King Ape and squad two departed. They moved toward the target location of their squad as described by the Hero Association. King Ape marched continuously at a fast pace with the heroes at his back. The duty of this squad, as having the most B ranked heroes, is to be the center attack force. The plan was simple: Squad #1 would attack from the left, Squad #2 would attack from the middle, and Squad #3 would attack from the right. The thought process of attacking in this way was that it would not let any villains escape in the chaos.

The large crowd of heroes marched onward. Through the thick forest and greenery, an eerie feeling began to build up among the heroes. The singing of the cicadas and howls of coyotes in the distance did nothing to help calm their nerves.

“A… Are we almost there yet, Mr. King Ape Sir?”

The nervous words came from a skinny class C hero. Other than his long green cape, the first thing that was noticed upon inspection of the hero was his protective goggles.

“We’re getting close. Everyone, be on your guard. Once the fighting begins, we will need to stand our ground on our own until the other squads reach their destination. However, do not fear, for I-King Ape- am here.”

The confident and cliché words calmed the heroes heart. The skinny hero, Goggle Boy, sighed in an attempt to calm himself down. After a moment, he looked forward with newfound determination. A voice beside him spoke.

“Being nervous in times like this is natural. However, we must trust in our strength for the best chance of success.”

Four Eyes spoke to calm Goggle Boy down. Perhaps the goggles led him to feel a kinship towards the weak-looking hero. Either way, Four Eyes wanted to make sure that no one near him would show weakness in battle. King Ape would likely be busy handling the S rank villains, so they must rely on their own power to protect themselves. Teamwork, even sloppy, would greatly increase the survivability of the squad. Four Eyes, despite keeping his cool on the outside, felt an increasing anxiety building in his chest. ‘Is this because we are about to fight? Or… is it a bad omen of something else?’

“Four Eyes, correct?”

A pale man on the other side of Four Eyes spoke as they continued following King Ape.

“Yes? And you are?”

“Ah, I’m Ghost King. Class B rank 34.” Ghost King continued speaking.

“I have heard about you from Forrest.”

“You’re a friend of Forrest?”

“Well, you could say that. We met during the hero exam, and talked on the phone a couple times since.”

“I just wanted to introduce my-”

“VILLAINS!” The yell from a hero at the front of the pack rang out.

King Ape turned his head to follow the pointed finger of the hero. Sure enough, a man dressed in black from head to toe stood on top of a large tree branch. The heroes, upon realizing the presence of the villain above, gripped their weapons and prepared for battle. A large man with an incredible amount of fat underneath his much too small shirt began to charge forward.

“I, Mister Thick, will take the prize of the first kill!” He ran forward past the other heroes.

“Stop.”

King Ape held up his hand while looking at the villain in order to stop Mister Thick. The fat man looked at King Ape with confusion.

“Do not rush. This is clearly a speed oriented scout. His job is to determine the amount of heroes in our squad and report back to their leader.”

The man snickered behind his black mask and disappeared further into the woods at high speed.

“Then..!”

“Do not chase him. With your ability, you will not be able to catch him. Furthermore, getting separated so early will only hurt ourselves. Be patient and continue following me- you will soon have the chance to earn achievements.”

Mister Thick reluctantly backed down. Four Eyes was surprised at the surprisingly smart outlook by King Ape, despite his animalistic appearance.

“Wow…” Ghost King spoke in a voice just loud enough to be heard by Four Eyes and Goggle Boy.

“Looks like even the dumbest S class heroes aren’t idiots.”

“Hmm… I’m not so sure about that. King Ape is, certainly, an idiot. However, he certainly has good instincts. Probably due to his monkey DNA.” Four Eyes pushed up his glasses.

“Haha! Maybe you’re right. Who could go around looking like that and have a normal brain?”

Goggle Boy looked at the two in shock. Even if he couldn’t hear, King Ape was an S class hero! Show some respect!

.

.

.