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Boom—
When she saw that most people were about to exit the tunnel, Konata finally followed after them. But before she was even halfway through, an icy-blue chill suddenly swept through the passageway. Frost spread from the tunnel entrance all the way toward her, stopping only when it lost momentum just short of her feet.
"…Oh, come on."
Staring at the now ice-rink-smooth path before her, Konata suddenly regretted not wearing ice skates.
Slide, slide— sliding all the way across the slick surface, she finally made it out of the tunnel. Right at the entrance, she saw a whole group of people frozen in place—literally—by the sudden cold burst from Todoroki. Their feet were encased in ice, leaving them completely stuck.
"Good thing I had the foresight."
She muttered under her breath, carefully navigating her way past the skating zone. From the corner ahead, she could hear the constant rumble and booming of explosions.
"The match's only just started, and they're already going at it this hard…?"
Blocking everyone's path ahead were giant robot mock-enemies, the same kind that had appeared during the entrance exam. Konata suddenly understood why Midnight-sensei had given her that smile earlier.
Since she'd arrived a little late, quite a few robots had already been taken down. From a quick look, it was clear the first to break through this obstacle were none other than Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shoto, and Bakugo Katsuki's group.
"Looks like I need to pick up the pace. Getting eliminated in the preliminaries would be way too embarrassing."
She quietly muttered as she stepped forward—right toward one of the giant, zero-point robots from the entrance exam.
The other competitors around her, seeing her march forward empty-handed, couldn't help but look on with curiosity and excitement.
After all, this was the girl who'd shone during the entrance exam and stolen the spotlight during the USJ incident. Everyone was curious about her quirk. Even her classmates barely knew anything about it beyond "she can transform into different forms."
Truth be told, she'd only transformed in front of them twice—once into Misaka Mikoto during a combat exercise, and once into Shana during the USJ incident. Aside from Aizawa-sensei, who had a rough idea of her quirk, even Midoriya was still mostly in the dark.
Now, in front of everyone—and the cameras zoomed in just for her—she was about to use her quirk again.
Facing the giant steel fist swinging toward her, Konata walked forward at an unhurried pace. She reached into empty air, and a blazing longsword emerged from the void into her hand.
No fancy moves. No elaborate technique. Just a single, straightforward slash.
One strike. Two halves.
The massive robot froze for a moment, then a clean, precise line split it from top to bottom. With a thunderous crash, the two halves fell away.
"…Whoa."
In the stands, the crowd erupted in instant chatter.
The students before her had also crushed the giant robots, but none of them had done it with such a casual, almost nonchalant swing. The contrast between her petite frame, the flaming sword, and the massive robot made the sight even more unbelievable.
"Her quirk… 'Fantasy.'"
From the stands, a man wreathed in flames across his eyes, shoulders, and face furrowed his brows slightly.
Truth be told, even Konata herself was startled by the power of that strike. Her physical abilities had improved a lot since the entrance exam, so she could now wield the Nietono no Shana for a few swings. She'd been planning to switch to her Shana form if one hit wasn't enough—but the sword's sheer power had obliterated the robot outright.
"So the sword's strength scales with my own physical stats? …Even though Shana only gave me the weapon, maybe this thing's actually my strongest pre-transformation attack. Don't tell me I'm going to have to bulk up like one of those muscle-bound guys…"
She imagined herself covered in bulging muscles and shivered.
"Uh… let's think about that later."
Releasing her grip, she let the sword dissolve back into nothingness and dashed ahead.
She could've just transformed into Shana and flown over the rest, but she decided she needed to train her body. Not to musclehead levels—just enough to wield Nietono no Shana freely. For now, she could barely manage three swings before her hands hurt.
Still, her stamina wasn't as good as the others'. Even though she'd been ahead, she was soon overtaken by Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Asui, and more. Watching everyone pass her, her expression darkened.
At the edge of a massive canyon, she stopped, panting. The scene ahead looked like a field of tall pillars with high platforms connected by steel cables.
She glanced at the height and immediately scrapped the idea of crossing via cable. Most of the others were climbing across, but… no thanks.
By now, the top three—Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugo—were still neck and neck, constantly swapping positions, each giving an outstanding performance.
"He's already gotten this far?"
Up in the stands, All Might recalled Midoriya's promise to give him a surprise. His gaunt, skeletal face broke into a proud smile.
He had thought Midoriya might need far more time to master One For All, but judging from his performance now, perhaps there was nothing to worry about after all.
