One-Punch Man World, Flowing Water Dojo.
Seeing the black-haired youth return to the dojo again, Bang, who was drinking tea, was somewhat surprised.
"Lynn, is your training for today finished?"
"Yes, I'm planning to go out and look for Monsters. I won't be coming to the dojo for a while."
"Go ahead, stay safe."
Bang nodded slightly and cautioned him.
It wasn't uncommon for Lynn to go out and fight Monsters.
Perhaps influenced by him, Lynn had applied to join the Hero Association two years ago.
Using the Hero Association's convenience, he often went out to find Monsters, using them to hone his fist techniques.
However, …
"Is it my imagination?"
"Master, were you calling me?"
Charanko leaned over from the side and asked.
"You go back to training."
After driving his idle young disciple back to training, Bang walked out of the dojo and looked at the receding figure of Lynn.
For some reason, he felt a faint sense of danger from Lynn.
Although this aura was very weak, it was a feeling he'd never had before. At least, not long ago when Lynn was sparring with Charanko, he hadn't given him this feeling.
"Sigh, I hope nothing goes wrong."
Bang let out a sigh in his heart.
There were many reasons why humans became Monsters in this world, and Bang, as an S-Class Hero, knew about this.
Someone like Lynn, who had a powerful obsession and was constantly practicing his own path, could indeed potentially become a Monster.
But Bang wasn't the type of person who was inflexible.
As long as Lynn didn't walk a wicked path like Garou, he would always be his disciple.
...
On the other side.
Lynn, who had left the Flowing Water Dojo, didn't know he had been labeled as a potential Monster by Bang.
Pulling out his phone, he clicked on his top pinned friend and made a video call.
A few seconds later, the call connected, and a man in a suit with a large nose appeared on the screen.
"Lynn, did you need something from me?"
"I'm planning to find some Monsters to practice on. Strength doesn't matter, just give me some coordinates."
"Monsters? Hold on a moment."
At the Hero Association Headquarters, Sitch looked toward the staff nearby: "Are there any Monsters appearing near City Z right now?"
"We currently have intelligence on three Monsters."
The communications team quickly pulled up the information.
"Monster No. 1 is a Sunflower Monster, disaster level Wolf. B-Class Crybaby Man was sent to handle it a short while ago, and there's no reply yet."
"Monster No. 2 is an Earthworm Monster, disaster level Tiger. It caused a panic in City B half a month ago and reappeared three minutes ago on the east side of City Z."
"Monster No. 3 is a Mechanical Monster..."
"No need to continue, the Earthworm Monster it is."
Lynn's voice rang out from the phone.
Hearing the staff member's words, he directly decided on his target for this time.
"By the way, Sitch."
"My strength has broken through recently. If any Demon-level or Dragon-level Monsters appear, you can contact me."
"Eh? Dragon Level is okay too?!"
Sitch's eyes widened in surprise.
Lynn: "Lower Dragon Level is fine. If they're too strong, it might be a struggle. Anyway, notify me of anything below Dragon. I need to hunt Monsters to get stronger lately, so I have plenty of time."
"I understand."
A look of anticipation appeared on Sitch's face.
There is a huge gap between each Monster level. In most cases, Demon-level Monsters require S-Class Heroes to handle them.
As Bang's disciple, Lynn had a record of defeating Demon-level Monsters in the past and was ranked 7th in A-Class.
In Sitch's view, while this rank was very high, Dragon-level Monsters were creatures of another dimension entirely.
An A-Class Hero facing a Dragon-level Monster was like an ordinary person facing a Demon-level Monster—completely powerless.
If Lynn really could defeat a Dragon-level Monster, then he could be ranked in the middle tier of S-Class Heroes.
Hanging up the call with Lynn, Sitch looked back at the communications staff not far away.
"Is there any information on powerful Monsters in the wild lately?"
"There is one. Not long ago, a massive energy source was discovered underground to the southwest of City L. We are still investigating the specific coordinates of the energy source."
"I understand. Notify me once the coordinates are locked, and I'll arrange for someone to handle it then."
"Yes!"
City Z, East Side Street.
Following the real-time coordinates provided by the Hero Association, Lynn quickly arrived at his destination.
"I am the Earthworm Monster, born from the collective resentment of earthworms who died pointlessly because so many anglers came home empty-handed!"
"Damned humans! I will make you understand how cruel it is to die without value or dignity! All of you, die!"
On the street, a giant, thin, string-like earthworm swept a car away and chased after passing pedestrians.
Seeing this, Lynn did not hesitate; his figure blurred as he stepped directly in front of the creature.
"Huh? Who are you?"
The Earthworm Monster stopped its advance.
"It's A-Class Rank 7, Lynn!"
"Great! It's Steel Fist Lynn from the Hero Association! We're saved!"
"Move aside, move aside! I need to take a photo to post on my social media!"
Intense cheers erupted from all directions. The crowd, which had been fleeing in terror just moments ago, stopped in their tracks and began to cheer.
