It had been a week since becoming a professional hero.
Saitama had successfully avoided being laid off and had risen from C-Class 388th to C-Class 342nd. Genos, having done nothing for the past week, remained at S-Class 17th, but in popularity polls, he ranked 6th, benefiting from his handsome appearance.
As for Roy, he was now B-Class 69th. He spent his days patrolling, which involved encountering monsters and criminals and swiftly dealing with them, as well as assisting ordinary citizens. Consequently, his rank had steadily climbed, jumping from the bottom of B-Class at 102nd place to his current position.
This was largely due to Roy dealing with numerous monsters, although most were low-level threats like Wolf or Tiger levels. However, some of these monsters were difficult even for A-Class heroes to handle, yet Roy dispatched them effortlessly.
Like Saitama, Roy seemed to attract monsters. Whenever he went out, monsters would inevitably attack him, only to be swiftly eliminated by Roy.
However, the Hero Association often turned a blind eye and preferred to judge based on experience.
Despite Roy's accomplishments in the past week, his ranking didn't skyrocket like a rocket. Nevertheless, the speed of his ascent was quite remarkable.
Many heroes struggled for months to climb even ten spots, making Roy's rapid rise within a week quite extraordinary.
However, Roy's swift advancement seemed to irk some individuals.
They accused him of cheating to achieve such a high rank in just one week. Roy paid no heed to such accusations, likely because he didn't bother reading comments. Nonetheless, his popularity remained high, especially among the general public. Most of those who labeled Roy as a cheater were insiders within the industry.
Initially, some people thought that the Blizzard Group would surely confront Roy. However, to everyone's surprise, they seemed oblivious to Roy's existence and made no attempt to provoke him.
At this point, some lower-ranked professional heroes began to target Roy.
And they were promptly taught a lesson by Roy.
Without mercy.
All of them ended up with swollen, bruised faces.
Roy didn't hold any expectations for the moral character of the members of the Hero Association, nor did he hold them to the standards of true heroes. To him, they were just working stiffs with nothing much to say.
However, workplace bullying was indeed a reality.
Many people became disheartened with the profession for this reason.
Well, it was all trivial matters anyway.
Roy had neither the desire nor the motivation to initiate any changes.
Today was no different from any other day.
Roy's attire was ordinary, just a simple T-shirt and pants, paired with sneakers. His wrists, fingers, and neck were clean, devoid of any accessories.
Sitting on a bench by the roadside, he held a bottle of drink in one hand and his phone in the other.
He wore a pair of plain glasses and calmly looked at the screen.
Many professional heroes would dress flamboyantly to showcase their personalities, hoping to be remembered by others.
But Roy had no interest in such things. He was just an ordinary person with a sense of shame. Although there might not be many people pointing fingers at him in this world, he still couldn't pass his own standards. He probably needed a few more years to toughen up.
At this moment, he was playing with his phone.
But he wasn't slacking off.
He released a drone to hover around and conduct surveillance. It was sufficient to deal with ordinary criminals.
He had created various types of drones, ranging from small to medium sizes. He could even produce advanced ones, stripping away the piloting system to specialize in attack, mobility, and reconnaissance. With a few Peacemaker onboard, he could turn Dragon-level threats into dust on the spot.
Initially, the public was curious when they saw the drones in action. It was only after the drones officially killed monsters that they realized they were the weapons of a new hero. And thus, Roy entered the public's consciousness.
Due to their efficiency and power, Roy's rank soared, skyrocketing from a newcomer to the top ten of B-Class within just seven days.
For those who didn't know about Roy's exploits, it was understandable that some individuals felt psychologically unbalanced after toiling for so long to climb a few spots.
But ultimately, they were just too weak.
Once they entered the profession, they would be S-Class heroes, like Genos. If they lacked the ability, it was pointless to engage in various activities. They were just kidding themselves.
Ding!
As Roy was swiping through his phone, a notification popped up.
It was a message from the Hero Association.
