Chapter 16: The Entrance Exam - Part 3
POV: Nova Asahi
Time fractured into crystalline moments as Nova's Combat Precognition showed him the mathematics of disaster. The zero-pointer's massive arm swept toward Uraraka in a slow-motion arc of destruction, concrete and steel debris raining around her frozen form like apocalyptic hail. She clutched her twisted ankle with tears streaming down her face, brave enough to face robots but overwhelmed by mechanical devastation on this impossible scale.
"Impact in 2.3 seconds. She can't move fast enough. Distance to target: fifteen meters. Air Hop can cover that in one leap if I don't hesitate."
Nova launched himself from the rooftop without conscious thought, Enhanced Reflexes carrying him through falling debris with fluid precision. His arms wrapped around Uraraka's waist as his feet hit the ground, Air Hop's double-jump capability activating immediately to carry them both backward as the zero-pointer's arm obliterated the space where she'd been standing.
They hit the pavement hard, Nova's body absorbing most of the impact as concrete exploded behind them in a shower of dust and destruction. Uraraka gasped something that might have been gratitude, but Nova was already scanning for the next crisis.
"Two more students trapped in the rubble field. Boy with a mutation quirk—looks like some kind of lizard features—and a girl with short purple hair. The zero-pointer's advance will crush them in thirty seconds if no one intervenes."
"Stay here!" Nova shouted to Uraraka, his voice carrying over the mechanical thunder of the approaching colossus. "Get to the evacuation zone!"
He sprinted toward the trapped students, Steel Skin activating as debris continued to rain from the robot's passage. A chunk of concrete the size of a refrigerator bounced off his reinforced shoulder, the impact jarring but not crippling. Minor Regeneration worked overtime to heal the constant stream of cuts and bruises from smaller debris.
The boy—Nova could see his reptilian features more clearly now—was pinned beneath a steel beam that had fallen during the zero-pointer's initial emergence. The girl was conscious but trapped under a pile of rubble that would take precious minutes to clear by hand. Thirty seconds until the mechanical giant's foot completed its step and turned them both into paste.
"I need help. Can't clear this alone in time."
Nova's enhanced hearing picked up footsteps approaching through the chaos, and he turned to see Ibara Shiozaki running toward them with determination blazing in her green eyes.
"Shiozaki!" Nova bellowed, using Explosion Seeds to blast away the largest pieces of debris while activating his full strength. "Vines—pull them out when I lift!"
Ibara's reaction was immediate and perfect. Thick vines erupted from cracks in the concrete, snaking through the rubble with botanical precision to wrap around both trapped students. Nova gripped the steel beam pinning the boy and felt his enhanced strength surge—fifty points of STR focused into a single desperate effort.
The beam lifted with a grinding screech of protesting metal. Ibara's vines yanked both students free of the collapse zone just as Nova's strength gave out and the beam crashed back down. They had maybe ten seconds before the zero-pointer's foot completed its devastating descent.
"MOVE! EVERYONE MOVE!"
Nova grabbed the injured boy while Ibara supported the girl, both of them sprinting toward the evacuation zone with superhuman desperation. Behind them, the zero-pointer's foot hit the ground with the force of a controlled demolition, turning their former position into a crater of twisted metal and pulverized concrete.
They reached the safe zone as Present Mic's voice boomed across the battlefield: "TIME!"
The zero-pointer deactivated mid-step, its massive frame freezing like a statue of mechanical destruction. Emergency sirens wailed as medical personnel rushed forward to treat injured examinees, and Nova finally allowed himself to collapse onto a convenient piece of rubble.
[EXAM COMPLETE]
[CALCULATING FINAL SCORES...]
[VILLAIN POINTS: 45]
[RESCUE POINTS AWARDED:]
[Uraraka Rescue: +20 Points]
[Coordinated Rubble Rescue: +30 Points]
[Tactical Assistance to Other Examinees: +15 Points]
[TOTAL RESCUE POINTS: 65]
[FINAL SCORE: 110 POINTS]
[QUEST COMPLETE: UA Entrance Exam]
[REWARDS: 2000 Hero Points, +10 All Stats, Rare Quirk Selector Unlocked]
[LEVEL UP: 18 → 20]
[NEW TITLE EARNED: "Rising Star"]
[TITLE EFFECTS: +5 All Stats, +10% Reputation Gains]
Nova stared at the cascade of notifications with exhaustion-dulled amazement. One hundred and ten total points. He'd not only passed the exam but apparently dominated it through a combination of tactical combat effectiveness and heroic character demonstration.
"Forty-five villain points puts me in the top quarter of applicants. Sixty-five rescue points... that might be enough to place in the top ten overall."
Uraraka limped over to where he sat, supported by a medical assistant but insisting on thanking him personally. "You saved my life," she said simply, brown eyes bright with gratitude and wonder. "I was so scared, and you just... you didn't hesitate."
"That's what heroes do," Nova replied, meaning every word despite the complexity of his situation. "We protect people. Everything else is just details."
The bus ride back to UA's main campus passed in a blur of exhausted conversation and text message exchanges. Nova's phone buzzed constantly with messages from students he'd helped during the exam:
"Thank you for the assist with that 3-pointer! - Ibara"
"Couldn't have made it without your smoke cover! - Anonymous"
"That tactical advice about weak points saved my exam! - Anonymous"
Each message felt like validation that his approach had been correct. He'd demonstrated combat capability without revealing impossible power levels, shown heroic character through rescue prioritization, and helped others succeed instead of hoarding all the glory for himself.
"This is what UA wants to see. Not just strength, but the wisdom to use that strength for others."
Bakugo glared at him from across the bus aisle, red eyes burning with competitive fire that somehow managed to look approving despite the aggressive intensity. Nova caught his eye and received a sharp nod that translated roughly to: "Good work, but I still scored higher."
"Probably true. Kacchan definitely broke seventy villain points with his overwhelming force strategy. But I bet his rescue points were lower."
The setting sun painted UA's gates in shades of gold and possibility as their bus pulled through the entrance. Nova felt bone-deep exhaustion settling into his muscles—the natural consequence of pushing enhanced abilities to their limits while maintaining emotional control under extreme pressure.
But beneath the fatigue lay something that felt suspiciously like contentment. For ten months, he'd wondered whether borrowed power could create genuine heroism. Today had answered that question decisively.
"I saved people. Real people, with real lives and real families who were counting on them to come home safely. Whatever the system is, whatever I really am, I used these abilities for something worthwhile."
His phone buzzed one final time as the bus pulled to a stop. A message from an unknown number: "Congratulations on your performance today. We look forward to working with you. - UA Admissions."
Nova smiled and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as relief washed over him like warm sunlight. Three weeks until the acceptance letters arrived, but he already knew the results.
Nova Asahi was going to be a hero.
The only question now was whether he could keep his impossible secrets long enough to deserve the title.
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