The sun blazed in the summer sky, spitting heat that felt like it could melt steel. The distant crackle of cicadas cut through the silence. Birds and animals had long retreated to the shade of trees, surrendering to the unbearable heat.
The streets were nearly empty; the few people out dragged themselves along, umbrellas sagging above their heads, looking as if they might collapse at any moment.
Well, all except one.
Dempsey pedaled slowly on his delivery bicycle, packages strapped to the rear. Sweat rolled down his temple, but he came to a stop when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Planting one foot on the ground as an anchor, he swiped the screen open.
[Hero Association has released 500 new missions for G-Rank Heroes! Be fast to accept one because competition is fierce! Good luck, aspiring heroes!]
His finger hovered. Out of habit, he tapped the notification. The mission board exploded with postings, hundreds of tiny opportunities flashing before his eyes. And one by one, he watched them disappear as other heroes snatched them up in seconds.
His thumb lingered above the accept button—but he never pressed it.
The world narrowed to his screen. Even the suffocating heat slipped from his mind.
He wore a cap and a sleeveless undershirt tucked into yellow delivery pants. His jacket was tied around his waist, clinging damply from sweat.
Dempsey kept staring at the phone until the last mission vanished. Only then did he let out a sharp breath and straighten.
He tilted his head back, the blazing sunlight stabbing through his eyelashes. For a few moments he stood like that, soaking in the glare as if bracing himself.
Today, he realized, he had taken a step—a decision that would change his life.
'So this is it, huh?'
He chuckled bitterly, lowering his gaze back to the road. No time to waste. Gripping the handlebars, he pushed off, the pedals grinding as he rode toward his delivery station. The app guided him along the route.
Today, Dempsey had decided to retire from being a hero. Not officially, which official had time for working on retirement Peper of a nobody like him? Besides, it requires money. The decision was made—he would no longer accept missions.
Two years had passed since he registered as a G-Rank hero. Back then, the process was simple: be of age, possess a combat-capable ability, and apply.
His superpower, Body Enchantment, checked the right boxes. On paper, it sounded impressive. In practice, it wasn't.
He'd awakened at fifteen. That day, not only he but everyone around him celebrated. Dempsey had grown up in an orphanage, never knowing who his parents were.
His friends—orphans and schoolmates alike—had cheered for him. After all, he had awakened a combat power.
Body Enchantment. The name carried weight: it could amplify every aspect of his body—defense, strength, reflexes, even thought processes.
Hearing that, Dempsey had felt invincible. He could already see himself waving at cheering crowds, hailed as a hero.
He imagined himself crushing villains, saving lives, admired by all.
But reality came crashing down quickly.
For two years he languished in the G-Rank. His power, once promising, was underwhelming in practice.
The Hero Association barely released missions, and when they did, competition was cutthroat. Millions of G-Rank heroes in Japan, fighting over scraps—500 missions scattered like crumbs into a pool of starving fish.
Dempsey spent his days scraping by. Deliveries. Construction. Odd jobs because a low ranking hero doesn't get salary. Only B-Rank hero's get something.
He would accept missions and would have to leave mid work to complete it because if he didn't within a certain amount of time, it will be sent to someone else.
Other times, coworkers covered for him. Too often, they didn't. He'd been fired more times than he cared to admit.
Some days, he had nothing. He couldn't accept any missions because he was late or he couldn't find any work. He would go by without eating anything other then water which he drank from the park or other free places.
Only when he found some job or mission that he could have some money for himself. Even then, little was left for him.
Rent, bills, and survival drained everything. Saving money was a fantasy. A better future felt like a cruel joke.
He still remembered the crushing humiliation of Body Enchantment. If he could lift 100 kilos, activating the power only raised it to 110. A measly increase.
The ability scaled with his base self—average in every way. Reality had stripped his dream bare.
By evening, deliveries done, Dempsey sat slouched on a bench in a small park, his bicycle resting nearby. The sun sagged westward, painting the sky in molten orange.
He stared at it blankly. He looked defeated. He was defeated.
For years, he had dreamed of the life of a hero. The fame, the wealth, the respect. High-ranking heroes lived like celebrities—rich, adored, untouchable.
He had never longed for excess, but at the very least, he wanted to live well, to be acknowledged.
But that dream was over.
"Urgh~."
He pushed himself up with a groan. There was nothing he could do about his incompetence. Nothing to alter the fate of his mediocrity.
He grabbed his bike and began pedaling slowly, letting the cooling breeze brush his sweat-soaked skin.
