"Wait… this has to be a joke, right?!"
"President's twisted sense of humor strikes again."
"He actually added an unbeatable virtual opponent…"
From the far side of the rising steel gate, a figure stepped forward at an unhurried pace.
A young man with waist-length black hair. A perfectly tailored black suit. Calm, indifferent eyes glowing with an eerie crimson light.
The virtual Aiden Cross stood there, looking at Mumen Rider as if he were observing something trivial.
On his left index finger gleamed the unmistakable ring of the Hero Alliance President.
"I even lowered the spawn rate to the minimum… and you still pulled it," Aiden Cross said lightly.
"Should I call you lucky… or cursed?"
"Let's begin, Mumen Rider."
Mumen Rider had already braced himself for a powerful opponent.
No matter how terrifying the enemy, as long as he still carried a hero's heart, he would charge forward again and again to buy time for civilians to escape.
But…
The President himself was not included in that mental preparation!
"My Divine Fist is far superior to Seraphina'. I'll give you a little guidance."
"Y-Yes!"
Mumen Rider swallowed and assumed the stance of Divine Fist.
Though only at beginner level, with his body five times stronger than a normal human, he could still beat down dozens of trained soldiers barehanded.
Ten minutes later—
He was declared dead and vanished from the center of the arena.
Every hero in the audience slowly turned to look at the President on the judging platform.
He said he would "give guidance," but those punches showed zero mercy.
Yes, there was instruction. Yes, there was commentary.
But every hit was brutal. Even with equalized physical stats, Aiden Cross had beaten Mumen Rider to death.
And that was considering Mumen Rider's natural toughness and the extra time gained from the so-called "teaching."
The President is absolutely a black-hearted monster…
"Cough." Aiden Cross cleared his throat awkwardly under the collective stare.
Who would have thought this little easter egg would be drawn so quickly?
Besides, this was all virtual data. No real harm done.
More importantly, ten minutes of high-level guidance from him was worth a month of training for Mumen Rider.
"Victory decided! Virtual opponent — Hero Alliance President Aiden Cross — wins!"
"D-Class Hero Mumen Rider loses one point."
"Next guest!"
After witnessing the first two rounds, everyone understood something very clearly.
This was now a luck-based game.
One bad draw, and you'd be facing something you had absolutely no chance against.
Even if the probability was tiny…
Two people had already "won the jackpot."
The second battle mode had instantly become terrifying.
The third chosen participant was the flashiest man in the arena—
Iron Man, Tony Stark.
"I choose the first challenge mode."
"Very well! Randomly selecting a hero present for a 1v1 battle!"
Tony smirked confidently.
"With my Iron Man tech, as long as my luck isn't terrible, this point is basically fre—"
[Ding! Hero selected: S-Class Hero 'The Strongest Man on Earth' — King]
Tony's smile froze.
He stared at the result like he had just seen a ghost.
There were only four S-Class heroes in the entire Alliance.
And he pulled one.
From Aiden Cross's perspective, Tony had just drawn the weakest S-Class.
From Tony's perspective—
His luck had absolutely exploded in the worst way.
"A new S-Class hero?!"
"I heard King and Julian just joined recently!"
"Child Emperor, Lord Aizen, and the President all praise King highly!"
"Tony's done for…"
"Go Mr. Stark!!"
Only Spider-Man, the newest recruit, was cheering for Tony.
He had even skipped school to come watch the Hero War.
Flash—
Tony and King were teleported to the center of the arena.
Even inside the Mark VII armor, Tony felt zero sense of security.
King stood there.
Arms crossed.
Face cold.
And then—
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The terrifying rumble of the King Engine echoed like a war drum.
"Hey… could you go easy on me?" Tony tried.
"I surrender."
King raised a hand toward the judges.
He knew himself best.
If he actually fought, he would be exposed in seconds.
As a pain-averse shut-in, he absolutely did not want to be beaten senseless.
"…Wait. Surrender? That's not allowed! Are you mocking me?" Tony's face darkened.
He already knew he was weaker than an S-Class.
He had even mentally prepared for a crushing defeat.
But the opponent surrendering without even fighting?
That was insulting.
"No. I'm very weak."
I don't believe you for a second, you liar, thought nearly everyone present except King and Aiden Cross.
"No surrender!"
"…Then can I request equipment support?"
"What?"
"That armor you're wearing—Mark VII, right? Just give me a Mark III."
King spoke seriously.
As a high-level gamer and mecha fan, he had always loved cool machines.
If he couldn't have a Gundam, an Iron Man suit would do just fine.
And this was a virtual arena—Aiden Cross could generate anything.
"…You only need the Mark III?" Tony blinked.
An S-Class hero choosing to fight him with an outdated Mark III armor?
That was the biggest handicap imaginable.
As the creator of the suits, Tony knew exactly how massive the gap between Mark III and Mark VII was.
If he still lost under these conditions…
He might as well jump off a building.
"Mm. If I win, can you give me a suit in real life?"
"…That's… actually not a problem."
Tony suddenly felt like something was very, very wrong.
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Read Chapters ahead: [email protected] / KaiOynx