Balance In All [boku no hero academia]

[CH. 77]: Provisional Hero Licensing Exam Pt. 2

[Inside the arena]

"Woah, there's so many!" Izuku exclaimed as soon as he saw how fully packed the room is while [y/n] was holding him by his arm as she spoke, "It's really hot in here, too."

Izuku sweatdropped, "Also... uhm... you didn't answer my question before." 

[y/n] shook her head as she lets go of her brother while adjusting her beret on her head and not looking up, "We'll talk about it after the exam."

"Right... the Provisional Licensing Exam," A man with a tired expression spoke in front of the examinees as he stood facing them while resting his elbows on the podium and slouched, "I'm Mera, with the Heroes Public Safety Commission. My favorite type of sleep is Non-REM Sleep. Nice to meet you all."

He continued as he groaned while hanging his head low to the point it was resting on the podium, "Work is so busy that I barely get any sleep! We're terribly short-staffed...! I just wanna sleep!" 

Mera then cleared his throat as he finally lifted his head to face the examinees, "With that important information out of the way, let me explain the exam."

The crowd reacted as if they agreed on one thought, "He's not even trying to hide his exhaustion at all. Is this guy really okay?"

Mera spoke as it got more silent, "Getting right into it... all 1,540 examinees present will be competing... in one massive free-for-all exercise!" 

He continued as the crowd became more attentive, "Today's society is saturated with heroes. Ever since Stain's capture, plenty of people out there have raised doubts about the role heroes should play. The title of hero should not be given to those seeking reward and recompense... but should be one earned through tireless self-sacrifice. That said... as far as individuals go... motivations aside, telling those who risked their lives in order to save others to ask for nothing in return... would be rather harsh, especially in modern society... so... whether it's done for compensation or out of dedication to the cause, we have no shortage of heroes out there working to save people and put villains away."

He added as he tried to straighten his exhausted posture in front of the crowd, "Nowadays, the amount of time it takes to resolve any given incident is incredibly short. Those of you who earn your provisional licenses will be confronting such situations that unfold at a breakneck pace. Those who can't keep up are doomed to fail."

"Which is why... we are testing you on speed!" As soon as Mera spoke, the crowd sweatdropped as he continued, "Only the first hundred examinees to meet the requirements will pass."

The crowd reacted as one of the examinees spoke, "Hold on! With 1,540 of us in total, that's not even close to half!" 

Mera sighed, "Society is rarely so kind... There's no relying on luck." 

"For real?!"

"Now, the passing requirements..." Mera cleared his throat as he held a ball on his left hand with a disc-like object with his right hand, "...involve these." 

He continued as the projector turned on, showing an outline of the human body with the disc-like object attached to its torso, shoulder, and head, "Each examinee will get three targets. Place them wherever you like on your body, so long as they are exposed. That means no soles of the feet and no armpits. Each of you will carry six balls. The targets are rigged to light up only when struck by a ball. You will be disqualified the instant that all three of your targets are lit. Those with three illuminated targets are considered defeated. To pass, you must 'defeat' two other examinees. That's it for the rules."

He spoke up once more as three more people at his sides carried a box, "Yes... so we will be handing out balls and targets once this place opens up. The exam will begin one minute after all examinees are fully equipped."