NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14 - Hero Ability Certification Exam
The MT had ended.
That meant the hero ability certification exam was less than a week away.
With an anxious heart, I continuously researched the hero ability certification exam.
Is it that difficult to pass?
Of course it’s difficult.
The trend is for more and more people to awaken abilities each year.
Accordingly, the number of mutant monsters and villains is also increasing.
So the ability certification exam can only become stricter.
It’s rumored that the exam format changes frequently, making it very challenging for test-takers to prepare.
According to my research, ‘we’ belong to a rather powerful ability user class, yet it’s still difficult?
Yes, it’s still difficult.
If just brute force was enough, even villains would be doing heroic deeds.
I have the power to stop a running bus.
But if I can’t properly control that power, I could crush someone’s hand with just a handshake – a disaster.
Heroes emerged to fight monsters, but there are also many cases of fighting villains.
Weaker than monsters in physique, yet having to capture violently resisting targets without killing them.
A hero who can’t control their power is merely a calamity, not a hero.
That’s why personality is an evaluation criteria – being a hero is difficult with just ideals or dreams alone.
How do other prospective heroes prepare?
Receiving superpowered training from a young age is what’s used in such cases.
Physical enhancement ability users learn how to control their strength.
Pyrokinesis users train to create only the desired firepower in the intended direction.
Through such training from childhood, their pass rates are relatively high.
I didn’t have any of that, which is why I’m feeling anxious.
No amount of anxiety will solve it, yet here I am.
With the exam right around the corner, I haven’t prepared at all.
Being my first time facing this, I could only feel increasingly stifled.
So I played ‘that’ video.
…The video of the incident that made me resolve to become a hero.
That makes 237 times now.
You’ve been counting?
You vicious bastard.
Whether I was anxious or uneasy, time still flowed on.
And so, the last Saturday of March arrived.
The hero ability certification exam is held over 2 weeks.
On the 1st day, they basically verify personal details and test abilities and physical capabilities.
Then intense testing to separate passes and fails is prepared over the next 3 days, changing frequently so it’s difficult to predict.
At best, you can only make guesses based on the tendencies of the presiding hero examiner for that session.
The hero serving as examiner this time goes by the name Iron.
He has the ability to harden his body to an iron-like density.
His most famous deed was rescuing a civilian in peril of being crushed by rebar.
An old-fashioned hero who prefers classic heroic tales like movies, to the point that the younger hero generation calls him a fuddy-duddy.
But at least with this Iron hero, there’s relief that he wouldn’t pass villainous individuals lacking moral character as heroes.
“Please queue for registration in order!”
The hero ability certification exam is held once every 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.
So a considerable number of people had gathered to take the exam.
“Please present your identification.”
When my turn came, I handed over my driver’s license.
“Extend your right hand.”
Fingerprint verification.
“I will draw some blood. It will sting briefly.”
Drug test.
“We will conduct a physical examination.”
General examinations were conducted, filtering out only an extreme minority.
Perhaps those were individuals, intentionally or not, who failed the drug test.
After the basic examinations, the ability testing began.
In my case, I was registered with national agencies as having an ability to inhibit material degradation.
So I needed to be retested for my abilities.
“Physical enhancement and hardening abilities?”
“Yes.”
“Your personal details list an ability to suppress degradation…”
“I newly awakened these abilities.”
“A multi-ability user…”
The staff member testing my abilities showed a rather interested expression.
While not extremely rare, multi-ability users aren’t that common either.
But cases of adults suddenly awakening two abilities simultaneously are very uncommon.
And it’s an extraordinarily rare case for those abilities to all be suited for confronting villains and monsters in the field.
His expression turning intrigued was understandable.
“…By any chance, Eun… No, it’s nothing.”
He seemed to be guessing that I was the one who resolved that bus incident at Eunsung Hospital.
But that was just hearsay, not something the staff member should bring up.
Any hint of favoritism could affect the examination.
If I appealed here, the subsequent tests could become easier.
However… that didn’t seem quite right to me.
I may seem stubborn and foolish, but I decided to take the exam solely with my own abilities.
You’re being stubborn and foolish.
This bastard?
My physical enhancement and hardening abilities were measured.
For physical enhancement, there were simple tests like measuring the maximum weight I could lift, as well as tests checking explosive power.
After I squatted a 500kg barbell designed for ability users, a hydraulic press developed for ability users was prepared.
Although the weight pressed against my entire body was considerable, I learned that my physical enhancement was at the A-rank ability user level.
The staff member checking my ability scores had an intrigued look in his eyes.
Those checking scores here work in the hero industry.
They tend to privately contact promising candidates who perform exceptionally well.
This could be a sign of that.
Next was the hardening ability measurement.
This was done through a simpler method than expected.
Using a hardness measurement device for ability users, they checked how hard my body could become.
The result also seemed to be A-rank ability user level, prompting a rather surprised look from the checking staff.
My submitted personal details had already listed my physical enhancement at A-rank.
At this level, it’s an ability suited for immediate field deployment, not just a promising newcomer.
