Lancer couldn't help but shake his head, looking at the women of all ages constantly screaming around him.
'This is indeed a society that judges by appearance~'
However, while he was making a mental note, he was still happy for Shoto Todoroki's 'success.' This undoubtedly proved that the other party's efforts during this period were not in vain. Of course, they couldn't possibly be in vain. The new scars on his body showed his efforts during this time.
Maybe effort doesn't necessarily lead to success, but it can at least lead to growth.
Regardless of whether the result of effort is success or failure, the experience gained during the process is undoubtedly the striver's! And how to turn this experience into something depends on the individual's choice and ability. There is no doubt that Shoto Todoroki has turned his efforts into 'strength'!
And similar to Shoto Todoroki is Momo Yaoyorozu. It has to be said that when she finally rode her motorcycle across the finish line, although she only got fifth place, she still received a lot of cheers. After all, she was the first girl to cross the finish line. Of course, Lancer didn't know if it was his illusion, but he felt like he heard a girl shouting 'So cool~'
Hmm... it must be an illusion, right?
After the first round of the obstacle course ended, the second round was the 'cavalry battle.'
The so-called 'cavalry battle' is actually an activity where some people act as 'horses' and others act as 'riders,' and then they team up to steal each other's headbands. It is said to be an imitation of the behavior of generals in Japan's Warring States period beheading enemy generals.
And there is no doubt that Shoto Todoroki, who won the first round with a lead throughout the entire race, was naturally the 'main target' of the second round. The headband he wore was worth 1 million points, and as long as someone got it, it was equivalent to declaring victory in the second round.
But besides the competition, another thing that Lancer found more interesting was Mineta Minoru from Class A.
This 'lucky boy,' who in the original plot relied on his 'super stickiness' quirk to create small balls to stick behind Momo Yaoyorozu and get through the first round, also made it to the second round this time. However, unlike before, he didn't cross the line with Momo Yaoyorozu, but found Kirishima Eijiro from the same class.
Of course, these have nothing to do with Lancer. What he cared about was the red mark on the other party's face that looked like it had been hit by a stick.
Although the scene was not broadcast live at the time, Lancer could almost picture it.
Mineta Minoru, who originally wanted to hitch a ride and take advantage of the situation, was about to pounce on Momo Yaoyorozu, and was then directly hit by Momo Yaoyorozu self-defense stick reflexively. The scene was simply touching. However, this could only be said that he was unlucky, because one of the most important things in Lancer training for Momo Yaoyorozu was 'conditioned reflex.'
Momo Yaoyorozu quirk is relatively special and needs to be specially strengthened in terms of self-defense. It seems the effect is not bad.
For the students, the tense competition was just a game-like nature in Lancer eyes. However, seeing Shoto Todoroki winning all the way after his training, he also felt very happy. But at the same time, he was also a little curious about how Shoto Todoroki, who had been trained by him, would perform when facing the original 'protagonist.'
'I'm really looking forward to it~'
It can't be said that he likes it, but Lancer just favors those who work hard more. Soon the third round, which was the round Lancer was most concerned about——————1v1 head-to-head battle!
——————
In the 1v1 showdown, Shoto Todoroki's performance could be described as perfect. The first opponent he met was directly turned into a 'popsicle' by him. The opponent, whose limbs were completely frozen, directly chose to surrender, and he left the arena after bowing.
This clean and neat way of winning undoubtedly won a lot of people's support.
However, perhaps stimulated by Shoto Todoroki, Bakugo Katsuki, who appeared immediately afterward, also showed extremely strong aggressiveness. His almost unrestrained attack methods not only defeated his opponent but also made many people frown. After all, the key to this competition was not 'winning or losing,' but more of a debut as a 'hero.' Bakugo Katsuki's actions made many people feel strange, giving the impression that he was just purely eager for victory.
Lancer, who was sitting in the stands, was quite optimistic about him. After all, Lancer himself didn't quite agree with the 'rules' of this world.
Heroes don't care about sacrifices, and when fighting 'quirk criminals,' they also need to be concerned about the lives of their opponents. Once there are casualties, they will also be held accountable. In Lancer opinion, this is simply unreasonable.
