That morning, the sun had just begun to rise behind the mountains, painting the sky with shades of orange while the air remained cool and refreshing. Luth walked along a narrow path surrounded by lush trees, taking deep breaths of the crisp morning air. In his hand, he carried a small bag with a few bottles of water and a towel.
Up ahead, Deku was already waiting eagerly. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he crouched down, drawing something in the dirt with a small twig. The moment he saw Luth approaching, he immediately stood up and waved.
"You're here earlier than I expected!" he called out.
Luth gave a small smile. "I don't like making people wait."
Deku scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I actually came early too. I was just too excited."
Luth glanced around. The empty field behind the mountain was the perfect place for training. The ground was wide and open, surrounded by towering trees that gave it a secluded feel. There wasn't a single person in sight—only the chirping of birds and the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind.
"Alright," Luth said, placing his bag on a large rock. "How do we start?"
Deku clenched his fists. "We need a training plan. I may not have a Quirk, but I can still improve my physical abilities."
Luth nodded. "That's a good idea. But before that, I need to understand my Quirk's limits better."
Deku pulled out a notebook he had ready in his pocket. "Great! Let's record the results!"
Luth stared at the blank page in front of him before raising one hand. He took a deep breath, trying to sense something different within his body—something that had changed since yesterday.
[Activating Quirk: Portal…]
A swirling black tear appeared in the air in front of Luth, about waist-high. It wasn't any bigger than a dinner plate, but it was stable. He reached his hand inside, and just like yesterday, it emerged from another portal he had created a few meters away.
Deku watched in awe. "That's amazing! But… do you feel any limitations?"
Luth withdrew his hand and observed the portal before letting it vanish. "The distance is still short—five meters at most. I can also feel an energy limit, like there's a cost to maintaining the portal. If I hold it for too long, my body starts feeling heavier."
Deku quickly jotted it down. "So there's a distance limit and an energy cost. In that case, we should test it further! How about you open multiple portals in a row and see how many you can maintain?"
Luth narrowed his eyes. "That sounds interesting."
He lifted his hand again and began opening portals one by one. The first portal appeared smoothly. The second was a little slower but still formed. The third one appeared, but as he tried to open a fourth, sweat started trickling down his forehead.
[Stamina reaching its limit. Quirk energy will deplete if overused.]
Luth exhaled and let all the portals vanish. "Looks like three is my current limit."
Deku nodded in understanding. "Then we need to increase your endurance. The more you use it, the more likely you'll be able to extend the duration or increase the number of portals."
Luth stroked his chin, thinking. "What if we create a training exercise for that?"
Deku's face lit up. "I have an idea!"
He ran over to a small pile of rocks at the edge of the field and picked up a few medium-sized ones.
"We'll play a rock-throwing game using your portals!"
Luth raised an eyebrow. "How does that work?"
Deku explained, "I'll stand on one side and throw rocks. Your job is to open a portal just in time so that the rock passes through and exits somewhere else. This will train your reaction speed and how efficiently you activate your Quirk."
Luth nodded, understanding the concept. "Alright, let's try it."
Deku positioned himself about five meters away, gripping a rock in his hand. "Ready?"
Luth adjusted his stance and focused. "Go ahead."
Deku threw the rock at a moderate speed. Luth quickly activated his portal, allowing the rock to pass through the rift without any obstacles.
"Success!" Deku cheered.
They repeated the exercise several times, gradually increasing the speed of the throws and reducing the intervals between each one. At first, Luth struggled to react in time, but after several attempts, his response time improved significantly.
After about ten minutes, Luth was panting.
[Stamina reaching its limit. Energy efficiency increased by 1%.]
Luth took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I can feel the improvement… but this is exhausting."
Deku nodded enthusiastically. "That's great! The more you practice, the faster you'll be able to use it in real situations!"
Luth sat on a rock and took a sip from his water bottle. He watched Deku, who was also sweating despite only throwing rocks.
"Are you training too?" Luth asked.
Deku chuckled. "Of course! Since I don't have a Quirk, I need to train even harder in other areas. I want to improve my physical strength!"
Luth observed the boy closely. Even without a Quirk, Deku's determination was undeniable.
Luth gave a faint smile. "Then how about we switch roles?"
Deku tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"You throw rocks at me, and I'll try dodging them by opening a portal and moving somewhere else."
Deku's eyes sparkled. "That's a great idea!"
Their training continued, this time with a new challenge. Each of Deku's throws became faster, forcing Luth to react quickly and reposition himself using his portals.
After several rounds, both of them finally collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily, laughing under the brightening morning sky.
"This was a good workout," Deku said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Luth nodded. "And this is just the beginning."
Deku clenched his fist, grinning widely. "Yeah! We're going to get stronger together!"
