Chapter 26: Race for Second Place

"Begin!"

With a snap of her whip, Midnight began the race, and chaos ensued as nearly two hundred students attempted to force their way through the narrow tunnel leading outside the stadium.

With a small chuckle, I crouched into a ready stance, several nearby students hurriedly backing away as arcs of green lightning began to ripple across my body.

One for All, Full Cowling, eight percent.

The familiar rush of One for All coursing through me was exhilarating, and I grinned broadly at the lack of discomfort I would normally be forced to deal with at eight percent.

I'm getting stronger.

Sparing no more time for pride, I launched from the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt and rocketing through the entrance tunnel. Flying over Todoroki just as he unleashed his ice attack on the condensed students behind him, I flicked a quick two fingered salute as he stared wide-eyed up at me. Not looking back to see any further reaction, I broke into a sprint once I hit the ground.

Within moments, I reached a massive open area the size of several football fields. At the other end of the clearing a robotic army was arrayed, led by seven of the towering zero point robots. Their red eyes flared to life at my arrival and I dashed forward once more, darting between the various machines as they struggled to track my movements.

They're even slower than in the entrance exam. Probably so that the non-hero students can deal with them as well. These things aren't even worth the time to punch.

Quickly passing by the lumbering machines, I covered the short distance to the ravine in a matter of seconds. Looking down into the abyss below, I scoffed lightly before channeling ten percent into my legs and launching myself nearly halfway across the chasm to one of the islands. Just as I leapt to cover the remaining distance, a loud rumble sounded from behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I narrowed my eyes at the cloud of dust that had been kicked up.

That would be Todoroki taking down one of the big guys, if I had to guess.

Making my way towards the landmines, a frown etched itself across my features as I considered the three primary obstacles. While there had been a handful of aerial nets and projectile defenses in between the three, it would still have been rather easy for a capable individual in possession of a flying quirk.

Hado would probably be ahead of me at this point. Unless there's some hidden defenses that only activate if someone is actually flying, not just jumping like me, this course is pretty tame. Maybe they took into account that our year has no serious flying quirks. I mused idly as I continued my leisurely stroll.

Finally arriving at the minefield, I channeled ten percent and jumped, flying over much of the obstacle in a single leap. Rather than attempt to land in between mines, I reoriented myself in midair and threw a punch, propelling myself forward like a bullet and covering most of the distance to the finish line.

A few seconds later, I emerged on the other side of the end tunnel.

While I didn't particularly care whether or not I was applauded, it was nevertheless somewhat puzzling when my arrival was met with rather restrained celebration. Looking over my shoulder at the nearest spectators sitting above the tunnel, I found most either whispering amongst themselves or staring back at me slack-jawed.

The surprise quickly wore off and the noise began to rise to uncomfortable levels. A mixture of applause, bemused exclamations, and flabbergasted curses washed over me before the speaker system buzzed to life.

"Holy shit… Ow! Don't hit me, Shota!"

After a brief moment of rustling and unintelligible sounds, the system cut out, reactivating a moment later.

"Izuku Midoriya is the winner, with a record time of four minutes and twenty seconds. If that exact timing was on purpose, Midoriya, you have detention for a month." Aizawa's toneless yet somehow condemnatory voice sounded over the speakers.

I waved my hands frantically to try and convey my innocence, but regardless of whether or not Aizawa believed me, Present Mic was quick to reassert himself as the lead broadcaster.

"Well, now that that threat of judicial punishment is out of the way… Izuku Midoriya is our winner!" The voice hero declared loudly, reinvigorating the applause.

Taking a moment to wave to the crowd and catch my breath, I looked at the screens above to find that Todoroki had only just arrived at the far end of the ravine. Roughly the halfway point in terms of distance.

Once the crowd returned their attention to the ongoing race, I walked over to the central stage. After returning Midnight's flirtatious wink with one of my own, I took a seat on the uppermost stair and began to review my plans for the second round.

Time for the cavalry battle.

Author's Note:
Second shortest chapter so far, but no matter how you do the math or what you consider All Might's power to be (relative to the average human), at eight percent I'm covering four kilometers (~2.5 miles, the length of the course) in like a minute (if that) at a dead sprint. Now obviously there's plenty of obstacles in the way, but even so, this race isn't close. It isn't even close to being close. I trust that won't be controversial.