"Victory decided! Virtual opponent — Billy, the King of Philosophy — wins!"
"A-Class Hero Hulk is defeated. One point deducted."
"Next vict— ahem, guest, please!"
The moment Banner surrendered, Billy stopped. His body dissolved into streams of data and vanished from the arena.
After all, he was nothing more than a virtual construct Aiden Cross had stored inside the training room.
At the center of the colosseum, the thoroughly traumatized Hulk finally retreated on his own, handing control of the body back to Bruce Banner.
When Banner was teleported back to the audience seats, he was wearing nothing but a pair of black shorts.
"…You okay, buddy?" Captain America asked, walking over.
"No. Not even a little," Banner muttered, rubbing his arms. "I don't remember anything clearly, but my whole body feels like it's shivering from… something."
From Hulk's side, he kept receiving waves of fear—something he had never experienced before.
And whatever that "philosophical" experience had been, he had absolutely no desire to remember it.
But the Hero War did not pause for trauma recovery.
The second "victim"—ahem, guest—was selected by the flashing lights.
"Welcome our second guest — Mumen Rider! Please choose your battle mode!"
"I'll choose the second one as well."
Dressed in his high-fiber protective suit, green helmet, and black goggles, Mumen Rider stood fully armored.
He knew better than anyone that he was the weakest member of the Hero Alliance. If he didn't prioritize defense, he would fall instantly.
And with his pure hero's heart, he simply couldn't bring himself to fight another hero.
"Alright! Random virtual opponent selection begins~!"
Aiden Cross snapped his fingers. The giant roulette wheel began spinning once more.
Up on the judges' platform, Doraemon took a bite of dorayaki and casually asked,
"By the way, President, what exactly did you put into the virtual opponent database?"
"A lot. The Four Emperors, the Three Admirals, the Five Kage, the Monster Association, the spirits of Eldervale… and a hidden easter egg."
"…A hidden easter egg?"
"Yeah. Me."
"Pff—!"
Doraemon spat out his tea and started coughing violently.
He looked at Aiden Cross with deep resentment.
That's cheating! Whoever pulled that card had a 100% guaranteed loss. There was no possible way to win!
The President was the absolute ceiling of the Hero Alliance. Even if someone drew a Vice-President-tier entity like Zeno, Aiden Cross would instantly level up to match.
Then Aiden Cross turned to Zero.
"What did you add?"
"Me?"
Zero tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"In my memory… there are only a few people. The Ancient One, Astra Vale, Nia Oraciel, Elena…"
Aiden Cross didn't need to hear the rest.
Zero had clearly added all eleven Spirit Crystal owners into the database.
From Demon-level to near Super-Dragon threats—fully stocked.
"Except Stella, I don't know where everyone else went…" Zero puffed her cheeks slightly. "I kind of miss them."
Aiden Cross gently rubbed her head.
"Don't worry. If we run into them, I'll bring them back to the Hero Alliance."
Kidnap them back, to be precise.
Some Spirits were incredibly easy to recruit—Stella, Lumi Frost…
Others were nightmare difficulty—Melody Hart, Nia Oraciel, Elena…
"Mmm…" Zero narrowed her eyes like a content cat, enjoying the head-pat.
If it had been anyone else within three meters, Zero—born from the combined magical power of the Marvel world—could have erased them with a finger.
Doraemon rubbed his forehead.
"This is a headache. You two put way too many monsters in there."
He, on the other hand, had kindly added only Wolf- and Tiger-level threats.
But the roulette didn't care about hero rank.
Even a D-Class hero could draw… a God-level calamity.
At that point, you could only blame your luck.
[Ding! Opponent selected: Pseudo-President Tier / Pseudo-God Calamity]
"…Whoa," Aiden Cross scratched his head. "That's absurd luck."
Pseudo-God meant above Near-God, but not yet capable of universal destruction.
And among everything in the database…
There was only one like that.
"Mumen Rider, you should go buy a lottery ticket after this."
"This isn't even a fight anymore…"
"How is a D-Class hero supposed to fight a Pseudo-God?!"
"Bro down there, just surrender…"
"That luck is insane. Legendary RNG!"
"D-Class vs Pseudo-God… this is cruel."
Everyone knew.
Even among D-Class heroes, Mumen Rider was at the very bottom.
The steel gates of the colosseum slowly rose.
As long as he didn't surrender…
The opponent would appear.
Mumen Rider looked forward—
And the moment he saw the figure emerging from the shadows…
His breathing stopped.
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Read Chapters ahead: [email protected] / KaiOynx