Chapter 12

We only took a couple of minutes to reach our position; from there, we waited for another two minutes, and then a countdown began.

"FIVE"

"FOUR"

"THREE"

"TWO"

"ONE"

"START!"

I didn't wait a second longer and began to fly, not too high so that I could see the robots just a few meters above the ground, but that was enough to be at the front of the group, at least on my side.

I quickly found the first robot; it looked like a pile of boxes joined together, entirely white except for its black face and several yellow lines all over its body, along with two eyes of the same color.

I didn't hesitate and, using Lucas's gene that worked with blade wings, I launched my feathers as projectiles, piercing several spots on the robot.

"They don't seem very tough," I said after seeing how easily I took down the robot.

After that, I continued and encountered two more identical robots, which I disposed of just as easily. It was not until I met a fourth robot that was twice as large and had a more curved shape, and it was surrounded by six normal robots that I reduced my speed.

"How do I get rid of them?" I asked myself while thinking of a plan, a plan that was quite simple: I would circle around the group while shooting my feathers.

At that moment, I realized two things: first, the fewer feathers I had, the slower I became, and second, the large robot had a cannon on its left arm that fired nets.

And since the reduction in speed took me by surprise, one of those nets caught me. Seeing that I was going to crash to the ground and also wondering how this was allowed in the admission exam, I activated a gene I copied about three years ago that I liked a lot.

A black shell began to form around my body, cushioning the impact when I fell. The gene was called Beetle, and aside from giving me a chitin armor and a horn like a stag beetle, it also increased my strength.

Using the Medusa gene, I was able to slip out of the net, and with my three active genes—Medusa, Beetle, and Wild Wings—I glided toward the robot with the cannon, which was the last one left after my attack. It fired more nets at me, but I was able to dodge them. As I got closer, I threw a punch that landed squarely in its belly, causing it to stagger back. Then I slashed with my left wing and followed up with a tail strike, which was stronger because my tail also had the beetle armor. To finish it off, I delivered a left hook enhanced by Thalia's gene, which amplifies the vibrations of something like my punch.

I didn't cause much exterior damage with the hit, but I can't say the same about its internal components, judging by the noise it made as it fell; I guess it was quite a lot.

And so I continued the competition. Sometimes I came across other competitors, like a girl who made big jumps and delivered powerful blows or a boy with a mutation that made him look like a snapping turtle.

I occasionally encountered more robots with cannons, even in groups of two or three, along with several smaller robots, but with a better strategy: first aiming at the robots with cannons and then taking down the rest. I was able to get rid of them without much hassle.

"This is easier than I thought," I said to myself, and as if it were a signal, the whole place began to shake.

"Me and my big mouth."

…

"There are quite a few promising candidates this year," said a woman dressed in a lilac suit with hair of the same color.

"Yes, like that girl who shoots lasers or the one with telekinesis," said a man in a butler-like suit.

"I'm more interested in that girl with white hair."

"The one with wings?"

"Yes, her; her gene seems to be something like Chimera or something like that."

"No, her gene is about copying other genes," replied the woman in the suit.

"! " Everyone in the room was surprised to hear that.

"Aelyra Noctis, daughter of the model Zerith Noctis; I don't know very well what her genes are, but it seems she has some sort of restriction on her gene."

"That… is surprising," said a tall, muscular man.

"Yes, surprising… but too similar to that man; even her hair is the same color," thought the woman in the suit.

"Well… I think it's time to activate the third type of robot."

…

Narrator POV

The ground began to open in various areas of the false city, and several large robots about eight meters tall started to emerge. They had a humanoid shape but wore armor similar to that of knights and had two cannons mounted on their shoulders. Several candidates, upon seeing them, turned around and ran; others charged at them head-on, while our protagonist kept her distance from one of them.

Flying above the cannon's firing range, she looked at the robot, thinking about what to do. She considered avoiding them, but this was an exam about strength, and she wasn't sure if running would cost her points. However, taking down the giant wouldn't be easy.

"On to dominance," the girl told herself and began to launch toward the robot like a missile, retracting her wings and activating the vibration gene, ultimately striking the robot from behind without being seen.

The vibrations caused by the impact made the buildings tremble, windows shatter, and several contestants lose their balance, surprising everyone watching.

From the rubble, a figure dressed in black emerged. Her figure was feminine, but with the black armor she wore, it was hard to tell. However, a voice was heard saying,

"Well, that was fun."

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I would also appreciate it if you could leave your opinion on the story.