Mirko rushed in again, even faster this time. Shin met her head-on, blocking and dodging as her relentless kicks came from every direction. Even though he was keeping up, she was pushing him more and more.
Then he noticed something.
"You know," he said between dodges, "you've only been kicking this whole time. You do have hands, right?"
Mirko snorted. "Hah? My kicks are strong enough."
"They are, but mixing things up wouldn't hurt," Shin shrugged, ducking another spinning kick. "Come on, throw a punch or two. Who knows? Maybe I'll be so shocked that you'll actually land a clean hit."
Mirko huffed, clearly not used to people telling her to punch more. But then, just as she lunged in for another attack, she suddenly switched things up—her fist shot out toward his jaw.
Shin barely dodged, grinning. "See? That's more like it."
"Tch. Don't get cocky," Mirko scoffed but followed up with another punch before chaining it into a kick. Shin blocked, but the sudden shift in attack patterns kept him on his toes.
As they clashed again, Shin sidestepped a particularly aggressive kick, and in that split second, Mirko saw a perfect opportunity. Instead of backing off, she launched herself at him, twisting her body midair to land on his shoulders, stomach facing him, legs locked around his head.
Shin froze for half a second. "…Seriously?" he deadpanned.
Mirko grinned, eyes gleaming. "If it works, it ain't stupid."
She immediately tried to use her position to hammer him with rapid elbows to the top of his head, aiming to rattle his senses. Shin quickly moved, tilting his body at just the right angle to throw off her balance. Mirko clicked her tongue as she was forced to loosen her grip, and in that moment, Shin yanked her off his shoulders with a firm grip around her waist.
Not one to let herself be thrown around, Mirko twisted midair and used Shin's own grip as leverage to flip over him, her heel coming down toward his shoulder.
Shin barely blocked in time, the impact sending him sliding back. Mirko landed smoothly, bouncing on her feet as she cracked her knuckles. "Heh. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Shin rolled his shoulder, loosening the tension. "Not in the slightest."
They locked eyes, both grinning. Small scratches covered their arms and legs, but neither had landed anything serious. Just an intense, exhilarating fight.
Mirko wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead. "Guess I gotta pull more tricks out if I want to take you down."
Shin chuckled. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't." He rolled his shoulders, feeling his Force Pulse spread through his surroundings. As they prepared to clash again, a thought surfaced in his mind.
Ah, there was that thing I wanted to do.
Without hesitation, he called out, "Hey, Mirko, I know this is sudden, but will you become my companion?"
Mirko's expression twisted into pure confusion. "Hah?" she blurted out, eyes narrowing. But before she could even demand any explanation, her body stiffened, and a dazed look took over her face.
Shin smirked, immediately recognizing what was happening. She was going through the process of receiving information, the system placing her in an isolated time field to make her choice. He had already heard about this from Momo when she recounted her own experience of becoming his companion.
The reason he had asked her to become his companion went back to the previous test. During that time, within a minute of perceiving her indirectly through his Force Pulse, the system had sent him an unexpected message—Mirko had been recognized as a potential companion. The notification had completely caught him off guard. Normally, this kind of recognition only happened after prolonged interactions, not from a brief encounter. To confirm, he had immediately checked the Potential Companion tab, and sure enough, her name was there.
That meant her compatibility with him was exceptionally high. He still had no idea what criteria the system used to judge compatibility, but Mirko appearing there so quickly made it clear—whatever those criteria were, she fit them effortlessly. Was it her personality? Her strength? Something else entirely?
That was why he had decided to ask her directly. If she accepted, then maybe, in the future, he could figure out what determined compatibility in the first place. Though, that wasn't the only reason—he genuinely liked her personality and knew he would enjoy traveling alongside her, no matter where the journey led.
Mirko remained in that dazed state for just a second or two before Shin felt it—a familiar, subtle flow of ethereal energy surged from him and rushed towards her. This was the same sensation he had experienced when Momo accepted the bond previously. His eyes sharpened as his smirk widened.
She has accepted just as I had anticipated.
