King

Name: King

Gender: Male

Age: 29

Hero Rank: S-Class, Rank 7 (formerly Rank 6)

Affiliation: Hero Association

King is famous as the strongest hero alive and the Hero Association’s greatest trump card.

His fearsome reputation comes from supposedly defeating Demon to Dragon-level monsters with a single blow.

Because of this, he was given the name “King,” meant to signify “the monarch of heroes.”

Among citizens and Hero Association staff, he is deeply trusted and almost universally admired.

Monsters, on the other hand, fear him to an extreme degree and often lose their nerve just by facing him.

He is treated as a living legend whose mere presence can decide a battle before it begins.

Although regarded as the “maximum fighting force” of the Association, he remains at Rank 7 because he behaves like a lone wolf and often refuses official requests.

Even so, his supposed achievements and stoic aura keep his status sky-high in the public eye.

King has a stern, intimidating face and is generally seen with a serious, almost scary expression.

The most striking feature is the trio of scars running across one of his eyes.

These scars are widely believed to be proof of a past death match against a God-level monster.

In reality, he received them when he was one-sidedly attacked by a monster and only survived thanks to another hero’s intervention.

His overall presence is so overwhelming that most people instinctively assume he is a battle-hardened veteran.

Even when King says little or does nothing, the atmosphere around him feels heavy and powerful.

Publicly, King is viewed as an extremely taciturn man who speaks only when necessary.

Because of this, every short sentence he utters is treated like a solemn, weighty remark.

In truth, he is not intentionally stoic; he is simply shy, introverted, and bad at talking to people.

He often panics internally even while maintaining a terrifyingly calm exterior.

King has a strong sense of guilt and self-awareness about the gap between his reputation and reality.

Despite being cowardly in combat situations, he is quick-thinking and cares deeply about not letting others die because of his weaknesses.

As an otaku, he tends to refer to other people very politely, habitually calling them “Mr.” or “Ms.” in a somewhat nerdy, respectful way.

He also constantly worries about being exposed, which fuels both his anxiety and his resourcefulness.

During tense situations, a loud “dodododododo” sound effect is often associated with King.

To onlookers, this is known as the “King Engine,” a sign that King has entered battle mode.

Other heroes and monsters interpret the King Engine as the rumble of his immense battle aura.

The sound alone is enough to intimidate many enemies into retreat or surrender.

In reality, the King Engine is nothing more than King’s heartbeat pounding violently from fear and nervousness.

His heart races so hard that people nearby can literally hear it, turning his panic into an accidental weapon.

King is rumored to possess secret techniques and ultimate attacks.

One famous example is the “King-Style Qigong Ultimate Technique: Purgatory Unrivaled Explosive Heat Wave Cannon.”

These moves exist only as myths and fan rumors circulated within the hero world and the public.

Nobody has ever seen such a technique, yet the legend continues to grow on its own.

King himself has never performed any of these supposed finishing moves.

The gap between rumor and reality is massive, but the belief in his power is so strong that no one seriously questions it.

In stark contrast to his image, King is physically weaker than the average person and has never been in a real fistfight.

He is essentially a shut-in gaming fanatic who lives off his hero status.

He calls himself “unemployed” in a self-deprecating way, even though being a professional hero technically is his job.

He has zero genuine combat ability and completely relies on bluffing and external help to survive encounters.

Every piece of “information” about his strength is either a misunderstanding or a rumor blown wildly out of proportion.

The aura of a strong, silent warrior is purely a result of his social awkwardness and other people’s assumptions.

In the series, the only person who knows King’s true weakness is Saitama.

Everyone else, from civilians to top heroes, still believes he is a terrifying powerhouse.

King has incredibly bad luck when it comes to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He has coincidentally stumbled onto the scenes of five separate rampages by extremely dangerous Demon to Dragon-level monsters.

Each time, it was actually Saitama who defeated the enemy.

However, Hero Association staff arrived afterward and mistakenly credited King as the victor.

Because he survived these encounters and was always found near the defeated monsters, the Association assumed he had done it.

They then promoted him all the way up to S-Class based on this series of misunderstandings.

King himself did not force the misunderstanding, but he also did not strongly deny it.

He admits to feeling guilty, yet he could not bring himself to throw away the recognition once it started.

This chain of coincidences and misunderstandings built the legend of King as an unstoppable hero.