Just as he'd once told him:
Go tell the whole world—you've arrived.
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"Control your strength, make using it as natural as eating or drinking."
Maintaining One For All at 5% across his whole body, Izuku Midoriya panted lightly as he looked ahead.
A four-kilometer course was nothing for him. Back when he trained under All Might, his running distances far exceeded this. If it were just a plain footrace, he'd be absolutely confident. But in the current situation—with Shoto Todoroki right beside him and Katsuki Bakugo closing in from above using the recoil from his explosions—staying in the lead, let alone securing first place, wasn't going to be easy.
Especially under these conditions.
The obstacle race wasn't just about speed. The school had set up several artificial challenges. The first had been the giant robots at the corner exit of the starting passage. The second was the current obstacle: a deep, bottomless gorge spanning a long stretch. Scattered throughout its middle were earthen platforms connected by steel cables. There was no other way across. Falling from those cables meant instant elimination.
This challenge—named "The Fall" by the school—had been constructed in no time by Cementoss. Competitors could either do as Todoroki did and freeze an ice bridge over the cables, or fly straight over like Bakugo. If you had neither ability, the only option left was to cling to the cables and crawl across like a koala.
Earlier, Midoriya had managed to keep ahead of both of them, but here, his speed clearly couldn't match Bakugo or Todoroki.
Watching the two ahead almost reach the second half of the obstacle, Midoriya stopped on one of the platforms midway, wiping sweat from his brow. Behind him, several students with quirks suited for this stage were rapidly catching up.
"The students are all pushing themselves, trying to seize this opportunity, Eraser Head," Present Mic commented from the announcer's booth, turning toward Shota Aizawa.
Present Mic was clearly enjoying the role of commentator, passionately narrating the race. In contrast, Aizawa sat beside him in near silence—possibly because Present Mic's booming voice drowned out his own.
When Mic finally acknowledged him, Aizawa's expression softened slightly—but before he could say a word, Mic turned back and waved his arms energetically, diving right back into commentary. Aizawa's face instantly darkened again.
"Alright, the front pack has easily left the others behind! But it looks like Midoriya won't be taking first place after all. This kind of obstacle really slows him down compared to—wait a sec! He's actually running directly along the steel cables like it's flat ground! Incredible! The race isn't even halfway through and he's taking such a huge gamble! One wrong step and he's out! Eraser Head, are all your students like this?!"
Present Mic's voice was full of admiration.
Aizawa decided to ignore him.
"I promised All Might—at least this time, I won't lose."
Running on cables suspended high above the ground was dangerous, but Midoriya had his pride.
If I'm fast enough and control my strength well, I can clear this in no time.
Keeping his focus locked on the two figures ahead, Midoriya sped up. It was a risky move with the chance of instant elimination, but the payoff was obvious—he was closing the gap with Todoroki at a speed visible to the naked eye. One For All's power flowed through every corner of his body.
At this pace, barring any mishaps, he'd be the first to clear this obstacle.
"He caught up this fast? And using such an all-or-nothing method…"
Glancing back at the rapidly approaching Midoriya, Todoroki frowned slightly.
If earlier he had dismissed Konata Izumi's words in the lounge room—"Your strengths are evenly matched"—he was no longer so sure. Judging from Midoriya's performance so far, he'd earned Todoroki's respect.
And for that reason, he had to defeat him.
Taking a deep breath, Todoroki faced forward again.
But just as he did, a wave of gasps erupted from far behind.
She's finally caught up?
The moment Todoroki heard it, he already knew what it meant. His expression hardened.
In this first event, his greatest rival wasn't Bakugo or Midoriya—it was Konata Izumi.
During the "USJ" incident, that crimson-winged girl wielding a flaming blade had become unforgettable for everyone there.
If she hadn't stopped the villains then, most of the students present would have died to the Nomu. Even the two incomplete Nomu that followed had pushed them to the brink—what if it had been the original, the one said to rival or even defeat All Might?
From one perspective, Konata Izumi was everyone's lifesaver.
But in this obstacle race, there was no such thing as "lifesaver" or "hero."
"I can't lose to you here. My damn old man is watching, after all."
Stepping off the obstacle and onto solid ground right after Midoriya, Todoroki turned toward the approaching crimson-winged girl and raised his right hand high.
The ice erupted instantly.
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In some ways, Konata Izumi had to admire the people in this world. Climbing and jumping from such ridiculous heights without even blinking—these were truly heroes among heroes.
