Chapter 8: Hell Training and Midnight Heroics
POV: Nova Asahi
All Might's idea of "adequate preparation" turned out to be a form of torture that would have violated several international treaties if applied to prisoners of war.
Five AM came like a sledgehammer to Nova's consciousness, his alarm clock's electronic scream dragging him from dreams of his old life into the reality of his new one. Three hours of sleep after last night's patrol had left him feeling like his skull was stuffed with cotton and broken glass, but the training schedule didn't care about human limitations.
"Beach training: 5 AM to noon. Calisthenics: noon to 2 PM. Rest and recovery: 2 PM to 6 PM. Patrol work: 11 PM to 2 AM. Repeat until death or enlightenment, whichever comes first."
Nova stumbled through his morning routine on autopilot, muscle memory navigating around furniture while his brain tried to process the impossible mathematics of his existence. All Might's training was consuming twelve hours a day. His vigilante work as the Phantom required another three. Sleep, meals, and basic human maintenance took up the remaining nine.
There was no room for error, no buffer for unexpected complications, no margin for the kind of mistakes that normal teenagers were allowed to make. It was optimization pushed to the breaking point, efficiency bought with exhaustion and paid for in blood.
Dagobah Beach at dawn looked like a battlefield prepared for siege. All Might had somehow acquired professional training equipment overnight—weighted sleds, resistance bands, obstacle course materials that transformed their humble garbage dump into something resembling a military conditioning facility.
"Young men!" All Might boomed as they approached, his muscular form silhouetted against the rising sun like a monument to impossible physicality. "I trust you slept well, because today we discover exactly how much punishment your bodies can absorb!"
Izuku arrived thirty seconds after Nova, green hair disheveled and eyes bright with the manic energy of someone running on pure determination. He'd clearly gotten even less sleep, but his notebook was already in hand, pencil poised to document every detail of their impending torment.
The training began with what All Might cheerfully called "warm-up exercises" that would have been considered advanced conditioning at any professional gym. Push-ups with All Might sitting on their backs, sit-ups while holding increasingly heavy objects, squats until their legs turned to jelly and their vision started spotting at the edges.
"Enhanced Reflexes is working overtime just keeping me from collapsing. If I didn't have system support, I'd be unconscious already."
But the real torture came during what All Might termed "evasion practice"—a euphemism for having refrigerators thrown at them while they tried to dodge through increasingly complex obstacle courses.
The first washing machine came without warning, a blur of white metal tumbling end over end toward Nova's head. Enhanced Reflexes triggered automatically, time dilating as his improved perception tracked the projectile's rotation and calculated impact vectors. His body moved like water around the attack, feet finding purchase on sand still warm from yesterday's sun.
[Enhanced Reflexes Level 11 → Level 15]
[Combat Prediction Subskill Unlocked!]
[New Ability: Read attack patterns 0.5 seconds in advance]
Four levels gained in a single morning session. The system rewarded practical application far more generously than pure training, and All Might's "evasion practice" qualified as the most practical application Nova had ever experienced.
By noon, both boys were lying in the sand like beached whales, chests heaving and covered in sweat that had mixed with dirt to form a kind of primitive camouflage. Nova's stats had surged upward through the crucible of professional heroic conditioning.
[STR: 25 → 32]
[AGI: 24 → 30]
[END: 18 → 20]
Seven stat points in a single session. The gains were unprecedented, but so was the cost. Every muscle in Nova's body felt like it had been soaked in acid and set on fire. His Enhanced Reflexes had prevented serious injury, but couldn't eliminate the fundamental exhaustion of pushing teenage physiology beyond its normal limits.
"Excellent work!" All Might declared, apparently immune to concepts like fatigue or human suffering. "Tomorrow we'll add weighted resistance to the evasion drills. Young Midoriya, I noticed some hesitation during the third sequence—remember, heroes don't have the luxury of second-guessing their instincts!"
Izuku nodded weakly, still flat on his back and staring at clouds that moved with jealous freedom through the afternoon sky. "Yes sir. No hesitation. Trust the reflexes."
