Sol Mirek found Saitama's bald head had a unique texture, insanely smooth, almost like polished metal. As Sol's hand grazed it, Saitama's face flickered with awkward surprise.
"Uh… Sol, I think you've been touching it for a while," Saitama said, shifting under Sol's curious palm.
"Just a little more, come on," Sol said with a playful grin, his eyes drifting toward the countdown on his system panel.
[6… 5… 4…]
Saitama's eyebrows creased. He didn't mind a casual pat, but Sol's way of touching his head felt odd, almost like he was toying with it.
"Almost done," Sol muttered as the countdown continued.
[3… 2… 1…]
[Evolution conditions met. Do you wish to evolve the ability, Combat Intuition?]
"Done!" Sol withdrew his hand quickly and sat back like nothing unusual had happened.
"Saitama, your head really is smooth, thank you," Sol said with a casual shrug.
For safety, Sol chose not to confirm the evolution just yet and genuinely pulled his hand away from Saitama's head. Saitama shot him a puzzled look but immediately went back to the sizzling roasted meat.
While Sol had his hand on Saitama's head, the sensation had made it impossible for Saitama to eat in peace. Now Sol had moved, he could finally enjoy the food.
"You're kind of strange today," Saitama remarked between bites, "but this roasted meat is really good."
Sol kept his excitement in check, nodding while eating. Yet somehow the flavor seemed duller now that he knew how close he'd come to completing an evolution.
After they cleared the plate, Saitama prepared to leave.
"See you tomorrow," Saitama said at the door, waving before disappearing into the hallway — a little ritual he often did despite living only a few steps away.
Sol waved back, then returned to his room. He sat on the bed, opened his system panel, and confirmed the evolution.
The process wasn't painful. A mild tingling and occasional twitch passed through him as his body adapted.
[Combat Intuition is evolving, progress 10% (Cannot proceed to any new evolution until this one completes)]
Sol hadn't expected evolution to be an immediate jolt as it often was in novels.
He guessed targeted training might accelerate the merge, maybe even get him closer to Saitama's level someday.
Once he adjusted to the changes happening within, Sol turned his attention to the travel options on his panel. A travel prompt appeared:
[Spend 100 travel points to go to a One‑Star World?] Sol clicked "no"
[Spend 1000 travel points to go to a Two‑Star World?] Sol frowned at the cost
"Are travel points really ten times more expensive for each star level?" he muttered, studying the panel. Worlds ranged from One to Six stars, with a Six‑Star World requiring 10 million travel points.
From what he had researched in the system, travel points currently only allowed dimensional travel. With his present strength, Sol knew he couldn't meaningfully influence bigger events yet. And this was One‑Punch Man's world — where monstrous threats could erase entire cities with collateral damage.
Sol decided he wouldn't jump into any major plots until he had real power of his own. For now, there was no safer place in the world than near Saitama's home.
---
Time passed with little incident. The people of Z‑City had long since evacuated due to monster activity, but Sol stayed, sensing an opportunity to grow stronger.
One day while training in an open field, Saitama stood across from him with a dodgeball in hand.
"Your reactions are getting much faster," Saitama observed, impressed.
This was one of their frequent training games. At first, Sol couldn't dodge a casually thrown ball, but now he could anticipate and evade with increasing ease — even though Saitama still held back significant power.
Sol wiped sweat from his brow, feeling the evolution stirring inside him.
"Again," Sol said, focusing on the ball in Saitama's hand.
Saitama tossed it lightly and the ball shot through the air, streaking toward Sol like a red line. In Sol's mind, everything slowed down — not time itself, but his perception.
Sol shifted his body instinctively, dodging just as the ball brushed past him and skidded across the grass.
"Wow," Saitama said with genuine surprise, "you're way stronger than when we started."
Sol breathed heavily, smiling with satisfaction. He could feel his neural responses sharpening beyond normal limits.
All of that daily practice was working. They had traded simple running drills for more sparring, and though Sol took a beating many times, his Combat Intuition steadily progressed.
After a month of training, the evolution meter climbed to 98%. Sol felt the strange energy within him surge, like a barrier he was about to break.
"One last round," Sol said, leaning forward, determination in his eyes.
Saitama scratched his head. "You've been training for a long while today… don't you want to rest?"
"No," Sol said earnestly, "I can feel it. I'm close. Let's do this."
Saitama paused, not entirely understanding Sol's words, but he nodded.
"Alright, then I'll take it a bit more seriously," Saitama said, focusing as he prepared to throw.