7 Defeat Them All

Have you ever wanted to punch your teacher in the eye socket before? Because that is what I am feeling right now. This man just asked me to fight against twenty different students in a row.

…Yet somehow it doesn't look like he is joking.

Tch.

"Fine, just let me take a few baseballs first."

"Oh? Do you think you will have time to prepare baseballs at an actual battle?"

"No, but I do carry rocks and rubbles that I like around. You want me to use them instead?"

He shut his mouth at that. With enough power even a rock to the head or torso is lethal.

With a confident smile, I took two dozen baseballs from a rack and took them into DS+

Soon enough I stood at the entrance of the tall building. My time limit to go up is twenty minutes. I have to defeat them within less than a minute each. Or maybe sneaking past them is an option? …Actually, with UP I think passing them will be easy as pie, right?

[Quest: Defeat Them All]

Well to hell with you too system.

HG: I defeated them all by constantly using OverLoad at the right timing

With those statements within my mind, I could feel my mind getting clearer. Hundred Gauntlets is an effective ability with very high utility value. Not only can it increase the effectiveness of my training it can also increase my general effectiveness in completing whatever task I wish to clear for a temporary amount of time. I am sure there will be a penalty later for using this skill in such a manner, but for the next twenty minutes, I am confident none of the class 1-A students can beat me in mental capability. At this point, it was a matter of tactics, whether they can buy enough time for me to lose this temporal burst of tactical capability from using HG.

…Let's do this.

The first to come and go was one Denki Kaminari, defeated by Dimensional Shooter4+ ejecting a constant barrage of baseball. He managed to evade a few but the rest hit him like a truck, leaving him knocked out before he even did anything.

Strange, I thought he would be along with some other students rather than alone. He has a very strong yet predictable quirk so he needs the support of others to bring out his full power. Plus his personality also fits into the type who loves teamwork. Wonder why he came at me alone. Ah well, right now is blitz time so I have no room to worry about others.

Continuing was Tail Kung Fu along with Froggy, a good pair if you ask me. A heavy hitter with space denial and a crowd control harasser. However, while my strength was on a comparable level to them previously, my reaction speed is currently of the charts thanks to HG usage.

HG: I managed to grasp Froppy's tongue by an impressive display of reflex

Grabbing her slick tongue I pulled it and punched her in the cheek while sacrificing 8% of my stamina to triple my strength for the attack. With that Froppy was knocked unconscious and I still had enough time to react at the attack heading towards me. I pulled a backflip to evade a tail whip attack before instantly lowering my balance point, quickly shooting forward from the ground to throw a counter in the form of a punch to his chin with Overload: 8% again.

Seventeen left.

Acid girl and Multi-Arm. Neither had long-range options except Acid girl having acids she could throw towards me. However, the attack was meaningless against me who currently has reflex faster than what should be humanly possible. Boy did I punish them for having no reliable long-range option. Knocked Multi-Arm down with boulders used as projectiles to shoot from DS and afterward Acid girl with baseballs. The reason I used different projectiles for the two was because one is a tank while the other is more of an agility build, rather than any form of holding back against females.

I am the type to preach for gender equality you see. Full blown equality for everyone is another matter entirely though. It would be stupid to consider some random snot-nosed brat as an equal to a four-year hardworking college graduate. You should judge people, just not by superficial means like gender or race.

Fifteen left.

Bakugou rushed at me. I readied myself to evade the attack yet was stopped by someone grabbing me from behind. Must be Invisible Girl using her quirk. In an instant, I turned around, used OverLoad: 12% and elbowed the seemingly empty air. My elbow made contact with something hard, most likely her skull.

Confirming the hit connected I turned my entire attention towards Explody Mcsplody since invisible Girl has since let go of my body, probably knocked unconscious. Using simple legs trick I managed to get into his guard. Using OverLoad at 16% charge I threw a punch towards his guts.

Bakugou fell to his knees while choking out gastric fluids. Nothing surprising considering I just rushed towards him at speed comparable to Usain Bolt's sprint and punched him with peak human strength multiplied five times.

This was not the worst plan ever, but their execution was off. I did not expect for Bakugou to actually cooperate with someone though. He was smart indeed, but at the same time very arrogant so seeing him working together with others was a rare sight. But nevertheless-

Thirteen.

I took the initiative and attacked the enemies first this time around. Can't play around as much when three enemies could surround you. Tape-man barely managed to evade the sneak attack from my throw with Overload 12%, but the thrown baseball knocked another student behind him instead.