"If only he knew that enhanced reflexes were an actual system ability instead of a metaphor for training."
The afternoon "rest period" was a cruel joke. Nova's body demanded sleep with the urgency of a drowning man demanding air, but his vigilante patrol schedule meant using these precious hours for system maintenance and Hero Point accumulation.
[Hero Points: 1,847]
So close to the two-thousand threshold for his first real gacha pull. One hundred and fifty-three points away from genuine power instead of the incremental improvements he'd been scraping together through training and minor crimefighting.
That evening's patrol took him through Musutafu's financial district, where white-collar crime and corporate malfeasance created opportunities for more substantial Hero Point gains. The Phantom had developed a reputation among local criminals—not quite fear, but a healthy respect for his efficiency and the certainty that crossing him meant swift, painful consequences.
Tonight's score came in the form of three men attempting to rob a young woman leaving her office building after working late. Corporate lawyers, based on their expensive suits and entitled attitudes, who'd apparently decided that force was an acceptable alternative to negotiation.
Nova watched from a rooftop as they cornered their victim in an alley between buildings, Enhanced Reflexes painting every detail in crystalline clarity. The woman—mid-twenties, exhausted, clutching a briefcase that probably contained her life's work—pressed against brick walls while predators closed in.
"Three targets. Armed with confidence but no visible weapons. Standard intimidation scenario escalating toward assault. Hero Point value: probably fifteen to twenty-five depending on resolution method."
The Phantom dropped from shadows like divine retribution.
His Enhanced Reflexes had reached a level where combat felt almost choreographed—attack patterns visible seconds before they manifested, optimal response paths highlighted in his enhanced perception like video game guide overlays. The first attacker's clumsy grab became an opportunity for a precise joint lock that sent him to the pavement screaming. The second's attempted punch became leverage for a throw that introduced his face to concrete with satisfying finality.
The third man took one look at his unconscious companions and fled into the night.
[Crime Prevented: Attempted Assault]
[Hero Points Earned: +23]
[Phantom Reputation: Enhanced]
[Total Hero Points: 1,870]
Still one hundred and thirty points short. But close enough that Nova could taste possibility on his tongue like copper pennies.
The woman thanked him with tears in her eyes and a promise to "pay it forward" that made his chest tight with complicated emotions. This was why he did this—not for the points, not for the system progression, but for the real human faces behind the abstract mathematics of heroism.
But tonight, mathematics won. Nova returned to his apartment at 2:30 AM, body screaming for rest, and made a decision that would define the next phase of his impossible existence.
"One more. Just one more intervention before sleep. Domestic violence call came over the police scanner twenty minutes ago—probably still ongoing. Should be worth at least thirty points if I can resolve it without casualties."
The apartment complex sat in Musutafu's industrial district like a concrete monument to urban decay. Third floor, unit 3B, where screaming voices and the sound of breaking furniture painted an ugly picture of family dissolution. Nova's Enhanced Reflexes let him navigate the fire escape without sound, position himself outside windows that glowed with harsh fluorescent light.
Inside, a man with alcohol on his breath and violence in his hands cornered a woman who'd clearly been living with this terror for far too long. Nova didn't hesitate.
The window shattered inward as the Phantom came through glass and curtains like an avatar of protective fury. Enhanced Reflexes turned the man's drunken swings into opportunities for precise counterattacks that left him unconscious on his own kitchen floor.
[Domestic Violence Prevented]
[Civilian Life Saved]
[Hero Points Earned: +35]
[MILESTONE REACHED: 2000+ Hero Points Accumulated!]
[Premium Gacha Roll Now Available!]
[Additional Milestone Bonus: 10-Pull Standard Roll Unlocked!]
Nova's hands shook as he helped the woman contact emergency services, adrenaline and sleep deprivation combining with the electric thrill of finally, finally reaching the threshold he'd been grinding toward for months.
