The main gates of U.A. High School loomed like the entrance to a fortress. Two massive pillars of glass and steel stared down at the thousands of teenagers swarming toward them.
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"Look at this place," Hiroki whispered, standing on his tiptoes. "I feel like a goldfish trying to get into an ocean."
"Technically, we're all goldfish until we pass the gate," Daichi remarked, adjusting his glasses. "But with all these glass buildings... there's nowhere for the truth to hide. I can see everything in there."
Kazama walked between them, his emerald eyes scanning. To anyone else, it was a crowd. To Kazama, it was an untapped ocean of kinetic potential.
The Practical Exam: Start
The moment Present Mic yelled "GO!", the three friends were forced to stand on their own.
Battle Center B: Hiroki's Trial
In Center B, Hiroki was a blur of motion. As a Three-Pointer rolled toward him, Hiroki grabbed two streetlamp poles. His arms stretched like cables, anchoring his weight.
He waited until the robot was directly between his arms, then let go. He became a human projectile, slamming his feet into the robot's optical sensor. Nearby, a green-haired boy watched in awe as Hiroki used his elastic recoil to sling-shot toward another group of targets.
Battle Center C: Daichi's Trial
In Center C, Daichi was the ultimate ghost. He stood in front of a glass-fronted office building. Through Reflect-Sight, he didn't just see the street; he saw through the building's mirrors and the robots' external plating to their internal wiring.
As a Three-Pointer charged, Daichi touched a glass pane. With a mental flick, he turned the transparent surface into a perfect mirror for the robot, reflecting its own sensors back at it.
While the AI rebooted, Daichi saw a glowing red wire through the robot's metal shell. He drove his iron baton into that exact point. "I see your heart," he whispered. "And it's just a battery."
Battle Center A: Kazama's Trial
Kazama didn't just run into Battle Center A; he took immediate command of his sector.
His internal "Flask" was deep and steady, the result of years of punishing training. He didn't need to hunt for energy, but as he moved, he instinctively harmonized with the environment. He manipulated the kinetic energy of the air resistance itself, turning the wind that should have slowed him down into a slipstream that propelled him forward.
A squad of eight Three-Pointers emerged from a side street, their sensors locking onto him. Kazama didn't break his stride. He ignited his Aether Blades—long, jagged arcs of indigo energy vibrating with lethal intent. He spun through the machines like a cyclone. The blades didn't just cut; they resonated with the machines' internal rhythms, causing their chassis to shatter from the inside out.
Total: 24 points.
Nearby, the air was being torn apart by thunderous explosions. Katsuki Bakugo was a storm of orange fire, screaming as he blasted robots into scrap. Kazama could feel the massive ripples of kinetic energy Bakugo was wasting—shockwaves that rattled the surrounding buildings. Without slowing down, Kazama simply "tugged" on that external energy as he passed, using the ambient vibration of the blasts to amplify his own speed.
"HEY! GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY, YOU BLUE-GLOWING EXTRA!" Bakugo roared, assuming Kazama was just some flashy speedster trying to poach his targets.
Kazama ignored the noise. He saw a student about to be crushed by a falling wall. In a flash, he was there, catching the concrete and "locking" its kinetic state, making the massive slab feel weightless as he set it aside.
"Move!" he commanded. He leaped back into the fray, his Aether Blades humming. He caught a Two-Pointer mid-charge, seizing the momentum of its treads and reversing it instantly. The machine tore its own axles apart.
"Aether Smash!"
Landing in a cluster of six robots, he released a concentrated wave of force. The release was effortless—a perfect dome of blue light that pulverized the machines into scrap.
Total: 78 points.
In the observation room, Principal Nezu's eyes twinkled. "Seventy-eight combat points, and he's barely tapped into his own reserves. He's manipulating the external energy of the arena and the other examinees to stay perfectly efficient. He's not even breathing hard."
Aizawa watched the screen. "He's doing more than fighting. He's been clearing paths for the other students the entire time. Look there—he just neutralized a robot's treads so a student could escape, but didn't stay to take the points."
Suddenly, the monitors flickered red. The 0-Pointer—a wall of green steel as tall as a skyscraper—emerged from the dust.
The students in Center A fled in terror. Bakugo clicked his tongue and retreated, looking for more targets. But Kazama stopped.
Down in the shadows of the 0-Pointer's treads, he saw her. Setsuna Tokage had split her body into multiple parts to scout, but a building collapse had pinned several of her segments. Her main torso looked on in horror as her detached legs and arm were caught beneath a slab of reinforced steel.
Kazama looked at the massive iron foot descending. He had the energy. He had the focus. He didn't hesitate.
He began to run toward the titan.