Three teams had already passed the exam.
With each announcement of another successful candidate, Sho’s face grew increasingly anxious.
His eyes were fixed on the sight of Sero, sound asleep with his head resting on Midnight’s thigh.
"Damn it! I’m jealous! No, that can’t be right!"
An icy sweat broke out on his brow as he stared at Midnight.
Normally, Midnight in her skin-tight tights—a view that most would admire—had a certain allure. But now, her figure looked more like a scene of impending carnage, terrifying in its intensity.
The seasoned poise concealed behind that delicate, glamorous frame made Sho shrink away.
"That’s the opposite direction from the gate," she explained.
Sho knew her Quirk inside and out.
Like most boys his age, he was a fan of handsome and sexy heroes—and Midnight was one of them. He also knew that her scent could lull anyone to sleep, and it worked even better on men than on women.
That made the situation all the more hopeless.
Even if you understood a Quirk well, it was only at a superficial level. He had no idea how wide its range was or how long it took for its effects to manifest.
The moment she appeared, Sero had grabbed him and hurled him away, sparing him from immediate harm.
Yet the fact that Sero had fallen asleep almost instantly suggested that once you inhaled her scent, unconsciousness followed swiftly.
"Hmm. Not coming over? Then perhaps I should come to you," Midnight teased.
She smiled mischievously, licking her lips with the tip of her tongue, like a lioness who had just caught her prey.
Sho felt the decisive moment had truly arrived.
He couldn’t run away.
There was only one gate—and to pass through it, he had to get past her.
But how?
How long could he possibly hold his breath?
He wasn’t going to stroll to the gate—he’d have to sprint, and he doubted he could sustain that for long.
And even if he fought, could he really win?
In battle, humans naturally gasped for air. No one could fight without breathing.
At that moment, a conversation he’d had with Kirishima a few days ago flashed through his mind.
"So, a stone lion?"
Kirishima had tilted his head in puzzlement.
Sho understood the confusion entirely.
Even among mutant or transformation Quirks, it was extremely rare for someone to turn into a mythical beast.
The most famous case was the Dragon Hero, Ryukyu.
As far as Sho knew, besides Midnight, there wasn’t another renowned mythical-beast Hero.
Everyone else had merely transformed into actual animals.
In that sense, he was a very special case indeed.
After all, shisa were the legendary guardian beasts of Okinawa, protectors of buildings.
"That’s right. A stone lion guarding an important building is called a shisa—it takes in the good and rejects the bad," Kirishima had explained.
"Hmm. I see. So your Quirk isn’t really that of a lion at all, but a stone lion?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean you don’t have to think of your power as limited by biology."
Sho felt a twinge of offense.
What did it mean, not being a living creature? He was very much alive. He wasn’t some inanimate object.
But that thought soon faded.
The Kirishima he knew was not one to hurl insults without cause; there had to be a deeper meaning behind his words.
Almost as if reading Sho’s inner turmoil, Kirishima continued, "In other words, you aren’t bound by biological traits when using your power. A Quirk factor is essentially like a nuclear power plant, brimming with enormous energy."
"I know that much," Sho replied.
"No—you probably don’t. You think some Quirks are good and others bad, don’t you?"
"Well, isn’t that true? It’s hard to call it a good Quirk if it only makes your neck longer or lets you pull your eyes out."
"That’s exactly my point. A Quirk factor is like a nuclear power plant. The difference lies in how and where you use that colossal energy. Tell me, can you really ignore the sheer force of nuclear energy regardless of its application?"
"Huh? Does that even make sense?"
"It does. Do you still think a Quirk that extends your neck or lets you remove your eyes is weak? How about if your neck or eyes became incredibly resilient and extended at breakneck speed—even if that speed surpassed bullets and reached supersonic levels?"
"Then I suppose it would be strong..."
Sho wanted to argue, but deep down he knew Kirishima was right. It would indeed be powerful—though perhaps not in the most graceful form.
