructed from dead Life Fibers giving it a durability surpassing any modern substance. My assistant Toby nodded somewhat obediently before he immediately dashed into the restaurant at speeds that were a blur to the normal human eye and I turned back towards my 'opponent'.

"How do you want to do this," I said to him before changing my mind. "Do we have any food critics in the audience?" I asked and received a smattering of raised hands. "Quite a lot of you," I said knowing full well the reason they were here. "But it doesn't matter, the more the merrier."

"The rules of the competition?" I asked the Mysterious Being allowing the soon to be dead to have all the advantages he desired. A quick comparison of our cooking skills placed mine at 273 levels above his and my Gourmet Cells augmented my cooking skills further by allowing me to use the various techniques from the originating manga. Unfortunately for him this wouldn't be a competition.

"We shall compete in traditional Y-City dishes," the chef said immediately and I nodded in acceptance. I tended to cook whatever I felt like when I felt like it and thus had no specific preference. Y-City traditional cuisine was nearly analogous to Spanish food back on Earth and it was definitely among one of the tastiest.

"Alright, then," I said cracking my knuckles. "We have fifteen judges, a starter, main course and dessert. Do you need any ingredients or are have you made sufficient preparations.

"I need no further assistance," the monster said and for the first time since he had spoken he sounded calm but determined. Immediately from the door what seemed to be a whole kitchen was produced in seconds and I clapped twice at seeing such a sparkling display of cleanliness. At the same time I saw Toby return with trolleys full of potential ingredients and he had even grabbed some of my more transportable cooking implements. I gave a quick look at the ingredients that he had grabbed and gave and approving nod.

"Get me the special smoked ham," I said seeing Toby's doubtful look. "I'll use it as an accent for a Croquetas main. Trust me it will work out well. Also get me the fifth wine on the third shelf in the chilled room. I've been looking for an opportunity to use it. Also get me the good chocolate in the fourth cupboard," I said really getting into this as I saw Toby pull out a notepad and dutifully take down my instructions before dashing inside once more at eye watering speeds. I was basically having a Shokugeki from that popular show that I never finished. This would truly be a legendary battle between the two of us.

xxx

Two hours later

"I remember why I never finished Food Wars now," I said below my breath having finished up my last dish and presented it to the judges. I couldn't stand competitive cooking. I find the evaluation of such subjective things as actual food to be difficult and the fetishized ideal of the perfect food to be annoying. It might be surprising considering the fact that I had Cooking LV 999 and Gourmet Cells but I actually wasn't fazed that much with what I ate, my whole restaurant career amounted to a secondary hobby propped up by an absurdly powerful system and a lack of needed sleep on my part.

I watched idly as the thousands of hands started shuffling in clear signs of nervousness magnified by my opponent's size and my own sharp eyesight. The dozen or so food critics were all full of praise for the well-made food and I had to admit that he was a good opponent that I really didn't care that much about. It was my turn to serve my food and I did so without a word placing plates in front of the various judges. There were no surprises and from the moment that the first bite was taken the results were obvious. Looks of awe, amazement, delight and even one or tears were displayed from the starter all the way to the dessert and I felt a stab of pity for my opponent. This was a crown that I had no interest in wearing and it spoke somewhat to the unfairness of life that I was able to use the Gamer System in order to idly surpass his life's achievement.

Suddenly hands darted out snatching several of the dishes from the table and dragging them inside the windows of the building causing several of the food critics to scamper back in surprise or fear. About ten seconds after the food disappeared into the building the entire multiple story building began to shake accompanied by screams of the various civilians still inside it. At that point in time a horrific scream emanated from the building and I couldn't help but envisage that this would be the reaction if a zealot ascended to the afterlife and then subsequently realised that their deity despised them. Undoubtedly in the mind of Tomarrow the very concept of cooking had betrayed him leaving him with nothing. After a moment of trembling he started to break apart causing concrete and steel to rain down. If this continued then it would be undoubtedly dangerous for both those on the inside and the outside as the building continued to disintegrate.

Thankfully it would not as a pale green light invisible to everybody but me shone over every single piece of rubble and the building was torn apart with expert precision like peeling an orange and revealing the unharmed hostages floating in the sky untouched by the chaos around them. In the next second they drifted harmlessly to the ground shaken but unharmed and I turned my head towards the storm of psychic energy that was making its presence known above me.

"This is the last time that I accept a meal from you," the Tornado of Terror said as she descended until she was hovering a few feet above the ground in front of me. "Tell me King, did you foresee this and just invite me over to do the dirty work."

"It was a mere coincidence that I took advantage of," I said truthfully and the petite girl nodded unhappily but accepting. I looked at the various streets that had taken a lot of damage and the various crowds. "Toby, please try and find those who had their meals prematurely ended and provide them with a coupon for a reserved free dish at the next opening."

