In the open-air arena, a lively discussion broke out among the remaining heroes after the departure of Aomori and the other high-ranking officials.
"It must be this button," the impatient Lightning Max flipped over the smart watch and, seeing a red button on the side, pressed it immediately.
After pressing and holding for five seconds, the watch screen lit up, projecting a light screen. A voice prompt sounded: "Welcome to the Hero System. Please enter your Hero Name."
"Looks like it works." Seeing this, the others began to start up and activate their smart watches as well.
Mumen Rider performed the same operation, activated his smart watch, and entered his Hero Name.
"First-time activation requires verification of your fingerprint and iris. Please ensure you perform this operation in a secure location."
"Please press your registered finger to the corresponding area on the screen."
Mumen Rider complied, pressing his right thumb to the designated spot.
"Please look directly at the corresponding area on the screen with your registered eye."
Seeing that everyone else was busy and not paying attention to him, he lifted his goggles and aligned his right eye with the spot.
"Congratulations, you have successfully activated the Hero System. Please refer to the user manual for details."
Mumen Rider put his goggles back on and seriously reviewed the instructions.
"Hmm, let me see. Within the Hero Association, Points are used as the currency for all expenses. Points can be exchanged for money at a 1:100 ratio, but money cannot be used to purchase Points, nor can Points be transferred between users. Everyone's starting Points are 100, and Points can be obtained through completing missions, rewards for slaying monsters, and so on."
He checked his current Point balance: 105.
"When did I get those extra 5 Points?"
"Hey, how many Points do you guys have?" Tanktop Black Hole and the others had finished reading and gathered to discuss.
Lightning Max: "170."
Spring Mustachio: "250."
Tanktop Black Hole: "105."
Golden Ball: "105."
Mumen Rider: "I also have 105."
"Why do I have the same number of Points as you?" Tanktop Black Hole grabbed Mumen Rider's collar, utterly confused.
"It's probably the reward from the earlier tournament matches," Golden Ball analyzed. "You two and I only fought one match, so we only got 5 Points. Spring Mustachio and Lightning Max must have won quite a few."
"That checks out."
"Damn it, I should have fought more seriously," Tanktop Black Hole lamented.
"I say, where are we supposed to go next?" asked Lightning Max.
"Logically, we should be assigned our dormitories first, right?" Spring Mustachio stroked his mustache and suggested.
"Let me ask one of the staff members." Golden Ball swaggered over to a pretty female staff member and returned after a few minutes of chatting.
"Well?"
"Our dormitory building is on the other side of the camp, and our luggage has already been moved over there. We'll be sharing a room with one other person. The young lady said it's best to pair up with someone you know, as we might be assigned to work together later."
"In that case, I'm going to find the guys from the Tank Topper Army to team up with. Bye!" Tanktop Black Hole was the first to take off.
"Golden Ball, why don't we just share a room?" Spring Mustachio proposed.
"Suits me just fine."
The two left side by side.
With only the two of them remaining, Mumen Rider looked at Lightning Max and said, "Um, how about the two of us..."
"Sorry, I already have someone else in mind. Mumen Rider, you should find someone else to team up with." Lightning Max waved and ran off.
"Alright then." Mumen Rider looked around. Many people had already left in pairs, and there weren't many left who were, like him, all alone.
Aside from Tanktop Black Hole's group, he didn't know anyone well, so he had no choice but to approach those who didn't appear to have teamed up yet.
After a few rejections, Mumen Rider finally found someone willing to be his roommate.
"My name is 'Glasses'! Senpai, please take care of me!" A young man wearing black-rimmed glasses and a tracksuit bowed respectfully to Mumen Rider.
"I'm a newcomer, too, so don't be so formal. My name is Mumen Rider, just call me Mumen," Mumen Rider said gently.
"Yes, sir!" The nervousness in Glasses' heart quietly faded away quite a bit.
"Then let's go find the dormitories together."
"Yes, sir!"
"I said, don't be so formal."
"Oh, right. Understood."
Following the flow of the crowd, the two successfully found the dormitory building.
"Wow, was this really built in just one month?" Mumen Rider stared, dumbfounded, at the eight-story tall building before him.
"Something's not right," Glasses suddenly said, narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the dormitory building.
"Huh?"
"Based on my observation, there are only 30 rooms on each floor, making a total of 240 rooms here. In other words, there's only enough space for 480 people to live here."
"But I remember there were over 1,600 people participating in this training, weren't there?"
"Exactly. I suspect that due to the rush, they didn't have time to build more buildings. Mumen-senpai, we should hurry over, or we might not get a room."
"Oh, oh, okay."
The two sped up and ran to the front of the dormitory building, where they found a crowd already gathered.
They exchanged a look and instinctively pushed their way into the throng.
"Are you kidding me? They don't even have rooms for us when we're here for training. Are they expecting us to sleep outside?"
"I apologize, but the dormitory rooms are first-come, first-served, and they are now fully occupied. Everyone else can rent a tent for one Point to camp in the designated area," replied the staff member guarding the entrance.
"No way! There are so many mosquitoes outside! What if they bite my soft, fair skin?"
"Exactly! And I can't sleep without a proper bed! I came here to be a hero, not to suffer!"
"A lot of the people who grabbed rooms are part-time heroes, right? They're only staying for a week. Why don't they give up their spots for those of us who have to stay for a month?"
"Hmph, I got this room through my own skill, why should I give it up? It should all go to us part-time heroes! You guys can fight over them after we finish our training."
Everyone had their own logic, and no one was willing to back down. A heated argument erupted at the dormitory entrance, quickly escalating into chaos.
"Enough!" A deep, booming voice came from inside the dormitory building. Tanktop Master, wrapped in bandages, stepped out of the main entrance. His intimidating eyes swept over the surroundings, immediately silencing many of the arguing heroes.
"Is this how heroes are supposed to behave?! Everyone in the Tank Topper Army, vacate the dormitories! You will all camp out with me," Tanktop Master announced loudly.
"But, Boss, you're still injured."
"As long as Tanktop Power exists, it doesn't matter where we are. That is an order!"
"Yes, sir!"
A group of people in tank tops, carrying their luggage, left the dormitory building under the admiring and slightly ashamed gazes of the surrounding crowd.
Tanktop Black Hole was among them, his face fixed with an expression of self-sacrificing nobility as he strode forward.
On the periphery, Mumen Rider was filled with respect and said to Glasses, who had the same look on his face, "Let's camp out in a tent too."
"Good idea!"