Chapter Four

Early morning, Setsuka's apartment, City Z, 560th day of Setsuka's training regiment

It had been nearly two months since the day that Setsuka and Sanju met each other out in the abandoned district of City Z. During that time, they had managed to get close to each other as roommates living in the same apartment room.

During her stay in the area, Sanju had managed to find the location to the dojo after obtaining a map of the city in one of the uninhabited rooms in the apartment buildings found within the ghost town of City Z.

She had immediately set out to go to the dojo and managed to eavesdrop on the lessons that the martial arts master she was looking for was giving to the beginners in the dojo.

Meanwhile, Setsuka had continued her daily routine of training her body, fighting any of the evildoers she encountered while also working a couple of odd jobs whenever she could in order to make some money. She had also undergone a bit of a change in her appearance during this time, seeing as she no longer had any hair on her head.

So for the next two weeks, Setsuka became depressed by the fact that she would no longer have any hair atop her head. But even during this time of depression, she never stopped her daily training.

And on this fine morning, Setsuka and Sanju were both eating their breakfast in silence as they were together in the small dining room/living room of the tiny apartment room that they now shared. Sanju of course was drinking fresh water from one of the mugs that Setsuka owned.

"Say Sanju, have you learned any special moves yet?" Setsuka asked Sanju as she ate her cereal while she looked at the slime girl with a smirk.

"Don't be stupid, Setsuka. You can't just expect me to learn special moves that quickly." Sanju responded to the bald woman's question as she continued to eat a few pieces of broken porcelain that she had gathered from the abandoned apartments during her stay in the uninhabited parts of City Z.

"Well if you say so, I mean you're the expert on the matter after all. But I'd like to see more of your awesome martial arts someday." complemented Sanju as she gave her a thumbs up.

"Anyways, is there anything new that you believe you'll be learning today?" Setsuka asked the slime monster girl in front of her.

"I think so. The master of the dojo did say that he would be testing out the new comers today. I'm not sure about what he plans to do during today's lesson, but I think that it will be something a little bit intense compared to the lessons that he has been giving so far." Sanju replied to her savior's question.

"Cool, well I hope you're able to become a master of the fighting style someday. Good luck Sanju." Setsuka said with a warm smile on her face.

"T-thanks, Setsuka." Sanju stuttered out, while looking away from Setsuka due to being captivated by her smile.

"Uh- um, I should be going now. Don't want to late for the lesson after all! See you later!" Sanju shouted out before she made a quick dash for the door of the apartment that they both shared.

"What was that all about?" Setsuka asked herself confused by the way Sanju had exited her apartment room.

Training grounds inside a martial arts dojo found atop a mountain in City Z

Inside the training grounds where a number of martial artists were standing all around the training grounds of the dojo where an elderly man with spiky white hair sporting a thick moustache wearing a black, skintight jumpsuit and white trousers standing in the center of the room. Next to the elderly man were a stack of ceramic tiles that had been put on top of a pair of concrete bricks.

"You want me to break some tiles?" the disciple of the dojo who was standing in front of the tiles asked the master of the dojo, somewhat confused by the impromptu request from the elderly man.

Said disciple was a young teenager with white hair that was partially split in the middle and pointing up wearing a karate gi with a white belt wrapped around his waist.

"Yes. I thought I'd let you show me what your natural capabilities are at the moment. I have been able to get a glimpse of how well you've been implementing the basic stances that I've been showing you, but I would also like to gauge your raw capabilities by having you break these tiles." the elderly martial artist said to his new disciple.

"What? There's no way anyone could break those things with their bare hands Master Bang!" the other new disciple loudly stated. He looked to be a late teen of average build who had messy, orange hair wearing a white karate gi and a white belt that was wrapped around his waist.

"I wouldn't say that is necessarily the case. You'd be surprised by the strength some people in this world possess, Charanko." the elderly master responded to the statement of the new disciple now known as Charanko.

'Well, he's not wrong there.' Sanju agreed with what the elderly martial artist had just said, as she recalled how Setsuka was able to easily land the killing blow against the dog monster that was chasing her when they first met.

