Chapter 138: Chapter 138: The Huanggang Secret Papers
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand how this relates to fire control," Genos said, shaking his head in confusion. In their world, there was no such thing as the Huanggang Secret Papers, let alone any connection between solving test papers and controlling fire.
"Controlling fire isn't about possessing a fire-based superpower," Han Yu explained calmly. "It's because my spiritual strength has reached the level where I can manipulate objects and execute attacks or defenses with sheer willpower."
As he spoke, Han Yu lightly tapped his finger on the table. To everyone's amazement, the teapot on the table floated into the air, hovering steadily mid-air.
With a slight movement of his finger, the teapot poured tea into each of their cups before gently settling back onto the table.
This demonstration left everyone astonished. Their eyes instinctively shifted to Fubuki, as Han Yu's performance closely resembled that of her sister, Tatsumaki. Her abilities were strikingly similar to what Han Yu had just displayed.
However, the Hero Association had always classified Tatsumaki's abilities broadly as "psychic powers" without delving into specifics. Now, it seemed more like Han Yu's description of controlling spiritual energy.
Han Yu pulled out one of the Huanggang Secret Papers and smiled. "This is something from my shop, created using spiritual energy. It contains one test each for language, mathematics, and English. Complete it and hand it back to me in three hours. Your final score will reflect your potential in spiritual energy."
The reason Han Yu chose to use these test papers as a method to assess spiritual energy was rooted in his previous life as a mere mortal. Back then, he had been "tormented" by such papers, feeling that completing them had required nothing less than sheer willpower. Now, using them to test spiritual strength was a form of dark humor for him.
Fubuki, intrigued, grabbed a set of papers and said, "I'll take one! I'll pay you later!"
Her relationship with her sister wasn't particularly close. Tatsumaki had been a genius since birth, which left Fubuki constantly living in her shadow. Upon hearing that this test could reveal whether she had the potential for similar powers, Fubuki wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.
Han Yu waved his other hand, and several pens appeared in his grasp. Fubuki casually took one, opened the papers, and began working on them immediately.
Genos, without hesitation, grabbed a set as well and started writing.
"Aren't you two going to try?" Han Yu asked, noticing Saitama and King standing idly by.
Saitama waved dismissively, indicating his lack of interest. King, however, hesitated and said awkwardly, "I don't think I can afford these test papers."
"Aren't you an S-Class hero? Doesn't the Hero Association pay you?" Han Yu asked.
King gave an embarrassed chuckle, pulled Han Yu aside, and whispered, "To be honest with you, my position is only because I happened to be present every time Saitama killed a monster. Somehow, I was mistaken for the one who did it and got promoted to S-Class."
"I already know," Han Yu replied nonchalantly.
"You know?"
King was startled. Aside from Saitama, no one else was aware of this. Everyone else believed him to be the strongest man on Earth, a title he had never truly earned.
King's current rank of seventh among S-Class heroes was largely because he never actually fought any monsters. Instead, his opponents always fled, intimidated by the reputation and "aura" they imagined he possessed. Since he never actively engaged in combat, he had no defeats—but also no victories—leaving him firmly planted at rank seven with no one challenging his position.
Realizing Han Yu knew his secret, King looked even more embarrassed and admitted, "That's why I rarely leave the house. I'm terrified of running into a monster. If I can't fight back, I'd be done for. Most of the Hero Association's salary goes straight into my gaming and figurine collection."
"My identity is unique, so I know many things," Han Yu said, brushing off the topic. "But that's not important. What matters is that the items I sell aren't priced in a conventional way. Whether you get something depends entirely on me. Just take the test and see."
Han Yu couldn't help but chuckle and waved his hand, lifting one of the test papers from the table through the air and handing it to King.
King hesitated for a moment but eventually accepted the paper. He sat at the table and joined Genos and Fubuki, who were already scribbling furiously.
From time to time, their faces showed expressions of confusion. King and Fubuki, in particular, were visibly struggling, occasionally scratching their heads in frustration. Han Yu watched them with a gleeful smirk, clearly enjoying their plight. He had once been in their shoes, struggling over these same types of questions, and he found their reactions nostalgic and amusing.
"Are these just normal test questions?" Saitama asked quietly.
"They're normal questions," Han Yu replied, "but the difficulty of the questions adjusts based on their willpower. If their willpower is weak, the questions will become increasingly hard to understand. Conversely, the stronger their willpower, the easier the questions will seem."
Han Yu's explanation was akin to a leveling system. If one's level wasn't high enough, they would struggle to comprehend certain things. However, as their level increased, their ability to understand would also improve significantly.
Saitama nodded, half-understanding, and soon found a two-player arcade game to play with Han Yu. While the others were immersed in solving the test papers, the two of them were engrossed in their game.
Time flew by, and the first person to finish the test was Genos.
Han Yu took Genos's paper, skimmed through it briefly, and gave him a score: 70 points.
"Seventy points? That's not very good, is it?" Genos asked, looking at the score in disappointment. The test indicated that the maximum score was 100, so he felt his performance was barely above average.
"It's not great, but it shows promise. Scoring above passing means you have the potential to develop your spiritual strength," Han Yu explained.
"Those questions were so difficult," Genos admitted, looking dejected. He was clearly dissatisfied with his score.
Soon after, Fubuki handed in her paper. Her score was nearly identical to Genos's—69 points. It wasn't high, but it was just enough to qualify her for training in spiritual strength.
The last person left was, of course, King. He was still working on his paper. When King finally submitted it, Han Yu glanced over it as he had with the others. However, after scanning the first few lines, his expression turned serious. This time, he didn't skim through it casually but instead carefully examined each question. It wasn't until a while later that he looked up and asked King.
"You only completed this much in three hours. Why were you the last to finish?"
"I thought there was something wrong with the questions, but I didn't feel comfortable asking about it, so I spent a long time agonizing over them," King said, looking conflicted. He assumed his score would be the worst since he had taken so long.
King believed that Genos and Fubuki had probably gotten many answers right, allowing Han Yu to evaluate their papers quickly. Meanwhile, his own test likely had too many errors, forcing Han Yu to double-check everything just to give him a fair grade.
Han Yu's expression remained unreadable as he marked King's paper. Then, he finally wrote down a score. When King looked at it, he was stunned.
91 points!
"This... this can't be real!" The room erupted in shock.
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