“Dammit, dammit!
Why can’t I win?!” Inside Yuen’s dimensional space, Saitama was practically tearing his hair out in agony.
Once again, the large LCD screen in front of him displayed the familiar red letters: [YOU LOSE].
Yuen patted Saitama on the shoulder and comforted him, “Don’t lose heart, Saitama-kun.
You’ve improved a lot compared to last time.” Previously, defeating Saitama didn’t cost Yuen a single pixel of health.
Today, however, Saitama had managed to chip away a small block of his HP bar.
From this perspective, Saitama had indeed made progress—though it was also possible that Yuen simply wasn’t fully accustomed to the new game yet.
“Yuen-sama, one more round, please!” Saitama picked up the controller again, unwilling to let it end like this.
Glancing at the clock, Yuen raised an eyebrow and offered a gentle reminder.
“It is nearly midnight, Saitama-kun.
Do you not intend to train today?” They had been playing since six in the evening until now, barely putting the controllers down.
Gaming required moderation; otherwise, addiction could set in easily.
He couldn’t let this aspiring hero waste away because of video games.
“Uh…
Oh, right!
I haven’t started my training yet today.” Saitama froze.
To be honest, if Yuen hadn’t reminded him, he might have forgotten entirely.
Although the temptation of the game was strong, his training was the life goal he had set for himself.
Compared to that, the fleeting joy of gaming was insignificant.
“Umm, Yuen-sama, please send me out.” This space was controlled by Yuen; Saitama had no way of leaving on his own.
“The gate to the other world is just outside.
I won’t see you off personally.” Yuen waved his hand lightly, teleporting Saitama out of the room.
In the next second, Saitama appeared in front of the shrine’s Worship Hall (Haiden).
He took a 5-yen coin he had prepared in his pocket and tossed it into the offering box (Saisen-bako) in front of him.
Clasping his hands together, he bowed respectfully.
“Yuen-sama, thank you for your hospitality today.” After finishing his prayer, Saitama walked toward the Torii gate, which had transformed back into the dimensional door.
As soon as Saitama left and the Torii gate passage closed, a pure white orb of light traversed the dimensional space and flew into Yuen’s hand.
“Hm?” Yuen examined it briefly and felt a slight surprise.
He discovered that the light orb in his hand could enhance physical constitution and extend lifespan.
Of course, such an upgrade had no effect on Yuen himself.
But if used on an ordinary human, the results would be entirely different.
Even a powerless infant infused with this light would gain the strength to lift over a hundred kilogram, and living an extra hundred years would be no issue.
In other words, this orb could guide a normal human toward becoming superhuman.
But why didn’t this appear the last time Saitama visited?
Is there a drop rate like in a game?
Or is this a reward for altering the original course of his destiny in advance…
Yuen didn’t dwell on it for long.
With a thought, he stored the orb away.
“An interesting item.
I’ll save this for Asuna.” —- One Punch Man World.
Passing through the Torii gate of the other world, Saitama arrived back in his apartment.
He glanced at the clock on the wall and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was only 1:00 PM.
“Phew~ Glad the day isn’t over yet.” He quickly made himself a lunch.
After finishing his meal, Saitama took a piece of cloth and covered the ‘door’ in his home that led to Yuen Shrine.
Saitama wasn’t sure if other creatures could pass through the ‘door’ in his apartment to reach the shrine.
He wasn’t afraid of people discovering he could travel between worlds, but his world was full of monsters.
If a malicious monster were to slip through the ‘door’ because of his carelessness and disturb Yuen-sama, that would be terrible.
Once he was sure the ‘door’ was completely covered, Saitama walked out of his room and locked the security door behind him.
Leaving the apartment complex, Saitama shielded his eyes with his hand and looked up at the sky.
The sunlight was a bit glaring, but the warmth was pleasant.
“I’m going to do my best today too!” Saitama clenched his fist, cheering himself.
Although he had been training for two or three days, it was still a grueling challenge for him.
Every time he completed a round of the regimen, he felt a near-death sensation as his body hit its limit.
“…Saitama-kun, are you going training again today?” The old owner of a nearby clothing store noticed Saitama gearing up, looking ready to head out.
“Yes!
After all, I’m going to become a hero.” Saitama flashed a confident smile.
Seeing Saitama’s face, still youthful and untouched by the ravages of time, the old shopkeeper couldn’t help but sigh emotionally.
“It’s good to be young and energetic.
My dream was once to become a hero too, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the talent for it…” Speaking of this, the old man suddenly remembered something and continued, “By the way, when I was young, I hand-made a battle suit for that purpose.
I planned to wear it the day I became a hero, but after so many years, I almost forgot about it.” Rummaging through a cabinet behind him, the old shopkeeper pulled out a battle suit equipped with a white cape.
Holding the suit with both hands, his eyes filled with nostalgia.
He looked up and handed the suit to Saitama.
“Saitama-kun, I’ll give this suit to you.
At my age, it’s no longer suitable for me to keep this uniform that carries my childhood dream.” “Rather than letting it gather dust here, I’d prefer to give it to you, Saitama-kun, so my dream can live on.” “This…
I can’t accept this.” Saitama waved his hands hurriedly to refuse.
Something that carried the dreams of one’s youth sounded incredibly important.
“Even if you don’t wear it, please accept it.” The old shopkeeper looked determined, as if he wouldn’t rest until Saitama took it.
His attitude was unusually firm.
“…Alright then.” Saitama was forced to accept it helplessly.
However, the suit actually suited his tastes quite well.
The cool cape and the belt aligned perfectly with his aesthetic.
Suddenly, Saitama noticed a brand-new loose thread on the suit.
The material didn’t look like something from decades ago at all.
He looked at the old man with a strange expression.
“Old man, actually…
you just made this suit recently, didn’t you?” “Haha, was I found out?
As expected of a young man, you have a keen eye.” The old shopkeeper suddenly burst into laughter, seemingly trying to mask the awkwardness of his lie being exposed.
“…” Saitama made a speechless face.
So the emotional story he had been listening to for so long was completely made up?
And he had been listening with such relish, too.
“…Hey old man, you weren’t planning to charge me for this next, were you?” Saitama braced himself, ready to return the clothes at a moment’s notice.
“How could I?
If I say I’m giving it to you, I’m giving it to you.
But I didn’t make everything up—my dream when I was young really was to be a hero.” The old shopkeeper’s expression suddenly turned serious again, but Saitama wasn’t buying a word of it anymore.
“…Uh-huh.
Sure.” Saitama responded perfunctorily.
Since he didn’t have to pay, he could accept it with peace of mind.
Seeing the old shopkeeper open his mouth as if he wanted to say something else, Saitama hugged the clothes and fled immediately, heading straight to start today’s ten-kilometer run.
Although Saitama respected the elderly and cherished the young, he couldn’t waste his precious training time listening to the old man’s fabricated stories.
Watching Saitama’s retreating figure as he hurried away, the old shopkeeper didn’t look offended.
He stood in silence for a long time, hands clasped behind his back, before shaking his head lightly and walking back into the store.
“Young people just don’t have the patience.
But a hero…
that is truly a heavy title to bear.”