"A Fallen-type monster has been detected. Stop the exam and send in the Miners to neutralize it immediately!" Higgs was in a panic. How could an exam he was supervising go this wrong? He had to take control of the situation—if an applicant died, the media would tear them apart, and all the responsibility would fall on him.
The Fallen type wasn't an upgrade of plus one or two—it was a multiplication!
No matter how skilled Asic Quadro was, Higgs knew only a four-star Miner could take on a Fallen-type monster.
"No. The exam will continue," Roland spoke up, his voice louder than the others, enough that Higgs had to listen to him.
"And if the applicant dies, are you prepared to take responsibility for it, President Roland?" Higgs demanded accountability from the young company president. But Roland merely removed his glasses, cleaning them calmly as if the question was of no consequence.
"Don't forget the purpose of the Miner exams, Chief Examiner. This is the stage where we separate the raw ore from the gems. 'Crisis creates heroes' is a phrase I truly believe in—it means that in desperate times, great people arise." Roland spoke before putting his glasses back on.
"In the new world, everyone's value is tested no matter the circumstances. Knowing this, these people still chose to become Miners, didn't they?
"Besides, our hero here hasn't surrendered yet. According to regulations, an applicant may admit defeat when faced with an overwhelming situation. The fact that he hasn't asked for help means he's decided to keep fighting."
Indeed, Asic had already proven his skills more than enough by taking down the Hammerhead before it evolved. Even if he wanted to surrender now, no one would blame him. But Asic hadn't shown any sign of giving up—he had chosen to face this fierce monster head-on instead of taking the easy way out.
As Chief Examiner, Higgs had the authority to intervene if an applicant faced life-threatening danger. But in Asic's case, it was hard to say whether he was truly in danger—no one could see through the extent of Asic's power.
If he intervened and Asic used this as grounds to sue both Higgs and the Miners Office, it would become a complicated mess.
Roland's words swayed Higgs.
'If this guy actually wins, that would be incredible.'
---
Exam room. Time remaining: 2 minutes 10 seconds.
The Hammerhead, now in its Fallen form, had gained two significant powers—lightning and an immensely resilient body. The humiliation Asic had forced it to endure would be paid back doubly.
The Hammerhead swung both warhammers, their black lightning increasing the speed of its attacks. Asic used both tonfa batons to defend himself, but even with them, it wasn't enough—he was sent flying several meters.
Asic rolled mid-air and pushed himself back to his feet as if unfazed. The young man stood tall, his expression calm despite the pressure of the situation. His composed demeanor only enhanced his charm.
Though he didn't show weakness, Asic wasn't entirely unaffected. His arms felt numb. He had spent half his life using electricity to damage his opponents' nervous systems, but today he found himself on the receiving end, struggling to keep a steady grip on his gun.
[Restoring damaged nerve cells. Numbness will subside—you'll be back to normal in 24 seconds,] OC initiated the healing process. Asic felt his condition gradually improve, glancing at the clock—it had already been three minutes.
He had 2 minutes and 10 seconds, or 130 seconds, left to defeat the evolved Hammerhead.
"I guess I stood out too much today. God must be jealous, sending you to mess with me," Asic muttered to himself. He had no one to blame but fate. Not only had he faced a three-star Miner-level monster, but it had evolved, becoming even harder to handle.
"..." The Hammerhead glared at Asic. The black lightning that surrounded its body seemed unstable, hard to control. It now had an extra layer of leathery armor over its skin for added protection. Shooting it in the same spot repeatedly wouldn't work anymore—the revolver was effectively useless.
If Asic continued fighting the evolved Hammerhead, it could very well be a life-or-death situation.
[Master, this isn't our problem anymore,] OC advised Asic.
[From the beginning, you shouldn't have been up against the Hammerhead. Now that it has evolved, it's no longer the same monster. It's not your responsibility to keep fighting. We could use this as grounds to sue the Miners Office. There's a 97% chance we'd win the case.]
[If you wish, I can find an affordable lawyer. Based on calculations, if we win, we could receive $135,100 in damages.]