"A giant meteorite is expected to hit Z City in 20 minutes... Is it a Dragon-level disaster?"
Roy frowned.
Twenty minutes meant the meteorite was practically upon them.
Why hadn't there been any prior news about a meteorite heading towards Earth?
"Does this world lack any progress in astronomy?" Roy muttered to himself, finding the technological development rather odd.
Otherwise, they could have detected a meteorite heading straight for Earth months or even a year or two ago. With that much time, they could have developed a plan. Yet here they were, receiving a notification at the last minute, with no apparent preparations. It was all so negligent.
"Well, there's no point in complaining." Roy sighed. "After all, the government in this world is practically non-existent, only maintaining the most basic order. Its control over civilians is extremely weak. Otherwise, with the combined strength of this doctor and that doctor, would there still be rampant monsters?"
Roy dialed Yumemi Okazaki's number.
[Moshi moshi, this is Dr. Okazaki, whose heart is devoted to a certain someone~ Who's calling?]
Came Yumemi Okazaki's cheerful voice.
"Who else but me?" Roy replied dryly. "Does anyone else even have your number in this world?"
Ignoring Yumemi Okazaki's inexplicable banter, Roy got straight to the point. "Yumemi, have you heard?"
Yumemi Okazaki didn't seem to care whether Roy responded to her joke or not. When Roy started talking business, she followed suit.
[Heard what?]
"About the meteorite."
[Oh, yeah, just found out today. Large meteorites like that are rare. Even if it passes through the atmosphere, it probably won't burn up completely. The impact from hitting the ground will affect the entire Z City.]
"Huh..."
[My specialty isn't in astrophysics. I'm not interested in observing the night sky all day long. Besides, it's just a meteorite. What's there to be surprised about?]
[You should ask that baldie next door to deal with it. He can obliterate the moon, so dealing with a meteorite shouldn't be a big deal.]
"True."
But Saitama couldn't handle everything perfectly.
He probably wasn't even thinking about how to achieve perfection.
[So, are you going to handle it?]
"I'll see how it goes. After all, I'm just a B-Class hero."
[Well... maybe I'll go take a look too.]
"Yumemi, are you going out?"
[I'm in Z City too. What if I get hit by the meteorite?]
"I doubt your lab would be afraid of a meteorite..."
[Anyway, sitting around waiting to die isn't my style. I'll launch a Mimi-chan to assess the situation.]
"A Mimi-chan... Isn't that the intelligent intercontinental cruise missile you made?"
[Yes! And it's equipped with a nuclear warhead. Powerful and effective!]
"...You should really keep it."
...
In the eyes of capable individuals, the falling of a meteorite onto Earth was not a hopeless situation.
Setting aside the fact that this particular meteorite would only affect Z City, even if it could potentially wipe out humanity across the entire continent, the proud and confident S-Class heroes were confident they could handle it.
The Hero Association did issue a mission upon observing the impending meteorite.
However, only two individuals showed up at the Hero Association.
The Hero Association in A City was deserted, with everyone having fled to take refuge elsewhere.
In other words, they were shifting responsibility onto others.
Ultimately, it was still a private organization. One couldn't expect them to have high levels of social morality and responsibility. Perhaps in their view, notifying the citizens and summoning S-Class heroes was fulfilling their obligations.
Of course, the Hero Association still hoped that professional heroes could resolve the situation. After all, it would greatly enhance the Hero Association's reputation, and donations from society would pour in.
The meteorite had entered the atmosphere.
It was now visible to the naked eye as it streaked across the sky.
Roy's activities were centered in Z City, and the landing site of the meteorite was quite close. There was severe traffic congestion on the streets, and those who hadn't given up hope stared at the sky in despair. However, there weren't many people around here. After all, this was close to the city center, a place where staying meant certain death.
The scene was chaotic.
But Roy remained calm and unmoved, sitting quietly.
"You're still sitting here."
A flash of pink light behind him, and Yumemi Okazaki appeared.
"No rush. Someone has already taken action." Roy said, looking towards a building, and Yumemi Okazaki followed his gaze.
