Charanko's cries echoed through the apartment, every word filled with the pain and confusion of abandonment.
"Waaah… I clean the dojo thoroughly every day, and I even chop all the firewood for the back mountain by myself… Why… why are you chasing me away…?"
Saitama picked at his ear, not particularly moved by this kind of melodramatic master-disciple drama.
He picked up the controller, idly pressing the start button, and the character selection screen reappeared.
"So, your master, in order to protect you, deliberately chased you away so he could deal with a villainous disciple named Garou himself?"
Saitama summarized concisely, instantly revealing Bang's painstaking efforts.
"Eh?" Charanko was stunned. He sniffled, his mind momentarily unable to process it. "Protect me? But… Master, he…"
"Teacher is correct," Genos's calm voice rang out.
He had already closed his notebook, his golden eyes fixed on Charanko.
In the mere minutes that Charanko was wailing, he had already retrieved and analyzed all relevant information through the Hero Association's internal network, with astonishing efficiency.
"According to the Association's internal records, the hero codename 'Garou' was originally Silver Fang Bang's chief disciple, expelled from the sect for unknown reasons."
"Recently, Garou has appeared in multiple cities and begun indiscriminately attacking professional heroes, calling himself 'Hero Hunter'."
Genos paused, then continued:
"A-Class Hero Rank 9, Tanktop Vegetarian, severely injured; A-Class Hero Rank 29, Golden Ball, severely injured; A-Class Hero Rank 33, Springbeard, severely injured."
"Based on on-site analysis, Garou's attack methods are extremely sophisticated, precisely destroying the heroes' combat capabilities, but always avoiding fatal vital points."
Genos's analysis was like a bucket of cold water poured over Charanko's muddled mind, instantly clearing it significantly.
He understood that Bang had expelled him from the sect because he was worried about him being in danger.
But soon, Charanko was overcome by a feeling of unwillingness again.
"Master…" Charanko's tears welled up again, but this time it wasn't out of grievance, but anger and shame.
"I'm also a disciple of the dojo, aren't I…? I can fight too! Even if I can't win, I want to stand with Master!"
He suddenly stood up from the ground, and because he rose too quickly, his vision momentarily darkened.
He haphazardly wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve, a look of determination burning in his eyes.
He bowed deeply to Saitama and Genos.
"Thank you both for clarifying! I… I can't just let this go!"
Taking a deep breath, Charanko straightened up and strode towards the door.
"Master's dignity, the dojo's honor, cannot be defiled by that traitor! I'm going… I'm going to catch Garou myself!"
"Bang!"
The door slammed shut, and his receding, stumbling yet determined footsteps echoed in the corridor.
"Oh? That sounds a little interesting." Saitama's interest seemed to be piqued slightly, and he put down the controller, but that flicker of interest quickly faded.
"But this is their family matter; it's probably not good for us outsiders to interfere."
For Saitama, as long as a monster appeared, he would solve it; this was his "interest-driven" action.
But this kind of internal cleansing among martial artists, in his opinion, was more like a complex private grudge, and he was too lazy to get involved.
Lin Mo didn't speak the entire time. His gaze didn't follow Charanko's departing figure but fell on the information about Garou that Genos had just found.
Although the screen had already turned off, the fleeting profile picture of Garou was clearly imprinted in his mind.
The young man in that photo had silver-white hair and untamed eyes, like a proud lone wolf in the wilderness.
A hint of disdainful smile hung on his lips, and his whole body exuded a dangerous aura.
"Martial arts…" Lin Mo murmured softly. He felt as if he had forgotten something important.
A detail he had always overlooked, yet it might be crucial.
"System, open personal panel," he thought to himself.
A blue light screen, visible only to him, unfolded before his eyes.
[Name: Lin Mo (KING)]
[Gender: Male]
[Energy Value: 31,036]
[Stamina: 500]
[Strength: 500]
[Speed: 500]
[Psychic Power: 150]
[Skills: Intimidation (Dragon Class), Basic Martial Arts, Energy Blast (Dragon Class)]
[Items: Basic Stamina Potion × 2, Basic Healing Potion × 2, Basic Mental Recovery Potion…]
That's right! It's this!
Lin Mo's gaze was fixed on the Basic Martial Arts in the skill bar.
He suddenly understood.
He hadn't paid much attention to this skill before, mainly because its acquisition method was too simple.
He subconsciously thought it wasn't a powerful technique.
It wasn't until Garou's appearance, and the word "martial arts" being repeatedly mentioned, that he suddenly realized the special nature of this skill.
One thing was very different, and it bothered him greatly.
Why were the skill levels of Intimidation and Energy Blast classified using the disaster levels of this world?
But this martial arts skill, on the other hand, used the vague term "Basic"?
Did this mean that its potential was independent of this world's rating system?
Lin Mo stopped overthinking, concentrated his thoughts, and clicked on the skill description for Basic Martial Arts.
[Basic Martial Arts]
[Skill Description: Contains basic combat techniques such as grappling, throws, punches, and kicks, enough for you to dominate among ordinary people and easily handle street fights.]
[Upgrade Requirement: Energy Points × 1000]
The description was simple, but that phrase "Upgrade Requirement" made Lin Mo's heart stir.
He stroked his chin and asked in his mind:
"System, if I want to upgrade this skill to a level equivalent to this world's Dragon-level disaster, approximately how many Energy Points will it require?"
The system's response was very quick.
[Answering Host, a total of Energy Points × 14,000 are required.]
Fourteen thousand points. He still had over thirty-one thousand energy points, which was enough!
Moreover, this type of skill-based combat offered much more room for maneuver.
Let's do it!
Lin Mo's eyes narrowed, and he made his decision: "System, upgrade Basic Martial Arts, consume fourteen thousand energy points!"
[Energy Points - 14000, upgrading…]
Lin Mo had originally thought that this upgrade would be like the previous upgrades for Intimidation and Energy Blast, accompanied by a crisp "ding" notification, and then the text on the panel would simply change.
However, he was wrong.
Terribly wrong.