After the "blonde bombshell" incident, nothing really happened for a while. I got to train a lot, sleep then do it again, for five busy days. My body is rapidly changing, having never made any real effort before, and I'm eating way more already.

Then, in the middle of a nice squatting set, I get called out by Steve.

"Hey, Richard, the mail came in. This one's for you, from the CHMO. Should be the results of the application in there. Let's find out if they like you, then."

I open the envelope. Inside are a single sheet of paper and a card. The sheet says they approved my application for a license, which is nice. There's also private information on there, which I read silently, as opposed to the rest. I get a Hero Code now and need to go online to enter it into the CHMO official website, which makes sense now. It's a massive public database of all the registered heroes, why not reveal myself to the world through that? I'd guess there's some kind of profile page on there I could use to give the world my hero name, which might I add I have finally decided upon.

You won't get to find out until later, though. I might be a nerdy midget, but even I know when to dramatically reveal my identity!

On the card is my hero code, a big "APPRENTICE" and literally nothing else. How... whelming. It's half expected, half disappointing. This nearly-blank piece of plastic is the culmination of my life's work so far. That's either very sad or surprisingly normal for my age, though I suspect it's more the former.

With a small cheer and a confirmation that I am now completely part of the team, we all break up and go back to our things. Before long, Khalil pulls me aside. How he knew which one was the real me, I'm not sure.

"Listen, Richard. You are late in the... what is the word? The... power gain thing... Ahh..."

"Do you mean a late bloomer?"

"Yes, thank you. You are a late bloomer, so we need to do you fast. I take you to spar with me. Get your clones to fight for you, all the time. Great for bullets and rocks, for enemies who do not have big range attacks, and more. So make them, keep working on your body down here, and have your clones fight me in the ring. I not go easy on you, okay?"

"Uh, okay, sure."

It's as I thought, then. Unlocking late is bad for would-be heroes, because you need to play catchup with the "geniuses" who've had superpowers since they were tiny little kids, or worse, from birth. If I'd been younger, these guys would've taken their time in helping me build up a strong, healthy body then taught me how to fight. Instead, they have to pile it all on so I don't end up a useless wannabe who gets wrecked by some kid with a big metal stick.

If that's how things have to go, then I'll make sure to use every advantage I can. That boxing ring's looking more like a lumberjack match though, except it's a constant five-on-one and I swear I can hear anime music coming from somewhere. I thought Khalil was really strong, but I was wrong.

He's WAY stronger than that. How do I know? He grabbed one of my clones, spun around and threw it across the entire room, bowling through six more of them at once by pure accident. Meanwhile, I can't even hit him because I can't tell what kind of technique he has and he's also really fast. No wonder he's the combatant of the group. Looking at him right now, I know full well he could walk casually across the room, parting a river of bodies in the process, and end my life without flinching.

Thank God he's on my side.

This isn't quite as hellish as that first day, though, mostly just really exciting. I mean, how often do you get to freely beat on someone? Though it's not quite beating as much as it is getting beat, really. Still, this kind of training might not be so bad.

I think I've also figured out how my clones work properly now, because there's no way you don't get more muscle from working out with 50 bodies at once. But I didn't, so mine are the type that learn and act, while I need to work my body to the bone to make them more useful. I'll call these the Learning type. Compare to Khalil's type, who are so tough they leave corpses and give 100% of their gains back to the main body, and I seem like nothing. His would be the Complete type, where the clones are genuinely indistinguishable from the main body. Another type would be the kind that learns and gets some extra gains, but not all the way and they're not so tough as to leave anything behind. The Partial type.

I suspect Tommy and Beatrice have that type.

Then there's the matter of intellectual development. I don't doubt that having an infinite amount of cannon fodder in the form of me would be really useful, but what about my skills? I bet I could easily beat Tommy in the "can do anything" category, because I can be such a ridiculous amount that it doesn't matter how fast you learn, I can learn faster. He's got years on me though, which could be an issue.

Then again, I could one-up him and straight-up start a massive industrial complex, compared to his, what, 60-man crew to build a big boat? I don't have funds or expertise yet, though, which means I need to pursue my education further and get college degrees. This is all very long-term. I need something to do on the short-term.

Then, the clone I have back home in my stead surprises my parents. It seems they thought I decided to stay home. I am not, however, and I tell them so. You'd think with me specifically telling them that I'm leaving and to call on my clone if they need it, they'd know I'm not really there. Nevertheless, I inform them of the good news, saying I got my Apprentice license and how things will work from now on. I won't be spending as much time at home, I'll be too busy working to match every other wannabe-hero my age.

Steve comes into the room again, with an expression like he just remembered the love of his life existed.

"Richard, I just realized! There's this thing, it's a monthly event. Happens on the first of every month. Uh, it's, it's a tournament for Apprentice heroes. Doesn't get on TV or anything, but among heroes, it's the most popular event. Best part is, as long as you're an apprentice, you get to join in. You don't even need to have a costume ready or anything! Oh, but you do need plane tickets, because it's taking place in Quebec. Either that or a big ol' road trip. Maybe the one in August is too close, but what about September?"

"There's tournaments? Like, with fighting and stuff? That's pretty cool. If it's possible, I want to join in September. How do I sign up?"

This is great! Just the short-term motivation I needed to keep working as hard as I can.

"Just get on the CHMO website and look for the 'Heroes Only' section. You'll figure it out from there."

Now I'm fired up. I have all the time to practice and I need to, if I want to not get wrecked. Alright, let's get to it!