Martial Saint Academy.
That was the name of the school that accepted Vincent Tan.
Despite the bold-sounding name, it was just a privately-run, third-rate university. In fact, the name itself was a blatant knockoff of the prestigious "Martial God Academy."
Staring at the acceptance letter from Martial Saint Academy, Vincent fell into deep thought.
To him now, going to college didn't really matter anymore.
He had the most powerful physique in existence, Saitama's constitution. Give him three years, and he could be invincible.
However…
Even Saitama had his shortcomings.
For instance he couldn't fly.
Sure, he could leap from the moon to Earth in a single bound, but that wasn't true flight. That was pure brute force and absurd leg strength.
Plus, Saitama couldn't breathe in space.
What if, someday, Vincent found himself trapped in a vacuum? What then?
He needed to be prepared.
Vincent realized he had to patch those weaknesses.
The ideal solution? Acquire flight. Or maybe even teleportation. Either would work.
And the only way to find those abilities… was to enter more Forbidden Zones.
The problem was, most Forbidden Zones across the world were classified. Government secrets. You couldn't just Google them.
They were all under lockdown.
Only university students had permission to access that kind of information.
So if Vincent wanted to explore new zones and understand what they contained, he had to go to college.
Some zones were even guarded by military forces and only permitted entry to students from authorized institutions.
Vincent knew what the government was doing. They wanted to keep a close eye on the rising elite.
"In this world, most private universities charge outrageous tuition… Even a bottom-tier place like Martial Saint Academy costs at least fifty to sixty thousand yuan a year."
Vincent frowned.
The little savings his parents had left behind had already been spent over the years. Right now, he barely had a few thousand yuan to his name.
That wasn't even enough for half a semester.
The problem standing before Vincent was clear money.
And he only had two months before college started.
For a high school graduate, making that much in such a short time was nearly impossible.
As a transmigrator, Vincent did have a few money-making ideas.
The only issue was that most of them were time-consuming and physically demanding, which would interfere with his training routine.
So he came up with the simplest solution:
Sell the house he was living in.
It was just a place. So what?
Once he became invincible, he'd have all the houses he wanted.
Decision made.
The next morning, at 8 a.m. sharp, Vincent visited a real estate agency. He listed the apartment at a slightly discounted price, with one condition: full payment only.
He couldn't afford to wait for a loan approval. That would take weeks.
Two weeks later, the house was sold for 950,000 yuan.
It was more than enough to cover his tuition for all four years.
…
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
It was now the start of the fall semester.
At the gates of Martial Saint Academy, students bustled in and out. Some paused to glance up at the plaque bearing the school's name.
Among them, a young man with a travel bag stood still, staring at the entrance.
It was Vincent.
Compared to two months ago, he looked completely different.
His build was lean and muscular not bulky, but perfectly proportioned. With his clothes on, he even looked a little slim.
His face had shed the last traces of youth, replaced by sharp features and a quiet handsomeness.
And... his hair was noticeably thinner.
But most striking were his eyes, now deep and sharp, radiating confidence. The kind of confidence that came from power.
Thanks to Saitama's constitution and two months of relentless training, Vincent's core stats except for spirit had all broken past 200.
That made him twenty times stronger than the average human.
He wasn't just strong. He was a force to be reckoned with.
"Huh? I thought nobody bothered coming to places like this. But there are quite a few freshmen…"
Seeing the steady flow of students, Vincent was a little surprised.
"Hey there! Are you here for enrollment?"
A cheerful, ordinary-looking girl walked up to him with a friendly smile.
When Vincent nodded, she beamed.
"Hi, junior. I'm a second-year student. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."
With her help, Vincent completed his registration smoothly.
"All done. I'll show you to your dorm now."
"Thanks, senpai."
"No need to be so polite."
…
As they walked toward the dorms, Vincent asked curiously, "I thought barely anyone would come to a school like this, but there are quite a few new students this year."
The upperclassman replied, "That's because, even if someone fails to bond with a hero, they're not ready to give up on their dreams. So they come here, hoping to try their luck in other Forbidden Zones."
"Wait, people who failed the hero contract test can still enter Forbidden Zones?" Vincent was surprised.
"Of course. They just don't have any inherited abilities, so it's way more dangerous for them."
She smiled wryly and added, "Let me guess. Your high school teacher told you that failing the contract meant you'd be an ordinary person forever?"
Vincent nodded.
The girl chuckled. "They just say that to put pressure on you. Though, honestly, it's not completely wrong. Normal people without hero talents do have a much harder time in the zones. Many don't make it out alive."
Her expression dimmed as she spoke.
Clearly, she was one of those people.
Someone who refused to settle for being ordinary.
Someone who came to Martial Saint Academy in hopes of changing her fate.
…