"Next up is arranging the fan meet-and-greet."
Zodhis had Black Queen add it to the schedule, arranging for Hulk to meet his fans and increase the public's sense of closeness toward superheroes.
"Anything else?"
Zodhis asked Black Queen.
"Jessica Campbell is going to take the Superhero Association test today."
Black Queen replied.
Jessica Campbell had decided that she wanted to become a superhero. Since she had been able to endure that hellish superhero training, Zodhis agreed to it.
In any case, her academic performance was not good. Out of the dozen or so subjects Zodhis had arranged for her, she had not shown any particular achievement in a single one of them. Becoming a superhero might suit her better.
"Pull up the live recording. I want to watch."
Zodhis said with interest.
And so, Zodhis watched the Superhero Association's testing site, where a huge crowd was lined up, all hoping to become superheroes.
Inside the Association was a gigantic testing ground covering more than 3,000 square meters. From the outside, the entire area looked like some monster's massive egg. Five hundred people had gathered there for the Beginner Hero, F-Class, test, yet they barely stood out at all, which also reflected the extraordinary financial power and authority of the Superhero Association itself.
The wall structure, which formed the "eggshell," was divided into five layers. The outer shell was disguised with high-performance plastic, with honeycomb structural supports inserted between the layers, followed by a cushioning solid-liquid layer and various other facilities. It was also considered a sheltering structure capable of resisting Dragon-level monsters.
Of course, that was not actually possible.
Jessica Campbell was right there among them.
"Attention, please. This examination is divided into five stages. Written exam, speed and endurance test, jumping ability test, strength test, and ability destructive power test. We will now proceed to the second stage."
The broadcast began explaining the contents of the test in detail.
"Isn't there any kind of test for neural reaction speed or cellular activity?"
Zod asked Black Queen.
"Sir, neural reaction speed is actually not easy to test. Before undergoing a period of training, ordinary F-Class heroes tend to produce roughly similar results in such tests, such as dodging balls coming from all directions in a sealed room. As for the higher-tier B-Class heroes, at that stage they already have the basic ability to dodge bullets or ignore light firepower. So the upper limit of neural reaction speed is also difficult to measure."
Black Queen replied.
After all, aside from achievements, the requirement for becoming a B-Class hero was the ability to withstand the threat of light firepower.
At this point, the first round of the written exam had already ended.
Aside from including some tests related to heroic personality tendencies, the written exam also contained many questions requiring specialized knowledge. For example, how to rescue civilians trapped on the first floor during a fire, which part of a building's structure could be broken without damaging its overall balance, and how to administer emergency treatment to burns. There were all kinds of other subjects as well, ranging from biology and medicine to physics. The whole paper was basically on the level of a doctoral examination.
At that moment, the speed and endurance test began.
The examinees on the field had all changed into sportswear provided by the Association, partly to prevent cheating with special items.
The basic requirement to pass the test within the ten-minute time limit was to run one hundred meters in under seven seconds and to maintain that speed for the full ten minutes.
For ordinary people, that kind of test would be nothing more than a laughable fantasy.
But anyone who could pay the rather hefty registration fee to participate in the test generally had at least this level of ability.
At the current stage of progress, only two-thirds of the participants had been eliminated.
Was the Marvel world really that full of hidden monsters?
Zodhis found that statistic ridiculously exaggerated.
Thanks to the enormous size of the testing ground, it was easy to arrange fifty people for each round of testing.
Jessica Campbell was called up soon enough.
A test like this posed no challenge to her at all. She reached the finish line far ahead of everyone else, leaving the examiners completely stunned.
Aside from the early days when the Superhero Association had just been founded and powerful superheroes emerged one after another, the examiners had rarely seen a superhero who so thoroughly outclassed the others.
After eliminating some of the participants whose physical ability was insufficient, the final ability destruction test was about to begin.
"The destructive ability test is now starting. Please proceed to the designated area according to your number and prepare."
The moment the broadcast sounded, the entire platform began descending at a slow and steady pace. Half a minute later, it connected seamlessly with a much larger plaza.
Physical destruction.
Non-physical destruction.
The signs on either side of the plaza were that simple and direct, and behind them were sealed testing rooms.
This was also done to protect the secrecy of heroes' abilities.
For example, if the full details of a speedster's ability were known, then opponents could prepare all kinds of terrains specifically designed to restrict speed. Or a psychic could walk out the door only to get knocked out by a brick before they had a chance to use their powers.
Of course, there were always people strong enough, or arrogant enough, not to care.
Jessica Campbell naturally chose the physical destruction test.
By the time the slow, grinding process of the test finally came to an end, another two hours had already passed.
The F-Class and E-Class heroes who had barely scraped through the speed, endurance, and other physical tests had already withdrawn. Now it was time for the Super Destructive Power test to begin.
This segment had been created for those who possessed special abilities or overwhelming strength. As long as they passed, they could even jump straight to becoming an S-Class hero.
Of course, almost nobody had ever succeeded.
After all, Zodhis was extremely strict about S-Class heroes. The fact that even Spider-Gwen and Venom had only managed to receive A-Class status was proof enough.
Normally, the super destruction test was basically target practice. You attacked the testing wall with your strongest move, then the system calculated the impact force along with various added factors such as poison speed, flames, lightning, and other secondary damage.
But now, the target was...
An S-Class hero.
Naturally, it was not Tony Stark.
Although his Iron Man suit had already been upgraded to Mark 45, without things like the Bleeding Edge Armor or Celestial-tier armor, Tony Stark was still too weak. Zodhis was also worried that some unexpectedly powerful superhero might suddenly show up and blow Tony apart in a few punches, which would not be ideal.
So instead, it was another S-Class hero.
Ben the Thing.
A personal evaluation from an S-Class hero was definitely more accurate than any rigid instrument.
At the same time, this was also meant to let these newly qualified superheroes understand the gap between themselves and the absolute upper limit of superhero power.
Not everyone was someone like Sentry, Blue Marvel, or Nova.
So up to this point, Ben the Thing had not encountered anyone who impressed him.
Jessica Campbell was no exception.
Still, she was good enough to make Ben the Thing happily give her an A-Class evaluation.
And so, Jessica Campbell passed every part of the examination and officially became an A-Class hero.
/-\
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