Midnight further explained how the first event would go, her whip cracking against the ground as she pointed toward the massive metal gates ahead.
" So it's a race where every member in all 11 classes will participate to reach the finish line! The course is four kilometers long, rigged with traps, obstacles, and surprises meant to push you to your limits. You'll need to be cautious, clever, and most of all—relentless! Remember, here at U.A. we preach freedom, so as long as you remain inside the boundaries of the course, anything goes. Use your quirks, your brains, and your guts however you want to secure victory. Now, racers—take your positions!"
The announcement sent a ripple of adrenaline through the crowd. Students rushed toward the starting line, a sea of uniforms pushing together shoulder-to-shoulder. The front was a wall of tension: mutters, heavy breathing, and the shuffling of nervous feet filled the air. Everyone's eyes locked onto the giant light above the gates, waiting for it to turn green.
Izuku stood near the center, calm but buzzing with excitement. He could feel the heat of the crowd pressing in on him, smell the faint tang of sweat and nerves around him.
Click… the light turned yellow.
The students bent down, bodies tensed like coiled springs.
Ding!
The light turned green.
" START!" Midnight shouted, her voice booming as the gates burst open.
The students surged forward like a tidal wave, the sound of pounding feet echoing through the massive arena.
But Izuku didn't stay in the pack. Instead, he bent his knees, muscles coiling—then launched himself skyward. He soared high above the mass of bodies, leaping past the crowd and landing clear ahead of everyone else in a single motion. Gasps echoed behind him as he immediately broke into a sprint.
The gap between him and the others widened fast. His strides were powerful yet precise, his breathing steady. To him, this wasn't even full speed—just a casual pace to stay ahead.
Up ahead, the ground shook violently. Metal groaned as a massive shadow rose in front of him. A colossal robot, nearly as tall as the arena walls, stood in his path, glowing red eyes glaring down. Its chest vents hissed steam as it raised one arm to block him.
" Every obstacle course needs obstacles, and the first one is called… ROBO INFERNO!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the speakers, making the audience cheer wildly.
Behind Izuku, several students grinned, smirks curling across their faces.
" Ha! That'll show him!" one sneered.
" Yeah, guess going ahead wasn't a good idea after all!" another added.
But Izuku didn't slow down. His eyes locked onto the machine, his expression calm, almost bored.
With a sudden burst of speed, he launched forward, leaping into the air. His fist clenched tightly as he rocketed straight into the robot's face.
BANG!
The impact echoed like a thunderclap. The punch caved in the robot's metallic skull, sending its massive frame staggering back before its body flew violently off the course. It crashed into the ground with an earth-shaking BOOOOM, sparks flying as its systems fried, its head completely destroyed.
The crowd gasped, then erupted into cheers.
Izuku landed lightly on the ground, brushing off his fist as though it were nothing. Without breaking stride, he continued sprinting forward.
Class A couldn't help but smile proudly. This was classic Izuku—calm, efficient, overwhelming. Meanwhile, the rest of the classes stared wide-eyed, their confidence crumbling.
" What the hell!"
" Yeah, what the hell!"
The disbelief spread like wildfire among the competitors.
But the course wasn't done testing them. A deep rumble shook the ground again as panels opened along the path. From the shadows, massive Zero Pointers began to rise one after another, towering over the course. Their heavy steps thundered across the terrain, blocking the path with sheer numbers.
Izuku smirked faintly.
' I'll leave some for everyone else. Don't want to make the race easier for them in any way,' he thought, shifting his stride.
One of the Zero Pointers swung its enormous arm down at him, but Izuku dropped low, sliding smoothly under its massive hand.
Dust and sparks rained down as he rolled out the other side, springing back to his feet. Without hesitation, he blitzed forward, his speed leaving afterimages behind him.
BOOOOM!
In a single blur of motion, he plowed straight through a cluster of Zero Pointers, his fists and shoulders smashing into their cores. They collapsed like dominoes, their massive bodies exploding in showers of sparks and metal. The explosions lit up the course in a fiery display, smoke curling into the sky.
When the dust cleared, Izuku was already gone, sprinting ahead without a scratch.
