The moment he left U.A.'s perimeter, his body blurred into motion—feet striking concrete edges, hands brushing against ledges for balance as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, each jump spanning dozens of meters.
Wind howled past his ears.
Two policemen stood at an intersection far below, necks craned upward.
One of them sighed deeply.
"…There he goes again."
The other adjusted his cap, squinting at the white blur vaulting across the skyline.
"Can't he just stop? How many fines do we have to send him every day?"
The first officer rubbed his temple.
"I don't think he even cares. That kid's rich as hell… and with his status? It's not even feasible to get him to court."
"…Must be nice," the second muttered.
...
Ren landed atop a tall building overlooking Mustafu's central square.
Crowds moved like living currents below—voices, footsteps, laughter blending into a constant hum.
Instead of descending, Ren walked to the rooftop door and stepped inside.
Once the door shut behind him, he slowed.
From his bag, he pulled out a plain black mask and a dark hat, fitting them into place with practiced ease.
He exhaled quietly.
…That was the life of a superstar.
There were places he could soar freely.
And places where he had to disappear.
Ren descended the building normally, taking the stairs, passing office workers and deliverymen without a single glance directed his way.
When he exited onto the street, the central square opened before him.
A sea of people.
Students. Office workers. Tourists. Vendors. Heroes off duty.
A goldmine.
"Well then…" Ren murmured beneath the mask, eyes scanning calmly.
"Let's start hunting."
...
He moved through the crowd at an unhurried pace.
Eyes active.
Mind sharp.
Wing quirks… he noted as a man with bird-like wings passed by.
Useful, but can't be explained with Energy.
He continued walking.
A horned girl, a man with rocky skin, and a guy with drill fingers.
Interesting.
But not what he was looking for.
Then—
He saw him.
A man standing near a coffee stall, posture relaxed, expression unremarkable.
But his eyes…
Sharp.
Focused.
Like an eagle's gaze cutting through distance.
Ren smiled faintly.
And then—
"Oh—sorry!" Ren bumped into him just enough.
The coffee cup slipped, liquid splashing onto the pavement.
"Hey!" the man snapped. "Watch where you're going!"
"I'm really sorry, sir," Ren said immediately, bowing slightly. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a bill.
"Here—one thousand yen for the coffee."
He placed the money into the man's hand—
—and held it just a fraction longer than necessary.
"I really am sorry," Ren repeated politely.
The man blinked, momentarily thrown off.
"Ah—n-no problem."
"Have a great day," Ren said, already stepping away. "And sorry again."
"…What a strange guy," the man muttered, glancing at the bill.
...
Ren turned into a narrow alley a short distance away.
The crowd noise dulled.
He stopped.
And then—
His eyes changed.
Subtly.
The pupils sharpened, contracting unnaturally as something clicked into place.
Ren inhaled.
"…Wow."
The world expanded.
Details sharpened—cracks in brick, dust particles drifting in the air, reflections bouncing at impossible angles.
His field of vision widened violently, stretching far beyond human limits.
"…Three hundred and forty degrees," Ren murmured, astonished.
Depth, distance, motion—everything layered cleanly in his mind.
A grin spread beneath the mask.
"This is going to be useful," he said softly.
"Combat… surveillance… and enduring Erasure."
Erasure strained his eyes heavily. Too many complex quirks, poor affinity with Seraph—for now, brute-force bypassing with other quirks wasn't an option.
So instead—
He decided to enhance the eyeballs' durability.
Reducing physical load.
"I'll call you…" Ren said quietly.
"Eagle Eye."
Satisfied, he stepped out of the alley and merged back into the flow of people.
His gaze swept across the square again—
—but now, nothing escaped it.
...
An hour later, Ren was on his way back.
The city lights blurred beneath him as he crossed rooftops once more.
Today had been… productive.
Very productive.
He landed softly on a building ledge and slowed to a walk, hands tucked into his pockets as the wind tugged at him.
Two new quirks beside Eagle Eye.
Both valuable.
The first had come from a man rushing through the square, suit crooked, phone pressed to his ear, panic written all over his face.
Multitask.
A mental-type quirk.
Simple in concept.
Terrifying in application.
It allowed the user to divide their consciousness into multiple parallel processes—each capable of independent thought, focus, and execution.
Ren had felt it activate the moment it settled into him.
With Multitask—
Erasure was no longer a singular burden.
Neither was Seraph.
Instead of forcing incompatible quirks to coexist within one strained stream of thought, Ren could now separate them.
One mind maintaining Erasure.
Another sustaining Seraph.
Another handling perception, movement, combat flow.
Yet another—reserved solely for control.
He slowed mid-jump, landing on a rooftop railing and staring down at the streets below.
Ren clenched his fingers slowly.
He knew exactly how strong he was.
With a careless grip, he could crush bone like clay.
With a mistimed strike, he could erase a life before he even realized what he'd done.
And that fear—
That hesitation—
Was why he'd lost in the hospital.
It wasn't because he was weaker.
It was because he was afraid.
Afraid of collapsing the building.
Afraid of hurting civilians.
Afraid of killing someone... even the villains...
The only place he'd ever gone all out…
Was against lifeless things.
Steel.
Concrete.
Like during the entrance exam, where he'd torn hundreds of robots apart without a second thought.
"…I really am no different from Midoriya," Ren muttered quietly.
But today…
Today had given him an answer. A possible solution to control that strength of his.
The second quirk.
Dense Muscles.
He'd copied it from a construction worker—thick arms, steady posture, movements deceptively light for someone carrying so much weight.
Dense Muscles didn't simply increase muscle mass.
It compressed it.
More fibers.
More strength per unit.
No unnecessary bulk.
No loss of agility.
A body built for efficiency.
Ren flexed his arm slightly, feeling the change beneath his skin.
"…Perfect."
He had considered welding it immediately.
Then dismissed the idea.
Surge was no longer just a passive enhancement like Muscle Fibers had been. It was volatile. Explosive. A multiplier that demanded a strong base to truly shine.
And Ren wanted that base.
Dense Muscles wouldn't be merged.
It would become the foundation for his physical strength.
A stable, controlled physical core upon which Surge—and everything else—could operate safely.
He took one final leap, clearing the distance to his neighborhood in a single bound.
To be continued...
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How was this chapter? Liked it?
Sorry, guys... I wrote this chapter in a rush, I am quite nervous, I have the leg surgery tomorrow.
Also... I got a crazy quirk combo idea... you'll see it soon.