Said student was Koji Koda who has a quirk which controls animals, and therefore now that he fainted his insect went all over the place. Punched Tape-man while he was distracted by said insects. The last of this group left was Navel Shot. He went down with insects surrounding his body. Knocking him unconscious was probably considered mercy for him at that point, what with his elitist and elegant attitude not handling insects well.

This was horrible.

Ten.

Earjack, Creation girl, Gravity girl. Yaoyorozu has a machine gun flying in the air via Uraraka while Jiro made the room rumble through her quirk. Now that my foothold was shaking around I decided to prioritize and instantly rushed towards Yaoyorozu who held a dangerous weapon and slammed her to the floor. None of her bullets managed more than grazing cuts thanks to the wish-granting HG, not to mention they were rubber bullets anyway.

Still, a machine gun? Really?

After done with Yaoyorozu my next target was Jiro who was making me dizzy with her heartbeat sound amplified through her quirk. A few baseball throws via Dimensional Shooter4+ Jiro soon went down. Uraraka was harmless and helpless, so much to the point I almost felt bad knocking her unconscious with an OverLoad-powered punch. Almost.

Seven left.

Sugar Berserker and Kirishima the Stoner. These two were both stronger than I am in their own rights, but neither of them had any long-range option. I shot rocks against these two instead of baseballs since their body could take it, and average baseball throws would have barely affected them. They almost made it to me while I backpedaled along with throwing rocks towards them. It was actually a bit scary. Double tank, not to be underestimated.

Nevertheless, Five.

Birdie, Sonic, Deku. The shadow was quickly overwhelmed by a dozen rock throw before retreating. I kicked the other two out with my leg, not risking with hand-to-hand at all. I had to take my time here being extra careful since both Midoriya and Iida are volatile hit-and-run type just like me when I use OverLoad. Thank god for the increased reflex and awareness from HG.

When a battle between glass cannons occurs obviously the one with the better reflex would win. Of course, that is excluding the possibility of feints and whiffs, but none of us were skilled enough to mix proper feints with real attacks yet.

Finale was Mineta and Todoroki… A powerhouse and a harasser, this was actually a hard finisher. Don't think I can do this again if Mineta didn't slip with HG usage. This battle was a tough one if nothing else. I called out GG when I defeated Todoroki with a 16% Overload charged punch.

[Quest: Defeat Them All Clear. +10SP +EVO]

Coolie. I looked at the timer.

Time: 24 minutes and 18 seconds.

…I hate this test already.

All the students including myself went out of the building. The mood was somewhat saddening. It was their victory indeed but said the victory was a hollow one. I eventually did manage to beat them all under twenty-five minutes, even if I were to lose according to the rules. That has to be demoralizing for them no matter what perspective you look from.

"As you can see here, there is a reason he was treated differently than you all in certain aspects. The class will end early today. You may leave as you will."

Said Aizawa with a small smirk on his face. That was rare coming from him. It must be refreshing to see his annoying students getting beaten up. It seems he is a man of culture as well, as he supported me in my quest to assert dominance by creating the test which just played out. Well, either that or he hated me enough to go out of his way so he could see me getting beaten up by the rest of my classmates working together. Is this your way of shunning me, your most sparkling student, Aizawa?!

Ah well, enough playing around for now.

"As expected…"

[What is it?]

"I suppose knowing my path is the proper way to put it."

While muttering the phrase under my breath I walked out from my classroom. At this point, I intended to hang out in the town. Since I have been locked within the gym for a whole week I managed to gain some appreciation for freedom of space, smiling at even the random gust of winds. You will truly appreciate having something the moment you regain them after once losing them.

"Oh, speak of the devil and it shall appear indeed."

I heard those words coming out from one Itsuka Kendo. She stood along the hallways with Monoma Keito beside her. The two are notable students from the neighbor class 1-B. Tendo was the big-sister-like class president of 1-B while Monoma seems to distaste everyone within class 1-A for whatever reason. Having patience is not my virtue. There is no need for me to deal with the annoying Monoma Keito considering his disdain against everyone in Class 1-A I included.

Therefore lowered my head while trying to leave quietly without gaining their attention.

I wonder why Monoma seems to begrudgingly despise everyone in my current temporary class. My best guess would be because he was not put into 1-A himself. After all, 1-A is the class for the top students within UA. Or at least it seems to be. Far as I remembered Itsuka Kendo scored within the top 10 on the entrance test rankings, yet she was put into class 1-B for whatever reason.