"Looks like we are going to be in the red again Mister King," Toby said sighing with resignation before he walked inside to begin the arduous process of checking the schedule and working out who had eaten or who were still waiting to be served. I watched him go before I jumped up to the nearest high rooftop with the shorter esper easily matching my movement.

"The mutt seems healthy," Tatsumaki said offhandedly. Surprisingly enough after hearing Toby's story the Strongest Esper had taken a shine to the young werewolf. While it wasn't immediately obvious, she had repeatedly encouraged him to get stronger and even offered to give him some training; a proposition which was super generous from the normally anti-social esper.

"Yeah, he's doing great," I said. "I would rate him at high Tiger or low Demon-Class at the moment. To put it in hero terms I would place him somewhere in A-Class."

"Not S, yet?" Tatsumaki said with some disappointment. "How is he compared to the prisoner?"

"Maybe a bit weaker or stronger," I said. "You know I don't really go to any of the meetings. I haven't even seen half of the S-Class yet."

"You should attend," Tatsumaki said idly. "Darkshine wanted to challenge you to a fight last time. You should put him in his place."

"From what I have heard of the person he is a rather respectable hero," I stated. "I believe his place is right where he currently sits however I would be perfectly glad to spar with him when I have time on my schedule."

"Well then come next time and do that," Tatsumaki said irritably. "Most of the S-Class heroes are not worth much in the first place. It would be good to sit on a meeting with somebody who is actually strong."

"Or your standards are just too high," I said chuckling and received an unimpressed look. "Our standards are too high," I corrected. "Do you think I should send Toby to the Hero Association to get him a Hero Licence?"

"Sending a monster to the Hero Association," Tatsumaki said sarcastically. "I cannot see a way that could possibly go wrong."

"He's not classified as a monster if he does not pose a threat to society," I said frankly. "Maybe I should send him to Sweet Mask to get evaluated. If the man thinks that he can go to S-Class then he'll put him there."

"How would that incompetent fool help," Tatsumaki said distastefully. "I've never understood why you have respect for him."

"He has an interesting story," I said eliciting a groan from the petite girl. "Besides he's quite friendly to me. Apparently I saved him once when I was younger and he has his finger on the pulse of the Hero Association like nobody else."

"But he will turn the puppy into a show dog rather than actually teaching him how to be strong," Tatsumaki rebutted and I hummed in thought. "Why are we talking so much anyway? You promised me a meal and you still haven't delivered."

"I have a full pantry at the moment," I said in agreement before I pulled out my phone and sent a quick message to Toby instructing him to lock up once he was done and take the rest of the day off. In all honesty it probably wasn't much of a benefit considering how long it would likely take him to lock up but it was better than nothing. Besides Toby's apartment was much closer to the restaurant than my house and it was possible that he would just take the work home or do it next time he came early.

"So what do you want to eat?" I asked as we both headed towards my house. "What about some F-City food?" Tatsumaki said. "I could so with some Cassoulet."

"I can do that," I said mentally rummaging through my cupboards and working out how I could make that. "I suppose that means I can get out some of my Cha…" I stopped at that point but not quick enough for Tatsumaki not to look at me.

"Yes I suppose some Champagne would be appropriate," Tatsumaki said frostily. "Why don't you think it would?"

"You get drunk at the drop of a hat," I said flatly. "And you do the stupidest stuff while drunk."

"Name one ti…" Tatsumaki started and then stopped at the almost certain loss she was barrelling towards. "We're drinking and that is that," she said firmly.

"As her majesty commands," I replied sardonically. "I suppose my house has lived long enough."

xxx

The Following Morning

There is a tremendous amount of guilt I feel when I wake up without a hangover. My regeneration prevents me from suffering the consequences of my actions and in fact if it wasn't for some very special wine sourced straight from the Abandoned World and downright lethal to anybody not named King or Zombieman (or likely Saitama) I wouldn't be able to get drunk at all. Still the sheer stark lucidity was oftentimes worse than the drunkenness and I found myself fumbling for reference as to just how I ended up here, namely in a futon in the lounge. 'I definitely worked my socks off in order to prepare the best in F-City cuisine for my dinner-mate,' I thought as I stood up and then I realised I may have worked off more than my socks.

I was the sort of person who would go to bed in full length striped pyjamas and so I was quite surprised to find myself wearing absolutely nothing but a pair of rather tight briefs. I'm not even sure that I wore these were the ones I wore yesterday. Well I'm pretty sure at this point that I am completely out of Grote Slang Beer and perhaps it was for the best considering it knocked me the fuck out. I displaced the rest of the blankets and stood up on my feet feeling the chill of winter that I mostly shrugged off. 'This was the perfect time for coffee,' I thought as I walked towards my kitchen, only to pause as the door to my bedroom opened and Tatsumaki stepped out wearing a sleepy look and nothing else.

There was a long moment of silence as the two of us looked at each other and I reaffirmed that despite her shortness Tatsumaki was only a year younger than me, this body at least. If we go by most of the anime I watched this was the time when Tatsumaki would attack me and I waited to see her reaction to this whole thing.

