Chapter 19: Second Party Leader
'Sensei can't know about this!' Shigaraki thought. With his new powers came a revelation of sorts. He realized just how much his master was hiding from him and manipulating him. Above all else was the hatred for All Might. Sure, the blond buffoon was annoying and a threat to any villain, but he had never done anything really worthy of Shigaraki's hate.
And something else, was his name. He didn't remember everything, but he knew that the name Tomura Shigaraki was a fake name, given to him by Sensei. His real name was Tenko Shimura. But he had no idea why that name was important enough for his master to change it. He had already gone through his tutorials and was again looking at his stat block.
[Character: Tenko Shimura (Tomura Shigaraki)
Lvl: 20
Exp: 114/1100 until level up.
STR: 22
AGI: 60
INT: 11
WIS: 14
DUR: 14
CHA: 4
HEALTH: 140/140
MANA: 250/250
STAMINA: 600/600
CLASS: Destroyer (Legendary) LVL 1
SKILLS: Gamer's Body, Gamer's Mind, Passive Regeneration, Analyse
QUIRK: Decay (Rare) LVL 7]
His level was high, but his stats were low. On one hand, he had 100 stat points to spend. On the other, he could raise his stats without that by working on them. His durability would be difficult because he would likely have to take hits for that to improve, and that was hard to explain without looking suspicious. Strength and Agility would be easy, as it would just be working out. The real issues would come with Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Sensei had kept him from ever learning that much, even in basic subjects like history or math. Although his quirk made things difficult, he could read, write, and do some basic math, but that was about it. As for Wisdom and Charisma, he had no idea where to start with those two.
While making a plan, he scrolled through his quirk menu, as it was the only menu he had points to spend in that had abilities to unlock. The first ability was one he took without hesitation.
[Quirk Skill: Control]
[Type: Active]
[Description: Ability to activate and deactivate your quirk at will. Extreme emotions can still cause accidental use.]
That was one of his biggest issues solved. Before, if he touched anything with all 5 fingers, he would destroy it almost instantly. Sure, he had those special artist gloves that blocked three of his fingers, but every pair he had ever tried was super uncomfortable, so he never wore them. Now they weren't needed. He then took another look at his class and the skills from it.
[Class Skill Tree]
Class: Destroyer (Legendary)
(Skill: Destruction Energy)
(Skill: Destruction Shot) (Skill: Destruction Shield)
(Skill: Energy Construct Unlock: Class LVL 3)
(Skill: Hidden) (Skill: Hidden) (Skill: Hidden)
[Skill Unlocked: Destruction Energy LVL 1/20
Type: Passive
Description: The power of a destroyer god lies within you. You have access to power matched only by one. Gives access to powerful destruction skills. Your mana will regenerate at 300% speed. Each level will grant an additional 50% mana regeneration speed.
Effects: Current Boost: 300% mana regeneration]
[Skill Unlocked: Destruction Shot LVL 1/5
Type: Active
Description: An orb of pure Destruction Energy will shoot out from the palm of your hand. When the ball hits a target, a hole the size of the ball will open up that target. Magical barriers will be sapped of energy and collapse. A sufficiently powerful being or barrier will be unaffected. The strength and size of the orb are based on the intelligence and wisdom of the user.
Effect: Damages a target from range using the damage calculation ((Int+Wis)x1(LVL). If 2(Str)>Dur(Mod)]
[Skill Unlocked: Destruction Shield LVL
Type: Active
Description: At the cost of 100 mana a second, a shield of Destruction Energy will surround you in a 5-foot radius. Any living being that comes into contact with this shield will be disintegrated. Any mana-based attack will be sapped of energy until it disperses. A powerful enough being or attack will bypass this shield. The strength of the shield is based on the user's durability.
Effect: Cast a barrier that can stop almost any attack. Costs 100 Mana a second.]
Mana was tied to wisdom and intelligence, two things he lacked. Actually, every single stat aside from agility was lacking. But the main point was, he was severely limited in the use of his class skills. The bonus mana regeneration would help, but he would still need to use his skills sparingly. Plus, he didn't know what his base mana regeneration speed was. Regenerating mana three times faster sounded great, but if he was only regenerating one mana a second, it would still limit his skill use a lot.
He decided to look over the party tab again as well. Two of his party slots were filled, but he couldn't see who they were, so hopefully another look might give a clue. He noticed something he hadn't before. He had assumed he was player one. That assumption was very wrong.
[Party:
Player 6: Tenko Shimura (Party Leader)
Player 7: ??? (Hidden)
Player 8: ??? (Hidden)
Player 9: (Empty) (Add)
Player 10: (Empty) (Add)]
He wasn't player one. Or even player two. 'Player 6? Are you kidding me? Who the hell are the first five?' He tapped the add button, and a new screen popped up.
[Add Party Member?
Possible Members: Oboro Shirakumo (Kurogiri), Junichiro Shigaraki (All For One)
Warning! Added Party Members cannot be removed and will be granted a permanent version of the gamer!]
*AN: The name I chose for AFO's first name, Junichiro, means He Who Takes apparently. It fit for AFO and that's why I've made it his first name in this story. It won't matter much, but I couldn't find his first name anywhere so I had to give him one myself.*
A few minutes ago, Tenko wouldn't have hesitated to add Kurogiri and Sensei. But now? It was clear to him he was being lied to. His name being different showed that very clearly. Even if the man had been the only one to take him in when Tenko had been living in the street, Sensei couldn't be trusted. And for that matter, neither could Kurogiri. Who knew if the misty butler was in on the lies or not, but it wasn't worth the risk. Not when Tenko knew that Kurogiri made weekly reports to Sensei regarding Tenko and his behavior and growth.
So, who could he trust? And the truth hit Tenko like a truck. Nobody. He had nobody he could trust. If any business needed to be done, it was handled by Sensei using Kurogiri or the doctor as a go-between. Sensei was the one with the contacts, the money, the influence. Tenko had none of that, and nobody to turn to. And even if he did, deserting Sensei for that person was practically suicide.
A question surged to the front of his mind and he quickly left back to his room, Kurogiri not even batting an eye at the sudden exit from the main bar, as it was something he did often when there was nothing needing to be done. In the relative privacy of his own room, Tenko asked himself the question. 'This anger I feel towards All Might and society. Is it really mine? Or was Sensei manipulating me the entire time? And if it isn't mine, where do I go from here?"
Almost as if answering that question, a screen appeared with another alert.
[Emergency Quest Alert!]
[Objective: Find out the truth, and choose your path]
[You have been lied to. You have been manipulated. You can no longer trust your thoughts as your own. You no longer know who you are. And you must make a decision. Will you and your party continue under All For One's rein, will you strike out on your own to tear the world apart yourself, or will you decide to fight for justice and bring your former master to his knees?]
[Reward: Path of the Student: 100000 Yen, 15000 EXP, 1 Mythical Quirk. Path of the Lone Destroyer: 1 Quirk Skill Point, 1 uncommon quirk. Path of Redemption: None.]
[Quest has already been accepted.]
[Choose your path.]
Tenko played a lot of video games. The first path was the one with the most tempting reward. Staying with Sensei would give him a lot of money, experience, and a really powerful quirk. It would seem like he had everything when he really had nothing at all. The second path had a reward as well, a much smaller reward than staying with Sensei. If he struck out on his own, he would have nothing, but he had the potential to have everything he could ever want. Dangerous, but it likely wouldn't put him high on Sensei's revenge list as long as he kept his head down for a while and didn't cause problems for the man. And then there was the third and final path. He got nothing out of choosing this path. He would be giving up everything he had and had known for the last few years. He would struggle, suffer, and live with a target on his back. But he could be so much more than a villain trying to destroy everything.
