Chapter 39 - Dragon Paradigm Arts

Scattered snowflakes descended from the sky as soft gusts of wind carried the shimmering ice crystals in random directions. The examinees stared at the sky with bedazzled gazes, gawking at the sight that seemingly belonged to fantasy rather than reality.

…

Izuku stared up into the distant horizon, his ears twitching in response to the sound he just heard that was potentially kilometers away from where he stood. Then, he noticed the clouds above him sway to the side, surprising him further. 'Isn't that Battle Center C? I wonder what's happening there.'

'Maybe Ryuji-san is going on a rampage already.' Izuku smiled upon thinking the ruckus Ryuji was causing before moving his gaze down to the ground. He leaned on the edge of the rooftop and hung on the side of the walls with his hand plunged deep into the building, green electricity crackled from his body.

He leaped off the building without hesitation in his eyes and plunged downward at immense speeds as strong winds crashed against his body.

In the distance, the examinees within Battle Center B noticed his presence and looked at Izuku's falling figure with fear-stricken faces.

"Crap, he's here already."

"Fuck, it's that guy again."

"We ain't getting any more points at this rate!"

They cursed him under their breaths, showcasing their animosity toward him without reserve.

The exam was a fight between those who can gather more points and save others from danger. It wasn't just about destroying the villain bots, but also providing help. Still, destroying the robots was a huge source of points for them!

Izuku's presence clearly stirred the nearby examinees. His mere presence agitated them, causing them to act more reckless so as to destroy the robots faster before Izuku could arrive.

Izuku knew why they did this. It was a reason that was easy to deduce. They were afraid of him stealing their points!

But, after being close friends with a person like Ryuji for nearly ten months, a little bit of his personality was rubbed on Izuku's innocence.

He pointed both of his hands at the robots in the far distance and took on a flicking motion. He gathered the strength within his fingers as the muscles in his forearms and hands bulged. Then, as his power peaked, he let go with a grin, "That's ten points down the hatch."

With his physical strength alone, he fired off bullets of wind that pierced through the moving chunks of metal. They exploded in tandem, and in one swift motion, Izuku stole their points without any bit of remorse or guilt on his face.

The examinees immediately glared at Izuku who was dangling by the wall, but he simply ignored their eyes and focused more on gathering more points. Using his newfound strength, he planted his leg on the wall, and as his muscles bulged, he launched himself off the side of the building like a catapult and landed on another.

Repeating the same movement over and over again, he leaped from one building to another and traversed through the city like a blur. Then, as he landed on the ground amidst a swarm of one and two-pointers, alongside three-pointers added in the mix, Izuku grinned and reared back his arm to the sky.

"Dragon Paradigm Fist Style!" Izuku tensed up his arm and planted his feet deeply in the background. "Ground Breaker!"

This was the first time he was using this move with this quirk, but even back then with his normal body alone, he could smash through numerous piles of wooden plates with ease. So, as muscle memory and instinct took over to perfect his form, well as it good as it could get with less than ten months of training and massive uncontrollable power, he reared back his hand toward the sky and looked down at the ground with the sole intent of smashing it down to smithereens with his full strength.

He smashed his fist right down to the ground, and like punching through crumbly mud, his fist poked right through the ground, bringing the endless energy coursing through his arms down to the earth below. The ground immediately shook as cracks extended out like spider-webs, and the earth beneath shook with tremors. Strong wind pressure exploded out of the area as his green hair fluttered with the wind alongside his clothes.

By the time the untamed winds and wild tremors ended, Izuku looked up with bewildered eyes. The robots in the vicinity were already destroyed, their wired and metallic remains lying below rubble and dirt.

"I-It worked?" Izuku stared at his fist, shocked by the power he just displayed.

Of course, his previous move just then caught the attention of all the other examinees nearby, and they stared at the destruction he caused with fearful eyes, along with awestruck faces.

"What was that?"

"Did he shout something?"

"Yeah. It sounded like Ground Breaker or something like that."

'Huh?' Izuku turned to look at them, bewildered. 'I-I-I actually shouted t-that?!'

Izuku couldn't believe what he just did. After training for so long with Ryuji as his and Katsuki's instructor, it's practically instinct for him to either think or utter the technique's name, and the reason was that Ryuji thought it was flashy and would promote their sect's prestigious martial art whenever it's used.

He burrowed his head in shame as uncontrollable embarrassment caused his face to flush red. Memories flashed within his mind, memories of when this habit of his first started.