As I moved to the next measurement station with the assessment sheet, the staff spoke into his earpiece.
It seemed my existence would be relayed to the exam supervisors.
The next item on the multi-ability user assessment sheet was the multi-ability test.
A multi-ability user basically refers to someone possessing two or more abilities.
Typically, it just means possessing ‘two or more’ abilities, not necessarily manifesting them simultaneously.
Here, the inability to simultaneously manifest multiple abilities isn’t a deduction factor.
However, being able to manifest two or more abilities simultaneously almost always results in bonus points.
Especially for synergistic abilities, considerable bonus points are awarded.
“Then let us begin.”
I hardened my body and withstood the hydraulic press pressure.
Simultaneously, additional equipment was attached to measure my body’s hardness.
I silently endured the press while exerting force.
“Thank you for your efforts.”
“Thank you.”
The staff member who conducted the multi-ability test smiled and handed me the assessment sheet.
It indicated that there was a synergy effect when using my multi-abilities.
There was a + mark indicating an adjustment to my physical enhancement when using multi-abilities, and that the abilities were stable.
At this level, it could be considered the highest possible score.
As I received the assessment sheet and started moving again, the staff member furtively glanced at me while speaking into his earpiece.
It seems my abilities were quite exceptional.
With that, the way the staff looked at me began to change.
It seems they’ve all realized you’re the man from ‘that’ news incident.
Even from this distance, the monster presence allowed me to hear the staff members’ comments.
That I had the abilities for immediate field deployment.
Concerns that micro-control could be difficult since I had suddenly awakened these abilities.
Discussions on what kind of tests should be given in the second examination.
Talking about why I had suddenly awakened these abilities.
Discussing my personality, and so on.
They seemed to think I couldn’t hear them while speaking into their earpieces.
It felt like I was hearing things I shouldn’t, so I stopped the monster presence from eavesdropping further.
The same presence that had been happily chuckling while watching that same video 237 times?
That’s that, and this is this.
The 10 supervisors, including the hero Iron, began reviewing the first-day examinees’ assessment sheets.
“Quite a lot of people took the exam this time too.”
When Iron said that in a rather firm voice, the surrounding supervisors nodded in agreement.
“Yes, with the exams being held quarterly. Though it’s fewer than when they were biannual.”
The supervisors all nodded, seeming to concur.
“As for me, I feel I’m more suited to field work rather than these kinds of duties.”
Iron said that with a brief sigh.
“But it does seem there are more people than last quarter.”
When one supervisor brought that up, another sorting the assessment sheets nodded.
“Yes. It seems to be about a 30% increase.”
The hero ability certification exam held at the end of December tends to have higher safety risks due to weather conditions.
So there’s a trend of more examinees in March.
But a 30% increase is extremely rare.
“It’s probably… because of ‘that bus incident’.”
“I would think so.”
In reality, heroes are similar to idols.
Dreams, romance, idolized figures.
So heart-moving incidents like that bus incident can inspire people to become heroes.
Even when the news covered Iron rescuing a civilian from falling structural steel, it led to an increase in prospective heroes.
“I wonder if that youth took the exam this time too?”
The supervisors chuckled as they began sorting through the documents.
While originally supposed to maintain neutrality, they too belonged to the hero industry.
Unlike modern heroes, they favored heroic tales that seemed to emerge from stories, unconcerned with rewards.
And Iron was no exception.
While disliking showing favoritism, he had also joined this industry due to his love for heroic tales.
As they were sorting, assessment sheets kept being delivered, so they decided to take a brief break.
They sighed, preparing to review the first assessments before receiving the second ones.
Then one supervisor received a report from staff.
It was regarding examinees who had newly awakened abilities and needed ability re-assessment.
“There are some examinees who need re-assessment of their abilities this time.”
“What are the abilities?”
“Physical enhancement and physical hardening, they say.”
“…A multi-ability user? And synergistic abilities at that.”
While trying to maintain neutrality, Iron couldn’t ignore someone with the same abilities plus multi-abilities.
This person had reportedly registered their abilities with national agencies and undergone testing.
Needing ability re-assessment meant they had awakened those abilities recently.
This was an extremely sensitive issue, as accidents could occur.
Like newborn babies unable to walk on two feet, those who have just awakened abilities lack control.
Leading to potential major accidents.
Part of the reason children receive superpowered training from a young age is to prevent such cases.
Another issue besides that is personality changes.
Immense power can drive people insane.
As an extreme example, there are annual reports of individuals who were bullied or assaulted using their newly awakened abilities to murder their tormentors.
Having just awakened to an intoxicating new ability, they could potentially cause any number of accidents, so they must be watched carefully.
Even if they had been living properly without causing incidents until now, people can change when the time comes.
“But with those abilities and this timing, isn’t it the person involved in that bus incident?”
“Haha! It could be.”
It could be, but the likelihood is low.
Just a coincidental overlap.
Thinking that, they continued sorting the assessment sheets.
However, it didn’t take long for their amiable laughter to become stiff.