Chapter 22: Part 22
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***
The time before the Sports Festival flew by. Constant training at the Academy, at home, with Rumi, studying and developing new techniques... All of this took time and as a consequence, time was in short supply....
And now we are standing in front of the closed doors that lead to the stadium where this incredible event is to begin.
Am I excited?
Absolutely!
What place do I plan to take?
First place, of course!
Breathe in.
I can hear Heroine 18+: Midnight warming up the crowd. And she does it very skilfully with her voice. While doing so, I'm sure she doesn't forget to strike spectacular poses and send 'waves of goodness' to the audience.
- Okay, here they come!
I exhale slowly.
The doors began to open and now Midnight's voice could be heard more clearly.
- Possible heroes of today's Sports Festival! The main contenders for victory! Those who have already proved themselves in the recent incident! Cla-a-a-a-a-a-a-ass! 1-А!
The doors opened fully, letting us into the stadium and allowing us to enjoy the fact that its stands are completely packed with people going wild, from their overflowing emotions.
- Creepy...
Toru wasn't wearing a watch today, but judging by her tracksuit, she shrugged at the attention we were getting.
- I felt like a guinea pig being watched after another experiment.
I shrugged, too, but we were already out, and when we reached the place marked in the sand, we stood waiting.
- And now. It's time for the Contenders! They are the ones who also want to become heroes! And they will be, but that's not good enough for them! They want to be in Class 1-A! They want to prove they're the best! And it's up to them whether they can do it or fail... First grades B through K! Classes of heroes, direction and support!
Another gate opened and this time the crowd was much more impressive and it soon took its place beside us.
- So now all the first classes are gathered here! And I'd like to invite to the stage a student, I won't say Genius! Who at his age is a successful inventor, but that's not important, what's important is that in the entrance exams he scored the highest number of points since the opening of Yuei Academy! Welcome! Izuku Midoriya!
I knew it.
I was warned in advance, so I didn't hesitate, and with a slight smile on my lips, I made my way through the crowd of classmates who were shockingly moving in different directions.
- So...
As soon as I was on the stage, Midnight literally snuggled up to me.
- What can you say?
- Master, Midnight. I have a girlfriend and your behaviour may cause her questions....
- Ouch...
I managed to notice a slight blush on her face as she almost teleported away from me.
- ...As for the homily...
I looked around at the students.
- I want all of you to show what you can do. It doesn't matter what place you take, today and now it's only important that you show your best so that tomorrow you won't regret what happened today.
I looked around at the quiet students once again.
- Regardless of the result, you are already winners, because you have already entered Yuei Academy, you are already here among the best of the best. And if you consider your mistakes, then definitely today will be an extremely convenient stepping stone for you to become a hero. Plus!
- Ultra!
A chorus of cheers not only from the students but also from the stands answered me, and I calmly headed off into the crowd of my classmates, while Midnight approached the microphone again.
- It was Izuku Midoriya, with his speech! I have to admit that I didn't expect something like this from him... Usually from this podium, students give far more aggressive speeches that can be summarised into a succinct one: 'I'm going to win anyway, and you can flounder all you want...'.
- Yes, a very unusual and kind speech....
Bakugo wasn't happy, and he wasn't shy about expressing it. At least he didn't shout it left and right.
- And now it's time to choose the first test for the first classes! And our roulette wheel will help us with that!
On the big screen behind Midnight appeared a roulette wheel with many different tests on it.
The roulette spun up, and after about a minute it stopped at the obstacle course.
- Yes! It's a steeplechase! And here are some rules!
An image of the stadium appeared on the screen and the track around it and the start and end here in the stadium was marked in red.
- So here's your route! All eleven classes are taking part in this race at the same time! The course is four kilometres long! Yuei Academy gives you the freedom to take this challenge...
Oops... a shadow fell on Midnight's face, making her look very, very sinister.
- ...As long as you're not out of the race you're allowed to do whatever you want!
I grinned.
- Now let's begin!
Breathe in.
- On your marks! Attention! Let's go! Give us a good run!
The crowd rushed forward, as well as me, only if the crowd ran straight to the only exit, I moved a little to the side, to the wall of the stadium and quickly running on it, and ran into the corridor calmly bypassing the crowd.
However, I was not the only one who was so clever and used my opportunities.
Shoto used ice to the full extent, freezing the ground under his feet and even the walls. And on this ice he was gliding extremely fast, but still a little behind me. Also judging from the sounds, Katsuki was using his explosions to get past the crowd and disperse himself.
Hmm...
Before my training with Rumi, I might have been faster than one of them...
The corridor ended, and I jumped and threw myself onto the path far ahead, my speed increasing even more as I tensed up.