"Coffee," she said blearily crossing her arms in front of her in a motion that emphasised certain areas and I came to the realisation that 'oh right, we're not stupid fucking overly-hormonal teenagers.'

"In the kitchen, third urn on the right, right above the kettle, milk is in the fridge, second shelf," I said idly and was 'rewarded' by Tatsumaki turning around and showing me a different side of her. "Do you have any idea what happened last night," I said genuinely interested. It sounded like it was quite a story and I sat back down on the couch.

"I think I lost a bet," Tatsumaki said yawning as she entered the kitchen and left my line of sight. "Or you lost a bet. We might have both lost a bet."

"That must have been quite a bet," I remarked. "Do you have any idea where your dress is?"

"I was going to ask you that," Tatsumaki said as she walked into the living room carrying a mug of piping hot coffee and still dressed for her birthday. "What did you give me to drink last night," she said.

"I would have to take inventory to find out," I said. "What do you think the bet was about?"

"I think it was a contest to see who could drink the most," Tatsumaki said as she sat down about a foot away from me and I decide apropos of nothing to cross my legs. That did sound vaguely familiar, in which case…

"You won," I stated. "If you can still remember that than regardless of who was the last one standing you were the winner."

"Okay," Tatsumaki said slowly. "That makes a bit of sense. Does that mean I get to dictate the terms of my victory," she said leaning closer to me. "What if I asked for those briefs as my reward?"

"I would say they would look terrible on you," I said causing the S-Class hero to snicker semi-maliciously. "But…"

"I think I'll save that victory reward for a later date," she said standing up from the couch. "I should get going for now. I will see you at the headquarters."

"Do you need some of my clothes or a shirt or something," I said gesturing towards her state of undress. While she seemed mostly indifferent to the show she was giving me I doubt she wanted to play nude model for the rest of Y-City.

"And leave this house looking like a cheating spouse," Tatsumaki scoffed before she smiled giving me a look of triumph. "Goodbye King," she said as psychic energy imploded around her shrinking in size but with the energy building up to a terrible climax and in the next second Tatsumaki was gone.

"Oh holy shit, she did it. " I said to myself. I had mentioned that teleportation was a psychic power a while ago but I didn't think she would be able to figure it out so quickly. "Hey she took my mug," was the second thing I said.

"I really need a cold shower," were my last words. Those words weren't strictly true however. Gamers Mind was a tended to place a hard limiter on any excess emotions.

xxx

One year and six months before canon

"One often meets their destiny on the road they take to avoid it," I mused to myself. Of course I didn't believe it. The concept of destiny was nonsense when applied to anything outside of narrative confines. While I appreciated the dramatic irony of a self-fulfilling prophecy I didn't believe in them. Life is a series of coincidences that hides itself well enough that any realisation into to its true nature is immediately thought of as fate or destiny; the so-called magic thinking that plagues a lot of people, mainly fans of sport. I've tended to think about this more as my luck finally passed nine million and I gained a better idea of the esoteric forces that govern our modern life.

Still though it does say a lot that in the one time in the last five years that I come to Z-City this would happen I thought as I looked down at a massive insectile creature with a hole in it. Just looking at the blow I found myself a bit impressed. Sure I could do this but I would normally slice through it with my Life Fibers if it was large or just decapitate it with a punch if it was small. The precision in this blow and the ability to concentrate nearly all of that force without damaging the surroundings was amazing and I started to work out if I could do the same. The closest thing to that would be The Strength of Insects when I still had it. If I could redirect the vectors of my attacks as I performed them then…

I was taken out of my musing as cheering started to resound from around me in a fairly predictable manner and I felt my annoyance spike as my stupid self didn't leave fast enough to avoid the accusations of competence. More and more people came onto the street cheering and while I would tiredly accept the praise if I had killed it I refused to accept credit for something I didn't perform.

"I did not kill that monster," I said with a raised voice the instantly quieted down the cheers. "I am going to go find out who did." A few more cheers sprang up but there was an air of worry. Needless to say people were wondering if it was another monster that had killed this creature which translated as an instinct to return to the shelter or homes. "Don't panic," I said. "I'm sure that whoever killed this being was friendly and I am here regardless. Just continue to go about your day."

That was about as much reassurance as I could stomach and so I moved at speeds that would be considered a blur, teasing past the sound barrier without quite breaking it and ascending into the sky. The many Life Fibers that I possessed sprouted from my body changing my clothes in less than a second and I dropped down to a street in front of a convenience store. By my vague remembrances enhanced by my very nearly nine million intelligence this should be right before right before Saitama lost his hair and so I calmly drew a cap to cover my blonde hair while I stood waiting.

After about ten minutes of waiting the person who had been the focus of my existence for nearly twenty-seven years arrived and I froze before I shook off the momentary shock and anticipation and took full advantage of the double-edged sword of Gamers Mind to calm myself down while I approached the currently black haired young man in a blue tracksuit.