One thing became clear to him. Something he knew was always true, in both video games and real life. The easy path was rarely the most rewarding in the end, or the best. Tragedy bred power. And he could use that power to make a real difference now. He no longer wanted to destroy everything and leave nothing in his wake. A forest fire could cause a forest to bounce back stronger and better than ever. It was clear that the country and possibly the world itself needed to change. But before that could happen, it would need to be razed to the ground so something new could blossom. Tenko knew what path he had to take. Which one would allow him to make the most difference. He didn't remember everything about his past, but he knew it was bad enough for him to repress it. And that was something nobody should have to suffer through.
With a deep breath, Tenko Shimura chose his path and sealed his fate. After all, as an old purple cat once said, "Before Creation, Comes Destruction."
Chapter 20: First Days
[You have chosen your path.]
This path didn't offer him much. He didn't even have a clear end goal anymore. But, Tenko knew his next step.
[Quest Alert!]
[Quest: Know where you've been, know where you are, know where to go.]
[Objectives: 1. Remember what has been forgotten. 2. Learn about society. 3. Choose a goal to work towards.]
[Rewards: ???]
[Accept?]
[Yes] [No]
"Well. That makes things easier."
Here they were, standing at these gates again. The gates to U.A. And this time they were students at the school, instead of simply U.A hopefuls. Other students were having similar reactions like they couldn't believe they had made it there. While the hero course was by far the hardest to get into, each and every course available at U.A was more advanced than even the greatest colleges in Japan. Graduating from U.A. basically set you up for greatness in whatever field you desired to pursue. And because of that, getting in at all was no easy feat.
And four of the gamers were looking to their leader, waiting for him to take that first step. Mezo asked, "Well Little Dragon, is the plan to stand out here and miss our first day?"
Izuku laughed a bit before shaking his head. With a blinding smile on his face, he said "Let's go. First, we take U.A. by storm. Then we do the same to the rest of the world!" He thrust his fist into the air, his four party members following suit.
"YEAH!" They said as one, before entering the school that would change their lives forever. This was the path to their future, and they would walk it with pride. All the other students around couldn't help but be blown away by the sheer confidence the group exerted.
A few paces behind them, a boy with bright red hair was walking next to a girl who was bright pink. "Woah! They're so manly! They just got here and they're already ready to start working toward their dreams!"
The pink girl giggled before saying "They're already going plus ultra! This is the greatest hero school in the world after all! We should do the same!"
It took a while for the group to find their classroom. U.A. was such a big school and was split into different sections dedicated to each course, then those sections were split into floors based on what grade they were in. It made it a bit easier to find 1A, but it still took time because that was just how large U.A. was. Once the gamers arrived, they saw they were far from the first ones there.
Sitting at a desk with his feet up, Bakugo Katsuki was being yelled at by the tall boy with blue hair. When the five walked in, everyone stopped talking to look at them. Even the tall blue-haired boy who had been introducing himself to Bakugo stopped. "It's you all." He said.
The other students in the room started whispering amongst themselves. A short purple-haired girl with long ear lobes that ended in headphone jacks asked "Do you know who they are? Glasses over there makes them seem like some sort of big deal."
"Hmm. Ah! I happened to be having a meeting with the principal over my position as a recommended student the day of the regular exam." A tall girl with long black hair replied. "As such, I overheard one of the teachers speak of a certain group taking the exam. Something about them being specifically placed together for some reason. Perhaps they are the group in question." The purple-haired girl shrugged. It was as good an answer as any. Especially considering that they didn't have any others.
Back with the main group, the blue-haired boy bowed. "Greetings. I am Iida Tenya. I must apologize to you all for my actions during the exam. My actions were uncalled for and must have delivered extra stress for an exam already stressful. Especially when you were already being singled out by the school."
Izuku said "It's fine. Honestly, you didn't really bother us much. Besides, that exam wasn't that bad. The robots weren't programmed to seriously damage or kill us, so we've dealt with worse."
Nodding, Mezo stepped forward. "I suppose our own introductions are in order, seeing as you so kindly gave us your own name first. I am Shoji Mezo. It is nice to formally meet you. Especially in far less stressful circumstances."
"H-hi. I'm Koda Kouji." That was all the rocky-faced boy could get out before his shyness basically shut him down for a bit.
The next to introduce herself was Melissa. "I'm Melissa Shield. Please, I'd like for everyone to call me Melissa. I'm not used to being addressed by my last name very often."
With a smile, Ochako went next. "I'm Uraraka Ochako! Hopefully, we can get along! Oh, and last but definitely not least! Our fearless leader! Take it away!"
Each of the other gamers looked to Izuku. They knew he had poor experiences with school, and aimed to help fix that. Mezo said "Nothing to worry about Little Dragon. You got this."
Acting much more confident than he felt, Izuku said "Hello everyone. I'm Midoriya Izuku. Like Ochako said, I'm sort of the leader of these four. I look forward to working with you all over the next three years."
After they introduced themselves, some of the students with better memories were able to place those names. A girl with long dark green hair and a hunched posture said "So the top four scorers all got put into the same class. But I don't remember seeing Shield's name on the list." A few others confirmed the same thing.
The tall black-haired girl from earlier chimed in "I didn't see her in the recommended exam either. And even then, I have met the other three recommended students. I am sorry to say that she was not one of them."
A voice came from the doorway, startling everyone. "You can waste time discussing unimportant things on your own time. Everyone get into your seats."
Every member of 1A practically teleported to the seats they had been assigned, realizing their teacher had arrived. It was a tall, scruffy man with greasy black hair dressed in what seemed to be rags, with a long scarf that used to be white wrapped around his neck. He looked like a homeless man you might find on the street. "It took you all twelve seconds to quiet down. I want that down to eight seconds. Time is precious. In those twelve seconds, it took you to follow the order I gave you; a villain could have killed countless civilians nearby. Right to business. I'm your teacher. You can call me Mr. Aizawa." The man pulled a gym uniform out of the sleeping bag he carried, thankfully still wrapped in a plastic container to protect it. "Everyone put one of these on and get to the practice field in ten minutes. Go." As each student passed him, he handed them one that was tailored to their size.
There was a small interrogation in the girls' locker rooms. The pink-skinned girl and another girl who was completely invisible had cornered Melissa after quickly changing. "So, Melissa, right?" The blond American nodded. "If you didn't take the regular exam, and you didn't take the recommended exam, how did you get into the hero course?"
Quickly pulling out her phone, Melissa texted Nezu and asked if she was allowed to tell others about her exam now. Receiving a confirmation with instructions to keep the actual detail vague, Melissa explained. "I'll explain then. My homeroom is 1-A, but you won't see me in any classes other than heroics. That's because I tested out of all of them. So instead of taking regular classes, I'll be in the support labs as a dual course student. That way I get to make my own gear and hero costume. And if I have time, I can make gear for others too. I can show you one of my prototypes right now actually. Want to see?"
At the other girls nodding, the tall black-haired girl especially interested, Melissa showed the small bracelet on her wrist. When she tapped the button, it expanded into her usual arm cannon. Yet another upgrade she made for it. To help hide her ability to summon things out of thin air, she made a stealth mode for her main weapon, so she could always have it on her and have an explanation of where she got it. "My quirk lets me make blueprints, and then instantly create the object on those blueprints as long as I have the materials for it. This was the first thing I made. It started out pretty weak, but I was able to make a few upgrades to it, so it's much stronger now."
The short girl with purple hair spoke up. "As interesting as this is, we should get going. We only have three minutes left. And as far as I know, none of us know where the practice field is."
Each of the girls panicked slightly and finished getting dressed in the gym uniforms. Then Ochako said, "Follow us. We know the way." She and Melissa led the way to the practice field in question. They didn't actually know the way, but they had a map they could use to find it and set it as a destination, then get directions to it. Which was very handy for times like this.
On the way there, the pink girl said "We can finish introductions afterward! And we can get the boys involved too." Her voice adopted a teasing tone as she gently elbowed Ochako and Melissa. "Especially since you two are already pretty friendly with some of them. Especially that fearless leader, right?" Ochako and Melissa each went red at that, Ochako more, but didn't say anything. There was no time for questions because they were at their destination, right on time, with the boys already there.