The obstacle in front of them wasn't exactly impossible. All they had to do was crawl along a steel cable to the other side. But it was far from simple either. The distance between each platform wasn't that big, yet to reach the end, you'd have to pass dozens of them.
It was a true test of stamina and endurance.
Konata wasn't afraid of heights, but the thought of lying belly-down on that cable, inching forward bit by bit, made her feel a wave of depression. The mental image was… far too beautiful for her to actually want to imagine.
And honestly, she had no confidence in her stamina. Just running to this point had already left her legs feeling like they were filled with lead. If she lost strength halfway through and fell…
Sure, the school probably had safety measures in place, so even if she fell, she wouldn't be hurt. But to get eliminated for such a ridiculous reason? That would be too embarrassing. She was a big shot now, after all. For all she knew, the underclassmen she'd once "collected" back in her old school were watching her on TV, cheering for their boss. She had an image to maintain!
Though, come to think of it… after that humiliating flat-ground fall earlier, maybe she should deal with the media before worrying about anything else.
Watching everyone around her turn into climbing monkeys, Konata took three seconds to think—then decisively chose to transform.
It was worth noting that her "Railgun" transformation, which used to have a three-day cooldown, had changed as her physical abilities improved.
Misaka Mikoto character card — Ability: "Skill Manifestation" — Can transform into Misaka Mikoto. Duration increases with physical fitness. Current daily maximum: 5 minutes.
Shana character card — Weapon: Nietono no Shana — Can transform into Shana. Duration increases with physical fitness. Current daily maximum: 5 minutes.
Hatsune Miku character card — Ability: "Heart of the Diva" — Before full character unlock, can only transform once every 10 days.
Her goal was simple—passing the preliminaries was enough. She didn't need to worry about conserving transformation time. Between her two available options, the flight-capable Shana was obviously the better choice.
This was her first time showing her powers in public.
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"An ability called 'Fantasy,' huh?"
In a dim, rarely visited bar, a pale-skinned young man with a severed hand strapped to his face watched the live broadcast of the flame-haired, fire-eyed girl on TV. Absentmindedly, he scratched his neck.
Turning his head, he addressed the man in a sharp suit polishing a glass behind the counter.
"Sensei wants her Quirk, right?"
"A Fantasy that represents infinite possibilities… isn't it a waste to leave that in the hands of a little girl?"
Kurogiri glanced at the TV screen. His hand paused for a moment before resuming its slow polish.
"Shigaraki Tomura, now is not the time to act. The heroes have their eyes on us. I can barely sell drinks as it is. I understand how you feel, but until the right moment comes, please be patient."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
Waving his hand dismissively, Shigaraki picked up the glass using only four fingers. Staring at the figure soaring through the sky on-screen, his hidden eyes gleamed faintly red beneath the severed hand.
"But that leaping blaze of red… it just pisses me off. Makes me want to crush her."
As his fifth finger lowered onto the glass, it instantly shattered into countless fragments.
Kurogiri: "…"
Do you have any idea how many bottles I have to sell to pay for that glass? Could you not take it out on my brand new ones? You've clearly never run a household if you think breaking my stuff is fine.
For some reason, Kurogiri suddenly felt very tired.
Konata, of course, had no idea that her actions had just cost Kurogiri another glass. She was feeling great.
Happiness is relative, after all—and seeing all those "monkeys" down below gawking as she casually flew overhead gave her a deep sense of satisfaction.
Then she was immediately attacked.
A wall of ice came rushing toward her, forcing her to halt midair before she slammed into it. With a sweep of Nietono no Shana, she sliced the frozen waterfall apart in an instant.
She barely had time to breathe before a blast of fire burst through the ice shards toward her.
"Oh, come on—!"
Konata flapped her wings hard to dodge, glaring at the source.
Todoroki Shoto, Bakugo Katsuki, and—turning at the commotion—Midoriya Izuku.
"…The classic three-on-one boss fight."
Looking at their stances, Konata instantly understood what was happening.
Seriously? Is first place that important? I said it before—friendship first, competition second. No need to treat me like the villain here. Three-on-one—have you no shame?
Before Bakugo could say a word, she shot upward, breaking through their blockade with the speed of her crimson wings.
If she'd already used her Shana transformation, then taking first place in the prelims wasn't too much to ask—after all, it was just the prelims.
"You little—!"
Seeing her fly right over his head without a word, Bakugo felt a surge of rage. Without waiting for Midoriya or Todoroki, he charged after her like a man possessed.
