A storm of light engulfed King as he stood amidst the desolate ruins of the Monster Association's lair. The battle had been fierce, or so the bystanders would assume, with the corpses of monstrous beings strewn about in his wake. His heart pounded so loudly in his ears he feared it might rupture his eardrums.
Then, sudden darkness.
When King opened his eyes, he was no longer in the ruins of City Z. Instead, he stood in the middle of a bustling American street, surrounded by skyscrapers, neon signs, and confused onlookers. Cars screeched to a halt. Pedestrians gasped.
And worst of all, every single monster corpse had teleported with him.
A hulking Dragon-level demon, half-burned from Saitama's finishing punch, lay beside him. Gigantic centipedes, grotesque mutated beasts, all of them, dead, but undoubtedly terrifying.
Murmurs erupted.
*"Holy crap, did that guy just-?"*
*"Are those monsters real?"*
*"Who IS that guy?!"*
King swallowed hard. His breath hitched. He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to be *anywhere* near this much attention.
Then-*beep*.
A mechanical chime echoed from his wrist. King glanced down.
**HERO ID: UNREGISTERED**
**TRUST VALUE: 0 → ⬆ 72,491 (Calculating…)**
An automatic voice emitted from thin air.
*"Hero detected. Power source identified: LEGENDARY HYPE DRIVE. Please register for official ranking."*
The people who had been screaming in terror moments ago now looked at him differently.
"Wait… is he a hero?"
*"He just appeared out of nowhere with dead monsters,, he HAS to be!"
"That's gotta be a top-tier ability!"
King opened his mouth, but no words came out.
His heart drummed louder.
His legendary *"King Engine"* roared.
And the crowd *cheered*.
****""""*****
Hero X's world operated under one rule: **Trust was power**.
And King, by sheer accident, had just become the most hyped-up rookie in history.
Within an hour of his appearance on American soil, news outlets exploded with footage of a **"mysterious Japanese hero slaying monsters in an instant with unseen power."** His Trust Value skyrocketed past 100,000 after authorities confirmed the extraterrestrial nature of the corpses (none of which they could identify). King was hailed as a *"miracle arrival."*
But King wasn't a miracle.
He was a **fraud**.
Sweat dripped down his back as he sat in an interview room at a Hero Association equivalent, the United Heroic Trust (UHT).
A stern woman with a holographic visor tapped her fingers against the table. "Mr. King, or should I say, 'Hero X Provisional Designation: Monarch' your abilities are unlike anything we've ever seen. You appeared in our world with enough monster kills to place you in the top 20 global rankings in a single day."
King's fingers twitched. His Trust Value bracelet gleamed on his wrist___**112,857 and rising**.
He needed to say something. Anything.
"Uh…"
The woman raised an eyebrow.
"I… didn't do much," he admitted weakly.
She smirked. "Modesty is rare in heroes. But we *saw* the aftermath. Those were no ordinary beasts. Either way, with your current public approval, we can fast-track your official Hero X Certification. You'll be eligible for the Hero Tournament next month."
King paled.
**Hero Tournament. Fighting. Actual combat.**
He was **doomed**.
""****""
**Meanwhile…**
Not everyone worshipped the mysterious new hero. In the shadows of the UHT headquarters, a group of elite heroes eyed the live feeds with suspicion.
"No way he took out those things alone," muttered a silver-haired swordsman, his Trust Value locked at **89,200**.
"Something's off," agreed a woman with flame-kissed gloves.
The #4 ranked hero in America**Bastion, the Unyielding Wall**crossed his massive arms.
**"Let's test him."**
King's peaceful days were numbered.
**To Be Continued…**