My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

[Selias]

[Further improvement]

Click to shrink...

You forgot to threadmark this one

 

[Genilea]

no threadmark on latest chappy, absolute cinema fic btw

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Real Battle]
────────────────────────

…

Sitting around a round table in a dark, damp room, three people faced each other while one of them pointed at a screen on the wall. The screen displayed a map of what seemed to be a bank, and many notes regarding guards' movements and shifts, cameras, etc…

"...And that's pretty much the plan. Questions?" said the one presenting—a broad, tall bald man in a leather jacket and jeans—his glare sharp and commanding.

The person to his right, a woman with spiky, static-charged hair, lazily raised her hand. Dressed in a tank top and military pants, she spoke with a drawl. "Yeah, why this city? I had to endure a three-hour drive just to attend this little meeting of yours. Couldn't we just have done it in Tokyo?"

The man snorted. "We are here because the heroes in this city suck. A few might be trouble, but the rest are just fodder we'll crush easily if it comes to that. With such weak resistance, our little plan has a much better chance of working."

"Neat." The woman nodded, satisfied.

His gaze shifted to the third member—a man whose entire body seemed to be made of jagged stone, some pieces smooth, others sharp, like a golem come to life. "Any questions, rocky?"

"Yeah," the rocky man rumbled. "What do we do with the heroes that get in the way?"

"Why are you even asking that?" the leader scoffed. "We kill them, obviously."

The stone man grunted, accepting the answer.

"Phew~" The woman stretched with a crooked grin, cracking her neck. "Man, knowing the big-league heroes won't be around makes me feel way more at ease! We're finally in a pond where we're the big fish, huh?"

The man sneered, fishing a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. "Now that you're mentioning it… Yeah, it's been a while since I've been on top of the food chain. Reminds me of my school days—no kid could match my Quirk, and they were all terrified. Teachers too. The whole school was practically my playground."

The golem man frowned—not angry, but clearly skeptical. "Still, are you sure the heroes here are that pathetic? From what I've heard, this place does have a few aces who could give us trouble. It might not be Tokyo, but it's still a big city."

"Ah, right." The leader smirked. "Forgot to include that in the presentation. There are a few, but I've already handled them. I sent some of our guys to act as diversions once we start. They'll stir up chaos near those heroes' patrol zones, keeping them busy while we get the job done."

"This'll be easy peasy." The woman smirked.

"Though," he added, narrowing his eyes, "there are a couple of pests I couldn't account for."

"Who?" the stone man asked.

"The first's supposed to be the strongest hero in the city. Calls himself Super Monkey. Ranked sixty-ninth in the charts."

The two others looked unimpressed.

"His patrol patterns are a mess—random, chaotic, he just seems to go wherever he pleases. Sometimes he doesn't even show up. Because of that, I couldn't pin down where he'll be, so he's a wild card. We might run into him, or we might never see him at all."

"He doesn't sound like much with that name," the woman said.

"Yeah, but you never know," the man shrugged, then his tone hardened. "The other one who might cause trouble… isn't a hero."

That got their attention. Both looked up, confused.

"It's some kind of local vigilante," the man continued, puffing some smoke from the cigarrete. "He's been gaining popularity lately. Apparently, he shows up during hero and villain fights, plays a song, and knocks out the villains if the heroes can't finish the job before the song ends."

"Again, doesn't sound like much," the woman said.

"And I'll say it again—you never know. An acquaintance of mine with a pretty decent Quirk got taken down by him."

"How decent are we talking?" asked the rocky man.

"Fairly good. Of course, nothing compared to ours," the leader replied with a smirk. "We are high-ranked villains, after all. It wouldn't be fair to judge him by our level."

The woman laughed. "Yeah, that'd be unfair."

The rocky man didn't laugh; instead, he squinted. "Any info on their Quirks?"

"Super Monkey's got a Mutant-type Quirk that gives him the characteristics of a monkey, like a tail, big hands, or a stupid face. As for the vigilante, I think it's something akin to telekinesis, but not exactly. He's a mystery to everyone these days. Couldn't dig up much."

The woman snorted. "Well, neither of them sounds like a problem. With the three of us on one team, even the heroes in Tokyo would have their hands full."

And it was no wonder she thought that.

The three were A-class villains, infamous ones at that.

The bald man was Reaper Sight. A villain charged with multiple assassinations of influential people and heroes, robbery at gunpoint, dozens of homicides, arson, etc…

His Quirk, Zapping, lets him teleport rapidly to places within his eyesight with a nonexistent cooldown, something that made him a target difficult to catch, and that the villain used along with guns to secure quick assassinations or hero murders.

The woman was Electraction. Known for multiple successful robberies at jewelry stores or similar places of luxury, and was also charged with multiple homicides left behind during her delictual activities. Her Quirk, Electro-Charge, lets her transform her entire body to electricity momentarily, and also charge her own body with electricity, so any kind of attack she launches can discharge up to 20,000 volts. (Is this correctly described, chat? I'm no electrician)

And finally, the man filled with stones was none other than Titaniphite. An ex-prisoner who had been charged with dozens of millions of yen in destruction of private property, multiple homicide, and the hospitalization of heroes and officers alike.

His Quirk, Stone Shell, gives him an outer armor of hard and sturdy rocks that he can mold, limitedly to his desire, sharpening them or thickening them slightly.

A trio of powerful villains—something not seen in a long time, since villains rarely worked together.

"With this team, even if both those guys show up, I doubt they'll be able to do much!" she laughed loudly, her confidence absolute.

"That Super Monkey guy isn't needed," said suddenly a calm voice from behind them. "I alone am enough to deal with the three of you."

Instantly, their eyes widened. They spun around, shocked to find someone had entered the room without them noticing—a lone figure leaning casually against the wall, staring at them with cold, indifferent eyes.

"Who are you?!" Electraction shouted, her spiky hair crackling as a small current of electricity surged through it.

Titaniphite scowled as the rocks covering his body expanded, making him larger and more imposing.

Reaper Sight narrowed his eyes, studying the intruder before a smirk spread across his face.

"I see… so it's you. Rockinesis, right?"

"Who?" the other two asked in unison.

"The vigilante," Reaper said. "I've believe that's his nickname."

Rockinesis closed his eyes, his voice calm and steady. "That's what I'm called these days."

"Why are you here?" Reaper frowned, his smirk fading. "I thought you only showed up during hero-villain fights. We haven't done anything yet, have we?"

Rockinesis uncrossed his arms, his stance tightening. Hands flexing, as if ready to fight.

"I was just passing by."

"I see…" Reaper nodded slowly.

Then—

"Kill him."

…

°

°

°

| The street |

…

Pedestrians bustled along the sidewalks. People darted in and out of restaurants or stopped at food stalls to grab snacks for the road.

Traffic was awful—a line of cars stretched down the street, the blaring of horns filling the air like a chaotic symphony.

And yet, despite the noise and confusion, it was everyday life. Ordinary. Predictable.

What wasn't ordinary, however, was the massive explosion that suddenly tore through a nearby building.

—BOOOOM!—

A deafening blast rocked the street. Debris rained down, dust billowed into the air, and the screams came almost instantly—high-pitched, panicked, echoing through the chaos.

"What's happening?!"

"Is it a villain?!"

The crowd erupted in panic, scattering in every direction while staring wide-eyed at the rising cloud of smoke.

Then, as the dust began to settle and silence tried to return—

-Swoosh!-

The cloud exploded outward as a figure was launched through it, soaring high before crashing down onto the street near the retreating crowd.

He skidded backward for several meters before finally coming to a halt.

Black hoodie. Black joggers. Masked face.

Everyone knew who he was.

"Rockinesis?!"

"No way! The real one?!"

"He's here!"

Terror turned into excitement—

"AAAAARGH, DIEEE!"

—only to twist back into terror again.

An enormous figure burst from the smoke behind him—Titaniphite. A towering, rock-covered monster that looked more like a walking mountain than a man.

Despite his size, his speed was terrifying, each step shaking the ground. The sheer force of his charge made everyone nearby stumble back in fear.

"Urgh." A low grunt escaped Rockinesis as he steadied himself after being hurled away.

But there was no time to breathe.

Titaniphite was already upon him.

Rockinesis raised his hand, aiming it at the giant. For a moment, Titaniphite's momentum faltered—slowed—his massive body enveloped in a faint aura.

Yet it wasn't enough.

"You think you can stop me, runt?!"

"Ugh—!" Rockinesis grunted, unable to hold him completely.

Titaniphite's massive fist came swinging down.

With no other choice, Rockinesis released his grip and leapt back, dodging the strike by mere centimeters.

Before the giant could strike again, Rockinesis propelled himself upward, soaring into the air—out of reach.

He looked ready to attack again. But just as his aura began to gather around the giant—

—Bang!—

A distant explosion, sharp like a gunshot, rang out. Rockinesis barely had time to widen his eyes before a projectile struck his shoulder.

His hoodie sizzled, smoke curling from the hole burned through the fabric—but his skin only showed a bruise.

—Bang!—

Another shot.

This time, Rockinesis' aura flared around him like a shimmering force field before the bullet could reach. As a result, the bullet slowed enormously, and when it hit him, it barely bumped onto him lightly before falling powerlessly to the ground far below.

With the danger gone, Rockinesis scanned the surroundings until his eyes caught Reaper Sight perched atop a distant building.

He shot forward, intent on taking him down first. Aura already shooting in the villain's direction—

"...?!"

—but before he could reach him, the man vanished, like he had just become air.

—Bang!—

And then, another shot rang out from behind. The bullet slowed at the last second again, failing to deal any damage by the time it hit him.

"This guy…"

But before Rockinesis could locate the shooter again—

A giant shadow fell over him.

Titaniphite.

"WAAARGH!"

The massive villain came crashing down from above, fist swinging with brutal momentum. Rockinesis' hand shot out, moving his aura to block the impact.

The punch slowed midair—yes—but still landed.

—BAM!!!—

Instants later, Rockinesis slammed into the ground like a meteor, concrete shattering beneath him. Dust erupted, swallowing the street.

He staggered to his feet a moment later, unsteady but still standing.

Then, the giant began falling upon him.

But as the giant's shadow grew around him, a flicker of pleasedness passed by Rockinesis' eyes.

Now that the villain was in the air, he didn't have the ground anymore to exert any leverage and overpower his aura.

In the air, he was vulnerable.

He focused his aura on the monster, and soon, energy began to wrap around him—

—Bang!—

Another shot struck Rockinesis in the back, making him stumble and breaking his concentration.

"That fucker…!" Rockinesis muttered, eyes widening faintly before a frown took over.

He looked ready to turn around and look for Reaper again, but before he could recover, a flash of electricity crackled beside him.

"Hell yeah!"

Electraction appeared from a burst of lightning, her charged fist swinging straight at him.

Rockinesis reacted instantly, his aura flaring to immobilize her—

—Bang!—

—but another shot came.

This one hit his lower back, just enough to make his control falter. Titaniphite broke free, finally getting to touch the ground, and Electraction's punch connected.

—Bam!—

—Crackle!—

Electricity burst across Rockinesis' body, lighting him up in a violent flash. Smoke billowed from his clothes, parts of them charred and blackened.

But even then—

"Ah?!"

He moved—faster than she expected. His aura flared again, wrapping around Electraction as he prepared to slam her into the ground.

Yet before he could, Titaniphite came charging in once more, roaring as he swung.

Rockinesis switched tactics. He threw Electraction at the charging giant, forcing Titaniphite to halt to catch her.

Using that split-second distraction, Rockinesis leapt back, putting distance between them. His breathing was ragged now, and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

—Bang!—

Another bullet whizzed toward him, but his aura barrier was up again—it struck and bounced off harmlessly.

Rockinesis exhaled, eyes narrowing.

Then, he let out a nervous laugh amidst mutters.

"This might have been more than I could chew…"

…

°

°

°

| Taka's POV: |

…

"This might have been more than I could chew…"

I hadn't thought much about fighting these three villains at once. After all, with how much aura I'd racked up these past months, I didn't think they'd be able to do much against my now greater aura projection. After all, no villain had been able to get out of my grasp once my aura enveloped them.

But in hindsight, I should have been more careful and considered the numerical advantage more.

Trouble Radar had warned me they meant trouble, after all.

Turns out, I was slightly wrong in my assessment. These guys were stronger than they looked.

And worse, they knew how to gang up on someone. These bastards were coordinated. I barely had time to focus on one before another popped up and hit me.

Not to mention that this fight wasn't seeming to be very favorable for me so far, judging from their abilities, at least.

First, there was the bald guy in the leather jacket. He had what seemed like a teleportation Quirk and used a sniper rifle with it—basically a pest that hit and ran. Or more like shot and ran.

It wasn't much of a problem since with my increased defense stat, bullets could barely bruise me, and even less the more aura I poured into the stat.

I could also use aura projection to form a shield around me that slowed the bullet down. Lessening the damage even further, and allowing me to not need to pour every single aura into defense.

Why slow the bullet down and not block it completely like a literal shield, you ask?

Because my aura worked like a hand, an omnidirectional, not physical, and multipresent hand, that I could manifest all around me to grab things, pull, or push.

But the aura wasn't solid. So I could only use it to push things away from me when using it as a shield, like just now.

So yeah, slowing down the bullets, no problem. Blocking them completely? I could, but that'd require me to actually see the bullet incoming, and use my aura to try and catch it instead of pushing away.

The main problem wasn't the bullets, though; the problem was that he stayed far away, and when I went after him, he went somewhere else.

I couldn't catch him, so he was a constant annoyance while I dealt with the other two.

Then there was the matter of the female villain. So far from what I'd seen, she could turn into electricity—or something close to it—and move at super high speed in that state, while also using the energy to charge her attacks like she had done with that earlier punch. Even with increased defense, electricity was great at bypassing protections, so yeah, it had hurt.

Not to mention that with how fast she was, it'd be hard to react on time if I got too distracted with the other two. If I were taken by surprise, it might be dangerous.

Besides that, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to grab her with my aura when she was in that electric state, but as far as concerned, when she looked like a person, it hadn't seemed like there was a problem, at least she didn't seem capable of escaping when I grabbed her earlier.