Midoriya and Todoroki exchanged a glance, both showing helpless expressions.
"First place is hers now. Second—I'm not giving that up."
With that calm declaration, Todoroki kept running forward, leaving the two in the sky to settle things themselves. Not that he thought Bakugo had any chance of catching her.
But… if she could create wings of flame on her back… did that mean he could do it too?
He clenched his fist slightly at the thought.
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In the end, the preliminaries wrapped up in a way no one had seen coming.
From dead last at the start to first place at the finish, Konata Izumi only needed five minutes in total. The third obstacle—the minefield—was supposed to be the school's big challenge, but for someone who could fly, it might as well have been a decorative prop.
It was several minutes after she'd crossed the finish line before Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shoto, and Bakugo Katsuki finally arrived.
Bakugo did make an effort to catch up, but his quirk's short bursts of explosive propulsion couldn't come close to Konata's speed. He was even overtaken at the end.
The results were:
First—Konata Izumi
Second—Midoriya Izuku
Third—Todoroki Shoto
Fourth—Bakugo Katsuki
The truth was, the second through fourth places arrived almost simultaneously — less than half a second apart.
Konata didn't care about rankings at all, but Bakugo's fourth place left him practically vibrating with rage. For her own safety, she quietly put some distance between them.
"Not bad," a familiar, sultry voice whispered. "But… can we make a little deal?"
While the rest of the students were still on their way back, Midnight had somehow slipped right up beside Konata.
"A deal?" Konata blinked at her, puzzled.
"Yeah. That transformation of yours… mind turning into her and letting me give you a hug?" Midnight's eyes gleamed.
"You're overthinking it," Konata said flatly, the corner of her mouth twitching.
"Oh, come on. Just one hug. That form of yours is adorable. As a trade, I could… help you bathe tonight," Midnight offered with a sweet smile that was anything but innocent.
Konata tilted her head toward the sky.
"I've decided I'm not bathing tonight."
"Eh?"
By then, the remaining students had trickled in, and the first preliminary round officially came to a close. The leaderboard appeared on the giant screen.
Of the two hundred participants, only the top forty-two would advance. The rest were eliminated.
"Eliminating so many in one go… that's a bit harsh," Konata thought, glancing at the now sparse crowd.
Still, it didn't matter to her—she'd achieved her only goal: making it into the second round. From here on, she could be a content, lazy salted fish. The second round was bound to be elimination-based as well, so if she got knocked out there, no one could blame her. The final one-on-one tournament? Not even on her radar.
The championship?
She'd never cared for it.
She'd already guessed all twenty members of Class 1-A would advance. The Hero Course trained with far more real combat exercises than the General, Support, or Business Courses, giving them a huge advantage.
What did surprise her was spotting a familiar face from the General Course.
What was his name again? Something like whatever-his-name-was-Worrywart
Konata remembered him clearly—the mastermind behind that stunt where a group blocked Class 1-A's doorway to issue a challenge, making Konata miss an anime broadcast.
In short: a grudge was held.
On stage, Midnight announced the second round—a cavalry battle—and explained the rules.
As the name suggested, it was a team match of two to four people. At least one person had to be the "horse" and one the "rider." Teams of two could enter, but four-person teams with three as the horse and one rider were common. Normally, victory came from knocking riders off their horses. But here at U.A., victory would be decided by stealing headbands marked with point values from other riders.
Points were based on first-round placement. Forty-second place was worth 5 points, with each rank higher adding 5 points. Third place was worth 200 points, second place 205…
"And for first place…" Midnight cracked her whip, her eyes locking on the petite girl who'd refused her earlier request, a slow smile spreading across her face.
"…it's just 10 million points."
"Ten… million?!"
Konata stiffened under the sudden weight of forty-one hungry gazes.
This was clearly targeted harassment. Second place had 205 points, but first place got 10 million?! Who decided that?
If she'd known it would turn out like this, why had she been so eager to take first place?!
"That's right," Midnight purred. "The higher your rank, the more you'll be hunted in this all-or-nothing battle from below."
They had fifteen minutes to form teams before the match began.
Konata stood frozen.
Was she… valuable? After all, her single headband was worth more than all the others combined—several hundred thousand times over.
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Somehow… this chapter turned into a 3.4k-word chapter. I swear, I only sat down thinking, 'I'll just write a short scene.' And then, hours later, here we are. If you're enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it, please take a moment to leave a review—it really helps more than you think!
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