She was a Force user now. And while her training wasn't as advanced as mine, she had survived Jedi-style drills—many of which involved being tossed around by Anakin's spirit. A school test wasn't going to break her.
I wasn't worried about myself either, but I was concerned by how terrified Midoriya looked. Someone with his heart and initiative should have had no problem, yet he looked as though he were facing his execution.
"Masue. Like I said, you're going last for every event. But I want you to do each one twice. The first time without your Quirk, and the second time with it. I need both sets of data for your file."
"Does that mean I will have fewer opportunities to observe the others?" I asked.
The class buzled again. Most of them seemed worried for me—they seemed like good-hearted people.
Master Eraser Head, however, didn't care for sentiment. "That's right. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Not at all. If that is all you require, I shall provide it."
I would simply do what I always do.
The first event was the 50-meter dash. Simple enough. Even without having seen it before, the name explained the task.
Because I was last, I had the luxury of observing the others. Iida was overwhelming in this category; his "Engine" Quirk in his calves propelled him to a staggering 3.04 seconds. Even so, he looked frustrated, as if the distance was too short for him to reach top speed.
Bakugo used his explosions to propel himself, clocking in at 4.13 seconds. His personality was a disaster, but his results were undeniable.
Midoriya, meanwhile, finished with a lackluster 7.02 seconds. I found myself wondering if his Quirk was something other than physical enhancement.
Then came my turn. Without Quirk: 4.11 seconds. With Quirk (Amplification): 3.04 seconds.
The "with Quirk" time was expected, but the "without" time was impossible for a girl barely a meter tall with no visible muscle mass. A clamor of confusion broke out among the students.
But this was the Force. To one who resonates with and draws upon the Force, such records are elementary. And there was more to it than just that; the sheer number of times I had pushed my body to the point of malnutrition during training had yielded fruit. My physical efficiency was far beyond that of a normal human.
"...Hey, Masue. You really didn't use your Quirk on that first run?" Master asked, his voice dripping with skepticism. Since I wasn't a "Mutant" type, those numbers shouldn't have been possible.
"I did not. If you doubt me, feel free to use your own Quirk on me, Master Eraser Head."
"...Fine. Next."
Next was grip strength. They used a simple mechanical device for the measurement.
Yaoyorozu produced a massive industrial vice to crush the device—an aggressive tactic that betrayed her elegant appearance. "Creation" was truly a versatile Quirk.
When it was my turn, Master activated his Erasure, staring me down to ensure no Quirk was used for the baseline test. I squeezed. 77 kilograms. Still impossible for a small child, but the machine didn't lie.
Master said nothing, though he looked deeply unsettled. Without changing his expression, he simply muttered, "Next." My "with Quirk" score was 399 kilograms.
The test continued in much the same fashion. I maintained top-tier scores across the board, eventually finishing in 2nd place overall.
1st place went to Yaoyorozu. It is hard to compete with someone who can manifest specialized tools for every task. When she brought out a motorized scooter for the long-distance run, I actually found myself chuckling. I could have surpassed her if I had used "Amplification" at full power without regard for the consequences, but that would have left me incapacitated for the rest of the day. As Master had warned Midoriya later, sustainability is key.
Himiko placed 7th. Like me, she had maintained high scores, but she hadn't used her Quirk even once. She didn't have a stock of blood to use, and Master had forbidden her from taking any from her classmates during the test.
Thus, Himiko relied entirely on the Force. As I noted before, that alone was enough to put her in the top bracket. She didn't seem bothered by it, though some of the other students protested on her behalf.
Master had been blunt: "If your Quirk requires a stock, a hero should be prepared to use it at any time. Consider this a lesson in resource management." To him, Toga's blood requirement was no different than a hero needing to resupply in the field. He was testing whether we could manage our own abilities under pressure. It was a harsh, perhaps even "irrational" requirement for the first day, but if that was U.A.'s way, there was no point in arguing.
Midoriya, however, was a different story. He remained at the bottom for most of the test. I had begun to think his Quirk wasn't physical, but Iida mentioned that Midoriya had destroyed a giant robot during the entrance exam with a single punch.
The mystery was solved during the softball throw. Midoriya cleared 700 meters, but the cost was absolute: his right index finger was completely shattered. It was a "glass cannon" ability—tremendous power in exchange for self-destruction. No wonder he had been terrified.
Since that was his only standout moment, and the pain from the broken finger hampered his performance in the long-distance run, his "Villain Points" from the throw weren't enough to save his average. He ended up in dead last.
I tried to heal his finger on the spot, but Master stopped me. He told me that if I were to perform treatment, it should be done after the test and under the supervision of the school nurse. While logically sound from a hero's perspective, any doctor would have been horrified; the injury was severe. I pushed back just enough to perform basic first aid to stabilize the bone before the next event.
Still, it was strange. Even with a self-destructive Quirk, Midoriya's base physical performance was mediocre—lower than even Hagakure or Ashido, whose Quirks didn't offer direct physical buffs for every event. (Ashido's Quirk is acid; the variety of these powers truly is staggering.)
Midoriya's movements showed signs of hard work, but there was a distinct lack of "polish." It felt as though his power had been gifted to him only recently.
"By the way, the expulsion thing was a lie."
Master's casual remark at the end of the test sent the class into a fresh frenzy. He called it a "Rational Deception" to draw out our full potential. He was quite the trickster.
"And yet, that was the biggest lie of all," Himiko whispered.
"Indeed. He likely saw something worth keeping in Midoriya, despite the boy finishing last, and used the 'lie' as an excuse to rescind the threat."
His true intentions didn't matter. We would keep our observations to ourselves.
"Master. May I accompany Midoriya to the infirmary to meet with the school nurse?"
Everything had concluded, and Master was handing Midoriya a pass for the clinic.
"...Right, you have healing abilities. Fine. I'll write a note for the old lady."
"Thank you. Come, Midoriya. We must go to the infirmary immediately."
"E-eh? But I need to change first..."
"Foolish boy! That is not an injury you leave sitting! If it can be mended, it must be mended now!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"Himiko, I'll be occupied. I'm sorry, but please go on ahead."
"Okay! I'll wait for you in the classroom!"
And so, my first day truly began.