Level 11

'Should I kidnap a few technicians later?'

That thought sparked a wicked idea that grew like wildfire. Kidnapping a handful of technicians to work under me would be incredibly useful. Plus, with all the women who needed custom costumes from me, it would take Peter Elder an eternity to make them alone. More hands meant faster ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠work, plain and simple.

"Ah."

At that moment, Peter Elder clapped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his hands as if something had just occurred to him.

"How about using the Black Market? You still have a ton of monster hide scraps left. Selling just some of them would net you a fortune."

"The Black Market? What's that?"

"...You don't know about the Black Market?"

"Nope. Some kind of department store?"

"....?"

Peter Elder tilted his head, giving me a strange look.

"Are you messing with me right now?"

"How could I mess with you if I don't even know what it is?"

"Hah, hahaha. You really don't know. I figured Steel Armor would obviously be aware of it."

"Care to enlighten me?"

"Of course. The Black Market is a kind of underground bazaar."

"Underground bazaar?"

Peter Elder went on to explain. From what I gathered, the Black Market was exactly the sort of shadowy marketplace you might expect—everything you could imagine, and plenty you couldn't. It catered mainly to the powerful elite, the filthy rich, and A-rank villains or higher. True to its illicit nature, it overflowed with illegal goods, even taking assassination requests in a total lawless zone. They even dealt in slaves and monster byproducts, apparently.

"Monster byproducts are traded there? How's that even possible?"

Dark City was a natural fortress; monsters couldn't get in without breaching the skies or seas. They'd barely appeared at all, making their parts rarer than hen's teeth. Yet the Black Market had them if you got lucky. Unbelievable.

"The Hero Association's just let it slide all this time? Or do they not know?"

"I suspect they do know. But even the Hero Association can't touch the Black Market easily—it's an untouchable domain."

"Why's that?"

"Who did I say the customers are?"

"Well... ah."

Peter Elder had mentioned earlier that the Black Market wasn't for just anyone. You needed power, wealth, or overwhelming superpowers to even get in. And those very customers had deep ties to the Hero Association itself.

"Hmph."

A corner of Dark City I knew nothing about. Well, that tracked—I didn't roam every inch of the place.

'Wicked thoughts sprouting like crazy!!!'

But the idea that the Black Market existed without my knowledge? Unacceptable.

'Doing business behind my back, huh? Cocky bastards.'

Who was I? Dark City's hottest guy, the ultimate brain, the supreme powerhouse. And these punks were running an illegal operation without so much as asking permission? They should've come crawling the second I burst onto the scene: 'Oh great master~ We're running this black market—mind if we keep it going? We'll pay tribute on time!' No contact at all? This was straight-up disrespect.

"Do you know who's behind the Black Market?"

"No clue. They're shrouded in mystery."

"Hmph."

"Anyway, I assumed an S-rank villain like you, Steel Armor, would know all about it."

'Wait a sec...'

A-rank villains and up used it. That meant S-rank villains too!

'These fuckers...!'

My eyes widened as realization hit.

'They've been excluding me...!'

Fellow S-rank villains, and not one word to me! They didn't even send flowers when I hit S-rank!

'I can't take this! Rage MAX!!!!!!!!!'

I'd mostly left other S-rank villains alone. I'd already crushed two, after all. Sparing White Knight despite beating him was to keep hero-villain balance. Same reason for the rest.

But excluding me? Game over.

'Those S-rank assholes must've been trash-talking me behind my back! I can't stand front-talk, but backbiting? Hell no!'

You're done, S-rank villains. The second Gumiho's revenge wraps up, I'd crush you and the Black Market's boss. They'd pay for icing me out.

"Thanks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the tip. You've clued me in on something I didn't know. Oh, and this is a different costume design. Please take good care of it."

"No worries. I'll pour my heart into it. Hm? Steel Armor?"

Peter Elder tilted his head as he checked the paper I'd handed him.

"The measurements are different from the last one. Who's this for?"

"My girlfriend."

"???"

