I changed out of my high school uniform and into what I'd brought for the exam: a short-sleeved black compression shirt and loose white sweatpants. Just some practical clothes that I could move fast in.
Not too long ago, we got the usual show. Present Mic screamed his lungs out, trying to make the crowd cheer. Iida got pissy at Midoriya for muttering too loud, acting like someone was gonna fail the test just from thinking out loud. Same shit as in the anime, I tuned it out after the first few seconds.
What mattered was that I'd been placed in Battle Center E.
I scanned the crowd here. Mostly unfamiliar faces. The only one I vaguely recognized was that tail guy, the one with a martial gi. Couldn't remember his name, just that he existed. Not much more to say about him, he's practically an NPC.
The massive gates at the front of the city started grinding open. A theatrical pause, clearly meant to build tension. Like trained puppies, everyone hesitated, waiting for a countdown that would never come.
While the herd twitched, I crouched and pressed my palms to the ground, absorbing the concrete beneath me. My skin hardened from head to toe in seconds, rough gray stone crawling up my arms, over my chest, my legs. Heavy, but not enough to actually slow me down
Then I launched forward.
Present Mic's voice boomed behind me as I charged forward.
"GET MOVING! THERE ARE NO COUNTDOWNS IN REAL BATTLES! RUN RUN RUN, LISTENERS!"
A stampede broke out behind me, the rest of the examinees finally realizing what was happening. A few with speed quirks zipped ahead of the pack, one even blurred past me in a streak of red. I made a mental note of that one. They could be useful later.
About twenty seconds in, I encountered my first target. Just a 1-pointer. Good enough for a warm-up.
My arms reshaped without much effort. The left transformed into a massive stone fist, the right into a blunt hammer. I rushed the bot, grabbed it by the midsection and slammed it to the ground in front of me. Then I brought the hammer down, straight into its head with a satisfying crunch. The metal crumpled like foil under the force.
While the thing sparked and died beneath me, I crouched again, this time drawing in the busted steel plating. My armor shifted, rough rock dissolving into sleek green metal. I felt the power difference instantly. The weight redistributed better. Stone was some caveman shit compared to this.
Another bot, this one a 3-pointer, rolled in from the right.
I didn't hesitate, morphing my right arm into an axe and drove the blade into its shoulder, cleaving through it and burying the blade in its core. It jerked once before toppling backward in a smoking heap.
I found myself in a solid rhythm.
Run. Spot target. Morph. Kill. Absorb. Repeat.
In one alley, I saw three bots grouped together.
My left arm morphed into a lance. I drove it through the first bot's torso and kept pushing, impaling all three like meat on a skewer. They didn't even fall. I held them in place and reshaped my right arm into a machete. One sideways slash. Three heads off in one stroke.
I kept moving.
The clock kept ticking. Five minutes in and I was sitting on about thirty points. Probably more. Hard to count when you're in the zone.
Halfway through the timer.
I'm pretty sure that's around enough to pass.
Not bad. But not great either.
I needed more.
Not just villain points. Hero points. The hidden score that isn't advertised but undeniably exists.
I took off down the street, scanning the chaos for someone useful, preferably someone with a speed quirk. Quirks like that were worth gold if you could copy even a fraction of their momentum.
A minute passed. Then I found her.
A red-haired girl—light on her feet but overwhelmed. She was dodging a 2-pointer's attacks, her movements fluid, but she wasn't striking back. Not effectively. Speed quirks look flashy until reality hits: if you don't have power, all you've got is pretty footwork.
I broke into a sprint toward her.
Might as well do a little charity. The proctors will love that kind of thing. I hadn't exactly been raking in any hero points, and the last thing I needed was to walk out with triple digits in villain points and a fat 0 on hero points. That would practically scream I have something wrong with me.
My right hand morphed into a giant steel-reinforced fist. I charged the bot, caught it mid-swing, and slammed it into the ground. It twitched and sparked, stunned but not finished.
I looked at the girl and tilted my head toward the wreck.
"Go ahead. It's all yours."
She blinked, then nodded like I'd handed her salvation. She ran over, tearing through its exposed wiring with a kind of desperation that told me she needed the points. A few seconds later, the bot's lights died.
She walked back over, smiling at me like I'd just saved her life. "Thanks. That—"
I raised a hand before she could finish.
"No need. I was just trying to help."
Then I held out my hand.
She took it without hesitation.
When her fingers touched mine, I activated my quirk. I felt it enter me—her quirk—like a sudden jolt of lightning crawling up my spine. My fingers twitched involuntarily, and for a second, my heart skipped.
She opened her mouth again, probably to introduce herself.
"No. Don't tell me your name," I said quickly, already backing away. "Let's introduce ourselves when we meet in the Hero Course."
I already knew she wasn't making it. But there was no need to say it out loud.
I could already feel the edges of my thoughts begin to blur. My focus started to sharpen in weird places and fray in others. My body was buzzing, like it couldn't decide if it was under attack or ready to explode.
Just one quirk. I can handle one.
I launched forward, faster now. My feet barely touched the ground before I was onto the next bot. A 1-pointer stumbled out of an alley; I sprinted in, tore off its arm, and crushed its head with it. I waved to the nearby examinee and helped them up.
"You alright? Keep moving. Don't freeze up now, you've got this."
Their eyes lit up from my encouragement.
Hero points? Definitely.
So I kept going. Find stragglers, finish their fights for them. Offer a smile, a hand, some words of encouragement. Let them believe I was here for them.
Let them believe I gave a damn.
The faster I moved, the more points I'd rack up.
Then I felt it.
A tremor. A scream of metal echoing off the buildings. The sky seemed to darken.
From around the corner, it came barreling into view.
The Zero Pointer.
The thing was colossal. At least five stories tall, maybe more. Its footsteps sent shockwaves through the pavement. Massive conveyor wheels crushed debris underfoot like they were cardboard. Red sensors scanned the battlefield with eerie calm.
Everyone else ran. I didn't blame them.
It wasn't worth any points, and it's not like they could beat it anyways.
But I wasn't everyone.
Shame no one was trapped under it. Would've made for a perfect rescue shot.
Still, I wasn't about to let it walk away untouched.
I sprinted forward, speed quirk humming beneath my muscles, pushing me beyond my normal limits. I jumped, kicked off a nearby wall, and shot upward. My fingers morphed mid-air, sharp claws digging into alloy plating as I climbed the mechanical titan like a spider.
At its head, I pressed both palms to the surface and absorbed everything I could.
The material was reinforced titanium alloy, stronger than anything I'd touched all day. Heavier and sharper than steel, thickening my arms and chest like I was being rebuilt from the inside out.
I leapt off the head, air whipping past me as I dropped, and began shaping my arm mid-fall.
It grew and grew, the metal expanding and folding, layering over itself into a blade that dwarfed a city bus. By the time I hit the peak of my descent, my right arm had become a sword so massive it looked like it belonged in the 0 pointer's arsenal.
Then I swung.
The blade came down in a perfect arc, slicing through the Zero Pointer's head, neck, and upper torso in one devastating cut. Sparks exploded. Metal screamed. The entire machine shuddered.
It didn't just fall, it collapsed.
Split down the middle. Smoke and fire poured from its ruined core as I landed in a crouch, my feet cracking the pavement beneath me.
There was a long, stunned silence.
"TIME'S UP!"