Chapter 12 - Entrance Exam [Part 1]

Yukio retreated from the bulletin board and began to walk the other way. He was going to retrieve Mayumi, Yui, and Cyprus before he walked into the administration building.

Yukio continued his walk through the camp, eventually finding the three members of his party. When all 4 of them were together, they walked toward the administration building.

"Well, the time has come, Yukio. Are you ready for your entrance exam?" asked Cyprus.

"I think so. I'll give it my all, and shoot for the highest spot that I can achieve," said Yukio.

"Well, make sure not only to perform as best you can during your tests but also to be respectful to the administration. They're the highest decision-making body in the Hero Camp. One wrong word and you could be scrapped."

"I plan to make the best impression possible. No worries, Cyprus," said Yukio, reassuring Cyprus.

Yukio had to make a solid impression on the administration, or else he could risk losing his opportunity to be a hero. Making your presence known in the right ways is an important step in being a hero.

However, unbeknownst to him, after Ambrosia flew away, she flew to the top floor of the administration building and was now speaking to the CEO of the Hero Camp about Yukio's arrival. She was going to make his presence known for him.

"I'm not quite sure what it is about him, but my esper senses are telling me that he might be the key to solving our problems. He gives me a strange vibe, so I'd keep my eyes on him," said Ambrosia.

"Understood. Thank you for alerting me of this, Esper Witch. By the way, because you're already here, and "Hero" is absent once again for transfers, you get the first pick on which camp you'd like to go to. Which camp would you like?"

"Hm. I'm not sure yet. Save my pick for later, I still have some analysis to complete..." said Ambrosia.

"Suit yourself, Esper Witch. If you are forgoing your selection until later, please bring in "Grand Master" so that he may pick next." said the CEO.

"Yes, sir. I will notify him that it is his turn."

Ambrosia then flew out the window, ending her conversation about Yukio. She was now on her way to find "Grand Master", the 3rd ranked Level 7 Hero. Meanwhile, Yukio and friends were at the entrance to the building, about to enter to register. 50 floors up, the CEO spoke to himself.

"Ambrosia's never spoken to me about a candidate like this before. We've discussed numerous promising heroes, but she's made you out to be different. Well, Yukio Sazuke, I wonder what all her talk is about."

Yukio entered the building and was greeted by the administration. It was Hiroki who had greeted him. He shook his hand and welcomed him to Camp Alpha.

"Welcome, Yukio Sazuke, to Camp Alpha! I hope you're pleased with what you've seen here so far. Well, are you ready to become a hero?" asked Hiroki

"Of course! It's an honor to be here. I'm ready when you are, sir. Also, I've brought these three to watch me take my exam." said Yukio.

"Absolutely! They may watch as much as they want to. We will be assessing your physical attributes first, so if you would, please follow me to our training room, and we will assess your speed first." said Hiroki.

Yukio followed the man, accompanied by Yui, Mayumi, and Cyprus. His heart was racing. This was the moment where he could shine, and show off his abilities, or at least, suddenly discover any secret abilities he's been unaware of. Yukio thought to himself.

"My genes have definitely been modified due to my appearance changing and my foot healing incredibly quickly. However, I'm not so confident in my stamina, considering I couldn't outrun that monster back in the flower field."

Hiroki then opened a door, and stood to the side, ushering the four of them into the room. Inside was a track, smaller than the average track on Earth, but still large enough to be considered a training site. Staff members were inside with timers, ready to take Yukio's intervals.

"Alright, please step into this room, and take your mark on our track. We will let you know when you may begin. You three, please remain off to the side while the testing is in progress." said Hiroki.

"Sounds good!" said Yukio and the rest of his party. The four of them entered, and Yukio took his mark on the track. He took off his jacket which Mayumi had given him prior to leaving, revealing his white T-Shirt, as well as the necklace Yui gave him. He seemed to have gained some muscle since he was summoned to this world, probably due to the training he did with Mayumi back in Theta.

