Somewhere in a basement, a little group was surrounding one person as they observed her.

That person was rather short, but it wasn’t the reason they were observing her. Rather, what drew their attention was the armor on her.

The current group was composed of Kuroha, Milienia, and Melissa. The one they were observing was none other than Himiko.

"I feel a little bad to hide it from twice."

Himiko's voice sounded from the armor. The voice receptors still weren't perfectly finished so her voice sounded rather funny.

"That little Twice is really funny and has a very good potential, but with what you're currently doing Kuroha made the right choice in not lettings in him on the situation."

Kuroha nodded at Milienia's voice. He had his own reasons.

After meeting Twice, Kuroha immediately had a good impression of him. He was really a good guy and was without a doubt the kind of guy who would never betray those he considered his friends... At least not intentionally.

As someone who also suffered from some mental trouble, he directly understood two of the greatest personality traits of Twice.

Firstly, He was a pure guy. Too pure.

People sometimes made the mistake of comparing pure and good. What they didn’t understand was that pure people were simply great psychopaths in the making. Good people know about the difference between good and evil and choose to do good. The same went for evil people.

But pure people? They were the kind who could murder in cold blood with a smile because for them, what they did was right. Not good, but right. As long as it was right, as long as it followed their sense of logic, they could massacre thousands upon thousands without ever tainting their heart.

Kuroha admitted that he was the same. The difference between Twice and Kuroha though was the source of their madness. Kuroha had a pure wish for evil to be eradicated. As such he simply killed all those he deemed evil.

Twice, on the other hand, was desperately in the need of friends. Once he found one, it wouldn’t be too much to say that this friend would become like a god in his eyes. He would do anything for his friend.

This was where the second problem lay. A problem Kuroha didn’t share...Dependence.

Twice was too dependent on those he considered as his friends. He was also the kind to easily trust people.

Conclusion? He couldn’t and shouldn’t be given any deep secret, otherwise, he would easily leak it to another “friend”. Not as a betrayal. But simply because for him friends didn’t have secrets for each other.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Twice didn’t know the identity of Melissa. Though he did meet Ferrum Femina and didn’t know his true face either. He also didn’t know that Melissa could create an armor that could make a quirkless person rival with a hero.

----

It has now been one week since his meeting with Twice. During the past weekend, he should have met Nighteye, but he has been rather busy with his research on the Yakuza. Today was a Friday, and at the start of the next week, it will be the start of the festival.

Kuroha truly wasn’t interested in it. He had no reason to showcase himself and had nothing to learn from people he could beat even before his evolution.

‘Perhaps, I should leave UA?’

He really began to wonder if it was the right choice. Currently, UA could give absolutely nothing to him. Going to school was simply a waste of time for him. He had already learned all the courses from first year to third year. He was strong enough now to make some pro heroes avoid his road.

At least after his latest fight with Mirko yesterday, she had said that he was already strong enough to officially become a hero.

Of course, being pro wasn’t just about fighting. Taking into account the situation, being careful about the civilian, following the protocol, etc. All those were things that were taught in school. You could even say that it was the crystallization of the wisdom of all heroes.

But...Could this experience even compare to a third of Milienia? What about All Might?

‘In the end, the more I think about it, the less I am interested in staying in UA.’

“YES!!!”

This exclamation brought him out of his musing. He turned his gaze and looked at the excited Melissa that was using a mini-computer connected to different pieces of the armor.

Kuroha walked toward her and bent down to look at the number dancing on the screen. He squinted a little before releasing a sigh,

‘Yep. I understand nothing.’

“So, seeing your excitation, you finally did it?”

"Oh~! Did the little girl succeed?"

It was Milienia who asked. Kuroha shivered a little before moving aside. After he told her his blood quirk had evolved, he never saw her so excited. She looked at him as if she wanted to devour him. Her gaze was really unsettling back then.

The worst was how she has proceeded to beat him up like a child after he challenged her in a fleeting moment of pride. The worst was that...He didn’t even remember how he lost.

One moment they were in a forest, the next moment he woke up with half of the trees around him destroyed.

The fact that he lost consciousness means only one thing. In that very short instant from when the fight began, she had given him a degree of fatal damage higher than the one received from falling from a 50 meters high building. (EN:164 feet for our american readers.)

*Gulp*

Just thinking about this made him shiver in fright, but also in excitement. He wanted to reach that level of power and even surpass it.

He wanted to...Reach the Apex of power in this world. He wanted to stand at the summit. He didn’t know why. He just knows that something would happen once he did so.

‘Sigh. Now isn’t the time to think about this.’

He turned his attention to Himiko,

"Himiko. How do you feel. Any discomfort?"

"Hum…"

Himiko, who was in the armor slowly moved her hand before jumping a little and doing some fists movements,

"No problem. I can't give exact numbers but compared to the normal armor, I feel way stronger. Too bad it's only temporary. Still to think Melissa would really succeed."

Kuroha nodded, before asking to Melissa,

“Melissa. What do you say? Now that you managed at least the start, do you think my demand is possible?”

Melissa’s eyes shined as she nodded, but she hesitated and asked

“Yes, this is really a good idea. But… are you sure? Won’t you weaken if you do that?”

“No. As long as I keep the concentration to this level, then it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I see…”

Melissa didn’t insist and directed her gaze back to the armor Himiko was wearing. More precisely to the red crystal embedded in the chest of the armor,

“What will you call it?”

Kuroha hesitated a little as he thought about it,

“You had said that my blood gained a sort of symbiotic ability right?”

Melissa shook her head,

“Not gained, but rather evolved. From the exam I made on Himiko, your blood was already able to somewhat boost the physical ability of those who ingested it. Only that it was a slow process. One needing years to even show visual results.”

“Hum...I see… I feel like some kind of tonic drug or some hive monster.”

He suddenly smiled,

“Since this feels like such, even though it's just a temporary and weaker version, I will name it...Nameless worm.”