My Hero Academia – Under Pressure – Season 3 – Episode 18 – Everyone Wins Or Everyone Loses
"What do you think the worst kind of fear is?"
As Tonen led his group through the continuous fire of the Provisional License Exam, he could tell that everyone was on edge. Not only on his side, but the other students that they were fighting.
"I'm sure you could answer that in many ways, but one thing I've noticed in competitions is that when the clock is winding down, and you're almost to the end, you're afraid to make a mistake at that point more than any other."
A trio of students surprised Tonen by jumping out from cover and readying a strike. Tonen froze for a brief moment as he had been focused on what was ahead of him.
"After all, while getting eliminated early is bad, you can find a way to blame it on something or someone other than yourself. But if you get eliminated after going so far? After getting so close and not reaching it? It's hard to blame anyone but yourself."
Before they could strike, Azujima threw a flash bang at them. It exploded and they were heavily stunned, allowing Tonen to blast them away and knock them out of the fight.
Once gone, he gave a nod to his friend, who gave one back before they all proceeded back into the fray.
"With each minute that passed in the exam, we all knew we were closing to passing. But that meant it only needed a few more eliminations for the goal to be reached. Though we were united, for the most part, the fear of one of us getting picked off was in our minds. But instead of dreading that fear, it just made us work harder to not be the one knocked out."
Another group appeared, before them, but this time, it was a larger group, one that outnumbered Tonen's.
But Tonen was ready this time, and he turned to Iha to say, "Ok, Up Down, I know you've been holding back at my request, but now let's see your new ability at work!"
She nodded and stepped to the group. Her outfit had been modified heavily, and with a smirk, she opened her palms toward the opposing force.
They snickered as they looked at her size and wondered what she could do. That feeling went away when her arms and hands seemed to charge up, and she fired a beam of energy at one of them. The shot hit a student square in the chest, but it only rocked them a little.
However, when they tried to use their Quirk, it fizzled out.
"What the…?" they said out loud, wondering what was going on.
"Cool, huh?" Iha answered with her own snicker, "Bye, bye, Quirks."
In rapid fire fashion, she sent several bursts of energy at the remaining group members. They hadn't faced something like this before, so they didn't think to dodge the attacks before Iha struck their Quirks down.
Now open for attack, Doza used his resonance to shatter part of the ground in front of the students, which threw them off balance.
Tonen added to that with his air pressure and sent a deluge of debris at them which knocked them out for the count.
Content with their next victory, Tonen turned to Iha and held his hand out, "Nice job, Up Down."
She high-fived him and smiled somewhat wickedly, "Fun times."
"Indeed, I'm glad The Tinker was able to make that work for you, it'll be a godsend in the field no matter where you go."
Doza pulled out his Quirk booster and tapped it light, "Plus, we still have these we can use in a pinch."
"True, but keep them shelved for now. We might have a blitz coming until they call this fight off, so let's save our trump cards for when we really need it, ok?"
The group nodded, and Tonen gave a small sigh as he knew the worst wasn't over yet, "Azu, can you tell how many people are out there still?"
Azujima looked around and tapped his helmet to bring up some screens, "I honestly didn't outfit my helmet for that. I can tell you it's much less than before, but not how much farther we need to go before we're down to the final 120."
"Fair enough. Let's stay vigilant and watch out for anything unexpected. Azu, be on recon until this is over, I don't want to risk a blind slide this late in the game."
"Look out for the others too," added Iha briefly.
"Right! If you see the others and they need help, tell us. We'll form up and make a stronger group for this last phase. Enough talk, let's go!"
Orders given, the group headed out in a new direction and hoped that things wouldn't be too chaotic in the minutes to come.
Up in the skies above, The Twins continued to be on recon duty. With the battlefield smaller in terms of combatants, it was easier to see what dangers were around their teammates and how to help them.
Ryo used her drones to help however she could, and Ryu flew them around so that they weren't an easy target for someone to pick off.
Not that people weren't willing to try that.
One of Ryo's drones alerted her to a threat and she looked confused at it, "What do you mean a giant hammer is coming our…WOAH!"
Ryu noticed the hammer just in time and dodged, almost knocking his sister off his back in the process, "Sorry about that!"
"It's fine, let's just not do that again. Who throws hammers at people?"
She turned to the hammer that was still flying through the air, and noticed it stop and retract to the ground where it landed in the hands of a small but muscular girl. The girl smirked and threw the hammer at them once again, forcing Ryu to dodge quickly once again.
