"Ohohohoho~~! Midoriya-kun, are you really going to fight like this?"
"I'm not responsible if you get hurt~!"
Kenranzaki laughed in her exaggerated way. Her creation, the "Kenran Number One," had a dazzling look and powerful strength, perfectly showcasing her title of "Queen of Glamor."
"No worries. If things get out of hand, I'll surrender right away."
Midoriya Izuku, ever straightforward, was here to test the practicality of his new armor and had no intention of forcing a win.
"Then let's get started~! Go, my magnificent 'Kenran Number One'!"
At Kenranzaki's command, the "Shining Number One" transformed into a tank-like robot. The lower half resembled a tank, while the upper half had a robotic form resembling Kenranzaki.
"Please take care of me!"
Midoriya put on his helmet, and the mechanical components automatically locked into place, activating the system. The external view displayed before him, with all armor functions on either side of his vision. He could trigger them by voice or by pressing the relevant controls directly.
"Get him, 'Kenran Number One'!"
The test battle began, and Kenranzaki wasted no time, giving her machine straightforward commands to capture Midoriya Izuku.
In robot mode, the "Shining Number One" was nearly ten meters tall, and its mechanical arm reached toward Midoriya with twice the speed of "Target Zero."
Though Midoriya was surprised by the flashy robot's speed, he reacted quickly, activating the rocket pack function on his armor's back.
Midoriya Izuku's figure lifted off the ground. This time, his mechanical armor was equipped with a sufficient power source, and the rocket pack had enough thrust to keep him airborne for a while.
"Hahaha~~! Do you think flying will save you?~~!"
With an exaggerated laugh from Kenranzaki, the mechanical arm of "Brilliant No. 1" extended, aiming straight at Midoriya Izuku in the air.
"It has this function too?!"
Midoriya, startled by the suddenly elongated arm, quickly activated the thrusters on his arm, rapidly changing position mid-air and barely avoiding the mechanical arm's grasp.
"Hahaha~! Just running away won't work, Midoriya-kun~!!"
Following Kenranzaki's command, the arm of "Brilliant No. 1" sped up again, reaching for Midoriya Izuku. This time, it was too fast for him to dodge.
"The speed is much faster than 'Dummy Target No. 0'..."
The "Kenran No. 1" truly lived up to being one of Kenranzaki's remarkable creations, with its speed rivaling Midoriya's evasive maneuvers in the air. But he wasn't out of options just yet.
Activating the leg armor's function, Midoriya aimed the external part on his thigh at the head of "Brilliant No. 1" and fired two steel cables that wrapped around it. Then, he quickly reeled them in.
Using his skill with steel cables, Midoriya had incorporated this function into his leg armor, allowing him to change his position mid-air while generating enough force for a powerful impact. With the boost from the rocket pack and the force of the cables, the heel of Midoriya's leg armor transformed into a sharp steel spike.
Harnessing the recoil from the cables and the thrust of the rocket pack, Midoriya delivered a powerful kick to the robot's head. He guessed that since "Kenran No. 1," built by Kenranzaki-senpai, had such a large head, its core must be located there.
However... it did absolutely nothing...
The mechanical arm of "Kenr No. 1" swung back to grab him. Surprised, Midoriya performed a leap of faith, plummeting toward the ground. Just before impact, the chest thrusters on his armor fired, drastically reducing his falling speed, and he landed safely with a tactical roll.
After landing, Midoriya Izuku quickly ran to put distance between himself and "Kenran No. 1," or he'd be flattened by its tank treads.
"D-Damn it! My gorgeous and beautiful 'Kenran No. 1'!!"
Kenranzaki felt a pang for her robot. Although Midoriya's kick hadn't caused serious damage, it had left a gaping hole on the robot's exterior, marring its appearance.
Glaring at the culprit who had just landed, Kenranzaki shouted, her face darkened with anger:
"Midoriya-kun…!!!"
"Wait, I surrender! I give up!!"
Seeing the hole on "Kenran No. 1's" face and Kenranzaki's ominous look, Midoriya knew exactly what was going on—only an idiot wouldn't. If he didn't back down now, when would he?!
"It's too late, 'Kenran No. 1'! Activate battle mode!!"
With a face full of fury, Kenranzaki commanded, and the robot transformed once more. The mouth of "Kenran No. 1," styled like Kenranzaki's, opened wide, revealing a dark cannon muzzle. Its eyes opened as well, white laser beams gathering and focusing within.
"Aizawa-sensei, please save me!!"
Seeing "Kenran No. 1" in full attack mode, Midoriya Izuku immediately called for help from Aizawa-sensei, who was acting as the judge. Aizawa Shouta, realizing things were getting out of hand, was about to intervene.
"No one's going to die. The ammo on my 'Kenran No. 1' is the same as the landmines from the sports festival prelims, and the laser only reacts with metal. It won't even break skin."
"This is a combat test, so it won't do if only my 'Kenran No. 1' gets damaged, right, Aizawa-sensei?"
Seeing Kenranzaki's intense expression, Aizawa Shouta sighed, coughed, and announced:
"Midoriya, face off against Kenranzaki..."
"No way!!"
Midoriya Izuku looked completely stunned, and just then, "Kenran No. 1" aimed a laser straight at him.
The jet in Midoriya's chest armor barely managed to dodge the beam, but some unlucky support department students behind him got hit—"Kenran No. 1" had a wide laser range.
"Ah—my 'Titanium Gauntlets!'"
Midoriya glanced over to see a student from the support department sobbing, clutching his now-split gauntlet that had been sliced by the laser.
"Getting hit by the laser is not an option!"
Midoriya thought, feeling tense. Just one hit from that laser would have wrecked his new gear, and "Kenran No. 1" wasn't done yet. The cannon barrel was pointed directly at him, ready to fire.
With his rocket pack, Midoriya Izuku shot up into the air, just as a massive explosion erupted where he had been standing, loud enough to scare anyone nearby.
"Oh ho ho ho ho~~! There's nowhere to run in the air!!"
Kenranzaki laughed in an exaggerated, three-part laugh, as "Kenran No. 1" prepared to fire its second laser. One wrong move, and Midoriya would be hit.
"This time, Midoriya's really in trouble..."
"This probably isn't because we jinxed him, right..."
Ochako's exclamation made Takeyama Urei feel a little awkward; they had been saying from the start that Midoriya would run into trouble.
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