"Quiet," Asic snapped. He had no intention of giving up. In fact, his way of life didn't allow him to surrender. His deep-rooted sense of justice, forged from years in law enforcement, led him to see the Hammerhead not as a monster but as a criminal.
If Asic chose to surrender, that criminal would escape to harm others, leaving people injured, dead, or ruined. The weight of responsibility on his shoulders had shaped his character.
There was no excuse to retreat—monster or criminal, it didn't matter.
"If I surrender once, I'll have to surrender every time."
"A man who turns his back on obstacles isn't cool." Asic gripped both tonfa batons, a dense purple lightning aura radiating from his body. His amethyst eyes reflected a swirl of power, electricity crackling around him and charging into his weapons.
[...] OC continued to learn from Asic's behavior. At that moment, it sensed something stirring within Asic—an emerging fragment of ego.
An ego was a person's belief, something they held onto, a manifestation of their identity. The stronger the conviction, the more powerful the ego.
Asic's words and actions had revealed his ego, causing it to begin manifesting. OC, being a part of Asic's operational system, gathered the fragments and absorbed them.
[Ego Awakening Progress: 3%]
Asic charged at the Hammerhead, holding the tonfa baton in his right hand while his left hand steadied his grip. Purple lightning surged into the tonfa, amplifying its power. He thrust it into the Hammerhead's stomach, sending a high-voltage shock through it.
The Hammerhead had built up some lightning resistance, so the shock wasn't lethal and barely caused numbness. It infused black lightning into its warhammer and swung down. Asic dodged, retaliating with a forceful strike from his tonfa.
The Hammerhead blocked with its arm. Though it felt pain, it didn't buckle. It swung the other warhammer at Asic's side, and he used his left tonfa as a shield, countering with a jab to its chest.
'Not enough power.'
[Correct. Your strength isn't enough to bring it down within two minutes—that's your current limit.]
"Then I need more power," Asic adjusted his breathing, channeling his lightning into every muscle. His body began to change—muscles expanding slightly. It wasn't as extreme as Handsome's transformation, but enough to make his shirt buttons strain.
Asic's strength surged instantly. Handsome, watching from the crowd, noticed the change.
'White muscle fibers!' Handsome, who loved and revered muscle, knew of three types—red, white, and pink. Red muscle stored more energy, while white muscle exerted more power.
Every living being had a different ratio of red to white muscle, but from Handsome's perspective, Asic had almost entirely white muscles. This meant he couldn't sustain his strength for long, but his output was terrifying. Asic must have conserved energy all this time, now unlocking it for use.
Pink muscle was the pinnacle—muscle trained to sustain tremendous power without limit. Handsome's Muscle Engine power temporarily turned all his red muscles into white.
To an onlooker, Asic's physique visibly bulked up, and his intense aura grew fiercer. He chose to engage the Hammerhead head-on. The tonfa batons became both offensive and defensive tools. His power-enhancing gloves increased the force of his punches and reduced hand injury.
The Hammerhead kept swinging its hammers. Asic dodged each one, striking back instantly. The OC's simulation training began to show results—the more time passed, the more Asic adapted to the Hammerhead's attacks.
The black lightning made it faster than before, but its control was sloppy.
"Between someone who just got their power and me, who's been using it for ten years..."
"You, a baby learning to walk, want to race a pro sprinter? You really overestimate yourself." Asic clenched his fist, uppercutting the Hammerhead with a burst of lightning power. The creature stumbled, dazed.
[The Hammerhead's head is tough, and bullets can't pierce it, but it still has a brain. If you can cause a concussion, now is the time to finish it,] OC advised.
Asic unleashed a relentless barrage of punches, both arms working non-stop. The continuous attack drained his muscles, but OC helped Asic push through, turning his body into a temporary machine. It was like a low-efficiency Muscle Engine ego.
Asic knew his current strength was still insufficient. Even with muscle enhancement and power output, it wasn't enough. But he could feel himself growing stronger—heat emanated from within, like a small flame burning away the water inside him.
The sound of punches echoed like explosions, giving the Hammerhead no chance to counter.
