The three friends were teleported to the next test spot. There were an overwhelming amount of teams in the room they were sent to.
"Looks like over 100 people, but nowhere near 200." Uraraka pointed out.
"I guess not everyone was up for teaming up." Keiji said. "Be careful, guys. These people could have unusual powers, or play dirty. Maybe even both. Don't underestimate them." Some teams started fighting amongst themselves. Deku wondered why they didn't remember the rule about not fighting.
"Did you not understand? No fighting during break time." A female voice reprimanded them. They all turned to her, and saw she was wearing a sweater and grey pants. She had blueish-grey hair that was pulled up into a bun."You didn't take my words seriously, did you, regulars?" Deku leaned over to Uraraka and Keiji.
"Who do you think she is?" He asked.
"Probably the…" Keiji started before he was interrupted.
"I'm the test administrator, Kazue Kaba. Before you ask, yes, I am a ranker."
"A ranker? What's that?" Uraraka asked.
"You don't know?" Keiji asked. "Rankers are people who reached the top of the tower. They are assigned a ranking every season in the tower. That's why they are called rankers. Frankly, they're monsters. Their power is immense!"
"Hmm." Deku hummed.
"Now that you've had some time to rest, let's move on to the next test. But first, there will be a little pretest. People who don't pass this test will not be able to take the next test."
"Another elimination round. Alright." Deku said to himself.
"Let's begin." Kaba said. She held her hand up and the glowing water Deku saw in the cage came out of Kaba's hand, pushing people, including himself, back and forming a wall. "I've created a wall of shinsu. Shinsu is everywhere in the tower. It's our air and our water. It is also a powerful weapon when used correctly. Highly concentrated shinsu can break an arm, so it's used by everyone in the tower to fight. There are, however, people who cannot deal well with shinsu and are not appropriate candidates to be in the tower. The teams who can pass through this barrier at least don't have adverse reactions to it, and will pass. The others will fail. Alright, please come through."
"Wait, Teams?" someone asked. "So if these losers don't pass, I can't pass?"
"That is correct." Kaba responded. "Before you claim this is unfair, do you know what the most important factor to you moving up the tower? It's luck." she said. "The luck of having a strong body, or intelligence or riches. The luck of surviving. The luck of saving a teammate. The only reason you got this far, is because you were lucky. Come on then, we don't have all day." Deku looked to his sides. Keiji was there, but Uraraka was nowhere to be seen.
"Sorry, Ms. Kaba...I wasn't pushed back." Deku looked over to the voice and saw Uraraka on the other side of the shinsu wall. "Should I...Should I go back?"
"Erm...no...As I said, luck is very important in this tower, so you must have been very lucky. You pass."
"C'mon, Keiji. Let's try it." Deku said, before walking toward the wall.
"Oh! Sure…" Said Keiji, following him. Kaba walked toward Uraraka.
"So, Ms…"
"Ochako Uraraka." Uraraka responded.
"Uraraka. How about a little bet?"
"A bet?"
"Sure. If you win, I will answer one question you have. If I win, You will answer one question of mine."
"Okay." Uraraka answered.
"I pick the girl with the red sword." Kaba said. Uraraka turned her attention to the girl in question, and saw that the sword was big, possibly bigger than its wielder. The wielder was a small girl with a fierce expression on her face. She had a tattoo on her arm, and she wore a tank top and jeans. She was walking toward the wall, slowly.
"I pick my teammate, the green haired one." Uraraka replied. Deku walked toward the wall, and passed through it at roughly the same time as the sword wielder.
"Ah, it seems to be a tie." Kaba said. "But a tie with a ranker is impressive, so I'll let you ask the question."
"Okay...How do you get out of the tower?" Kaba was mildly shocked by the question.
"That's a tough one...Only because I've never heard of an instance when it's been done. I've made it to the top of the tower, and I've heard stories that even King Zahard has never done it. That's not to say he couldn't, I don't know whether he could. I'm sorry that's the best I can give you."
"It's no problem. I was just...curious." Kaba looked at Uraraka skeptically, but let it go after hearing Deku's voice.
"C'mon, Keiji, you can do it!" Deku said to Keji, who was struggling to get through the wall.
"It looks like your teammate could use some moral support." Kaba said.
"Yeah, Thank you Ms. Kaba!" Uraraka ran to Deku to cheer on Keiji.
"Dammit!" Said Keiji. "I have to get through! If not for myself then for the only two people who were nice to me!"
"I know you can do it, Keiji!" Deku cheered.
"Yeah! You're not as weak as you say!"
"Pathetic," said a man walking up to the barrier. "Weaklings like you shouldn't even be allowed on this floor." The man had a baseball cap on and a katana strapped to his hip. His skin was rather dark and he wasn't all that muscular. His hair was white and he had a slight underbite. "Only chosen ones like me can climb the tower." He said before walking right into the wall of shinsu, not passing through a bit. "What the…?" He tried again with the same result. Keiji barked out a laugh, before pushing with all his might to pass through the wall. His head was bleeding as he pushed his way through the wall alongside the other man. They both got to the other side at the same time.
"Yeah! I did it, guys!" Keiji told his friends.
"I knew you could." Deku high fived Keiji. Ochako smiled and they headed into the next room, right past Kaba.
"I wonder what will happen next with those three?" Kaba said to herself.