Chapter Eighteen: Exam

After 28 days, 16 hours, 30 minutes, and 46 seconds of intensive training under Killer T Cell, B Cell was ready to be promoted to A-Rank. He arrived at the Immune Cell Exams on time and grinned and waved at everyone.

"B Cell! Go sit down over there right now!" NK Cell yelled. B Cell had no choice but to obey.

"Ladies and gentlecells! Welcome to the annual Immune Cell Exams!" Helper T Cell announced. Everyone responded with cheers and applause.

"Today, we are honored to welcome a special guest to the exams. Give a round of applause for…U-1146!" Some cells applauded politely while others whispered to their neighbors. It seemed that nobody wanted to be near a cancer cell. Helper T Cell coughed nervously.

"We also have an official auditor. She is one of the best S Rank immune cells, she is the captain of the Immortal Maids, and she is…Lady Macrophage!" This got much more applause.

"Now, let the exams begin!"

B Cell's first test was to fight…U-1146?!

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm here to test your fighting abilities, of course!" U-1146 wasn't wearing his usual neutrophil uniform anymore. Instead, he was wearing his school uniform and 3rd generation combat battlesuit: Immune Cell Bladestrike. He drew his knife and pointed it at B Cell. B Cell knew he had to be careful since U-1146 had been studying knife techniques in the library for a long time. U-1146 took the initiative. He dashed to B Cell and then unleashed a flurry of deadly blows. B Cell stepped back. He wasn't good at melee combat. He had to get far away from U-1146. He charged his gun briefly and fired antibodies at U-1146. However, U-1146 evaded the attack and triggered a vital feature of Immune Cell Bladestrike: Time Fracture. It caused time to slow down for B Cell while U-1146 was unaffected. Before B Cell knew it, U-1146 was in front of him, unleashing another Blade Flurry. How had he managed to get into melee range so quickly? Just then, time fracture ended. B Cell was suddenly knocked airborne. Oh, right. That was another feature of Immune Cell Bladestrike: Wind Aura. U-1146 took this opportunity to trigger more blade flurries. B Cell gritted his teeth. U-1146 was only a neutrophil and a B Rank immune cell, but he was good. Then, U-1146 did something that everyone thought sealed his victory: he activated burst mode: Susanoo, augmenting his attacks. However, B Cell was more careful this time. Although U-1146's attacks had extended range during this mode, he managed to evade every blow. Eventually, U-1146's energy reserves were exhausted, and he was forced to end burst mode. B Cell took this as an opportunity to turn the match around. He began to shoot at U-1146 with high precision. After three shots, he charged his weapon briefly and fired a penetrating shot that dealt more damage. Luck was on his side. It was a critical hit, and it stunned the neutrophil. B Cell once again initiated his attack. As he came closer and closer to victory, he also started shooting faster. As his attack speed accelerated, he heard NK Cell cheering him on from the sidelines. He glanced at the energy gauge he wore on his sleeve. It read clearly: 50. Time to finish the battle.

"GUNGNIR FIRE!" He blasted away at U-1146 with a barrage of powerful hits. U-1146, dazed by the attack, took a few seconds to regain his composure. 6 seconds, to be precise. It was all that B Cell needed to achieve victory.

After a few more shots, a judge declared, "That's enough!"

"You fought well." U-1146 complimented B Cell.

"Thank you. You were a worthy opponent as well," B Cell replied politely. He then gawked in amazement as U-1146 got up and walked away as if nothing had happened despite being covered with cytoplasm. He sure was tougher than he looked.

B Cell had passed the first test. However, the most difficult trials were always at the end…