MHA OC - Rift Runner

Chapter 1: A New Horizon

My foot tapped anxiously under the desk. The written portion of U.A.'s entrance exam was in full swing, and the tension in the room was thick enough to cut through. The questions were what I expected—quirk laws, basic hero strategies, and ethics. Straightforward, but somehow, that only made it worse. I glanced at the clock—halfway through already.

Focus, Tyler.

I'd always done well in academics, but this wasn't just about passing. It was U.A.—the best hero school in the world. Every answer I gave could make the difference between being accepted or not. I quickly reviewed my answers, making sure I hadn't missed any key details.

But my mind couldn't shake the fact that the physical exam was coming next. My quirk wasn't exactly combat-focused, and I knew that could hurt me. I needed every point from this test to make up for whatever disadvantage I'd face later.

"That's TIME, my examinee listeners!!" Present Mic's voice boomed through the room. "Pass your papers to the front!"

I let out a sigh of relief, stretching my arms above my head. That part was done, at least. The written test wasn't easy, but it was manageable. Now came the real challenge.

Outside the exam hall, students were gathering into groups, buzzing with a mix of excitement and nerves. As I scanned the crowd, one person caught my eye—a kid with green hair, standing off to the side. He was muttering to himself, and I caught fragments of what he was saying as I walked by.

"I can do this... I've trained... All Might said I could..."

The way he spoke reminded me of... well, me. That uncertainty, the need for self-encouragement. It made me feel a little better about my own nerves. All Might? Does this kid know the number one hero in Japan? I didn't have time to dwell on it. The practical exam was about to start. I had to get my head in the game.

The proctors gathered us in the stadium, explaining the rules. Robots. We'd be fighting robots for points, with different ones worth varying amounts. There were 1, 2, and 3-pointers. Nothing was said specifically about their difficulty to defeat, but I imagined they'd get harder based on the points they were worth. They wouldn't give us anything we couldn't handle, right?

When they assigned us to different arenas, I realized I wouldn't be in the same group as the green-haired kid. I had hoped to see what he could do after hearing his mention of All Might earlier. He might have just mentioned him in an interview, or maybe he was lucky enough to meet him in person. The third, and least likely, option was that this boy had a pro hero as a mentor—something we would have in common. Hopefully, I'd get the chance to find out for certain.

I spotted this spiky-haired guy who looked like he would explode if I, or anyone, tried to speak to him. I'm all for getting fired up for the exam, but this was just scary. There was also... a floating tracksuit? Okay.

The doors to the city simulation opened.

"AND BEGIN!" Present Mic shouted. Everyone stood there, stunned by the sudden command. "WHAT'S WRONG? THE TEST'S STARTED!! RUN! RUN!!"

This is it.

I shot forward as soon as the buzzer went off, weaving through the chaos of flying debris and flashing quirks. My eyes scanned the battlefield until I saw a cluster of smaller robots closing in on another student. I stretched out my hand and summoned a portal beneath them. A glowing, shifting orange circle grew from a single point beneath their metallic feet, and the bots tumbled through, reappearing a few streets away, 15 meters in the air, crashing into each other.

My heart raced as I pressed on. Those broke easier than expected. Guess they're all bark and no bite. Looking for more opportunities to score points, I eyed the roof of the tallest building near the center of the city. I reached out a hand and opened a portal connecting the ground to the roof, and I jumped through.