(AN: I may be rushing a bit, but I want to get to the main divergence point quickly. Not to say that I'll neglect other stuff. That also doesn't mean little hints and clues about what's to come won't appear.)
/\\//\\//\
[4: Swarm]
I stood at the entrance with the other participants. My uniform was getting a lot of attention still, but everyone was still clearly nervous. Now, I looked around, but I didn't see anyone I knew. I don't know why, but it is what it is. And in that case, I'll steal all the points I can. As I said, this is a competition, and I have to crush the dreams and hopes of the other participants. Because that's what it takes to win; you have to crush and destroy the dreams of everyone else.
I forgot who said that, or where it's come from, but if you think that sounds harsh, then fine. Just know that your competition will also do the same to you. And well, some would say that's the best part of winning. The part of seeing someone come second place.
Ah, well, I already have a head start because I have a surveillance drone in stealth mode above the exam site gathering information about the surroundings, it's also going to act as a "mothership" of sorts when the exam starts. It's an urban environment, which is a good place for drones, and the normal disadvantages that come from drones in a city don't exist, since all the "villains" are robots. I'll have to be careful of the other participants, so I don't blow them up by accident. But some precision strikes with AI assistance will make it really easy. And with the setting of the exam site already mapped out, it's going to be even easier.
All I have to do is send some out from my carrier rigging and maybe from my bow if I want to, and then I sit back and play on my tablet.
I'm just waiting for the signal from Present Mic.
"OKAY! WELCOME TO THE TESTING GROUNDS!"
Is Lil Wayne here?
Oh, right, the signal.
I quickly summoned my bow and shot three arrows into the sky that quickly turned into MQ-9 Reaper drones. A bit outdated for this time, but they'll serve well enough for this environment. I also uncloaked the surveillance drone above the testing arena. I summoned the carrier rigging and made a bunch of smaller drones quickly fill up the sky, a swarm of different types of drones that blot out the sun. Figureatively, of course.
Only then did I finally run into the arena, quickly connecting to the surveillance drone that would act as a mothership. This would let me control everything by pushing a few buttons. It was like an RTS game.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET IN THERE! THE TEST ALREADY STARTED!"
Only then did they finally panic and start running, tripping, and already fighting among themselves. They are what's called the laggards. I need to get away from them, so they don't disturb me. I put my tablet aside and shot an arrow in front of me as it turned into a helicopter drone. Just a simple one for transport, no weapons. I need a high vantage point, so I don't blow myself up accidentally.
I got on the helicopter drone, and it quickly took off into the sky. I went as high as I could without going over the testing walls. Once I found myself a good spot, I pulled out my tablet and started my fun. And it came at a good time, since the first robots started to appear. Now, I would spawn-camp where the robots come from, but I also need hero or rescue points, so I let them through. The others will be good for farming these points.
They looked like ants from my point of view. The robots. I meant the robots totally. *wink wink*
Let's do this.
On my tablet, I saw the view from the surveillance drone. The first thing I did was send some drones to all the other students. Not attack drones, but shielding drones. They'll surround them and make an energy barrier to absorb any impact from attacks, thus saving their lives and getting me hero points. A win-win for everyone involved.
At least, that's the theory. Let's see if these work. They'll be my "guinea pigs," as that one uma says.
From the tablet, I could see another student running up a street. They would encounter a surprise attack from a one-point robot from a building to the right of them in a few moments. If I knew the robots weren't as dangerous as they looked, the Gatling guns on their arms would be cause for alarm.
A few moments later, the robot burst from the building and attacked the student with a swipe of its arms. It would've made contact, but a yellow barrier shielded them, taking the impact instead.
Seeing that it actually worked, I quickly directed a few suicide drones to the robot. Two drones quickly came in and blew up the robot, in a small fireball with metal pieces in it. The barrier also absorbed the impact. I'm not saying the barrier can survive a direct hit, but it can absorb the force of being around the explosion.
With that little experiment over, it was time to rack 'em up.
