READ NOVEL FREE Chapter 74: NO. 74 - Confidence
[General POV]
"What an interesting use of Quirks." Nezu watched the ongoing relay race from the floating Jumbotrons over the center of the Festival stadium.
There were several different angles showing off dozens of the racing students. Throughout the race, these students used their Quirks to help them overcome the obstacles and challenges in their way. Each use of their abilities showed off their creativity and skill.
"Those with speed-based Quirks hold the advantage in this game. At least during the straightforward running portions." A man wearing a stereotypical Western cowboy hat said. This was the Pro Hero Sniper, a member of UA's teaching staff.
Beside him within the luxury box were several other UA teaching staff members who were made up of several more pro heroes. Heroes including Eraser Head, Midnight, Vlad King, Hound Dog, Ectoplasm, Moonlight, and Recovery Girl.
"This year's class 1-A is a little underwhelming." Vlad King said with his arms crossed as he watched those within the heroics course performing with mediocrity. "At least class 1-B has some shining stars."
Midnight nodded as she and Hound Dog watched those within class 1-B leading the race. There were even some students who had already cleared the finish line. Cementing their place for the next round of games. Dow below in the stadium, All those who had finished the race were bathed with cheers and applause.
"Hmm, it seems that there are some students within the General Education course with some promise." Recovery Girl said with a smile as she watched Tajima Yuu clear all of the obstacles with several ingenious uses of his Quirk.
Others like Muraoka Kohaku, Hoshino Jurou, Ike Mitsuko, and Ishimoto Keiichi were all performing exceptionally well as they neared the finish line.
"We may have several potential transfers this year." Nezu grinned and turned to their newest staff member, class 1-D's homeroom teacher, Shin'ya Onemu. "Your students are brimming with potential, Moonlight. If they continue to perform at this level, they may end up leaving your class."
"It's fine; this is UA, after all." Moonlight said tiredly as she watched her students perform. "Joining the Hero course is several of these kids' dreams, after all."
Nezu nodded in agreement. He and everyone watched as several more teams crossed the finish line. His small, beady eyes then moved back up at the Jumbotron to see one of the teams who were lagging behind.
"Ah, there he is. UA's lone Quirkless student." Nezu said with a smile as he watched Shimizu Souta patiently wait for his teammate, Chino Shizuko, to clear her final obstacle. "What a shame. I was excited to see how he would have performed on the second game, but I'm afraid he and his team may not clear the finish line before it's too late."
Off to the side, Eraser Head remained silent as his tired eyes remained glued on Souta and Shizuko. He watched with growing interest as Shizuko used her Quirk to fly over the obstacle in front of her, but due to her rashness, she ended up flying off the pillar of stone she had created.
"Oh dear."
Recovery Girl muttered as she watched Shizuko fall to the ground at a fast speed. Injury seemed all but certain. But before she, the blue-haired girl could fall, Souta leaped high into the air and caught her effortlessly.
"How curious." Nezu frowned as he watched the black-haired boy gently place Shizuko down. "That was an incredible display of physical strength and speed."
"Almost too incredible," Snipe muttered with suspicion. "Could Shimizu have lied about his Quirkless status? That move he performed shouldn't be possible without a Quirk. He leaped well over three meters into the air."
"He's Quirkless." Eraser Head said, gaining everyone's attention. "I used my Quirk on him during a spar he had with one of his classmates, and nothing changed. The only logical reason for this is that Shimizu either trained his body to its utmost limits or was born with incredible physical prowess. Either way, his combat and physical abilities are on a completely different level than his peers."
On the screen, Souta grabbed his team's baton and leaned forward. In an instant, the boy all but exploded forward with incredible speed. Quickly, Souta began to catch up and even started to surpass all those who had a significant head-start on him in record time.
"That speed… it's comparable to the top athletes in the Olympics before Quriks first appeared. And he's doing it without breaking a sweat." Eraser Head said with a slight grin. "This kid."
"Ever since the first appearance of Quirks in Qing Qing City, China. It's been proven that the human body has undergone a small form of evolution to better handle their new powers." Nezu began saying with an intrigued smile as he watched Souta outperforming his peers. "This has caused a small boost of strength, speed, and durability to the average person from one generation to the next. But I've never seen it to such an extent! Shimizu Souta… how interesting!"
x x x
[Shimizu Souta POV]
"It seems that a few teams have crossed the finish line," I muttered as I leaped over another jutting mechanical barrier with ease. "There's only a few slots left… I guess I should speed up a little."
My eyes scanned the obstacle in front of me, which was a series of metal barriers as tall as 3-5 meters that rose and fell randomly from the slots on the ground. Off to my side, my fellow competitors were either waiting for the barriers to fall so they could vault over, or they would use their Quirks to help them over them.
