"START!"
The shout from Present Mic in the commentator tower triggered an explosion of movement across the field. Dust immediately rose into the air as dozens of students charged at one another, driven by ambition and desperation to defend or seize points.
However, in one corner of the field, a truly absurd and slightly disturbing scene was unfolding.
"Shoji, dome mode," Nabiel instructed in a flat tone, his bandaged hands covered by the sleeves of his oversized shirt folded casually across his chest.
"Understood," replied Shoji Mezo. Using his Dupli-Arms Quirk, the large-bodied youth sprouted dozens of webbed arms that interlocked with one another. Those arms curved downward, covering his own body and forming a dark, tightly sealed dome of flesh.
Inside the dome, the space was extremely cramped, yet sufficient to accommodate three relatively small and light bodies. Mineta crouched while grumbling about the smell of sweat, Asui Tsuyu clung to Shoji's back in her frog-like posture, while Nabiel stood comfortably in the center, as if he were simply taking shelter from the scorching midday sun.
From the perspective of the spectators and other participants outside, there was no cavalry team. What they saw was only Shoji Mezo in the form of a giant clump of hands, running alone across the battlefield. It was a strange, frightening sight that made many teams hesitate to approach.
"This strategy is truly genius, or purely because you are incredibly lazy, Nabiel-kun," Tsuyu commented from within the darkness of the dome.
"Both, Tsuyu," Nabiel replied casually. His deep black eyes peered through the small gap deliberately opened by Shoji to look outside. "As an Outer, I hate wasting energy on anything non-essential. Let the extras destroy each other."
And so the execution of their plan began. Their targets were not the giant teams with tens of thousands of points, but the weak, panicking teams instead.
When an unguarded team ran past them, Nabiel gave the signal. "Mineta, now."
"Take this, you extras!" Mineta shouted. Shoji opened a small gap at the bottom of the dome, and from there Mineta hurled sticky purple balls from his head in rapid succession.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
"Uwaah! My leg is stuck!" yelled one of the horses from the opposing team, instantly breaking their formation.
The moment they lost their balance, another gap opened at the top of the dome.
Whoosh!
Tsuyu's long tongue shot out like a whip, with deadly accuracy snatching the small-point headband from the rider's head and pulling it back inside the dome in the blink of an eye.
"Good work," said Nabiel, accepting the headband and slinging it casually around his neck. "We'll collect them little by little. No need to be greedy."
This game was essentially a Battle Royale. In accordance with the narrative laws that Nabiel always observed, as time passed, teams without plot armor or sufficient strength began to lose direction and fall apart. The once-crowded field gradually grew quiet, leaving behind the main characters and the class antagonists holding the large numbers.
Time continued to pass. The points collected by Nabiel's team were already enough to secure them a safe position in the middle ranks. However, the black eyes of the Observer caught sight of a massive formation moving like an impenetrable ice fortress.
Team Todoroki Shouto. Together with Iida, Kaminari, and his own close friend, Yaoyorozu Momo.
Nabiel sighed. "Shoji, change direction. Let's greet the ice prince."
"Are you sure, Nabiel? They are very dangerous," Shoji's deep voice echoed inside the dome.
"Just a little maneuver. We need insurance," Nabiel replied. "Besides, I have to prove to Momo that I'm not just sleeping in here."
Shoji's giant dome shot forward, cutting across Team Todoroki's path. Seeing the strange clump of hands approaching, Todoroki narrowed his heterochromatic eyes. On his left side, Momo looked surprised, realizing it was Nabiel's team.
"Kaminari, get ready," Todoroki ordered coldly, his right hand beginning to emit freezing mist.
But before Todoroki could freeze the ground, several openings appeared in Shoji's dome walls. "Mineta, rain them down!" Nabiel called out.
A barrage of sticky purple balls flew through the air. Todoroki's focus broke. He was forced to raise a thin ice wall to block the annoying projectiles so his horses would not get trapped. Kaminari also had to dodge to avoid being hit. Their formation wavered for one crucial second.
"Tsuyu, throw me," Nabiel commanded.
Tsuyu's long tongue wrapped tightly around Nabiel's waist. With one powerful yank, Shoji opened the front of the dome wide, and Nabiel was launched outward like a cannonball.
Todoroki's eyes widened as he saw the young man in the white shirt soaring through the air, straight toward him. Nabiel's bandaged hand slipped under the dangling sleeve of his shirt. In an instant, the silver flash of a blunt tactical knife—the same weapon he had used in the Entrance Exam—appeared in his grip.
Nabiel was not aiming for skin or trying to hurt anyone. His movements were extremely precise, the result of an Outer's mathematical calculations. With one smooth, arcing swing, the tip of the knife hooked the headbands wrapped around Todoroki's arm and neck, severing their knots without touching the wearer.
Todoroki instinctively protected his forehead where the 615 points were located, a psychological reaction Nabiel had already predicted.
Slice!
Nabiel successfully stole three headbands. Gravity began to pull him downward, but Tsuyu's tongue, still coiled around his waist, quickly yanked him back toward Shoji's dome.
Before he fully returned into the darkness of the dome, Nabiel briefly landed on one of Shoji's large arms. He twirled the tactical knife casually, staring straight at Todoroki and Momo who were still frozen in place.
"Sorry about that, but I wasn't completely intending to slack off," Nabiel said, his voice calm amid the stadium's chaos. He lifted the several headbands he had taken from Todoroki's body, deliberately showing that they were only the ones with small points.
Nabiel flashed a faint grin, an expression he rarely showed. "You must be guarding the high-point headbands on your body very tightly, right? Let's go, everyone. There are still plenty of other targets."
"Nabiel... you really..." Momo muttered from across the way, a mix of relief at seeing him unharmed and annoyance at how casually her friend had robbed their team.
Todoroki clicked his tongue, realizing he had just been tricked. However, before he could retaliate, Shoji had already sealed the dome tightly and turned away, fleeing at full speed. Todoroki did not pursue; his main priority was protecting the ten million points, not seeking revenge on a petty point thief.
Inside the dome, Nabiel stood calmly once more. He sheathed his knife and slung the new headbands around his neck.
"That was really exciting, Nabiel-kun!" Tsuyu exclaimed.
"Just average," Nabiel replied lazily, slipping his hands back into his pockets.
However, as he peeked out through the gap again, his gaze fixed on a point at the far end of the arena. Thick dust billowed. There, Midoriya Izuku, the protagonist with the ten-million-point headband on his head, was being cornered by several teams at once. Midoriya's face was tense, desperately searching for a way out.
The gears of the narrative turned sharply in Nabiel's mind. A cornered protagonist was a magnet for trouble. As an observer, his natural instinct was to stay away. But as someone who was now beginning to enjoy his role on the stage...
"Shoji," Nabiel called, his dark eyes now gleaming with a rare spark of interest. "Direct the dome over there."
"Where to?"
Nabiel pointed toward the center of the chaos. "We're going to target the cornered Midoriya."