After all, why wouldn't she? There were plenty of opportunities for battle—especially ones where she wouldn't have to hold back in fear of killing her opponents. And for a battle maniac like her, that was more than enough.
Almost immediately, Mirko's body lifted slightly off the ground as if pulled upward by an unseen force. Then, in the blink of an eye, a familiar white cocoon of energy began forming around her, wrapping her in its glow. Shin watched as the cocoon pulsed, slowly beginning to beat like a heart.
He exhaled, bracing himself. "Now I have to wait for about hour an hour for this process to finish. Hopefully, the others don't wrap up their battles too soon."
A wave of exhaustion started creeping up on him, just like it had with Momo. But as he kept his eyes on Mirko's cocoon, anticipation filled his mind.
How much will she have changed during the process?
…
At the same time,
Nagamasa Mora, Ibara, and Iida found themselves within a massive blue-hued dome. As they regrouped, their assigned opponent became clear—Mt. Lady, the pro hero with the Gigantification Quirk, which allowed her to take on a towering form, though without the ability to control its size.
Mt. Lady frowned in confusion. The initial briefing had stated they would be fighting Equinox—Shin. Yet here she was, abruptly transported into this dome, which, based on the reports they had received, was undoubtedly his doing. Though she didn't understand who was the one responsible for the sudden teleportation. Before she could question it further, her comm device crackled to life, updating her orders—her new opponents were the three students before her.
Before she could even react, thick vines erupted from beneath her, coiling around her limbs in a crushing grip. She immediately triggered her Quirk, growing into her giant form and snapping the vines apart. But as soon as they broke, new ones surged from the ground, entangling her legs once again and locking them in place.
Then, the student covered in blond hair—Mora—extended his strands, manipulating them to seize her arms. She tried to break free, but no matter how many strands she tore apart, fresh ones took their place, keeping her restrained.
Realizing she was at a disadvantage, Mt. Lady made a split-second decision—she shrank back down. But the instant she did, a brutal kick crashed into her face, sending her staggering backward. Blood sprayed from her mouth as one of her teeth flew out. The impact had come from the third student, the one who bore an unmistakable resemblance to Ingenium.
Before she could recover, the vines and hair surged forward once more, restraining her in place. A deep rage burned inside her. A pro hero—being overpowered by students? The sheer humiliation was suffocating. Snarling, she activated her Quirk again, returning to her colossal form—only to find herself in the exact same predicament.
It was then that she realized her critical mistake. She had underestimated them, and they were a terrible match-up for her abilities. Her mobility was completely nullified, and her struggles were futile.
Mora and Ibara's plan had worked to perfection—Mt. Lady was fully immobilized. Now, it was Iida's turn to deliver the finishing blow. Planting his foot into the ground, Iida began spinning rapidly on his heel, generating a powerful whirlwind. The tornado expanded, sucking in debris from crumbled buildings and loose rubble scattered across the battlefield. This was an ultimate move he had developed under Shin's guidance. Once enough debris had been gathered, he switched his approach. Halting his spin, he dashed into a rapid circular motion, transforming the tornado into a controlled cyclone. The whirling mass of debris surged with terrifying force, contained within the storm's spiralling walls.
Iida steered the cyclone toward their intended target—Mt. Lady, still locked in place. As soon as she became its center, the true devastation began. Shards of stone, jagged rubble, and broken concrete pelted her relentlessly from all directions. The sheer force of the attack echoed through the dome, her agonized screams cutting through the chaos.
Then—silence.
Iida gradually slowed, peering through the dissipating dust. There, sprawled on the ground, lay Mt. Lady—back in her smaller form, unconscious. Cuts and bruises littered her body, and a thin trickle of blood ran from her wounds, the aftermath of their perfectly executed assault.
The battle was over.
…
In another dome,
Bakugo found himself alongside Kuroiro, facing off against Shishido—the Lion Hero.
With a powerful Mutation Quirk granting him the strength, reflexes, and instincts of a lion, Shishido should have been the one striking fear into his opponents. Yet today, he felt less like a king of beasts and more like a helpless cat being toyed with by two merciless young men.
