16

LET'S GO GAMBLING!

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A long, deep exhale followed by a large puff of smoke came from Kenshin's lungs. He was dressed in his usual clothes. His signature orange hoodie, dark grey jeans, and simple black sneakers. Even with money, he liked to keep his wardrobe casual.

Speaking of clothes, he should eventually buy himself a suit, every man needs one. 

Over his shoulder was a medium-sized duffle bag containing a spare change of clothing, just in case. It also contained his wallet and the usual necessary documents everyone had to carry just about anywhere important. His hazel eyes were locked into something that resembled a glare, but they were glossed over, his thoughts running wild in his head.

A lit cigar between his fingers, if he's going to smoke he's going to do it properly. He wasn't feeling anxious, well, not as much as before. He was feeling something between anxiety and excitement, like a driving student excited to sit behind the wheel for the first time but having some fears about accidentally crashing.

One could say that Kenshin was locked in, but he was feeling halfway geeked out right now.

He thought about fucking something up or going overboard, earning him a hefty fine (which doesn't happen mind you) or a one-way ticket to C-class. Nobody wants to be in C-class...

Taking one final, long drag from his cigar before stomping it out, Kenshin looked on towards the large dome in the distance. It was the Hero Exam Certification Venue, his destination and a long walk from the ghost town of Z-City, yet he still walked that extra mile to prepare himself mentally.

"Here we go..."

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Can't be touched~ Can't be stopped~ Can't be moved~ Can't be rocked~ Can't be shook~ We hot~

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Kenshin exhaled through his nose, dressed in nothing more than a pair of white shorts. The written portion of the Hero Entrance Exam was over, and he didn't know how to feel about it. He didn't think it was hard, but he also didn't really overthink it. Hell, it was more of a psychological test than anything with the questions they asked. 

He supposed it made sense, not every single hero could be expected to major in science, physics, and the like. Being a hero was more about having the right set of morals, the mental fortitude to stay strong to them, and the ability to act on them. 

Kenshin just hoped honesty would score him a few bonus points, but he wasn't feeling too stressed over his answers.

A little bit of awe was still on his mind when he was told to change into this pair of somewhat tight shorts, he didn't think his muscles would just... fucking explode in size and density. Gone was the average, slim body. In its place, a broad-shouldered but still lean titan of muscle. It was a very welcome change, but he could've gone with bigger pants...

"NEXT! LATERAL JUMPS!"

It was his turn, the practical portion of the exam, and he intended to crush it to the best of his ability.

"30 SECONDS!"

Then a whistle rang out and his body blurred, the insane jump in his untested EX+ physical attributes surprised even him as he became a blur. Could they even count this? Probably, they had to have some super specialised equipment.

"NEXT! THE 1500-METRE DASH!"

Kenshin's body shot forth with an explosive force, enough to crack the ground on his starting position. He had to quickly dial back his speed, breaking the sound barrier here would make anyone unfortunate enough go deaf.

"WEIGHTLIFTING!"

With one hand Kenshin lifted the weight of several vehicles.

"VERTICAL JUMP!"

His head broke through the high ceiling.

"PUNCHING MACHINE!"

There was no longer a punching machine or the walls behind it. Kenshin hoped he didn't have to pay for that.

"SHOT PUT!"

The solid ball of steel disintegrated against the upper walls of the building.

"WHACK-A-MOLE!"

He was actually having a bit of fun with this one, Kenshin loved going to the arcade as a kid. It was a damn shame the machine broke before he could really get into it, probably shouldn't have used so much force...

"THAT'S IT! THE FITNESS TEST IS OVER!"

"Yippee," Kenshin muttered under his breath, unaware of the myriad stares he was getting for his insane physical feats, "Let's hope I get a hero certificate and not a bill after this..."

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I'm a Barbie girl~ In a Barbie world~ I am plastic~ It's fantastic~

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With both the physical and written exams over, Kenshin found himself in the dressing room, once again clad in his usual clothes. He would've sat down, but he instead found himself pacing back and forth. Being the only one there gave him a weird feeling, he just wanted to get his damn results and go back home to gamble.

He has a problem... damn stupid, overpowered ability...

There was one issue he didn't like though. Heroes don't get to pick their hero names. That was... annoying. He was under the presumption that everybody does, but it turned out that was not the case as the written test highlighted with one of its questions. If Kenshin remembered right, it went something along the line of; "The public gives you an unflattering hero name, write a short essay about your reaction and how you'd want to change the public perception."

"I wonder how much longer I'll have to wait here..."

The answer was one hour. 

One solid, on the dot, hour. Honestly, they had to be pulling this shit on purpose, but Kenshin didn't want to complain. He came here for the certificate and a certificate he got. It was in the sealed package in his hand, and Kenshin wasted enough time waiting, so he immediately tore it open.

"...I was hoping for more but this is fine."

A large, capitalized letter [ B ] stared him in the face. He was happy with this, not as happy as he would be with an A, but starting out in B-class was good enough. His score was 81 points, good enough, he supposed.

"A SEMINAR FOR SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS WILL SOON BEGIN, PLEASE REPORT TO HALL 3."

The speaker announced, and Kenshin complied. He packed his stuff, took his duffle bag and was on his way with calm nerves. There was no reason to be anxious now, the painful part was over. Or so he thought. He didn't think to consider how difficult his future as a hero would be if he wanted to take public perception into account, but all of that will come in due time.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and one does not simply become the best overnight. Shit takes time, and Kenshin was willing to take a while.

Finding Hall 3 was easy enough, the large signs hanging overhead made sure of that. When he came in, he noticed how few people passed, more than half of the hall was empty, and the people sitting down chose to be scattered across the whole room instead of being grouped up. Fair enough, Kenshin supposed and took his seat.

"Congratulations on passing!" a man called out, dressed in a flashy, really tacky leather suit that had the patterns of snakeskin, "Some of you got through as a fluke, others may have burned on one of the exams. Work hard so your luck doesn't go to waste!"

The guy had flare, Kenshin would give him that.

"But don't get cocky! You are heroes now! Your faces will be on Hero Association's official website, so do us proud and don't bring us shame!" there was passion in the man's voice, even if he did sound a little bit self-righteous right now, "Aim to become a magnificent hero like me!"

Ah, he was doing tricks now. Kenshin kept his expression neutral, but a thought ran through his head. It was something along the lines of "Who the fuck is this guy?", the other people in the room were either too self-absorbed in their success at becoming heroes or were in actual awe when they looked at the man giving them the speech. 

And so, with a few parting words, the seminar came to an end and they were free to leave. Kenshin walked home with a sense of pride and a little bit of disappointment. B-class wasn't shabby at all, but as a human, a somewhat greedy human, he was hoping to start off better. The written exam probably flamed him, it made sense considering his perfect physical scores. To be fair, getting a 31 score on the written exam was apparently fairly average so that tracked at least. 

"I'll just make my way up the ladder the old-fashioned way..."

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