So, I just needed to find the time to catch her and take her down in one go.

And finally, there was the rock guy. At first, I thought he was just super durable with all those rocks around him, but no—he had insane strength, speed, and durability. So much that even with all my aura—around two tons of force—the bastard could still muscle through it, even when slowed.

My only chance at having aura work on him would be in the air, like earlier, where he wouldn't have anything to apply force to, and where he'd be at my complete mercy.

But it was a wonder if I'd be able to get him to jump again.

So, in summary, these guys were rather bad news for the way I've fought until now.

The woman was too fast for me to react properly, the mountain guy was too powerful and overpowered my current aura projection, and the sniper guy was too far away for me to do anything about him, making him a constant annoyance.

So, the question was: what the hell do I do now?

My eyes darted to my status, a nervous sweat drop running down my temple.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119

▸ Defense: 238→1038

▸ Aura Projection: 3059

─────────────

Total Aura: 5309→3859 (73%)

1st Clone's aura: 350 (6,5%)

2nd Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)

3rd Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)

4th Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)

5th Clone's aura: 200 (3,7%)

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The first answer was clear: I had to dispel my clones. That'd give me back half of the aura I'd spent, and the rest would recover over time.

That would give me a decent power boost, from around 70% to 85%, while the rest of the aura recovered over time—but even then, I wasn't sure it'd be enough to take on all three of these jumpers.

I could deal with them one-on-one, sure. But together? Not a chance.

So… what else could I do?

I glared at the screen with a deadpan expression.

'What, no conveniently timed mission with a new skill this time, system?'

[There's no need. You already have what you need to beat them, host.]

If we're talking in more murderous terms, maybe I could take out the woman, but the other two? Too slippery or too damn tough, even if I went all out. Not to mention that I don't want to cross that line yet. Not when the police are already after me. That'd just be giving them more reasons to take me seriously.

[That's not what I meant.]

Then what?

[All I can say is… your thinking has been too uncreative until now.]

The hell's that supposed to mean?

I looked back at my status window.

Uncreative? In what way? My skills?

Most of them are just simple buffs or "look cool while doing it" types.

Maybe Inmovable Object? No—what use would taking more damage just for not being knocked back have?

Unless… maybe it's telling me to combine it with a defense boost—to catch them off guard? But that's too obvious, isn't it? It must be talking about something else.

"What's wrong? Getting tired?!"

Sadly, not the best time for deep thinking.

The woman and the rock guy were walking toward me now. Slowly. She wore that smug, arrogant grin, and he had that same scowl plastered across his face.

'I'll figure it out later…'

For now, though—first things first.

[You have dissolved your clones]

[Total aura used: 27%]

[You have recovered 13,5% of the used aura. (725)]

[The rest will recover naturally during the next hour.]

Instantly, I felt power usher back to me, along with the annoying memory influx.

I grit my teeth at the dizzy sensation.

But then, as it cleared up, my eyes shone with newfound determination.

Right away, I poured the aura I had recovered into aura projection.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119

▸ Defense: 1038

▸ Aura Projection: 3059 → 3784

─────────────

Total Aura: 3859 → 4584 (86,5%)

Recovering: 13,5% (59 minutes, 56 seconds left)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I took a deep breath and cracked my neck, humming in satisfaction as my bones creaked slightly.

"Alright, round two, bitches."

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Time for Taka to begin getting more skills, hehehe)

 

[swarm]

Have you considered grabbing debris around you? Like take all the stat from strength a full body rock armor "golem" you pilot linking together bits instead of individually it would stop bullets from being a distraction and redirect the electricity like a lightning rod as it takes the easiest path, and you could have a rock man punching party with The Rock or the armor just protecting so you can grab him into the air without distraction spinning him like pizza dough until he puked and faints

 

[LeonT]

Loving this so far.

Looks like he's about to start messing with his abilities, eh? About damn time.

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[New Move]
────────────────────────

…

The battle, which seemed to have come to a momentary stop, resumed abruptly, with both parties clashing fiercely.

Electraction dashed in first, using her electric-enhanced speed to get to Taka first in but an instant, her charged punch swinging savagely towards him as a wild grin spread across her face.

"Die!!!"

-CRACKLE!-

Before it could connect, however, Taka simply raised a hand.

"...?!"

Then, in the blink of an eye, his aura expanded and engulfed Electraction, immobilizing her mid-air.

"L-let me go!" She demanded as she struggled, releasing electricity to try and shake herself off.

To her surprise, however—

"As you wish."

"Agh…?!"

Taka proceeded to wave his hand with dismissal, as if batting a fly. That alone was enough to send her hurling back in the direction of the still approaching Titaniphite.

The rocky villain's charge was forced to a halt once he noticed his companion flying in his direction, catching her before she flew past, and glaring at her with annoyance.

"What the hell are you doing? If you're not going to be useful, get out of the—"

"Don't get distracted."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119 → 2221

▸ Defense: 1038 → 2.221

▸ Aura Projection: 3784 → 499

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

What Titaniphite didn't expect was for Taka to appear in front of him with just a moment of distraction, fist winding up a punch.

"...!"

Without a chance to react, and with both hands occupied carrying Electraction, all Titaniphite could do was receive the punch head-on.

A fraction of a second later, the impact came.

—CLANG!—

A metallic ring drowned the vicinity after that, and to the surprise of everyone watching the fight, the one who was sent hurling several meters away after the impact, despite his humongous size, was Titaniphite. He left a trail of broken concrete as his feet dug into the ground to halt himself.

What was more surprising, however, was the huge crack on Titaniphite's stony chest, exposing his inner skin.

After recovering his balance, the villain inspected the crack with shocked yet angry eyes, passing a hand through it in disbelief.

"How… you… What did you do?"

Taka simply raised his fist, showing his slightly reddened knuckles.

"I hit you."

Titaniphite's breath became more labored, and the look in his eyes sharpened.

"You hit me, you say?"

His fist clenched, and he dropped the already recuperating Electraction onto the floor, who barely caught herself and sent Titaniphite a venomous look.

But the villain simply ignored her.

Then, he began to walk again towards Taka, the rocks surrounding his body growing larger and sharper with each step, almost like a terrifying and enormous stone hedgehog.

Only for his slow walk to quickly turn into a full-on sprint, like a bull charging at its prey.

"THEN—HOW ABOUT I HIT YOU BACK?!"

The villain's eyes reddened, and suddenly, what had been a stone fist began sharpening into an eerie spike, making the nearby spectators gasp.

Taka, however, remained still. His figure relaxed and composed before the incoming threat.

And soon, the dangerous weaponized arm began falling upon him with a weight and speed that would impale a human being with terrifying ease.

And yet, just as it was about to reach Taka…

One finger.

That's all he lifted to block the attack.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 2.221 → 200

▸ Defense: 2.221 → 4.741

▸ Aura Projection: 499 → 0

─────────────

[Innamovible object] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The ominous spike, which had painted a picture of blood and skewering, came to a stop just like that, letting out a sharp metal ring as it struck.

—CLANG!—

And Taka, who had simply used one finger to block the spike's tip, remained unmoved and unshaken, his posture still tall and relaxed.

Furthermore…

"Is that all?" He asked, his tone equally unimpressed and teasing.

That was enough to break Titaniphite.

"What…?! No, how does that make… It's impossible!" Titaniphite snapped his arm away, stumbling back in shock.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 200 → 2.221

▸ Defense: 4.741 → 2.221

▸ Aura Projection: 0 → 499

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Sadly, he wasn't about to get away that easily.

Before he could fully escape, Taka's other hand—the opposite of the one that still had its finger raised mockingly—clenched into a fist and followed after Titaniphite, who, seeing he couldn't dodge it, decided to block it with his rocky and spiky forearms.

—CLANG!—

The same metallic echo from before filled the area; however, this time it didn't come alone.

-Crack!-

The sound of rock cracking apart and crumbling came right after. Making everyone, including Titaniphite, stare at his arms in shock.

"N-no… this can't be…!"

The powerful guard of rock crumbled and fell to the ground uselessly, showing the reddened and bruised human skin beneath.

"No, no, no, my invincible armor… how could you, someone who was barely able to hold me back earlier, shatter it?!"

Taka didn't answer, but simply studied the rupture with a satisfied grin beneath his mask.

'Turns out, I was right about changing stats for this one.'

Although he evidently favored AP over his other stats, always pouring his gains onto it right away, in this case, it was hard countered due to its low offensive nature.

After all, AP worked only like a pseudo-telekinesis that used aura instead of cerebral power. It could grab, hold, pull, or push, like some sort of ethereal force under his absolute control.

However, against someone as durable, strong, and heavy as Titaniphite, all these uses were rendered useless or ineffective. He couldn't push him as his strength and weight overwhelmed the aura's force output; he couldn't pull him either, not even mention grabbing and holding him back.

The amount of aura points in it might have been high, but the type of attacks it could enforce was not ideal.

Hence why he shifted to a more physical approach.

With his strength increased by his 2000 aura, which was around a ton in strength, and all that blunt power focused into the single point that was his fists, which were comparatively small to Titaniphite's body, it was understandable why it had become a lot easier to pierce through the man's armor.

Of course, if he had placed all his aura into strength, then he could have probably dealt even more easily with the guy. However, with the other two villains around, he didn't dare take too much aura from defense, and AP was still useful in case he needed some long-range mid-fight.

So he settled for 2000 aura in strength, which, as seen now, worked wonders.

All that rested now was…

'To beat him to the ground…' Taka's eyes narrowed, and he took a step towards Titaniphite, who backed off instantly. His earlier intimidating and stoic attitude completely cracking.

"S-stay away!"

His opponent was utterly panicked.

'Which makes it even easier.' Taka smiled, and, without warning, kicked off. Winding another fist.

But just as he was about to reach him—

-Crackle!-

A lightning bolt shot at him.

In the next instant, said bolt transformed into a human form and revealed Electraction, whipping a powerful and electrically charged kick in his direction.

While Taka's body may have been too slow to respond, his mind wasn't.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 2221 → 200

▸ Defense: 2221 → 4242

▸ Aura Projection: 499

─────────────

[Innamovible object] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The kick connected cleanly, an explosion of electricity going off on his body the next second, almost as if lightning had descended on him.

Smoke burst from Taka, his costume clearly more charred now.

But as the smoke cleared, his unaffected eyes showed to everyone.

"What the heck?!" Electraction groaned as she jumped away to make distance.

Taka was about to lift his hand to command his aura, but then—

-Bang!-

The distant sound of a gun echoed, and soon, another bullet struck him on the head.

The impact sounded clean, but the bullet still ended up bouncing off harmlessly.

By then, however, Electraction had returned to Titaniphite's side, looking vexed at the now ominous figure standing before them.

A man in tatters, surrounded by the smoke of his own clothes, but that no matter what, never received any damage.

Just what kind of monster was this vigilante?!

'No,'

She shook her head, refusing to believe that someone could just be invulnerable.

"Oi, snap out of it." She punched Titaniphite, who looked the most shaken between the two, snapping him out of his trance. "Don't let him trick you retard, there's nothing invincible in this world. I'm sure damage must be accumulating, even if he doesn't show it!"

"He blocked a sharpened strike of mine with his finger, and it doesn't even have a droplet of blood in it after that. How can you say we are inflicting damage?" Titaniphite snapped at her, growling.

"I don't know, but this ain't the time to be crying like a bitch." She gritted her teeth, eyes darting back to Taka, who stood impassively before them. "We might be getting bodied one-on-one, but we can overwhelm him working together. He can't hold you with your strength, and he can't react to my attacks. If we continue, we should be able to breach his defenses eventually!"

"And if we don't?" Titaniphite asked, looking unsure at the man in the dark in front.

Electraction snorted, electricity already flaring around her again. "Then this was a lost cause from the beginning. But we won't know that unless we try."

Titaniphite frowned at her words and glanced at the cracks in the stones around his chest and forearm.

"Very well." Then, with a dissatisfied huff, the rocks around him sharpened again, giving him that dangerous appearance from earlier, and he prepared to charge.

Taka, on the other hand, opened his arms welcomingly.

"Come."

And so, the two jumped into action.

"Oryaaaaa!" Electraction was the first to reach Taka, performing an elbow strike that sent yet another discharge on the youth's body.

But Taka didn't seem to care and simply lifted his hand, shooting a burst of aura to capture her.

But before it could get her fully, a huge shadow descended on him.

"RAAAAH!"

-Swish!-

-Swish!-

-Swish!-

-Swish!-

Titaniphite, now with both hands turned into spikes, stabbed at Taka multiple times. Like a Gatling gun of piercing jabs.

Taka blocked the first barrage with his forearm, but soon they became too fast and too many to block, making him receive the full barrage on his chest.

While that happened, Electraction circled around him before delivering a swift kick to Taka's back, discharging some more electricity.

He tried to grab her, but she then turned into a lightning bolt and circled him yet again, appearing above and hitting a knee strike right onto Taka's face.

-Bang!-

At the same time, a bullet hit his ribs.

-Bang!-

-Bang!-

-Bang!-

No, not one, many bullets began raining on him. All while Titaniphite's onslaught continued, and Electraction hit and ran constantly.

Ultimately, though, their stamina wasn't endless.

After a while, the two in the front line ran out of fumes, and Reaper Sight must have run out of bullets, or was recharging, because the attack barrage came to a halt, and both villains in the front retreated, catching their breath.

"Did you have enough, freak?!" Electraction yelled, frustrated, amidst gasps.

But then—much to their growing vexation—

-Pat, pat, pat-

Taka simply patted his clothes, as if brushing off dust.

Then, his eyes glared at them with disdain.

"Is that all?"

"...!"

"...!"

In an instant, the exhaustion that was beginning to dull their fury reignited. Their eyes sharpened, blazing with renewed rage.

And so, the fight resumed.

—Thud, thud, thud, thud!—

Titaniphite's charge shook the earth, each step cracking the concrete further.

CRACKLE!—

Electricity erupted around Electraction, escalating from the level of a faulty power line's spark to the chaotic overload of a collapsing city grid, and then, she shot forward like a lightning bolt.

Then came the bullets.

