Chapter 13 - Entrance Exam [Part 2]

Yukio took a seat on the floor, across from Ambrosia. Ambrosia snapped her fingers and began to spread some light across the room, giving it a dim orange glow. She sat on her knees and rested her hands in her lap. Then, she spoke.

"You're not from here, are you, Yukio Sazuke..." said Ambrosia.

"What do you mean..?" asked Yukio, worriedly. It seemed that Ambrosia's esper abilities allowed her to see through anybody, and understand their true thoughts and motives. She was terrifying.

"I mean what I said, you're not from here, are you. How did you arrive at this camp, Yukio?" asked Ambrosia.

"...by train?" said Yukio, confused.

"NO YOU IDIOT, How did you get to the flower field? I'm sensing the same energy coming from you that I sensed when I visited the flower field a week ago."

"Wait, you know that I was at the flower field? How?" asked Yukio.

"Well, when I was in Camp Kappa, I felt a huge surge of power coming from the flower field nearby, and I was worried it was a level 7, so I went to check it out. When I arrived, I saw the corpse of a tiger frog, and an imprint in the flowers resembling a body, a shit ton of power was floating in the air around it."

"That same power, is emitting from your body, so tell me, what happened?" asked Ambrosia. The jig was up, Ambrosia knew. Yukio had to tell her the truth.

"...I just woke up there. I know of nothing happening before that. That's the honest truth, I promise." said Yukio.

"Hmm, I can tell you're not lying, but you're also not telling me the full story. You have a few suppressed memories that you can't access right now. I cannot access them either..."

"Wait, you can SEE MY MEMORIES?" shouted Yukio.

"SHH, be quiet, if they find us in here, you'll get scrapped! Yes, as an esper, I can tap into your mind, know what you're thinking, and see your memories," said Ambrosia.

"Hah, I doubt it, what number am I thinking about rig-" Yukio was interrupted by Ambrosia.

"34,293," said Ambrosia, confidently.

"...holy shit, you're not lying. But how? I have suppressed memories?" asked Yukio.

"Indeed. However you got to the flower field, it was by no means natural, and you have no recollection of it. It's almost as if you were summoned there out of thin air...from another dimension." said Ambrosia.

Ambrosia knew about Yukio's summoning... she was the first person to figure it out because her esper abilities allowed her to read Yukio's thoughts. He's been thinking about his summoning, and his thoughts are genuine, so Ambrosia had no choice but to inquire him on the matter.

"Well, to be honest, that's kind of what I was thinking too. I have reason to believe I was summoned here. Have there been any cases of this happening before, that you know of?" asked Yukio.

"I'm not entirely sure. From my understanding, you could be the only one, but then again, there could be someone else that we don't know about. Yukio, I know how you're feeling. You must be so confused right now, but I understand..." said Ambrosia, comforting Yukio.

"Damn...you really do know me, do you," said Yukio. He felt an insane sense of relief, knowing that somebody else was aware of his summoning and that other people could have potentially been summoned. He just had to figure out who it was.

"Yukio Sazuke, I'm going to try and help you uncover your abilities. From what I understand, the power inside you that lies dormant needs a person strong enough for it to channel through..." said Ambrosia.

"I appreciate that, more than you could imagine. But what do you mean "my abilities", do you sense something in me that I cannot?" asked Yukio.

"Indeed. Since I first saw you at the camp, I could sense near-infinite amounts of energy emitting from your body, as if there was a suppressed power, trying desperately to escape. It's been locked in your body, and if you can harness it, you could become strong..."

"Whoa, I feel a little bit dangerous now that you told me that. How can I harness this power?" asked Yukio.

"Well, I'm not sure. I'd assume you have to naturally get stronger first until you're able to just...harness it I guess. As you stand right now, if you tried to use your power, you'd probably die. So for now, just train regularly." said Ambrosia.

"Thank you, it feels nice knowing that someone else is aware of who I am," said Yukio.

