"Well I'm glad you're determined to go, but you still gotta wait. So go ahead and grab a seat." Kiyoshi said.

"Aight." Ernesto said as he found a seat in the middle section of the room.

He then saw the person that was supposed to be called go into the arena.

“Hopefully I don’t have to wait a long time.” Ernesto mumbled as he looked around the room.

He then noticed the person sitting on his right with a sword next to them.

‘Oh shit. It’s a baddie. Ok Ernesto, play it cool, play it cool. This could be your chance to finally get a girlfriend!’ Ernesto said in his head as he fixed his hair.

“Sup girl. They say dating is a numbers game. So can I get yours?”

“Are you gay or just stupid?” Asked the baddie. 

“Wait, you a dude?”

“Stupid it is. Hey my name is Dante, don’t worry I get that a lot. A bunch of guys ask me for my number, yet girls never do. I wonder why? Anyways, how you doing dumbass?” 

“Bruh. Names Ernesto by the why. And as for how I’m doing, well I hope that I just better pass this exam. But I’m doing good. You?”

“I'm good, I just passed mine. This kind of thing is just to see who has what it takes. Y’know something to weed out the weak." Dante said, yawning as he fell asleep.

Ernesto stared at him blankly. “Bruh. He can’t be serious.” 

He then continued to watch the match.

The match went on for 10 more minutes before the participant was knocked out as they hit the force field of the arena that was up.

‘Well I guess that counts as a type of loss.’ Ernesto noted in his head as the next participant was called over.

For that match, the participant managed to win theirs. The last 5 were then called up for their respective matches. 3 wins for the participants, 2 wins for their opponents.

“Well, this would be the moment where the exam ends and I congratulate you all for taking part in it, but we still have one more match left. Ernesto Garcia, you are up next.” The head instructor said.

“Yes sir!” Ernesto quickly got up and made his way to the arena.

Once in, one of the instructors appeared across from him. He was tall and had a lean, yet fit physique with long red hair. Rather than wearing the standard gray coat that the other instructors wore, he had a white suit on with matching gloves.

“My name is Cyrus Quinn. I shall be your opponent. But before we begin, I have three questions for you. As for all matches, we must ask these questions to the participant before it starts. Depending on your answer, we’ll see if we can challenge it or not. Number 1: What is your goal as a Hero if you were to pass this exam?”

“My goal is to be the greatest Hero.” 

“Alright. Number 2: What does that mean to you?” 

“What does that mean? Well, I thought about it ever since I was a kid. It means to be a Hero that goes above and beyond for the people he’s protecting. It means being someone where people will know that they'll be safe when they see him.”

“Very well. Number 3: Does the power make the Hero, or can a “hero” still exist, even after everything that has happened since the first Titan attack? I ask this because we have those who participated without powers and relied on their own strengths and wits to beat the instructors who were their opponents. I can sense that you have a Type, which already puts you above others to a certain degree. If you didn't have a Type, would you still want to be a Hero?”

“Well…” Ernesto said as he thought about his answer and what to say.

We then get a flashback from 4 years ago when Ernesto was 14, training inside a gym with his dad.

He was currently boxing but clearly missing as Walter kept dodging him.

"Dammit!! Why can't I hi-!!"

Ernesto was then cut off as his dad got a clean hit directly on his face, knocking him to the ground.

"Ow!!" Ernesto groaned.

"And that makes another win for me." Walter said.

"Ugh. Come on. Why can't I hit you once? This would be so much easier if I could use my powers." Ernesto mumbled.

Walter then bonked his son with his gloved hand.

"Rules are rules Ernesto. You agreed to train with me without using your powers."

"Yeah. And that was when I thought I would actually get a hit on you. But for the last month I couldn't even hit you once. I don't even think I'm improving at all." Ernesto said in annoyance.

“You can’t keep relying on your powers for every fight. Once you become a Hero, you might face enemies that can absorb or nullify your powers. You might even have a couple training sessions where you can’t use them. Power doesn’t make the Hero.”

“Really?” 

“Mhm. Look, every Hero might be able to control the elements or can crush buildings easily or can fire powerful energy beams. But what about those who can’t do those things? What about those who want to be heroes but don’t have powers and can only rely on what they can do naturally? Are you going to tell them that they can’t be heroes?” 

