The wave of murmurs rippling through the crowd reached the ears of the homeroom teacher.
His face darkened immediately.
He had also noticed the principal standing not far away, watching the commotion with an expression of fury.
At that moment, the teacher knew his bonus for this semester was gone. Worse, he might be in for a stern reprimand.
His resentment instantly turned toward the "culprit" behind it all, Vincent Tan.
And as fate would have it, right then, Vincent stepped out of the light gate, his face lit up with excitement and joy.
That smug look only infuriated the teacher further.
Seriously?
You bonded with some useless C-Class hero, and now you think you're something special?
"Vincent Tan!" the teacher snapped, storming over without hesitation and launching into a tirade.
"What's wrong with you? Who told you to choose a trash-tier C-Class hero? Are you trying to turn our whole school into a joke? We're a key high school, and now we've produced a student like you? Shameful!"
He didn't hold anything back, berating him in front of everyone.
Vincent's excitement faded. His brows furrowed.
"C-Class heroes aren't all useless."
"What? You dare talk back? Not even going to admit your mistake?" the teacher growled. "C-Class heroes are garbage. That's a fact everyone accepts. You really think you're gonna strike gold in the trash heap?"
"Let me say this now. If you ever amount to anything even if you manage to kill a single monster I'll kneel in front of everyone and apologize."
Vincent looked him straight in the eye and replied coolly, "You said it."
And with that, he turned around and walked away.
He had already achieved what he came for. Even if the school refused to issue him a diploma, and he couldn't get into college, it didn't matter anymore.
The teacher, watching Vincent's retreating back, fumed.
"Ungrateful brat. Infuriating... The rest of you, don't follow his example!"
"Yes, sir," the other students chorused, finally easing the teacher's foul mood.
"Next!"
The next student was a delicate-looking girl. She stepped into the gate.
Moments later, a blinding red light flared from it.
"Red?! That's an S-Class hero!"
"Holy crap! Someone actually bonded with an S-Class hero!"
The whole hall exploded in excitement.
Red only appeared when someone successfully bonded with an S-Class hero.
The teacher's mood swung from gloomy to ecstatic.
When the girl stepped out, the teacher rushed over to greet her. Talent scouts from top universities immediately followed, jostling to get her attention.
No one had expected a candidate from a backwater school like theirs to land an S-Class bond.
As the teachers from elite schools flocked around her, the homeroom teacher smiled proudly.
As for the student he was yelling at just moments ago? Vincent Tan was long gone from his mind.
Meanwhile, Vincent was already far from the chaos.
He didn't linger. Instead, he hailed a cab straight home.
His home was a modest two-bedroom apartment, left to him by his parents after they passed away in a tragic accident. It was the most valuable thing they had ever left behind.
The apartment was silent as he walked in.
Vincent sank into the couch in the living room and muttered aloud, "Open status panel."
Suddenly, a strange phenomenon occurred.
A glowing, holographic panel materialized in front of him, displaying his personal stats.
Name: Vincent Tan
Race: Human
Constitution: 10
Willpower: 8
Strength: 9
Agility: 11
Bloodline: Saitama Physique (Awakened)Note: Average adult male stats hover around 10 across all attributes.
This was Vincent's current status.
The attribute panel only appeared for those who successfully bonded with a hero.
Everyone who bonded got one, though the contents varied.
For example, someone who bonded with Tatsumaki might see an "Esper" category added to their stats.
Fail the bonding? You'd never even see this interface.
Which is why they said, "A successful bond can change your fate."
"Now that I have the Saitama Physique," Vincent murmured, "as long as I keep training, I should be able to grow endlessly stronger."
He tried to recall how Saitama had trained.
"Wasn't it... 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run every day?"
It was just past noon. Still plenty of time.
He decided to start that very day.
After a simple lunch and a thirty-minute rest, he began.
First, the 10-kilometer run. It took him an hour to finish.
Then came 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats.
Of course, there was no way Vincent could complete it all in one go. He had to alternate with breaks.
Thankfully, his body was in decent shape already he'd always liked playing ball games.
Otherwise, with poor fitness, most people wouldn't even be able to complete a single set in one day.
Hours passed.
By the time the sun went down, Vincent, soaked in sweat, pulled up his panel again and was stunned.
His stats had nearly doubled across the board except for Willpower.
Name: Vincent Tan
Race: Human
Constitution: 18
Willpower: 9
Strength: 19
Agility: 17
Bloodline: Saitama Physique (Awakened)