The next moment.
Arthur's Quirk, his Stand [The World]manifested.
Him and his Stand stood in the middle, one on the left, one on the right, both throwing punches at the 40-plus students on either side.
"Ora!"
Arthur's eyes were lit up with excitement. He roared and immediately decked a recommendation student to his left, some guy whose long bangs covered half his face.
Bam!
The kid's head snapped back, and he dropped on the spot.
The second student barely had time to react before Arthur's next punch hit him square in the gut.
The guy doubled over, gasping, and hit the ground convulsing.
And [The World] was even faster and stronger than its user.
In less than two seconds, more than five of the twenty students on the right side were either down or sent flying.
By the time the others figured out what was happening, only about twenty out of forty-plus were still standing.
The whole thing took less than five seconds.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing!?"
Mic, acting as the proctor, was caught completely off guard and shouted.
"You said messing with people was allowed, didn't you?"
Arthur shot back, not slowing down at all.
He pivoted and kicked another student off their feet.
His next target was Momo Yaoyorozu.
She stared at him with fear in her eyes and took a half-step back. Arthur could tell right away she barely had any combat experience.
"Heh."
Arthur smirked. Right before his fist was about to connect with her face, he shifted his footing slightly, letting his punch brush past her left cheek to take out the student behind her.
When Momo looked forward again, Arthur was staring right back at her with this unreadable half-smile.
They were practically nose to nose.
He let out a soft chuckle and walked past her.
A blush spread across Momo's face, but it was quickly replaced by anger.
She spun around and yelled at his back, "Why did you hold back!?"
Arthur didn't answer, just kicked another student out of the way.
On Arthur's left side, including Momo, seven people were still standing.
On the right side, only two were left against [The World].
Inside the monitoring room, Principal Nezu, All Might, Shota Aizawa, and all the other teachers stared at the screen, completely stunned by what Arthur had just done.
What kind of move was that?
"Impressive," Midnight said, eyes wide. Hard to tell if she meant it or was being sarcastic. "To win, just take out all the other contestants at once."
"But isn't that crossing a line?"
Vlad turned to Principal Nezu. "Isn't that a serious violation?"
All Might looked uncomfortable. Every teacher in the room was basically giving him the same look:
What kind of monster did you let in?
Principal Nezu grinned. "Based on what Mic announced before the race, he hasn't actually broken any rules. But don't worry, no need for teachers to step in. Someone will stop him soon."
Everyone looked up at the projection screen.
Both Arthur and [The World] were getting blocked now, one on each side.
On Arthur's side, someone finally caught his fist.
It was Inasa, the loud guy from the bus.
He had Arthur's fist stopped with his right palm, which was giving off intense wind pressure.
And [The World] was blocked by a massive wall of ice.
On the other side of the ice stood a stern-looking kid with half-red, half-white hair, the same guy who'd been sitting next to Arthur during the written exam.
Ectoplasm frowned. "Principal Nezu, who are those two students?"
Nezu immediately pulled up the files for the two recommendation students who'd blocked Arthur and his Stand.
"Name: Shoto Todoroki. Age: 15. Height: 176 cm. Quirk: Half-Cold Half-Hot."
"Name: Inasa Yoarashi. Age: 15. Height: 190 cm. Quirk: Whirlwind."
"They both have pretty powerful Quirks."
Shota Aizawa wasn't looking sleepy anymore. He frowned. "If we're just talking combat ability, these three are probably the strongest recommendation students this year, right?"
"Should we stop them? This exam is supposed to be a marathon, not a fight."
Ectoplasm asked again.
"No. Heroes need to adapt to unexpected situations. I want to see what strategies they come up with next."
Principal Nezu wasn't in a hurry to stop anything.
More than ten seconds had passed since Mic announced the start.
Not a single person had made it ten meters.
Actually, only four people were still standing:
Arthur Pendragon.
Momo Yaoyorozu.
Inasa Yoarashi.
Shoto Todoroki.
Noticing that [The World] had been blocked by the ice, Arthur called his Stand back into his body.
Inasa didn't push the attack either, taking a step back.
"Looks like not everyone here is a dud." Arthur said, his tone meaningful.
"That's so intense, Arthur!" Inasa cracked his fist, clearly hyped. "Even if it's kind of over the top!"