“Well, no. It’ll be hard for them to be a Hero but with training they….should..” Ernesto then realized what his dad was trying to say.

“That’s right. They should become one regardless of whether they have powers or not. Listen, no matter how flashy they are or how strong they are, it’s their impact that matters. I guarantee that you’ll remember a Hero for what they’ve done, rather than remember what abilities they had. A Hero will always be there to protect and save the people, and keep fighting for them, no matter the odds.” 

A transition was then shifted to a year later, as Ernesto watched across the living room as his mother was crying from talking with two men in suits.

The mission his father took was successful, but at the cost of him having to be trapped in the process to let the other Heroes escape. Nothing was found of him.

It has been 3 years since then.

Now back in the present, Ernesto took a deep breath before answering.

'I will find you, dad. No matter what.' 

“The power doesn’t make the Hero. They are a part of us, sure, but everyone has made a choice to be here. A Hero is willing to protect and die for the people. Even if one day we might forget what they could do, we’ll still remember the impact they had on us. A “hero” can exist regardless of abilities. All that matters is that they make us feel safe and hopeful for the future. Those are the Heroes I look up to. And that's the type of Hero I want to be.”

“…Heh. Alright then.” Cyrus said as the stage was surrounded by a force field.

“You two will fight until one of you is knocked out or is unable to keep fighting. Do not worry about injuries as we have healers on standby. Fight your hardest to win.” The head instructor said.

Ernesto cracked his knuckles as his purple lightning covered his arms and legs and got ready.

Cryus snapped his fingers as he created a flaming bow.

“Begin!!”

Ernesto rushed at him in a blur as Cyrus reacted quickly and went to strike at his chest. But Ernesto dodged and went for a right hook.

However Cyrus kicked him but Ernesto jumped back before he could get his.

“Not bad. But that won’t be enough!” Cyrus shouted and pulled back his bow and launched a couple flaming arrows at Ernesto.

“Woah!!” Ernesto dodged the arrows but noticed that his opponent was making more arrows, and making them grow bigger.

“[Inferno Rockets]!!”

The arrows were then launched must faster than before but Ernesto ran around them as he zoomed at Cyrus, dodging the explosions. He was charging a lightning attack in his right fist.

'I see. So Cyrus is a Type Orange with the ability to create and generate fire. But it doesn't seem he can manipulate them, given how it would be easy to restrain the kid.' Kiyoshi noted in his head. 'Let's see if the kid has got what it takes to win.' 

Cyrus then waved his hand and summoned a wall of flames to stop Ernesto in his tracks but it didn't work as he surrounded his body with his purple aura and went through the flames with little injuries.

"Tch." Cyrus clicked as he used his flames to propel himself back.

"You're not getting away from me!! [Lightning Flash]!!" Ernesto shouted as he let out a burst of lightning at him.

The red head used his flames to block the attack but it was to no avail as he was launched back, hitting the wall of the force field.

“Ngh.” Cyrus grunted as he dusted off his clothes. “You’re fast, but let’s see if your speed is enough to go against this!!”

Fire then surrounded his entire body as he pulled his arms before launching himself at Ernesto at high speed as he spun mid-air to do an axe kick.

Ernesto backed up from the attack but Cryus anticipated that as once he stomped on the ground, propelled him as he grabbed Ernesto by his shirt and unleashed a powerful flame punch to his stomach.

"Gwah!!"

But Cyrus wasn't done with his assault as he then turned and kicked at the black haired male's face, making him stagger backwards.

"[Vulcan's Lance]!!!"

The red haired male then created a flaming lance and released a multitude of attacks at Ernesto, twirling it as he cut him multiple times and smacked his body around, not giving him time to recover or heal as some small burns were left on his body.

Finally, Cyrus struck his lance at Ernesto's chest, leaving a burnt hole on clothes as he was launched and smacked the wall of the force field, falling on all fours.

"Not bad. Cyrus’ skill with his flames can’t even give Ernesto time to heal. If I’m correct, he must have the passive [Energy Pool] ability, judging from how he was able to go through the flames unscratched and survive those fire attacks with minimal damage. Though that last attack was quite dangerous." Kiyoshi mumbled as he kept watching the match.

Ernesto was panting and coughing in pain, as he looked at the burn mark on his chest.