-Bang, Bang, Bang!-

Electraction and the hail of shots reached him simultaneously.

-Kachiiin!-

-Cling!-

"Go down already!"

—CRACKLE!—

Bullets ricocheted violently off Taka's body, and Electraction's electric discharge detonated against him—only for him to stand there, unbothered.

Electraction's teeth ground against each other, but her frustration was interrupted when she saw Taka lifting his hand to capture her once again.

But yet again, before he could do so, Titaniphite forced his attention away from her.

"Wraaaah!"

With a thunderous roar, another barrage of heavy, stabbing blows crashed toward Taka. He blocked what he could with his palms, but several still hammered into him.

Meanwhile, Electraction had already turned into a lightning bolt, spiraling around him in search of an opening.

And then, to her delight, Taka finally shifted from defense—pulling back a fist to strike Titaniphite.

She quickly transformed back into her human form and sent a swift kick into Taka's ribs.

Or that's what should have happened.

"What?!"

Before her charged kick could connect, her whole body froze mid-air, the feeling too familiar to mistake.

Taka had captured her.

"Impossible! You didn't even point your hand at me like earlier!" she shouted, struggling—and failing spectacularly—to move.

Titaniphite noticed her predicament and immediately intensified his barrage, hoping to knock Taka off balance and free her.

But he didn't.

Taka's eyes narrowed, his gaze cold as it locked onto Electraction.

"That was just me playing around."

Even as Titaniphite's onslaught continued, Electraction began to rise—slowly at first, then steadily floating higher.

-Bang!-

-Bang!-

-Bang!-

Bullets rained down along with Titaniphite's stabbing strikes, but none of it stopped her ascent.

She only kept rising… until she reached the top height.

"L-let me go!"

"No can do," Taka muttered, closing his eyes.

Then—

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 200

▸ Defense: 4242 → 3242

▸ Aura Projection: 499 → 1499

─────────────

[Innamovible object] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

She plummeted.

—BAM!—

Her body slammed into the street, back arched, eyes rolling back instantly.

"...!" Titaniphite's eyes widened, his assault faltering for a moment.

Then, seeing his partner's limp form fly past him as Taka flung her away from the area, he cursed under his breath and broke off to catch her before she hit anything else.

With Titaniphite momentarily out of the fight, Taka summoned a field of aura around himself. The bullets slowed drastically the moment they hit their boundary, losing all momentum.

Thus, finally earning himself a moment of respite.

Taka closed his eyes.

'Fuck…'

His body was aching like hell.

The villainess had been right. He might be looking fine outside, but he was not really.

With all three villains cooperating, he'd been forced into an entirely defensive stance. If he moved even a sliver of his aura away from defense, he risked getting seriously injured. So he couldn't hit back and couldn't use Aura Projection for anything meaningful.

And with his defense pumped to absurd levels, the damage was still stacking.

He'd activated Innamovible Object because he realized its effect—spreading incoming damage throughout his whole body—helped soften certain attacks. Like Titaniphite's piercing blows. Under normal circumstances, those strikes would pierce straight through. But by distributing the force evenly, the piercing effect was lost… at the cost of taking a bit more overall damage, but which could also be reduced more easily with his defense stat than a piercing attack would. Same with the bullets.

And with his defense on such great heights, he'd been tanking everything like a champ.

But tanking isn't nullifying.

The damage kept piling up; what started as mild discomfort had become sharp, jarring pain radiating across his entire body.

Good thing he had that pain-resisting skill.

And honestly, it would've been far worse if he hadn't managed to bait Electraction into overcommitting so he could use his AP on her and finally land a solid blow.

Her electricity damaged his whole body regardless of Inmovable Object being activated or not, which meant the damage could only be reduced by his defense stat.

But with her gone, his job had gotten way easier.

Now, only two villains remained—unless she woke up, which Taka hoped she wouldn't.

'The rocky guy can be dealt with strength, but as for the other…' Taka frowned, glaring around, unsure of Reaper Sight's location.

The bullets weren't the main threat—annoying, sure, but manageable. The real problem was the guy's Quirk. The bastard could teleport away the moment Taka got close, meaning he'd stay an annoyance for the entire fight, until he dealt with the rocky villain.

So, what could he do?

A clone, maybe? If one could keep the sniper busy, that'd solve it.

But thinking it through, Taka grimaced. Wasting aura on a clone right now was a terrible idea.

He needed every aura point at his disposal. He couldn't afford to make a clone, at least not one with enough power to make a difference in this fight.

'So what the heck do I do?'

How was he supposed to get rid of that guy?

You're uncreative host… uncreative… uncreative…

The system's words earlier in the fight echoed in his mind. Whether it was an actual memory or just the system replaying it for him, he wasn't sure.

Whatever it was, he focused on finding the answer to what they meant.

Where was he lacking creativity, exactly?

He'd already been pretty creative with Inmovable Object.

His other skills? They were practically built for aura farming, not combat utility. None functioned like a long-range attack either.

So what the hell did the system want him to be creative with?

His stats?

Taka frowned.

Strength? Defense? How would getting "creative" with either help him deal with a guy who could teleport around constantly?

So that left Aura Projection.

But what could it do? The sniper was too far for him to drag in, and even if he got close, the guy would just teleport again. His range wasn't wide enough to catch him pre- or post-teleport.

What was he supposed to do against that with just a pseudo-telekinesis, exactly?

Hold on…

Pseudo-telekinesis?

Taka's eyebrows lifted.

… That didn't sound quite right.

Aura Projection… The name didn't suggest "telekinesis" at all. It suggested using his aura—turning it from a simple stat booster into something that could interact with the world. Thus, projecting his aura, duh.

So why did he automatically assume it was just Telekinesis?

And if it really wasn't just that… was there something else he could do with it?

His closed eyes furrowed.

What was aura, really?

According to the system, it was energy generated from other people's awe toward him.

Energy.

Aura was energy. One with multiple purposes.

It could boost his physique.

It gained odd functions through skills like Clean or his cloning ability.

It could move things around him.

So why couldn't it do more than push and pull?

It was energy. And when you talked about energy…

'Hah… could it be?'

A small smirk curved under his mask as his eyes opened with newfound resolve.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 200

▸ Defense: 3242 → 2242

▸ Aura Projection: 1499 → 2499

─────────────

[Innamovible object] (ACTIVATED!)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

His body lifted off the ground, floating higher and higher until he had a clear vantage point over every rooftop where the sniper could be hiding. Titaniphite remained below, choosing not to jump—he wasn't about to enter a situation where he was vulnerable to Taka's "telekinesis".

With the ground threat effectively stalled, Taka waited—eyes closing as he focused.

Soon, the sound he'd been anticipating arrived.

-Bang!-

Another shot. The bullet pinged off harmlessly a moment later.

But that was all Taka needed.

His eyes snapped open, locking onto the source.

'There you are.'

He raised a hand—

-Bzzzz!-

With a buzzing noise, a sphere of pure light was generated on his palm. Heat radiating from it, growing hotter and hotter until–

-Woooosh!-

The light erupted into a blazing ray, shooting toward the sniper at blistering speed.

"...!"

Having seen Taka gathering energy in his palm from the beginning, Reaper's instincts flared, and he managed to teleport away at the last possible second.

As for the spot he'd been standing—

-Tssss…-

A clean, molten hole burned through the rooftop, and concrete liquefied around the edges.

Taka stared at it in stunned silence.

Then, to his satisfaction—

<New skill gained!>

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode]

Description: Through sheer creativity, you realized your aura's potential is far from limited.
And let's be honest—what's cooler than shooting lasers from your hands? Nothing.

Is there anything else to be said?

▸You can now condense AP points into pure destructive energy. The more AP spent, the stronger the blast.

▸Spent AP deducts from your total AP and regenerates over time.

▸The more you fire, the longer it takes to recover (50 aura per second).

▸You are now authorized to shout Kamehamehaaaaa!

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Taka blinked.

So this was it? Huh.

Thinking back… yeah, he had definitely been uncreative.

"Hahaha…" He laughed under his mask, smirk widening. "Now, this is good."

Now he could finally end this fight.

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: I hope I was clear on why Innamovible object reduces the damage Taka receives in some cases.

I'll explain it here just in case.

Piercing attacks like Titaniphite's spiked jabs deal higher damage through Taka's defenses thanks to the smaller focus points. Think of it like an attack with armor penetration. Taka's defense stat doesn't block as much as it would with a blunt attack, for example.

But with Innamovible Object, the piercing in Titaniphite's jabs is nullified as the energy behind the attack is spread through Taka's whole body instead of focusing on one point and piercing. Hence, taking away the attack's armor penetration effect and making it a normal attack that Taka's defense stat can reduce normally, even if the attack's damage value goes a bit higher, thanks to the skill's effect of increasing incoming damage.

In LOL terms, the skill makes true damage become physical damage, which allows for armor to reduce it.

Maybe I just made it overly complicated. But either way, I hope you understood.

And I hope you liked the chapter.

Eitherway, until the next chapter.

 

[CornCorn]

But with Innamovible Object, the piercing in Titaniphite's jabs is nullified as the energy behind the attack is spread through Taka's whole body instead of focusing on one point and piercing. Hence, taking away the attack's armor penetration effect and making it a normal attack that Taka's defense stat can reduce normally, even if the attack's damage value goes a bit higher, thanks to the skill's effect of increasing incoming damage.

Click to shrink...

So bullet are now completely useless against him as long as he has his defense and Innamovible Object on, got it. Along with most physical attacks having their effective force reduced several times over before even considering his defense stat (heck with Innmovable Object up even with base human defense physical attacks below superhuman thresholds and basically all calibers of bullet below say railguns (so basically all bullets available in Japan outside maybe some pros or top government stuff) shouldn't do anything either if I am interpreting this right).

 

[MorbiIIionaire]

Great fight scene! Love seeing him constantly switching stats mid-fight. Now he has a proper range option to toggle to lol. I wonder if he can eventually get his aura to do a mental thing as well, like how strong characters make people sweat or nervous/anxious/scared when in the same room. Or like killing intent or better yet kinda like conqueror's haki.

Great use of point reallocation mid fight. I was worried he would be really slow with it or worse forget to do it at all but this was great.

 

[LeonT]

"Did...did he just stop his theme song?"

Ain't nothing quite as scary as someone stopping your attack with one finger. Aizen style.

 

[swarm]

Taka got a high opinion of his creativity if using immovables with its one and only intended function is creative

 

[The Synonym]

Great fight scene! Love seeing him constantly switching stats mid-fight. Now he has a proper range option to toggle to lol. I wonder if he can eventually get his aura to do a mental thing as well, like how strong characters make people sweat or nervous/anxious/scared when in the same room. Or like killing intent or better yet kinda like conqueror's haki.

Great use of point reallocation mid fight. I was worried he would be really slow with it or worse forget to do it at all but this was great.

Click to shrink...

I sure I'm thinking about it, just gotta figure when and how to introduce them

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[The Guardian]
────────────────────────

…

"Boring," Seiji grumbled as he flipped channels, sprawled lazily across the sofa.

One channel. Two. Four. Nine.

His rapid-fire channel surfing continued without pause, his bored expression never shifting.

As he did, his eyes drifted toward the front door, one eyebrow creeping up.

"That kid… It's getting late. Why is he still out? Don't tell me he went to do another one of his shows." He frowned, thumb shifting over the remote. "Better check the local news and see if that brat is at it again."

He punched in the channel number. After a moment, the familiar intro of ShizuokaNews came up.

However, instead of anything exciting, they were covering the usual fluff. Small-time villains getting arrested, comedic clips, city events or celebrations—nothing out of the ordinary.

It seemed Taka was actually not out there committing crimes; otherwise, there was no way a channel focused only on the city would ignore him.

'That kid, I wonder why I'm even allowing him to do such things? Every time he beats a villain, he lengthens his possible sentence if he gets caught… I'm such a shitty guardian, aren't I?'

Seiji's memories went back to the day he fought Rockinesis… or, as discovered and theorized later, a clone of him.

Until then, all he'd had were mere suspicions about the vigilante's identity being Taka.

The vigilante used a suspiciously similar guitar to the one he'd given Taka, wore identical clothes to the now edgy kid, and one appeared whenever the other was gone... at least until the clone matter, but that was after his fight, not before.

The only reason he hadn't been sure of it was because the guitar he had given the kid had quite a common design amongst other guitars, and because he'd never seen Taka outright using the same outfit of the vigilante when appearing in front of him. Always wearing a piece less or different.

Albeit nothing said that Taka didn't just change outside the house to fool him. He tended to go out with a backpack most of the time, so he could easily have carried extra clothes inside there.

But after that fight, his suspicions were basically confirmed.

Similar voice—even if sounding a bit off,—pretty much the same height and contexture, same fighting stance he taught him, same edginess and sassiness.

The vigilante was indeed Taka.

Which came with quite a shock.

He'd believed Taka's Quirk converted his physical force into some telekinesis.

But Rockinesis' display of power was enormously higher than what Taka had shown at the examination months ago.

Unless the exchange was exponential, there was no way the growth Taka had undergone in their training would have made him so strong.

Not to mention the fact that now Rockinesis had a cloning ability, which literally had zero connection with Taka's supposed Quirk.

So, either he was being paranoid and Rockinesis was actually not Taka… or Taka had lied about his Quirk.

But given all the coincidences and Taka's rather bad acting skills, it seemed that he had indeed lied about his Quirk.

So what the hell was it even?

'Too troublesome.' Seiji shook his head, not feeling like bothering with it. For now, the two things he had shown, Telekinesis and cloning abilities, seemed a bit too far apart to reach a conclusion. All that was left was to wait for internet addicts to make their theories and do the job for him.

But talking about jobs, and going back to what he had asked himself earlier—

'Why the heck do I let him do all that?' Seiji wondered, staring at the TV with a puzzled expression.

He was Taka's guardian. His job was to protect the kid—to keep him from doing reckless, dangerous things.

And yet… he never stopped him.

Of course, he had tried at first. When he was deployed to deal with Rockinesis and realized mid-fight that the vigilante was actually his ward, he'd tried to suppress him before the boy could get himself into even deeper trouble.

