"Oi Sunraku! Where have you been? Which game's got you hooked for the past couple months?"
Sunraku.
Hizutome Rakuro's gamertag.
Yep.
He was back to gaming. There would now be a period of time between the exam and getting the results where he could do anything he desired. This period of limbo was best utilized by playing games. Games that he had neglected in favor of the examination.
"I was studying Katzo. For UA." Rakuro replied as he walked up to his clan mate.
Katzo.
Short for Oikatzo.
"Hero course?" Katzo was taken aback. His in game avatar stumbled back a few steps.
The two were playing Shangri La-Frontier. The game that had captured his attention longest. Smooth controls. Great boss fights. Better enemies. Beautiful graphics. And above all impeccable NPC AI.
"General course." Rakuro answered as he jumped over an attack flying toward his head. "Though I attempted the Hero course exam as well."
Katzo just stood still as the attack flew over his head. His player model was that of a short girl with blonde twin tails. And his playstyle was of a close ranged fighter.
"I heard that exam is very difficult no?" He asked as he raised his fists, locking onto the bunch of blades floating around a core.
A Blade Construct.
Sunraku raised his hands, the inventory screen whizzed past his eyes as two short daggers appeared in his hands, "Stop abusing that character model of yours idiot." He lunged toward the enemy. "And yeah it was very difficult. Fractured my leg and had my lungs punctured."
The Blade Construct shot two blades toward him. He raised both short daggers and swung them forward.
SCHWING
A bright red notification flared next to the blades.
PARRIED!
The second blade flew past him as he tilted to the side.
"Pro gamer tactics." Katzo replied gleefully as he appeared next to him, "And here I was... fully expecting you to be my junior."
Rakuro chuckled.
Pro game tactics. And Katzo wasn't wrong. A smaller model meant a smaller hitbox. That made things easier to dodge.
"You know the deal I have with my parents." Rakuro slipped past another flying blade and jumped toward the core. "Being a pro gamer is out of the question."
"I know. I would have liked you on my team though." Katzo replied as he stood still facing three blades flying at him.
The attacks should have been impossible to dodge.
But Katzo dodged them.
Not parried. Not avoided. Not blocked.
Dodged.
With very minimal movements, Katzo dodged all three flying blades and calmly continued toward the floating core, now surrounded only by three blades.
Oikatzo.
Real name : Kei Uomi
Affiliation : Cyber Battalion
Occupation : Professional Gamer
Japan's genius gamer who took over the scene at just nineteen years old. Widely recognized as Japan's top gamer, putting him amongst the rest of the giants across the world.
"Its a shame really.. You'd do really well." He continued as he cocked his fist back. "Green, Blue and White. Tri-attack Baby Blue Smash!" He called out as he punched forward.
The three colors raced across his fist combining into a blinding punch.
The last three blades moved in front of the core protectively.
CLANG
A metallic sound rang out.
The three blades showed visible cracks.
"Even when overlevelled you can't one shot the blades...." Katzo commented as he saw a clear angle at the core.
But instead of going forth, he noticed Sunraku circle around the back of the core.
He leapt backward as the core glowed.
RECALL
All previously launched blades flew back toward the core, piercing through anything that stood in its way.
Katzo calmly dodged all the blades with minimal effort.
"Flash Counter!" Sunraku called out his skill as he thrust his daggers forward into the core.
CRACKKK
The blades continued past the core and at Sunraku without stopping.
He swung his blades quickly as he ran around to the side once more, his agility and luck based build coming in clutch once more.
PARRIED!
PARRIED!
DODGED!
PARRIED!
He arrived next to Katzo without having lost a single hp.
"Bullshit build." Katzo commented.
Sunraku spun around, his bird helmet spun the whole way around and back to his face as he did, "Model abuser."
"I have something to discuss with you and Pencilgon." Katzo got serious all of a sudden.
"What is it?" Sunraku asked while frowning.
Katzo waved him off, "We discuss that in an official Wolfgang meeting."
Wolfgang.
Gaming clan with three members.
Sunraku.
Oikatzo.
And Leader Arthur Pencilgon.
"Has pencilgon logged in recently?"
Katzo shrugged, "I don't-"
SWISH
The two instantly leapt as the blades formed a spiral expanding outward.
PHASE TWO!
Katzo pulled out a potion from his inventory and chugged it,
DEFENSE UP!
REFLECT!
"Pink. Repel Counter!"
A pink barrier formed over his hands. In one smooth motion he punched the expanding blades, the counter launching him at the core.
Sunraku chuckled at the amount of effort Katzo was putting before making a move himself.
"Sky Walker."
He jumped off the air toward the core.
"Hasn't anyone taught you that its bad manners to interrupt a conversation?" Katzo yelled as he kicked outward. "Red, Yellow and Light Purple. Tri-attack Dark Overstrike!"
"Thanks for the exp!" Sunraku called out as he swung his daggers as well, "Screw Pierce!"
The cores attack wasn't done yet as the blades closed around the two like a lotus closing after blooming.
But it was too late.
Both attacks connected.
SHATTER
The core broke into pieces, the blades fizzling out of existence as it did.
Level up!
82 -> 83
Sunraku checked his inventory, "Remains of the Shattered Core. Yep... got the quest item." He looked at Katzo, "You?"
But what he saw was Katzo gnawing at his gloves in anger, "I've done this boss four times. FOUR TIMES!!!! How does it drop for you? FIRST TIME?!"
"Skill issue?" Sunraku calmly said as he pulled out the second item, "Even got the Resonance Blade drop as well."
Katzo slumped to the ground, " I'm going to the stat reset fellow right now. I don't care how much it costs I changing to a luck build right now."
"Then you'll do not damage." Sunraku grinned. "And even if your quirk allows you to run an agility build.... you won't enjoy it."
Katzo slumped further.
Oikatzo. Or rather Kei Uomi's quirk was Instant Reaction.
His body and mind reacted instantly to any and all phenomena. This meant that he processed data at immense speed subconsciously while also reacting accordingly.
He was a prodigy at reactive sports at first. Table tennis/ Ping pong. Tennis. Badminton. But after the quirk ban on sports he shifted to gaming. One he arguably enjoyed more.
And he dominated.
"Well future hero.... what's the plan?" He asked.
"Finish the quest before dinner. Then continue tomorrow." Sunraku replied absentmindedly as he sorted his inventory.
"I meant what's the plan if you get selected into the Hero course."
Sunraku looked up, "I'll deny it and go to the General course?" He said as if it was obvious.
"But you applied to UA no?"
He nodded.
"You have history with them."
He nodded again.
"Did they ask you about your quirk? Did they show interest in it?"
He slowly nodded.
"Did you do well in the examination?"
" I tried to set a highscore." He answered.
"You tried to beat All Might?" Katzo started laughing and then stopped, "Did you?"
"Didn't get results yet."
Katzo frowned, "So you'll did well enough."
"I counted up to thirty something points. Then I started running for my life."
Katzo waved his hand about searching the internet, "Says here that the lowest score to get accepted to the Hero course is a flat forty." He looked at Sunraku ans then at the scores in front of him, "Yeah you aren't getting the General course buddy."
He roared in laughter rolling across the floor and kicking his feet in the air, "Hero Sunraku! They are definitely not going to let you slip onto the General course Hahahahhaaa!"
Sunraku's eyes widened as he dropped to the ground in despair.
"Guess that luck build doesn't work in real life!" Katzo continued laughing at him.
Sunraku thought back to Nezu's words as reality dawned on him.
"Fuck."