"Two thousand Hero Points. A ten-pull roll with guaranteed higher-tier rewards. This changes everything."
His apartment had never felt smaller than it did at 3:45 AM, walls pressing close as Nova stared at the gacha interface with the desperate intensity of a gambling addict facing their last roll. Ten pulls. Ten chances at abilities that could transform him from street-level vigilante into something approaching legitimate hero material.
[PREMIUM 10-PULL ACTIVATED]
[HERO POINTS: 2005 → 5]
[COMMENCING ROLL SEQUENCE...]
The animation was more elaborate than his simple daily rolls—colors swirling in complex patterns, rarity indicators pulsing with promise. Nova held his breath as each result materialized:
[MINOR STRENGTH BOOST (COMMON)]
[ENHANCED HEARING (COMMON)]
[NIGHT VISION (COMMON)]
[THERMAL RESISTANCE (COMMON)]
[MINOR SPEED BOOST (COMMON)]
[ENHANCED STAMINA (COMMON)]
[IRON GRIP (COMMON)]
[MINOR REGENERATION (UNCOMMON)]
[STEEL SKIN (UNCOMMON)]
[EXPLOSION SEEDS (RARE)]
Nova's vision blurred as he processed the cascade of new abilities flooding his system. Nine total quirks, with two uncommon-tier powers and one genuine rare-tier ability. His MP pool expanded to accommodate the new options, interface updating with loading bars and activation costs.
But it was the rare-tier pull that made his heart stop entirely.
[EXPLOSION SEEDS (RARE)]
[DESCRIPTION: User can create and detonate small explosive orbs]
[DAMAGE: High - Scales with user level and MP investment]
[MP COST: 30 per seed]
[COOLDOWN: None]
[WARNING: Extremely conspicuous - public use not recommended]
"Explosion quirk. I just rolled an explosion quirk. Bakugo's signature ability sitting in my inventory like it's the most natural thing in the world."
Nova stared at his palm as the first Explosion Seed materialized—a small sphere that pulsed with barely contained energy. It felt warm against his skin, alive with potential violence that made his Enhanced Reflexes scream danger warnings.
He needed to test this. Needed to understand what he was dealing with before exhaustion claimed him entirely.
The abandoned lot behind his apartment complex was perfect for experiments—concrete and rubble, no civilians in blast radius, industrial noise to mask explosions. Nova crept through darkness like a thief stealing into his own laboratory.
The first Explosion Seed hit the ground with a sound like the world ending.
Light blazed across the lot in a miniature sun, followed by a shockwave that knocked Nova backward and left his ears ringing like cathedral bells. Concrete cracked in spider web patterns radiating from ground zero, debris raining down like apocalyptic hail.
"Jesus fucking Christ. That was one seed at minimum power. What happens if I channel more MP into it? What happens if I throw multiple seeds simultaneously?"
Police sirens wailed in the distance, drawn by reports of "mysterious explosions" in the industrial district. Nova scrambled to escape, singed clothes and ringing ears testament to his brief experiment with weapons-grade quirk power.
[Explosion Seeds: Level 1]
[WARNING: Power currently unstable - recommend controlled training environment]
[SUGGESTION: Practice in isolation until proper control achieved]
The system's advice came too late, but Nova was already laughing as he fled through back alleys toward his apartment. Hysterical, exhausted laughter that contained equal parts terror and exhilaration.
"Ten months until UA entrance exam. Ten quirks now active. Enhanced Reflexes, Minor Regeneration, Steel Skin, and enough firepower to level a city block if I'm not careful."
He made it back to his apartment at 4:15 AM, just enough time for forty-five minutes of sleep before All Might's training resumed. As consciousness faded into dreams of explosion and possibility, Nova's last coherent thought was a prayer to whatever gods governed fictional worlds:
"Please let me survive long enough to use these powers for something worthwhile."
The alarm clock's scream came like judgment day, but Nova rose to meet it with abilities that could reshape the fate of heroes.
Whether that reshaping would save the world or destroy it remained to be seen.
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