Because he had been clearing out Monsters in City Z for the past few years, Lynn's popularity was no less than Bang's, and among certain demographics, it was even higher.
Seeing Lynn appear, the ordinary people felt as if they had taken a sedative; they stood right where they were, pulled out their phones, and started snapping photos with clicks and flashes.
"Ha! You're a Hero?"
The Earthworm Monster let out a sinister laugh. "A while ago, when I was active in City B, some guy calling himself a Hero came looking for trouble too!"
"But unfortunately, he's now a part of me! You'll be the same, so get ready to—"
Boom—!
The ground shook violently as a figure appeared above the Earthworm Monster, stomping its upper body into the pavement.
"You talk too much."
With a thought from Lynn, a small Spirit Devouring Barrier with a diameter of only twenty meters instantly expanded.
At the same time, golden lightning flickered on his fist, shattering the Earthworm Monster's head.
"Useless, useless! An attack of this level is useless against me!"
The Earthworm Monster's voice came from behind.
Using the center of its body as a dividing point, it split into two different individuals with a snap.
The head-less upper body instantly split open, turning into several tentacles that bound Lynn's feet.
The newly split lower body grew a new head and opened its large mouth to bite toward Lynn.
Boom! Boom!
Two more roars sounded as golden lightning submerged both the upper and lower halves of the Earthworm Monster simultaneously.
A few seconds later, the Earthworm Monster vanished completely, and a familiar white light flew out from the lightning.
"The increase is a bit small."
Lynn carefully felt the changes in his physical body.
After absorbing the Earthworm Monster's soul, the improvement he gained was negligible.
In numerical terms, the attribute increase wasn't even 0.1%; it was only in the single digits.
"It seems Tiger-level Monsters are still a bit lacking. I need to find a Demon-level Monster or a Dragon-level Monster."
The increase in power happened in stages.
After breaking through from LV3 to LV5, DanMachi Lynn's strength underwent a qualitative change.
Having obtained the other's shared power, One-Punch Lynn's strength had similarly undergone a qualitative change, far exceeding what it once was.
The soul of a single Tiger-level Monster or two could be considered as having no benefit to him.
To grow stronger using the Spirit Devouring Barrier, he either had to kill a large number of low-level Monsters to fill the gap with quantity, or kill powerful Monsters to win through quality.
Of course, he could also choose both.
However, given the choice, Lynn would prioritize the latter.
"Eh? Isn't this Lynn?"
Just then, a familiar voice came from nearby, and Lynn proactively stopped his train of thought.
"Long time no see, Saitama."
Looking at that shiny bald head, Lynn walked over and greeted him.
"Are you buying dinner?"
"Yeah, the nearby supermarket has a special sale today, so I took a detour to buy some eggs."
Saitama gestured with the bag in his hand and then looked toward the nearby crater.
"I just passed by and heard someone say there was a Monster here. Did you already clear it out?"
"Yeah, you're late."
"I see, that's a shame."
A look of regret appeared on Saitama's face.
According to what the passerby said, the Monster that appeared on this street was a giant earthworm.
Based on his fishing experience, earthworms are rich in protein; they can be eaten if you remove the head and stir-fry them.
Saitama had originally thought about enriching his dinner while performing Hero activities, but it seemed he wouldn't get the chance now; Lynn had already blasted the earthworm into ash.
"I'm going home. Lynn, are you coming?"
"Let's go together."
Lynn followed Saitama toward the outskirts of City Z.
As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place.
Although there were many dangerous Monsters in the outskirts of City Z, it also had an anchor like Saitama.
To make it easier to cling to a powerful ally, Lynn had set up a residence right next to Saitama's once he had enough strength to protect himself. This was also why Saitama had proactively greeted him just now.
"By the way, I've recently learned a few cooking tricks. Saitama, do you want to take a look?"
"No."
"I'll provide the ingredients."
"I'm counting on you, Mr. Lynn!"
...
Half an hour later.
Inside a house in the outskirts of City Z.
"Ooh ooh ooh! This is super delicious!"
Saitama's arm turned into an afterimage as he quickly picked up food from the plate and tossed it into his mouth.
In the blink of an eye, his cheeks puffed out fully like a hamster's.
"Lynn! I thought you were bragging before, but when did your cooking get this good!"
"I read some books in between my training."
Lynn pulled a random excuse out of thin air.
In reality, he was either training or fighting Monsters every day; where would he find the time to learn how to cook?
This culinary skill, belonging to a Special Grade Chef, was shared from DanMachi Lynn.
Saitama didn't think much of it; he just said things like "I see" while burying his head in the food.
Ever since he became strong, he had become increasingly bored, gradually losing interest in the things around him.
Focusing on tasting delicious food like this was something that hadn't happened in a long time.
"Whew~ That was really good!"
After a bout of feasting, Saitama clutched his stomach with a look of satisfaction. "Thanks, Lynn."
"No problem. Now that we're done eating, let's talk business."
"Sure."
Saitama nodded casually.
A few seconds later, he froze suddenly and turned to look at the black-haired youth opposite him.
"Business?"
...