"Shotgun!"
Masata casually flicked his arm, sending several lava bullets flying forward. They pierced straight through the earth beast in an instant. Before Mineta could even understand what had happened, the monster behind him had already turned into rubble and shattered across the ground.
Up on the platform, Mandalay Cat and North American Shorthair stared at Masata in surprise.
Are all first-year students this terrifying now?
"Don't overthink it. Igarashi is a special case."
Aizawa Shouta, arms crossed, spoke lazily as he watched their reactions.
"You should know—inside Xiongying, everyone agrees he's the student most likely to inherit All Might's legacy."
North American Shorthair licked the corner of her mouth with interest.
"Oh? Even you rate him that highly? Now I'm getting excited."
Leaving her behind, Mandalay Cat took her nephew Mitsuta and Aizawa Shouta and boarded the bus, heading out ahead of time.
Only then did Mineta finally react.
His scream echoed through the forest.
At this point, he felt like his world had already turned black and white. The sudden loud explosion earlier had frightened him senseless—and unfortunately, it had also startled something else entirely.
Now, both the ground beneath him and his pants were visibly soaked.
"No girl will ever like me again… my life is over…"
"Uh… let's move on to the accommodation area."
Masata spoke awkwardly as he looked at Mineta clinging to a tree, completely spiraling into despair. After all, he was partially responsible for the current situation. The girls had already turned their heads away—it really was a bit too painful to watch.
However, before anyone could properly regroup, the second and third earth beasts emerged almost immediately, giving them no time to rest.
"Magma bastard! I've killed more monsters than anyone!"
Bakugo roared furiously at Masata, his hands never stopping. He blasted the monster in front of him to pieces. Immediately afterward, Todoroki froze another one solid, and Midoriya—his entire body glowing green—charged forward with Iida to smash the frozen creature into gravel.
"This is getting tricky~ Bakugo, you've gotta keep it up~"
Masata stood behind the three of them, watching with a relaxed smile. Honestly, he felt extremely comfortable right now. If Yaoyorozu and Chacha weren't still here, he would've already flown straight to the accommodation site.
But he had no intention of doing that.
These monsters were far too weak for him. If he wanted to, he could shatter them barehanded without even using his Quirk. So instead, he chose to leave this fight to his classmates as training.
Yaoyorozu and Chacha were brimming with fighting spirit. After experiencing real life-and-death danger just days ago, all the girls in the class had grown noticeably stronger. This was the perfect chance to test themselves.
"This is really going to wear us down…"
Kirishima wiped sweat from his forehead before turning around and smashing the monster sneaking up behind him.
"At this pace, we're way too slow. We'll be exhausted before we even reach the meeting point."
"What choice do we have?" Kaminari spread his hands helplessly. "We all know the problem, but there's no shortcut. We can only move forward bit by bit."
He was relatively relaxed—his electricity was nearly useless against stone monsters, so he mostly played a defensive role.
"Why not ask him to carry us? We might even make it in time for lunch."
Kaminari glanced toward Masata with a wicked grin.
"Shut up! I don't need help from that magma bastard!"
Bakugo exploded in anger instantly. His blasts intensified, and everyone's forward momentum increased noticeably.
"He's right," Yaoyorozu said while rapidly creating grenades with her Quirk. "If Masata steps in, this special training loses its meaning."
The other girls nodded in agreement.
Even now, they still couldn't forget the apocalyptic scene Masata had created on that island. To them, he had already surpassed the definition of "powerful."
"Don't let your guard down. A large group is coming."
Todoroki suddenly spoke from the front line.
Everyone looked up.
Four massive stone monsters emerged ahead, their bodies clearly more solid and angular than the previous ones.
"Here too!"
"Same on my side!"
Midoriya and Iida shouted almost simultaneously.
Before anyone could react, four identical monsters appeared on both flanks, faintly surrounding Class 1-A.
Twelve earth monsters in total.
Their grotesque faces glittered with mineral sheen as they charged out from the dark forest, closing in with claws and bared fangs.
Everyone's expressions darkened instantly.
Even Bakugo frowned—twelve reinforced monsters appearing at once was troublesome, even for him.
"Die!!!"
Ignoring the numbers completely, Bakugo charged straight out, slamming his palm into one monster's head.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, smoke and dust completely engulfing the earth beast.
"…Did we get it?"
Seeing no movement from within the smoke, everyone finally let out a breath of relief. It seemed these new monsters were just sturdier-looking versions of the old ones.
"Don't relax yet," Masata warned calmly. "These aren't as easy as the earlier ones."
Sure enough, as the dust settled, the monster's head was revealed—only the outer layer had been blown apart. It shook itself and continued advancing.
Panic spread instantly.
Even Bakugo's attack hadn't killed it in one hit. If he struggled, the others would have an even harder time. The class had limited frontline fighters—students like Kaminari and Kurosawa Yoru were nearly spectators here, and Mineta's Quirk was completely ineffective against these creatures.
The sticky spheres clung uselessly to the monster's rocky body.
"It seems I was right," Masata said quietly. "These monsters were prepared specifically for me. Otherwise, Class 1-A would be wiped out here."
Stretching his shoulders, Masata stepped forward from the center of the group.
Up until now, the monster waves had been carefully balanced—dangerous, but manageable. This sudden spike in difficulty broke that balance completely.
There was only one explanation.
They were forcing Igarashi Masata to act.
After all, he was still a student of Class 1-A. There was no reason he should be allowed to pass this special training without paying the price.
...
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