Rise of the Crusader
Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Entrance Exam

Holy Savior Academy.

After the rise of superpowers in society, the governments had taken it upon themselves to teach humans with powers how to use their abilities.

That was the least they could do, after all, when the world was a mess, they vanished and only returned after the heroes league had taken care of almost everything.

While the government had taken the responsibility of educating metahumans on how to use their abilities, the heroes league took it upon themselves to train and guide metahumans who wanted to become the guardian of society.

And one of the academies that came into existence from the hero’s league was the holy savior academy. Apart from being one of the biggest and brightest hero academies, it was also the most sought-after academy.

As Raphael walked into the academy, he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the buildings in the academy. However, what caught his attention the most were the gadgets roaming around the academy.

He was certain that these gadgets were part of the security measures taken by the academy after they opened their doors to all sorts of metahumans for the entrance exams.

.....

What made the holy savior academy more sought after than the others was because of the fame the academy had. It was well renowned for training and producing world-class superheroes, and an example of such was the ultra man.

The strongest superhero and metahuman in the world.

And also holy savior academy entrance exam was much easier than that of the other hero academy.

“Aren’t we there yet!” Raphael couldn’t help but exclaim, as forty-five minutes had passed since he entered the academy, and he still hadn’t gotten to where the entrance exam was holding.

It wasn’t like Raphael didn’t know where he was going to, but it was just that the venue of the entrance exam was really far. And with more than a thousand people heading there, Raphael decided not to bring any gadgets out.

His reasons were simple, any of the gadgets he brought would stun all these people who were in the surroundings and it would then make him the center of attention, which was something he didn’t want.

Another forty-five minutes passed, with Raphael and the others still on their journey to the entrance exam venue.

Raphael was exhausted, he was about to go seat on one of the benches nearby when he suddenly saw a stage filled with people ahead of him.

“The last badge has finally arrived. Since you have gotten here, I should also let you know that you have two more minutes to get here, or else you can as well leave the academy.”

On the stage was a bulky middle-aged man with dark shiny hair. He stood tall with an impressive height of 6’5 and was wearing a black shirt and black trousers.

Whether it was Raphael or the others, the instant they heard the man’s words, they rushed over quickly. The previous exhausted looks which were on their face disappeared, and it was instead replaced by energetic one.

Even Raphael mustered all his strength and rushed to the stage. While he was hesitant to come to the academy, once he arrived here, he was determined to pass this exam.

Failure isn’t an option.

And in less than a minute everyone had gathered around the stage.

“Congratulations on passing the first tests of the academy. One of the crucial qualities a hero must have is perseverance, and by walking all that way here without seeking for a shortcut, or even taking a break, it means you indeed possess some of that quality.”

“I might as well congratulate you all for becoming our students, but there are still two more tests. One of which will determine your power ranking, and the other will determine which class you would be assigned to.”

When the people around the stage heard the man’s words, they couldn’t help but break into a deep smile. Though they were still oblivious to what power ranking was, they had heard about the classes in the academy.

And it was something to be delighted and also scared about because this was what was going to determine the part they would play in being the guardian of the society.

In Holy savior academy, the students were assigned to different classes and departments based on their abilities and powers. Class- T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

“Before we begin, allow me to explain what this exam will be about. The first test was the perseverance test, the next two tests will be the power gauge tests and the ability display.”

“I believe we all know what the ability display means, so they won’t be any need to explain that. And as for the power gauge, we will be using this.” The man on the stage said then walked towards the heavy bag a few meters from him.

Unlike other heavy bags, this was much more steadier, and it also had a meter at its top, which made it appear more distinguish.

Suddenly, the man clenched his hand into a tight fist and sent out a full-force punch at the punching bag.

BANG!

The sound of the man’s fist colliding with the heavy bag reverberated in the surrounding. His punch had the bag swinging back and forth at a fast pace, however, none of that seem to matter as it was the number on the heavy bag meter that everyone was starting at.

10000 points

15000 points

40000 points

The numbers kept skyrocketing forward, only stopping until they arrived at seventy thousand points. A look of awe could be seen on everyone’s face as they stared at the meter on the heavy bag.

“Er-Erhmm!” The man’s voice rang out. As he then brought their attention back to him, he began to speak, “Some of you might be aware of the world power ranking, but for those who are not, I will enlighten you on it.”

After the supernatural came into existence, the governments, the heroes league, and a few other organizations came up with a power ranking for the metahumans.

F-Rank – 0 to 3000

E-Rank – 3001 to 6000

D-Rank – 6001 to 9000

C-Rank – 9001 to, 30000

B-Rank – 30001 to, 60000

A-Rank – 60001 to, 200000

S-Rank – 200001 to, 500000

SS-Rank – 500001 to 10000000

“Of course, it isn’t only the strength test that would determine your power ranking, they are also other tests, but for this exam, only two of them are needed.”

“Once you all become students of the academy, a watch would be handed over to you. In that watch, you would be able to know your power ranking without doing any of these tests.”

With a neutral expression on his face, the man on the stage gave the people around him, a few minutes to assimilate what he had just said before his voice sounded. “So, any question?!’

The surrounding was completely quiet, and it was only about a minute later did someone raise his hand. ” Yes, what question do you have.” The man said, staring at the blonde figure that just raised her hand.

“You have yet to introduce yourself.”