Maybe the principal and his staff considered the synergy between the student's abilities and personalities with one another to decide the class allocation. Or maybe they decided to put her there to make sure Kendo became the class leader considering her personality. Hmm, something to mull over during my spare time. Or maybe I could directly ask Aizawa or the other staff how exactly class placement works.

"Hey, over here!"

Kendo waved towards my general direction. Ah, I went within their line of sight. Not exactly good news when I am actively trying to get away from the two. Wait, active?

Forgot I have the passive-active skill Unknown Phantom4 which can be used to lessen my presence from the senses of others. I hurriedly activated UP and scurried away. Has to go away quickly or Monoma might start some trouble against me in his hatred against 1-A students. Hopefully, they won't even see me at all and just leave me alone to my business.

"Kuzuno, I'm calling for you!"

Sigh. Guess there are limitations to even the strongest of Skill. If I had to guess then maybe she managed to see though UP4 because she saw me before I even activated the Skill. Though I do wonder why Kendo would call for me. For one I do not want to deal with Monoma, but on the other hand, ignoring Kendo would be rude and I am curious as to what she has to say.

In the end, I decided to walk towards their direction. Monoma has a hateful personality but he is still somewhat bearable unlike third-rate cliché villains appearing in B movies.

"Good afternoon, Kendo-san. Anything I could do for you?"

She gave me a strange gaze at those words of mine. Far as my knowledge goes those words of greeting were very plain, and should not evoke such a response. Maybe some cultural differences between this world and my old one?

"Oh, I just realized it but how did you know my name, not only now but also during the entrance exam? I don't think I have ever given my name out to you."

Right, thinking back I called her Kendo when thanking her for saving me. Big mistake on my part. However, I am a pathological liar who specializes in improvised lies. There is no need to worry about a mess-up this small. Lying now means I should also think of a claim to back up my words though. I did think up of some easy excuse but was hesitating because lying now will mean I need to get my story straight afterward in the future.

Ah well, not like I will be here for long so why not lie anyway. Long as they are not discovered lies are very effective tools of communication and manipulation. One would need to be truthful to create a healthy long-term relationship but short-terms are a different matter entirely. In fact, being too truthful is also a problem on its own. That is why the word 'polite' exists.

"Ah, gathering data is a simple hobby of mine. I love learning from my peers as well. For example, the friend beside you should be Monoma, who has a copy quirk correct?" I smiled at the two. "I remember some students who caught my eyes when inspecting the other heroes-in-training. The two of you were some of them."

The two has seemingly disbelieving looks on their face.

"Where do you get all this information from then? I doubt you know our name through eavesdropping." Monoma asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I and the staffs here have a somewhat special relationship. It is all a rather convoluted story so I won't bother with the details, but I managed to remember some people of note from those data."

Technically none of those words were lies. I do have a special relationship with the school staff, or rather with this entire world considering everything here was known as mere fictions to me in the past. And inspecting these students was the truth as well as I did so while reading through the manga. However, with words alone, I managed to vaguely interconnect the two facts together and lead them towards a false conclusion.

Feast your sight upon this mastery of lies I have attained. I am the type that likes to meld truth and lies together rather than constantly piling lies up like a mountain. Sometimes doing so is rather hard though, considering I am a pathological liar.

"Oh, sounds interesting. By the way, I wanted to say thanks to you. Never did thank you for saving me during the entrance test."

I furrowed my brows. Far as I could remember she was the one who saved me when during my entrance to this world when I was falling from the sky because of Dimension Travel. Afterward, I did help her by destroying a robot that snuck up behind her, but the reason she didn't notice said robot was partially my fault as well, as she was putting her entire effort into saving me and ignored her surroundings.

"From my perspective, you were the one who saved me." I shrugged, "But who am I to reject the goodwill of others. You're welcome."

She smiled. Looking at her again she is actually quite the beauty. A kind and beautiful schoolmate who treats you nicely. That kindness sounds like something boys will mistake for affectionate feelings. I feel pity for her male friends whose hearts would break thanks to their misunderstanding. And yes they will assume so, that much I assure you. She is clearly a cruel death trap.

"Hey, is there anybody else of note?"

