God of Heroics: Comicman!

It rained the whole way to school.

Manga walked with his umbrella in one hand and his school bag over the opposite shoulder, the speech bubble on his head displaying a little rain cloud emoji that matched the sky above him.

A woman waiting at a crosswalk recognized him first.

"Excuse me! You're Fukidashi-kun, right? From the Sports Festival?"

"That's me." He gave a little wave. A star popped up in his bubble.

"My daughter watched your matches so many times! She keeps saying she wants to be a hero because of you!"

"Tell her I said she's already got what it takes if she's that determined!"

The woman bowed, beaming, and Manga crossed the street with a warm glow in his chest that had nothing to do with the weather. Three blocks later, a pair of middle school boys spotted him from across the road and one of them screamed "COMIC DUDE" loud enough to scatter pigeons. Manga gave them a thumbs up and kept walking.

By the time he reached the U.A. gates, he'd been stopped four more times. A salaryman. A grandmother with a tiny dog. Two girls from a nearby high school who asked for a photo and then whispered something to each other after he walked away that he pretended not to hear.

The attention was new. He wasn't going to lie and say it didn't feel good. But the feeling underneath it, the one that really mattered, was simpler than that.

People were smiling.

Because of him.

That was the whole point.

…

The classroom was already buzzing when he walked in, and for once, nobody was talking about training or homework or which teacher's class was the hardest.

They were talking about the walk to school.

"I HAD ALL THESE PEOPLE TALKING TO ME ON THE WAY HERE!" Tetsutetsu slammed both hands on his desk, grinning so wide his sharp teeth caught the fluorescent light. "Some kid told me I was the coolest guy in the Sports Festival! I had to dap him up after that!"

"Same here." Kendo sat at her desk with her chin resting on one hand, a tired smile on her face. "So many stares. It was embarrassing."

"All these grade-schoolers told me I made a good effort." Awase clicked his tongue.

"Good effort." Kamakiri snorted from his seat. "Pfft."

"One little event and suddenly the world's got its eye on us." Kaibara said, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

"That's U.A. for ya." Rin replied.

Honenuki spoke up next. "A woman at the convenience store told me to make sure I don’t go the wrong path. My face might be scary but that didn’t mean I had to be scary."

"I had the opposite problem," Kuroiro muttered from his corner, pitch-black skin nearly invisible against the dark wall he'd chosen to lean against. "Nobody approached me. They just stared from a distance. Like I was an animal in a zoo."

"A girl told me my mushrooms were cute and asked if she could buy one." Komori was practically glowing.

"Someone called me an octopus," Bondo said quietly from his seat, his glue-dispensing head drooping.

"You are not an octopus," Shoda said firmly. "Octopi don't have seven holes."

"That's... not as reassuring as you think, Shoda."

“Oh…”

Tokage sat on the edge of Manga's desk the moment he reached it, her legs swinging.

"Three people asked me if you were single, you know?" she said.

"What'd you say?"

"I told them you were happily taken and they shouldn’t bother in this life or the next."

“Whoa, you got me claimed for this life and the next? What if I reincarnate as a worm or something?” Manga was shocked.

“I’d be your worm chick, duh.” Tokage said as if it were an obvious conclusion.

Pony trotted over to Kendo's desk, her hooves clicking on the tile floor. "I was, um... people were..." She switched to English. "People were super nice! They said I was cute!"

"You are cute, Pony." Kendo confirmed.

"Thank you! I think!"

Kodai added to the conversation. "Mm."

It was unclear to everyone else whether that was a contribution to the conversation or not.

The door slid open.

"Morning." Vlad King walked in with a look suggesting he'd been up since five. His grey-white hair was spiked upward and his small, serious eyes swept the room once before landing on the front of the class.

The chatter died.

"Today we've got Hero Informatics Class. And a special one at that."

Tsuburaba groaned under his breath. "Stuff about hero law and junk. I suck at that."

Awase stiffened in his chair. "A special one? Don't tell me it's a pop quiz. We just got back, give us a break!"

Vlad King's expression didn't change. "You'll be coming up with your Hero Names."

The class erupted.

