[X] Get to a high vantage point.
-[X] Figure out what the robots' weaknesses are by looking for any Leeroys that go and attack them.
-[X] Look for any areas likely to have cool organisms or people with quirks to nom.
-[X] Alter your form to have better reflexes, sharper claws, etc. In general, just reshape yourself to deal w/ robots better. Ideally when in a safe place where you can focus.
In hindsight, you probably should have begun the modifications earlier, but there was no point in complaining about long gone opportunities. One of the nearby students shrieked as the flesh around the tips of your fingers began to melt away. Claws were your top priority - no matter how large or how robotic the enemy, it wouldn't like having whatever approximated to a nervous system severed. Unless they were constructed to adapt to that. In which case you were screwed.
You drew your arms close, fusing them with your torso to optimise circulation of materials; the surrounding group began backing away, not that you noticed, too engrossed in your [focus]. The bones of your index and second fingers, as well as your third and fourth, were combined for additional support. For good measure, the metacarpals and phalanges were fused - manual dexterity was more a structural weakness when slicing. And, although it seriously drained your glucose reserves and cost you most of your plating, chitin was mixed with bone at to create wickedly sharp blades. Cellular level awareness helped a lot when making knife-fingers, as it turns out.
That took a while, had the test started yet? You looked around at the other examinees to find them somehow still there, all in varying states of disarray. Weird... The exam should have started by now, surely?
While you were weighing up the pros and cons of starting up a conversation with the pink moth-girl by the gates, a high pitched whine started building up in the distance, reaching a crescendo with the introduction of a familiar voice:
"Okay, start!! What's wrong? You expect real villains to give you warning in a-"
Finally. Taken off-guard by the sudden announcement, the majority of the contestants were still scrambling to their feet by the time you passed through the gates.
---
Izuku didn't stop for a second as he spotted the enemy, his exposure to Kaede's eldritch sanity reduction effect leaving him unfazed at the danger. He slid underneath, looking for some kind of exposed section; this was a test, they wouldn't make them impenetrable for people without destruction focused quirks. There - slightly offcenter, a small square of unarmored wiring. Sparks danced over his arm as the knife tore through, but the pain was the least of his worries. He yanked the knife out and scrambled out from underneath just before its legs gave out and it collapsed.
He gave himself a moment to breathe. What the -- th-this wasn't meant to be dangerous I could have died they're all quadrupedal like that I'm going to have to do it agaiAAAAAHHH
Bael dropped down in front of his face, replacing his fear for his life with fear of the giant spider on his face.
"Gah - Bael!! Get off of me!"
The spider ignored him and retreated back into his hair, allowing Izuku to notice that a few of the late starters he'd initially outpaced had passed him by while he'd been panicking. Right, there was no time for self doubt now - if he wanted to pass this exam he'd have to focus.
"...Thanks, Bael." He gingerly petted the crime against nature, and dove back into the fray.
---
The robots were easy enough to track with your excellent hearing, and catching up to them was even simpler, thanks to your altered physiology. However, when it came to actually defeating them? You'd forgotten the plan.
...Oh. Right. You had no plan.
Okay.
You could work with that - you opted for what you usually did when unsure of how to resolve a situation - hugs.
You scrabbled for purchase on the sleek metal carapace, searching for a weak point. Each leg had an exposed section that gave you a clear shot at whatever passed for robot tendons. Due to the increased weight behind your swing from the dense chitin, you tore through the cables like paper, the current jumping harmlessly into the surrounding metal, which made for a far better conductor than your new hand. It definitely ruled out sending in your friends to do damage, though. It had been pretty irresponsible to bring them into a fight like this… what if you didn't dodge in time? A-and they… it didn't bear thinking about.
You decided to change tactics when you lost an arm; although each robot conveniently deactivated after suffering the loss of just one limb (such inefficient design- you'd really have to find whoever designed these and lecture them on more effective ways to kill children after this), that method of attack left you exposed for too long to be comfortable. But… what else could you do?
In a sudden burst of inspiration, you remembered the cardinal rule of video game boss fights: go for the big, glowing eye. You launched yourself at the next enemy, darting up its swinging foreleg to plunge your arm deep into its optical sensor. Electricity felt weird to your quirk; it lit up the areas it touched, crackling with the taste of 'you'.
...What?
Before you could properly analyse the implications of this, the ground began to tremble. The surrounding contestants paused to acknowledge the following roar of something distant with screams of their own. Maybe it was good manner? You never really understood that sort of thing, so climbing to the top of the nearest building took precedence over manners. You failed miserably, having only one arm with which to support yourself, not that it mattered by the time you stopped trying; the thing that had roared showed itself in a shower of destroyed tower blocks.
