Chapter 3: The Practical Test Begins

The exam battlefield roared with energy as students clashed against waves of mechanized enemies. Smoke, sparks, and explosions filled the urban landscape, the air thick with the sound of metal scraping against concrete and Quirk-powered attacks detonating across the cityscape.

Ryo Kisaragi was dominating.

While most applicants sprinted across the battlefield, scrambling for their first targets, he was soaring—a crimson blur weaving through the air.

The moment the gates opened, Ryo held back, scanning the battlefield with his Omega Sight. Every movement, every target, every opportunity became clear in an instant.

Three-pointer, 50 meters ahead.Two one-pointers, moving in from the left.Another three-pointer, scaling a building.

Perfect.

Instead of rushing in on foot like the others, Ryo tilted his head slightly, focusing on a chunk of broken pavement in the distance.

Fire.

A concentrated optic blast struck the rubble, sending it flying backward with immense force. The resulting shockwave blasted against him, launching him into the air like a bullet.

As he soared upward, the wind rushing past his face, Ryo twisted midair, using precision bursts from his eyes to adjust his trajectory.

Down below, his competitors were still running.

They hadn't even noticed him ascending past them, already preparing his first shot.

A three-pointer activated, its robotic sensors locking onto the closest student.

Ryo blinked once.

Track.

A razor-thin beam of crimson energy curved through the air, bending around debris and obstacles before slamming into the bot's core processor.

BOOM!

The robot detonated instantly, its shattered remains scattering across the pavement.

( +3 Points )

Ryo wasn't just flying—he was hunting.

Every burst of his optic beams acted like thrusters, keeping him in the air while also allowing for near-perfect maneuverability. It was as if he had a jetpack—not on his back, but in his eyes.

While others relied on their feet, Ryo danced through the skies.

Below, a student with a Strength Quirk was struggling against a two-pointer, landing repeated blows that barely dented its reinforced plating.

Ryo locked on.

One blink. One beam.

The shot curved, snaking around the struggling student and striking the robot's exposed back panel—its weakest point.

The bot collapsed instantly, sparks flying as its systems powered down.

The student turned, eyes wide. "W-What—?!"

Ryo had already moved on.

( +2 Points )

Another one-pointer rolled into his path.

He didn't stop.

Fire.

The tracking shot zipped past its defenses, striking its head clean off.

( +1 Point )

With a sharp midair twist, Ryo landed gracefully atop a rooftop, his golden-red eyes scanning the battlefield.

More students were getting the hang of it—explosions, elemental blasts, and rapid movement painted the cityscape in chaotic flashes of power.

Then—

Seven two-pointers. One student. Cornered.

Without hesitation, Ryo fired a single, precise shot at the nearest bot.

Then he controlled it.

The laser ricocheted, bouncing from one robot to the next, threading between their legs and joints, taking them all down without touching the student in the center.

A perfect chain kill.

( +14 Points )

A deep tremor shook the battlefield.

The ground rumbled beneath them, cracks forming across the pavement. Students paused mid-battle, their heads turning toward the source of the disturbance.

From the far side of the cityscape, a monstrous shadow loomed, its mechanical joints screeching as it moved.

The Zero-Pointer had arrived.

A towering behemoth of steel and destruction, its massive body crushed entire buildings with every step, sending debris flying like shrapnel.

Most students took one look and ran.

Just like Present Mic had advised.

But Ryo?

He grinned.

Then, he raised his head and fired.

A Shot That Shook the Battlefield

This wasn't a normal attack.

This was a pulverizer.

Ryo's eyes ignited, a blinding pillar of crimson light blasting straight toward the Zero-Pointer. The sheer force of the beam shattered the ground beneath him, sending shockwaves rippling outward.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the battlefield.

The air distorted, heat radiating in waves as the continuous laser drilled into the Zero-Pointer's armor.

For a moment, the entire battlefield went silent.

Then—

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The explosion ripped through the battlefield, sending a shockwave so intense that weaker students were nearly blown off their feet.

When the dust settled, what remained of the Zero-Pointer was—

Nothing.

Just a 100-meter-deep crater, its edges still smoking from the aftershock.

The battlefield was dead silent.

Students—both onlookers and competitors—stared, eyes wide, mouths slightly open.

Even the proctors monitoring the exam were momentarily speechless.

Ryo exhaled, shaking off the residual energy coursing through his body.

Then, with a satisfied smirk, he turned away from the crater he'd just created.

"Yeah," he muttered to himself.

"That should be enough points."