Growth

"Hmm. So in a life-threatening crisis, her ability suddenly surged like it was going into overdrive, allowing her to defeat a B+ rank monster..."

Back at the Korean branch of the Hero Association, Astra stood with a slightly tense expression as she faced the person across from her. She had just returned to file her incident report.

Scarlet, the branch manager and a retired A-class hero, set down the document in her hands and looked at Astra.

"Good work. Contact the costume team to get a replacement for the damaged suit. I'll grant you leave until the new one is ready, so go rest."

"...Yes!"

When her report—parts of the truth carefully omitted—was accepted without issue, Astra let out a silent breath of relief, bowed, and stepped out of the branch manager's office.

Thank goodness...

It was fortunate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no other witnesses had been present during the monster fight. That had allowed her to spin the story just enough to get by.

The powers awakened by superhumans weren't locked at the level they first appeared. Depending on training and personal talent, many abilities could grow further. In some cases, that hidden potential exploded during moments of mortal danger.

Astra had used that fact to her advantage, claiming her ability had manifested with unusual strength in the crisis and let her defeat the monster. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠As a rare attribute-type user who had always been judged to possess strong potential, her lie passed without suspicion. After all, there were plenty of stories about heroes awakening new power in desperate situations.

This way, Siwoo's ability won't be discovered.

The man had kept his power hidden all this time, just as promised, and had even used it to help her. Thanks to her report, that secret remained safe.

Thinking of him, Astra pictured his face. Black hair. A neat, earnest-looking young man. Not the type to turn heads with overwhelming handsomeness, but pleasant enough that you could call him attractive...

W-what am I even thinking...!

She shook her head sharply, chasing the image away. She had never paid much attention to men before, yet ever since that day she kept remembering him at the most inconvenient times.

Ugh... After what we did.

The reason was obvious. The man she had met for the first time that day had used every ounce of strength in his hands to thoroughly massage her breasts—breasts that no man had ever properly touched, let alone dated.

He's such a strange person.

After forcing the memory out of her mind, Astra visited the branch's data room but found no records of male awakenings. She muttered to herself in quiet disbelief.

To think a man could awaken superhuman powers. And not just any power—one that had never been seen before. There had been a few strengthening-type abilities in the past, but none that manifested through cooking, complete with bizarre side effects.

It's dangerous.

If the truth ever got out, not only the heroes and researchers of the Hero Association but even the freely operating villains would come after him.

Yes. Keeping it hidden is the right choice.

She had gone through some unexpected events, but she still owed him a debt of gratitude. Determined to protect his secret as repayment, she was lost in thought when someone approached.

"Astra!"

"Eek?!"

So focused on her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the newcomer, Astra jumped and turned around.

"You scared me... It's you, Baek Seol."

"I told you to call me Snow White!"

"That's too much of a mouthful. And you're not even on duty right now anyway."

"Ugh...."

Hero name: Snow White. Real name: Baek Seol. With pure white hair that matched her name and the power to command snow and ice, she was Astra's close friend. She managed the district right next to Astra's Ein district, so they had worked together often. On top of both being rare attribute-type users, they were also the same age.

Well, to be more accurate, although they were good friends...

"Ugh. Taking down a B+ rank monster all by yourself? This puts me way too far behind..."

"Behind...? You don't need to burn with competition like that."

Having awakened at similar times, managing neighboring districts, and using similar powers, Baek Seol seemed to view Astra as a rival of sorts.

"Besides, it was a dangerous situation. I just used my power without thinking. My strength is the same as always."

"But that means you had the potential for it to manifest like that! Uuuu... Maybe I should go pick a fight with a dangerous monster too..."

"Don't say things that could jinx you."

Despite being the same age, Baek Seol somehow felt like a younger sister. Astra smiled awkwardly at her. The power that had defeated the monster hadn't actually been hers, yet here was Baek Seol burning with rivalry over it. She had no idea what to say.

So Astra quickly changed the subject.

"Did you come to file a report too?"

"Huh? Yeah. You left all the cleanup to me, remember? I had to deal with the monster corpse and do a full secondary search of the area!"

"I'm sorry... My suit was about to rip. I didn't have a choice."

"Ah... Right. That's what happened, wasn't it? Still, it took you way too long. Especially when you showed up wearing nothing but an apron."

Astra had explained her absence by saying her suit had torn and she'd rushed off to find something to cover herself. As they walked down the hallway, the two shared a short conversation.

"But why did only the chest area rip? Don't tell me your chest got bigger?"

"....! H-hey... What are you saying..."

She was startled by the strangely sharp comment, but...