In the boys' locker room, a similar interrogation was going on. A boy with blond hair and a patch of black hair in the shape of a lightning bolt asked the three male gamers "So, what's your story? You show up with two cute girls, and he gets a special introduction as a fearless leader." The boy points at Izuku.
"Our story is nothing special. The five of us happened to meet each other a couple of months before the entrance exam. During the time we were training together, we ran into some trouble. Little Dragon was the one who helped us all to keep calm and get through it. Not to mention he is the strongest of us." Mezo explained.
Another of the boys, this time a boy with black hair and strangely large elbows, asked "Why do you call him Little Dragon? Does it have something to do with his quirk or something?"
Bakugo snapped at that. "That worthless Deku doesn't have any quirk! And a 'fearless leader'? Bullshit! He's a weak bitch who couldn't stand up to a goddamn bunny rabbit, let alone any sort of actual trouble! And if he's the strongest of you, then the rest of you must be even more worthless!"
While Izuku seemed mostly unaffected by the insults, Mezo and Koji were not. In fact, both of them were pretty pissed. Mezo said "You are lucky that I do not wish to take away Little Dragon's chance for payback. Otherwise, I would show you just how wrong you are, Bakugo Katsuki. And trust me when I say, I have faced far worse than a little brat who was never told no as a child. Even if you can make sparklers from your hands."
For the first time since he had said his name, Koji spoke. "And what he can do is nothing compared to the nightmare I could set on you. Do not test us bully. You won't survive that test unscathed." Normally, Koji was too nervous to ever threaten someone. But, after months of being supported and counted on, he had grown an impressive amount of confidence and backbone. Plus, he really didn't like to see Izuku insulted.
After that confrontation, Mezo and Koji followed Izuku, who still hadn't said a word in that encounter, out and to the practice field, with the others falling in as well. Even Bakugo went the same way, though he grumbled about being behind Izuku the whole time. The black-haired boy whispered to the blond boy "I never did get an answer about that nickname. You think they're dating or something?" The blond boy shrugged.
Aizawa frowned. Everyone had gotten here within the time limit, even if it was just barely. So, he couldn't expel somebody for it. "Took you all long enough. Midoriya, you got first in the entrance exam. What was your best ball toss in middle school?"
"The school recorded it as 12 meters," Izuku said, knowing full well that his old school lowered every single result he got to make him seem even less appealing to a high school that might accept him. Not that his scores in P.E. needed to be lowered much. Before meeting All Might, Izuku was in poor shape, and he knew it.
Sighing, Aizawa tossed him a ball that was easily caught. "Do it again with your quirk this time." Izuku took up a pitcher's stance and prepared to throw the ball. With his limit with OFA being at 8%, the ball would go pretty far. Especially if he added his other skills to it. However, when Izuku threw the ball, the lightning around him vanished. The ball still flew further than most others would manage to get it, but nowhere near as far as if his quirk didn't shut off like that.
"Midoriya. You're holding back. I saw you destroy a zero-pointer in a single hit. Use that same power here." Aizawa said.
Izuku didn't even hesitate for a second before he said "No."
"What?"
Stepping closer to Aizawa, whose quirk was still active, Izuku said "I told you no. I'm not going to be using that kind of power here. Not only is it damaging to myself, but potentially hazardous to everyone here. Not to mention, there are likely still a bunch of tests after this one, so disabling myself now would be a poor decision."
The long dirty scarf around Aizawa's neck started floating more, and Aizawa grabbed it. "Do what I tell you, or I'll expel you here and now."
"I've given you my reasons. You're trying to force me into a position where I put myself and others in danger. I refuse. That power isn't necessary here, and I have no intention of using it. If you try to expel me, I will go straight to the principal and report you for negligence and child endangerment. Do you really want to push me here, Eraserhead?"
It took every ounce of control for Aizawa to not strangle Izuku with his scarf then and there. But seeing that the other four students that were attached to this brat were ready to step in, it wouldn't be a good idea on his part. Fighting students on day one was a bad look for him, especially when they had a better excuse than he did for it. "Fine. Throw the ball however you want." He deactivated his quirk.
Once again, Izuku picked up another ball and threw it with his quirk this time. A large explosion of flames came with it due to his blood of the ruby dragon skill, and shortly after another impact hit the ball, this time far weaker, thanks to his other quirk. It flew further and further until nobody could see it land. With a deep sigh, Aizawa lifted his phone to look at the score. "1.43 Kilometers."
Everyone was blown away by that score. Bakugo was the worst. His jaw dropped and he stood in shock before charging Izuku. "TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT YOU FUCKING DEKU!" He got about six steps before two energy blasts hit him in the back, vines wrapped around him, and Mezo grabbed him with all six arms and held the bully spreadeagle to keep his explosions from being helpful.
Mezo said "I warned you exactly what would happen should you test us." He lifted another fist and prepared to strike, only for Izuku to stop him.
With his hand locked around Mezo's with a soft grip, Izuku said "He's not worth it. He's never been worth it Mezo." Finally acting, Aizawa's scarf shot out to grab everyone involved, only for Izuku to grab it with his other hand. "Now you decide to act? You're just like every other teacher I had." He threw the scarf to the side, letting Aizawa pull it back to him.
A loud and familiar laugh emanated from around the side of the building. "HAHAHA! I AM HERE!" All Might appeared. "TO SEND A CERTAIN GROUP OF STUDENTS TO THE PRINCIPAL! Aizawa, you must go as well." All Might's massive hand took the tablet from Aizawa and said "Young Midoriya, Young Uraraka, Young Shoji, Young Koda, Young Shield, Young Bakugo, and Mr. Aizawa, you all are to report to the principal's office now. AS FOR EVERYONE ELSE! I WILL OVERSEE THE REMAINING PHYSICAL TESTS! They are a good test of your current physical capabilities. Do not worry if your quirk cannot help you in a certain test. No quirk is suited for every situation. That is why we have many heroes. To pick up the slack where others cannot. Now, let's get started!"
The class cheered at meeting All Might, while those who were summoned went to the principal's office. It was a place nobody wanted to be sent to, especially on the first day. For even the teacher to be sent with them, clearly there was a big problem that needed to be addressed. They could only hope they survived.
Chapter 21
Thankfully, the Principal's office was relatively close. If the trip had taken any longer than it already did, it was possible that Mezo and Ochako were going to gut Bakugo like a fish, because the blond bomber just couldn't keep his mouth shut about how he was going to be the greatest hero, and how this school wouldn't dare punish him because they wanted to stay on his good side and tons of other bullshit.
By the time they entered the office, Izuku was standing between Bakugo and his party to keep them from ripping his old bully to pieces. "Ah, it is good to see you all made it here so quickly," Nezu said. It was the first time seeing him for everyone but Melissa and Aizawa, so most of them were floored to see it was a strange white rodent-like creature. "However, the reason for this meeting is not pleasant. Shall we start at the beginning?"
The principal pulled a small remote out of his jacket pocket, and pressed one of the buttons on it, causing a small tv to lower from a hole in the ceiling. Another button turned the tv on, displaying a short video of what happened. "Let us break this down. We'll use a strike system, similar to baseball. First, you, Mr. Aizawa, tried to force a student to hurt themselves. You knew what would happen, and thankfully he was smart enough to refuse your order. We will call this strike one against you. To force a student to injure himself so you could prove a point is both a gross misuse of your power, as well as blatant negligence. Moving on. Shortly after, Young Bakugo, you tried to attack Young Midoriya unprovoked. I shouldn't need to explain why this is strike one for you. Once Young Bakugo made his move, so did the four of you. While I do not recognize all the abilities you used, I can clearly see who caused what. So that will be one strike for each of you as well."
