"Tornado?"
Hearing the unexpected name, Lynn was somewhat surprised.
But on second thought, he understood Sitch's purpose for inviting Tornado.
"You want to ask Tornado to be the backup?"
"Yes. Although it's not pleasant to say, I must consider the possibility of you failing to subjugate the Monster," Sitch replied.
According to threat levels, the Hero Association classifies Monsters from high to low as God, Dragon, Demon, Tiger, and Wolf.
Among these five levels, a God-level Monster has never appeared; it is only a theoretical level.
And below God-level is Dragon Level.
From past experiences, no matter how weak a Dragon-level Monster is, it has the combat power to destroy a city in a short time.
Failing to subjugate a Dragon-level Monster and letting it charge into a city would cause tens of thousands of casualties in even a second.
Such a consequence is unacceptable to the Hero Association.
To avoid the worst-case scenario, while Sitch helped Lynn find a target, he also invited a bodyguard as backup.
"Originally, I wanted to ask Mr. Bang for help, but he said over the phone that he went to visit his senior brother."
"As for the other S-Class Heroes... they are either out of contact or doing other things like Mr. Bang. After checking around, I could only ask Tornado for help."
"Anyway, I'll send you the mission coordinates now. Head to City L to rendezvous with Tornado as soon as possible. She seems to be in a bad mood, so don't keep her waiting."
"No problem."
Lynn nodded and hung up the call.
A second later, a message arrived.
After clicking to see the content, he looked at Saitama, who was still eating across from him.
"Let's go, a Monster has been found."
"Huh? I'm going too?"
Saitama swallowed his food. "Didn't you say someone named Dipped Flower Roll is providing backup?"
Dipped Flower Roll?
"Forget it, you'd better not go."
Lynn had some understanding of Tornado's personality.
Taking a talent-type player like Saitama to meet her would most likely lead to a conflict between the two.
He was going to fight Monsters and level up, not to start a war. It was better to avoid such things if possible.
With Tornado there, he didn't have to worry about failing against a Dragon-level Monster.
"I'm heading out. See you tonight."
Leaving Saitama at home to continue eating, Lynn rushed toward the coordinates Sitch had given him.
Since it involved a Dragon-level Monster, the Hero Association naturally wouldn't be stingy with resources and prepared a transport plane directly for him.
Boarding the transport plane, he soon arrived at the destination.
It was a temporary camp consisting of several crude tents and a dozen tanks.
"Too slow!"
In front of the camp, a loli with green curly hair, wearing a black high-slit dress, floated in mid-air.
Seeing Lynn step off the transport plane, she crossed her arms and snorted, her face showing some dissatisfaction.
"Do you have any idea how precious my time is? You actually made me wait for two and a half hours!"
"The transport plane only goes this fast; I couldn't help it."
Lynn shrugged with an innocent look. "How about next time I ride the Caped Baldy-Go? The speed would be much faster, but it might affect your mood."
"Caped Baldy-Go? What's that?"
"...You must have rotted your brain playing games."
Tornado sighed. "To think that someone like you might be my colleague, I suddenly feel so ashamed."
"Theoretically, we are already colleagues. I'm ranked seventh among the A-Class Heroes."
"A-Class Heroes don't count as colleagues."
Tornado nonchalantly voiced her controversial opinion.
In fact, there wasn't much wrong with her words.
As the S-Class Rank 2, her strength was on a completely different level even among S-Class Heroes.
To her, the only use for mere A-Class Heroes was to stall Monsters while waiting for her to come and clean up.
"Alright, stop wasting time."
"Sitch said you want to challenge a Dragon-level Monster and asked me to act as insurance in case of failure. Let's just start."
"No problem, where is the Monster?"
"Under that mountain peak over there."
Tornado pointed her finger at a mountain peak several kilometers away.
As her voice fell, a surging mental wave rose. The next second, Lynn felt a force coming from all over his body.
Driven by this force, his feet left the ground, and he flew into the air with Tornado, rushing toward the distance.
"Is this Psychokinesis? It's really convenient."
"If you think giving me a few verbal compliments will make me step in to help you, then I suggest you drop that idea."
"I'm just telling the truth."
Lightning surfaced on Lynn's body. "See, I also have superpowers, they're just not as versatile as Psychokinesis."
"Hmm?" Tornado raised an eyebrow.
Staring at the lightning on Lynn's body for two seconds, she nonchalantly withdrew her gaze.
"There are no weak espers, only incompetent espers. Instead of complaining, you should work hard on your training."
"You're right, so I came to fight Monsters."
Lynn looked down at the mountain peak below.
In the short time he and Tatsumaki were chatting, the two had already crossed several kilometers and arrived above their destination.
"It's up to you next, Tatsumaki."
"Don't order me."
Tatsumaki raised her hand and aimed below.
Vast psychic power surged, and the mountain peak standing on the ground, along with the soil beneath it, was ripped out by the roots and flew into the sky.
It was as if someone had fiercely dug into the earth with a shovel, instantly forming a depression several kilometers in diameter.
