The gates of Ground Beta parted with a mechanical hiss, revealing a flawless urban replica bathed in golden daylight. Glass windows gleamed, streets stretched wide and clean, and mock storefronts stood polished and untouched. It felt like stepping into a city caught in perfect stillness — the calm before a storm.
Above, the sky was cloudless and bright, a glaring sun casting sharp shadows across every block and alleyway. It wasn't Idea for Kael as Darkbind was weaker in direct sunlight. About half as strong to be exact. That's why Kael only did Vigilantism at night when Darkbind was at peak strength.
A deep breath expanded his chest.
'This'll have to do.'
Present Mic's amplified voice crashed down from overhead.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! A COUNTDOWN?! REAL BATTLES DON'T HAVE COUNTDOWNS!!"
Without hesitation, examinees surged forward in all directions — some leaping with their propulsion-based Quirks, others charging down the street like sprinters at the starting gun. The sounds of powers activating echoed from every angle: blasts of ice, crackling plasma, and even sonic shrieks.
Kael didn't sprint. He moved with a measured pace, walking directly in the middle of the road so that nothing could ambush him without him seeing it.
The sun pressed down like a weight, and the familiar tug of DarkBind felt slower than usual, less responsive under its light.
But after years of training DarkBind, though its strength, speed, and durability may have been cut in half, his control over it was nonetheless the same.
From his hand, a set of tendrils unfurled — deep blue with flickers of violet dancing along their edges. He could feel its power depleting. Kael knew he would have to work smarter, not being able to rely on Darkbinds' brute strength, speed, and durability.
A two-pointer rounded a corner ahead, metal limbs grinding as it locked on to him.
Kael broke into a sprint
'DarkBind: Grasping Coil.'
A single tendril snapped forward, low and fast. It hooked the robot's leg mid-step. Kael then yanked back hard, causing the robot to fly at him. Cocking his fist back as it flew towards him, Darkbind curled around his fist, Kinetic Forges glowed beneath, and…
BOOM!
Kaels' fists sunk into the robot's chest, causing it to blow back into a lampost at high speed, ultimately destroying it.
+2 Points.
Kael heard from the wristband they gave him. Powering down Kinetic Forge and unwrapping DarkBind from his hand, Kael used this trick to fool the onlookers into thinking that was just Darkbind enhancing Kaels physical strength.
That was a little trick he thought of when he was training with Voidflare. It actually gave him his first of a few wins against him. Kael knew that if it could fool a perceptive Hero such as Voidflare, then it could definitely fool a lot of others.
Kael began to mobilize. He passed the destroyed robot along with a few others from other candidates. Kael cut left, weaving through a street surrounded by tall, glimmering windows and buildings. He didn't bother checking for cover — there wasn't much. That was fine.
But suddenly, a three-pointer burst from between a row of parked mock cars ahead, arms primed with spinning blades.
Kael raised both hands.
'DarkBind: Cross Snare.'
Two tendrils arced outward, curving in opposite directions before snapping inward like a trap. They coiled around the bot's arms, locking them above its head mid-swing. With a heavy jump forward, Kael launched into the air, twirling and forming a Giant Hammer made from DarkBind.
The robot could only watch as Kael came down, noting that the last thing it saw was a huge grin on Kaels face before black protruded its vision.
+3 Points.
Before he could even lure Darkbind back into him, a cluster of one-pointers zoomed around a corner. Small, fast, unpredictable.
Kael turned smoothly and raised one arm.
'DarkBind: Flick Lance.'
Three short, sharp tendrils shot out in rapid succession, striking clean into the bots' cores. They tumbled mid-charge, their systems sparking as they hit the pavement.
+3 More Points.
He moved with efficiency — nothing flashy, no moves wasteful. His steps were steady, every tendril calculated. The heat was rising now; the more he used DarkBind in direct sunlight, the more tension he felt in his arms and chest. His Quirk was responding slower here — less fluid, weaker. It was almost to the point of trying to fight the robots using a spaghetti noodle.
But it was still enough. He'd have some trouble facing real Villains with just this Quirk alone, but against some robots like these ones? It was enough.
From a nearby plaza, two more bots rolled in tandem — one three-pointer, one one-pointer. They moved fast. The three-pointer raised a cannon-like appendage and shot a bean bag at him.
Kael lunged left behind a car, barely missing the bean bag. Didn't know they came in variants like that..' Kael thought, running Darkbind onto the sidewalk, taking off a manhole and slithering Darkbind underneath the street, through the sewers.
As the robots started coming in closer, they passed over a manhole. Darkbind shot out at incredible speeds, causing the manhole cover to split the robots into two halves. The corpses of the robots fell onto one another as Kael retracted Darkbind back into himself.
+4 Points.
Kael stood up from behind the cars and looked over at the fallen robots. Just beyond that view, Kael could see the faint familiar pulses of color that Yumi extruded when using her powers. Gravitational waves shimmered above distant rooftops. Faint cosmic energy lingered in the air, warping heat and pressure. Yumi was not holding back against those robots.
Kael smirked and started running in the opposite direction of her.
Through every intersection, across every open stretch, Kael fought head on with each and every single Robot. No hiding in the shadows, waiting for them to come to him.
His tendrils cracked the air, glowing faintly as they struck. He didn't hesitate. He didn't overuse Darkbind. Each strike ended a threat, and each step brought him closer to the next.
Another group of one-pointers — four, swarming in a staggered pattern charged at him.
Kael crouched, placing his right hand on the ground, wrapping Darkbind around his legs and feet. Kinetic Forge glowed down his thighs and around his heels. Kicking off the ground, Kael flung forwards, Darkbind extending out from his body.
DarkBind: Split Shackle.
Tendrils erupted from his body, striking each bot's chassis in unison. The bots sparked violently before collapsing, Kael appearing behind them as a violent explosion went off from their bodies.
+4 Points.
He rolled his shoulder, catching his breath.
'I can't use any of my other quirks without showing a few signs of usage. Darkbind is reaching its limits under the sun. But I still have to move. I'll just chalk it up to training.'
He adjusted his stance and pressed onward, toward the heart of the city zone. He didn't know how many minutes had passed — three , seven — but he could feel the intensity rising.
Another three-pointer came thundering through a side street, metal jaws snapping. Kael stood his ground.
DarkBind: Chain Sunder.
The tendrils split, striking all four of its limbs at once, anchoring them to nearby walls. The robot tried to move — but the tendrils held. Kael stepped forward, reached around the robots neck and press the off switch.
It dropped instantly.
+3 Points.
He kept walking. Stillno end in sight to the robots and destruction they caused.
…