"Oh, it's that cyborg, with some new equipment. But given his capabilities, even if he self-destructs, he might not be able to stop the meteorite."
"How do you know so much?"
"I paid a visit to his creator and had a technical exchange."
Roy and Yumemi Okazaki sat together, unexpectedly watching the show.
At first, another S-Class hero arrived, apparently Metal Knight, ranked 6th. Unlike other S-Class heroes, he disliked appearing in public or attending meetings. However, he possessed considerable scientific prowess and usually dispatched combat robots he created for battle.
After seeing this, Roy asked Yumemi Okazaki, "Do you know that Metal Knight?"
Yumemi Okazaki replied, "He's a coward, keeping himself hidden away. I thought about visiting him once, but he never revealed his whereabouts."
"That's a shame."
"With technology as leverage, you can gain the knowledge you want from him. I've exchanged with him before, and some equipment in the lab that I didn't have the technical know-how for originally came from Metal Knight."
"I'll keep that in mind."
The essence of technology lies in mass production and explosive power. If one could master the relevant technology, it would be helpful for using unobtanium.
Metal Knight only deployed one unit.
After a wave of missiles, seeing that the meteorite was unscathed, he left.
Next was Genos.
With flames and waves, the surroundings were engulfed in orange. Even Roy and Yumemi Okazaki, sitting below, felt the heat.
Yumemi Okazaki exclaimed, "Impressive! He can compete with those great monsters."
"Great monsters...?"
"Oh, in the past, I visited a place with many monsters. Among them, the strongest were known as great monsters."
"I see."
"But it's just destructive power. Genos, this model of cyborg, only enhances power blindly, with strong firepower, mobility, and strength as external performances. The abilities of great monsters are varied, and even if Genos can seriously injure them with a hit, he might not be able to defeat those monsters."
"They're not creatures of this world, and there's no need to consider such things."
"Hehe, that's true."
In the end, Genos was defeated.
As expected from someone with a zero-win record since debut, although his offensive capabilities were indeed excellent, he also had many weaknesses.
Neither Roy nor Yumemi Okazaki believed that Genos could shatter the meteorite.
Then Saitama appeared.
Was this picking on the weak to show off to the strong? Although Genos wasn't weak, and Saitama wasn't old.
Saitama leaped out like an arrow, and with just one punch, he blasted the meteorite hurtling towards them at supersonic speeds.
He even shouted enthusiastically, "Don't fall on the city where I live!"
The meteorite shattered a few hundred meters above the ground.
A tremendous roar echoed throughout the city, and the unparalleled impact caused rocks to disintegrate and scatter.
"I knew it."
Yumemi Okazaki smiled and said, "After all, he's just using brute force. Asking Saitama to blast the meteorite back into outer space would be a bit much."
"Anyway, let's get to work."
At the same time, Roy's drones targeted the still sizable debris and launched multiple attacks.
Roy had deployed many drones in Z City.
Since there was no need for recovery, these drones were semi-permanent and designed with self-repair systems.
They could collect various forms of energy such as wind, solar, electric, and even convert the Earth's magnetic field into energy to replenish themselves.
As long as they weren't physically destroyed, they could be used indefinitely.
Roy hadn't mastered deeper uses of unobtanium yet, such as multidimensional deployment, so he was somewhat constrained in its use. Allowing the drones to roam free freed up resources to create new unobtanium.
So, now was the time to put them to use.
From the beginning, Roy had calculated the trajectory of the meteorite. While Genos and the others performed above, Roy directed the drones into position.
The goal was to minimize losses. After the meteorite decreased in volume, the drones could vaporize it directly. Although Saitama shattered the entire meteorite, there were still some larger chunks flying out. At this point, the drones would crush them to a level where vaporization was easier.
Originally, while the scattered rocks wouldn't destroy Z City, they would still sweep through it, potentially destroying skyscrapers and residential buildings.
But with Roy's cleanup, this could be avoided.