But because a certain 'idiot' started it, the later generations seemed to have also accepted this status quo.
But just as Lancer was thinking wildly, the match he was most concerned about began.
Shoto Todoroki VS Izuku Midoriya
The original protagonist and his trained disciple, there is no doubt that this aroused Lancer greatest interest. All Might, who was sitting on the judging panel, was the same. There is no doubt that both of them believed that their 'disciple' was better.
Shoto Todoroki, who was standing on the fighting stage, also looked at Izuku Midoriya with extremely serious eyes.
He didn't know his classmate very well, but he was very curious, because he had heard his name more than once from his 'teacher,' Lancer. And at the same time as his name, All Might's name also appeared. From that time on, he had a guess.
Could it be that Izuku Midoriya is the successor chosen by All Might?
It is true that no one would believe in something as unscientific as 'One For All' without personal contact, so Shoto Todoroki thought more that Izuku Midoriya was chosen by him because he had a similar quirk to All Might. He once asked Lancer to confirm this guess, but unfortunately, Lancer never answered this question directly. Most of the time, he just smiled, but this non-denial attitude instead increased Shoto Todoroki's doubts.
'Regardless of whether it is or not, I'll know as soon as I fight him myself!'
At this time, Shoto Todoroki's eyes were extremely sharp, which had never appeared in the previous competitions. Against his previous opponents, his eyes were more cold, a kind of condescending look from a high-status person to a low-status person, but there is no doubt that at this time, Izuku Midoriya has been treated as an 'opponent' by him!
"Start!!"
And at this time, the referee's shout suddenly fell. Shoto Todoroki did not hesitate to roll his maximum output 'freezing air' toward Izuku Midoriya!
The terrifying freezing air even covered the battlefield with ice fog for a time.
Izuku Midoriya, who was standing opposite Shoto Todoroki, didn't seem to have expected that Shoto Todoroki would go all out as soon as he made a move, but looking at the ice shards sweeping towards him, he gritted his teeth fiercely!
The 'One For All' inherited from All Might was outputted at full power!
"Boom!!!"
The huge roar made the onlookers widen their eyes. No one expected that the match between the two 'students' would cause such a big commotion at the beginning. And what they cared about more was what happened to the arena wrapped in ice fog?
"The fog has dissipated!!"
No one knows who shouted first, and everyone's eyes involuntarily turned to it. Then they couldn't help but gasp. Because at this time, most of the arena was covered with ice shards, but what was even more incredible was the huge gully between Shoto Todoroki and Izuku Midoriya.
"Izuku Midoriya, everyone really underestimated you."
Shoto Todoroki, who was constantly panting, had already prepared for this attack to be ineffective, but he was still a little surprised to see the ice shards completely separated by force.
There is no doubt that Shoto Todoroki was complimenting Izuku Midoriya, but the complimented Izuku Midoriya's expression was not very good. It was not because of his right arm, which was completely drooping, after all, this was not the first time. He had already gotten used to the pain. He was more surprised by Shoto Todoroki's strength.
'So powerful! The power of this quirk is no longer inferior to many 'pro heroes'!'
As an avid fan of 'heroes,' Izuku Midoriya could fluently report the abilities and representative deeds of most pro heroes. After all, for him in the past, this was his biggest hobby. And it was precisely because of this that he was very clear about how terrifying Shoto Todoroki's strength was.
But while being surprised by Shoto Todoroki's strength, he also felt his blood boiling. When he met All Might yesterday, he had already learned from him about the 'strengthening training' that Shoto Todoroki had been doing after school recently, but what impressed him more was All Might's encouragement to him.
'I believe in you!'
Just such a simple sentence filled his heart with motivation.
That's right! What if the opponent is stronger! That man believes in him, so he can't let him down! Because he is the successor of 'One For All'!!
Without saying much, Izuku Midoriya directly launched a charge toward Shoto Todoroki, but as soon as he started, a huge ice pillar swept toward him again!
'No! I can't dodge it!'
"Boom!!"
Accompanied by a huge roar, another huge gully appeared in the arena, but this time it seemed to be a little weaker than before.
