"Who wanna bet on Luke's time?" Kaminari joked.
Luke's Quirk, though outrageous, was one of the greatest support-type Quirks at best. Unlike Midoriya, Bakugo, and the likes of Todoroki, he didn't have anything to excel in confrontations after a certain level.
In the Sports Festival, he had won against Tenya, proving his Quirk's versatility.
However, even then, none thought that he could have won in a direct fight against truly powerful individuals.
This didn't mean that they looked down on him. It was just something rooted in facts. Not all possessed the same thoughts, though.
Todoroki narrowed his eyes as they saw Luke stretching on the stage.
Midoriya, who had almost died upon being choked by Luke, also didn't fall for Luke's obvious display of disadvantages.
"30 seconds!" Bakugo scoffed. "It's not a Sports Festival where he is fighting against a nerd…"
Midoriya's lips twitched.
"It's hard to say, Ka… Bakugo," he said, looking away as Bakugo eyed him meanly. "Gigantification and Exchange Positions' combinations can really shine here. If he…"
Then, Midoriya began grumbling out a solid strategy, making everyone smile wryly.
Of course, the betting didn't stop there, with more and more joining, spitting out random numbers.
"Less than 20…"
Everyone's heads snapped toward Todoroki.
"Gone nuts, Half-half?" Bakugo grinned. "Those two Quirks would never…"
"Unless—" Todoroki said as the lady announced Luke's name. "—he has awakened one more."
A chill ran down the boys' spines, their eyes falling on Momo behind them.
On the other side, Melissa frowned, not relating to the conversation. "What's Gigantification and Exchange Positions? Awakening one more? What's… his Quirk?"
Then, Uraraka neared her and whispered, "He's Quirk is Raven, and he can…"
…
Luke had been facing quite trouble recently.
No. It wasn't related to Conformity or Singularity, or even Stain or All For One.
It was related to the Pro Heroes of UA and his classmates — with whom he spent most of his time — with whom he would need to face quite many dangers as Luke — a student.
This trouble was — to constantly hold himself back.
After digesting Swindler's Potion, Luke's physical attributes had been enhanced almost to the uppermost limit of a human.
Also, these enhancements were permanent, not being affected by switching Sequences.
Combined with Seer Pathway's natural inhumane dexterity, it wouldn't be long before Pros began noticing the subtle changes.
Changes that he wasn't supposed to go through, as per his Quirk — Raven.
There was only that much he could stretch the lie of being naturally strong. A little he could dump on training to compensate for Quirk's weakness — his body. The rest could be thrown over the experiences he had gained with Sand before joining UA.
Still, this wouldn't be enough to explain the rising strength.
What if one day he was forced to act out with full strength, exploding with his Beyonder-emboldened natural abilities?
It was a monstrous risk to manipulate children already.
There was no saying he could get away with doing the same to the Pros as well.
So, Luke had been desperately looking for a way out ever since the term began. But, he also didn't want to show that Nyx could gain another Quirk so fast.
That's why, even after gaining all the Inorganic Materials he needed to brew the three Potions of different Sequences, Luke hadn't made Nyx show a new Quirk.
Now, however, enough time had passed to bridge all the gaps.
And the answer was —
…
Just as the name Renji Saionji echoed around them, all Class 1-A students instantly knew it was happening all over again.
The Treasure Box of UA, as Present Mic openly called Luke, was going to shock them, going beyond expectations because —
— Nyx hadn't left Luke's shoulder at all.
On the stage, with a flat face, Luke snapped his fingers.
A shine coursed over her body, as if someone had cast a mirror from very far away.
In the next instant, cyan-colored, electric circuit-like veins began appearing on Luke's skin from head to toe, glowing azure.
…
[
Quirk Bestowal Successful
…
Quirk: Reinforcement
Complexity: B
Consumption:
— Spirit 43
— Stamina 16
Contact Time: 5 seconds
Activation Time: 17 minutes
]
…
Luke had always known that he couldn't replicate One For All.
But, just like Blood Creation, no one could stop him from using a much degraded version of it.
As if the students were experiencing a Deja Vu, gusts of wind exploded out, with Luke as the center.
Tiny cyan-colored electric sparks snaked on his body, lifting his blonde hair.
Almost everyone seated among the audience suddenly remembered the most powerful Hero they knew in the world as they looked at Luke now.
It was like the descent of a young-All Might with a grand display.
Standing among the stunned Class 1-A students, Midoriya's eyes had gone as wide as possible. "That's… my…" he mumbled involuntarily, seeing the similarities between Luke's new Quirk and…
"Full Cowl…" Luke hissed, feeling the power. "5%…"
Booooooooooooom!
Luke's lightning-donning, black figure blurred, rumbles decorating his surroundings. Even though he wasn't as fast as Midoriya, people could barely follow him.
It wasn't only speed. With his every punch, the targets, which were massive robots, exploded in a mass of flames.
Then, leaving behind a black-cyan-crackling trail behind him, Luke landed back on the stage, gasping for breath.
"… Amazing!" The lady next to Luke screamed in shock, her eyes shining as he looked at him. "16 seconds!"
Tenya and Todoroki made fists as Luke came back, their knuckles going white.
Bakugo couldn't take his eyes off Luke, either, grinding his teeth at him.
Even Melissa, who had lost all impression of Luke, found it almost irresistible not to like him. It was like she just wanted to start all over again, forgetting everything that she had seen…
Meanwhile, Luke joined the students, patting his hair to flatten it in vain.
"Is that why she was coming to me during the summer break…" Midoriya stupidly mumbled. "To practice… not to get blown away at that speed."
Luke let out a smile. "Only one of the reasons," he said before looking at everyone. "New one — I call it Reinforcement."
Then, he looked at Momo. "Thank you."
Momo just shook her head. She was just about to say something when a blast of cold air hit their faces.
Luke and others snapped their heads toward the stage and found the rocky mountain had turned into a block of ice.
And, on the stage, Todoroki stood, letting out an icy breath, looking dead into Luke's eyes.
"…" The announcer shivered, gaping at the boy. "… 3 seconds…"
******************
AN: Original Image of Luke using Full Cowl (Reinforcement) is available on P trn
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