"Begin!"
With Midnight's shout, the gates swung open, and at the same time, a wave of students surged forward. Among them was Yoru.
As he passed through the gate, he saw a path of ice that froze the feet of the students at the front, but for Yoru, this was not a problem.
The ice obeyed him. He ran across the frozen path, staying just a bit behind Todoroki.
Todoroki glanced back, his eyes meeting Yoru's, who simply gave a slight nod before pointing forward again.
Looking ahead, Todoroki stopped, seeing a massive robot blocking the way.
Yoru kept advancing. The first Zero-Pointer robot lifted its leg and slammed it down with immense force, shaking the ground completely and causing some to lose their balance.
Yoru jumped onto the robot's leg, and upon touching it, he created a small ice platform. From there, he leapt again and again, scaling the machine until he reached its head, where he saw a dozen more robots waiting ahead.
Without wasting a second, Yoru ran and jumped to a nearby robot, landing on its metallic shoulder. Using the momentum, he launched himself to another, and then to another, finally landing back on solid ground, leaving the giant robots behind and taking the lead.
"Wow! Look at that student! He bypassed the robots with nothing but pure skill and parkour!" Present Mic exclaimed excitedly. "Now he's taking the lead in the race! But what's this? It looks like Todoroki isn't far behind!"
The crowd in the stands, watching the race, roared with excitement as the white-haired boy and the two-toned haired one surged ahead, immediately capturing the attention of much of the audience and the watching heroes.
"Not bad," muttered Shinso, who had seen the incredible agility his friend possessed. "Walk faster," he ordered, using his Quirk on a group of students to carry him forward.
Yoru came to a halt before a massive pit where the only path consisted of steel cables stretched between earthen pillars.
Using his ice power, Yoru rapidly created small, temporary platforms over the cables—each lasting only a few seconds before melting—allowing him to dash across.
Both Yoru and Todoroki reached the other side simultaneously. Behind them, the sound of explosions grew louder.
Yoru looked back and saw the face of an explosive demon with a severely constipated expression.
Yoru kept running until he reached the third section of the race: the minefield. Glancing down, he created a thin layer of ice on the surface and began to cross it. Beside him, the explosive figure shot past, drawing even with the two-toned boy.
As Yoru ran, he heard a tremendous explosion behind him. Turning to look, he saw the green-haired boy clinging to a piece of metal.
'Well, can't make it too easy for him,' Yoru thought, a smile forming. He stomped the ground hard, creating a thick layer of ice that instantly froze the legs of all nearby participants.
"Amazing! He froze the entire terrain in an instant!" Present Mic shouted in astonishment.
The green-haired boy's plan was ruined; unable to detonate the mines for a boost, he simply crashed face-first into the ground.
Meanwhile, the two-toned boy and the explosive kid were left frozen in place, their legs trapped in ice.
Yoru jogged past them, crossing the minefield and entering the final tunnel section, which he dashed through, emerging as the clear winner of the first event.
"Hey! Who would've predicted this outcome when the race began? The man who has returned triumphant to the stadium is none other than Yoru Shirayuki from the General Studies course!" Present Mic announced.
The crowd erupted into euphoria at the sight of the white-haired youth.
Yoru smiled broadly, causing girls in the audience to scream, captivated by his looks.
He watched with amusement as Bakugo seethed with silent, internal fury, while Todoroki stood in cold silence. The fourth to arrive was Midoriya Izuku, and soon many more followed.
Yoru approached Shinso with a grin of superiority.
"I told you. Let's see if they really came just for the hero classes after all," he said, looking at Shinso.
"I guess you're right. Though, why didn't you mention your Quirk evolution?"
"It just happened recently, and I wanted to save it as a surprise. And boy, did it work," Yoru expressed.
"Yeah, it was pretty satisfying to see the reactions of everyone who got trapped in the ice."
"How about we team up for the second event?" Yoru offered.
"That sounds good."
"The top 42 competitors have earned the right to advance!" Midnight announced. "Sorry for those of you who failed—tough luck! The real excitement of the festival is still being prepared!"
"And now, for the preliminary final selection. For the second event, take a look!" Midnight gestured toward the huge screen.
"The Cavalry Battle!"
"Listen up! You can freely form teams of two to four people, in the form of a 'horse.' The basic rules are the same as a human cavalry battle: knock down the enemy riders and protect your own. There's just one exception: you will all receive points based on your performance in the previous event."
Yoru tuned out the following explanation until it was announced that his headband was worth ten million points.
'Hell. If I were a pirate, I'd be famous,' Yoru thought distractedly. He could feel dozens of greedy eyes locking onto him.
Undoubtedly, he would be everyone's target, but that just made it more thrilling.
Yoru looked at Shinso.
"So, what do you say? Are you in or out?" Yoru asked.
"I'm in," Shinso said with determination.