4 Chapter 4
Hearing the drill-horned girl's question, Izuku's green eyes flashed as he answered, "Indeed. The main body is composed of a special, high-density metal, making it even more resilient than tungsten carbide. Better yet, the blade's interior is filled with a spongy, lightweight material that's excellent at absorbing and scattering shockwaves. The length and weight make it a little difficult to use, but it's ideal for an exam like this."
Not expecting Izuku to suddenly start listing out the specs of his sword, the drill-horned girl, alongside several other students, had a stunned look on her face. Their reactions caused the smile on Izuku's to cramp, but he recovered quickly, extracting the 110cm long sword from its case. It was modeled after the weapon of a character named Caim, someone that had left a deep impression on Izuku in his previous life, so the primarily black blade was much broader and thicker than the average sword.
"Is that even allowed?" asked a fairly tall, serious-looking youth with neatly combed blue hair and square-framed glasses. Izuku immediately recognized him as one of his future classmates, Tenya Ida, so he took a glimpse at his status while replying, "Why wouldn't it be? The handout we were given said support items were permitted."
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Name: [Tenya Ida]
Quirk: Engine
Current Level: 21(115,006 EXP)
Effective Level: 32
[Attributes]
Strength: 37
Agility: 76
Vitality: 44
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 63
Luck: 41
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Pushing up his glasses, Ida retorted, "A sword can hardly be called a 'support' item."
Shouldering his weapon, Izuku replied, "Your opinion has been noted. Also, good luck during the exam."
Frowning slightly, Ida looked like he had more to say but changed his mind when Present Mic abruptly shouted, "And begin...!" from his perch atop a tower-like observation platform.
While most people were still confused by the sudden announcement, Izuku had been waiting for it since the start. Thus, while most of the examinees were standing around like confused mannequins, he bolted into the faux city in search of Villain bots.
Bursting forth from one of the buildings, a robot that looked like a suped-up version of Wall-E charged at Izuku, its right arm fitted with a gatling gun while its left had a vice-like gripper. The former only fired paintballs, but you would lose points if you got struck by them and didn't possess a Quirk that enhanced your durability.
As the aforementioned robot was merely a 1-Pointer, Izuku threw caution to the wind and charged directly at it. He wasn't sure his attack would be able to rip through the robot's metallic plating and joints, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.
Slipping past the robot on its left side, opposite the gatling gun, Izuku mustered all his strength to aim at the automaton's vertebrae-like neck. The latter was an intentional design flaw, so not only did Izuku's sword slice through it, but the robot's entire body crumbled.
Looking back at the robot's remains, Izuku blinked several times as he thought, ("Seriously? What is it made out of, Legos?")
Unfortunately, while his ability to inspect a target's status even applied to animals, Izuku couldn't see the 1-Pointer's stats. He also didn't have time to stand around dawdling, so he ignored the nearby 1-Pointers and made his way toward the city center. He suspected that the higher-value robots could be found there, so he planned to harvest at least fifty points before shifting his focus to helping people.
With the average examinee possessing between 10-15 Agility, Izuku was among the first to reach the city center. There, he found a large group of 1-Pointers acting as footsoldiers for five 2-Pointers and a single 3-Pointer. Their numbers were fairly intimidating, but Izuku only hesitated for a brief moment before charging directly at them. Doing so got him peppered with literally hundreds of paintball rounds, but he was confident the examiners would notice his [Bronze Skin] and not dock him any points.
After breaking through the blockade of 1-Pointers by slicing through two of their necks, Izuku leaped at the nearest 2-Pointer, a quadrupedal robot with a sleek body and a scorpion-like tail. It appeared to be far more agile than the 1-Pointers, but its movements were limited due to the proximity of other robots.
Diving under the 2-Pointer's tail, Izuku stabbed his sword deep into the automaton's exposed core. Grease, oil, and what Izuku presumed to be hydraulic fluid burst out of it, but Izuku managed to pull away before it could get onto his face or eyes.
Just as Izuku was about to attack his second 2-Pointer, a heavy force stuck him in the side. He didn't suffer any serious injuries, but he let go of his sword and was knocked off balance by a 2-Pointer that had attacked from his blind spot.
"Fuck...!" hissed Izuku, bounding to his feet without trying to recover his sword. In hindsight, charging into a large group of enemies alone wasn't the smartest decision he could have made. However, as this was his first time participating in this type of battle, he didn't have any experiences to draw from. In his previous world, battle typically meant hunkering down and firing at enemies from cover. Clashing against a group of robots with a sword wasn't exactly taught in BCT(Basic Combat Training)...
Before Izuku could consider his next course of action, a high-pressured but strangely temperate wave of steam washed over him, the result of a 'missile' fired by the 3-Pointer. The latter was designed like a tank with a series of rocket launchers on its shoulders, but instead of exploding into a ball of heat and death, it erupted into a cloud of rapidly-expanding foam that would entrap anyone unfortunate to get caught in the blast radius.
("Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...!") screamed Izuku, albeit only within his mind. Getting trapped within the foam meant disqualification, so he musted all his strength to break free before it could fully condense.
Emerging from the foam right in front of the 3-Pointer, the depths of Izuku's green eyes emitted a faint glow as he grit his teeth and punched the tanky machine directly in its chassis. Fortunately, while the material resembled reinforced metal plating, its toughness was more like plastic that had been shattered and glued back together. Izuku's entire forearm turned bronze due to the counterforces exerted on it, but he managed to cave in what approximated the 3-Pointer's chest cavity.
Refusing to make the same mistake a third time, Izuku didn't stop to revel in his accomplishment. There were still four 2-Pointers and at least fifteen 1-Pointers present. He couldn't allow them to encircle and attack him from his blind spots, so he leaped over the remains of the 3-Pointer and made a beeline for the nearest building...
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Observing Izuku and the other students from a control room filled with monitors, the Principal of UA, a 'man' resembling the combination of a cat, a dog, and a bear with white fur, mused, "My, it would appear we've got a reckless one on our hands. Charging into a large group of enemies all by himself? Not what I expected from one of the top students in the nation."
Responding to the Principal's, Nezu's, words, an incredibly lanky man with skeletal features and prominent bangs framing his face remarked, "He's a fiery one, that's for sure. But isn't he the 'Quirkless' that was mentioned in the briefing? If that's the case, how do you explain his speed? He's nearly as fast as that boy with engines in his legs."
"I'm curious about that as well," replied Nezu, pulling up Izuku's file as he spoke. The latter had garnered significant attention as the first Quirkless student to apply to the Hero Course, so each of the teachers present was at least vaguely aware of his circumstances.
Though he had memorized the files of every single applicant, Nezu felt inclined to read out, "Izuku Midoriya, fourteen years old, Blood Type: O. He was diagnosed as Quirkless at the age of four and demonstrated no obvious signs of a late-stage awakening throughout elementary or middle school. There is mention of him starting to exercise around his thirteenth birthday, but his most recent physical fitness test indicated he was fairly average among his peers. In terms of academics, however, his scores are off the charts."
As Nezu read off Izuku's information, the skeletal man, better known as the #1 Hero, All Might, couldn't help frowning as he balled his hands into fists. There were cases of people awakening their Quirks during puberty, but Izuku's file told a different story. It was almost like he had 'received' a Quirk from someone else...
Seeing through All Might's thoughts, Nezu adopted an assuring tone as he said, "Now, now, let's not jump to any conclusions. I'm certain there's a perfectly logical explanation for the disparity between Midoriya-kun's file and his current performance. Once the exam has concluded, we will invite him for an interview. Would you like to participate?"
Maintaining a grim countenance, All Might nodded in affirmation but kept his eyes fixed on Izuku. His expression gave the impression he was angry, but while that was certainly the case, the glimmer in his eyes was one of conviction, not hate. If his suspicions proved true, he would do everything in his power to ensure Izuku could break free from the influence that had taken hold of him. That was his duty as both the #1 Hero and a teacher...
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Unaware of the attention his actions had garnered, Izuku took advantage of the urban setting to conceal himself and eliminate Villain bots along the periphery. Fortunately, about five minutes into the exam, other examinees began to arrive. Once it was no longer twenty against one, he had a much easier time dealing with the Villain Bots. Thanks to that, he managed to acquire 38 points by the time a nearby building collapsed, the result of a colossal, 60m treaded robot rising from beneath its foundation.
Though he had known the 0-Pointer would be big, the sight of it caused Izuku's body to tense against his will. It didn't have any weapons like the other Villain bots, but its size allowed it to move through and topple over buildings as if they were made of glass. It had a few notable weak points, but he would need to leap onto it from above to reach them.
Voicing Izuku's thoughts aloud, a nearby examinee exclaimed, "How the hell are we supposed to beat that thing!?" prompting another to respond, "Just run away, you idiot!"
Seemingly prompted by the second voice, the examinees gathered near the city center began to flee as fast as their feet could. One of the fastest was Ida, who, upon noticing Izuku, briefly looked his way before running past.
Feeling the wind pressure from Ida's sprint smack him in the face, Izuku couldn't help thinking he had 'experienced' this before. He was almost certain something similar had transpired in the anime. Fortunately, while the original Izuku had been immobilized by fear, the transmigrated David was relatively calm. It was true that he had frozen up, but only for a brief moment. Thus, when Ida looked over, it wasn't fear he had seen on Izuku's face. It was curiosity...
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(A/N: What could our boy be thinking...?)