"Ok, this girl is getting on my nerves!" he shouted as the hammer throws kept coming.
Ryo took the initiative and tapped her outfit in several spots, "I'm on it! I've been waiting to test these out!"
From the spots she tapped, another set of drones popped out, and they spread out before descending to the ground.
Thanks to their small size, they weren't easy to track, and thus got to the hammer throwing girl and surrounded her without her knowledge. They then charged up and fired electric jolts at her right when she grabbed her hammer once again.
The current surged through her, and was enhanced by her metal weapon, and that was enough to knock her out cold.
Job done, the drones quickly returned to Ryo, who was pleased with her "assistants."
Before she could boast about her victory, Ryu had to make another sharp dodge, which yet again caught his sister off guard, "What was that about?"
"Someone's stealing our shtick again!" he replied with a slight point.
Ryo turned and saw that there was someone else who had an idea for "controlling the skies." One of them was male and had the overall body of a Great Horned Owl, wings included, and on his back was another student with hands outstretched.
With a smirk, she constricted her hands a bit, and fire balls grew in her palms. She immediately threw them at The Twins, who were able to dodge them.
Ryu was beyond frustrated at this development, "I thought we took out all the fliers!"
The owl boy gave a hoot-style chuckle, "Owls are wise. They know when to strike and when to wait their turn!"
Ryo scoffed at this, "Aren't owls nocturnal?"
"Now you're just being mean!"
The fireball girl wasn't up for much banter, and charged her palms again, "And that's why they'll burn!"
Thus the battle was on in the skies. The two pairs danced in the air above and tried to get strikes on the other. Due to the fireball girls' quick reload for her strikes, The Twins weren't able to do much but dodge and play defense.
Then, when Ryo did get an opening to use her drones, they were burnt to a crisp or sliced by the owl boys' talons.
The pairs went back and forth to try and get the upper hand, until eventually, Ryu came up with an idea, "I have a plan, but I need you to trust me."
"You'll always have my trust, brother," said Ryo with full honesty.
"Ok, then this is your stop!"
With a slight spin, Ryu twisted and sent Ryo barreling downward. Now free of his "cargo," Ryu righted himself and aimed all of his missiles at the enemy duo.
The barrage he launched was all encompassing, and even with the fireball girl taking out some of them, she couldn't hit them all and the two were bombarded from many angles.
Knowing his sister was in danger, Ryu changed course and blasted his rockets as fast as they could go to catch her before she hit the ground.
He got her with a few feet to spare, and then rushed toward his fallen foes and grabbed them to. He lowered them all to the ground in a safe zone where no one was fighting.
Ryo breathed heavily to steady herself over what just happened, "I'll add that to things we'll not do again."
Ryu chuckled, "Yeah, sorry, sister. Aiming is hard when my opponent isn't right in my line of sight. Oh, I just realized, couldn't you have used your drones to lower you down?"
"…yeah, I forgot about that. Oops."
The two looked at each other in silence for a bit, then burst out laughing. The brother then helped his sister to her feet and then pointed upward, "Shall we return to our perch?"
"Sure, fighting up there has…been a hoot."
The two laughed once more as they headed upward toward relative safety.
Not too far away from where they landed, Eri and her group were fighting off some heavy odds.
Anno and Kanagita had done their jobs well in beating up everyone they came across with their raw power. But as the numbers started to dwindle, people realized more than ever that they were one of the biggest threats on the field.
That means they had to endure the heavy hitters of other schools trying to take them out.
Thankfully, Oshibu and Eri were there to provide backup and give them openings to nail knockout blows, or at the very least toss them away to buy themselves time.
"This is getting tiresome," as she dealt pressure point blows to a foe to cripple them.
Oshibu blitzed between opponents and delivered heavy strikes via his improved gauntlets, "Yeah, even I'm amazed at how many keep coming at us!"
A few feet away, Anno and Kanagita fought back-to-back to take on their ever-approaching foes.
"I have the lead, Brick Break!" bragged Anno as he smashed two foes together before tossing them away. "The shark will take the victory for sure!"
Brick Break roared in anger at this and slammed the ground with her massive fists, "Landshark talk too much! I'll win this contest!"
Competitive spirit stirring, the two continued their prideful rampage.
Meanwhile, Eri and Oshibu kept taking out the stragglers and those who tried to some sneak attacks. Not everyone was trying to rush to their doom, some were trying to see if there were any weaknesses in the bulky duo and their protectors.
