The strength test had taken place on the first day of the evaluation week.
Every day afterward, a different assessment followed—agility, reflex, endurance, power control.
And now, on the final day, only one test remained.
The Combat Exam.
The rules were simple:
Each student must face two steel humanoid combat robots, each 5 meters tall.
They may use any handheld weapon they are capable of wielding.
No explosives, no artillery, nothing excessively destructive.
They must either defeat the robots or survive for the full 30-minute limit.
These robots were not ordinary machines.
Their armor could withstand artillery-level force.
Even many pro heroes struggled to break them.
Because she ranked first in every test except theory, Astra Noire was called first.
Astra Noire — The Effortless Monster
The timer started.
Astra disappeared from the ground—
no, she flew.
Her body blurred upward, wings of force shimmering faintly as she shot forward.
In an instant, she crashed into the first robot like a comet.
CRACK—!
The robot's torso caved in as if crushed by a falling meteor.
Gasps echoed across the arena.
She turned smoothly, gliding toward the second robot.
It swung a massive steel fist at her, but she simply drifted aside, grabbed its arm…
…and tore it off with a casual twist.
BAM!
The second robot fell, collapsing like scrap metal.
Time taken: Less than ten seconds.
"Incredible…"
"She didn't even use her full power…"
"That's a tri-ability user for you…"
Astra landed softly, almost bored, and walked off without a word.
Bam Relic — Power vs Speed
Next came Bam Relic.
Bam had monstrous strength—everyone knew that—
but the robots were faster.
Even before he charged, both machines lunged forward at frightening speed.
"Kh…!" Bam gritted his teeth.
He blocked the first punch head-on, but the second robot kicked him from the side.
He staggered, but didn't fall.
His durability was insane.
He grabbed the robot's leg and slammed it into the ground repeatedly until its core shattered.
The second robot took longer—it was faster than him—but Bam eventually overpowered it within the time limit.
He won, but he was panting heavily.
"Damn… that was harder than I expected…"
The crowd cheered. Bam was the type people naturally rooted for.
Zack Kreiger — Flames of Chaos
Zack was next.
The moment the signal rang, he unleashed a massive flamethrower wave.
"BURN!"
Both robots staggered, glowing red-hot from the intense fire.
But their armor didn't melt—it only softened.
Zack wasn't skilled enough to fly yet, but his flames were strong.
It took time, stamina, and several close calls, but he eventually overloaded both robots' circuits and dropped them.
He collapsed afterward, exhausted.
Roger Castellan — Unpredictable Speed
Then came Roger's turn.
He wore lightweight metal gauntlets—nothing fancy, just reinforced gloves for punching.
But his expression was sharp.
The signal rang.
Roger sprinted forward using the same technique from the agility test—Momentum Shift, locked into his starting momentum.
He dashed straight at the first robot, but at the last second—
SHF!
He shifted direction mid-sprint, veering to the side faster than anyone could track.
He leaped onto the robot's arm, climbed rapidly, and jumped off its shoulder.
He fell from above—
—then reactivated Momentum Shift, locking onto his falling velocity.
Now he moved sideways with the same speed he had gained from falling—a brutal burst.
His body became a blur.
BAM!
His gauntlet smashed into the robot's head, denting the steel.
Everyone gasped.
"Did he just—??"
"He used gravity as his speed source!?"
"Is that how Momentum Shift works!?"
Roger wasn't faster than Astra.
He wasn't stronger than Bam.
But he was creative, unpredictable, and insanely hard to hit.
For the next several minutes, he bounced around the robots like a pinball, striking weak points with precision.
He didn't defeat them fully—the armor was too tough—
but he survived the entire 30 minutes without getting hit even once.
When the timer sounded, the arena erupted.
"That was insane!"
"He didn't get hit a single time!"
"The way he used his ability was genius!"
Roger walked off drenched in sweat, but smiling proudly.
Raze Arcwell — The Powerless Challenger
Most students had completed their turn.
Only one remained.
The crowd quieted.
The instructors leaned forward.
Even the robots seemed to loom more intensely at the final opponent.
Raze Arcwell stepped onto the field.
No aura.
No visible power.
But this time, something was different.
At his waist hung two short-bladed swords, their sheaths plain but sturdy.
Whispers spread:
"He brought weapons?"
"Those blades… are those custom-made?"
"Can he really fight with just that?"
Raze took a deep breath.
His eyes sharpened.
This was the moment he had trained for his entire life.
The signal rang.
And Raze charged.