The Battle Trial was the first time Class 1-A truly saw Kenji in action. Standing in the charred rubble of the training building after defeating a team with a mixture of tactical "scanning" and a physical force that seemed to defy his slim build, Kenji was quickly surrounded.
The students were used to Quirks being biological—fire, ice, engines in legs. They weren't prepared for the "Digital Archive."
1. The Inquiry: Midoriya's Notebook
Midoriya was already vibrating with excitement, his pen hovering over a fresh page labeled "Kenji: The Emulator?"
"Kenji-kun! That move you used at the end—you didn't just dodge, you seemed to slide through the air!" Midoriya's eyes were blown wide. "And that glowing orange HUD over your eye... is it a sensory quirk? Or a projection quirk?"
Kenji wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, the faint blue glow of his "Soul Pool" still shimmering under his skin. "It's a bit more complicated than one specific power, Izuku. It's more like... a system."
"A system?" Uraraka tilted her head. "Like a video game?"
"Exactly like a video game," Kenji nodded. "My grandfather was a Digital Archaeologist. He spent his life reconstructing 'Perfect Editions' of ancient games. When my quirk awakened, it essentially turned my body into a living console. I can 'Dive' into these game worlds to learn their rules, and once I clear them, I can 'Export' those rules into reality."
2. The Demonstration: The "Focus" and "Shouts"
To illustrate, Kenji tapped his temple. A small, triangular device manifested on his ear—the Horizon Focus. A pulse of blue light rippled outward, highlighting the internal mechanisms of Iida's engines and the chemical composition of Bakugo's sweat.
"Whoa! It's like a high-tech scanner!" Kaminari leaned in, trying to poke the holographic interface.
"In the game world, this is used to track machines," Kenji explained. "Here, it lets me see weaknesses. But that's just the utility side. The 'Export' also changes my biology. For example..."
Kenji took a deep breath, grounding his feet. He channeled the energy he had mastered during his "Dive" into the Skyrim archive.
"FUS... RO!"
He dialed back the power to a mere whisper, but a concentrated shockwave of blue kinetic energy still knocked over a row of nearby training cones.
"A sound quirk?" Jiro asked, looking impressed.
"Not exactly. It's a Dragon Shout," Kenji corrected. "In the game logic, I'm 'Dragonborn.' My soul is encoded with the language of dragons. In reality, it manifests as a manipulation of force. But I can only use it because I spent months 'Diving' in that world to master the syntax."
3. The Constraint: The "Dive" Logic
"So you're just... invincible?" Bakugo growled from the back, his arms crossed. "You just play games and get stronger? That sounds like a cheap cheat code."
Kenji looked Bakugo in the eye, his expression turning serious. "It's the opposite of a cheat code, Bakugo. To unlock these powers, I have to enter a 'Logic Lock.'"
"What's that?" Kirishima asked.
"When I 'Dive' into a new game to unlock its power, I lose everything else," Kenji explained. "If I'm in a Dark Souls dive, I can't use my Dragon Shouts. I can't use the Focus. I'm bound by the physics of that specific world. If I die in the game, the feedback on my real body is... intense. It's not just playing; it's surviving. I have to earn every bit of 'Data' I export."
He held up his hand, manifesting a small, flickering Bonfire.
"This 'Checkpoint' took me hundreds of 'deaths' to master. My quirk doesn't give me power for free; it gives me the infrastructure to build it. I have to provide the mastery."
4. The Reaction: Class 1-A's Takeaway
The class fell silent for a moment, processing the sheer scale of his potential.
Todoroki looked thoughtful. "So, as long as you have 'Archives' to clear, your ceiling for growth is essentially infinite?"
Momo hummed, intrigued. "The Nephilim Forge you used to repair your gauntlet... it's a form of high-speed molecular crafting. Your quirk isn't just one power; it's a library of different scientific and magical laws."
Iida chopped his hand through the air. "A highly versatile and disciplined quirk! To study the lore and mechanics of an entire world requires immense mental fortitude, Kenji-kun!"
Kenji smiled, the "System" HUD fading from his vision. "It's a lot of grinding. But in a world of heroes, I figured I needed a pretty big 'Level Cap' to keep up with you guys."
As they headed back to the locker rooms, Midoriya was already filling three pages of notes, mumbling about "Multi-System Synthesis" and "Energy Scaling," while Bakugo simply tsked—though he was looking at Kenji with a newfound, begrudging respect.