Fortune’s Favor

The day finally came for the entrance exam. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't a bit anxious but I hid it under a mask of calmness. I couldn't say the same for the other examinees around me. 

I can't blame them. The written aspect of the exam started at 9:30 so we had to arrive early for the 90 minutes of answering brain wracking questions.

I'm not the smartest person in the room but I'm sure I did pretty good. Other than that, my introduction to the heroics high school was going alright. Everything was just so big. 

The entrances were larger than normal to accommodate people with quirks that affected their body size. That did make me curious as I observed many of my fellow exam candidates. There were some whose outward appearance hinted to their quirk but not many. 

There was even a girl with pink skin and for the life of me, I have no idea how that is related to a quirk or what her quirk is in the first place. There was also a weird broccoli haired boy who was gushing about something I couldn't really hear. 

Moving on, we're all ushered into a large auditorium by the staff where the physical exam would be explained. I spotted a few of my former classmates but I quickly ignored them and found a seat some distance away as they boasted to each other. 

Soon we were all seated and the stage lights came on, revealing Present Mic, an unusual hero to say the least. The speakers around his neck were unforgettable. If I remember correctly, he also has a radio channel. 

"For all you examinee listeners running in, welcome to my show today! Everybody say 'hey'!" The voice themed hero screamed in an attempt to hype up the crowd. 

His enthusiasm was met with an awkward silence. I felt bad for him, though not bad enough to give a shout back. 

"What a refined response." He said, moving on as if it didn't happen. "Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam! Are you ready?! Yeah!"

Another awkward silence passed. In that silence, I heard some muttering that I could barely understand. Tracing it, I see that it's the broccoli guy. 

"You listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this!" Present Mic explained, the large screen behind him lighting up in accordance to his words. 

"After this presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay?l" The screen showed a series of letters from A to G, which indicated battle centers. 

Taking a moment to look at my exam ticket, I spotted my battle center; Center C. The pro hero spent the next few minutes explaining the exam, which I listened to with rapt attention. 

In summary, we'll be facing mock villains who have different points based on their difficulty, those points being 1, 2 and 3. Attacking others is against the rules. 

I noticed the printout which specified a fourth type of 'villain'. Yet, he only mentioned three. Does that mean that the fourth one doesn't give any points? A zero pointer?

Is this supposed to be about prioritizing which fights to pick and which ones to avoid? After all, that would increase a hero's efficiency, wouldn't it?

"May I ask a question?!" A loud voice came from one of the examinees, raising his hand high as he stood, quite stiffly at that. He even wore a suit. 

"Okay!" The spotlight centered around the student. 

"On the printout, there are four types of villains. If this is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake! We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!" The boy berated with aggression before turning around to point at the broccoli boy. "In addition, you over there with the curly hair!"

The boy in question was confused about why he was being called out. 

"You've been muttering this whole time! It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!" The bespectacled prick chastised, embarrassing the other boy. 

He sure loved to hear the sound of his voice. 

"Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111. Thanks for the great message." Present Mic said, cutting through before it could escalate further. "The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak."

So I was right!

"There's one in every battle center. An obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat but there's no reason to defeat it either. I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it."

As the disgruntled examinee apologized and took his seat, others began to murmur about this added information, likening it to a video game. 

Yet…something didn't feel right. One in every battle center? If the idea was for it to be an obstacle, wouldn't it make more sense for there to be multiple of it? From his wording, it's strong, stronger than the other villains. If avoiding it would be so simple, then was it really enough to be called an obstacle. 

Even as we were led out of the auditorium and into our respective bus that would lead us to our battle centers, I couldn't stop thinking about it. 

Xx-Xx-Xx

We were given some time to change into what we would be wearing for the exam duration. Most people wore casual clothes or tracksuit, I was also in that category, wearing a tracksuit as well.

On my feet were my empowered running shoes and on my neck and finger, I felt the pendant and ring respectively. I wore gloves on both hands, both without any empowerment. 

I don't know what kind of 'villains' will be used and assumptions will do me more harm than good. The gloves are blank slate which I'll empower based on the nature of the 'villains'.

That said, I can't help but be amazed at the 'Battle Centers'. I expected an arena or a clearing of some sort, not a mini city. Just how much money does this school make?

Apparently I'm not the only one in awe as others are similarly amazed. Other than that, they seemed pretty confident. 

In the midst of my thoughts, I just barely heard Present Mic's voice ring out. "Okay, start!" He announced, confusing everybody. 

As he began speaking again, I noticed the large doors to the battle ground opening up while our attention was focused on the pro hero. So that's what it is…

Not waiting for anyone else to notice it, I dashed for it, breezing past the shocked examinees. With a head start, I've more or less set the pace for the others. 

Barely a few seconds in, I skidded to a halt as something burst out of the building up ahead. The dust and debris quickly cleared out, revealing a…robot, the 'villains'

I quickly recognized the silhouette from the printout, it's a two pointer. If it's robots we'll be fighting, that makes it a whole lot simpler. 

I've been practicing empowering items and I've managed to reduce the time it takes quite a bit. Imbuing my gloves with my energy, I grant it a shock effect, using enough energy to crank up the shock's power range. 

"Target acquired! I'll kill you!" The machine announced before quickly wheeling towards me. 

Sprinting once more, I easily duck out of its reach, placing a hand on its shell. Arcs of electricity visibly ran through it, frying the robot. In an instant, the two pointer was down but I quickly realized something. 

This center is too big for people lacking mobility quirks which means that we have to draw the robots to us somehow. Even then, there's a limited amount of them. 

Meaning; first to strike wins. 

Hearing the crowd of examinees catching up, I immediately take off to find more robots, eager to keep my lead.