Forrest’s POV

‘A 2?! There’s no way I can tell him I got a 14! Even the stupidest looking guys around here are complaining about their scores of tens and elevens!’

Before Forrest could respond, a voice came from behind him.

“You got a 2 as well?”

Forrest turned to see Ghost King standing with a smile. Despite his eerie appearance, he seemed to be a friendly person.

“Did you say… A 2?”

Forrest cringed upon hearing Jarret’s mocking voice. Jarret plucked the paper from Forrest’s hand to see the damage himself. Forrest laughed awkwardly as Jarret read out some of his answers.

“For the question of ‘What is the oath of heroes?’ you answered… ‘I’m not sure.’”

“Ah! I didn’t know that one as well, so I just left it blank.” Ghost King held his score up as well to display the number 2 at the top.

“Oh! You got a two as well, huh? That test was hard! How were we supposed to know that stuff?”

“Right? I didn’t even know what the questions were asking half of the time!”

“After all, aren’t we just supposed to beat up monsters or whatever? What’s the point of all the technical mumbo jumbo?”

“I agree, I agree! The test was way too hard for no reason! The people that got good scores must have cheated.”

“True. How could they know that stuff?”

The pair hit it off. Ghost King and Forrest continued their energetic talk about the test and heroes. Jarret watched on in disgust.

‘These guys… are joking, right? At least forty of the questions are common knowledge! The last ten were difficult, but how could you not know the others?! A third grader could score a 20!’

Eventually, the executive came through the door and announced for everyone to enter. The group migrated toward the classroom while nervously waiting to hear the results. Upon entering the room, all eyes of the one hundred people landed on the chalkboard at the front. On the chalkboard, there were nine names written down. Everyone crowded around the chalkboard while crying out mixed responses. Forrest, Jarret, and Ghost King pushed through the crowd to get a clear view. The chalkboard read as follows:

Lava Man- B Rank Clearance Hypno Girl-B Rank Clearance Ghost King-B Rank Clearance Metal Finger-B Rank Clearance Windy Wendy- C Rank Clearance Crab Legs- C Rank Clearance Forrest- C Rank Clearance Izumi- C Rank Clearance Blue Time- C Rank Clearance

The names on the list were ranked from one to nine, but were supposedly a ranking of current strength. Forrest found his name immediately, but could not find Jarret’s. He looked over at the man beside him to find a face twisted with despair. Forrest could not offer words of consolidation, as he felt that it would merely add salt to the wound. Many people, who were outraged over not making the list, had already started to cause a scene.

“What’s the meaning of this?! I’m stronger than everyone on this list!”

“How could you let some guy called Crab Legs be a hero and not me, Rhino Man?!”

“Who is responsible for this listing?! I won’t be denied!”

The group of people, that many had traveled far from home to fulfill their dreams, would not have their resolve crushed so easily. Rhino Man and other large brutes stomped their way over to the executive nearby. However, just before they reached the calm man, Night Attack stepped in front of the group. With a sudden release of killing intent, he harshly spoke words unbefitting his previous personality.

“Whoever causes disturbance now will be removed forcefully.”

The stampeding brutes took a step back from the intimidating words. Even if they believed they should have become heroes, they knew that they were no match for the A Rank Night Attack. The group grit their teeth and tightened their fists, but refused to cause further disturbance.

“Whatever! I’m out of here, I’ll just join the Villain Association!” Rhino Man blurted out in frustration.

Suddenly, before anyone could react, his large body was sent flying into the wall. Night Attack had merely pushed him with a single hand, but the body that weighed no less than 400 pounds showed less resistance than air.

“Night Attack, was that really necessary?” Sting Ray questioned with a troubled face.

“Well…” Night Attack looked over at Snow Flash out of the corner of his eye.

‘I did it for his own good… mentioning the Villain Association around that girl is a death sentence…’ thought Night Attack. Snow Flash merely looked away in an annoyed fashion.

*Clap*

The executive clapped his hands to avert everyone’s attention back at him.

“As stated before, it was a given that not everyone would pass. However, this should not crush a Hero’s resolve! You may always try again next year. On your way out, our employees will hand you a packet of information regarding our analysis on your strengths and weaknesses. If you still wish to be a hero, please improve upon your weaknesses and come back again next year. At this time, I will ask everyone that did not pass to please leave the building.”

These words, which were meant to be those of encouragement, merely put a damper on the hopes of the young men and women. After a few more outbreaks that were resolved with a word from Night Attack, eventually the crowd of people that had failed left. Forrest looked beside himself to the frozen Jarret.

“Jarr-”

“Don’t worry, Forrest. I’m leaving.”

Jarret turned his back to Forrest and began to walk toward the door. Forrest noticed him wiping his eyes with his sleeves despite his attempt at being discreet. Forrest spoke loudly toward the heroes and executive.

“Why didn’t Jarret pass?! He had a perfect score on the written exam, and he loves heroes more than anybody else in here!”