'F-Fuck… Luckily it wasn't that deep. Still, I can't lose here. Ngh..' He winced as he got up.

"Is that all you have? I thought you had more in you. Weren't you going to fight for your dreams? Weren't you going to be the greatest?" Cryus asked as he readied his spear.

“Hah….hah…Don’t count me out just yet!”

At the shout, Ernesto's purple aura spiked and unleashed his metawave, ready to use more of his power.

The crowd and even Dante felt the wave, with the black haired male waking up a bit from his deep sleep.

“Hmm. What’s going on?” He asked as he rubbed his eyes, before realizing that Ernesto was having his match.

“Oh he’s still having his match. Nice. Hope he wins.”

'He's a Type Orange with Fire Manipulation. Not only that but he's now able to match my speed. I have to find an opening before I take another one of those hits.'

Ernesto looked around the arena before he got an idea.

"Bingo!" 

He charged up his aura as he got in a running position, with Cyrus sensing his power spike and got in a defensive stance.

However it wouldn't be enough as Ernesto smirked as his power exploded and he suddenly appeared next to his opponent, almost instantaneously.

'What!?' Cyrus shouted in his head, getting knocked across the arena.

"I'm not done yet!!" Ernesto roundhouse kicked him further away in the air.

Cyrus coughed out but used his flames to land midair.

Ernesto took the initiative and blasted multiple bolts of lightning at him. “[Voltic Cannon]!!!”

Cyrus created a wall of flames to block the attacks but the blots were much stronger and broke through. He used his flames to dodge them but Ernesto didn't let up his attacks.

Ernesto rushed as lightning and punched him into the wall. He then went to punch him for the finishing blow but Cyrus moved his head out of the way and pushed him back with his flames.

“Damn kid….You’re really pushing hard….”

“Just shows that… I’m not backing down easily. I didn’t put in extra training these last 3 years for nothing!! I will beat you!!”

Ernesto then put his hands forward before pulling them back as he charged up a powerful attack.

“Then it’s time we end this!! Let’s see how far your ambition to become the greatest Hero is!!!” Cyrus shouted as he ignited his arms aflame.

Ernesto kept charging up his attack as the ball of electrical energy that appeared between his hands was growing bigger and becoming more powerful by the second.

“If you believe that your dream is going to come true, then show me how strong you really are!!! Otherwise I’ll burn it up with my flames!!!!” Cyrus declared. "[Volcanic Wrath]!!!!"

He then unleashed his attack as a powerful burst of fire.

“My dream will come true!!! Just watch!!! I’ll show all of you that I can do it!! [Thunderbolt Burst]!!!!!” Ernesto shouted as he fired a large burst of electrical energy.

Both attacks connected and created a large explosion with the blast radius slamming back both males to the ends of the force field.

Cyrus got up slowly as he was heavily injured from the explosion. “W-well….That was….something all right...”

Ernesto was panting heavily as he was running low on energy, with that last attack draining most of his power.

"D-Dammit….And I thought that I would….win…"

Cyrus slowly went up to him, limping a bit from the aftermath.

"I gotta…. hand it to you kid. Your [Kinetic Bolts] are pretty strong…. I would say I'm impressed," Cyrus then looked down at him. "But answer me this: In your condition, do you think you can still fight and win?”

Ernesto kept panting as he looked up. “M-my conditions don’t matter…. I-if I want to become a Hero… I gotta make sure…that I can…. get back up!"

He then slowly got up, even though his injuries were badly affecting his body.

"Then answer this question... You said you wanted to become the greatest Hero right? That means that you were probably inspired by the Star Savior, just like a majority of everyone here…. Do you think you could surpass him? Do you think you could be a greater Hero than him?" Cyrus asked.

“Yeah…I am…. He wasn’t the only one who inspired me to achieve greatness… My dad also did. And I will find him from wherever he disappeared to… No matter what..” Ernesto said as he raised his fists, albeit weakly. “He was a part of the New Pantheon. A Godhead before he retired to raise me with my mom… A great Hero that I look up to…”

“I see. And what was his name?”

“Walter Garcia….Keraunos.."

The other participants as well as the instructors talked amongst themselves on what Ernesto said.

"Who?" Dante asked, with no one responding to him.

"I see. So that's who his father was." Kiyoshi said.

