Chapter 18 - [Reinforcement]

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Daylight.

The morning rays pierced Leo's eyelids, disturbing him from his much-needed sleep. "Urh..." He groaned from waking up, feeling sore all over his legs.

'The fourth day, huh? Final three days, I will make it.' With his weary eyes, he glanced at his points; it read in the mid-400s. "I... wonder where I place?" His voice parched, begging for water.

He reached for his pack, which had essentials like his water bottle. Uncapping the bottle, he drank with fervor, finishing it unintentionally. "Damn, water never tasted this good."

Moving from his perch since the first night, he felt resistance on his skin; looking at it, he now knew why. He was caked in blood, an unnatural amount of dried blood.

His once-soft hair is now a crusty mangey form of it. Caked and crusty from dried blood that Leo couldn't even stroke his hand through it!

From his vicinity, there were no notable water sources, only a poor excuse of a pond.

In a down position, Leo slowly stood up, assessing his legs as he did so. Standing up, his legs were sore but bearable. 'No kicking and running for now.'

Standing up, the sun's rays touched his entire body, its strength signified late morning. "I'm behind already!" The sun's rays alerted him. At first, he thought it was only 7 a.m., but after a quick observation, the sun was at least around 10 a.m.

Packing everything and munching food as he did so. The amount he ate was staggering. After all, he did plunder examinees as well. So, his once-quarter-filled pack was now full.

Before entirely leaving, he grabbed his trusty metal elephant tusk. He has been using it to beat boss-like monsters by hurling it at them from the sky. He was the personification of Zeus with how he threw the tusk to the ground.

With everything ready, he flew up and smiled at the tree. It served well as his shelter for the past three days.

Before picking a direction, he activated [Danger Sense], slowly telling him where the danger coming from people was. Seeing some areas more packed than others, he headed for an area with the least amount.

There could be many reasons why there were patches of uninhabited examinees. One, boss-bot, an animal robot like the elephant, is around it. Two, a lack of bots, and finally, someone strong inhabited it.

Taking his chances, he headed for the area. After 10 minutes of flying while boosted, he spotted some tall land formations made of stone, probably granite.

Powering up his fists till armor sprouted from them, he began tearing at the rocks, creating a cave of sorts. When the formation's side was somewhat hollowed out, he carved the ground in one swipe, evening the floor out.

"New home, hardly accessible, and it doesn't stand out," After sweeping off the rubble, he covered the entrance with some vines and broad leaves, concealing it further from wondering eyes.

But in a rush for points and time, he dropped his gears and headed out with his trusty tusk. Looking back from above, the cave was not easily visible with the new additions and had no access unless you were a flyer or a tenacious climber.

And he was willing to bet no one wanted to climb a steep rock formation at the regular.

With everything set, he sets out to hunt for points; luckily, his new base was a literal landmark, easy to find.

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Flying up above, Leo covered much ground, but he didn't fly too fast. Too fast, and he would hardly hear anything from the winds; his enhanced hearing was his one sure way to find the droids.

He didn't need to search for more points, only if his survivor bot kept accepting more supplies in exchange for points. Instead, it only takes a maximum of 50 points worth of supplies, then it unceremoniously shuts down. How absurd!

Leo's been in the air for 10 minutes, yet still nothing. Even the birds that attacked him on the first day weren't anywhere to be found. Against his better judgment, he lowered his altitude.

On tree height level, he maneuvered through thick branches and vines. Getting tangled in this would be bothersome.

*Creak~*

A minute in, and he already heard something, halting his flying. However, unlike the others, this one was silent. Turning and twisting his head around, he spotted nothing with his eyes.

Wanting no surprise, Leo blasted all the trees around him, dropping all of the trees, especially in his somewhat vulnerable state.

*Thud~*

However, nothing happened with the last tree falling down. Usually, the bots would have already attacked. All that was left were a rough clearing of tree stumps.

With nothing appearing, Leo exercised caution. 'Could this be an apex predator bot?' Wondered Leo, remembering his fight with the elephant that gassed him.

*Creak~*

There it is again!