"Would you like to get a meal with me," I said calmly as I approached the younger Saitama. For some reason my Observe simply refused to work on him at all.

"Ah, I'm sorry I don't like guys," he said almost immediately and I mentally readjusted my previous sentence before continuing.

"That's okay. I don't really like guys either," I said. "However I do enjoy killing monsters and from my observation that is something we have in common. Come on, I believe there is a good yakisoba place around here somewhere. I will pay."

Apparently that was enough to convince him to follow me and the pair of us proceeded to a nearby traditional restaurant that I had looked up a few moments previously. I had always been an advocate of meal-time meetings as I feel like people can think clearer while they weren't hungry and the atmosphere tended to put people in a more relaxed state. The yakisoba place was rather quaint and almost empty considering the commotion going on nearby but there was still an old man at the counter. I walked in ordering two large plates before I sat down opposite the future strongest in the world whose status I still couldn't see.

"So you killed that insect monster," I said politely as I waited for the food to arrive. "Why didn't you stay around to deal with it afterwards thought?"

"I had to go to the toilet," Saitama replies immediately. "Besides what else is there to do once it's dead. Don't the street cleaners deal with that?"

"Unless the street cleaners have a crane I doubt it," I said. "Likely the Hero Association will claim the corpse and it will find itself owned by some wealthy person in return for cash." That was a well-kept secret of the Hero but I had long been aware of it and it didn't affect me too much. It wasn't the most objectionable thing they did in the first place. "That's not important," I said. "By leaving you got people thinking I killed it and the credit will most likely fall into my lap."

"Can't you just say you didn't do it?" Saitama said idly. He didn't seem too phased about losing the credit; his interest seemed more off-the-cuff than anything else.

"I can say anything," I replied. "What they record it as is not up to me however. How many monsters like that have you killed anyway?"

"Dozens by now probably," Saitama said giving the expression of somebody thinking back. "Ah, the yakisoba is here."

"That's rather quick," I said as I broke apart my disposable chopsticks breathing in the aroma of the dish. The smell was rich and reminded me of really good home cooking and I tucked in at the same time as the future Caped Baldy. For a long few moments we just ate and I took some time to evaluate Saitama. Right now to the best of my knowledge I was stronger than him. As to how I knew it was because of my abnormally luck stat. Instinctually I had the feeling that it would not be abnormally lucky for me to defeat him.

"So what do you recommend I do," Saitama said as he finished his bowl a few bites after me. "Should I start hanging around after every monster battle just to get my name taken down?"

"Do I look like a life advisor," I said putting my plate to one side. "Actually the majority of monsters that I've killed have gone unannounced." After all I had spent literal years in the Abandoned World. "How long have you been training for?"

"It's been almost one and a half years since I've started my routine," he said with some pride which was fully deserved. I had been training for almost twenty eight years and he was not that much weaker than me.

"I'm not sure that I want to hang around afterwards," Saitama said looking thoughtful. "It might interfere with my training if I have to stop in the middle of it. How long were you fighting before you got your first fans?"

"I was 21, and I've been training since I was born," I admitted getting a look of surprise. "I was born lucid of myself and my surrounds."

"Woah," Saitama said in clear amazement. "So you're like one of those prodigies who can repair cars when they are seven."

"I suppose I could have if I put my mind to it," I admitted. "It's not as fun as you would think though. It gives you a lot of time to ponder life."

"Oh, and did you work it out," Saitama said sounding interested.

"Not really," I admitted. "I'm a nihilist which is basically the philosophical equivalent of turning in a blank test paper; and you?"

"I want to become the strongest hero," Saitama told me what I already knew and I nodded in confirmation.

"In order to do that you will have to beat me in future," I said ordering a second helping of yakisoba for both Saitama and myself. "Are you going to register as an official hero?" I asked repeating my question from earlier.

"No," Saitama said surprising me somewhat. "I'm still training to be a hero and registration won't change that. I'll register once I'm done with my training, not before."

"I can respect that," I said taking my second plate of yakisoba and digging in. For another couple minutes the two of us ate in silence before I called for the bill and had it presented to me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pen and piece of paper from my inventory and quickly jotted down my cell phone number and then I thought about it and jotted down my address as well.

"Just call me if you need any help," I said. "My address is also on the paper. Feel free to drop by when you're in the neighbourhood." I didn't feel like speaking much despite the momentous occasion. This Saitama wasn't yet the Saitama that I had vowed to surpass and despite the fact that I liked him I wasn't interested in his words in the first place.

"I don't even know your name," the hero for a hobby said and I mentally reran my conversation realising that I hadn't even introduced myself yet. "I'm Saitama," he said holding out his hand, while telling me things I already knew.

"King," I said taking his hand in my own and giving it a firm shake that was easily matched. I noticed as I did so that Saitama's eyes seemed to widen in recognition and he grinned in anticipation.