…

"Remember, Izuku!" Ryuji stood straight and tall, wearing a simple white shirt and black sweatpants. His arms were wrapped in tight rolls of bandages, and a headband was tied around his forehead.

Izuku wore his usual green tracksuit, but his sleeves were rolled up to reveal his arms which were also wrapped in bandages.

"You too, dear disciple Katsuki!" Ryuji smiled at Katsuki who was busy tightening the bandages on his hands.

"Starting now, I'm going to teach you two the unique martial arts of our sect!"

"Sect?" Izuku inquired, looking around the forest they were in that Ryuji supposedly trained in from time to time. It was a place Izuku find quite appealing to look at, but it was simply too far from their houses, so he found it a bit unpractical. Still, Ryuji was the one to make the shots where they would train, so he couldn't refuse.

"Yes! Thee sect!" Ryuji crossed his arms and pridefully grinned. There was a flash of nostalgia in his eyes as he seemed to have recalled something from a distant past, but that longing soon disappeared as soon as he heard what Katsuki said.

Katsuki finished wrapping the bandages around his arms and stared at Ryuji with a raised eyebrow. "And what's the name of the sect exactly?"

"Aha! The name!" Ryuji laughed… and paused. "The name…"

"Don't tell me you don't have a name yet." Katsuki immediately wore a sneer upon latching onto this one glaring flaw.

"OF course not!" Ryuji smacked back instantly. "The name of this sect is…"

"The name is…" His eyes glowed. A strike of inspiration flashed. "Dragon Paradigm!"

"Yes, it's Dragon Paradigm! It has always been Dragon Paradigm Sect!"

'Tch, witty bastard.' Katsuki clicked his tongue. "You just made that up on the spot."

"As if!" Ryuji shook his head. "Besides, where's your proof?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes and leaned back on a tree. "Sure, sure. Now show us that martial arts of yours or whatever."

"Yes, yes." Ryuji nodded his head.

"Now, our sect, Dragon Paradigm, centers around one principle!" Ryuji raised his finger. "And that is to become a Dragon!"

"We must set the gold standard, the Dragon—Paradigm." Ryuji sneered at Katsuki. "And be the dragon among men, entities that stand above everything else!"

"And to achieve that sort of might, I, Ryuji Anwir, have devised the Dragon Paradigm Arts!"

"It is devised into countless styles, ranging from swords to fists and kicks!"

"It can even imitate animals from pig to tiger and, as the DRAGON PARADIGM of all standards, the dragon!" Ryuji haughtily pointed his nose to the sky.

"And what's so mystical about your martial arts?" Katsuki mocked from the side.

"That is true. While many pro heroes out there use martial arts to increase their versatility, they still mostly rely on their quirks and martial arts as nothing but support." Izuku added from the side.

"Of course, I know that! You really think some Taekwondo or Karate's gonna allow you to pierce through the heavens and divide the seas?!" Ryuji laughed.

He then smirked confidently and revealed a toothy smile. "But, Dragon Paradigm Arts isn't comparable to some stupid ol' Shaolin, it's created by ME!"

"In due time, you two would see how miraculous my creation is."

…

Katsuki blasted a series of explosions from the palm of his head, all the while gathering nitroglycerin sweat to fire off stronger explosions. He flew through the air just above the ground, gliding across the destructive landscape and trying to find more robots to hunt.

As he was looking around the area, he suddenly saw the wall beside him collapse and a horde of robots came running through. Not only that, but the group of robots seemed to be chasing after another examiner.

"H-Help me!" The boy with golden-yellow hair with a black lightning-shaped mark on the side of his fringe shouted with pleading eyes. He stared at Katsuki, begging for the random stranger to help him live.

"Why should I?" Katsuki sneered. "There's no reason for me to help an enemy win."

"Don't you have a heart?!" The boy pleaded. "You'll get rescue points if you save me!"

'Rescue points?' Katsuki stopped in his tracks and paused right ahead of the boy. 'Oh, I forgot about that. Shit, those two must have already amassed a ton of rescue points!'

Katsuki gritted his teeth and glared at the running coward. "You better not get in my way unless you wanna die!"

With a boom, he propelled himself forward right to the crowd of robots, allowing the random stranger to gain a breather. He looked back with thankful and teary eyes, "Thank you! I'll never forget your help!"

"My name is Denki Kaminari by the way!" The boy waved goodbye as his figure receded into a mere dot in the distance.

On the other hand, Katsuki was surrounded by a horde of robots in the middle of the circle. He looked around him with focused eyes, and he grinned menacingly at them, "Come at me!"