"Alright, Yukio. You are to complete 3 laps around this track. If you can complete your laps in under 3 minutes, you will pass. The average time for applicants is 2:45. Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"On your mark---"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Yukio could feel a massive source of energy enter his body. It was unusual, as nothing near him would be able to affect him in any way. Yet he felt, invincible...

"Get set---"

Yukio's gaze sharpened, and he began to feel the adrenaline rush through his veins. He could feel his blood flowing, and was getting amped. For some reason, an unknown force was affecting Yukio, pumping him full of energy, but where was it coming from?"

"GO!" *bang*

On the gun, Yukio took off at breakneck speed. He had a red glow around his body as he sprinted across the track. He was shocked at his own speed, and so was everybody else. He had no idea how he could run this fast and was confused, and worried. However, he took advantage of this mysterious power source and continued to run.

"HOLY SHIT, YUKIO, YOU'RE FAST!" said Yui, astonished at his speed. Her jaw dropped, and she blushed.

"APPARENTLY I AM!" said Yukio, as he continued to sprint at lightning speed. He cleared 3 laps in 2:08, a full 37 seconds under the average for most hero candidates. When he came to a stop, he began to pant, as the energy source quickly left his body. He then fell to his knees.

"Ah, hah, hah, what the hell? How did I just do that?" asked Yukio. Hiroki then ran over to him.

"Yukio! That was a fabulous performance! You just ran the 4th fastest time in the history of applicants! Who knew you were so quick!" said Hiroki. Yukio then thought to himself.

"Yeah, like hell I could run that fast normally. Some esper bitch is probably manipulating my test results. But why? She seemed peeved at my very existence..."

Espers are known for being able to manipulate energy, either by transferring their own to another individual through telepathic synapses or creating energy supplements to be distributed to an individual, as energy itself cannot be created nor destroyed.

--and Indeed, one room over, Ambrosia was sitting alone in the middle of a dark room, in a meditative position. Her body was glowing orange, a mix of yellow and red, to signify that she was in the midst of an energy transfer between herself, and Yukio next door. She smiled smugly and spoke to herself.

"I'm going to help you unlock your power, Yukio Sazuke. I don't want the administration to screw up their decision, so I'm going to make it for them. Consider this a welcome gift from yours truly. Hmph, "loli-hero" my ass. You're lucky I'm still doing this for you."

It seemed that Ambrosia was able to sense that Yukio had a hidden ability that he was unaware of. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she was able to sense hidden powers emitting from his body. If Yukio would be able to help the Hero Camp, she was going to ensure that he did it to the best of his ability.

Back in the room, Yukio came to his feet, still dazed at his own performance. However, scoring this well on the speed test gave him a huge boost in points, next, was the strength test.

"Alright, Yukio, please come with me, we are going to gauge your strength next!" said Hiroki.

Yukio and his party exited the room, following Hiroki through the halls. Yukio could feel a strange presence behind him, so he turned around. When he did, he saw Ambrosia peeking her head out from a room, sticking her tongue out at Yukio. Yukio grunted and continued following his party.

"Alright, please step into this room now, and walk over to the strength test. I will let you know when to begin!" said Hiroki.

Yukio walked into the strength test room and found three machines lined up. One was a punching machine, the other was a kicking machine, and the third was a weight machine, with adjustable weights. Yukio approached the punching machine first.

"Alright, the machine is ready to go. When you're ready, go ahead and punch the target as hard as you can, okay?" said Hiroki.

"Okay, thanks," said Yukio.

The target fell from the machine and presented itself to Yukio. Once again, Yukio could feel an intense power entering his body. He began to dimly glow red once more, and his expression changed to that of seriousness. He drew his fist, and it began to heat up, glowing brighter than the rest of his body. Mayumi then spoke to Cyprus.

"Look at him, he's glowing again. Do you think he's been hiding something from us? When I found him, he was struggling with a level 1 tiger frog..."

"I'm not sure, but if he is, he's decided to reveal it to us now. Let's observe and see what he does next," said Cyprus.

Yukio drew his fist back, and with an incredible force, punched the target, sending it flying back into the machine. The machine rated your strength on a scale of 000-999. It made a loud noise as it retracted.

