All Might gathered all the students in the basement of Building C where the next battle would take place.
Among the students, at the front, were the winners, Luke and Momo, a stunned Todoroki and a perplexed Shoji standing next to them.
Not only Shoji but even the rest of the students were shocked beyond measure.
At first, seeing the full scale of Todoroki's Quirk had felt helpless, finding it just too overwhelming. They had considered Todoroki the winner and MVP right there and then.
But the results couldn't be any weirder.
It was Luke and Momo who came out to be the winners, with Luke securing the MVP position.
Seeing the gobsmacked look on the students' faces, All Might faced Luke and said, "I guess you have something to tell your classmates, don't you?"
Luke met All Might's stare and nodded.
All Might meant that now that Luke had chosen to use his true Quirk, there was no point in hiding it from his classmates.
From an angle, Luke had guessed it would happen.
Only the second combat exercise had forced him to depend on two more Quirks.
What would happen if they were in a real battle with Villains? What would happen if they were in a scenario where innocent lives were at stake?
In this, All Might agreed with Momo the most.
Luke couldn't afford to keep his Quirk a secret from his classmates, along with whom he would need to work and cooperate for the next three years and beyond.
"Everyone…" Luke said, turning around and facing all the students, "… I have a confession."
Then, slowly, he told them about his Quirk — Raven — as it was registered in the Pro Hero database.
Nyx, a raven, was an inherent part of his Quirk.
With the help of Inorganic Materials, which randomly popped up in his head, he could permanently grant her a Quirk.
The compositions of Inorganic Materials were alien, so he had to obtain Momo's help to create them.
Also, he couldn't control which Quirk a particular material granted Nyx.
He could only activate one Quirk at a time, within a 50-meter radius.
Using too many Quirks repeatedly depleted his Stamina.
Then, other than All Might who had figured out what happened during the battle using the earpieces, Luke described the entire scenario for the students sequentially.
By the end of it, everyone was just staring at Luke with their mouths open.
"Man…" Eijiro complained, "… I thought Todoroki's Quirk was broken."
"Yeah," Tsuyu added. "And you are good at hand-to-hand as well…"
Gaining a slight reddish hue on his cheeks, as Luke felt the eyes on him, he nodded. "I have been training for over a year under Sand. So, I would request you not to compare with me. By the end of it, you will all have good chances of catching up with me…"
From the back, Bakugo eyed Luke with a stunned face as well.
First, he had lost against Deku. Deku! That feeling had settled in his stomach like stones. Now, was he truly hearing that Fanboy could have flattened him whenever he wanted as well?!!
Sensing Bakugo's expression, Luke looked at him as well. "I was not deceiving anyone during the Practical Exams," he said. "Nyx could only use Gigantification at that time."
Next to him, Momo nodded. "I can attest to that."
Luke then looked at Todoroki. "I would like to add that the only reason we won was because Todoroki didn't know about my Quirk. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made Shoji step outside."
"Well said, young Luke!" All Might gave him a thumbs up. "He is right. BUT… Field work of Pro Heroes is full of elements of surprises as well. Not every time you will know the Quirks of the Villains… or to what extent those Quirks can go mid-battle.
"Young Todoroki! Reflect on the battle well. Shoji! Next time, be more communicative.
"Momo! Excellent teamwork. You set yourself up for Luke's strategy to work. That's a Pro Hero spirit!
"And Luke… Good job! But you need to be more trusting of the people around you.
"All right! Now that we are done with this, let's proceed with the third battle!!"
As the children nodded, obviously excited, Luke took a deep breath, feeling the Apprentice Potion getting digested even more.
…
The rest of the battles went by smoothly as well.
Hanta Sero and Eijiro Kirishima teamed up as Villains to take on Fumikage Tokoyami and Tsuyu Asui, the latter winning the battle between the two.
In the next battle, the Villain team of Mashirao Ojiro and Toru Hagakure, who was an invisible girl, defeated the Heroes — Rikido Sato and Minoru Mineta.
At last, Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro as Villains snatched a win against Yuga Aoyama and Mina Ashido.
With that, following All Might's evaluations, the Combat Exercise came to an end.
He gathered a cheery crowd of students near the exit.
"Good work everyone!" All Might said, laughing. "You really stepped up your performance using the Hand-to-Hand Combat into practice, I see. And we didn't have any major injuries except for young Midoriya, either!
"Be proud of yourselves! You did great for the first time!!"
"It's nice to hear that after being through Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Sand's classes, Sir," Tsuyu added, making everyone nod along with her. "One was very anti-climatic and the other left all muscles sore…"
"Yeah…"
"… Yeah…"
As the students smiled wryly, agreeing with Tsuyu, All Might let out a cheery laugh. "I am happy to contribute to my Alma Mater, folks! That's all from me! I should check how young Midoriya is doing at the Infirmary!!"
Then, like a jet plane, All Might dashed through the corridor leading out of the Ground Beta.
As he ran, and as the students looked at him with awe from behind, he looked over his shoulder and eyed Todoroki and Bakugo.
Young Todoroki will be alright, All Might thought, remembering who his father was. But young Bakugo is full of pride. At a school like UA, it was bound to shatter. As a teacher, it is my duty to counsel him. But… I can't…
All Might had run away in a hurry, not because he needed to be near Midoriya, but because he couldn't maintain his form anymore.
The moment he came out of the tunnel, he smashed the button on the wall next to him, closing the door.
Then, with a hissing sound, his hulk-like-form smoked out of existence.
In his true, skinny form, Toshinori Yagi huffed and puffed, taking deep breaths.
I barely have enough time to teach a class, he complained inside. How will I last a full year?!
"Wow…" a girly, birdy voice entered All Might's ears. "You are skinnier than Luke from a year ago. That's saying something, you know. Is this a side effect of doing naughty things in old age, All Might?"
As if stuck in time frames, Toshinori looked toward his left and found a small raven perched on the wall, cleaning her wings.
Nyx… All Might remembered the name, a chill running down his spine. Oh, shit!!!
*************
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