Chapter 197 Second Round

After thirty minutes or so later, the first round of the Superhero License Exam finally came to an end. A total of two hundred participants managed to cross the finish line, but that wasn't without difficulty. Apparently, there was a time limit to the first round, and even if two hundred people didn't qualify, the first round would still end. Well, it's not like it has happened before. With the crazy number of participants joining every year, it's hard to get into the top two hundred. The time limit wasn't the problem, but the number of participants joining in a desperate attempt to become a full-fledged superhero.

"You pretty much ate and packed everything huh," Satoshi jerked a thumb towards the latecomers who didn't find a single bite of food. Apparently, Midori stuffed himself to the neck, and with the help of Satoshi and Orb Oboros, they packed most of the food.

"That's enough preparation, I guess," Midori said with a grin.

"Second round's about to start." Hiroshi cut their conversation off as Fury again entered the room, bearing the news of the second round.

'Now this, this does put a smile on my face,' Fury said in his mind, a faint smile displayed on his face. As mentioned, Fury is part of the one percent of people who don't have a superpower. But that didn't stop him from becoming a part of the SAO, the government-affiliated organization that handles the superheroes of all of Japan. Although he felt a bit downtrodden that he didn't awaken a superpower, he was still content since with his position, he could meet as many supers he want, and he was even held in high regard by these people with superpowers.

"The next round will be a simple one... well, not exactly, you know how it is with the SAO." Fury said, still having that signature tone of his that seemed to fluctuate unevenly. "Throughout the years, the first round had always been expected, there are even guides as to how to clear it and pass to the second round. This year was no different, and it seems like the participants have filled in the headcount."

"However, that was only the start. Here in the SAO, we give everyone a chance to be a superhero... but unfortunately, not everyone is cut out to be one. And that's why the second round exists, to sift through the candidates and find out who deserves a license. Even if you're not prepared for the second round, as long as you've done your part in your training, you should be able to clear it, no sweat."

"The second round will be another race, pretty surprising, right?" Fury chuckled, adjusting the eyepatch he wore all the time. No one has actually seen him without his eyepatch and the mystery is something that is heavily discussed on the internet. "However, there's a catch, you can't use your superpowers. And also... "

"... did I say it's an obstacle course race?"

As Fury turned around, he could hear a couple of groans from the participants. A test that measures one's physical capabilities isn't all that uncommon when it comes to the Superhero License Exam. However, it's not something that's rare so no one was actually expecting it. In the end, it was SAO who had the last laugh.

The gates that led out of the stadium were raised once again, and the countdown was shown on the huge screen that displayed the live stream. "Oh, and also, only those in the top fifty will get their superhero license. Better run!"

With those words sinking in their minds, the participants didn't need any telling twice. As soon as the countdown reached zero, they all began pushing and tugging at each other, clamoring as a light stampede broke out. This was always the case when it comes to race-type exams and it's not all that surprising. While there aren't any guides as to what the second round will be, these people overlooked the fact that there are plenty of guides about races on youtube. If they had used their heads even for a split second, they should've known better and stayed at the sides of the track.

The middle part is always the danger zone since everyone wanted to be first and they would start pushing and tugging at each other. But then again, it's not like all of them were qualified enough to receive their superhero license. As aforementioned, this is the sifting part and only twenty-five percent of them would pass.

Satoshi, Midori, and Hiroshi chose to stay at the sides and they managed to clear the congested area of the race which is the starting line. Unlike the others, they actually used their heads (in all honesty though, Midori and Hiroshi just tailed Satoshi since they knew he'd be able to pass. Even though that wasn't enough to make them eligible for the superhero license, at least it would improve their rankings, and hopefully they'd get the top fifty.)

"I'd go on ahead," Satoshi called out, waving towards the group as he made a huge leap and got ahead of everyone.

For the first obstacle, it was a mud pit with nets on top. If one were to cross, one literally had to crawl through the mud pit... or so that's what everyone would initially think.

By the corners of the mud pit were logs where the nets are attached so they won't fall on the mud pit. Without thinking twice, Satoshi started leaping from one log to the other like a frog. In just a few seconds, he cleared the mud pit which would've usually taken a normal person to clear in three or so minutes. He continued running, not daring to look back since he knew that he was the first one anyways. And even if someone were to get ahead of him, he would just increase his pace like usual and get ahead of them as well. While it may seem like Satoshi was running at full speed, this was actually just his casual speed, and he could run faster than he displayed.

"Interesting," Fury commented as he watched from afar. "Now that's what you call a superhero."