But this time, Leo did not react to it, no matter how hard it was. This bot was dangerously intelligent; it probably only attacks when it had a high chance of landing it.

*Woosh~*

And when Leo heard a strong disturbance in the wind, he reacted by pulsing a wave of energy from his body. Turning around would take too much time.

*BAM!*

And something did hit; shifting his body to the noise, he saw it. A black metallic Panthera-type bot. Since it collided with Leo's attack in midair, it lost its balance, yet it surprised him in the end!

It landed on its feet without so much as a noise but a slight thud on the ground!

It seemed larger than its natural counterpart, and yet it didn't make much motor noise like the elephant that roared its engine, announcing its presence.

But what surprised him was the color of its armor. It was slowly changing pigments to suit its surroundings!

"An ambush predator... right when my legs hurt, great," muttered Leo. As both were in a standoff, neither moved, but Leo prepared.

Ramping his energy within his arms, he was preparing to heave the robot elephant's tusk at it. That was until it bolted for the nearest tree and made its way up in record time, making Leo fire with his left arm haphazardly.

*Crkkkk!*

Each attack Leo gave made splinters of bark and wood fly everywhere, but the engineering of the Panthera robot was pristine as it moved with ease and without chinks.

Leo, still in the air, kept firing. He couldn't give chase with his legs; it would hinder him more with its pain.

Instead, what Leo did was blast at the next tree in advance, stopping it from jumping to the next one. But what Leo didn't expect was the next one.

He was the next platform to be jumped on!

The bot suddenly had small blue flames from its spine, boosting its initial jump speed. With the sudden action, Leo got tackled by the bot, forcing him down to the ground in a crash and dropping his weighty tusk.

*THUD!*

"God..." He groaned in pain for his legs but soldiered through it. Placing his arms in front, he expected the panther to claw at him, but it didn't.

Instead, it released gas... The release of gas sent Leo into overdrive; he did not want to experience whatever he felt from the elephant bot anymore!

But simultaneously, the panther's hefty paws electrified him enough to stiffen his movements. "F-F-FU-CK-InG I-sLAND!" he stuttered through gritted jaws.

In his struggle, he accidentally breathed minuscule amounts of it. However, his energy still allowed him to move, albeit he had to power through the sensation.

His hands, close to the neck, made Leo grit even harder. Convulsing hands from the electricity pumped into him, he still managed to place his hands on the bot's channel.

And with passion and grit, he clamped down on it!

*Bent!*

With the panther bot made for speed and ambush, its armor plating was thin, opposite the elephant's thick armor.

With another push, his hands punched through the armor. To ensure its destruction, Leo twisted whatever support it had, then proceeded to yank it off!

Liquids and grease of all kinds sprayed Leo's face, dirtying his already grungy self. "*Huff* *Huff*" He breathed hard, savoring every breath he took.

But now that he looked back at it with the broken machine on him, there was no pain involved. And this worried him; whatever effects the gas had would be a disadvantage.

*Beep*

Ah, yes, the beep everyone on this island wanted to hear. Checking his points while downed, his points shot up by 40 points, allowing his points to enter the low 500s and simultaneously clearing the 30-point-per-day requirement.

Happy, he tried standing back up, only to find that he was instead... tired? Noticing it, his head started getting groggy as if he needed sleep.

Mind racing at what this could lead through, he raced his actions, but only lethargic movements came about. He removed the bot off him and did the only logical thing, retreat.

*Sting!*

A stinging pain shot through his mind. At first, he thought of the gas, but no. This was from his quirk, alerting him of imminent danger!

But before he could evade from his position, purple lightning struck him from the side, flinging him across the downed trees he felled during his fight against the panther bot.

'Arhhhh... whatever that gas was is inhibiting my senses... and that attack hurts!'

Looking at his damaged side, he found the black undersuit he was wearing charred, exposing his midriff with somewhat burnt skin.

*Sting!*

Again, danger.

Not wanting to get struck again, he fought through the pain and used his legs to move. And he did so successfully. *CRACKLE* *BANG* The lightning instead struck the log in place of Leo, leaving darkened wood and cinders on it.