He tensed up the muscles all throughout his body and took a deep breath, sharpening his mind to its utmost limit. 'Be refined, be skilled. Minimize unnecessary movements and combine both your quirk and body into one.'

The first robot rushed forward, arriving right in front of Katsuki. It launched its arm straight forward, and it aimed right for his head.

A glint appeared in his eyes as he ducked down to the ground, narrowly avoiding the mechanical hunk of iron. Then, without a pause in his movements, he swiftly swung his arm and muttered, "Dragon Paradigm Palm Style: Explosive Palm Thrust!"

His arm landed right below the head of the robot, and in a split second, a loud explosion destroyed its head with ease. Then, as the recoil of the explosion pushed him backward, he arrived right in front of a two-pointer with his back facing it directly.

"Kick Style: Blast Boost Dragon's Bite!"

An explosion blasted out from one of his hands, causing his body to rotate at a speed that made him look like a drill in midair. At the peak of his speed, the shin of his leg landed right on the robot, pulverizing it with immense strength.

'That bastard!' Katsuki's eyes showed faint signs of joy. 'Who knew he wasn't lying about that!'

…

A few days ago.

"It's been nearly ten months since you two started learning Dragon Paradigm Arts!" Ryuji rubbed the nonexistent beard under his chin and smiled proudly while staring at both Katsuki and Izuku.

Katsuki stared at his reflection in a random puddle beside them, showcasing his physique that underwent a tumultuous change through the months. While it was gradual, meaning he didn't really experience the changes all that much, comparing his picture before and after training made him aware of just how different things were from before.

"Heh, while Izuku might have acquired a body proportional to an olympiad athlete before quirks became more widespread, you, my dear disciple." Ryuji pointed at Katsuki with a smug grin. "Your body is simply monstrous!"

"Most of your muscles have shock-resistant, heat-resistant, and other explosion-resistant properties added onto their already superhuman durability! Not to mention your innately powerful muscular strength further developed through my training and guidance!"

"Your body is practically comparable to someone who has a body-strengthening quirk out there, and add in any style of Dragon Paradigm, and you've basically evolved as a close-combat fighter to the point that you can probably compare with someone who has two quirks!"

…

'He wasn't kidding! I wasn't willing to risk using my full strength to hit those boulders before this, so I couldn't properly gauge my current strength, but this is just ridiculous!' Katsuki could already see what the obvious benefits his enhanced physique brought.

'Not only could I rely less on my quirk and simply use martial arts, but I can use my quirk in a more versatile manner that would allow me to use more of my body than before. Other than my hands, I can also use my legs with durability comparable to my arms!'

"Come you robot bastards! I'll kill you all!" Katsuki launched himself forward with crazed eyes.

'Dragon Paradigm Fist Style: Blast Boost Mountain Piercer!'

As Katsuki fought the crowd of robots with finesse and skill that displayed high combat intellect, the rat thing stared at the monitor all across the wall in front of it with a pleasant smile.

"They really went above and beyond my previous expectations!" The rat thing clapped its hands.

"Indeed." The orb-head guy nodded his head. "I couldn't believe those three are just normal students! They display an exceptional level of skill in combat, especially Katsuki Bakugo and Ryuji Anwir."

"While we still haven't seen Ryuji Anwir use his quirk yet, Katsuki Bakugo displays exceptional handling of his quirk to be used in tandem in close-quarter combat. He relies on his explosion to gain high mobility and agility, and relying on his powerful body, he dishes out devastating blows without pause."

"On the other hand, Izuku Midoriya displayed more room for growth as he became increasingly more precise and focused when using his ridiculous raw strength. Maybe in the near future, he'll be moving with the same level of skill as Katsuki Bakugo."

"Now the only one who we haven't seen use their full strength yet is Ryuji Anwir." The rat thing commented.

"Heh, I'm quite curious to see just what he hasn't shown us yet already."

As the two were about to further discuss their observations, the cement person from the side butted in and said, "It's already time."

"For the zero pointer?" The rat thing inquired.

"Mmm."

The rat thing moved its gaze back at the monitor with newfound interest, and its eyes landed on the screens displaying the peculiar trio. "Maybe this is the push they need to reveal more spectacular displays."

AN: This chapter has 2570 words.

Ngl, I probably have more experience in love than what I think I do have considering a certain possibility has appeared from the dark voids of my past.

(May 22, 2023 - 543rd day of writing)