One-Punch Man: Boros, the Universe Overlord

As the first rays of sunlight pierced the clouds, Genos was already standing at the door. He not only brought a steaming hot breakfast but also neatly cleaned up the mess left by the three of them after they finished eating, as if telling the three salted fish, "Today is another hopeful and energetic day."

After a quick reorganization, the four set off for the Hero Association's assessment building.

"Boros, King, are you two coming along too?" Saitama asked, somewhat surprised.

"Heh heh, let's go join in the fun." Boros chuckled sinisterly. "Jenos, he's my disciple after all. Since he's taking the exam, I, as his teacher, should be there to cheer him on and see the results as soon as possible, heh heh heh."

"Strange, where did this weirdo come from? Watch me beat you up!" Saitama raised his fist as if to strike.

"Stop fooling around, you'll have to wait in a really long line if you go late," King quickly interjected, trying to calm the two of them down.

"I'm bored at home anyway, so instead of just waiting around, I might as well go to the site. You guys will definitely pass the test, and we should at least celebrate afterwards. Let's go out for a big meal together right after the test."

"That's true," Saitama nodded earnestly, "The sooner you see the results of the assessment, the sooner your illusions will be shattered. By the way, King, you can still back out now, want to bet on me winning?"

"Never mind, none of this matters." King waved his hand and quickened his pace. "Let's hurry up and go."

As soon as the group arrived at the plaza of the examination building, they were stunned by the scene before them. A densely packed line of examinees stretched out, interspersed with murmurs of complaints and sighs, clearly indicating that many had been waiting for quite some time.

"So many people?" Genos was slightly surprised.

"I heard that over ten thousand people participated in the association's assessment this year, a record high." King pulled down his hood, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.

"Luckily, we arrived relatively early; the number of people isn't at its peak yet. You guys hurry over to the exam hall and enter the assessment room. Boros and I will find a coffee shop to wait for you."

"Alright, wait for our good news!" Saitama confidently waved his hand, his bald head shining brightly in the sunlight.

After saying goodbye to King and Boros, Saitama and Genos followed the signs and headed towards the exam entrance.

As soon as I stepped into the passage, a wave of heat, a mixture of sweat, tension, and cheap cologne, hit me. The passage was bustling with noise, and the examinees were shoulder to shoulder, practically being pushed forward.

"Teacher, look," Genos turned slightly, scanning the surrounding crowd with his mechanical eye, "According to my preliminary analysis, the average combat strength of the candidates here is far below expectations. That candidate in the bear costume has a heart rate exceeding 180 beats per minute, clearly in a state of extreme tension. And that one over there reciting the 'Hero's Code,' the frequency of his vocal cord vibrations indicates that he may have repeated it more than fifty times."

Saitama yawned, completely oblivious to his surroundings: "What are you talking about, Genos? Why are you observing these random things?"

They finally managed to queue up and enter the physical fitness test area. It was more open, but also more chaotic. All sorts of oddly shaped test-takers were doing all sorts of warm-up exercises: some were doing push-ups, some were practicing karate, and some were even...meditating in a corner?

The association staff in charge of the testing looked exhausted, mechanically repeating the "next" instruction.

"Name?" a staff member wearing thick glasses asked without looking up.

"Saitama."

"age?"

"25 years old."

The examiner scribbled a few lines in the blank space on the form, then looked up, pointed to the test area marked with chalk next to him, and shouted, "Next item: continuous horizontal jump test, 30 seconds time limit. Ready—"

As the examiner's arm swung down sharply, Saitama stared at the rows of chalk lines marking distances on the ground. King's lazy smile and Boros's sinister laugh instantly flashed through his mind. "If I rank lower than Genos in this assessment, they'll laugh at me to death! I have to give it my all!"

With that thought, Saitama planted his feet firmly on the ground, took a deep breath, and his previously lazy eyes instantly became extremely sharp. The next second, he transformed into a blurry bolt of lightning and began to jump wildly from side to side.

The speed was so fast that it left a series of afterimages that were difficult to catch with the naked eye. Accompanied by a series of popping sounds, the strong wind even blew several sheets of record paper on the examiner's table into the air.

The examiners were stunned and it took them a long time to recover before they began the next test, wiping away cold sweat.

"Next event, the 1500-meter race. On your marks—Go!"

The starting gun had barely fired in the square, and before the smoke had even cleared, Saitama had vanished into thin air from the starting line. A figure, accompanied by a fierce wind and a sonic boom, dashed across the finish line.