Jarret turned back at the words that Forrest had spoken. Despite them just meeting a few hours ago, they had developed a friendship that Jarret was not used to having. These words, which some might have been embarrassed to have heard, warmed his heart.

“Don’t worry, Forrest. I’m not giving-”

“You should give up.”

The icy cold words were a frozen dagger in his recently warmed heart. He stared at Snow Flash with an offended and hurt expression. He had wanted to be a hero all of his life, but despite this, the heroes he admires were telling him to quit. He could not squeeze the words out of his tight chest.

“How can you say that?! He’s-”

“He’s a smart person, but what good will that do him? We didn’t pass him because he is too weak! Not only would he hurt the name of Hero Association, but sending him to deal with monsters would simply lead to his death. We made this decision for his own good.”

“But he’s-”

“Thank you, Forrest. It really means a lot to have someone believe in me.”

The words were solemn and quiet. This was the voice of someone that had a broken will. Forrest’s face turned unsightly in anger. He stomped his way over to the ground-looking Jarret and grabbed his collar.

“How can you just give up?! You talked about how much you loved heroes, and how you always wanted to be one!”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Jarret slapped Forrest’s hand off of his collar. The previous despair had turned to anger.

“I’ve always wanted to be a hero, but do you have any idea what it means to be born without an ability?!”

Forrest took a step back at the unexpected outburst.

“Through determination, I developed my intellect to a level where it might pass as useful against monsters, but where exactly does that get me?!”

Forrest, and the rest of the room for that matter, had gone silent. Jarret had reached the boiling point.

“Do you know what my dream was, Forrest? I wanted to step in front of a crying kid and beat the monster that was about to hurt him. I wanted him to look at me with hope, pride, and excitement. I wanted him to ask if he can be like me someday, too. And you know what the best part of my dream would be, Forrest?”

“I would look him in the eyes with a smile, and say…”

“Yes, you can!Anybody can become a cool hero like me as long as you have the heart and determination to protect society from evil!”

Forrest’s face turned to one of guilt. He realized that his situation was entirely different from Jarret’s, and he could not understand what it felt like to be born without an ability. The room, which was filled with both pity and respect, continued to be silent. Night Attack, in particular, appeared to wipe his eye and sniffle. Jarret turned back toward the door and continued walking. Apparently, he felt that everything that need to be said had already been. However, the executive’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Stop, Jarret. Just because you did not pass as a hero, does not mean that we did not recognize your determination and skill.”

Jarret turned his head in surprise. Forrest, as well as the other heroes, looked at the executive with equally confused looks.

“This year, we decided on a new system to be implemented in the Hero Association. As a result of some poor judgement calls by our heroes causing unnecessary damages, we are pairing every Hero with an Executive Specialist. This position is called Hero Support.”

The crowd of heroes, including the A rank judges, were shocked at this news. Apparently, this information had not yet been leaked to the Heroes themselves. The executive stared at Jarret with a warm smile on his face.

“With a recommendation from me, you can be assigned as Hero Support. These people, despite not being classified as heroes, will help their hero find success and preserve peace. Of course, if you really have given up on helping the people, then…”

“Please give me your recommendation!”

Jarret bowed his head in earnest. Forrest saw the rejuvenated friend and smiled while thinking to himself. ‘You don’t have to get so excited, he’s clearly going to recommend you!’

“Of course. Anyway, with that out of the way, you will be contacted soon, Jarret. However, we must now brief the new heroes on their responsibilities and other information.”

“Right!”

Jarret left the room after telling Forrest goodbye. Even though they knew that they lived several hours away from each other, they both had the feeling that they would meet again. Night Attack smiled at the heartwarming exchange, but was suddenly elbowed by Storm.

“Hey, looks like you finally stopped crying!”

“Wha! How dare you?! I’m a professional shinobi!”

Everyone in the room distinctly remembered him crying.

“Then, I will now begin the orientation.”

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“…The next point I would like to make is…”

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Forrest’s eyes closed and opened. His face seemed to be fighting off the

drowsiness caused by the excessively long seminar. He looked around to find that most of the others, including Ghost King and Hypno Girl, were in a similar state. The executive’s voice might as well have been a lullaby for Forrest, as he finally fell asleep. Suddenly, Ghost King elbowed him awake. The executive seemed to be finishing up.

“… You may also form Hero Groups among yourselves if you deem fit. The previously listed advantages should be obvious for some Heroes that are more leaned toward offense or defense. Put in an application with the name of the team and all member’s signatures at one of our Branch Offices and we should send out approval within a week. These groups are often disbanded upon receiving a promotion to the next rank.”

“The last thing I must remind you of is to stay in touch with the Association. This will help us keep track of our heroes in times of crisis.”

“Finally, let me be the first to congratulate you. The civilians will be relying on you in the future, Heroes!”

Forrest and the rest of the new heroes raised up in their seats. These words triggered the reaction of reaching their goal of passing the exam. Forrest thought to himself with eagerness to begin.

‘… My journey to the top is finally beginning! This is just the first step to stardom!’

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