Cheering, fist pumping, Tetsutetsu standing up from his chair so fast it scraped across the floor. Komori clapped her hands together. Kamakiri grinned.

"But first." Vlad King raised one hand and the noise dropped. "Concerning the pro draft picks I mentioned the other day. These are based on who the pros think will be ready to join the hero workforce after another two or three years of experience. You could say it's a way for them to show interest in your futures." He let that sink in. "But there's ample time for their interest to wane before you graduate. Any and all offers can be arbitrarily revoked. It happens quite often."

Vlad King turned to the board and began writing. "Now here are the complete draft pick numbers. Typically there's more of a spread, but our top three stole most of the spotlight."

He stepped aside.

The board read:

Fukidashi — 4,802

Monoma — 1,847

Honenuki — 1,502

Tokage — 623

Kendo — 578

Shiozaki — 412

Tetsutetsu — 389

Kamakiri — 267

Shishida — 234

Kuroiro — 198

Awase — 156

Kaibara — 143

Rin — 137

Komori — 112

Yanagi — 98

Kodai — 87

Shoda — 76

Tsunotori — 65

Bondo — 43

Tsuburaba — 38

Silence.

Then:

"FOUR THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWO?!" Awase nearly fell out of his chair.

"They're in a whole other league!" Tsuburaba pointed at the top three names.

"Did they get second and third backwards?" Rin asked, looking between Monoma and Honenuki.

Monoma straightened in his seat with pride but also a quiet kind of wonder, like a boy who'd spent his whole life calling himself a side character and had just been told that 1,847 professionals disagreed.

He had a gentle smile on his face.

Honenuki nodded at his own number. "Better than I imagined."

"Nice job, Honenuki." Shoda complimented him.

“Thank you. If you made it to the finals I'm sure you would’ve done great as well.”

Tokage leaned across the aisle and flicked Manga's bubble. "Four thousand eight hundred and two. You're disgusting."

A smug emoji appeared in his bubble.

"With that settled." Vlad King faced the class again. "Whether you were picked or not, you will all have a chance to work alongside the pros. I'll explain internships after we've handled the main event." He looked at the door. "For assessing the quality of your hero names, I’ll also be handling that."

Vlad King nodded. "The name you pick now may be what the world ends up calling you. Hero names hold weight. They reflect what future you see for yourself. The name you choose will bring you closer to cementing a certain image, because names are capable of reflecting one's true character." He paused. "Like with All Might."

"You've got fifteen minutes." Vlad King had a set a stack of blank whiteboards and markers on the front desk. "Then we present. One at a time. Up front."

"It's like a formal presentation." Shoda whispered to Manga.

"This is gonna be way better than how it was in middle school," Manga whispered back. His bubble was already cycling through sketches. Little doodles flickering in and out, names being written and crossed out and rewritten.

But he already knew his name. He'd known it since before U.A.

The fifteen minutes went by fast. Some students wrote immediately and spent the rest of the time staring at their boards with satisfaction or dread. Others erased and rewrote three, four, five times. Tetsutetsu's marker squeaked constantly. Monoma wrote for ten seconds and then set his marker down, finished.

"Let's go." Vlad clapped his hands. "Whoever's ready, come on up. Let’s get this over with."

Tetsutetsu shot to his feet.

He marched to the front of the room, slammed his whiteboard down on the podium, and turned it around.

REAL STEEL

"Real Steel!" He punched the air with a chrome fist. "Like the movie! Because my body IS steel and my spirit is REAL! You get it?!"

"I get it." Vlad balled his fist in approval. "Approved."

"HELL YEAH!" He marched back to his seat like a man who'd just won a war.

Kamakiri went next.

He flipped his board around.

JACK MANTIS

"Jack Mantis. Because I'm a mantis that'll cut you." He stared at the class as if daring someone to laugh.

"Appropriate and fitting." Vlad nodded. "Approved."

Kamakiri walked back to his seat with pride.

Kendo rose from her chair calmly. She set the board on the podium and turned it.

BATTLE FIST

"Battle Fist. My quirk is my fists, and I intend to use them in every battle that matters."

"Strong, clear, memorable." Vlad gave an approving nod. "Approved. Good choice, class rep."

Kendo bowed her head slightly and returned to her seat.

