"The top 42 from the preliminaries have advanced!! Although it's unfortunate, those who were eliminated shouldn't be discouraged. The school has prepared other stages for you to showcase your talents!"
"Next is the official competition. The media will go crazy over your performances, so do your best!"
After the preliminaries: Obstacle Race, the official competition began. Under the students' nervous gazes, Midnight pointed to the screen in the arena, revealing the second event!
"Cavalry Battle!"
The students were surprised. Although Cavalry Battle is common in Japanese school sports festivals, they didn't expect it to be part of the U.A. Sports Festival.
"Now, listen to the rules. Participants can form teams of 2 to 4 people to create a 'horse.' The rules are similar to the usual Cavalry Battle, but with one difference..."
"Each participant will be given points based on their ranking in the previous event!"
As Midnight explained the rules, the students whispered among themselves.
"In other words, the points of the 'horse' will vary depending on the team members!"
"Hey, you guys! Don't interrupt while the teacher is explaining!!"
An angry Midnight silenced the students and continued with the most crucial part:
"But you're right! The last place gets 5 points, and each higher rank adds 5 points. The most important thing is..."
"The first place will be given 10 million points!"
As soon as Midnight finished speaking, Midoriya Izuku felt the murderous intent in the air, all directed at him!
"10 million points!"
Like wolves eyeing a tasty prey, everyone stared at Midoriya, making him break out in a cold sweat!
Without a doubt, Midoriya would be the target of everyone in the Cavalry Battle!
"The time limit is 15 minutes. The total points assigned to the students will be the points of the 'horse.' The rider must wear a headband showing the horse's points..."
"The most important thing is, even if your headband is taken or your horse breaks apart, you won't be eliminated!"
"This will be a fierce battle where you can use your Quirks, but malicious attacks aimed at breaking the horse formation will result in a red card and immediate disqualification!"
Midnight finished explaining the rules in one breath and added one last thing:
"You have 15 minutes to form your teams. The countdown starts now!"
After the rules for the second event were explained, the students quickly mobilized to find strong teammates!
"Midoriya! Team up with me!!"
Before Midoriya Izuku could look for teammates, someone approached him. It was no surprise! It was the girls from Class A, Takeyama Urei and Uraraka Ochako!
Takeyama Urei, pulling Ochako along, immediately expressed her intention to team up with Midoriya, making him very grateful!
"Great, with you we'll have a big advantage in the Cavalry Battle!"
While Midoriya was feeling grateful, another person approached him.
"Midoriya, team up with me!"
It was Shinso Hitoshi. In the first Obstacle Race, he barely made it to 38th place, but he actively sought out Midoriya for the Cavalry Battle.
"Shinso, I'm going to be the target in this round!"
"That's exactly why I want to use your situation!"
Midoriya couldn't understand, but Shinso Hitoshi, with a sly smile, explained his plan!
"I told you, I want to turn this sports festival upside down!"
"You mean!!"
Shinso's dangerous words made Midoriya a bit scared. He clearly wanted to stir up some big news!
"Now we have a team of four!"
Uraraka Ochako counted the people. There was her, Takeyama-san, Shinso who just joined, and Midoriya Izuku, making four people in total!
"Huh? Where's Hatsume Mei?!"
Noticing that the trouble-loving Hatsume Mei wasn't there, Midoriya was curious. Did she change her ways?!
"Midoriya-chan, I'm here!"
Hatsume Mei was standing behind them, making Midoriya feel a headache. With this setup, Hatsume Mei was definitely going to cause some trouble!
"Although I really wanted to team up with you, I got eliminated in the preliminaries!"
"What?!"
Midoriya was shocked, and so were Takeyama Urei and Ochako. Hatsume Mei had easily passed the obstacles, how could she be eliminated?
"Of course, I lost on purpose because... Midoriya-chan, your goal is to win, right?"
"Yes, that's right!"
Midoriya Izuku answered Hatsume Mei decisively. His goal from the start was to win the championship!
"So next, I'll let you use my babies! Shine brightly in the most dazzling position!!"
The rules of the U.A. sports festival allowed support course students to bring equipment, but the quantity had to be registered. If there were no limits, support course students could use various equipment in the competition, which would be very unfair to other students.
So... there was a loophole in this sports festival. The equipment Midoriya Izuku used was Hatsume Mei's, so her equipment was registered for two people. The homeroom teacher "Power Loader" explained this, and the school agreed.
Hatsume Mei's purpose in losing the first obstacle race was clear: to transfer all her equipment to Midoriya Izuku, giving him a better chance to win!
"Hatsume Mei, thank you! You've helped me so much!!"
Tears flowed uncontrollably from Midoriya Izuku's eyes, his family trait of crying like a faucet kicking in!
"You're welcome! We've known each other for so long!"
Hatsume Mei made an OK gesture, while the other two girls puffed up their cheeks in anger, feeling inexplicably annoyed!
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Outside the sports arena, two pro heroes, Kamui Woods and Mount Lady, were resting in the lounge after patrolling. They saw the sports festival broadcast on TV and started chatting.
"To survive in this era full of hero agencies, you sometimes have to show off and tear down other heroes, just like that obstacle race."
"Speaking of which, I remember something that makes me feel guilty—"
"You!!"
Mount Lady's reminiscing made Kamui Woods very unhappy. A year ago, when he was about to capture a villain, Mount Lady kicked the villain away and destroyed a building in the process.
"But now I know who that girl likes!!"
From the obstacle race, where Takeyama Urei helped Midoriya Izuku get first place, Mountain Lady saw everything and couldn't help but laugh evilly!
"As her big sister, I definitely need to check him out!!"
Kamui Woods, standing next to her, broke into a cold sweat. He knew his partner's personality and was really worried about that green-haired boy.
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