Air Hero

Getting the hero license

“Everyone, I know that you are feeling amazed after seeing Mighty Red. However, you shouldn’t forget the purpose of why you are here today. For you who have passed the test, don’t you want to get your hero license?”

Elrisa’s words brought the people on the scene back to reality. However, they immediately forget that they should be happy for other reasons. Not because of seeing Mighty Red but for passing the hero examination test.

“Okay, don’t panic now. We will now be moving to another place where you will get your picture taken, and after that, you will get your hero license and officially become a hero.”

“What? Get our picture taken right now?”

“I’m looking like a mess, not to mention that all my clothes are dirty.”

The people are panicked since they aren’t in a perfect condition to take a picture right now. Not to mention that they must have been in a sorry state since they just finished fighting for points. However, they really got no other choice. If they delayed it, they might need to wait for days or weeks to get their hero license.

Waiting for the people who passed the hero examination test, there’re already buses waiting to take them back to the United Heroes headquarter. After boarding the buses and back to the headquarter, they are lining up once again to get their photo taken.

While waiting for his turn, Max can see that Giovanni is being taken care of by his retainer and even having his makeup right now to make sure his picture comes out perfectly. Iki, on the other hand, doesn’t look any different from earlier as his power is enough to force his way through the test.

Max could also spot Hyacinth lining up to get her picture taken. This time, she doesn’t put any barrier around her so that nobody will push her in the queue. Heinrich also can be spotted not far from him, but he isn’t looking good and calm.

Max didn’t know the reason, but in fact, Heinrich tried to defeat the C-rank robot before he barely managed to get away due to his defense that is backed up by B-rank energy. Other than that, he spends a lot of energy trying to erase his frustration and waste it all when defeating the robots for him to pass the test.

Since the process is taking a photo in line, Max doesn’t really have anything to do other than waiting patiently until his turn arrives.

“Number 777.”

“Oh, that’s me.”

“You can enter the room.”

Max entered the room after lining up, and in there, he can see a camera set up with a green background behind.

“Alright, please stand at the center where it is marked and look at the camera. Feel free to put any pose that you want. As for the background, you can edit it with the templates that we have later.”

It seemed that this is why it takes so long for the people before him to finish taking their picture. But, to be honest, Max has dreamt about becoming a hero since a long time ago, and aside from the signature move, there’s another thing that he practices all the time, the unique pose.

Every hero, aside from their signature ability, has their own unique pose. For example, Mighty Red that they just have seen earlier, has a pose where he flexes his muscle while showing his back to the camera, and it looked very cool.

Max, of course, has prepared his unique pose since he isn’t even five years old and has his ability appraised. Right now, it is the time to show reveal it to the world through the hero license card. Max then put his left hand across his chest and his right hand above it, covering his face, and showed only one eye to the camera.

*flash*

With that, the picture is taken, and Max looked very satisfied when he looked at the result.

“Is this the pose that you want?”

“Yes, it’s perfect.”

“Do you want to choose a background?”

“Oh, this one looks good.”

Max then chooses a background with the setting of a moonlit night and his picture that is taken earlier standing on the edge of a rooftop.

“What do you think?”

“Mhm. I like it very much. Thank you for helping me.”

“It’s alright. You can move to the next room and wait for a few minutes for the license to be printed.”

To be honest, the photographer and the editor for the license card already have immunity for these kinds of childish poses, but Max’s is on another level that they couldn’t help but laugh after he left the room.

The next room is more of a waiting room with five tables, and there are people who passed the test earlier sitting on it. As the staff from the United Heroes association hands the hero license, they also explained the rules of the association and the benefits that they could have after becoming a hero.

When it was Max’s turn, he is already familiar with it since he already knows about it beforehand, and he also asked Kalina about it. First and foremost, he could access the United Heroes database and take a mission that is posted on the website. He already accessed it once with Yuna and knew how to navigate around it.

Secondly, many benefits regarding public service and such. Max didn’t think much about the rest since he is already happy enough with getting his hero license.

“If you have the time, please prepare for your costume. A costume can greatly raise the awareness of the public for you and increase your popularity. Here are some lists of the shops that made a specialized costume for some of the heroes and have a contract with the association. Congratulations once again, you have become an official D-rank hero. We’re waiting for your contribution and heroic conduct.”

Max, after that, goes out of the United Heroes headquarters. Looking at the white hero license on his hand, Max is overwhelmed by feelings. Firstly, happiness as he has achieved his dream. Secondly, sadness and loneliness as his mom and dad aren’t there to celebrate it with him. Thirdly, he is looking forward to his future.

Although Kalina reignites his spirit to live, he feels more motivated now. He is looking at the hero license again and smiles as if it was glowing under the city lights. Soon after, Max leaves the area because he feels his stomach rumbling as he feels hungry already. Finally, the long day of the hero examination test has ended.