Silver Frost lies in the central region of the Dragon Kingdom. Silver Frost City is one of the Dragon Kingdom’s five major cities besides Xiyu. Silver Frost was Shi Ji’s destination on this trip.

Shi Ji had originally been attending an ordinary high school, enjoying a life of sleeping through class, sleeping between classes, and fighting for food in the cafeteria at lunch and dinner. After that, he could take the college entrance exams and get into some university or other. But then an accident completely upended his routine.

He hadn’t wanted to go to that Hero Academy or whatever, but he hadn’t had a choice. It was mandatory. After being forced to leave his old school, he’d planned to go back, study hard, take the exams that June, and get into a prestigious university. But reality was cruel: anyone identified as having a General Star constitution had to study at a Hero Academy. And the reason he’d come to Silver Frost was entirely because of arrangements made by General Star Hero Academy.

Becoming a Hero was something Shi Ji had never even considered. In his view, whether or not you became a Hero didn’t matter. What mattered was having a heart that stood up for justice.

Uh… Damn, that sounded so chuunibyou. So embarrassing.

All right, to put it plainly, Shi Ji didn’t want to become a Hero because there were too many restrictions. He liked being free. Besides, being a Hero didn’t earn you any money. It only gave you a sense of superiority. And what good was that? It was worthless—you couldn’t turn it into cash and buy anything with it. What Shi Ji needed most right now was money. Otherwise, why would he have let himself get suckered into that lousy academy in the first place?

By the time Shi Ji woke from his nap, more than two hours had passed. He had no idea where they were now, or who the person beside him was.

Uh… Shi Ji froze, then slowly turned his head. At some point, someone had taken the empty seat beside him.

Catching the faint, sweet fragrance beside him, Shi Ji rubbed his eyes and took a closer look at the person next to him.

Shi Ji’s expression shifted slightly. He was both surprised and dazzled.

The person beside him was a girl about his age, and she was very beautiful. Her pretty face had cherry-red lips, and her two jewel-like blue eyes shone with a lively brilliance, bright as a sunny day. Her long, slender brows framed her eyes perfectly. Silvery hair fell past her shoulders, glossy and smooth, its length just right.

The girl was tall and graceful, with a fresh, youthful charm. Beneath her black-and-white dress, a hint of her chest showed, its partially concealed allure adding a touch of temptation. Her white miniskirt showed off a pair of long, slender, pale legs. She wore black leather stockings and sat with one leg crossed over the other, looking even more carefree—and alluring. A white trench coat completed the look, adding a touch of heroism. Everything about her looked natural and just right.

The girl had noticed Shi Ji’s strange attention from the start. When she saw him staring at her, she folded her arms across her chest and turned her face away, ignoring him with a look of disgust. It was the sort of reaction that said she had no time for creeps.

Seeing the girl’s expression, Shi Ji immediately got the message. He looked away and paid her no more attention.

The girl was very beautiful, but Shi Ji wasn’t some lecher. As he saw it, she was easy on the eyes, but she still wasn’t his type. Besides, was her looks really the only reason he’d been looking at her?

He turned his face away too, not bothering with her any further, and went back to sleep.

Who knew how much time passed before Shi Ji woke again. This time, he didn’t wake naturally. The noise startled him awake.

“A monster! It’s a monster!”

“Look! There’s a monster!!!”

“Where’s the driver? Stop the bus, quick!”

“Just my damn luck. I go on a business trip and run into a monster in the middle of nowhere!”

“Mom, it’s a monster! Why hasn’t Ultraman shown up?”

…

The shouts kept coming, and the bus descended into total chaos. Everyone was panicking and screaming. If Shi Ji hadn’t woken up in time, a huge, fat man would’ve stepped right on him.

The young man glanced out the window. Sure enough, there was a gigantic creature some distance ahead. It still looked enormous from here; up close, it had to be massive.

Shi Ji turned around and looked at the empty seat beside him.

“Huh? That’s interesting.”

…