In the following tests, Saitama's performance was off the charts. In the weightlifting event, which started at 100 kilograms, Saitama found the barbell plates too heavy and affected his feel, so he simply pulled the steel frame used for the test up by the ground with his bare hands, lifted it above his head, and spun it around three times.

During the vertical jump test, the shockwave generated the moment he jumped shattered the ceiling, and he disappeared from everyone's sight. Half a minute later, he emerged from the bushes two hundred meters away.

As for the shot put and punching power test, Saitama casually tossed the shot put, and it disappeared into the sky like a shooting star. When his punch slammed into the force measuring device, the machine, which was said to be able to withstand the fierce blows of monsters, was crushed to pieces along with the wall behind it.

The other test takers, who had been whispering and mocking Saitama for being just there to make up the numbers because of his "minor" face, changed their expressions from mockery to horror after witnessing this series of horrific acts that defied the laws of physics. Many of them exchanged glances, then crumpled their admission tickets into a ball in despair and silently turned and left the examination room.

"Oh? You've finished your exams? How did it go?" Boros was holding a cup of iced coffee. When he saw the two of them come out, he immediately put down the cup and went to greet them with great interest.

"Yes, Professor Boros," Genos said with a hint of helplessness, "I feel that the written test questions were a bit too basic, and as for the physical fitness test... to be honest, it wasn't even a warm-up."

"Haha, the hero test is way too easy! It's not difficult at all!"

Saitama casually pulled out a chair and sat down, then grabbed a cake from the table that King hadn't touched and stuffed it into his mouth.

King quietly moved his other drink to the side, afraid that it might be taken away.

"Not bad, not bad, you're quite confident, bald guy." Boros chuckled sinisterly.

"But don't get too excited yet. Let's wait here for a while. If your ranking is lower than Genos', don't break down on the spot, hehehe..."

"Hey, Pineapple Head, what do you mean by that? I'm taking this exam very seriously!"

Saitama puffed out his cheeks and mumbled a rebuttal, then grabbed the drink King had moved and took a sip.

king……

An hour later, the rating sheets for the two were distributed, and everyone crowded around to look at Genos's rating. A large S-rank was printed on the paper.

"Great, teacher," Genos said, his mechanical eye gleaming with excitement as he looked at the rating sheet.

"I've become an S-Class hero, just like my teacher and Mr. King! Although it's only at the very bottom, I'm already very satisfied to be ranked alongside you as an S-Class hero!"

"Ah, ah, even Genos is S-class?" Saitama's previously nonchalant expression instantly became radiant.

"Looks like my S-rank rating is a sure thing, and based on my performance just now, I'm definitely even higher than Genos. Haha, Pineapple Head, you're my little brother from now on!"

As he spoke, Saitama, already impatient, tore open the envelope with a confident smile that suggested he was about to reach the pinnacle of his life, and began to check his rating chart.

The sunlight was blinding, and he squinted, his eyes scanning the paper anxiously. When the rating sheet was half-open, revealing only the top half of that letter, Saitama's initial confidence mixed with slight anxiety instantly eased.

That rounded, full curve—what else could it be but an "S" symbolizing supreme glory? He immediately straightened his back and laughed loudly:

"Look, I really am an S too, haha! I knew it!"

"So Saitama is also an S-class sage after all?" Genos leaned closer, looking at the half-letter mark with admiration.

"Given Saitama's strength, this is a perfectly normal result. And Saitama, judging by the size of that letter, it seems to be a whole size larger than mine, with extremely thick strokes. It must be ranked very high. As expected of Saitama."

"Haha, bald guy, don't get too excited," Boros laughed, slapping his thigh. But out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the inconspicuous little print at the bottom of the paper in Saitama's hand.

"The font on the C-grade lettering at the creases sometimes looks very similar to that on the S-grade. Take a closer look at the whole picture before making any boasts."

"How could this be possible..." Saitama muttered, turning around with his back to everyone and fully displaying the rating chart in front of him.

Then, the smile on his face began to freeze. His once bright eyes gradually lost focus, and his body stiffened like a stone statue. A gentle breeze lifted his seemingly desolate figure.

"How is this possible? How is this possible?" Saitama's face began to look extremely disheveled, and he muttered to himself in disbelief.

"What? What I just saw was exactly as Professor Boros said, mistaking the upper part of the C for an S. Professor Boros, Mr. King, is there some mistake? Should we go and complain to the person in charge?" Genos said in surprise.

"Hahahaha!" Boros couldn't stop laughing. He took a breath and, suppressing his laughter, asked Saitama:

"Hey, bald guy, how about we go talk to the person in charge and pull some strings for you, maybe get your ranking boosted? Hahaha!"

"No, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I'm so ashamed." came the bald man's desperate cry.