Tokage went next. She walked to the front with a grin on her face and her sharp teeth on full display. She held the board facing herself for a dramatic beat, then spun it around.

LIZARDY

"Lizardy! Because my quirk is lizard-like, and it’ll be a hit with the public." She pointed finger guns at the class.

"That's a stretch, don’t you think?" Kaibara said.

"It's not. Approve me." She looked at her sensei.

"Its a marketable name. Approved."

Tokage winked at Manga on the way back to her seat. His bubble displayed a clapping emoji.

Kuroiro walked to the podium with his white hair floating above his pitch-black skin, his expression unreadable.

He turned the board slowly, dramatically, letting the fluorescent lights catch the ink.

SCHEMING HERO: VANTABLACK

"Vantablack," he said, his voice low and dark. "The substance that absorbs over 99.9% of all visible light. In its presence, nothing can be seen. In my presence, nothing will escape."

A long beat of silence.

"You definitely rehearsed that." Awase said.

"Extensively." Kuroiro didn't deny it.

“You didn’t even know we were going to do this today… How long have you been waiting for this moment?” Rin questioned.

“Long enough.” Kuroiro replied.

"Approved," Vlad said. "The epithet is a nice touch."

Komori bounced to the front. She held her board against her chest, took a deep breath, then turned it around with a wide smile that pushed her fringe upward enough to reveal her cross-shaped pupils for a split second.

SHEMAGE

"Shemage! It sounds like shimeji, which is a mushroom, but it also sounds like 'she-mage,' like a lady magician! Because I'm a girl and my mushrooms are basically magic!" She did a little spin. "My original choice was 'Much Mush Muse' but this one is better."

"It was definitely better." Tokage confirmed.

"Approved." Vlad chuckled.

Shiozaki stood. The room shifted. Her vine-hair rustled as she walked to the front, her movements slow and graceful, every step carrying the weight of someone who treated all things with reverence.

She turned the board.

MARIA

Vlad’s eyebrow rose.

"Maria," Shiozaki said softly. "After the Holy Mother. A name that embodies compassion, sacrifice, and devotion to the service of others."

"Shiozaki." Vlad’s voice was gentle but firm. "I appreciate the meaning behind it, and the spirit is beautiful. But hero names carry public weight, and a purely religious name can alienate the people you're trying to protect. Not everyone shares your faith, and a hero name should welcome everyone." She paused. "I'd like you to consider an alternative. Something that still represents who you are without limiting your reach."

Shiozaki's expression didn't crack. Her vines twitched once at the base of her neck. She looked at the board for a long moment.

Then she picked up the marker, erased "Maria" with a single clean swipe, and wrote a new name.

VINE

"Vine," she said. "From which all things grow."

"Great." Vlad nodded. "Approved."

Shiozaki walked back to her seat with perfect posture. If the rejection had hurt, no one could tell.

Shishida approached the podium. He adjusted his glasses, cleared his throat, and presented his board.

GEVAUDAN

"Gevaudan," he said. "After the Beast of Gevaudan, the legendary man-eating wolf of 18th-century France, often associated with werewolves in popular mythology." He paused. "It is a name that acknowledges the bestial nature of my quirk while honoring the rich literary tradition from which such creatures draw their power."

"That's cool as hell." Kamakiri said.

"I appreciate the etymological care." Vlad nodded. "Approved."

"Thank you, sensei." Shishida bowed and returned to his seat.

Monoma went last among the early volunteers. He walked to the front and turned the board.

PHANTOM THIEF

"Phantom Thief." His periwinkle eyes swept the room. "A phantom thief is a figure from literature. A criminal, typically a thief, who keeps a moral code and often performs wicked deeds for the sake of good. They leave calling cards. They use tricks, illusions, and disguises. They take what others possess and use it better than the original owners ever could." The smallest smile. "I trust the connection is obvious."

"Well thought out." Vlad nodded in approval. "That suits you down to the bone, Monoma."

He gave a small bow and returned to his seat.

Honenuki went up casually. Flipped his board.

MUDMAN

"Mudman. I soften things into mud. I'm a man. Mudman." He shrugged behind his visor. "I didn't want to overthink it."

