Hero Academy

The winners ranked fourth through tenth each received 2,000 Energy Units, along with a randomly drawn Doraemon Secret Treasure or Li Chen's **bloodline/equipment/skill. Third-place Ikaros received the Eternal Watermelon, which defied the law of entropy increase—a truly heaven-defying technology. Runner-up King's "core" underwent random enhancement, radiating an even more oppressive aura, though he was somewhat disappointed that his gaming talent had not improved.

Sometimes luck mattered more than strength—it could help one avoid formidable opponents and easily reap the rewards. Just like how King, piloting the Mark III Armor, had nearly swept every match. Such incredible fortune was second only to the S-Class supreme being under Lord Li's command—Sosuke Aizen—who crushed the entire field through sheer ability.

As the top-ranked contender, Sosuke Aizen received top-tier equipment from the world of Overlord—the World-Class Item, Hell Abyss. Li Chen handed the treasure to him and said, "This treasure is yours now, Aizen." Aizen respectfully accepted the wand-like weapon, dropped to one knee, and solemnly replied, "I will never disappoint you."

With that, all prizes had been distributed. The grand Hero War was nearing its end, and everyone gradually left the training room. For most of them, the battle had been more of an opportunity to gain experience...

In the end, only five people remained in the training room: President Li Chen, Vice President Doraemon, S-Class Hero Sosuke Aizen, the Original Spirit, and the innocent Yatogami Tohka. Tohka inexplicably found the people before her familiar. Though she had never met them, she felt a strange sense of closeness.

At that moment, Aizen adjusted his glasses and reported to Li Chen, "BOSS, regarding the second matter mentioned earlier, an emerging power has appeared in Africa and is expanding its territory at an astonishing rate." Li Chen considered it briefly. "Noxus?" "Precisely." Aizen nodded. "Their power clearly comes from another world. Should we eliminate this hidden danger?"

Li Chen waved a hand. "There's no need to act personally. Otherwise, there would be no point in establishing branches. Leave it to Yugi Mutou, the head of the African branch." Aizen accepted the order. "Understood."

With the strength of an S-Class Hero, even if Yugi Mutou could not completely wipe out the Noxian Legion, he would be more than capable of suppressing its offensive. Unless Darius awakened the power of the God King and advanced into an Ultra-Dragon-level Threat, no one in Noxus could contend with him.

In addition, according to the latest news, Wakanda's former leader had been beheaded by Darius, the Hand of Noxus. After the new Black Panther took the throne, Wakanda might be more willing to cooperate with the League of Heroes' African branch. After all, Child Emperor's design for the "Vibranium Brave Giant" was currently only lacking thousands of tons of Vibranium.

"Have the personnel combat evaluations for each branch been completed? Has the roster been finalized?"

"I have fulfilled my mission, sir. All arrangements have been completed. Please review them, BOSS."

"There's no need. I have great faith in your judgment, Aizen."

Li Chen entrusted the matter to him without reservation.

Though he was the president, he understood the importance of delegating authority, especially when it came to combat deployment. He knew that Sosuke Aizen's strategic ability far surpassed his own.

The African branch roster on the draft was especially eye-catching: Yugi Mutou, head of the African branch; Garen; Child Emperor... The enhanced Garen would surely gain the upper hand in a confrontation with Darius. And Child Emperor's addition would make it easier to acquire the Vibranium needed to build the "Vibranium Brave Giant."

"Then I shall proceed accordingly."

"Go ahead and do whatever you need to."

Aizen's figure vanished from the training room in an instant. As the League's most trusted strategist, he spent every day handling countless affairs. After all, this president had always been a hands-off boss.

"Slurp—"

Amid a disturbance in the air, a yellow octopus monster suddenly appeared. Wearing a doctoral cap and covered in writhing tentacles, it was the newly promoted S-Class Hero—Koro-sensei. His Mach 20 movement speed could grant Li Chen a Mach 200 speed boost.

"An... an octopus monster!" Yatogami Tohka's eyes lit up. The flavor of yesterday's takoyaki seemed to linger on her tongue.

Koro-sensei's tentacles trembled violently, and purple "##" symbols appeared on his face. "How rude~ I am Koro-sensei, a peace-loving educator."

"Hey, hey, Li Chen, can this be made into takoyaki?"

"Don't mess around." Li Chen lightly tapped Tohka on the head. "Koro-sensei isn't an ingredient. If you want takoyaki, I'll take you later."

"Mm-hmm!" The little foodie nodded happily.

The terrifying thing about this octopus teacher was not merely his speed—just a portion of his body **could destroy half the moon. If he fully erupted, he could even reduce Earth to ashes.

If he acted with malicious intent, Koro-sensei would inevitably become a super-disaster capable of wiping out humanity.

"Want some takoyaki? Count me in."

"Eating your own kind... is that really appropriate?"

A defense came from among the swaying yellow tentacles. "President, you jest. I used to be human; I merely changed form..."

That did not stop him from enjoying takoyaki.

"But, President..."

"Hmm?"

"Actually, 8■■746, compared to fighting monsters, I would rather become a teacher."

"If that's the case..."

Li Chen stroked his smooth chin and fell into thought.

Indeed, Koro-sensei's indiscriminate ■ attack pattern was not suited for fighting monsters.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly slapped the table. "Then go teach!"

"Huh? Really?"

"Not at an ordinary school—it'll be Hero Academy."

"Hero... Academy?"

"This world has countless promising talents. With professional training, they can absolutely become reserve forces for the League of Heroes."

"But the issue is aptitude... No matter how much ordinary people train, they can't reach the D-Class threshold." The yellow tentacles twisted in confusion.

Though he was an expert educator, he truly could not train ordinary people to D-Class standards.