""Keraunos"..?" Cyrus said he remembered how he was. "Ah, I remember him. People called him “The Bolt of Hope”."

"That's right! And his hope still lives in me!! I'm not going to let anyone bring my dream and his hope down!!" Ernesto shouted.

"Is that so?" Cyrus raised his hand and created a ball of fire. "Then that means you can still fight, correct?"

Silence filled the place as everyone was waiting to see what would happen.

Ernesto said nothing with his fists still raised, as he summoned a bit more of his lightning, but was still weak from using his powers in the fight. "Bring it on!!"

Cyrus smirked as he launched the fireball at him, with Ernesto quickly dodging it and rushed at his opponent.

Cyrus then quickly created another flaming spear and threw it at Ernesto, but the black haired male even avoided that as he got close and punched him across the arena.

Cyrus recovered and was ready to launch another fire attack, but was interrupted as Ernesto suddenly appeared and punched him again.

"Ngh!!" Cyrus grunted before grabbing Ernesto's arm and pulled him in and gave him a hard kicked gut to the gut.

"Oof!!!" Ernesto coughed as Cyrus then blasted a burst of fire and launched him back a bit, rolling on the floor.

"I'm not done yet!!" Cyrus jumped into the air as he created a flaming axe and went to strike at him.

Ernesto quickly backed out of the way but Cyrus charged at him with the axe raised.

"Try and win now!!"

"This is it.." Kiyoshi said to himself.

Time seemed to slow down around the area, as the air was heavy and tense.

'I won't lose.. Not here… Not now!!' Ernesto clenched his fist as he remembered the words his father had told him before.

A Hero will always be there to protect and save the people, and keep fighting for them, no matter the odds.

'I will be a Hero. I will find you, dad. And I will….I will make you proud!!' Ernesto stood his ground, not having any more energy to use his Type. All he had now was his raw strength.

"I'm not letting this be my end!!!"

One attack. One decisive strike. This will decide everything.

Cyrus' axe was brought down to strike at Ernesto at blinding speed, but, at that exact moment it was close to his face, Ernesto quickly dodged to the left.

"What!?" Cyrus then noticed his opponent's clenched fist.

"I'm not losing here!!!!" Ernesto punched Cyrus in the face, its impact shooting him to the wall.

"No… way…" Cyrus fell onto the ground.

Ernesto panted heavily as the force field dissipated.

"Heh. Not bad, kid," Kiyoshi grinned. "Not bad at all.”

"Well. It seems Ernesto Garcia has won. And by our agreement, he has passed. Welcome to The New Pantheon." The head instructor said.

"I….I did it… I actually did it," Ernesto said as he collapsed on the ground. "I did it, dad…"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was now the end of the exam. Ernesto was healed up and was leaving the building, alongside everyone with the sun beaming on them.

"I still can't believe I passed," He looked up into the sky and smiled. "I knew our training would pay off."

"Yo, Ernesto," Dante called out and walked up to him.

"Hey Dante."

"Congrats on passing, man."

"Thanks. I honestly thought I wouldn't but I managed to push through and win."

Dante grinned. "Yeah. I saw that. Not bad."

Ernesto nodded and smiled.

"Well, Imma go grab a bite to eat. Wanna have a victory eat? There's a good Korean BBQ restaurant I know."

"You trying to rizz me up or something?" Ernesto smirked.

"...Just shut up before I leave you here." Dante gave him a deadpan look.

"Now what do we have here?" Both males saw Kiyoshi walking up to them from the entrance. "You guys gonna have a bite to eat and won't invite me?"

"Aren't you in your 30's or something?" Ernesto asked.

"Hey! I'm 28, thank you very much!"

Dante chimed in. "You sure, old man?"

"I swear I'll have you two kicked out from joining." Kiyoshi mumbled as the two laughed.

"But in all seriousness. I'm here to congratulate you on winning, Ernesto."

"Thanks, Mr. Tsukumo."

"Hey. I'm old, but not that old. Just Kiyoshi is fine. Remember that." He said as he began to leave and wave. "Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow where we're supposed to meet up. Take care."

Ernesto smiled and said bye as he left with Dante to eat.

Tomorrow was the day he would meet his team, and will officially start his day as a Hero.

'Just wait for me dad. I will find you. I swear it.'