"Hehehe…Just watch and learn newbie. I should set a good example, since I'm a top disciple and all." a stockily built man with a face that looked like he had just eaten something sour proudly stated as he made his way towards the stacked piles of ceramic tiles, all while making a smug face as he folded one of sleeves in order to show his muscles.

This of course annoyed the young teen disciple to no end.

*Wham!*

"Ow! How is anyone going to break these tiles?" the man with the sour face shouted out as he held out his now enlarged hand in pain.

"I was about to mention that they're made of ceramic, so you should be careful with how you hit the tiles or you will badly injure your hands." the elderly man stated to his new disciples.

*Crack!*

And while the man who was currently the top disciple of the dojo shouted out in pain, the young teen had shattered the tiles that the elderly man had stacked together.

The moment that the other disciples were able to see the tiles broken down, they were shocked by the fact that the young teen was able to accomplish the task that their master had given him.

Meanwhile, the teenaged boy simply gave the other students of the dojo with a smug look on his face.

"Hmm? You actually managed to break the tiles? Very good, but I it looks like you missed a piece." the silver-haired martial artist told the silver-haired teen as he looked at the single tile that had remained between the concrete bricks.

The young teen of course was somewhat disappointed by the fact that he was not able to break the one tile that he was currently looking at.

"All right now, I believe it's time for us to resume our lessons for the day." the master of the dojo instructed as his disciples began to spread out within the dojo before they began their training under Bang.

'Damn, this guy is tough! I just hope that I don't have to face him someday in the future.' the camouflaged slime monster thought in shock as she continued to watch him from her spot on top of the ceiling.

A few hours after the afternoon began, within City B

Setsuka was casually walking in the alleyways of City B having finished the day's quota for her training regiment. The bald woman was wearing a white headscarf, a blue tracksuit along with a pair of white running shoes.

She was walking in the alleyway because she was looking for criminals that she could beat up before she headed back home for the day.

'Man, I wasn't able to get a discount on the groceries that I wanted to buy today.' the young woman thought to herself as she continued to walk around the alleyway.

And as she continued her walk in the alleyway, she began to reflect on the progress that she was able to make as a result of the training that she had been undertaking.

'I really have been getting stronger recently haven't I? it really feels like I'm going to be able to actually live up to my goal of being able to defeat the villains that I encounter in a single punch.' the self-proclaimed heroine pondered to herself as she continued her walk.

'Well, I'll just have to beat up any bad guy that I come across for now. Can't get distracted in such a place.' the bald woman thought to herself all the while making her way deeper into the alleyways of City B.

Later in the afternoon

Out in the area of City Z which the citizens of the city mostly referred to as the ghost town, five people could be seen making their way towards the fence that led into the monster-filled part of City Z.

The first person was a young man with a bulky figure and blue arrow that was pointing towards his forehead tattooed on his bald head and he was wearing a blue tanktop, brown cargo pants and a black heavy boots.

The person who was walking further to the right of the bulky man was a man with a slender figure wearing a black ninja mask and a black bodysuit and a pair of dark blue shoes. He was carrying two daggers in each hands.

A man with slicked-back green hair who was wearing a pair of dark-green overalls over a green shirt along with a brown pair of combat boots could be seen standing beside the masked man while holding a machete in his left hand. He was carrying an empty large sack in one of his hands.

To the left of the bulky man with the black arrow tattooed on his head a young man with orange, wavy, shoulder-length hair wearing a red leather jacket, red leather trousers and a pair of red leather shoes was walking in an elegant fashion.

And next to the man with the red attire was a middle-aged man with a lanky build wearing a white, long-sleeved business shirt with the sleeves curled upwards, white jeans and a white bandanna on top of his head. He was holding a pistol in his right hand.

"Are you sure that we should be out here?" the young man with the red attire asked the bulky man with the arrow tattooed on his head.

"Are you telling me that you're scared of a bunch of monsters? Don't worry about it! If any monster comes our way, then we'll make sure that they regret coming after us with our awesome skill set!" the bulky man reassured the orange-haired man as the five robbers continued to make their way to the abandoned area of City Z.

"That's right newbie, you don't have to be scared of a bunch of monsters when you've got us on your side." the man wearing the green overalls said showing his agreement with the words of the bulky man.

