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---
'It's not just a coincidence,' I thought as I braced my core before trying to pull the reinforced steel bar down to me. Of course, the inch-thick bar embedded two feet into solid concrete on both sides didn't budge as I pulled myself off the ground until my chin was over the bar, 'My strength is improving too rapidly for my quirk not to be involved.'
Slowly, I lowered myself back down, emphasizing the exercise's negative load, which was more straining than pulling myself up. When I finished the rep, I pulled myself up again, moving slowly as I focused on proper form and engaging the muscles I wanted to strengthen.
After four more reps, I dropped back to the floor and breathed out a sigh of relief as I undid the belt around my waist. With a thud, I dropped the extra 45 kg of weight onto the floor before stepping back from the bar.
It was hard to believe that it wasn't even lunch after everything that had happened. After our morning classes, each lasting an hour and fifteen minutes, Aizawa took us all to the gym, an Olympic-sized state-of-the-art weight training facility cast out of solid concrete and steel in a brutalist style.
However, the choice of materials turned out to be a necessity rather than a stylistic approach, as I watched Sato and Shoji warm up on the squat rack with a literal ton. The gym wasn't made for everyday people but for heroes, who could carry entire buildings on their backs and throw boulders like pebbles.
But even people without strength or body-enhancing quirks could reach almost superhuman levels with dedicated training. It was something many scientists had studied, and while there was no concrete proof, the leading theory was that as quirks grew and developed, so did the user's body in an attempt to keep up with the strain of usage.
In addition to the reinforced equipment and facilities, Aizawa had given each of us a slim metal wristband. After a brief calibration period, the biomonitor would spit out a training regiment along with instructions, and while it wasn't confirmed, I had a sneaking suspicion that the biomonitor factored in quirks as well.
My theory was heavily supported by the fact that Ida was doing weighted sprints and Ojiro was curling a barbell with his tail. At the same time, Tsu had worked almost exclusively on her legs, displaying impressive strength from someone her size.
Those whose quirks couldn't be improved by specific physical exercises were given a more diverse selection for overall strength, endurance, and growth. For the first half of the condition, I thought I had fallen into that category, but I eventually noticed a trend for every exercise the biomonitor assigned me. For each movement, I was explicitly told to pause or hold midway through or at the end before completing the rep.
While Isometric training was nothing new to me, doing it on every single rep of every exercise was draining in far more ways than I had anticipated. And while it could have been a coincidence, I was starting to believe there was no such thing, 'What did the Biomonitor see after it scanned my body...I really need to go back to the doctor and ask him to scan my muscle tissue.'
Needless to say, by lunchtime, no one was in a talking mood, as we had all worked up an appetite from the grueling physical training.
"I can't believe we still have Hero Studies after this," Kaminari bemoaned.
"Shut up," Sato replied gruffly as he shoveled food into his mouth with a shaking hand, "I just hope they go easy on us for our first day."
---
"I AM HERE!"
'What the fuck,' I thought as I stared at the walking mountain of muscle that was the no. 1 Hero burst through the door of our homeroom with a booming announcement.
We had only been waiting a few minutes after lunch with instructions that our teacher would be coming along shortly. But judging from the screams of shock and surprise that rose into the air, no one dared to imagine All Might would be our teacher.
"THAT'S RIGHT, AS OF TODAY, I AM NOW A TEACHER AT UA UNIVERSITY!" All Might shouted, his voice booming so loud it made the windows rattle, "NOW WHO'S EXCITED FOR HERO STUDIES!"
The previously down-and-trodden class cheered, almost jumping out of their seat, which made All Might's grin broaden, "PERFECT, TODAY WE'RE GOING TO RUNNING A SIMULATION IN BATTLE GROUND A, BUT FIRST ALL OF YOU NEED TO HEAD TO THE LOCKER ROOMS WHERE YOUR HERO COSTUMES ARE PREPED AND WAITING FOR YOU!"
The level of excitement in the room reached an entirely new level, and I couldn't help but feel my own eagerness soar, 'Let's just hope they got my size adjustments.'
