"Neighbor?" The door opened, and Saitama stepped out in his pajamas, scratching his waist.
"Yeah, I just moved in next door," Lexon replied. He handed over the food and smiled. "Here, I made a bit too much. It tastes pretty good, so give it a try."
"Ah... I see..." Saitama was a bit surprised.
He remembered this area being an abandoned wasteland... Was this handsome guy as broke as he was?
Saitama took the food without hesitation. "Thanks, new neighbor."
As someone fully aware of his own invincible strength, he wasn't worried about poison or ill intent; such things had no effect on him.
Besides, Saitama wasn't the type to overthink things.
"My name is Lexon." Lexon extended a 'friendly' hand.
"I'm Saitama." Facing a friendly neighbor, Saitama responded politely and shook his hand.
[SYSTEM: Sign-in successful]
[SYSTEM: Congratulations! You have obtained 'Saitama's Invincibility (Limited)': An active skill. When activated, all your hair will fall out. While bald, your strength will soar to an 'Invincible' state. (Limited Skill: 1. This skill is only effective in this world; it loses the 'Invincible' trait in other worlds. 2. The duration is limited to one minute; repeated stacking can extend the duration.)]
Letting go, Lexon's expression remained calm, but his heart was racing.
He was lucky to have signed in for Saitama's strength...
But there were obvious drawbacks.
For instance, using the skill meant losing his hair... there was a strict time limit... and the invincibility was world-specific...
That last point was the most important.
It meant Lexon's previous plan of 'signing in for Saitama's power and crushing the Main God Space' was a total fantasy.
Perhaps the skill would still offer a massive boost in other worlds...
But... the crucial 'Invincibility' would be gone.
However, this was within Lexon's expectations.
After all, the 'One Punch Man' world was just one of the Main God Space's scenarios. If Saitama were truly 'Invincible' across all dimensions, he would have long since shattered the barriers and destroyed the Main God Space itself.
He felt a pang of disappointment, but not much.
Maintaining his smile, Lexon said to Saitama, "After you've finished the food, I'd like to invite you over to my place. I've got plenty of great games."
The best way to deepen a relationship was to play games and hang out together...
To ensure he had a valid reason to sign in every day, Lexon chose this approach.
There were still many things he wanted from Saitama...
The stacked strength... the Limiter... and the willpower to break it...
"Really? Then I'll definitely come by later!" Saitama said with delight.
He seemed a bit scatterbrained.
That was just his personality. He was casual and thoughtless about some things, yet possessed high emotional intelligence and meticulous care in others.
Like his reaction to being slandered after destroying the meteor... or being questioned after defeating the Deep Sea King...
It was this 'hidden master' persona that made readers and other characters love him, calling him 'Saitama-sensei.'
Lexon, with his Comic Knowledge Proficiency, had a very good impression of Saitama.
At the very least, he was someone worth associating with.
"Yeah," Lexon nodded.
Without lingering, he headed back to his own room.
Saitama returned to his apartment as well.
A few minutes later, a shocked shout echoed through the apartment building.
"What is this?!! How is it so delicious?!! Aaaaaah!!"
And so, after the game session at Lexon's place...
Saitama was completely captivated by Lexon's games and cooking.
He was fully molded into Lexon's rhythm.
It became a daily routine for Saitama to come over to play games and score a free meal.
Lexon was more than happy with this arrangement, signing in every day to get stuff from Saitama.
It was basically mutual freeloading...
Because of this, their relationship warmed up quickly.
They became good friends.
...
Inside the Hero Association Headquarters.
"Why have so many heroes with such high potential and strength suddenly appeared?" a scruffy-bearded man wondered as he looked at the data on the screen.
"Could it be a sign that something is about to happen?" a man with glasses and a middle part guessed.
"In any case... more heroes is a good thing... it means humanity is getting stronger, and we can better protect the citizens from monster attacks..." the bearded man said.
"True," the glasses man agreed.
"Also... this particularly noteworthy rookie..." The bearded man manipulated the display and pulled up a file.
The portrait on the file...
Was Lexon!
"All his evaluations are at the highest grade... he broke every existing record to an unimaginable degree..." The bearded man's voice couldn't hide his shock.
"That's ridiculous?" The glasses man was stunned. He glanced at the screen and gasped. "Is this really just a rookie???"
"Yes... it seems he's a master hiding in the city..." the bearded man noted. "But because of that, I'm not sure what rank to assign him..."
"A-Class?" the glasses man suggested.
"As for A-Class..." the bearded man hesitated.
He wasn't sure. A-Class hero titles couldn't be handed out lightly; it required higher-level approval and a certain level of contribution.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]