If it were merely elite ■ standards, that would not be difficult.

"No problem. There are plenty of mutants. The largest gathering place is—"

Li Chen's gaze passed through the void and settled upon the manor in New York bearing the words "X Academy."

That place had nurtured countless mutated geniuses. If they were willing to accept reform, the League of Heroes would gladly take in these future saviors.

They would cast off the stigma of being called "monsters" and regain their glory.

With the League's current reputation, clearing the names of mutants would be effortless.

"X Academy?"

"I'll leave the recruitment mission to you."

"Wait—!"

Ignoring the frazzled Koro-sensei, Li Chen took Yatogami Tohka's arm in his left hand and walked straight out of the training room.

**A month passed in the blink of an eye.

As monster disasters became increasingly frequent, League of Heroes branches were being built everywhere in full swing, and site selection proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

(

Members of the League of Heroes headquarters traveled to the various branches by private jet as leisurely as if they were on vacation. The North and South Pole branches were exceptions, of course—those places were sparsely inhabited, and even branch heads Ulquiorra and Ikaros only inspected them occasionally.

Inside Yatogami Tohka's room at headquarters, the purple-haired girl practiced an invitation before the mirror. "Li Chen... can... can you..." Her cheeks were flushed, and her voice trembled, yet she still took a deep breath and continued, "Go... go on a date with me?" Though she was speaking to her reflection, it felt as though she had exhausted all her strength.

After studying human common sense during this time, Tohka had come to understand the meaning of "dating." Ever since meeting Li Chen, the first person who had truly accepted her, Mash's scheming encouragement had quietly transformed her gratitude into love.

"Ugh..." Tohka dejectedly lowered her shoulders. She was already this nervous merely practicing before a mirror, let alone confessing face-to-face. What made her even more anxious was that Li Chen's relationship with the mysterious girl Mio had grown increasingly close. He had even received the ring of her fantasies as a gift.

"This can't continue." She shook her head and pulled herself together, taking on a more natural pose before the mirror. "Li Chen, how about going shopping and eating delicious food with me today?" This time, her tone was much more relaxed, but she immediately noticed something strange—the corners of the person in the mirror's lips had formed a mysterious smile that did not belong to her.

The girl's expression had become much more natural, but she still instinctively avoided the word "date." This was no different from before.

Not enough. She had to be more determined!

"Um... Li Chen, next time, could you... go on a d-date with me?"

"Still not honest enough. Be braver."

"Li Chen, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Facing herself in the mirror, Tohka gradually found the feeling after repeated practice. So she gathered her courage and poured out the truest feelings in her heart:

"Li Chen, go on a date with me!"

"Okay."

The sudden response left Tohka frozen on the spot. For a moment, she thought she had practiced too much and was hearing things. But that voice was so real, and so familiar...

"Huh?!"

The girl turned around in panic.

At some point, a figure had appeared by the door—a black-haired, red-eyed young man stood there with his arms folded, a faint smile on his lips.

"Li... Li Chen?!"

"Mm, what is it?"

"When did you... start standing there?"

"I was there from the beginning."

"I see... Wait?! What did you say?!"

Tohka's face instantly turned crimson, and she covered her burning cheeks with both hands. So that meant he had clearly seen all those embarrassing practice attempts just now?

This was far too humiliating...

"It's good to relax once in a while."

"There's nothing urgent going on in the League lately, so it's a good time to go out."

"So, when should we schedule the date?"

At that moment, Vice President Aizen, far away in his office, was voicing his grievances at the mountain of documents piled before him. Meanwhile, Tohka, having received such a direct response, felt her breathing stop. Dazed, she blurted out a date:

"T-tomorrow... is that okay?"

"Deal. I'll go cancel tomorrow's academy matters right away."

"Huh?! Is it really okay to give up such important work?"

"It's fine. Aizen and Koro-sensei can handle the aftermath anyway."

Li Chen gave a thumbs-up and spoke with complete confidence. When X Academy had joined the League, Professor Charles had readily accepted every condition.

Brand-new

The campus welcomed a new management team. Li Chen took the position of principal, Professor Charles became vice principal, and the teaching staff included outstanding educators such as Koro-sensei, **Captain, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Falcon, War Machine, and Kakashi Hatake. Their mission was to guide young mutant students in controlling their special abilities.

When graduation season arrived, students would face a choice that could shape their lives: those who chose to join a hero organization could receive hero titles, while those unwilling to join could work in support departments instead.

"You really... gave up such an important opportunity for me..." the girl murmured uneasily.

Her night-like long hair cascaded like a waterfall, while her crystal-clear eyes flickered with anxiety. Her face resembled that of a startled little rabbit.

This innocent girl who made Li Chen's heart race was none other than Yatogami Tohka.

"What are those empty honors worth?" Li Chen said lightly. If Sosuke Aizen, Koro-sensei, or Professor Charles heard those words, they would likely be deeply hurt.

After watching Li Chen leave, Yatogami Tohka excitedly pounced onto her bed and buried her flushed face deep into a Kinako Bread-shaped pillow.

Humming a cheerful tune, Mash lightly moved through the library corridors of League of Heroes headquarters.

Her footsteps suddenly halted—a faint sound came from the reading area, which should have been empty. Normally, only Child Emperor, Tony Stark, and she herself visited this library frequently. Child Emperor had now been transferred to the African branch, while Tony was absorbed in developing new armor. Mash had thought she was the only visitor.

"Student Mio, what are you doing?"

"Senior Mash."

The silver-haired girl slowly raised her head and elegantly tucked a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. Though she had not formally joined the League of Heroes, this girl, who had close ties with important figures, had always been the focus of everyone's discussions.