---
"Oh man, it's even better in person!" Kaminari exclaimed as he inspected his costume in the mirror, which consisted of a plain white shirt underneath an open black jacket with a white lightning pattern across his back. The jacket matched his pants, with two lines running down his legs, brown shoes, and a single, square-shaped earphone over his right ear with a radio antenna sticking out of the top, "Even with the shitty concept drawing I gave them, they were able to go above and beyond!"
Everyone else in the locker room expressed similar levels of satisfaction with their costumes, which ranged from purely cosmetic, such as Ojiro's, which was essentially just a decorated karate gi, to functional Ida's costume, which was designed to be as aerodynamic as possible despite its knightly appearance.
My costume was purely cosmetic at the moment, offering little protection or utility until I could increase my flux reserves. The main piece was a thick, long, heavy trench coat-like cloak cut from a single piece of black cloth. The large collar flipped up to cover my neck. The bulky sleeveless coat had jagged edges as if someone had taken a pair of scissors to it when cutting open in the front, revealing my bare torso underneath.
In addition to my cloak, I wore black cargo pants, black steel-toed combat boots, and an eye mask textured with a hexagonal pattern and shaped like something a noble would wear to a masquerade ball.
While the design had been finalized, the number of changes I would implement after increasing my flux grew by the day, but for now, I was content with the fact that everything fit me correctly.
After everyone had changed, we walked to Battleground A, which turned out to be the same faux city where I had my exam. Waiting for us was All Might and the girls, who seemed as if they had changed significantly faster than the rest of us.
"I better never hear you guys complain about your girlfriends taking too long to get ready," Mina shouted mockingly, making some guys cough bashfully, "We've been waiting for hours!"
I strode forward with a grin before flipping my hair over my shoulder flamboyantly, "You think all this just happens naturally?"
Mina opened her mouth to reply, but then I saw her eyes drag down my naked chest all the way to my V-line before her gaze shot back up to mine with an unashamed grin, "I guess some things are worth waiting for."
"Couldn't say it better myself," I agreed as I looked over her outfit, consisting of a plain white mask with thin lines over her eyes and a purple and turquoise skin-tight bodysuit with a camouflage pattern ending just above her breasts. Over this, Mina wore an unbuttoned cropped, sleeveless, tan-colored waistcoat with white fur along its collar. To complete her costume, Mina wore a pair of plum violet and beige boots.
Mina grinned knowingly, but before we could continue our witty banter, All Might called out to us, "Perfect, now that everyone is here, HERO STUDIES CAN OFFICIALLY BEGIN!"
All Might then pointed a finger at the building behind him, "TODAY WE WILL BE RUNNING A SIMULATION. INSIDE THAT BUILDING IS A MOCK BOMB. YOU WILL BE SPLIT INTO TWO PAIRS. ONE PAIR WILL BE VILLAINS TASKED WITH HIDING THE BOMB AND PREVENTING THE HEROES FROM REACHING IT BEFORE THE TIME ELAPSES. THE OTHER PAIR WILL BE HEROES YOUR JOB IS TO REACH THE BOMB AND DISARM IT BY TOUCHING IT. ALTERNATIVELY, EITHER TEAM CAN WIN BY CAPTURING THEIR OPPONENTS WITH THE PROVIDED RESTRAINTS. ANY QUESTIONS?"
When no one said anything, All Might grinned, "ALRIGHTY THEN, THE FIRST ROUND WILL CONSIST OF BAKUGO AND IDA AS THE VILLIANS AND ATOMA AND MIDORIYA AS THE HERO'S. VILLAIN TEAM, YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO PREPARE BEFORE THE HERO TEAM BEGINS THEIR OPERATION. AND WHILE THIS IS A SIMULATION, I SUGGEST THAT YOU GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT! BUT TRY NOT TO MAIM YOUR FELLOW CLASSMATES."
At All Might's announcement, the class fell silent as four sets of eyes found each other. Bakugo glared at Midoriya while a massive grin stretched across my face as I locked onto Ida, 'Oh, this day keeps on getting better and better.'