"But for a mythical beast like you, matters are different. Transformation Quirks of the mutant or animal type typically evolve based on the traits of the animal in question—a bat might gain echolocation, a killer whale speed and heightened hearing, a rabbit rapid movement. And with training, their physical prowess becomes superhuman."
"Right? Look at Mirko or Ryukyu— they’re phenomenal."
"So what’s your trait? Didn’t you say you were a stone lion? All you do is toughen up and share your Quirk with others? Sure, that’s impressive, but if you’re called a guardian deity, your raw combat power must be equally monstrous, don’t you think?"
"Hmm... Well, yes. There are legends of you biting a giant snake to death and charging through flames to save your owner. One famous tale even has you battling a dragon on a boat en route to the Chinese emperor."
"Exactly! That’s your true potential! You’ve been setting your limits far too low. You’re a mythical beast. You don't have to be restricted by biological traits—you have the power to do anything. Do you think my Quirk makes me a demon? No. I kept evolving Hardening without end, and this is the result. A shisa? Then you can become a real shisa—a stone lion who fought a dragon."
Sho blinked at Kirishima’s passionate words.
He could understand the logic, yet accepting it with his heart was another matter entirely.
Could someone as small and ordinary as him really become that formidable?
Fighting a dragon sounded like something from legend.
But if heroes could transform into dragons, what chance did he have against one?
Inside the chest of a boy who had always been painfully average, ambition, hope, and longing welled up, intermingled with a cynical voice warning him it was all impossible.
He didn’t dare to proclaim that he could do it.
Instead, he simply nodded, mumbled something indistinctly, and let the topic fall.
Kirishima, fortunately, didn’t press him further.
Perhaps he sensed that one day, Sho would shatter the confines of his self-imposed limits and truly soar.
Sho hadn’t expected that day to arrive so soon.
He gazed ahead, his eyes downcast.
Midnight was advancing slowly, whip in hand.
"My, have you already given up? I don’t much care for kids like you," she taunted.
"Who said I gave up?" Sho retorted.
He muttered as he closed his eyes.
Kirishima had once explained that the first step toward mastering one’s Quirk was to recognize—even if it felt as natural as breathing—that its essence was something foreign.
Though he didn’t fully understand it, he felt there was truth to it.
From deep within his body—somewhere as unfathomable as an abyss—he sensed a rising, boiling heat.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but for the first time in his life, he felt as though he were confronting his own Quirk.
A Quirk, after all, was imbued with human consciousness.
The Quirk that Sho faced looked exactly like him—somewhat timid, occasionally flirtatious, and yearning to be famous—just an ordinary guy.
A man who was, at times, cowardly yet sometimes righteous.
But one who concealed limitless power.
In that moment, it swept aside every obstacle in its path—the doubts, the envy toward those who appeared inherently more gifted, even the vague admiration for a great-grandfather famed for extraordinary feats born of noble resolve.
Sho strove to become like a blank white canvas, unmarked and ready for his Quirk to paint its masterpiece.
Then, the transformation came—swift and sudden.
"Ghk! This… this is…"
It was an alien sensation.
The shifting of his flesh and bones was nothing like simply becoming tougher.
Transforming into something other than a human felt awkward, yet it opened up an infinite sense of freedom.
And in that instant, he understood.
Right now, he was not merely a "living creature," as Kirishima had put it.
Something that neither ate nor drank, and didn’t even need to breathe, could hardly be described as alive.
Rounded fingers and toes sprouted sharp claws, and his mouth elongated into a set of fierce fangs.
His skin turned a pale gray-white, while his eyes burned with a fiery intensity that seemed almost literal.
Anyone from Okinawa would recognize such a sight instantly—the guardian deity said to ward off misfortune and usher in good luck.
Midnight blinked in genuine surprise.
"Is that a new finishing move?"
"No. It isn’t new at all—it’s simply a return to my original state."
The sight of a stone lion with arched brows and blazing eyes grinning back was unsettling.
Most people would have recoiled, startled by the unfamiliar terror it inspired.
