One-Punch Man Goes on Sale

That weekend, Bob rushed straight into a DC comic shop.

He was a proud high school senior. High school lasted four years in America, and he would be going to college next year.

He didn't have many hobbies; he just liked superhero comics.

But that was before. Ever since Pirate King and Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World began serialization, his affections had shifted elsewhere.

Compared to superhero comics, which were heavily formulaic and all had much the same style,

these two comics were a breath of fresh air.

From the art style to the plot, they were completely different from superhero comics.

And compared to the fiery excitement of Pirate King, Bob actually preferred an otaku comic like Re:Zero...

Emilia, Ram, Rem, and even the Bowel Hunter... every female character in it had left an impression on him.

By comparison, the female characters in Pirate King weren't drawn as realistically or as beautifully.

But to his dismay, the first season of Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World had already ended.

The story had stopped at a crucial point, yet there was no news of a new season.

That left Bob coming back every weekend to see if the second season was out.

"Boss, a copy of Starlight Pictorial!"

DC Comics was now using the Starlight Comics name. After all, these weren't DC's comics.

Although DC coveted their popularity too, there was no way Starlight Pictures would hand them over.

Everyone knew that Pirate King had become a goose that laid golden eggs.

The facts showed there was a reason it could become the most popular comic in the world.

After Bob got his hands on a copy, he couldn't wait until he got home. He immediately found a place to start reading.

He felt its thickness and brightened.

Pirate King was still first. The story was moving along fairly quickly; early on, it didn't pad everything out with flashbacks the way it did later.

Bob didn't read quickly. Pirate King's story was about its spirit of adventure, those special treasures, and the many different people encountered along the way.

"Nami's too much like the girl next door. I prefer Robin, the mature beauty."

Bob was almost drooling.

Robin really was so beautiful. How beautiful would she be if they made a movie?

After collecting himself, he discovered there really was more afterward.

"Ram, Rem, here I come!"

He shouted, but the smile froze on his face.

"It's not the second season of Re:Zero? What the hell!"

The new comic was one he had never seen before. It was called One-Punch Man.

And there was a bald guy on the cover!

"Pfft!"

"I want beautiful girls! Who wants to look at some lousy bald guy?"

"Not even a dog would read One-Punch Man!"

Half an hour later.

"If a dog won't read it, I will!"

Bob had started reading while holding back his anger. After all, he'd already spent the money, and this kind of bundled sale was the worst.

But after reading it, he had only two words.

"I stand corrected."

He had originally thought it was another ordinary superhero story. After all, you could tell from the name that One-Punch Man was a superman too.

Superman was DC's golden boy, one of its most popular characters.

But once the story began, Bob realized he was wrong.

The guy called Saitama was ridiculously overpowered. No matter what kind of monster he ran into, he knocked it out with one punch.

"No wonder it's called One-Punch Man. He really only throws one punch?"

"And a premise like that is... so cool."

It was completely different from traditional superheroes fighting back and forth against enemies in battles to the death. This was a complete stomp.

But it was precisely that kind of stomping that made it so satisfying.

"What is so cool?"

Someone nearby had been drawn by Bob's shouting and couldn't help asking.

Bob immediately said, "One-Punch Man, of course. It's so good."

"Really?"

"Really! If it isn't good, I'm a dog!"

Bob nodded at once.

He felt a strong urge to share, wanting to share this joy with other people.

So he thought of the internet.

In fact, a storm was already brewing online.

Bob wasn't the only one who had thought of it. Plenty of people felt the urge to share.

When something was good, naturally people wanted their friends and family to enjoy it too. Many years ago, countless classics had become classics through word of mouth, without any promotion.

Today's internet made that even easier. People could freely express their views online and share their joy.

And so One-Punch Man became popular at tremendous speed.

After all, Star Animation already had a good reputation, and the comic had been placed after Pirate King.

Although Pirate King hadn't yet reached number one in popularity in North America, it had firmly settled into the top three. Anyone could see it was a phenomenon.

With such a hugely popular comic drawing readers in, it would have been hard for One-Punch Man not to take off.

Along with it, the Saitama Training Regimen from One-Punch Man became popular.

A hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run every day, kept up for three years.

Quite a few people found the premise "interesting" and decided to give it a try.

[Pirate King continues to be a hit. Reputation points +100]

[One-Punch Man newly released. Reputation points +300]

[One-Punch Man... reputation points +250]

[...]

After ending his trip to New York, Li Chen was resting on the day he returned home.

But he still couldn't get any peace.

There were too many system notifications.

They let him know One-Punch Man was a hit without his needing to look at any financial reports.

Li Chen was naturally overjoyed. A hit meant reputation points.

He took another look at his reputation.

[Current reputation points: 13404.]

A full thirteen ten-pulls, more than 130 draws.

He refused to believe he wouldn't get it!

"All right, let's go back."

Li Chen took Psylocke by the hand and returned to the manor.

Psylocke breathed a sigh of relief. She was finally free of it.

After all this time, she felt as though she had forgotten how to fight.

But this quiet life also gave her a sense of security.

At least her master was so strong that she didn't have to worry every day about being killed or anything like that.

But the reprieve she had anticipated didn't come. Instead, Li Chen took her to the master bedroom.

A new round of education was about to begin, and Li Chen was going to savor the delicacy that was Psylocke.

Before, it had only been psychological, making her fully accept this identity.

Now that she had accepted her fate, it was naturally time to enter a new phase.

Psylocke suddenly grew nervous, but she couldn't resist at all. Like The Walking Dead, she followed Li Chen inside.

She was now like someone who had completely lost the ability to take care of herself. Even washing up required her master, Li Chen, to do it for her.

"Not bad. Very good."

Li Chen had Psylocke change into her battle outfit.

During this time, Psylocke had tried quite a few styles, such as bunny girl and maid outfits, but Li Chen still preferred her combat outfit.

After all, that was Psylocke's trademark.

She was a valiant female ninja. Even if she had been domesticated now, she should still maintain her own style.