Bakugo tried to argue, but Nezu held up his hand. "I am not finished. Do not interrupt me, or that will be another strike young man. Now, Mr. Aizawa here has earned his second strike. You are a fully trained pro hero and the sixth most skilled underground hero in Japan. I will admit that these four are far more experienced than average first years. However, you were fully capable of reacting before them. You simply chose not to. That is strike two." Aizawa started sweating. Only one other teacher ever reached two strikes, and their pay was almost halved for it. "But that is not the largest issue. Young Shoji, you are quite lucky. Had Young Midoriya not stopped your attack, that would strike two for you."
Wisely, Mezo didn't say anything here. Nobody was in any sort of position to argue, although Bakugo was certainly going to try. "And now, for the final issue at hand." Nezu played the rest of the recording. It showed Aizawa throwing his scarf. Except he didn't throw it toward Bakugo, or Mezo. Not even at Ochako, Melissa, or Koji. It would have made some sort of sense because they were getting into a fight. But no, he threw it at Izuku, who managed to catch it. "Where to begin with this? You used a weapon on a student unprovoked. A capture weapon yes, but still a weapon. Not to mention, you used it on the only student trying to de-escalate the situation. At best, you wanted to keep him out of it for his safety. At worst, you wanted the violence to continue so you could get rid of multiple students. Either way, this is strike three, you're out. You are fired, Mr. Aizawa. I give you until eleven to pack up your things and get out of my school. Any further presence at this school will be met with legal action and a call for your arrest. Goodbye."
Aizawa was too shocked to even speak. He just stood there silently, mouth gaping. In a single moment, his career just went down the drain. And it was all this green-haired brat's fault! 'Sleep with one eye open brat! You're going to pay for ruining the easiest job I've ever had!' He then stomped off, hoping to find another staff member who could reason with Nezu and get him his job back, and possibly get these no potential students out of his school!
"Hmm. Now, onto punishments. Everyone here except Young Midoriya has received one strike. That will be one day of detention for each of you. Because of the clear issues between you all, Young Bakugo will serve his detention tomorrow with the homeroom teacher of class 1B, Vlad King. He will have some sort of assignment for you to complete. You four will spend your detention with me, today. I will also be looking for a replacement teacher for 1A. Oh, and Young Midoriya, I ask that you stay after school with your friends as well. Something has come to my attention, and it must be properly addressed. This just provides a convenient time to do so."
It all clicked into place. Nezu didn't separate Bakugo from the rest of them because of bad blood, at least not fully. He wanted the gamers alone so he could talk to them about their special powers, and likely find out more about them. After what just happened with Aizawa, Izuku wouldn't put it past Nezu for giving him a strike for disobedience and give him detention too, just to force him to show up. "Of course. I look forward to our conversation. And I hope we can resolve all this quickly."
"As do I young man. Now, Mr. Bakugo, you may leave. The rest of your classmates have finished the rest of their physical tests and have returned to the classroom. Goodbye." The dismissal of Bakugo couldn't have been clearer. Nezu wanted him out of the way so they could begin their discussion. Once Bakugo exited the office, which was more like a large conference room with a large table for them to sit at, Nezu pressed a small button under the table, then typed in a code on the keypad next to it. The door was locked, and metal shutters covered the walls. A machine started making white noise, and the TV screen turned to static. "There we are. This room is now in lockdown mode. We can now use this mode without fear of being overheard or recorded. So, tell me about your powers."
Everyone sat down, and Izuku asked "What do you want to know?" There were many different parts to their powers, so telling Nezu everything would take a while.
The white rodent thought for a few seconds before he replied. "Start from the beginning. How did you discover these special abilities and how do you catalog them?"
"There's a fairly easy way to get started. If everyone is okay with it." Izuku looked around, getting four nods. "Send an invite to Principal Nezu." A screen appeared in front of Nezu, whose ears flattened as he looked at it with suspicion. "You can reject it if you want, this just makes it easier to explain. Our powers are basically like a video game. We can level up, have classes and skills, and our stats are visible to us. It kind of just appeared one morning, and we've been using it ever since."
Finding nothing that pointed to it being dangerous, Nezu accepted the invite and became an ally. He very quickly looked through all the screens before folding his hands on the desk. "I see. This is quite interesting. How have you been gaining experience? I can see in the party tab that you are all surprisingly high level, so you must have found at least a semi-reliable method to gaining levels."
Opening his info screen about experience points, Izuku told Nezu what they knew. "There are two ways to gain experience. Beating enemies will give you some. And then we also get experience as a reward from quests, dungeons, and raids."
"And what classifies as beating an enemy?" Nezu asked. This smaller version of the gamer system gave him frustratingly little information to work with.
Each full member of the gamer squirmed a bit before answering. It was sort of an uncomfortable concept to think about outside the heat of battle. Eventually, Ochako got the courage to answer. "We need to get an enemy to zero health. The problem is, anything that we've reduced to zero health has died."
Fully expecting that, Nezu then asked, "I take it you have only tested this on enemies from dungeons and raids?"
"And the robots from the entrance exam. Anything that hits zero health dies. No second chances, no saving them, not even enough time for them to get any last words in." Izuku said. He didn't want to think about what would happen to his classmates if something went wrong during training and someone's health reached zero.
Humming in thought, Nezu was silent for a moment. After he had processed everything, he said "There is no point dwelling on the what ifs. Now before I release you and call your detention complete, I have one more question for you. Why tell me all of this? Yes, I knew your powers were abnormal, but I did not know much else other that, so you could have lied. Why did you not?'
Melissa answered. "We have two reasons for that. First, All Might told us to trust you. You know his secrets, and you can be trusted with ours. And second, we need more allies. The last time we entered a raid, we were forced to bring two of our allies who couldn't fight. We need better options, and you are a better option than a regular civilian with no combat or quirk training, and infinitely better than a little girl terrified of the outside world."
"Then I have one more question. Do you plan on bringing your classmates into this?" Nezu couldn't exactly stop them from doing so, but if his students were going to be drawn into something that could potentially put them in danger, he needed to know.
Calmly, Mezo answered "It is possible, for some of them at least. The more trustworthy ones who we know won't spill the secret, either on accident or on purpose. As Melissa said, we need more allies. Our classmates are preparing to be heroes. They're training to fight villains. If we have a choice between trained fighters and vulnerable civilians, we know who we're choosing."
Before Nezu spoke, he took a deep breath. "Very well. Now, before I let you leave, I have something for you as well. Information is a valuable and powerful resource if used correctly. I would not ask to learn your secrets while offering nothing in return. So, I will tell you one of my secrets." A smile broke out on his face. "In my introduction that I decided to forgo this time, I ask whether I am a mouse, a dog, or a bear. In truth, I am none of these things. While some k-9 DNA was spliced into my genetic code, it was not a part of me originally. My birth species was a-"
"Huh. My guess on Nezu's original species was completely wrong. I wasn't even guessing from the right part of the animal kingdom." Melissa stated as the gamers left the principal's office.
Nodding, Izuku said "I was a bit closer, but not by much. No wonder it's been kept as a secret for so long. Nobody would ever suspect that species. I bet most people haven't even heard of it."
Ochako, Mezo, and Koji were just confused. How was that information helpful at all? They felt kind of cheated. "So, what do we do now?" Ochako asked Izuku.
After checking the time, Izuku answered "Let's head back to the classroom. They should be just finishing up with the rest of the physical tests, so we might be able to introduce ourselves properly and get to know them a bit." Normally Izuku was fairly anti-social, but this was a new school, and he wasn't quirkless anymore, so he had no reason to fear his classmates. Plus, he had support in his party members and friends. Maybe he would finally get to have a good school year for once!