"You intrigue me, but at the same time, you terrify me," said Ambrosia. This came as a surprise to Yukio, as the apparent power difference between him and Ambrosia was miles wide. Yet, he scared her?

"But you should go now, your bathroom break has lasted a good 10 minutes by now, they might start getting worried. I'll keep this a secret between you and me, okay?" said Ambrosia. Then, she hovered in the air, and flew through the wall, phasing through it.

"Wow, espers are insane. But she's right, I have to go back to finish my physical test!" said Yukio. Then, he came to his feet and opened the door. When he did, he took a left and returned to where his group was. They were waiting at the door to the next room.

"Ah, Yukio! Welcome back! Are you ready to continue your test?" asked Hiroki.

"I sure am! Take me into the room, let's do this," said Yukio.

The party entered the room. It was a large room with numerous machines stationed all around, as well as numerous traps and mechanisms used to impede someone's progress. This whole place was rigged top to bottom!

"Whoa, what the hell is this?" asked Yukio.

"Well, considering your scores on your last two tests, we've decided that you qualify for our most challenging evasion test! This is our Level 3 evasion room, used to test people's agility and evasive maneuvering skills when faced with numerous obstacles and monsters!" said Hiroki.

"This seems like a bit of overkill. What am I supposed to do?" asked Yukio.

"Well, first, you're gonna need to equip this grappling hook. It's a standard method of quick travel for all heroes, as it allows them to climb high places in seconds, and evade tall monsters easily," said Hiroki, handing Yukio a belt with a hook attached to it.

"Simply press this button, and this spike will shoot out and grapple onto anything, pulling you in towards it!" said Hiroki.

"This reminds me of a show I watched recently, I hope it works the same way," said Yukio quietly to himself.

"When you're ready, stand in the center of the room, and we will unleash the hellstor-I mean begin the test. You will have to evade the obstacles for 1 minute, if you get hit 5 times or more, you fail. Are you ready?" asked Hiroki

"I guess so! Bring it on!" said Yukio.

As usual, his body began to glow red, and he could feel Ambrosia's energy entering him. However, this time, he could hear her voice, as if she was communicating telepathically to him. She began to speak to him.

"Ah! Shit Yukio, you're as stubborn as a brick wall, I can barely enter your mind! But now that I'm here, I wanna wish you luck. This test is hard, so just be careful, and never stop moving. I'll try to provide you with some speed, okay? Cheers Yuukiiiooo!" Ambrosia then ceased her communication and increased Yukio's power.

"Here we go! Good luck Yukio!" Hiroki said as he pulled a lever. Suddenly, the machines turned on, and hundreds of foam darts were launched toward Yukio. He then felt an incredibly unpleasant feeling in his body. His blood was flowing in weird directions. Then, he began to move.

Yukio jumped in the air, and moved around acrobatically, dodging the darts. When he landed, a machine spat out a foam roller that rolled across the floor. Yukio jumped over this. In mid-air, he was bombarded by 3 foam claws protruding from another machine. He turned to the side, sliding between the claws, before landing on the ground.

Then, Yukio saw a stream of darts being fired from behind him, homing in on his movement. He took off with incredible speed, running throughout the room, grappling around and dodging the motion-tracking darts, all while also avoiding falling objects from the ceiling, and jumping over ground obstacles such as net traps, pitfalls, and other obstacles in his way.

He was flying through the room, semi-guided by Ambrosia, but also acting on his own instincts. He was naturally good at evasion. However, he was suddenly hit twice by two foam pads that protruded from the wall unexpectedly. He fell to the ground and noticed the dart stream approaching him.

"Ah! Shit, come on, up!" Yukio said as he came to his feet.

He grappled to the ceiling, escaping the endless stream of darts that constantly tracked his motion, moving like a gymnast through the obstacle course. Although 50 seconds had passed, it felt like 10 minutes to Yukio, keeping track of multiple traps at once.