As Eri took out another student, she noticed a glint in the distance. She tapped her face mask and a pair of lenses filled the eye holes. She enhanced her vision through them and scoped out where the glint came from.
A rival student in the distance had a rocket launcher for an arm and was trying to lock in a shot on them.
Eri went back to normal vision and looked at the speedster, "Oshibu, we have someone trying to take us out long distance! Can you do a blitz and throw me in their direction?"
He was briefly stunned by the question but shook it off, "Uh, sure, but I could always just blitz over—"
"No time! I need to get him now! Throw in me in that direction! Hurry!"
She quickly showed where she needed to go, and Oshibu held onto her arms, "You'll want to hurl after this, fair warning."
He blitzed a little bit away, just enough to give him some extra momentum and then he raced back to Eri and therw her at full speed.
Like a bullet, Eri soared through the air, and soon got in the scope vision of the rocket man. Before he could react, Eri flipped over and drop kicked him right in the face with enough force to launch the student into the air and hard onto the ground.
Her momentum stopped from the strike, she carefully somersaulted to the ground where she landed with perfect grace.
That grace, however, was disrupted by an unpleasant feeling in her stomach. She clenched it with one hand, and her mouth with another.
With great effort, she resisted the urge to hurl, "Wow, he wasn't kidding."
As if summoned, Oshibu appeared next to her and grabbed onto her again, "You'll get used to it, maybe. Come on, gotta go!"
And just like that, he blitzed her away to rejoin their comrades.
On another side of the battlefield, Chuya was doing her best to lead her little group to victory against all they found.
Unlike with Eri's group, they at least had calms between the storms. But Chuya knew that these moments were only good for staying fresh for when the next wave hit.
Sure enough, she felt the ground shake, and after checking to make sure it wasn't Sanda making it move, she looked in the opposite direction to see a wheel-like object barreling toward them.
It was of an impressive size, and its speed ensured it would reach them soon.
Chuya knew there wasn't a moment to waste, "Sanda! Take it out!"
"I'm on it!" he said before rushing forward himself, the earth around him in tow.
He gathered up a mass of it in front of him and collided head on with the wheel. But to their surprise, the wheel smashed through the ground and hit Sanda square on, and sent him flying.
Thankfully, before more damage was done to him, Fenella and Ebirima rushed in and caught him before resting him on a rune.
"Nice catch, Lass," praised Fenella.
"Thank me if we figure out how to stop that wheel of death!"
"Can't you just stick it to the ground like those other enemies we faced?"
"Not on something going that fast. Think of that like a shoe when you're running. You can feel the gum stick to you at times, but your momentum pulls it up. Even if I put down a line of it, it likely won't work!"
"Won't know unless you try, right?"
Ebirima could tell her best friend wasn't going to relent on the idea, so she sighed and nodded that she was in.
Fenella guided the runes with the three on them toward the wheel, which was trying to get in a strike on Chuya.
She wasn't an easy target, and used her aquabody to get out of the way of each rolling strike.
The wheel would go out a distance, turn, and then come racing right back to her. Fenella saw this and smiled as she got close to their team leader, "We got this, lassie! We're going to make him…stick around!"
Ebirima stifled a laugh as she lined up a shot and fired a swath of gun on the ground in a perfectly straight line that the wheel would touch even if it moved a bit in either direction.
But once again, the wheel surprised them. Instead of continuing in a straight line like before, it bounced into the air, and Fenella had to dodge the wheel as it came right at them.
"Since when it could do that?"
"That's one nimble wheel!"
They two watched with stupefied expressions as the wheel cleared the entire line of gum, landed safely back on the ground, and continued its assault on the group.
Ikaim popped in after one of the strikes and motioned to Chuya, "Hey, let's send your water and my ink at it at the same time! Make we can force it to stop that way!"
"…worth a shot…" she admitted.
They aligned themselves in the path of the wheel, and blasted their Quirks at it. The wheel didn't bounce like before, but instead charged head on like when it took on Sanda's earth.
Sadly for them, the result was the same, it went right through their attacks and they had to dodge at the last second to prevent getting hit.
Ikaim was very frustrated at this, "What is this thing? An unstoppable rollout juggernaut?"
Chuya pounded the ground with her fist, "There has to be a way to stop it!"
Ebirima and Fenella floated down on a rune to join them, "Any ideas, O' fearless leader?"
"Because we're fresh out," admitted Ebirima now worried.
