THE PUBLIC TESTING

The day of the Public Testing unfolded according to plan, much like the years before. The event drew a massive crowd, as it always did.

While many attendees aimed to participate in the testing, others came to support those taking the test or to catch a glimpse of their beloved heroes and celebrities, who often graced the event with their presence. People flocked from various regions, converging in the Capital Region where the ceremony was traditionally held.

Though the government orchestrated the Testing, it fell upon the esteemed Phoenix Hero Academy of the Central Region to host it.

In the world of New Earth, three authorized Hero Academies existed: The Nexus Hero Academy in the East, The Iron Stone Hero Academy in the North, and the revered Phoenix Hero Academy stationed in the Central Region. Being the oldest among the academies, Phoenix Academy had earned its moniker as 'The Best Hero Academy,' thanks to the many remarkable heroes it had produced. This reputation resonated not only with the public but also with the government.

Once the Testing concluded, the various Hero Academies initiated the assessment and registration of newly empowered Primes who met their stringent requirements.

As expected, a throng of newly minted Primes lined up for the chance to enroll at the Phoenix Hero Academy. On the flip side, IronStone Academy and Nexus Academy struggled to keep up.

Iron Stone attracted considerable interest, likely due to the prominence of its owner, Titan Strike, a renowned Tier IV Prime celebrated for his immense strength. Nexus Hero Academy, however, experienced a lukewarm response, with attendees joining the admission line either due to the academy's proximity or for other unique reasons.

With the conclusion of the Public Testing, the crowd dispersed, leaving behind a mix of disappointment and elation among the attendees.

Meanwhile, in Johnson's apartment...

An air of panic pervaded as Stare's parents anxiously paced around the living room. It had been nearly a day since their son's sudden disappearance, and their desperate search yielded no clues about his whereabouts. Stare had left his phone behind, evading any attempts at tracking, and the CCTV cameras showed nothing amiss—almost as if he had vanished into thin air.

Mrs. Johnson appeared disheveled, her clothing and hair in disarray. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she oscillated restlessly between pacing and sitting on the couch.

Mr. Johnson, though seemingly more composed, knew his facade was a fragile attempt to maintain his wife's hope. On the phone, he conversed with an official from the region's law enforcement agency. The conversation's weight was etched onto his furrowed brow, growing deeper with each passing moment. When the call concluded, his wife anticipated a glimmer of positive news, but his weary expression spoke volumes, and her hopes were dashed.

"Still no word on his whereabouts?" she asked in a hushed tone.

Reluctantly, Richard nodded, his heart heavy with concern for his missing son.

He then turned his head around and stared at their daughter, Aila, who was sleeping on a couch nearby.

She had somehow managed to overhear their discussion on her brother's sudden disappearance and ever since then had been crying her eyes out, she eventually cried herself to exhaustion and ended up falling asleep on the couch.

Mr. Johnson let out an exasperated sigh as he fell powerlessly to the couch.

After Stare's sudden disappearance, he had racked his brain, attempting to recall any moment where he might have offended anyone to the point that it would warrant the person orchestrating the kidnap of his son, and what was even more frightening was the fact that his kidnappers hadn't made any attempt in reaching out to them to discuss a ransom or something relating to it.

"Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Johnson, please don't overexert yourself, I'm pretty sure wherever Stare is, he is already devising a means of getting back…he's strong." Doush who had been silently staring at the disoriented family finally offered words of support.

He had been called earlier this morning by Stare's mother, and from the tone at which she spoke, he could already guess what had happened.

He knew they would be worried about Stare's disappearance, but he never expected them to react up to this point. On many occasions, he had been tempted to come clean about the whereabouts of Stare, but in the end, he decided to persevere.

'Was this how my parents felt when I first disappeared, so I could attend that Cold-Fingers music concert.' Doush thought.

Meanwhile, Richard stared at the best friend of his child, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

'Was that how bad they looked? The boy was obviously in the same dilemma as them as the person missing was also his best friend, yet despite that and the fact he was a lot younger than us the parents, he was still the one giving words of encouragement.'

…

Stare slowly walked down the pavement in thought.

He had left his phone to avoid tracking, hence he wasn't able to keep up with the happenings of the outside world and wasn't able to tell when the Public Testing ended, John didn't have a phone on him as well, at least he didn't have a phone capable of working in this era, so Stare was left with no other choice than relying on his previous knowledge of the Public Testing's durations.

The sky had turned dark at that point, and the moon hung up there, illuminating where it could with its light as the air around grew cooler.

The area around remained calm and quiet. Stare would have almost assumed the Public Testing was still on if he hadn't seen a couple of men drinking happily as they most likely celebrated the advancement of someone close to them in becoming a Prime.

While a few celebrated the happenings of the day, many others tried to recuperate from the same happenings of the day.

It was quite laughable.

Stare thought about what condition his parents would be in now. He had suddenly disappeared without giving them any hints on where he might be going or why he had disappeared … and Aila, what if she accidentally heard about her big brother's disappearance, she would most likely break down.

Stare suddenly started feeling bad once more, but with that feeling came more resolve.

He had to do this, they had to suffer this to prevent them from suffering something worse.

'Hmm, pretty sure that stupid cat would be the only one who doesn't share in the family's despair, and might even be wishing I don't return…would be nice destroying her stupid fantasy though.' Stare thought with a smile on his face.

While Stare was immersed in his inner monologue, his attention was suddenly drawn to what seemed to be a dispute happening not too far away from where he was.

By now the area has grown even more quiet and empty, hence Stare could hear what they were quarreling about… From what he heard it turned out not to be a quarrel as he initially thought but a robbery.

A robbery?

Stare immediately knew something was off, as cases of robbery were very rare, especially in areas like this where there was all-around surveillance and top-notch security measures.

He squinted his eyes in the direction where the noise was coming from and could see three figures.

The two which he suspected to be the 'robbers' were both dressed completely in black with casual masks to cover their faces, Stare's attention was however more drawn to the wooden batons in both their hands that were being used to threaten their current prey.

"Oh amateurs." Stare muttered underneath his breath.

Initially, he assumed the incident wasn't a typical robbery, as occurrences of robberies were infrequent during this era, particularly in areas like this. Instead, he considered it more likely to be an assassination or targeted attack. However, upon observing their choice of weapons and amateur costumes, he became certain that they were probably just a group of delinquent kids up to no good.

In an era where many of humanity's shortcomings have been addressed, instances like this still occurred. Terrorist organizations like the Zod movements and a handful of major and small-scale robberies, like the ongoing one, persisted.

While some individuals had reasons for their actions, acknowledging that not all of humanity's problems could be perfectly resolved, for many, their motives boiled down to personal desire.

Having made his deductions, Stare chose to proceed with his walk, behaving as if he hadn't seen or heard anything.

From the fact alone, that they were still arguing with their prey despite being on the advantageous side, both holding weapons and having numbers, Stare was quite sure they wouldn't really harm the man and as he said before, they were probably just bored amateur delinquents and Stare was currently too preoccupied with his own issues which mostly consisted of going back home on time to bother with them.

About to begin his walk again, Stare realized something odd.

He couldn't move an inch forward.