As Kazuki and his friends left, another group was already heading in to get their exam cards.

“So I heard we can check our stats for free once we complete the exam,” said Shiki.

“Yes,” Ari responded, “there is a status machine you can give one gold to check your stats.”

“Seriously?” Shiki groaned. “We have to pay one whole gold to check our stats once?”

“No, if we’re able to pass the exam,I heard there’s a special way to check for free. That’s one special thing about Nōryoku High.”

“Oh, well I guess we’re fine then,” Shiki grinned.

“How easy do you think this exam is?” Haru questioned.

“I would say easy, but there’s a reason only about one hundred people get in every exam,” said Kazuki as he looks at the back of his ID. He faked a smile, “Looks like I’m going first.” He showed the group his card.

“Me too!” Haru exclaimed seeing as she got to go with someone she knows.

“Seriously? I’m going last,” Shiki groaned.

“Well I guess I’m going with you then,” Ari flipped her card, “I got last too.”

Kazuki glared at Shiki, “Wait how is going last worse than going first?”

Shiki looked at Kazuki like he was stupid, “It’s gonna be so boring waiting a whole week to participate.”

Kazuki sighed. “Well whatever, we’d better get back to the hotel and start preparing.”

O O O

After they wake up, Kazuki and Haru met up in the hotel lobby for breakfast.

“Here’s what we should do,” Kazuki said while chewing, “We’re going to start off near the back so we have more room to move around. Then, I’ll throw you into the air above everyone.” Kazuki put down his fork and looked at Haru, “After that, I’ll catch you, and we should be closer to the front.”

Haru stopped eating, “Wait, throw me?”

“Trust me,” he reasoned, “I’ll catch you.”

Haru took a moment to think, then responded, “All right. I’ll trust you.”

O O O

As Kazuki and Haru are walking towards the location for the race, they see some of the other students that they’re going up against.

Haru gripped Kazuki’s shirt. “This is kind of nerve-wracking. There’re so many people.”

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Kazuki reassured. They both got to the starting line for the starting announcement.

“Good morning, contestants!” Akari exclaimed. “How are you all today?”

A groan came out from the crowd.

“Well, I know you’re all tired or nervous, so we’re gonna get this race started as fast as possible.” A massive wall collapsed behind where Akari was standing, revealing a forest. “This is the race area. You’ll all have two hours to get to the end. It’s parallel from where we’re standing and hard to miss. Rule number one: You must reach the finished in two hours in order to make it into the school. Rule number two: There is no killing, otherwise you’ll be disqualified. That’s it!”

The crowd started whispering after hearing that there were only two rules.

Akari shrugged, “I know it seems too simple, but that’s all there is to it.”

Kazuki smiled, “Well this makes things easier than I thought.”

“Well, we’ll start the race.” She started to count down. “Ready,”

Everyone got prepared to start at the line, most getting in a running stance. Kazuki slowly walked towards the back.

“Set,”

The people at the front were leaning so far forward they looked like they were going to fall over. The pressure was immense.

“GO!” Akari yelled.

Some people stumbled and tripped at the remark, but Kazuki was ready.

“Haru!” Kazuki used his hand as a footstool and launched her into the air.

She didn’t hesitate, “『Inferno』”

A huge explosion of fire erupted beneath Haru, much larger than Kazuki expected, blowing him back.

That’s amazing! Kazuki quickly got up and ran to the spot where Haru was falling and jumped over everyone, successfully catching her. “Nice job,” Kazuki grinned.

Haru smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Kazuki went into the trees and jumped across branches in order to avoid being seen. Until he slipped and fell. “Ack!” He quickly held Haru tight and made sure his back hit the ground and not her. Damn, still not used to these powers. “Sorry, Haru, you all right?”

She rubbed her head, “Yeah, I’m all good here.”

He put his hand out to help her up, “I guess we should get going. We should probably continue on the ground. I don’t want to risk getting an injury from the trees.

They ran through the forest for a couple of minutes, before something strange happened. Right when he passed another tree, he noticed something stuck to the back of it. His eyes widened. It started to glow. “Oh sh-” An explosion sent him and Haru flying. Haru was thrown into some bushes, and Kazuki was blasted into a tree, knocking the wind out of him.

A girl with long wavy pink hair complemented with royal blue eyes appeared in front of Kazuki. She looked like some kind of noble based on the way she was dressed. “『Galactic Cluster』”

A series of bright orbs surrounded Kazuki.

She clenched her fist, “Gather.” All of the orbs surrounding Kazuki immediately came towards him, each one exploding on impact, every blast bigger than the next.

A guy came out from behind a tree and stood next to the girl. He was wearing glasses and he had black hair. Seemed to be another noble. “Now,” he said, “Give us all the coins you’ve got.”

“Hey!” the girl said, “Don’t say that, Ichiro, we’re not a band of thieves.”

The guy who was presumably Ichiro laughed, “I’m joking, I’m joking. We should probably get going though.” He started to walk off.

The girl looked at the spot where Kazuki was hit, “Sorry about this.” She bowed her head, before walking away. When the dust finally cleared, Kazuki was nowhere to be found.

A kunai was suddenly flung from out from a tree, just missing the girl.

“Wha-” she cried.

The kunai hit another tree that was behind the two, setting off an explosion on contact.

“Wow, I didn't know the explosion was gonna be that big!” said Kazuki, surprised as he fell from the tree.

“Why you little-!” Ichiro yelled as he burst out from the smoke. “Shiraiyuki, keep going, I’ll take care of this trash,” His hand started to glow as he reached out to grab Kazuki.