Before Chuya could answer, Sanda finally stirred, "Oh, what hit me? Well, I mean, I guess I know what hit me as it was that giant wheel thing but I guess I don't know what kind of Quirk it really is and who—"
"SANDA!" they roared to get him to stop, especially when they noticed the wheel was coming back at them.
"Oh, sorry. But seriously, how are we going to counter that things momentum?"
The light bulb went off in Chuya's head at this, "Momentum? That's it! It's building up momentum and using it however it wants! But we can stop it if we do things carefully! Now listen closely!"
She quickly relayed the plan and they spread out. Ebirima joined Ikaim and Chuya and they spread out a bunch of water, ink, and bubble gum on the ground. The others went in different directions.
They stood next to their field of obstacles and dared the wheel with their looks to try and get by it.
The wheel happily obliged.
It once again bounced high into the air to try and get around it. But that's what Chuya was waiting for, "Fenella, now!"
"On it!" shouted Fenella with glee.
She appeared just below where the wheel was heading and lined up a string of her runes to make an upward ramp for it to land and go up on.
The wheel bounced slightly but followed the runes until they launched it back into the air. Fenella, then put a set of runes above where the wheel was heading so that it would bounce off it, and the wheel did just that.
As it headed back down, the crew could see that it wasn't able to shift direction, and it was going slower.
Chuya signaled Sanda, who opened up a swath of earth for the tire to fall into, and Chuya filled that opening with water.
They watched as the wheel struggled to move, but with its momentum depleting, it had no options, and splashed hard into the water.
It was there that the wheel broke apart and revealed two people within it, each of which had helped make the wheel and move it where they wanted to.
Not wasting time, Fenella raised them up via one of her glyphs, and Ebirima stuck them there so that they were incapacitated. Sure enough, their bands went off, showing they were done.
Chuya gave a small sigh of relief, "Well, at least we got two more off the board."
Fenella scoffed at her lack of emoting, "We just took out a big threat, fearless leader. That should be cause for celebration!"
"We celebrate when we're done and in the next round. Now let's go, they haven't said it's over yet."
She motioned for them to follow, and they all shrugged and did so. They might not have liked how she wasn't cheering with them, but they couldn't deny she wasn't exactly wrong either.
Throughout the entire exam, one member of Class 1-B was working on his own: Goya. He was scolded by the teachers and upper staff at UA from almost day one due to his "attitude" and his unwillingness to assist with his classmates, even if their lives were in danger.
He received a personal warning from Principal Ayatsune stating that if he messed with any of Class 1-B, much like he had done in the Sports Festival, he would be suspended from school for "behavior unbecoming of a student at UA."
Frustrated didn't even begin to describe how Goya felt, and so, he took out his frustration on everyone he met on the exam field outside of Class 1-B.
Whether they realized it or not, he was technically helping all of them…by helping himself.
He felt immense joy with everyone he eliminated. Goya knew that he had a powerful Quirk, easily one of the best around due to its properties, and he enjoyed showing it off.
That's not to say that all of the other students were slouches, but when you can't even touch a person using their Quirk, you have a problem.
There were few things Goya loved more in life than being a problem for others. He reveled in it, almost like a villain would in causing suffering for others.
From the moment the exam started, Goya found whoever he could and put them down in one way or another. It didn't matter who they were, what class they were in, or what their Quirk did, he used his psychic abilities to get them out of his way and out of the exam entirely.
Only a few times did he struggle with an instant KO, and that was because the rival students sometimes had an "ace" that could match Goya in one form or another.
One such student was a Quirk user with psychic abilities somewhat like Goya's. He was at first shocked at this, but then he soon realized that while they had similar Quirks, his was stronger and more versatile.
Though they danced around one another for about a minute, Goya pulled out some crafty moves and knocked them out.
As the exam kept going on, Goya got more driven to take out as many students as possible. He knew it wouldn't matter overall who knocked out the most people, but it mattered to him. Anything to lord over his classmates would make him happy.
But as Goya flew through a seemingly open part of the battlefield, he found himself getting slowed down. To the extent that even with his psychic powers he couldn't move.
"What the…?" he said in his mind. "Why can't I move? There can't be another psychic out there! …can there be?"
His eyes moved around as much as they could to see who the culprit was. Eventually, a set of three ladies walked out from behind some rocks.
Goya recognized them as the rival students who tried to intimidate the class alongside their teacher, whom Angel Wings wasn't fond of in the slightest.
"Another fly in the web," said one of the ladies.
"He's from Class 1-B of UA," noted the second.
