The fickle tolerance both heroes had for Shindo finally broke, as Batoon was the first to charge at Shindo, followed by Yata a few seconds later.

They both closed the distance at a moment's notice, with Batoon swiping for Shindo's head and Yata blending behind the cartoon hero. The ex-villain effortlessly dodged the hit, circling around his enemy, but a glint then caught his eye. A danger grew near. He threw his Static controller at the source of the bloodlust: Yata.

The sprawling electric tendrils failed to touch the cat hero, who weaved around the gadget without losing momentum. He cocked his arm back, readying to punch. Shindo couldn’t dodge, as the throw had put him off-balance dodge.

Yata sent his punch straight at Shindo’s face, yet he blocked the attack with his arm, the force sending him sliding backward.

The cat hero did not give him time to think. He re-engaged Shindo, throwing blow after blow. They were quick and precise, each posing a new danger for the ex-villain. Most of his efforts went on defending himself, either blocking or deflecting the barrage of punches. However, Shindo kept grinning as he calmly searched for an opening.

He had already seen how Yata fought. The trick to Yata’s fighting style was his footwork. He was agile and focused on hitting precise but weak blows. He also used his footwork to move around and befundle his enemy’s, and when everything connected, Yaa would step in to give a flashy, heavy, finishing blow. This fighting style was truly fit for a recon hero, but Shindo had seen enough, and was already waiting for that heavy blow.

But right now all he could do was dodge, block, and deflect Yata's attacks. Damn! Even though he understood somewhat on how to beat his opponent, Shindo had underestimated the savagery of Yata’s attacks. Still, he held on, appraising his opponent. Waiting. Until at last, the opportunity showed itself.

Annoyed that he couldn’t break Shindo’s defense, the cat hero threw a wide left hook straight at his face. Shindo immediately weaved under it, and once again made distance with his opponent, finally catching a breath.

Wasting no time at all, Shindo unholstered his baton, extending it to the size of a polearm. He gave it a spin before assuming a stance with it, finally gaining a proper weapon for the fight. With his grip holding onto his RTC and polearm, Shindo took initiative for the first time in the fight.

What followed were a few minutes of Shindo and Yata exchanging blows. When Yata threw a punch, Shindo would dodge it. Shindo tried attacking Yata’s exposed side, but the cat hero parried with his wooden knife and closed the distance. Shindo countered by thrusting his polearm towards Yata’s stomach, causing his opponent to jump out of the way. Shindo by closing the distance and sending a low kick. Yata jumped to avoid it, which led to Shindo hitting him on the chest with the end of his polearm.

The exchange between them was about even, and they were closely approaching a stalemate. However, their struggle was broken off when the two separated to dodge a massive extending punch.

Shindo quickly glanced at the origin of the punch and saw a horrifying sight. If he could describe Batoon’s appearance he would say the hero looked ‘inflated'. His muscles had grown abnormally, showcasing a perturbingly weird sense of strength, while his torso looked like it was about to burst. He looked powerful, yet it seemed that he still depended on extending his arms to gain range and speed.

"You cheeky bastard!" Shindo cursed as he assumed another combat stance. How could he forget that he was fighting two enemies?

This sudden error made Shindo re-evaluate which of the two he should prioritize. Batoon was probably going to go all out, seeing as he took a more powerful form to fight. On the other hand, Yata seemed to have reached a physical limit of sorts. His face was extremely painful, and he started yelping in pain. Whatever was going on with him made Shindo curious, but it was a good thing in the end. It was better to fight the two in separate intervals if he was going to deal with the greater threat.

Before charging again, he waited. Shindo replayed Batoon's previous actions in his head taking note specifically on his speed. Why did Batoon’s power sped up the more he fought?

Batoon charged at the musing Shindo, who sidestepped to the left, dodging the blow. Damn, he won’t let him think! However, this punch’s speed was different. It was slower than when he fought Yata…

An evil smirk appeared on Shindo’s face as realization dawned on him. Of course his power sped up, that in itself was that power’s gimmick!

Without a moment's doubt, Shindo threw the RTC controller at the cartoon hero. Batoon tried to dodge, but Shindo knew it was futile. The RTC controller had two settings. One was the Ice pillar function, in which a pillar of ice grew from the top gadget after twisting the top twice. But it’s true function was the disruption feature, the sole reason Shindo had gained his infamy as "The Undaunting Villain".

As Batoon neared Shindo, the gadget spread a wave of coldness around itself, catching Batoon in it. Shindo knew better than to get close to that wave of coldness. The disruption effect of the formula inside the RTC would start taking effect at any moment now, and indeed it did.

Batoon started to slow down considerably, stopping at a halt. Slowly, his body started forcibly reversing to its normal size. A forced process that will cause him pain, evidenced by Batoon's anguished howls. The man doubled over, his body forcibly returning to its normal size. The look of confusion on his eyes paired with his howls, as he continued to suffer from an unexplainable pain. Not that Shindo cared at all.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

He capitalized on this opportunity, dashing in to deal the finishing blows. He hit his examiner five times in five different places: his stomach, his chest, his sides, and his forehead. The added pain from the hits seemed too much for the hero, who fainted after the fifth blow. Shindo was about to continue hitting him, but he stopped himself. It was not necessary to kill him.

At this rare moment of silence, Shindo stepped back and breathed a bit of air. He calmly checked his visor, silently cursing that the exam still had seven minutes remaining. However, he felt satisfied as he had one less asshole to deal with.