'I need to find a way to escape without sensei being able to find me. I'll need a good hideout and some resources to keep myself afloat for a little bit. At least until I can get strong enough to beat sensei, or at least strong enough to where killing me isn't worth the losses. But I don't have anything like that yet. I'm completely dependent on sensei, so I'll go along with his plans for now.' Tenko thought to himself while reading. Normally this wasn't something he did. Either the books bored him, or he accidentally destroyed them by putting all five fingers on the book. But it was a good way for him to increase his intelligence, so he would do it. Though, he was having a hard time keeping his mind from wandering.
The walking shadow that was Kurogiri entered the main room of the bar. "Tomura Shigaraki. Sensei has a mission for you." Tenko closed the book and looked up, so Kurogiri continued. "As you well know from the news, All Might has started to teach at U.A. The Anti-Symbol of Peace is ready, so you must find a time to kill All Might using it. In three days, I will transport you just outside U.A. so you may gather information. That is all."
One last mission then. He could handle that. Plus, U.A had the best hero candidates in Japan. He would be able to get a good look at his future enemies and know what he would be up against in the future. "Heh. U.A. huh? I'll go plus ultra myself then."
Chapter 22
[Alert [Skill: Blood of the Ruby Dragon LVL MAX] has reached max level. Unlock Conditions for [Skill: Blood of the Emerald Dragon] and [Skill: Blood of the Saphire Dragon] have been met. Please choose one skill.]
After that first day, Nezu informed the Gamers that they should stop holding back in their personal training and helped them work on a cover story for anyone who questioned the extreme growth. That led to each of the gamers finally maxing out some of their skills. They each looked over what their skills now did, as well as anything else they were given.
[Skill: Blood of the Ruby Dragon LVL MAX
Type: Passive/Ultimate
Description: You have fully adapted to the blood of a powerful creature that courses through your veins. You have unlocked the ultimate power of the Ruby Dragon.
Effects: Grants +100% fire damage to basic physical attacks. (Minimum of 10 extra damage) Enemies hit will suffer status [Burn]. This skill cannot burn enemies with fire resistance/immunity. You are granted complete immunity to fire damage.
Ultimate Skill: Eruption, Cost: 100% of Mana + 50% of Stamina, Effect: Deals Extreme Fire Damage (Int+ Wis + (Str/2) x 5) and ignores all armor and fire resistance. Fire Immunity only negates 85% of damage from this skill.]
The already impressive skill that was Blood of the Ruby Dragon had become something far, far stronger. But, Izuku had another choice to make. Blood of the Emerald Dragon or Blood of the Saphire Dragon. Each one was likely almost identical to Blood of the Ruby Dragon and each other, only for different elements. "Can I see what each of them do before I choose?"
Two screens appeared with the information for the two skills. Like Izuku thought, they were almost identical to each other, with elements being the only real difference.
Skill Preview: Blood of the Emerald Dragon LVL 1/50
Type: Passive
Description: The blood of a powerful creature runs through your veins. Its power and potential are yours to unlock and discover.
Effects: Grants +2% poison damage to basic physical attacks (minimum of 1 extra damage) as well as a 1% chance to inflict the [Envenomed] on the target on basic attacks.
{Envenomed: Deals poison damage ( 5 x Skill LVL) over the course of 10 seconds. Increases the damage the target takes from all damage sources by 10% for thirty seconds. Additional activations of this effect will only reset the timer, not increase the effect.}]
Skill Preview: Blood of the Saphire Dragon LVL 1/50
Type: Passive
Description: The blood of a powerful creature runs through your veins. Its power and potential are yours to unlock and discover.
Effects: Grants +2% Ice damage to basic physical attacks (minimum of 1 extra damage) as well as a 1% chance to inflict [Frostbite] on the target on basic attacks.
{Frostbite: Deals extra ice damage (3 x Skill LVL) and slows the target by 10% for sixty seconds. The slow effect stacks with more activations to a maximum of 80% speed reduction. Each additional activation also resets the timer on the slow effect.}]
It didn't really seem like one skill was really better than the other. One was more damage-focused, while the other seemed more focused on restricting the opponent's options in a fight. His Ruby Dragon blood was similar to Emerald, as the burn status did a lot of extra damage, (7 x Skill Level), but had no extra effect. At first Izuku thought it was too powerful because a single activation tended to obliterate any regular enemy and take a large chunk of a boss's health bar. Izuku worried that he might accidentally kill somebody, but there was a hidden mechanic within The Gamer that solved that issue. When fighting an opponent, they didn't want to kill, damage was reduced by 50% and classified as 'subdue damage', basically meaning that it was impossible for them to reduce somebody's health below 1, and reaching that point would knock an opponent out instead of killing them.
"I choose Emerald Dragon." When Izuku said that, a few more screens appeared. The first was just the skill unlock screen for Blood of the Emerald Dragon, the other was one letting him know that Blood of the Saphire Dragon would be locked until he maxed out Blood of the Emerald Dragon and chose that skill. The next two screens were also skill unlock screens but for different skills.
[Skill Evolution: Fire Breath ---> Breath Weapon LVL 1/20*
Type: Active
Description: You now have access to powers from multiple draconic elements. Breath weapons are included in that set of powers. As such, all breath weapon skills will be combined into one. Each additional element will raise the level cap by ten levels. Current cap: 20
Effect: Fire Breath (Int + Wis x 1.5 {5% Chance to Inflict Burn}), Poison Mist ((Int + Dur)/2 x 1.5 {5% Chance to Inflict Envenomed})
Cost: 30 Mana/Second]
[Skill Unlock: Elemental Choice LVL MAX
Type: Active
Description: You have access to multiple elemental skills with the same activation condition. Unfortunately, they cannot be activated simultaneously. This skill will allow you to choose between which elemental effect activates.
Elements: Fire, Poison]
Izuku wasn't the only one to get two new options for skills. Ochako's skill, Child of the Stars, did the same.
[Skill Unlocked: Child of the Stars LVL MAX
Type: Passive/Ultimate
Description: Hopes ride among the stars, and to help preserve that hope you have been blessed with some of their energy. You are still young, but you shine brighter than all but the brightest lights in your world.
Effects: Grants +100% Light damage to basic physical attacks (minimum of 10 extra damage). Will apply the affect Moonfire. Effect [Moonfire] cannot be applied to one with Light Element resistance or immunity.
Ultimate: Starfall, Cost: 100% of Mana + 50% of Stamina, Effect: Deals Extreme Light damage (1.5Int x 1.5Wis). Ignores all armor and Light Element resistance. Light Element Immunity only negates 85% of damage from this skill.]
She was offered between Disciple of the Sun and Disciple of the Abyss.
[Skill Preview: Disciple of the Sun LVL 1/50
Type: Passive
Description: The light of Hope burns brightly inside of you. Should you choose to nurture it, you will bring light and warmth to even the darkest, coldest parts of the universe.
Effects: Grants +2% Fire damage to basic physical attacks (minimum of 1 extra damage). Has a 1% chance to apply the effect [Radiance] to yourself.
{Radiance: Boosts all stats by 10% for sixty seconds.}]
[Skill Unlocked: Disciple of the Abyss LVL 1/50
Type: Passive
Description: The Light of Hope burns brightly inside of you. But the universe is not all warmth and kindness. It can be a cold and cruel place. Embrace this darkness, and untold power will be yours to command.
Effects: Grants +2% Dark Element damage to basic physical attacks (minimum of 1 extra damage). Has a 1% chance to apply the effect [Despair] to enemies hit.
{Despair: Lowers all stats by 10% for sixty seconds.}]
It was another difficult choice for Ochako, for multiple reasons. One, the skills were each really powerful. Boosting her stats or lowering an enemy's would be extremely helpful. But it was also a bit of a moral dilemma. Ochako wanted to choose the Disciple of the Sun because she wanted to spread hope everywhere she could. It was one of her two main reasons for being a hero after all. But at the same time, she didn't want to just ignore the fact that there were dark places in the world. Whether it be from the people living there, something terrible that happened in the past, or just extreme tension and negativity, darkness ruled certain places.