But everything changed after he discovered Taka could clone himself. Whatever his Quirk was, it was clearly far more complex than simple telekinesis.

That had given Seiji enough justification to look the other way, even though the kid was breaking the law by fighting villains. If Taka could just send clones to do the dirty work, then there wasn't any real danger… right?

Sure, the legality was another matter, but if Seiji was honest…

He liked seeing the kid like that.

Taka had been ostracized for being Quirkless. He'd given up on becoming a hero earlier than most kids even learn what a Quirk is supposed to do. That left him with little to talk about, few friends, and fewer dreams.

As his guardian, it had been a painful sight—one Seiji never really found the right fix for. Without a Quirk, the kid had just grown hopeless. All he could do was cheer him up when possible.

But now? Now he was out there, fighting villains with a confidence and ease that even surprised him.

Seiji would bet anything the kid was grinning like an idiot behind that mask whenever he appeared.

It was a good look for him—far better than the hopelessness he'd carried for years.

Maybe that's why Seiji let him keep doing this. Maybe that's why he kept pretending he didn't notice. And honestly? The kid really was strong. Way stronger than he let on during their training sessions, judging by how he handled his fights against villains.

And yet, in their spars, the kid always lost. Never using his telekinesis or whatever that quirk was, even though he could very well beat Seiji with it.

Was he trying to defeat him with nothing but skill?

That… was actually kind of cool.

Seiji snorted at the thought and casually glanced at his wristwatch.

"Still, that doesn't explain why the heck he's out so late." His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Don't tell me that kid finally got a—"

-Chan chan CHAN!-

"...?"

His speculation was cut off by an ominous chime. The words Breaking News! flashed across the screen.

A deadpan spread across Seiji's face. "Don't tell me—"

{"We are getting word that, right at this moment, Rockinesis is engaged in a fearsome fight with three villains!"}

"Of course he is—wait, WHAT?!"

Seiji shot to his feet so fast the sofa bounced. He leaned close to the screen, eyes widening.

Three villains?! That was too much! He'd fought three heroes at once before, sure—but heroes never went for the kill.

Villains were different. They had no such qualms.

'Shit… well, Taka's pretty strong as Rockinesis. He should be able to hold out against some no-name villains until a hero arrives… or until I get there myself.' He calmed himself, rubbing his temple and wondering if she should go grab his suit.

The TV's next words left him speechless, however.

{"The conflict is currently taking place in the western district. We don't yet know what triggered this clash between the infamous vigilante and the three villains. However, police have reported minor crimes erupting all over the city—an operation previously identified in an investigation as a coordinated diversion, allowing these three confirmed A-class villains free rein to carry out their plans."}

"A-class villains?!" Seiji's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

A-class villains—those were the kind of criminals whose very existence endangered entire city blocks. The kind normal heroes struggled with. The kind that usually required multiple high-ranking heroes working together just to take down.

He'd fought a few in his active years. None of those battles had been easy.

And Taka was fighting three of them at once?

He didn't even want to imagine the outcome.

He grabbed his phone and dialed immediately.

After several rings, someone finally picked up.

{"What do you want, Super Monkey? Isn't today your off day? I'm extremely busy, don't you see the news?"}

"Oi! What the hell are the other heroes doing?! Tak—I mean, that vigilante guy is fighting three damn A-class villains by himself! Why hasn't anyone been deployed?!"

{"We're aware of the situation. We were aware of the villains even before this escalated. But all our preparations were for intercepting them at the bank they planned to hit. Since the vigilante exposed them early, we're scrambling to mobilize as fast as possible."}

"Shit. And why hasn't any hero nearby stepped in?!"

{"There are none. The entire city has fallen into small-scale pandemonium. Minor crimes are breaking out everywhere, and they've pulled all available heroes away."}

Seiji ran a hand through his hair in frustration, eyes flicking back to the TV.

There, the screen showed Taka being hammered by dozens of attacks from the trio of villains.

"Crap." He clicked his tongue and brought the phone back to his ear. "I'm going personally."

{"Sigh… Alright. I'll notify the higher-ups."}

-Click.-

With that done, he hung up.

Seiji immediately began searching for his suit—only to end up taking way longer than he expected.

"Where is my super SUIT?!"

He tore through every corner of the house, frustration growing by the second—until suddenly, he froze.

"…It's in the washing machine. Shit!"

Cursing under his breath, Seiji sprinted to his room and threw on a simple tracksuit, one that conveniently had a hole in the back for his tail.

"I'll just go like this," he muttered, grabbing for his keys in a hurry—

{"What's this? Rockinesis is showing a new power!"}

"Huh?" Only to stop dead when the TV's narrator suddenly raised his voice.

Seiji's head snapped toward the screen, confusion plastered across his face.

On the TV, Taka floated high into the sky.

'What? He's just flying. How's that a new—'

His thought cut off abruptly as Taka lifted his arm—

"...?!"

—And a beam of pure, blinding light blasted from his palm, streaking straight toward one of the villains, who only avoided being vaporized by teleporting at the last second.

The beam ended up simply hitting the ceiling of the building, but even then, it melted a hole into the concrete, like it was mere butter.

After that, a brief pause came, where Taka himself seemed briefly surprised by the new ability he'd unleashed.

But once the surprise was gone, the villain's break ended.

A barrage of beams rained down on the villain.

One after another, light shot from Taka's palm like divine artillery.

The sniper teleported desperately, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, narrowly avoiding each beam by a hair's breadth. His eyes didn't have time to look for distant places; the lights were coming at such speed that he had to teleport to the first place that was in sight.

And so far, he was managing to avoid being turned into ashes like that... But it was clear he was weakening with each teleport. His posture sagged more with every jump. His landings grew sloppy, sweat poured from him like a cascade, and his legs trembled harder each time he reappeared somewhere else.

Until, finally, after the thirtieth beam—he couldn't keep up.

A beam struck him.

"...!" Seiji's eyes widened. "Crap!"

Had Taka actually crossed the line? With an attack like that, there was no way—

But before he could finish that thought, the camera zoomed in, revealing the villain alive, panting on his knees, inspecting himself as if shocked to still exist. Not a scratch on him.

Seiji exhaled.

It was a fake?

That's when Taka descended, arms crossed and legs floating leisurely beneath him, backlit by a beam of sunlight as he stared down at the defeated villain.

The next instant, the gun the villain had been using to shoot crumpled like paper before being tossed away like trash, far from the villain's reach.

It was an imposing scene.

Even the villain seemed to have thought so, as soon he shut his eyes and slumped his head in surrender while still on his knees.

He had given up on escaping.

But then, the camera suddenly jerked.

A shadow streaked from below, rising like a rocket.

Right away, it became clear who it was. Titaniphite, one of the three villains who had been fighting Taka earlier.

He launched himself like a missile toward Taka—his rocky form reconfiguring midair, sharpening into a massive spear-like horn twice his size. The intent was clear: impale the teenager straight through.

But Taka was no unaware target.

Before the giant could even blink, Taka turned lazily and pointed a hand at him.

Instantly, Titaniphite's incredible momentum bled away—slowing… slowing… until he hung suspended in midair, helpless.

And with a single, effortless motion—

Taka slammed the two villains together.

Reaper Sight, being a normal human physically, took the brunt of it and went limp instantly.

Taka flicked a hand, sending the unconscious body plummeting to the ground below.

Only Titaniphite remained—struggling, twitching, frozen in place.

Taka floated toward him, the two facing each other in midair.

Then—with one decisive downward gesture—

Titaniphite was hurled earthward like a meteor.

The camera shook violently as the villain crashed into the street. A massive dust cloud erupted, swallowing the scene.

Through the haze, Taka began descending calmly, hands tucked casually in his pockets.

When the dust cleared, Titaniphite was forcing himself up—glaring daggers at his opponent.

His breathing was ragged, but his fury burned bright.

Then, he noticed not his companions lying just a few steps away from him, one to the right, and the other to the left—even though they shouldn't have been there, having been defeated in completely different places earlier...

So why were they there?

It instantly clicked in his mind.

The man in black was preparing a scene in which the three lay defeated on the ground orderly, while he stood victorious before them.

He was using them to look cool.

With a feral scowl, the giant took another fighting stance, his rocky armor sharpening to its absolute limit.

As he did, Taka finally landed, hitting the street, and then, seeing Titaniphite's readiness, he too readied himself.

He rolled up his sleeves and waved his hand as if beckoning Titaniphite to come.

That was enough to spark the droplet of conflict into a full-on blaze.

Titaniphite launched into his strongest—and likely final—charge of the fight, his massive frame thundering forward like an unstoppable train. The ground split beneath each step, cracks spiderwebbing outward.

Taka moved as well. No telekinesis this time and no flating. Just a full sprint, fists clenched and muscles ready.

And then… they collided.

The clash was brief.

With ruthless precision, Taka punched straight through Titaniphite's rock armor using nothing but raw, unrestrained strength—strength far beyond anything he'd shown earlier. Titaniphite clearly possessed the higher physical power on paper, yet Taka's sheer resilience ignored it entirely. Blow after blow, the only one taking real damage… was the villain.

Within minutes, Titaniphite's armor shattered completely, every rocky plate on his front obliterated. His body finally gave out, collapsing backward with his eyes rolling up, landing right between the already-unconscious Electraction and Reaper Sight.

Just like that, the trio of A-class villains… fell.

And Taka, realizing his victory, raised a fist to the sky.

The helicopter camera caught him perfectly—sunlight breaking through the clouds at that precise moment, casting a radiant beam over his form. The image was nothing short of dazzling.

And then, in an instant, Taka took flight, faster than the camera could follow, disappearing into the sky.

Like that, Seiji collapsed on his couch once again, his mouth twitching. "Haha… That kid… he's even more of a monster than I thought, huh?"

He ran a hand through his hair, letting the unease from before disperse, and even laughing humorously at the unbelievable situation.

"I might be the guardian of a future number one hero."

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: There, I was wondering about whether to do another chapter of Taka's fight with the villains, but honestly, I felt like I could just cover it from a spectator's point of view as it's more epic that way.

And since I was lacking a chapter delving into Seiji's mind, here it is.

What did you think? Was it good? Or did I screw up the guy?)

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Chain Reaction]
────────────────────────

| Taka's POV, after the battle: |

…

I arrived home completely demolished.

My whole body hurt like hell, and when I say my entire body, I'm not being metaphorical or exaggerating. I could feel pain from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

There wasn't a single inch that didn't hurt.

—well, maybe a part was safe, but I won't talk about it. Doubt you want to hear about it either.

'Is this the price of abusing Innamovible Object?' I mused, staring annoyedly up at the sky.

Sure, it kept me from being skewered by Rocky McHorn-For-A-Head, but in exchange, every ounce of force behind his attacks got redistributed straight through my whole body.

And even with my defense stat soaking up most of the damage, I still took plenty of hits—enough that it eventually piled up to an annoying degree.

I really wondered what kind of disaster my insides looked like right now. It hurt a lot, but I don't think anything had collapsed... maybe.

Still, with the help of Pain Resistance and my very professional acting skills, I straightened up, fixed my expression, and opened the door with my keys.

I had to look like nothing happened.

-Click-

"Well, well, well. Look who it is."

"...?"

But to my surprise, Seiji was right behind the door, arms planted on his waist like he'd just caught a criminal in the act.

My eyebrow twitched faintly. This guy probably already knew of my little adventure.

Sadly for him, I wasn't about to be caught lacking.

So, I narrowed my eyes, refusing to fold.

"What's up, bitch?"

He raised one eyebrow and began looking me over.

Of course, I'd already changed clothes. The outfit I'd worn to fight the villains—the one I usually used when taking on the Rockinesis persona—was at the abandoned school. I decided to keep it there to avoid getting this dumbass stumble upon it on the washing machine or something and make the connection.

That way, I could go outside, change at that school, and then go save the world as Rockinesis.

Or had a clone do it for me. That worked too.

Honestly, that place had kind of become my secret base. It was where I sent clones to train in whatever skill my system asked me to master, where I kept the equipment and instruments I'd bought with my channel's money so Seiji wouldn't ask, and, as mentioned, where I kept my Rockinesis fit.

I might as well just start calling it the Rockibase.

…

'Is that name lame? I've been called that for so long that I can't tell anymore…' My thoughts drifted.

Meanwhile, Seiji kept inspecting me, frowning slightly when he didn't find a single visible injury.

Which was a relief. I was half-worried I would be looking like an eggplant thanks to bleeding internally all over without even knowing it.

It didn't seem like that was the case, luckily.

It still hurt like hell, though.

By the time I refocused, Seiji stepped back and scoffed, a faintly amused look on his face. "Seriously… what the hell," he muttered, moving aside so I could enter.

'Finally… I can't wait to drop dead on my bed.' I let out a soft breath and stepped forward—

Only for a big hand to clamp down on my shoulder.

"What now?" I shot him an annoyed glare.

"So," he said casually, "where were you? It's pretty late."

I shrugged, putting on my most innocent face. "You know, jogging, exploring the city a bit, the usual."

He hummed like he totally believed that.

"I see, I see… Did you know that Rockinesis guy fought three A-class villains an hour or so ago? It was all over the news."

I raised an eyebrow. 'The press was watching? Ah—right. The helicopter. I was so focused on beating the hell out of the villains that I tuned it out.'

My gaze drifted to my hands.

'Then I guess that is out of the bag too.' I thought, remembering the glow that came from them earlier.

"And apparently—" Seiji continued, "—the guy even revealed another new power he'd never shown before. Laser rays and everything."

'Yup, busted.' I groaned internally.

Externally though…

"Heh... what a shock," I exclaimed in mock awe.

"Yeah… what a shock indeed." His smile tightened.

We fell silent for a moment, eyes clashing like trying the other to crack first.

But eventually, I closed my eyes and scoffed.

Then, assuming that the silence had meant the interrogation or whatever this had been was over, I began walking toward my room, ready to collapse face-first onto my bed.

"Hey, kid."

Of course, it wasn't over just yet.

"What?" I turned back, irritation finally slipping through.

"I don't care what hobbies you might have," he said quietly, "But just consider that everything has consequences. Don't fool yourself into thinking secrets last forever, or that you'll never have to face what comes after." He said, his expression unusually serious for him.