Luth gazed up at the sky for a moment. He started wondering if he really needed to go along with these childish games.
***
One training session Later…
Luth sat on a large rock, trying to catch his breath while wiping the sweat off his forehead. Deku sat beside him, equally out of breath from their training session.
"We… really suck at stamina, huh?" Deku chuckled between his heavy breaths.
Luth nodded, gazing up at the sky that was slowly turning blue. "I didn't think I'd get this tired so fast. If I want to use my Quirk for longer, I need a stronger body."
Deku flipped through the pages of his notebook, scribbling something down quickly. "We need to build up our stamina. If Pro Heroes can fight for hours, that means they have incredible endurance. We have to start training our bodies now!"
Luth glanced at Deku before shrugging. "You're always so serious about this, huh?"
Deku grinned. "Of course! I might not have a Quirk, but that's not an excuse to stop trying. I want to get stronger in my own way!"
Luth paused for a moment. He hadn't known Deku for long, but there was something different about him. Unlike most people, he never gave up, even without a Quirk—something that had to be incredibly tough in this world.
Luth stretched his arms before standing up. "Alright, so where do we start?"
Deku immediately sprang up, full of enthusiasm. "According to the training book I read, kids should focus on building stamina before muscle strength. So, how about we start with running?"
Luth glanced at the open field around them. It wasn't very big, but it was wide enough to run a few laps.
"How many laps?" Luth asked.
Deku thought for a moment before answering, "Since we're just starting out, let's try five laps first. We don't have to go too fast, as long as we finish!"
Luth sighed. "Alright then, let's do it."
Deku and Luth stood side by side, ready to start.
"One… two… three… go!"
They began running at a steady pace, following the circular shape of the field. At first, it felt easy. Their legs were still light, and the morning breeze was refreshing.
But by the second lap, Deku's breathing grew heavier.
"Luth… this is harder… than I thought…" Deku gasped, trying to keep his rhythm.
Luth was starting to feel the weight in his legs too, but he refused to stop. "We're only halfway there. If we stop now, this training would be pointless."
Deku gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep running.
By the fourth lap, they were completely exhausted.
"This… is the last lap…" Deku panted.
"We… can… finish this…" Luth replied, his breath ragged.
With shaky steps, they finally reached their starting point. The moment they crossed the imaginary finish line, both of them collapsed onto the ground, gulping in deep breaths of air.
"We did it!" Deku laughed weakly between breaths.
Luth nodded, feeling a small sense of accomplishment. It was a simple start, but it was a good one.
After resting for a few minutes, Deku sat up again. "We can't stop here! Next is strength training!"
Luth gave him a tired look. "You still have energy?"
Deku chuckled. "I have to! I want to get stronger!"
Luth sighed but got up as well.
"Alright, what's next?"
Deku opened his notebook again. "Push-ups! Let's start with ten. Once we get used to it, we can add more later."
Luth nodded, and both of them got into a push-up position.
"Ready?" Deku asked.
"Ready," Luth replied.
"Go!"
They lowered their bodies to the ground and pushed themselves back up.
One… two… three…
By the fourth push-up, Deku's arms started trembling. "This… is harder than I thought…"
Luth felt the burn in his arms as well. By the eighth rep, he could barely push himself up anymore.
"Nine…" Deku gritted his teeth, using the last of his strength.
Luth forced his arms to move. "Ten!"
The moment they finished, both of them collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch their breath.
"We… need to get stronger…" Deku muttered.
Luth turned his head toward him. "Yeah… but at least we've started."
Deku smiled. "Right… we just have to train every day."
After a few more minutes of rest, Deku sat up again and flipped through his notes.
"Next up—sit-ups!"
Luth groaned. "How many?"
Deku thought for a moment. "Since we're just starting, ten should be enough."
They got into position, with Deku holding Luth's feet down while he did sit-ups, and then switching roles.
After finishing the sit-ups, they moved on to other light exercises, like squats and planks, though they couldn't hold out for long.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, they finally lay down on the grass, completely drained.
"We did a lot today…" Deku said, smiling in satisfaction.
Luth nodded. "If we keep this up every day, we'll definitely get stronger."
Deku clenched his fists with determination. "Yeah! I don't care how long it takes. I'll keep training until I can become a hero!"
Luth looked up at the sky, letting Deku's words sink in. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be a hero or not, but one thing was certain—he wanted to be stronger.
"Alright," he said softly, "then we'll keep training together."
Deku turned to him, eyes shining. "Promise?"
Luth stared at him for a moment before extending his hand. "Promise."
Deku eagerly shook Luth's hand. "Let's get stronger together!"
Their first day of training had come to an end. Now, all that was left was to see if fate had other plans in store for them.