"I can still... get stronger." In Asic's amethyst eyes, all he saw was the Hammerhead. His powerful fist smashed into its face, causing its head to snap back.
[That's right, you can still get stronger.]
[We are the Special Operations System. Our purpose is to support and break your limits, to help you grow beyond what you are. We are your ego.]
[Please, call our name.]
"..." Asic slowly closed his eyes. An immense surge of Asura power erupted from his body. Both fists clenched tightly before he released everything in one explosive motion.
"Overclock Miner," Asic roared, winding up a punch at the Hammerhead. The creature staggered backward, just before something incredible happened. The aura of Asura power split into two parts, and Asic's shadow seemed to fade slightly as something materialized beside him.
OC was no longer just inside Asic's head. It appeared as a faint shadow within the exam room, almost as if it had stepped out from Asic's own shadow. The onlookers saw something vaguely human in form, about two meters tall, with mechanical components and circuitry still incomplete. The ticking of an analog clock could be heard, echoing the seconds, as a giant clock was embedded in its chest. One of its eyes glowed red, while the other remained dark.
Overclock Miner – Prototype.
"Overclock Miner Overclocking!"
[Overclock,] OC spoke in a synthetic voice. Asic's body temperature began to rise as his metabolic processes sped up. A number appeared on the system interface—5,000,000 microseconds—and the clock embedded in OC's chest started to spin rapidly.
Asic pushed his body past its limits. Purple lightning cracked, and his speed surged as he delivered a flurry of punches to the Hammerhead's body. The sound of the impact was long and continuous, accompanied by the countdown ticking away.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Asic's body temperature shot up until his skin turned red. The more he punched, the more intense his strikes became. The purple lightning that enveloped his body gathered at his heart, flowing into his right hand as he prepared a final punch. At that instant, his arm shot forward like a released trigger.
Bang!
The explosive punch connected with the center of the Hammerhead's chest. The impact sounded like thunder, with enough force to shatter more than half of the creature's ribs in an instant, followed by lightning tearing through its body.
The massive Hammerhead flew backward, crashing into the wall before falling to the ground. Though it was still alive, it convulsed violently from the powerful electric shock.
Even with its natural resistance to electricity, the Hammerhead was subdued by Asic's thunderous strike.
"Hah... hah..." Asic panted heavily, his skin flushed with heat, even hotter than a fever. White steam rose as sweat evaporated from his overheated body, and the intense heat scorched parts of his clothing black. OC, which had manifested as a form beside Asic, was forced to return to its usual system state.
Asic walked over to look at the Fallen Hammerhead, now lying defeated by his fists within two minutes. He couldn't help but smile. Despite the agony in every muscle, the satisfaction of victory made him forget the pain.
The expression on his face was broadcast to everyone in the control room. The scouts watching were almost drooling—not because of Asic's smile, but because of his potential.
"He... he has an ego!" Swan stood up, clapping as he pointed at Asic on the screen.
"So powerful... What's the name of his power?" San wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but I need this guy. Whoever tries to steal him from me will face me to the death!" Swan began to square off against every other scout in the control room.
"What? Over my dead body," San, who had been hesitant about recruiting Handsome, had no doubts about Asic Quadro—he'd do whatever it took, even if it meant risking his life, to bring Asic into his company.
"May the best man win. I'll offer him a contract equivalent to a four-star Miner!"
"Fujioka, you bastard!" Swan cursed as a shouting match erupted, leading to a scuffle among the scouts. Roland, however, remained aloof, adjusting his glasses coolly as he walked out unnoticed.
Roland regretted letting Asic slip away.
"How wonderful would it be if I could have you under my control? But never mind—not owning you doesn't mean I won't gain anything," Roland mused. As the saying goes, if you can't get the cooked rice, at least get the uncooked grains. Not having Asic in his company didn't mean Roland couldn't benefit at all.
Roland had used his status as a sponsor to push Asic into fighting the Hammerhead, boosting his own reputation. That was within his calculations. But the fact that the Hammerhead had evolved into a Fallen-type? That had caught even Roland off guard.
Still, Asic had come through.
"He's such... an arrogant man."