/\\//\\//\
While Eleanor ramped up her drone strikes, the surveillance room that monitored all the testing sites was becoming a a little more active than usual.
"Her testing site looks like it's been overrun by mosquitoes," a teacher said.
"Should we be concerned that she's taking all the points possible? She's going to break every record at this rate," another teacher said.
"We should focus more on just how versatile she is. Just from this so far, she has devastating combat and damage capabilities, top-tier support ability, and information gathering skills. She's everything in one. A one-woman army so to speak," another teacher said
The room quickly filled with murmurs about Eleanor and her quirk, some taking notes. She was stealing the entire show.
A certain…animal hybrid held a file as he looked through it.
"Her name is Elenor Hayes. She's from America. Born in Alaska. She's here as part of a special exchange program for hero schools between America and Japan. Our school only has her. The paperwork is a little unusual, and her living situation is also unusual for what an exchange program is supposed to entail, but it went through."
"Anerica? Not just America, but also Alaska? Is she from a major city?"
"No. She's from somewhere in between. Not urban, but not rural."
"We'll have to guide her and help her get used to being here. Going from a town of maybe a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of people at most will require some adaptation."
"It won't be just the culture shock. Also, various laws and mindsets. I looked up Alaska a bit, and….things are very different."
"How different?"
"Observing her will give more answers. I think it's time."
A glass casing lifted up for access to a large, red button. It was a comical red button that would fit a morning cartoon villain. Without a thought, he pressed it.
/\\//\\//\
It was like watching a fireworks show of metal parts flying all over the place and fireballs. It was amazing. All I was missing was some aviator sunglasses and a military cap with golden embroidery to really complete the look I was thinking of. But what I have now is just as awesome. A giant feather plume will always look cool.
As I was looking at my drones blow up all the robots as they appeared, I noticed many of the guinea pigs below starting to stumble and trip over as if the ground was rumbling. None were hurt thanks to my support drones. Let me rephrase. None was hurt as a result of an attack from a robot. It doesn't mean they can't hurt themselves from their own quirk or accident.
Wait.
Oh, hell yeah! The other moment I was waiting for!
I quickly focused on my tablet, switching to manually control one of the MQ-9 Reaper drones. I switched to the AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. I looked up to see where the 0-point robot was, and it was very easy, barely an inconvenience. You know, 'cause it's bigger than some of the buildings in this urban environment.
As soon as I saw it, I moved the targeting system to its location. All I had to do was press a button. It really was like playing a game where you shoot from a gunship or drone. I made sure there were no nearby students before I let hell, a bit literally, rain down on the robot.
From my view up here on my helicopter, I could see the drone shoot the missile. A blast of flame trailed behind it as it left a smoke trail as it flew threw the air. It was barely a few seconds before it made an impact on the robot. It penetrated the steel like paper instantly before it blew up after maximum penetration. A fireball and a shrapnel cloud obliterated a massive chunk of the massive robot. It hit where the chest would be.
Obviously, this wasn't enough because it was still standing. So, I fired a few more.
More missiles shot forth as more fireballs and clouds of shrapnel took more and more chunks off the robot. It was already immobile, but these last few finally knocked it over as it took a few buildings down with it, making a cloud of dust and debris fill the streets, but everyone was already out of danger, since they all ran away.
Mission accomplished. Respect +.
Now I could descend.
/\\//\\//\
In the monitoring room, there was loud silence as no one said a single word. All their eyes were glued to the screen showing what Eleanor did, as well as a replay of what happened.
"We should count our lucky stars she's on our side."
"This shows further need to get her used to Japan's hero system. What she did can't be allowed to happen in a normal mission."
"It'll be hard, but necessary. I'll start arranging for her time here at U.A. We don't need to count the scores, since we know she's in first from only the points gathered from the robots, not counting hero points."
/\\//\\//\
Once I descended, I started recalling all the drones I summoned, leaving the skies clear again. All that was left was to go back to my hotel and wait for my results, which isn't really hard to know where I'll place.
Once again, a very productive day.