"Oh, then we must get rid of him," concluded the third.
The second of the three stepped forward and held up her hand. Immediately, a stabbing sensation entered Goya's mind. While he was a psychic, he didn't have protection from mind attacks. Even if he did, this stabbing ability didn't feel like a mental strike.
It felt like someone was actively piercing his brain.
Goya bared his teeth, but refused to scream. He refused to give them the satisfaction. The ladies mocked him for his struggle and laughed as the pain became more apparent on his face.
He tried to move or use his psychic abilities against them, but for some reason, they didn't work.
"That would be me," said the first girl. "I can block any attack from a single Quirk user so long as I'm in range. You know, like the few feet between us right now? Think of it like a protective barrier. Even indirect attacks wouldn't work because of how close we are. So sorry. Can we speed this up?"
She turned to her cohort, who noted and closed her hand a bit, which cranked up the pain in Goya's head.
The intensity of the attack was almost too much to bear, and he knew that there wasn't a way out with his Quirk. He couldn't move, he couldn't attack, he could barely think. He was alone…
…for a few more moments, anyway.
"Can't have you taking him out, ladies!" came a familiar voice. "Iha, blast them!"
Though Goya couldn't see it, Iha rushed in on the side of the ladies and fired two blasts, hitting the first and third of the girls.
Their Quirks powered down, and Goya's head was free of the pain.
From just beyond Goya's still prone form came Tonen, Azujima and Doza right behind him, "That's a nice trap you had here, ladies. My buddy Azu here can see your special 'cushion' trick that can trap people in place after they run into enough of it. Then you block their counter attacks while you fry their brains until they're unconscious. I appreciate the teamwork, and usually I'd allow you to do that to Goya…because he deserves it. But…"
He exhaled sharply and the three were hit once again with his air blast. But this time, it was a much more intense strike. The final girl's Quirk was taken out as she lost focus on sustaining her "field." Goya dropped to the ground and breathed heavily as he tried to get his bearings back.
"…we need him, for better and for worse. But…we don't need you…so…KAH!"
With a shout, he released an even more devastating amount of air, and the trio were sent packing into a nearby rock, which knocked them out.
As Tonen admired his work, Azujima came up to him, "Wasn't that a little much?"
"Maybe, Azu, but that was a really villainous trap, and they were mean to us earlier. Call it, Karma."
"I'm happy to say that I learned not to screw with you TK a long time ago," joked Doza.
"Good to know."
Iha rejoined the group and looked at Azujima, "Thanks for the tip on the cushion."
"You're welcome," he replied, "my helmet was able to detect it, thankfully. So it was easy to help you line up the shots you needed."
"Yep. So, what about him?"
The group turned and looked at the still struggling figure of Goya. His mind was still fraught with pain after the attack from the trio, and it made it hard to focus on his power to right himself up.
Tonen groaned a bit at the sight, and then gave an angry shiver before going to his classmate and helping him up and slinging Goya's arm over his shoulder, "Up you get."
"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Goya.
"Oh, you think I want to be this close to you? Grow up. But you're not in a good spot right now, and we need to keep going without risking you getting picked off."
"I'll be just fine—"
"Shut up! Seriously, I mean it."
"Not a chance. I would've figured out something. You helping me changes nothing."
Tonen motioned to the others to ensure they were hearing this. They all replied with various motions to show they weren't surprised by Goya's reply.
With another groan, Tonen addressed his classmate, "Look, whether you want to admit it or accept it, we're in the same class. And yeah, this changes nothing, as you're still a dick! But the rest of the group made a promise to get EVERYONE in. That includes you! Everyone wins or everyone loses. That's our mindset for this exam. And guess what? We're going to help you pass whether you like it or not! Then? When this is all over? You'll have to admit that you couldn't do it on your own. You had to rely on us, even if only for a small bit of the exam. Besides, if you fail, we'll have to hear you WHINE ABOUT IT! And I'm not interested in that. So shut up and heal up, we'll likely need you for later."
Goya bared his teeth, but looked away from Tonen instead of replying.
Tonen was very satisfied with this, "Smartest thing you said in a long time. Alright, let's move out. We're not done yet!"
And indeed, they weren't done yet. No matter what group it was, nor what part of the battlefield they were in, the intensity of the exam did not turn down in the slightest.
Each group had to power through rival students with various Quirks. Even when the individual Quirks weren't much on their own, many had banded together like they had to create powerful obstacles to overcome.