"Who are you?" Yata snarled, as he tried to punch Shindo. He barely had time to react, barely blocking the attack directed at his neck. Shindo then countered with a kick, once again making some distance between the two of them.

"That is none of your concern." Shindo bobbed his head towards Yata. The cat hero tried to charge at him again but stopped as he winced in pain. Pitiful.

"Yes, it is!" Yata gritted his teeth, pointing shakily at Shindo. "Especially with they way you took down that bastard Batoon. How did you do it?"

"Pft." Shindo could not help but snort in amusement. The nerve Yata had! "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Shindo could not hold it in and started laughing maniacally. It is only after he revealed part of his abilities that Yata wanted to know about him! The irony!

Yata grew more and more displeased the longer Shindo laughed. "Goddamnit, tell me Wattz! What the hell did you do?”

"Hahahaha," Shindo calmed himself down at that statement. In an instant, he closed the distance between them, his weapon aimed for the cat hero's neck. Yata lost all will to fight right then and there. His tired face seemed to be waiting for Shindo to finish him off. However, Shindo retracted his weapon and gave Yata his back.

"What a pathetic day."

"What?" Yata muttered.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Shindo spat as he rested his polearm on his shoulder, "This has been a pathetic shitshow of a day. You. Batoon. The setup. The objectives. The supposed team-based exam. You all did a piss poor job at controlling your egos, and now you have the gall to demand something from me?"

Yata's mouth went agape, but Shindo had lost the little respect he had for the cat hero a long time ago.

"I won’t tell you shit about me. At all." Shindo noticed that Yata's anger had already subsided. "The only thing you need to know is that I only fought because you and that idiot were screwing up my exam."

Shindo holstered his polearm back into his belt, which shrank to its original size. He was sure Yata wasn't going to attack him for the moment, but Shindo brought out his last RTC, just in case.

"Did you think I wouldn’t use my skills when Batoon became a threat? And after you threw away all semblance of teamwork, did you think I would respect you?"

Yata's eyes grew in surprise at Shindo's statement, and then remorseful. Still Shindo was too pissed off to care. It was time to finish this joke of an exam.

"Now then, we have two options here. Or We fight for the remaining, um...," Shindo checked his visor for time, "five minutes, or you give me passing marks."

Yata seemed troubled at Shindo's proposal, but Shindo wouldn't give him time to think. "I already accomplished both tasks you set for me. You are also injured and frankly, I wouldn't mind hitting you again. Do you want to end up like Batoon? Because if so, I'll gladly hit you, especially on the injured places. Now, stop this exam or fight me."

"Fine!" Yata spat. The cat hero slumped into the floor exhausted from the fight. He reached for his ear and pressed a small piece on it.

"Judge panel, this is Yata from Testing Site Omega, examiner designation 6-E5. Examinee No. 827, codename Wattz has successfully passed his exam. We are awaiting your instructions."

With those words, Shindo let out a long breath. This crazy exam was finally over. Shindo had a feeling these were the most tiring thirty-five minutes of his life.

However, a stray thought crossed Shindo's mind, causing him to heave another sigh. Diva was going to have a field day with this footage, wasn't she?

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It had been three hours since then and all the exams were over, but Wattz's exam was still fresh in Lozen’s mind. She was still in shock that the same person she had spoken to before the exam was such a dangerous newbie. His actions there surpassed every one of her expectations, but it was his way of fighting that confirmed her initial suspicions: Wattz was at minimum a seasoned fighter.

However, that exam was the least of her worries. As she had predicted, the board was going to sanction both Batoon and Yata. The two broke protocol after all, and HOC took this very seriously. However, the Board had given her an additional “punishment”: Lozen had to call him in.

Logically speaking, Lozen could understand why they called him. Batoon was his subordinate after all, and just like Lozen, he was in charge of speaking on behalf of her subordinate. However, she could not understand why they pushed the task of contacting that person to her. She hoped he didn't show up. For being the top hero, he allows his subordinates to harm others quite easily.

"Good afternoon, Lozen." A formal yet distanced voice spoke with her.

Speaking of the king of Rome, there he was. Lozen always got annoyed at his clean and arrogant appearance. She always found it ironic that his military-esque costume was white and red, which matched perfectly with his long, silky hair. However, what irritated her the most was his plain, normal-looking face, which was betrayed by those calculating red eyes of his.

"You finally arrived, Ignia." Lozen greeted dryly, crossing her arms and cocking her hip.

"Well, I was in the middle of a mission. What a surprise for me to see that you of all people were contacting me." Ignia raised a brow.

"I was tasked by the board to call you in because Batoon and Yata broke protocol." Lozen pointed towards the door behind her. The board was currently having a meeting with Upstream, sanctioning her actions during the exam.

Ignia sighed. "And right after I told him not to attack any of your members."

Lozen gripped her knuckles. "I also did tell Yata to not attack Batoon, even after what happened."

They both stood in silence, glaring at each other. The atmosphere between the two heroes was tense, as if sparks of lightning flew between them. They challenged each other to lie or to badmouth their subordinate.

"Haaaa. Lozen, Ignia, it's your turn." A tired voice said, cutting the tension between the two. They both turned to see a depressed woman in an aqua colored costume with green highlights. Her mask matched her costume and contrasted well with her red hair. This was Upstream, and seems like the board drilled her a little too hard.

"Well, what're you waiting for? We don’t have all day" Lozen motioned to Ignia to follow her. She felt a bit of pity towards Upstream, but Lozen had no time for this. She, along with Ignia, made their way to their meeting with the board.