"..." I blinked, a tad surprised with his directness.

Once he said that, however, his smile returned to being as goofy as ever. "That's all the advice I can give you. Think it through. Now go, I can see that you're dying to go bust one at your room."

"You... I…—whatever." I was about to tell him my mind, but found it not worth the effort.

So, with black lines on my face, I turned around and walked to my room.

A bit later, I finally fell onto my bed, letting out a groan as I was finally able to let my very manly muscles rest.

'Consequences, huh?' I closed my eyes, thinking about it.

As much as I hated to admit it, he wasn't wrong.

Leaving aside whatever he meant by that—probably getting caught by police or heroes raiding this place—the fact was that I was showing way too many abilities with no clear relation to each other was obviously gonna become a problem in the long run. I was basically painting a giant target on my back for the real monsters of this world to see.

And not only had I shown a bunch of different powers, but I had also defeated three A-class villains, according to Seiji.

That meant anyone who had dismissed me as some random vigilante with a bit of power and a curious Quirk had definitely reconsidered.

Honestly, I'd be quite lucky if I hadn't caught Potato-Head's attention by now.

Although… maybe I'm overestimating my fame.

While in this city I'm kind of well-known, I'm not sure how wide that fame actually spreads.

Maybe in all of Japan, I'm nothing more than a curious fact in a Quirktuber's video about the tourist attractions of this city. Or someone people just heard on the news one time and then became forgotten.

And as for the rest of the world? I bet barely anyone knows I exist.

Then again… maybe I'm downplaying how urgent this situation really is.

'But honestly, I'm not in the state to think about it right now.' I groaned. As much as I wanted to take this seriously, the pain I was feeling was no joke.

I needed to take a nap and recover, now.

So, as a final ritual before sleep, I opened my status panel.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119

▸ Defense: 238

▸ Aura Projection: 5765

─────────────

Total Aura: 5765

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

▸Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

An hour had passed already, so the aura my clones had used was back. On top of that, I gained a bunch of aura throughout the fight thanks to all that nonchalant attack-tanking I did, bumping my total up by four hundred-something.

<[+1 Aura]>

<[+2 Aura]>

Not only that, but my passive income had shot up even more. I wasn't sure by how much—since the increase only happened after the fight and I haven't had time to measure—but it was noticeably faster.

Last time I'd checked, it was about 35–40 a day. Now? It felt like a 30–50% boost.

So maybe around 60 a day?

'I'll just check later. It'll probably go down once the news about me beating those villains gets old,' I thought, deciding it wasn't worth dealing with now.

So my eyes moved to the next important thing: My new skill—or rather, the new application of Aura Projection.

Sure, shooting lasers from my palms was cool, but that wasn't why this mattered so much to me right now.

The real importance was the confirmation of the stat's potential.

It actually wasn't—and had never been—just telekinesis by another name. It could have more uses, more abilities, more depth than I had considered initially.

'And I probably haven't even scratched the surface,' I thought, eyes glinting with interest as I imagined just what other uses my aura could have, my hand automatically going to my chin in contemplation.

But right then, the movement sent a jolt of pain through me, making me wince.

-Hiss…-

'Shit… I wonder if it can heal injuries too.'

<New mission available!>

"Huh?"

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[As an Aura Farmer, it is in our nature to overwhelm and oppress our rivals in the most disrespectful ways, and to flex our awesomeness no matter the cost. However, the path of the Aura Farmer does not end there, for one can destroy as well as protect.

You have discovered the destructive potential of Aura Projection, but have yet to tap into its opposite: its protective and healing potential.

Plus, you're injured as hell, so this will come in handy.]

Conditions for completion:

▸ Tap into your Aura's other potential.

▸ Heal someone. (Not counting yourself)

Reward: +100 aura | You'll have acquired the [Aura Projection – There, There Mode]

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"..."

I fell silent at how conveniently that appeared.

But I guess this was just the system's way of confirming my theory and giving me something else to work on.

'Whatever.' I frowned.

Mostly because part of me was annoyed that yet another task had been added to my already busy enough schedule.

But don't think I wasn't happy about the news.

Healing in the real world was, after all, pretty broken. And now, it was within my grasp.

Only, the conditions don't really tell me much about how to "tap" into this potential of my aura... So I suppose I'll have to figure it out on my own.

Good thing I have clones, eh? I'll be sure to put those bastards to work on it as soon as I can.

Does that count as child labour, considering I'm a teenager?

Who knows.

But for now—

—Snore—

I'm going to sleep.

Tomorrow-me can deal with all of this, and whatever else pops up.

How worse can it be than now?

…

°

°

°

| U.A.'s principal office |

…

"... Well, isn't this interesting?" Nezu muttered to himself as he watched the most recent news on the notepad on his paws, his eyes scanning the footage of an incident in the coastal city of Shizuoka.

On the screen, a dark-clad figure was fighting three villains at once, taking blow after blow without so much as flinching.

'Impressive resistance to attacks… possibly shock absorption, or something similar.'

Then came an unexpected shift. Thanks to one villain's mistake, the vigilante managed to bring her down using swift, telekinetic-like movements. Thus, reducing their numbers and hence all the attacks he had to react to.

'The capability to affect objects from afar with considerable force, telekinesis, or at least something really similar.'

Moments later, he shot into the air and began raining down lasers from his hands onto the long-range villain. The beams showed remarkable firepower—enough to incapacitate if they hit properly, as shown when they hit a building's ceiling and burned a hole through it.

But when one finally reached the villain, the man emerged unharmed somehow.

'Energy manifestation… either it only damages inanimate targets—as it did when it tore through a building's ceiling but not on the villain—or he somehow lowered the lasers' energy output not to hurt the villain.'

After that, the vigilante dealt with said villain less lethally and then dove down to face the last villain for once and for all.

The battle concluded as both clashed, the sheer difference in size making it a ridiculous but amazing spectacle.

But, eventually, the vigilante overwhelmed the villain through sheer physical prowess, breaking through his rock-like armour and bringing him to his knees in the end.

'Immense strength, speed, and a faint grasp of martial arts from what I can see.'

The video ended with the figure raising a fist in victory before flying away—too fast for the camera to follow.

As the footage cut off, Nezu set down his notepad with a cheerful smile.

'Truly interesting.'

He already had a solid idea of who the villains were; his memory was good like that, and in the past, he had made sure to get to know most of the individuals who could potentially present threats in the future.

In this case, the three were dangerous A-class villains with powerful or extremely tricky Quirks, which made them require multiple standard heroes to subdue, each, unless they sent top-tier powerhouses like All Might, Endeavor, or others.

And yet, now, before his eyes, a single person had handled them.

A vigilante, no less, not a trained hero.

And so now came the matter of the vigilante himself.

Nezu had become aware of him months ago, thanks to his rising reputation and steadily growing list of feats. He even had to admit, the two melodies the vigilante had composed were pleasantly catchy.

But what truly stood out to the public were his Quirk—or Quirks.

What had first seemed like simple telekinesis slowly turned into a complete enigma. Cloning, super strength, enormous durability, an ability akin to shock absorption, and now pure energy projection—be it thermal, luminous… or both.

The more time passed, the more abilities this individual displayed.

And the more time passed, the more he went from "petty criminal charged with vigilantism" to a full-fledged powerhouse with multiple abilities.

Why and how did he have such abilities? Nezu had several theories—some not so good—but neither of them was something concrete. Not yet.

However, unlike the public, Nezu's interest lay in something more peculiar about the vigilante than in the multiple abilities he possessed. Something that would be far more common and unimportant in the eyes of others—but that, for him, the principal of a hero school, it was but the most interesting thing about this walking mystery.

Something only he, with his sharp mind and attention to detail, could have possibly noticed from the footage.

The vigilante's physique.

He looked… young. Or at least, that's what his contexture suggested.

Nezu's eyes gleamed with mischievous delight.

And he had a channel on YouTube, on top of that.

He had been looking into it earlier due to pure curiosity, and he'd noticed the vigilante had taken some precautions to avoid being tracked. Uploading most stuff through cyber cafes, and probably using pendrives or other devices to transport the videos.

Unfortunately, that was clearly not enough to stop him.

With an amused and almost childish chuckle, Nezu hopped onto his desk and began using his computer.

No more than thirty minutes later—

'Takahashi Fukumoto, huh? Ward of Super Monkey, the 69th hero in the rankings, and a child previously documented as Quirkless until recently, where he unlocked his Quirk "Muscle To Mind", which allowed him to convert his physical strength into telekinetic abilities.'

Nezu's small, beady eyes glistened as he went through the information. Of course, he made sure not to touch the more private information about the kid. He just wanted to get a grasp of who the person behind the vigilante was.

But then, he read something that he couldn't ignore, his eyebrows shooting up for a moment.

Desired career plan: Hero course at U.A.

He chuckled like a joyful kid.

"This incoming year suddenly became even more interesting!"

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: The consequences have arrived. How will they unfold, even I don't know. I suppose I gotta think now.

…

I'm doing it, I'm thinking!

AUGHHH, my head!)

 

[LeonT]

I love that to everyone else he just looked cool as fuck and epic.

In reality?

"FUCK, MY ASS IS EXHAUSTED AND EVERYTHING HURRRRTS!"

It's hilarious and really adds to the story. His ability is to Aura Farm but he's still human.

 

[ExArrow]

The Aura system needs to force this dude to think more and not be a dumbass. True Aura Farmers are smart as well as cool.

 

[CornCorn]

He keeps getting more abilities… that he'll never be able to use at UA because it will immediately out him as the semi-famous vigilante to basically anyone capable of adding and subtracting numbers. Honestly, the 'go to UA' plan might be a bit of a wash at this point.

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[All Out]
────────────────────────

| Rockibase, at the music classroom, a week later… |

…

Taka sat on a worn-out chair, his back slumping as his foot's heel tapped constantly on the floor, his eyes unusually interested in the floor.

"Phew… So the time has finally come," he muttered, pulling out his phone and checking on the date with squinty eyes. Then, he checked the hour.

It was evening already, the darkness of the night already creeping in.

Having checked that fact, Taka put his phone down and sighed dejectedly.

However, just a second later, his gaze turned back forward, determination flashing from it.

"Tonight's the night." He said, this time louder. Whether to look cool or to encourage himself, it was unknown.

As to why he would be encouraging himself?

The answer was that today was the day he showed his song to the world. Today was the day his constant grinding and effort finally culminated in one result… Success, or failure.

Would the song he had taken three months preparing and refining be good enough?

Would his attempt at leaving the art of plagiarizing work?

Or would he realize that he should've never walked out of it?

His eyes darted to the side, where all the instruments he had been using for practice these past few months were.

A bass, a drumset, even an electric board.

All of them represented weeks of effort and constant grinding that, while he himself did not go through, the memories of his clones basically made it as if he had done so.

And it wasn't only practicing. Composing had been just as hard. He ended up modifying the entire song several times, fixing mistakes, improving parts, or simply changing his mind from time to time about certain parts, even while already being at the band-practicing stage.

That was why it had taken three months for this day to come. Otherwise, he would have been done a month or so ago.

Albeit, with what would probably be a much inferior version of what his creation had become nowadays… At least, that's what Taka thought.

Who knew how the masses would react, after all?

If this actually flopped… then forget the aura loss he'd have to bear, the shit feeling he'd get would last for the entire next year, and would probably make him bury his Rockinesis persona ten kilometers below the earth, never to mention it again.

… If it did not, however, today's gains of aura would be immaculate.

Especially because of the special preparations he had taken in advance. He had made sure that today's gains would be maximized to the limit.

While his excessive perfectionism may have had a lot to do with why the song's creation took three months, there was another factor that had led to today being the date when he struck.

And that was the existence of a concert—or, actually, a bunch of them, in Tokyo.

A musical festival, basically.

No hero or villain shit involved this time.

Yes. He was actually crashing a festival's show to present his song.

—Illegally, if it wasn't clear enough.

After all, he was currently a wanted vigilante. Attempting to inscribe legally would probably only get the police to come knocking, regardless of whether the organizers would allow him in there or not.

This was a rather bold move, since it moved from morally ambiguous vigilantism, to outright intruding forcefully in a festival and taking the scenery hostage to play his song before dipping.

This time, he was actually stepping into the path of a criminal—or a villain, in the words of the media.

But if that's what it had to happen for him to present, then so be it.

Today, he was going all out.

Cringe or epic… The line blurred today.

While he may feel a little sorry for causing trouble for the producers and organizers of this event, there was simply no better place he could think of where the presentation could be done.

No other place had everything needed to make this song's debut the best it could be. Equipment, audience, acoustics, vibe… Everything was perfect.

Of course, he wasn't planning on just landing on the scenery and then rocking plainly. That'd be like serving a gourmet meal on a cardboard plate.

He had actually meticulously planned this.

Throughout the past month, he sent clones several times to the place to investigate and learn how to use the scenery's implements and lights, along with learning the place's schematics, so he could plan properly where and how to make his entrance. He also checked some tutorials online to complement.

And since he was still feeling a bit sorry for just intruding like that, he also learned to some extent the schedule of all the bands and other events, so that he could make his entrance at the moment where he'd make the least problems for those involved.

All in all, his plans were as thorough as he could have done them. The only way this would go wrong was if his song actually turned out to be shit… Or if All Might appeared and punched him to oblivion.

He wouldn't be there, would he?

He could deal with the heroes that may be there as security; he had planned to station some of his clones as guards to hold them off while the song played… but if anyone like All Might stepped in, he was going to prison for certain.

Of course, to avoid that, he could simply have his clones do the entire show while he stood amidst the crowd, safe and sound from any powerful hero that might be there.

He could do that… But it didn't feel right.

It had to be him who stood there.

He was showing the results of his own effort to the world. Leaving it all to the clones while he stood aside, that didn't sound very aura farmer-like.

Even if it was unnecessary, and maybe dumb… Sometimes showing off was that.

Sometimes, Aura Farming was like that.

"Probably…" Taka snorted wryly before glancing around. "You agree with me, right, system?"

But even after several seconds had passed, no answer came.