That was meant to be an area hazard? It was huge! And probably very expensive - what sort of maniac would waste money on that when they could make mecha fights an olympic sport instead?! You hoped that De-kun and Bael had been far enough away from the one in their area when it started up….
---
Although you had no way of knowing it, the universe had finally cut Izuku a break.
However, this being Izuku, he had immediately squandered his opportunity to gain more points in order to look for people to help. That, and it would be advantageous to get closer to the colossal machine, and therefore further from the crush of people in the square up ahead that it was on a course for; with everyone else busy running for their lives, there had to be a few unclaimed targets left to clean up.
He was correct in that assumption, and bolstered his score by at least ten by the time his self sacrificing attitude managed to reclaim control of his brain. And so, against incredible odds, he heard a cry of pain over the roar of the metal.
It couldn't be - it was the girl he'd spoken with outside the school gates. One of her legs had been pulverised underneath a chunk of masonry, sent flying by the area boss. The first things he noticed were the decidedly worrying amount of blood seeping out from underneath the concrete. The second, the fact that she was in the direct path of the robot.
There was no internal debate, no second thoughts - he just acted.
"Whu… what are you..?"
The damage to her leg wasn't as bad as he'd thought, but she was still far too pale to be healthy, and there was a gash on her head he hadn't spotted, too. As he hefted her over his shoulder, painfully aware of how close the boss was, he felt a surge of anger - why did this… this sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen! What were the heroes doing, letting people get hurt under their watch?!
"Jus' leave me… go."
"No."
"You'll be…"
"No."
He wasn't moving fast enough, he knew it; he kept going.
Even as the area boss locked onto him, and begun to attack.
---
"AAAND TIME IS UP!!"
Discount-Yomiel was at it again. Seriously, one more outburst from him and you were going to take his microphone and shove it -
Oh, the test had finished. Good to know.
You pulled your arm out of the robot and began following the rest of the group to the exit. Some nice bear-person offered to carry you to the school's resident healer, but you waved him off, too high on adrenaline to care too much about your speed. You'd get there eventually. Even if you were currently without any functioning legs. Or a right arm. He protested at first, but left once Omu and Lindsey got a little too enthusiastic about meeting the new person. It was slow going, but after a bit of [focusing], what remained of your limbs were recycled into a couple of insectoid legs, based off those of your centipede friends - who were all still safe! Honestly, that fact brought you more joy than even the thrill of the entrance exam…
Eventually, you made it to back to the entrance, and considered your next move.
Main Action:
[ ] Find De-kun and celebrate.
[ ] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
[ ] Try and find that cute moth girl - you think you saw her throw some acid during the exam.
Additional Actions: Write-in
---
AN: The less said about how idiotic I think that exam is structured, the better, so I'll spare you my ranting. Didn't like writing this much, sorry if it shows. Painkillers and caffeine may not be dangerous, but they make you feel like crap.
While you're busy being annoyed at me, why not come up with some creative ways to make Endeavor suffer? Because you know all those things I listed at the start, that I said you'd have the option to do? I may have lied about that.
Because Endeavor's career is getting ruined no matter what happens.
Self Enhancements:
Toothy secondary mouth - looks good
Internal organ optimisation - who needs those things when you can have more stomach?
Kitty ears of intimidation - can hear a greater range of frequencies, can eavesdrop easier; have to manually account for air pressure changes
Tail, lightly armored - increased defenestration potential, does not like impact damage
Digitigrade legs - look good, keep breaking though, should probably do something about that
Venom sac - your friends just love giving you some! Now, what to do with it…
Tall - you are very tall for your age, laugh at the peasants beneath you
Air sacs - more efficient breathing, can hold breath/exercise longer, airborne toxins have greater effect
Pneumatic bones - less fragmentation, denser and stiffer than regular bones
Save data:
Japanese grass snek (partial, not useful for full creation, but at least it tells you how to make scales)
Neighbors' genocidal pet cat
Tortoise
Giant centipede
Deku Scrub
Huntsman spider
Rhinoceros Beetle
Jungle crow
Friends:
Omu, Lindsey, Ankheg, Three Seven Eight, Tina, Jenney, Daigankai - clingy giant centipedes, much anger, much venom
Bael - big floofy huntsman spider
Deku Scrub - a rare lifeform composed entirely of cinnamon, will be very buff, is probably fine what sort of monster do you take me for
Not crows - they hate you now
Horse with horns - you need those legs
Vine girl - she may be interpreting your advances the wrong way
Grape - suffering for the crimes of his alternate universe counterparts
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] Acquire Biomass
--[X] Return to humanoid form. Izuku is more comfortable when you do.
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] To make yourself some new legs/limbs. Or just cheat them into using their own for you. either or really.
--[X] That should get you to De-kun faster then you can manage on your own.
