The location for the "Personal Ability Demonstration" segment was on the third floor. Mumen Rider and the four others were led to the area by a staff member.
The area was crowded, seemingly because all aspiring heroes had to be tested here. Many people were gathered in one spot, occasionally letting out gasps of surprise.
Tanktop Black Hole was very curious. He forcibly pulled aside a person and asked, "What's over there?"
Looking at the towering, burly Tanktop Black Hole, the person did not dare to get angry and truthfully replied, "It's the score ranking for the Personal Ability Demonstration. I heard the scores are directly correlated to one's strength."
"A ranking? Sounds interesting." Lightning Max had a strong competitive spirit and was most keen on rankings.
Tanktop Black Hole needed no convincing. Golden Ball, meanwhile, made a bet with Spring Mustachio: "The one with the lower ranking treats for dinner."
"Deal. Ho ho ho, I am quite confident in the power of my swordsmanship."
Mumen Rider felt distressed. As an ordinary person, he probably wouldn't even make the list.
The five men squeezed into the crowd and saw the scores scrolling across the electronic screen.
Currently ranking first was "Superalloy Darkshine," with a score of 188,000; second was "Mysterious Mask," with 96,400; and third was "Tanktop Master," with 75,600.
After that, the scores dropped dramatically, with none exceeding 10,000.
"Tanktop Boss is only ranked third?" Tanktop Black Hole was greatly surprised, his eyes wide.
"Iaian, the disciple of the Kamikaze Swordmaster, barely made it into the top ten. It looks like the Hero Association is full of hidden masters," lamented Spring Mustachio, who was also a disciple of a Swordmaster.
"This makes it more challenging," Golden Ball bit down and chewed the lollipop in his mouth, swallowing it. Having been a slacker for a long time, he felt a rush of desire to strive passionately.
"Exactly!" Lightning Max rubbed his hands together, already impatient.
Mumen Rider looked up at the long list, filled with indescribable admiration.
Suddenly, he saw a name appear at the very top, pushing "Superalloy Darkshine" down.
"It changed, it changed! The first place changed!" Other sharp-eyed people noticed and shouted.
First place: "Flashy Flash," with a score of 221,000!
"Did anyone see who just entered the testing room?"
"There are ten people per batch. How could anyone keep track?"
"Just wait and see who comes out of the room next."
"Good point."
Mumen Rider and the others also stopped walking and tensely waited with the crowd for a testing room door to open.
There were 10 testing rooms here, and only one person could enter at a time.
In the suffocating atmosphere, one door finally opened, and a man in black armor with cold, sharp eyes emerged.
That stylish look, those unrestrained eyes, that composed demeanor—he must be the top scorer!
Except for Mumen Rider and a select few, almost everyone rushed toward him in a frenzy, begging to hitch a ride on his success. The man in black armor was so overwhelmed his face turned pale.
At that moment, another door opened, and the real "Flashy Flash" leisurely stepped out. Seeing his name at the top of the list, he showed a look of expected satisfaction: "I, Flashy Flash, am the brightest wherever I go."
He turned gracefully, his smooth long hair fluttering in the air, and disappeared from the area.
"Let's go!"
Taking advantage of the chaotic scene, Mumen Rider and the others each found an empty room and walked in.
The testing room was nearly 100 square meters, empty of furniture. The walls and floor were white and appeared very sturdy.
An electronic voice spoke: "Hero 958, Mumen Rider, you will undergo three tests here. Please demonstrate your abilities to the best of your capacity so we may accurately assess you."
"Understood!" Mumen Rider clenched his fists, ready.
"First test: Attack Power. Please attack the metal plate in front of you. You may use any tools. The time limit is 5 seconds. You have 5 minutes to prepare."
As the voice spoke, the floor in front of him cracked open, and 10 metal plates rose up, stacked vertically with some distance between them.
"Tools?"
Mumen Rider's only tool was his bicycle, which he couldn't bring here. Therefore, he had no choice but to rely on his bare hands.
He stood close to the opposite wall. When the countdown started, he charged forward and crashed his body directly into the metal plates.
To his surprise, the metal plate was not very hard; rather, it was somewhat soft, like modeling clay that had hardened after prolonged use. When he hit it, he left a small indentation, feeling very little pain.
After 5 seconds, the metal plates retracted into the floor. A small square platform popped out from the wall directly facing him. The platform had 16 holes and a plastic hammer.
"Second test: Reflexes. A Mole Monster will pop out of the holes in the platform at irregular intervals. Please use the plastic hammer to hit it down. Missing three times will result in disqualification. You have one minute to prepare."
"It's just Whac-A-Mole, isn't it? I was quite good at this as a kid!" Mumen Rider picked up the plastic hammer, stretched his joints, and focused intently on the holes as the countdown began.
"Ready. Start!"
Thump, thump, thump!
Mumen Rider swung the hammer three times, but failed to hit the Mole Monster even once, immediately losing his eligibility to continue the test.
"Uh." He scratched his head, slightly embarrassed.
The final test was the Evasion Ability Test.
The format was: dodge ping-pong balls continuously fired from a moving automatic firing gun. The guns would gradually increase in number, and being hit resulted in failure.
At the start of this test, Mumen Rider easily dodged. When a second automatic firing gun was introduced, his evasion became a little perilous. When the third automatic firing gun was added, he was immediately struck.
"Test concluded. Attack Power Rating 36, Reflexes Rating 1, Evasion Ability Rating 65. Overall Rating 377. Thank you for your participation. You may now proceed to the written test area on the fifth floor."
"377, huh?"
Compared to 221,000, the difference was astronomical.
Mumen Rider was somewhat dejected, but he recovered his spirits after leaving the room. He had always known his limits, understanding that he was not strong, but he firmly believed that even people with limited strength could be useful in the right place.
After exiting the testing room, Mumen Rider looked around but didn't see the other four. He was indeed the first one out.
He walked to the ranking board and started looking from the bottom. He finally found his name at number 358.
"Ranking in the middle, my ability isn't too bad after all. If I had performed better in the second test, I might have made it into the top 100." Mumen Rider's confidence recovered considerably.
A little later, the other four emerged from their rooms in succession.
Lightning Max scored 5,389, ranking 23rd; Spring Mustachio scored 4,738, ranking 28th; Golden Ball scored 4,654, ranking 29th; and Tanktop Black Hole scored 932, ranking 101st.
"Just one spot away from the top hundred, dang it!" Tanktop Black Hole was filled with frustration.
"It's useless. There are still many people who haven't been tested. The ranking won't be the same once everyone's done," Lightning Max said gleefully.
"You little punk," Tanktop Black Hole was furious but dared not lay a hand on him. Judging by the scores, the difference in strength between him and Lightning Max was clear.
"At least I'm not the lowest." Tanktop Black Hole glanced at Mumen Rider and once again puffed out his chest.
"Gentlemen, I heard that lunch is provided for free here. Shall we go fill our stomachs first?"
After all the fuss, it was already lunchtime.
"Seconded!"
"Let's go!"
After enjoying a delicious lunch, Mumen Rider and his group went through the written test and the interview, finally concluding their journey at the Hero Headquarters.
All that was left now was to wait for the results.
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You can read the ahead chapter on Patr-eon if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]