"If any monster chooses to prey on us, then they shall taste the sharp edges of my daggers." the man in the ninja outfit stoically reassured the young man with the red leather outfit while he held the hilts of his daggers.

The man wearing the white bandanna simply nodded his head with a neutral expression on his face.

"Sure, whatever. Let's get this over with." the young man in red said as he begrudgingly accepted the fact that he was about to enter a dangerous area.

"What are you guys doing all the way out here?"

But before they could even reach the fence, the five crooks heard a feminine voice calling out to them.

With their curiosity getting the better of them, the five robbers turned around in order to see the face of the person that had asked them what they were doing out in this part of the city.

The moment that the five men turned around, they were greeted by the sight of a young woman wearing a blue tracksuit and a headscarf that were both covered in blood glaring at them.

"What the hell happened to you girlie? Did you run into a monster or something?" the man with the green overalls asked the young woman in front of them as he arched his right brow while looking at her.

"Yep. I beat up a bunch of tough monsters on my way here. It took me a while to kill them all but here I am. Also, I'm going to only say this once so listen carefully. Get out of here before I beat you to a pulp." Setsuka sternly told the group of robbers standing in front of her.

"Ahahahaha! It looks like we've got ourselves a fool waiting to die at our hands! Stupid woman! You should've ran away while you had the chance, because we're going to have to kill you." the bulky man with the arrow tattoo told the young woman in front of him as his fellow robbers, minus the man in the ninja attire, joined in on the ridicule of the young woman standing in front of them.

"There's no way that someone as weak looking as you could actually beat up a bunch of strong monsters all on your own! That's just ridiculous! And don't think that we'll let you walk away from us after what you just said to us." the man wearing the green overalls shouted back at the young woman who was covered in blood.

"Do you really expect us to believe that you were able to survive against a monster with your strength alone." the man with the ninja attire bluntly told Setsuka as he continued to stare at her.

"I'm willing to bet that you just happened to be in the place where the fighting took place and had a large of blood splatter all over you while you were observing a fight that was taking place somewhere else." the man in white clothing said with a serious face.

"Well, I'm telling you-"

"Why should we even bother wasting our time with the dumb broad? Let's just beat her up to death! We have to make sure that she doesn't report us to the cops or any nearby heroes!" the leader of the group interrupted the response that the bald woman was going to give him by shouting at her while he pointed his fingers at her.

'You know what, I'll just knock them out real quick.' the self-proclaimed heroine-in-training thought to herself, feeling annoyed by the fact that the leader of the group did not even let her finish her sentence.

But the moment that the three men began to approach Setsuka, she moved so fast that they could not spot her as she knocked them all out with a single light hand chop directed towards their necks.

This show of strength greatly shocked the leader of the group of thugs.

'How did this woman beat up my guys so quickly?' the leader of the group of criminals thought to himself as he continued to gawk at the bald woman in front of him.

"Well, what's it going to be? Are you going to run with your friends or are you going to try and attack me like they did?" the young woman told the leader of the robbers that she had just knocked out as she gave him a hard glare.

"B-but h-h-how will I know that you won't try to knock me out while I'm running away? W-what if y-you just beat m-me up when I do t-that?" the large man said with fear in his voice as he continued to hold the bespectacled woman hostage.

"You did see me effortlessly defeat your buddies earlier right? I'm not worried about losing in a fight to a guy like you. So just do as I say before I change my mind. And if I ever see your ugly face again, I'll make sure that you feel more pain than your friends over here did. So what's it going to be, arrow head? You wanna live to see another day or do you wanna be like you buddies over here?" Setsuka threatened the bald man in front of her, all while she continued to intensely glare at the man.

As the man thought through the options that the woman in front of him had given him, he decided that it would not be worth the risk of angering the woman more than he already had and reluctantly decided to run as far away from the woman as he could.

"Tch, fine!" the large man with the black arrow tattoo shouted out before hurried over to his fellow robbers and proceeded to carry them on his shoulders.

'I'll definitely come back and beat you to a pulp the next time I see your plain face.' the bald man thought to himself as he ran away from the bald woman while carrying the four robbers that she had knocked out with ease.