Chapter 34: Hero Society
Several hours earlier.
"You want to withdraw from the Sports Festival? No." Shota Aizawa looked at the student in front of him with some surprise. At a time when everyone else was desperate to make a good showing, he wanted to quit?
"Give me a reason. As the president of the Hero Course, you should be setting an example."
Yoshikage Kira thought for a moment and said, "I think Recovery Girl's workload is very heavy. I want to go and assist her."
It was an excuse Kira had prepared in advance, but it clearly wasn't enough to convince Aizawa.
"Recovery Girl has overseen every Sports Festival. She won't have any problems. Furthermore, the security staff this year is several times larger than usual. The school has invited many Pro Heroes to help out, so there won't be any personnel shortages."
Seeing that plan wouldn't work, Kira tried another angle. "Will they be asking for help this time? I heard that Ryanne will be in charge of the first-year support station."
"Ryanne... you mean Recovery Girl's granddaughter? So she enrolled this year too." It seemed Aizawa didn't keep up with this sort of news. He looked a little surprised. "If that's the case, then you have even less to worry about. With her there, none of you will be seriously injured."
"Alright, I'll tell you the truth," Kira said. "I'm a little worried. This competition will be broadcast to the entire nation. While that means a lot of exposure, it also means that villains will definitely be watching. Won't our Quirks be exposed to them?"
"..." Shota Aizawa covered his face with one hand. "Honestly, this is why I hate dealing with clever people like you."
He thought for a moment, then said, "Kira, while this isn't something I should be telling you right now, I believe you have the aptitude to accept this reality."
"I'm listening." Kira's expression indicated that he was finally about to hear some useful intelligence. For the longest time, the teachers had been beating around the bush, treating the students like they needed to be protected, making them think U.A. was some kind of fantasy land free from danger. They were put through short-term training drills, but were never told anything useful. If it hadn't been for the information he'd gotten from that know-it-all Camie, Kira might still think he was in no danger at all.
"U.A. High has become a public target," Aizawa said, dropping the bombshell. "Ever since the USJ attack, society has been watching our every move. Even the news of my own injuries was leaked by someone. It's clear that we're being targeted."
"...So who is targeting U.A.?"
"Who knows? Villains, the media, other schools, the government... It could be any one of them, or it could be all of them," Aizawa said calmly. "The reason for holding such a high-profile Sports Festival this time is simple: it's to show the world that you, the students who were attacked by villains, have made your debut. Not only were you unharmed, but you're more energetic than ever."
"...I don't know if this is an appropriate analogy, but are we like Harry Potter surviving Voldemort's attack? Have we become the target for all our peers to chase, the new rising stars of the hero world?"
"You've read that old book? That's an ancient relic," Aizawa's eye twitched. "But you're exactly right. You all are 'Harry Potter' now, and all the 'Voldemorts' are watching you closely."
"Can I take that to mean that we should make a big scene this time, to attract as much attention as possible? Simply put, you want us to stir up some trouble, right?"
Aizawa quickly replied, "I never said that. That's your own interpretation. In reality, how well you place doesn't matter that much. The school will provide opportunities for internships at good agencies after the event. What's important is that you put on a dazzling performance at this Sports Festival and capture everyone's attention."
Kira rolled his eyes. "That's easy for you to say, but how are you supposed to get any attention if you don't get good results...?"
Kira had never actually intended to withdraw from the Sports Festival. Using a mix of truth and lies to extract information from others was a required course for any adult. Aizawa had taken the bait, revealing some confidential information and showing his trust in Kira.
...If that's the case, then I suppose I should repay that trust.
And so, at the classroom door after school, Kira had forcefully made his declaration of war.
After school, Kira opened the notebook he used for his translation work and personal research. On its pages were the notes he had gathered over the years about this society.
The current year is 2099. A full 22 years have passed since the release of Cyberpunk 2077.
The first case of a superpower, the "glowing baby," appeared in 1999, exactly 100 years ago. At the time, it was studied as a strange phenomenon. After that, similar phenomena began to appear all over the world, granting their users a variety of different abilities. It wasn't until around 2030 that the profession of "Pro Hero" officially entered the stage. The hero society has now been developing for over 60 years, with a well-established system of regulations and benefits. Pro Heroes have become integrated into daily life, much like security guards or police officers.
Although this superhuman society has developed specialized technology to counter the Quirks of Pro Heroes, in daily life, technology hasn't drastically changed things. The culture and customs are still reminiscent of the early 21st century, just with more advanced technology in certain areas.
The level of technology, which should have grown exponentially and ushered in an age of scientific revolution, was stalled because God had granted every human a different ability. After all, for an individual, one's own power is the most trustworthy. As a result, nations around the world simultaneously began to research these innate human abilities from scratch, thereby slowing down technological development.
To put it simply—the tech tree got messed up.
Researchers in the United States, using their years of technological superiority, were the first to develop specialized battle suits for super-powered individuals. It's said that All Might's own hero costume, "Superman," was developed for him by his partner when he was studying abroad in America.
Russian researchers discovered that super-powered individuals could unlock even greater human potential; even an average user could defeat a bear with their bare hands. They developed training methods suited for these individuals, allowing them to become elite operatives with immense personal combat strength. These people were called "special forces" and were tasked with dealing with crimes committed by other super-powered individuals—this was the prototype for Pro Heroes.
Researchers in Japan came to the conclusion that these God-given abilities affected a person's psyche. For example, a person with a "Fire" ability would naturally have a fiery temper, while someone with a "Water" ability might be more indecisive. Thus, they named these abilities "Quirks" , to symbolize both an individual's mental state and something that was unique and different from others.
As a result, some parents heeded the advice of experts and would only give their children a nickname for the first four years of their life. After their Quirk manifested, they would be given a formal name that corresponded to their personality and officially registered.
The cyberpunk style envisioned by the beloved Polish developers at CD Projekt Red in the early 21st century never arrived, or at least, not completely. But they persevered in development despite the lack of reference material and finally released the game decades later, in 2077. The long-awaiting players were fascinated by the game's depiction of an alternate lifestyle without Quirks, and it became a massive bestseller in the year of its release. Even today, 22 years later, it remains a popular title.
(On a side note, the Rainbow Six Siege mentioned earlier in the text is a version that has been rebooted several times. The basic gameplay is unchanged, but the high-tech gadgets of each operator have been replaced with Quirk-like abilities.)
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