...It did get a little bigger.

Even though she had released the side effect, some lingering influence must have remained. Her chest had definitely grown slightly compared to before. She had been shocked at first, wondering if the side effect was still active. After running tests with the Hero Association's equipment and confirming there were no other problems and that her chest had stopped growing, she had finally relaxed.

"It really does look bigger... What have you been eating lately? What on earth made them grow like this?"

"W-well? Corn soup?"

"...What is that even supposed to mean."

Without either suggesting it, the conversation naturally led them to the training facility in the association building's basement. When heroes weren't on patrol or other duties, they usually either enjoyed their free time or trained here.

"Didn't you get vacation?"

"Even so, I need to keep my body moving."

After changing into training suits, Astra lightly stretched while watching Baek Seol, who had already begun her physical conditioning.

"Hup... Hup...!!"

Even though her ability was clearly the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attribute type as Astra's, she never neglected physical training. She pushed her body hard, beads of sweat flying.

Watching her quietly, Astra soon attached the training equipment to herself and began her own workout.

"Kuh... Hup...!"

As they trained, other heroes affiliated with the association eventually stopped by the training room. When they saw the pair, they could only click their tongues in amazement.

"Wow... There they are again."

"It's seriously rare to see C-class heroes who train as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hard as those two."

They too trained their bodies and refined their abilities, but from their perspective, the intensity Snow White and Astra put into their training was on another level.

Someday... I want to be like them too.

Unlike ordinary people who only used their powers because they had them or treated hero work like a simple job, these two had firm, unshakable goals.

"Nngh... T-two hundred...!"

"M-me too...!"

Of the two lifting the superhuman-grade heavy equipment side by side, Baek Seol reached her limit first. She had been pushing herself desperately so as not to lose to Astra, who still looked like she had energy to spare. Baek Seol stared at her in disbelief.

"Huu... Two hundred and twenty."

"...What? When did you increase your reps?"

"Hmm... Maybe my condition is especially good today?"

Her body felt slightly lighter than usual. Astra tilted her head but brushed it off as nothing important. The difference wasn't drastic—just the kind of variation that could easily come from being in good form.

While stopping Baek Seol, who looked ready to overexert herself even further to match the count, Astra moved on to the next stage. Ability training, which could be considered even more important than physical conditioning.

"I'll go first!"

Despite her cold, icy-beauty appearance, Baek Seol's personality was the complete opposite. She stepped forward first.

Entering the ability training room, she attached measurement devices across her body, steadied her breathing, and activated her power.

—Crack!!!

Cold energy swirled around the dummy, engulfing it in hail and blizzard. She kept pouring out every last ounce of power until her energy ran dry, then collapsed in complete exhaustion.

"Haaek...! So tired...!"

As she caught her breath, the measurement device displayed the results.

Among the various results, the most important figure made Baek Seol's face light up with joy.

"My maximum went up by five!"

The unknown energy consumed when superhumans used their abilities. It was called many things—mana, ether—but at the Korean branch it was known as Superhuman Power. It was the alpha and omega of every superhuman. The Hero Association used devices that measured this Superhuman Power to determine hero ranks and villain threat levels.

Of course, Superhuman Power wasn't the only measure of strength, but because it was so closely tied to ability output, training it had been a long-standing challenge for all superhumans.

"Alright. Next! Astra!"

Having seen her maximum output—the hardest value to raise—increase by five, Baek Seol confidently dragged Astra into the training area. Even though she had lost in physical training, she was satisfied with today's ability measurement and believed she could win this round.

"I keep telling you it's not even a competition..."

Astra watched with a wry smile as Baek Seol, who became cold and serene when using her powers, once again burned with rivalry. She attached the measurement devices.

Her usual Superhuman Power values were not much different from Baek Seol's. So Astra wasn't particularly nervous as she raised her power, but...

—Crackle!

The output felt slightly stronger and easier to control than before. She tilted her head at the strange sensation but poured everything she had into it.

—Crack! Crackle!!

She used her power until it ran dry, pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion, then stepped out of the training equipment. The results appeared immediately.

"...Huh?"

Her Superhuman Power had risen by nearly a hundred points compared to her previous measurement. When Baek Seol had gained five points she had been overjoyed; everyone knew how difficult it was to raise Superhuman Power no matter how much you trained. Yet hers had gone up by a hundred...

"W-what the heck! That's a hundred point increase! Uuuugh...! I-I'm remeasuring too...!"

Watching Baek Seol make a fuss while desperately trying to fan the flames of rivalry, Astra instinctively thought of the likely cause of this sudden growth.

...Could it be?