It was Finally Time...
The 125th Annual Aspiring Hero's Exam was finally here, the whole city watched from afar as the contents of the exam area was broadcast on massive screens that littered the outer walls. the whole nation watched in broadcast as the call was made!
Many of you had chances to get to know eachother, or to connect with new acquaintances, potential classmates, Some of you didn't get the chance, or perhaps didn't take it.
Regardless, when the bell tolls, the call must be answered!
A Siren from across the water, audible for miles, signaled the beginning of the Pre-exam gathering! The one time of the year when it's call was a good sign, a sign of the future, of the next generation of heroes getting their chance to enter the ground of the New York Bay University.
The Siren was the ten minute signal, giving the aspirants ample time to make it to the entry building, the Former Abraham Lincoln High School that was long ago converted into the entry to NYBU's Entrance Exam area. When entering the western doors, aspirants could see the walls of the testing area extending all the way down to the shore, and beyond that, a Dark metal wall rising up from the ocean, frightfully reminiscent of the Tartarus prison facility from this view.
Within though, an entire building the size of a 'normal' high-school had been converted into a stadium, where hundreds of aspirants had gathered, with a platform in it's center, and a massive set of doors at the other end... otherwise it held little decoration, merely a doorway into their new life, as far as anyone could see at least
The central platform though, It held a small gathering of individuals, mostly familiar faces, and all teachers in the Academy.
Finally, though the place was quite large, it seemed most of the aspiring heroes had been clustered together around the front of the platform, Some knew eachother, many didn't. Some blended into the group, and some stood out at a glance, like that unusually fat man in a Gi, The big Red haired grinning horseman in a suit, or the smaller horse in a hoodie that seemed to glow, The freakishly tall man that loomed over the whole crowd, The slimy black creature, or the tall man dressed in a full fluffy russian winter getup, even the red haired girl who was... wearing a crown of whisky bottles?
The crowd was as diverse and strange as every year, riddled with all kinds, from the confident to the desperate, the average to the outstanding to the downright weird. And every last one was here in pursuit of becoming a hero!
"WELCOME! POTENTIAL STUDENTS!"
The man in the suit stepped forward, the group of teacher's parting for him to near the edge of the platform, a smile on his face and a strange sense of approval emanating from him as his voice projected unnaturally well.
"I'm glad to see that so many of you have come this year, and I hope to see most of you admitted to classes this year!"
His smile waned somewhat as he brought his hands together and bowed his head slightly
"Unfortunately, and I'm sure you understand this, we cannot just 'admit' students because they desire it, as much as I wish that one day the world would be safe enough for will alone to be enough, I must ensure you that any failure to meet criteria is to ensure the safety of those who cannot keep up. The training you will undergo will become dangerous in time."
And he straightened back up, returning his smile and raising his arms in delight
"But remember, you can always train yourselves, improve, and try again next year! We're not as picky about age here as some schools are!"
He turned then, waving a hand towards the massive doors, which began to creak open, light from the sun peering through, and yet his voice seemed to ignore the noise of the doors when being heard.
"But now, let me explain the exam this year!... naturally, I'm sure you know we change things up each year, to be 'fair' but strict, we study each aspirant and do our best to create challenges that are not inherently impossible to anyone... naturally, this is next to impossible with so many of you applying... And thus, we long ago designed this exam ground!"
The doors opened enough to peer outside... it wasn't very impressive, it just looked like it led to the corner street of a city block with a wall at the end.
"A One Kilometer area, city blocks, buildings, roads, riddled with obstacles, challenges, and traps designed to test you all... Your goal, is merely to reach the bridge gate at the opposite corner of this area within the time-limit. As per usual, things will always be different from last year, and you will be graded on different criteria."
He leaned over then, raising one hand with a finger extended in a chastising manner
"There are only a couple of rules! You will not act to injure other aspirants, You may not leave the walls of the exam area except through the exit gate, and you may go higher than the walls themselves, there is a sensor grid tracking that level."
He returned to a normal stance then, putting his hands back together and smiling merely pleasantly.
"Now then, We will allow you all a minute to converse with eachother, but once the siren blares again, It will be time for you all to start running!"
