Choices

"We'll pick up from where we left off, attempt the Electric-Burst technique. Turn that E-Rank technique into an A-Rank." With crossed arms, Jin ordered.

"Right." Roy assumed the stance from the previous day, stretching out his right palm and this time, supported it with his left hand from the wrist.

"Electric Soul-Core: Electric-Burst." He uttered, building up a medium sized ball of energy which followed by the rotation of sparks of electricity around it.

He immediately began infusing more and more Soul-Energy into the technique, increasing the intensity and velocity of the ball of energy. It generated immense wind pressure which circulated all around him and made his black jacket and hair flap gracefully in the air.

"Good! Hold on to it for five more seconds!" Jin said aloud, realizing the progress that Roy had made.

"RARRR." Shouting at the top of his voice, Roy struggled to maintain the stability and shape of the [Electric -Burst], the influx of power within it multiplied each passing second.

Alas,

A blinding light illuminated the whole river followed by a sudden gust of wind. What was seen following the light was the concentration of electricity spiraling rapidly around a bright blue ball of energy.

"The speed at which this kid adapts is frightening, just yesterday he struggled to even build up this much Soul-Energy. Now he's maintaining it at a high level? Still, one problem remains" Jin thought to himself.

"Alright, try using it on me." He added with a smirk.

"What!?" Roy exclaimed, undoubtedly flabbergasted.

The rank of this Soul-Technique was presently B-Rank, it surpassed that of Cornelius Soul-Technique, [Jet Stream] and has more damage rate than it.

"Don't worry, a technique of that caliber is not enough to kill me." Jin said confidently.

Taking into account who he was training with, the storm within his puzzled mind settled down just a bit. He still felt just how dangerous his own technique is.

"Alright, here I go!"

SWOOSH

As Roy dashed forward at Jin, an obvious difference between the [Electric-Burst] he utilized against Yoichi and the one he utilized now came to light. His movements were more sharper and faster, it appeared like he moved with the spiralling ball of electricity.

"Oh?" Jin mumbled to himself, he did not expect Roy's speed to have increased significantly with his technique.

Closing the gap between them, Roy appeared swiftly in front of Jin, his right leg stretched backwards and his left leg bent forward as he aimed the spiraling ball of energy at the midsection of Jin.

"Electric-Burst!" He proclaimed.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shattered the calm of the river, sending shockwaves rippling through the surroundings. The air itself seemed to reverberate with the force unleashed, a tumultuous roar that echoed far and wide, leaving behind a scene of awe-inspiring power and a trail of smoke.

"Now that, is what I call a true electric burst." As the trail of smoke settled, Jin stood directly in front of his disciple completely unharmed.

"I-impossible! I was sure I hit you!" Roy said aloud with disbelief in his voice, this was not the first time this had happened. First it was against Yoichi's [Super Nova] and now it was against his [Electric-Burst].

"What you thought you hit Roy, was the gravity I manipulated in front of me to prevent you from reaching me. The amount of gravity I exerted contained enough mass to completely dispell your Electric-Burst, hence the explosion." Gravity manipulation, an affinity Jin awakened by falling under the supernatural affinity of his Soul-Core. Jin stood out among nobles, being the only one to awaken a Grade 3 Soul-Core.

"Whoa." Roy whispered in amazement, realizing the clear difference in power between him and Jin.

"Although not what I was expecting, a B-Rank technique backed up by precise movements and intuition, it won't be enough to get you through to the final round but, you're ready." With confidence within his voice, Jin said inserting his hands into his pockets.

"Really!?" Exclaiming like a child Roy was overridden with happiness.

"There is no doubt, there are a total of three stages in all. Depending on the examiner, one out of those stages usually involves physically combat with other contestants, while in the case of some examiners there are no combat between the contestants. So it all comes down to how lucky you are." Jin explained, the point of the exams was to test the heroic nature of the candidates.

Sometimes being a hero wasn't always all about putting down villains, although that was the fun part of it.

"I see." With a smile on his face, Roy said.

However, his smile was reversed instantly. Jin's judgement on him being ready for the exam was a mix of good and bad news for him.

"What's wrong?" Jin asked curiously, noticing his sudden displeasure.

"Well, you see I sorta made a promise to my caretaker not to get involved in anything concerning a noble or a royal. But by taking this exams I feel like I'm betraying not just her, but all my friends back at the orphanage." Even with his good intentions towards breaking the promise he made to big mom, Roy couldn't help but harbor a displeasing feeling of betrayal.

After all, he made that promise knowing he was going to break it despite watching with his own eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. It was simply unsettling.

"Well that's unfortunate, doesn't she know you possess a Soul-Core? The only people that can teach you how to master it is the Heroes Odyssey." Jin spoke in calm and gentle manner.

"No she doesn't, neither do my friends. Generally anyone that awakens a Soul-Core has two choices, to do good or to do evil. And they all despise both, we share similar back stories, some worse than the others. Telling them will just make them hate me and I'm doing this to protect them, they are the only family I got left." Roy replied, relaying his worries to Jin.

"Your heart is in the right place kid, I get it, the best option is to leave them in the dark about this so everything will remain as it is. But there's one thing you need to understand kid, this hero game is a dangerous one. There's no going back once you started, being a hero makes your family a constant target. That's the hardest part about it." Turning away, he felt he had accomplished what he needed to, so it was time to leave.

"My advice kid, for better or worse tell your family before it's too late. It all depends on you now, the exams are as early as 9:00am, don't be late." With his words of consolation, he departed from Roy, having important affairs he needed to take care of.