‘At least Nezu upheld his end of the deal.’ Izuku thought as he scanned the surrounding area. Various students were scattered inside the giant arena a kilometer away from the stadium, which was constructed with the help of Pro Hero Cementoss (he wants a raise, damnit). All the students were unique, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but Izuku knew that most of the students not from the Hero class would be eliminated due to the vast difference in training and experience.

‘And I’m not saying that lightly.’ Izuku mused as he looked for his classmates within the forest of humans. Due to the nature of this event, everybody in the same class will be separated once the bell rings. As for how, Cementoss will be creating a giant maze around the students.

The rules – as explained by Midnight earlier before they were allowed to head towards the arena – were simple. As the first rule, a laser circle that surrounds the arena will slowly begin converging to the center as time goes on. If a student is touched by the laser, he or she will be eliminated instantly. The second rule is that students who are knocked out are also eliminated. The third rule is that there should be no excessive violence.

Failure to comply with these three rules will result in immediate disqualification, and in the case of the third rule being broken, a trip towards the principal’s office (may Gwyn bless their souls).

‘Better use some of my less lethal weapons, then.’ Izuku mused as he prepared himself to impose upon himself a handicap. Smashing his fists against each other, Izuku grimaced slightly as memories from Lordran began pouring into his mind. ‘I wouldn’t want to use the Dark Hand against the students.’

The Darkwraiths in New Londo Ruins made it a hobby to test it against Izuku, and he wouldn’t want to subject any of the students to the same treatment.

‘Although some villains are fair game.'

As Izuku stewed in his thoughts, the half-cold, half-hot student, Shoto Todoroki, glanced at his prosthetic arm. His left side now felt colder, as opposed to its inherently warm nature.

When he was admitted to the hospital, what greeted him at the site was a grief-stricken elder sister, a furious older brother, and a disappointed father. However, whether he cared for his father was still up for debate.

No, what shocked him was the appearance of his mother. Apparently, Endeavor, the bastard man himself, decided it was beneficial for his magnum opus to meet with his mother, for reasons unknown to him.

He can’t deny, though, that it worked. A one-on-one talk with his mother helped break down his mental barriers about using his left side even further. That, and a lot of tears and hugs. He was once more reminded of his old goal.

To be a hero...

And what better way to start than to show the whole world that Shoto Todoroki was born anew under the flames of hardships and struggles?

He would still find a way to throw his bastard of an old man into Tartaros, though.

In the stands, a certain onion knight, without his armor and wearing civilian clothes, watched with an amused smile. Beside him was a scowling merchant/asshole extraordinaire, except to Izuku, that is.

"What a sight! This view of contenders itching to show their worth puts this knight to shame!" Siegward laughed joyously, which caused Patches to scowl even further.

"Bah, bunch of greedy louts, that’s what I see." In his ever-famous squat, Patches spat out. "I wonder how me good ‘ol chum will deal with ‘em."

"Now, now, just enjoy the spectacle. It’s not everyday you witness a festival such as this!" Siegward practically vibrated in joy as he expectantly watched the arena with a thoughtful gaze. "That said, though, how will our green-haired friend hold back without maiming anyone to near death?"

"Punch them? You know as much as I do that his punches are scary." Patches shrugged before taking a swig of some Siegbrau, courtesy of Siegward’s personal collection.

"Hey! Isn’t that supposed to be mine?"

"Eh, call it some interest in making sure your armor was ‘safe’ when you ‘left it’ around after diving into a well." Patches could feel the glare from the knight, but shrugged it off like a champ.

He’s been through much worse.

Much, much worse.

As time continued and the crowd’s excitement over minors beating each other to a pulp increased, the clock struck a tune and giant walls began to rise from the floors.

"HERE IT IS! ARE YOU ALL READY FOLKS!?" The roar of the crowd was deafening, causing most of the hearing-sensitive people to cringe and cover their ears. "THEN WITHOUT FURTHER ADO! THE FIRST ROUND OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL, FIRST YEAR EDITION, START!"

Instantly, a cage of harmless lasers surrounded the entire arena, all of it visible to the naked eye. The walls weren’t tall enough to hamper the students’ visions.

That’s not to say they are easily traversable.

Izuku looked around with a calculating gaze, his senses once more going into overdrive.

‘Think of everything as an enemy.’ Breathing in deeply, Izuku called upon his instincts, which he had honed during his time in Lordran. ‘If something moves, punch them.’

Izuku opened his eyes with a determined gaze and advanced.

When they said that Cementoss would make a maze, they were exaggerating. At most, it was just an arena, but with winding corridors. Nothing truly hard to navigate. But do not mistake this; it is easy to get lost within it if you don’t pay attention.

This fact, Izuku knew well. Getting lost within the dark expanses of the Tomb of Giants was enough for Izuku, thank you very much.

Reaching a fork in the path, Izuku looked behind to see the lasers slowly inching themselves closer. Trusting his gut, Izuku took the right path, his footfalls as light as a feather without any of the heavy armor he’s been accustomed to using.

It wasn’t long until he reached his first adversary. A nervous but equally determined General Studies student who was confused about where to go. Said confusion vanished the moment he laid eyes on Izuku.

Without a word, the student fired off his quirk at Izuku. Bright blue goop was flying rapidly in the air in an attempt to coat Izuku with its form.

Sidestepping out of the way, Izuku dashed forward at a speed not unheard of from quirkless athletes. Panicking slightly, the student fired his goop into a cone in front of him, hoping for even a single spatter of goop to hit the rushing form of Izuku.

Sadly, one does not simply hit the Chosen Undead – unless he was tired or inattentive – with an area attack.

Narrowing his eyes, he quickly equipped a ring and hopped to the wall, before vaulting away from it over the incoming mass of goop.

Wide-eyed, the student quickly tried to fire another wave of goop, only to be kicked square in the jaw by a rapidly descending foot. Luckily for the student, Izuku didn’t give it his best, otherwise his head would’ve been torn clean off.

Without saying a word, Izuku continued his jog through the passageways, all the while hearing the crowd scream with exuberance and some of the students using their quirks to fight each other beyond the walls.

He could even spot some students flying above the walls, fighting in the air with all they've got.

As for the Business course students, yeah, they just let themselves be touched by the lasers and got on with their lives.

‘This might take a while…’ Izuku heard a scream coming from above as he caressed his Dark Wood Grain Ring, before a student crashed to the ground. Taking a good look, Izuku learned that the student was unconscious. ‘… As much as this kind of battle is traumatizing and deadly, the students here need to learn how chaotic a battlefield can get with enemies at their every side.’

Izuku grimaced at the foreseeable future before dodging to the side, narrowly escaping a giant fist slamming on the ground. One look at the offender showed him to be one of class B’s students.

"Apologies for the sudden surprise, but I cannot allow myself to fail in the Sports Festival." Izuku looked at the rather tall student covered in brown fur; at least, that’s what Izuku surmised from the fur covering his arms. "Shishida Jurota, at your service. Shall we have a good fight? Sir Midoriya?"

At the words uttered, Izuku could only smile faintly.

"Sure. Let’s have fun."

Izuku didn’t expect to say those words in a fight, but hey, living for the past year without any sort of action does that to a person.