"Sometimes simple is best." Vlad King approved it with a wave.

Awase walked up with his hands in his pockets.

WELDER

"Welder. I weld things. That's the name."

"Approved."

He walked back without ceremony.

Kaibara presented his board with a casual flick of his wrist.

SPIRAL

"Spiral. My quirk spins things. Including me. Spiral."

"Nice. Approved."

Rin stood, straightened his posture, and walked to the front with the bearing of someone who had put genuine cultural thought into his choice.

LONG WEIZI

"Long Weizi. Dragon Shroud. In Chinese, Long means dragon, and Weizi means shroud or mantle." He touched the collar of his uniform. "A shroud draped over distinguished leaders. The dragon is China's symbol of strength. I carry both with me."

"Cultural heritage woven into a hero identity." Vlad looked genuinely impressed. "Approved."

Yanagi drifted to the front. Her silver hair covered half her face. Her hands dangled at her sides.

She turned the board without speaking.

EMILY

"Emily," she said, her voice flat and quiet. "After Emily Rose."

"The... American exorcism movie?" Awase asked.

"Yes."

"Approved," Vlad said quickly, before anyone could ask follow-up questions.

Kodai walked to the front. She held the board up.

RULE

"Mm."

Vlad waited. Kodai stared back.

"Is... that your explanation?"

"Mm."

"Alright sure, why not?"

Shoda nearly tripped on his way to the podium. He caught himself, went red, and turned his board with the expression of a boy who was not comfortable being looked at by twenty people simultaneously.

MINES

"M-Mines! Like, um, land mines. Because Twin Impact is a delayed explosion at the point of contact. Like stepping on a mine. The impact comes later." He bowed quickly. "Please approve it!"

"I like the reasoning!" Vlad gave him a thumbs up. "Approved."

Bondo walked to the front. His massive frame made the podium look like a children's toy. He held the board in both enormous hands and turned it with the gentleness of a man handling a scale model.

PLAMO

"Plamo," he said softly. "From 'puramo.' Plastic modeling. It's my hobby." His seven eye-holes blinked in sequence. "I... wanted my name to be something I love. Not just something scary."

The room went quiet for a moment.

"That's great, Bondo." Vlad said kindly. "Approved."

Pony clattered to the front on her hooves, her round face set with determination.

ROCKETTI

"Rocketti! Because my horns go, um," she made a whooshing sound with her mouth and mimed something launching from her head, "like rockets! And Rocketti sounds awesome!"

"Great synergy with your quirk and name." Vlad grinned. "Approved."

Tsuburaba was the last one sitting.

He walked to the front slowly. He held the board facing himself. He stared at it. He turned it around.

It was blank.

"I couldn't think of one." he said.

The class groaned.

"You had fifteen minutes!" Kamakiri shouted.

"I had fifteen minutes and NOTHING came to me! Solid Air Man? Air Wall Guy? Breathe Boy?! They all suck!"

"What about just... your name for now?" Vlad suggested.

Tsuburaba looked at the board. Looked at Vlad. Picked up the marker.

TSUBURABA

"Tsuburaba…" he said, in the voice of a defeated man.

"It works for now. You can change it later if you do think of something." Vlad patted his shoulder. "Approved."

He walked back to his seat with the expectation of someone who had already accepted that he'd be called Tsuburaba for the rest of his career.

Manga went last.

By choice. He'd been sitting in his seat the entire time, watching every presentation, his bubble cycling through reactions for each one, applause emojis and sparkles and nods and grins. He'd waited because the last slot was the one people remembered.

He walked to the front. Set his board face-down on the podium. Looked at the class.

His bubble went blank. Pure white. The lines inside it settled into something clean and still, like a fresh manga page before the first stroke of ink.

Then he flipped the board.

The name was written in bold, thick letters, the kind you'd see on the cover of a first volume. The handwriting was clean, confident, and unmistakably drawn rather than simply written, as if the letters themselves were part of a title page.

COMICMAN

"Comicman." His voice filled the room without effort, warm and clear. "Comics are what made me want to be a hero. Every page I ever read, every panel that made me laugh or cry or jump out of my seat, that's why I'm here. A comic's job is to make people feel something. A hero's job is to make people feel safe." He looked at the class. "I want to do both. I want to be the hero that kids read about in manga someday. The one they point at on the page and say, 'That's the guy. That's who I want to be when I grow up.'"