After consulting with her party, Ochako chose to go with the Disciple of the Abyss skill. She was informed that until she maxed out that skill, Disciple of the Sun would be unavailable to her. She got the same elemental choice skill Izuku did since she too had multiple elements. Her skill Sun Beam was replaced by a skill by choosing Disciple of the Abyss.
[Skill Evolution: Sun Beam ---> Abyssal Rend LVL 1/10
Type: Active
Description: Embracing the Abyss has granted you strength. By channeling that strength, you can sap the strength of your enemies with a mere touch.
Effect: Coats your hands in Dark Element Energy. Physical attacks with this skill active deal damage as Dark Damage and deal increased damage (Str + Int /10). Attacks have a guaranteed chance to inflict [Despair].
Cost: 50 Mana/Second]
Mezo and Koji also maxed out all their skills. Due to them having low rarity classes, they didn't unlock multiple new skills from maxing out their skills, but those maxed-out skills did evolve.
[Skill Evolution: Fists of Fury ---> Demonic Strikes LVL 1/5
Type: Passive
Description: Influence from your quirk and fighting style have transformed this skill into something truly terrifying. None but the strongest can stand up to your attacks. Soon, all will know your strength, and all will fear your wrath. Keep moving forward. This is only the start.
Effect: Increases Speed of Punch Based Skills and Basic Attacks by 100%. Increases Damage of Punch Based Skills and Basic Attacks by 75%. Reduces Mana/Stamina cost of all Punch Based Skills by 95%. Completely nullifies Armor and ignores 20% of Physical Resistance.
Cost: None]
[Skill Evolution: Power Blow + Earthshaker ---> Shockwave Strike LVL 1/100
Type: Active
Description: Through hard work and intense training, two of your skills have combined into one. With incredible potential and impressive strength, this skill will take you far.
Effect: When activated, all physical attacks will cause a large shockwave traveling in a forward-facing cone for the next 300 seconds, regardless of the target. Damage is increased by 10% for the duration of the skill. Shockwave size is determined by damage done (10 Damage = 1-meter shockwave), and damage ignores .5% of Physical Resistance.
Cost: 100 Mana, 100 Stamina]
(Mezo)
[Skill Evolution: Restore ---> Nature's Blessing LVL 1/20
Type: Active/Passive
Description: You have pushed your healing to the limits and broken those limits. The reward for your hard work has been influenced by your quirks to grant even more power. The Earth itself acknowledges your efforts and waits eagerly to see how far you will go. To help you on that journey, it has given you a blessing.
Effect: Restores a large amount of health (Int + Wis x 3) to a friendly target. When surrounded by nature, your mana regeneration is boosted by 10%.
Active Cost: 150 Mana.
Passive Cost: None]
[Skill Evolution: Smite ---> Nature's Wrath LVL 1/15
Type: Active
Description: Your divine attack has been molded by influence from your quirks and the Earth itself now that it has been pushed to the limit of its power. Now, that limit has been broken, and it is up to you to see how far this new power can go.
Effect: Summons a blast of natural energy, drawn from the surrounding plant and animal life. Deals Nature Damage (Int + Wis x 1.5), plus 10% damage for each individual plant or animal within 500 meters of the user, to a maximum of 300% increased damage.
Cost: 75 Mana]
(Koji)
Melissa, due to having a rarer class than Mezo and Koji, but not as rare as Ochako and Izuku, got an evolution for her old skills. She also got one new skill but didn't get a choice as to what it was.
[Skill Evolution: Blueprint + Extra Storage ---> Workshop LVL MAX
Type: Passive/Active
Description: Every great inventor needs their own place to work, away from those who don't understand their genius, as well as a place to store all their inventions and research. Now, you have exactly that!
Effect: Three blueprints up to level ten can now be created every twelve hours. Three blueprints can be active at once, and blueprints level five or lower can be created an infinite number of times without affecting the number of blueprints level six and up that can be created. A workshop has been added to your room in the Guild Hall, with storage space for up to 1,500 items, and you can have 50 bonus inventory spaces that can now be used for anything. Items can be swapped between your room storage and inventory at any time outside of combat.]
[Skill Unlock: Upgrade LVL 1/25
Type: Active
Description: Everything can be improved, no matter how good it already is. Now, you have the tools to do just that, bringing out the full potential of any non-organic object you touch.
Effect: Any non-organic object can be improved through physical touch. Improvements can come in many forms, from strength to durability, to stability, to erasing/lessening weaknesses or design flaws. This skill can only be used once every 24 hours and cannot be used in combat.
Cost: 100% of Mana]
Everyone's new skills were powerful by all means. Sure, they had limitations and room to grow, but that just about described The Gamer perfectly.
The next day at lunch the gamers were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria away from everyone else to avoid being overheard. "We need to find another new dungeon," Izuku said, as the entire party was not over the level limit for the one they had just finished.
"Agreed. We should all keep a lookout for things like that. Places important to us are more likely to spawn dungeons, so that's a good place to start." Mellissa agreed. She then asked "What do you think of our classmates this year? Any potential for allies or members?"
Each member thought about it for a minute. Did anyone really stick out to them as good choices? "I think we can rule out Ashido and Hagakure for now. I don't know them very well yet, but they're really into gossip. Even if we tell them to keep it a secret, they might accidentally let someone else know." Ochako answered first. "Iida's fairly strict, but he seems nice enough. He wouldn't be a bad choice, and someone who specializes in speed would work great in raids."
Mezo was the next to speak up. "Tokoyami is another to consider. Perhaps we can even help him overcome his weaknesses. However, it is far too soon to make a decision on anyone. As Ochako said, we do not know anybody very well. Should we make a bad decision, not only is there no way to remove them, but even if we could there is no moral way to keep them from spilling said secret. Knowledge of The Gamer can be dangerous in the wrong hands."
Everyone else agreed but still put forth potential candidates. "So, we get to know them more. I suggest Asui. Like Iida, she specializes in mobility, so that's good. Plus, she seems pretty trustworthy. Ochako, Melissa, can I ask you to get to know her a bit better? It'll be easier for you two than it will be for us." The two girls nodded, happy that they might be getting another girl in the group.
Koji was the last to suggest somebody. "Maybe Jirou? She seems nice. She might be a good pick."
Then, the group realized their mistake when Jirou came over. "Especially since I just overheard your secret." She laughed a bit when they all froze. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Everyone relaxed, but Jirou continued. "On the condition that you tell me more. Dungeons, The Gamer, allies or members? I have to admit, I'm curious."
She then realized that Izuku was no longer in his seat but behind her. 'He's fast! I never even heard him get up!' She thought. Before she could react, Izuku picked her and flew out of the cafeteria, and outside to the roof. Shortly after, the others arrived on Ochako's starship skill. "Oh shit! Am I in danger?"
"Not really, we just didn't want anyone else overhearing us. We already made that mistake once; we don't want it to happen again. Who knows how many people in the school have enhanced hearing?" Ochako answered.
Izuku set Jirou down and apologized. "Sorry for the rough treatment. We had to get out of there quick. The first thing to tell you, this isn't anything illegal. The principal is in on it, and so is one of the teachers."
Nodding, Jirou said "I didn't really think it was, but that's good to know. So, start explaining. The Gamer? What is it?"
Looking between the party, and getting nods, Izuku said "Send Guild Invite to Jirou Kyoka." A screen appeared, startling their classmate.
"Woah! What is this?" She tapped accept and listened to the explanation she got. "This is cool! Oh, I can buy a skill!" She paused for a second before buying anything. "Hey, this isn't going to be dangerous, is it?" She saw them all shaking their heads, and she bought a skill. She then tried it out, sending a blast of sound directly out of her jacks. "Epic! I used to need a speaker to do that!"
Melissa said "Plugging it into a speaker will probably amplify the effects. Here, try it out. But start off small, we don't know how much of a difference it'll make." Melissa handed Jirou a small speaker she had in her inventory. It was originally going to go into one of her blueprints, but she could get another one pretty easily if Jirou broke it by accident.
