The sun glinted off the edge of the Superhero License as Satoshi held it up, grinning from ear to ear. To think that a few months ago, he was lazing around in his room playing Laser Fingers while passing the time and dreading the thought of high school. And now he was here, done with the Superhero License Exam, finally taking one of the most crucial steps into becoming a superhero.

"To think I managed to come this far... " Satoshi sniffled. He couldn't take his eyes off of the license. There was just something about the sparkly cover of the license that gave him a sense of achievement. It was more than a dream come true for Satoshi, and now that he's reached it, he couldn't help but feel overly emotional about it.

After saying goodbye to Midori and the others, Satoshi headed back home, pleased that the Superhero License Exam went better than he had expected. It was something that he couldn't wait for his mom and dad to know, as well as Emma and the others.

"Oh, that's right, Emma! She did come with us, right?" Satoshi said to himself, turning around, only to find that Emma and Aira were right behind him, each of them holding cotton candy.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself back at the training room so we figured we'd just roam around and buy stuff," Emma said before Satoshi could tell her anything.

"What's this, Emma-nee? It's delicious." Aira said as the cotton candy stuck to her mouth and cheeks. "It's very messy though."

"Ooh, cotton candy, that takes me back." Satoshi greeted. "Sorry, I was too focused on the Superhero License Exam that I forgot about you guys. How was it? Did you enjoy watching?"

"It's so-so." Emma continued, eyeing the cotton candy before taking a bite off of it. Since she doesn't know how to actually eat cotton candy, she ate it just as messily as Aira. "So this is called cotton candy, huh... it's messy but delicious, just like what Aira said."

"Ah, right... so you don't have cotton candy back at your world, huh," Satoshi said, going towards them and walking beside the two while matching their pace. "Now that I think about it, what sort of world did you have? I mean... if it's not too much to ask."

"It's pretty much like yours... but we're behind in technology. Our food isn't tha great either... sure they were delicious, but the food here easily tops our delicacies." She continued. "Take this cotton candy, for example."

"I see,"

"We also have the same governmental system, and schools and such... but it all changed when the attack happened... you know... the Gates." She continued. "Despite all our superpowers, we were pushed back, and it didn't take long before humanity was forced to build shelters. Nations were destroyed, and in order to survive, we have to lock ourselves in shelters. Fast forward a couple of years, the monsters breached the shelters, and one by one, shelters fell. It went even more downhill from there."

"It came to the point where the last shelter was destroyed and the remaining humans took a last stand against the monsters. I was one of them, but my mom sent me here to find someone strong... or so that's what she said."

"As it turned out, she sent me here to keep me safe, not to get some help. It was already too late by the time I realized it. When I met you, our world had already fallen. Not a single soul was left, and the monsters had already terraformed the planet for their kind. Even if I were to return there... there's no way I'd be able to fend them off..."

"... and even if I did, what would happen after that? I'm the only one left. No one else is alive anymore."

"How can you be so sure? Maybe some of them are just hiding." Satoshi said after thinking about it. "Humans can be quite resilient, you know, and the monsters aren't actually omnipotent either. There's no way they had the power to annihilate all humans from the face of your world... unless of course they were sent there to do just that."

"I guess I'm not one to talk though... I'm only telling you this with apocalyptic movies as references in my head. You might be right, perhaps there are no humans living there anymore."

"But we haven't confirmed it yet so we can't be so sure."

"Yeah, I guess you're right... I guess you're right." She mumbled.

The sun was already up overhead. Satoshi could've sworn that the Superhero License Exam took the entire day, but time went slower than he had expected. It was actually still midday, time for lunch. And right about now, the superheroes might be having a meeting, a conference about the upcoming expedition down Dungeon Spire— the dungeon that so suddenly appeared in the middle of the Sea of Japan.

"Oh, how are your school preparations? You're going to the USA in the next quarter, right?" Satoshi said. "Did you catch up with all the subjects? Do you need help with anything?"

"I'm almost done with math... I'm having a hard time with English though. Back on our planet, we all have the same language— which is conveniently your language here... that's why it's hard for me to learn another language. It was basically nonexistent in our world."

"Oh, right... how about history?"

"I'm good at memorizing so I don't have a problem with that."

"And your training? How's your individual training? Don't forget there will be tests or practical matches before you could get accepted."

"I'm keeping up with the training schedule. Your parents are pretty good trainers. I can tell that they're exemplary superheroes." She commented.

"Well, they are," Satoshi responded with a smile. By tomorrow, his father was going to lead the exploration of the dungeon... and while he felt a tad bit uneasy, he knew that nothing bad will happen since his dad was incredibly strong. "I hope it goes well... the expedition," Satoshi muttered to himself.