Modern family homes sprawled across the neighborhood, with straight roads curling into neat intersections. Far away, tall skyscrapers marked the downtown, which was currently under attack by villains. The sight of towering buildings being razed left and right stood out the most, drowning out the distant cries of civilians in need.
An army of examinees flooded in to save everyone, but it quickly became clear that maneuvering through chaos and obstacles like debris and twisted metal and rubble wasn't as easy as heroes made it look. The newbies looked at one another, then at the strongest hero candidates with innate skills, their eyes silently pleading with them to take the first move.
A few refused to break the ice, and others shouted for no one to follow them, not wanting anyone to leech off them.
In that moment, the hero candidates split into various teams. The strong teamed up with other strong students, the weak banded together in larger groups, and some already had teams arranged prior to the start of this final test.
James watched them with a wide smirk. "I've seen this so many times, and it never ceases to amuse me."
"Indeed, Mr. James. They can scheme only so far before their real personalities come out and show whether they have what it takes to be a hero. Oh? Please, look at the ninth screen! It's your student!"
Tapping his tablet a few times, James checked the ninth screen and was shocked to see Leona Schnee sneaking around the family houses. She didn't follow the masses or head straight to the heart of the final test, but instead opened the door of one of the houses and walked in.
"Schnee!" James howled at the tablet, his black glasses hanging off his nose. "You're still not taking it seriously?! A burglar, not a hero?!"
The fellow examiners chuckled at the sight.
It was so rare to see James thrown for a loop.
***
Leona opened the door with careful precision. It didn't creak, let alone make any sound. She stepped in and closed the door just as delicately. Thanks to her recent evolution, Leona's footsteps were completely silent whenever her feet touched the floor, and her hands made no sound either. That was the superpower of her Soft Paws.
I will never wake up Mom or Dad at night anymore.
Unconsciously, Leona sucked in her upper lip and drew an unknown mana into her vomeronasal organ, tasting a foreign scent. She quickly realized that this was a mix of smells, and her new organ needed a few seconds to split and analyze them.
All information appeared in front of her.
[An unknown entity(???)]
[An unknown entity(???)]
[An unknown entity(???)]
[An…]
In total, ten unknown entities were inside the house. She couldn't hear them, but their stats matched well-built skillless adults: strength around twenty-five, with agility and dexterity close behind. In their hands, Leona would be like a branch, easily snapped in two.
Is that a family of ten? Their stats are unnaturally similar.
Leona believed that she had found civilians who needed to be saved. She was quite positive about it because it would score her easy points and cut down on her work. Silently crawling across the polished wooden floor, Leona followed her instincts and turned the knob of the door leading to the living room, her eyes widening as she found ten adult humans inside.
They also noticed her as the door opening drew their attention.
"Ah, villains," Leona blurted out, dejected.
Across from her, those ten adults wielded heavy daggers, biding their time. None of them looked like commoners; their faces were scarred and their bodies broad. Of course, one couldn't judge a book by its cover. But Leona knew she was right. Upon seeing her, those people's auras took on a different, spicy taste that almost made her eyes water.
[You're exposed to a killing intent.]
"Come in, girl!"
The closest villain jumped over the sofa's arm and ran toward Leona. She closed the door. He yanked it open, only to receive a kick in the groin followed up by a kick to the chest.
"Ugh!" He hunched and cradled his groin, taking a few steps back before dropping flat.
[Unknown entities status have been updated.]
[Minor Villain (Humanoid Engineering)]
"Getting beaten by a small girl? You call yourself a man?!" another villain shouted as he ran past his fallen comrade.
He saw no one in the corridor. "She's gone! I didn't hear the door opening, so she must still be in! Find her! Our plans can't be leaked!"
"I know!"
"Yeah!"
The minor villains all spread around the building, checking the kitchen, the basement, and the upper floor. None of them expected Leona to be outside. But in a rush, with her heart thumping hard against her chest, she managed to silently open and close the front door in mere seconds. She was now circling around the house on all fours.
I don't have to return… but I want to kick their asses.
Finding a window partially open, Leona looked at the small gap. It looked impossible for her to fit through, but she still gave it a go. She easily slipped her head in first and noticed a villain in the process of raising the bed.
He thinks I'm under the bed. I am not a kid anymore, idiot.
The rest of Leona's body fluidly slipped in. She landed without a sound and ran over to the man before he let the bed's frame go. Leona thrust her foot at the man's ankle, taking him down to the floor. The bed fell on the man's feet, making him scream. On his back, he instinctively reached for his dagger, but Leona quickly kicked it away and coiled her legs around his forearm, breaking the "bones" and disarming him.
His scream alerted another villain, who stormed in. He saw his friend immobilized and disarmed, groaning in pain. Above him stood a small, seemingly fragile girl. Her black eyes illuminated the darkness with an unusual calmness that alarmed him more than his friend's cries.
Though he couldn't tell that Leona was a cat, he could see that she was a hunter herself.
"She's here, and she took another one of us down! Quick!" he shouted, brandishing his dagger and taking careful steps toward Leona.
She stood still with her hands behind her back. In the next second, Leona thrust her hand forward, sending the fallen villain's dagger flying at him. She threw so fast that the dagger buried itself in the villain's forehead before he realized anything was wrong. A moment later, he tumbled forward, face first, and died.
When the rest of the villains caught up and entered the room, all they saw were two of their comrades: one dead, the other completely disarmed.
"We fumbled the bag! Quick, notify the boss!"
"I'm already calling him!"
***
Leona perched herself atop the roof, sitting calmly as if nothing had happened. Her heart hammered even louder now that she had killed one villain and brutally maimed another, though it was debatable whether breaking someone's forearm and legs was as bad as kicking a man in the balls.
Since they were machines, there wasn't much to worry about.
That said, Leona felt so different from her usual self. Once again, pushing herself like this was intoxicating. It was fun, blood-pumping, amazing!
Maybe I am really meant to be a hero.
She still hadn't defeated the remaining villains in the house, so going for a nap hadn't really crossed Leona's mind. She was thinking about her next move and what would be the best way to enter the house. A chimney beside her caught her attention.
But before she could peek inside and pull a Santa Claus move, the house's door banged open and the remaining seven sprinted out. Leona was about to chase them, but another group coming from a house a few yards away stopped her. Worse, she noticed a third group of minor villains and many more emerging from other houses.
It was like a domino effect had begun.
Why are you all leaving at once? You can't be aiming for me, right? I shouldn't have kicked that man in his balls!
Leona instinctively ducked behind the roof tiles and only exposed her eyes to look at the situation. She realized then that the villains were gathering around the safe spot where the hero candidates were supposed to bring civilians.
Is their plan to attack heroes from behind or when they are about to bring back civilians?
Both sounded unfair and cruel, but they suited villains—and they were surely effective. Leona didn't like it for the sole reason that she had triggered an early flood of the villains.
With no one around, she realized all the villains were gone. It meant that she could take a nap. But on the other hand, she still had unfinished business. She had also begun this domino effect, which rubbed her the wrong way.
She hated having tasks hanging over her; they annoyed her until the day she finally had to do them.
Therefore, Leona stood up and pulled off a smooth landing straight off the roof onto her soft paws.
I will clear them all alone and nap after hard work! Dad said that sleeping after good and hard work is always the best, so let's try it on my own!
The Cat leaped forward on all fours, running after clueless villains who didn't see her coming.