Peter Elder blinked. He tilted his head again before speaking.

"Didn't you say the last one was for your girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"...And this one's for your girlfriend too?"

"Yep. I've got more than one."

"!!!!!"

Peter Elder's eyes bulged. I smirked at him, said my thanks, grabbed Yuna's costume, and left the tailor shop.

"Dating multiple women at once? Have you ever seen such a scumbag!"

Some old fogey's voice grumbled behind me—or maybe it was my imagination.

When I gifted Aqua Girl her custom costume, Yuna's face lit up from disbelief to a blooming smile. She was even happier than I'd expected, pure joy radiating from her. As thanks, she gave me some intense service—legs went weak midway, it felt that good.

Anyway, up till now I'd been playing the straight-laced(?) youth Horny Guy. Time to switch back to ruthless S-rank villain Steel Armor.

I slipped into a building and donned the skull-mask hood.

Crack!

I ripped off the rooftop door's lock and stepped out. Then I bounded across buildings.

Things were about to get busy. I had to hunt the villains listed in Karinbia's docs before heading beyond the walls with Raonjena. Max out XP first.

"Who—gah?! Steel Armor?!"

"You murdering scum! You killed innocents! Time to pay!"

"What bullshit! I did my time!"

"That's the bullshit! You didn't care about the families' tears!"

"That guy had no family!"

"Murder and fat-shaming? You're pure evil! Shut up and go to America!"

"Damn it! Think S-rank means invincible? You underestimate—"

"Go to America!"

No-Kill Rule OFF!

"Gurk!"

One down—I marked a red X on the doc. On to the next.

Karinbia's work was thorough: not just body enhancer villain profiles, but frequent haunts too. Made tracking easy.

Five down, XP up 28%.

"Inventory's OP."

Disposal was simple: stuff bodies in inventory, ghost. Perfect crime.

"Straight OP, right?"

Minimum Lv.5 body enhancers—XP climbed fast. Five down, eighteen left.

"Gonna hit Lv.11 for real."

36% to go. At this rate, eight more and body enhancer hits 11.

"Tell Karinbia to scout clone master villains next."

Lv.11 body enhancer was basically locked in. Time to prep clone master too.

A week of nightly body enhancer villain hunts.

"S-spare me!"

"Did you stop when your victims begged?"

"N-nooo!"

"Yes."

Crunch!

Nailed the fleeing bastard's skull—burst like a watermelon.

And finally—

-Body Enhancer has reached Lv.11.

"...Hah."

Dizziness hit hard—I collapsed to the ground. Too woozy to stand.

After sitting there a while, I looked down at my body.

"Insane."

Unprecedented power surged through me. My body itched to unleash it.

"This much?"

Lv.10 body enhancer was overflowing; Lv.11 blew it away. Could I match monsters without Monster Hunter now?

"...Nah!"

Impossible, no matter how I sliced it. Overconfidence had me seeing monsters as chum for a sec.

"Anyway, pick a trait."

I reined in the power, sat, and checked the system.

Two traits, two skills—pick one each.

-Resistance: Greatly increases elemental ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resistance.

"Oh, fuck yeah."

Worth a Lv.11 trait? Jackpot from the start. Massive boost to all elemental resistance—not just fire, lightning, ice, but everything.

"Makes the rest even more hype."

Next:

-Indestructible: HP +5000 points

"Hahaha."

HP acted like a shield for body enhancers—damage hit it first. Only after zero did your body take direct hits. +5000? From resistance onward, pure madness.

-Defense (Active): While active, no attacks penetrate. But user cannot move.

"Kinda meh?"

Insane effect—total immunity. But immobility soured it. Great if used right, but necessary?

"Can I use other powers while active? That'd make it broken."

Gravity Dominator or Thunder Emperor mid-Defense? I'd attack freely while untouchable. God-tier.

"Hold off."

No demo showed it. Gotta test myself.

Last: Giantization (Active): Body doubles in size. Strength, defense, regen x2—but 2x slower.