Bab 49: Race 2
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|Suzaku's POV:|
…
I let out a sigh as I continued running and left the so-called Robo Inferno and everyone in the race behind.
'Well, that was disappointing…'
In all honestly, I had expected more from the obstacles of this race since that teacher with very little sense of shame made it seem like it was gonna be the greatest challenge of all time.
Although the bunch of giant-ass robots and the army of smaller ones had been a bit intimidating at first sight, they were probably only dangerous if you directly faced them, since you could get ganged up on.
However, as long as you did like I, simply evading the colossal punches from those 0-pointers, or any of the small robots that might try to engage in combat with you, passing the obstacle would be but a breeze.
…Although, now that I think about it, I only avoided the punches or getting surrounded by the robots because I was pretty fast and passed through the whole obstacle in just a few seconds.
If it was someone else, they might not be able to avoid getting jumped on.
…
But well, I could do nothing about being built up differently.
-Boom!-
'They sure are making a lot of ruckus back there'
As I got further and further away from the army of robots, ignoring the sound of explosions and screams from my competitors due to what I imagined was them having trouble in the Robo Inferno, I gave the sky an annoyed gaze and scratched the back of my head.
"The second obstacle should be a bit more difficult, I hope"
If this ended up being a walk in the park, then there would be no merit in storming all my way to first place.
Maybe I was getting my hopes a bit too up, though.
The practical exam also lacked in the difficulty aspect, after all.
"Huff… Huff…"
"Hmm?" Suddenly, as I ran while sinking into my thoughts, I heard someone running behind me, although the sound was still far from where I was.
However, whoever it was, they were slowly shortening the distance between us.
Curious about who this mysterious individual might be, I turned my head and saw the ice-making guy from class 1-A running like a madman in my direction, with ice quickly following after him, leaving a path of frost behind him.
"This guy again?"
What was his name again? I don't remember him doing much in the anime, at least in the first season, I don't know if he may have gotten more protagonism during the second one.
"Well, it doesn't matter."
Without caring about delving more into his identity, I shook my head and sped up a bit, widening the distance between us.
"... Damn it"
I think I heard him curse after I did that, but it might have been my imagination.
I continued running for a bit more after that, going at a relatively normal speed, as I didn't want to exhaust myself when it was still not a crucial moment where to use my full speed.
And eventually, I was able to see the next obstacle.
"Damn"
The reason I exclaimed was more out of surprise rather than worry. After all, what lay ahead was pretty impressive.
I mean, the robots were impressive as well, but this was more visually shocking.
'How the heck did they make this…?'
Right at the front, awaiting for me and the rest of the students, was a humongous fissure several meters deep, with multiple stone pillars in the middle, all connected by tightropes which I suppose we would have to use as bridges to go from pillar to pillar until we got to the other side of the fissure to continue with the race.
This was the last thing I expected them to prepare for us.
I mean, it was very fitting for an "obstacle" race. However, I didn't expect them to go all the way and terraform such a huge terrain just for this race.
The events tended to change every year, after all. This was something they would only use one time, and then that was it.
But well, for the so-called best hero school in all of Japan, this scale of waste was maybe something normal for them.
They did have a giant fake city for students and robots to destroy every year during the practical exam, after all.
However, what made me more curious was, was there a hero who could manipulate the ground that helped build this place?
Or had they done it with pure manual labor?
Whatever the answer was, It was pretty amazing, looks-wise.
However, when viewing it as an obstacle… not so much.
'If I was afraid of heights, this would be way more challenging than the first obstacle… Sadly, I'm not'
Snorting faintly, I resumed my run after a small pause to look at the scenery and began moving straight into the challenge.
However, as I took a step into the tightrope, I slowed down a bit, as despite having trained in having a good equilibrium, running at full speed while on a tightrope would still cause me a bit of trouble, but the slowing was not to such a high degree, just enough so that I could keep myself from falling.
Eventually, though, I remembered that someone had been supposed to be a bit behind me, and turned around to see if they were still there.
And indeed, the moment I glanced behind, I saw the red-white guy approaching at a high speed somehow using the ice he could create to propel himself through the ropes.
'How does that even work?' I eyed him with confusion.
Then, I caught sight of a huge crowd behind him, staring at us from the starting side of the fissure, probably shocked about this obstacle's appearance, as I had been.
I could see many familiar faces, but none whose name I could remember, aside from maybe some of my classmates.
Immediately after, the loud teacher's voice echoed around us, going on with his commentary.
{"Hey hey, it seems like the first obstacle was but a piece of cake for our dear students. However, what about the second obstacle? If you are to slip, you're out! It's… The FALL!"}
'The fall…? Come on' I almost tripped when hearing that name.
It was like calling a punching competition "The Punch".
"... Whatever" In the end, I shook my head and shrugged the matter off. Now it was not the time to think about it, if I lost balance while in the middle of one of the ropes, I would be out.
As such, I disregarded everything and focused only on progressing through the obstacle. Although it was way simpler than the Robo Inferno, the size of this fissure was massive, so the total time it would take me to reach the other side was gonna be longer.
And I was right. In the end, I went at it for quite a while, crossing three-fourths of the entire race, until I paused to take a small break.
There were only a few more pillars to cross and I would reach the other side.
"Fuuh~"
As I replenished my body with oxygen, I turned around curious about how others were doing.
The first sight that caught my attention was a crazy girl swinging around the pillars using what seemed to be some type of tool on her back.
Wait, wasn't she good old Arata's little crush?
Ah, talking about the devil…
"Hahahaha, what's wrong, hero course? Can't keep up the pace with my incredible Spider Harness 5.0?! Don't worry, I'll make sure not to embarrass you guys too much after I win this thing!"
The dude was just a bit behind the girl, using his spidersomething's arms to help him move through the obstacle with an ease that surprised even me, all while trash-talking some of my classmates and guys from class 1-A as he passed by their side.
I guess even love didn't make him forget his frustrated dream of becoming a hero.
"Well, with that technology of his, it wouldn't surprise me if he was allowed to become one in the future" I muttered, as I observed his new and upgraded spiderthing.
In contrast with the early design of the tool I saw when I visited him for our alliance, the arms were now sturdier and seemed to be able to extend several times their original size, allowing Arata to skip from pillar to pillar without the need to walk through the tightropes. Making him progress through the obstacle incredibly fast.
"Though, I wish he would give my classmates an easier time"
Just a bit behind him, I could see a troubled Tetsutetsu on all fours, doing his best to cross a tightrope without falling.
And yeah, it was faintly to be expected, he wasn't exactly the most steady guy during our fight. He might excel in strength and durability, but with his Quirk making him heavier, I assume it also made it harder for him to learn to keep his balance in check.
But well, he seems to be hanging on, so I guess he will make it in the end.
I also saw Itsuka some pillars ahead of him, evidently having a much easier time with the tightropes, although not exactly being outstanding at crossing them.
From time to time, she would strike the pillars with her giant hands to propel herself through the air and jump from one pillar to another, but since there tended to be some students resting at some of them, she only did it a few times, and the rest of them crossed the tightropes normally while trying not to fall.
'Well, she seems to be doing fine despite that' I thought as I scratched my chin.
I then gave the rest of my classmates and some of the guys from class 1-A a glance, and shrugged.
Everyone seemed to be doing fine.
'Alright, time to—'
As I turned to look ahead, I froze when a certain figure appeared in the corner of my eye, moving swiftly and leaving me behind.
"That guy"
It was the red-white guy.
He was on the opposite side of where I was, so I didn't notice him passing me.
What a sneaky guy.
"A man can't even catch a break" Knowing that I couldn't afford to stay idle any more, I clicked my tongue, and after taking one last breath I kicked the ground and went back to running.
The guy was going pretty fast with his Elsa powers, so it took me a bit until I finally was able to catch up with him.
And by the time I did, we both ended up reaching the other side at the same time, giving each other a look, before disregarding one another and continuing to run with all we had.
{"Suzaku Suzuki and Shoto Todoroki are once again in the lead, both reached the end of the 2nd obstacle at the same time! What a fierce battle this is, GODAMN!"}
Ignoring the loud voice of our teacher as I ran, I started speeding up.
I was no hare to be passed just because I took a small break.
"Tsk…"
And it seemed the guy noticed it, as soon I heard him click his tongue once he saw me getting past him in a matter of seconds.
'Damn'
Fortunately for him, however, the distance until the last obstacle ended up being the shortest one, making me unable to give myself a substantial advantage by the time we reached the next challenge, where we both ended up stopping our rush to glance at it.
It was a fucking minefield.
"What the hell…?" I gave the long road ahead a confused gaze.
Although I expected UA to amp the difficulty from what would have been expected in a competition in my old world… Wasn't using mines a bit too much, even for super-powered children?
I mean, maybe there would be a few who would shrug them off as if they were nothing, but I'm not sure about the others.
Fortunately, my doubts were soon resolved.
{"And now, our participants have arrived at the final obstacle! The reality here is… That it's a minefield!!!"}
'...You don't say?'
{"The mines have been set up so that they can be spotted if you look carefully, so you better put those eyes to good use, and by the way, these mines are specially made for these events, so they are not as powerful as real mines. Though, they are powerful and flashy enough to make you wet your pants!!"}
{"...That depends on the person"} The hobo-teacher voice came after his.
Ignoring the further commentary, I focused on the minefield in front of us.
'So they are not so powerful, huh?'
That much was enough for me.
Without wasting a second, I kicked the ground and began running through the minefield.
My reflexes and balance were both incredibly trained, so moving fairly fast while avoiding the mines was a pretty easy task, as long as I didn't go full speed.
And that soon proved to be true, as I began diving into the minefield at a surprising speed, avoiding each and all mines while maintaining a quick pace that swiftly left everyone behind, including the red-white guy.
I heard him follow after me immediately after I jumped into this obstacle, but judging from how the sound of his steps seemed to get further and further the deeper I went into the minefield, I assumed he was not able to keep up with me.
Then, as my eyes darted to the front, I was able to see the finishing line in the distance.
It was still slightly far, but with how things were going, it was only a matter of time for me to win this thing.
'I guess that's it for this competition, huh?'
That's when I heard a loud shout.
"Damn it, don't get ahead of yourself, you red-haired bastard!!!"
Normally, I would have ignored it like always, however, this time, I could clearly feel that despite its distance, the annoying source was approaching at a huge speed.
Confused, I turned to look at the brat, and widened my eyes when I saw him flying over the mines, using the explosions to keep himself in the air and move swiftly in my direction.
"Oh shit"
At the rate he was going, it was only gonna be a matter of time before he overtook me.
So, not wanting to risk it with this being the last part of the race, I took a deep breath and amped up my speed. My eyes became fixated on the floor as they tried their best to keep up with my new speed and avoid all the mines at the same time.
However, as was to be expected, at some point it became tiresome for my eyes, as they began to burn a little bit due to the lack of blinking.
And to worsen things, at a certain moment, I was also able to hear the red-white guy joining the explosive kid in their race for overtaking me, using what I think was his ice powers, judging from how they sounded.
As to how they were helping him to go so fast despite there still being hundreds of mines around us, I didn't know.
I didn't have the time to turn around and discover it, as my eyes were still glued to the ground, unblinking and swiftly darting left and right, looking for spots where I could step on safely as I kept my speed.
Fortunately, playing unnecessarily hard games where this burning sensation in my eyes was but a common occurrence was allowing me to not fall into the temptation of blinking.
Due to that, I was able to avoid getting overtaken. However, they were still able to stay at a relatively close distance, which caused me to not be able to take a break.
Still, not everything was bad. If everything continued as it was, I would end up in first place as planned.
And the minefield's end was in sight, so I just needed to continue running for a bit more, and I would be able to finally blink.
Things only needed to remain as they were.
… But today was not my day.
-Boooooom!!!!-
Suddenly, I heard a huge explosion coming from far behind, and although I ignored it at first, the sound of something flying through the air in our direction alerted me.
Unfortunately, I couldn't look at it, as I was still busy dodging the mines on the floor.
Fortunately, our teacher's commentary soon answered my question.
{"Class 1-A Midoriya, is in hot pursuit with that blast!!!"}
I didn't have time to ponder about what he had done, or how he was coming at us at such high speed, so I just kept going as fast as I could.
There were only a few more meters ahead of me, and the minefield would be over.
However, it was then, that I saw Midoriya's shadow appear on the ground.
'Above?'
Confused, I slowed down momentarily and gave a quick glance to the sky, where I saw the guy above some sort of metal plate, shooting through the air at a huge speed, getting ahead of me in just a matter of seconds.
I didn't worry, however, and simply went back to focusing on the ground.
After all, in the air, he can't keep a constant speed. Eventually, he is going to fall and slow down.
And that it did.
Eventually, his advance slowed down, and he began plummeting to the ground.
With my speed, it only took a second or so until I took the lead once again. And, as I left the still-falling Midoriya behind, smiling as the minefield end was just a few steps ahead, the sound of another explosion coming from right behind me startled me slightly.
'What?'
It was then that I saw Midoriya flying past me, this time without the metal plate in his hands.
Due to the impulse, he ended up rolling through the ground a few times but managed to get ahold of himself in the end, starting to run with all he had as the three of us ran after him.
And to worsen things, the stadium, which was where the finishing line lay, was just a bit ahead.
Normally, it would have been difficult for anyone to overtake him with how little track there was left of the race.
'Nu-uh'
Unfortunately, that was not the case for me.
And even if he had been the protagonist of the anime, this wasn't his show anymore.
'There's no last-second comeback for you'
As I finally took a step into the clear and empty ground, devoid of any further mines, I smiled deviously and tensed my muscles.
With my eyes now free and able to rest, I began to put my body to work.
My tendons tensed momentarily, and I took a deep breath to fill my lungs with air.
Then, I began to run.
Run faster than ever before.
Even faster than when that Karate teacher had been trying to kill me.
I hit my peak speed.
As such, it only took a few seconds before I was able to catch up with the desperately-running Midoriya in front of me.
And, the moment he saw me, I saw his face visibly contort in frustration as he groaned in surprise. "Huh?!"
Immediately after, he tried running faster, but it was to no avail.
In the end, I passed by him.
And, as both of us entered the tunnel leading to the finishing line, I also began hearing the other two entering behind us. The sound of ice and explosions quickly closing in the more we approached the finishing line.
Unfortunately for them, they had already lost their chance.
After a few seconds passed, the rays of the sun shone on my face once again as I left the tunnel, and I was able to hear the deafening sound of the crowd again.
My feet slowed down, and I finally stopped running.
I had won.
{"Suzaku Suzuki's done it! He is the first one to arrive! Could it be that his taunt from earlier was not unfounded?!"}
That's one.
Now, only two more events remain.
…
-To be Continued…-
°
(A/N: Plot armor isn't here for Izuku anymore, let's see how he will handle the rest of the events from now on)
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