The group battle assessment is finally starting. The students were randomly teleported to the designated area of the event. It was through the coordinated teleportations and assistive devices, that the teachers were able to perform this feat of mass teleportation.

The students are sent to a controlled forest. Here are monsters that proliferate the world from goblins, trolls to ogres. One of the reasons mutant-kind thrived in this world is because of the monsters that infested this world. Thanks to these monstrosities, the masses easily accepted the necessity of the Hero Society and the numerous members that functions behind it.

The origins of these monsters range from bacteria, alien lifeforms, and mutated animals. The goblins are said to be born from bacterial mutation, after years of cumulative evolution, they finally took a humanoid appearance in the likeness of cellular cultivation.

Goblins are the most frequent monsters that infest the lands, and these controlled forests dedicated for beginners don't lack them.

The principal is a telepath, that can increase his sensory organs' detection abilities to unimaginable levels through psychic waves. He can summon illusory eyes that act as CCTV cameras.

The principal summoned a magical screen where the teachers, visitors, and journalists can watch. The principal sat comfortably on a large sofa as he watches in anticipation. He munches on a box of popcorn on his lap as he enlarges the virtual theater in front of him. Some affluent individuals sat in their own circles as they make bets on who will get the highest score in this assessment, while the professional journalists focus on their jobs.

Luxury is everywhere in this modestly large barkeep, except for the old principal giggling like a creepy perv. He is ruining the mood the academy staff worked hard to create. Armin, the principal, just cannot help himself but be excited. This year, they have truly good seeds.

Every monster has a point worth. The more monster you kill, the higher points you get. Since every monster in the area is only worth one point, it is common sense for the participants to target the goblins to maximize gain.

Alfir found himself in the middle of a prairie. Several students like him are idly standing like idiots. Not Alfir though.

Alfir decisively and covertly lies in the prairie, waiting, anticipating, and expecting—

'1... 2... 3... And go~ kaboom!'

"Kyaah!~"

"Shit, why the friendly fire!?"

"Hit 'em hard! Let's reduce competition to get a higher score."

"I am with you, take that!"

The shouting and cursing are intense. Alfir in his comfiest is reflecting on how he should tackle this group battle. The individual assessment decides what class you are in. Meanwhile, the latter assessments decide 'where' you stand. Specifically, the rankings.

To Alfir's crude vocabulary, this group battle is a PVE and the tournament-like combat assessment after this is a PVP. The thing is, no one in PVE can really stop someone PKing.

With a game-like mindset, Alfir waited patiently. Alfir's [Mind over Body] is truly miraculous, once he thought of hiding, he immediately received a stealth buff.

In this group battle, no blood was spilled, thanks to the principal's omnipresent abilities. With the combination of the targeted teleportation of the school staff, they are able to extract the students deemed eliminated in the group battle— people that weren't able to adapt, counter-attack, and reacted poorly. If the principal feels you are out, then you are OUT!

Yeah, it ain't fair, but the principal's expectations are quite high.

...

The principal Armin watched with glee as his soon-to-be students dismantle the monsters. He is most delighted when he saw these students tear each other apart.

"That's some creativity, principal. Every year, it just gets better."

"It sure is. Our head professor, Merrick racked his brains to make the assessment more interesting this year, since my retirement is nigh..."

"You must be jesting. The principal is still strong."

"Then tell me, why am I telling you this, a journalist?"

!?

Jimmy Simmons have messy coffee-like hair and youthful vigor. He is a professional freelance journalist whose stories never stopped selling. He is always high in demand among the many news stations he is acquainted with.

"Seriously?"

"Yes... Quite an exclusive story, don't you think so?"

Jimmy knows the personality of the principal too well since Jimmy once attended this school himself. Heck, he is a batchmate of this school's head professor.

"There is no free lunch in this world, Jimmy..."

"That's my motto. You speaking it feels weird. If you want me to return to hero work, then it's a no."

"There is no hurry Jimmy. I only want you to write stories about this event."

"I am already doing it, so there is no need for you to give me an exclusive."

"I want you to make a series of special stories featuring the most promising of this generation. Each individual, with a story unique to their own. Use your connections... Do so, and you have my deepest gratitude..."

"How about the exclusive?"

"That as well, I am all in your care."

"So, a favor and an exclusive story in exchange for this tiring labor you request?"

"Yes."

"Splendid, let me work at it."

Jimmy feels excited as he actively and attentively watches the magical screens the principal created.

...

Deron is fighting, and he is not picky about choosing his targets. Goblins fell with a single swing. The ogres took two or more with their tough hides. Meanwhile, the trolls took at least a dozen before they succumb to their deaths.

"A troll has an insane regenerative ability... So, they are a good punching bag."

Admittedly, Deron might not be picky, but he has preferences. The idea of getting stronger alludes to him like a moth to the fire.

Jimmy is intrigued by Deron's suicidal approach, but he must give credit— Deron is getting stronger as he proceeds to carve a path towards the center of the forest.

"Such visible rise in strength. This is incredible!"

As a former pro hero, Jimmy is not ignorant of fighting, especially with the use of Special Abilities.