And Izuku Midoriya trembled and held up his left hand. Because it was too sudden before, he directly used his right hand to attack with all his strength, but this time he had already prepared, so he only paid the price of one finger to launch this attack.
Just as Lancer said before, a person's strength is determined by their shortcomings.
Izuku Midoriya inherited All Might's quirk, and theoretically, he is another All Might, but what about the facts?
It is obvious that he can't do it. He only inherited the power, and neither the tempered body nor the honed experience can be inherited by just a 'quirk.'
At this time, he was like having infinite power in his body, but no suitable launcher. The final result was that if he barely used it, it would only hurt his own body, and to control these powers, he needed to constantly try and work hard, and he was doing the same thing, but it was a pity that the time was still too short. At this time, the only thing he could do was to 'cheat.'
Since he can use his hands to exert power, then what if he shrinks it a little and uses his fingers?
Just now, he sacrificed his left index finger to block Shoto Todoroki's attack, and while Shoto Todoroki was surprised by the destructive power of the other party's quirk, he also couldn't help but start to feel a little nervous. Because he found that if he reduced the power output each time, he might be forcibly broken through by the other party, but if he kept maintaining the maximum output, he probably wouldn't be able to maintain it for long.
'If this wasn't a tournament... damn it! What am I thinking! Is this a time to complain! Since I am in the arena, what I need to do is to consider what to do, not to complain!'
On the left side of the arena are ice pillars and freezing air, and on the right side is power enough to tear the air.
The aftermath of the battle between the two sides made the originally intact arena look a mess, but it also made the audience feel as if they had taken a shot of adrenaline!
On the broadcast screen, the ice particles formed by the sweat dripping after each of Shoto Todoroki's attacks and the cold sweat constantly dripping from Izuku Midoriya due to pain also made the onlookers more nervous.
And at this time, Lancer was clasping his arms and not saying a word.
'Still too young.'
This was Lancer evaluation of Shoto Todoroki.
Izuku Midoriya's bug-like power would be very troublesome even if Lancer faced it head-on, and Shoto Todoroki barely maintained the situation because the two sides did not make direct contact. The final outcome was actually already doomed.
Izuku Midoriya will compress Shoto Todoroki's evasion range step by step, and Shoto Todoroki will not be able to move freely in order to maintain the output of the freezing air. Next, this battle has completely become a war of attrition, but this is the biggest drawback of Shoto Todoroki's 'freezing air.'
His original quirk was 'half-cold, half-hot.' To put it simply, the fire was to protect the body from being frozen when using the freezing air, and the freezing air was also to protect himself from being burned when using the fire. These two abilities complement each other, and using only one will naturally have huge flaws.
Lancer not only knew about the problem with the other party's quirk, but also knew the cause of this problem, but he did not point it out, because Shoto Todoroki's eyes at that time, that kind of distorted and persistent eyes, were very familiar to him.
Lancer naturally doesn't have a 'mouth cannon' skill, or rather, he is not very good at words. Instead of interfering with the other party with his clumsy rhetoric, it is better to wait for his 'salvation' to appear. After all, he doesn't want to not only fail to help the other party but also make the situation worse...
And there is no doubt that Shoto Todoroki on the field is suffering from a huge mental impact at this time.
Because of the excessive use of his quirk, half of his body has been covered by frost, but Izuku Midoriya's situation is even worse than his.
Although the ice pillar was shattered because of 'One For All,' he had no way to deal with the constantly dropping temperature in the arena. At this time, he not only had to endure the pain of his right arm and several fingers breaking, but also had to endure the torture of the low temperature. This can be seen from Izuku Midoriya's purplish-red lips.
"Why?"
I don't know whether he didn't want to hurt his classmate, or he was simply trying to delay time to recover his body. In short, Shoto Todoroki stopped the freezing air he was constantly outputting and asked Izuku Midoriya his question.
On the other side, Izuku Midoriya, who had almost lost consciousness due to the cold and only had the thought of 'can't give up' to forcefully support himself, raised his face when he heard Shoto Todoroki's question.
Izuku Midoriya, who was covered in frost and had his lips frozen purplish, gave an unexpected answer.
"Because... I... don't want... him to be disappointed!"