"See it? That one right there."
After dealing with the obstacle using the simplest and most brutal method, Tatsumaki pointed at the giant figure at the bottom of the crater.
"I'll give you ten minutes to deal with him. If you can't do it, you fail the assessment."
"Ten minutes is a bit short, isn't it?"
"Nonsense! If a Dragon-level Monster rushed into the city, do you think you'd let it rampage for more than ten minutes?!"
"That's true. Then let me down."
"Here?"
"Here."
"Not bad, seems you have some ability."
Tatsumaki released her psychic power, directly sending Lynn into freefall from over a thousand meters up.
At the same time, the ground began to vibrate violently.
Sensing the blanket being violently thrown off above him, the giant Monster that had been lying underground slowly opened its eyes.
The Monster's appearance bore some resemblance to the legendary Tyrannosaurus Rex, but its size was even larger; it stood a full hundred meters tall when erect, with terrifying fangs and sharp teeth.
"I am the Ancient King! The King of the Dinosaur Clan! An existence that once stood at the apex of life and ruled the planet!"
The Ancient King raised its head to look at the sky: "Foolish beings! You dare to wake me from my long slumber, you shall pay with your lives!"
"What gibberish is it spouting!"
Golden lightning rays spread in all directions, instantly enveloping the crater with a massive barrier several hundred meters in diameter, covering Lynn and the Ancient King.
Following that, a roar sounded, and the lightning beneath Lynn exploded, the immense impact force further accelerating his descent.
Like a falling meteor, the excessive speed rapidly heated his body surface, turning him into a massive fireball that arrived above the Ancient King's head.
Lightning and fire intertwined, emitting a crisp screech. Lynn raised his fist toward the eyeball in front of him, and a Flash of black and blue light streaked by.
"Black Flash!"
Without encountering any resistance, Lynn's fist plunged directly into the Ancient King's right eye, unleashing his full strength.
Boom—!
Like a sudden clap of thunder, a deafening roar erupted instantly, and the Ancient King let out a piercing scream.
"Aaaarghhh!!!"
Its massive foot shattered the ground, and the Ancient King's right eyeball exploded. The terrifying pain shot straight to its brain, causing it to stagger back several steps.
"Damn it! I will kill you!"
The Ancient King, which had initially been basking in past glory and thought it could easily kill the enemy, roared in fury and raised its claw to swipe at its own face.
Despite its enormous size, the Ancient King's attack was completely unimpeded. In an instant, it was in front of Lynn, its cold, sharp claws stirring up a gust of wind.
But at the same moment, Lynn moved forward head-on, his body twisting and turning like flowing water passing through the gaps between the claws. While dodging the attack, he arrived in front of the Ancient King's left eye.
Instinctively, the Ancient King closed its eyelids, trying to block Lynn from getting closer this way.
"Useless."
Lynn's fists blurred into afterimages, continuously smashing down like an endless tide.
Lightning surged, combining with the power of the Flowing Water Crushing Rock Fist. He shattered the eyelid in just one breath's time.
The next moment, thunder transformed into a golden sharp blade appearing in Lynn's hand, and he thrust forward with it.
Fading Light Slash!
Current Propulsion combined with the Dismantle. A sword slash ten of meters long instantly pierced the eyeball and rushed deep into the Ancient King's brain, then shot out from the other side.
"Aaaarghhh!!!"
"It's still not dead?"
Lynn was slightly surprised. His figure flickered, dodging the Ancient King's counterattack once more, and appearing above its head.
With both eyes blinded and a hole blown through its head, the Ancient King seemed to have completely entered a berserk state.
It continuously swung its claws upward to strike at its head, even rolling on the ground trying to shake Lynn off.
Years of arduous training paid off here. Amidst the earth-shattering chaos, Lynn remained unaffected, running across the Ancient King's head as if on flat ground.
Lightning exploded; sword slash scattered.
Facing the severely wounded Ancient King, Lynn fully utilized the skill of beating a drowning dog, relentlessly delivering finishing blows.
The Spirit Devouring Barrier began to take effect, and the aura around Lynn's body started to climb continuously, further enhancing the power of his moves.
Four minutes later, accompanied by a lightning sword qi tens of meters long descending, the Ancient King's head was severed in one stroke.
The earth shook, and the residual power of the sword qi continued rushing forward, leaving a massive trench on the ground.
"Hoo~ Finally killed it."
Lynn dispersed the thunderous sharp blade in his hand.
The Ancient King's soul was drawn into his body by the barrier, and the imposing aura around his body sharply increased by a notch.
"As expected of a Dragon-level Monster. Its soul is nothing like the trash from Tiger Level Monsters."
He sighed inwardly, Lynn retracted the aura around his body and looked up at the sky.
His split-seam long robe fluttered on both sides, accompanied by an absolute domain that even Lynn's sharp eyes couldn't capture. Tatsumaki slowly descended with her arms crossed.
"5 minutes and 17 seconds. You passed."
...