He was supposed to be playing the villain, but why did it feel like he was the innocent victim here?
Initially, Shishido had assumed victory would come easily—until an explosion detonated directly in his face, teaching him a painful lesson in underestimation. From that moment on, he avoided direct confrontation with the explosive young man, shifting his focus toward the other student—the one cloaked in darkness. Kuroiro looked like the weak link.
But as he lunged in to attack, Kuroiro vanished.
Before Shishido could react, a sharp kick landed on his lower back, launching him straight toward an incoming blast. The explosion sent him tumbling, the force rattling his very bones.
It only got worse from there.
Every move he attempted was thwarted—whenever he tried to launch an attack, he was ambushed from the shadows. When he attempted to retreat, Bakugo was already waiting with another explosion. No matter what he did, he found himself read, manipulated, and countered.
Through keen observation, Shishido realized what was happening—Kuroiro was the mastermind behind their strategy. The man moved like a Specter, controlling the battlefield with eerie precision, his attacks perfectly synchronized with Bakugo's unrelenting assault.
Growing desperate, Shishido unleashed his ultimate move—Lion's Roar. The thunderous bellow was meant to instill fear, forcing his opponents into making mistakes.
Yet, they barely flinched. Instead of fear, their expressions carried something far worse—indifference. As if they had faced nightmares far more terrifying than a mere lion's roar.
And then, the onslaught resumed. Sneak attacks. Explosions. More explosions. His stamina drained rapidly as the battle turned into a war of attrition—one he was losing. Exhaustion clouded his mind, and in that crucial moment, he made a fatal mistake.
It was all the opening they needed. A black sphere erupted from the shadows. A blazing explosion followed right after. Both attacks struck him head-on. Darkness consumed his vision. Shishido collapsed, unconscious—the battle lost.
…
Gang Orca found himself in an extremely difficult position. His Quirk granted him the abilities of an orca—except on land. But with that came a glaring weakness: dryness and heat.
And right now, he was trapped in the worst possible scenario—a raging tornado of fire. At first, he managed to endure it, holding his ground against the relentless assault. But after an intense battle with the students Inasa and Todoroki, the overwhelming flames, gusts, and ice shards were draining him fast. His strength, once formidable, was fading.
When the students first arrived, they had been momentarily stunned to find him as their opponent. But that hesitation vanished in an instant—they had already devised a strategy, targeting his weakness without mercy.
He was bombarded from all sides—fire, wind, and ice striking him relentlessly. And what kind of cheating was this? The fire and ice should have been neutralizing each other. Yet somehow, neither was weakening the other. It was as if they had made an unspoken pact, working in harmony rather than clashing.
The powerful winds carried thousands of razor-sharp ice shards at terrifying speeds, forcing Gang Orca to stay constantly on the move. He had no time to counter with his Soundwave attacks—he knew that if even a few shards hit, they could cause severe damage.
And his fears were confirmed. Two shards struck—one slicing into his right arm, the other crushing his left leg.
The pain was excruciating. His vision blurred as he staggered, barely clinging to consciousness. Every breath was labored, every movement agonizing. But he refused to fall. That was, until another shard, propelled by an even stronger gust of wind, struck him directly. Gang Orca collapsed, unconscious—the battle was over.
…
Momo found herself alone in a dome with Crust, a pro hero whose Quirk bore similarities to barriers Shin creates with his Force manifestation —the key difference being their shape. While Shin's could change the shape and design, Crust's were fixed, hexagonal constructs.
Without hesitation, she activated her Quantum Arsenal, instantly summoning a vast inventory of weapons with minimal energy cost. Knowing that direct combat wasn't her strength, she had preloaded an array of guns, bombs, grenades, swords, shields, and more into her arsenal.
She began with firearms, attempting long-range attacks—but unsurprisingly, Crust deflected them with ease. Undeterred, she used Annul as the weapons vanished and the Ki which was used in their creation returning back to her. She then changed tactics, tossing small bombs and grenades in an attempt to destabilize the terrain beneath him.
And it worked.