There - slightly offcenter, a small square of unarmored wiring. Sparks danced over his arm as the knife tore through, but the pain was the least of his worries. He yanked the knife out and scrambled out from underneath just before its legs gave out and it collapsed.
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] To make yourself some new legs/limbs. Or just cheat them into using their own for you. either or really.
--[X] That should get you to De-kun faster then you can manage on your own.
Addiction actions:
[X] After the exams,go to the beach,and eat some mudskippers. Once you do, make your body ready for an ocean environment. And go out in the shallow waters,and eat some small sharks,rays,and other small aquatic animals. Have your friends help you.
[X] You and your friends will go and camp at the local forest. So you find some insects,reptiles,and amphibians. And you guys can also bond over a campfire. Also offer to get them some "improvements"
[X] Find and stalk Moth girl,and do same thing you did to Doll face. But use a different voice this time.
Oh hell no, I'm not losing our space godzilla. Not on my watch
Before you could properly analyse the implications of this, the ground began to tremble. The surrounding contestants paused to acknowledge the following roar of something distant with screams of their own. Maybe it was good manner? You never really understood that sort of thing, so climbing to the top of the nearest building took precedence over manners. You failed miserably, having only one arm with which to support yourself, not that it mattered by the time you stopped trying; the thing that had roared showed itself in a shower of destroyed tower blocks.
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] Acquire Biomass
--[X] Return to humanoid form. Izuku is more comfortable when you do.
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] To make yourself some new legs/limbs. Or just cheat them into using their own for you. either or really.
--[X] That should get you to De-kun faster then you can manage on your own.
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] Acquire Biomass
--[X] Return to humanoid form. Izuku is more comfortable when you do.
[X] After the exams,go for sushi with Deku teach him the joy of tasting raw data.
-[X] invite the small grape child, horn horse, and vine maiden to celebrate finishing together, ask for numbers.
-[X] Try to hang out again before we receive our acceptance letters
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] To make yourself some new legs/limbs. Or just cheat them into using their own for you. either or really.
--[X] That should get you to De-kun faster then you can manage on your own.
Addiction actions:
[X] After the exams,go to the beach,and eat some mudskippers. Once you do, make your body ready for an ocean environment. And go out in the shallow waters,and eat some small sharks,rays,and other small aquatic animals. Have friends help you.
[X] You and your friends will go and camp at the local forest. So you find some insects,reptiles,and amphibians. And so you guys can bond over a campfire. Also offer to get them some "improvements"
[X] Find and stalk Moth girl,and do same thing you did to Doll face. But use a different voice this time.
Oh hell no, I'm not losing a test subject. Not on my watch
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] To make yourself some new legs/limbs. Or just cheat them into using their own for you. either or really.
--[X] That should get you to De-kun faster then you can manage on your own.
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] Acquire Biomass
[X] After the exams,go for sushi with Deku teach him the joy of tasting raw data.
-[X] invite the small grape child, horn horse, and vine maiden to celebrate finishing together, ask for numbers.
-[X] Try to hang out again before we receive our acceptance letters
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] Acquire Biomass
--[X] Return to humanoid form. Izuku is more comfortable when you do.
The combination of added claws, weirdly jointed legs, and abnormal proportion between arm and leg length would probably make it difficult. That, and lack of proper planning
The combination of added claws, weirdly jointed legs, and abnormal proportion between arm and leg length would probably make it difficult. That, and lack of proper planning
I really should have proofread this one... meh, too tired. A good way to guess the answers is to consider what the most unintentionally disturbing thing the MC could possibly do is. In this scenario, it's to become a necromorph.
On that note, there'll be another experimentation section coming up soon. Those poor people.
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] To make yourself some new legs/limbs. Or just cheat them into using their own for you. either or really.
--[X] That should get you to De-kun faster then you can manage on your own.
Additional Actions:
[X] Try to acquire a few common limpets, their teeth are the strongest biological material in the world and bones made out of this material would be super useful!
I really should have proofread this one... meh, too tired. A good way to guess the answers is to consider what the most unintentionally disturbing thing the MC could possibly do is. In this scenario, it's to become a necromorph.
Necromorphs... now i know what i had at the back of my mind the whole time when trying to imagine Kaede. Basically just necromorphs only without all those exposed muscles, which makes it even more disturbing.
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] Acquire Biomass
--[X] Return to humanoid form. Izuku is more comfortable when you do.
[X] After the exams,go for sushi with Deku teach him the joy of tasting raw data.
-[X] invite the small grape child, horn horse, and vine maiden to celebrate finishing together, ask for numbers.
-[X] Try to hang out again before we receive our acceptance letters
Any one else REALLY want to see what the Teachers thought about us?
[X] See if you can reappropriate some of those machine parts just laying around everywhere.
-[X] if you can't get better bones maybe can cheat with cybernetics