"Looks like an all-rounder with superhuman specs. And his ability to adapt is tremendous. He never repeats a mistake twice. A perfect all-rounder that gets stronger through an unknown synergy... I wonder what it is..."

...

Pierre with his purple hair is like a gloomy storm preparing to unleash his wrath.

But...oh no...he is not merely clouds and lightning. HE IS A DISASTER.

The earth caved and trees were crushed as he mercilessly destroy the monsters in front of him. Because of his display of violence, his fellow students-soon-to-be avoided him like a plague.

"This guy is too violent."

Pierre has the power to infuse attributes into space. His Special Ability is a very unique variant of telekinesis that allows him to create invisible waves of razor-sharp slashes, needle drilling stabs, and distant heavyweight stomping. It's like space was frozen, then weaponized.

He laughed like a mad man as he revels in the destruction.

...

Cain is standing idly as the students in front of him attack each other. His white hair sticks like a sore thumb among the students, especially his inaction.

"Weird, is this mind control? Principal, I need a little help here."

Jimmy activated a portion of his powers. Jimmy asked permission for the principal's cooperation, as he tries to make sense of what is happening.

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

"No, it is not mind-control. It is not psychic either. Chemical? I can't see anything..."

"Jimmy, I think he's not using any mind control at all. Look at this, it is his information."

The Heromaker Academy has lax requirements for accepting students, but they take it very personally when researching an individual's identity— most importantly is their Special Abilities. Jimmy could have asked for this particular student's information, but as a competent journalist, he took it to himself to observe first.

"A failure? His bloodline is defective and subpar. Suffers from acute albinism, and has impaired vision... He has the ability to filter light... Peculiar. Albinism means, that he is very sensitive to light, and his impaired vision means that he can't see well. but he looks quite normal to me..."

Cain stood there not doing 'nothing'. Using his ability, he filtered his presence from the chaotic free-for-all. He looked idle, but he is not. He is accumulating power in his palms.

Then he released it. It was s-o-o-o- frighteningly fast, the principal wasn't able to react.

"Fuck, he'll kill them!"

Jimmy was shocked by the principal's swearing, but he can sympathize. Jimmy's power is related to light, like Cain's, so he's aware of the immense damage about to unfold.

"No, you don't."

Jimmy summoned the [Rainbow World] and swallowed the light Cain unleashed.

Cain was confused by his powers suddenly vanishing, but MORE CONFUSED when he realized that the chaotic free-for-all disappeared along with it. All of the students in his vicinity were suddenly gone...

"Hmmm... That was boring, but what is done is done. Time to score some points."

Realization struck Jimmy. Cain possesses unbelievable granular control. He is truly filtering light. That's why his skin is not being harmed by sunlight, and it is the same for his eyesight. Jimmy theorized that Cain is filtering lights to images, through a retrogressive calculation.

...

Sheila in her green bob-cut hair is hiding under the ground safely. She is far away from her fighting fellow students.

This riot was instigated by the principal to begin with, so it's no surprise to Armin that this small civil war is happening across the map.

"Jimmy, look. I found something interesting."

The virtual screen the principal is projecting is big enough and numerous enough for everyone, but he can summon more if he wants to... since it is his power.

Jimmy is amazed by what he is seeing. A long distant hunt under the soil is commencing. Numerous goblins are simultaneously disappearing from the map.

It's Sheila's work. Twig-like roots grabbed the poor goblins by their foot then were buried alive. It was a very subtle kill. If not for the principal, Jimmy won't even notice it.

"This is beyond impressive. Adjacent selective artillery is so much more difficult than mindless carpet bombing."

Jimmy remembered the brutal white hair who almost annihilated his fellow applicants.

"But Jimmy, this lass is a little bit vindictive."

Jimmy looked where the principal is pointing at... It was students tripping from suddenly appearing roots, and spores causing them to sneeze uncontrollably. There are also some goblins suddenly finding their way to the fray.

...

Jana doesn't want to score, but she is outperforming herself by bashing the heads of these hot-blooded fools.

"You might think that I am easy prey since I am not hunting or something. I have no intention to score anyway, why don't you leave me alone?"

"It's personal. We simply don't like you."

"And your brother, he doesn't act like a hero. I want to vent on you."

"Your attitude too... It is vexing."

"If you are not aiming to become a hero, why stay?"

"We might as well give you a beating, eh?"

There are a dozen hostiles. A mixture of girls and boys. Some of them are buff, and the others are lean.

"You wanted this, so don't blame it on me."

A dozen enemies activated their powers. Fireballs, lightning arrows, and invisible darts. But all of them stopped just before it reaches Jana. The melee fighters approached her, but their powers were suddenly gone as Jana walks in their direction without a care, then mercilessly hit them in their vitals. It looked like a casual stroll that adds more to the visual impact.

It was a one-sided battle.

Jimmy watched it expectantly as he sighs in disappointment. After beating her enemies, she simply searched for a place to sit and pass time.

"She is...a rebel...this... Sheesh... That display of power is amazing, but her passiveness is causing me a headache. Her Special Ability looks like molecular nullification. It allows her to disturb functions, huh? It is understandable she doesn't want to fight the monsters then..."

