Genos pounded the ground with a fist in frustration, reluctantly accepting the reality that he was not strong enough.
"Actually, there's no need to get discouraged, Genos."
Saitama looked at his cyborg disciple, who had wrecked his own body, with something of a headache and tried to offer some guidance.
"Like you said earlier, you're only seventeen this year, right?"
"Yes, Teacher Saitama!"
At the sound of Saitama's voice, Genos reflexively put away his frustrated expression and nodded earnestly.
This time, though, with his battered head and scorched afro, he could not look cool at all.
"Seventeen. That really is young!"
Saitama could not help remarking, "I'm already twenty-three this year, and it's been over a year since I started training."
"Wh-what..."
-He became this powerful in just a year?
Realizing that his teacher was sharing insights from his own training, Genos immediately shut his mouth and listened intently to this precious guidance.
"Actually, I don't really understand robot stuff," Saitama said, continuing to share his views without noticing the change in his cyborg disciple's mindset.
"But in my experience, getting stronger is always a process."
"After all, when I first started training, I could barely even finish my daily workout. Luckily, I stuck with it in the end."
-It must have been some incredibly grueling training, right?
Genos imagined Saitama carrying an enormous boulder up a mountain in arduous training, sweat soaking his back, and could not help feeling deep respect.
"So, since you're so young, it's not impossible for you to surpass me in another year or two."
Saitama delivered his conclusion with a serious face.
"R-really?"
Listening to Saitama's plain words, which seemed to say something and yet nothing at all, Genos felt as though his already shaken young mind had grasped a sliver of truth. His