"I definitely will challenge you at some time," he said with a look of anticipation that matched my own. I gave him one last salute before I placed the money on the table and turned and left the restaurant.

xxx

Through the eyes of S-Class Rank 6

The S-Class meetings were usually a time of not inconsequential stress for Child Emperor. While there was no formal obligation placed upon him by the organisation to behave in a certain manner it was quite hard for him to see the squabbling mess that these meetings could devolve into and not do anything. Thus he often found himself acting as one of the mediators in these meetings and he found himself thankful that they were as infrequent as they were.

Already, despite the meeting not having officially started yet, Tatsumaki had gotten into an argument with Flashy Flash and Metal Bat was complaining loudly. Thankfully Darkshine had mediated the argument and Metal Bat had quieted down. He was just about to relax when an unexpected face walked in through the door.

Of course Child Emperor had seen King before; they practically lived in the same city after all. However he had one of the widest ranges of the S-Class heroes and had taken down tens of monsters in every single city, except in the case of Z-City in which case he had only one kill. Child Emperor had watched any evidence of his fights that he could and he was filled with admiration at his nearly flawless record. Still the few shaky cameras that managed to capture small portions of the fight showed nothing but a powerful strength and swift speed; nothing exceptional by S-Class standards; nothing that gave evidence towards his seriously high Mysterious Being resolved incident count and the fame built up around him.

"Am I late," King said, his voice sounding polite yet authoritative. "My apologies there were a few documents that I had to sign." He took the seat next to me, before he leant back, crossed his arms and adopted a watchful pose.

"You've finally attended on of these meetings, huh," Tatsumaki said, her words were different from usual, containing no instance of her usual condescension that she displayed to almost all the S-Class. in fact she even felt somewhat friendly. This raised all sorts of alarm bells to the youngest hero and he once more wondered what skills that the Strongest Hero held that could invoke the respect of the S-Class Rank 2.

"I should have come earlier," King admitted easily and Child Emperor breathed an internal sigh of relief as he realised that King was one of the calm ones. "I have not received an agenda for this meeting. Was one dispatched?"

"We were going to discuss allocating the S-Class to cities," Child Emperor was more than happy to share his knowledge. "The appearance of Mysterious Beings has steadily increased over the years and at this rate there will be serious damage to the human population if we don't adapt."

"That's undoubtedly true," King replied. "The greatest issue to my mind is the greater concentration of power in the latest Mysterious Beings. More and more jobs are requiring the strong A-Class or S-Class to perform which indicates a steady increase in the overall strength of monsters."

"How do you believe that should be addressed?" Child Emperor asked curiously wondering if the hero had killed so many monsters would have a solution. "Should the Hero Association step up recruitment of strong people or try to train them in house?"

"Has in house training ever worked," King asked curiously and I was forced to come up with a blank. "From my understanding almost all of the strongest were powerful before they entered the Hero Association," he said. "Besides recruitment of the strongest is pretty much the default setting. I don't think it would be possible or effective to recruit too many more S-Class that way. I think we still have a lot of give in the current situation and the current problems are mainly logistics."

"That's what I thought as well," Child Emperor said a bit too loudly and he immediately regained his composure and apologized as a few of the other S-Class turned to look at him. "How do you think we should approach that," he whispered.

"I've been contemplating building an app that would track monster occurrences and filter for heroes below a certain rank and their availability by region," King whispered and Child Emperor immediately began sifting through possible ways that the plan could be applied.

"We could track heroes by their GPS which would also allow us to have a better idea of who is closest," Child Emperor said. "That would allow us to build more comprehensive response times as well as coordinate evacuations. Have you started anything yet?"

"Coding is not my forte," King admitted. "I've altered some open use apps with similar functions but the model can be described as buggy at best and I'm having problems implementing certain functions I want to see. Right now I can link to certain emergency systems which announce the location of any monster within one hundred kilometres of me." That was an incredible range and it just showed how indifferent King was to the actual strength of the monster. It did sound a bit cocky but as the third ranked hero he had a right to be.

"Do you have a copy of your work so far?" he asked and the two of them exchanged data shooting ideas until the meeting officially begun. The responses proposed by the Hero Association were inefficient and wasteful and provoked plenty of backlash from the heroes that turned up today. In the end very little was done and Child Emperor had to hold himself back from putting forth the unfinished app as a proposed solution. It wasn't his plan to announce in the first place and it would be incredibly rude to announce plans shown in confidence.

"What did you think of that?" Tornado of Terror addressed King as the meeting ended and she stood up from her chair.

"It was a meeting about allocating various heroes to different cities," King said. "It ended without enough heroes being moved to cities. In the first place there are not enough S-Class to allocate to each city and would be reluctant to move if that was the case. The meeting failed to fulfil its aim."

"That's fair," Tatsumaki said and Child Emperor felt irritation burn him when he realised she didn't really care. "Their monitoring technology is rather well developed however. They can track Mysterious Beings as soon as they show up. I sometimes stick around there and just wait for a Demon-Level threat."

