My System: An Evolved Computer I Made With My Unique Ability—

It's as if a switch was flipped on Midori's head and he smiled, a creepy grin as if he was planning world domination. Hiroshi smiled back at him, but the smile in and of itself was filled with ulterior motives since he would be using Midori to get out of there. There was no way he'd punch the slat of wood in front of him... that's why he could only depend on Midori who is more muscular and overall physically stronger than him.

"That's a good idea!" Midori cheerily said and without thinking twice, brought his hand back and swung it hard. Thump. The wooden slat in front of him seemed to crack a little.

Fortunately, the wood used for this section was old, dry, and brittle enough that it could be punched through. Midori winced as splinters punctured his fist. He didn't mind it though and brought his arm back once again, this time, bracing his core for an even more powerful blow. He didn't mind if the punch would leave his fist all bloodied and broken. At the very least, this action would put them way ahead of everyone in the rope-climbing and rappelling section. It's basically a shortcut through two of the ten sections of the second round.

"Oomph!" Midori held his breath as his fist connected, this time it went straight through. He managed to crack the wood with sheer physical strength alone... but at what cost? Because of that, his fist— as well as his forearms— were bleeding, thanks to the splinters and the sharp cracks of wood left behind after he brute-forced his way through.

"Let's go," Behind Midori's forced smile was pain, but he uncomplainingly continued with the race with Midori right behind him.

Somehow, the gesture made Hiroshi feel a modicum of guilt since he was the one who basically forced the idea into Midori's head. And now he was hurt because of it.

All's well that end's well though since they were able to get ahead of almost everyone. "Are you all right?" Hiroshi couldn't help but ask, pursing his lips. "Sorry, it was my idea, and yet— "

"You don't have to apologize. Besides, this much won't kill me... it would impede my overall performance but overlooking that it's all good." As Midori quickened his pace, he eventually started feeling the discomfort in his arms, causing him to grit his teeth. "We have to do at least this much if we want to catch up to Satoshi."

Hiroshi frowned as he ran beside Midori. Just a few months ago, he looked down on Satoshi so much because he wasn't blessed with a superpower. There was even a point in time when he wanted to bully him, but instead, he mocked him since he compensated for the absence of a superpower with physical strength.

Thinking about it, he realized that he was naive. How could he mock someone's hard work? Without a superpower, he is just a normal high schooler.

As for Satoshi though, even without his superpower, his physical prowess alone is more than enough to get him the edge in a fight. He knows because he always got a decent ranking in matches, way better than most below-average students.

The fourth obstacle gave Midori a hard time but fortunately, they managed to clear it. They were well within the crowd of participants which still gave them a standing chance to get to the top fifty. As long as they kept their pace, they'd be able to clear the rest of the obstacles and desperately try to surpass everyone— try to get ahead of the crowd.

Currently, everyone was struggling through the sixth obstacle— a dimly lit cave with all its meandering paths and multiple mouths. One could easily get lost through the cave or at the very least reach a dead end... and that's because there was only one way out through the cave... and the rest of the paths were all dead-end.

With this obstacle, luck would play a huge part, as well as skill in how adaptive someone is as a future licensed superhero.

As a superhero, both luck and skill play a huge part in a lot of battles. And just like the recent occurrence of a dungeon spawning, a superhero must be prepared for anything at all costs... and most of the time, a superhero would find himself in situations where he'd be at a disadvantage, usually a place or terrain that's a bad matchup for their abilities.

Hence the sixth obstacle was the cave. If a superhero couldn't get through faster than anyone else here, then they don't deserve to get the Superhero License... at least for the current year.

Satoshi was way ahead of everyone though. And while everyone was stumbling through the dark in the caves (screams could even be heard inside, as if someone was losing their mind. This caused a few of the participants to resign since the fear of death got into their minds... and the darkness wasn't really helping), and Satoshi was already on the tenth obstacle. As he turned around to look if there were others catching up to him, he was relieved to find no one. This would give him more time to assess the tenth obstacle and clear it with as much efficiency as possible.

"Are you kidding me?" Satoshi asked as he watched his breath, leaning on his knees as he took in a lungful of air.

The tenth obstacle was none other than a landmine field— how typically original— just like a certain popular series where a certain powerless hero was given a superpower by eating someone's hair.

Satoshi heaved a sigh before he put both his hand in front of him, assuming a sprinter's starting position just before a race starts. He already knew what that the landmines on this path wouldn't be enough to kill someone... but it would still hurt if he got hit directly with one.

Nevertheless, he was going to risk it. He thought that if he ran fast enough, the explosion wouldn't affect him that much since he'd be way in front before the explosion even happened. There was no time to think about whether it would work or not.

"I just have to go beyond... plus ultr— "