Taka raised an eyebrow, glancing around with an odd look.

After a bit, though, he let out a snort and shook his head helplessly. "Yeah, I suppose having doubts isn't very aura farmer-like."

Heaving a sigh, Taka stretched for a bit his arms and back, and then stood up, his gaze now gaining a resolution unseen until then.

Without further ado, he went to a nearby locker and took out his Rockinesis outfit.

Black hoodie, black mask, and black pants. Edginess to the limit.

A cape would have been good to have, but changing his street-like outfit to having a cape would have been too brusque a change.

Maybe once he entered U.A., he'd ask for a cape for his hero suit.

But that was for the future.

Having changed his clothes, Taka let out a nervous breath and walked to the center of the room.

From his aura, suddenly several clones began materializing next to him, all of them wearing the same Rockinesis outfit.

And then, out of nowhere, all of his clones took dramatic poses beside him, making him the only one standing normally.

Taka sweatdropped, turning to look at them, flabbergasted.

Why were his clones like this?

'No matter.' He sighed and shook his head wryly, already somewhat accustomed to his clones' antics.

A neck crack and a shoulder-loosening later, he glared ahead with determination.

"Alright, let's fucking do this!"

"Swearing doesn't make you cool." One of his clones chimed in.

The rest nodded in unison.

Taka sighed.

"I know, just nervous."

Another clone spoke, tilting his head slightly. "By the way, why did you summon us? It's a three-hour trip to Tokyo. Moving in tandem like this doesn't seem very efficient."

Taka snorted.

"It was for the dramatic effect."

""..."" His clones looked at him weirdly.

And then, they disappeared.

"Ahem." Taka cleared his throat.

It was time to move.

…

°

°

°

| Hours later… |

…

A huge crowd stood before a stage, at least one thousand people jumping, bobbing their heads, and singing along with the main band standing at the center of the show. The air around was thick and hot, but even then, it did not lessen the spirit of those enthusiasts of music, who rather than dislike it, seemed to revel in it along with the music.

Their hearts drummed, and goosebumps flowed through their body, forcing them to move to release such energy. Their eyes getting teary as they stared at the people in the middle of the stage.

But just like all in life, the song being played eventually began reaching its end, and in unison, the emotions of the crowd began dimming as well.

A minute or so later, the song came to an end, and the band performing it gave the audience a deep bow before stepping off the stage while the crowd called for them and clapped feverishly.

Simultaneously, the announcer stepped in and walked towards the mic, waving at the crowd.

{"That was epic, wasn't it, everyone?! Let's give the band 'I Just Ate a Banana' a big round applause!"}

Cheers and applause from the crowd intensified, with some whistles adding onto them, flooding the entire place.

The announcer nodded satisfiedly, laughing heartily.

{"Hahaha, I can feel the love you guys have for this band in the air! Hopefully, this won't be the only time we are honored with their presence!"}

The crowd cheered.

After laughing a bit more, the announcer glanced fakely at his wrist as if he had a watch there, and turned back to the crowd.

{"Anyway, folks. We'll be taking a small break. Go buy something or go take a break from all that jumping around so you can be fully recovered for when we come back with the next band, 'My Shirt is Itchy', in ten minutes!"}

Another cheer came.

And with that, the announcer got off the stage.

The crowd also started to disperse, with some people rubbing their bellies, wondering what they should eat, and others planning to go to the edges of the festival to lie down for a bit and recover.

But just as they were beginning to leave for good—

-Bang!-

Everyone got startled as all the lights in the area went off, summing the entire place into darkness.

"What's happening?"

"A blackout? You've got to be kidding me!"

"They better not cancel this. I spent more than half my salary on this!"

Confusion soon took over the entire mass of people, with many looking around to see if there was any staff that could tell them what the hell was happening, and some others already getting angry.

But then, just as some of the crowd were starting to wonder if something bad might actually be happening—

-Bang!-

A single light turned on, aiming at an empty spot on the stage.

Everyone turned confusedly to the scenery. The confirmation that a blackout had actually not happened created more questions than answers. Even more oddly, something seemed to be happening at the stage, judging from how a sole light had fallen at the center, as if highlighting someone—who wasn't there.

Was there a special event or something? Was someone important coming?

The crowd only grew more restless as nothing happened.

But then, the sole light on the stage began moving upwards, until it landed on the top of the stage, where half of the light was lost in the night sky, while the other half illuminated the beams that gave the scenery form.

For a moment, everyone tilted their head.

Was something actually malfunctioning? Nothing was there.

But all confusion was turned to shock once, from high above in the sky, a figure descended, landing cleanly and elegantly on the beams with his arms crossed.

"What the hell?"

"Who's that?"

"Wasn't this a break? Why is the show restarting?"

"Hold on—I know that guy."

Soon, some of the crowd began noticing a certain familiarity in the figure.

Black hoodie hiding the hair, black mask hiding the mouth, and black pants that only added to the edginess… There was only one person with a fit like that!

"Rockinesis?! Why is that guy here?!"

"Rockinesis? That guy? In this place?!"

"Why would he…?"

"Don't tell me…!"

Every single gaze centered around the same person, some annoyed, others excited. The emotions of the until-then relaxed crowd began surging again, turning the entire place noisy again.

But just when the chatter and noise seemed to be stabilizing, something happened that threw the entire vicinity into pure chaos.

"W-what's that?!" A man pointed to where Rockinesis was.

"Holy." A woman went agape.

"So it was true!" A teenager beamed.

Suddenly, several more figures began descending from the sky and landed next to Rockinesis.

Same clothes, same stature, same constitution…

What had been a single Rockinesis had turned into Rockinesises! (idk man)

Then, to everyone's surprise, the group jumped down in tandem, a loud bang echoing as the group landed in the middle of the stage while the light followed after them.

—Only for them to, right as all eyes settled on them, pose dramatically.

—save for the Rockinesis who had arrived first, and who stood at the front of the group now with his arms crossed.

At least that was the case until all of them raised their hands into the air simultaneously.

Instants later, instruments of all kinds flew in from all around. Landing perfectly on their palms, or in the case of those heavier instruments, landing right in front of them.

Thus, making it quite clear what was about to happen.

"Holy shit, a Rockinesis concert?!"

"I don't know why they didn't advertise this, but I'm all in!"

"Wonder which song he'll play?"

"Must be Animal I've Become."

"Nah, appearing at a concert like this, what else would it be but the first song he composed? It's gotta be Future In My Hands. Now improved and with more instruments!"

"Why not both?"

The crowd went wild as the realization of what was about to happen dawned on them. Constant chatter, cheers, and whistles filled the vicinity.

Meanwhile, the Rockinesis group remained at the center of the stage, unmoving, like statues, illuminated by a single light, until suddenly—

—BANG!—

All the lights turned on at the same time, blinding the crowd and making them cover their eyes.

But as their sight became negated, their other senses heightened.

—CHA-KA-CHAN—

Soon, the familiar riff of guitar that announced Rockinesis' arrival reached their ears, turning frowns into disbelieving smiles.

And then, as their eyes regained their sight, they saw it.

The group of Rockinesis, standing with the blinding lights hitting their back, their fronts shrouded in black,

An image that would imprint in the minds of many that day.

And so, as the hearts of the crowd began beating as one…

—The music began.

...

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: I'll be straightforward with you, I'm no musician, so I ain't going to write lyrics for a song that doesn't exist. That'd be corny beyond my limits.

So, let's do it like this.

You can imagine whatever song you like and think would be appropriate for the character to be playing, and lorewise that song won't exist in Taka's old world, hence being his original creation.

And in case you don't feel like it, I also chose a song on my own. Which?

It's a very SPECIAL song.

So you can just imagine Taka playing that.)

 

[SHARKSODA]

How dare you cuck us like this syno, right when it got to the juicy part!!! (/j)

 

[LuminousBlackrock]

I am now imagining him singing Nippon Manju

 

[Jao]

You can imagine whatever song you like and think would be appropriate for the character to be playing, and lorewise that song won't exist in Taka's old world, hence being his original creation.

Click to shrink...

I am imagining the Baby Shark song.

 

[LeonT]

He is playing this. Fr, fr. Totally.

 

[*Username*]

It's a very SPECIAL song.

Click to shrink...

*Incidents your Shibuya*

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[The Song]
────────────────────────

(A/N: Ready your songs readers... or don't.

Anyway, your author's choice was SPECIALZ, in case you feel like hearing it too.)

…

As Taka's voice fell, the crowd—silent but brimming with anticipation—erupted all at once.

The melody struck them instantly. The rhythm, the vocals, the arrangement, everything burrowed deep into the audience's chest in a single beat, dragging their emotions along with it.

The visuals were not falling behind either.

Red and blue lasers sliced through the air, sweeping across the stage and illuminating the silhouettes of the many Rockinesises, while a thick veil of theatrical smoke spread over the floor, giving the identical figures an almost otherworldly presence.

Cheers and whistles came from the excited crowd, but the song overpowered all of them, and the audience didn't seem to mind in the slightest. They jumped, screamed, and even cried as their emotions overflowed.

—There were always those emotional ones who cried at concerts.

The entire place was submerged in the performance so deeply that almost no one noticed what was happening at the sides of the stage.

Hidden beneath the thunder of the music, frustrated shouts struggled to be heard.

"Dammit, has anyone made it up there to stop that guy?!" a hero in a blue-and-white suit yelled into his radio, trying not to be swallowed by the deafening song.

A reply crackled back through the static.

{"East side here. The path is completely blocked by a clone. We can't get through!"}

"Shit! How the hell can clones be enough to hold all of us back?!"

A hero beside him groaned. "This is getting depressing…"

Unwilling to give up, the first hero shoved the radio into his pocket and marched toward the stairs leading up to the stage.

But before he could reach them, a figure silently appeared in his path.

Rockinesis—a clone, presumedly—floated calmly in midair, arms crossed, and legs dangling. It appeared in front of him, blocking his path completely.

The hero clenched his teeth.

"Rockinesis, y-you don't have permission to perform here! Actually, forget that—you're a wanted fugitive! Get out of the way and put an end to this farce!"

"..."

A second of silence passed, both of them clashing gazes, in a contest of will—until the black-clad figure suddenly lifted a hand…

"...!"

…and wagged a single finger left and right. The hero's request, denied.

"Enough!" The hero snapped, thrusting his hands upward.

Pebbles—sharp, dense, and accelerated—shot up like a hailstorm toward the vigilante.

Sadly, they all crumbled into dust before even reaching him.

"Wha—?!"

Then, in the blink of an eye, the hero was yanked off his feet, hoisted into the air like a misbehaving child by the telekinesis, and flown straight back to the cluster of other heroes before being unceremoniously dropped onto the ground.

Seconds later, he scrambled back to his feet and groaned, rubbing his temples. "Why is my Quirk so pathetic…?"

Before he could fully wallow, his radio buzzed again in his pocket.

{"All heroes, be advised—you are not to stop Rockinesis."}

The hero snatched it up instantly. "But Mr. Takeda, he—!"

{"He is sending the crowd wild. Sure, he may have butted in forcefully on the stage and messed with the schedule, but this is incredible publicity for the event."}

"You're kidding me."

{"Besides… he's completely overwhelming all of you, isn't he? Just let him be. It's not like you could do anything anyway."}

The hero's posture slumped forward in defeat, looking on the verge of tears.

Back on the stage, the many Rockinesises kept playing in perfect coordination, each clone hitting their part with almost supernatural precision.

But they didn't stop just at that.

Before long, some of the clones started breakdancing while still playing, flexing so hard it bordered on showboating.

But judging by the public's excited reaction, they sure didn't give a damn about the obvious flexing.

Taka, meanwhile, sweatdropped from his spot at the front, standing normally while playing his part.

'You bunch are doing too much.' He sent his clones a look.

His clones looked back at him. 'We are doing everything!'

'…Fair enough.' Taka sighed inwardly, eyes darting away.

He had to admit… watching someone shred a piano, bass, or a drumset while spinning on their head was objectively impressive.

"Whatever…" he muttered aloud.

Then, in one smooth motion, he dropped down, braced his palms, and began spinning on his head too, guitar in hand, holding it with Aura while his fingers continued playing. The rhythm he played surged in intensity, taking over the melody as his legs kicked and swung wildly in the air.

And then pumped the show up.

He floated—all while still spinning, his guitar riffs blazed through the song, momentarily drowning out the clones, who slowed to let the main act take the spotlight.

The crowd froze. Their frenzy died mid-jump, the sheer awe enough to bring everything to a still.

And there was more.

As the song approached its climax and Taka landed back on the stage, every Rockinesis lifted a single finger.

And then—

A barrage of lights blasted into the sky, rapid and relentless, like Gatling guns firing fireworks that never exploded.

The audience's eyes sparkled. The emotional ones were already foaming at the mouth. Even the heroes who'd been trying to shut everything down earlier could only stare, entranced by the spectacle.

Taka's eyes gleamed beneath the mask, an excited smirk tugging at his lips.

This was it.

This was what he'd spent months preparing for.

This was the culmination of all his efforts.

The proof of what he could create with his own hands—with his own mind.

The waves of aura notifications ringing in his ears were ignored entirely. All he cared about was the stunned faces before him and the sound of his own song filling the night.

The heat, the sweat, the deafening volume—any other day, it would've driven him insane. But tonight, every sensation fueled him, sharpened him, pushed his performance further.

Tonight, he wasn't the Taka he was every day. Tonight, he was at the peak… Even if it was temporary, even if it was only in his own head—

Tonight, he shone brighter than anyone.

"Haha…" Taka laughed, eyes gaining a glow.

Another system alert rang in his ears, but once again, it was tuned out. Taka's smirk behind the mask widened into a full-on toothy smile.

Once again, he rose into the air, floating higher and higher, the guitar cable stretching taut behind him as the speakers followed.

Soon, the song reached its final stretch, and with it came the climax—an overwhelming surge that sent the crowd into emotions most had never even grazed before. Inspiration, excitement, raw motivation. Their throats tightened, their bodies trembled, their hearts thundered in sync with Taka's.

For a moment, every single person in the venue felt it.

No—they saw it.