"You would kill a Demon-Level threat in an instant," King said familiarly confirming his friendship the Tornado of Terror. "What do you think about the shortage of S-Class to cover the various cities?"

"You can cover half the continent and I can cover the other half," Tatsumaki said arrogantly still only speaking to King and ignoring him sitting right next to them. "Maybe if Blast returns then we can divide it into thirds and then we can dump everybody else into A-Class."

"As arrogant as ever Tornado," Flashy Flash walked up and joined the conversation. "If you don't change then one day you are going to experience a horrific defeat and by then it will be too late to change."

"As if I needed the advice of some sword swinging wannabe ninja," Tatsumaki scoffed.

"Are you from the Ninja village," King suddenly spoke up causing Flashy Flash to immediately turn towards him.

"I am," he said, his voice a lot more polite than when he was speaking to Tatsumaki. "Not much remained of it and I got rid of the last dregs. I suppose I have you and Blast to thank for that."

"Think nothing of it," King said causing more questions to whirl within his mind. King was acquainted with Blast and what was this about the Ninja Village. "Congratulations on getting rid of them."

"Thank you," he said nodding before walking away, leaving Tatsumaki behind spluttering at being ignored.

"You've met Blast," Child Emperor said trying to change the subject onto a more interesting matter.

"We both have," Tatsumaki said sharply shooting King a sidelong glare. "Only he knows where he is at the moment though."

"And I won't tell," King said. "The man has his own life." Tatsumaki scoffed at that and she looked like she was going to continue when they were approached by Superalloy Darkshine.

"Excuse me," the tall hero said speaking to King. "I don't believe we have been introduced."

"That is true, but I have heard of you," King said standing up from his chair. "Darkshine, right? I heard you wish to spar with me."

"That's correct," the hero who towered over even King said, looking quite embarrassed. "I would if it isn't too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," King said chuckling. "In fact I'm looking forward to facing off against the famous Superalloy Darkshine. Shall we go now?" The pronouncement wasn't spoken particularly loudly but all of a sudden it seemed that every single pair of eyes was on the pair. Not that Child Emperor could blame them at all. King was repeatedly seen as the Strongest Man on Earth but there was very little evidence of how he actually fought. As for Darkshine all of them had seen his fight against Bang and while he had lost ultimately his strength placed him at a level far above even most of the S-Class. Child Emperor was not ashamed to admit that he would run away immediately if he ever found himself facing against the S-Class Rank 11.

"That's perfect," King said. "Does this place have any sparring areas?"

"Sure," Darkshine said with some excitement in his voice. "My favourite is on the bottom floor. I had it booked for after the meeting. We can head there now."

"Lead the way," King replied smiling as he followed the much larger man out of the room. Child Emperor stood at the same time resolving to not let this chance to analyse their methods of fighting go to waste; and from the looks of it at least half of the S-Class followed him. Still he couldn't blame them for wanting to see two of the strongest heroes face each other down. That was why five minutes later he found himself standing in between Bang and Tatsumaki in a glass box overlooking the main sparring arena.

"Who do you think will win," he remarked offhandedly only to receive a scoff from Tatsumaki.

"King will win if he takes it seriously," she said to him with astonishing conviction. "For the first few minutes at least he will be holding back most of his power."

"Which rules do you think we should use," Darkshine said below flexing his muscles causing his entire body to ripple and bulge.

"No rules should be necessary," King said looking casual despite the situation, he had his hands placed in his pockets for the moment and he looked like he was discussing a choice of restaurant. "Neither you nor I are the sort to die easily."

"Very well then I will start if you don't mind," Darkshine said as he tensed in a ready stance.

"Take as many actions as you require," King replied back with confidence. His words were a trigger for the battle to start and Darkshine immediately jogged forward towards King, moving at speeds that belied his massive size. It was only when he reached within five metres of King the third ranked hero dodged; a slide to the right side which took him just out of reach of the charge. Simultaneously he raised his leg and lashed out with a whip-like kick that immediately shattered the sound barrier and plunged into Darkshine's side. A massive boom resounded as flesh met flesh and King was the one to come off and Darkshine staggered slightly as King went flying back a few dozen metres before landing casually on his feet; hands still in pockets.

"Is that still him holding back," Tanktop Master spoke out sounding genuinely interested.

"He will let you know when he stops holding back some of his power," Tatsumaki said not taking her eyes off the fight. "When he starts behaving dramatically is when you know that he is taking the fight seriously."

"That still didn't even sting my muscles," Darkshine said as he moved towards King once more; his casual jogging replaced by a swifter advance. "You will have to bring out your full strength if you want to beat me."