For tonight, he would let himself rest, maybe indulge a little with the little moneyhe got. He couldn't afford anything other then cup noodles anyway.
Tomorrow, he would fully commit to work—real work. Part-time jobs, construction, delivery. Whatever it took to stabilize his life.
Among the construction workers, he already carried a small reputation—an odd sort of infamy. Because he left job mid way and got fired frequently, very few people wanted to hire him.
"Hehe~What life..."
Dempsey chuckled as he gazed at the sky while walking. He walked slow. There wasn't anyone waiting for him anyway. The so called friends of his either left the city or went no contact with him. Some even became fairly successful heroes unlike him.
Dempsey walked through the foot path as he watched people walking past him. The road was becoming livelier as the evening went on. People were coming out of their home.
"Hey! Did you watch the live stream of that guy with bee costume? What was his name again.."
"Are you talking about bee man?"
"Yeah! Right that guy!"
"Well, no. I don't watch such nobodies. I would rather watch Sliver Flash do nothing then watch nobodies."
"OHHH!! You look like a decent guy but looks like your into that kind of thing as well huh?"
Two friends chatted as they walked in front of Dempsey. He could hear them even if he didn't want to. So he listened with close attention since the topic seemed interesting.
"FUCK NO!! I'm not that kind of guy who only watches Sliver Flashes Live Streams because of her booties. Nu-uh. But we're getting off topic. What we're you talking about?"
"I never said you were there for her booties though."
"Shut the fuck up man! Get to the Point!!"
Dempsey nodded in agreement. He was getting curious about the bee man. But the brat on the left seems to be the teasing type and was fixated on teasing his friend.
Dempsey narrowed his eyes as he looked closer to that boy. He was tall, handsome with lean muscler physique and looked like an extrovert.
The right brat on the other hand was timid and nearby looking. Though with an explosive personality. Suddenly, Dempsey's eyes widened.
'No way right? No way that brat swings that way!'
But the expression of the left brat seemed to say otherwise. Dempsey suddenly felt a chill. Wanted to walk away from potential danger but the gossip was too good to leave behind.
So he steeled his heart and continued to listen. He wanted to know what happened. If he didn't, he may not be able to sleep tonight.
He suddenly felt that these brats house might be near and he gossip would end if the left brat continues to tease the right brat who, now that Dempsey looked closer looked slightly embarrassed.
'They both swing that way!!'
As Dempsey was wiring potential BL love story between these two, the left brat didn't seemed to continue the teasing and got back to the topic.
Dempsey focused all his hearing power into his ears. Ready to catch even the minute detail.
"Alright~ if you say so."
The left brat seemed a little down and the right brat seemed like he was feeling guilty.
'You assholes! Get to the fucking point!! I even followed you to the other direction of the house damn it!! Spit it out already!!'
Dempsey was now dying to hear about bee man.
"Well, some one in his live stream dared him to do a pole dance on a lamp post on stream wearing magical girl outfit for 1,500 Rens. But after many back and fourth, the challenger agreed to be satisfied with a vedio but he was to post it within a week and only then will he receive the money."
The left brat concluded. The right brat nodded and they chatted as they walked to wherever the fuck they wanted. Dempsey doesn't care anymore. He got want he wanted and he took left turn from the cross section.
'Holy shit! That's... thats a lot of money. But I would never do those things for money. I have my dignity for fucks sake! Or else I won't have had to suffer like this!'
"Shit, sometimes I wonder what if I had been born shameless like them? Would my situation have been better?"
Dempsey walked as he questioned his dignity. It was true that if he wanted, he could have become a streamer as well but he didn't.
People give all sorts of weird missions and ain't no way Dempsey is doing those diabolical shit! He is a proud citizen of Japan. Well, at least on the surface.
The real reason is he is too poor to buy a camera and he doesn't want to take loans because he doesn't know if he can succeed at all.
He wasn't going to gamble with his life. But who is going to tell the people who thinks he is an extremely prideful person? No one.
But regardless, another reason was streamer were newmorious. Almost all the low ranking hero does streaming.
Even famous hero does that except for Legendary-Rank Hero and World Class Heroes. They are legends and myth whose presence alone is enough to shit a market trend.
And within the sea of many types of people, Dempsey wasn't confident he could stand out. What qualities did he have? A useless ability and above average look.
"Fuck! So unfair! Damn it! My mood is ruined! I should shower when I get back and have something nice."
He said as he started to ride his bike. The dusk fell and the world darkened.