Zain made his way down the now familiar hallway, going to the test room.
He stopped at the scanner, slid his Hero ID, and the door slid open.
Inside, the same woman from yesterday—the hunting test supervisor—was sitting at her desk, sipping coffee from a steaming mug.
The moment she saw someone enter, she looked up lazily.
But her eyes lit up the moment she recognized the figure.
"Well, well. What's up, pretty boy?"
She grinned, setting her mug down.
"Don't tell me you need help already with your first hunting mission?"
Zain smirked as he stepped further in, dragging something heavy behind him.
"Focus, now. I'm not here to ask for help. I'm here to finish my test."
She raised her eyebrow.
"Huh? Already? That's quick—"
THUD.
THUD.
Zain tossed Splinter and Knuck onto the floor like broken luggage.
Their unconscious bodies hit the ground with dull impact, sprawled out in full view.
The woman stood up, her eyes going wide as she looked between the two villains.
"Wait… are these—?"
She walked around the desk, crouching slightly to look at their faces.
"These are C-Rank bounties. Splinter and Knuck. And you brought back both…"
She glanced up at him, half impressed, half amazed.
"Wow. You're something else. Already caught a C-Rank villain? No—two of them?"
Zain crossed his arms, his grin widening.
"Told you yesterday—I'm better than I look."
She stood up, chuckling.
"No kidding. Young, handsome, and strong? I think I'm starting to like you."
Zain raised his eyebrow and shot her a cool smirk.
"We can talk about that later. Right now, I believe we were discussing my test."
The woman laughed, clearly amused.
"Fine, fine. Business first. Let's handle your rank-up... but don't forget that 'later' part."
---
The woman turned back to her desk, typing swiftly as the system registered Zain's submission.
The bodies of Splinter and Knuck were already being scanned and verified by nearby automated terminals.
"Alright then, let's go over your hunting results."
"You successfully captured two C-Rank villains alive. That's more than enough."
She hit a final key and the screen lit up.
"Congratulations. You've officially passed the hunting test and can now be registered as a C-Rank hero."
Zain crossed his arms. "Good. What's next?"
The woman leaned back, eyeing him with a sly smile.
"Now comes the fun part. For the system record, I need to input your ability."
Zain frowned a little, uncertain.
"You want to know my ability?"
She chuckled.
"That's the rule. But you just need to tell me one of your abilities.."
Zain's eyes narrowed.
"Wait—you knew?"
She smirked and tapped her pen on the desk.
"Of course. You think you're the only one who's figured out how to survive by stacking powers?"
"It's not rare to awaken two or even three low-tier abilities. What's rare is someone awakening a higher-tier one afterward."
She leaned in slightly.
"But you… yeah, the way you handled those two? No way you had just one ability."
Zain relaxed slightly and nodded.
"I see… No wonder the Bone Brothers didn't freak out when I used different techniques."
"Exactly. They've seen enough awakened to know when they're outclassed."
She gestured with a hand.
"Now, just pick one to register publicly. The rest stays your secret."
Zain held up his hand and lit it with flame.
"Flame Hand. That'll do."
She grinned, typing it in.
"Nice. Simple, flashy, and effective. Alright, one last thing."
She turned to him again.
"What do you want your hero name to be?"
Zain blinked.
"Hero name?"
"Of course. You're officially going to be a hero. Every registered hero needs a public name for records and missions. Got one in mind?"
Zain paused, then slowly smirked.
"Yeah… how about Heavenly Demon?"
The woman raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"Heavenly Demon? Are you a fan of cultivation novels or something? That name's got some edge."
Zain gave her a faint smile.
"Something like that."
She tilted her head.
"You sure? 'Demon' leans a bit villainous, don't you think? You're a hero now. People might misunderstand."
Zain grinned.
"But it's got 'Heavenly' in it, right? That means I'm the kind of demon who does good. Just... don't look too close."
She stared at him for a second—then burst into a light laugh.
"Alright, alright. Heavenly Demon it is. You're gonna be one of those 'mysterious, dangerous but cool' types, huh?"
Zain smirked, crossing his arms.
"Exactly."
The woman turned to the terminal one last time.
It printed out a sleek, black-trimmed ID card.
She held it up with a bit of flair before handing it over.
"Done. Welcome to the C-Rank, Heavenly Demon."
Zain took the card and flicked it once between his fingers before sliding it into his coat.
"Thanks. That was faster than I expected."
She grinned.
"Well, when you drag in two notorious C-Rank criminals on your second day, the paperwork kind of rushes itself."
Then she added, tapping her screen.
"Also, that card you're holding? It's tied to your Hero Account. It works as your bank card too. I've already deposited your bounty reward."
Zain raised an eyebrow.
"That quick?"
"Yep. Bonus for bringing them in alive. You'll see the numbers when you check. Don't spend it all on flashy coats."
Zain smirked.
"No promises. I like looking dangerous."
She laughed again and leaned back in her chair.
"You're going to be fun to watch, Heavenly Demon. Try not to burn down half the district."
Zain smirked at her teasing, then casually leaned his elbow on the desk.
"By the way… did you want to go out on a date, maybe?"
She blinked, caught off guard.
"Huh? Didn't think you were the bold type."
Zain chuckled.
"You said earlier we'd continue our talk later… so I figured, why not now?"
The woman glanced at the clock on the wall, then back at him with a raised brow.
"Well... I did just finish my shift. And I'm curious if you're as charming off the job as you are on it."
She stood up, grabbing her coat from the back of her chair.
"Sure. We can go out now."
Zain flashed a satisfied grin.
"Great. Then let's head out, shall we?"
She wore her coat over her shoulders and walked past him, gesturing with a thumb over her shoulder.
"Come on, hero boy. I'll take you to a spot I like. You can pay since you're loaded with bounty money now."
Zain chuckled, following beside her.
"Fine by me. As long as the food's good."
And with that, the two of them walked out of the Hero Association side by side.