The audience roared in awe, the commentary barely able to keep up.
As he reached the second part of the course, the announcers' tone grew dramatic. This stage was called The Fall—a dangerous stretch of stone pillars rising high above a bottomless pit, each separated by gaps wide enough to force students into risky leaps. Only ropes tied between the pillars served as flimsy lifelines.
The crowd leaned forward, holding their breath. Many students who reached here in the past had slipped, fumbled, or barely scraped by.
" Our Student Representative has made it to the second stage! Let's see how he'll fair against this on—"
Before Present Mic could even finish his sentence, Izuku bent his knees. The stone cracked beneath him from the force of his legs as he launched into the air like a missile. The audience gasped as he soared high above the entire section in a single bound. His landing on the far side was effortless, almost casual, as though the course was nothing more than stepping over a puddle.
The crowd erupted, screaming in disbelief.
" Oh… well… let's look back at the rest of the classes as they finally reach the second stage," Present Mic said, his words awkward and his forehead dripping with sweat.
He leaned closer to the mic, muttering under his breath.
' Is there anything this kid can't do?' he thought, his jaw tight as he watched Izuku jog off without a single misstep.
The other students hadn't even gotten halfway to the ropes yet, and many of them already looked pale.
Izuku pressed forward, eventually reaching the third and final challenge: the Minefield.
The ground stretched out like a barren desert, dusty and plain—yet underneath the surface, deadly mines were scattered in dense clusters. Several students hesitated at the edge, frozen in fear. The first wrong step could mean an explosion that would blow them meters into the air.
Izuku crouched slightly, his expression sharpening.
' Oh nice. Jumping would be cliche. Let's use that super hearing of mine,' he thought as his ears twitched, tuning into the faintest of sounds.
To him, the course lit up in his mind. Each subtle beep from the hidden charges revealed their positions clearly, like stars dotting a constellation.
" He's now in the minefield, he looks hesitant. Is this his first actual obstacle?" Present Mic shouted with growing excitement.
But Izuku only smirked. Without a shred of hesitation, he pushed off into a sprint, his steps light and precise.
"And he's running forward without a care!" Present Mic yelled, half in disbelief, half in awe. "What is this kid thinking?!"
The audience gasped as his figure blurred across the minefield. But then they noticed—he wasn't stepping on any of the mines. Each stride landed in the narrow safe zones between charges, his movements perfectly calculated. To the crowd, it seemed impossible. To Izuku, it was effortless.
One step. Two steps. Ten. Thirty. In what felt like seconds, he burst out of the minefield completely unscathed.
He slowed his pace and walked into the stadium with an easy smile. The crowd's silence shattered instantly into thunderous cheers, stomps, and chants of his name.
' Ezzy,' he thought, not even winded.
"The first person to make it back to the stadium is, unsurprisingly, Izuku Midoriya!!" Present Mic shouted at the top of his lungs. "That wasn't an Obstacle Course for this boy—it was practically a morning run!"
The camera focused on him as the audience lost their minds. Some were on their feet, waving banners, while others just gaped at the sight of a teenager treating the legendary course like child's play.
Minutes later, the ground rumbled again as more students began pouring out of the course. The second to arrive was Todoroki, frost still clinging to his boots, his expression calm but his eyes burning with determination. Right after him, Bakugo blasted into the stadium with a fiery explosion, his face twisted in rage that he hadn't finished first.
Midnight stepped forward, her heels clicking against the stone stage as she raised the mic.
" Well, that's it for the first event! And here are the results. Only 42 of you have qualified for the next round!" she announced dramatically, letting the tension hang for a second before continuing.
"The top three are…
1. Izuku Midoriya
2. Shoto Todoroki
3. Katsuki Bakugo"
The crowd went absolutely wild, cheering and clapping, their voices echoing through the massive stadium. Spotlights swiveled onto the three names displayed in bold letters across the giant screen above.
Students who didn't make it collapsed to their knees in disappointment, while those who qualified barely believed their luck.
Izuku stood tall and relaxed, his green hair catching the light as the roar of the crowd washed over him.
" Now let's continue to the second event!"
TO BE CONTINUED