The situation now had Inasa and Todoroki, one on the left, one on the right, surrounding Arthur.
For some reason, Momo Yaoyorozu didn't take the chance to run for the finish line. Instead, she stood frozen, looking conflicted, watching the three of them in their standoff.
"Interesting," Arthur chuckled, spreading his hands as his gaze swept over Shoto Todoroki and Yoru Inasa. "Compared to some boring marathon, fighting you two sounds way better. What do you say? Let's settle it here and decide who gets first place."
The three remaining recommendation students all had different reactions to Arthur's suggestion.
Momo frowned at first, then a flicker of disappointment and maybe even a hint of inferiority crossed her eyes.
She knew Arthur wasn't talking to her.
She wasn't strong enough to hang in a fight like that.
Inasa looked hyped, clearly interested in Arthur's proposal. He glanced at Mic, like he wanted to get the teacher's okay first.
Shoto Todoroki, though, frowned, thought for about five seconds, then said coldly, "Boring."
That was it. Ice erupted from his feet, leaving frozen trails on the ground as he blasted toward the finish line like a rocket.
"This guy must be fun at parties, huh," Arthur shrugged, and The World appeared behind him.
He stomped hard, launching himself up toward the ceiling.
"Let's save our rematch for another time."
The next moment, Arthur twisted midair.
The World kicked off the ceiling.
He shot toward the finish line even faster than Todoroki, taking the shortest possible route.
"Oh man! That's so intense! Can't fall behind either!" Inasa's body erupted with wind pressure, similar to Todoroki's method, and he charged forward like a motorcycle with the throttle wide open.
"They're all so amazing. All three of them are crazy strong!" Momo was left behind. Her Creation Quirk could make anything, but the bigger or more complex the object, the more time and energy it took.
If she tried to make a motorcycle, those three would already be at the finish line by the time she finished.
In a hurry, Momo made a pair of roller skates as fast as she could.
It was faster than running, sure, but the other three were still way ahead.
Seeing Arthur moving through the air, Todoroki and Inasa started using their elemental Quirks to propel themselves up too, trying to shorten their route.
But they hadn't fully mastered their Quirks yet.
Once they jumped from the ground into the air, keeping balance was harder than staying on solid ground.
"I messed up that annoying written exam, so I guess I'll try a little harder this time." Seeing the two of them rushing up from below, a nasty grin spread across Arthur's face.
The next second, The World suddenly charged at the two approaching figures.
"Get down!" Arthur yelled.
The World swung its right leg in a brutal side kick.
He was clearly trying to knock them both out of the air.
"Hah!" "Take this, Arthur Pendragon!" Todoroki and Inasa reacted at the same time, throwing up their defenses.
An ice wall and a blast of fierce wind.
Compared to the Stand's punches and kicks, it definitely looked more impressive.
"Muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda!!!!!"
Facing the combined attack from the two "elemental types," Arthur shouted like a madman.
The World's leg lashed out at insane speed, so fast you could barely see it.
Everyone in the monitoring room instinctively glanced at All Might again.
Pure muscle power. No enhancement Quirk like Endeavor's.
Principal Nezu went quiet for a moment, thinking about something:
'What if Arthur Pendragon inherited One For All?'
The scene unfolding above the training ground was insane.
The bronze-skinned, gold-armored Stand kept smashing through wind barriers and ice walls with kick after kick.
Above and behind The World, Arthur was screaming with wild excitement.
Momo, skating toward the finish line, didn't dare slow down for a second.
Even though she was intimidated by the three of them especially Arthur's raw power.
But right now, those three were fighting each other.
She wouldn't get a second chance like this.
With her written exam score and her physical score, which was basically guaranteed top four at this point admission was almost locked in.
But a woman's pride can be scary sometimes.
Bang!!!!
The midair clash lasted about four or five seconds.
Under The World's barrage of kicks, the wind barrier and ice wall finally shattered.
As The World's massive body rushed toward them, both Todoroki and Inasa had looks of disbelief on their faces.
"Wryyyyyyyyy!!!!!!"
With one final savage roar from Arthur, The World swung its leg and sent both of them flying out of the air in one go.
They crashed hard into the pool below.
...
Read advance chapters on p@treon
[email protected]/guilt_free_daoist
Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.