The question of which was asked certainly brought the interest of everyone in the surrounding, even Raphael was waiting for the man to answer.

It was no secret that the teachers of the Holy savior academy were guardians of the society, so when the girl gave her question, she meant for the man to display his power.

A grin suddenly appeared on the man’s face, he then cracked his knuckles and the magic occurred. The change first occurred in his lower body, and soon enough his entire body transformed into a hardened metal-like substance.

“No, way!” Whether it was the blonde girl who spoke earlier or the people around the stage, everyone had their mouths wide open while some even had their hands on their heads.

“You’re metal man!” The trembling voice of one of the applicants rang out.

The man nodded his head slightly, then after a few seconds, he dispersed the metals around his body. “Hehehehe! I didn’t realize I was that popular.” He said with a smile on his face.

“If there won’t be any other question, then let’s begin.”

“Michelle Mikaelson, come forward.”

Without any delay, once the first person was called out, she climbed onto the stage. Michelle was wearing a strapless blue top, which had the emblem of a phoenix at its center, it was then accompanied by a red skirt and black knee-high boots.

She had an elegant face, and a figure almost shaped to perfection. Her breasts and buttocks weren’t so large and neither were they small, both of them were of moderate size.

As she stood in front of the heavy bag, Michelle heaved a deep breath, then clenched her hands into a fist. The instant she did so, flames immediately wrapped themselves around her hand, and taking a fighting stance, she punched the heavy bag.

3000 points

10000 points

13000 points

20000 points

Michelle had a smile on her face when the meter on the heavy bag stopped moving. She ignored the stunned expression which was on everyone’s face and walked closed to the man.

Bringing both hands forwards, she shut her eyes closed, and unlike last time in which flames were wrapped around her hand, this time around, it was only her left hand that contained flames, her right hand was now wrapped around with ice.

“Fire and ice manipulation,” Michelle said.

The man on the stage had a smile on his face, as he stared at her. Possessing this sort of power and the family she was from, Michelle didn’t even need to participate in any of these entrance exams, the only reason why she was even here was that the academy wanted her to display their expectation.

And judging by the expression on the people’s faces, the academy was getting what it wanted.

“Class 1-Z” As the man announced the class to which Michelle would be assigned to, she nodded her head, then left the stage.

Whether it was Michelle’s power or attitude when she heard about the class she would be going to, it left the people around deeply shaken. There were seven classes in the academy, and while it was everyone’s dream to be in any of the classes, they preferred one class to the rest.

The Class-Z. Unlike other classes that were taken by heroes of different ranks, only the best of the best heroes tutored class Z.

After Michelle left the stage, the exam moved on quickly. However, everyone had a very competitive expression on their faces as they displayed their abilities and the strength they possessed.

A few minutes had passed and over thirty metahumans had done their tests. Among them, only two people were assigned to Class Z, and the others, they were selected for other classes.

“I hope you can all put more effort into it for those who are interested in Class-Z because they are only two slots left. And for others who are unable to enter the class, that is not the end of the world, I wasn’t a student of the class, and look how that turned out.”

Metal man was a renowned superhero in the world. He had saved countless lives and was one of the heroes who made the world a better place.

The man could see the gloomy expression the examinees were having, when they saw the look of things, so he decided to cheer them up. Though the advantage which the class-z had over the rest was huge, that did mean that the other class should be underestimated.

.....

An hour passed briefly and the number of remaining people was down to a quarter. Among them, only one person gained access to Class Z, with the others shifting others to the other classes.

Now that there was only one more slot left, everyone was glaring at the man on the stage. Whoever he called and got the highest score would be assigned to the class.

“Raphael Queen, 15.”

“Raphael, Queen, please come forward.”

Everyone was left disappointed when it wasn’t their name that was called, but when it was seen that the person whom the man was calling out didn’t respond a different kind of glow could be seen on their face.

“Raphael Queen!”

“Uhmm... I’m coming!” It was after the third call that Raphael’s voice rang out. He then started walking towards the stage slowly, ignoring the stares he was getting from the people around him.

After spending days and nights working on the ice gun, Raphael was exhausted. Most times he would have taken a deep sleep after that kind of work, but instead, he had to walk for more than an hour all in the name of perseverance.

Even Gus was fast asleep on his shoulder.

As Raphael climbed onto the stage, he didn’t even glance at the man there, and he headed directly to the heavy bag. He didn’t even take any fighting stance, and a few seconds after he punched the bag.

BANG!

The heavy bag shook violently, and the numbers on the meter began to increase. It only stopped after a minute, and once everyone saw the number which was on the meter, they felt their eyes twitching and hands shaking.

Meanwhile, Raphael stood lazily on the stage. He rubbed his eyes a few times and yawned at a given pace. He didn’t even notice that everyone, including metal man, was staring at him with shock evident in their eyes.

“29999 points!” Even as metal man announced the tests, he was still startled by it. He checked the file in his hand, over and over again, and there was nothing extraordinary in it.

There wasn’t even a mention of the powers he possessed, all that was written in it was his background and a letter of recommendation from one of the teachers in the academy.

“Absolute decay,” Raphael muttered.

They were all staring at Raphael as though he were an alien because he was just 15 years old, and he already possessed that strength, they couldn’t help but imagine how strong he would become in a few years.

The most excited person was metal man. With this kind of student joining the academy, they might be able to produce another ultra man.