More than a year had passed since that day.
Since I bought my first set of skills. Since I released my games, my manga, my music. Since the fame began to gather around me like an invisible armor. Since I became someone people admire.
But today... today is different.
Today marks the moment I stop playing around and officially begin my climb to the top.
I sat at the table, staring at my breakfast without really seeing it. My eyes were lost in the void, my mind somewhere far away.
"Haruki, your food's getting cold! You'll be late for the exam!"
My mother's voice snapped me back to reality. I smiled.
"Sorry. Got lost in thought."
She smiled back worried, but confident. She knew I was ready.
I finished eating, took a quick shower, and left the house. The sky was clear, the sun gentle the kind of morning that feels like it was written for legends to begin.
On the bus, headphones in, eyes closed, body relaxed. But my mind was active. Every second before arriving at U.A. was filled with calculations. Movement patterns. Possible tactics. Simulations. I didn't come just to pass. I came to leave a mark.
The U.A. gate towered higher than in the anime. More real. More imposing.
The place was packed. Candidates from all over the country, each with their own story, their own Quirk. Some trembled with nerves, others showed off too much. I recognized a few familiar faces. Todoroki quiet. Iida stiff as steel. Midoriya shaking, but with a spark in his eyes that wasn't there before. Maybe he really took to heart the words I tossed at him so casually some time ago.
I kept to myself. This wasn't a time for socializing. It was a time for action.
Present Mic made his usual loud entrance. Instructions, rules, group divisions. I was assigned to a random group no familiar names. Good. No distractions.
With just minutes left before the practical exam began, I opened the system interface in my mind. My point balance was massive, built up from months of secret fame. And today, for the first time, I was going to use a big chunk of it.
I scrolled through the store until I found the skill I'd been saving for this moment.
[Supreme Botanical Master – 400,000,000 points]
Grants control over vast stretches of plant life, enabling the creation of ecosystems for battle or defense.
Purchased.
The sensation was instant. It felt like the world around me started breathing in sync with me. Every invisible seed beneath the soil, every forgotten root, every tiny sprout trapped under concrete everything connected to me. Not as tools, but as extensions of my own body.
It was time.
The countdown began.
Three.
Two.
One.
Gates opened.
While the others charged forward like a frantic herd, I took two calm steps and raised my hand.
The ground trembled. Thick, fast vines erupted from the earth like hungry serpents, grabbing and crushing the first wave of robots before they could even lift an arm. Each vine moved with precision. No random destruction. Every motion was calculated. Efficient.
I walked.
Around me, bamboo shot up in seconds, launching like spears at distant robots. One of the 3-point bots tried to escape by flying, but the branches of a makeshift tree stretched like whips, yanking it back down. It crashed hard, armor cracking.
I snapped my fingers.
Roots burst from the ground beneath another group of bots, entangling their joints. Their movements became erratic. Within seconds, they collapsed.
My mind operated on three levels.
First, I directly controlled the plants with my will and subtle gestures.
Second, I ran simulations of trajectories, impact angles, weak points based on past experience and memorized robot combat patterns.
Third, I enjoyed myself.
Yeah, because it was fun. For the first time, I could use my Quirk at full power. No restraints, no hiding. No fear of drawing too much attention. I could go all out.
I launched thorny vines in a sweeping arc, crossing two streets at once. Four robots went down with precise cuts, each hit targeting their control cores. All of them disabled cleanly.
The other candidates looked lost. Some stopped fighting. Others stared at me, stunned. One guy with a sound-based Quirk looked like he was about to scream but didn't get the chance. A wall of plants rose between him and the approaching bots. He fell back, startled, as they exploded on the other side.
I had just saved him.
Without even glancing his way.
I kept walking. The entire field was mine. Makeshift trees danced around me like guardians. Bamboo grew and vanished like disposable spears. Vines slithered like sharp snakes. The robots... they never stood a chance.
The clatter of metal scraps hitting the ground became constant. My calculations adjusted by the second, and I updated the commands to the plants almost on instinct. In no time, the battlefield was cleared.
No exaggeration.
Cleared.
Five minutes.
The examiners' control panels started flashing with error signals. Robots disappearing from the map. No signs of remaining enemies. Every 1, 2, and 3-point robot had been destroyed. Not a single one left. Not even parts.
The 0-point robot... wasn't even activated.
Why?
Because there was no point.
No reason to release the final challenge when the test was already technically over.
I heard murmurs from the observation towers.
"Is it over already?"
"Who the hell did all that?"
"What's his name again?"
I ignored them.
I looked at the scene around me. Destruction surgical, controlled. Plants slowly retreating, sinking back into the soil, as if grateful for the chance to breathe.
I snapped my fingers again. Everything vanished. The field looked pristine almost like nothing had happened.
But the wreckage said otherwise.
At the center of it all, I stood still. Calm.
The exam was over.
And I had won.
Effortlessly.
****
Right now, I probably won't be able to release a new chapter every day. However, I'll do my best to post at least one chapter every two days, or two chapters within three days.
I'm currently busy with a lot school, studying for university, courses, work, and more.
Because of that, I often end up with headaches during my free time, which keeps me from writing the chapters the way I'd like. So, to avoid putting out low-quality chapters, I'll be slowing down the update schedule.
I hope you understand,
Your beloved author: the God of Laziness.