His scars, presence, and timing reinforced the illusion, locking him into a role he never asked for.

Because he is actually powerless, King does everything he can to avoid being sent into real battles.

He routinely dodges dispatch requests from the Hero Association using clever excuses and stalling.

When he cannot avoid a confrontation, he leans entirely on bluffing and psychological warfare.

He uses threats, cryptic lines, and his overwhelming aura to convince monsters that fighting him is suicide.

Many enemies, already spooked by his reputation, lose their will to fight under his cold stare and pounding King Engine.

This often buys enough time for other heroes to arrive and handle the battle for real.

King also provides tactical support, making him surprisingly useful as a non-combat hero.

For example, he has advised Saitama on how to defeat monsters without causing large-scale damage to the city.

During a hostage rescue mission, King selected a safe infiltration route and guided Genos, Bang, and others into the enemy base.

His calm “veteran” image made others naturally trust his judgment, strengthening the team’s coordination.

When a group of heroes gathered to counter the prophecy that “the Earth is in danger,” tensions ran high and they began arguing.

King was dragged there by Association staff right after a tiring hot pot party at Saitama’s place, looking exhausted and worn out.

The other heroes interpreted his ragged appearance as proof that he had been silently fighting monsters alone until he was nearly destroyed.

This misconception inspired them, calmed the infighting, and helped unify the heroes under a shared sense of resolve.

In this way, King often “achieves victory without fighting,” using fear, timing, and accidental symbolism rather than actual strength.

King’s real connection with Saitama began when a robot named G4 challenged King to a duel.

Because G4 was a machine, King’s reputation-based intimidation did not work.

Unable to scare the robot, King panicked and fled back to his apartment.

He tried to escape reality by throwing himself into video games.

Saitama, suspicious of King’s retreat, secretly followed him home and entered his apartment.

There, Saitama directly witnessed King’s true cowardly and gamer side.

Pressed by Saitama’s persistent questions, King struggled to keep up the act.

His terrible luck kicked in again when a huge monster suddenly attacked the building where he lived.

Facing certain death and knowing he could not fight, King finally broke down and confessed everything to Saitama.

He admitted he was weak, that his achievements were misunderstandings, and that he had been living a lie.

Saitama, who never cared about hero rankings or fame, was completely unfazed by the confession.

Instead of blaming him, Saitama worried about the psychological burden King had been carrying.

This honest moment became the foundation of their friendship.

From then on, King and Saitama became gaming buddies, frequently visiting each other’s homes.

While King has no combat ability, his skill in video games is truly top tier.

In fighting games and similar competitive titles, he consistently crushes Saitama.

He often humiliates Saitama in matches, beating him over and over without mercy.

After winning, King sometimes adopts a surprisingly cheeky, provocative attitude, which annoys Saitama.

There are times when Saitama accidentally breaks a game or console without any malicious intent.

Even then, King’s reserved personality keeps him from snapping back, so he mostly swallows his frustration.

Before meeting King, Saitama had grown numb from winning every real fight too easily.

He felt a kind of emotional dullness because nothing in battle challenged him anymore.

King, however, is an opponent Saitama cannot easily beat in games.

This makes Saitama genuinely fired up and competitive, adding a new kind of tension and fun to his life.

Through gaming, King indirectly gives Saitama a sense of engagement and challenge that real fights no longer offer.

After the battle with Garou and the larger Monster Association conflict, King feels a strong sense of crisis and responsibility.

He realizes that continuing to live as a fake “strongest hero” is dangerous for both himself and others.

Driven by this fear and guilt, King musters his courage and decides to come clean in his own way.

He starts approaching various martial arts dojos and masters, asking them to train him because he is actually weak.

However, his request is completely misunderstood everywhere he goes.

The masters all assume that “the strongest hero” is seeking to surpass his already incredible power due to the pressure of being on top.

Instead of seeing him as someone in need of basic training, they interpret his visit as a sign of superhuman ambition.

Out of respect or fear, they decline his requests, assuming that any training they offer would be beneath him.

Despite these repeated rejections, King does not entirely give up.

He takes Saitama’s advice seriously and decides to start with simple physical training.

He begins doing muscle training following Saitama’s basic guidelines.

Although his progress is unknown, this marks a sincere effort to bridge the gap between his legend and his reality.

Even if he is still a coward at heart, this step shows King genuinely wants to become a hero in more than just name.