I looked around slightly and noticed that Shoto was sliding ten metres behind me, followed by Tsuyu, who, like me, can stick to surfaces and as a result the ice doesn't interfere with her. And behind Tsuyu, Katsuki is flying on explosions. Well, we can't relax.
A hunch!
I jump aside and see the robot from the entrance exam landing on the spot where I was just now. The one with the three points.
Interesting.
Move aside!
To the side again! And again!
The robots were falling from the air, clearly being dropped from some camouflaged platform, and were also getting out of the ground...
Impact...
The first robot I was too lazy to dodge got a fist to the head, the result of the head being smashed into the torso and the robot being incapacitated.
Move!
This time I covered myself with one of the robots, and for good reason, because the rocket that exploded where I was, painted everything red. You can't stay where you are, you have to move.....
But as soon as I moved on, bypassing the enemies, I ran into a whole bunch of robots for zero points.
- You're repeating yourself.
I'm not even slowing down.
Duck under one arm, jump on the other and run across it to find myself on the robot's shoulder. A light blow with my hand, as if waving it away from a fly, and the robot's head literally turns sideways, and I'm already jumping on the next robot. Then another and another.
Hmmm...
I found myself at the exit of the zone and calmly continued to run at the same time I noticed that Tsuyu took second place, and she is only five metres behind me... so unlike me she did not play with the robots even a little.
Don't look back!
Later!
I run forward and reach the next 'obstacle'. A canyon full of rock plateaus and cables strung between them. No, are you serious?! I'm a Spider! It's no more difficult for me to navigate such obstacles than it is to run on a normal floor!
Without slowing down, I run along the first cable, then on the plateau and the next cable, and another and another....
I can feel Tsuyu's back starting to lag behind.
Still, she doesn't stick to surfaces so well.....
After overcoming the obstacle, I continued running forwards.
My instincts!
Foot to the right! Left! Forward! Left!
A minefield?!
It feels like every step could have unpleasant consequences. But my instincts don't let me down, I don't even have to slow down. I just run forward and don't pay attention to anything.
I hear Katsuki approaching me from behind, but he's too late, I've already passed the minefield and entered the corridor leading to the finish line.
Just a few more seconds!
- There he is! Our winner!
Sooty Mick, as always, yelling, not caring whether the people around him are comfortable or not.
- With unprecedented ease, first place goes to Izuku Midoriya!
- Second place goes to...
Click!
- Mick, if you haven't forgotten to announce the results, it's my responsibility....
Midnight spoke right after she struck the man with her whip, judging by the sound.
- Yeah, sorry, Midnight. I just got a little carried away.
- It's okay, I totally understand...
I could feel the smile in her voice.
- Second place goes to Katsuki Bakugo, third place goes to Tsuyu Asui, and fourth place goes to Shoto Todoroki! That's our top four that came to the finish line nose to nose! However, I agree with my colleague, Izuku Midoriya passed all the obstacles so easily... Sotrigolova, comment, what is his quirk?
- He doesn't have a quirk...
A dead silence descended on the stadium.
- He has an acquired mutation in his body. It's called Spider Powers.
- A mutation?
- Yes, as far as I know, he was born without a quirk, but his father decided to exploit it. And when he was a child, he was experimented on, which put Midoriya's life on the line. However, he still survived, his father was imprisoned, and the kid himself acquired the mutation.
- Ahem...
Midnight was confused, as was the still silent stadium. Meanwhile, the students continued to arrive.
- Are you sure it was okay to voice all of this?
- Yeah... I spoke to Midoriya before the Festival, and he gave me permission to voice this information.
- I see...
- Meanwhile, the last competitor who hasn't left the track crosses the finish line!
- Thank you, Mick the Creature. Now, I'll tell you that only the first forty-two students to cross the finish line will advance to the second round.
The students immediately muttered in annoyance.
- Yes, that's right! Now, let's decide what the next round will be!
Once again, the roulette wheel appeared on the screen and spun round.
Here it stops and you can see something where before there was a run with obstacles replaced by an arrow. However, it is not useful.
- And the next stage is: 'Battle of the human cavalry!'
A small wave of whispers rippled through the crowd.
- Teams of two to four men! The task is to take the armbands from the opponents! The armband will be one per team with the total points of all participants. It will be worn on the forehead. The test itself will take fifteen minutes.
We were all given a close look.
- As for points, forty-second place gets five points, forty-first ten, fortieth fifteen, and so on. The exception is first place! Izuku Midoriya gets Ten thousand points!
Ahem...
It seems I've been made into a universal target....
- You have half an hour to rest and find your partners! Prepare for the next challenge!