*B A N G*

"Holy crap, he's strong toooo." said Yui, still marveling at the sight. She was smiling.

"Calm down Yui, it's probably just his adrenaline talking," said Cyprus, looking at an astonished Yui.

The machine shook in its place, and the numbers ticked up, and up, and up, until they finally stopped, reading Yukio's punching strength score.

. . . 843!!

Yukio took a step back and smiled. Hiroki then recorded his score and told Yukio that he could approach the kicking machine. It was a similar machine, rating your kick power on a scale of 000-999. Yukio approached it, and his foot began to glow.

"You may now kick the target," said Hiroki.

*B A N G*

. . . 872!!

Yukio's kick was even stronger than his punch! The party, as well as the administration, were stunned. Yukio was performing exceptionally well! However, it was due to Ambrosia's energy transfers. Hiroki walked over to Yukio.

"Alright, Yukio, you may now approach the weight machine. You can select your starting weight, and attempt to lift it. If you succeed, you may increase the weight until you can no longer lift it."

"Alright, let's do this!" said Yukio, walking over to the machine. It was rigged with a single weight, which you could apply more or less weight to by entering in a value on the machine. Yukio wasn't sure how it worked, but he put in his first weight, 20kg.

Like before, Yukio could feel immense power coursing through his body, and his arms. He knew for sure that this was Ambrosia's doing, yet was also concerned, as faulty results could put him in danger later on. Regardless, he took his opportunity and lifted the weight.

"Hngh, yah!" grunted Yukio as he lifted the weight, it rose from the ground effortlessly, and into the air. He then put it back on the ground and punched in his next weight, 30kg.

"Yah!" exclaimed Yukio, once again lifting the weight. He continued increasing the weight, being carried by Ambrosia's power next door. For someone standing at 4'11 and looking no more than 12, Ambrosia was ludicrously strong, being able to lift over 1000x her body weight with her mind alone.

40kg!

…

50kg!

…

60kg!

…

70kg!

"GAH, hah, hah, I can't go higher," said Yukio. Honestly, he could go higher, much higher, but he decided to peak at 70kg because any more, and suspicions would raise as to how he was so strong.

"That's perfectly fine! Set the weight down, while I take some notes!" said Hiroki.

Ambrosia then ceased her infusions, and Yukio stopped glowing. Then, in the other room, Ambrosia spoke to herself.

"Heh, nice job Yukio, I hope I helped you as much as I could…let's see if you can pass the evasion test now..."

Back in the training room, Hiroki walked over to Yukio, amazed.

"Well done Yukio! I have to say, you're quite the spectacle! You're really fast and really strong! The only other test you have nos is your maneuvering and evasion test, please, do follow me! So far, you're killing it!"

"Hah, thanks! I personally never expected to do this well myself. I guess I'm just on my game today!" said Yukio, then Yui spoke.

"YUKIO, You never told me you were so STRONG! You're so cool!" shouted Yui, waving around in place, she was impressed.

"Heh, thanks Yui!" said Yukio.

The party exited the room, and began to follow Hiroki through the hallway, but then, Yukio spoke.

"Hey, I have to use the bathroom real quick, is this okay?"

"Absolutely, take your time," said Hiroki.

"Thanks," said Yukio. He, however, didn't have to use the bathroom. Instead, he departed from the group and walked down the hallway. He was going to find Ambrosia.

He took a few turns and entered the room in which Ambrosia was sitting. It was a dark, empty room, with nothing in it but Yukio, and Ambrosia. Her body was glowing a dim pink, and she was smiling, staring at Yukio. Then, she stood up and spoke.

"Well, how did your physical tests go, Yuukiiiioo?" asked Ambrosia.

"Shut it loli, I know you're messing with me. Why are you skewing my test results? If I perform too well, I'll be ranked higher, and thrown into danger which I'm not prepared for, what gives!?" asked Yukio.

"Hey, be nice, I'm doing something good for you. Listen, take a seat, and I'll explain why I'm doing this, Yukio Sazuke..."