*Crunch~*

Leo could hear footsteps crunching dead leaves, and looking up, he saw the person. If he was in the right state of mind, he would have called her beautiful, but alas, he was not.

Long braided violet hair behind her back, swaying as she walked, her eyes crackled with purple electricity and glowed with it.

She wore a small crimson ribbon on her neck as a choker and a dark-colored bodysuit underneath her kimono. The sleeves of her bodysuit cover her arms entirely and are looped over her middle fingers with golden rings to partly cover her palms and the top of her hands, and her nails are painted purple. Her kimono has an assortment of patterns in shades of purple and crimson.

The teen, or should he say young lady walked with grace, clearly a girl with etiquette training. A young lady, clean and radiated sophistication, was facing a person caked in blood, grease, oils, and injured... amazing.

The tapping of movement stopped, and the young lady stood there, observing Leo in his state of... dirt.

"So, you were the cause of the energy spikes I felt throughout this exam?" Her gaze traveled up and down; disappointment was all her face showed.

"Truthfully, I envisioned you to be someone better than..." pausing as if thinking what to say, "this."

Leo, tired and hurting, was not in the mood for insults. He assessed her; if she could damage him even with his durable body, then this brat of a princess was strong.

"However, since you could weasel and even take one of my bolts, you are something. Be proud. But I shall eliminate you from this exam; naturally, the top spot shall belong to me." Were her words before she beckoned him to stand. "Stand, I have the honor to not fight a person on their rear; you should at least fight on your feet than on your bum, don't you think?"

Standing, but he felt like he should beat this person on his ass, Leo looked over to her bracelet and saw a whopping 713 on it, alerting him even more. "Just my luck."

With Leo on his feet, he spoke, "With your way of speaking, I assume you want my name now?" She spoke like a noble and insulted him in such a hidden manner.

"And you presumed wrong." Her voice was indifferent, but the sides of her lips twitched. "I have no need of a stranger's name caked in whatever it is you are riddled with."

Trying to scare her, Leo filled the gap in her knowledge. "Then allow me to enlighten you, o' great one." Heavy doses of sarcasm laced his voice. "Ya see, I ripped a giant's shoulder off and bathed in their blood."

Hearing this, the girl was not amused and immediately got in a stance. "Then my assessment of you was right. You were nothing but a brute with muscles."

And without warning, she blitzed, leaving purple sparks behind her.

Unsuspecting of this speed, Leo instinctively powered his entire body, attempting to tank her attack. But what he did not expect was her wielding a makeshift blade!

*Shlk!*

His exposed midriff received a slash, making him bleed, but it didn't penetrate deep. Only gashing the already charred skin, nothing more.

*Shik!*

*Shing!*

He tried keeping up with her speed for over a minute, but he couldn't; he never faced anyone with this swiftness. His arms and legs were left with gashes of a blade that probably came from a bot.

Even with [Danger Sense], it was useless; it only told him of danger but not where it was coming from. When he evaded, she followed. When he swiped, she countered evasively and attacked his exposed outreach.

'I got to try something... anything at this point!'

Trying something on the fly, he attempted to manually power his eyes and brain to see if he could get better glimpses of her. Making his already glowing eyes light with intensity!

And surprisingly, he could! However, he felt his eyes strain with this sensation. After all, it was an untrained aspect of his body.

Only the adrenaline in his system kept him from feeling tired of whatever that knockout gas affected him.

With his new untrained ability to react, the next moment, the lady came bolting in, and he vividly saw her coming.

Still a good 15 meters away from him, he smashed the ground, trying to uneven the land. Hoping to slow her down.

And she did.

So, right when she came in for another swift attack, she was hit with an unsuspecting clothesline! Her abdomen crashed against Leo's burly arms, knocking the breath out of her.

Leo, feeling her connect against his arm, immediately swiped his arm, throwing her against a tree.

*THUD!*

Her body slammed onto the bark of a tree, leaving her to plop on the ground ungraciously.

She felt pain for the first time in this exam. And she had severely underestimated the person in front of her. 'Should've gone all out right from the beginning to end this easy!'