"Force me," King said, still with his hands in his pockets as he stepped forward towards Darkshine. A couple probing punches were thrown by the larger hero which caused sonic booms as they missed King by millimetres, the blonde man dancing between them and bending and contorting his body in a different manner to nearly every martial artist that he had ever observed before. For a few seconds it seemed that gravity had no hold over him as he barely dodged the few blows and the he lashed out with a dropkick right into the centre of Darkshine's chest.

Superalloy Darkshine crossed his arms at the same time and he thrust forward colliding with Kings feet letting out another tremendous crash and Child Emperor watched in amazement as a thin crack appeared in the glass in front of him. This time King had no connection to the ground and the full force of the blow sent him flying into the steel wall; causing it to nearly crumple under the sheer momentum and left him hanging there off the ground half embedded in the wall.

"Are you going to fight seriously now?" Darkshine said as he stood in place flexing his muscles.

"I suppose I will have to get a bit more serious," King said his voice carrying clearly as he pulled himself out of the wall flipping forward a few times before landing on his feet. He looked pristine as if he hadn't taken any damage so far in the fight. "You are truly strong."

"And you haven't even taken any damage," Darkshine said joyfully before he charged in another lunging motion at tremendous speeds.

"Excellent," King exclaimed as he raised his hands turning them into fists before stepping forward and throwing a double fisted punch towards the mountainous momentum that was Superalloy Darkshine. For the third time flesh met flesh but this time it was more evenly matched as a boom of hyper compressed air tore the room apart. Neither of them backed down and punch after punch was thrown causing the air to ripple around them. Compared to Darkshine's simple and straightforward style King's seemed to be more esoteric with odd curves and changes in direction incorporated with each movement that impacted with taller hero in odd manners crushing the momentum behind each of his attacks.

"King is still not going all out," Tatsumaki said calmly, almost disappointedly.

"As expected of somebody who was killing the strongest Ninjas of the village at the age of fourteen," Flashy Flash said. "I would like to have another match with him some other time. While his punches seem to contain profound energy their esoteric motions tend to hamper his speed. I wonder if he could keep up with me."

"I do want to see his transformation," Puri-Puri Prisoner spoke up for the first time. "I wonder if his transformation is as beautiful as my own."

"He won't need it," Tatsumaki said and then immediately stopped as a punch from King got through hitting the darker hero and sending him skidding a few feet backwards.

"That still cannot penetrate my muscles," Darkshine boasted flexing his muscles and seeming to gain in mass.

"Indeed," King said smiling as he raised his hands and started clapping. "I'm gratified to see such a powerful hero to protect against monsters. As proof of my sincere admiration I will take you seriously now.

"Is he going to transform," Puri-Puri Prisoner said in anticipation, his eyes sparkling.

"No," Tatsumaki said immediately. "Just watch what happens."

Darkshine also seemed to pause as King seemed to relax and take a deep breath and then in the next second an explosion of pressure seemed to emanate from his body causing the metal of the room to swell and the glass in the observatory to explode inwards sending glass flying towards the watchers. Tatsumaki at that point raised her hand and the wave of pressure immediately broke causing the glass to drop down to the floor.

"Psychic powers," Child Emperor said out loud in sheer amazement. Psychic powers were rare and the only esper of any power in the Hero Association before today was Tatsumaki and her younger sister. Almost involuntarily he turned towards the floating esper who was staring down at King.

"He's weaker than me," she said. "That makes him a lot stronger than most of the other weakling espers."

"You have psychic powers," Darkshine said with some amazement clear in his voice and Child Emperor couldn't blame him. How weird it must be to fight somebody hand to hand and then realise that they were an esper. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if King pulled out a sword or gun and used it with the same expertise.

"Every human has psychic powers," King stated indifferently. "Most just choose not to develop them. I'm just a person who won't leave a specific ability immature. I should warn you that that the technique that I use to restrain my strength has the price of making all my muscles uncontrollable for a while. It should be three minutes before I gain control over my strength and I won't attack during that time. This would be the best time to beat me."

"I won't attack either," then Darkshine said stubbornly. "It wouldn't be a victory if I were to attack you if you weren't ready."

"On the contrary," King stated smiling. "It could be seen as a clever way of taking advantage of my obvious weakness."

"I don't really believe that you are really vulnerable," Darkshine said and Child Emperor concurred with the motion. King seemed far too relaxed to indicate than he was in anyway vulnerable and Tatsumaki who had fought against King before seemed to believe that there was no way that King would lose. If he didn't have something up his sleeve, then Child Emperor would eat his laptop.

"Fair enough then," King said as he seemed to shake out his muscles idly.

"None of us actually believe he's vulnerable, do we," Zombieman spoke up.

"No," Bang said immediately.

"Nope," Flashy Flash said.

"I don't think so," Puri-Puri Prisoner added.

"I believe he is still confident he can win," Tanktop Master said. "What do you think Tornado?"

"Don't disturb me," Tatsumaki said focusing her attention on King killing the mood somewhat.

"I'm done," King said three minutes later. "You've been a good sport."

