Chapter 10: The Assessment Begins
After Tenya Iida raised his question, the briefing continued for a while.
Then suddenly—
"By the way… you, the curly-haired student over there."
Iida turned sharply and pointed toward Izuku Midoriya.
Midoriya blinked in confusion and pointed at himself.
"Me?"
"You've been whispering since earlier," Iida said loudly. "Your behavior is far too casual. If you're here for sightseeing, you should leave immediately."
The entire room fell quiet.
Many students turned their heads toward Midoriya.
Midoriya quickly covered his mouth and bowed his head.
"I—I'm sorry…"
"Alright, alright!" Present Mic said from the front of the room, giving a thumbs-up. "Thank you for the question, student in Exam Room 7111!"
After Iida sat down, Present Mic continued explaining the test rules.
Akio hadn't noticed Midoriya's location earlier, but now he spotted him easily.
Those messy green curls stood out in the crowd.
Midoriya sat with his head lowered, clearly embarrassed.
Beside him, Ochaco Uraraka quietly tried to comfort him.
Even though they barely knew each other, the two already seemed naturally drawn together.
After nearly half an hour of explanations, Present Mic finally finished.
Students immediately began heading toward their assigned testing areas.
The exam itself was simple in theory.
Participants needed to defeat robotic enemies scattered across the battlefield.
There were three types of robots, each worth a different number of points depending on their difficulty.
Using their Quirks, students had to destroy these robots and earn as many points as possible.
However—
Each testing zone also contained a massive giant robot.
Present Mic had warned everyone that encountering it meant one thing:
Run away.
But Akio already knew the truth.
That giant robot was actually a hidden rescue challenge.
U.A. valued heroism above all else.
Saving someone in danger could earn more recognition than simply destroying robots.
Akio had no intention of competing with Midoriya for that moment.
Midoriya's future 100% punch would easily destroy the giant robot.
Meanwhile, Akio's Lightning Quirk was currently only Level 2.
Even at full power, defeating that machine would be extremely difficult unless he hit a critical point.
For Akio, the goal was simple.
Earn enough regular points to enter the Hero Course, ideally Class 1-A.
U.A. High School – Training Ground B
Around a hundred students gathered in the area.
Compared to the massive number of applicants, this group was fairly small.
Akio blended easily into the crowd.
"I… I have to do this," Midoriya whispered nervously near the giant gate.
"I accepted All Might's power… and the results of these ten months of training."
He slapped his cheeks lightly.
"I'm going to become the hero I've always dreamed of!"
As he steadied himself, Midoriya noticed something.
A boy nearby was smiling at him.
Akio.
The smile felt strange.
Almost as if the boy understood everything he was thinking.
Akio simply nodded.
If anyone here understood Midoriya's situation, it was him.
Midoriya hesitated for a moment, then smiled back.
Maybe they would become classmates.
Akio looked away and began observing the other participants.
Most of them seemed unfamiliar.
Many were likely destined to fail the exam.
Suddenly—
Iida grabbed Midoriya's shoulder again.
"Can't you see that girl is concentrating?" he said seriously.
"Are you here to take the exam or to distract others?"
"No, it's not like that…" Midoriya replied nervously.
Nearby students immediately began whispering.
"Isn't that the guy who tripped at the entrance earlier?"
"Yeah, the one who panicked the moment someone spoke to him."
"Well," another student said with a smirk, "that's one less competitor."
Midoriya lowered his head again.
Even though he kept telling himself he could do it, the pressure still made him nervous.
"Hmph."
Akio crossed his arms.
"Pretty pathetic."
Several students turned toward him.
"Who's that guy?"
"He looks pretty arrogant."
"Let's see if he still acts tough when the exam starts."
Iida studied Akio carefully.
Something about this student felt… unusual.
But Akio ignored them all.
Instead, he glanced at Midoriya and gave him a small nod.
Midoriya seemed surprised.
"Looks like things are going well," Akio thought with a faint smile.
"Midoriya seems to like me already."
Then—
A loud voice echoed from above.
"ALRIGHT, LISTENERS!"
Present Mic stood on the observation platform.
"What's this? No countdown? No dramatic buildup?"
He grinned.
"Too bad!"
"START!"
"The exam has already begun!"
The massive gates opened.
Students immediately rushed forward.
Akio followed the crowd inside.
He glanced back briefly.
Midoriya was still standing there, frozen in thought.
Inside the testing zone, Akio quickly moved toward a quieter street.
He had no interest in competing with others for points.
A robot suddenly burst out of the pavement ahead.
Akio raised his hand.
CRACK!
A bolt of blue lightning shot forward, piercing the robot's head.
The machine collapsed instantly.
Before he could move again, several more robots appeared from nearby streets and rooftops.
Akio grinned.
"Well… more points."
He stepped forward without hesitation.
Meanwhile, other students fought just as fiercely.
Iida used his powerful engine legs to dash between enemies.
Uraraka used her Zero Gravity ability.
Yuga Aoyama fired laser beams from his navel.
Many participants were clearly talented.
But plenty of others were already falling behind.
Within minutes, Akio had earned 50 points.
He stopped attacking.
"That should be enough," he muttered.
With that score, placing in the top ten of this testing area was very likely.
Then—
BOOOOM!!!
A deafening crash echoed across the battlefield.
The building closest to Akio collapsed.
Debris scattered everywhere.
From the ruins, a massive machine rose into view.
The giant robot.
The ultimate boss of the testing area.
Students immediately panicked and ran.
Akio jumped clear of falling rubble and watched calmly.
He had no intention of fighting it.
Instead, he slowly retreated with the fleeing crowd.
Most people were sprinting as fast as they could.
Akio jogged casually.
The situation unfolded almost exactly like the anime.
Uraraka had been trapped beneath fallen debris.
Her leg was pinned.
Midoriya stood nearby, staring at the towering machine in fear.
For a moment—
He hesitated.
Akio glanced back at him.
Then he spoke quietly.
"Don't hesitate."
"You already know the answer."
With that, Akio turned and continued running toward the exit.
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