Chapter 1842: Featherson

"That was amazing, friend," the man who played the thief said, stretching his hand out for a shake.

Ning shook it. "Thanks."

"I’m Sandstorm, ranked 42," the man said. "You are him, right? The new guy."

"I’m Blackfang," Ning said, looking closer at the man.

Sandstorm was a dark-skinned man, who he at first thought was a regular human, but upon noticing some fuzziness around his ears, he looked closer and saw some goat-like eyes on the man.

Looking below, he saw hooves instead of legs and soon realized the man was a satyr. He was more human than satyr, and Ning wondered if he had a human parent perhaps.

That’s not the sort of question one could just ask, though.

"That’s a scary name," Sandstorm remarked with a giggle. "I’ll remember that. I doubt I will be able to forget it anyway. How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?"

"It’s fine. I’m 35," Ning said.

"Oh, wow!" the younger man said. "You became a hero at 35? Did you just awaken?"

Ning nodded. "How old are you?"

"28," Sandstorm said. "But I’ve been doing this since I was 24. I awakened back when I was a child too."

"I see."

"That’s quite unfortunate, really. I can’t imagine how big you would’ve become if you had awakened when you were young too. But better late than never, right? Welcome to the job, by the way. It’s more difficult than it sounds on TV, so I hope you’re ready."

"I’m sure I’ll be fine."

Ning left Sandstorm and returned to where the president was.

"Great showcase, Mr. Valen. With how easily you handled a hero like Sandstorm, you will easily pass the trial," the president said. "But of course, we can’t slack off completely. You’ll need to prepare as best as you can, and let me introduce you to the man who is going to help you do that."

A man close to Ning’s own age walked forward, long blond hair framing his face, making him look almost feminine. His face was fair, almost glowing, making Ning blink a bit, surprised. There was also a bulge around his shoulder area that could not be hidden, despite him wearing a tailored suit.

The man reached out with a firm grip and a wide smile.

"This is Blake. He will be assigned to you as your exclusive agent. Think of him as your mentor, your assistant, and your guide, all at the same time. Whatever you will need, he will provide."

"The name’s Blake Featherson," the man said.

"Valen Jassens. If it’s easier, call me Blackfang."

"Now that you two have met, I’ll leave you in Blake’s hands. If you have any complaints, come directly to me. I doubt you will need it, though," the president laughed. "I’ll see you later."

The president walked away, taking with him the others that had followed to see the demonstration.

"So, Blake," Ning said, turning to the angel that was trying to hide his wings and failing. "What now?"

"Well, I hear you wish to gain a flight license, isn’t that right?" Blake asked. "Why don’t we head over to the flight training facility."

Ning shrugged and walked along.

"When do you think you’ll be ready to take the hero license test?" Blake asked as they walked.

"Anytime is okay for me," Ning said. "Do they open it often?"

"Once a month. But the next one is in 5 days. If you are okay with it, I’ll get you registered," the man said.

"Please do."

They continued walking and Blake began asking about Ning’s preferences in certain regards to better suit how he handled his tasks.

"Are you okay with showing your face to others? Or will you be wanting an outfit?" Blake asked.

"Hmm. I might have to wear a mask. An overall outfit is fine too," Ning said.

"Let’s get you to the tailor afterward then," Blake said. "I’ll try and see if I can get an interview set up with some news broadcasts. Might be difficult since you’ve not really started working as a hero just yet."

"Yeah... let’s wait for after I’ve gotten my license," Ning said. "I wouldn’t want to go through any embarrassing situation if I were to fail."

Blake nodded. "I hear you don’t want to be working as a hero all the time. Is that right?"

"I’ll be helping the detectives when I can," Ning said. "And I’ll help the others when I can."

"It’s much better if you could be active at all times, but since this is what you’ve requested, that’s fine too," Blake said.

After walking for some time, beyond the main building and into another section of the massive land that the Star Hero Agency owned, Ning saw a basin of sorts that was transformed with man-made obstacles placed all around there like a fake town.

Glowing screens hung from various locations, with objects moving around at all times.

Ning watched some people fly around in there, training.

A young angel flew, not with any power, but with wings. There was a fairy that too flew around with their wings. Ning looked around and saw what looked like a goblin hopping in mid-air, like jumping on trampolines made of air.

One way or another, they traversed through the sky, which was all they needed to do.

Blake came up to him, pointing toward the screens. "See all those colors? Red, yellow, and green?" he asked.

Ning nodded.

"For the test, you’ll have to fly through this makeshift city while dodging all the obstacles they throw at you, and make your way to the green sections. The green fades to yellow and then to red after some time, so you’ll be on a time crunch as well."

Blake pointed down below, where a large centaur stood, watching everything.

"That centaur is an official from the government, and he will be the one judging your flight. Should you be able to prove to him that you’re capable of flying through a city without being a hazard to the people, you’ll be allowed to fly."