"Don't talk like it's over immediately," Darkshine said flexing his muscles. "Get ready King," he said as he lunged forward with his usual tackle.

"I'm always ready," King said not moving even as the full force of Superalloy Darkshine impacted his body sending him… No there was no sound of collision. Child Emperors mind whirled as he tried to work out what had just happened and his eyes tried to track any sign of King in the Arena.

"He's pretty damn fast," Flashy Flash said next to Child Emperor. "Other side of the arena."

"As soon as the words registered," he immediately focused on the other side of the arena and saw King standing there nonchalantly.

"You're a lot faster than usual at least," Darkshine said as he focused on the number three hero. "I could see you move but I just couldn't…ugh." He currently clutched his chest and swayed for a bit. "What?"

"I landed a blow when I moved," King stated. "Honestly that punch would have reduced this building to rubble and your muscles just absorbed it. The fact that you only got bruised is incredible."

King's casual words caused Child Emperor to develop a cold sweat and from the looks of it he wasn't alone. The third ranked hero sounded so casual with his words and praise as if he didn't register how horrifying they were. Furthermore Tatsumaki didn't dispute the words but instead nodded in easy acknowledgement. For the first time Child Emperor acknowledged the sheer gap in power between some of the S-Class and could see the reason that the Tornado of Terror might be so arrogant.

"Hah, hah," Darkshine staggered to his feet and Child Emperor was surprised to see King frown subtly. "I can still go on."

"I'm sure you can," King said. "But I feel like ending it today, so we can just call it a draw."

"We are not finished," Darkshine said firmly as he moved towards King. The third ranked hero didn't even blink but adopted a pensive expression as he dodged another expertly thrown punch with a casual ease.

"Do you know what happens when a caged pet dog means a wild dog," King stated idly as he leaned against the wall. "I can ensure you it normally doesn't end well for the pet dog." He casually dodged a punch from Darkshine that tore through the wall like paper before he caught another and swung around the hero sending him into the middle of the arena. "Even if we did have the same strength your fangs are currently too dull to beat me." Darkshine rose to his feet but as soon as he did King appeared above him and dropkicked him into the ground before forward flipping over him and landing on his feet. In one fluid moment he reached down and grabbed both of the taller hero's hands and yanked him to his feet.

"I know a place that makes a great grilled cheese," King said. "How about you and I go get a meal there? We can make it a cheat day."

"My cheat day was yesterday," Darkshine said, almost bewilderedly. Child Emperor couldn't blame him, the change in King's behaviour was most abrupt and he still could barely wrap his head around how strong the third ranked hero became.

"That's great," King said smiling. "We can have a second cheat day. I've always said that if you're not cheating you're not trying. Thanks for convincing me to come to one of these Tats. It was really quite fun." At that point King left the room half leading half dragging Darkshine out leaving a room mostly filled with stunned silence.

"Okay that happened," Tanktop Master said. "I now know why they call him the World's Strongest Man. Well I feel like going to do a thousand push-ups."

"So about those transformations?" Puri-Puri Prisoner asked but Tatsumaki had left at about the same time as King did. Child Emperor had also seen enough at this point, he still had cram school to attend, and after that he had to code an app. Although judging by that battle he might just leave the command that wrote off any monster within one hundred kilometres of King.

xxx

Omake

"Dammit," Tatsumaki said as she dropped King's mug to the ground catching it with her telekinesis a second before it shattered. Her aching head spiked when she teleported sending waves of agony in her brain. She had no idea what she had drank yesterday but she had probably put King significantly out of pocket.

Fighting through the ache she opened up a closet with her telekinesis and summoned a clean dress from the cupboard quickly pulling it on before she collapsed in her own bed and groaned into her pillow. She cringed at her behaviour just a few moments ago. Never mind what happened to her dress, she had a vague feeling that she had destroyed it on a dare. Never mind that King had gotten a good look at her body, he behaved like every bit the gentle man and she had seen almost as much.

The thing that irritated her by far the greatest was her embarrassing attempt at flirting. She wasn't even sure that she liked King in that way. She wasn't ashamed to admit they were friends in a manner; he was one of the few people besides Blast that wouldn't leech off her power or drag her down to their level. Still she had never contemplated romance of any sort and she definitely wasn't contemplating it now.

No, for now she would just leave it as some casual, friendly flirting. Friends flirted, didn't they? She suddenly realised that she didn't have many friends but she would be damned if she asked Fubuki about this. She still did get the benefit of somehow winning a drinking bet with King; whatever he was drinking must have been damn potent. She even won a future reward from King that she could choose. She wondered what she could use it for in future and then her brain betrayed her by imagining a future where she asked for her reward to be… That.

Her face immediately went from pale to red as all the blood migrated to her cheeks she felt like passing out. No, no, no she would never do ask for That; although King would probably go along with it. No, she immediately shoved her head further into her pillows trying to get rid of the mental images generated by the specific magazines that a younger Fubuki had left around their house.