With the ground constantly shifting, Crust struggled to maintain a stable footing. The bombardment intensified—a relentless cascade of explosives forcing him to stay on the move. At one point, he barely managed to stop a missile from hitting him head-on, only for the compromised ground beneath him to collapse, sending him crashing down and taking damage. The battle dragged on—Crust occasionally used his shields as weapons, only for Momo to counter as she used Solid Creation to make metallic shields of her own.
It was clear: neither of them was frontline fighters. This match would likely stretch on for a while. Or so Crust thought… until he stepped on something. He froze.
Landmines.
Not just one—both of his feet were now precariously positioned on mines. Moving recklessly would cost him dearly. Logically, he could generate shields under his feet to absorb the blast—but something told him that wouldn't be enough. He slowly raised his gaze, only to lock eyes with Momo, who stood triumphantly before him, a remote detonator in her hands.
She had been planting mines the entire time. And her plan had worked flawlessly. Sighing in defeat, Crust raised his hands. "I surrender. Please deactivate the mines."
But Momo only grinned—a sharp, almost villainous smile.
"Sorry," she said, deliberately pressing a button on the remote—not to detonate, but just to make him sweat. "Can't exactly take a 'villain' at his word, now, can I?"
And then, for good measure, she began surrounding him with even more explosives that she created using Automated Production. TNT, grenades, missiles, additional mines—all neatly arranged in a deadly circle, every single one linked to her detonator.
"Just a little reassurance," she added, still smiling, daring him to move. She definitely wasn't doing this as petty revenge for all the running he made her do. Nope. Definitely not. Probably not.
As Crust took in the terrifying display of firepower surrounding him, he could only accept his fate. So, he did the only reasonable thing. He stood perfectly still and waited for the exam to be over.
…
The moment Ryukyu felt herself being teleported, she instinctively transformed into her dragon form. Her first thought was an attack by the League of Villains—after all, they had a teleporter in their ranks. As soon as she arrived at her destination, she took no chances, launching herself into the air.
However, as she took in her surroundings, she noticed something peculiar. She was inside a blue dome—a signature move of Equinox. Realizing this, she relaxed slightly. It seemed more likely that he was responsible for the teleportation. That young man had too many abilities, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had even more tricks up his sleeve.
Looking down, she expected to see Equinox himself—but instead, she found two other students. One was Midoriya Izuku, All Might's protégé, while the other, according to the reports she'd read, was Nirengeki Shoda.
Just then, her communicator ringed. The test coordinators informed her of the situation and instructed her to engage the students at full power. Their reasoning? To teach Shin a lesson—to show him that underestimating Pro Heroes was a grave mistake. Ryukyu understood the need for such a harsh lesson. Equinox's arrogance was growing, and he needed to learn that not just anyone could take down a Pro Hero. If he believed otherwise, he was fooling himself. And so, she made her decision. She would fight them seriously—but she wouldn't hurt them too much. They were still young adults, after all.
Just as she braced herself for battle, Midoriya suddenly leaped toward her, stepping on thin air as if defying gravity. She barely had time to react before a devastating kick landed on her wing. Pain erupted through her body. With her balance shattered, she plummeted to the ground, crashing hard. She barely managed to use her other wing to cushion the impact, but she was still rattled.
Midoriya wasted no time—before she could even regain her footing, he was already closing in to land another blow. This time, she was ready. She took the hit but absorbed it better than the first. Ryukyu countered, striking at Midoriya—only to find him effortlessly evading her attacks. It was as if he had foresight, dodging before she could even make contact. And then Shoda entered the fray, his Quirk dealing relentless, well-timed damage that steadily wore her down.
With each exchange, Ryukyu found herself struggling. And in that moment, the realization struck her—It wasn't Shin who had underestimated the students. It was the Pro Heroes who had underestimated them.
Midoriya overwhelmingly outmatched her in speed and raw explosive power. Shoda wasn't far behind, his offensive capabilities hitting at precise moments, exploiting every little opening. She never had stood a chance from the beginning. Her body gave in before her mind could catch up. As darkness took her, she silently admitted defeat.