With a grin on my face, I dashed forward and ran up the barriers with ease. Using my strength, I dug my feet into the metal to use as footholds to keep me vertical. Reaching the top, I jumped off the 5-meter-tall barrier and utilized the following obstacles as stepping stones to clear the challenge within a few seconds. Leaving behind several shocked students.
"What the hell?! I thought he was Quirkless?!"
"Such speed…"
"Shit! Shit! I'm not gonna lose!"
Landing on the track, I burst forward and effortlessly passed several running students far off at my sides. Reaching my next obstacle, I saw a deep ditch with floating platforms hovering in the sky.
Off ahead, I saw a member of class 1-C try to jump from platform to platform, but she was unprepared for the floating platform below her to suddenly lose altitude, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the depths below.
"I-I'm okay!"
Humming, I used my speed, balance, and agility to effortlessly clear my own platforms.
I can go faster… much faster. But I have to hold back enough so I don't raise too many questions. How boring.
With a sigh, I rushed forward and cleared my next and final obstacle, which was a series of rope climbs over a large man-made lake. Rolling across the ground, I stood up and burst forward toward the large stadium, where a deafening wave of cheers greeted me.
With the finish line behind me, I successfully secured my team's place for the next round.
x x x
"The next game is dodgeball!!"
Thirteen announced as several rising platforms and arenas slid out of the stadium floor. Each of these varied in height and contained several different environmental obstacles.
Such as rocky plateaus, wild forests, urban areas, and the largest of them all, a wide range filled with ruins and debris. Scattered throughout these areas were rubber dodgeballs of various colors waiting patiently to be used.
"Damn," I whistled as Himiko and Shizuko stood beside me as the rest of the first game winners watched in awe as the stadium finished becoming a sprawling battleground. "This school spared no expense."
[+5 SP]
"Indeed." Shizuko nodded as she inspected the rocky plateaus off to the south side of the stadium. "The arenas are all on different height levels. Acquiring the high ground could prove advantageous in this game."
"Ooh, they got the nice dodgeballs! These make the best sound when you smack someone just right in the face." Himiko jumped excitedly as she looked around our soon-to-be battleground.
"Listen carefully, as I will now explain the rules for this game!" Thirteen announced as another cute cartoon began to play on the Jumbotrons. "The main objective is to eliminate all members of the opposing teams by throwing the ball at them. To stay in the game, you must dodge any incoming balls to avoid being hit. If a ball makes contact with you, you are out of the game! You are not allowed to use a ball in your possession to block or deflect an incoming ball. However, you can throw your ball to deflect an incoming dodgeball, preventing it from striking you."
Up on the screen, a quick clip of a chibi Endeavor throwing a dodgeball to chibi All Might played. But before the ball could hit the Number One hero, he raised the ball in his own possession and threw the incoming ball off course.
"As before, you are allowed to use your Quirks to avoid any balls or to navigate the stadium. However, attacking anyone with your Quirks is strictly prohibited. If you do so, you will be disqualified." The Umpire turned away from the large screen, which displayed a chibi version of Endeavor using his flames to move from one location to another. "From the remaining 48 contestants, there will be 12 teams, each consisting of four students. Ultimately, only four teams will advance to the finals! Without further ado, you may now choose your teammates, and we will begin the game shortly!"
Immediately, everyone around us began to scramble around to find their teammates. Some students broke off from the teams they created from the relay race, while others outright kicked some people out to make room for someone else.
Some of these kids are cutthroat... Nice.
"Huh? Where are you going, Shizuko-chan?"
I turned back and saw Shizuko pause misstep; she looked surprised as she turned to Himiko and me.
"… I'm sure you two would prefer team members with better-suited Quirks for this game. I may only hamper your chances of victory." Shizuko said in a small voice. At her withdrawn body language, I could immediately tell that this girl was used to being left out. "Thank you. For helping me to have made it this far."
"What are you talking about?" I muttered and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to squeak in surprise at the fact that I was touching her. She didn't seem too keen on physical contact. "Your Quirk doesn't really matter to us. Just stay here. We'll make it to the finals."
[+8 SP]
"Yeah! Besides, I saw some of the replays of your race. Your Quirk is super cool!" Himiko smiled as she patted Shizuko's other shoulder. However, her smile became strained as she fell into thought. "It's almost like his…"
Ah… Shizuko's Quirk does resemble Chisaki's. Still, it works in a completely different way than his.
Taking my hand away, I turned to the short blue-haired girl and gave her a small smile. "Just do your best, Chino. I'll handle the rest."
[+10 SP]
"Ah, well, if you're sure, then I will continue to count on you both." Shizuko nodded to us both. This helped to snap Himiko out of her head.
