The Entrance Exam Begins

"Okay, okay, student number 7111, that was an excellent question. Thank you." Present Mic immediately explained, "The fourth type of enemy is worth zero points. In other words, it exists to interfere with you. Every venue has one of these [mechanisms] rampaging around. It isn't impossible to defeat, but there's no point in doing so even if you manage it. I recommend that all examinees cleverly avoid it."

"Thank you for your answer. Excuse me." Having received his answer, Tenya Iida immediately sat down. The moment he did, he looked at Yang Xiao and asked, "Why have you been staring at me?"

Yang Xiao really had been watching Tenya Iida the whole time, but this guy had actually asked him outright?

"It's nothing. Isn't everyone looking at you?" Yang Xiao smiled and turned away. Tenya Iida seemed a little sensitive.

Tenya Iida looked around at that moment. Sure enough, some people were looking his way, while others were discussing the question. Clearly, the question he had raised was one many people had wondered about.

Present Mic rambled on for a while longer. What left the deepest impression on Yang Xiao was U.A. High School's motto, words spoken by the great hero Napoleon Bonaparte.

The name Napoleon Bonaparte was rather interesting. Yang Xiao figured he was probably a foreign hero.

[True heroes are those strong enough to overcome life's misfortunes and charge toward a more distant horizon!]

It could be called a classic line, and it had had no small influence on Izuku Midoriya as well.

With that, the venue briefing came to an end. All the students headed one after another to their assigned testing sites. Yang Xiao was not assigned to the same site as Izuku Midoriya, but to the same one as Katsuki Bakugo.

Testing location: Training Ground A!

There were plenty of people at this testing site as well. Besides Katsuki Bakugo, several other students were here too, including Torhu Hagakure. He did not need to identify her too carefully to know it was her. U.A. High School had another student with a Quirk that was more or less invisibility, though Yang Xiao did not know her name. Still, the two were easy enough to tell apart.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Ibara Shiozaki were also in Testing Ground A. Those two would be students in Class B in the future.

Yang Xiao did not stand out much amid the crowd, and no one paid attention to him. Most people observed their opponents' appearances to gauge their approximate strength.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about Yang Xiao's appearance. He was fairly handsome, but that was useless, so everyone felt he was not one of their main competitors.

Yang Xiao appeared utterly ordinary, but some people were exceptionally high-profile. Yang Xiao did not recognize a single one of them. Clearly, they were all extras.

"The exam has begun!"

A broadcast rang out just then. The enormous wooden doors before them suddenly opened, and everyone surged inside in a swarm.

Yang Xiao was no exception. However, Katsuki Bakugo was the fastest, rushing ahead of everyone else and charging deeper inside.

After entering the testing grounds, Yang Xiao sprinted off toward one side. Imaginary enemies would be scattered throughout the venue anyway, so the fewer people around, the better. He could act freely there.

"Already ran into one?" Yang Xiao grew a little excited. A mechanical imaginary enemy appeared before him and blocked his path. To be honest, he had only used his Holy Light Quirk on those dog traffickers before, and even then only as a small test. This time was different. In terms of durability, imaginary enemies were tougher than humans.

"Come on. Come catch me." Yang Xiao smiled and rushed straight into an abandoned building. Without a second thought, the imaginary enemy pursued him into the building.

Surveillance cameras were everywhere in the venue. There were cameras inside the abandoned building as well, but far fewer than outside, which was why Yang Xiao had chosen to fight indoors. That way, he would not draw too much attention.

The moment the imaginary enemy rushed into the abandoned building, Yang Xiao turned and charged at it. A layer of golden light radiated from his right hand, covering his elbow. The area covered by his Holy Light was much greater than it had been several months ago.

Bang!

With an explosive crack, Yang Xiao smashed the imaginary enemy's head apart with a single punch. Black smoke rose from it, indicating that he had earned points.

Yet Yang Xiao had not used much effort at all. He had only brought out one-third of his strength. He felt there would be no problem handling an exam like this.

It was not that his Quirk was powerful by itself. It was the combination of a powerful Quirk and his own hard work that had produced this result. Otherwise, even if someone obtained the strongest Quirk in the world, if they did not train or work hard, they would be no different from a salted fish. Meanwhile, people who worked hard could surpass them even with weaker Quirks.

Still, that possibility was slim. No one knew what the strongest Quirk even was. He would not claim that his Quirk was the strongest; he could only say that it was somewhat strong. Even then, it still required his own development and effort.

"Clack, clack, clack~" Another imaginary enemy appeared, rushing into the building and charging at Yang Xiao. These imaginary enemies were aggressive, but their attacks were not particularly strong. After all, the school would not gamble with its students' lives.

But that also made one thing clear: if someone could not even defeat these imaginary enemies, then they were not qualified to enter U.A. High School.

"This time, I'll try my legs!" Yang Xiao's gaze sharpened. As he raised his right leg, golden light covered his shin. He swept it out, kicking the second imaginary enemy cleanly in half at the waist.

The effect was not bad!

After that, Yang Xiao repeatedly lured imaginary enemies into the building and smashed them all apart. However, he was not stupid enough to steal everyone's points. He only chose a few nearby imaginary enemies to defeat.

First, he only needed to ensure he could enter the Hero Course. Second, he needed to avoid drawing attention.

With someone as showy as Katsuki Bakugo in Testing Ground A, Yang Xiao had no pressure at all while hiding in the building and defeating a few imaginary enemies. Having someone else draw all the attention was ideal.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Katsuki Bakugo frantically attacked the imaginary enemies. His eyes held only points. Only by smashing more imaginary enemies could he achieve a higher score. He had to surpass Izuku Midoriya by many times over.

The other examinees were also giving it their all. Still, some could not even handle a single imaginary enemy and fled in panic.

That made sense. How many people at this age could face a scene like this? Anyone without great perseverance and determination could only run when faced with imaginary enemies so much larger than themselves.

The world was sometimes unfair, but it was also fair. Everyone's hard work would be rewarded. Sweat would not be shed in vain.

Conversely, those who had not prepared or worked to earn their place could only be eliminated in a situation like this.

As imaginary enemies were defeated one after another, examinees fled in panic, and Katsuki Bakugo charged forward valiantly, the exam was nearing its end.

"Who else is there?!" Katsuki Bakugo stood amid four or five imaginary enemies he had destroyed, sweat blazing hot across his body as he roared wildly.

The surrounding examinees looked at Katsuki Bakugo as though he were a monster. This guy was too insane. He had taken down so many imaginary enemies by himself.

There was no need to think about it. This guy would definitely get into U.A. High School.

Boom!

Just as Katsuki Bakugo roared madly and wanted to keep fighting, a thunderous sound rang out. Not far from everyone, a gigantic imaginary enemy appeared!

This gigantic imaginary enemy was the so-called mechanism in the arena. Present Mic's recommendation when facing it was to run.

"I'd better run from this one..." The moment Katsuki Bakugo saw the gigantic imaginary enemy, his heart sank. What the hell? It's huge. It's as tall as a building. How am I supposed to fight that?

With that thought, he turned and left. He had earned enough points anyway. He was not an idiot; getting injured fighting something this huge here was not a wise choice.