His presence, his existence, his very essence blazed brighter than anything they'd witnessed. Like a new star had erupted across the night sky, drowning out the rest. They felt it ripple through them, every cell shivering as if awakened.

His Aura.

…

As the climax faded, Taka slowly drifted back toward the stage. The blinding light around him receded, and the crowd's emotions began stabilizing—though not fading.

Eventually, the frantic beat slowed, and the melody softened.

And finally, with a last resonant chord, the song ended—leaving behind a satisfying, almost cruelly tempting sense of wanting more.

A full minute of absolute silence fell over the entire festival.

Not a whisper or a breath from the public. Instead, everyone just stared ahead with blank gazes.

For an instant, Taka's smile wavered behind his mask.

But that had simply been the crowd snapping back from the trance.

Once they all returned to reality—

-Clap-

One single applaud broke the silence.

And then another.

And another.

Until the entire venue erupted into applause, not a single person stayed still. Even the heroes, who'd been scrambling to stop him minutes earlier, couldn't help but clap.

Taka let out a long, satisfied sigh, sweat rolling down his face beneath the heat of the lights and the stuffiness of the mask and hoodie.

He snorted lightly, closing his eyes as he soaked in the crowd's frenzy and awe.

His heartbeat and the intense state he had been in earlier cooled down as the crowd's cheering reached his ears.

His clones did another batch of ridiculous poses behind him, but he didn't care. All that entered his mind at that moment was the people's acclaim.

—at least, until the blaring wail of police sirens cut straight through the cheers.

His eyes snapped open, and his until then relaxed face turned to a deadpan in one go.

"…Ah, shit."

Immediately, he snapped his fingers, and every clone on stage puffed out of existence at once.

A single wave of his hand disconnected all the instruments from whatever setup he'd jury-rigged.

And then, after a short bow to the audience—

—BAM!—

Taka shot into the sky, soaring upward as every piece of equipment trailed behind him like a floating tail of metal.

…

°

°

°

| Taka's POV, minutes later, through the sky: |

…

It's finally done.

Three whole months of work finally paid off.

"Phew…" I exhaled, trying to calm my still beating like crazy heart.

That had been amazing. Even now I felt… elevated. Like I'd ascended or something.

Maybe I'd fall back to mediocrity once I collapsed on my bed tonight, but for now, I felt like the whole world was in the palm of my hand.

Instantly, my mind went back to the concert. Would I ever feel like that again? That sensation of standing at the top?

My fist clenched, a small mocking smirk tugging at my lips.

'What the hell, I'm acting like an overly excited kid.' I shook my head. Whatever that was down there, it had shaken me more than necessary.

For now, I should focus on outrunning the police—

<Reminder that you have unchecked gains.>

'Huh? Ah, right, I forgot you existed for a second.'

It was partially the system's mission that pushed me into doing all this, wasn't it? Crazy how I completely forgot.

"Well, whatever. Hit me with it," I said, waving a hand beckoningly.

And hit me it did.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[COMPLETE!]

[You've taken a step forward in your path to true aura farming, for the True Aura Farmer does not steal. The Aura farmer creates, shows, and inspires.]

Conditions for completion:

▸Develop your own song.✔

▸Once done, present it in a place with more than a thousand people.✔

▸Have people enjoy your song.✔

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

<Calculating Reward…>

<+1000 Aura!>

<+Skill [Imaginary Technique: My Theme]!>

"That's a lot of Aura…" I muttered, eyes sparkling at the reward.

Naturally, I opened my status to see how ridiculous my numbers had become—

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 119

▸ Defense: 238

▸ Aura Projection: 6062

─────────────

Total Aura: 9052

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

▸Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode

▸Imaginary Technique: My Theme

▸Sperm Eye

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Whoa—what the hell?!" I gawked at the number.

It was… it was…

OVER 9000!!!

How the heck had that even happened?!

My AP had barely been in the six-thousands this morning.

It jumped by 3000 in a single night… that's crazy.

A thousand was from the mission, so the other two thousand must've come from the audience?

"Haha…" I let out a wry laugh. This—this was beyond anything I expected.

My prediction of hitting ten thousand by the time U.A. started suddenly felt way too conservative.

Three months remained. With stats like these now, who knows how broken I'll be then?

<New skill unlocked!>

"Yeah, I know, the 'my theme' skill, right?"

<No, another one.>

"Huh? Just now?"

<No, it happened during the show. You were simply too caught up in it to notice.>

"Oh… so what is it?"

<Showing…>

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Sperm Eye] (Active)

Description: The eyes are the window of the soul, and they too can reflect the sheer aura you exude.

You just gotta make them glow a little. 'Cause glowing eyes means you're locking in.

▸You can change your eye color to your choice.

▸You can make your eyes glow.

▸You can add a small non-burning flame to your eyes to give yourself that classic sperm eye.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Huh… Well, I guess it makes sense something like this would show up," I muttered, looking the skill up and down, before deadpanning a bit. "But did that have to be its name? Couldn't you just have called it the edgy eyes or something?"

<No.>

Whatever. You do you, buddy.

Still, as amusing a skill as it was, it wasn't the one I was looking forward to at the moment.

So, having given it a look over one final time, I closed the notification and opened my newly gained skill, eager to see what it could do.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Imaginary Technique: My Theme] (Active)

Description: Everything seems lost. The heroes are beaten, the world is a disaster, and only doom stains the horizon.

Now, the weak simply stand powerless for a fate they are unable to change.

Evil has triumphed… There is no hope left.

—Or so they thought.

As the survivors cry in defeat, something sharp cuts through their despair.

A melody. One they all know too well.

Heads rise, and tears of hope fall.

And all eyes are centered on one point.

There he is—bathed in the sunset, accompanied by a song engraved in the world's memory.

The Aura Farmer.

▸Play a song of your choice in the minds of the people around you whenever you desire.

▸The song chosen won't manifest as a literal song playing in their heads like a speaker had been put in their brain. Instead, it will be created by the unconscious of the person, making them imagine said song, even if it's not actually playing. Pretty much like Schizophrenia, but cooler.

▸You too can hear the song if you desire.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

…

"Zamn."

Yeah… that's…

Ahem.

It's not like I'm already dying to try it out or anything.

Sighing, I closed the screen and focused back on flying—though I kept glancing at the empty space where the window had been more times than I want to admit.

"Well, that's gonna be one hella fun skill to use in the future," I muttered and smirked faintly.

But then, my phone buzzed.

I raised an eyebrow and took it out. Someone had sent a message.

Had Seiji seen the stuff I was up to and finally decided to hold me accountable for my actions?

Curious, I opened the app.

And my eyebrow twitched upon what I saw.

{Jiro: Yo Takahashi guess what??? I was at this music festival in Tokyo, and suddenly Rockinesis popped up! Can you believe it?}

[Image of Jiro making a peace sign with the Rockinesis gang in the background, rocking hella hard.]

I massaged my face in something akin to confusion or frustration, I don't know.

'Of course she was there.'

Then, sighing, I tapped a response.

{You: Stop fangirling}

{Jiro: ???}

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Since I was feeling benevolent today, I shall give the continuation on the same day. Be grateful, peasants.

And well, and that was the song chapter. From here on, just a few more preparations are in order before Taka finally makes his debut at the U.A.

There's still one skill I want him to acquire. I'm sure you guys will like it. It's very… uh, to make you take a seat from the awe?

I don't know how to describe it without spoiling the surprise, but it's for sure a skill an aura farmer should have. So look forward to it.)

 

[*Username*]

*Incidents your Shibuya*

Click to shrink...

Anyway, your author's choice was SPECIALZ, in case you feel like hearing it too.)

Click to shrink...

I to, can Aura farm by randomly guessing an answer then claiming I was always being 100% confident in getting it correct

 

[The Synonym]

(A/N: This is a POVs chapter, filled with characters' reactions, so if you don't feel like reading it, skip to the last part, which is Taka's POV.)

────────────────────────
[Viralization]
────────────────────────

| Chiba Prefecture, at a certain house… |

…

In an, uh, "extravagantly" decorated room, a girl with both pink skin and hair—complete with small hook-shaped horns and black eyes with yellow irises—let out a loud sigh as she dropped her school bag beside the bed and threw herself face-first onto it, groaning.

She was none other than Mina Ashido, one of the future 1-A students.

"Final exams, final exams… what a pain. Can't they just make my last year easier? Why do they have to make it hard until the end?!"

She kicked and thrashed like a child in the middle of a tantrum.

Eventually, though, she ran out of energy and exhaled one last dramatic sigh.

Then she grabbed her phone, diving into the usual scrolling session to decompress for a bit.

Videos of all kinds passed before her eyes—fashion, dance collabs, random health and training tips, a few memes. The usual.

Minutes passed, but then, just as she reached what she decided would be the last short of the day before finally getting up to do something productive, a very peculiar video appeared.

It looked like a concert, or maybe a festival. It was hard to tell.

The footage was filmed from the crowd, so the angle wasn't exactly clear, and neither was the quality.

Mina paused on it for a moment. The show happening onstage was surprisingly eye-catching. Whoever was in charge of the lighting and special effects had gone all out.

'And the song is oddly catchy, too.' She thought, bobbing her head faintly at the rhythm. However, the distance of the one recording video lowered the quality a bit.

But aside from that, it wasn't anything special. So after a few seconds, she hovered her thumb over the screen, ready to close the app and then turn off her phone.

But then, something caught her eye.

The band onstage—despite their pretty plain outfits—suddenly started breakdancing.

Her thumb froze mid-movement. Breakdancing was her territory, after all, and she was quite good at it—in her very humble opinion, at least.

So, feeling her curiosity flourishing all over again, her gaze sharpened as she watched over their movements more carefully. Analyzing the performance with a critical eye.

'They are good.' She hummed, massaging her chin like an old master.

Of course, not mind-blowing good, just pretty good. She had seen amazing performances online that could have only been accomplished by Breakdancing Gods who had descended on Earth to shock the world.

This one, on the other hand, remained at the level of mere mortals. That didn't take away the skill the band had. They looked like they had been doing it for a year already, and it showed in their movements.

But of course, if that had been all there was to see, the video's destiny was to be left unfinished anyway.

However, as soon as she had been about to close the app again, the band's qualification shot from "pretty good" to "what the heck?!" levels.

They began playing their instruments while breakdancing. Mina's eyes bulged like platters at the sight.

'How the heck are they pulling that off?' She screamed internally.

After a bit, though, she guessed it must have been thanks to one of the members' Quirks.

But just as the novelty was starting to fade—impressive as it still was—the band member at the front, who had until then simply been playing normally, suddenly stepped up his game.

"Oh?... OH?!"

He began to float.

No, not only that.

Float, and move, spin, and kick around in ways she could hardly believe—all while the guitar in his hands surged into a fierce solo that took over the entire song.

Without realising it, she found herself completely absorbed.

And, after a few seconds, curiosity got the better of her.

She dove into the comments to figure out who this performer was.

And it didn't take long.

"Rockinesis—what kind of name is that…?"

…

°

°

°

| In the same city, somewhere else… |

…

—Bam!—

—Thud!—

—Whack!—

A long black-haired boy with red eyes hammered his fists against a sandbag, each strike fueled by exhaustion and pain.

This was none other than Kirishima—future manliness-seeking member of U.A.'s Class 1-A.

After about five minutes, he finally stopped. Drenched in sweat and panting heavily, he stared down at his fists with a wry expression.

"Becoming a hero… will I really be able to do it with just this Quirk?"

He clenched his fist, frustration twisting his face.

But then he shook his head, stepped back, and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off. Once dry, he sat on his bed with a dejected sigh and picked up his phone, scrolling through social media to relax for a moment before returning to training or studying.

He didn't plan on resting long, as it was just a breather.

Maybe he'd see one or two at most, before going back into action.

But coincidentally, the first video that popped up startled him.

It was a concert—several guys with the exact same appearance performing a song while pulling off insane breakdance moves that defied logic.

He wasn't very familiar with nor particularly interested in music. He was just a casual consumer who enjoyed whatever sounded good, but who never committed to any band. So, besides some surprise at the surreal choreography and the slight nod he gave at the muffled song, the video didn't strike him as anything too special.

At least, not until the main guy at the front began floating while dancing in the air, the song intensifying along with his rise.

There was something about the music… something about the way he moved… something about the confidence he radiated…

It was… It was—

"SO MANLY."

…

°

°

°

| At Tokyo, home of the hero Ingenium |

…

"Yo, Tenya, come see this."

Tensei Ida—better known as the hero Ingenium—called out from the living room couch, eyes glued to the TV.

"What is it, Tensei-niisan?" Tenya Ida stood up from the dining table, where several textbooks were spread out, probably from a studying spree. He walked over while adjusting his glasses, glancing between his brother and the television.

"I was wondering why some of my colleagues were so hectic yesterday. Turns out something big happened at Tokyo's musical festival last night. Look!"

Tenya turned to the screen, squinting as he read the headline:

{Festival taken hostage! Vigilante crashes show, seizes the stage, and forces multiple heroes back while performing an original song.}

Clips of Rockinesis performing and the crowd reacting from multiple angles played across the screen, making the younger Ida's eyebrows sink into a deep frown.

The reporter began explaining the vigilante's identity in detail—listing his previous feats and crimes—and then showed testimonies from the crowd… which were surprisingly positive for people who had technically been victims.

Tenya's glasses shone with intellectualism as he adjusted them and said sharply. "Vigilantism is a dangerous and irresponsible activity. I hope they catch him quickly,"

Tensei let out a wry smile. "You're always so serious. I actually liked the song."

"Niisan, we must not encourage that kind of behaviour!"

"Yeah, yeah."

…

°

°

°

| Mie Prefecture |

…

Ochako Uraraka gripped her head in frustration, groaning loudly as she sat at her desk. A bunch of notebooks lay sprawled open in front of her.

"Aaah! I'll become a hero for sure. Just you wait, U.A. I'm just getting started!"

With that newfound determination, she tightened her grip on her pencil and prepared to keep studying.

"Ochako, dinner is ready!"

—Slam!—

Only for her face to collapse onto the desk the next second.

"Yesss…"

Ultimately, however, she lifted her head back up and stood, leaving her room not long after.

