The hero agency had only survived so long thanks to their strict rules. It wasn’t rare for people to not be interested in becoming heroes, but leaving superhumans to freely roam the streets wasn’t the best choice.

Some heroes were independent but still had to be signed under the agency at some point so they could easily keep records.

For those who weren’t interested in following these procedures, there were only two probable options left: detainment or death.

Selena had her sharp gaze fixed on Nicholas, unblinking. Bolt, on the other hand, found himself in an awkward situation, but the tension was palpable.

Bolt’s gaze shifted from Selena to Nicholas. Despite Selena’s open threat, Nicholas wasn’t even moved in the slightest.

He could easily assume that it was because Nicholas had no idea how frightening the supervisors of the agency could be, but he could tell from Nicholas’ dull, unbothered gaze—that clearly wasn’t the case.

’This guy simply doesn’t give a fuck.’

Nicholas ran his hands through his hair after hearing Selena’s threat. ’Oh well, so much for living a normal life this time... From that idiot’s memories, the heroes get decent pay for their work, so if I join them, I’ll be able to get us out of this crappy apartment and do lots more.’ Nicholas massaged his forehead before letting out a tired sigh.

"You still didn’t answer my question: how much do I get paid?"

"You—!" Selena let out a sigh. "You’ll have to pass through the assessment. The agency gives commissions based on achievements and ranks."

Nicholas paused for a moment. "I’ll join. I’m requesting $60,000 as first payment."

Selena almost felt her eyes pop out of their sockets; Bolt’s mouth almost reached the ground.

’Who the fuck does this guy think he is? He hasn’t even gone through the assessment. I only started making that much after officially becoming a B-ranked hero, after the disaster.’ Bolt gaped, shocked by Nicholas’ audacity.

"....." Selena took a long, deep breath. ’This guy is really going to be a pain in the ass... but his confidence? Amusing. If he thinks being a top-rank hero just happens in a day, I’ll make him see the difference,’ Selena thought, a grin climbing up her lips, her initial annoyance fading as a wicked thought came to mind.

"$60,000? Right?" she asked calmly, pulling out her cigarette from her pocket and lighting it up skillfully.

"Yes, I’ll take $60,000 to work with the agency."

"The agency can indeed give you that amount."

"Miss Selena, the agency—"

"But to get that amount as a first payment, you’ll have to prove that you’re worth that much to the agency. You’ll have to defeat a hero of Rank B," Selena cut Bolt off even before he could voice out his worry, and now he was even more shocked by what she had said.

Bolt leaned in closer to Selena. "Miss Selena, a B-rank hero?" From the short interaction he had witnessed between the two, he could tell Nick was a difficult person, but having him face a B-rank hero?! That was a death mission! B-rank heroes were city-level powers; they could single-handedly destroy an entire city!

Nicholas was only newly awakened; he didn’t even have an idea of what his abilities were yet. Heck, even a simple D-rank hero would be too much for him to handle. Bolt turned to Nicholas, seeing that Selena paid no attention to him. "Bro, I wouldn’t advise you to do that. There’s already a system in place that would help the agency grade your worth over time."

Selena simply kept her gaze on Nicholas, who had no expression on his face. She could already tell his reply, and it was just as she had thought.

"Alright then, I’ll do it."

Selena grinned, smoke curling from her lips as she tilted her head... she knew he’d take the bait. After all, he was clearly talking like this was some business... so she only had to make it that way. After all, everything had a price—determined by its worth. "Very well, if you pass the test, you’ll instantly be promoted to B-rank, but if you don’t, you’ll simply have to continue with the usual system of the agency and start as an apprentice."

Nicholas remained expressionless; there was no loss from his end... whether he got the 60k or not, being an apprentice isn’t a bad fallback, but the 60k will make life much easier.

"Good, so now we’ve settled that, let’s—"

"Big brother!!" Katherine’s voice tore through the air as she ran into the scene, hands extended in an attempted hug. Nicholas’ senses sharpened as he saw the little girl running up to him, but as he saw her face riddled with tears, he felt a sudden warmth in his chest.

"Big brother, I’m sorry, please don’t be angry with me. Katie won’t do it again!" Katherine’s voice echoed as she wrapped his thigh in a tight hug.

A small smile climbed up Nicholas’ face as he saw the little girl hugging him tightly, her eyes balled out with tears. "Big brother is fine now, don’t worry. It had nothing to do with you."

Even despite his reassuring words, Katherine didn’t let go of him and held him tightly. A few officers finally came back up with worried looks on their faces as they came searching for the little girl, but they felt a wave of relief seeing that everything in the room had been dealt with.

Right after, all the safety tapes were removed and the streets returned to their usual peace. Marina hurried up worriedly but found calm when she saw that her two siblings were fine. The people who had gathered in front of the building waiting for some action all left in disappointment.

While happy that an impure didn’t appear, it definitely would’ve been thrilling to see the heroes kick some asses, but word didn’t stop spreading about Nick.

But right after everything was settled, Selena walked out of the house with Nicholas and Bolt walking right beside her.

She walked over to the side of her car, pulling the door open. "As part of your contract with the association, your family will have to be moved out of this house and moved to a new area so your identity can remain safe," Selena explained.

"Good," Nicholas replied calmly; he expected that much from the association.

Marina and Katherine had already been briefed on the improvements and everything that was going to happen henceforth since he was going to become a hero. Katherine didn’t understand much of it, but the little girl couldn’t help but be all smiles as she heard that her brother was becoming a hero.

They had deliberately left out the details of their deal about the test since they didn’t want the sisters getting worried, but they were heading to the association, and unlike they had told the two sisters, it wasn’t just to sign up.

’I expected him to call off the test, but he’s adamant about getting his hands on that money. Hmph, we shall see.’ She didn’t care anymore; she was cool with it—a good chance to see how much of his confidence would be left. Bolt, who knew the strength of a B-rank hero firsthand, couldn’t say the same. ’How are these two acting like it’s not some death mission they’re going on?!’

"You should reconsider your thoughts. The average pay from the association will be enough for you, and you can gradually climb the ranks," Bolt urged.

"You’re not wrong about that..." His words instantly made Selena stop in her tracks. ’Oh, so he wants to back out now?’ She felt slightly relieved from the thought, knowing how deadly such a pairing would be.

"But you’re wrong about one thing—an average pay won’t pay my bills."

His words made Selena facepalm inwardly.

"Let’s get to the association," Selena said, a hint of frustration notable in her voice. She pulled the door to her car, gesturing for him to enter. "Bolt, I’ll see you there," Selena said as she entered the driver’s seat.

Nicholas didn’t think about it much as he entered the car. Now he finally had time to check what had been in his mind for some time. If he was going to fight a hero, then at least he had to know what his powers were and see how useful they’d be for him in a fight.

’How do I get that screen to appear again?’ He remembered the system screen he had seen earlier. ’Open.’ There was no reaction. He took a pause, recalling some of the light novels he had read during his breaks from work—he remembered the magic word.

’Status.’

A gentle ting echoed in his mind as the system screen manifested before him.