As an A-Class hero, Sneck had absolute confidence in his own strength.
He took a step forward and stood up straight, speaking to Child Emperor with a grave expression:
"Come on then, Child Emperor. My body is my strongest weapon—let your invention witness the strength of an A-Class hero."
"Alright, Mr. Sneck!" Light flashed in Child Emperor's eyes.
He raised the "Ugly Woman Mask" and aimed it at Sneck.
Among the mask's four pairs of eerie eyes, the two larger pairs suddenly lit up and fired two soft green beams, sweeping from head to toe across Sneck's body.
A few seconds later, the scan ended.
Beneath the smallest pair of eyes at the center of the mask, a tiny holographic screen lit up, displaying a string of scarlet digits:
[Raw Physical Strength: 1600]
"Sixteen hundred!" Child Emperor nodded in satisfaction and jotted it down.
"Very solid numbers, Mr. Sneck. According to my preliminary model, the average adult male is between 5–10, while a top world boxing champion is around 80."
Child Emperor gave his lollipop another lick and continued in a professional tone:
"This means your raw physical power has far surpassed what conventional humans can achieve—you're a genuine superhuman. Among A-Class heroes, this score is unquestionably among the best."
Receiving praise from an S-Class hero made Sneck even more self-assured.
Arms crossed, he nodded with reserve, but he could not hide the pride in his eyes.
"Of course, this is only a static value and can't fully represent combat capability," Child Emperor added rigorously.
"Combat technique, weapon bonuses, and energy utilization will all drastically affect the final outcome. But a powerful body is always the most reliable foundation for a hero."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the two heroes on the other side of the room. "Next, these two gentlemen—'Great Philosopher' and the 'Darkflame Dragon Blade Wielder.'"
The testing continued.
First up was A-Class Rank 13 "Great Philosopher."
Despite the refined title, he himself was a hulking man over two meters tall, muscles knotted.
He silently walked to the center and gave Child Emperor a nod.
The green beam swept again, and this time the mask's humming seemed louder than before.
Moments later, a new number appeared on the holographic screen, making Sneck's pupils contract slightly.
[Raw Physical Strength: 2442]
"Two thousand four hundred forty-two!" Surprise flickered through Child Emperor's eyes. He recorded it quickly and commented:
"Remarkable! Mr. Great Philosopher, your raw physical strength surpasses many A-Class heroes known for power. Those muscles are the genuine article!"
Sneck clicked his tongue inwardly. He hadn't expected a man whose ranking was only a bit higher than his to have a body that was so much stronger.
Looks like the Association's rankings weren't baseless after all.
Next was B-Class Rank 50, the "Darkflame Dragon Blade Wielder."
Clad in heavy black armor and wearing the smile of a dyed-in-the-wool chuunibyou, he struck a pose he thought was cool before the test and muttered under his breath:
"Mere mortal machines cannot peer into the darkflame dragon power slumbering within me…"
Child Emperor ignored the performance and started the scan. The result popped out quickly.
[Raw Physical Strength: 759]
"Seven hundred fifty-nine is a very good evaluation for a B-Class hero," Child Emperor said objectively.
"Hmph. This is but the value of my mortal shell with the dragon's power suppressed," the Darkflame Dragon Blade Wielder explained coolly, then stepped back.
By now, the heroes who had volunteered were tested.
All eyes naturally fell, more or less stealthily, on the other two—Saitama, and "the strongest man on the surface," KING.
"Alright, next…" Child Emperor's eyes moved between Saitama and KING and finally settled on Saitama.
For this man who had shattered a meteor with one punch yet scored merely "excellent" across the board in the Association's physical tests, Child Emperor's curiosity far surpassed everyone else's.
That kind of destructive power could never be measured by conventional data.
He wanted to see whether his invention could glimpse the tip of his iceberg.
"You there, the bald one—A-Class Rank 25, Mr. Saitama. Your turn."
"Ah, okay."
Saitama lazily got to his feet, walked to the center, and wore a face that said, "Hurry up so I can eat lunch."
Child Emperor drew a deep breath and raised the Ugly Woman Mask, aiming at the seemingly ordinary bald man.
The green scanning beam shot out again, sweeping inch by inch over Saitama's body.
At first, everything was normal; the mask emitted a steady hum.
But as the beam reached Saitama's chest, a sudden change erupted!
"Bzz—bzzzz!"
The sound turned shrill, like an engine pushed past its limits.
On the holographic screen, the digits leapt from zero and began skyrocketing at a speed too fast for the eye to follow:
10… 100… 1000… 9999…
The numbers jumped faster than the screen could refresh, leaving a blur of afterimages.
"W-what's going on?" Child Emperor paled. He had never anticipated this.
"Beep! Beep! Warning! Energy reaction overload! Measurement exceeding upper limit! Exceeding upper limit!" blared a harsh electronic warning inside the mask.
Before anyone could react—crack!
The "Ugly Woman Mask" in Child Emperor's hands shuddered violently; from the corners of its four pairs of eyes, web-like cracks split open!
"Ah! My invention!"
Child Emperor cried out in heartbreak and cradled the ruined mask with pained distress.
This was his masterpiece, born of three days and nights of effort!
The entire core area fell into dead silence.
Sneck, Great Philosopher, and the Darkflame Dragon Blade Wielder stared at Saitama, eyes bulging as if looking at a monster in human skin.
They could not begin to fathom what had just happened.
How could someone's raw physical strength cause Child Emperor's precision instrument to fail on the spot?
Saitama scratched his bald head with an innocent look. "Uh, sorry about breaking your thing."
Child Emperor looked up, and his eyes on Saitama had completely changed.
He had estimated an average adult male at around 5, a frequent-training fighter at 20-plus. The average C-Class hero: 100; B-Class: 500; A-Class: in the thousands.
But there was one caveat—the "Ugly Woman Mask" capped at 9999; exceeding that would be unanalyzable.
And yet…the mask had outright died!
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (190 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (78 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (130 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (80 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (140 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (60 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (80 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it