A few minutes later, she sat with her parents at the dining table, eating some very traditional Japanese dishes.

Rice with… something, idk.

As they ate, their eyes occasionally drifted to the TV in the corner of the room, which was playing the latest news: hero scandals—including the most recent one about some "Super Monkey" guy caught going on dates with another heroine during work hours—crime reports, weather forecasts, and whatever else counted as important nowadays.

And among them—

"A festival was taken hostage by a vigilante? That's no longer a vigilante, that's a villain!" Uraraka's father muttered with a frown as he brought more rice into his mouth with his chopsticks.

"Oh my. I hope those people were okay," her mother added, worry in her voice.

Ochako didn't say anything. She simply watched in silence… until the interviews with the "victims" began playing.

"…They… seem to be having fun?"

…

°

°

°

| Saitama Prefecture, in a room that was a bit of a mess… |

…

"This guy did what now?!" A teenager with blond, sharp hair marked by a thunder symbol in black, shouted as he stared at his phone in shock, gaping at the images of a very familiar vigilante delivering the performance of the century.

He was entranced for the whole song, his head bobbing without him noticing.

By the time the song ended, he wiped the single tear rolling down his cheek.

"That was damn beautiful…" Only for his emotion to shift into excited anger the next second. "Damn, this guy never misses! How can someone be this good?! I swear if I ever come across him, I'm risking getting killed to get his autograph!"

-Knock, knock-

Someone knocked at the door.

"Denki, have you studied?"

"Ah?! Uhm, yes—I mean, yeah, of course I have!"

…

°

°

°

| Endeavor's home |

…

Shoto Todoroki sat on his living room's couch, checking his phone with a bored expression—being yet another victim of doomscrolling.

Of course, being the disciplined guy he was, he wasn't exactly enjoying it. He was only scrolling because there was nothing else to do. He had already studied a respectable amount, trained in the morning, and had another session scheduled for the evening.

So for now, he was simply killing time while waiting for his sister to finish making lunch.

Then, the video you already know about appeared.

{"Rockine—"}

Sadly, he scrolled down almost immediately.

If it wasn't interesting at first glance, he wasn't gonna waste time watching it.

And so, while the minutes passed, many videos fell victim to Todoroki's lack of interest. He only stayed in for informative videos about hero life, or scientific shorts that talked about temperature or similar stuff.

His spree of doomscrolling came to an end, however, when his sister's voice called out to him.

"Shoto, food is ready!"

He tossed his phone aside and quickly went to eat.

Today, his favourite dish was being served, cold Soba.

As soon as he sat at their table, he eyed the plates covered in food with hungry eyes.

But as he glanced at his sister, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

She had stopped mid-serving while glancing at her phone, music coming from it.

"What is it, Fuyumi?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing." She was quick to snap out of it, shoving her phone back in her pocket, before sitting down with Shoto.

Shoto blinked, then dismissed it easily. Whatever it was, it didn't seem important.

But as he was about to sit as well and begin eating—

"That one's going to the playlist." His sister muttered something.

Shoto could only raise an eyebrow in confusion.

…

°

°

°

| Yaoyorozu Household |

…

Momo was deeply absorbed in her studies. A carefully organised pile of books sat beside her—each one containing advanced chemistry materials. On her other side was a plate piled with assorted sweets.

As the minutes passed, she alternated between reading, eating a sweet, and creating small cubic samples of different materials—each perfectly shaped—while remaining engrossed in the book in her hands.

Eventually, she let out a weary sigh and rubbed her temple with a tired expression.

"Some tea would be nice," she murmured, placing the book down and standing up.

She left her room and headed toward the kitchen. There, she saw the maid in charge of cooking scrolling through her phone with one hand while wiping down the counter with the other.

"Yuka-san, could I bother you with—"

Her words stopped when a melody reached her ears—the sound coming from the maid's phone.

Although Momo wasn't particularly fond of that genre, for some reason, she found herself unexpectedly drawn in.

She approached, leaning slightly to peek over Yuka's shoulder.

"Yuka-san?"

"Ah!" The maid jumped out of her trance, spinning around in a hurry. "I'm so sorry, Momo-sama! I got distracted!"

"It's fine," Momo assured with a gentle smile, though her eyes drifted curiously toward the phone. "What was that music?"

"Eh? This?" Yuka blinked, then turned her phone back on.

The video resumed immediately.

Yuka explained, "It's the song a vigilante played yesterday at the musical festival in Tokyo. Apparently, he crashed the event and took over the stage before leaving once he finished."

Momo's expression tightened with concern. "Did anyone end up hurt?"

"Eh?" Yuka blinked rapidly, sweating slightly. "Ah—no, no! Actually, from what I've seen, the crowd looked like they enjoyed being hostages… a lot."

Momo sweatdropped lightly.

But before either could comment further, the song intensified. The footage showed Taka floating high above the stage as his guitar solo completely overtook the music, making both their eyes widen.

By the time the song ended, it took them a full ten seconds to snap out of their trance.

"R-right! What can I serve you, Momo-sama?" Yuka asked quickly.

"Ah—tea, please. I'm a bit stuffed from the sweets."

"Right away!"

As the maid began preparing it, Momo spoke again.

"By the way, what is the name of that vigilante?"

…

°

°

°

| Takoba Municipal Beach |

…

"Haaah… hah… hah…" A green-haired teenager breathed heavily as he sat on a malfunctioning refrigerator, the top of his tracksuit resting beside him while his upper body dripped with sweat.

His gaze swept across the massive stretch of trash left for him to clear—nearly a kilometer of it.

His body might have been taking a breather, but his mind was still running nonstop.

'I should prioritize cleaning that area first. That'll make it easier to carry the scraps on this side, since they're pretty big and cumbersome.'

His analytical eyes scanned the mess, planning a better approach to the task he'd been given.

But then he snapped out of his thoughts and turned toward a certain person nearby.

A skeletal blond man wearing an oversized T-shirt—none other than the Number One Hero, All Might.

Midoriya had long since grown accustomed to his mentor's presence.

Instead, what caught his attention was the fact that All Might was staring intensely at his phone… and music was coming from it?

"All Might?" Midoriya stood and approached him.

The hero paused the video he was watching and looked up. "Ah, sorry, young Midoriya. I was checking some footage from an incident that happened a few stations from here last night. I had been asleep, so I didn't get called in."

"An incident?" Midoriya tilted his head.

"Nothing too major. Something happened at the musical festival, you know, the one that's done every year."

Midoriya looked a bit embarrassed. "Uhm… sorry, I don't..."

All Might waved him off. "It's fine. I don't know much myself either."

"What happened?" Midoriya asked, curious about what kind of situation would catch the Number One Hero's interest.

"Someone intruded into the event and took over the stage for a bit—played their song, and then left."

"Oh." Midoriya nodded, though he looked a little lost.

It didn't sound like something big enough for a hero of All Might's caliber to care about.

All Might laughed. "Hahaha, no need to think too hard. I was just checking the footage, and I liked the music, so I kept replaying it."

"Oh." Midoriya nodded again, still clearly confused.

He wasn't into music, so he didn't really get the appeal.

But then, when All Might showed him the video, Midoriya's eyes widened.

"That's Rockinesis!"

"Oh? You know him?" All Might smiled.

"Of course! He's been trending a lot these days. Mostly because of the mystery around him—showing multiple abilities when he was originally assumed to just have Telekinesis. Ranging from creating clones, allegedly, shooting lasers, super strength, super speed, and who knows what more! I actually have a theory that all his powers come from a single—"

"Ahem!"

All Might cut him off before he went on with another of his rants with a forced cough. "Enough chit-chat, young Midoriya. There's still plenty of scrap to move, and plenty of daylight left."

"A-ah… yes!"

And with that, Midoriya went right back to work.

…

°

°

°

| Not too far away, in the same city… |

…

A spiky, explosive blond grinned cockily as he finished answering several questions on a worksheet on his desk.

"Hah, that written exam will be a piece of cake," he snorted. "Now I won't need to worry about some extra overstepping even in this."

Although at the mention of extra, memories of what happened months ago with the sludge villain resurfaced.

That bastard… Deku, he had jumped in to save him. And after that, he'd said he'd try to enter U.A. too.

That guy… he was going too far with his delusions.

"…"

Bakugo's eyes narrowed. Then he scoffed proudly. "Hah, as if that damn Deku could actually enter the hero course being Quirkle—"

"Katsuki, go throw the trash, please!" Bakugo's mom called from outside his room.

"Argh, you damn hag, why can't you do it?! I'm busy over here!"

"What did you say, you brat?! You better move this instant, or I'm beating your ass to a pulp!"

Bakugo scoffed.

"Whatever."

Minutes later, he stepped outside carrying several trash bags.

He tossed them into the container and turned to leave.

But just as he was about to walk off—

"Hey, did you see the vigilante thing from yesterday?"

"Yeah, it was awesome!"

"My dad says our uncle was there. Apparently, he almost had a heart attack from the hype."

"Really? The song in the clip is good, but was it that epic?"

"Dunno, wasn't there."

The group of kids walked away, leaving a slightly puzzled Bakugo behind.

"Hah? A vigilante?"

…

°

°

°

| Kanagawa prefecture, In a room full of posters of sexy heroines in swimsuits… |

…

"Hngh…! That guy—I'm so damn envious. He must have dozens of chicks digging him right now!" A short, purple, ball-haired teenager bit his nails as he stared at the Rockinesis video you already know, a vein pulsing on his forehead.

But then, he closed the video, tossing the phone aside as a determined expression appeared on his face.

"That'll be me once I get into U.A… And nothing and no one will stop me!!!"

Sadly for him, the world is full of disappointments.

…

°

°

°

| Taka's room, two days later… |

…

The sun seeped in through the window's blinds, hitting Taka's face and stirring him awake.

-Yawn…-

"What, it's morning already?"

Taka pushed himself up from bed, scratching one eye—albeit unnecessarily, since his Clean skill prevented things like gunk from forming in the first place.

Groaning and stretching, he slipped out of bed and went straight to his laptop.

"Alright, let's see how the song is doing."

The evening after his stunt at the musical festival—meaning yesterday—Taka had gone back to the Rockibase and performed the whole song again, this time to upload it as an official music video on his channel.

He finished editing it at home, passed by a cyber café to upload it, then returned home and knocked out instantly.

Which brought him to now.

His anxiety level was high enough that checking his gains was the first thing he did upon waking up.

So he opened his non-criminally-attached account and clicked on the video.

"Alright, about eight hours have passed since I uploaded it. A few dozen thousand views would be—huh?"

He blinked. Then blinked again. Then rubbed his eyes, wondering if his Clean skill had malfunctioned and let something blurry slip through.

But when he stared back at the screen, he realized it wasn't his vision.

It was real.

"A million views?!" Taka almost fell from his chair.

Immediately, he pulled up his status.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 126

▸ Defense: 252

▸ Aura Projection: 9463

─────────────

Total Aura: 10802

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Holy shit," Taka gawked at the number.

Just two days ago, he'd barely reached the nine-thousands.

After that, his passive gains had jumped from 60 to around 200 in one go, netting him roughly 400 points in just two days.

And now, after uploading the song—in just eight hours—He had gained 1,400 aura?

"Haha…" Taka laughed, half-shocked, half-overjoyed.

And that was just over the night, more aura would probably be coming during the week, until it eventually slowed down.

But even then, he could just do something else to keep his fame ignited.

And if he continued like this for the three months that were left…

"I'm gonna be stacking aura like crazy from now on…" Taka laughed, making the calculations in his mind.

And, as he reached exorbitant numbers, he couldn't help but wonder…

'Just what kind of monster will I be by the time canon arrives?'

His future was bright, that was for sure.

From now on, it would all go uphi—

"Oi, Taka! I heard you waking up! Stop jerking off and come downstairs to spar. Some idiot photographed me while I was on a date yesterday, so I'm feeling extra rusty!" Seiji's shout from outside the door snapped him out of his power trip, black lines appearing on Taka's face.

Despite all his "almighty power," he was still getting knocked around by that guy.

"I hate this," Taka gritted his teeth.

Today—today was the day he beat the shit out of him, that was for sure.

With determined eyes, Taka stood up.

"Prepare to get humiliated by a kid fifteen years younger than you fucker!"

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Hey, how was the multiple character showcase? I tried to portray everyone's personality nicely, and while at it, show some funny situations. But I don't know if I screwed up. I think it went well, but you never know.

Also, you know, it's kind of funny. In my notes where I plan some things of this story, I have the objective of making Taka reach 5000 aura by the time U.A. begins.

...

I guess I lacked vision at the time.

Also, penultimate chapter until we're caught up)

 

[CornCorn]

Question, how much can lift/manipulate per aura unit? Or is it just going to go off of 'however much the plot needs it too'. Not trying to throw shade, just trying to figure out what rule set this is working by… so I can figure out ways the MC might be able to game it.

 

[Thatonesungod]

Couple things
The majority of the chapter was fine, but

Rice with… something, idk.

Click to shrink...

This took me out of the story, for no reason. There's no reason to lazily break the fourth wall like this. You could not mention what the food is, like you do with several other characters, or you could take 2 seconds to google a Japanese dish. It's out of place.

"A million views?!" Taka almost fell from his chair.

Click to shrink...

Secondly, this is incredibly low for the Aura generation and supposed virality to hit the majority of the main cast. Japan has a population of 124 million, and the main cast pre-canon is distributed all across it.

 

[*Username*]

Secondly, this is incredibly low for the Aura generation and supposed virality to hit the majority of the main cast. Japan has a population of 124 million, and the main cast pre-canon is distributed all across it.

Click to shrink...

the second I read this I could only imagine Peeking Mega Mind saying "NO AURA?"

 

[GymratJomar]

2k aura only? FROM THAT EPICNESS? I expected it to double not that trickle.. NAMED CHARACTERS ARE FANS?! shouldn't that count as extra achievement already?

 

[LeonT]

"That one's going to the playlist." His sister muttered something.

Shoto could only raise an eyebrow in confusion.

Click to shrink...

Shoto's hot sister is now a fan. All arguments are now invalid and all sins are forgiven.