The murmurs of astonishment didn't take long to fill the fake streets. Some applicants stopped running completely, paralyzed by the scene they had just witnessed.
"Who is that guy?"
"I didn't even see him move."
"His Quirk… it's monstrous."
Goo, ignoring them, dematerialized his light sword with an almost imperceptible snap. Then, in a golden flash, he propelled himself toward the sky as if gravity were only a suggestion.
From high above, floating with a yellowish aura surrounding him like a contained sun, he watched the chaos in the training city.
"Let's see… the largest concentration of robots is in the center," he murmured, eyes sharp.
[Goo, use your ability "The 1000 Light Swords." You could end all this at once.]
"Tempting…" he smiled with a trace of amusement, "but it's not time yet to show all my cards. Instead… I'll show something else."
Above his head, a colossal light sword began to materialize, three times larger than him, so bright that it cast its glow over the fake buildings as if dawn had suddenly arrived.
"First sword: Divine Slash," he announced quietly, extending his index finger downward.
The giant blade remained motionless for a second, then fell like lightning.
The robots on the ground looked up, blinded by that searing light descending straight at them.
There was no time to react.
BOOOM!
The impact shook the entire fake street, raising columns of dust and ripping chunks of asphalt. Twenty robots were reduced to glowing scrap in a single strike.
[Easy.]
"Well… let's do that again." Goo smiled as he calmly descended.
Minutes later, the scene looked like a mechanical graveyard. Goo walked among twisted pieces and sparks still falling from the sky, while dozens of applicants ran the other way in a panic.
"RUN, IT'S THE ZERO POINTER!!!" shouted a student on the verge of tears.
A gigantic evaluation robot, as tall as an office building, forced its way through, destroying facades as if they were paper. Its shadow covered half the street.
"Interesting…" murmured Goo, analyzing the scene without a hint of fear.
[Do you think it will blow up if you use a direct laser?]
"I don't know…" he replied calmly, as if talking about the weather, "it's too big."
"HEY, MOVE!! YOU'RE GONNA DIE!!" yelled another applicant, seeing him stand still.
"Eh?" Goo tilted his head, confused by the warning.
[Hahaha, they think you're frozen with fear.]
A thin light sprouted from his index finger and shot toward the robot, striking its metallic leg. The giant wavered for a second… just one second.
"Well… this junk is really sturdy," he whispered, pupils glowing. "Looks like I'll have to get serious."
In a flash, two light katanas appeared, one in each hand.
In the blink of an eye, Goo vanished, replaced by a series of golden blurs circling the zero pointer. Each burst was a clean slash cutting through steel plates like butter.
"First sword: Divine Slash," he said again, hurling one of the glowing blades straight at the robot's head.
The sword pierced with a blinding shine. The zero pointer shuddered, creaked… and then exploded in a blast that shook the entire fake city, collapsing backward and demolishing buildings in its path like dominoes.
Sparks rained from the sky, illuminating Goo, who was already standing on the smoking remains, smiling calmly with his gaze fixed on the horizon.
Several concrete blocks detached from the ceiling of the testing ground with a chilling crack. The applicants screamed, running aimlessly as dust began to fall like dirty snow.
Goo floated a few meters in the air, arms crossed and expression annoyed.
"Seriously… do I have to be the hero here? I haven't even passed the exam yet!"
The debris began to plummet in slow motion… at least for him. With a blinding flash, his body became intangible and disappeared at the speed of light.
He reappeared above the nearest group, snapped his fingers, and created a massive solid light umbrella that intercepted the first blocks, bouncing them away as if they were rubber balls.
"I could just let them handle it… but no, of course not," he murmured, dodging a beam fragment and scooping up a boy paralyzed with fear, "if someone gets crushed, they'll definitely blame me."
In less than a second, he dropped the boy on a safe balcony and vanished again. Each appearance was a golden flash, each disappearance a hum of energy.
"Move, it's gonna fall on you!" shouted one applicant to another.
"Relax, your express delivery guy is here," scoffed Goo, grabbing both girls by the back of their shirts like kittens and placing them gently on a rooftop.
He flew over the crowd again, now materializing light platforms under several students so they could escape while he carried two more, one under each arm.
"They should pay me for this… special rate: rescue at the speed of light!"
A huge block fell straight toward a boy who couldn't move. Goo appeared right beside him, formed a curved light shield that deflected the concrete and used it as a ramp to boost himself.
Before the boy could even react, he was already on the rooftop with other applicants Goo had left seconds earlier.
"Thank you, you saved us!" shouted one, eyes shining.
"Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it," replied Goo, rolling his eyes as he disappeared again, "next time bricks rain down, bring real umbrellas."
In a matter of moments, he had rescued over a dozen applicants.
Some ended up grouped on balconies, others in cleared alleys, all in safe zones Goo improvised with light barriers to keep robots away.
Finally, the last block of debris crashed against another luminous barrier, which vanished just as it was no longer needed.
Goo landed floating a few centimeters off the ground, still glowing like a human lamp, arms crossed as the dust began to settle.
"Fantastic… and the exam hasn't even started yet. I'm earning the hero of the year award."
Several applicants stared at him like a savior hero. Goo looked back at them, expression bored.
"Alright, get to a safe place before I change my mind."
Without waiting for an answer, he took off again, disappearing in a yellow flash toward the next chaos of the exam.
Minutes later, UA's alarm shut off and the exam ended. Teachers and security robots inspected the rubble while injured applicants received medical attention.
Some still stared in disbelief at the area where just moments ago Goo Kim had been flying around like a madman, rescuing half the crowd.
"Hey, don't just stand there!" he'd shouted while hauling a boy who couldn't move his leg. "Don't waste my time, I hate being a free hero!"
In less than three minutes, Goo had grabbed five different applicants, carried them to the safe zone like grocery bags and, between complaints, tossed out lines like:
"Why are there so many useless people in a hero exam?!"
"They won't pay me for this, I know it!"
"If another robot explodes nearby, I swear I'm leaving you there!"
Even so, he saved them all, including a girl who had been left hanging from a ledge. When he set her on safe ground, he muttered in annoyance:
"Don't thank me… seriously, don't."
Hours later, Goo was sunk into the living room sofa, controller in hand, eyes fixed on the screen. A racing game roared as his virtual car crashed for the tenth time into a wall.
"Damn bastards with hacks!" he growled, punching the cushion with his fist. "Nobody brakes that perfectly on that curve, nobody!"
He was so focused he didn't even hear the door open. His brother Denki appeared with his backpack over his shoulder, surprised.
"Eh?" he said, frowning. "When did you get home so fast?"
Goo, without taking his eyes off the screen, muttered:
"Right after saving half a circus of useless applicants… Don't ask."
The car in the game crashed into a wall again. Goo shouted in rage, throwing the controller onto the couch.
"WHY DOES EVERYONE PLAY DIRTY BUT ME?!"
Denki leaned against the doorframe, amused.
"So this is the flying hero, savior of applicants… defeated by a racing game. Tragic."
Goo shot him a murderous look.
"Shut up or I'll blast you too… out the window."
"Just kidding… kidding," said Denki as a drop of sweat ran down his face.