Before, the soundblast was relatively small, and rather weak since Jirou didn't put much effort into it. The speaker amplified it by a lot. The sudden explosion of noise disoriented everyone, especially Jirou. "Fuck!" She held her ears in pain, sighing in relief as Koji healed her. "Wow. Okay, I need to be careful with that."
"That's my fault. That's an omnidirectional speaker. It spread your skill out around it and hit all of us. So, you're going to want a directional speaker that will send the sound out in a single direction." Melissa explained, not realizing what would happen before. She took back the speaker, happy to see that it was undamaged.
After a bit more explanation, Izuku handed Jirou something out of his inventory. "Why do you have a sword? How do you have a sword?"
"Got it from a dungeon. I have a ton of them actually. Most of them are in the guild storage, but I keep a few spares with me. This is to help defend yourself in case you ever face something not affected by sound. I recommend keeping it in your inventory unless you really need it though, because we really don't want to have to answer where we got them from."
The six of them continued to talk so Jirou could learn more about them and vice versa until lunch ended. The rest of the day passed and was uneventful, until heroics class that day.
The final class of the day. Heroics, led by All Might. Of course, nobody but the Gamers knew about that, leading to discussions about who the teacher would be. Much to the gamer's amusement, the widely accepted theory was that it was another underground hero who didn't want to be in the spotlight. 'They couldn't be more wrong.' Izuku thought, each of the other gamers thinking something similar.
All discussion died when a familiar voice said, "I AM, COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
The whole class shouted, "ALL MIGHT!" They had seen him the day before as well, but it was still a shock. Especially since they were going to be taught by him.
One girl, Ashido, asked "All Might? I thought you said you were only there yesterday as a favor for the principal?"
"HAHAHA! I WAS! AND THAT FAVOR WAS TO WHIP THE NEXT GENERATION OF HEROES INTO SHAPE! BUT FIRST, PART OF BEING A HERO IS LOOKING GOOD!" All Might pressed a button on a small remote he had, causing a section of the wall to slide out. "These are your costumes. Designed and built with regard to the information and requests you sent in when you were accepted into the hero course! Now, go get dressed and meet me at Training Ground Alpha!"
Each student grabbed the case with their costume in it and ran to the locker room, excited to finally wear them for the first time.
In the locker room, Izuku opened his case and smiled. His original costume 'idea' that he made when he was younger, had been massively improved on. There was more protection all around, his 'smile' had become a metal mouthguard with the ability to filter air, removing toxins and other harmful substances in the air, and the 'bunny ears' had become more akin to dragon horns.
Before, it could have looked like an homage to All Might if you squinted really hard but usually just looked like a big green rabbit, but now it looked like his own unique costume. "Damn Midoriya, that looks epic! Way better than mine!" One of his classmates said, Izuku thought his name was Kaminari.
The blond boy's costume could barely be considered one. It was black jeans, a black leather jacket with white lightning bolt designs on it, and a barely noticeable earpiece on his right ear. In all fairness, it was far from the worst costume there. A boy with red hair was missing a shirt, and the boy with red and white hair had completely covered his left side with ice. Not to mention the boy with the tail just wore a martial arts Gi with some fur on one shoulder.
"Thanks. Me and my friends worked hard on our costumes together. We even had a pro hero help us with them." Izuku replied. "I like yours too. I'm guessing you have a lightning quirk?" The other boy nodded, and Izuku continued. "Could use some improvement. Eye protection is never a bad idea unless it interferes with your quirk, some sort of goggles, or maybe some reinforced sunglasses to go with the kind of biker theme you have going on. Possibly something to enhance your lighting too. What about aiming? Some lightn-" Izuku trailed off into muttering that Kaminari could no longer understand, pulling out a notebook to write down all his ideas.
Before the blond could interrupt Izuku, Mezo tapped him on the shoulder. "Do not worry about Little Dragon. He gets like this at times. Come talk to him after class. His suggestions really help you improve." Mezo led Izuku out of the changing room and toward their destination, leading others to follow.
"Seriously, they have to be dating, right?" The boy with black hair, Sero, asked.
"Yeah, I agree. No way they're not when he has a nickname like that." Kaminari agreed, causing Koji to laugh to himself. He wasn't sure who Izuku would end up with, but he was practically already dating Ochako and Melissa.
Once everyone arrived at the fake city that they recognized from the exam, All Might said "Welcome! You all look like heroes! Now, on to the lesson! Does anyone know what we will be doing today?"
The first to answer was Iida, who was dressed in a full set of armor, making him look like some kind of knight mixed with a race car. "Could it be more robots, similar to the entrance exam?"
"A close guess, but no! Anyone else?"
"Instead of fighting robots, we fight each other? *Ribbit*" Asui, the girl with the frog quirk, asked.
"Indeed! I will split you all into teams of two, and you will be competing against each other. One team will play the villains, while the other will play the heroes. The goal is simple. The heroes must either capture this fake bomb, or the villain team within fifteen minutes. The villains must do the opposite, protecting the bomb for fifteen minutes, or once again capturing the hero team."
That led to a bunch of questions from everyone, which All Might answered three of. "Teams will be decided by lots! I will step in if things go too far, but this is a battle trial. Injuries are going to be unavoidable. And, you will not have to worry about expulsion threats for failing ever again. As you noticed, your homeroom teacher was different today, and soon we will be getting a permanent replacement for the position, as Eraserhead was fired. Now, draw lots!"
Each person chose a ball and got their team. Though, not all of them were happy about it. None of the full gamers were on the same team, though Jiro did get paired up with Ochako.
Team A: Midoriya Izuku and Kaminari Denki.
Team B: Sero Hanta and Tokoyami Fumikage.
Team C: Ochako Uraraka and Jiro Kyoka.
Team D: Todoroki Shoto and Shoji Mezo
Team E: Iida Tenya and Ojiro Mashirao
Team F: Bakugo Katsuki and Koji Koda
Team G: Asui Tsuyu and Kirishima Ejiro
Team H: Melissa Shield and Yaoyorozu Momo
Team I: Sato Rikido and Ashido Mina
Team J: Aoyama Yuga and Hagakure Toru
Right away, there would be a big fight. Team A would be the heroes, and Team F would be the villains. Izuku sighed. On his own, Bakugo wouldn't be a threat to him with Izuku's immunity to fire. However, Koji was a really powerful support fighter. Against him, a battle of attrition was like trying to knock down a brick wall by slamming your head into it. Possible for sure, but painful and 100% not worth the effort. The goal would be to strike fast and hard, eliminating Koji before he could do anything.
After taking the gear All Might provided them, that being a set of earpieces to communicate and capture tape to capture the enemy team, Izuku looked to his teammate. In terms of physical capabilities, he didn't look out of shape, but he also wasn't in the same insane physical condition that would allow him to match Bakugo in combat, and nowhere near the level it would take to compete with Koji.
Izuku said "We need to plan. And for that, I need to know more about your quirk. What can you tell me? I assume some form of lightning or electricity."
His teammate looked surprised at the sudden question but nodded. "Yeah. I can make electricity and shoot it out. I can produce up to a million volts, but I fry my brain if I do. I also can't control it at all." Izuku added it to the list of possible support gear and did what he did best. Tear that quirk apart.
A minute later, Izuku had a suggestion. "I might have a sort of solution for that. Form a ball with your hands, but leave space in the middle. Like this." Izuku demonstrated what he wanted Kaminari to do, and the blond did so. "Now, activate your quirk in your hands at as low power as you can manage."
When Kaminari did this, nothing happened. Electricity coated his hands and sparked, but nothing happened. "How much power are you using?"
"Maybe around ten thousand volts? It's kind of hard to measure at lower levels."