"Approved." Vlad said with a grin.

Manga returned to his seat. Tokage grabbed his arm the moment he sat down.

"So corny." she whispered.

“Just a little bit.” Manga’s bubble was slightly red.

Vlad King brought them back to earth.

"Your internships start in a week." He walked along the front row, handing out envelopes and printed sheets. "For those who were drafted, I'm handing out personalized lists of agencies that scouted you. You may choose from among those who showed interest." He moved to the second row. "For those who weren't drafted, or who want additional options, this sheet contains forty agencies from across the country willing to accept interns. Each has a different specialty and region."

He returned to the front.

"A few things to remember. These internships are for observation and training only. You are unlicensed. You cannot legally use your quirks for hero work. You will shadow a pro hero, listen to their advice, and watch them in action for an entire week. That's it."

"Give your choice some real thought," he continued. "This isn't about picking the flashiest name. It's about finding someone who can teach you something you can't learn here."

"We've only got two days to pick?!" Tsuburaba blurted out.

"Submit your choice by this coming weekend." Vlad King's tone left no room for negotiation.

The classroom broke into immediate conversation.

"I'm going for major crime work in the city!" Kamakiri leaned back, already scanning his list.

"I'd like someone that will help me with my quirk usage." Shishida pushed his glasses up.

"Fourth Kind." Tetsutetsu slapped his desk. “That's exactly who I need!"

Kendo studied her list intensely. "Uwabami offered. She's a snake-quirk hero with a modeling career on the side."

"Modeling?" Tokage perked up.

"Don't get excited. I hear she mostly uses interns for photoshoots. But I’m hoping that’s just a rumor."

"I take it back."

Monoma flipped through his personalized list in silence, his expression unreadable. He paused on one name, lingered, then moved on. Then flipped back.

Honenuki leaned over. "See anything good?"

"Several." Monoma didn't look up. "I'm narrowing."

Manga opened his envelope.

The list inside was thick. Agencies and hero offices from across the country, names he recognized from rankings and news broadcasts, names he didn't recognize at all, all of them wanting to take on the Sports Festival winner. He could feel the weight of 4,802 offers condensed into the pages in his hands.

He skimmed.

Endeavor Agency. Big name. Fire-based hero. Nothing to teach Manga about his own quirk.

Edgeshot's agency. Cool hero, but Manga didn’t know exactly what Edgeshot could help him with.

Gang Orca. Sonar and sound. Closer. He lingered on that one.

Then a name caught his eye.

Sir Nighteye Hero Agency — Minato, Tokyo

Sir Nighteye. All Might's former sidekick. The hero who ran one of the most respected agencies in the country and was known for two things: his near-perfect mission record, and his belief that heroes should make people laugh.

That heroes should make people smile.

Manga stared at the name.

He thought about the little kid at the park who'd bumped fists with him. The woman at the crosswalk this morning whose daughter watched his fights eleven times. The back panel of his hero costume, the children reading manga, the wonder on their faces.

He thought about what it meant to be a hero who smiled.

A single drawn image appeared in his bubble. Small. Quiet. A tiny version of himself, fist raised, grinning.

He circled Sir Nighteye's name.

"Found one already?" Tokage leaned over his shoulder.

"Yeah." He showed her.

She read it. Her eyebrows rose. "All Might's old partner? That's a heavy pick."

"He believes heroes should make people laugh." Manga set his pen down. "That's my whole kind of thing."

Tokage studied him for a moment. Then she grinned, all teeth.

"You would pick the lamest option."

"What about you?"

She held up her own list. One name was already circled in green marker.

Majestic — Magic Hero Agency

"Magic hero. Top twenty. He specializes in wide-area combat and predictive analysis." She tapped the name. "I want to learn how to see three moves ahead."

"You already see three moves ahead."

"Three isn’t enough since I still lost against you. I’ll need like six."

He laughed. She elbowed him. The classroom was filled with twenty conversations happening at once, everyone comparing lists and debating choices and imagining what the next week would look like.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!