However, before she could muse in her thought, she saw blasts of golden energy heralding her way, forcing her to now be the one evading.

Speeding through the trees and evading them while energy blasts followed her like a homing missile, not letting her escape.

Seeing no weakening of the beam, she sent bolts of thick electricity at Leo, trying to lose his focus. And they worked, but those zaps took out much of her reserves!

Leo, on the other hand, got struck head-on. As much reaction time and warnings he gained from his new discoveries, bolts of electricity were still not in his alley of speed.

To put it, he was overwhelmed. Pained legs, strained eyes, and mind from powering them up, and now electric currents working up his body was too much.

Down and breathing on his last legs before unconsciousness, he couldn't muster anything.

'Shit... this is bad!'

But he couldn't... too tired.

He could not sense the girl limping towards him in his fatigued thoughts. And when she did, she had a frown, different from her earlier stoic expression.

Still, out of breath from Leo's earlier attack, she let out a pained voice. "Any *Huff* last words?" Pointing her sparking hands at him.

"This ain't a movie *Huff*" was all Leo said, somewhat already accepting his circumstance.

Rolling her eyes, she made her move.

That is, until a yellowish dome barrier covered both of them. Surprising Raiden and earning Leo a raised brow.

Not wanting to be trapped in such a thing, Raiden shot electricity at it, but it did nothing. She, too, was tired, and firing more lightning bolts would lead her to an unconscious state.

This is why she prefers blitzing her enemies efficiently, and Leo was not the first thing she fought for the day; other people and bots were as well.

She came here thinking Leo was easy, blinded by her own arrogance.

"Finally." A voice came. The supposed third party.

A young man came with wavy blonde hair, angular blue eyes, 'angry eyebrows,' and small light-blue stud earrings.

"High-Tiered quirk users fighting, not such a good look. But since this is an exam, it is to be expected." The blond stated. Immediately off the bat, the two who fought earlier knew what this person was about.

People who have strong quirks should lead the world and all that ideology.

"Shouldn't you High-Tiered quirk users put the lowers in their place rather than fighting amongst ourselves?" He strode towards them while they were trapped.

"Anyway, thank you for the fight nonetheless. You two would have been a challenge to fight. Good day."

And immediately, the dome barrier started shrinking, much to the ire of Raiden.

Raiden, who didn't want to give up, kept shocking the barrier in hopes of it breaking. "Urhh! Break!" she screamed, not wanting to be eliminated and leave her place in the Academy to fate.

Looking back, she stared at Leo. Against her pride, she asked, "Are you giving up? If not, I propose a team-up." Her voice was urgent, seeing as her hands were already touching the barrier, trying to prevent it from shrinking.

Unresponsive, Raiden glared at him but only to see him straining to stand up. "I would've been fine by losing just now... *Huff* But if some quirk ideology prick beats you, it just doesn't taste right."

"Can you break the barrier?" Leo asked, in a crouched position, seeing as his full height already couldn't fit the barrier.

"Team up first! I do not trust a stranger to keep their word!" She moved closer to him and tapped their bracelets together, merging their points, a feature he didn't know.

'Did I miss something in the orientation?'

"And yes. Yes, I can. But I will fall into an exhaustive state, so I will need you to carry the burden of my body. Can I leave the rest to you?" Her voice was desperate to know that Leo could produce a miracle.

'Good. If she can break the barrier, then I can enter [Reinforcement]. And in my maximum empowered state, I got about 5 minutes to escape. Still can't believe I almost gave up, but those few seconds of rest allowed me to catch my breath.' Leo then began upping the output throughout his body.

"What seems to be chatter? A failed plan, I assume?" Now the blond was taunting, having already won, he thought. But the duo in the dome ignored him.

With everything seemingly ready, Raiden condensed her attack and fired thick bolts of lightning, shattering the barrier and shocking the third party.

And like she expected, Raiden fell into an exhaustive-like state, too drained to move. Before her body fell, Leo caught her.

"Leave everything to me. [Reinforcement]!"

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CHEERS!