The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 76

Chapter 76: 76 | The View from the Top

The faculty observation deck sat three floors above the simulation fields, a long rectangular room lined with monitors displaying every angle of the practical assessment. Caelum Ashby occupied the central chair like it had been designed for him, which it had, sipping tea from a cup that steamed despite the fact that he’d poured it forty minutes ago. His silver hair caught the light from the screens as his amber eyes tracked movement across a dozen feeds simultaneously.

Cole Dravid stood to his left, arms crossed, his sharp grey eyes locked on Field Three’s central monitor. He hadn’t moved in twenty minutes except to straighten his collar once.

Vincent Hale, by contrast, was a kinetic disaster. He paced behind the row of monitors, gesturing wildly as he provided running commentary on student performance at a volume that made Garrison Mack wince every time he opened his mouth.

"Look at that form! THAT is what I’m talking about! Watch her set the angle before she commits, she knows the camera’s watching and she’s giving them the shot they want!"

Nadia Solaris sat at the console beside Caelum, her fingers moving across the interface as she tracked individual scores and flagged students for review. She had been frowning at the same feed for three minutes.

Garrison Mack stood near the door, his massive frame somehow managing to look patient despite the fact that his arms were crossed tight enough that his biceps strained against his shirt. Grant Hollis had the secondary tactical board, calling out point totals and threat assessment data in a steady baritone that cut through Vincent’s noise.

Isabelle Crane leaned against the wall near the front, her dark eyes tracking Field One with the focus of someone watching a performance she already knew the ending to. She had administered this exam for six years. She knew what to look for.

In the shadows at the back of the room, Arthur Vance leaned against a wall, a skeletal ghost haunted by the flickering images, his eyes locked on a small, secondary monitor that nobody else was watching. His true form made him nearly invisible in the dim light, all sharp angles and hollow cheeks, a man who looked like he was dying because he was.

Caelum set his tea down with a soft click. "Pressure, my dear colleagues, does not build character. It reveals it."

Garrison nodded, his voice a low rumble. "Some are architects, building their response brick by brick. Others are lightning, striking without a thought."

"And some," Cole said without looking away from his monitor, "are performing capability they don’t actually have."

Vincent whirled around. "Who? Show me!"

Cole gestured to Field Two with minimal effort. "Badge 247. Earth manipulation. He’s moving rubble but watching his hands the entire time like he’s still learning the motion. The automation isn’t there yet."

"Good eye," Caelum murmured. "Flag him for secondary review. I want to see what he does when the pressure increases."

Nadia looked up from her console. "Dr. Ashby, Field Five has a student scoring remarkably well. Badge 137."

"Sloane Fitzgerald," Caelum said without checking the roster. "Show me."

The central monitor switched feeds.

Sloane Fitzgerald stood in the middle of a plaza, pink hair whipping around her face, hands glowing with contained kinetic energy. Three two-pointers surrounded her in a loose triangle, guns raised and tracking.

She moved.

A detonation erupted from her palm, the blast catching the nearest robot center mass and launching it backward into a storefront window. Glass exploded inward. The robot’s chassis crumpled like aluminum foil.

The second robot fired. Sloane twisted, the rubber bullet passing so close to her shoulder that her jacket rippled. She landed in a crouch and slammed her palm against the ground.

The shockwave traveled outward in a perfect circle, kicking up dust and debris. The two remaining robots toppled sideways from the force, their treads spinning uselessly.

Sloane was already moving again, sprinting toward the closest one and driving her foot down on its head. Another detonation. Metal shrieked and buckled.

TWO POINTS

She turned toward the last robot, which was attempting to right itself. Her grin was feral, the expression of someone who had been waiting her entire life for permission to cut loose.

One more detonation. One more destroyed chassis.

TWO POINTS

"Thirty points in seven minutes," Grant called out. "She’s top five in Field Five."

Vincent punched the air. "THAT’S A HALLORAN STUDENT! Look at that energy management! She’s not wasting output, every blast is landing exactly where she wants it!"

"Her form is sloppy," Cole said.

Vincent spun toward him. "Her form is aggressive!"

"Aggressive is not the same as correct."

Isabelle laughed, the sound warm and sharp. "Cole, darling, there’s no correct form for making things explode. You either commit or you hesitate. She’s committing."

Cole’s expression didn’t change. "Commitment without control is how students get hurt."

Caelum raised one hand, not looking away from the screen. "She’s seventeen and operating at mid-A rank output. I’d call that acceptable control."

Nadia’s voice cut through the developing argument. "Field One has something unusual. Badge 089."

ONE POINT

ONE POINT

THREE POINTS

ONE POINT

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify