Chương 66: Theory Thursday- Combat Matrix
Once school was over, everyone headed for the door. Kai hadn't said anything specific about being late, but "psychologically enforced attendance" didn't sound fun. Even Bakugo hadn't tested that out.
Though when Ayako had asked at their apartment, Kai answered, "battle awareness should go up after a few misshapen shambling masses of flesh come flying down the street at you at random times."
However, Kai stopped them before anyone could get too far from their seats.
"Not to worry, everyone. I'm gonna call today Theory Thursday, and let you rest up a little bit before the next level of hell. After all, we only have a week and a half to prepare you. Tomorrow will be handled by Ayako alone, as I have other business to handle."
"What kind of business?" Mineta asked.
"Cooking," Kai said with as straight a face as he could hold. "Gonna be hours, working on this new recipe. Or not. I'm sure you didn't believe me just now, so let your imaginations run wild. Later, if you don't mind, because I'm sure that you want to know," *pause for dramatic effect* "your rankings!"
Kai raised a tablet device that everyone recognized as belonging to UA teachers. The same type that Aizawa-sensei had used last week to display the apprehension test results. With the press of a button, twenty hexagonal diagrams appeared in the air next to the appropriate faces.
"Thank goodness that worked. That was a lot of man-hours. Would have been embarrassing if I had to deal with technical issues."
"What does any of that mean?" Iida asked, hand raised. Though he had a hard time thinking of Kai as a real teacher, instincts took over.
"It- ah. Should've known something was going to slip, forgot to have an introductory slide."
Not true at all. Showing weakness like forgetfulness was a way to make everyone a little more relaxed. A little more trusting.
They needed some reassurance after getting run over by zerglings for the better part of an hour the day before. Little things could help.
So would tomorrow, but scaring them about it right now was just for fun.
He took it where he could get it.
While these thoughts went through his head, Kai went to the blackboard and drew a hexagon. While he drew the kanji that were associated with each point, he began his explanation.
"If I have made nothing else clear, it's that sheer power isn't the most important thing in combat. It's very nice, don't get me wrong, but there are more ways to assess one's abilities. After all, if we just wanted destructive power, where would Mineta fit in this school?"
"Hey!"
"Are you going to say you have Bakugo's destructive power?" Kai raised an eyebrow. "It's a good thing that that's not all I look at, because you have the second highest score on control."
Turning to the class as a whole, he raised his voice. "Controlling an enemy is just as useful, if not more so, than fighting them. After all, traditionally, heroes don't go around killing people, so having a Quirk that naturally captures is good. Luckily for Mineta, control-types tend to need to keep out of fights to watch the whole situation, and apply their control at the right places and times. I've watched him use his Quirk in class and my own training, and he never misses. He panics, but when he's not doing that he has pinpoint accuracy. He's a perv, but a useful one. So if you end up needing to rely on him, deal with it."
Mineta wasn't quite sure if he was being complimented or not. And the answer was yes.
"So, on this diagram, I think that Power and Defense are self-explanatory, and now Control is clear. Next, we have the Sensory category. Jiro and Shoji have this well covered, but Hagakure and Tokoyami can do decently as well. Information is power, and before a fight starts, you want as much of it as you can get. This is the position my mom took, so it's near and dear to my heart. Right next to my spare knife," Kai finished, adjusting his jacket.
"When you move in teams, you must never be without a sensor. I don't think that I can stress that enough. I think that Mobility and Support are also obvious in how they are useful- Mobility helps with survival, and Support boosts combat ability indirectly.
"Now that all this has been covered, are there any questions? I'm sure you have many, so keep on topic."
"U-um…" Deku raised his hand in the back.
"Deku, you really need to work on your confidence, you are one of the few tactical minds here, and you will need to speak up if you want your friends to benefit."
"Y-yes…. Um… Yaoyorozu's stats… they look a bit different from the others."
"Jumping right ahead, aren't you? I guess we can bring that up now rather than later."
Kai tapped a few buttons on his tablet. After a moment, Yaoyorozu's face and stats grew to take the whole holographic space in the air. Indeed, there was something different. All of the diagrams used six axes to show how strong everyone was in the stats Kai had chosen. It was common to many video games and some manga, like Pokémon. Yaoyorozu's highest stat was in Support.
However, her diagram had two points on the Power axis. One that was close to the center of the diagram, showing that she had just average direct destructive power. The other skewed the whole shape, going incredibly far off the chart.
"She has this extra point because it requires some conditions. Theoretically, she is the most powerful person in the class by about ten kilotons. In fact, her power levels could, in a tragic emergency, reach the levels of a Little Boy that was once not far from here. However, that requires some conditions, some of which are just for theory, the others being necessity. Do you really want the full explanation or even hints of her Final Solution? Because it's named that for a reason.
"Unlike the other teachers, I will not give you any illusion of safety. War is coming. It seems the League of Villains is intent on waging it, and they are not alone in that desire. Even if they aren't after you specifically, we are all convenient targets, because hurting us will hurt the teachers, especially All Might. That is what USJ meant, but the world is bigger than any of you are considering.
"I can't guarantee your lives, though I will try my best to keep you alive. In the event that things go out of control, there are contingency plans, which include Yaoyorozu's Final Solution. Since using it basically requires everyone else here being dead already and we are all going to work to avoid that, I suggest we move on."
Kai pretended to look down at some notes. He wasn't lying about her potential power. Yaoyorozu could create isotopes of different atoms as well as permanent magnets, which meant she could produce specific traits at the quantum level. If she had the resolve to make a suicidal attack, she could annihilate all enemies within a kilometer.
After a long moment of silence, Kai looked up. He feigned surprise to see that the atmosphere in the room had become awkward.
"Sorry to put a damper on your dreams. But I don't want to be a liar on something important like this- most hero deaths come from three types of newbies. One," Kai pointed to Iida, "the Iidas that trust too much in book knowledge and their teachers, and think they know what they are getting into. Two, the Dekus, who push themselves too far trying to prove themselves. And three, the Bakugos, who trust in their power and underestimate others.
"Without some changes, the one among us who stands the greatest chance of having a long, successful career as a hero is Mineta. While he is afraid of almost everything, he will still do what he can and keep himself alive while doing it. Which will give him the opportunity to get better and get brave from experience, which none of you will do if you die.
"I think it's better to get acknowledging the fact that you have all signed up for a potentially lethal career out of the way early. Being a hero means risking your life. If you aren't thinking about that from the very beginning, who knows what will happen when it faces you? Resolve that thought early, and you could save many more lives."
"You think we need to think about dying right now, in our first year of high school?" Deku asked.
"It's never too early, seeing as you've already chosen to be heroes. At least you still have the choice to walk out that door and leave it to someone else. My mom presented me with this as a fact of my life when I was four, except I didn't have a choice. I fight, or I die. That's why while you all were going to school, dreaming of being heroes, and cheering them on, I have been "
For a moment, the room was completely silent. Then Kai coughed to clear his throat and bring the meeting to an end.
"I think that that is enough depressing things for the day. You all have had packets delivered to your homes that have materials for all of you to study. Some of it is the general physics involved in your Quirks, and possible ways to exploit them. Others are ideas that Hatsume and I have had regarding equipping all of you to maximize your potential.
"Study, think about anything you want to add, and prepare for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the beginning of the next level of training. Dismissed."
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Tvrkm
Tvrkm So, I thought I was going to be better than this for a little while, at least. Apparently not.
The answer is Antimatter. Kai didn’t need to explain that, and Yaoyorozu is smart enough to figure it out for herself. It’s amazing how much energy is in raw matter. I think that it is quite possible for her, as she could create a speaker, which requires magnets. Magnets are the macro result of quantum shenanigans. With that in mind, antimatter is not really much of a stretch in terms of the physics she can command. A bigger stretch would be her being in the mental state to accept annihilating herself to give one big “screw you” to the world and whoever pushed her to execute the Final Solution.
And yes, of course he knows where everyone lives at this point.