The 125th Annual Aspiring Hero's Exam was finally here, the whole city watched from afar as the contents of the exam area was broadcast on massive screens that littered the outer walls. the whole nation watched in broadcast as the call was made!
Many of you had chances to get to know eachother, or to connect with new acquaintances, potential classmates, Some of you didn't get the chance, or perhaps didn't take it.
Regardless, when the bell tolls, the call must be answered!
A Siren from across the water, audible for miles, signaled the beginning of the Pre-exam gathering! The one time of the year when it's call was a good sign, a sign of the future, of the next generation of heroes getting their chance to enter the ground of the New York Bay University.
The Siren was the ten minute signal, giving the aspirants ample time to make it to the entry building, the Former Abraham Lincoln High School that was long ago converted into the entry to NYBU's Entrance Exam area. When entering the western doors, aspirants could see the walls of the testing area extending all the way down to the shore, and beyond that, a Dark metal wall rising up from the ocean, frightfully reminiscent of the Tartarus prison facility from this view.
Within though, an entire building the size of a 'normal' high-school had been converted into a stadium, where hundreds of aspirants had gathered, with a platform in it's center, and a massive set of doors at the other end... otherwise it held little decoration, merely a doorway into their new life, as far as anyone could see at least
The central platform though, It held a small gathering of individuals, mostly familiar faces, and all teachers in the Academy.
Finally, though the place was quite large, it seemed most of the aspiring heroes had been clustered together around the front of the platform, Some knew eachother, many didn't. Some blended into the group, and some stood out at a glance, like that unusually fat man in a Gi, The big Red haired grinning horseman in a suit, or the smaller horse in a hoodie that seemed to glow, The freakishly tall man that loomed over the whole crowd, The slimy black creature, or the tall man dressed in a full fluffy russian winter getup, even the red haired girl who was... wearing a crown of whisky bottles?
The crowd was as diverse and strange as every year, riddled with all kinds, from the confident to the desperate, the average to the outstanding to the downright weird. And every last one was here in pursuit of becoming a hero!
"WELCOME! POTENTIAL STUDENTS!"
The man in the suit stepped forward, the group of teacher's parting for him to near the edge of the platform, a smile on his face and a strange sense of approval emanating from him as his voice projected unnaturally well.
"I'm glad to see that so many of you have come this year, and I hope to see most of you admitted to classes this year!"
His smile waned somewhat as he brought his hands together and bowed his head slightly
"Unfortunately, and I'm sure you understand this, we cannot just 'admit' students because they desire it, as much as I wish that one day the world would be safe enough for will alone to be enough, I must ensure you that any failure to meet criteria is to ensure the safety of those who cannot keep up. The training you will undergo will become dangerous in time."
And he straightened back up, returning his smile and raising his arms in delight
"But remember, you can always train yourselves, improve, and try again next year! We're not as picky about age here as some schools are!"
He turned then, waving a hand towards the massive doors, which began to creak open, light from the sun peering through, and yet his voice seemed to ignore the noise of the doors when being heard.
"But now, let me explain the exam this year!... naturally, I'm sure you know we change things up each year, to be 'fair' but strict, we study each aspirant and do our best to create challenges that are not inherently impossible to anyone... naturally, this is next to impossible with so many of you applying... And thus, we long ago designed this exam ground!"
The doors opened enough to peer outside... it wasn't very impressive, it just looked like it led to the corner street of a city block with a wall at the end.
"A One Kilometer area, city blocks, buildings, roads, riddled with obstacles, challenges, and traps designed to test you all... Your goal, is merely to reach the bridge gate at the opposite corner of this area within the time-limit. As per usual, things will always be different from last year, and you will be graded on different criteria."
He leaned over then, raising one hand with a finger extended in a chastising manner
"There are only a couple of rules! You will not act to injure other aspirants, You may not leave the walls of the exam area except through the exit gate, and you may go higher than the walls themselves, there is a sensor grid tracking that level."
He returned to a normal stance then, putting his hands back together and smiling merely pleasantly.
"Now then, We will allow you all a minute to converse with eachother, but once the siren blares again, It will be time for you all to start running!"
