Paragon (Season 1)

Chapter 3: You go, Slingshot!

Darrel raced towards Quadrant A, the one that had appeared by his name. Or had it? Even that he was uncertain of now, continuously glancing back up at the screens just to make sure. Adilah had been assigned to a different section, so after a little bit they parted ways, having wished each other good luck. But now Darrel was alone again and it was difficult not to get pressed down by the surrounding students, both physically and considering his rapidly depleting confidence. He did his best to keep his head up nonetheless. Soon enough, all students had gathered in their respective sections, eagerly awaiting further instructions which came over the intercom.

"We are now ready to commence the exam! It will proceed as follows. You will be faced with three tiers of robotic enemies. Your task is to take them down. Each enemy counts for a certain amount of points that will be added to your final score, the tiers are divided into the 1s, 5s, and 10s range, as indicated on the individual robots. You are permitted to use any means to defeat the enemies, and are not required to cooperate with your peers."

Darrel gulped, that last part really did not sound good. He could already see it, the powerful quirks jumping ahead, taking out all of the enemies without trouble and leaving everyone else in the dust.

"The exam will last 1 hour, with a constant stream of enemies of all three tiers. You will be monitored the entire time. Only in exceptional circumstances will the examination board intervene. That concludes the instructions. Now..."

The four sides of the hall began to slide open, revealing that the walls were actually massive gates. Beyond them lay a multi-level terrain, in front of him Darrel could see a cityscape, but to the side he could also see the glimmer of water. Perhaps the extra challenge here was the presence of different environments. 

"Let the exam begin!"

Students rushed forward, almost trampling Darrel in the stampede, who evaded it by darting to the side and staying by the open exam hall. After most kids had passed him Darrel took a deep breath and headed outside.

In front of him was a city landscape, it would look completely real if it wasn't barren of people, of course, except for the various aspiring heroes who now raced down the streets. They were pouncing on any enemy they encountered. Darrel stayed along the sideline, just focusing on not getting in the way. He saw the smaller enemies roll in, he could take those. Right? Darrel gulped. He wasn't even sure. A boy ran past him who had thrown off his shoes. As he ran his arms were forming into sharp spikes. Was that- wood? Darrel looked up, almost as if looking for an answer.

How could he possibly complete with this?

---

Ken bolted forward. This was his chance! He had so much energy in him and he felt ready to take on anything that came his way. The students had moved out, spreading into the alleys and narrow streets of the artificial city so the robotic enemies were quite evenly distributed.  There! The first opponent Ken could claim for himself, a medium sized robot marked with a [3]. Ken ran towards the wall of one of the buildings, running up its side and then pushing off with his legs, aiming both of his spikes directly for the center of the enemy's body. His wooden lances pierced through the metal exterior, even coming out the back. As swiftly as he had forced his spikes in, Ken pulled back, allowing the robot to fall on to its back, defeated. Solid! Ken thought to himself, just a few more of these and I'll be set. He kept moving forward through the city, taking any medium sized enemy he came across.

But after his fifth one, the robots suddenly started to run out. 30 minutes of the exam had already passed. Ken could either wait for another wave to be released or try taking on a larger enemy. He glanced around, noticing a clearing up ahead, an artificial central square. He ran forward, that would be the perfect place for a big guy to be based. But when Ken rounded the corner, the sight he faced was quite different than he expected.