"Great! Now then, we just need one more teammate." Himiko said as she began to look around at the gathered students. But before she could search for a potential teammate, Hikari appeared in front of us with a tired but hopeful and remorseful expression.
"Could I join your team?"
With our team of four now complete, we headed off to grab our team jerseys, which ended up being orange t-shirts. As I slipped on my jersey, I took a look at everyone who I would be smacking around with the red rubber balls of death.
A large portion of Classes 1-A and B were present while a few scattered Gen Ed and Support students stood around. As expected, most of the teams that were formed were composed of those within their own classes. Some familiar faces I could see from my class were Yuu, Jurou, Keiichi, and Kohaku.
"Looks like most of our class didn't make it in." I looked over to all those who failed to make it into the second round of games off to the side of the upcoming dodgeball arena.
They all stood with dejected expressions as the rules for their own recreational games were explained. Within the group, I could see Toshio, Mitsuko, Kazuhiro, and the rest of my classmates. Turning to me, Toshio's pathetic face noticed me standing with a jersey and began to cry. I waved at him with a shit-eating grin.
[+10 SP]
"How did Shimizu make it in and not me?!" Toshio cried to the heavens as he fell to his knees. "Damn it all!!"
"Shimizu-san." Hearing my name, I turned and saw Yuu standing in front of me with a challenging grin. His red jersey hanging loosely on his chest. "I knew you would make it to the next round. Just to let you know, I don't plan on losing this time."
Off behind me, Himiko, Hikari, and Shizuko all watched Yuu and I with curious eyes. Grinning, I rubbed the back of my head and looked over at his own team. Kohaku and two other students belonging to the popular group all stared at me with small glares.
Kawabata Yukio had long black hair pulled into a ponytail. He had a blue headband over his eyes, but somehow, he could still see. His Quirk was called One Second Flash; it allowed him to see into the future for one second, but he had to hold his breath for a minute to activate his power.
Takano Naoki was a blonde-haired girl with pink highlights and fluffy eyelashes. Her Quirk, Unmovable, allowed her to plant herself wherever she chose like a tree. Naoki's ability essentially made her into an unmovable object.
"I can't believe he made it to the second round." Naoki huffed and turned away. Beside her, Yukio nodded and dismissed me.
"Whatever, he'll lose here."
I ignored their snide little comments and nodded at Yuu. "let's hope so. If you lose to me here, you won't have any excuses since you're free to use your Quirk this time."
[+8 SP]
The two of us eyed one another a bit longer before Yuu nodded and walked off to his team. "Good luck, Shimizu-san. I'll see you at the finals."
"Yeah, you all better run!" Himiko called out to Naoki and Yukio as they walked off. "Just so you know, I have a red rubber ball with your names on it!"
"H-Himiko-chan! Don't antagonize them!" Hikari squeaked out as she pulled back an irritated Himiko away. "We don't need a strong team like that targeting us!"
"Let them come!"
Feeling a tug on my jersey, I turned to see Shizuko looking up at me with curiosity.
"Shimizu-san, I apologize if this sounds rude, but given that you are Quirkless, I suggest we avoid direct attack strategies. Instead, we should focus on guerrilla warfare to prolong our efforts as much as possible." Shizuko pointed to the side of the stadium, where the urban battleground was located. "By using that area as our primary battleground, we can utilize our surroundings to help us evade incoming attacks."
"Impressive. In addition to your high intelligence, you also have a talent for strategy," I said, glancing at the ticking clock above us. We had less than a minute before the game began. "But don't worry about me because I don't have a Quirk. Just focus on developing a strategy to help us win."
[+5 SP]
"Very well. I'll revise our attack strategy to improve our chances of winning. However, there's something about you that confuses me. Despite lacking a meta ability, you seem the most confident among everyone here. How do you do it?" Shizuko asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. "Where do you find all that confidence?"
"Why am I so confident?" I muttered as I leaned down to stare into her eyes with a grin on my face.
"That answer to that is easy. It's because I'm strong."
-
AN:
Hello, everyone. I have a quick announcement to make.
Even though I'm currently on a break from writing this story, I can't help but start planning and drafting my next story idea. This new story will be a blend of elements and themes from various stories and media that I enjoy, all set in a familiar location. Drawing from what I've learned so far, I plan to outline the story and develop the characters thoroughly instead of writing it chapter by chapter (which is what I have been doing so far…)
I'm really excited to start writing the story, but I want to avoid repeating the mistakes I've made in the past. Instead of diving headfirst into the narrative, I will ensure that every character and story beat serves a purpose in the overall plot.
I'm sure not many of my current readers will like or read my new story, but I hope you all give it a chance when I release the first chapter.
Here's a hint on where the new story will take place: The land of endless creativity and blocks.
With my piece said, I'll see you all next time!