As the sun reached its 7 o'clock height over Illini Island, the day started as normal as it would...

"THIS IS THE POLICE! HANDS UP!" Called out a Police Officer. There was a robbery at the Illini Saving Bank in the downtown area. It didn't help non-powered police officers that this robbery was classed at a "Hero Necessary Level", and the hero they'd brought with them was only a Rank-D. 

Suddenly, the bank's wall exploded and a massively ripped villain lumbered out carrying the whole vault. The Police opened fire but the bullets had no effect. As the villain was seemingly going to get away, he was blown away, (knocked unconscious), by the nation's second-ranked hero, Constitutional Defender. The onlookers cheered as he smiled, reminding a young boy of one societally crucial fact. 

"Remember son, Strength is physique is the way we heroes climb! So listen to your parents, work out lifting weights and running, and get plenty of protein into that diet. You'll make a fine hero someday!" 

A TV clicked off with a heavy sigh. "Right... because the sum of a person is just their physical strength and how hard they lay someone out." Said twenty-three-year-old Grey. He was a college student enrolled at the Hero Academy University despite mass protests from his parents, his friends, and society as a whole. Grey hadn't been born with super strength, physique enhancement, or even any qualifying hero abilities. Rather, he was born with the ability he'd come to refer to as "Annals Incarnation", in other words, Grey could utilize the power of history in the context of both written history and forgotten folklore heroes. The twenty-three-year-old neurodivergent mixed male had made a name and reputation for himself during his high school days. The annual Scouted-Talent Ability Tournament revealed Grey's ability wasn't something to be taken lightly. He was matched up against the school's strongest fighter... only to match the strength of their best and surpass him.

Grey closed his eyes as he sipped on a cold can of a refrigerated energy drink as he recalled the fight. He's utilized his childhood heroes to win the fight, calling upon their vestiges to overcome the wide gap in strength to eventually blow the champion out of the arena, knocked out cold. Grey chuckled as he grabbed his blue school bag and hero costume case. "Time to prove the world wrong." 

As he left his apartment, his vitiligo-altered skin met the early morning sunlight. His copper-colored eyes were full of ambition and resolve. He wore an "R-82" hoodie with a matching pair of "R-82" flat-bottom shoes and complimenting black sweatpants as he walked down the driveway. A gentle breeze ran through his short, soft, steel-wool-like matte-black hair as he came to his garage. His small, emerald-green pickup truck rumbled to life as he got in, closed the door, then turned the key. As he backed out and drove up the driveway, the radio came alive playing a cassette tape loaded with one of his many "Hard-Night-Style", (Hardstyle x Nightcore), playlists, the first of this cassette tape was the remixed song known as "Feel Invincible".

The small pickup truck roared onto the street and through traffic as Grey got onto the bridge from Granite Island to the main island, Illini Island. However, as the little green pickup reached a stoplight, a sportscar revved as it came alongside him. 

"Well, well... If it isn't the history nerd playing hero." Laughed the jock, wearing a black and yellow letterman, in the driver seat of his sportscars. Grey sighed and kept his eyes focused on the traffic light. "What's the matter loser? Cat got your tongue?" Chimed in the second jock from the passenger seat of the sportscar. However, as the light turned green, Grey's pickup left the sportscar in the dust and sped up the hillside towards the University Campus. 

"Imagine buying a sportscar and losing to a dented, rusty pickup truck from the 90s. That's stupidly embarrassing." Laughed Grey as he pulled into the Campus parking lot. As he shut off his pickup, one of the modded-out cars driven by a cheerleader played the song "Senpai" as he walked past them. Grey paid them no mind as he had one objective today... Pass the Observed Entrance Skill Exam. It was a test in which each participant would utilize his abilities to survive obstacles, fight, hide, and win against "villains", otherwise known as paid actors. As Grey entered the building, he and a bunch of other exam participants took their seats in the massive auditorium. Once everyone was seated, the lights went out and the stage lit up with one Professor standing center stage. 

"Listen up, examinees. Welcome to the Hero Academy University. I shouldn't have to say this, but this isn't high school. You will examined as if you were being evaluated to become a ranked, full-time hero. You have been auto-divided into four groups which have been sent directly to your cellphones. Now, go get suited up, because it's time to put your training to the test." Grinned the Professor.