Kuroda, Eri, Chuya, and Tonen did their best to guide each group through each mini-test. But even they were wondering at one point or another how long the test would go until only 120 of them remained.
True to their team nature, when one of the class needed a small break, or was starting to waver, the others compensated and protected them.
Ueno, Anno, Kanagita, Ebirima, and even Iha used their Quirks to either keep foes away, or put them in situations where they could easily be picked off.
The rest did their jobs well, and by the time a horn sounded over the battlefield, Class 1-B gave themselves a momentary sigh of relief.
But as they discussed before, it could've been a trap, so they tensed up immediately after.
Soon, a voice range out, "Attention all students, this is Iseshiba Gobei, and I'm here to tell you that the last participant has been eliminated. The first phase of the exam is over. However, I have been informed that some of you might feel this is a fake end to set you up for attacks. So, I have here the heads of the classes to ensure that no one could be impersonating us all."
One by one, a set of voices came over the loudspeaker to tell their classes to stop, until eventually, a very kind voice said, "Class 1-B of UA High, stand down. The exam is over."
With Angel Wings familiar vocals giving them confirmation, almost all the class collapsed to the ground in near exhaustion.
They hadn't pushed themselves that hard since the summer training course. While they didn't know how long they had been on the field, it felt like an eternity.
As they caught their breath, the dull voice of Iseshiba Gobei returned and said, "You may now go to the small facility on the northwest side of the arena. You will have a small break before the final phase of the test begins. You may go now."
With a much more depressing sigh, Class 1-B gets back on their feet. Tonen tries to carry Goya again, but is shoved away and the psychic floats to where he needs to be.
As they make for the safe room, the class meets up with some of the other groups, and are relieved by how many they see.
By the time they entered the room, they finally spotted Kuroda and her crew, and they raced over to congratulate their peers for surviving the ordeal.
Kuroda was the last to join them, a tired smile on her face, "We all made it! I'm so happy."
"It was touch and go for a bit," Tonen admitted, "Azujima got us out of a big bind one time."
Eri chuckled, "Good to see him step up. I had to be launched like a missile to take out a sniper."
"Well I had to guide my team through multiple complex plans to take out foes, but we did it," Chuya added in a not-so-humble way.
Tonen nudged her at this, "A not-so-humble brag! I'm so proud of you, Soldier."
"Shut up."
Kuroda waved them down, "Now, now, let's not ruin the moment. Ah, actually, could I talk to you for a quick sec over here?"
"Sure," he replied, and motioned for Eri and Chuya to watch over the others.
Kuroda guided Tonen to a small pocket area of the room where no one could see them. Tonen grew worried when he noticed this himself.
"...K-Rep?"
"Look, I," she started, various emotions all over her face and her voice wavering, "I know we're friends, and basically siblings, and I love that! And I know I'm supposed to be the emotional strength of the group as its leader, but something happened out there and I'm a total wreck on the inside and I just need someone to hug me and tell that I'll be ok and—"
Seeing the breakdown that was coming, Tonen pulled her close and hugged her in a very brotherly and nurturing way. The moment he did, Kuroda broke down crying, letting everything she felt about what happened with Sekuro out.
While the class had made it through the first phase of the exam, it wasn't unscathed, and they had to be ready for what came next. Yet, in this moment, for Tonen, there was nothing more important than being there for Kuroda.
But as though to remind them of other things, the voice of Iseshiba Gobei once again came over the intercom, "Greetings once again, students. By now, you've gotten a glimpse of who survived the first phase of the test. But now, you must focus not on who remains, but what remains."
The students' ears' perked up as they tried to inquire the double meaning of the phrase.
"Specifically, you still have another part of the exam to do, and this one won't have you fighting one another. On the contrary, it'll be up to you whether you decide to work alone, or in a group to complete the next test."
The classmates murmured among one another to try and see what he meant.
"Fighting is a key part of being a Pro-Hero. But being of service to others is another. So in the next phase of the exam, you'll be doing a kind of rescue mission. To what end, you'll need to see for yourself. There are two things you need to know before you start."
The room was quiet as Iseshiba Gobei cleared his throat to speak again.
"First, you will be judged individually. No matter what you do, or whom you do it with, your participation and actions will determine if you score high enough to get your provisional licenses. Second, and just as important, you must be ready for anything and everything. Because just like in the field of battle, a rescue operation can go from bad to worse at the drop of a hat. You have 15 minutes to rest, and when you hear a horn blow once again, you will exit the room and see the new arena you'll partake in. Good luck.
*credits*