Yet Midnight was a veteran Hero with over ten years of experience. She’d fought in too many battles to retreat at the sight of a student’s newfound form.
"Impressive. If you could do that, you should have shown it off earlier," she remarked.
Secretly releasing her sleep-inducing scent, Midnight advanced on Sho.
He was already in range.
Even with his new form, as long as he was breathing, he couldn’t escape her soporific aroma.
While waiting for Sho to collapse, she continued, "Just one breath through your nose or mouth, and you’re finished. I wonder how long you can hold it."
As she cracked her whip into the ground, Sho grinned and replied, "I’m sorry, beautiful teacher—I don’t breathe."
"What?"
Sho burst from the ground and sprinted away.
Moving on all fours, he resembled a lion in full stride.
Though his transformation was still rough around the edges—his legs had taken on a leonine shape, making it nearly impossible to stand upright—running on all fours came surprisingly naturally.
Seeing Sho charging toward her, Midnight cracked her whip once more.
The tip of the whip, propelled by a snap of her wrist, tore through the air with a sonic boom.
Even as the whip sliced toward him, Sho seemed unfazed.
At that moment, as a complete shisa, even a well-aimed strike from Midnight’s whip—none of which were of the mutant type—could not faze him.
Just as he had expected, the whip struck his body and then bounced off harmlessly.
Midnight’s face hardened, and with the efficiency of a seasoned Hero, she immediately looped her whip around Sho’s leg.
This time, Sho barely reacted.
The power surging through his entire body was unmistakably that of a superhuman—or rather, of a mythical shisa. It was beyond the reach of ordinary human strength.
"Tch! Are you running away?"
"I’m not confident I can beat you yet! This is my first transformation—I’m still unstable!"
Sho clearly avoided direct combat, darting toward Sero instead.
Midnight tried everything to halt him. Her sleep-inducing scent was ineffective and, with Sho’s defenses barring her physical strikes, she found herself bereft of options.
Had this been an urban skirmish, she might have employed the terrain to create obstacles. But here, all there was, were rocks.
Sho barreled through her interference like a tank and bit down on Sero’s nape.
The idea of biting someone by the neck sent a shiver down his spine, yet he knew that if Sero hadn’t grabbed him and thrown him at the start, he’d have succumbed to sleep long ago.
Before even considering Heroics, Sho was the kind of man who repaid his debts. He had accomplished what seemed impossible before his transformation: carrying someone in his mouth while sprinting hundreds of meters.
No sooner had he passed through the gate than Sho tossed Sero aside and roared at the sky.
"Raaahhh!"
The scene was a bit odd—what should have been a mighty lion’s roar emerged as the high-pitched cry of a boy—but from afar, it was undeniably impressive.
In that instant, the transformation he had triggered purely by instinct began to unravel without warning.
The gray-white skin faded back to its natural tone, and the stony bones and flesh reverted to human form.
"Raaah... huh?"
As his roar died away, Sho finally realized his transformation had ended.
Where the stone lion had once stood, there now was an awkward boy on all fours, his neck craned skyward as he shouted.
He blinked a few times.
Before long, the embarrassment of his appearance dawned on him, and he slowly rose to his feet.
Once upright on two legs, he glanced at Midnight advancing from deeper within the exam area and offered an awkward smile.
"Hah... ha. Did you see that?"
"If you mean you were on all fours, facing the ground and shouting at the sky, then yes, I did," she replied.
"Raaahhh! Please erase that from my memory!"
In a tone different from before, he screamed and pleaded, his legs suddenly giving out beneath him.
Exhausted and burning with fever, he had no energy left.
Though he couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, he understood that this was the price of transformation.
"Haha. So Kirishima endures backlash like this... or even more," he murmured dully, his eyelids heavy, before he finally lost consciousness.
The magic of the moment would eventually fade; today, his allotted time had run out.
Yet, the entrance to this newly opened path remained unclosed.
Next time, he would traverse it with far greater ease.
It marked a memorable new beginning for Sho Naoya.
Looks like an strong quirk