Inside the Hero Training Room, nearly 90% of the heroes had gathered.
At the top of the virtual stands sat the judges: Aiden Cross, Vice-President Doraemon, and several non-participants.
The arena had transformed into a colosseum. Those not fighting filled the circular spectator seats.
Aiden Cross cleared his throat.
"Though this was improvised, the First Hero War officially begins now!"
"Heroes—show us what you're capable of!"
"In this Hero War, outstanding performers will receive enormous rewards."
"Want near-universal energy points? Special gear? Fantasy bloodlines?"
"Go. I've placed all my treasures at the champion's seat."
The crowd stirred immediately.
For ordinary heroes, any of those rewards were irresistible.
S-Rank and A-Rank heroes, however, were calm. They simply wanted strong opponents. Tornado of Terror had rushed back after hearing the news. Annie had just returned from studying under the Ancient One.
And then there was Stella Nightfall…
Who was currently calculating how many soybean-flour buns the champion reward could buy.
Doraemon announced the rules:
"Each participant has two choices:
Randomly draw a hero present for a 1v1.Randomly draw a virtual opponent provided by the judges."
"Win: +1 point. Lose: −1 point. Highest score wins."
"Your bodies are data avatars. Injury or death won't affect reality."
"Now—begin!"
Doraemon sat happily with a tray of fresh dorayaki. As sponsor of the equipment prizes, the blue robot cat was in a fantastic mood.
Aiden Cross snapped his fingers.
Colorful lights flickered across the audience…
And stopped on one person.
A-Rank Hero — Hulk.
More precisely, Bruce Banner in control.
"Me?" Banner blinked.
"Welcome, first contestant — Hulk. Choose your mode!"
"I'll… choose the second option."
He wasn't mentally ready to fight allies yet.
A flash.
Banner appeared at the center of the arena.
Behind the judges, a giant roulette spun, filled with names ranging from Wolf-level to God-level disasters.
[Opponent Selected: A-Rank Hero / Dragon-Level Calamity]
The iron gate across the arena slowly rose.
A strange voice echoed.
"Ahhh—F*** you!"
A muscular man stepped out of the shadows.
Chiseled face. Massive build. Eight-pack abs. Wearing only tight black briefs.
Every hero in the audience had the same thought:
This guy is… dangerous.
Banner wiped sweat from his forehead.
"…I have a bad feeling about this."
The man slapped his thigh confidently.
"Boy! Let's wrestle!"
A-Rank Hero / Dragon-Level Calamity — "King of Philosophy," Billy.
Black Swordsman spat out his water.
The President actually put this into the virtual opponent pool?!
He swore right then—he would never pick option two.
"Come, Boy. Let us discuss philosophy."
Billy posed confidently.
Banner's face turned green for a very different reason.
"Uh… Hulk, you're up! Please!"
His skin turned emerald as his body expanded violently, clothes tearing apart, leaving only black shorts.
"HULK SMASH!"
Hulk roared, taking control.
Billy's eyes lit up.
"Oh? You're ready? Wrestling is good for the body, Boy!"
Hulk, with the mind of a child, had no idea what kind of "philosophy" he had just stepped into.
"Come! Hulk break you!"
--------------------------------------------------
Read Chapters ahead: [email protected] / KaiOynx