"10 seconds remaining!" said Hiroki. Yukio had 3 strikes left, so he could ease down his evasion a tad bit. But then, the firing stopped... the room went silent, and Yukio returned to the center of the room. But, time had not expired.

"What's going on? Did the machines turn off or something?" asked Yukio, confused. The machines seemed to have powered down, as the time was ticking off of the timer. But then, Yukio realized something. This was a surprise attack!

When there was 1 second left on the clock, every single machine spat out an obstacle, flying toward Yukio at breakneck speed. Yukio realized this with no time left to spare, and jumped into the air, dodging the attack. When he landed on the ground, a bell went off, signaling the end of the test... Hiroki approached Yukio.

"Yikes! I wasn't sure if you'd dodge the surprise attack or not, Yukio! But well done! Oh my, you've definitely astonished me today. But, this was only your physical test, you still need to complete your mental exam, as well as accept your quest." said Hiroki.

"Damn, that was one of the hardest things I've done. That was only level 3 difficulty?" asked Yukio.

"Indeed it was. This was an obstacle course meant to challenge a level 3 hero, and it seems like you were challenged quite a bit! I will now tally your scores, and you will receive your physical test score along with your mental score when you complete your quest." said Hiroki.

"Where do I go now? asked Yukio. Hiroki turned around and smiled.

"Well, you're finished for today, tomorrow, you will come back here and take your written exam. The day after that, you will be given your assigned quest. When you turn that quest in, you will be given your scores, and either be admitted or rejected!" said Hiroki.

"Ah, I see. Well, thank you for testing me today! I look forward to continuing tomorrow!" said Yukio, happily. Hiroki saluted toward Yukio and exited the room. Yukio then met up with his party, they were impressed. Cyprus was the first to speak.

"Yukio, you were incredible out there. From what I saw, I'd say there's no doubt you're going to be admitted. The Hero Camp could use someone like you."

"Yeeaah, Yukio! You were amaaazing," said Yui, she was blushing. Yukio walked over to her, gave her a pat on the head, and then spoke.

"Thanks, Yui. Well, I don't think you guys will be able to sit in on my written test, as I'll need a quiet thinking space, but I'm glad you all could watch me today. I surprised myself, I wasn't even aware that I could do these things, to be honest." said Yukio. Mayumi then chimed in.

"Well, perhaps you do have some hidden strength after all. It seemed to me like you knew what you were doing. You looked like a hero out there, Yukio. I'm sure you'll be placed into level 2 right off the bat."

"Well, I wouldn't guarantee it, but perhaps it could be possible," said Cyprus. He then continued his thoughts.

"Well, we've finished up today's portion of the Hero Entrance Exam, so I think we should all relax, explore more of Alpha, and get some good rest tonight. Official Camp Transfers are in 3 days, so we can stay in one of the hotels here while we wait. They have great food!"

"Ooh, I remember the last time I stayed in the Benevolent Boar Hotel. It was fantastic! They had so much yummy food." said Yui.

"Well then, I think we should get going! If I wanna be on my A-Game tomorrow, I'll need to rest up, eat some good food, and prepare myself mentally for the questions that are to come tomorrow," said Yukio.

"Sounds good to me!" said Yui. The four of them left the room and walked to the front of the building. But before they could reach the front desk, Yukio heard a voice in his head. It was Ambrosia.

"Hey, can u come to Room 13 real quick, I wanna talk to you," said Ambrosia. Yukio then stopped and spoke to his party.

"Hey, guys, I'll be right back, I left something in the training room. I'll meet you all outside, okay?" said Yukio.

"Sure! Meet us whenever you're ready, Yukio!" said Mayumi. The three of them then exited the building. Yukio turned around and began to walk toward Room 13. He opened the door, and Ambrosia was there, sitting cross-legged in a chair, holding her book in her lap.

"Come in, and lock the door behind you..." said Ambrosia...