My eyes went to the source of those words. It was Monoma Keito who asked me the question, a somewhat annoyed look set on his face. Wonder why he would ask such a question. Nevertheless, other notable heroes-in-training within class 1-B…

"Nope." I shook my head. "And I don't mean to insult you guys at class 1-B or anything. There are only three people of note even within class 1-A. Though that doesn't mean everyone else is weak. There are some students within 1-B whom I consider to have terrifying potential, even more so than many at Class 1-A. In the first place, a person of interest simply means someone with conditions more complex than others, rather than stronger."

Monoma opened his mouth again, but I interrupted him with some words of my own.

"Oh, and if you are curious, the three interesting ones in my class are Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki, and Midoriya Izuku."

"…Why those three?"

"Midoriya simply has high future potential with his quirk which he cannot control yet, Todoroki has an extremely strong quirk he won't control and Bakugo is just like you."

"Me? And that buffoon? Something must be wrong with your eyes." He scoffed.

I nodded in response with a smile on my face. The type of brash affection, or in other words a TsunDere. That was the label I would put on both Bakugou and Monoma. There was no need for him to know that however, so I better distract him with my more reserved opinion of him and Bakugou.

"Yep, exactly alike. Brash attitude, solid quirks… and high insight when one delves a tiny bit deeper."

Those words seem to shock Monoma for whatever reason. Was there a need to be that shocked from a simple compliment? I wonder if he has some kind of inferiority problem going on. That would explain his seemingly unfounded hatred against class 1-A. Nevertheless, as we are strangers it is inappropriate for the likes of me to invade his privacy.

Now, this is about time we part considering I have a business to attend but… Ah well, why not have some interesting interactions rolling before commencing my plan. I have a feeling it won't end well, but I have to do it considering my nature.

"Hey, Monoma-san, Kendo-san." I started, "Metaphorical question. What if you were suddenly to become worthless? To be nothing but one of the billions rather than one of a kind within a planet spanning hundreds of billions kilometer wide. To lose memories which make you who you were. To have nothing to your name except yourself. To have lost all the bonds you made throughout your life."

The two looked at me with a strange gaze. This must have seemed like it came from nowhere within their perspective. Surprisingly enough Monoma was the one to answer my question first. He looked at me with a stern look as he opened his mouth.

"There is no way that kind of thing could occur in real life."

"Which is why it was a metaphorical question rather than a literal one."

I know it was an unreasonable question, but please try to tackle it anyway. Consider this the small wish of an acquaintance or something. This plan of mine will most likely either kill me or ostracize me anyway so I wanted to get some second opinion on what I should do before this all ends.

As expected the two looks bewildered by my inquiry. They made eye contact with one another. Honestly, it would be surprising if they weren't bewildered. The question itself came from the left field. However, it seems the two were more than willing to answer looking at their expression.

"If you lost everything… Then shouldn't you protect what you currently have?"

That was Monoma's response.

"If you lost something, then that means you should create new ones. Losing something doesn't mean you can't recreate it again."

And that was Kendo's response.

To protect and to create. That was the answer given by these two schoolmates of mine. They were good answers, reasonable ones with logic implemented within them. At the same time, they also stated those thoughts of theirs with an inquiring tone. And as they did answer my question, I suppose it is only fair for me to entertain their curiosity as well.

"If the only thing someone has is themselves, then one must follow their own cause and never stray away from it no matter what."

Self-justification. That was my own answer. To grasp at straws and not lose one's own dream.

"…That is incredibly selfish."

"It is, but such is appropriate for the desperate, is it not?"

My answer was neither here nor there. Maybe someday in the future, I could respond less flippantly, but this current state of mine does not allow such commitment. This plan of mine was made so that the status quo would change so that I could start to have something 'genuine' within this life filled with meaningless stuff. Therefore my plan did not change.

A pity.

"Thanks." I sent a two-finger salute towards the two. "Well, see you two some other times. Got something to do after this."

I started to walk away, before stopping in the next moment. Forgot something important.

"By the way Monoma, there is another interesting student around. His name is Hitoshi Shinso."

Saying those last words I walked away from the two, moving towards the school gate, UP once again activated the moment I was out from Kendo and Monoma's sight. Navigating through the school soon I passed the school entrance gate. The whole thing was locked but one leap above the wall fixed the problem, which was a joke considering my current physical fitness level. Since UP was activated there would likely be some leeway before Aizawa and the rest realize I escaped from the school.

HG: I encountered Hero-Killer Stain while walking around the town searching for him.