Chapter 42: The Ten Million Point Jackpot
The dust from the Obstacle Race was finally settling. The deafening cheers of the crowd continued to echo through the stadium as the exhausted students slowly crossed the finish line one after another.
Near the front of the pack, Katsuki Bakugo stood panting heavily, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white. He glared at the ground, his teeth gritted in absolute frustration.
"Damn it..." Bakugo growled, small sparks popping in his palms. "Damn it!" He had pushed himself to the absolute limit, only to be outsmarted by Midoriya's explosive jump and completely outsped by Zoro's monstrous sprint.
A few feet away, Shoto Todoroki stood quietly. His breathing was steady, but his heterochromatic eyes were unreadable. He glanced toward Midoriya, who was catching his breath, and then shifted his gaze to Zoro, who was casually resting his hand on his swords. Todoroki didn't say a word. He simply turned his back on them and walked away.
As the rest of the first-years stumbled across the finish line, dropping to their knees in exhaustion, the R-Rated Hero, Midnight, stepped back onto her raised platform. She cracked her small whip, silencing the murmurs of the crowd.
"The first game of the first-year stage is finally over!" Midnight announced cheerfully. "Now, let's take a look at the final results!"
A massive holographic screen lit up behind her, displaying a numbered list of the students.
"Out of the hundreds who started, only the top forty-three have made it to the next round!" Midnight declared.
The screen clearly displayed the top ranks:
1st: Roronoa Zoro
2nd: Izuku Midoriya
3rd: Shoto Todoroki
4th: Katsuki Bakugo
The list went all the way down, ending with Yuga Aoyama sitting exactly at the 43rd spot.
"Those who didn't make the cut, don't worry!" Midnight added. "We have other events prepared for you to show off your skills to the pros! But for the top forty-three, the real survival of the fittest begins now!"
The screen behind her began to spin rapidly like a casino slot machine.
"Now, the main event! What will the second game be?" Midnight shouted, pointing her whip at the screen as it suddenly stopped with a loud chime.
[CAVALRY BATTLE]
"A Cavalry Battle?" Kaminari groaned, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I'm terrible at these..."
"So that means we have to form teams, ribbit?" Tsuyu Asui added, placing a finger on her chin.
Immediately, the entire field erupted into noisy chatter. Students from all classes started murmuring, debating how the teams would work and what the exact rules would be. The overlapping voices quickly turned into a loud, chaotic headache that filled the stadium.
"QUIET DOWN, ALL OF YOU!" Midnight shrieked, her sudden, furious roar instantly silencing the murmuring students. She cleared her throat, instantly returning to her playful, cheerful tone. "Now, allow me to explain! Participants can form teams of two to four people as they see fit. It's fundamentally the same as a regular cavalry battle, but there's a major twist! Based on your rankings from the Obstacle Race, each person has been assigned a point value!"
The students listened closely, the tension returning.
"The points increase by five starting from the bottom," Midnight explained. "For example, 43rd place is worth five points, 42nd is worth ten, 41st is worth fifteen, and so on..."
She paused, a wide, dramatic smile spreading across her face. The entire stadium seemed to hold its breath.
"And the point value assigned to first place is..." Midnight pointed her whip directly at Zoro. "TEN MILLION POINTS!"
Complete silence fell over the arena.
Zoro stood there for a moment, blinking. He tilted his head slightly, trying to process the math. Ten million? he thought. Is that a lot of points? Wait... does that mean I'm the jackpot?
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the stadium shifted violently. It was no longer a friendly competition. The air became heavy with predatory intent. Every single student from every class slowly turned their heads, their eyes locking onto the green-haired swordsman.
"So..." a student from General Studies muttered, his eyes wide. "If I take down the first-place team, I'll rise to the top no matter what my rank is!"
"That's right!" Midnight cheered, feeding off the intense energy of the crowd. "It's a survival of the fittest! This is a chance for those at the very bottom to completely sweep the top!"
Izuku Midoriya gasped, instantly realizing the horrific position his friend was in. Ten million?! Midoriya thought, his face paling. That means no matter how many points you have, if you steal Zoro's headband, you instantly take first place!
Nearby, Iida and Uraraka shared a deeply worried look, both of them wondering how on earth Zoro was going to survive an entire arena of students attacking him at once.
Bakugo, however, didn't look worried at all. A savage, ferocious grin stretched across his face, his red eyes practically glowing with excitement. So you're the big prize now, huh? Bakugo thought, cracking his knuckles. Perfect. Now I have the perfect excuse to take you down and take the top spot. Payback time, Moss-head.
Todoroki simply stared at Zoro with the same cold, calculating expression, already formulating a strategy to secure the ten million points for himself.
All eyes were glued to Zoro. The pressure was unimaginable. Being the sole target of forty-two elite students would break anyone's nerve.
But Zoro didn't flinch.
Instead of showing fear, a faint, confident smirk appeared on his face. The ferocious aura of a true warrior rolled off his body, completely unfazed by the hostile stares. He rested his hand casually on the white hilt of the Wado Ichimonji.
"Let them come," Zoro said, his voice calm, cool, and carrying just enough volume for the students around him to hear. "It doesn't matter who steps up. I'm ready for it."
His absolute lack of fear only made the other students more agitated.
"Now, for the specific rules!" Midnight announced, bringing the attention back to her. "You have a time limit of fifteen minutes. The total points of your team members will be the value of your team's headband, which the rider must wear around their neck or head. You are allowed to use your Quirks—or in Roronoa's case, your skills—to defend and attack!"
She cracked her whip one last time.
"However! Malicious attacks aimed to intentionally destroy the other teams or make the rider fall will result in an immediate red card and disqualification! Steal the headbands, keep your rider up, and survive!"
Midnight pointed to the large digital clock above the stadium.
"You have exactly fifteen minutes to negotiate and form your teams! The timer starts... NOW!"
The massive clock began ticking down from 15:00. Instantly, the field erupted into chaos as students scrambled to find the best Quirks to team up with. Bakugo was immediately surrounded by people wanting his explosive power, and Todoroki was approached by several heavy hitters.
But as the crowd of students mixed and mingled, a large, empty circle naturally formed around one person.
Zoro stood in the center, his arms crossed. Everyone wanted his ten million points, but no one wanted to actually be on his team, knowing that they would become the absolute target of all the teams.
The clock was ticking. The fierce swordsman was entirely alone.
Who in their right mind would be brave enough to team up with the ten-million-point target?
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For Advanced Chapters:
Chapter 50 is Available Now
( The Price of Stubbornness)
Midoriya shocked everyone during his fight against Todoroki.
Ida easily defeated Ibara
What will Zoro do in front of Tokoyami? And how will he deal with his dark shadow?
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