"Jimmy, I can't blame you for this, since she is not showing much. It's not nullification, it's an application of her far more specific power, she can weaken particle motion."

"That doesn't make sense! Do you mean, she canceled their abilities with this? Her computational ability and reflexes must be proportionately immense!"

When Jimmy looked back to the virtual screen, he saw a frozen troll standing at Jana's side.

"To weaken particle motion... That means she can freeze stuff like this. The potential of this ability is frightening."

Understanding dawned on Jimmy. The more energy a particle possesses, the hotter it becomes. By weakening these revolving protons, Jana is effectively freezing matter. But that is not where her powers stop. Because of this same mechanism, she can nullify abilities unrelated to hers. She cannot cancel ice powers, specific variants, and psychic types. But the rest? They are almost a free kill to her.

...

Lorie, the familiar blonde, moved like a specter. Soundless, fast, and deadly. She punched hard, enough to break a person's trachea, but thank god... it's only the limbs.

"AAAAaaaah! My arm!"

"No! My legs!? It's painful!"

"I... I can't walk!"

She is surrounded by anti imperials, a faction that holds grudges against the empire. They are not a functioning faction, just a gathering of like-minded individuals. Since the academy is neutral ground, and they are safe from the imperial-implicating-crimes for assaulting an imperial member, they are having the time of their life— they will never receive the same opportunity twice, thus their frantic approach of gunning Lorie.

But.

The projectile abilities keep missing, and the close-quarters abilities keep on failing. Her enemies either tripped or accidentally received friendly fire. It's a chaos of coincidences, and if it is happening on a scale like this, it must not be coincidental.

"So, this is the power of fortune and misfortune. This is why she is called Lucky Lorie... The empire never fails in creating monsters like this, but it makes me wonder. How is she so physically strong? Can luck boost your strength or something?"

"Let me provide you an answer, Jimmy."

A young man in his flamboyant coat approached Jimmy. He is the 7th prince of the empire, Samdrel Hither Arandragon is Lorie's closest family member. They are of the same age and grew together.

"You see, my little sis~ ahem~ my niece can store luck. And like a lid to a bottle, if it is released, the world will accomplish her desires. This explains the curiously chaotic battle in our sights. But how does that explain her impressive specs? It's because she has devised a unique cultivation method. By expending all of her luck at once, she can optimize her genetic potential to a higher realm giving her these superhuman attributes... She's doing it since she was 6 years old..."

The Prince continued to rant and create more ruckus as he glorify his niece (little sister in his mind). But Jimmy was no more. He doesn't want to hear anything from this notorious sis-con who talks for hours about his niece-cum-sister.

Thank heavens, Jimmy with his maneuvering attracted curious audiences that served as a smokescreen for his escape.

What the imperial prince said is true, but Jimmy can easily get this information from the principal.

"Here it is... Data analysis of Lorie's powers, a conceptual ability not visible to the current science. This will be difficult."

Jimmy watched closer at Lorie's feats. She has long extricated herself from the anti imperials. She is now facing monsters, and fully exhibiting her lethality.

The monsters either got impaled by a sharp twig, tripped on a rock, sunk in a mud pit, or most of the time suffered from friendly fire. The monsters have no time to react as Lorie inflicts great pain on them.

Lorie laughed like a maniac as she torture her victims.

...

"What do you think about them, Jimmy?"

"We got red hair, purple hair, white hair, green hair, and a blondie..."

"They are amazing, right?"

"Yes, sure. But their personalities are a little bit unstable. Red is suicidal. Purple is savage. White is murderous. Green is spiteful. Blue is rebellious. And Blonde is bloody mischievous, no, she is a sadist..."

"Don't worry. This is a school after all. They can be fixed."

...

Meanwhile, Alfir watched this all from the shadows.

"Looks like their strength didn't change. Only Deron has become a little weaker, but considering his miraculous power, he is not inferior to his rivals..."

'Yeah, objective 1 is complete. Time for objective 2.'

Alfir started his search for recruits. Honestly, there are too many good seeds, but Alfir can only pick the best since he can't cater to a number as large as 50. Yes, Alfir saw at least 50 potential recruits, and that number is too many for him.

'I have to wait for the tournament to look for a more proper recruit huh?'

Alfir felt his palms becoming itchy. It is boring as hell to just watch and not fight. But fighting may expose his abilities. That's a big minus for him.

'I am restraining myself to the best of my abilities. Fuck, I want to fight a Troll, but no! Focus, me! Focus! It's all for world domination!'

Alfir regretfully looked at the passing troll just below the tree he was nesting.

'Sigh... This is boring.'

...

TRIVIA!

Jimmy Simmons— a professional journalist working for various news stations. A semi-celebrity who is known for his earlier superhero character as Kid Kaleidoscope.

"I only believe in truth. And the truth is, there are no free lunches in this world.

Can peer on the truth. He is a living lie detector. He never misses. Have illusory powers and dimension-related abilities. He can summon the rainbow world, the world of changing colors, hence Kaleidoscope. Quits the hero business after a certain tragic experience.

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