Nodding, Izuku said "Okay, bump it up to fifty thousand if you can." Kaminari grit his teeth in effort. His control over his quirk was absolutely awful. Usually, when he activated it, the base was around half power. Lowering it to the point he was currently using it at was difficult for him. However, he managed, and Izuku saw the results he wanted. The lightning had been pulled toward itself, forming a ball structure. "Congratulations Kaminari, you just confirmed the existence of Ball Lightning. Scientists have been trying to do that for centuries."
Sweat started to bead on Kaminari's forehead, and he asked "Great, now what do I do with this?"
"Throw it! Over there, away from us." When the ball landed, it expanded to a radius of about six feet, and stray bolts reached far enough to nearly hit Izuku and Kaminari. One actually did, but Izuku sort of just smacked it away, the fire from his 'attack' managing to cancel out the lightning. "Huh. Yeah, keep the power low. Like, really low. As low as you can manage it. At least until we can do some tests on how much damage that will actually do."
While he managed to block the lightning bolt that shot at him, it left his hand numb. 'Kaminari is seriously powerful. And with as little control as he has, that's dangerous.'
"I agree." All Might chimed in, watching from the cameras and talking to them through the earpieces. "In fact, I would try to avoid using it on another living being at all until we can run some tests. As of right now, that technique is banned from use in this battle trial. And for future reference Midoriya, do not run quirk experiments without a teacher or other proper supervision immediately present. Oh, and Nezu does not count as proper supervision."
Both students agreed, not wanting to hurt anyone too badly. Midoriya scolded himself a bit. 'I should have realized that the electricity would have amplified itself when forced into a construct like that. That was probably at least five times as strong as it would have been without that.'
With that new ability out, Izuku had to think of a new plan. "Okay, we can't use that. So, new plan. Without the ability to safely use your quirk, you're more of a liability than anything else." Kaminari looked down in shame. "But we can use that. Bakugo will already ignore you completely to go after me, and I'm sorry to say that you won't stand a chance against Koji, not even if you could use that ball lightning. How well can you fight without your quirk?"
"Not very well. I know how to throw a punch without risking breaking my hand, but that's it." It was better than nothing.
After a few minutes of thought, Izuku came up with a plan. "Bakugo will come after me. Once the battle starts, I say we have less than a minute before he finds us. Koji probably won't be far behind. We'll have at least another thirty seconds before he gets there. He's not that fast, thankfully. That's when we make our move. Eliminate Katsuki, before isolating Koji. Here's what we'll do."
At the third floor of the building, Koji and Bakugo were also trying to plan. Or at least, Koji was. Bakugo was adamant about being the one to fight Izuku. "You won't win. You don't stand a chance against him. Even if he wasn't completely immune to your quirk, he's so much faster and stronger than you that you wouldn't last ten seconds before he kicked your teeth in. Since he is, you won't last two."
Bakugo wheeled around and tried to blow Koji up, but vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around his arms, legs, and neck. The one around his neck tightened, cutting off Bakugo's ability to breathe. "You can't even touch me before I can restrain you." Koji was showing no signs of effort at restraining the struggling Bakugo, who was starting to get lightheaded from the lack of air. Just before he passed out, the vines vanished, dropping Katsuki to the ground. "Against Izuku, a direct fight is hopeless. Your quirk is useless against him, and I don't do enough damage to knock him out before he can knock me out. Not to mention whatever his partner can do, which you can almost guarantee will be something. Our best bet is to take advantage of my healing and stall out the timer."
But Bakugo had stopped listening as soon as Koji started talking. He wasn't going to rely on some worthless extra to beat fucking Deku of all people. When All Might started the match, he blasted off with his quirk to the main entrance. He was going to obliterate that nerd and show him that he didn't belong at U.A.
When the match started, Izuku and Kaminari ran in. "Remember the plan. Here he comes." Shortly after, Bakugo blasted around the corner.
"GOT YOU NOW DEKU!" He let loose a large explosion, only for a scale-covered fist to appear through it and punch Bakugo into a wall.
The smoke from the explosion cleared to reveal Izuku, perfectly unharmed. "Is that it? I expected more from you Kacchan." Enraged by the taunting, Bakugo blasted forward, only for Izuku to grab both his arms, and a foot to connect with his crotch.
When Izuku had grabbed Katsuki, it left Kaminari the opening he needed. Sure, the plan was just to wrap the capture tape around Bakugo, but after what the rabid blond had said, Kaminari felt that he needed a strong kick to the dick. So that was what he did. While Bakugo was still stunned from the pain, Kaminari wrapped the tape around both arms, eliminating him.
"BAKUGO KATSUKI HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!" All Might declared, just as Koji arrived.
With a deep sigh, he said "I warned him that would happen. Fine, I guess I'm doing this myself." A flash of green light impacted Izuku's chest, throwing him into a wall. At the same time, vines wrapped around Kaminari, dropping the teen to the ground. Electricity sparked all around him, but it did nothing to the vines and the attack quickly fizzled out, letting a bird Koji had been talking to wrap the capture tape around him as well.
"KAMINARI DENKI HAS BEEN ELIMINATED AS WELL! THIS LEAVES ONE MEMBER OF EACH TEAM REMAINING!"
Izuku pulled himself off of the wall, and said "You can't beat me Koji, you know that."
"I do. But I don't need to. I just need to stall you long enough for time to run out. How long did our last spar take to finish? Half an hour? You don't have that time." While it was true that every other member of the gamer could beat Koji, when they spared and had at least an 70% win rate against him, matches against him took the longest because of how much he could heal. It wasn't a fight to drain his health low, because of his healing they had to drain his mana too.
Wings sprouted from Izuku's back, and he flew out the nearest window, escaping Koji. "Right, he could always do that. Fine, back to the bomb." Koji ran as fast as he could to the room the bomb was in, unknowingly leading Izuku there as well.
When Koji arrived, he saw a green blur fly past him and used a spell from his book to keep Izuku from reaching the bomb. "Wall of Thorns!"
A barricade of thorny bushes erupted from the ground, reaching all the way to the ceiling. Izuku stopped just before he reached the bomb and was hit by another flash of green light. He looked back to Koji and extended his claws. "Fine, we'll do this your way."
Back in the observation room, barely anybody could follow what was going on. "Sir, is this normal? Only one person from each team remains, and they are directly at the bomb. And they are fighting at a level that seems far too high for mere first years to be capable of. Not to mention that all of this has happened within three minutes." The girl with long black hair, Yaoyorozu, asked.
"An excellent question. As far as I am aware, no, this is by no means normal. However, you must take something into account. I happen to know the capabilities of Young Midoriya and Young Koda. They, as well as three other students this year, have strength, skill, and even experience, that outclasses some fully-fledged pro heroes. Not all the matches will be this quick, and not all of them will be this intense. However, I do not want any of you to be discouraged by this gap between you and certain classmates of yours. Instead, use it to motivate you to do even better."
One of the other kids, Kirishima, said "I can barely keep up just watching! How can we compete with that?"
Melissa chimed in. "There are a lot of ways. First is to improve your quirks. Izuku gave Kaminari a suggestion, and it led to him figuring out a new move. A potentially dangerous new move that had to be banned until we can figure out how dangerous it really is, but that was after just a few minutes. And I know Izuku would be happy to discuss your quirks with all of you. You just have to ask." Most of the students made a mental note to talk to Izuku after the battle trial ended.
When Melissa finished, Ochako added "And there's more to you than just your quirk. Learn other skills too. Take advantage of anything and everything you can. It's the only way to get better."
"And put it in practice as well. You can talk to others and study theories for a decade straight, and you still won't really benefit them until you try them out yourself. And get creative. Think outside the box. If you can pull something off that your opponent would never suspect you to do, most of the time they have absolutely no defense against it."
Every member of 1-A started to think strategy early, as much as they could when they didn't know their opponent or what they would be capable of doing. But it motivated them to try their hardest to improve. Which was more than they could say before.