Chapter 1865: Exit Interview

"Sir Blackfang, we are the judging committee," the drow began. "Shall we begin the interview?"

Ning nodded. "Please, feel free to do so."

"Okay then. How has your day been? Do you think you’ve done well?" the drow asked.

"I’m happy," Ning answered. "I helped quite a few people today, so I believe the test went well."

"Oh!" the dragonborn said. "And do you feel tired?"

"Not a single bit. I can continue for many more hours," Ning said. "I’m not just saying that, by the way. I can continue for many more hours. Thanks to my powers, my stamina has ended up improving a lot as well."

"That’s fun to hear," the drow remarked. "Of the various acts of heroism you have performed, which one has left the most impact on you?"

"Hmm?" Ning thought for a moment. "Most likely the bank robbery."

"Oh? Why is that so?"

Ning laughed. "Mostly because we were doing so well for a while, only for that one guy to nearly ruin all our planning by rushing forward. Had I not acted quickly and neutralized the robbers, all that preparation would’ve gone to waste."

"So you believe preparation to be wasteful if it does not bear any fruit at the end?" the female gnome asked.

"Of course," Ning said. "Who wouldn’t?"

"Failure can be a great lesson on its own too," the gnome said.

"I won’t argue against that, but would you rather have something be successful, or have it fail so you can learn from it?" Ning asked.

"Sometimes, you have to fail before you know how to succeed."

"And is that line of thought appropriate when you’re working with robbers that have hostages with them?" Ning asked. "Would you rather I failed?"

The gnome said nothing.

The drow took over. "Mr. Blackfang, we see here that your age is not what we’re used to. Do you mind us asking why you waited this long to become a hero?"

"I didn’t," Ning said with a simple shrug. "I only just gained my powers recently. I became a hero as fast as I could."

"Oh!" the woman seemed surprised. "Considering your control over your powers, I would’ve assumed you have been with it for a long time."

"No, I wasn’t. I guess I just know what to do intuitively. My agency has helped me train a lot in the past few days leading up to this trial too," Ning said.

The drow nodded.

The three asked a few more questions, and Ning quickly realized that they were assessing his psyche after all the tests today, most likely trying to determine how he fared after a hard day at work.

Sadly for them, this was hardly a difficult day for him. A minute or two later, they smiled as the interview came to an end.

"Please send the next one," the gnome told one of the people waiting by the door and the man left.

Ning thanked the interviewers and walked out the door. He had only made it past the two guards when one of them pulled a gun out of his pocket, pointing it directly at his temple, and pulled the trigger.

Ning barely pulled his head back in time, the bullet crossing in front of him. It hit the edge of his white mask, shattering part of it.

The man tried to fix his aim and pull the trigger again, but it was too late this time.

Ning’s hands were already on the muzzle of the gun, keeping the bullet from escaping. The gun exploded as the gunpowder explosion vented out through the other weak spots in the gun, completely dismantling itself.

Before the guard could do anything next, Ning swept his feet from under him and planted him on the floor, his elbow pressed against the back of his neck.

The other guard hadn’t even realized what was happening. He only reacted a second later, but Ning could tell the man meant no harm.

Other people rushed to the scene, each watching Ning on top of the guard.

Ning looked up, staring at the gathered people. "I’m sorry for the commotion, but I fear you might have to call the cops. There’s been an attempt at my life."

Some people quickly called the cops, while the others helped Ning capture the guard and tie him up to the side. A few other people came around, one of which happened to be a high-ranking hero that had been there to watch over the test.

Prism-Eye, a man clad in a uniform that looked more like a tie-dye operation gone wrong, stopped by the room where Ning stood. A 5-pointed star lay on his face, his form of a mask.

Prism-Eye was one of the strongest heroes of this city that Ning had seen. His powers, based on the colors around him, were some of the most versatile in any scenario, making him welcome in any situation.

The man stopped, looking at Ning.

Ning could see his eyebrows raised slightly. The way the lower half of his mask had shattered, the two ’fangs’ that descended down from his eyes were the only two things that had survived below the nose area.

Ning wasn’t mad regarding it. At least now people could see some of his face.

"Are you the man who was attacked?" Prism-Eye asked him.

"I am," Ning said. "You are Prism-Eye, right? If I’m not mistaken, you have the power to draw out truths from others."

"It’s not a power I choose to use very lightly," the man said.

"Are assassination attempts a heavy enough situation?" Ning asked.

The man paused for a moment, smiling. "Do you have any idea why he would have attacked you? The staff of this place are very well vetted. It is highly unlikely that this man is an actual assassin that managed to sneak in here."

Ning doubted he was. It was more likely that his situation wasn’t fine at home and he was paid to do so.

Ning just hoped that, unlike the woman who poisoned him, this man at least knew something about the ones who wanted him dead.